Chapter Two
A Double-Deal?
Sunday morning and Gumi was dying to know what was in the large wooden box for her. Sitting on the rug before the couch, she called out to her foster father.
"Gakupo-san, could you help me open it? You're really strong."
"I'd love to!" he called from the kitchen.
"Thank you... What the- hey, wait, hold up a second! That's a bit extreme!"
Gakupo smiled coyly, trotting into the living room with a tool to pry it open. A tool meaning another one of his incredibly sharp samurai swords. "What do you mean? I'm only trying to help."
"Don't run in here, at least walk if you're going to swing that, please!"
"Ah, but you worry too much, my dear."
"You wouldn't worry if your head was under a guillotine, you egg-head!" Gumi's eyes widened and she jumped out of his way so her neck wouldn't be lopped off in the process. Nor did she further question his odd logic of brute force.
"Okay, step aside..."
"Careful with that thing!"
"Yes, yes, I know. Big scary Gakupo won't harm his precious little grass-headed daughter."
"Grass head?! You- Whoa!" She screamed for a second in surprise.
CLACK, THUD!
"Done!"
"Warn me before you do that next time... please..."
The bright blade sliced off the top of the wooden box swiftly. The four sides subsequently fell forward, landing with a loud bang of clashing wooden boards. The boards and Gumi's jaw were very much on the floor. She pouted at her new nickname, but brushed it aside, thankful that the scary part was over with. Her eyes must've been playing tricks on her.
Gakupo merely grinned and sheathed his sword. "Well, Yuzuki-dono got you something really special, grass-head! Or I should say 'someone'."
"She got me a Vocaloid!" Gumi screamed excitedly, her questions spouting disorderly. "A custom one, too! She's beautiful! Can we keep her? Gakupo-san, may I open it?"
"Go ahead. Yes, we're keeping her, chill out. I need to bathe anyway..." He casually turned on his heel and placed his katana on the wall, then left her alone. But not quite alone. He casually left the room to bathe.
There was a long coffin-like container of glass and metal showing a lovely figure dormant in sleep. The android's outfit was girly and intricately designed, adorned with pink, white, navy, and five-pointed stars. The belt on her dress read "A2" and her rosy pink locks stopped at her waist. The dress had a large hood, and the striped bottom hugged at her thighs. Her bust was small and perky, and her pale skin was accompanied by black, doll-like lines which outlined her arms and legs. Her hair framed her face neatly, and a large cow-lick the shape of a question mark sat atop her head. It reminded one of a clothes hanger. Gumi immediately wanted to touch it or tie a bow to it... or something silly. Setting silly things aside... There were what seemed like a million cords and plugs attached to the container to her back, however. They were to sustain her lifetime power source. Like an electric angel.
Gumi had never felt more excited in her life, her hands were trembling and her cheeks hurt from grinning so hard.
Atop of the glass container protruded a large red button. Without hesitation, the greenette jumped up to smack it. There was a loud hissing of air escaping, and all the cord tentacles attached to the robot's back ejected with multiple little clicks. The glass casing then slowly slid open horizontally. "Ooh, I wonder what her name is!" Gumi gushed, clapping like a little girl on too much sugar. "We're going to go shopping and do all sorts of fun girly things together! This is so exciting~!"
She glanced behind her in the kitchen to see if there was a pen and paper anywhere, when the wind was suddenly knocked out of her. The back of her head hit the wood flooring as the android had so unceremoniously collapsed over her, hollow, doll-like joints sprawled at her sides.
"Gugh- Ahh! Ow! That freaking hurt..." The human of the two girls was never great at handling people with her personal space. Especially by robots. Or if they were unconscious. And pinning her down with more weight than she could ever imagine breathing under. "GAKUPO! HELP ME PLEASE, I CAN'T GET UP! SHE'S GOT ME!"
