Writing this chapter made me realize I'm a terrible writer xD
08/22/20 - fixed some grammar errors that I saw and adjust some of the mentioned dates.
It's only been a few hours since the two separated. Luka offered the blue haired man to come with them, but Kaito politely declined the offer, using the available space on her Kettenkrad as an excuse. The pinkette wanted to protest, saying that there's enough space for another person if she reorganize her stuff but she stopped herself the moment she saw Kaito walking on the direction where she came from. She don't really like the idea of going back so instead she just accepts the man's refusal.
Before they part ways though, Kaito let Miku keep the digital camera (He did intend to give it to Luka but he let Miku hold it instead since, as he word it, "Can be too much for Lil' Clockworker here"). He said it originally belonged to Meiko and he knew that Meiko will do the same if she's still around. Despite how he said it with a smile, complete with him ruffling her pink locks of hair, she can see how hard it is for him to part with device. It makes her don't want to ask where the other woman is no matter how much her curiosity urge her to.
However, when he is out of sight, Miku passed the camera to her.
"It belonged to someone you hold dear so you should be the one taking care of it."
And so the little device end up dangling on her neck.
It was afternoon when she finally decided look through the camera. She sat in the front of the teal haired android, eating some sort of biscuit while trying to find a way to access the contents of the small device. Her companion is just there, hugging her from behind, watching the cursor on the small screen move as the pinkette tap her thumb on the screen. She sometimes gives short instructions on what to tap next when she see some familiar looking icons.
Shortly, they managed to find the folder where all the pictures are kept and it surprised both of them when they saw the amount. There's a lot of pictures saved in the device, around two hundred according to the number on the upper right corner, with the earliest one dated back in the year 2143. Most of the photos are of numerous children that Luka didn't know but for some reason, looked so familiar. In almost all of them, a girl with short brown hair is present in the photo, sometimes she is replaced with a younger version of Kaito. She stopped scrolling when she hit a certain image taken on '01-30-2144'. It was a picture of two women in white dress like outfit, one with long white hair and one with medium length purple hair. Near them is the same brown haired girl and young Kaito while in the middle, there is a young girl alongside a boy, both of them sharing the same appearance, holding a round cake. Luka didn't need to ask; it was her. She guessed the boy beside her is Luki and the brown haired girl is Meiko, while the two women are the caretakers of the orphanage she once stayed,.
"You look so happy here." Miku comments which Luka only reply with a nod.
Luka keep on scrolling through the pictures. The pattern remained the same; it's just a bunch on pictures of kids of different ages with either Meiko or Kaito with it. Sometimes, she encounter pictures of her younger self, most of them with Luki but she don't mind. Soon, she reached the year 2153 and the background in the pictures changed. Instead of the usual interior of a house, it was replaced by the remnants of burned building, sometimes, a dirty river, sometimes it's a dimly lit room. The children in the previous photo vanished and most of them are images of herself (which is now older but still too young compared to her current appearance), Luki, Kaito and Meiko. She wondered if this is the time where according to Kaito, the time where they lost so much.
The following years have fewer pictures compared to the previous ones, only having a minimum of ten and a maximum of thirty per year. Soon, she noticed that even she and Luki vanished on the following collection of photos, leaving only Kaito and Meiko, and later, it was just the blue haired man alone and images of different cities, all on its devastated state. The last, of course, was the picture they took the morning before Kaito left.
Taking a deep breath, she turned off the camera and leaned her back closer to Miku. The pack of biscuit on her left hand was long forgotten.
"It's scary…" she began, eyes fixated on the grey sky. "…How most of them look so familiar yet I don't know who they are."
"What do you want to do now?" Miku asked, head lowering to meet her Master's ocean blue eyes.
"I don't know… Continue moving forward, maybe?"
"You're not going to search for your brother?"
"I…"she trailed off. Just thinking of seeing Luki made her excited. "I want to…"
"Then why won't you?"
"If I do, it means I have to go back… I don't want to go back…"
"Then let's keep going forward."
"Huh?" feeling Miku's legs moving under her back, Luka moved from her spot to give her companion some space. She jumped off the Kettenkrad, the vehicle made a short rocking movement when she did so, and ran right in the front of the pinkette.
"Luka, from what I've seen in our travels, we are in a time where staying in one place gives you the least chance of survivability. Bursts are still around the area, though, very minimal but they cannot be ignored. And food is very limited as well."
She have to admit that Miku did indeed have a point. If they are separated on their way, chances are Luki will also do the exact same thing she is doing right now. He should be out there, traveling, trying to find a way to survive every day.
"Well, unless he died befo-"
"He's alive." Luka said firmly, cutting off whatever Miku is trying to say. When Miku look at her, she found one of her hands we're on her head, pulling a fistful of her pink hair as she grit her teeth. "We escaped together… This… This old man helped us… we're being chased…then… there's gunshot… I…!"
Low groans can be heard as the pinkette try to recall things that she already forgot. Miku only stared at her, worried at how the woman looks so hurt while forcing herself to remember.
"…Luka?" she called, one of her hands about to pat her shoulder.
"I KNOW, OKAY!?"
That made her stop.
