Chapter 4 ... I'll be blunt; I honestly think that this chapter is pretty boring :|
"A-Almost got them!"
A young Luka exclaimed from the branch of an apple tree. She couldn't be more than five years old, yet she's already a handful for most adults, and her friends. Her nimble little feet balanced themselves on the tree branch as she reached for the bright red fruits above her head.
"Go, go, go! Go get them Luka-nee! Before the they come!"
"Hurry hurry!"
A four-year old Rin, Len, Kaito and Meiko cheered from the base of the tree. Luka plucked as many apples as her arms could carry until she couldn't hold anymore.
"Get the cloth ready guys!"
Luka yelled, Her friends grabbed the edges of a white cloth and spread it out under the branch where Luka was. Once the cloth was ready she dropped the apples, then dropped down the tree herself. Kaito, the big boy of the group got the edges together and threw it over his shoulders like a sack.
"Let's go, let's go! They're waiting!"
Rin dashed ahead of the others with Meiko tailing her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself again. They ran into a clearing in the forest, a circular grove with flowers everywhere. In the middle of it all sat two heads of blonde and teal flowing hair. Their little group ran into the grove to their friends in the middle. The blonde looked up with her sky blue eyes and smiled at them.
"There you are guys" she said.
"Lily-nee and I have been waiting forever!"
A young Miku pouted. Luka grinned then tossed her an apple.
"Woah! Where'd you get this?" Miku asked
"Oh, I got it from the-"
"From the apple tree!" Kaito exclaimed.
The twins, Meiko and Luka stared at the blue haired boy. Lily and Miku weren't supposed to know about that because Lily would start-
"I thought I told you not to climb that tree anymore! You could have gotten hurt!"
–scolding her. The rest of their group started backing away while Lily gave Luka a little lecture on listening. First it was Luka and Lily alone, then came Kaito and Meiko, Miku, then Rin and Len. For as long as they can remember Lily and Luka have always been like that, Lily being a good girl and Luka being a troublesome little devil, their personalities compliment each other.
After that little lecture that Luka payed no attention to, they spread out the piece of cloth and sat down on it, eating the apples, playing and making flower wreaths. It was the time of their lives, they were having fun and they didn't have a care in the world, they though that they could stay like that forever.
But they were wrong of course.
The party was almost over, Lily's birthday party. The sun was setting and most of the guests were already making their way home, but little Miku could sense that the adults were worrying about something. As she wandered around a bit more she found out that the birthday girl and her best friend were no where to be found. She went back to her friends, the twins, Meiko and Kaito hoping that the two would be back, but no such luck. Miku wondered where they were and what were they doing, a single statement answered her question,
"There was an accident!"
The adults made a fuss to get their kids in the house and then run out into the street. All the kids crowded themselves against the windows trying to see what happened, but they couldn't see anything. The next day, it was official.
Masuda Lily died on her birthday.
On the day of her funeral Luka and her parents were nowhere to be seen and their little group started breaking apart from there. Soon Lily's parents followed her in sickness and depression, they lost contact with Luka and Rin and Len moved away, soon even Kaito and Meiko started to disappear. Miku was left alone. As much as she cried she couldn't let her depression take her over.
Miku knew that Luka had a crush on Lily, she knew that she had a crush on Luka, she knew why they split up.
What she wants to know is why Luka forgot about everything just like that.
(-The Next Day-)
The chatter in class 2B was loud, only five minutes until the bell rings and Miku is nowhere to be seen. Who knows, if they're lucky, she just might skip school today. All hopes of a relaxing day in class were ruined when the door slid open and the all too familiar teal twin-tails walked in through the door. Everyone scurried back to their seats as Miku made her way to her own.
She sat down, rested her hand on her cheek, stared out the window, and did nothing more. Everyone stared at her waiting for her to go around and start checking their uniforms or their homework, but Miku did no such thing. Glances were exchanged from one student to the other, something was obviously wrong with the class rep.
(-Outside the school campus-)
What on earth am I even doing here...?
Luka stood outside the school campus, staring at her classroom window. She wondered if she should get in that room and apologize for the things she said to Miku. She knew that everything she said the night before were all true, no matter harsh she sounded. But for some reason she couldn't shake away a nagging feeling at the back of her head.
Maybe she should go in there.
Maybe she should apologize.
Maybe Miku knows something she doesn't
Maybe-
Kriiiinngg!
