Shrimpy: let's keep this short and sweet.

YOU MEAN FUN SIZE SNICKERS BAR

CAUSE YOU COULD ALSO MEAN BITE SIZE TWIZZLER

OR

I DUNNO

ARE RICE CAKES SHORT?

Rice cakes are round. I ate one and its gooey inside. To tell you the truth, it was too sweet for me and I almost vomited. Much like how Miku is too sweet for Len...but you'll soon see what I mean...plus I recently figured out how to use the line break, so I'm going to use that instead of taking a minute to type Xs across the document. O - O

YEAH TYPICAL INTELLIGENT SHRIMPY HUMAN WHO KNOWS HOW TO FIGURE STUFF OUT AND REMEMBER HER SIMPLISTIC PASSWORD

Cállate tú! I give you chapter 4. OuO


While still supporting the shaken-up tealette on his arm, the blond looked down at the homeless man who stared up at him. "You didn't see anything," he said to the bum, who shook his head vigorously and pushed his hunched back into the wall, hugging himself. The blond look down at the pitiful old man for a second before tossing some yen bills at him. "Scram," the stranger growled. The man jumped up, cash in hand, and hobbled away quickly.

Miku blinked. He literally growled. Like a dog or wolf. She was beginning to lose her mind - first she got attacked by a group of guys that persistently tailed her, she watched their gruesome deaths, and now she was going against all warnings she had received as a child by following an aggressive stranger to ride in a car with him. He was taking her to some lady by the vaguely familiar name Megurine Luka.

This stranger was tall, as she had noticed before. A little less than a foot taller than her. She glanced at him every time he wasn't looking, still tightly clinging to his arm. She was too freaked out to stand by herself. He really was handsome, but gave off the frightening and accurate impression he would strangle you if necessary. He had sculpted cheek bones and a vivid, intense blue eye. As for the other one, well, it was covered with a black eye patch. Some of his blond hair fell into his eyes and around his face, but a majority of it was in a small ponytail. He had very wild hair, and Miku assumed that he really didn't care to brush it because of the way it was.

His clothes consisted of a black leather jacket and jeans. He surely wasn't dressing for the "Night-in-shining-armor" approach. Hell, if he was her knight, she had the kind who murdered effortlessly. She was in embarrassingly close proximity because of how she was leaning into him for support. He had the comforting scent of cinnamon, though Miku didn't take him for the type to comfort. She looked up at him for a second too long, studying him. His harsh gaze flicked down to her. "What?"

She practically jumped out of her skin, pulling away almost instantly. "N-nothing! Absolutely nothing! I'm really freaked out and tired and you p-probably don't want to be here escorting me and all that s-so if I could just go home or ma-maybe call someone then I'd be out of you hair and-" he rolled his eye, then grabbed her hand instantly. "You're scared and I'm tired as hell, but we're going to have to deal with it. Whether you like it or not, we have to meet Luka," he snapped, irritable.

And then he frowned, flipping her hand over. There was a thin gash on her palm trickling sticky blood. Miku hadn't even noticed the pain, but now that she looked at it, it was stinging. "bezrassudnyy," he muttered, reaching into his pocket. Miku realized that the other language he was speaking in must've been Russian. She'd spoken, once, with a Russian girl; but she barely remember how to say hello in the language. By the time she got back to reality, he had handed her a bandage and let go of her. "U-um, Thank you," she stuttered. "Whatever," he replied.

They stood like this for a while. Miku was too scared to run away, but she felt he didn't want to kill her. "Who are you?" She asked, looking up at him. He glared at her. "I don't like repeating myself, so this is your last warning. You're not asking questions." She lowered her head. "I-I-I'm sorry!" She stared at the ruined concrete below her feet, wondering when the car was going to appear in this silent, awkward moment. He sighed. "I'm Patronus 2.5, Kagamine Len. It doesn't matter what you decide to call me." "Hmm. I never thought I'd meet someone with a number in their name," Miku said with a light giggle.

Len looked at her, his eye dark in annoyance. "The number isn't part of my name, you idiot. It's-" suddenly, he turned to the other end of the street. A taxi, not enough to attract attention, pulled up in from of them. When the car halted, Len pulled the door open. He looked at Miku expectantly. She stared into the dark back seat, wondering why they were taking a taxi. Then, with a gulp, she slid into her seat. He shut the door behind her, then got into the passenger's seat. As the car started up, the driver gave her a fleeting glance. "Good Afternoon, Miku-sama," he said with a thick Russian accent and warm smile.

