Kaito felt the rage and fear tearing at his body the deeper he flew into the chaotic void. Every survival instinct demanded he turn back. The ancestors’ voices would not be found here. But still his spirit pressed forward, Meiko’s powerful voice his only anchoring element to the world of the living.
“You must press on and find their voices! The Hymn is within your reach, Kaito!”
He could not fail his people, but the more he pressed his spirit, the more he felt as though the tender thread might snap and his spirit would be lost beyond the veil. As a vision invaded his head, he saw a city of stone, steel, and glass. He saw a dark chamber and rows of cells. Inside each one, bound by tubes and wires, he saw the agonizing face of one of his people. He reached for them, hoping to alleviate their suffering, when he felt that tender thread begin to fray.
He tried to pull his spirit back, before that thread snapped. Though his spirit returned to his body, the vessel was barely able to keep it contained. He fell to the floor, his mind at once in the ritual chambers with the Elders and still drifting through the void. He was barely aware of the voices of the High Priestess and his loyal bodyguard around him.
“Hmph. You’re the weakest Spirit Caller in history. We’ll start again tomorrow.”
“What madness are you spouting!? He’s barely alive!”
Kaito felt unconsciousness claim him, a fear in his heart of what might happen to him if he died here, his spirit so fractured. He feared falling back into the void of screeching, crashing, scraping Noise, of his entire soul being torn apart from within…
Kaito grasped the blankets over him as he snapped back to consciousness, the memory fading from his mind. Gradually, wakefulness returned to him and his disorientation faded when he remembered he was in a human’s dwelling. As he placed a hand to his back, he remembered that he was human as well.
‘Meiko was right…’ he thought to himself, ‘No wonder the ancestors have forsaken me… I couldn’t even protect my own wings…’
As his stomach growled, he decided to try preparing a meal. He remembered seeing fruit in the “refrigerator”. Perhaps he could do something for Miku to show his gratitude as well…
“I woke up in front of my computer today. Good morning!”
The melodic tones of Miku’s alarm on her smartphone slowly lulled her out of her peaceful dreams of flight. She reached across the bed, trying to find it and maybe smack the snooze alarm for a few more minutes, a Kasane Teto song playing on her phone...
“… no, I can’t just go back to sleep…” she groaned, “Gotta make sure Kaito’s okay before class…”
At least this morning she had music composition to look forward to… no doubt Rin, Len, and Luka would be glad to see the fourth member of “Vocaloids” back in classes.
“While I was unaware, drowsiness snuck up on me…”
As wakefulness caught up to her, she remembered her observations on the feathers from the night before. “I’ve gotta find some way to ask him!” she said to herself as she climbed out of her bed.
She tried to rehearse their conversation and the scenarios began to play out in her head. “Ah! Kaito! Are all these bloody feathers yours?”
“When I’m busy, your tempting words lure me in! ‘You really are stupid!’”
“No, no, no… that’ll just scare him!”
YOU ARE READING
Broken Wings
FanfictionEver since the day a blue-haired boy with wings saved Hatsune Miku's life, she's never stopped believing in the existence of more people like him - no matter how much people told her they didn't exist. Now in college with her dearest friends and "V...
