Bound
Chapter 14
"I think we should break up". Luka said, and turned her head down a second later.
"W-why? You're joking, right, Luka?"
Luka gritted her teeth and ignored Miku's desperate, strained pleas. She shouldn't be doing this at this time, but it was the best time. She couldn't drag it on any longer. She shouldn't have dragged it so far. She released her protective grip and sat on the floor in silence.
"Luka?" Miku raised a cold and clammy hand towards Luka, who flinched. Miku drew back her hand, hurt and upset that she could no longer touch Luka. A moment of silence passed, with Luka staring blankly at the concrete tiles and Miku shaking.
"Why?" Miku was not hiding her tears, and Luka made the mistake of looking up for a moment. She say dampness, a glimmer of light in the teal orbs, and jerked her head down, her bangs shrouding her eyes again.
"Why?" Miku pressed on, and choked on her tears.
"I thought we loved each other? I thought, I thought you said you would always be there for me!"
"You can't love me." Luka's tone was shockingly cold and devoid of any emotion.
"I can!"
Luka shook her head. "You aren't supposed to." Miku barely opened her mouth when Luka continued as abruptly as she had stopped. "We should never have been together. We should never have trusted each other so much. Miku, we should never have been friends." She finally looked up, her eyes betraying her emotionless voice.
"If only we never met." Luka whispered, and got up, walking out of the room, leaving an utterly crushed Miku sobbing alone in the clean white room reeking of disinfectant.
Gumi had entered the room, shocked to see Miku asleep on the cold floor, her clothes damp with tears. The second thing she realized was that Megurine Luka was no longer there. 10 pm was not a good time to realize someone who was supposedly under her care went missing. Especially after what she had heard from Meiko.
"What do I do now? Look for Meiko again?" Gumi groaned. "But I visited her not long ago. This is so embarrassing." Gumi sighed and carried Miku to the bed.
"I thought this was over…"
"She what!?" Meiko almost squeaked out and cleared her throat, obviously embarrassed. Gumi didn't seem to notice, and let out a huge sigh.
"Yeah, she's just… Not there."
"She would never leave that stupid tealette alone… They probably broke up or something. She's been conflicted about her relationship."
"I thought their relationship was just a means for Megurine?"
Meiko shrugged. "She probably really fell for her. You know that cliché. If you like someone, you will protect them at any cost."
"This doesn't really seem like protecting." Gumi argued.
"True, it seems like she's just really guilty and trying to escape the whole problem. Un-doing your last move won't change anything much though."
"So what now? She won't do anything stupid, right?"
"No, she can't get out of the school at this time anyways. She probably just went somewhere to hide. She's not in her dorm?"
"I tried knocking." Gumi shrugged, and ran a hand through her messy green hair.
"You should just break it down. Or wait."
"I think the second option is better."
Luka opened the door, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath. For some reason, her legs, as tired as they were, had led her all the way to the rooftop.
"Why … why did I come here?" She said in between pants. 'Was it my instinct to come here? Why? Is it because I've spent so much time here with Miku? Or is it because this used to be my hideout where I could escape from everything?'
She stumbled as she walked towards the metal fence. She gripped it tight as she looked down at the city, illuminated with artificial lights.
'I'm just like that. Artificial. I wasn't really… real right?' Luka gritted her teeth and threw a punch at the fence, making it rattle noisily.
"Why did I even say that? Wasn't I going to say something else?" Luka fell to her knees, and before she knew it, she was crying, the tears burning her cold cheeks in steady streams.
"Morning, Miku." Gumi greeted the tealette, her back facing her.
"Gumi sensei…"
"Yes, Miku?" Gumi answered, shuffling the stack of paper on her table. She still refused to turn around.
"Where's Luka?"
Gumi took a deep breath.
"Megurine Luka returned to her dorm late yesterday."
Miku made movement to get into her wheelchair. "I'll go speak to her!"
"Miku." Gumi's tone was strangely quiet, and Miku froze, her hands suddenly feeling sweaty.
"You can't go and see her."
"W-why not?" Miku asked.
Gumi turned around, an apologetic look on her face.
"Megurine Luka has opted to drop out of school."
End of chapter 14
It's a (disappointingly) short chapter, I know. I've been (and will be) busy for a while now, so it'll take longer to update. Bound is nearing its end soon, and that probably means a greater hiatus because I really haven't planned out the ending? *hides under table*
Nevertheless, I must thank all of you for being so patient and supportive.