Anon asked: Song of Life AU: Hikari totally steals some of Miu's inventions from time to time in order to get out of doing something. Ex. cloning herself to go to school while she ditches to go watch a new movie.

Sorry this took so long! I can't even remember when this was asked

Hikari never let anyone know that she had a single mischievous bone in her body. If they knew- especially if her moms knew- she would be under near constant surveillance. She was known among her friends for being smart, and naturally she was good with sports. Blend being mischievous into that and she'd be unstoppable. Which was why she could never let anyone know.

So instead, she kept it hidden. She was polite, only made a couple of innocent jokes. Not even Mei had any idea, and they were as close as close could be! She was fine keeping it that way. At least, she was at the beginning. When her mom made a cloning machine, she knew it was all over.

"Are you ever gonna show me how that works?" she asked one afternoon, dropping her bag in her room after soccer practice. She had to pass her mom's workspace in order to get to her room, so naturally she was curious. There wasn't a time she couldn't remember being curious about what her mom did. Science was just as much her thing as it was her mom's.

"Not until you're an adult." The same response she'd gotten the last few times she'd asked. It was even the response her mother gave her when she asked! Of course they were on the same page, but seven years was too long to wait. She wanted to know how it worked, and maybe use it on her own. Her mom straightened up, using a rag to clean some oil off of her fingertips. "This is really delicate stuff, so even I need to be careful around it. Something like this could change the world- for better or for worse."

That ominous of a warning only made her want to try it even more.

Hm.

It was a week after that when her moms both weren't home. That in and of itself was a rarity, coupled with the fact that her mom accidentally left her workspace unlocked. Hikari tried to ignore the cloning machine calling to her, but her fingers were itching to turn the knob of the door, to walk in and figure out how to use the machine. She'd need to be stealthy about it; maybe she could nab a pair of her mother's gloves while she was at it, so she wouldn't leave fingerprints.

Wow, once she started, she really didn't stop.

It took her about ten minutes to figure out how it worked and set it up with her own DNA. She crossed her fingers, hoping that it would work, while thinking of everything she could do with her clone. Her clone could go to school or do chores while she went out with Mei and Tadaaki, maybe to a movie in the middle of the day while she should be in class. The machine whirred to life, and slowly, slowly, she saw her clone being built in front of her.

Her clone blinked at her with the same eyes, still as short as she was. "I'm...you?" were the first words out of her mouth, the same tone and lilt as her own voice. It was almost scary enough for her to pull the plug on the machine, but she wouldn't do that to her mom's invention. That would just be cruel beyond measure.

"That's right. You know your name?" Surprisingly, the clone nodded, shifting her hair so it settled behind her shoulders. Hikari rubbed her hands together, perhaps a bit of mad scientist slipping into her. "Great. We can get right to work."

The clone perked up. "Math or science first?"

Hikari laughed. This clone really did think just like her. "Not homework just yet. I have to make some plans first, alright? We can't let our moms see both of us at the same time, you know? They'd freak that I used Mom's machine without her permission."

"Why'd you do it, then? You don't want to get in trouble." A fair point, she supposed, but she just shook her head and winked. "Alrighty, show me what you want me to do!"

Her moms both came home a couple hours later. Hikari had already made sure to clean any evidence from the cloning machine, on the off chance her mom would look hard enough to know it had been used. Her mother was making dinner, so she and her clone were alone in her room, going through what her clone did and didn't know. "Maybe you want your first solo assignment for dinner? See if they know anything's up?"

Her clone thought about it for a second. "I think I'm up for it. It would be my first meal with them." She seemed a little excited at the prospect, bouncing a little in her spot on the bed. Hikari blinked, and suddenly she was gone- followed quickly by a string of curses from her mom's workspace.

"Miu? What's wrong?" her mother said, already en route to the room like Hikari was. Her mom was standing a couple feet away from the cloning machine, something wet dripping on the ground, as well as...broken glass? How had she not heard that?

"I may or may not have just destroyed my greatest invention by being thirsty," her mom whined, already getting onto her knees to pick up the larger shards of glass. She didn't have to worry about being cut, mostly, thanks to her faux-leather gloves. "Stupid glass, stupid water…" Hikari knew that she was holding back more curses now that she was in the room and listening.

"Can you save the machine?" she asked, worried. Her clone had just blinked out of existence! She didn't even know that could happen!

Her mom slowly shook her head. "I was starting to think it wasn't the best idea anyway. Genius, absolutely, but not now." She shrugged. "Maybe sometime in the distant future, I'll try again."

Hikari sighed to herself. She'd have to try again next time.