Chapter Two: A Scare or Two
Everyone stared as Gakupo stepped out of the recording booth. He thought he was bad but not that bad. He looked down and scratched his head.
"I'm pretty bad aren't I?" Luka got up and went to a nearby cabinet. She took something out and walked but to Gakupo.
"Gakupo, I have a proposition for you."
"Hmm?" Luka held out her hand. She was holding a Vocaloid headset.
"I would like you to become a Vocaloid. You're an amazing singer, and would a great addition to the group." Gakupo stared at her in disbelief.
"Surely you're joking." Kaito shook his head.
"You're tone of voice is very clear dude, and you put a lot of effort into making your song have meaning. That's something rare in singers." Len and Rin then spoke unanimously.
"Come on join us! It'll be fun! Right Miku?" Miku jumped slightly, hoping that no one would have asked for her input.
"Y-Yeah, you should join us Gakupo. I'd say we need at least one more guy." Everyone nodded, but Gakupo was concerned. She seems really down. What could it be? Looking more closely, he noticed something on her left arm.
"Miku, you arm's bleeding!" Gakupo rushed over and held it out and everyone noticed. Miku mentally panicked but quickly made up and excuse.
"I got clawed by a cat when I was waiting for the bus. I must have opened it up again when I sat on my arm."
"That sounds like it'd do it." Kaito said.
"I always have some wrapping with me, I'll be right back." Gakupo watched as Miku walked off. A cat? He didn't believe a word of it. I'm going to keep a close eye on you Miku. I don't want anything to happen to a new friend.
"Damn it!" Miku cursed as she wrapped her arm up again. She didn't expect Gakupo to be that perceptive, "Now I have to be even more careful. No more sitting on your arm you idiot." She sighed and held her head, "Oh...man I'm dizzy..." Miku remembered she'd been feeling nauseous and lightheaded for several days now. She shook her head to clear her mind, and headed back downstairs to the studio. Everyone was gone so she assumed they were in the living room. She headed upstairs to the living room, and sure enough everyone was sitting down chatting to one another.
"Welcome back Miku." Rin made some room on the couch between herself and Len. Miku sat down.
"Thank you. Did you take the offer Gakupo?" Gakupo nodded.
"If I am apparently that good a singer for such praise from all you, why shouldn't I?" I need to keep an eye on you. I have to make sure you stay safe.
"You alright Miku?" Luka asked, "You look pale."
"I feel alright." Miku lied, "I've just been feeling kinda nauseous recently." Rin and Len stood up.
"Maybe you should lie down." Len said. Miku got up in somewhat of a huff.
"I said I'm fine. I just...I..." Miku held her head in one hand, the other on her stomach.
"Miku?" Kaito got up and walked over to her. Miku started coughing violently, then threw up, staining the white carpet with crimson fluid.
"Miku!" Miku fell forward and Kaito managed to catch her before she hit the floor. Luke ran and got the phone and called the hospital. Kaito laid Miku on the couch with Gakupo's help. She was breathing, but wasn't conscious.
Gakupo paced back and forth in worry. Kaito sat with Len and Rin, doing his best to keep them calm. Luka stood like a statue as the doctor came in.
"Is she okay?" Rin instantly asked.
"She's perfectly fine." Rin wasn't satisfied, and the doctor sighed, "Alright, sit down. She has been over stressed and that has taken a toll on her. She has been singing too frequently, and it's beginning to damage her lungs and throat."
"What can we do?"
"She needs a month's rest. After that she can start singing again, but if she has any problems she needs to come right back for a check-up." Luka nodded.
"Can we see her?"
"Of course." The doctor opened the door and let everyone inside. Miku lay on the bed obscured by the white sheet. Various cords and tubes were attached to her to monitor her vitals. Len and Rin sat on either side of her while everyone else remained standing.
"Why didn't you say anything Miku?" Luka sighed.
"I didn't know anything was wrong." Miku's voice was raspy as if she was struggling to get the words out. Luka raised an eyebrow, but Kaito continued her questioning.
