Chapter 6 - Magnet
Hello again! Glad to have you back for another chapter of "Slice of Life". (: Thank you for your continued support!
Yeah, I realized that I do update this story pretty quickly. xD; Once I have an idea, I have to write it down… So I usually start writing it in my iPhone and then just send it to my e-mail to continue later. And these bursts of inspiration tend to happen in large chunks at random times throughout my day.
But anyway! I give you, chapter 6! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I only wish that I owned at least one of these Vocaloids. But I don't. So I'll settle for owning this story.
8 AM.
She was curled up in bed, not wanting to escape the warmth that her blankets provided. A few strands of her pink bands were pushed out of her way and she stared at the slowly spinning ceiling fan. Although it was early fall and the nights were gradually becoming cooler, she still slept with the fan; not because it would keep her room at a comfortable temperature, but because hearing the soft whirr of the fan at night helped to relax her. And she definitely needed something to help calm her down at night. Lately, her nights were filled with thoughts of a certain teal house mate, and the teasing jibes of a long haired blonde.
The girls cheeks became warm from just thinking about the amount of teasing comments her best friend had spat out over the course of three days. Ever since her accidental run in with Miku a few days ago, Lily had brought about a storm of merciless jokes. Admittedly, it amazed Luka that her best friend was able to find a way to bring every conversation back to the topic of Miku. A normal Miku related comment would include either an underhand reference to the teal girl's chapstick, or to the face-to-chest incident. And the blonde would only cease her biting comments when, and only when, Luka would apply crushing force to her wrist.
With a sigh, she closed her blue eyes and hugged her body pillow tight. It was times like these that made her ache for the comfort that only her antagonizer would be able to provide. Luka frowned to herself, and buried her face into the body pillow. She mentally cursed Masuda Lily for making her a tamed kitten, needing to find her master's hand for comfort.
Her thought shifted from a blonde girl to a teal one. What should she do about Miku? Another sigh escaped her as she ran A hand through her hair once more. Whenever her mind wandered, it would eventually settle on pondering about the tealette at one point or another. And this troubled Luka. She had no idea what to think of the teal haired girl. She didn't dislike her younger friend. But that's not to say that she returned Miku's feelings. Luka was in neutral territory. Simply put, she was utterly confused on her feelings for the teal haired girl. The only thing that Luka knew for sure, the only fact that now existed, was that she had not completely halted Miku from making any advances on her. And this tiny fact was easily the most troubling thought that raced around the pinkette's mind. When Gakupo had attempted to make her his, Luka was quick to put him in his place and clarify that they would only ever be friends.
"So why haven't I done the same to Miku-chan?" she mumbled into her pillow.
Her blue eyes opened as her thoughts were interrupted by a knock coming from the door. A quick glance at the clock told her that she had been lost in her thoughts for half an hour.
Luka released the body pillow from her tight embrace and sat up. Quickly, she ran her fingers through her hair to shoo away as much of her bed hair as she could. Her eyes then focused on the bedroom door.
"Come in," Luka called out.
The door slowly opened to reveal the three youngest residents of the mansion. The trio were still in their pajamas.
The eldest had lazily put her hair into a loose ponytail, probably to keep the messy hair out of her way. Each of her hands were gripped by a drowsy looking twin. Her red eyes gave Luka an apologetic look. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Luka-nee," Miki greeted her pink haired onee-chan.
The two blonde haired twins simultaneously rubbed their eyes with their free hands. "Good morning, Luka-nee-chan," they chorused, as they both stifled their yawns.
"Ohayou," Luka smiled at them. It wasn't surprising for her to see the twins clinging to Miki.
When the cherry haired girl moved into the mansion, the young twins took an instant liking to her. Since then, the blonde pair treated Miki as if she were their biological sister. They would even creep into her room at night if /both/ of them had nightmares; and Miki was more than happy to accommodate them on her king sized bed.
Miki cleared her throat. "Ano... Luka-nee? We were wondering if you would like to eat breakfast with us," she explained. Both of the blonde heads beside her nodded.
The pink haired girl's smile only widened. "I would love to," she answered, as she got out of bed. Luka quickly, and tidily, made her bed before crossing the room to join the waiting trio. Miki then led the twins back down the hallway, towards the grandiose staircase.
Luka walked beside Len, already beginning to lose herself in her thoughts. Her silence went unnoticed by the young idols. The tired Kagamines remained quiet due to the fog of drowsiness that still covered their mind; and Miki was concentrating on leading her "younger siblings" to the kitchen's breakfast nook without letting any accidental harm befall them.