Both parties stared at each other with wide eyes, taken aback for the same reason. This mark the very first time Luka raised her voice. Her usual calm manner that Miku recognize disappeared and was replaced by… this. She is the first one to recover. Averting her gaze, she withdraws her hand with a frown replacing her usual smile.
"I'm sorry…"
"I… I should be the one apologizing…" Luka said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry…"
'It seems like Luki is a sore subject.'
"It's just… I know there is a possibility that he IS dead… but part of me doesn't want to believe it… and when others trying to prove me otherwise… I'm sorry. I shouldn't act the way I did."
"It's okay." Miku replied. Sensing that the situation somewhat calmed down, she walked closer and kneel in the front of the pinkette. Her metallic fingers brushed on her pink locks, trying to put them back on their usual place as much as she can. "You must be tired. Should we take break?"
The only reply she got is a single nod.
Miku can't sleep.
…or more accurately, she doesn't want to sleep. Even if today is the very first time she gained the ability to track time accurately, she can tell that it's still way too early compared to their usual sleep schedule. Not only that, her mind was also occupied of the events earlier. Her eyes darted on her left and she was met by her Master sleeping under the blanket. She look so peaceful yet she can tell that the pinkette is probably stressed after she learned about her past.
She can see that Luka lost her usual calm manner this day. Well, not entirely. Miku can still find the Luka she knew but after today, it feels like the woman is having a hard time to keep both her calm and focus. Miku let out a low groan as she hugs her knees closer to her chest. If only she could help Luka clear her mind…
…what could she do for her?
Staring again at the sleeping figure next to her, she watched Luka's chest rise and fall in slow rhythm as she breathe. It's only eight in the evening. There's plenty of time to think.
'Humans tend to take a walk when they need to think, right? Would that apply to me as well?'
Miku carefully stood up from her seat, afraid that just a single movement can wake the sleeping Luka beside her. The Kettenkrad shook a bit when she climbs down, but to her relief, the woman didn't move on her spot.
Currently, they are parked under a broken infrastructure that Miku guessed as a small house. There's nothing really special about it except for the roof. To be honest, it's the only thing Luka saw before she kind of declared that they will spend the night there.
All of Luka's stuff were in the ground, just a few feet away from the vehicle. Miku wondered if it's really okay to leave her like this. She's… way to defenseless. Someone( or something) can easily attack her without her even realizing at all. She didn't spot anything along their way here and no matter how much she extend her range, her radar didn't detect another life form aside from hers and Luka's. A few minutes shouldn't hurt, right?
'I am going to regret this if something did happen…'
"I'll be back soon, Luka." She whispered in the thin air. Marking the location in her head, she turn around and ran to the other direction.
She was running.
No matter how tired she was, no matter how much her feet hurt, she have to continue running. Her body wants her to stop and take a five minute break at least; however her mind is telling her to keep moving forward if she want to survive. Why it's always like this? They didn't do anything wrong; as far as she's concerned, looking for food in a abandoned convenience store doesn't count as stealing, and yet, they are being chased.
A gun was fired and the bullet hit the concrete wall few inches away from her.
She let out a squeal as she placed both of her gloved hands on both side of her head. Tears began to form on her eyes, blurring her vision.
She took a sharp turn to her left, hoping to outrun the machines following her from behind. However before she could even continue further, she felt someone pull her arm sending her out of balance and falling to the ground with the stranger. Her groan was muffled by one of the stranger's hand on her mouth.
When her mind finally cleared up, she decided to examine the stranger a top her as much as she can in their position. Pink hair, ocean blue eyes, worn out military uniform... those are enough for her to tell that this stranger is actually someone she knew very well.
The humming sound from the machines chasing her passed by, reminding her of her previous situation. Fear returned once more and she couldn't help it but to keep on taking deep breaths under the hand on her mouth. She hoped that the sound of her heavy breathing wasn't enough for the machines to notice them.
It seems that luck was in their side as she could hear the humming began to fade after a few seconds.
The pink haired person slowly removed their hand on her mouth, allowing her to freely breathe in all the air she wanted. They stood up and walk a few steps away from her, in which in her point of view, them giving her space to catch her breath. However, when she saw their distance grew more than just a few steps, she decided to call them by their name…
…then suddenly, everything around them fell apart. All the pain she felt from what seemed to be endless running, all the fear that build up inside her, all the feeling of familiarity towards this strange person disappeared in a blink of an eye. The only thing left is this… stranger who's starting to look vague in every second that passed, and of course, herself sitting on the void.
"…Who are you…?" she finally asked, slightly afraid of what answer she will receive.
To her surprise, the person smiled at her. The figure slowly fading together with the void and yet, she can still see their foreign yet comforting smile on their face.
"Take care… Luka-nee."
When Luka opened her eyes from her sleep, the first thing that comes to her mind was strange. The dream she had, although she cannot really recall that much, is rather strange. Was it a part of her past or just a random event that her mind made up because she's thinking too much about… 'Luki'...
Just thinking of his name is enough to worry her.
She took a shaky breath to calm herself before scanning the area without rising up from her makeshift bed. It's still dark… way too dark. The sun doesn't show any sign of appearing any moment making her wonder how long did she really sleep. Is it too early in the morning or is it still night time? She turned her head to her right and was surprised to find it empty.
She immediately rose up from her bed, completely throwing away the blanket that hugs her body. She is aware that Miku did wake up way earlier than her but this is the first time she actually find her missing first thing in the morning.
