LOL Guest, you read my freaking mind about the bathroom problem. I had the same exact same thought, chapters ago, and there are a couple of solutions I could come up with. Stay tuned; IT WILL HAPPEN. *laughs* Here ya go with another update, hopefully you don't kill me for this chapter.

...

My song playlist for this chapter's bgm was "Keys to the Kingdom" by Group 1 Crew, and "Stand My Ground" by Within Temptation.

Kaito: For songs like that, there should be some action in this chapter.

You just want to make me have Gakupo whup Master's crazy bastard ass, don't you?

Kaito: Well, pretty much, yeah. I mean, look at what he did to me? *holds up perfectly fine hands*

Yeah, yeah, I see. Wait, where did you get those?

Kaito: Well, I was walking to my grandmother's house, but by the side of the road, there was a mouse selling hands.

o.o ...okay, well. That explains it, then.

Kaito: *grins cutely*

...

"Directions?" Taito asked as Gakupo got into the car. Gakupo nodded.

The trip was quiet, too quiet, and neither of the Vocaloid males turned on the radio. Gakupo's mind was occupied, trying to figure out the best way to do this. If Rin was still in the house, and her Master was there, he probably wouldn't let Gakupo just come in and do as he pleased. Gakupo had met the man several times, and they were about evenly matched in height and probably in strength. It wouldn't be easy to take the man down, if it came to it.

Not to mention that the law was on Rin's Master's side. If it came down to a physical confrontation, a Vocaloid would always be blamed before a human being would be. Gakpo's counternance darkened further with the directions of his thoughts. He stared out the window, giving Taito directions to the house as they were necessary.

Rin's Master's car was in the driveway. Gakupo turned his head to look at Taito. "Stay in the car, unless you hear me shout for you. If you hear me, come inside. I don't know whether Rin is even in there or not, but if this gets physical, I'm going to need you."

Taito smirked his odd little half-smile at Gakupo's tough words. The Samurai had balls, he'd give him that. He nodded his head briefly, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as Gakupo got out of the car and approached Rin's Master's front door.

Steeling himself, Gakupo knocked firmly. He almost didn't expect a response. Would he have to bust the door down?

A small sound from inside, and the doorknob turned. The door swung inwards, and Gakupo braced himself for the confrontation. Gakupo blinked, there was no one- wait- his purple eyes looked downwards. A pale, skinny, white-haired Vocaloid kid was standing there, hanging onto the doorknob.

"Hello! How can I help you, sir?" A cheery, exuberent, excited voice burst out of the young boy. Gakupo felt flummoxed. Who was this?

"Who are you?" Gakupo blurted out in demand, his mind not catching up to his words quickly enough. The younger Vocaloid male cocked his head cutely and smiled up at Gakupo again.

"My name is Piko! Master just purchased me from the store. This is one of my first responsibilities as Master new Vocaloid!" Piko proclaimed, seeming proud of himself. Gakupo's eyes were now full of concern.

"Piko... can I come inside? I'm here to see Rin, is she here?" Gakupo asked.

"Who is Rin?" Piko asked, stepping aside for Gakupo, his small face a little confused.

"The blonde female Vocaloid that your Master has. Is she around here? Have you seen her?" Gakupo's heart felt heavy. This was not going well. Why did Rin's Master have this young boy? Rin had not mentioned anyone but Kaito when he had spoken to her a few hours ago. Did that mean that Piko had been purchased between the time Rin had left Gakupo's house and just now? Gakupo felt increasingly uneasy.

"I don't know her. I thought I was Master's only Vocaloid. Are you friends with my Master?" Piko inquired politely. "Master is in the bath right now, he told me not to disturb him. I drew the bathwater," Piko admitted proudly, with another cute grin.

'Ah, perfect.' Gakupo thought. 'I should be able to check the rooms, then. But if this kid hasn't seen her...' He frowned lightly, troubled. "Yes... we are friends. Piko, I am going to visit Rin's room, down the hall, while waiting for your Master to get out of the bath. Okay?"

"Um... okay," Piko nodded, clearly uncertain as to how he was supposed to treat a guest. He tagged along behind Gakupo as the purple-haired Vocaloid went slowly through the house, peeking in every room. Silence, emptiness, in each of them. Piko was regarding him with a slight frown.