"Really? You didn't know you were stressed and injuring your lungs? We noticed your voice changing, but we thought that since you continued to work it was nothing major. You could have really hurt yourself Miku." Miku looked down, ashamed. Everyone turned as the doctor walked in and closed the door.
"Is something wrong?" Len asked.
"Yes actually." The doctor walked over to Miku and held out her left arm. He removed the wrapping and everyone gasped. Miku's arm was covered in scars from her wrist to her shoulder. Everyone was speechless, "How long have you been cutting?"
"Since I joined the Vocaloids." Miku saw no more point in lying. She was found out, and had to fess up.
"But why?" Rin only saw Miku happy when they were together; even when they were recording she smiled.
"Having to live by myself, go to school, work for the Vocaloids. It was just...hard. Cutting myself relieved me, took it off my mind. I'm sorry." Miku was beginning to cry, a first for her friends to see. Gakupo placed his hand on hers, making her look at him.
"But your friends are here for you." Everyone smiled and nodded, "If you were stressed, you should have told them about it."
"I know. I'm such an idiot." Miku wiped her eyes.
"I'm not going to argue on that point." Luka said sternly, "If I ever catch you doing this again, you're in so much trouble baka." Luka placed her hand on Miku's, "We're all here for you."
"That's right. Besides, it's just not the same without you Miku." Kaito said merrily.
"You're super fun to be with!" Rin seconded. Len nodded.
"I really don't like recording when you aren't there." Lin admitted.
"I really want to get a chance to know you. A friend of mine went over the edge once, and I'm not going to let that happen again." Gakupo said firmly. Miku looked at her friends, and then her arm.
"I'm sorry." Kaito patted her head.
"Don't be." He looked at the doctor, "How long does she have to stay?"
"Well, we need to run some tests for her lungs, medicate her to help her throat heal and more importantly, we have to test her for depression and thoughts of suicide. She'll be in here for at least a week."
"We'll visit after school Miku." Rin said, and Len nodded in agreement.
"Okay. I'm really sorry guys." Miku clenched the sheets as she began to cry again, "I just...I was so..." Luka moved closer and held her tightly.
"Shh...don't need to speak Miku. We understand. We'll see you tomorrow." Everyone got up and left the room, but a few minutes after Gakupo came back in.
"Forget something?" Miku found that unlikely. Gakupo didn't seem the type to misplace something. He took an MP3 player from his bag and handed it to her along with a pair of headphones.
"Well, you don't have anything to do here. I have a lot of Vocaloid songs on here, and the ones I made myself. Just so you have something to do." He put them on the table, "Good night Miku."
"Night Gakupo. See you tomorrow." Miku yawned, eyes tightly closed, and they didn't open for the rest of the night.
"What do you see?" Miku stared at the strange blob of ink on the paper the new doctor showed it. She was in a white room with no windows and the door was locked. The bright light irritated her eyes.
"A dog." The doctor wrote on his sheet of paper, an assessment as to whether Miku would have to receive rehabilitation. It was not in her favor, as the light was nearly blinding her and making the pictures hard to see.
"And this one?" Miku shifted uneasily, "Please be honest."
"A burning house. Can we please dim the light? It's making my eyes sting." The doctor pushed the picture towards her.
"Please look closer." She held it up and blocked the lights with it. Much better.
"Umm..." Miku was embarrassed by what she was about to say, "Some half cat chicken thing." The doctor chuckled.
"Don't worry; you aren't the first to see that." He took the paper and held up another one, "And this one?"
"A...butterfly." The doctor wrote some more on the chart. She had been here since five in the morning, and still had another six days in the hospital. She had to admit to herself, her throat was in excruciating pain and it was sometimes hard to breathe. Just in case, she was given an emergency inhaler should the need arise.
"Alright, almost done Miku. I'm going to say a word, and you say the first word that comes to mind, understand?" Miku nodded, "Apple."
"Healthy."
"Cave."
"Ghost." The reaction seemed to surprise the doctor, but he continued.