'Did she felt something strange again…?' she asked inside her head, but already expecting no answer in return.
Without wasting more time, the woman grabs her flashlight and hop down from her vehicle ready to locate her companion. Relocating Miku seems to be her current priority that she completely ignored all the items she left on the ground or let alone, fold her blanket.
She exited the small broken house, noting that it stopped snowing. Perhaps if the weather managed to keep on going like this, they will be able to travel more today… But first, to find her teal haired companion. Luka don't have any clue where Miku went so she just took random direction as she walk alone in the dark snow covered streets with only her flashlight keeping her company.
In what felt like hours of walking, she finally encountered something or someone that caught her attention. Few meters away from her, there is a figure resembling to a young boy with spiky hair. His clothes doesn't seem to match the cold weather and there are some parts of it that lets out a soft yellow glow that was highly noticeable in the dark. When she pointed her flashlight to his direction, he turned to face her as well as his female companion that the pinkette didn't notice sitting in the front of him. Their glowing pair of electric blue eyes stared back at her, examining her appearance. Luka can't help it, this feels exactly the same when Miku first laid her eyes on her. The only difference is that there's two of them now.
"A human!" the girl shouts out of blue, quickly bouncing back to her feet as she does so. Her high pinched voice somewhat reminds Luka of Miku's but hers sounds more… energetic compared to the teal haired android. "And she's healthy!"
"I don't think she is…" the boy replied. "I mean she's wearing clothes too big for her…"
"That's not what I meant, Len! I mean she's not wounded or anything!"
Before Luka can even move, the girl jog to her direction. The closer she got, the less vague her appearance became. She have a shoulder length blonde hair, held by multiple hair clips and a giant translucent bow that's probably as big (if not, bigger) than her palm. On her neck, she wore a chocker with green light emitting from it and some kind of pendant that she could not tell what shape it is supposed to be. Her electric blue eyes stared at her from her feet going up to her face, then going down to her feet again. She keeps on repeating this action while walking overly slow around her.
"Your clothes are pretty worn out… are you a traveler of some sort?" she asked, one of her fingers cupping her chin.
"Umm… yes…" the pinkette replied a bit nervously. She isn't really used to have this kind of attention the blonde is giving her.
"Silly me. If a human is still alive in this day and place, they ARE travelers!" she stopped right in the front of Luka. Behind her, the boy began walking towards them as well, allowing her to see his appearance on the very limited lighting.
"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you." He said with a smile. "We're just here to look for someone."
"Someone?"
"Our…hmm… older sister actually."
"So!" the girl interrupts, pushing her companion back a couple of steps (in which made him glare at her, Luka noticed) "It's been a long time since I last saw a living, healthy human! What's your name, Onee-san?"
"Rin, don't be so rude!"
"Oh right, right. Introduce yourself first before getting others' names. Yeah I got that coded, don't worry." Sarcasm was clearly traced on the tone of her voice as she said those words with a glare towards her companion. Luka wondered if its normal for these two to be like this. "Anyways, I'm CV02 - Rin. Second unit of the CV series created in the year 2082 by Master Masuda Lily." She points at the red 'CV02' mark on her right bicep as she introduce herself.
"CV02…?" Luka echoed in a whisper. 'Are they looking for Miku…?'
"And I'm CV03 - Len. Third unit of the CV series created in the year 2083 by Master Masuda Lily." He said with a hand stretched in the front of him. However, Luka was taking a long time to respond that Len put it down before she could even notice what he is actually trying to do. Thinking that it may be due to the shock, Len bought the same hand to scratch his head ruffling his already messy blonde hair. "Ahh, if news is still going on around these parts, you probably heard about us one way or another. Being the only known thing that can fight Burst does… attract unwanted attention, let's just say."
"I-I see…"
"Relax, Onee-san. Like Len said, we won't hurt you." Rin said with a smile. "I guess it should be okay to introduce yourself now, right?"
"Oh, umm… right. I'm Luka. Megurine Luka."
"Ohh, Luka-nee it is!" the blonde happily said but on the other hand, Luka froze when those words leave Rin's lips.
Luka-nee…
When did she last hear that…? It was the first time someone calls her like that as far as she could remember but for some reason, she felt some sort of familiarity with that one syllable in the end of her name. Like someone so important to her used to call her in that name and she couldn't help it but to feel some sort of tug on her chest when she heard it from someone else.
Unknown to her, the two identical looking android were now looking at her with pure confusion. They both stared at each other's eyes as if asking each other what they should do. Luka is spacing out, staring at the snow covered ground under her feet without even blinking and it's making both of them worried. Slightly nodding to her companion, Rin finally took a single step closer, one of her hands ready to reach for the woman's shoulder.
"Luka-nee?" she asked and she noticed the pink haired woman flinch at the mention of her name. Before her finger managed to touch the fabric of her jacket, someone slapped her hand away.
They all looked that the person who stopped the blonde and there, they saw Miku, pouting.
"Don't touch her." was the first word that escaped from her lips.
"M-Miku?"
Len only stared at the scene in the front of him. Miku stands beside Luka, wearing nothing but a piece of old and dirty blanket, pouting at Rin. On the other hand, Rin didn't move at her position. The hand she almost use to comfort Luka were now resting on her side but with the position where he is standing, it's impossible to see or even take a glance at the blonde's reaction.