The pink-haired Vocaloid had limply fallen out on top of her, and was surprisingly, freakishly heavy. She had the faint smell of cherries, and her bumpy blue hood was soft on Gumi's cheek. A pale chin was hooked over her shoulder, stagnant. Oddly enough, she wasn't that cold, either. Although, being stuck under a heavy, cherry-scented, life-sized doll was very dangerous in Gumi's case of claustrophobia.
But not even three seconds after the human girl yelled, and didn't feel as threatened any more, Gakupo sprung into action. A loud splash came from bathroom not too far off to Gumi's left when the man leaped out of the tub. Footsteps rapidly thumped on the floorboards as Gakupo pattered into the kitchen, sliding into the doorway, halting with a wet squeak, to see the two females in the living room.
"GUMI-CHAN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? Oh..." The man's hair was drenched and pasted over his toned chest in purple squiggles, water dripping all over the wooden floor. Wearing nothing but a white towel on his waist, eyes wide.
Before he could analyse anything else, Gakupo's mind registered the living room floor: Two girls. Limbs tangled. Short dresses. Warm summer evening. A cool breeze between his legs. Whipping out a tissue from seemingly nowhere, he addressed his new bloody nose.
Gumi glanced up from underneath the robot's shoulder at the purple-haired man and her face flushed. "T-t-t-this isn't what it looks like! Quit gawking and get her off me! She's weighs like a truck! HELP. ME."
Dramatic pause.
"Wait, where's my camera?"
"Don't. You. Dare! PERVERT!"
"My girl is growing up so fast!~"
"YOU'RE A TERRIBLE FATHER."
"You've terribly good taste in girls, Gumi. She's a cutie!"
"She's not human!"
"How come you can't get her off of you, Gumi? I thought you had a boy you liked. You're sixteen, aren't you? You play baseball, don't you?" A sly, mirthful grin indeed.
"Not yet! Ow! Never mind that! She's full of... mechanical STUFF, just help me!"
Gakupo laughed and tied the large towel tighter round his hips. Carefully, he reached over to lift the pink-haired android onto the couch into a normal position.
Coughing, Gumi got back on her feet to catch her breath. "Finally! Thank you. If you took a picture, I'd of... Wait, why are you naked?"
"I genuinely expected danger, Gumi," he shrugged with a knowing smile. "Terrible fathers do what they need to do."
"Sure, uh-huh..." Being the sarcastic and clumsy girl that she was, she tripped on Gakupo's water trail and dragged his waist-towel with her.
Once again, Gakupo reached down to help her up. It wasn't till his groin felt untouched by the towel's fabric did he realise he'd nothing left to cover him. At least, in his mind, it was merely a fig leaf.
Gumi rubbed her head and daringly glanced up. Screaming, she turned away and threw the towel at Gakupo's head. "GROSS! GET BACK IN THE TUB!"
"Sorry! Glad you're okay!" Gakupo ran back to the bathroom, tripping slightly on wet puddles along the way.
Gumi tried to clear her mind of the disgusting sight, glancing at the Vocaloid on the couch. She chuckled nervously, "Okay... Luckily you didn't see any of that... I hope. You likely can't hear me yet so... Where's that 'on' switch...?" Eyeing the small cardboard box on the store counter, the greenette had an idea. "Ah... I see. Maybe the instructions are in that box..." She jogged to the kitchen for a knife and cut the tape on the small package Yuzuki had given her yesterday.
She briskly opened the flaps to see a thick instruction booklet, a lavender-coloured hand-written note, and another book wrapped in green tissue paper. She picked up the lovely purple parchment and read the cursive in pink pen. "Ohh... Let's see, let's see!"
Megumi-chan!
Happy sixteenth birthday! I hope you like her! You were dying for one if these, and someone had left her outside my door about a month ago. Weird, huh? I couldn't find any information on her, and my mother couldn't keep her. I haven't taken her out, but make sure you flip through that booklet first! I've never had one, so I'm not sure what could happen if you don't. Be careful. And all I know is that her name is "SF-A2 Miki." Can't wait to meet her! Isn't she fabulous? Call me when Miki-chan gets set up, okay? Have fun!
