Note from the author: Hi everyone, sorry it's taken so long to get my thoughts together! I am still plugging away at my ideas for the story, but I've been busy with school as well as trying to figure out how I want the next part to go! I'm going to split it as the end of a book here, and start part 2 soon! I also want to mention that the original title "Vocaloid Academy" was for a notion I'd had that never really panned out so I'm going to be changing the title at some point soon to reflect that. AND for a last thought, this was supposed to be a near-future SciFi story and I did a poor job of illustrating that so I'm going to be picking up with the tech aspect in the next book! I hope everyone is ready for it! Thanks all!
"I don't see why we can't just go to the pool now!" Miku complained loudly. "It's so hot and I want to go swimming!" It wasn't actually all that hot out; spring was still asserting itself after winter had finally released it's icy grip on the world and if anything Haku would have said it was simply nice out, but her light blue twintailed girlfriend had always had the least tolerance for the weather of the three of them, so she supposed it only made sense. She turned to glance back at the shorter girl as they walked along the path behind Luka, the pinkish leaves beginning to come into view as they entered the orchard. Further back some distance out of earshot the way they had come she could see Gumi and Teto rounding a corner, but they were engaged in their own discussion, heads together as they walked.
"I thought you wanted to see the sakura trees." The taller Idol said over her shoulder. "You were all up in a fit over it last night." Luka's cascading pink locks were held back in a flowing ponytail knotted in a Chinese style Buddha Bun done up high on the back of her head, and she'd tied thin white ribbons around it just to make it look nice. She wore a rose colored short skirted short sleeved cheongsam and white leggings too that fit her like a glove and set Haku's heart to pounding every time she stared at it too long.
"That was last night when it wasn't like a thousand degrees oooooooout!" Came the answering whine. Miku flicked at one of her twintails in irritation, her hair looking the exact same as always except that she'd also gone with a Chinese look today, they all had. Each of the petite girl's side ponytails were done in Hammer Buns tied around heart shaped brooches. Her cheongsam, in the same style as Luka's, was varying shades of blue and green swirls and slashes on a white backdrop, and her leggings were a seafoam color.
"I think it's nice out." Haku put in tentatively as they reached the orchard's entrance and rounded a gap in a short stone wall. She reached up to check the chopsticks holding her Chinese hair brooch style effect in place. She couldn't see it for herself but the snowy white locks on the back of her head had been pleated to look like a rose brooch design held by crossed chopsticks that the rest of her hair swept down and away from. Her own cheongsam was black with red rose buds all over and black lacy leggings, and all three girls had found their outfit styles in a real boutique. They had bought the dresses to support the store then copied them with their nanite clothing and put the real ones away for safekeeping. The only way Haku's outfit differed was the addition of a pair of black elbow gloves she'd added because she'd come to like wearing gloves.
"You'd say that even if it was so hot out things were spontaneously catching on fire." Miku muttered plaintively. Haku just smiled at her and reached back to take the shorter girl's hand. Miku brightened up at that and squeezed it happily and they followed Luka around the wall and into the orchard. There were people everywhere all milling about doing the same thing they were here to do; appreciate the beauty of the blooming orchard. As soon add they did the green eyed girl's expression changed to awe and she let out a long woosh of air. "Aaaaaaaaaaahhh! So pretty!"
The petals of the cherry blossoms were all various shades of pinks and reds and a light breeze blowing through the branches rustled a few loose here and there and some rained down gently all around. Their bubbly girlfriend began dragging the other two around and Haku traded looks with Luka. The taller idol affected a fake long suffering sigh. "She's already forgotten about the pool. That was all it took."
Haku smiled and shook her head. "She'll remember later."
Luka's fake exasperation turned into real affection that carried down their cybermind link as the more familiar pulsing golden glow of love that came from any off them whenever they were feeling particularly passionate. "You have such a beautiful smile, Haku-chin."
Haku blushed and shifted her head a bit as though to glance away but didn't actually break eye contact with her blue eyed love. "You always… say things like that." She murmured, but it was half hearted at best.
"Because it's totally true!" Miku called back over her shoulder as she guided them between some people standing between two sakura trees, having seen Haku's face in her mind through Luka's eyes from their connection.
"I just keep hoping it'll eventually sink in if we tell you enough times." Luka said in a wry tone as they walked around the trees, coming to an edge of a sort of sharp drop off ledge on the hillside the orchard was on, the short wall even lower and narrower here to allow for a really picturesque vista of the countryside sweeping away eastward framed by the sakura trees all around them.
"I just… you both always say things about how pretty I am but I just don't see it." Haku let out a little sigh. She'd tried considering it for them, she'd thought about it, but... "I believe that you believe it, but I don't, I'm sorry."
Miku rounded on her there by the edge if the trees, "But you're so beautiful! Do you think we're lying to you or making it up or something?!" She stomped her foot on the ground. "Why would we do that?!"
"I don't think you're lying…" Haku murmured uncomfortably. "I said I thought you believed it…"
"But you'll just dismiss our opinions as invalid because you don't believe it?!" The shorter girl demanded.
Haku opened her mouth to answer… but found she had no response to that. Nothing she could think to say in reply would sound good, and she tried very hard to keep words like 'it's my body' and 'how would you know' from leaking down their mental connection to them, but judging by the way both of the gorgeous girls facing her narrowed their eyes at her she didn't manage it. The link carried everything, there was really no way to filter it. Luka sighed and shook her head. "You think we're both pretty. I can see how we look to you in your eyes." She tapped the side of her head to indicate their connection.
"Because you both are so gorgeous." Haku whispered staring at the two radiant creatures before her framed so beautifully in nature's backdrop, and even as she said it she realized how hypocritical it sounded. Why should their view of her looks be less valid than her view of theirs? She tried again. "You both know you are. You're word famous idols with years of tens of thousands of fans across the globe raving on every known form of social media about how absolutely radiant you are."
"Do you really think tens of thousands of strangers' opinions are as important or as meaningful to us as yours is?!" Miku demanded with an emphatic wave of her hand in the air.
"Well… I mean that's a lot of people all saying the same thing?" Haku was beginning to feel overwhelmed and out of her depth. Her mind was reeling as her heart and head seemed to be telling her two different things. The other two sensed the unease coming from her and Luka stepped forward and took up Haku's hands in hers.