'This is bad…' he thought 'Rin has a really short temper. It'll be dangerous if they fight.'
"Heh." Rin laugh, breaking the growing silence between the four of them. Luka's eyes keep on switching between the blonde and the tealette, afraid of the atmosphere forming between the two of them. "Someone's jealous~! Don't worry, CV01, I won't take Luka-nee away from you… After all, I don't go and replace Master Lily THAT easily."
"It was her order."
No words were spoken after that and the rather alarming silence filled the air around them once more. The pinkette, who is clearly afraid of the current situation on hand, took a glance towards Len. She want to ask him what to do or is there really something they could do to stop them. Len, on the other hand, only frowns. However, basing on his stance, he seems to be ready to interfere if the two did end up fighting.
Their worries came to halt when Rin once again break the silence between them with a laugh. The stern tone of her voice was replaced by her usual energetic one as she gave Miku a pat on her arm.
"No need to be so worked up. I'm just kidding." She said with a huge grin on her face. "Seriously, you're waaaay too overprotective with your Master. It's not like I can hurt her or anything."
Len took a sigh in relief. He's really glad that what Rin said seems to calm the tealette down at least a bit, and her stern and protective aura she's giving seems to fade… well, it's still there, he could tell, but it wasn't that intense as it was earlier. Taking it as his opportunity, he took a step forward, catching both the attention of Miku and her Master.
"Anyways, I take it as you are CV01's Master, Luka-nee?" he asked in which Luka confirmed with a nod. "If so, I'm sure Master Lily did include on her message that you'll encounter us one day. Worry not; we are just given a command by Master Lily to check how CV01 is doing when she's operational again."
"We do apologize if we did take too long to arrive." Rin continued, hands playing with one of the glowing ribbons attached to her tank top. "We came from the other side of the globe. See, the Great War might be over around here but it's still currently ongoing on the west. Ahh, and as far as we checked, there are still a great number of Burst in this country, especially on the south so be careful."
"You're… still fighting? After so many years?"
"It's pretty much the two of us versus the thousand of Burst and Replicas around the globe so yes, we are still fighting."
"Replicas?"
"A result of a stupid action that the humans did 77 years ago, which makes our job twice difficult than it already is." Rin explained with a frown. "Anyways, we're not here for history lessons! We're here to check on you two!"
The blonde girl didn't have the patience to wait for the others to say another word. Instead, she ran behind her companion and pushed the poor boy to Miku's direction. Luckily, Len managed to keep his balance, otherwise he will crash on the tealette.
"I'll get to know about Luka-nee and this guy will check on your system."
"How is Len going to do that?" Luka voiced her curiosity.
"I'm a support type." He began (The pinkette noticed Rin whispering 'he says that all the time.') "I may be built as a CV but most of my functions are to make sure the other two are in completely perfect shape. I carry all the necessary patches and repair tools that they need if something corrupts their systems. I'm also the only CV Unit that can send and receive files from other sources and install it to either myself or other units."
"Basically, he is like a walking flash drive." The blonde added. "Come on, let's start already!"
"Right, right. I apologize for Rin's rudeness." With another sigh, he walk closer to Miku and grab one of her hands. Miku was, of course, confused at first but when she notice that the spiky haired android is trying to take her away from her Master, she pretty much glues her feet to the ground.
"You're telling me that I have to leave Luka with her?"
"Don't worry, CV01. Newer CV Units are programmed to leave no harm to any human. So relax, I won't kill her." her words sound so wrong to Luka's ears. It feels like… she is trying to say something to Miku… Something to she cannot tell what but it feel so negative. Hearing this, Len turned around to face the blonde android, his electric blue eyes sending a chilling glare towards her.
"Rin." He said with a stern voice but all Rin did is to give him a grin. Calming down in almost an instant, Len's attention went back to the tealette beside him. "Anyways, I need some privacy while I check your system. I don't really like getting distracted when I work. No matter how rude Rin may be, I'm sure she will not hurt Luka-nee."
Miku stared at Luka, wanting to know her opinion before agreeing to the blonde's offer. Luka only smiled at her before nodding, already knowing that what Len will do will benefit her. Besides, he is a CV Unit carrying all the necessary things for her made by Masuda Lily herself. How can Luka say no to that? In the end, Miku did agree to leave her Master in the care of the blonde girl for a while. It won't take too long so it should be alright, Miku reassured herself. When they began walking away, she could notice Rin waving at them before sitting on one of the debris near her.
The pink haired woman turned around to face the blonde, who was sitting cross-legged atop a large rock. She reminded herself that this girl is similar to Miku; built by the same person and works the same as her, yet she is so different compared to her teal haired companion. She, and even Len, lacks the clingy personality she saw in Miku which makes her conclude that yes, indeed, Miku is the only clingy CV out of everyone. Perhaps CVs have different personalities like humans? Now that she think about it, all of them are more like a human and less like a machine…
"I can't believe CV01's new Master is right in the front of me." Rin started.
"Miku."
"Hmm?"
"Her name is Miku." She corrected, earning a 'Ohh' from the android.
"Sorry. I was not informed." She looks at her own shoes with a smile. "You gave her a name. I'm sure Master Lily would be happy if she heard about that."
