I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's one that I think this story really needed.
"My name's Meiko and he's Kaito." Meiko introduced.
"Yep, I'm indeed Kaito." He reiterated.
"That's nice and all, but can you actually give me your full names?" Miku requested.
"Those ARE our full names." Kaito revealed.
"You... you can't be serious." Miku felt bizarre.
"We were suppose to get surnames when we got adopted, the issue is, we never got adopted." Meiko explained.
Yes, both of their parents never gave the names of their babies to the orphanage, so they named them 'Kaito' and 'Meiko' on their own. The belief was that once they get adopted they'll get surnames too. Unfortunately they never got adopted, and now they're both stuck being mononymous. They've been mononymous for so long that they can't even imagine having actual full names anymore.
"Adopted?" Miku was confused.
"It's a long story and there's no time to explain it," Meiko said "now tell me, are you joining us or not?"
"I'd love to be a musical sensation! I want my music to bring hope to the people around the world!" Miku cheerfully said.
"There's no guarantee we'll be successful." Kaito told her.
"It's better to try and fail than to not try at all, I'M IN!" Miku shouted in joy.
"You heard that Kaito! SHE'S JOINING US! We'll be a huge band one day!" Meiko said enthusiastically.
"Yeah... but..." Kaito was stuttering.
"What's there to say anymore, I wanna sing with you guys." Miku smiled.
"Bu-but you have to leave your village, you'd have to leave everything behind." Kaito said "Are you really ready for that?"
His words were like a poisonous blade ripping through Miku's heart. The idea that she has to leave her precious village was something she didn't even consider thinking about. This place is her home, this society is what raised her, she owes everything to these people, she would have to wake up every day and not see her family. The realization overwhelmed Miku with sadness.
"I can't leave my people." Miku said with an emotional voice on the verge of tears.
"Way to go dickhole! We just lost our first potential bandmate thanks to you!" Meiko yelled at Kaito.
"It's not my fault that she loves home too much to come with us." Kaito argued.
"But she had agreed! How dare you make her change her mind!" Meiko was furious.
"It's not worth being mad at him, I wish there was another way to have a career without leaving, but it's just what it is." Miku said.
"Well, I still am not happy about this." Meiko said in a grumpy voice.
"I'll tell you what, how about I bring these spring onions to my parents at home like how they're waiting for, then we hang out for a while."
"You? Wanna hang out with us?" Meiko was caught off-guard.
"Absolutely!" Miku smiled.
"Why's that exactly?" Meiko asked.
"Can't just let people who gave me such a great opportunity go this early." Miku said.
"Fine, give those grotesque onions to your parents, then maybe we can figure something out out." Meiko smiled back.
"Here mom, I've brought spring onions." Miku happily gave the greens to her mother.
"Very well Miku, I'm very stoked about I'm going to cook today." Miku's mother said.
"Mom..." Miku said with a sad voice.
"What happened Miku?" Her mother was worried.
"I'm going outside for a while, and it's possible I won't be back for months, or possibly years." Miku told her.
"What are you talking about." Miku's mother was concerned now.
"Don't worry mom, I haven't made that decision yet, I could return tonight before dinner for all we know and never think of leaving again."
"Miku... don't do anything idiotic, I'm warning you." Her mother was serious.
"I promise mom, I'll do what's best for me." With that the teenage girl left the house.
"Ignorant girl! She better be back before dinner, there's no way she would actually leave the village, right? ...right?" Miku's mother felt stress.
"Let's go see the vegetable crops!" Miku said to Kaito and Meiko with enthusiasm.
"Why do you wanna go there?" Meiko asked with curiosity.
"I love vegetables to death, do you know I'm vegan." Miku revealed.
"You're what?" Kaito and Meiko said in unison, they weren't expecting this.
"Don't worry, I don't have any revolutionary agenda, I'm okay with others eating meat, I just personally don't wanna be part of that." She said.
"Okay." Kaito and Meiko were relieved.