"Come over here a minute Haku-chin, I want to show you something." The slightly taller girl led her over beside a sakura tree and turned them around so she was where Luka had been standing with her back to the low narrow wall then stepped back so they had traded places. Miku skipped over to where the pink haired beauty stood and they both looked at her. "I want to ask you to do something for me, okay?"
"What… what is it?" She replied nervously.
"You can consider it a personal favor if you want, whatever helps you actually do it," Luka's crystal voice came in a quiet gentle tone, but insistent. "but I need you to promise me that you will do it, honestly and without trying to sidestep it or get out of it."
Haku could see the request in Luka's mind already, could see the thoughts forming in her idol's head, she wasn't sure she really wanted to, but such a heavy personal request like that… "You know… I would never deny you anything, but… please… tell why you're making me do this…? Why is convincing me of this so important to you?" This wasn't the first time they had had discussions like this after all, at least of this intensity.
"I only want you…" Luka's voice was so full of caring and love it was almost a tangible feeling. "To see the way we see you. So we can all be equal in this, like in everything else we do, ne?"
"And because it's important for you to think you're pretty!" Miku gushed.
"Why is that important?" Haku asked a little annoyed. "Who cares? Tons of people aren't good looking, and even if medical science has reached a point of nearly flawless cosmetic surgery in the past hundred years people still live their lives with average looks all the time. It's okay to be less than okay looking, or big, or hunched, or anything." She had the bit between her teeth now and was all but biting off her words. "Modern medicine isn't what it used to be back when we still had to rely on primitive pharmaceuticals and scalpel surgery techniques. Humanity has evolved passed such things and since everyone can be healthy now despite whatever they look like, what does it matter?"
"It is completely okay to be chubby, or plain, or any of that, you're right." Luka said gently, and tilted her head a bit, a look on her face of such compassion it was hard for Haku to stay annoyed. "But it's also okay to be pretty."
"It matters," Miku put in with a caring, if still pointed note in her chime like voice, "because you are beautiful. You denying it like you always do is no different than a fat person denying their weight, or an ugly person pretending they aren't. It's a form of self imposed body shame when there is no shame! It's okay to be fat and plain, but it's okay to be pretty too!'
Haku felt like they'd pierced her heart with their words. She had literally never seen it that way before. A form of self body shaming… for looking good?! It sounded absolutely ridiculous, but… it was true. "What…" she asked haltingly, knowing the answer, needing them to say it anyway. "What do you… want me to do?"
"Stand there by the tree like you are." Luka said still with that careful gentle tone. "Relax your muscles, you look so tense. Ease yourself a little bit… that's it. Now, look at yourself through our eyes." That was certainly not hard, the way they practically lived in each other's heads now as if they'd always been apart of each other. Their new connection bridges granting them access to basically everything including the satellite linkup meant they could stay connected at any distance at all now, and they always were, unless they had some reason not to be. "Put away everything for a moment but this picture. Look at yourself through our eyes as if you were looking at a stranger. Just pretend for a moment you've never seen this image before." She waited for Haku to take a deep breath, clear her mind as requested, put away all her biases and nod before going on. "Put yourself in a stranger's shoes. You're in a sakura orchard, you're walking around looking at the pretty trees, and you spot a white haired girl under one. Look through our eyes, tell me what you think of her."
She stared at herself, her own eyes open but not registering, seeing through theirs, watching, examining, considering. Soft face, long flowing white waterfall of hair, curvaceous, amazingly lithe yet lush in all the right places… the expression was a little sad perhaps, but the corners of her mouth and eyes had cute little laugh lines, and her red eyes were kind and held a depth of intelligence that was both profound and alluring, all of which gave the girl an exotic air of poise that seemed to draw attention right to her. And it got her… "You're right… she's beautiful…"
"She absolutely is!" Miku cheered.
Good gods they were right… She could see it now, could really and truly see her physical beauty, forced to acknowledge it for the first time. Yet… she saw the way she had acted in the past too, denying it at every opportunity. What was she so afraid of? Tears stung her eyes and she sank to her knees, but even as her shins hit the ground the other two were right there, and they caught and held her as she wept softly, "I don't… I don't want to be pretty!"
"Haku-chin… what's wrong with being who you are?" Luka asked quietly as though trying not to frighten her.
"I don't want it!" She sobbed, trying to get ahold of herself, embarrassed at breaking down in public, but… this was a thing that had been building between them for months. She felt them both squeeze her around the shoulders.
"Don't want to be pretty?" Miku asked confused, but they saw the thoughts swirling through Haku's head even as she sorted then out at last.
"I don't want the attention!" She wrapped one arm around either of them and squeezed back as months off repressed reasons and emotions came bubbling out of her. "The more beautiful a person is the more likely they'll get stalked for it. I don't want that kind of attention, don't want to be stared at or talked to just because of it. I don't want to be walking down the street and get leered at, or worse, have someone grab me!" Her arms tightened convulsively around them as she let off a shudder at the thought. "And I don't want to have to live up to it! If people think I'm beautiful they'll expect things from me, expect certain actions or effort on my part to maintain it, and if I don't live up to those expectations I'll get ridiculed!"
They were silent for awhile just holding her while she tried to stop sobbing, stroking her hair and squeezing her shoulders and murmuring comforting sounds. Once her tears finally began to slow Luka put a tender finger beneath her chin to lift her damp face up so she could look her in the eye. "You are beautiful Haku-chin, that's just a fact. Wishing you weren't, denying that you are, won't stop the creeps from chasing you if they decide to. Pretending you're not, refusing to acknowledge it, won't make the rest of the world stop seeing you that way, and it won't keep people from thinking whatever they will. None of that is in your control, I'm sorry to say. What you can control though, is what you do about it." She lifted her other hand to brush at some of the tears on her cheek, and Haku thought that Luka's delicate hands on her damp face was about the most heavenly thing she'd ever felt right then. "You can dress nicely, you can keep yourself well, and you can choose what sort of image or form your beauty takes, and if someone decides to try to take advantage of that, that won't be your fault."
"And we'll be there to make them sorry if they try!" Miku said, glomming onto Haku from behind, circling her arms around her middle and pressing her cheek to her shoulder beside her head. "We love you so much, we won't let anything happen to you, and we'll help you and make you as comfortable with yourself as we possibly can, we promise!"
Haku wrapped her arms around Miku's around her tummy and leaned her face into Luka's palms. "You… you both promise? You promise you'll help me to… to be pretty… the best way…?"