"But she named you, right? You and Len… you both have proper names. When I first met Miku, she doesn't have one."
"She's… not the one who named us." She said, her smile fading as she speaks. "Sir Leon did. He was Master Lily's assistant and he named us after his twins, Rilliane and Allen. Master Lily only calls us by our Unit Number."
"Oh…"
"Luka-nee, did you know that Miku indeed have a name?" that caught Luka's attention. She looks at Rin and, she is sure if the android could produce tears, she's probably tearing up by now. "'Hatsune'… It means 'First Sound'. However, Master didn't input it on her files. She said that her new Master should be the one naming her. That's why she herself didn't know about it."
"I…"
"I envy her, you know." She cut once more. "Ever since I woke up, I was being compared to Miku. From Crypton, it's always something positive; I am stronger than her, I'm more easier to control than her, I'll be more of a help for this war compared to her… but when it's from Master Lily, it's always something about what she should to do to improve her. 'Maybe if I did this to CV01, Maybe if I did that to CV01…' I heard those more than I wanted to. All the time, I always try to prove myself that I am better than her. I want Master to praise me, to make her proud at me the same way she was proud of Miku… But in the end, I changed nothing. She died with Miku still on her mind. Kokoro is a program that allowed us to feel emotions… sometimes, I want mine to be removed."
"I'm… sorry to hear that…"
"It's okay. It's all in the past." She finished her sentence with a laugh. "Geez, I was supposed to get you know better, not dump my emotional issues to you!"
"Umm, can I ask why?"
"Why? You have the most powerful android in your command, of course I have to make sure you'll not going to use her for something crazy. Anyways, the only thing I know about you is your name. Mind if you give me your history?"
"Ahh… I'm sorry, I don't think I can give you my entire history…"
"Hmm? What, you're hiding something?"
"I don't remember anything about my past… and I only met someone I once knew yesterday and…"
"Oh!" Luka didn't need to finish her sentence for the blonde android to get what she's getting at. "I'm sorry to hear that. Man, being a amnesiac traveler in this day and age must be difficult…" she whispered the last part, cupping her chin with her index finger. "Well, looks like I'm just going to talk to you as much as I can to know more about your personality!"
The pinkette only smiled at that, already knowing to herself that she is not good at keeping up with long conversations. She can already see herself running ot of things to say right in the middle of the conversation. Maybe having no one to talk to before is the one to blame. But then again, if this is how Rin will test her, then maybe she wouldn't mind the talk at all.
Miku was worried.
The more steps she gets further away from her Master, the more concerned she becomes. Len did told her that Rin wouldn't hurt Luka and hearing that from him sounds more reassuring than hearing it from the female blonde herself. Even so, she still cannot keep her mind away from it. Her attention was not in the road anymore. She doesn't care where Len is dragging her at this point. Her focus was all in her radar, fixated on that blinking red signal alongside a blue one that only she can see.
Suddenly, she felt the boy stop, making her look directly at his eyes.
"Here should be fine." He said, letting go of her wrist. "CV01-"
"Miku."
"Right. Sorry." He cleared his throat and tried again. "Miku, I do know you are worried about Luka-nee, but really, you should calm down. I know Rin acts and talks a bit too harsh but you can trust her. I promise."
"I do want to trust her. But she's looks like she hates me or something."
"Ahh, that." He dusted the ground with his palm before sitting on it. He then pat the empty space besides him, signaling the tealette to sit there, in which Miku obliged. "She doesn't hate you. She's just envious of you."
"She does…? Of what?"
"Attention from Master Lily." Len replied. "The way Rin looks at Master Lily is close, if not, the same as how you look at Luka-nee. You see, when Master Lily was still alive, she always talks about you. To Rin, it looks like Master only cares about you. She wants the same attention, the same treatment. When Master died, Rin said that she wanted to see for herself what made you so special to Master."
"Should I be worried?" Miku asked as Len faced her. Before she can get her answer though, the blonde's hands moved to her cheek, prompting her to tilt her head to the side. She was confused at first but when she felt his finger brushing on one of the ports under her earpiece, she began to understand what's happening.
"Not really. She said that almost half a century ago. I managed to get her understand why Master acts like that and I think her jealousy toned down a bit."
"You didn't feel the same?"
"I'm a support type. I always stay on the neutral side." He replied shortly. "Anyways, I'm going start now. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
The moment those words left her lips, she could feel something plugged in her left earpiece. She could see multiple windows on different colors popping on her field of vision, all trying to scan the new device on her ear. Miku was aware that she have a highly advance security system programmed inside her head but she never knew she have THIS many. Some she usually see during her daily virus scans, some were uncommon, most of them she didn't know it exist at all. If one small device were plugged in just her ear alone can trigger this many, she wonder how much more will she trigger if someone managed to fill all of her ports.
Less than a minute later, most of the pop ups disappeared, allowing her to see her surroundings once again with ease. The only difference she noticed is the transparent white text which read 'Connected to Unknown Source' slowly blinking every second on the lower right side of her vision. Her eyes darted to Len and he saw him with his eyes closed, a long white cord was originating from his own ear piece hanging between them with its end connected to hers.
'So that's how he can connect…' her thoughts were cut by the sound of a small beep inside her head.
