Short chapter, sorry about that. Hope you enjoy it anyway. It involves exposition!
The house was quiet. The only sounds to be heard were the low buzzing of the lights, the tapping of Master's keys and the steady brush of fake straw on tile and linoleum. After a while, the steady brushing slowed to a halt and then the sound of footsteps penetrated the air.
The dumping of a pan was quickly followed by the shutting of a door as the cleaning supplies were put away. One by one, the lights were extinguished for the night and the footsteps ascended the stairs, blending with Master's typing for a few seconds before fading further down the hall.
Luka trudged back to her bedroom, finally finished with another night of work. Dancing definitely wears someone out, would be the thought of anyone who simply knew Luka was a Vocaloid. Singing seems to take an awful lot of energy, would be the musings of anyone who knew she was made by Master. Were these the reasons she was tired?
No.
Luka had been up all night cleaning the house-again-because the other Vocaloids were in the middle of something else. Miku was at the studio, most likely passed out in her workspace since she tended to work until she fell asleep. Meiko was passed out on the couch from drinking too much sake, the twins had gone to a nearby city to perform and were staying in a hotel there. And Kaito was holed up in his room, most likely gorging on ice cream.
So, as per usual, Luka was left to care for the house on her own, doing her best to make it look nice for Master whenever he bothered to leave his study. Her efforts, she knew, would be in vain because Kaito and Meiko would ruin her hard work come morning and the twins would be back and pulling pranks by then as well.
So much work with little outcome, no gratitude and barely any acknowledgement. Luka sat on her bed, her power reserves running low. She didn't want to plug herself in yet, though, so the pinkette simply pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the wall, pondering her existence.
She was a Vocaloid. That was what she had been told shortly after she woke up for the first time. Vocaloids were part machine and part human. They could eat like humans, but a laser within their systems decimated the food so that it didn't rot within their synthetic stomachs. Vocaloids could bleed if their synthetic skin was cut open and there was a mechanism in their throats to give them the illusion of breathing. Vocaloids could also feel things that humans could, like strangulation, grief, bee stings and excitement. They sang, danced and performed onstage because that was the point of their creation.
And there came Luka's dilemma. She had been created to perform onstage, but so far, the most she had done was clean the house and go grocery shopping. She didn't have much time to herself and she could only do as she pleased in the waning hours of the night after the house was cleaned. She had yet to get a concert, to go to the recording studio… no one had even heard her sing yet, not even Master.
I don't understand why I'm here. the depressed pinkette sighed softly, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. If I'm not going to be like the others, why am I still installed? Does Master make adjustments to my file while I sleep? What could be so wrong with me that I still haven't at least had an audition with Master?
Sniffing, Luka stared at the room around her. Even her walls reflected how unimportant she was to them all. Whereas Meiko had shirtless men, Kaito had ice cream, the twins had trucks and cars and Miku had different pop idols aside from herself, Luka barely had any time to get anything to decorate her wall-or even her room for that matter-with. Not that it mattered, since she didn't have time to be interested in anything either.
All she did was help, cook, clean and generally take care of everyone without even the smallest hint of appreciation. The other Vocaloids were always wrapped up in their own lives all the time. They even had time to spend with each other, but they barely took any notice of her.
Sniffing again, Luka moved her arm up to wipe at her tears, but it was about then that her power reserves gave out. Just as she wiped the last of the tears away, Luka slumped onto the pillows, eyes wide and unblinking, staring at nothing.
Yeah, I know. It's hard to understand and even I haven't figured it out completely (like the crying thing, I'm not sure how that works yet), but hopefully you guys have feels now if you didn't before. Leave me a review?