Luka smiled and leaned her head down to touch their foreheads together and nuzzled softly against her angel. "You already are beautiful, and you always have been. But we promise to help you discover yourself in it, to be here for you and guide you until you're comfortable with it."
"I have like a majillionty things I want try on with you!" Miku giggled against her and practically bounced all bubbly behind her against her back. "I want to go clothes shopping together!"
"Why? We don't need regular clothes anymore." Haku said as she pulled away slightly, her tears finally stopping as she began to wipe at her face with her hands. She usually kept a silk handkerchief in a pocket but she had nowhere to put one in her dress at the moment.
"That is so not the point!" Miku objected as they all got to their feet once more. "The fun is in the shopping and the trying on the pretty things together! Oh! We should go to a jewelry store too! Buy something shiny and sparkly! What ever happened to our lockets?! Did we put them somewhere? I don't remember! Oh and Haku-chin's bracelet Luka-chin bought for your birthday!"
"My bracelet is in my room back at the Compound." She said, thinking hard about it. "Our lockets….?"
"Didn't we last have them when we were out on our Christmas night walk?' Luka pondered out loud.
"I really want my locket back, it's really special…" Miku said with a little pout.
Haku blinked at her. "It meant that much to you…?"
"Of course it did! What kind of question is that?!" Miku exclaimed with an emphatic waving of her arms. "It was a gift from you which is special enough but on top of that you gave them to us when you confessed your feelings for us! That makes them like super double extra special!" Her girlfriend's goofy word choice aside Haku felt a warmth spreading through her at the sentiment and basked in the golden glow of love she felt down the cyber link the three of them shared.
"Well at least we know they're safe inside the Compound." Luka put in, reaching a hand out to take both of their hands and continue leading them through the sakura trees. "We can go back for them any time."
"Any time now that daddy has finally released the lockdown." Miku said thoughtfully.
"I think we had them the last time we went to lunch before we had to go into hiding." Haku said, memory drifting back to her.
"Eh? Really?" Miku asked hopefully.
"Mhm, I think they're in the glove box in the car."
"I think she's right." Luka said, which elicited a cheer from the petite girl.
The orchard really was beautiful and despite the sobering thoughts to dwell on they had an extremely enjoyable time just waking amongst the sakura trees, holding each other's hands and just being together. A couple of the velvety petals landed on her cheek and shoulder and Haku thought the cherry blossom petals were as soft and as delicate as her girlfriends' skin. She let go of the hands in hers and caught them against her tummy and chest as they tumbled down her front and the other two girls turned to look back at her when she let go, her musings about their skin catching their attention down the link even as her physical motions did. Miku flushed slightly and Luka smiled playfully and Haku reached up to tuck the petals that had landed on her in their hair behind their ears. They smiled lovingly back at her and reached up to brush their hands along her arms, and she blushed faintly too but smiled back. "I love you both." She told them.
"We love you too, Haku-chin." Luka replied softly.
"And each other too!" Miku gushed. They all giggled, the three of them each feeling especially romantic beneath the cherry blossoms in that moment. They couldn't quite tell who the desire for kisses originally came from at that second, but they were all suddenly leaning closer, headless of the fact that they were in public, drawing closer and closer, eyelids drooping, lips pursing… then abruptly they jumped in startlement as a gushy voice from a certain green haired friend of theirs called out their names from a ways off.
"Teto-chin! I found them!" Gumi called. The three powerful Vocaloids split apart blushing like schoolgirls, even Luka who was usually so calm and collected she rarely ever got so much as rosy cheeked. As Gumi drew up to them she blinked curiously at their expressions as they tried not to look too flustered, then she just smiled knowingly at them. "Do you three need a moment?" She asked playfully.
Haku felt her cheeks flush even harder and she couldn't stop herself from dropping her gaze to ground. Miku seemed on the verge of apoplexy, sputtering and squeaking and choking out incoherent objections. Luka at least seemed serene enough for conversation, her crystal voice smooth and calm despite her reddened cheeks. "What is it, Gumi-chan?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing!" The curvy green haired girl said still in her playful bubbly tones. "You've been wandering around the orchard for like an hour, Teto-chin was just wondering when you'd be ready to go."
"I was wondering?" The conical pigtailed girl asked in her usual cool tones as she came up beside her short haired girlfriend. "You make it sound like I was being pushy to leave or something."
Gumi's expression changed to one of long suffering annoyance. "That was exactly what you said though! 'I wonder if they're going to be ready to leave any time soon!'"
The usually calm collected redhead actually flushed a bit and her tones turned from cool to chilly. "You don't need to repeat it like that though."
"Would you rather I lied?" Gumi asked vehemently, throwing an arm out for emphasis. Even though she fell short of a yell it still drew nearby eyes and abruptly Haku got the feeling they were making a scene.
"Well no, but do you have to mention it at all?" Teto's voice was frigid now, a cold anger that sent a shiver up Miku's spine which Haku could feel clearly down their mental link as though the chill were traveling along her own backbone. "You could have just come up and asked when we were leaving without making a big deal out of it."
"It's not my job shield the world from your abrasive attitude!" Gumi definitely shouted this time and the three of them watching began making soothing gestures to try to get their attention while casting nervous glances at the growing number of people slowing their walk around the cherry blossom orchard to stare at the arguing girls. Haku wasn't sure how they'd suddenly come to a fight like this but she wanted to get her friends out of here.
"How about we take a minute to calm down and head back to the car for some privacy…?" Luka suggested calmly but insistently.
"Oh well excuse me for thinking I could count on my girlfriend to support me in awkward situations." Teto retorted coldly, heedless of the taller idol's urgings.
"Count on, or use for a complete crutch?" Gumi snapped. "You might as well not even try for yourself!" As soon as those words were out everyone fell silent on one of those sudden awkward moments where everyone instinctively knows that a line had been crossed. Gumi's eyes widened and Teto's grew pained. After a long very heavy pause Gumi opened her mouth but Teto just turned away.
"I'll think I'll walk back. No need to wait on me." Came the cold response.