"Hmm… Miku, can you grant me some access?" he ask, brows furrowing in the process.
The tealette nods despite being aware that Len wouldn't notice anyway. The moment she grants him permission, she suddenly felt so uncomfortable. It's like someone, who can see everything she have in mind, is watching from behind even though she is aware that there is only the two of them in the area. Her left eye twitch at this. She felt… so exposed… and she's growing to dislike this feeling.
"It looks like everything's working just fine." Len comments as he open his eyes. "By the way, Miku, can I ask you about something?"
"Huh? Ahh, sure."
"It's about Luka-nee." That caught the tealette's attention. "Is her name really Megurine Luka?"
"What do you mean?"
"I actually hold a message from someone. It was addressed to a woman named 'Elluka Clockworker'. The description of Elluka's appearance all matched to Luka-nee's that I was wondering if she changed her name or something like that."
"Who was the sender?"
"I didn't get the chance to get their name." Len admitted rather shamefully. "I'm sorry"
"No, its okay. Its…" the tealette sighed trying to ignore the weird feeling of being exposed "Yes. Luka is Elluka Clockworker."
"Oh… Oh! This is convenient. Since I'm already connected to your system, do you mind if I pass this message to you instead?" that earned him a frown from the teal haired android. "Don't worry! I was the one who recorded the message so you can guarantee it's a safe file. …ahh, but you'll probably need a working computer to open it."
"That's okay. Maybe we'll find one in our travels… It's for her after all."
"Great! I'm sending it to you now." True to his words, another pop up about data transfer did appear on her field of vision.
When the transfer ended, she could feel the eyes behind her back disappears as well. The blonde reached on the end of the cord connected on her left ear piece and pulled it out. When the cable is pulled, everything returned to normal, much to Miku's relief. With a soft click, the cord Len used to connect retract back where it come from before he stood up from his seat.
"We're done." He said while trying to help the tealette back to her feet. "Also, Miku, are you aware of the Append Outfit?"
"No."
"Ahh… I'm pretty sure you have one as well. Anyways, let go back to the two of them."
When they returned, Rin and Luka were still in the exact same location Miku saw before they left. The only difference maybe is her pink haired Master decided to lean on the rock beside's the one Rin is currently sitting and the flashlight on her hand wasn't as bright as it used to be. They are still talking when they arrived, Luka chuckling in what seems to be a joke she failed to hear from the blonde. The tealette felt relieved to see them like this.
"You're back!" Rin announced as she jumped from the rock she was sitting on. "How's her system?"
"All green. I don't see the need to transfer any repair tools so I leave it be."
"Good." The blonde then looked at Miku, her smile suddenly fading as her eyes landed on her face. On the other hand, the tealette froze at this. Len said that she wasn't mad at her however her eyes tell a completely different story. She began to walk closer to her, and before she knew it, the blonde flips the cloth she wears.
"Dang." Miku heard her whisper in the air. "You're not wearing your Append Outfit! Didn't you tell your Master that you HAVE one?"
"She's not aware she has one so she didn't inform her Master about it."
She looks at Len, who appears to be so close on bombing her questions about the pinkette watching behind her. instead, she smiles and give the tealette a pat on both shoulders, catching the said tealette in surprise, before walking over to the male blonde pulling the ends of her sleeves.
"We should go and get it then!"
"W-wait! We're going now?!" there was a glare from Rin, he can tell but in was so quick that the other two failed to notice it.
"Yes, now. I don't wanna see her wearing that anymore!" Rin replied. She looks at the two of them with a cheeky grin and whisper a 'Bye~' before taking a leap dragging the poor boy with her.
The two left behind only stands there, dumbfounded on what just happened.
"So what you think of Luka-nee?" Len asked out of the sudden.
It's only been few hours after they left Miku and Luka with an excuse of trying to find the tealette's Append outfit. It wasn't a complete lie, but it is the easiest way for them to leave and exchange information about the things they both discover from the two.
Currently, they are walking on a dark alley with the only source of light coming from the numerous parts of their bodies and their clothing but neither of them shows any sign of being lost. It feels like, even without proper lighting, they both know where to go.
"Good." Was the female blonde's only reply. "She's calm. Way too curious. Sensitive at some point, but a good person overall. However, sometimes, I find her personality… Blank."
"What do you mean?"
"She's very easy to manipulate. So easy that it scares me."
"We need to keep an eye on her then."
"Yeah. But I don't think without manipulation, she won't be using Miku to start another war or something like that. She seems to be traumatized with the idea of fighting and killing."
"I see."
There was a pause between them as they both enter a dimly lit room. The room was rather spacious, however it's pretty hard to notice with all the machines and wires scattered around the floor. Some of the machine still operates, letting out a silent hum as they do so. Some, however, show no sign of life at all. Right in the middle of the room, there is a large capsule with its glass door opened allowing anyone to see its empty contents.
The male blonde walked closer to the computer on the side, his electric blue eyes steadily watching the black and white static displayed on the old screen. Pressing several keys on the keyboard, the static stopped and were replaced by a blue screen with the word 'Password Required' on the middle of it. The sound of several keys being pressed continuously fills the silence between the two blonde. Unknowingly to Len, Rin walked closer to his side, trying to take a peek on the old monitor right in the front of him.
