9 – Rainbow Butterfly
Miku couldn't exactly focus on what was being said, or who was saying it. Part of her felt like she was in enemy territory, while another part of her was just glad she wouldn't have to spend the last few days the world had left on her own.
She'd be seeing Rin and Len soon, at least.
The flight to the Son household had been a slow one; they had detoured to the Kame house to pick up Chi-Chi, who had demanded a 'safe flight', thus taking them until evening to make it home. Unfortunately, this had given Miku time to think, vainly attempting to take her thoughts away from Len's scattered remains, Luka in the grip of Cell, and…
…'Perfect' Cell…
Miku shuddered again, abruptly shifting her focus to the present time, where Goku was trying to explain the situation to Chi-Chi.
"…and so Miku here needs a place to stay until the Cell Games," Goku said, clearly uncertain about asking anything of Chi-Chi.
"Doesn't she have a family or anything?"
"Well, uh, maybe? I dunno about that actually, she's an-"
Goku cut himself off before he could accidently mention the fact that one of the dreaded androids was standing in the same room as them, something Chi-Chi would surely not react favourably to.
"Uh, but yeah, she, uh, needs a place to stay…ahah…" Goku was laughing uncomfortably now.
"I can leave, if I'm not wanted here," Miku said. Chi-Chi 's glare shifted to Miku, but lightened up slightly.
"Do you really have nowhere to go?" Chi-Chi asked her. Miku met her gaze with a dull one of her own.
"Two of my friends were taken by Cell…but I had nowhere to go to begin with."
"…As long as you don't eat as much as these two, I don't see any problem," Chi-Chi sighed, "it'd be nice to have some female company around the house, anyway."
Chi-Chi returned to glaring at Goku and Gohan, eyeing their hair with disgust. The two's looks of joy did not last long as they shrunk under her glare.
"Come on, Miku, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping," Chi-Chi said, waving Miku across the room. Goku and Gohan's stomachs loudly groaned as they watched the two exit the room.
"If you want food, get it yourself, you hoodlums!" Chi-Chi yelled at them, guiding Miku to an empty room, with only a bed, a table, and lamp, as well as a small window. Miku hesitantly followed, not sure what to think of a woman who could leave Son Goku cowed.
"Make yourself at home! I don't exactly know what's going on, as usual, but you're welcome to stay as long as you like," Chi-Chi said, tidying the bed up, "you're a guest here, so I, at the very least, will make sure you're well looked after."
She glanced out of the window, narrowing her eyes. Miku followed her gaze, seeing Goku and Gohan outside, both of them laughing cheerfully as they entered the forest.
"Unlike certain other residents of this house…" Chi-Chi growled, bemused.
Miku wasn't paying attention anymore; the blonde hair and teal eyes of the Super Saiyans and their cheerful expressions brought back fresh memories of Rin and Len. It felt like forever since she'd heard their laughs, or seen their smiles. Len would tell corny jokes, Rin would mock them, and both would giggle as the target of the mockery shifted to Dr Gero.
The four of them were so happy together, despite their lack of freedom.
Why couldn't it have lasted?
Len's scattered remains were a vivid memory in Miku's mind. His head was so lifeless, his eyes so empty-
"Miku? Is everything alright?" Chi-Chi asked, looking at the girl with concern. Miku could hardly stop the tears welling up in her eyes as she nodded and looked away from Chi-Chi.
"Y-yeah…I'll be okay," she said, and paused.
"Thanks," she added after a moment.
Bulma's workshop, or at least the one Luka's hand was being worked on in, was vastly different to Gero's, Luka had noticed. Gero had valued order and efficiency, and thus his lab had been tidy and clean for as long as Luka could remember.
That is, before she blew it up, of course.
The scientist was never hasty to dispose of unwanted robots and designs, but always knew what he did not need. He had no sentimentality about his own creations.
Bulma, however, seemed to be the total opposite. Laying around the room was heaps of junk and half constructed robots, all most likely totally useless and forgotten. It appeared that nothing was ever thrown out here, nor tidied up, considering all the tools messily laid out across the worktop.