"Teto-chin wait…!" Gumi started to step forward, but the redhead quickened her pace, deliberately showing she wouldn't wait, her shoulders hunched and her body language drawn in making it clear she didn't want anyone following her. Gumi took one step before stopping, and it wasn't long before Teto rounded the gate in the wall and disappeared. Everyone stood there frozen in awkward silence and Haku didn't need the wireless link to her girlfriends to know they mirrored her discomfort. It was most likely that they'd only witnessed the tip of the iceberg in a much bigger and more widespread argument between the two of them, but that didn't make it any easier in that moment. Facing what had just happened Haku reflected on the fickleness of human nature. All of their advances as a race, all of their progress in the last two centuries since the turn of the millennium and the technology boom that heralded the age of modern medical perfection and technological purity, up to and including creating cyborgs… and ultimately they were still little more than pawns to their own psyches. After a few long tense moments Gumi turned and and looked at them, her expression a carefully blank neutral mask that was obviously designed to keep her from breaking down as much as to prevent anyone reaching out to her. Haku wanted to though, wanted to there for her friend as Gumi had been for her in the past, but the short haired girl just gestured in the direction they had parked. "Will you… drop me off somewhere…?"
"Where?" Luka asked carefully.
Gumi blinked as though that detail hadn't occurred to her and she shrugged helplessly, apparently at a loss for answer. "I don't…"
Haku's heart went out to her and she said softly, "Why don't you stay with us for awhile?" All eyes turned to her and she shrugged one shoulder. "I mean, I have plenty of space, and a lab to see to your maintenance…" None of them so much as batted an eye at that anymore. It still felt weird, but after months now it was just that they were what they were. "You can stay as long as you need, until you two…" she trailed off, the implications heavy, and there was a tense pause before Gumi finally nodded and Haku let out the breath she'd been holding.
"If… if that's really okay? I wouldn't want to be an imposition."
"Of course it's okay!" Miku chimed in, throwing her arms wide in emphasis. "We'd love to have you as a guest!"
"Well… alright then." The green haired girl seemed to lose her wording again, her usual bubbly demeanor not on evidence right then.
As she did so well in so many situations Luka shifted gears to take the lead. "Why don't we get out of here, hm?" She suggested in her crystal tones. "Miku-chin wanted to go to the mall. Maybe some shopping or something tasty would help, ne?" At Gumi's return nod the four of them turned to head back to the car. It was an awkward silence as they climbed into Haku's Maserati, Gumi staring blankly off in the direction Teto has gone as though she could see her. Haku had driven here which made it Miku's turn so she got in the back seat with Gumi while her girlfriends took the front seats and a moment later they were on the road. The curvy green haired girl stared morosely out the window at the street rolling by the entire time as they made their way deeper into the city and both buildings and crowds grew denser until they weren't far from the mall at all. No one said anything the entire ride, just sitting in awkward silence until abruptly Gumi lifted her head and let her hand slap down on her knee.
"Stop the car." She said, not impolitely but still insistently. "I'm sorry I don't want to go shopping right now. Let me out."
Miku pulled over after a few moments of searching for a spot and they let Gumi out of the Maserati. "Want us to come back by after we're done to pick you up?" Luka asked her.
Their friend shook her head in response. "No I… I think I need to be alone for awhile… I'm just gonna walk a bit… I'll find my own way back…" She looked for a moment like she might say more but then she just turned away. Haku again felt her heart going out to Gumi but… she had to sort things out, and if she didn't want company… what could they do?
"Do we… just leave her…?" Miku asked worriedly as they watched Gumi get out of sight quickly lost amongst the crowds.
With a somber sort of mood in the air now they got themselves situated back in the car and Luka looked at the petite girl still behind the wheel. "All we can really do is be there for her when she comes back, in whatever way she needs. For now the best we can do is give her the space she needs and go about our day."
Miku gave a small nod to that, then after a last glance at the crowd where their friend had disappeared she threw the car into gear and they pulled back out into traffic. "I think they've been arguing for a long time." She said speculatively.
"You've been friends with them the longest, did you ever hear them fight?" Luka asked, gazing out the window with a far off look in her blue eyes that wasn't really seeing anything. Everyone had moments like that, so absorbed in a thought one really doesn't see whatever they're looking at. Curious what that was like from the outside Haku felt gently along their cyber connection, examining the presence in the back of her head that was her mental link to the pink haired beauty. Luka's eyes were definitely working, Haku could see the street they were driving down as clearly through her girlfriend's eyes as she could her own. Mentally however that visual stimulus seemed somehow muted, as though her mind just wasn't registering it at that moment. It was an interesting thing.
"I mean, to be honest I didn't even know they were together until after they'd come to the Compound." Miku replied with a frustrated yet still adorable little pouty twist to her lips, her bubbliness leaking through even now. "They weren't exactly super close friends at the time just family acquaintances you know like we didn't get all super close until this whole deal recently with what we are and I suppose they would only argue in private because like I mean duh right like why wouldn't they want privacy for having their spats and well now that I think about it I used to sometimes see one or the other of them looking all puffy red eyed cry face status wandering alone in the halls like some creeptastic poltergeist or something like once I ran into Teto-chan late at night in the dark when I got up to potty and I shrieked so loud I would have bet my last pocky I'd woken up the entire place cuz she just looked so red faced and super freaky and I really think they'd been fighting cuz she just looked at me and whispered something about being-" she dropped her tone a little without breaking stride in her words to minic Teto's deeper natural monotone before resuming her word tirade. "- 'Jealous of your simpler circumstances, Hatsune-san.' like whatever that means I was super confused cuz that was when we were getting things all super complicated between the three of us and I had no idea how that could be seen as 'simple' like seriously how'd she even know it was so freaky I almost wet myself right there and-"
"I wonder if they've been having problems for a long time." As usual when Miku's word barrage happened it took a smooth interjection from Luka to derail her.
"On Miku-chin's birthday Gumi-chan came talk to me all red faced from crying after having a fight with Teto-chan." Haku ventured. "So they've been having arguments at least that long."
"That was almost five months ago!" Miku exclaimed as she turned the Maserati into a giant parking garage attached to the side of the mall. This one wasn't quite so big as the Stellar Palace but The Factory was still huge. Once they'd parked and gotten out they made for the mall entrance, a thought inward while they walked shifting their nanite cheongsams to mimic their more usual outfits instead.
The bottom floor had been renovated this month tio display all kinds of promotional stands and displays with kiosks everywhere and even a couple of setups with artistic displays and tables as seats for relaxing or eating. They walked along looking at everything and enjoying being out together, which was the most important part to Haku. Most of the time she didn't care where she was as long as the other two were with her. They were more important to her than anything else in the world.