The man was balding, wearing shades even though the car was peculiarly dark inside. "Ne reshayut yeye. Gde, chert voz'mi, ty byl?" Len snapped at him, and Miku gripped her bracelet.

Ren-kun, watch over me.


"[Ten minutes? Not a long time, 2.5, and if you must know I was busy with other things]," Anton said, scratching his chin as he laughed heartily. Len scowled. "[Did you think it was fun waiting around with her?]" The growing pain in his temple pulsed, giving him an agonizing headache.

"[Is there something wrong with lady Miku? Or you just think of her as you do everyone else?]" Anton smirked at the young man, who was ready to beat Anton to death with the wheel. However, that would crash the damn car, which Len could not afford. Instead, he clenched his fist and tried to count backwards from one hundred. "[Are you counting sheep? Here, allow me to turn the radio on. I'll pick soothing station for you]," the man deadpanned.

"Cut the crap, Anton, or I'll get blood all over the car," Len growled. He had this...habit of growling when he was mad. He was pissed off most of the time. "Come on, 2.5, I'm joking. Look, you frighten Miku-sama. Miku-sama, does 2.5 frighten you?" He leaned back and twisted in his seat to face Miku. "U-um..." She glanced, with fear, at Len, who called out, "Watch the damn road!"

It was irritating, being scary to most people. Well, yes, his attitude was his fault, but it was great when they weren't afraid; not in the same way as Anton, who was an annoying little shit. Five-foot-one, retarded sense of humor, not an exaggeration.

Anton groaned. With a crack of his back and a sigh, he was sitting in front of the car, both hands on the wheel, driving like a responsible adult was supposed to. Len highly doubted Anton was necessary; where he grew up, you had to be an idiot not to know how to hot wire, repair, and drive a car. How the hell would you get around without that knowledge? "2.5, you're boring," the man whined, carefully avoiding an incoming bus. "And you're useless. The reason you showed up late was probably because you were cramming a turkey sandwich down that shit hole you call a mouth," Len hissed. He didn't mean to be so angry, but with Anton's dry humor, his migraine, and the fact that Dell dropped the bomb that they had tracked down Miku five minutes after the keening alarm set off in a vague location in the front of his brain...oh, the list could go on. He had anger issues that he wouldn't admit to.

He was still thinking a bit about how Miku reacted to what she saw in the alley. She watched him killed approximately seven men - he didn't even know how many - and for someone so timid, she was handling everything so well. Still, he found it pathetic that she hadn't even tried to get away. Len wouldn't kill her. He would gladly kill anyone who tried to hurt her, which was just what he'd done. He looked out the window and watched buildings appear or disappear. In the side mirror, he saw Miku hugging herself, looking down.

He sighed.

She's such a baby. She thought nobody would notice if she cried?

Len stayed silent for a minute. He didn't know what to do. Protocol stated that Miku was not allowed to gain any information on the subject at hand until she met with Luka, but he wanted so badly to tell her what was going on, and...you'll be safe throughout it all because...that was what he wanted to do. He hated when he didn't know what to do, because it didn't usually happen. "You'll be safe for as long as possible," he said carefully, "and Luka will explain what's happening. Until then, be patient." The first part didn't sound comforting, but she looked up and nodded. "My siblings are going to be worried sick. I can't even call them."

Shitty protocol demanded that she was allowed no phone calls until she spoke with Luka. Right now, the pinkette was their only hope. Len could certainly count on her if no one else, since she was so level-headed. If he believed in God, which he didn't, he would be praying for Anton to hurry up so Miku could get answers.

"In five minutes, we'll be close to Luka-sama's Mansion," Anton announced. Still, that wasn't close enough. Five more agonizing minutes, where everyone except the short man in the driver's seat would be tense and ready to leap out of the car. Well, maybe Len was ready, because he occasionally did that. He waited, and a familiar looking tree snaked into their view. They were closer now, but it would be another two minutes before Luka's overly gigantic home was in view. Then there would be the gate, the walk to her door.

