The Sword and the Dove Chp. 2
It was most unusual, to see Lily so quiet, picking at the lemon pastry that normally should have been devoured the second she first glanced at it. Her azure eyes were foggy and troubled, completely alien without the blazing fieriness that lit up every so often. Not even a glimpse of her usual devilish smirk or scowl could be seen. In its place a small frown tugged at the ends of her lips.
Yuuma tilted his head towards Gumi, silently asking about this strange and foreign girl, but she just shook her head. Maybe some idiot spammed her with hate mail, or maybe it was just a tough day with the producer, but whatever it was, her behavior made him uneasy. No, not just him, but for all of them. She was their tsundere jokester, the foul-mouthed yet sweet big sis'. The one that broke the tension in the air and made everyone smile with her amazing sense of humor.
So what were they supposed to do? When she was the one that looked so down? He sighed and raised his hand towards her head, lightly ruffling her honey blonde hair in an affectionate manner,
"You realize silence isn't equal to intelligence right? Try as much as you want Lily, but your head isn't growing any bigger. Oh, and finish that lemon tart already will ya? I'm getting hungry," To an outsider it would seem like a cold remark, but to everyone that knew Yuuma, they understood that it was just his clumsy way of comforting people. His way of saying, 'cheer up because we're all here for you,' And it worked. Lily blinked once as if waking up from a deep sleep and then grinned wickedly,
"I'm smarter than you'll ever be dumbass!" She laughed and wolfed down the tart in her usual un-lady like manner as everyone sitting at the table sighed in relief. Lily looked up as she finished eating, casually wiping the crumbs off her mouth, "So where were you today Mew-nee? I didn't see you all day, making retirement plans already?"
"I'm only 25 damn it! Stop making me seem like an old lady," Mew rolled her eyes before finishing, "Anyway, I was busy showing IA-chan around. Oh, now that I mention it, where is the cutie?" she craned her neck scanning the room.
"Huh? Who the heck is IA?" Lily asked
"Oh she's the ne-"
"Ladies and Gentlemen! If I could please have your attention!" A loud voice cut off Mew as she was talking. Everybody in the dining room looked up abruptly, their tones becoming hushed. At the entrance of the room stood a semi- bald middle-aged man wearing a business suit. It was Mitsuru Umemura, the president for Yamaha Corporation, the biggest name in the music and showbiz industry. And also the funder for VOCALOID. He cleared his throat before beginning,
"Hello to you all, I hope everyone is well. Today I have come with some exciting news for you, starting from today on, you will have a new member to the family! Please welcome IA! A new Vocaloid scouted by the company 1st PLACE. IA-chan, if you would please come over here so everyone can meet you," he eyed the room briefly, a look of surprise crossing his features, "Uh, IA-chan are you here?"
Spontaneously everyone in the room started to look around when a figure clad in black and white rushed up to the front,
"Please forgive me sir!" the young maid cried out, "I told IA-san that it was okay to leave after dinner today. But I completely forgot that there would be an announcement, about her!" she bowed deep in apology,
Umemura sighed tiredly, "Well, since you were the one who misguided her, I think it's only fair that you should go and find her," he said in a cold manner.
Shiori trembled, "But Sir, I've never set foot in the gardens!"
The president rubbed his forehead in annoyance, "Is there any staff member who can go out and retrieve IA-chan?"
Yuuma found himself speaking out before anybody had the chance to answer, "I was just about to go outside anyway, I'll go and get her."
The president looked surprised, "Yuuma-kun? Is that ok with you?"
"Of course, she probably hasn't wandered out too far so it's fine,"
"Wonderful, look what you got yourself into genius," Yuuma groaned tiredly. It had been at least 10 minutes and his patience was running out. "Where the hell did this girl wander off to? You'd think she would have the common sense to stay close to the mansion, I mean, she just got here for god's sake." The gardens at the Vocaloid mansion were like no other. They were very vast and unexplored. Only the area near the mansion was actually professionally landscaped and looked after by the gardeners. The rest was basically all forest area, a forest which looked like it came out of a fairytale.
Time slowly slipped away from his hold as he ventured deeper and deeper into the dark woods. The path became rougher to travel upon and he found himself stumbling over rocks and undergrowth. The only light came from the full moon above, brightly claiming the sky.
Finally, he saw a small quaint clearing to the side, his little meadow to be exact, the same one where he would often visit in times of solace, or just to enjoy the serene scenery. It reminded him of older times, when life weren't so chaotic, before he had to face the normal hardships of being an idol. Sighing, he quietly crossed the small field towards the old cherry blossom tree, hoping to get a moments' rest before he continued his fruitless search.
Pinkish blonde tresses flowed to the side of the tree. Definitely not Miriam's, not Ann's, not SeeU's, and definitely not Lily's, and besides he saw them all at dinner anyways. He couldn't think of anyone else who had long blonde hair, could this person be…?
He walked around the tree to get a better look, a young girl that looked 15-16 years old, was she sleeping? Unconsciously he leaned in towards her face. Hmm, above average looks, but nothing that catches the eye. How did she even get scouted? Beauty was an important factor in the industry after all, not that he was the most handsome star in Japan or anything. Suddenly the girl's eyes fluttered open, starry blue orbs that seemed to change color looked at him in shock. She's going to scream, in a split second he clamped his hand on her mouth, and then hastily removed it after realizing the implications his actions.
"Hey wait! Uh sorry, are you IA?" Aria nodded her head suspiciously. "Come on, everyone's waiting for you inside," he said as he helped her up.
"Um, may I ask of your name?"
"Yuuma,"
"Yuuma?! As in VY2 Yuuma? I have your album Heart Attack, it's one of my favorites." she replied shyly.
"Thanks, it took a long time to make, I'm glad it all worked out in the end." he remarked distantly and after a slight pause he added, "Anyways, nice to meet you and welcome to VOCALOID. We'll be co-workers from now on."
And after a very long time I update...
Honestly, this chapter was written some time ago and was sitting in the corner gathering dust. But finally I felt like I had to upload it, even with it's imperfections! My writing has gotten pretty bad, being out of practice, but I'll steadily improve it :)
Thank you for reading!
Critiques and reviews are welcome~!