Mimi-tan: HEY HEY HEY!
This is a super hacker who has infiltrated Flora-sama's fanfic account! I'm the boss now!
Jk! This is actually Flora-sama's friend who so thoughtfully broke into her room while she was in the shower and posted her new chapter! I was the one who introduced her to fanfic, so you can all thank me! =￣ω￣=
Well anyway, the reason I'm posting this chapter is because Flora-sama is too much of a wuss when it comes to her writing. I mean she's SUPER good! She really pisses me off when she starts getting all self-conscious, so I slap her across the face and yell "You stupid, talented bitch! You know damn well that you're an awesome writer, so don't get all half-assed about it!" But by then she already has me pinned, beating the crap out of me. But we love each other so... it's tough love on both parts!
Okay, somehow I've gotten off track. This chapter is like my favorite so far! It's the cutest thing I've ever read. I get the feeling Flora-sama was just embarrassed about it. Well make sure you give her your fullest support, because if you don't she might just give up on this story, and I will not have that! If she does quit on it, I will find you and I will make your life a living hell.-_-
Alright, enough talk! Read and enjoy this amazing chapter! And don't worry, I shall be back.
P.S. who remembers singing the alphabet song?
I am awoken by a series of loud beeping. I immediately jump in surprise and fall out of Rin's bed.
"Owww…" I slowly rub my shoulder and groan. Rin gets up and looks around. When her eyes settle on my awkward form she laughs.
"Sorry, I kinda forgot you were here." She puts her hand on top of a device with numbers on it, and the beeping stops. She looks back to me. "Did you sleep well?"
I nod my head. I really did sleep well. Rin's bed was large enough for the both of us so we each go our own side of it. The bed itself was so soft that I could hardly believe it was real. Her blanket was fuzzy and warm, and it smelled very…sweet. At least, that's what I thought it smelled like. In a number of seconds, I was fast asleep. I don't think I've ever slept so well. Not when I was on Karoen, not when I was exhausted in the closet, not even when I first came to this planet.
Rin smiles and gets out of bed. She stretches and lets out a loud yawn.
"That's good," she head toward her dresser, "That's really good." She opens one of her drawers and starts digging through it. I look at her for awhile then to her bed. I stand and remove the blanket, only to find Nagi sleeping blissfully. I pick her up gently, trying not to wake her, and watch her stir. She must have enjoyed the bed as well.
"Miku," Rin, now out of her pajamas, hands me a folded bunch of clothes. "Change into this." I take the clothes and unfold them. They're a lot different from my dress, but if I can wear Rin's pajamas, then I can wear this too. Rin makes her way out of the room and says to me, "If you have any trouble with putting it on, call me."
Before I can say anything, she's already out of the room. I look down at the pajamas I'm wearing and remember how much I struggled with putting them on and how Rin had to help me. I don't want to go through that again, so no matter what, I have to put them on by myself.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
It may have taken me a while, but I was able to put the clothes on by myself. I look down at myself and try to see what I look like, but it's not very effective.
I sit on the bed, a little disappointed. Nagi, fully awake now, is exploring every corner of Rin's room. She goes in and out, under and over, and to and from many things. I watch her so that I can know where everything is too. She suddenly stops in front of something, taking a long look at it. I go over to where she is and stop as well. What I see is a girl with long teal hair and foreign eyes, wearing a sleeveless shirt and short pants that stop at her upper thighs. I am amazed to see a mirror, just like my own. But I really shouldn't, I mean a mirror being in on Earth, its original planet, shouldn't be so surprising. Even though I know this, I get a strange feeling. I reach out and touch the mirror and I smile. It's the same smooth surface I'm used to.
Suddenly, while I'm lost in my own recollection, I feel as if I am no longer in Rin's room, but somewhere else, watching something. It goes by quickly, but I can see every detail. There are many different small, grainy materials, all in different places being brought out of their native areas. Then, they are put together and pressed and heated at extreme temperatures. The product of the melted materials is cooled and coated in a type of liquid metal.
