"I have an idea," Kaito suggested half heartedly, "why don't we sing something to pass the time?"
Len didn't even turn to look at the older Vocaloid when he spoke, "What would we sing?" He asked in a monotonous tone. It was quite clear that he wasn't in the mood to sing. He'd probably never be in the mood to sing. Singing just reminded him of Miku, and his sister.
"I know Gakupo isn't here," Kaito said with a weak and pathetic smile, "but how about Imitation Black? You use to enjoy that one right?"
Len was quiet for a minute as he seemed to think it over, "No." He finally answered, shaking his head.
"No?" Kaito asked as though he hadn't seen the answer coming, "well then... How about something else? World is mine is easy to sing. We could try that one." Len twitched slightly, before shaking his head side to side again. That song reminded him of Miku, and that was one of the last things he wanted to think about today. "Then why don't you just sing something for me to listen to?" The boy was a better singer anywhere, as much as he hated to admit it. "How about the reprise version of Kokoro? I know that was one of your favorites."
That one was even worse. that was supposed to be a song he sang with his sister... Who was now dead? "I... don't feel like singing." He admitted.
"Alright," Kaito said after a while. True be, he didn't feel like singing either. "I bet we can find some new clothes in the next city too." Len decided at this point just to ignore Kaito's voice. What did it matter? Everything he was spouting out was weak and pathetic attempts to start a conversation with the boy, and that wasn't happening. He simply nodded in response to Kaito, but continued walking. Kaito went quiet after that, there really was no point in continuing.
After a long time of traveling in silence, they came to some kind town or smaller part of the city or something similar. "We can stop here," Kaito said kicking at a rock. "We left before eating...you hungry?"
The blonde boy hesitated a moment before shaking his head. Who would be hungry after experiencing what he had gone through in the past 24 hours. "I'm fine." He stated in a monotonous voice.
Kaito frowned as he watched the blond boy. This was terrible. He sighed and hesitantly looked for some kind of sign of shelter. "Looks like there's a good sized building over there," he said pointing to what looked like a hospital or office building. It was blown and torn but at least had walls still standing. "We can get some rest."
Len looked over in the direction that Kaito had pointed, and nodded in approval. But the way his eyes were almost glazed over it almost seemed as though he wasn't really seeing it. The boy was just following the motions needed. To be honest he really didn't see the reasoning for finding somewhere to go. Everything they had loved and wanted to protect was now gone... Why not follow them?
"We might be able to find some food, just in case," Kaito added as he headed for the building. He was only half way there when he thought he smelled something... Was it ash? Smolder of some kind? He wasn't sure. All of a sudden though, he didn't feel so sure about this. "Let's hurry," he said without looking back at the boy. "I have a bad feeling..."
Len followed along after the blue haired man, it wasn't like he really had a choice. He was about to comment on Kaito's unsure feeling about where they were going when he stopped in his tracks. Something had caught his eye. For the first time since his sister's murder he showed some sort of emotion other than indifference. This emotion was horror. "K-k-Kaito!" He yelped as he backed away, pointing at what had startled him. Not far from where they stood was a pile of what seemed like ripped apart Robo-Loids. Mixed among these remains were the bodies of some of the Utau from Mikuo's building. But this wasn't what scared the young boy. In the middle of this arrangement was a head with short, messy teal hair covering it's eyes. Was that... Mikuo?
Kaito stopped dead his tracks as he stared at the pile. His eyes were wide and face had gone pale. It couldn't be him! How could it? Mikuo was... How could he... "Shit," Kaito hissed before he could stop. He jerked his head back around toward Len. "Len," he shouted as he held up his gun. It was weak but... He had to do something. "Get out of sight."
Len took another step back. He couldn't take his eyes away from the horrible sight. "K-kaito... Is he dead?" the boy asked, looking to the older man for some sort of answer before looking back to the head. "D-did Miku do this too?" He almost sobbed this question, remembering what that black haired... monster had done to the rest of their family.
"Len," Kaito growled, "go to the building I pointed out. Now." He didn't have time to play games. He had to get Len out of there. If Miku had done it, which was a huge possibility, she couldn't have gone far. He had to find her before she found them.
"Actually I haven't gone anywhere." A calm voice stated from behind the two males. Len spun around, his blue eyes wide with fear at the sight of the red eyed girl smiling at them. There were blood splatters on her face, and her hands were coated with the stuff. "Do you like my creator's burial site? I think it's quite tasteful."
Kaito glared at the girl, rushing forward and grabbing hold of Len, jerking him back behind him. "Miku," he said trying to stay calm enough. "You... What do you want?" He asked somewhat confused. What could she possibly want with them? She was just killing everything and everyone.
Zatsune tilted her head to the side slightly, looking almost thoughtful as she looked at the two. "Well I had just finished making my beautiful arrangement over there," She gestured to the pile of bodies, "And was on my merry way when I heard you!" She stated with a grin, "I didn't expect you to find Mikuo so soon, but I bet you're very happy, Kaito-nii. The man who started it all is finally dead"
"That's great," Kaito said though he obviously wasn't pleased. "He deserved it," it was true but...it felt wrong to actually say it. He hesitated, swallowing the lump in his throat before speaking again, "so...what was the point in killing the others. Meiko and Rin. What did they do."