"Onion."
"Tasty." Miku smiled, Luka said she'd bring her some green onions today.
"Blood." Miku knew the doctor was testing her want to injure herself.
"Regret."
"Knife."
"Foolishness."
"Gun."
"Goodbye." The doctor marked his chart, and stood up.
"Thank you for being so cooperative Miku. Let's get you back to your room."
"Do I...have to go away?" Miku stared at him, "I don't want to...leave my friends."
"I can't reveal the results yet Miku, I'm sorry." Miku sighed.
"Okay." They got up and left the room. Why does the hospital have to be so bright? Miku shielded her eyes, realizing the room she was just in was dimmer than the halls. She kept her eyes open as school ended about an hour ago. They didn't find them before they reached Miku's room, and she closed the blinds before crawling into bed. She was tired, and her eyes began to close as the nurse dimmed the lights. She stayed awake long enough to hear a knock on the door.
"Is Miku awake?" It was Gakupo.
"No sir, she just-" Miku cut the nurse off.
"I'm still up." Gakupo came in with a small bag.
"Brought you some onions, dunno why Luka wanted me to-" Gakupo was cut off as Miku snatched the bag and quickly started eating the contents.
"Mmm...so yummy." Miku looked at Gakupo, the long onion sticking out of her mouth, "Sorry, I have funny tastes."
"Huh, not alone there. I love eggplants."
"Perfect, that's one question answered."
"Huh?"
"One of the little things with us Vocaloids is we all list out favorite food. Len likes bananas, Rin likes mikans, Kaito loves ice cream, and Luka likes frozen tuna. How was school?"
"Alright, biology was boring."
"Dissecting a dead animal is boring?"
"I meant it just didn't feel the same without you there. You're just so...likeable." Miku blushed slightly.
"Thanks Gakupo. No one's ever said that about me before." Gakupo stood up.
"I got to go. Luka says she wants me to join them for recording so I can be a Vocaloid."
"Tell them I said hi, and have fun."
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Gakupo left the room, and Miku slowly nibbled on the onion she had in her hand.
"I don't want to go."
"I need to you stay perfectly still Miku." Miku remained as motionless as she could as she moved backwards into the scanner. The doctors needed to do an MRI of her chest to make sure her lungs were alright, "That's good, almost done." Miku sighed as she felt herself move back out of the machine. The nurse took off the heavy mat on her legs and waist and let her stand up. She didn't want to, but sat down in the wheel chair due to regulations. She spent the entirety of last night listening to Gakupo's songs to learn his singing style. She liked his way of singing, and looked up to see Kaito standing by her room.
"Oh, hey Kaito." Miku smiled.
"Hey, how you doing?"
"Not going to lie, it hurts. Sometimes it's painful to breathe, other times it's just hard."
"I see. Nothing much has been happening really. I gotta get home but Gakupo's here too. He went off to get a snack."
"Here again?" Miku had a few more days in the hospital, and every day Gakupo came to visit after school. The nurse wheeled Miku up to the bed before letting her get up. Miku lay down on the bed and opened the book Luka had brought for her. She looked up as the door opened.
"Hey Miku."
"Hey Gakupo. How's life as a Vocaloid?"
"Not that different." Miku laughed.
"Wait until your first concert. I've been listening to your songs; you're going to be a hit."
"You really think so?"
"Oh I know so." They both turned as a doctor, the one who had tested Miku a few days prior, walked in. Miku suddenly looked so tiny and scared, "Do I...have to go away?"
"No." The doctor said with a smile on his face, "We feel you'll be fine, but if you ever do this again we will have to take you under our wing." Miku looked at Gakupo, both relieved.
"I won't."
"I do have some bad news however. It turns out your stay here might be longer than expected. The MRI seemed inaccurate, so you'll have to be run through it again tomorrow." Miku suddenly felt scared once more. Has her career injured her?
"O-Okay."
"Well, visiting hours will be over soon, so make it quick young man." Gakupo nodded and the doctor left the room. Gakupo stood up.