"Though I repeat, can we go to the farm I wanna go in? The crops there are things that always make me happy." Miku told them.
"Fine, let's see the stupid vegetables with her." Meiko told Kaito.
Miku had brought them there now. They were all walking down the crops now, with Miku showing them every single crop.
"And lastly, these are spring onions, my favourites." Miku told them.
"Figured, looking you were with them in your hand the moment we met." Kaito said.
"You see that vendor right there, that guy makes the best sugarcane juice ever." Miku told them.
"Sugarcane juice? I have no idea what that is." Meiko replied.
"I'll bring some for you guys." Miku ran towards that vendor.
"She's so innocent, there's no way I would've asked her to join us if she wasn't so good at singing." Meiko said to Kaito.
"Who cares? She's not coming with us anyway." Kaito said.
"Surely there must be a way." Meiko was very frustrated about right now.
After five minutes or so, Miku returned to them with the sugarcane juice.
"Here's one for you, and one for you." Miku gave it to them both and drinking hers through her straw.
"Miku..." Meiko called her.
"Go on." Miku told her.
"Can you sing a bit of that amazing song again?" Meiko requested.
Miku with no hesitation, agreed.
"ketten? kawaii no machigai desho
monku wa yurushimasen no
anone? watashi no hanashi chanto kiiteru? chotto…
a, sore to ne shiroi oumasan kimatteru desho?
mukae ni kite
wakattara kashizuite te wo totte "ohimesama" tte"
"Miku... you're perfect!" Meiko was so impressed that there were no verbal words that could've described it.
"Thank you very much." Miku said as she took another sip of her juice.
"I'm not kidding Miku, please come with us, we need you in our band." Meiko said with a desperate voice.
"I'd-I'd love to come with you, I-I just really can't comprehend leaving everything behind." Miku said emotionally.
"I promise, you'll be a huge star!" Meiko begged.
"We're not promising anything." Kaito said.
"IGNORE HIM!" Meiko yelled.
"Guys... it's not an easy decision." Miku was beginning to feel really uncomfortable.
"It's one you have to make." Meiko said.
"She's a little girl, no need to put so much pressure, let her decide calmly." Kaito told Meiko as he took another sip.
"Miku you have to come with us, we've been finding someone like you for eight years and we're not sure how long it'll take next time."
"But Meiko, you need to understand how much this village matters to me, I wanna come with you, but this is overwhelming." Miku said.
Meiko sighed. She couldn't understand how much Miku's hometown mattered to her, how could she? She never had the privilege of loving her home. Sure, she lived in her foster house for almost two decades, but is a house truly a home when you don't wanna be there. Miku couldn't ever comprehend how lucky she was to have grown up with people who loved her. Kaito and Meiko never were so lucky, Miku and Meiko were in this situation right now because they couldn't relate to the other's situation. Meiko didn't knew how special it was to have a home, while Miku didn't understood how mistreated Meiko was to make her so desperate.
"I want an answer, hurry!" Meiko said passionately.
Miku turned her heart over momentarily and made the difficult decision.
"Fine, I'll go with you two,, I'll become a music sensation." Miku smiled with hope all over her face.
"We did it... WE FUCKING DID IT! WE'RE NOT TWO ANYMORE! THERE'S FINALLY THREE OF US NOW." Meiko got overwhelmed with emotion.
"I may have been skeptical of this idea, but if you truly want this, I promise to do my best to take care of you." Kaito smiled at Miku.
"We're gonna be rich! We're gonna be famous! They're gonna make statues of us! We're gonna-" Meiko was suddenly cut off by Miku.
"On one condition." Miku said.
"...say that again." Meiko's happiness suddenly paused.
"I'm only leaving this wonderful village for you on one condition." Miku explained.
Woah! Miku doesn't wanna leave her hometown unless a condition of her gets fulfilled. You know what they say, young people are very demanding. The next chapter our crew is finally gonna leave our village, the journey only gets wilder from there on out.