"I was just doing them a favor." Zatsune admitted with an innocent look in her eyes. She brought up her right hand and began to examine the blood that covered it. "It wasn't a secret that they both wanted to get away from this life. I simply granted their wish."
"Not like that!" Kaito shouted before he could help himself. "They wanted to get away but not like that. They wanted a better life. They wanted to be free. They wanted to get go back to the way things were!"
"But they also knew that things would never be the same." Zatsune answered before crossing her arms. "Even the happiest of your little family, Miku herself often thought of taking her own life to free her from this hell. The others were no different, including the boy you're trying so desperately to keep alive." The black haired girl pointed to Len who was hiding behind Kaito, "Without his other half there's no more meaning for him. I almost feel bad for him with all thr suffering you're making him go through by forcing him to stay alive."
"You're wrong," Kaito said angrily. There was no way Miku- HIS Miku- would think of ending her life. No matter how bad things got. She would never do that. Then he glanced back at Len. "No," he said simply, searching through Len's eyes trying to find something. Anything to prove he was the some old Len. She was right though on that... He wasn't the same without Rin. He turned back to Zatsune, heart aching. "We'll stay alive for them," he said softly. "You'll leave or I'll be forced to..." To what? Shoot her? Stab her? Kill her? He didn't even know.
"I'm wrong?" Zatsune asked before bursting into a fit of laughter, "I'M. wrong. That's hilarious!" She giggled before grinning back at Kaito, "Did you forget that somewhere within me, Miku still resides? I have the data from her mind right up here." The black haired girl tapped on her own head. "So I'm pretty sure that I have my facts straight when I say what she used to think, if you want me to prove it, I can tell you what she thought about you." A dark grin spread on her face as she stood over the two. Len looked up to Kaito, his eyes wide with fear, but also somehow hollow. The blue eyes narrowed as he thought over what Zatsune had said... She was right about him wanting to go... Was it the best choice?
"Shut up!" Kaito shouted unable to stand it. She was playing mind games. She was a failed experiment. She wasn't Miku. Miku wouldn't do this to them. No matter what, she was always the voice of reason. She was their Miku. "Just leave us alone," he said holding out the gun and aiming it at her, clicking the safety off.
Zatsune spread her arms out as if to greet the potential oncoming bullet in open arms. "Do you really have the courage to shoot your beloved Miku?" She asked before her voice changed to Miku's voice exactly, "Kaito-nii?" Her red eyes widened slightly to give her a more innocent, Miku like look as she stated down at him.
Kaito flinched and dropped his guard as he stared back at her, lowering the gun just enough. It was his Miku. He knew that voice anywhere. Those eyes too... They were red and suppose to be evil but... "Miku."
Zatsune gave him a Miku like smile before the grin darkened and warped into a sadistic grin. She disappeared from where she had been standing. There was silence until a cry was heard from behind the man. Kaito didn't even realize what happened until he heard the little noise. Quickly, he spun back around to see what it was. Behind him stood Zatsune, a smile on her face as she held up a limp Len. "What a good boy, he went faster than his sister did." She stated fondly before she set the boy down on the ground and stood back up to grin at Kaito. "You're too soft, and look what your poor reactions have done." She gestured down at the body at her feet. "You should've taken the shot, Kaito-nii."
Kaito was shaking so bad and yet he couldn't feel his body. Everything was numb and he could hardly breathe. "You killed him," he said in disbelief. She was faster than he thought. He didn't even have time to blink. Again, she was right. He was soft. He should have shot.
"I simply gave him what he wanted." She said looking down at the boy, a twinge of sadness in her red eyes. "He couldn't have lived on without Rin for long. It was either he went quickly and quietly, or he would take his own life with one of those weapons you gave him." She stated before closing her eyes and grinning back up at Kaito, all remorse gone from her face, leaving only a twisted grin.
"So what now?" Kaito asked just staring for a long time, then slowly went back to narrowing his eyes. "You're going to kill me and... and what?"
"Hm..." Zatsune thought it over for a moment, "You know, after killing you I'm not sure what I'll do." She giggled before reaching down to her hip where one of Miku's old guns had been holstered. "Probably just track down anything else that's still moving and release it from this hell like I did your family." She stated before pointing the weapon at Kaito.
That was enough for Kaito. He took a quick step back to get a look at the scenery. The entire playing field was leveled and full of rot. He had no where to go and no one to protect but he still felt the need to survive. With another quick step back, he lashed out. He closed his eyes and he ran passed the girl and squeezed them tighter when he ran passed Len. He reopened his eyes after a moment but just kept running. He threw down the gun at some point and went for...anything! He just had to get away from that monster. He heard himself panting as he bolted through the rubble, eventually finding some kind of remain of a brick wall. He fell down and leaned against it, panting and trying to clam himself down. He had nothing now...