It was quite incredible that Bulma was able to work so quickly on Luka's hand; the android had been sat in the same spot for hours on end, and still could not wrap her head around Bulma's work ethic. Not a single moment had been wasted looking for tools or parts; they always seemed to be within arm's reach.
While this was all fascinating to watch, Luka couldn't help but feel a little awkward, as Trunks still had his gaze fixed on her, not bothering to hide his suspicion at all.
"So, uh," Luka spoke up, trying to break the silence, "how long do you think this will take?"
"Hm?" Bulma responded inquisitively, focused on the hand, "y'mean this? I'm almost done, don't sweat it."
"Oh, I didn't mean to sound like I'm rushing you…"
"It's fine," Bulma said, waving Luka's apology aside, "Trunks, we're all really bored in here. Turn on the TV or something."
Trunks sighed, and, keeping Luka in his peripheral vision, picked up the remote and started cycling through various channels.
"Anything in particular?" he asked.
"Hm, what's on at this time?" Bulma wondered, pausing her work, "what even is the time?"
"It's three minutes and forty two seconds past six," Luka instantly responded.
"Oh wow, that's handy. Can you predict weather too?" Bulma teased. Luka held her free hand toward the window, squinting.
"Aha…might need both hands for that."
Bulma and Luka both chuckled.
"I saw that smile, Trunks," Luka said, smirking. Trunks' face flushed, and he quickly turned, losing sight of Luka for the first time in hours. Bulma snorted as she returned to working on the hand.
"Anything you want to watch, Luka?" she asked. Luka hesitated.
"Uh...well, before today, I'd never actually watched TV so…I don't know what would be on."
Dr Gero did not give the four androids much; no books, access to TV, nor any time outside. Their knowledge was solely based on what Gero programmed them with. Any outside influences would have been a waste- or, at least, that's what Luka guessed Gero thought of it.
The clear negative side to this was that as Rin and Len especially were very child-like, and Luka was very much a mother figure to them, she would have to either provide them with some source of entertainment, or keep them out of trouble. It had been tough, but she loved Rin, Len and Miku dearly.
She was grateful for Miku's help. Without her, their time in that lab would have been far more trying, and their outlook on the future far more bleak than it was already.
Luka sighed. Rin and Len were gone now, and Miku was a shadow of her former self. She'd failed her, just as she'd failed to protect Rin.
She stared at her hand currently going under repairs. She had escaped Cell's wrath with only a fixable hand and a heavy heart, but Miku's spirit had been crushed, and the twins had lost their lives. She deserved worse; none of the others had done anything to deserve the pain they had received.
Luka twirled a few strands of her hair with her good hand, and glanced at Trunks, who had returned to watching her.
But there was no more suspicion in his eyes. Instead, he was frowning, but looked curious.
Miku had forgotten about food.
She didn't exactly need it, and had never had it, so Chi-Chi presenting dinner to her and the Saiyans was something that took her by surprise. It all smelled delicious, and every single dish on the table looked appetising. Not to mention there were huge quantities of it all, although most of it was for the Saiyans and their tremendous appetite.
Had she felt like eating before, she wouldn't anymore; not after seeing two healthy Saiyans wolf down the food at a ridiculous pace…for the second time that day.
She looked over to Chi-Chi, who was calmly and neatly eating the small amount on her plate. Her eyes were shut, and on closer inspection, her eyebrow seemed to be twitching.
Miku gripped the glass of water next to her plate of food. Would it be a bad idea to try drinking it? She knew she couldn't process food, so she assumed the same for any drinks…
"So, Miku," Chi-Chi said, pulling Miku from her mild dilemma, "how old are you?"
"I, uh," Miku fumbled over words, not exactly sure what to say. She almost followed up with, 'I'm not sure,' but that was raise more questions than it would answer, so she decided against it.
How old was she? Since she'd first been built, she'd been deactivated and reactivated numerous times, and denied any sort of hint of the time and date until she'd been released to the outside world. She had no idea how old she was.
