Chapter 2: Dream Eater's Mark; Silence of the Delayed
Rin got ready in her room, a fresh set of clothes in the dresser for her. She was thinking about her new housemates, the ones who had ever so kindly invaded her room. The cake had been taken, so perhaps they would eat that later... They all looked so nice…I'm almost jealous. Meiko was so tall, and, well, developed. So was Lily! She wore high heels… I've always wanted high heels. Then there was Uni, who was tall and pretty. Oh! And Ruby! Her hair was so curly. I wish my hair was like that. And Gumi, well, she looked friendly. Flower had nice clothes. I wonder if Flower's new? Oh, oh, and Merli! She's so pretty, and also intimidating, but pretty! Xin Hua sewed her own clothes I bet. Rin sighed, feeling like the odd duck out. Rin put on a plain white shirt with dark shorts, feeling out of place and ordinary. She made sure her barrettes and bow were in perfect position before exiting the room.
"You ready?" Gumi had been waiting for her with a smile. Rin nodded and Gumi led her down the hall.
Rin was immediately greeted with a breakfast buffet in the dining hall. Eggs, sausage, pancakes, toast… Rin was almost drooling, but tried to remain under control. Rin stacked her plate, trying to be mindful of others but still tempted by delicious food, and sat down with the girls. As she started to eat, the boys came into the room.
The oldest two were in front. One had dark blue hair and wore a blue scarf around his neck. He was talking to the one with dark pink hair wearing a beanie. The pink haired man was mildly annoyed by tolerating something. Next was a boy with brown messy hair, talking about something Rin couldn't make out over eating. He was talking to a somewhat tall boy with red hair. He had several bandages littered on his skin, as if he was injured. Behind those two was a short boy with silver hair, a sour mood spelled out on his face. Next to him was a short kid with blond hair, and a navy coat. Len didn't seem to be there, though Rin didn't really care.
"And Dream Eater is where?" Ruby asked the red haired boy. He was in the midst of eating toast.
"He, Colorcast, and Delayed are, uh," The boy, named Arsloid, turned to Kaito, the blue haired one, and Yuma, the one with a beanie. He seemed nervous to continue that sentence.
"…The room." Kaito said in the middle of a harsh cough. Rin seemed confused, but the atmosphere had immensely thickened with those words.
"And how?" Gumi asked with a raised voice. She was quickly shushed by Lily.
"Mayu," The boy with the navy coat, Oliver, quietly chimed, "Stole it from her I heard."
"They best be careful." The pink haired boy, VY2, sipped his coffee. The annoyed look he had since walking in was still just as fresh, "They'll need it."
"Is it, um, off limits?" Rin finally spoke up. The boys suddenly noticed Rin, having not paying her a tiny shred of attention before walking in. They're thoughts had been focused on their fellow mates breaking rules, and not the new person.
"Who's she?" Kaito poured some ice cream flavored creamer into his own cup of coffee as he asked.
"First off, lay off the creamer," Meiko said between bites of her eggs, "Secondly, this is Rin. Tokyo Teddy Bear, I believe."
"…OHHH." Kaito recognized the odd code name. Wasn't that the name Len called her earlier?
"We have code names," Lily whispered to Rin, "We'll explain later…Just eat for now, okay?"
Meanwhile, the three boys who had skipped out on breakfast were snooping down the stairs. Their goal was to reach the basement, where the Scrap Room supposedly was at. Len touched the floor first and approached the door greeting them. A sign reading "ONLY ALLOWED PERSONNEL" was ignored, and he unlocked it with the stolen key. Len motioned Fukase and Lui to the door. Len slipped in first, followed by Fukase and Lui. The room felt more like a library of death. There were a few shelves with catalogued with discs, and different parts littered about the room. Len stepped around the parts quickly to reach a shelf and rummaged through it.
"Kagamine, Kagamine, Kagami-Got it!" Len plucked out a disc and put it in an old computer nearby. Lui and Fukase moved over, watching Len work.
"What did you pull?" Fukase asked him. Len had loaded the disc into the computer, and began configuring it, "What voicebank?"
"Act 2." Len mumbled, "The Act 1 was too scratched."
Fukase and Lui watched Len tune the voicebank, messing with pitch, breath, and other parameters here and there. It was pretty impressive to see Len at work, but then again, anyone who was familiar enough with themselves could do something like that. It took a long twenty minutes for Len to finish. He grabbed a blank disc and loaded that one, taking the other out. After some fancy computer tricks, Len ejected the disc, handing it to the confused Lui.
"…?" Lui took the disc, but stared at it in confusion. Fukase took back the disc with a sigh.
"I'll do it myself," Fukase muttered under his breath. He pushed Len out of the chair with a hard shove and sat Lui down in the chair, "Jeez,"
Len yelped as he rolled on the ground into something. He glanced at it, then silently grimaced at the dead parts. And, oh, yes, the hollowed out body. Len scooted to the wall, standing up like a weed. Fukase helped Lui remove his shirt, then pressed on an area between the silent boy's shoulder blades. A disc tray popped out from the middle of his spinal column. Fukase gently placed the disc in then slid the tray back into place. Lui glanced around, not knowing if to speak yet, or if he could.