I don't know if I can handle being around her, especially not when she's crying and scared. Stupid fucking Patronus instincts make me want to hug her and shit like that. God Dammit.

Ruko had told him that Patronus instincts were when you wanted to do whatever it took to keep your "Master" happy, in a feeling similar to being a horny teenage girl. "However, since it would irritate you a lot," She had said, "It would be more like sexual frustration." Well, shit. He was experiencing the affects of those instincts. Suddenly, Anton stopped the car. "Oh look, 2.5," he said, leaning out the window. "It seems we can't get to Luka-sama. There is a giant metal gate in the way."

Len growled again. He opened the passenger side door and slipped out. Then he opened Miku's door. As he said to Rin earlier that week, he was no gentleman; Patronus instincts. The tealette timidly stepped out, but the fear in her eyes washed away, replaced by awe. Luka's home was large and grand, like the home of a nobleman. The blond was just grateful that they were there. He couldn't take being in that taxi any longer.


As Miku walked beside Len across a wide path, she realized she was in the midst of many mansions, a neighborhood of wealthy homes. They were beautiful and large, some done with giant, gorgeously shining windows. Their drive had taken some time and the sun was setting, leaving the tealette afraid her siblings would panic. They'd have to go to Lui for help, and there as no way such a young boy could care for three kids.

They finally stopped at the door, and Len pressed the doorbell. They waited quietly for two minutes before Miku saw something that made her heart stop. The wide doorway opened and revealed a very beautiful young woman with flowing pink hair and lovely blue eyes, just like Kaito's. Dressed in a casual purple dress and black leggings, her slim, perfect figure was very apparent. But aside from her beauty, Miku noticed a delicate golden choker around the woman's neck, with a bright blue stone gleaming in the center. She flashed a bright smile took Miku's hand. "You must be Miku!" She chirped, leading her in. Len simply followed, not saying a word. Miku would be lying if she said she saw no relief on his face.

"Please, remove your shoes here," She instructed, the smile never leaving her face. Miku obliged, curious as to why this woman was so cheery. She followed the woman deeper in to a large living room. It was well lit with a comfortable peach-colored couch set next to a white lamp. In fact, the whole house seemed to be about light colors. The walls were a quiet light blue, with large windows decked with white curtains. Still, everything seemed stylish and new. The woman invited Miku to sit next to her, and when the tealette did this, she glanced around nervously. The woman frowned, making Miku feel like she had let down a queen.

"You poor girl!" The woman said, touching Miku's face gently. Miku felt like she was speaking with her mother. It didn't occur to her that this woman was a stranger. The lady continued, "you must've been very frightened on the way here. You weren't allowed to call anyone, and you were taken to some strange place. But it's alright. No one will hurt you." She cleared her throat and dropped her hands to her side. Len leaned against the wall, watching with a silent gaze. "My name is Megurine Luka," the woman began, "and like you, I am a sister of Shion Kaito. You may recognize me, because I'm an heir of Shion Corp."

Miku's jaw dropped. She did recognize Luka's name! But more importantly, Miku might've found someone Kaito was related to. And that was important. This was too much! "You can ask any question you'd like. Go ahead." Miku opened her mouth, there was so much she wanted to ask. "Why am I here?" Miku asked. She'd start off simple. "We finally located you," Luka answered simply. "You had a weak transmitter, and Len-kun here had a damaged receiver." Luka motioned to Len, who appeared bored. "What?" Miku furrowed her brow. "See this?" Luka asked, pointing to her choker. the gem glistened. "You and I are both very important because we are heirs to an extremely important entity in the business world. Shion Corp has its hands in medical science everywhere, in government. And because of this, people want us dead. So what we need is protection."

Luka watched the tealette carefully as she reacted, soaking in the information. "There is a program that Kaito established. It creates Patronus, or in simpler terms, super soldiers that protect special heirs. And, because we're in need of them, we need connections. This is a present from Kaito, but as you can see..." Luka tapped the gem on her collar. It lit up, a ripple of blue light wavering across its surface. It made a dull beep. Luka waited for five seconds. Out of nowhere, a raven jumped into the room from another doorway. "LEN-DOE!" She cried, jumping to tackle Len. The blond slipped out of the way and the raven crashed into the couch. She groaned for a minute as the shocked tealette waited in bewilderment for her to jump back up. And she did that.

