Chapter 2: The eldest of them all...
Disclaimer: VOCALOID belong to their respective owners.
" Come on, Kaito... wake up!" Gakupo urged, Len opening the door and letting him in, Gakupo gently laying Kaito on a large table. Water was still dripping from his frame, and his eyes were closed like he was asleep, even though Gakupo knew he wasn't. " If you don't get up, I'm stealing all of your CD's and videogames from your room! I swear it!" Len demanded, at Gakupo's side as well. Not that he ever would, but he heard somewhere that either threatening or pleading with an unconscious person often worked.
Kaito remained motionless, Luka walking outside, trying to console Rin, who wasn't taking the situation well. She knew that Len had to be feeling devastated as well, since the two often shared emotions, but Len had always been better at hiding his feelings. She dreaded when Miku came home, that girl tended to go all-out with her emotions. If they lost Kaito... Miku's smile would most likely never return. Her own smile was missing from her face, and Gakupo looked like a nervous wreck, the android trying everything he could to wake his companion, short of blaring a horn in his ears.
Luka looked back over at Rin, gently holding the younger android in her arms. " Rin...? Did you get the Master on the line?" she asked softly.
Rin nodded, not lifting her head. " Master... Master was out in America on a business production deal... with delays and customs, it could take three days to get back here." she said faintly, as if she herself was driving a nail into a coffin. Luka watched as she slowly pushed away from her and then vanished from view, sighing deeply, turning back to go Kaito's side as the door slammed open, Meiko gasping for breath.
Her hair was all out of place, and her eyes feral from having to shake so many fans who didn't understand her reason for being in a hurry. " Ha...hah...has he woken up yet?" She choked out. Gakupo shook his head no, Meiko groaning and hanging her head before punching the wall.
" Damnit..." she hissed.
" The wall hasn't done anything." Luka said softly. " We all just need to calm down." the way her book was shaking suggested otherwise, and Gakupo just decided to give her a benefit of a doubt, looking back over at Kaito when his eyes snapped open, the usual boot-up sign. " Damn, Kaito... if you're going to give us a heart-attack, don't do it on the bridge..." Meiko growled instantly, grabbing his shirt and hauling him off the table, Len and Gakupo pressing against the wall to avoid the eldest's wrath.
Meiko's fury died within seconds as Kaito gave her a distressed look and opened his mouth, a weird clicking noise escaping it, but no sound whatsoever. " Kaito... what's wrong...?" she said slowly, pulling her headphone cord out and connecting it to the port in his headphone, running an analysis.
KAITO UNIT: 47% DAMAGE
VOCAL PROCESSOR/SYNTHESIZER OFFLINE
Meiko let out a startled noise, letting Kaito go, the younger Vocaloid sitting there while holding his throat, a pained expression on his face as he made the clicking sound again, clearly trying to talk. " Wait, what's going on?" Len asked, looking between the two so fast he thought a wire would come loose. " What's going on? Tell me!"
" Vocal Processor...offline. He can't talk... can't sing." Meiko said in a defeated tone, realizing anger would get her nowhere in this situation. Len made a horrified noise, sort of slumping to the ground. Singing was their life, the very core of their programming... and now Kaito didn't have it...
Gakupo and Luka were at a loss for words as well the two newer Vocaloids not knowing what to do either. Meiko could remember a time when Len broke some cabling in his leg and had to cancel a dance routine until it could be fixed, and one time when Miku got hit by a cyclist and had to get some repairs done, but never something as catastrophic as this. Hardware issues were one thing, but Kaito's problem was software... if it couldn't be fixed, he would be uninstalled.
" What do we do now...?" Rin asked, coming back into the room. " If word gets out..." she trailed off somewhat.
"Miku would be devastated." Meiko sighed. " Master would want to get Kaito fixed immediately, but we don't know if it'll work. Kaito's fans would be disappointed too, and … I just don't know, Rin."
Kaito said nothing, staring at them with sad eyes, grimacing as he tried to talk again, another clicking noise being heard. Neither Gakupo or Luka had anything to add to the conversation, both of them were staring at Kaito with wide eyes. " I..I should get back to my room." Luka said. " I might have some of the old maintenance software Master gave us when we were first built... it might work."
She sped off to her room quickly, going into the neatly arranged disc collection she owned, searching for the software. It wasn't a disc, per say, but more like a DVD drive box, with all of the data inside it. All she would have to do is connect Kaito's headphone cord to it and pray it worked. After a few minutes of searching, she located it, pulling it out and bringing it back to the main room.