Yuzuki Yukari (U・x・U)
ゆかりユズキ
"Alright, then! Isn't this exciting? Next the instructions..." She set the note on the counter along with the instruction booklet and green wrapped book before tossing the box on the floor. The white book read "Ki/oon Music: VOCALOID2" in teal letters, no author. Flipping to the first page, the title in red ink of important points to consider.
NOTICE
*If you have already activated your VOCALOID, which is most commonly caused by unplugging the operating system battery from the default container, please see page four.
Gumi glanced back at the couch. "You mean all those crazy cords in the back? She doesn't seem activated to me..."
WELCOME
Congratulations on your VOCALOID2 purchase! This model is a custom design from Ki/oon Music. We ensure the only highest quality for the best customer satisfaction through modern technology!
"Yeah, yeah, get on with it... The table of contents... Lets see..." The pages flapped to the table of contents of the thick white manual. "Hmm... 'About Your Custom Vocaloid', page five hundred twenty-eight through... That should be it." Gumi's eyes flickered across the inked letters, her thinking-face dominant. "Found it."
Development Code: 歌手音ピコ
Official Roman Spelling: Piko Utatane
Company: Ki/oon
Code: KSRW-1
Version: VOCALOID2
Assumed Age: 18
Gender: Male
Release Date: December 8
Hair Colour: White
Eye Colour: Green & Blue
Vocal Range: C3 ~ B4
Tempo: 70 ~ 150 BPM
Her emerald eyes narrowed in confusion as she mumbled to herself. "That's a pretty high range for a male... Can't wait to hear that! And white hair, cool! Even better. His eyes are separate colours! If he's all that and a nice guy, I'd introduce him to everybody!" Gumi smiled for a minute just picturing the description in her head. But she held back that daydream for the moment. "Hold on, hold on, that's not..." she glanced back at the silent beauty on the couch, "Miki-chan is the complete opposite of this. If this instruction booklet is here, then...?"
"MEGUMI! WHY IS MY SHAMPOO RED?" Gakupo called from the bathroom.
"That's not yours, it's Meiko-san's! Don't use it!" Gumi turned her head to yell back.
"TOO LATE... NEVER MIND..."
"Okay, shut up and let me focus!"
"OKAY."
"Tch... So where is Miki's booklet? I don't see her starter packet anywhere..." The teen flipped through the book quickly to see if Miki was included or not. "No... 'Data Storage', not there yet... 'Universal Serial Bus Extension', not there... wait, what?" She flipped back to that chapter to see a diagram of a USB tail and its uses. She could only read the titles of that section, because all else was unreadable by the several red "classified" stamps all over the pages. "Weird! A custom model with a USB tail? I don't think any of the robots here have something like that, do they?" She glanced at the androids sitting in the windows behind the couch like manikins.
"GUMI, WHERE'S MY LOOFAH?"
"It's under the sink! Hey, do any of the robots here have tails?"
"GOT IT. A TAIL? WHAT? THEY DON'T NEED A TAIL."
"Never mind, finish bathing and stop yelling!"
"OKAY."
Gumi's curiosity took over again as she unwrapped the other book covered in green tissue paper. Ripping the outer contents before gently putting them into a waste bin, it revealed another thick instruction booklet, its cover reading "AH SOFTWARE" in a bold blue logo.
"Guess this is Miki's booklet. Ha."