The mall had several clothing stores and Miku seemed determined lead them into every last one, skipping along ahead of the other two in absolute shopping bliss. The first stop was a designer casual wear store, and the petite girl skipped straight up to the most expensive racks without a second thought. "Ohmigosh this shirt would look so great on you Haku-chin!" She exclaimed, immediately snatching up a dark grey t-shirt with a wide neck that would bare her shoulders a little bit. It had a black heart on the lower half that would lay flat against her tummy if she wore it. Miku held it up to Haku's neck to let it hang down her front and scrutinized the effect for a moment. "Well the cut is nice anyway, but the heart is a little odd in these colors." Haku blinked as the shirt went back on the track.
"What about this?" Luka suggested lifting up a black floral patterned lace top. It was completely see through on the short sleeves and upper chest but not below that and she held it up to Haku's torso in the same way Miku had. The shorter girl turned and gasped.
"That is toooooootally you!" She gushed.
"You… think so?" Haku asked, starting to feel self conscious. She'd agreed to this, asked them to help her feel pretty, and they were doing it… but she wasn't sure she was really ready for it. They could feel her doubt through their mental connection of course, her unease practically rolling off her, but they smiled and that golden glow that she knew was their love brightened across their cyberlink, and it helped ease her nerves considerably.
"You don't have to buy anything, Haku-chin." Luka set a hand on her upper arm reassuringly and gave it a squeeze. "This isn't about committing to a change, it's just about seeing, and believing." She smiled that small private smile again, which always melted Haku a little on the inside. "And, if at all possible, having fun."
"It's kinda like playing dress up, ne?" Miku said, circling both of her arms around Haku's other arm and hugging it to herself. "We're just looking and admiring, you don't have to feel like we're here to get anything. There's no pressure at all, it's just another thing do to out together! You don't need to buy anything unless something really catches your fancy and you decide to for yourself!"
Haku gave a nod feeling reassured, and after a brief glance around to make sure no one was in eyeshot so they could trade quick kisses they went back to looking through the clothes. For the next couple of hours they looked through rack after rack in section after section as they hopped between stores in the mall. Some of the clothes they held up to her in considering ways as before, others they took one glance at to reject them and move on. Once or twice they looked around for a mirror to look themselves over, holding a shirt or pants up over themselves or each other to see how it looked in the mirror. After awhile Haku began to find that she really was having fun even despite her reservations from earlier. Miku was right, it was sorta like dress up, and the three of them were beginning to have a wonderful time together.
"This purple blouse would really make your eyes pop, Haku-chin." Luka said, holding one up for inspection.
"Really?" She asked, squinting at the cut and the way it would cause it to really hang off her shoulders. "I don't know. I think it would really look better on you." She replied.
"Eh? No way." Miku chimed in, flicking through a rack of shirts with a measured click click click of hangers as she shifted them aside. "Purple is definitely one of your colors, Haku-chin."
"Ha?" Haku blushed. "No, you both look great in purple too."
"Not as great as you do!" Miku insisted.
"Everyone has their colors that just seem to compliment them best, but that doesn't mean they don't look good on others." Luka put in as she turned away from the rack she was at.
They all stopped and looked at each other for a long moment, Haku wondering what to do next while the other two considered how far to try to push things. Finally Miku snatched up the purple blouse and also a pair of black designer jeans that had little silvery sparkles spaced out along the seams in little swirly patterns and grabbed one of Haku's hands with her free one. "Come on! Let's try them on!"
"Wh-what? But I-!" Haku tried to object, but Miku held on and it was either go along or forcibly pull her hand away, so a moment later she found herself pulled into a dressing room while Luka shut the thin door behind them. "I thought you said-!"
"We're just trying them on, you don't have to buy them!" Miku said encouragingly, holding up the blouse to prompt her.
"It's part of the experience, that's all." Luka added softly behind her.
With both of their eyes on her Haku sighed and resigned herself. She supposed she'd asked for this afterall, so with a thought she let most of her nanite clothing fade, the microscopic machines retreating almost instantly back into her body, all except for the ones mimicking her favorite lacy black bra and panties. She didn't have to look up to see her girlfriends eying her body, their presences in the back of her mind giving that much away as she pulled the blouse on over her head, the golden glow of love tinging ever so faintly with the sunset red of passion. Wordlessly Miku held the jeans out and Haku took them next, sliding them up her legs then buttoning them after. She turned to the mirror sliding her hands down her sides and over her hips self consciously… and froze. If she was supposed to be keeping an open mind about this, supposed to be looking at herself through their eyes, supposed to be letting them help guide her toward being comfortable being pretty… then she had to admit, looking at herself in these designer clothes in this mirror…
"You look so good in that, Haku-chin." Luka breathed behind her.
"Like so super amazing!" Miku chimed.
"I… think so too…" She admitted to them, turning this way and that to examine herself in the mirror. She really did like it, even the way the broad neck of the blouse seemed to barely cling to the edges of her shoulders and the way the jeans hugged her hips. Sensing her gradual shift towards a positive feeling about it along their connection Miku opened her mouth to ask a question, but for once finding a bit of self control she bit her lip to keep the words back. They'd both promised not to push her afterall, but she could see the question still in her girlfriend's mind, and she could see how they were both admiring her in the outfit, how they were both looking at and appreciating her form, and abruptly she felt elated. Leaning over to give the petite girl a pleased kiss she leaned back and smiled at her. "Yes, I think I want to buy it." She answered the silent question, and Miku broke out into giggles. Luka leaned in to give them both kisses too, the heat in the dressing room beginning to rise as soft lips parted against one after the other, but they swallowed and giggled at each other as Haku popped the tags off. She wanted to wear the new outfit right then, so they left the dressing room with them in hand to go pay.
As they approached the register Haku glanced around toward the shop's doors and checked the time with a brief inward thought to her internal systems. They had gone through several of the clothing stores in the mall, and while they'd been at it for some time she was sure they hadn't been to them all yet. She didn't want to spend all day going to every last one but she didn't have to worry, the other two seemed to be about finished as well, despite the earlier feeling from Miku of wanting to see them all. They'd had a great time window shopping and they both had smiles for her as they left the store, and surprisingly she found herself thinking about some of the other clothes they'd looked at. How they'd looked held up to her, how the fabrics had felt, how the cuts would hang on her… then it hit her. This was a normal thing out for girls her age to be doing. To Luka and Miku this was no different than any other outing, but she'd lived a very shut away life. She's never realized how cathartic just shopping could be. Sensing her thoughts as always her girlfriends turned to glance at her… and that's when the cake came into view.