"Ah, good morning everyone!" a clear soprano voice sang out.
The quartet's silence was broken when the breakfast nook came into their view. The four pair of eyes zeroed in on Hatsune Miku, who was seated at the breakfast table with a slice of toast in one hand. The teal haired girl smiled brightly at them before taking a bite out from her toast.
Luka felt her chest tighten and she inhaled sharply. Her heartbeat quickened, and she tore her gaze away from the tealette. Beside her, the younger Vocaloids returned Miku's greeting with "Good mornings" of their own.
With a wave of one of her teal-polished hands, Miku gestured at the food set out on the table. Bacon, toast, eggs cooked in a variety of styles, and bowls of fruits. A western breakfast.
"Kaito-nii was already up when I came down," Miku explained. "He made breakfast before he went out to the studio to work on a new song. I think he mentioned that he would be home late… Something about talking to the producers about his Append work. I'll be heading to the studio soon, too. They want me to work on a new single."
The amiable teal girl spoke to the group as a whole, but her eyes were focused only on the pink haired girl. Luka felt her chest tighten, and her heartbeat quicken. For reasons beyond beyond her comprehension, her cheeks flushed. "What's wrong with me?"Luka thought, as she helplessly stared back at Miku. Just like their time together in the café, those teal eyes commanded all of Luka's attention. It was as if Miku knew she could gain Luka's attention just by giving her a smile and making eye contact. It took all of the pinkette's willpower to turn her blue eyes away from the teal haired girl before.
Her actions went unnoticed by the elder Kagamine and Miki. Miku, of course, had noticed. Instead of calling Luka out, Miku opted to chat with Miki about her night comforting the twins.
Kagamine Len had noticed his pink haired senpai stiffen when Miku spoke to them. His deep blue eyes looked up at Luka, which reflected his concern and slight confusion for the older girl. "Luka-nee-chan," he said drowsily, as he tugged on the side of her shirt.
"Yes?" Luka glanced at Len, surprised to find that he was staring at her. She noticed that although he was still tired, his expression was concerned. At least this would be a good distraction from Miku's hypnotizing teal eyes. "Is something-"
"Do you not like being around Miku-nee?" Len interrupted, speaking softly to the pinkette. "Cause your face is all pink... And you didn't say good morning to her..."
"Kids these days are just too perceptive,"Luka thought. Before she spoke, she made sure her words were carefully selected. "It's not that I don't like being around Miku-chan. Things are just... Complicated."
The boy's blue eyes cast a sidelong glance at Miku before refocusing on Luka. "I think Miku-nee would be good for you," he mumbled drowsily.
At this, Luka's brows raised. She wanted to protest, but she couldn't bring herself to utter a word.
Len took her silence as a sign to continue. "'Cause she's so carefree... And sometimes you can be too serious," He yawned and rubbed his eyes with his free hand once more. "You two would be good match. Maybe if you give things a try-…" His speech was dragged out due to his obvious fatigue, and his sentence cut short by an involuntary yawn.
"Mm?" Miki stopped chatting with the teal haired girl and focused on the sudden weight that was pressing against her arm. Kagamine Len had shut his eyes after his yawn, and took it upon himself to use Miki as a pillow. "Ah, Len-kun seems to have fallen back asleep-... Oh geez."
It would seem that the Kagamine twins truly did everything together. For while Miki was speaking, Rin had closed her eyes and leaned against Miki's other arm.
"I'm sorry," Miki apologized softly, so as not to wake up the youngest Vocaloids. "I'll just bring them up to my room so they can get some more sleep. It should only take a moment." She bowed her head as she excused herself from the room. Gently, she shook the arms of the exhausted twins, and began to lead the drowsy pair back upstairs.
Which left Luka and Miku alone in the kitchen.
Once the trio was upstairs, the Kagamine Rin instantly perked up. Her eyes shot open, void of any of the weariness that she had displayed so beautifully downstairs. "Ah, Miki-nee-chan!" She grinned up at the cherry haired girl. "That was perfect!"
Her twin rubbed his eyes. Unlike his sister, he was actually tired because of last night's events. Yes, Luka had guessed correctly when she thought that the twins moved into Miki's room last night. But they were not there for Miki's comforting hugs and words of reassurance. The trio had gathered together in order to find a way to bring Luka and Miku closer, under the orders of a green haired captain. "Look, I doubt Miku-chan can pull this off by herself. So I want you three to figure out a way to get Luka-nee alone with Miku-chan tomorrow morning," Gumi had said, as she ushered the protesting Kagamines into Miki's room. "But you can't be obvious about it, either, or you'll scare Luka-nee. And this way, Miku-chan'll still think she's in control of everything. Got it? You guys better not let me down.. And wake me up if anything happens. That's an order."