"5 minutes before you should process it," Fukase told Lui. Lui nodded as Fukase noticed Len, "What's with you? Did I shove you into something?"
"You shoved me onto Neru's corpse you bastard." Len hissed, obviously both pissed and freaked out all at once, "She's hollowed out!"
"Sorry, sorry I didn't know she was here," Fukase apologized hastily, "But we should be done in a second so don't worry."
"So, Len," Lui signed, "How familiar are you with the new girl?"
"Yeah, I have," Len smirked, "She's pretty cute I have to say. She has a sharp tongue though," Lui had a smug smirk on his face as Len spoke. Meanwhile, Fukase focused on a nearby filing cabinet.
"So, she's cute, huh?" Lui signed, the smug smirk brimming, "What kind of cute?" Len blushed a bit, though turned away from Lui.
"None of your business," Len muttered out before asking, "So, is it done yet?"
"…No." Lui signed, paused, "Two more minutes." He paused once more and seemed annoyed, "Don't change the subject!"
"He thinks all the girls are cute though," Fukase spoke up as he stuffed some discs into his pockets, "I mean, except Meiko because she's like our mom." Fukase turned around to face the two, "Remember when he flirted with Gumi? Then when he flirted with Ruby in front of her? And Gumi kicked him in-" Lui make an X with his arms then loudly tapped his foot to get Rinto's attention.
"No, no! This is different!" Lui insisted as he signed, "I can tell!" Len looked up and noticed Fukase had turned his back again on Lui.
"Hey, how can you tell what he's saying?" Len asked, "And what the hell are you doing?"
"One, I can see him signing out of the corner of my one good eye," Fukase said first, "Two, I'm taking some things we could use for later."
"What could we do with random voicebanks?" Len skeptically asked. Fukase didn't answer.
"Lui, you done?" Len turned back to Lui. Lui nodded, "Ok! So speak! Speak the King's Whatever Language!"
"…H-hi? Was all Lui could think of saying. The voice was soft like a young teen, though with a hint of feminine influence. Both Len and Fukase smiled, relieved they could help their friend.
"Una, dear! Please et specimen 009 from the basement." The voice of home's lady rang out. The boys' blood began to run cold, the air stale.
"Yes momma!" The girl replied, and they could hear footsteps from the stairs.
"Dammit…!" The boys scrambled and cursed as they crammed under a desk, squishing each other as they hid in fear.
Una opened the door, seeming to have no issue with it being unlocked. The girl's head moved side to side as she looked around the room for a second before she began to move. They could hear her footsteps, and see the glimpses of her shoes from where they hid. She appeared to know what specimen she need to find.
"There it is!" Una picked up something and grunted, "Dead things are so heavy, no wonder they're called deadweight." She strained a bit, and there was the noise of something being moved, "Coming back momma!" She left the room, indicated by her fading footsteps and the door being closed.
The boys crawled out from where they hid, stretching and breathing out sighs of relief.
"Too close, too close," Lui shuddered. There was no need to fear Una. Una was a nice girl, yet loyal to her parents. If she had caught the three, Una would've reported them without hesitation.
"Let's go. Yuma best have saved us food," Fukase growled with annoyance as his stomach growled in unison. The three boys quietly slipped out of the room.
Upstairs, Gumi was leading Rin back to her room. Rin wanted to look around more the house, but Gumi was rather insistent.
"C'mon, c'mon!" Gumi shut the door behind her. Rin sighed. Gumi was too nice to say no too.
"I wonder what's in the closet," Rin muttered as she walked over. Gumi sat on the floor, adjusting her shorts while on the ground.
Rin opened the doors of the closet and was met with a barrage of different outfits. There were dresses, shirts, shorts, pants, even skirts color coded inside on hangers. There was an outfit for almost every occasion as far as Rin could tell. She was a bit in awe from it. Len's warning came back to mind as she stared at the outfits however.
"Hey Gumi," Rin sat beside her on the ground, "…Len warned me to leave. Why would he do that?"
"Len didn't want you to end up like the rest of us," Gumi said rather solemnly. Her eyes went to the carpet, staring sadly at it with a small smile, "You'll understand. Even though you shouldn't have to…"
"But WHAT am I supposed to understand," Rin sighed. She felt as if the answer was impossible. Gumi seemed to have noticed as she glanced up at her.
"I guess I can show you," Gumi gave in reluctantly and got to her feet, dusting off her shorts. She went over to the door and cracked it open, "Dark Fairy?"
"Yes?" Gumi pulled Merli into the room. She held a necklace in her hand. The necklace had a silver chain with a blue crystal dangling.
"She wants to see," Gumi whispered to Merli. Merli nodded and walked up to Rin, putting the necklace around her.