All of their eyes widened in shocked surprise at the massive chocolate confection being wheeled by on a cart. It was enough layers high that if set on the ground would probably rival Miku in height with it's tapering tiers, each of which was decorated (nay, encrusted) with patterned bits of candy pieces and swirls of frosting all over it. It was being pushed by several people and was clearly on it's way somewhere else in the mall but all three of them couldn't help but take a few steps forward at the glorious chocolatey dream slowly making it's way away from them. It looked so delicious that Haku found herself envious of whoever it was intended for, and like her girlfriends she was almost completely oblivious to her surroundings as they moved forward a few steps more. Then a few more. Then a few more… Haku stopped abruptly as she felt her toe bump something. She looked down, seeing the rim of the huge fountain in the center of the plaza they'd entered. She stopped herself just in time and, somehow sensing the other two in the same predicament, reached a frantic hand up to try to catch them. She managed to get ahold of Luka, but a sharp squeal and a splash said she'd missed Miku.
"Iyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Miku screeched, scrambling around in the water trying to get up as quickly as she could and splashing water around all over in her haste. Haku was just as quick as Luka to reach out a hand to help the petite girl, and they both got splashed themselves as Miku grabbed ahold.
"Yaaaa! That's cold!" Haku shrieked as she felt the frigid bite of the water soak into her brand new blouse.
"Miku-chin! Calm down, we've got you!" Luka told her, holding fast and lifting in time with Haku.
"I can't help it I'm soaked and it's so coooooooold!" Miku whined plaintively as they lifted her clear of the fountain rim and she stepped back over the edge, splashing yet more water all over. A puddle quickly formed at their feet and she began shivering. "Co-cooooooooooold!" She whined pitifully.
"Come on." Luka said, tugging the shorter girl around by the hand she was still holding and making for the restrooms. Haku followed and as they went she spotted a janitor or maintenance staff or… what did they call themselves here? She wasn't sure but he'd seen what happened and she gestured at the puddle with an apologetic look and he nodded his understanding.
The bathrooms weren't as crowded as she might have thought they'd be for late afternoon on a business day and they shuffled their soaked girlfriend into a stall, her shoulders hunched with the frigid water and her makeup running in wet tracks down her cheeks. Haku held her hands up and tilted her head a bit. "Let your clothes go, Miku-chin." Still shivering Miku blinked wide eyed at the abruptness of the request, and Haku winced at herself. "I mean… I think I can help…"
"O-Okay…" she mumbled, and her nanites receded the same way Haku's own had in the changing room, which visibly just looked like they shrank then just faded away in the space of a heartbeat. The tiny machines had as little issue moving through and out of the water that had soaked in among them in their fabricated clothing as they did moving through living cells so Miku's bare skin began to glisten wetly as through she'd just stepped out of a bath. She stood there naked and shivering with visible goose bumps pebbling up all over her and a pitiful look on her face. "Wh-wh-what are you g-gonna d-do?"
Haku smiled reassuringly and let her own nanites form to her will. The fabricated cloth seemed to start in her palms and fall out from her empty hands, but it merged and expanded downward until a moment later it looked like she was holding a huge fluffy white towel. Miku and Luka's eyes both went wide and the twintailed girl squeed happily and threw herself into it and against Haku, who captured her in a big soft fluffy towel hug and held her close with a giggle. Her shorter girlfriend felt nice in her arms like this, even if she was squirming around trying to get dry, and Haku enjoyed the feel of Miku's body against hers through the towel. When Miku stopped rotating in place she pressed her cheek to the top of the other girl's damp head, not caring about the wetness in the silky light blue hair. and she felt Miku's arms go around her waist. Then Luka leaned in and gave them both a hug at once, enveloping both of them around the shoulders. "You're brilliant Haku-chin, as always." It was a warm fuzzy feeling and they all took a moment to bask in it and the golden glow.
Once Miku was all dried of she let her clothes come back, this time a white one piece dress with teal and black stripes along her sides and up onto her shoulders, and Haku patted her cheeks clean of the washed out makeup while she held her face up with a cute little scrunched look. Once that was done she held the fabricated towel away from herself over a sink and let her nanites retract back into her body through her hands."Thank you Haku-chin!" She said with a little giggle. Most of the moisture and ruined makeup ended up in the sink and she washed the little bit off that had gotten on her hands. When she was done and turned around Miku smiled at her. "Now let's go get some got tea! It'll help warm me back up!"
"That sounds like a lovey idea." Luka agreed, letting her clothes change to so she was dry from the small splash she'd made. She shifted into a light green floral patterned sundress, and taking either of them by the hand the pink haired beauty led them from the bathroom back out into the mall. The logical part of Haku's mind said that they shouldn't be holding hands so openly out in public like this, that they might be seen and perpetuate the rumors about them, but her heart cried out for joy at getting to hold hands with the women she loved more than life itself, and after the emotional day they'd had her heart won without much trouble. She could feel the same sense of joy from the other two as well, and she marveled that such a small thing could affect them so.
Luka led them to a small relaxed cafe that was busy but that had it's chairs and tables arranged in such a way as to give everyone a modicum of privacy. Stepping up to the counter the waitress gave a formal bow at the waist, her black shirt and red apron both on the frilly side. "Good evening to you and welcome to Chaya. What may I have prepared for such honored guests this afternoon?"
Haku glanced up at the sign over the door. The kanji literally read "tea house" but the way she pronounced it sounded cute. She heard Miku order for them all while she was looking around. "Three hot spiced chai teas and biscuits, please!" Haku turned her head back around in time to see the cashier give an accepting bow of her head as she rang it up. Miku produced a credit card and the holo display on the register terminal lit up as she beeped it over it.
"Thank you very much, we'll bring that right out to you, if you'd care to have a seat!"
"Thank you!" Miku giggled and led them over to a seat near the windows. Luka perched on a stool and Miku pulled a chair up leaving Haku to slide one over for herself too. Once they got situated the petite girl glanced around and caught a look of her reflection in the window and her face fell. "Oh nooooooooo! My makeup all washed off cuz of the fountain! I totally didn't bring my touch up kit, I didn't think I'd need it!"