Development Code: SF-A2 ミキ
Official Roman Spelling: Miki
Company: AHS
Code: SAHS-40715
Version: VOCALOID2
Assumed Age: 17
Gender: Female
Release Date: December 4
Hair Colour: Pink
Eye Colour: Red
Vocal Range: E2 ~ G4
Tempo: 70 ~ 170 BPM
Gumi blinked. "So why did I get two booklets? 'Piko' isn't in there." She analysed the large capsule to her right beside the couch. The glass covering in the front was already open. The rounded base and top were black, connecting to a very large black rectangular box behind the glass. The book told her that was the Life Battery to store the AI in that default package. She gently stepped into the hollowed-out capsule, and stood erect with her back to the black background, imitating the way Miki had arrived. She stepped out and pondered, observing the mass of plugs hanging from the inner ceiling of the structure, dangling aimlessly like tangled hair. "Is the back empty? There must be some explanation for this."
Quickly, Gumi had an idea, and ran to her room to the gift basket on her desk. Trotting back with her baseball bat, painted to look like a giant carrot, she went behind the capsule and whacked the black bar. In response, a loud metal pang shook the room, and she heard something like a marble drop inside. A screw from its top corner had fallen inward, but no luck. Gumi couldn't get it to budge. An oncoming headache hit her too. It wasn't a door after all.
Sighing, she returned the bat to the shelf above her bed. In the meantime, Gakupo had finished his bath, and helped Gumi place Miki on a stool beside her bed. Before closing the glass sliding door of the capsule, Gumi wrapped a blanket around her for the night, deciding to let her be for the time being. Rolling into bed, she glanced over at her silent guest on her left.
The purple-haired man summoned all his monster strength to shimmy the huge capsule to the foot of Gumi's bed. "You have school tomorrow, get your rest, and I made your lunch. It's in the refrigerator." He reached down to lovingly kiss her forehead. "I'm going to another meeting tomorrow. It's possible that I won't be back till midnight, so take care of yourself and lock all the doors. Goodnight."
"I will. Goodnight." Gumi drifted deep into slumber until she could no longer hear her surroundings.
Or the sound of a wobbling plate.
-...G.A.R.D.E.N.I.A.S...-
Gumi's alarm screeched and startled her awake Monday morning. She swung her arm lazily to smack the snooze button, her green locks wildly pasted to her face and pillow like a fern. This repeated until she opened her eyes to warm sunlight and her eyelids peeled open at the clock. It screeched a minute later and she screeched back at it.
"NOT AGAIN! I'M LATE!"
Gumi was running around her room trying to get ready to leave for school. Hyper, she hopped up and down with worry. "My bag! Where are my books?! YES, THE KITCHEN! HA!"
SLAM!
Gumi's left her room wrecked, as if by a tornado's doing. Bed clothes strewn in odd piles, old turned-in homework assignments fanned out on her desk, a hair brush with bright green hairs knotted between its bristles, and a bag of her favourite green-tea flavoured snacks. Her school attendance was in jeopardy, thus, adrenaline took the wheel. Luckily, she had made it on time in one piece.
What she didn't notice, however, was that the door had made the wall shake. Which caused the shelf above her bed to shake. Which made the heavy orange baseball bat roll onto the giant battery capsule. A large red button was pushed and another two screws from the back of the black part of the capsule had fallen onto the carpet. The back panel was removed and it fell forward.
-...G.A.R.D.E.N.I.A.S...-
"Gumi-chaaan! Did you open your present?" Yuzuki waltzed into Gumi's classroom at lunch.
"Almost."
"'Almost'? Weren't you able to set it up?" She tilted her head curiously, approaching her.
"No, I was too tired to finish reading the manual. But I really wanted to." Gumi gave a small grin, resting her head and folded arms on the desk.
"I see," Yuzuki dragged an adjacent desk around to sit closer to her, setting her rabbit-shaped bag on another chair. She faintly smelt of lavender. Gumi loved that about Yuzuki; she always brought her comfort, even when she didn't need it. "So tell me what Miki-chan was like!"
"Miki-chan?" Gumi sat up, tilting a brow. "Oh, yeah, she's super pretty, actually! Her hair is long and pink, and she's covered in blue stars. I didn't see her eyes because the power wasn't on, but it said they were supposed to be red."