"Where were you? You never ate the bento I made you!" The Raven girl frowned, brushing black hair out of her mismatched eyes. Miku froze up when she instantly recognized dull red and sharp blue, her lean and tall build, her hair done in two short pony tails. A blue streak in her bangs made her eyes pop - and at this time Miku realized the girl was wearing a long blue trench coat with red lining that went down to her ankles. This girl was also wearing the same white gloves the tealette had seen covered with red blood.

After looking over these details under the cover of short glances, Miku was surprised that Len's voice cut through her thoughts. "You can't cook for shit," he replied, his voice sounding falsely calm, even dangerous. "Hi Lulu!" the girl cried, quickly latching onto Luka. Luka patted the girl's head gently as Len rolled his eye. "I thought I told you to stop calling me 'Len-DOE,'" he muttered. "Len...Doe?" Miku's brow knit itself. The raven turned her head and smiled. "It's short for Len, Destroyer Of Evil! 'Cause that's just what Len-DOE - er, Senpai - does!" The tall girl scrambled up to bow before her. "Greetings, Miku-Miku-sama! I'm Patronus 65, Yokune Ruko!" Luka and Miku smiled.

So they all go by numbers...? And I have a nickname?

"Ruko-chan is my Patronus. She protects me, and I called her up by pressing this. It has a sensor that immediately calls her and she's here for me," Luka explained. Miku was confused still. "I've pressed this thousands of times, but it never went off before now," she murmured, staring into the polished blue gleam of her bracelet's centerpiece. It was meant to protect her. Luka took Miku's hand gently and overturned it. The long, narrow cut stopped bleeding a little, but she had entirely forgotten to cover up. "Your model is damaged. When it discovered you were bleeding, it must've kicked into overdrive and forced a signal into Len's receiver. He's your Patronus," Luka said softly. Miku looked up at Len, unsure of how to feel knowing he was meant to protect her.

"It's actually a minor flaw that can be corrected. You see, this bracelet was damaged and Len's receiver...well, it was never..." the pinkette continued, biting her lip. Miku had locked eyes with Len even if only for a second. "...I never knew that I was included in Kaito-kun's will. I never even figured out how he died, I..." The tealette gripped her bracelet tightly again. Luka smiled sadly. "We have the same habit, you see? When I'm scared or uncomfortable, I always touch my gem. Kaito-kun was sneaky. When we were very little, he wired that habit into our minds," she said gently, and immediately Miku let go of her bright blue gemstone. With a laugh, Luka continued. "No one knows how Kaito-kun died. The police gave us a body, and the reading of his will was for his most trusted associates. You're one of them - may I call you Miku-chan? - but you never arrived."

Miku, without thinking much about it, continued pressing the jewel with her wounded palm. "I was told absolutely nothing except that he was dead, and this is why?" Miku asked softly. Luka nodded slowly. "It was hard, Miku-Miku," Ruko sniffled, and Len sighed again. "Why is everyone so convinced that he's dead?" He said, making Luka frown. Len had such an insolent mouth. "The cops never found his body. No evidence suggests that Shion-sama was killed. I think that the asshole ran out." He had a hard expression. Quickly, however, his face was getting blurry. Then, a drop ran down Miku's cheek, which still had makeup on it. For the first time it occurred to her that her injury might shine through the peachy cream Neru had applied to her face.

Luka hugged a light red pillow to her chest, eyes filled with sadness. Ruko leapt up, her face frozen in shock. "Len-DOE! How dare you make ladies cry! Especially Lulu and Miku-Miku!" the raven wailed, waving her arms frantically in dramatic gestures. Len growled. "I'm stating the obvious! You know that corpse they brought us was in no way Shion-sama," Len spat. The way he said Kaito Sensei's name was like he was reluctantly calling Satan. How could he speak that way about anyone? "Don't make me punch you," Ruko said quickly, her eyes darkening. She balled her gloved hands into fists. "Don't flatter yourself. We both know who's faster; it's tempting to snap your neck right now," Len returned.

