Another short chapter... Ah well. I hope it's decent.

/

Laying in a blissful, dark peace. This is what she found herself doing. It was nice, this escape from reality. Maybe she could just stay here for a while. To be able to drown in this state of relaxation. It might do her some good.

Worry pressed against her as she thought these things. Was she forgetting something? It might be important, after all. If she was forgetting anything in the first place. She couldn't just leave all those forgotten things to continue this blissful, unconcerned existence. Could she? Would it be all right?

She giggled gently, attempting to reassure herself. I'm sure it's fine, she told herself. No one else could tell her such things.

Fine? a voice asked her, weaving its lovely magic around her, How can you say that? Just listen, and hear that nothing is fine.

She blinked, feeling her long lashes trail against her cheeks. Her ears strained to hear something, anything, from the darkness around her.

I don't know what you mean, she let out a gentle breath after her short-lived attempt, I can't hear anything.

Listen closer, the voice told her, and it was snickering. At her? With her? She didn't know, but the snicker didn't sound kind.

Her eyes widened as she heard crying.

Crying? she wondered, Who's crying? There's no one here.

You can't recognize the voice? Some friend you are.

Anxiously, she sat up and looked around. It was dark through and through, painted the color of a moonless night sky. It was empty, and she couldn't even tell what force held her up, away from the crushing darkness below. And above. And virtually everywhere else.

Who? Who is it? Her thoughts raced, but bringing forth any faces from the depths of her mind just caused pain. An electric shock course through her body from the center of her head, and a scream erupted from chapped lips.

Placing her head in her hands, she felt her hair spiral around her as she sobbed.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It hurts far too much, she moaned.

The voice hissed a cruel laugh, cold air hitting her shoulder as something knelt behind her, whispering in her ear. Her eyes were wide, spilling tears down her face and into her open palms.

It's a pity. That memory of yours is useless, even after I tried so hard to save it for you. Too bad. I might have gotten a bit of gratitude, the chilly words shook through her, a knife against paper. All of this was so confusing, so depressingly strange. The feeling that everything was slowly crushing her overwhelmed the delicate girl, causing her sobs to grow more frantic.

Shh, dearest. I'm sure everything can work out, the voice changed slightly as these words escaped into the darkness, and the thing leaning to whisper in her ear wrapped its arms around her in a hug.

It's not as if you need anyone, anyway.

That was the sentence she was left with, the sound of it repeating over and over in her head, ringing against the inside of her skull. The rattling words broke against her eyes, and she screamed at the pain as she was engulfed in darkness, unable to see or breathe or speak. Sound vanished, and her heartbeat disappeared like a bird released to the air. Her eyes wanted to open, but a blindfold held them closed, darkness pressing painfully against her vision.

Make it stop! Her own shrieks echoed soundlessly within her own skull, unable to be released. It was driving her mad, being stuck inside herself this way, with no senses in use.

And, suddenly, quietly, quickly, the crushing darkness vanished. Waves of calm white drifted over her as she slowly opened her eyes. But something was wrong. What it was, she couldn't quite determine, but something was deeply, certainly wrong.

She glanced around, and notice she was settled in a bed. It was quite comfortable, her head relaxed deeply into the soft feather pillows. Her arms lay on the blankets on either side of her, palms upturned slightly.

She blinked as she heard a noise. It was the sound of faint, muffled crying. She turned her head to where the sound was coming from. A small, pale-haired girl sat in a chair next to her bed, her face pressing into her hands. A boy, very similar to her in looks, had a delicate arm wrapped around her, an equal look of worry and sadness staining rather cute features.

"M-miku-nee!" the boy stuttered, glancing up as her eyes found his.

"Miku-nee? Am I Miku-nee?" she asked, examining one of hands carefully. It didn't feel like hers. Her skin wasn't fitting right, and it bothered her. Not nearly enough to mention it, but it was vaguely uncomfortable.

"Yeah. Android Hatsune Miku 001. That's your full title. I-is something wrong?" the boy asked, taking the hand she had been examining, "Did you forget?"

"I suppose... I have," she stated, blandly, staring at him curiously.

"Miku-nee? Is there something wrong with your eyes? They're all narrowed, and you look kind of... bored," the boy's light eyes stared intently at her, probing her face.

"I don't see the problem," she replied, her hand limp in his grasp.

The crying girl whimpered. Her large, tired eyes hung onto hers as she removed her face from her hands.

"Rinny, go get Master Akira. Something is wrong here," the boy told the girl, who jumped in surprise, and then nodded shakily. She stood and ran clumsily from the room, tripping on the rug below and barely managing to save herself from a harsh fall.

Turning back to her, the boy grasped her hand tightly, unwilling to let go.

"Can you remember anything? Anything at all?"

"No."

"Not a single detail?"

"No."

She knew that her reaction to this discovery was all wrong. Somehow, she knew the proper response would involve tears, perhaps confusion. But it was all gone, save for a slight curiosity she held. The feeling was dull and bland, an injured bird beating against the iron bars of its cage.

To break the silence that had settled around them, she asked a question. It seemed the right thing to do, for some reason.

"Tell me again, what was the name you called me by?"

The boy's eyes, a pair of deep, colorless orbs, radiated sadness as he replied, "Miku. Your name is Miku."