AN;; Happy New Year, guys! To celebrate, here's the new chapter of Hard Drive Singer. 3 Thanks for sticking by me all this time.
Hard Drive Singer
Chapter 25
The world was saved. The Database was free from Akaito, free from his meddling fingers. It hurt to think, though. To think she had done such a thing... To think she had enjoyed it. Oh, how horrible. Absolutely horrible. She was disgusted with herself. But this guilt, it gnawed away at her. She had ended a life. No matter if it was human or robot or something in between. She had killed a consciousness. She remembered that last cry of pain, the loosening grip on her leg... How he just seemed to vanish, to pop like a bubble. The tears filled her eyes again, rising, rising. But no, she wouldn't cry again today. She would stop dwelling. She would calm herself, steady herself. It was over.
The large, gold-lined doors swung open with a magnificent creak, a breathtaking sweep. And there was Taito, lying in the corner. His violet eyes were wide, his cheek splattered with blood. He was alive, but only just. His chest heaved with breath, a terrible, trembling up and down motion. His fists grasped loosely at the marble floor. Kaito, who stood beside her, stiffened. He stepped over.
Kaito was not a bad person. Nor was Taito, as much as he scared and disgusted her. The world is not black and white. It is all gray, all melding and blending shades of gray. Nothing is defined or exact. And it was no different in the Database. Kaito stared down at his brother, cowering and stained with blood (or was it coffee?). And he reached out his hand. "If you're willing to come halfway, I'll meet you in the middle," he said, in that deep, comforting voice. Taito just stared, those bloodshot eyes opened unnaturally wide.
And he took Kaito's hand. Mari suspected it must have been quite a shock, being beaten like that. And, thinking back... Each Fanmade was a piece of the original, embodied and walking as a person. Taito was the coward in him, and all the violent, bottled up desires. And Kaito had beaten that part of him, had forced it to its knees. All it could do was accept that, and 'meet him halfway' as the phrase was. "Mm..." Taito managed to voice, standing up. His legs wobbled but did not fall, did not give out. His skin seemed paler than ever.
And that was how it happened. Master, the missing link between Vocaloid and Creator, defeated Akaito, the feared evil. Finally, one might say. Finally. It seemed rather anticlimactic though. After all that worrying, all that running around... He was gone. And now there was only one thing to worry about. The thing that was now eating away at the castle walls, pulsating infinitely. The humongous mass of black, swallowing everything up.
The three, Kaito, Taito, and Mari, reached the hall. Meiko was in tears, Prima comforting her softly. The guards had dropped their weapons and retreated. Who was left? The Vocaloid and UTAU who had chosen to go. They were also sobbing, but more out of desperate, relieved joy. Clutching each other, clustering together. Once Mari entered the room, many ran to her. Hugging her, thanking her, collapsing at her feet. It felt wrong somehow. She had done something terrible, and they were acting so grateful as to make her uncomfortable? But she did not voice this, and instead hugged them, thanked them, helped them up off the floor (why they were doing that, she had no idea...).
Anya walked up to her. The older girl with flowing blond hair, glinting green eyes. She was strapping a bow on her back and tucking a few arrows into a container. "Great job, Master," she said, shaking Mari's hand. "My mission is fufilled." Another Fanmade approached her. A boy with curly pink hair, wearing square glasses and a small smile. Mari was reminded of Teto, and internally sighed. "Hello Master. Thank you for avenging my sister's death." His pink eyes filled with tears, and he gave a small nod. The nametag on his vest read 'Kasane Ted'. There were others, of course. But those two stuck in her mind, especially Ted. She couldn't help but wonder if he was related to Teto. Perhaps she was that 'sister' he had thanked her for avenging?
Eventually they left. Fanmade Central was full of people, running around. Some celebrated, throwing their arms into the air amongst the clouds of dust. Others sobbed and mourned the loss of their ruler. Akaito's demise brought mixed feelings. There were the upper class, who seemed to call Mari an 'ungrateful urchin'. There were the middle and lower classes, who either loved her or hated her. The air was thin with broken tension, dust flying into the air after being brushed off of the surface.
Standing outside those sweeping gates in the fresh, clean air, Mari felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. She honestly couldn't describe it. The mood was much lighter, much simpler. There was no odd reek of death. Only the sweet, familiar sight of her friends, her acquaintances. Her community. She noticed vaguely that Anya and Kaiko had disappeared, but didn't think much of it. Her heart warmed, her cheeks regained their color. It finally came to her, that delicious after-taste following a great struggle. The knowing that it was finally over and done with, that you had succeeded. It tasted rather like really good yogurt. Blueberry, perhaps?