"Ooh, Gumiiiii~~ She sounds so cute! I wanna see her so badly! I'll come see her this Saturday, right? Pleeeaaase!" She shook Gumi's arm from sudden excitement.
"Why are you begging me? I was the one begged you to come over first, remember?"
"Oh, you're right. Heehee~!"
"Bone-head! Ahahahahaha!" Gumi pinched Yuzuki's nose as they laughed together. They chatted about the usual academics and took out their bentou. Yuzuki finished eating after Gumi because she had to finish laughing first.
"That really hurt!" she grinned. "No sweet potato Pocky for you!"
"What, no! I left them at home too!" Gumi pouted, tossing her bag back on the floor.
"What? Your brain?"
"No! My green tea Kit-Kats!"
"Awww, too bad, those are yummy, too!"
"I hope Gakupo-san won't eat them..." Peridot eyes became subtle. "Say, Yuzuki-chan?"
"Hmm? What's up?"
"Are you sure there was only one Vocaloid in that thing?"
"Well, yeah, shouldn't there be?" Yuzuki seemed confused.
"Because it came with two separate Vocaloid manuals."
"Why two manuals?"
"Miki-chan's manual and another one called 'Piko'... I think?"
"'Piko'-chan? Never heard of it. Sounds like a puppy name."
Gumi shook her head "Piko-kun. It's a male. But I didn't see him anywhere in the package."
"That's odd! What was his description?"
"Silvery-white hair, one eye is green and the other one blue." Gumi pointed to her eyes separately to show her.
"Amazing," Yuzuki's interest peaked. "And you say he wasn't in the capsule at all? Did you check?"
The greenette shrugged. "Yeah, Gakupo-san couldn't find anything else in there but Miki-chan."
"From what I heard that capsule is supposed to charge the robot with the cords. But I'm no robotics expert."
"Where did you hear that? Was that all you heard? I'd like to know."
-...G.A.R.D.E.N.I.A.S...-
A figure collapsed out of the black portion of the capsule and onto the bed unceremoniously. Silvery locks of hair framed his face gently, and the back spiked up, exposing his strong, pale neck. Half of the full-size bed was bathed in warm sunlight from the windows. His upper body sat in the rays, and electrical power began to surge underneath his veins and "blood" vessels very silently. Gradually but surely, his power systems began restoring themselves, and he was back online. His hands fidgeted and he decided to open his two-toned eyes. Small, white squares of files slid up his left eye, restoring his memory bank.
Carefully, the boy breathed, moved his arms, his legs, and back. Too exhausted to think properly, he sat up on the bed and stretched his arms up, taking a deep breath. A few more deep inhales and exhales and his cranial functions were restored. Why the hell was he on a bed that wasn't particularly his own?
Wiping his eyes, startled, another figure slept quietly on a stool before him. A girl around his own age sat on a stool in a shady corner by the bedside table, the open capsule a few feet away. A white blanket was loosely draped atop of her, covering her from the collarbone to her ankles, and a pillow behind her head. The boy wondered why she wasn't shivering from exposure to cold night air. This strikingly beautiful stranger in what he woke up to be a girl's room. Maybe this was her room?
The android yawned and stretched again, only to get off the bed and approached the limp girl. He tentatively reached out to touch her shoulder.
"Hello?" He cleared his throat, "Are you okay sleeping over there? Oops!" He faltered as the blanket fell to the floor. Strange markings adorned her biceps. They weren't human. "Phew. I thought you were dead... You're the same as me." Her belt also caught his eye, it read "A2". The silver-haired teen nodded. "A2-san...? Can you hear me?" He gently shook her shoulder.
No response.
Was she even connected to the capsule's battery? I was jammed in the compartment trunk and I'm awake before her. If my calculations are correct, that wasn't supposed to happen. A2-chan should be fully charged by delivery, he thought, glancing at the mass of cords stringing from the inside of said capsule. Then this is another girl's room... Then I should get A2-chan into the sunlight for energy... If she even shares the same solar extracting systems that I do...
