Hey everyone! So, the inspiration for this story was pretty weird. What happened first was, I stumbled upon the song Red Riding Hood's Wolf (sung by Miku) by Kikuo. It was so catchy, it stuck in my head and stayed there for days...then I found a really weird video done in Project Diva for the song Virgo (sung by Luka). As a result, this story happened. I hope you enjoy!
Once upon a time, there lived a girl as beautiful as spring and as pure as snow. Her grandmother, with whom she was close and loved dearly, knitted her a red riding hood, distinct from the bland browns and grays of the village, and the girl liked it so much she wore it all the time.
One day, the girl went into the woods and never came out. It was said that she had been eaten by a wolf and indeed when hunters scoured the forest they found a scrap of ribbon from her riding hood off the path, a sure confirmation, it was said, of her death.
Now this was a story that happened many years ago, so when Megurine Luka heard it, it had already attained the faraway tang of a fairy tale, mythic and unreal. It was only a story told to frighten children from wandering too far from the village. Not that they needed the warning - in this unforgiving mountain hamlet, children grew up quickly.
Luka was no exception. Sober, realistic, hardworking at the age of sixteen, she hardly needed fairy tales to do what needed to be done. Of course one should stay on the path in the forest - to do otherwise was foolish. Of course one should be wary and cautious of wolves - they were, after all, carnivores, and there was little for them to eat on this savage mountain.
So when her family received news that her reclusive grandmother was ill, Luka was not at all afraid of the long winding journey to her grandmother's cottage in the depths of the woods. She put a well-sharpened knife in the basket her mother had packed full with oatcakes and jam, located the path, and went on her way.
The trees were rough, twisted, dead things in winter, their roots encroaching onto the poor, rough path that wound its way through the wilds of the forest. There was no beauty to be found here, only the stark savagery of nature. Luka pressed on. If an old woman could live up here, then a younger one like herself should have nothing to be afraid of.
Then, she heard a howl off to her right. Luka stiffened and paused, eyes scanning the trees, hand springing to the handle of her knife.
There was no wolf, but from behind a tree with a clatter of brushwood sprung a girl, as beautiful as spring and as pure as snow, her teal hair long and tangled, dressed in a red riding hood drawn up over her head. At the sight of Luka she smiled and dropped in an exaggerated curtsy.
Luka did nothing but stare, her hand still on the handle of her knife. Suffice to say, this girl was far lovelier than any of the ones back at the village, and Luka, unused to beauty, could think of nothing to say, nothing to do. In fact, she had no idea why such a girl was even in the woods - her clothes were finely made, clearly with love. Such a treasure would hardly be permitted to run about the dangerous woods so close to night.
"What are you doing, walking in the woods?" the girl asked first, her voice as clear as a mountain stream.
"I...I'm bringing food to my grandmother," Luka said, and with a jolt realized her hand was still on the knife. Blushing, she put her hand back at her side. "She's sick."
The girl nodded. "So your grandmother lives alone?"
"At the end of the path..." Luka pointed accordingly. "I, um, I haven't seen you before. Are you...from the village?" Stupid, stupid, stupid, she sounded like a fool. Of course the girl wasn't from the village, there was no way Luka would miss the sight of such a girl in such a red hood.
The girl smiled, a flash of white teeth. "There are many such villages on the mountain. What's your name? I'm Hatsune Miku."
Luka hastened to introduce herself, rolling the girl's name over and over in her mind.
"Megurine...Luka," Miku said, slowly, before she smiled again. "A beautiful name."
"W-would you like to walk with me?" Luka blurted, her face burning despite the cold. "That is...if you want to, of course." Her cheeks heated up even more - she must have sounded so rude, so forward - but it was too late to back down and so Luka didn't look away from Miku.
Night came early in these parts and the forest was already shaded with darkness. Miku's eyes were so large, they almost seemed to glow. "I would love to."
xxx
The two of them walked for a while, talking. Miku was curious about Luka and life in her village, and though Luka saw nothing very interesting about herself, the girl drank up her stories of village life as though she had never heard anything like them before.
A half-mile to her grandmother's cottage and it was full dark, the stars winking overhead, the moon round and large in the sky, casting thin white light between the dead trees. It was cold, flakes of snow falling on Luka's face, but she didn't care. It was only a little longer, and it was hard to feel cold when one had company such as Miku on the road.
Luka slowed her pace so as to prolong her time with Miku, searching her mind for likely topics. "You seem like you know the forest well," she ventured.
Miku laughed, a musical jingle in the frigid night. "I practically grew up here." She straightened up, proud. "I know all the shortcuts."
Luka doubted that Miku knew the forest that well - it was, after all, a savage, untamed place - but she decided to humor the girl. "But aren't you afraid of wolves if you go off the path?"
