The Ballad of Miku and Teto

Chapter 10: I'm Orange Jelly, Got It?

  Sitting, waiting for Miku to come back. Waiting for a meeting to start. Waiting for some dinner. I didn't know why she fled the house, ventured out into the dark, into the unforgiving rain, all without telling me anything.

  I guess Teto was out there, but I'm not sure about the details. I bet she was out with Len. You might think of it as a prank, but I sent him a ton of messages calling him a home wrecker. I think it's kinda true, though.

  I'm gonna make a ton of references, so remember all of 'em! First of all, I'm just your average, pretty popular Vocaloid, part of a pair. Len's a really boring brother, so I'm here to spice it up!

  "I talk inside my head when no one is around..." Maybe Miku won't mind if I slack in the meantime. Get a full-time job... Hell, getting my ass kicked by life IS a full-time job!

  Since I'm so unfortunate, I'll just lay down on the table. "If anyone asks, I'm down. Just down for the day." I've done enough work. .................. The table is nice to nap on. Think I'll take a nap.....  

  Tmp, tmp.. My eyes snap open at the sound of footsteps at the front door. Is it the killer who will end the greatest Kagamine? My life has yet to begin! "I beg of you, psychopath, I have too much to do! I was down, you know!" I hurry to plead for my unfortunate life, my head nearly touching the floor as I crouch down. "Len's much more fun, possible Tei! You can even-" I begin as I look up at the face of the intruder.

  "Oh, it's you." It is, on fact, only Miku. Y'all can just forget the stuff I said about Len. Heh, heh.... Miku just stands there, her face empty, as if she'd either been killed or did the killing.

  "Uh, Miku?" Her eyes look somewhat pink from my view, as if she'd been crying the while way here. Her clothes are soaking wet, too. I rush to my feet."What's wrong?"

  "Nothing at all." Miku rubs the remaining tears from her eyes, walking towards the kitchen stove. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'll get started on dinner."

  "No!" I throw myself in her path, preventing her from reaching the stove. My stomach protests with a loud grumble, and I internally tell it to shut the hell up.

  "Rin?"

  "Something's wrong, right?! I don't want food if you're upset!"

  Miku stays silent, slowly turning away to go back to her room. I follow her at a turtle's pace, since her movements are like someone sucked the life out of her with a vacuum. Sulking and walking like a hovering ghost. Kind of like me when I have to do the dishes. Did life come at Miku, too?

  She doesn't bother to turn on the lights when we enter her room. All she does is undress and curl up under her covers, with nothing to say at all.

  "What's wrong?"

"............" Silence. More silence. I'm so hungry... More silence after that.

  I close the door behind me. If I just put the pieces of the puzzle together, I can find out what happened! Let's see... I suck at puzzles, but I know how to observe stuff!

  I drank a ton of sake and ended up drunk, and woke up to Luka rubbing my chest..... Gumi pulled Luka back to her room to stay passes out there, I regained my non-drunkness.... Came back to the living room to see Miku about to bolt out of the house... Teto's umbrella is probably gone....

  "I've got it!" Whenever I get an Einstein moment, a neon orange appears next to my head. I try to grab it, but it disappears, and I forget what just happened. "Huh... Wait! I got it again!" The orange pops up again, and I ignore it's temptation.

  "Teto went somewhere with Len and you chases after them!"Right on key, I bet!

  Miku hides underneath her blanket, shifting slightly when I bring them up. So that's it! I got it!

  " What happened when you found them?"

  "...................." Undying silence.

"Did Teto say something or something?"

  "....................................."

  "She yelled at you, I bet. That has to be it!"

  After more shuffling underneath her sheets, Miku's head pops out from under the covers, like an undead butterful from a cocoon thingy. "It doesn't matter."

  "What?" I'm so confused. "Of course it does! There's a problem when you and Teto fight. Then you two aren't all palsywalsy anymore!"

 Miku replies with a sigh, resting her head wearily on her sexy Teto pillow. She hugs it, and I start feeling weird when she cuddles up to it. 

  "I'm just a parasite to her."

  "W-what?"

  "I can't continue to have her be my host. I'll have to change myself on my own from now on."

  She was looking for change? Sure, we could all change a thing or two about ourselves, well, except me because I'm the best, but....

  "I'm worthless this way." Miku thinks she's worthless? It's kind of.... Heartbreaking to hear it.

  If I try to talk in situations like this, I'll probably sound like an idiot. But sometimes.... You just gotta bite the bullet and be a dumbass!!

  "You're the most valuable out of all of us, though!" I yell, then quietly add,"Technically, sort of."

  "........" 

  I hop onto her bed, and Miku begins to quietly dig herself deeper into her blanket.

  "It's true, honestly!" May or may not know the meaning of the word."You saved Vocaloid! You're even better than me, Kagamine Rin!"

  "Really?" There's hope in that voice!

  "I mean, I don't believe it for a second, but you can if you want..."

  She chuckles in amusement. "You're so.... Enjoyable, Rin." She sounds sad as she speaks. "Different than me."

  "You're fun, too! You balance out our group! I'm the main character here, but you make a great side person!"

  "Hm."

  "You'll always be the futuristic queen! I know that the future has begun when I hear you yelling at me do some work!" I make a brave pose, but end up falling over afterwards.

  "And Len just acts a big game 'cuz he can't get some real tai-"

  "Rin! That's enough!" Miku covers her mouth, laughing.

  I smile in return."See? There's the laugh of the number one princess! "

  "I guess so." She stops laughing, and her smile fades away."But... I can't be who I want to be without Teto."

  Does Teto really contribute that much to Miku's life? I just thought that Teto was something yummy for her, but... Could there really be actual affection? That's so.... Eh. I can't say anything sentimental.

  "Then do it yourself." I'm completely blunt in my response, but honest all the same. Miku stares at me, surprised. Hands on my hips, I stand strong."If tou really want to become a good person, then the change has to be by you and for you. There are tons of people you can observe for reference, but you're the only one who can do it."

  I hear the door open slightly, but I keep my eyes on Miku and continue. "And to be honest, since Meiko would probably say this too, if you give up on yourself, then the rest of us have no more reason to invest time in you."

  "True words from a female."

  "The slacker really is rational."

  "That was so cool I filmed it all."

  "Wow!"

  "Gumi, get your damn hands off my breast!"

 I turn around, leaving Miku to consider my words."You guys really are something else, huh?"

  "Change by myself....." Looks like our queen may be coming back to save the future, no.... To create hers herself.