What she found surprised her. A status screen on what supposed to be the content of the capsule. Something only Lily can access as much as she's aware. A large text that read 'Update Complete 2102-08-31, 13:47' can be found right in the middle of the screen while below it, another text read 'Maintenance bot signal loss 2161-11-22, 19:53' flashing on red. She wonders how her companion can open this.
"She really did wait for a new Master." Len whispered looking behind him. Whatever he had in his mind vanished when he saw the broken machine on her arms. "What's that?"
"P-Chan." The blonde only simply respond. "He's broken though. I won't blame her. Our Maintenance Bots are pretty fragile. Drop this baby and he already need repairs!"
"Maybe we bring it to our own lab for fixing?"
"Hers are beyond repair at this point." She added but after she said those words, her eyes slowly widen in realization. "Wait! If her P-Chan is broken then that means-"
"…Pretty much, yes."
"…I hope Luka-nee won't order her to shut down."
"We need to inform them. Maintenance Bots were made after I was created so I wouldn't be surprised if she's not aware of their existence." Pressing another key, all the text in the screen disappeared and it returned to the same statics. "To be honest, I wonder how the other half of this place still operates without a Maintenance Bot…"
Len quickly moved near the capsule, avoiding all the wires on his way without showing any difficulties. He put both of his hands on its side, trying to find some kind the lock to the supposed to be compartment located near it. On the other hand, Rin only watched him. She set aside the broken machine on her hands, making sure that none of them, or anyone who possibly finds and enter this room, will accidentally trip on it. When she raised her head, she found Len right in the front of her holding a metal suitcase that still shiny despite it's rather old age.
"How do you know this stuff?" Rin's brow furrowed as she asked the question. "You're acting like you know how everything works. What's next? You operating one of Master's entire lab?"
"I'm a support type. If something happens to you or Miku, I'll be the one who will do the fixing."
The female blonde only pouts in that answer. Despite how tired she was for hearing that certain line from Len in almost every time she ask him about his quirks, this time, she have to admit that her had a point. Besides, he is the best candidate; he doesn't die, he can't forget anything, and more importantly, he cannot betray his Master.
"Figures…" She whispered with a smile, making sure that the other blonde, who was now making his exit to the room, won't hear him.
Its 3:30 in the morning according to both Miku's internal clock and the time in the camera. Even without the clock, Luka find this time to be way too early to start traveling. Adding the fact that her flashlight only has very little power left, she decided to stay on the same spot and wait for the sun before continuing forward. Soon, she grew sleepy in waiting and ended up dozing off. When Miku noticed her, she helped her lie back on her makeshift bed and cover her with her blanket. Perhaps she should sleep as well? There's really nothing to do and, if Luka still end up following her daily wake up schedule, she should have three and a half hours to kill before her Master woke up again.
Her thoughts however, halted when she detects that same bluish signal on her radar. It seems that this time, there's only one. She really can't tell if this is Rin or Len but she still decided to follow the signal anyways. Right outside the broken house that they used to spend the night with, the female blonde stands with a metallic case on her hand.
"Here." She said and threw the case on her direction, in which Miku caught with both of her hands. "It's your Append Outfit. No need to be alarmed."
"Where's Len?"
"He went off ahead. He said I should be the one giving it to you so we can talk."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Your purpose." Her stern voice alerted the teal haired android. "I'm pretty sure you are aware of the reason why CVs are created in the first place. As I said, the Great War is still ongoing on the other side of the globe and Bursts are still roaming this country despite everything. I know your current Master is still alive and you are pretty much bounded with her words but have you considered on fighting?"
"I won't fight." Miku replied. She noticed the tightening of Rin's fist so she decided to quickly follow up her statement. "It was her order."
"…to stop fighting?"
"To stop destroying. Yes, I am aware of the reason why I exist and whatever am I saying and doing right now defies that reason. I was not made as a companion to someone or to travel the world. But I cannot fight without destroying anything. And if Luka doesn't want me to destroy, then I'll gladly defy the reason of my existence."
"Was it because she is your Master?"
"I'll do the same even if she's not my Master."
To her answer was genuine. She cannot find a reason why she would lie to the blonde in a situation like this. So when Rin ended up laughing, complete with her holding her stomach as she tries to regain back her control to herself, she was left confused. She didn't say anything funny right?
"Oh man, Kokoro Program DID hit you hard!" Rin said when her laugher finally died down. "I am aware that we CVs are supposed to be attached to our Masters but yours are in completely different level."
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Nope~" she replied while putting a hand on her shoulder. "To think that you are capable of saying that… You really are full of surprises."
After a few seconds, Rin let her go, giving her some space. Now that mind where no longer occupied by the thoughts of their conversation, the weight on her arms reminded her of the case containing the clothes made especially for her by her first Master. She knelt in the ground, putting down the metallic case in order to open it.
On Rin's part, she stared at her older sister as she put on the outfit. The first thing she thought when she saw Mikus was it is showing too much skin when it compared to hers or Len's Append Outfits. It a sleeveless, one piece clothing that reminds her of a swimsuit, metal belt attached on her hips, stockings, and a skin tight version of the detachable sleeves they wore.
"Ohh, now that's actually better looking than seeing you naked under a cloak." To her surprise, despite Miku already put on all the clothes she have inside the suitcase, she still warped the old cloth over her shoulders. "You're keeping it?"
