That voice...It's calling me again. Who are you? I can hear you and I can call back but you still say only my name...Is that all you can say? Please tell me who you are......"Miku"
"...Voice...Me...Hear me..."
I can hear you...I try to run towards you but I'm trapped in this cage...This metal cage...I'm sitting on the little swing, like a bird.
A birdcage where I am trapped. Like a parrot, talking and talking but getting nothing.
Suddenly you seem so...far away...
"...Hurry...Late...Go on..."
What...? What are you telling me? No...Just a bit longer...
--
The echoing sound of thunder ricocheted off the walls as Miku bolted upright. Her heart quickened and her breathing quicker still. What had she dreamt of just now? Was it another dream like the last?
It felt too real, but that was the nature of dreams, right? They always felt a bit too real...
Something compelled her to stand up though. She didn't feel like she could go back to bed at...What time was it? Well, it was late to say the least. Would the others be asleep right now?
Creeping to the door, she cracked it open and snuck out, the need to explore a bit stronger than usual...
--
'They stayed...'
Miku noted as she walked by the spare rooms. Teto and Sakine were fast asleep in one, though how they managed to fall asleep in such a storm when away from home, she couldn't believe.
Sleeping elsewhere was common on a tour of any kind, but Miku always felt a small sort of emptiness when they left the safety of their own home.
Sneaking a peek into the door of the room next door, she smiled.
Akaito was sleeping -though most likely not in total peace- with Kaito laying beside him. She had to run to the foyer to snicker so as not to risk accidently waking them up.
Those two might have gone at each other's necks more than once, but the bond of brothers couldn't escape even them.
But could Akaito possibly have been told to consent to having Kaito sleep with him? It was probably either, "I'm too scared to sleep during a big storm, Aniki!" or maybe "I don't want Aniki to sleep alone with such a scary storm around..."
Whatever the reason, he probably had to turn to begging to get Akaito to actually listen. And the only reason Akaito had even listened was because the begging got on his nerves every time.
Continuing to walk, Miku froze during a thunder clap, then ran past the twin's rooms and back to her own, flopping in bed.
She covered herself with blankets, shivering slightly. Thunder always made her circuitry want to suddenly snap into a state of frozen data. Being frozen was never fun though. You couldn't see, hear or do anything. Couldn't even move.
It was scary. She knew from experience, after she froze that one time on stage. The headlines had eaten that up...
Covering her head under the blankets, Miku shut her eyes and tried desperately to fall asleep...
--
Rumbling. Loud rumbling, like thunder almost. But louder. More frightening than thunder is. Like it's coming closer and closer to you. Like it's a living, breathing creature and each rumble is it's every breath, growing more and more towards you...
The steel bars of the cage won't let me out. But I have to run, I have to. This thing is coming after me, I know it is. It wants to tear me into pieces and uninstall me until I can't even think.
I must escape...
"Run...Run...Please hurry...Run away..."
I can't run away, voice! I can't! Help me! Just get me out of here and I'll run! It's getting closer! What is it!? It's...It's...
--
Rain was still pattering against the window when morning came. Miku's mind was in a state of glitched up thoughts, trying to decipher what she'd just dreamt of.
Why these nightmares were coming, she had no idea. Maybe she'd eaten something really bad? Was she getting sick?
She had scanned herself...Nothing seemed wrong...
It can't be bothered with now though. There's too much to be done today. No room to be thinking about something she can't control.
Sliding into new clothes, she trudged sleepily out of the room. Maybe she should go down and Quick Charge herself...Sleeping was better, yes, but still...
--
A new sight graced her as Miku came into the kitchen. Sitting at the table was none other than Haku Yowane, a wet blanket around her robotic parts. She was shivering like the future.
Meiko and Luka were also in the kitchen, Luka at the stove, Meiko next to Haku while trying to talk to her.
It appeared as though Haku had been crying, which was nothing new, but this time it seemed strangely...worse. Like all those other times of crying rolled into one.
"...Haku...?" She whispered.
Everyone turned to look at her quickly, like they'd heard a ghost.
"Oh, Miku, you're up..." Meiko's voice trailed away. Luka merely turned back to the stove, unable to think of words.
Walking up slowly to Haku, Miku knelt on her legs and looked up at Haku's tearful expression. Something had truly hurt the Voyakiloid, she just knew it...
"Haku, what happened?"
Her fears were confirmed. With a sniffle, Haku replied.
"...D...Dell kicked me out..."