I jump away from the mirror and look at my hand. It's the same as it was a moment ago, but feels different. Nagi comes over to me with a look of concern. I look to her and stroke her head.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." I smile and try to reassure her. I have no idea what to make of that. I don't remember ever seeing something like that, so it couldn't have been a memory. I shake my head. Maybe I'm just thinking too much about it. Last night was my first time sleeping in a bed on Earth, so my body must still be trying to adjust. Yeah, that must be it. I relax slightly and put Nagi on my shoulder. She comes happily and gets comfortable.
Just then, someone knocks on the door.
"Miku! You don't have your shorts on your head this time, do you?" The sound of Rin's sudden voice startles me. I head towards the door and open it.
"No, I'm fine." Rin laughs and grabs my hand.
"Come on," she says dragging me downstairs, "let's go eat breakfast!"
We make our way to the living room and see Len sitting, watching that box. When he sees me, he waves and says, "Good morning!"
I stare at him for a while, but smile and greet him back.
"Good morning."
"Did you make breakfast yet?" Rin comes from behind me and starts talking to Len.
"Hmm, oh yeah, it already on the table." He starts to get up. "We can go eat now."
I follow them into the dining room. The dining table has three places set along with one small plate next to another plate. I look at the small plate and ask Len "Is this for Nagi?"
Before he can answer, Nagi has already approached the plate and started eating. Len chuckles and says "Does that answer your question?"
I go to the plate next to Nagi's and examine the breakfast. It looks like a stack of…circles? There are 4 of these circles in one stack and they have a small, yellow square on top of them with some kind of liquid cascading from it. Next to the stack is an assortment of colorful objects. I can't remember their name.
As if reading my confusion, Rin says, "They're pancakes."
When I look at her she continues to explain.
"They're like these mini pan-fried cakes that are used for breakfast and stuff. You can decorate them with all sorts of things, like butter, syrup and uhm…" she looks off to the side, trying to finish her sentence. Before she can think of what to say, Len finishes for her.
"Fruit." Ah, that was the name.
Rin snaps and looks to her brother. "Yeah, that's it!" She looks back to me. "You can also use honey and cream! Basically anything that's sweet."
I look back down to the 'pancakes' and sit down. I grab an unfamiliar utensil and poke it. I look over to Nagi who is stuffing herself. She's all sticky and messy, but nonetheless enjoys the pancakes. I try to pick up a pancake but two of them come up instead. I accidentally drop the utensil and look at the splattered pancakes in disappointment. Seeing them like that makes me realize how pretty it looked before.
Len takes the seat next to me and taps my shoulder. I look to him and see how hard he's trying not to laugh. Somehow I feel even worse than before.
"It's okay, I didn't expect you to know what to do right away. Look, this is how you eat pancakes." He takes the same looking utensil I have and another and stops. He looks to me. I then grab the other utensil and the one from before and hold them the same way Len is. He briefly smiles and starts to explain.
"First you've got to position the fork and knife a certain way. Then you put your fork in the pancake like so." He demonstrates how to do this and I copy him. "Now you use your knife and cut the pancake to a good size. Do that on both sides of your fork." Again, I copy Len's movement exactly. "And voila! You've just cut your very first pancake!" He beams at me. "As your reward you may now taste it."
His enthusiasm surprises me, but I quickly recover and slowly taste the piece I had just cut.
The unexpected sweetness makes my eyes widen. The pancake itself isn't very sweet, but the syrup covering it makes up for it. It is, however, fluffy and soft. The feeling reminds me of Rin's bed and I feel relaxed. I cut another piece and get the same sensation. I smile.
"So you like it, huh?" Rin, who is now eating her own food, looks over to me. I nod and take another bite. She laughs a bit and looks at Len. "Y'know Lenny, with the way you do housework, I think you'll make a great wife one day." She puts her fork in her mouth. "Mmmm!"
Len chokes a bit and glares at his sister. But he quickly smiles and says, "And you'll make a lesbian a very lucky man one day." He ducks at the flying knife heading towards his head.
"What'd you say?" Rin's fearsome glare makes me shrink back a bit, despite myself. Len seems to have noticed this and smirks.