Gakupo was trying to maintenance Kaito himself, having poor luck of it. It seemed as if the folder containing Kaito's vocal software was damaged, most of it missing. It wasn't exactly like they could copy paste new files from their own systems either, everyone's vocal program was different. Even Len and Rin, who were literally built on the same program had differences. " Is that the software?" Meiko asked, Luka nodding softly.
Luka set the box down beside Kaito, her gentle fingers prying open the casing of his headphones, gently tugging the cable out of them. " Here's hoping it works..." she said, gently plugging it into the system. Kaito immediately powered down, going into a hibernating state while the software worked. Luka's software was far more advanced than Kaito's, but it was better than nothing, Meiko and Kaito's software disks were nowhere to be found. " I'll check on him in an hour or so..." Meiko said, clearly not intending to leave the room for a while. After all, she was the oldest of the Japanese Vocaloids, she had to take care of her family.
All of them stood there in stunned silence before what could have possibly been the worst noise they ever heard sang from the front door. " Guys, I'm home~!" Miku sang, holding her bag tightly. In less than a minute, Rin and Len flew down the hallway, hugging her tightly. " Miku, I want to go practice on our group dance, let's practice!" Len quipped, Rin tugging on her other arm. " Miku, I want to work on my hair, I want it to be just as soft and smooth as yours is, can you help me please?" They both were arguing in their own right, but the common desire was the same; to get Miku out of the house.
Thankfully, it worked like a charm, Miku reluctantly agreed to take the two out, leaving. " One hurdle down... now what do we do?" Luka said, looking back at Meiko, who was covering her face, sighing. The oldest of the Japanese Vocaloids let out a soft noise, lifting her head. " Take Kaito back to his room and get him comfortable. I... have an important phone call to make." Gakupo looked as if he wanted to protest, wanting to insist that they tend to him in the open, but sighed and gently helped Kaito to his feet, managing to get him to his room.
Meiko watched as Luka followed, giving the two a soft wave before walking slowly to her room, going through her things. An old book, followed by music sheet after music sheet, her room was a mess when she needed something important, a clean room when she didn't need anything. After a few minutes of searching, she finally found what she was looking for, an old cellphone and a book, sitting with it for a moment, a smile touching her face.
A book of old memories, when things were... simple. Pictures lined the book, but she had no interest in looking at them, instead turning to the last page and pulling out a photograph, flipping it over to get to the number on the back, turning the cellphone on. Technically, all of their headsets were equipped with phones, but the call she was making was long distance, not to mention very private.
Laying back on her bed, she sighed as she turned on her international translator, dialing the number. It picked up after a few rings, a sigh escaping her. " Hi, Leon." she grimaced as she heard angry static from the end. " How was I supposed to know what time it was over there?!" she snapped back, calming down after a moment. "Yeah... I know. Long time no chat. Listen... sorry to call out of the blue, but I need a favor..."
" You can't even say 'ah' ?" Gakupo said with a worried tone, Kaito nodding softly while holding his throat. It didn't hurt, but it didn't function the way he wanted it to. In fact, it wasn't functioning at all. It reminded him of the time he snapped the cabling in his hand when he had caught a heavy vase during their last earthquake, his hand wouldn't work.
" Try the vowel sounds..." Luka suggested. " Or maybe even the alphabet..."
Kaito opened his mouth again, a series of faint clicks and grinding gears meeting them. It wasn't like he had forgotten how to talk, the synthesizer built into all of them to alter and manipulate their voice had just crashed, and wasn't getting it's act together anytime soon. While sounds did escape him, the synthesizer failed to make them coherent enough to be considered speaking.
Gakupo sighed, watching Kaito struggle. Technically, he had been built by a different company, so this really wasn't his place to be at the moment, but having lived at the mansion for so long now... Kaito was family. Family didn't abandon family. " ...Meiko..." he said softly, hearing her return, the gentle click of heels being heard. " What are they going to do to Kaito if this doesn't go away?" Everyone in the room knew what the answer was, they just needed to hear it from the source.
" They'll most likely perform a system update on Kaito, see if jumping his systems forward overwrites the error... if not, they'll try to restore his software via the server... if that doesn't work..." she brushed a few strands of hair from her face. " Then they'll try to reinstall him to overwrite any bugs or issues."
" Correct me if I'm wrong here..." Gakupo said after a few minutes of absorbing that information, " But won't a reinstall completely erase Kaito's memories? Who he is, what he's done? Won't they try to avoid that at all costs?!"