'Probably wondering if I am Master's friend, why I am checking each of the rooms, instead of going straight to the one I claimed I needed to go to,' Gakupo thought to himself as he reached Rin's room. It, too, was empty. Gakupo paused, the heavy feeling in his heart growing stronger. He stepped inside.

There was a large, black trashbag in the middle of the room. Something cracked under his foot as Gakupo walked towards it. He looked down, picked up the picture frame that was lying on the ground. Stepping on it had shattered the glass, but his purple eyes widened as he took in the photograph of himself, Rin, and the other Vocaloids that had been in stock at the store around the time they had been purchased by their respective Masters.

It was originally a promotional photograph, designed to lure in buyers by showing off the store's current merchandise. How had Rin gotten her little hands on it? Even Gakupo didn't have a picture of the six of them together. His heart clenched in his chest. Was this what Rin had come back for? The thing that she didn't want to leave behind...

Gakupo shook the glass out into the trash bag, then his eyes widened once more as he took in the clothes that were inside the bag. His teeth clenched together and he tucked the photo carefully away inside of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Piko's high-pitched voice sounded from the doorway, disapproving. "You're not stealing, are you?" Gakupo turned his head to look, and his eyes widened again as he took in the movement of a larger, taller person who was standing directly behind Piko.

The man was wearing a bath towel around his waist. His short hair was slicked back, still wet from water. Rin's Master met Gakupo's eyes and smiled, and Gakupo felt the pit of his stomach dropping. The last time he had seen the man, he hadn't had the "off" vibe that he was projecting now. There was definitely something wrong, here. Even if Rin hadn't told him, Gakupo would have known.

"Of course he's not stealing," Rin's Master said. "Hello, Gakupo. It's nice to see you again. How have you been doing?"

"Ah, yes, I... stepped on the frame, so I'm just taking it until I can replace it. Rin will be angry with me if I break her things and don't fix them, you know," Gakupo smiled back, relieved that he possessed an excellent poker face as he lied through his teeth. "Actually, I came by, with my friend, who is outside in the car, to see if Rin was around."

Rin's Master stared at Gakupo for a long moment, then flashed that strange little smile again. "I'm sorry, Gakupo. If you had called ahead, I could have told you that Rin is no longer here."

"Where is she?" Gakupo controlled his voice so he wouldn't growl the question like he wanted to, but he could hear the slight strain in his voice at the effort.

"Unfortunately, I had to return her to the store. She was... malfunctioning," Rin's Master said through his unchanging smile, his eyes were hard, though, cold, as if trying to determine whether Gakupo's presence here was a coincidence. "It's unlike you to visit without calling first."

"Well, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing," Gakupo lied smoothly, "My friend and I were driving nearby, and I thought I would drop in to say hello. What do you mean, 'malfunctioning?'"

"Ahh, I see," Rin's Master continued to smile, and his eyes travelled down Gakupo's frame. Gakupo repressed a shudder. "It's a shame your model wasn't still in stock. I've purchased a replacement, but to be honest, I've always admired your beauty a little. I'm envious of your Master. I'll bet you're a good, obedient Vocaloid. Not like Rin. That's why I had to 'return' her."

The smooth voice was a little sultry. Gakupo felt very, very uncomfortable. He needed to get the man to talk, to tell him about Rin, to confess if he was keeping her anywhere. He needed to get Piko out of there, too. The young Vocaloid had no idea that the new Master who had purchased him was a monster.

"Ah. I, thank you," Gakupo managed to get out, feeling uncomfortably disgusted at the creepy, random compliment, and feeling further alarmed for Rin at her Master's final statement. Piko was scowling at Gakupo, clearly jealous of his new Master's attention.

"If you care to, you can keep that photograph. I don't think Rin will be needing it back. Well, then, shall I have Piko see you out? I would do so myself, but as you can see," Rin's Master indicated the low-riding bath towel, "I'm not exactly dressed for company right now. Gakupo..." His voice purred a little as Rin's Master continued, "Rin's no longer here, but if you ever wish to visit me, you are more than welcome to. I think I would enjoy your company."

It took everything Gakupo had to keep his face in a neutral smile, and reply, "That is very kind of you. I may take you up on that offer."

'Yeah, while I'm searching your house from floor to ceiling. Where the hell did you take her? Is she still alive?' Gakupo's mind was screaming at him to do something, say something, to somehow get the information he needed out of Rin's Master. He couldn't leave without the blonde-haired Vocaloid female. But she was clearly not in the house.