"Looked what you did Rin. You're scaring Miku and ruining her first breakfast on Earth."
Rin's eyes soften and she looks at me.
"Oh, I'm sorry Miku! I didn't mean to scare you!" She looks at me with desperate eyes and apologizes.
I'm taken aback by her sudden apology, but I try to reassure her.
"No, it's okay. I wasn't scared. I'm just not used to you yet." I add "But I defiantly will be soon." I give her a confident look to show her that I mean it.
Rin is speechless for some time, but then smiles and wraps her arms around me.
"Thanks." She slowly pulls back looks at Len.
"I should've known not to fall for your bull."
Len simply shrugs and resumes eating. So does Rin. There is some kind of unknown tension between the two of them. I look back and forth from them. I don't like this. Them not fighting feels strange. I wish one of them would yell at the other like usual.
Nagi doesn't seem to notice the tension in the slightest. When she's finished eating, she lies on her back and makes a satisfied sound.
"Nyu~" she smiles happily and rubs her stomach. Her seemingly oblivious attitude seems to relive some tension. Rin looks at Nagi and wears a small smile.
"Awww, she is so cute!" Rin gushes at Nagi's actions. She tries to reach out to her, but Nagi evades her and lazily flies out of the dining room. However she bumps into something and falls.
"Ah!" I get up and run over to her. "Nagi? Nagi!"
Nagi groans and gets up. When I try to help her she pushes me aside and stubbornly walks out.
"Is she alright?" I look behind me and see Len and Rin watching the scene play out.
"I think she'll be fine."
Len scratches his head and says "What'd she even run into?"
"Oh. Uhm…" I look for the object Nagi ran into and find a frame. I pick it up and look it over. There seems to be an image of Len, Rin, Miss Lily and a man I've never seen. I hold it up and show it to them. Len takes it out my hand and he and Rin look at it.
"Oh it's just an old photo." Rin takes it out of Len's hand and shows it to me. "This is us about three years ago. And this man is our dad." She points to the man.
I take another look at the photo. Their father doesn't look a thing like them. They really do look like their mother. I then remember something I've neglected this whole time.
"Uhm, is your mother not here?" I slowly ask.
Len looks surprised by my question.
"Yeah, she left earlier this morning." He steps closer to me and crouches down. "Did you just notice that now?"
"W-well, yes, I did." I answer nervously. "Why did she leave so early?"
"Cause she had to work."
When I didn't respond to him, Len signed and continued to explain.
"She works super early for the first four days of the week the next two days she works later and she's off on Saturdays." He finishes his explanation as if I automatically understand. I nod and pretend to understand him.
He smiles, satisfied by my untrue answer.
"Alright. Now let's finish breakfast." He gets up and heads back to the dining room. Rin follows him. I look at Nagi resting on the couch and go back as well.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Len and Rin are trying their best to explain it, but I just can't wrap my head around it.
After we finished breakfast, I finally asked Len and Rin about that black box, or T.V., as I've been told. They're saying that it's some sort of device that can project images that have been taken or created in the past and seen by anyone who has the right connections. But I'm having difficulty imagining such a thing being possible. I can tell that they're losing their patience with me.
"It's really not that hard to understand. Just don't think about it so much and you'll com to accept it." Rin says this as cheerfully as she can. Len on the other hand isn't trying in the slightest.
"If you came to Earth in some kind of teleportation thing, then you shouldn't be having trouble with understanding a freakin' T.V.!" I flinch at his annoyed tone.
"I-i-it's not like that." My small voice is barely audibly to my own ears. "I had no idea whether or not it would actually work. If anything I was just lucky." I look down at the remote they gave me. I touched the channel up button and pressed it. The screen changed from the news to a sitcom. I continued to change the channel to various programs in various genres. I stop on a program that catches my eyes.
The colorful objects and abstract movements amaze me. There is even music playing in the background that somehow gets me… jumpy.
"What is this?" Looking to both Len and Rin, I point to the screen.