"Well, guess I'll let you get some sleep."
"Okay, see you next time." As Gakupo left the room, Miku pulled the sheets over her and closed her eyes. Gakupo's a really nice guy, I'm glad he's my friend.
"Wonder how Miku's holding up." Gakupo wondered out loud as he, Rin and Len walked down the street from school to the hospital.
"I hope she gets out soon."
"That MRI thing has me worried." They heard a commotion, and saw a large crowd of people outside the hospital. They all cringed as they saw that they were mostly reporters for news stations. They forced their way through the crowd, and overheard most of the reporters talking. Something happened to Miku. They got to the front when security stopped them.
"No reporters!" Len and Rin didn't know what to do, but Gakupo was determined.
"We're Vocaloids, let us in!" The security guard was unconvinced until Len and Rin pulled out their Vocaloid IDs.
"He's a new member, we're still registering him." Len explained.
"Alright, follow me." As they moved forward, Rin was knocked over as a reporter shoved past and made a break for the door only to be tackled by security like a football player. They ran inside and down the hall. Gakupo knew they were heading towards the emergency room, the one intended for emergency surgery. They were brought to a room overlooking the room and they instantly saw Miku on a table, various tubes attached to her and in her mouth and her eyes closed. Rin and Len gasped and averted their gaze as they saw Miku's insides while the rest of her was covered by a green sheet. Gakupo watched as they operated on her chest cavity and turned as a doctor entered.
"Friends?" Gakupo nodded.
"Vocaloids; what happened?"
"Miku was undergoing another scan in the MRI when she suddenly choked out that she couldn't breathe. When she began to flail she was taken out and given emergency air. The scan was enough though."
"What did it show?"
"Miku has a tumor in her lung, that's what blocked off the air. Luckily it is in its first stages and can be removed."
"Will she be okay?" Rin choked out, not turning to look. The doctor put his hand on her shoulder, making her and Len look at him.
"Apart from a surgical scar, she will be perfectly fine. There is nothing to worry about." Gakupo saw the surgeons being to sew the opening up, and sighed as there was no panic or flat lines, "Also, since as of now the problem is taken care of Miku can head home soon."
"That's a relief."
"I should let you know she must not sing or perform any physical activities for some time. We have to make sure the lung is fully healed or risk internal injury. Also..."
"What is it?"
"Just in case, we need someone who can watch out for her in case something goes wrong."
"I can do it." Gakupo volunteered, "What do I need to do?"
"You'll have to stay with her at all times, even at home."
"So I kinda, move in with her until she's healed?"
"Bluntly, yes."
"Well that's up to Miku then." The door suddenly flew open as Luka and Kaito rushed in.
"We just heard the news! Is Miku okay?!" Kaito went straight to the doctor.
"The surgery just finished and the tumor was taken out cleanly. Miku is sleeping right now and most likely for the rest of the day. This young man," The doctor motioned to Gakupo, "Has volunteered to watch over Miku until she is fully healed."
"How long should that be by the way?" Gakupo needed to know what to tell his parents.
"I would say a month to be safe. If anything unusual happens or she complains of any and all chest pain, bring her back pronto."
"Got it."
"Now, you should all head home. Please don't say anything to those ravens outside, patient confidentiality."
"Those jerks won't hear anything from us." Luka said sternly. Kaito walked out with Len and Rin, the latter in tears from the experience.
"Hey doc."
"Yes?"
"Do you think I could...start right now?" Gakupo asked almost selfishly, "Just in case."
"Of course, I'll have the nurse bring you something to rest on." Gakupo followed the doctor to Miku's room. Gakupo quickly called his parents and told them about the situation. Unsurprisingly, they told him to do what he had to do and be safe. He was soon brought a sheet and a pillow. Gakupo didn't sleep that night, but sat on the chair by the open window staring at Miku. He prayed that she would recover fast, but at the same time he hoped she would recover slowly and let them be together longer.
"Do I...love her?" Were his final words before he slouched over on the table and fell asleep.