Besides, that was her age as an android. Chi-Chi was after her human age. Miku didn't know that, either, but she could make a rough guess.
"Sixteen," she said hesitantly. Chi-Chi gave her a scrutinising look for a few seconds. Miku squirmed under her gaze, trying to calm her mind down.
"Sixteen, huh? I remember when I was that age…life as princess of the Ox Kingdom was so simple…"
Chi-Chi let out a wistful sigh, as she watched the Saiyans devour their food, "but my life changed for the better all those years ago…"
Gohan was the first to stop for breath, leaning back on his chair with a look of content. Goku followed soon after, his hand resting on his stomach, a similar look on his face.
"Whew, that was great!" Goku said, "hey, Miku, you haven't touched your food at all."
"I, uh…" Miku mumbled, "not hungry."
Glass of water still in hand, she stood up, and strode to her room, carefully closing the door and sitting on her bed.
"This is your fault," Chi-Chi said, after watching Miku leave.
"My fault? What did I do?" Goku whined.
"Both of you! Eating like savages! No manners at all! Gohan, I am ashamed! I thought I raised you better than that! Both of you need to learn some manners! And don't get me started on your hair- ugh!"
Goku and Gohan shared a look, chuckling sheepishly. Chi-Chi sent them a venomous glare, sending chills down the seasoned warriors' spines.
"I'll, uh, go see if she's…okay?"
Goku edged his way out of the room, creeping towards the room Miku was in. He sighed, and slowly tapped the door, careful not to accidently blast it off its hinges with his Super Saiyan strength.
"Hey, Miku," he said, "are you alright?"
There was no response. Goku knocked again, this time causing the door to creak open. Peering inside, Goku saw Miku sat cross-legged on her bed, staring intensely at the glass of water in her hands.
"Are you gonna drink that?"
"…I don't know if I can. I don't," Miku said, "…I don't know what I'm doing."
"You're thinking too much, that's what you're doing," Goku said, sitting next to Miku, "you gotta relax! No one's out to get you here! When in doubt, just go for it! That's what I do."
"Ah…of course. You're right," Miku said, nodding. She paused for a few seconds, and took a swig of the water.
"See? You're okay!" Goku said, patting Miku's back, "Now let's just enjoy the next week, without worrying so much!"
Miku nodded again, a small smile on her face, but Goku frowned.
"Hang on…a week is only seven days…oh, uh, oops! Ahaha!" Goku chuckled weakly. Miku struggled to hide her giggle, causing Goku to grin widely.
He stood up, and walked out of the room, while saying, "Maybe you should think about getting some rest. It's been a long day for everyone."
The Saiyan closed the door behind him, leaving Miku alone in her room.
The blue haired android girl lay in bed, watching the sunrise outside her window. Having taken Goku's advice, she'd managed to get some sleep and take her mind off everything…momentarily. However, upon waking up, everything that had happened began to overwhelm her, and she could hardly hold the tears back.
She felt alien in this house. She didn't belong. She wasn't a part of this happiness- and her own happiness had long since left her. She considered leaving, and finding Luka, and spending her last days alive with her.
But the cold hand of despair clenched her heart; finding Luka would only serve to remind her at how, without Rin and Len, her life would never go back to how it was. The thought of leaving and spending her time alone instead crossed her mind, but that would mean…being alone.
She really didn't want to be alone- not again.
Miku buried her face in her pillow, failing to contain the tears. Her untied hair spilled around her, messily resting on her back and around her shoulders.
Even if Goku did manage to beat Cell, what could she do afterwards? What was the point of going on?
What felt like an eternity passed; Miku desperately tried to stop crying, and stop thinking, until a knock on her door stole her attention.
"I should watch my strength…" Gohan muttered as the door creaked open. Miku slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Breakfast is ready," he said, before noticing the state Miku was in, "are you okay? Your eyes are red!"
"…I'm fine. Give me a few minutes."
Gohan refrained from inquiring further, and slowly nodded, leaving the room. Miku stared at the door, biting her lip, and grabbing a chunk of her hair.