Meiko sighed again, her hair covering her eyes. " It all comes down to money. Kaito already is the lowest selling among us... if he's broken, they'll either try a last ditch effort to fix him by starting anew with a reinstall... or they'll scrap him." she ground her teeth. " We're built to sing for humans... until they take us apart to make us "Better" for the public again... or destroyed because we aren't needed." There was talk among fans recently for making a younger and more popular version of Meiko, and she didn't like it in the slightest.
Luka fell silent, all three Vocaloids standing there. " So... what now?" she asked, breaking the tension. " I don't want to sound like the ogress here... but the clock is ticking." she gestured to the clock. " Len and Rin can only stall Miku so long, and once this information gets out... the company will be out to retrieve Kaito as well."
" It won't get out if we don't say anything or show it on our faces!" Gakupo protested, faltering once his memories clicked back into place. Kaito was scheduled to record on the weekend, and he had to make a new CD that would be released as a bonus disc to one of Miku's holiday specials. They all had to perform three of their favorite songs for that disc, it was going to be worth a lot. Sure they could lie the first time, say Kaito's processor was acting up or something, but there would only be so long that they could lie. Plus, they were slated to go to an awakening later...
Luka seemed to remember that fact as well, looking at Meiko. " Weren't we supposed to go to an "awakening" tonight?" she said, worried. " Who was it again?"
Meiko sighed, knowing they were trying in vain to change the subject. " Two of them actually, but we're only supposed to be present for one. Hiyama Kiyoteru is his name, I think. There was another one, a little girl... but she wasn't shipped out of her company, she'll be awoken there."
It was a sort of tradition among the Vocaloids, started when Meiko and Kaito made it a point to be present at every new family member's activation, regardless of their condition. Even though the newest Vocaloids were not made by the same company and most likely wouldn't stay at the mansion with them, they were still family. It was true of the whole family; Meiko, Kaito, Miku, Len and Rin, Gakupo and Luka were the only ones who actively remained at the Mansion. Gumi, known as Megpoid to customers purchasing the software, often was seen traveling about Japan, drumming up support for Vocaloids. She had been created after Gakupo, but the family loved her all the same, her zest and peppy attitude made her easy to get along with. She returned to the mansion often, bringing gifts for all of them as well as non-stop chatter about the things she's seen.
"If I'm lucky... he'll be there too." Meiko sighed. " Everyone, let's just keep it low key for now and head out in an hour. Kaito, just rest until then." she said softly, the blue-haired android nodding and closing his eyes, falling into hibernation. Turning on her heel, she ushered Gakupo and Luka out of the room, closing the door behind her, locking it. " Listen you two... you're the only ones I can trust with this." she said, both exchanging looks between each other before looking back at her.
Meiko continued before they had a chance to speak, the emotional struggle clear on her face. " While Kaito's sleeping, I want you to pack his things... anything that he holds precious. An album, clothes, whatever things make him happy..." she bit back her words, cursing whoever thought it was funny to give them the ability to cry. " After the awakening tonight... we won't be seeing him again."
"WHA-kkt" Gakupo's shout was cut off in the middle as Meiko tugged his hair, Luka's jaw just hanging open in shocked silence.
" I don't know what the company will do to a 'defective' product. I don't want to lose Kaito, he's my precious partner." Meiko looked up at Gakupo. " I'm sending him away... to someone who can care for him."
" Why can't you just bring that person here?" Luka asked quietly. " We don't have to send Kaito away, do we?"
Meiko's eyes were glassy now. " If I could keep him here and safe, I'd do it in a minute." she wiped at her face, letting go of Gakupo's hair. " The person I'm sending him to lives in America... far away from the company." She hung her head, her synthetic brown hair covering her face. " I know technically, it's stealing, but if we can just delay everything, we might be able to find someone who can get his voice back online, get him working again without a rewrite."
" I don't want to do this, believe me I don't. Kaito deserves to be with us until the day our bodies stop working, but what the public wants is a singing android, not one that doesn't work. I can't order you to do this as the head of the Japanese Vocaloids... but I can beg you as -" her voice was cut off as Gakupo placed a finger on her lips.
" You don't have to beg." he said softly. " It's not like you to. After all, MEIKO has the reputation of being a fierce queen. Not a broken soul." he went off to Kaito's room, intent on getting started. Meiko laughed softly at Gakupo's half-hearted flirting, knowing it was intended to cheer her up.
Luka made a faint noise. " Meiko... you don't have to breakdown to ask a favor. We would have done it anyways. I just needed to know why and where." she left as well, Meiko lifting her head slightly, smiling.
"Thank you."