"I've got mine." Luka said, reaching into a pocket hidden in the folds of her patterned sundress and producing a little plastic case. "If you'd like I can at least do your eyeliner, blush, and lipstick?"
"Ooooooh yes please!" She scooted her chair forward so their knees were almost touching as Luka set the plastic case down on the counter in front of herself and opened it. Haku watched transfixed as the pink haired beauty lifted a small eye liner pencil free of it and reached up to start working as Miku shut her eyes and pushed her face forward eagerly. Luka slowly worked her way around one eye then the other, then ran a small bristle mascara brush through Miku's eyelashes ever so carefully, then traded that for a soft pad she used to gently pat a rosy tint into Miku's cheeks with. By the time that was all done their chai and little hard biscuits showed up, and Miku took a minute to take a few long drinks before she let Luka do her lipstick. "Ah! Ah, that's hot!"
"Wasn't that the point…?" Luka smirked at her, and Miku stuck her tongue out at the taller idol with a little "Bleeeeeh!" sound, which just made Luka giggle at her.
Miku set her cup aside after a moment then leaned forward once more and closed her eyes, pushing her face out toward Luka again and pursing her lips. Haku contented herself with nibbling on one of the hard little biscuits as she watched Luka's face take on a look of concentration as she began to trace the lipstick over Miku's lips. A sun beam through the window was falling at just the right angle to frame the little scene in a picturesque way, and Haku was struck again by just how beautiful and natural they were. With a little thought she snapped an internal picture with her cyber mind, storing the image away in her internal data for later. She loved nothing more than watching the women she loved. … … well. Maybe one or two things more than just watching them…
… … … … …
"Come." He called out on in response to a knock at the office door without looking up from the reports he was reading on the tablet.
"General Akita?" Came the inquisitive call from the doorway. Sergeant Stone stepped just inside and shut the door behind him. "The units have regained consciousness."
The General set his tablet down on the desk before him and laced his fingers together. "Excellent news. It took longer than expected, any sign of implant rejection or software malfunction?"
"The Doctor is giving them a full medical examination now. At the moment it's too early to say for certain, but initial scans appear very promising. Their technological abilities should begin to acclimate very quickly, and their power cores are stable."
"Very good." He leaned back in his chair, resting his still folded hands on his stomach. "Then we will begin phase two immediately."
"Yes sir. What are our orders for the operation?' Stone wanted to know.
"An enemy allowed to collect itself and regroup is a tiresome foe, but a cornered opponent is a dangerous adversary. We want to harry them, to wear them down, to deny them their comforts and their resources little by little until there is no fight left in them."
"So we will start with their base of operations?" The sergeant asked curiously. "Our surveillance has shown their manor to be in use once more. We can get in now."
"No." General Akita said with a shake of his head. "The entire Compound of theirs is to large a step at once. We want to harry them, not attack. Deny them a resource." He lifted his laced fingers up to tap his knuckles against his chin thoughtfully. "We will take the Hatsune parents into custody and seize their scientific assets and equipment. An empty house should serve as an abrupt douse of cold reality, and may even net us a technological advantage on our own cybernetic efforts as well."
Stone gave a sharp salute. "Yes sir, I will issue your orders at once. We will be prepared to move within the hour!" With that he ducked back out the door, pulling it shut behind him as he went.
Allowing himself to indulge in a rare moment of being pleased with himself and in how events were going he leaned further back in his chair and thought about how the next twenty four hours were likely to go. Once he had denied them their medical and scientific support these girls would have nowhere to turn, while his own units would be maintained by his team. They would be at a disadvantage facing them, and then it would only be a matter of time before they were so drained of resources and sapped of spirit that they would give up with little fight. Oh yes, he could see it all so clearly.
… … … … …
It had been five days since he had unlocked the Compound and Motsu felt his nerves frayed on edge for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. He had yet to give the all clear and recall everyone back to duty so the entire manor was empty, and he was hesitant to do so until whatever was causing his unease resolved itself or came to light. As Director he was responsible for everyone under his care, as well as his creations and potentially highly dangerous things inside the lower laboratory levels. If anything here fell into the wrong hands, it would be disastrous for the world at large, and he would never allow something like that.
Allowing himself a small sigh of annoyance he tapped at the main console of the command room, and the 3D holo map of the city rotated. Souldrinker activity was down, it seemed like the Vocaloids were keeping on top of things, and for that much at least he was grateful. The entire satellite network and detection grid would stay online forever, but the actual analytical machines that routed the signals were here in the lab. They still had no idea why the souldrinkers were a problem, had no clues as to where they'd come from or how they continued to pop up everywhere. They'd intended to do research into it at some point yet they hadn't actually managed to find time for it yet. The recent issues with their old partners, the Yowanes, as well as the Government popping up, had kept them all preoccupied of late. Perhaps now they might find the time to do something about it…
He felt arms go around his shoulders from behind him in his seated position and he reached up to hug them to himself. Mira was the only other one in building with him, and here in private he would allow himself to show a little more affection. "You've been staring at that console for hours." His wife said gently, her darker blue braid shifting to fall forward slightly from where it was tucked in to the nape of her lab coat. "Gleaning any insights form it?"
"Just speculating on a few things." He told her idly as he stared at the map.
"What things?" She asked curiously.
He gestured at the city, at the pale dots where recent souldrinker had been. "Just the whys and the whens of recent things."
She blinked at it curiously with a little tilt of her head as she looked at it over his shoulder. "We have a lot more questions than answers still, that's for sure."
He rotated the map around a bit, and abruptly something caught his eye. The area in which they were at on the edge of the city had activity in it. He zoomed it in, the satellite system focusing on their neighborhood with the Compound at it's center… and his blood ran cold even as he felt his wife's arms tense around his shoulders. Several large armored vehicles were coming down the streets nearby, and they looked like they were heading right for their manor. He stood to rush for the elevator, Mira a step or two behind him, and when they were both inside he hammered the button to take them to the roof. As soon as the doors dinged and opened to admit them to the top of the Compound they rushed to the edge of the rooftop so they could get a look in the direction they'd seed on the holomap… and froze.
"The government…" She murmured beside him as the five huge armored troop transports made their way down the street a few blocks away.
"They're definitely coming this way." He agreed as he felt ice running through his entire body now.