"Path?" Miku pronounced the word with disdain, an airy toss of the head. "I don't need to stay on the path. There's nothing to be afraid of, not for me."
Luka smiled, not believing a word, but playing along. "Of course. What could possibly harm-"
"You don't believe me, do you?" Miku asked, a smile revealing her lack of offense.
"Well..."
"Then, let's make a game of it," Miku clapped her hands together, spinning to face Luka, the cape of her red riding hood twirling behind her. "I bet that I can reach your grandmother's cottage through the forest faster than you can following the path."
Luka hesitated, years of caution staying her hand. The forest was so dangerous, she could hardly let a girl as delicate-looking as Miku run off on her own. "No, wait, it's not safe..."
"Didn't I just tell you that there's nothing for me to be afraid of?" Miku laughed. "Don't worry about me."
Luka bit her lip. "Well..."
"Trust me."
The wind howled; snow eddied around them. Luka looked down at her basket. Her eyes widened once she saw her knife, and she looked once more at Miku. The girl was completely unarmed. Luka hesitated, then drew the knife out from the basket and held it out, handle first, to Miku.
"Then," said Luka, "take this. In case...in case something happens."
But Miku only looked at the handle of the knife and laughed again, as though the knife was a child's toy. "I don't need that."
"Please," Luka said. "Just take it. It'll make me feel better."
Miku, upon seeing how serious Luka was, nodded and took it, her hands handling it clumsily, as though she had never seen such a weapon before. Luka's heart throbbed with anxiety and worry - so fragile, she didn't even know how to use a knife. "Okay. So, are we doing it? Let's have a bet!"
Miku looked so enthusiastic, Luka couldn't find the heart to say no. She had Luka's knife now, and it didn't seem as though Miku wanted to budge on the topic. "Fine..." Luka said, desultory. "But if anything happens, scream, okay? I'll come running."
"Oh, and you'll whack the big bad wolf with that basket you have there?" Miku teased. "I can handle myself. So if I win, what will you give me?"
Luka blinked. She didn't have much to give - luxuries were slim on the mountain - and the oatcakes and jam in her basket were all for her grandmother. "What would you like?"
Miku pretended to think, placing a hand to her chin, eyes roving up towards the moon. Then, she clapped her hands together and leaned forward, a coquettish smile lighting her face. "How about a kiss?"
Luka felt a rush of heat to her cheeks, lowered her eyes so as to avoid staring at Miku's lips. "Um..." Her ears burned.
"It's a deal then," Miku laughed, and she was off, springing lightly in-between the trees, forest closing in on her like a pair of jaws. Luka watched her until she could no longer make out the splash of red of her hood, and then she turned to walk down the path. Though the moon was now fully up, Luka forgot to be afraid.
She made sure to dawdle on the path, so as to ensure that Miku wins the bet.
xxx
Once she was certain that she was no longer in sight, Miku abandoned her girlish walk, running instead. The knife Luka gave her was warm in her hand, hindering her wolfish lope, but Miku kept a hold on it anyways. She leapt over fallen trees, feet so fast she practically flew, a streak of red in the desolate landscape.
She was dreadfully, dreadfully hungry. On her way, Miku snatched a rabbit; it had frozen once it scented her, was about to spring off but it was of course too late.
Grandmother's cottage was a place of creaking wood, a few chickens and a goat outside. At the sight of Miku, they froze. Miku wiped the blood off of her chin and stepped delicately onto the path, peering forward to make sure that no one was there. She sniffed the air; Luka was still a ways off. She tripped down the path, looking for all the world like an innocent girl, and knocked on the door.
The goat gave a bleat of warning, the chickens erupted in a flurry of clucks, but humans could not understand animals very well, and the grandmother's hearing was beginning to go.
"Who is it?" she called.
"It's your granddaughter, Luka," said Miku.
"Open the latch and the door will open," said the grandmother, and Miku did so. The door swung open with a groaning creak.
The grandmother's sight was nearly gone, so all she saw was a fuzzy girl in a red riding hood. She smiled and bid her granddaughter welcome, pointed her to the fire, said that there was tea if she wanted it in the kitchen, and wasn't it a dreadfully cold night?
If the grandmother's words reminded Miku of her own grandmother, so long ago, lost in the uncaring waves of time, she gave no indication. If the little mountain cottage reminded Miku at all of where she spent her childhood, one could see nothing of that from outside. If the side of her that was still human wept at what she was about to do, other than a little redness about the eyes, Miku herself was perfectly expressionless.
It was convenient that her cloak was already red to hide the blood, and when she was done she tossed the knife and the body outside to feed her brothers the wolves; she had more delicious prey coming. She got in the bed, pulled the blankets up to her chin, and waited.
A knock on the door. Miku took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could smell Luka, sweet and close. "Grandmother, are you there? It's Luka."