Miki, Rin and Len exchanged excited looks after Gumi left them alone in Miki's room. After careful planning, they had fallen asleep on Miki's large bed at around midnight. It was embarrassing to admit, but Len was accustomed to going to bed at 10:30. Lacking that hour and 30 minutes of sleep made him very tired, much to Rin's delight. "Len-kun won't have to act tired in front of Miku-nee-chan and Luka-nee-chan then!" She had squealed earlier that morning.
Either way, Len was still really tired.
Miki looked down at Rin, and smiled back. "Yeah, the two of you did an excellent job," she agreed, as she gave the twin's hands a squeeze. The elder girl led the twins past her bedroom, and stopped in front of a white door with an orange and green sign mounted onto it. Miki released the hands of the twins in order to knock on the door a few times. "Gumi-nee!"
Some shuffling could be heard from behind the door before it swung open to reveal a disheveled Gumi. The girl ran her fingers through her mop of green hair before she shoved her hands into the pockets of her over-sized orange pull-over hoodie. "What?" came her curt reply. It was too early in the morning to talk to people. Was everyone trying to wake her up at obscenely early this week?
"Ano, we got Luka-nee to be alone with Miku-nee. The mission was a success," Miki spoke up, suppressing a giggle. Even though Gumi had combed her fingers through her hair, it had done little to tame the mess of stray green strands.
Gumi looked at the cherry haired girl blankly. She stared at her in silence.
Miki blinked a few times, trying to keep her nerves under control. "Is something wrong, Gumi-nee?"
"You woke me up to tell me that?" Flat tone. Unamused.
"Ah, well, you did tell us to wake you up if something happened," Miki replied slowly.
"So what exactly happened?" Still unamused.
"They're eating breakfast together!" Rin chimed in, much to Miki's relief. "At least, I think they are…" She paused and tilted her head slightly to the right. "Mmm, yeah! They should be eating right about now."
"Lovely…" Gumi was still apathetic. Maybe if the trio woke her up some time after 10, she would be in a better mood. "Can I go back to sleep now?"
"Wait!" The only boy in the group had finally spoken.
All three girls looked at him.
The green haired girl sighed, and leaned against the door frame for support. "What is it now?"
"Are you wearing shorts under that?"
Miki's eyes widened, and she let out a gasp. "Len-kun! You can't ask-!"
Rin began to laugh uncontrollably. "Oh—hehehe—My—hehehe-! Leeeeeeeeen!"
Gumi, on the other hand, blushed. Removing one hand from the kangaroo pouch of her orange hoodie, she tugged the hood up over her head.
The blonde boy looked confused. "Huh? What's so funny? I was just asking because I couldn't tell," He explained, a pout on his childish face. "Gumi-nee-chan's hoodie covers the area where her shorts should be.. So I just thought I'd ask— DWAH!"
An open palm had made contact with his cheek, and sent him flying towards the floor of the hallway. His attacker shoved her hand back into her hoodie pocket, her cheeks scarlet. A mumble came from her lips before she slammed the door shut.
The two standing girls looked at one another.
"I think she just said she wasn't wearing any shorts," Miki whispered to the younger girl.
Rin simply shrugged. She squatted down next to her younger twin before she playfully hit him on the head. "Boys really are dumb, ne, Miki-nee-chan?"
A wave of déjà vu hit Luka as she hesitantly sat down opposite of Miku. She was careful to avoid making eye contact with the younger girl as she loaded her plate with a slice of toast, a couple strips of bacon, and a small serving of scrambled eggs. Those teal eyes were just so mesmerizing, and Luka couldn't understand why they amazed her so.
Miku watched her senpai in silence. Rather than speak up and try to break the silence, the tealette nibbled on the edge of her toast. If she were to stick to her plan, she would have to let Luka feel as comfortable as possible. And right now, things were not comfortable at all. The awkward atmosphere was nearly tangible at this point, and if it became any worse, Miku would probably end up slamming her head against the table because of how maddening it was.
"About what happened back then…" Luka said quietly with her blue eyes fixed down on her plate. She had finally realized why those teal eyes always caught her attention.