Zatsune turned and watched with a grin as Kaito ran past her. Too afraid to shoot his beloved Miku, and yet too afraid to die even though he had nothing more to live for. It was pathetic and sad. She couldn't help but laugh. She followed after him at a slow pace, her grin on her face as she followed him. "Come on Kai-" Her voice glitched and faltered for a moment as her eye twitched. She paused, looking down at her hands, flexing them. Was she malfunctioning? Couldn't be... she was the ultimate being...
Kaito stayed where he was for a long time trying to think of some kind of plan. Nothing was coming to mind. "Can't...let her win..." He said between shallow breaths as he reached to his holster. He cursed when he found it was empty. He'd given it to Len hadn't he? He'd tossed his other gun somewhere back there. He cursed again and looked back at where his discarded weapon lay. If he could get a hold of it...maybe he could come up with a better plan. Not that it mattered. He wouldn't shoot either way.
Zatsune shook her head as she felt this odd buzzing within it. What was going on? It was like every time she was about to go after the now defenseless man something within her would stop her. "WhAtz... wR0nG WiTH m3ee..." She muttered... her voice cracking and going into different pitches.
Kaito listened with curiosity, measuring out the distance between the girl and his gun. If he played it just right... "Now," he urged himself before jumping out of his hiding spot, running for the gun but keeping his eyes glued on the girl.
Zatsune looked up at Kaito as he stared at her. One of her eyes seemed to change from the other, which gave her this really odd expression. There was one evil eye that wanted nothing more than to kill the man before her, but the other was gentler, and seemed to be struggling to maintain itself. "kA1t0." A voice struggled out from the frame as one of the hands shakily aimed its weapon at the blue
Kaito grunted, flinching as he approached closer. There was that guilty feeling again but something told him to keep going. He shouted out when he was close enough, sliding and reaching out to catch the gun. He had to be faster though because the girl already had her weapon out and aimed on him. With one fast click he switched the safety back off for the millionth time and froze, aiming it towards her. His eyes narrowed dangerously as a quiet wind picked up around his cloak a moment. Then everything was still.
Zatsune closed her eyes for a moment, as if she was in pain. When she opened them again, Miku's eyes smiled weakly at the blue haired man. The two hands were still struggling between wanting to aim the gun at him and pushing it down and away, but her face was serene and calm. "K-Kaito." She said again, her voice clear, "You need... t-t-to kill me." She stated shakily, her voice glitching and faltering much like Zatsune's had before.
"I know," Kaito said not changing his facial expression for a moment. No. His entire body didn't move. Like everything was frozen in time. He sucked in a harsh breath knowing he couldn't do it. He closed his eyes slowly keeping the gun held high as he opened his mouth, "the number one princess in the whole world..." he whispered softly.
Miku smiled as she shakily pushed the hand with the gun down, and eventually pried her fingers away from the weapon, allowing it to drop to the ground beside her. She then closed her eyes, a warm smile on her face as she allowed her still shaking hands fall to her sides. "Thank you, my beloved prince."
Kaito couldn't help it when he felt tears streaming down his face. "You want something...?" He whispered some more putting his finger on the trigger. "Okay..." He opened his eyes again only to stare into hers. Everything vanished around them. There was nothing else but them two. The way he'd always wanted. "Just give me a minute," he said a little louder before closing his eyes again. "Just give me a minute..." He repeated, choking on his words as he pulled the trigger. There was a single shot that rang out and made him stumble back some. "I'll be there," he sobbed before opening his eyes again.
"I'm... so...rry..." Her voice trailed off as the systems began shutting down and she fell backwards, collapsing to the ground. As the final system shut down so did her eyes, leaving her with a content smile as she finally died there on the ground. Ridding the world of the dangerous killer.
Kaito just stared at what he'd done. His breath caught again as he watched her fall, watched her stop. Watched her die. When the wind picked up again and he knew she really was gone, he stumbled to his feet and made his way over. It was one cautious step after another until he was running for the girl. He heard nothing but the sound of his sobbing as he fell to his knees and looked at what he'd done. Hiccups came from his mouth as he stared at her. New body or not, she was still his Miku. He tried to speak but nothing was coming out right. He closed his eyes again, clenching a fist and digging it against the dirt.
"My number one princess in the whole world..." He cried lifting his hands to his face. He heard himself crying louder but he couldn't bring himself to cease the song. "I'll always watch you so you don't wander off," he said as he opened his eyes again and looked around. There was the gun she'd dropped... He tossed his own weapon aside and reached for it, pulling it close against his body. "And sometimes... I'll try to grab you gently..." He said letting one hand hold the gun's trigger while the other found the girls' hand. He held onto her, giving a light squeeze of comfort. He wasn't sure if it was suppose to be comfort to him or her though.
"'Be more careful.'" He said with the weakest of smiles. "...but... it's a little embarrassing..." He said putting his finger against the trigger tightly. "But I know that..." He closed his eyes one last time, still holding the girls' hand. "You're head over heels for me...!" He sang loudly before he pulled the trigger. Another shot rang out. The wind heard his cry and picked up only a moment as his body dropped besides Miku. He said nothing more. He couldn't. With the last bit of strength he possessed, he smiled and held the girl close. One faint breath escaped his lips and then...
Nothing.
