AN;; Holy crap guys. I mean... o_o This thing has been sitting around since May. That's just... I apologize for taking so long (working on an awesome new fic that will be posted when it's finished), and here's the long awaited Chapter 20. Rewrites of earlier chapters may or may not turn up, depending on how well I can budget my time.

Hard Drive Singer

Chapter 20

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing a bright blue. There was a sleepy look on her face, and she yawned, stretching and rubbing at her eyes. Once she had confirmed that she was awake, she was able to absorb her surroundings. The first thing she happened to notice was that a certain male's arms were wrapped around her. She was leaning on his (clothed!) chest. Blushing profusely, she attempted to wriggle out of his grasp. However, this only made him grip harder. She was trapped in her crush's warm, muscular─Ack! Stop, please.─arms. While she had in fact dreamed of this, he hadn't been asleep and she had been facing him. This was just plain awkward. She breathed in sharply.

The second thing she noticed was the setting. The backdrop, if you will, to her play of an existence. The sky was a soft, milky color. Not quite blue but not quite gray either. The sun was a mere lens flare in the distance. The grass was dry and brittle, and it was dotted with bald patches of dirt. Sometimes you might spot a dandelion or two, but it was mostly grass and dirt and pebbles. The sort of lawn you would see from someone who bothered to mow but didn't care enough to plant flowers or lay down fertilizer. There were trees, of course. They were spindly and twisted and winded this way and that, often mingling with each other. They were of a darker wood, and their leaves ranged from green to dark red. Said leaves littered the ground, giving it a scenic feel, though the place was far from it.

Kaito shifted, resting his chin on her head. She ducked in surprise, and his eyes flew open. "Wha-?" he yawned groggily. Then, noticing vaguely that he was clinging to Mari as if she were a teddy bear, released her. She gasped in relief. He laughed. "G'morning, Mas─er, Mari."

" Mo-ahhhhh," she yawned in reply. God, she was just so tired. What had she been doing last night? And why was Kaito─ohh. Right. She knew. She remembered why she was so tired. Why one of her few remaining friends was seated nearby. Why a sudden sadness had landed on her shoulders, weighing her down. "Kaito, what exactly happened last night?" she voiced, willing it not to be true.

" All I know is that you were fighting Taito and a dead girl was lying on the ground. Then I saved you. But the cave collapsed in a rock slide," he recited solemnly. The air felt think with uneasiness, and Mari shivered. So it was real. It was true. It hadn't been a terrible nightmare, as much as she wished she could believe that. Teto was her friend, and she was dead. Taito, who she didn't exactly hate (she couldn't place why), but was far from friendly with, was also dead. He had murdered one of her closest friends. And now all she had was Kaito.

"He's dead..." Mari whispered, trailing off. "And so is Teto." She felt the tears brim at her eyes once again, clouding her vision. They were gone, forever. It didn't matter how she felt about Taito, what questions she'd like to ask him, he was nothing. And his last words were to tell 'his Kiku' that he'd see her again soon. What, was he going to visit her as a ghost? Or perhaps he'd have her murdered, which was much more gruesome. And then...Teto. She was gone as well. Born an outcast, and died one as well. A horrible fate. But at least she had a friend to smile at as she passed, rather than dying cold and alone.

"Taito killed her," she said through her tears. "She was just trying to protect herself, and me as well, but he killed her. A-and..." Mari began to sob once again, burying her face in her hands. Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't he have killed someone else instead? Not Mari, no. As much as her conscience would adore substituting her, she needed to get rid of Akaito and do something about the virus. Dying would surely get in the way of that.

"You know, if he hadn't done that, she might've lived forever," Kaito said weakly, placing a hand of comfort on Mari's shoulder. "Vocaloids can only die by file deletion and violence. Hunger and thirst will do nothing to us. But Teto is happier now, I guess. She has all the things she loves most. Er, what would those be?"

Mari grinned wearily. It seemed almost, nostalgic. Thinking of Teto and their little adventures. It had only been for a few days, sure, but the sort of way they lived meant that they became very close. Gathering food, chatting about little things, curling up to bed on a patch of moss in the cave. Smiling in spite of all the tragedies, she answered him, "French bread. She also had a crush on Gakupo." It felt rather strange telling these things to Kaito, but she didn't mind. If it made her tears disappear, she was all for it.

"Gakupo, eh?" Kaito grinned. "So she likes eggplant on her french bread?"

Mari blushed and giggled, feeling rather like a foolish schoolgirl, but cheered up nonetheless. The comment seemed innocent enough, of course. But if you looked deeply enough into it, it was quite the opposite. She, having a mind that was for the most part outside of the perverted gutter, laughed softly at the part that she understood.

"Hey Kaito," Mari began, having a sudden spur of the moment, "remember when I arrived here?" Hm, she had gone a bit off topic. But she was feeling quite a bit happier, and she didn't want to return to crying and feeling depressed. Teto wouldn't have wanted that, she was sure. So, as outgoing folk like she often did, the girl known from time to time as Master spouted a little idea that had popped into her mind. What, she nodded inwardly, was the harm in it?

Kaito smiled widely. "How could I forget? It was an average Saturday at first, but then you came bounding up the road, with little Rin and Len by your side. I was on gate duty, and boy was I lucky to have that day, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to meet you. I was confused when you had no files, but now I'm more grateful for that than ever." He, like usual, did not elaborate on why, but Mari disregarded that.

"And then I met Miku and Luka and all the others," she continued, nodding. "And Gakupo figured out why I have no files and told me to make a song, or else he'd do something awful to me."

"Which you passed with flying colors," Kaito agreed. He smiled fondly at the memory. "And then you devoured your cake."

"H-Hey! It's not like I'm obsessed with it or anything," she protested, prodding him in the side.