Miku nods in respond.
"Why?"
"It's the first gift I receive from Luka."
- Extra -
Luka stared at the wall above her.
To be honest, 'wall' seems to be not enough to describe this tall thing made of concrete right in the front of her. She's pretty sure there's another word for it but she cannot find the word she's looking for. As mentioned, the 'wall' was made of concrete; the structure of it reminds her of the windows from the building she usually see on her travels but with narrower divider. Miku insisted that they look like a bigger version of 'drawers' or 'lockers' but the pink haired woman doesn't know what those things are.
In every square, there are some things written on it. She can read some, but most of them are too complicated for her elementary level of reading and writing to understand. Most of them were pretty much unreadable due to the missing pieces. Her companion did ease her curiosity by saying that what's written there are names of different people. Whenever that work on easing her curious side remains a question since Luka still wanted to read most of the legible text. On the middle, there is a ladder attached, allowing one to reach the top squares.
It was weird, Luka thought. She failed to understand why humans create something like this.
The only reason why they stayed on this place longer than they planned is mainly because some squares have a random item placed in the small gap between them. The pinkette said that maybe, just maybe, they will find something helpful in one of these items. And so, Miku volunteered to climb the ladder.
However, so far, what they found were… pretty much useless. A single button, a small piece of cloth, a match box without any contents. Staring at these items made Luka frown. Perhaps it's better to leave?
"Miku." She called the android, who was still in the ladder, trying to reach a item at the last row of squares.
"Almost… there… Ah!" her foot slipped and before she knew it, she's already falling to the snow covered ground.
Luka felt the place shook a bit when the tealette's body met the ground. She walked towards her companion, slower than usual since she is leg deep in the snow.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. And I got it, Luka!"
On her hand was a box made of metal. It's small, size almost comparable to the camera dangling on her neck. The box also have some buttons on one side, some can be pressed while come can by turned on both sides. There is a hole on the other side of the box while behind it was a stick made of metal that can extend by pulling.
"What is this?" she asked while examining the device with both hands.
"FM Radio." Miku's smile slowly turned into a frown when she finally got a view of the back. "…but it lacks batteries…"
Luka stared at Miku, who still lies on the snow covered ground, frown replacing her usual smile. She can already guess she was upset. After all, she did hear from the android that the item she was trying to reach on the very top will be useful. Turns out, it's pretty much the same as the ones before it. Seeing this, the pink haired woman ran her gloved hand on her teal hair hoping that it will cheer her up. It worked, so to say. In just few strokes, her frown turned to that familiar smile.
"Let's go."
They both hopped on Luka's vehicle and continue on driving forward. The woman did notice that the 'walls' extends so far that she cannot see the end of it. How many squares are they? Are these walls really that important that they decided to build so many of it?
After a fifteen minute drive (according to Miku), they spot something different that almost stood out from their surroundings full of what it seems like never ending walls. It was a statue of a woman, wearing a rather historical looking outfit and a pair of wings on the back. It was, in no exception, broken. Some of its parts were missing while the ones that managed to survive have some sort of bullet mark on them. Luka stopped driving in order to stare more of the statue but she didn't turn the engine of her vehicle off. Something about it feels… calming somehow, yet she cannot describe why.
"What is it?" the teal haired android behind her asked, obviously perplexed of the statue. It looks like a female human, probably older than her Master for a few years but it seems it have wings belonging to a bird sticking on its back. Do those creatures really exist?
"Miku, lets return what we took." Luka said out of blue, interrupting whatever she had in mind.
" Why?" she wondered. She was not disobeying her Master, she said to herself, but she's been traveling with Luka for weeks and they are picking up a lot of things they found on the way but it's the very first time the woman said something like this.
"It seems that the people around here…" she began with a whisper. "…Don't want to be forgotten. So they crave their names on those squares. They don't want to be left alone, and this statue is here to watch over them. The items we took… are the things important to them. We shouldn't really took them in the first place."
Miku remained silent as she stared at the items she took from the squares. She still didn't get what made this so different from the usual. Her teal eyes darted on the statue of the winged woman right in the front of them, wanting to know if her Master saw something from it that made her change her mind. Her eyes dropped to the pillar the winged woman was standing, and there, there are some text engraved on it. Like the names in the squares, most of them were unreadable at this point. However, one word managed to catch Miku's attention and finally understands why.
They were in a cemetery.
- Rilliane and Allen are Rin and Len's counterpart in Daughter of Evil light novel. I'm sorry, I just love DoE.
- I have absolutely no idea where P-Chan came from...
If you made it this far, here's a reward for you~ an artwork I drew for this fanfic:
deviant art dot com -slash- zean44/art/Our-Last-Tour-Artwork-851687623
(Just remove the space, replace dot with . And -slash- with /)
I drew this while I am having a writer's block last month. So to keep my interest on this fic, I decided to draw an artwork. It turned out pretty well so I thought I should share it with the people who read this.
I was supposed to write Rin warning Miku about shutting down but then I realized the chapter is called 'Meaning' so I added the 'purpose' talk instead. By the time I reread the entire thing, I noticed that the 'shutting down' talk is important as well but I cannot find the right spot to put it anymore. In the end, I leave it out…