"Pull the latch, darling," Miku quivered in an old woman's voice, "and the door will open."
The door swung open and Luka stepped in, shaking the snow off of her hair, carrying the basket. Her eyes searched the cabin and stopped on Miku. Luka's eyebrows furrowed, bewildered.
"Where's my grandmother?" she said.
Miku smiled and got out of bed. "She was out when I arrived."
Luka was no fool, Miku could see, and there was a new wariness to her expression now. "Is that so," Luka said, backing away from her slowly.
Miku kept her own steps slow, mirroring Luka's, circling her until she reached the door. She pressed her back against it, so as to prevent Luka from escaping. "Yes. A resilient old woman, isn't she?"
"People grow up resilient here," said Luka. She reached for her knife, but there was none - she had, after all, given it to Miku.
Miku smiled again, not bothering to hide her fangs. "So...it looks like I got here first, Luka. Remember what we agreed?"
Luka put the basket on the kitchen table, eyes never leaving Miku's. "What did we agree on?"
"Aww," Miku pouted. "How cruel. Come closer, so that I can remind you."
Luka hesitated, eyes sweeping the cabin once more. Miku could read the uncertainty in her face - her grandmother was gone, as though she had never existed. Miku had been careful, and there were no traces of any bloodshed. Perhaps her grandmother truly was out, but then again, she was ill, and Miku had fangs. Luka walked closer, body tense.
Once she was within distance, Miku grabbed Luka by her wrist with a lunge, too fast for Luka to react, and pulled her closer to her, so close she could feel Luka's breath on her face. "You promised me a kiss, Luka. Fair is fair."
Luka tried to move her arm; Miku's grip was iron. Luka leaned forward, putting her free arm against the door to steady herself. Even though she was taller than the red-hooded girl, she was still afraid, her heart fluttering, adrenaline pumping through her veins. The world had narrowed to her and Miku, the distance between them nonexistent. If there was excitement along with the fear, well, no one had to know.
"What're you waiting for?" Miku asked. "Scared of a kiss?"
Luka laughed, a rushed, hollow exhalation. "It is...will be...my first," she admitted.
"We better make it special then," said Miku, and waited.
Luka saw that there was nothing for it but to give Miku her prize, and slowly, slowly, she brushed her lips against Miku's. With surprising speed Miku grabbed the back of Luka's head with her other hand, brought her closer, lips rough and demanding. Her other hand loosened; Luka's arm was free.
Luka's heart was beating wildly now, frenzied, a heady mix of adrenaline and desire flowing through her veins as she kissed Miku, whose hood had fallen, revealing canine ears. Luka wrapped her arms around Miku and before Miku could react, turned - the girl was light and air in her arms - and practically flung her onto the bed. Their lips separated, Miku's eyes wide with surprise as she landed.
Luka didn't have much time. She stared at Miku for a few milliseconds before she turned and tore out of the cottage, running down the path as fast as her legs could carry her. Her bottom lip stung - Miku had bitten her. For a while nothing but panic carried her, until she slowed and realized that she had no weapons, nothing, was completely defenseless, and Miku would likely be after her. The path was too predictable, Miku too fast, would catch up once she got her bearings - Luka scanned the trees wildly for streaks of red. There was nothing. Luka hesitated, a split second, and plunged into the forest; perhaps she could lose Miku amid the wild trees, though a part of her, small and sinful, chuckled at her folly - after all, Miku knew the forest, didn't she? Perhaps, the voice whispered, Luka wanted Miku to capture her. But Luka shoved the voice away from her mind and ran.
At the cottage, Miku did nothing for a while but laugh. The smell of Luka was fresh in her nose, the taste of her sweet in her mouth. She got up from the bed, still laughing, shoulders shaking as she drew the red shawl tighter around herself, tears falling from her eyes, breaths fast and hiccuping. The strength left her legs and she fell to her knees. The moon, full, a blight, shone upon her as she wept, though why, she didn't know.
It was not too late. The sun would not be up for a while. She had time. Miku got up to her feet and wiped the last of her tears. She stepped out into the cold, closed her eyes, took a deep breath.
Her eyes snapped open and she set off, a scarlet bullet in the night.
xxx
The vegetation was shaggy and wild, almost net-like, and Luka stumbled blindly through them in her mad flight. A branch whipped her face; she flinched, but did not cry out. She stumbled over rocks, tripped over exposed roots. Tiredness weighed her bones, her adrenaline running out. It was cold and dark, and Luka spun as she searched for her village. She had tried to follow a path that was at least somewhat parallel to the road, but the forest was too winding for her to do so properly.
Breaths heavy, Luka staggered on. She could not rest - to stop here would be fatal. Her shoes crunched on snow as she walked. In the distance, she heard the howling of wolves. Her lips tingled from what she thought was the cold.