Well that bell made her decision for her, the school gates start closing and Luka isn't going anywhere near the building. She walked away and shook the thought of apologizing out of her head. Her feet took her to one of her favorite places to waste time; the arcade. Since it's a weekday and everyone is at school, she has most of the games to herself, she takes a seat in front her favorite fighting game and starts mashing buttons at her expense.
Thirty minutes into the game and the words; "A New Challenger" flashes onto the screen, looking to her side Gakupo sat beside her.
"Shouldn't you be in school?"
"No."
Three battles for one round, whoever wins 3 out of 3 is the winner. During the first battle they played through it in silence. Despite the fact that he isn't talking, Luka could tell that he wanted to discuss something. Several veterans of the game came and watched the two of them. Once they've gotten a crowd watching them Luka delt the finishing blow and won. Gakupo rewarded her with a question;
"Why are you here?"
"To waste time"
"That's not what I mean."
"What?"
Luka looked at him and Gakupo managed to sneak in the first strike of the game, he continued with several combos and Luka had no chance to counter, second round goes to the purple-haired samurai. Luka thought the question over as she selected her character for the next round. First and foremost it was Gakupo who accepted her into the group years ago.
"If you didn't want me here then why did you take me in, in the first place?"
Gakupo didn't answer, getting a little mad at his silence Luka finished off his character in one blow. The crowd around them had gotten larger at the length of their little battle. Luka could see the reflections of the different faces watching them intently on the loading screen.
"Because you looked lost"
Again, that response surprised Luka and she had to look at him, which gave Gakupo an opening and he finished the third battle in a swift order of combos. A perfect win. Luka cursed under her breath. 2 on 2.
I looked lost?
Last round would decide who wins. Luka couldn't concentrate as Gakupo's words ran circles in her head. Now that she thought about it; when did she join? Better yet, why did she join? The question bothered her so much that she just let Gakupo finish her character off. For as long as she can remember her only reason for being on the streets is fighting. Fighting and nothing more. But now there are so many missing pieces that she isn't even sure of her own name. The screen declared Gakupo winner and Luka just sat there.
"I thought something was wrong with you," He said "think it over kid, but I can't promise you'll like what you'll know"
As Luka stood up a different player took her place. She walked out of the arcade and into the sunlight. She felt like a vampire burning in the sun after such a long time in the dark space of the arcade. She walked, and walked and walked, trying to fill in the blanks in her head. Luka didn't know where her feet were taking her, she didn't really care, the empty blanks were bothering her more.
"Woah there young lady!"
A truck just sped past her.
"Ah..."
Luka snapped out of her little trance and found herself in front of the street, cars rushing past her at a hundred miles an hour. If it weren't for whoever pulled her arm back she would have been in a nasty car accident.
Car accident.
A sharp wave of pain ran through her head and she winced. She looked at the one who just saved her life; an old man wearing a brown coat with a matching fedora, his white hair still has traces of blonde in them and his eyes are as blue as the sky itself.
"Are you okay young lady?"
"Aph... yeah, thanks pops"
He has a gentle look in his eyes and his expression is grandfatherly. He let go of Luka's arm and she rubbed her head.
"Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I don't really need to be there right now," It'd probably be a good idea if she introduced herself "I'm Luka, Megurine Luka, thanks for saving me" she said.
"I'm Leo, Masuda Leo, it's nice to meet you Luka-chan" he stretched out his hand.
Luka flinched a bit when he said that, nobody has added '-chan' to her name in years. It made her grin like an idiot and he shook the man's hand.
"Nice to meet'cha pops!"
(-Back in School-)
Class 2B is much more talkative than usual, but they still feel somewhat uneasy. Hatsune Miku, the class representative and an all around good girl fell asleep in History class. Even when the bell rang, she stayed asleep. A few of the class stayed behind in the classroom to eat lunch, and a few of those few decided to approach the sleeping girl. Miku felt someone tap her shoulder.
"A-ano... iinchou" Miku looked up and saw a green-haired Gumi and a red-headed Miki.
"What...?"
The two hesitated to talk, Miku was never really an approachable person and she never seemed to need anyone by her side. The two are having a hard time trying to talk to her.
"We wanted to know if-"
"Iichou, there are some people looking for you outside" someone said.
Miku looked at the door and saw the twins with Kaito and Meiko with their bento boxes. Did they want her to eat lunch with them? One of Miku's classmates by the door asked her.
"Your friends iinchou?" he asked. Miku didn't answer. She just stared at the four of them and thought they were my friends once... but that was a long time ago.
"Of course were her friends!" Rin answered for her. Unknown to Miku, Miki and Gumi, and several others of her classmates smiled at the statement.