Gakupo debated with himself about whether he could take the human male down, force the information out of him somehow, but then Rin's Master smiled one last time at the violette and turned, walking down the hallway to his Master bedroom, and closing the door, and his chance was gone. Gakupo's clenched fists shook in repressed rage.

"The front door is this way," Piko alerted Gakupo in his high, sweet voice, directing him out, still sulking. Gakupo's body stubbornly refused to obey him for a moment, but at Piko's stare, he made his legs move resentfully forward. Gakupo's heart felt like it was being crushed with every step away from Rin's room he took. He glanced down at Piko.

Kneeling suddenly, Gakupo took Piko's shoulders in his hands, whispering urgently, careful that the Master of the house not hear them talking.

"Listen, Piko, this is very important. You are not safe here. I know you are excited to have been purchased, but your Master is a bad, and a dangerous man. Come with me, right now. It is not safe for you to stay here."

Piko's eyes widened, and he wrenched himself away from Gakupo's grip. "You're lying!" Piko shouted, his face upset. "Master purchased me!" Gakupo set his jaw, glancing in paranoia back down the hall at Piko's volume. He reached his hand out again to grab the boy's arm, trying to guide him outside of the front door along with Gakupo.

"You need to trust me. It's not safe here for you. Your Master is going to do something terrible to you if I leave you here." Gakupo hissed under his breath, willing the boy to understand the severity of his situation.

"Let go, let go! You don't know anything. You're just a stranger! And I don't think you're Master's friend at all!" Piko twisted violently away from Gakupo, slipping out of his grasp and running back down the hallway. The door to the Master's bedroom opened and shut firmly behind the young Vocaloid. Gakupo stared helplessly, dismayed. He looked down at his hands.

Couldn't he protect anything with these hands? Gakupo's face clenched up in a feeling of anguish.

...

"No go?" Taito asked as Gakupo quietly got back into the car. The violette's normally smooth, clear face was a complicated mass of stressful emotions. The long-haired violette shortly shook his head. He stayed still for a moment, then slammed his fist against the dashboard in frustration. Taito just watched quietly, then turned his eyes back to the front of the windshield, turning the car back on.

"Anywhere else you wanna try to look?" The shorter-haired, darker-purple-haired Vocaloid offered up into the tense silence.

"No clues," Gakupo replied shortly, angry with himself, angry with Rin's Master, frustrated, and feeling a sense of despairing hopelessness. "...I need to get back to Kaito. Rin said 'don't leave him alone' to me." Gakupo was silent, wondering if that was going to be the last thing the petite blonde Vocaloid was ever going to say to him. His face crumpled.

Taito pretended not to notice as helpless teardrops fell onto Gakupo's clenched hands. He smacked the radio on with his hand, letting the music be their distraction as he drove them back towards Gakupo's Master's house.

"Stop here, a moment," The soft words made Taito's eyes turn back toward Gakupo. His face was dry, having been wiped free of tears, a stony mask of resolve taking their place. Taito glanced to where Gakupo was looking at. A drugstore.

"He's gonna need some more bandages," was Gakupo's only explaination. Taito nodded, turned in, and placed the car in park. Gakupo didn't get out for a long moment, still unspeaking. Taito didn't ask.

With heavy movements, Gakupo opened the car door and went into the store. Taito's eyes followed, his normally blank face frowning once Gakupo's back was turned. Mikuo was going to be pissed.

...

My cute princess had some feedback about Rin, and as a result, I might end up taking this story in a slightly different route than I had originally planned, with her character.

Kaito: When you say your "princess," do you mean Other Master, Master?

Yes, Kaito. *grin* Who else would I call that?

Kaito: *blushes and toes the ground* Uh, well, probably not me. Since I'm a guy, and all.

AHHH are you jealous?! How about you can be the princess's pet, then? *grin*

Kaito: -.- I was kind of hoping for "prince" or "duke" at least, rather than pet.

I can get you a cute little kitty collar. With a dangly, shiny metal tag, would you like that?

Kaito: I have the feeling there is no correct answer to that question.

Vy39, I'm going to have a prettily wrapped present for you, waiting on Christmas day!

Kaito: Please don't tie me up and put me under a tree to wait for that long. Not even with air holes in the box.

Oh, psh. Take all the fun out, why don't you. *sulks, but grins*