The teen gently and as modestly as he could, picked up "A2-chan" bridal-styled from the stool. From there, he looked down at her and realised exactly how gorgeous she was. Maybe his cheeks were just heating up from the solar power still lingering inside him.
-...G.A.R.D.E.N.I.A.S...-
"I forgot where I heard that," Yuzuki shrugged nonchalantly, "You know I'm not one for technology. And I pick up on random things people say when I'm out and about, you know?"
"Yeah, you really are. Like that one time I stopped you from sticking a fork in the toaster because you heard someone say they did it for fun? Hahahahaha!"
"Hey, that was five years ago! I can cook just fine too, you know!"
"Hahaha! That's a good idea, actually. When you come over this Saturday I'll teach you how to make s'mores, and then we could celebrate by making dango."
"Celebrate? What are we celebrating?"
"The VOCALOIDS! Duh!"
"Oh. Whoopsie."
"Sounds good?"
"Tastes good!"
"Yeah!" they laughed simultaneously, chattering away. The school bell rang for the students to end lunch time.
-...G.A.R.D.E.N.I.A.S...-
"A2-san?"
Miki's systems came online as she breathed in air which, for once, wasn't from inside the stuffy battery capsule.
"Hello? A2-san? Are you awake?"
A2-san? Miki thought, who is he?... Not my name. What a nice voice... Can't move yet... Yet she would only remain numb temporarily.
Her eyelids finally budged. She was sitting on a bay window seat of a bedroom, a warm light on her face. The light was shining its last bits of dusk's light from the day on her face and arms. Handsome, too... Wait, what?
The silver-haired Vocaloid hesitated, taking in the sight of her ruby eyes. "H-how pretty..." he mumbled under his breath. Noticing that the pink-haired one was staring at the boy straight in the face, he suddenly felt anxious. "I-I mean... Hello."
"Who...?" Who the hell are you? Does he think I'm dead? I hope not. It took a minute before her vocal cords and facial functions could be used.
"Who-who am I?" The teen pointed to himself. "My name is Utatane Piko. Is your name... A2-san?"
"No. My name is Miki."
"O-oh... Then, hello, Miki-san."
"Utatane-san... Where are we?" Miki sat up from the wall sleepily.
"I am not sure. But the capsule is over there. Nobody seems to be home. You and I were delivered yesterday." Piko blushed and turned his head away, pretending to glance over at the bed. The bed wasn't helping his blush die down, so he stood up and went over to analyse a bookshelf by the bedroom door.
Miki watched him walk and cross his arms as she regained her strength back. Now that she saw his attire, he was unmistakably a fellow android.
"I do not believe it would be a good idea for us to be awake before this girl returns."
"Girl?"
"Today is Monday. I believe she is still in school."
"I see. This is her room, then?" Miki managed to stand up, and smiled at her efforts, happy to be out of that stupid battery cell.
"Yes." His fingers slid across several titles of graphic novels and movies on the top shelf, as well as a few baseball card collections. Piko's heartbeat managed to slow down enough so that he could concentrate, now that he wasn't so close to Miki.
"So which company are you from, Piko-san?"
He pulled out a pile of baseball cards and decided to fake that he was flipping through them. "Ki/oon. Our manuals are in the other room on the counter." Bored, he set the pile back in its place and walked over to the bedroom door grab the doorknob. Instead, he was met with Miki's blue glove. His pulse sped up once more. Piko pulled away immediately before his mind could wander into darker places, "Sorry. You first."
"Thank you..." Miki opened the door and saw that they were in a home that doubled as a Vocaloid store. Beside the cash register, she found her own installation booklet and Piko's manual. Before she could even open to the first page, the doorknob to the front door on their left rattled.
Piko and Miki froze. Then glanced at each other knowingly, their faces filled with worry.