"We unlocked the manor too soon." Mira said, looking around and up to him. "We have to lock it down again!" They ran back for the elevator but even as the doors were closing they saw the first the armored transports pulling up out front.
"There's no time…" He said as the full import of the situation dawned on him. "There's only one possible reason for them to bring such a huge squad, and they'll be inside in moments…"
"Then…" She swallowed hard and looked at the control panel. "Then… that means we only have one choice…"
He nodded and used his keycard to unlock the hidden panel in the elevator and pressed the lowest level button, the bottom most sub basement, and the elevator began moving. Mira took out her phone, opening the camera app and setting it to front face and turned the recording on. She smiled sadly at it and angled it to get both of them in the shot. "Miku dear… this isn't how we wanted things to go… but we have to say goodbye now. We've been cornered by the government and have no way out. There's nothing else we can do…" she trailed off a moment as the elevator dinged and they stepped out into the reactor room. They moved up beside the giant fission generator and Motsu took up the explanation for the moment, Mira tipping her phone so it could see them both better.
"There are things in the Compound we cannot allow the government to get ahold of. Prototype upgrades for the Vocaloid implants, our research and notes and all of our equipment, the hardware we've developed in the Vocaloid project… it's all far too dangerous. The Yowanes have proven that just in the damage they've done with the nanites and selling the hardware they did to the government in the first place, but we have to contain the damage. We created all this, and we must take responsibility."
"If you're ever in trouble, our first lab was beneath the hospital." Mira said quietly, but it was all they could offer now. "There might be something useful there."
"You girls are our legacy now." He said, and at that moment the red waning klaxons began to blare the alarm of intruders in the Compound. He turned away from the camera and began to push buttons on the reactor controls.
"No matter what happens in the future," Mira said to her camera, a silent tear running down her cheeks, "Know that we love you dearly. You are the best parts of both of us, all three of you are."
"We never imagined our daughter would fall in love with another woman, let alone two." Motsu said, and he could feel his voice choking up a bit in this, his final moments. "But Luka, Haku… you are both wonderful people. I could ask for no better for my wonderful daughter. She means everything to me, and as she chose you, so do you."
"Take care of each other." The tears rolling down Mira's cheeks flowed freely now, but she kept that smile fixed on her face for the camera. "We love you."
"Self Destruct sequence initiated." Came a small computerized announcement from the terminal as Motsu hit the last couple of buttons. "T-minus one minute."
Mira turned the camera off and pulled up Miku's phone number in her cellphone and sent the video. She watched it to make certain it uploaded before letting her phone drop from her hand to the floor. Her shoulders hunched and she let out a gasping sob. "My babies…"
Motsu stepped over and took her in his arms, and she pressed her face to his chest. "We've done all we can for them." He told her softly, fighting his own emotion choking his voice. He would be strong in their final minute, as he always had been. "We always knew it could come to this, and we've given them everything we can. They will do well."
"Self destruct in T-minus thirty seconds."
"Motsu…"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"Self destruct in T-minus ten seconds." They squeezed each other tightly, and held on dearly as the final seconds counted down, and the explosions began to blossom around them.
… … … … …
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Luka asked as she guided the Maserati down the street. "Your dad hasn't officially recalled everyone back to the Compound yet."
"Yeah totes, we need Haku-chin's bracelet and she wants that painting…" Miku muttered the last bit. "For somer eason…" Haku just aimed a smile back over her shoulder at her petite girlfriend, and Miku stuck her tongue out at her. Luka opened her mouth but as they were coming around the corner a couple of blocks away Miku's cell phone signal, now routed straight into her cybermind as were all of theirs, popped up a notification of a message received in her mind. They could all see it pop up, linked as they always were, and Miku blinked curiously. "Message from mom? Wha-?" Then the explosion tore the air.
The series of booms accompanied by the fireball shooting up from around the next block was so intense it rocked the car and they all let out a little shriek, and Luka just barely kept the car from swerving into the oncoming lane of traffic. "Was that-?!" She gasped as she angled the car around the last turn and she hammered her foot to the floor to speed towards it. Even as she did they could all see in their mind's eye as Miku brought the message from her mother up, and as the video file opened their veins all felt like the froze over like a winter lake at the first words from her parent's. "Miku dear…"
When they reached the scene of the explosion there was little left besides a filled in crater that reached out clear across the street and into adjoining lots, where there had once been a park across the way, and Haku thought it was eerily reminiscent of the destruction of her parent's lab on the outskirts of the city. Tears began to streak down all of their cheeks as the video played through their minds, and as they pulled the car over Miku began to scramble out from the back seat. Haku and Luka got out and the twintailed girl slammed the seats forward so she could run out to the edge of the still burning wreckage that had been her home, then sank to her knees and let out a soul wrenching scream of sheer mortification. The pain coursing through her chest ripped through all of them, and they could do nothing but sink down to the ground beside her and hold on as tightly as they could. Miku screamed and screamed and screamed her fury and sorrow out and Luka and Haku cried against her shoulders even as they squashed her between them. When the video had played out in her mind Miku started it over and kept screaming, and they stayed like that for long minutes until sirens began to be audible over the roar of the flaming debris all around. Emergency response crews were mobilizing, and Luka got to her feet and began tugging at them.
"We have to go, the police will be coming."
"NO!" Miku screamed. "NO! NONONONONO!"
"We have to!" Luka cried back, grabbing and yanking at her arm. "They wouldn't want us to-"
Miku cut her off. "I'M NOT LEAVING THEM! I'M NOT LEAVING THEM!"
"THEY WOULDN'T WANT US TO GET CAUGHT LIKE THIS!" Luka screamed shrilly, even her composure gone in the moment, and the lack of even her self control seemed to get through to Miku at least to some degree.
"Miku-chin…" Haku thought her chest was going to explode with the sheer horror of the situation. "We have to go… they… they gave their lives for ours… we have to go…"
"I c-can't…" Miku began, but Luka pushed her gently but firmly toward the car.
"We have to." She sobbed, and once they were all back in she got them moving, driving away as fast as she could without raising suspicion.
Miku pressed her face to the back window of the car and watched as they drove away. There was nothing for it but to get away, but even once they were blocks away the smoke and glow of the fire was still visible, and she stared at it as she cried. "W-We were… m-minutes too late… j-just m-minutes… just a f-f-few minutes..."
***End of Book 1***