"Whatever you say..."

She frowned wryly and crossed her arms. Well, she wasn't! She just loved it. A lot. But she wouldn't die if she was denied cake.

" Then Gumi took me to that haunted house of a room, where I had not one, but two nightmares. Before finding you prowling around, of course," Mari shot back playfully, rolling her eyes.

"I was told to bring you to the control room!" he said defensively.

"Oh, sure. Explain why that couldn't wait until morning."

"I wanted to watch you sleep," was his answer. He was so honest with her, and so naive. It was crazy. Did he even realize the nature of what he had just stated so plainly? It could seem so stalkerish, so creepy. And yet, somehow, she found it quite the opposite. Sweet, endearing. And then Gakupo's mention of (ahhh, what was it?) Canta-something or other crossed her mind. But it didn't horrify her like it had previously. In fact, him pining over her silently and watching from afar made a fierce blush come to her cheeks.

"A-anyways..." she cut in, fumbling with the hem of her shirt. "Then Miku kidnapped me during the night and Gakupo told me all about some message from Creator."

Kaito nodded. "Yeah, that's what they wanted me to do with you. But then I fell asleep, and ahhh, you know the rest. Just remember, Gakupo's translation has a lot of missing and mistranslated parts in it, so our current version could be very inaccurate. You have to take it with a grain of salt."

"Alright. How come it didn't say who wrote it at the bottom? It just had a few question marks," Mari blinked.

"That's because we haven't figured out that bit yet. So! That night, you wandered into my room, claiming that you had an awful nightmare, and fell asleep on my bed," he stated, stretching his arms and yawning sleepily. His indigo hair was ruffled and there was a slight twinkle in his round eyes. "You looked cute."

Mari's cheeks burned an impossible shade of red. "A-Ah, thanks, I guess..." She ducked her head awkwardly, unsure how to respond or continue. She settled by giving a slight nod and changing the topic. "Then, uhhh, you acted really cold and ignored me in the morning. Why'd you do that?"

He frowned, wetting his lips. It seemed as if he would rather not answer, but he did soon enough. "I noticed something weird about you, and wanted to stay away," was his oh so gentlemanly reply.

"The virus..."

"Yep."

She breathed in and out, smiling weakly. So that's why he ignored her. Not because he hated her, no. Nor because he was worried, or anxious. No, it was because he hadn't known what was wrong with her, and therefore feared her. Or rather, whatever was taking over her, which happened to be the virus. She shivered.

Then, she began to laugh. It started as a chuckle, then a giggle, then a full out guffaw. Soon she was doubled over, tears sliding down her cheeks. Her insides shook, her mind whirred. Her stomach ached from it, and she was unable to breathe. Choking, laughing so very hard. And then it became a sob, loud and desperate and hopeless.

Kaito stared at her, blinking. He then drew close, wrapping his arms around her, enveloping her trembling form. "It's okay," he whispered, trying to comfort his Master. "It's all okay." He stroked her back, fingered her thin hair. "Don't worry," he murmured, "I'm here."

But she only cried harder. "I can't do this. I can't. I'm sick of the virus, of Akaito, of having my friends killed and hurt." She clung to him like a small child. Weak, helpless. She...couldn't...

Then she realized how silly this all was. They were data. Not people, not even living beings. Just scrambled numbers on a computer screen. They were like holograms to her, as she was real. She wasn't just data. So why would they matter to her? So why, she smiled suddenly, should she care? It's not as if they lived, so they could never die. Their data would remain forever.

And the virus? A couple of temp deletions and runs of Malwarebytes would kick that thing out on its butt, no questions asked. Akaito would be as simple as throwing his sorry face into the recycling bin. It was hard to believe it was this simple, after all the anxiety, all the stress, all the tears. There was no point for all of that. No real reason. She couldn't believe it had taken her this long to realize that.

"W-why didn't I realize before..." Mari murmured, trailing off. "Why didn't I realize that it was so simple?" She had gotten so wrapped up in everything, so tangled in emotions. It's not good to think on a clouded mind. So she let the air out. And suddenly, all was clear to her. All was clear.

Kaito continued to stroke her head in comfort. "What's so simple?" he said softly. His breath was hot on her head, and she couldn't help but blush.

"This," Mari replied, leaning away from him. "The virus, Akaito. If only I had administrator permissions..." She didn't even need to finish. The idea was clear enough. If she had the options, she could easily get rid of the virus.

He stared at her, blue eyes dimming ever so slightly, drooping. His lip trembled. "Ah," he said, "but how would you get them? It's not as if Creator could grant you the needed powers." He hadn't told Mari this, but she wasn't a 'god' so much as a 'missing link'. But they treated her like a god, simply because she was the highest they could reach. Her thoughts, according to what they knew, went directly to Creator. Whereever he or she may be.

"Th-that's true," Mari said in realization. The idea made perfect sense, except for one crucial point. She didn't have the power to affect the computer. If she had been on the outside, oh sure, she could have done it. But from the inside she was powerless. Had the creator of the virus planned this? She wondered silently.

All was quiet for a bit. No voices, only the rustling of the leaves, the scattered trees. The hiss of the wind. It was cooling, spine chilling. Even sitting close by each other, both Mari and Kaito shuddered from the cold.

But someone finally spoke, making the wind quiet, the air warm ever so slightly, the leaves cease their rustling, the breath still its rhythm.

"I know one thing that we can beat it with," Kaito said, smiling. Seeing Mari's tilted head, he leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. They stayed like that for a moment, melding together.

"Because doubt is just as strong of a bond as certainty."

AN;; Um, so yeah. I honestly have no idea how often I'll update this from here on out. I'll try to work harder, but I'm honestly not as in love with the plot as I used to be. Hmm...