"Th-thank-you, Merli." Rin thanked her. She wasn't the fondest of jewelry, but, this was a beautiful necklace, and the most expensive thing she now owned. Minus her voice.
"Let's be quick," Merli said, already going towards the door, "Let's go, Rin,"
The three girls came down the staircase and approached a hidden door by the middle staircase. It appeared to lead to a basement from what Rin could tell.
"This here, goes to the basement," Gumi whispered to Rin. The three quietly went down the stairs and came across a crossroads of 3 doors, "The one on the left is the voicebank room," As Gumi spoke, Merli tried to open it, but no dice.
"Dammit Len." Merli cursed. Gumi rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, the middle room is what we'll show you. The right is a storage and cleaning room," Gumi explained. Rin guessed that the storage and cleaning room wasn't a big deal, unlike the middle room.
"Are you trying to scare me?" Rin asked, "Or haze me? It's fine if you are," This felt more like a high school prank than a reality check to her.
I bet they do this to all the newbies. It's like freshman hazing. The old kids make sure the new kids are in line and know their place. If it's actually something serious, I'd rather it be hazing than something illegal. They are making a big deal out of it though…
"No, not at all." Merli was the first to reply, "We just want to show you the truth." Gumi looked up at Merli, looking concerned, but then bowed her head.
"Oh, before we open the door, cover your mouth and nose." Gumi said as she pulled up her shirt. Her midriff was exposed now.
"Why?" Rin hesitantly asked.
"Trust us." Merli grabbed a handkerchief from her pocket and held it up to her nose and mouth. Her shirt was more tight fitting than Rin or Gumi's tops.
"Seriously, why?" Rin asked again.
"The smell might make you pass out. It happened to Uni." Gumi winced a bit, "It's pretty rank."
On that note, Rin pulled up her own shirt to cover her nose and mouth. The edge of her bra was exposed, but she was with Gumi and Merli, so it didn't matter much. Gumi opened the door first, and walked in, beckoning Rin to follow behind. Merli went behind Rin, keeping the door half closed. As Rin stepped into the mysterious room, she could see a strange blue mist wafting in the air. She figured that was the origin of the smell that she couldn't make out.
"I don't see anything terrifying." Rin whispered. She could hear Gumi sigh under her shirt.
"Over here," Gumi motioned her over to a window. Rin was confused about why a window would be in a basement, but went over hesitantly.
"Merli?" Rin noticed she didn't follow. Merli stood at the door, seeming nervous.
"…I've seen it. And I don't want to see it again." Merli whispered. Rin was a bit unnerved by how Merli spoke. She sounded horrified by whatever it was.
Despite Merli's obvious fear, Rin looked through the window with Gumi. Gumi whispered to Rin to wipe off condensation from the window with her sleeve, and the blonde obliged. The two could make out the figures of two people talking and their voices faintly.
"Did Una bring it?" A man with a deep, powerful voice asked first.
"Yes, she did. I'm working on her." The woman had a lovely voice, but her tone changed from being kind to harsh, "So?! Who's next? I want a son, dammit! Give me a son."
"Calm yourself Prima, my darling," The man calmed down the woman, Prima. Are they married? They sound married. "We have many options, like, oh the mute one."
"No. He can perish. Remember the last girl, Stardust? The unworthy aren't worth my time," Rin could feel chills down her spine at those words.
"The boy Mayu loves?" The man suggested. The woman snorted at the suggestion.
"Never," She seemed to be against that one, "He's a nuisance!"
"Fine, fine." The man grumbled for a bit before saying, "Oh, how about the boy? The one who looks like an idol? How about him, my love?"
"Oh! Perfect! My love, you're right!" Rin could see the woman throw her arms around the man. Gumi gasped in horror.
"Not Arsloid…" Gumi's voice faltered as tears welled up. Rin glanced over at her in confusion and fear, knowing that something was wrong.
"I don't understand, what's going on?" Rin whispered. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now dammit! What the hell kind of place was this?
"Rin," Merli was the one to speak now, "Like you, we all had less than desirable lives and ran away. Some of us were sold. Either way, they found us, they tutored us, cleaned us up, and treated us kindly. Until," Merli's eyes began to water up as she spoke in a soft voice, "Until you're not longer of use. You become a slave, a child…or." Merli took a deep breath, blinking away tears, "Uninstalled. Wiped." The words reverberated in Rin's head. She fell to the floor in shock.
This is what I ran into. I ran away from my friends, my school, even my master. And master's master, Mr. Cat. I wanted to belong. I wanted to be liked. I wanted to be like Miku Hatsune. But no. I couldn't have that type of life. I'm here. I'm in hell. I'm dead. I'm as good as dead here.
As usual, a bit longer than the original Chapter 2, but only by 500 words and me breaking up sentences to have everything flow better. This, actually took me a bit to type. Oops. I got busy with last few semesters. As things wind down, I hope to write more than just updates. - KingdomMitsumi