Then, ahead of her, a low growl. Luka stopped. A pair of glowing yellow eyes in the trees ahead of her, and a wolf, lean and agile, fur a dirty gray, stepped out. Spittle dripped from its slavering maw. Luka took a step back and more wolves emerged from the woods, melting from shadow.
"I wouldn't try to run, if I were you," said a voice from behind her, all too familiar. Luka turned. There was Miku, smiling as she stepped closer. She had put her hood back on, hiding her ears.
Luka found her voice. "Let me go."
Miku's smile dropped into a frown. "How rude...you're the type of girl who kisses and leaves, aren't you?" She put a hand over her heart. "You were so charming on the road too. Now that you've gotten what you wanted from me, you're just going to leave without a word of goodbye?"
Luka blushed at Miku's words, though she fought to keep her face expressionless, pushing the memory of the kiss from her mind. "You were the one who wanted a kiss. Not the other way around." Even to herself, her words sounded hollow and unconvincing.
Miku grinned and leaned forward. She was wearing that coquettish expression again, the same one on the road where they made their bet. "Oh, don't deny that you wanted it too. You were enthusiastic enough."
Luka's ears burned; she lowered her head to stare at the ground. "You killed my grandmother."
"Like I said," said Miku, "she was out when I came in. She's a resilient old woman, isn't she?" She addressed the final question to the wolves. They growled and yelped their assent in a cacophony that could terrify any village.
"She was ill," said Luka. "She couldn't have gone out. There was a fire on the hearth-"
"You were so slow, I had time to make a fire."
"...and tea on the table-"
"It's a cold night," said Miku, although she showed no signs of being cold at all. "I thought you would appreciate the warmth."
"Don't lie to me," Luka said. "You didn't have the time to do all that."
"I don't know, you were very slow," Miku said, "You didn't even try to win our game, did you?" Her smile grew wider. "You lost on purpose."
Luka couldn't deny Miku's words, but a flash of insight illuminated her mind. A story, told long ago, when she was a child...Luka jumped on it. "You're that girl from that story, aren't you? The girl who ran off into the woods a long time ago and never came out?"
Miku's smile slipped for a fraction of a moment, but it was enough. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"That story was so old, my parents had it told to them when they were children," said Luka. "You're not human."
Miku said nothing. The wolves were growing restless.
"You're one of them," Luka said, the certainty growing in her mind. "You even have their ears."
Miku had long since stopped smiling, her eyes feral in the moonlight. "Clever. What are you going to do about it? There's nothing you can do. It's a full moon and you're surrounded by wolves in the middle of the woods."
Luka took a steadying breath. "I know what I can do."
Miku laughed humorlessly. "What?"
Luka gathered the scraps of her courage and walked over to Miku, the wolves their audience as Luka slowly, slowly brought her hands up and lowered Miku's hood once more, exposing her ears. Miku watched her with a wild animal's wariness. Luka's hands lowered to the bow of Miku's cloak, pulled and tossed the scarlet garment to the side. Underneath was a ruffled dress of whites and reds, ragged and dirty. Luka hesitated. She could hear the wind, could smell bramble and leaves. At this distance, she could see how Miku's hair was tangled with twigs, a child of the forest.
Perhaps, Luka thought, Miku had always been this way.
Miku's lips tugged up in a grin. "What large eyes you have, Luka."
"All the better to see you with."
The abandoned red riding hood a splash of blood on snow, Luka brought her hands up to cup Miku's cold, cold face and kissed her, gently, gently.
xxx
Luka returned to the village alone, basket and knife gone.
Her grandmother was dead, she told the town, gone when she arrived; the wolves must have gotten her. As for the basket? What of the knife? Oh...she was too frightened once she saw the empty cottage and had left the basket there.
A wolf had attacked her on the way home - here she displayed the cut on her cheek (and hid the bite on her lip) - she had to defend herself with the knife, who knows where it was now?
Her family and friends hugged her, glad that she survived. She was treated gently the days after; she must have been traumatized, after all, see how often she looked out the window, how distant her eyes were. She was still young, and the death of a grandmother, an attack by a wolf, it was nothing to laugh about, not in this town.
Winter passed and the song of the robin announced the coming of spring. When the village held its annual spring festival, Luka stayed home. She was ill, she said, and bid her friends to save her a slice of pie from the festivities. Once she was sure the village was deep in its revelries, she left, peering left and right, silent as a thief as she stole out from the cottage into the dark, dark woods.
On the road she heard the howl of a wolf, but there was only a teal-haired girl as beautiful as spring and as pure as snow, dressed in a red riding hood, not a wolf at all. Luka smiled to see her, and took the girl's extended hand.
Neither of them were seen again save for reports by weary travelers of two girls in the forest, and even those were passed off as delusions made from moonlight, for what sorts of girls could possibly survive in the company of wolves?