The tealette's brows raised in surprise as she looked at her senpai. She wasn't expecting Luka to be the first to break the silence. In all honesty, Miku was expecting at least another minute of awkward tension.
"Oh, that," Miku laughed. "I'm really sorry. That entire thing was my fault. I should have been paying attention to where I was going." She set the last bit of her toast down on her plate. Her other hand sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "I swear, I wasn't trying to walk into you or anything. I was just thinking about a lot of stuff- Huh?"
Luka held a hand up, halting the other girl's explanation. "Not that," she frowned a little. "Back on our… Date. Why did you kiss me?" It took her all week to realize that her nights were restless because of those teal eyes and the kiss that followed the intense gaze when the two were out on their date. Those teal eyes, the kiss… The combination of the two had sent her mind spinning, and had kept it spinning for the past week.
The owner of those teal eyes gave Luka one of her signature smiles. "Because you had cream on your face," Miku answered as if this should have been obvious by now.
"A napkin would have sufficed. Or you could have told me that it was there," Luka pointed out, not satisfied with the other girl's answer. All week Luka had made it a point to avoid being alone with Miku. Now that she had the nerve to finally speak to the teal-haired girl, she was going to get an answer. "Miku-chan, please just tell me the truth. Why did you do it?"
Silence filled the kitchen while Luka waited for Miku's answer. The pink haired girl's frown faded a little as she realized that she may have been out of line to demand that Miku give her a proper answer right this second.
"Ah, well… I like you, so…" Miku began, as she fumbled around for the right words to explain how she felt that afternoon in the café. With one arm propped up on the table, the younger girl rested her head in the palm of her hand. Her teal eyes looked away from Luka's blue ones, and focused on a spot on the ceiling. "It wasn't really something that I planned. It was an impulse," she tried to explain.
"An impulse? Don't tell me Miku-chan has ADHD or something…" Luka thought, as she watched Miku ponder.
The teal eyes looked back at Luka, and the corners of her eyes crinkled as a smile formed back onto her face. "I couldn't help it. You were just so cute that day—Not that you aren't cute every day, Luka-senpai. Trust me, you're always cute," Miku amended. "You're right, though, I could have used a napkin and wiped the cream off of your face."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because I was drawn to you," Miku answered, catching both of them off guard. The tealette couldn't believe that she had admitted to that. She hadn't even fully explained what had happened to Gumi. Gumi had only heard the basic story. Cream on the face, kissed it off, then a kiss on the lips. But now, here she was, explaining her actions as best as she could to the receiver of the kiss. "It sounds a little dumb, but let's think of it this way. It was like you were one end of a magnet, let's say that you're North! And I'm the South end of the magnet. Those two sides are attracted to each other, so—"
"So being in that café, in that… Situation… Led to the two magnets coming together," Luka finished, a little surprised that she could follow the other girl's thoughts so well.
The older girl's brows furrowed together. Why did that analogy sound so familiar?
Miku nodded happily. "Bingo! It's like that song we sang together, remember? Back when you first moved in?" Her voice had jumped an octave from excitement.
The pinkette nodded slowly, and her eyes closed as she thought about the song. That's right, they had sung a song together when she first moved in. "That's why that magnet thing sounded so familiar.." she thought to herself. The words to their duet were forever engraved into her mind. It was overwhelmingly popular immediately after its release. Even now, Luka was still asked to sing a line or two from the song when she went out in public.
"I am drawn to you like a magnet;
Even if I left, we would find each other again," Miku sang in her sweet soprano. She stood up, and waved one hand in front of Luka's face to ensure that the other girl had her eyes closed.
No signs of protest from the pinkette.
Unaware of Miku's action, Luka opened her mouth to join in song. "I've touched you, I can never go back and that's just fine-!"
The last few words of the line were nearly cut off by the pair of lips that were suddenly pressed against hers. Startled, Luka opened one eye and caught a glimpse of the smaller girl smiling into the kiss. And, to Luka's surprise, she tasted a hint of the familiar strawberry chapstick.
Miku slowly pulled away from Luka, but her face remained close. "You are everything in the world to me," she sang softly, before she stood up straight. Although the smile on Miku's face was no different from the smiles that normally adorned her face, Luka could have sworn that she saw a hint of possessiveness in the smile.
"Th-th-that—You—I-!"
"Ne, Luka-senpai, I have to go now. I need to head off to the studio now!" The tealette sang, as she gave her senpai a respectful bow. She turned her back to Luka, and began to head for the exit.