"Go on iinchou, don't want to keep your friends waiting right?" Miki said,
The tealette looked at the red head and nodded her head. Miku walked out the door and joined her friends.
They didn't go to the cafeteria, but went behind the school to a hidden garden. Because the place is so secluded and no one ever comes to the place its been mistaken for an off-limits area. But going there meant that you have to pass through a small forest with no clear path, you'd get messed up with all the branches and roots scattered. So even if people did know about the place it would be too much of a hassle to get there. They sat on a white picnic blanket under a tree as they ate their lunches. Meiko occasionally stealing a few bites from the twins bento boxes, and Kaito happily eating his ice cream. Miku didn't have too much of an appetite.
"You better eat your lunch Miku-chan" Meiko said.
Miku shook her head and the four exchanged glances.
"Look, Miku-nee we know that Luka-"
"No, it's okay."
They exchanged looks again and looked at Miku
"What?" Meiko asked
"You guys can go ahead and make friends with her."
With the way she said that it's clear that she herself has no intention of joining them. The words that Luka said to her the night before have been running circles in her head all night. It kept her awake and staring at her ceiling thinking over the possibilities. Maybe her amnesia is permanent. Maybe it isn't amnesia at all. Maybe this Luka is a completely different person who just so happens to look exactly like Luka, and have the same name as her. Maybe the real Luka is dead. Maybe she comitted suicide. Maybe she's living half way around the world with a new set of friends. Miku's friends sat in silence as they tried to think of something to say.
"Come on Miku-nee, she may not remember all the memories from the past" Len started
"But at least we can still be with her." Rin finished.
"And it's probably better that she doesn't remember the past at all." Meiko said.
For once everyone was in agreement, even Miku. If Luka remembers Lily's dying then she just might turn into an emotional wreck, shut herself in, they'd loose contact with her and never see her again until ten years later.
"No," Miku shook her head. "I don't want to have anything to do with Luka anymore"
"So I guess I came back here for no reason then?"
The group flinched, Luka walked out of the tree. She scratched the back of her head as those four pairs of eyes stared at her again.
"What are you doing here?" Miku asked.
"An old man convinced me to come back" the pinkette said. Miku wondered if she was kidding.
"So... I haven't really introduced myself have I?" Luka said, "I'm Luka, Megurine Luka. It's nice to meet you all." She said with a slight bow.
For a second nobody said anything, Luka was starting to think that maybe listening to that old man was a horrible mistake. Miku was practically glaring at her, the other four still staring. After two minutes of deathly silence, the blonde with the white bow on her head stood up and placed her arm around her shoulder, grinning and giggling.
"I'm Rin! Kagamine Rin, and this is my twin brother; Kagamine Len" she said
"Nice to meet you Luka-san!" Len greeted.
Luka could still remember the boy from the other day calling her Luka-nee, but that's gone.
"This is Meiko, and that big doof over there is Kaito!" Rin exclaimed.
"Yola~" Kaito said waving his ice cream spoon
"Nice to meet you Luka-chan" Meiko said with a smile.
Luka grinned at the welcome, but then her smile faded when she looked at Miku who is already walking away.
"O-Oh come on! Wait up!" Luka exclaimed chasing after Miku and grabbing her arm.
"I really don't want to have anything to do with you Megurine-san" Miku said with that formal tone of hers.
"Would you give me a second to explain?" Luka said
"Explain what?"
"Er..."
Luka let go of Miku's arm and scratched the back of her head. What was she supposed to say after last night? I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings so how about we just forget everything and start over? She would have said that if she hadn't thought that it would be insensitive. She rested her chin on the crook between her index finger and her thumb, trying to rack her brain for something to say.
Miku looked at her as she pondered on her thoughts. Luka's smart, but slow. She's has always been like that, always doing reckless things and not thinking of the consequences afterward. But now she is genuinely thinking over what to say and do. Miku looked behind her and saw the grins on the faces of her friends still at the tree. She sighed, folded her arms and looked at Luka.
"Okay look, if you want to come back to school," she said "there's just one thing I want you to do" she gained back that strict aura that she always has in the classroom, her expression turned icy. Luka looked at her, oh great what on earth could she possibly want?
"Stay where I can keep an eye on you, okay...?"
Her expression softened and it took a while for the pinkette to process what she just said. Then she grinned. The twins together with Meiko and Kaito jumped in on them, laughing. Happy that they can finally be with Luka after all these years. Even if she doesn't remember them. Miku looked at the pinkette
"Welcome back."
End.