"I should tie this up…"
Goku and Gohan had already made a start on their breakfast feast, while Chi-Chi was nowhere to be seen. Miku sat down, and stared at her portion, and briefly closed her eyes.
And when she opened them a split second later, her meal was gone. Sending the two Saiyans a glance of confusion, they responded with casual winks, quickly returning their focus to their food. It took her a moment to realise they'd both taken her food, most likely because she wouldn't be eating it. This way, Chi-Chi wouldn't notice Miku's lack of eating, and for that, the android girl was grateful.
That, or the Saiyans were really hungry.
But it also meant she had no reason to stay. Miku began to leave the room, but paused when she heard Gohan ask, "So, uh, dad…you mentioned that you aren't confident about being to beat Cell yourself…"
"M'hm?" Goku said, mouth full of food.
"Well…why aren't we training, then?"
Miku was curious about this answer also; she couldn't comprehend the idea that Cell was that much more powerful than Goku.
"We don't need to! Don't worry about it. Just relax, okay?"
"But-"
"Listen to me. I wouldn't tell you not to worry if I didn't think Cell was beatable, okay?"
Goku ruffled Gohan's hair reassuringly, causing the half-Saiyan to smile.
"You should probably do some of your homework today, seeing as we're going on a picnic tomorrow," Goku finished up with. Gohan nodded, and dashed off to his room. Miku did a double take.
A picnic?
"Hm…I should probably find Chi-Chi," Goku mumbled afterwards, breaking the silence, "I'd try and do the dishes myself but the last time I gave it a shot…"
Goku shuddered, and winced. Miku decided not to inquire any further, and, aware that she had nothing better to be doing, picked up several dishes as soon as Goku left, and brought them over to the sink.
When Chi-Chi entered a few minutes later, the dishes were shining, completely blemish free, as good as new. Miku had completely lost her train of thought, totally absorbed in cleaning the dishes, and only noticed the housewife's entrance when she clung to her arm, tears flowing down her face.
"M-Miku," she sniffed, "you did all this…I'm so touched…nobody ever helps with the housework…"
The android girl looked bewildered, but felt a warm sensation inside when she heard Chi-Chi say, "thank you."
Luka carefully stretched her fingers on her replacement hand, wiggling them each in separately before bending each one and balling her hand into a fist. Unfurling her fingers, she laid her hand on the table she sat on, lightly brushing her fingers along the surface. Bulma watched carefully, smiling proudly at her work.
"It feels as good as new," Luka said, "if you don't mind, I need you to stand back…"
Bulma took a few steps back as Luka's new hand gathered energy. Trunks lurched forward, putting herself between Luka and Bulma, but the android paid no attention to the occupants of the room, instead slashing the air as her hand continued to glow.
After a few test swipes, her hand stopped glowing, and she turned to face Bulma.
"Seems to be functioning correctly," she said, "I cannot thank you enough…"
"Don't go wrecking it again, okay?" Bulma warned, but followed up with a wink.
She then yawned, rubbing her eyes and walking towards the exit of the room.
"Well, I'm beat. Haven't pulled an all-nighter for a while. I'm gonna catch some sleep," the scientist said, pausing to look at her future son, "you should too, young man. Don't go overdoing it, y'hear me?"
Taking a moment to glare at Luka, he nodded reluctantly.
"We'll go to the Lookout after I've napped," he stated, once Bulma had left, "don't try and pull anything in the meantime."
"I can't tell if you're pretending really hard or if you genuinely don't trust me," Luka responded. Trunks didn't bother to conceal his look of irritation.
"You looked like you were about to attack my mother," he said through gritted teeth.
"I told her to step back," Luka replied innocently, twirling a lock of hair with her new hand, "but speaking of, I've still yet to name that attack. Any ideas?"
Trunks gave her a scathing look, reminiscent of the kind Vegeta threw around, and stormed out of the room.
"Like father, like son…" the pink haired android muttered, "did I push my luck, I wonder…?"