Kaito spoke up, smiling in that usual way. It seemed so charming. "So! How about we go back home?" 'Home' always meant the same place here. Back to VocaUTAU Central. And she couldn't think of a place she'd rather go. It really was wonderful, sitting in the food court with Kaito, Rin, Len, maybe Gumi or Miki, a fat slice of cake on her plate. Now that Akaito was gone, there was nothing to fret about. Except, of course, Miku. And Miku had a considerable amount of power.
Mari looked up at Kaito, troubled. "Will they let me back in?" She wasn't sure they would. Or, if someone vouched for her and she was able to return, Miku might, ah, persuade Gakupo or someone else into kicking her out again. The girl left a rather bad taste in Mari's mouth.
But Kaito's smile only widened. "Don't worry," he said, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they will." And in that second, she believed him. She believed that things would work out, that things would turn out alright. She would go back and be welcomed with a warm smile and a cup of steaming hot chocolate. A greeting handshake, a friendly hug. A few 'how-are-you's.
The two, Vocaloid and Master, walked hand in hand. His large, comforting hand wrapped around her smaller one. Warmth. The others trailed behind, some even in front. A few hummed under their breath. Some skipped, some also held hands. The atmosphere was so light and cheerful, it was hard not to. A grin tugged on Mari's lip.
"Something?" Kaito asked, tilting his head. That confused puppy-dog look on his face. It took all her strength not to giggle. She didn't think he would appreciate it.
"Ah, nothing," she replied, hiding her smile behind a free hand. What was that song? Meruto or something. About a shy girl who's afraid to confess to her crush. It began to play in Mari's head, loud and sweet. She hummed to the tune. It was a... Ryo song, wasn't it? Every song has someone who made it. Yes, she was quite sure it was a Ryo song. She could hear Kaito humming the same tune absentmindedly. Perhaps his was a parody about ice cream. She knew him too well.
"You're familiar with Melt?" he said, chuckling. She thought he looked so great when he laughed, when the sun hit him at just the right angle. He seemed to almost...glow. "That's older! But then, it's still so popular. Miku was a different person back then." He seemed to trail off wistfully, looking into the distance.
Mari blinked. It was her turn to be surprised. "Miku sang Melt?" Melt was such a popular song from, well, her world. Back before she came to the Database. It wasn't possible for Miku to have sung it, was it?
Kaito only laughed more heartily. "Yes." The look he gave her was so warm and amused that she found herself blushing in spite of her trying so hard not to do just that. "You have much to learn, young Master." If Mari had been drinking milk, it would have come out of her nose.
They walked a longer route, talking their time to smell the roses, as the saying goes. The sun shone high and bright, and slowly wafted its way to the lower half of the sky. Toward the rosy, painted western horizon. A marvelous sight. The days had been growing colder as of late, but that day was as warm as any mid July afternoon. A pleasant breeze ruffled their hair, caused Kaito's blue scarf to tremble.
Around evening, they saw the glowing blue gates in the distance. A new guard had apparently been stationed there, but of course he wasn't around. Mari guessed he was busy celebrating with everyone else. It was as if a game had been won. She had been on neutral ground, technically, but she couldn't help but feel happy when "her" team triumphed over the "enemy". It was that delicious, satisfied feeling that she loved so much.
Eventually they were inside, just in time for a nice dinner in the food court. Mari seated herself at one of the tables in the circular room, stars shining through the glass ceiling. Kaito was soon seated beside her. Rin and Len too, and Luka. And Gumi stood beside their table, smiling in that shy way. Evidently, after she stopped being Gakupo's assistant, she became a waitress full-time.
"Cake, Master?" she asked, holding up her pad and pen. Mari nodded yes. "Miss Luka will want a tuna sandwich, I expect. Mr. Kaito will want the daily special. And Rin and Len will both want chicken strips. Right?" She knew them all too well. After affirming this, she scurried off to get their food. The uniform of that cafe in particular was a maid outfit. Gumi looked absolutely adorable in it. Her bouncing green hair, held by that black and white frilly headband, oh! Mari fought her giggles back. No need to embarrass the poor girl.
"So," Kaito said, once they all had their food. Turns out the special that day was a special sort of hamburger. "We've finally beat Akaito. After all that, it's finally over." There was a cheer, and they toasted their waters ("To Master! Without her, who knows what state we'd be in?"). Kaito cleared his throat, and they all began to pay rapt attention. "But that's just it, you see. It isn't over."
Mari blinked. What did he mean, it wasn't over? Of course it was! Akaito was gone. That was all they had to worry about, right? And yet something kept gnawing at her, some evil she had forgotten to put a name to.
"You see, we still have the virus to worry about."
AN;; Didn't forget about old "endlessly pulsating" blobby over here, did'ja? :3 Just do the usual, I suppose. Review if you liked it, review if you didn't. Or don't. That's fine too, haha.