Chapter 1: Inactive
Kaito sighed as he shut his laptop, picking it up to trudged past his friends as he headed for his room. The other vocaloids looked on in worry as he disappeared into the hallway, turning to each other with confusion and concern on all of their faces.
"Is he okay?"
"He's upset. He hasn't heard anything out of his new master since his greeting."
"She hasn't used his program yet?"
"Only once. She asked him to sing one of Miku's songs. Uhm, Kagerou Days, I think."
"But after that?"
"She logged off and hasn't been on since." Len shook his head. "It's been a week now. Kaito's really worried she doesn't like him."
Rin nodded. "But she hasn't deleted his software so he keeps checking for her."
Kaito pouted as he returned to the common room. "Guys…"
"Sorry Kaito we're just worried about you." Meiko hugged him briefly.
Miku nodded, then looked confused. "Have you tried giving her a visit? I do it to my masters all the time."
"The connection to her location is shut off right now. I couldn't go to her even if I wanted to." he sighed, starting for the kitchen. "I guess I should just give-"
But the others watched in shock as he froze mid step, taking on a look they were all very familiar with.
He was receiving a message from a master, and judging by the smile that bloomed on his face before he turned on his heel to run back to his room, it had to be the new one. The others listened to him slip and skid back to his room, laughing amongst themselves.
"Look at him go!"
"You went English on us again Luka."
{I'm glad you're back! \^o^/ What do you need master?}
The woman frowned, turning up the volume on her headset as she read the translation of what her Vocaloid was 'saying' before typed a reply. [Don't call me master.]
She saw the man pout, crossing his arms. {What then?}
[Cadence.]
{That's pretty! OK, Cadence!} the man smiled, giving her a thumbs up. {What do you need Cadence?}
She smiled, uploading a file onto the system. "Sing this for me."
{I-I'm sorry, my English is not very good! Are you sure?}
"Yes I'm sure," she muttered. [Try it. For me?]
{Okay, if it is what my master wants. I'll try, for you Cadence.}
The woman smirked, typing up an activation code before she hit enter. She had no idea that on the other side of the system Kaito had shouted out in surprise as his system tried to combat a 'virus' that had suddenly appeared. His friends rushed to his room to check on him, only to find him clutching his head. But just as suddenly as it appeared, the 'virus' was gone, and Kaito was sitting back down at his laptop. He and the others were shocked and awed as he adjusted his headset to sing-
and found that his English was now dramatically cleared up, instead of ringed with that robotic grate.
"When and where, the Summer sky fades away
We will wait here, for the returning Autumn day"
{Where the Winter wind waits just around the bend
And the Spring storms will finally rain again
The seasons may change but one thing stays the same
I will ever wait for that one Autumn day}
[You did it Kaito!] Cadence grinned, typing quickly in her excitement. [And you sounded great!]
{I've never sounded that good before… Cadence, did you program that virus that attacked me?}
The other Vocaloids were shocked when her reply popped up on Kaito's screen, making him pause. {That was no virus. It was a change I made on my download of your program. I edited your English range, so now it doesn't sound mechanical.}
"Cadence, how... why did you do that?"
{That's why I was inactive for so long: I was busy learning how to code it properly. I know you didn't like me having to rely on translations of your words, you said so yourself, so I did something about it.}
Kaito felt a smile grow on his lips, soon turning into a grin. "Thank you, Cadence!"