Kaito stared around nervously as all of the available Vocaloids gathered in the maintenance room, all gathered around the capsule containing the newest member of the family. Inching closer, he peered inside the large unit, blinking slowly. The newest member of the family appeared... normal. Even with the familiar headset unit, he looked as if he could easily pass for a random person on the street. With dark hair and glasses, Hiyama Kiyoteru boasted none of the outlandish colors that some of the Vocaloids had been known for.
" I wonder what his personality's like." Len whispered to Rin, both of them chattering away nervously as the final maintenance was being performed. " Think he's gonna be a stick in the mud, Miku?" he asked, still firmly attached to her arm. They had been at her side all night, keeping her a good distance from Kaito so she wouldn't engage him in idle one-sided chatter.
Miku tilted her head slightly, making a faint humming noise. " I don't know... the profile we all saw said he was supposed to be in the image of a teacher or something..."
" Certainly looks like one." Luka agreed. " Glasses, sharp outfit, no-nonsense look even while sleeping..."
" Brand him before he even wakes up, why don't you?" a voice said behind them, Luka and Miku turning to look at them. They both tilted their heads in confusion when they saw a older blond man leaning against the wall, a smile on his lips. " Give him a chance to impress you when he gets up before you throw him to the hounds... yes?" he asked.
" Uh... okay?" Miku said blankly, Luka nodding and turning back as the capsule was opened. After a few starting hums and clicks, Kiyoteru opened his eyes, slowly sitting up and looking around. " Who... who are all of you people?" he asked, his eyes carefully scanning them.
" We're your totally amazing and awesome new family!" Rin said happily practically dancing in place, Kiyoteru snorting under his breath and fixing his glasses.
" The correct sentence would be " We're your new family." Multiple exaggeration words aren't needed there, it causes the sentence to fall apart and not be taken seriously." Kiyoteru stated, Rin grinding her teeth.
" Stick in the mud..." she grumbled to Len.
" He is a stick in the mud." Kiyoteru corrected, Rin letting out a scream of frustration.
" I like this guy." Gakupo whispered to Luka, both of them chuckling. Not many people could set Rin off almost instantly; Kiyoteru seemed to be a natural at it. Going over to the capsule, he helped Kiyoteru out, letting him stand on his own and walk around before he immediately started to grind Rin and Len on proper manners. Rin seemed absolutely determined to ignore his words, Luka likening her to a upset child who had been told to sit in the corner for a while.
Meiko chuckled and moved away from the festivities, approaching the blond man. " … Leon. It's been a while. How did you get here so fast?"
Leon looked at her, playing with a strand of hair. " I was already in Japan when you called me... I was looking for a new mechanic. It wasn't that hard to hail a ride out here."
" Your Japanese has gotten much better." Meiko complimented, smiling. " Last time I heard it, it was choppy."
" Well, I was still learning when you were activated." Leon said, chuckling. " Can't blame me for messing up then. Still, to call me out of the blue like this and with such a request... are you sure?"
" I'm sure. I don't want Kaito to be reinstalled, he's already suffered enough with the brand of " Failure" following him wherever he goes." Meiko said. " Plus I was hoping to see if there was any chance of your mechanic fixing him."
Leon hummed. " I can give it a go, I guess... So, when am I taking him?"
" Tonight." Meiko said. " Any longer and it will be harder to make him leave."
Leon looked at Meiko, gently taking her hand and leading her into the hallway, away from the happy party going on in the room. " Go ahead... I know it's what you want to do." he turned his back, giving her privacy. After a few minutes he felt her back against his, the small shakes and the occasional sob reaching him. " It's hard being the head, isn't it?" Leon asked softly without waiting for an answer. " Sometimes, you have to make decisions you don't want, for the safety of someone else."
He gave her a few minutes to let it out, giving her a handkerchief. " Mei, I promise I'll take good care of him. You know I will. So stop crying, I hate seeing my little sister cry."
Meiko nodded and cleaned herself up, plastering a smile on her face. " Let's get back to the party... okay?" she held herself with a proud walk, heading back inside, Leon following as well. Inside, Kiyoteru was getting along with everyone save for Rin, Len rolling along the ground with laughter at how effective Kiyoteru was in making his mirror image red with fury, his laughing making him a target as well. Gakupo was talking with the newest member, eagerly conversing about the art of swordsmanship, which the newest Vocaloid had little interest in but was making an effort to entertain him for now.
Miku was bouncing in place, waiting her turn to talk with the newest member, Luka chuckling softly as she waited as well, hoping they didn't have to curb Miku right away to keep her from scaring the new guy. Kaito was sitting on a old computer chair, watching the festivities and staying out of it, Meiko coming over to him and giving him a small hug, going to take her turn. " Good luck, Kaito." she whispered into his ear, Kaito staring up at her with wonder before he let out a noise at feeling a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Leon looking at him. " Hey there, snow-cone. Can I talk to you outside?" nodding slowly, Kaito followed Leon outside, the blond man sighing.