Miku stood up. "Enough! Do I really need to tell you this? You can't speak that way about anyone, Kagamine-san! It's wrong!" She cried, putting herself between the two Patronus who stared at each other. Len glared murderously, but Ruko stared pointedly. "Yes, Miku-sama," the tall girl replied dutifully as she out her fists down. Len was simply leaning against the wall again, appearing unfazed by her intervention. Miku was more surprised at herself. She was strong enough to raise her voice that much at someone so scary. "Ah...how wonderful of you to interrupt, Miku. You have a good trait," Luka said, sadness disappearing. "Tch." Len cracked his knuckles. "Miku-Miku stood up for us!" Ruko squealed with delight. Ruko had a knack for nicknames and it was obvious. Miku was shocked, to say the least. She frowned, seating herself once again on the cushiony seat of the couch. It's color was an echo of peach, really.

Len winced. His palm pressed against his forehead, his fingers hidden in his wild bangs. "You're mean," Miku said quietly as she traced her fingers over the soft couch. She hadn't intended for Len to hear. "I apologize for honesty, sweet princess," he said darkly through clenched teeth, his eye closed in pain. "A-are you okay?" She asked, ignoring what he said to her. "I'm getting water. Ruko-san, watch the ladies for me." Ruko perked up and saluted Len with a cheerful "Yes-Len-DOE-oopsie-I-mean-SENPAI!" as he slipped out the door and disappeared down the hall. She turned to the tealette. "Len-DOE isn't mean most of the time. He's a potty mouth, and he gets mad easily, but when he loves someone, he loves them a lot!"

She rambled on, "and I know Len-DOE loves me! I saw him smile once when we were ten...when I tripped...fell off Tokyo Tower...b-but only because I saved myself in a silly way! So I know that even when Len gets mad, he still loves me too! Plus he lets me call him by his name though he hates when people do that..." She frowned, trying to convince herself now. Luka giggled, a sweet, mature laugh. "What Ruko means to say is that while Len is being cold and rude, it just comes with the whole Len package. You two will warm up." Miku sighed softly. "What was wrong with him?" She asked, looking up at Ruko. "Miku-Miku-sama, Len's chip is wrong. It's been set wrong in his head since before he was born. He gets headaches and migraines, which makes him cranky," Ruko sighed wistfully, perching herself next to Luka on an armrest.

"We assure you, Len isn't always like that...he's somewhat rude, but not all the time," Luka added in her comforting voice. Miku wanted to believe her, but part of her wasn't convinced. She looked up and scanned the walls. There was one lovely painting of a beach, golden sand dotted with sea shells and waves beating against the shore. On the opposite wall, in front of Miku, was a flat screen TV that she had ignored before. it looked glossy like it was brand-new. "I promise Len will be nicer when the headaches start to fade," Ruko added, though there was no reason for her to breath a word at this point. They were silent until Luka said, "What else would you like to know?" Miku replied, "What did the will say?" So the pinkette stood up and walked to the window, staring out into the dark neighborhood. windows glowed warmly, standing out against the dark purple sky above the roof. The last glimpse of sun was slipping past the horizon.

"Kaito wrote most about you in his will," Luka said softly. "He loved little Miku-chan a lot, and you were very empathetic and kind and caring...so he wanted you to own his company as much as he wanted me to own it. We both got a fair share, and once you turn eighteen, you can claim yours. Kaito entrusted you with the secret of his company." She turned away from the window, locking eyes with the tealette. "Miku-chan, you are the very head of all projects, tests and experiments in the whole of Shion Corp." Miku didn't understand the solemnity in Luka's beautiful, warm eyes. She didn't understand her seriousness when she had been so happy just a few minutes ago. "I don't understand," slipped past her lips. "Miku, you own the half that creates monsters and dismantles humans. They test and splice genes, they make things that make this world better and destroy what makes it worse," She said, and Ruko took Luka's hand. They stared at each other for a minute. "You hold all of Japan in your hands by this. That, Miku-chan, is why your life is in danger as we speak," Ruko whispered.

And that was the moment Miku's life permanently became different.


Shrimpy: lately, I don't know where to stop in chapters. It was all decent and I didn't WANT to.

MEH

I MADE A COVER FOR THIS BUT YOU SAID IT WOULDN'T DO

That's because your cover was a picture of you.

I'M AWESOME NEED I REMIND YOU

Okay, whatever. e-e

SEE YOU GUYS IN 1-3 WEEKS

WE'LL BE WORKING ON THE NEXT CHAPTER