"M-Miku-chan!" Luka's heart was racing, and her cheeks were flushed. It was hard for her to focus on a single thought, or even figure out what she was feeling at the moment… But she just needed to ask one more question…
The younger girl paused. She looked over her shoulder at the flustered girl. "Yes?"
"Wh-why did you…?"
A giggle came from Hatsune Miku. "Why? Because you will be mine." The girl winked at Luka, and then exited the kitchen.
Talk about deja vu...
Once the footsteps disappeared down the hall and out of the building, Megurine Luka slid her plate of untouched food away from her. She took a deep breath, and slumped down on the table. Her pink bangs covered part of her face as she sat there, lost in thought. "Another stolen kiss," she murmured to herself, as she shut her eyes.
If this kept up, Hatsune Miku would have no problems stealing her heart.
And this thought only made Luka's heart beat quicken. No, she wouldn't allow Miku to win her over so easily. It seemed like she would have to reenforce the walls that she had built around her heart...
The tealette slid into the back seat of the limousine, and flipped her phone open. Her fingers quickly danced across the keypad as she typed out a text message to her best friend.
Miku read over the text message. "Guess who stole another kiss? (^o^)" A wide grin was on her face as she hit send. Now that that was taken care of, the girl laid across the seats, her teal eyes shining with excitement.
She could practically hear the erratic pounding of her heart. It didn't bother her, though. The rush of energy that flooded her body after leaving the mansion had her mind buzzing. For the most part, her thoughts jumped between Luka, and Miku's plan. And jump they did.
"Luka-senpai had incredibly soft lips, even if she just woke up—"
"Step one: Stay on Luka-senpai's good side. That's not a problem at all—"
"God, those eyes of hers are just so beautiful. Such a pretty shade of blue—"
"Oh. Step two: Lower her inhibitions. Not as hard as Gumi and I thought… She just needs to be relaxed and it's easy to keep her guard down from there—"
"Pretty, pretty, blue eyes—"
"Step three: Ask her out—"
At this rate, it seemed like Miku's plan was working out quite smoothly. And Gumi had laughed at such a simple plan…
Bzz. Bzz.
The vibrations of her cellphone caught her attention. Eagerly anticipating Gumi's reply, Miku flipped the phone open.
"FUCK YOU, BAKA LIEUTENANT!
I just fell back asleep. Fuck. You. I hate you for waking me up.
But congratz. (-_-)b
Tell me 'bout it later. –Captain"
Miku giggled. Only Gumi would respond that way. Only Gumi.
Note: Ah, this is definitely my longest chapter so far. X_x I can't believe I was able to write so much.. haha.
Thank you for making it to the end of this crackpot story!
Yay for more Luka and Miku interaction!
To the reviewers:
Jak656: Ah! Did you like the song, Matryoshka! And thanks! Lily… Is going to become incredibly more important in one of my future chapters. xD; But thank you for your encouragement!
Lovecakes98: It's a good thing I'm A- then! :P And chuckling is good. I'll take that as a compliment anyday!
IdrewAcow: I promise, I don't have all of the chapters already typed up. Hahah. Once I get an idea in my mind, I have to write it somewhere. I usually end up making notes for a chapter throughout a day, and then write it all in one sitting at night. xD; But thank you!
PaperCutVictim: I LOVE "Just Be Friends". It's my favorite Vocaloid song by far, with Magnet and Matryoshka as close seconds. ^^ I'm glad that you enjoy my portrayal of the different Vocaloids! Thanks for your support! :D (Can't wait to see an update on your story, btw. Ice Princess ftw!)
Thyrokio: LOL! I was hoping to get that kind of response from my readers! xD SUCCESS!
Meislovely: (^^)b Arigatou gozaimasu! (Btw, the two of you always get me to crack a smile!)
Justa person: hahahaha! Bionic person! Nah, I just have too much time on my hands… And I get easily distracted from my homework. Whoooooops! But yes. Miku has seen Lily as an enemy before! xD Thanks for your support!
Major Mike Powell III: XD Oh man. Hahahah I didn't realize that my story could be so entertaining. Glad to see that it made you laugh!
LukaFan: Thanks! Yes, Miku knows how to use her brain for productive things. But only when she's really determined to do something. :P At least, that's how I see her in my world. Thanks again for your support!
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And thank you, once again, to everyone that has read my story so far! You guys are great. Thanks for all of the reviews!
And if anyone ever has anything to say about the story, or just something you wanted to let me know, leave me a review, or shoot me a PM. I like to talk to people. (^^)b
See you guys in the next chapter!