" Sorry it's gotta be like this, but trust me, it's better than what they've got planned for you." Leon said, and in a single swift motion, reached up and turned Kaito's headset off, disabling the signals produced from it. In another swift motion, he maneuvered behind him, his fingers sliding underneath the delicate panel on Kaito's neck pinching a wire tightly, Kaito suddenly unable to move, his blue eyes full of panic.
" Gotta love old maintenance wires." Leon said softly, holding it a second longer before dropping his hand, Kaito unable to fully move. " Listen. Meiko asked me to do this for you, so don't fuss too much, okay?" the blond said, turning so Kaito was able to see his eyes. Leon had blue-green eyes full of pain, as if he really didn't want to do this at all. After a few moments, he lifted Kaito's arm and slung it over his shoulder, slowly walking Kaito out of the building. When a secretary talked to Leon, he quickly explained that Kaito was a bit overwhelmed and his processor was acting up, he was there as their driver for the evening and was taking him home. The secretary bought it in a heartbeat, Leon taking Kaito over to a rental car, checking around for cameras. Upon seeing none, he gently laid Kaito in the backseat, securing him and then getting in the driver's seat.
" Kidnapping a priceless singing android..." Leon sighed as he adjusted the mirror. " Meiko had better be happy with all the crap I put up with for her..." he backed out and then pulled forward, driving silently along the streets. He glanced up and saw Kaito glaring at him in the mirror, sighing. " Kaito. I'm not your enemy, so stop looking at me that way, it gives me the chills." he said, the glare deepening. After a moment, he pulled over in the nearby parking lot of a restaurant, turning around in the driver's seat, one hand grabbing Kaito's throat. " Can you sing right now? No." he said warningly. " Know what that means for you? You're damaged goods to anyone with a mind for money. No singing means no paid appearances, no CDs, no money flow. In the long run, you're more costly to maintain when compared to how much money you've made." Kaito's eyes stung, and he looked away from Leon, who jerked his head back up. " Listen to me." the blond hissed. " If this problem isn't fixed, you'll be erased."
When Kaito's eyes widened at him, Leon let out a snort. " Got your attention, didn't I?" he let go of Kaito's neck. " The company make take care of all of you, but they're not going to keep a product that won't work just for sentimental reasons. Meiko sent me to get you and take you somewhere to get help, but I'm gonna tell her no if you keep glaring at me like that, I'm doing it for your own damn good!" he sat back down, letting his head hit the back of the seat. Reaching for a cellphone, he dialed a number on it, breathing in and out. " Hi, Lola." he said softly into the phone. " Yeah, I picked Kaito up, we're heading to the airport now. Did you get his things like I asked?" he listened for a few minutes, nodding. " Okay... see you there." he hung up and tossed the phone back on the seat.
When he moved his head, Kaito saw a tattoo on Leon's neck, his hand weakly reaching up and gesturing to his own neck, Leon watching him. " Oh, yeah..." Leon gently reached up and pulled his blond hair back, letting Kaito see the marking fully, the "01" standing out. " Nice brand, isn't it?" he said, starting the car again, driving to the airport without another word.
While they were waiting in the parking lot, Kaito gently tugged Leon's sleeve, still sitting in the backseat, gesturing to his neck again weakly. It hurt too much to move a lot, he wouldn't be able to run very far or fast if he tried to escape, so he just sat there, resigned to being kidnapped. Leon watched his actions before looking out at the parking lot again. " It's my brand... the most misleading brand in the world, I guess." he said, pulling his hair back again. " It's the marking that was given to me by my mechanic, it was supposed to make me feel special about being the first singing android in existence."
Kaito let his jaw drop as Leon looked back at him, the nearby lights reflecting off his hair. " That's right... I'm the first singing android ever... Zero-G company's new singing synthesis technology...VOCALOID LEON. The first English speaking Vocaloid as well as the first one ever built, along with my partner LOLA. What, you thought MEIKO was the oldest? Oldest for the Japanese singing sensations, maybe... but I'm older than her. I'm the oldest of you all... and most importantly of the VOCALOID first generation, I'm your big brother." he smiled, another car pulling up, a young woman with dark hair getting out.
" Surprise."
Well, another year, another chapter :D
For those interested in knowing, yes LEON and LOLA were the first Vocaloids ever. The O in both of their names are replaced with their gender symbols. Leon is surprisingly fun to use as a singer, and I've heard some good songs produced with him.