"That? That's a kid show." Rin rolls her eyes. "Only really little kids actually enjoy those kinds of shows." She then looks to me and says, "Wait, do you actually like that?"
I nod and turn back to the screen. The characters are speaking in rhythm to the music. There's even writing at the top of the screen. I only wish I could read it.
Before I know it, the alluring song pulls me and I have completely succumb to it. Rin gasped suddenly and both Len and I look at her.
"Oh I know! Miku this could actually be good for you!"
"Huh?" both Len and I say this.
"Well if you watch a kid's show like this, then you'll know the basics that most kids our age already know."
Now Len's the one gasping.
"Yeah, that could work!" he turns to me. "Miku since you don't know how to read or count, watching stuff like this could help you learn."
I'm stunned. I could learn to read? Even if it's just simple reading, I could actually look at words and understand their meaning? The thought had never occurred to me.
"Miku?" Len looks at me, waiting for an answer. I slowly nod and turn back to the T.V. One of the characters is cheerfully encouraging the audience to sing along.
"Okay everyone, let's sing the Alphabet Song!" Other characters join the character on the screen and they start singing.
A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-LMNOP-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z, Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me!
"Yay! That was so good you guys!" The main character turns to the audience. "Won't you sing with us this time?"
"Ugh!" Rin gets up and leaves, muttering "There's no way in hell I'm gonna sit through that."
"Come on everybody! Let's all sing together!" Now all of the characters are lined up, waiting. Are they expecting me to sing? "Are you ready?"
Somehow, my mouth opens and a voice I don't recognize comes out.
A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-LMNOP-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z, Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me!
When the song ends, all the characters cheer and yell. I feel like cheering too. Maybe cheeriness rubs off on me. I smile and bring my fingertips to my lips. I couldn't believe that was my voice. It sounded nothing like me. It was clear and confident, completely unlike me. I look over to Len to ask him if he had heard that as well, that it wasn't my imagination.
But when I look to him, he's staring at me intently. Our eyes meet and he immediately turns away. He turned away? But…why? Did I do something wrong? Or maybe my singing was bad? I get a bit closer to him and try to look at his face.
"…Len?"
He laughs a little and puts up his hand.
"Uhm, yeah, could you wait a bit? I need to, uh, get myself together." Len takes a deep breath and slowly turns to me, wearing a shy smile. "You caught me off guard for a sec. Your singing is…really…pretty."
I'm so surprised by Len's comment that I can tell that my eyes are wide enough to cover my whole forehead. I shake my head slightly and look down.
"Was it really?" the question comes out quiet and hesitant.
"Yeah. Was it your first time singing?"
"Yes, I didn't even know singing was possible until recently." I pause for a moment then add, "I really like singing."
Len tilts his head so that I can look at him. He smiles and says, "Then you should do it more often."
I nod and look back to the program. I then think of something.
"Could I, uhm, could I sing…to you?" I look at him from the corner of my eye.
He continues to look at the T.V. For a moment, I think he didn't hear me. When I'm about to ask him again, he keeps his eyes glued to the T.V., smiles and says "Anytime."
His words give me a strange feeling. Like my heart was being wrapped in Rin's blanket and squeezed. And before I know it, I'm humming the Alphabet Song.
Flora-sama: Oh Lord. Please tell me that my retarded friend didn't break into my room, hack into my account and post this.Σ( ° △ °|||)︴Why? I was planning on waiting a bit longer!
This chapter has crossed into an uncharted territory for me. I'm just not used to writing cutesy, sweet stuff like this. Tbh, I was kinda embarrassed. I'm used to writing comedic material, so you can image how hard it was for me to put Len I that kind of situation. *SIGH* But what's done is done. Actually I'm a bit relieved she did it. Saved me a lot of regret.
So anyway, I PMed a couple of people who reviewed the last chapter and told them how grateful I was to them. Then I got an idea to give all my loyal reviewers a special present! The present, however will take some consideration. I've narrowed them down to two choices; a secret chapter of Solitary or a sneak peek of my new story. I have more info. on this in my profile, so check it out! Well thanks for bothering to read my story! Until next time!
À bientôt!