Uninstall

chapter 12

Neru settled down next to Miku, unsure of how she had gotten to this point. They were at a karaoke bar, hanging out with other hit idols. It was a private room, as was common in Japan.

Megurine Luka was singing an upbeat song called Luka Luka Night Fever. A bit egotistical, but whatever, it got everyone in a good mood. Even Neru was able to relax without thinking of anything too deep.

"Thanks for inviting me, Miku-chan," Neru said with a smile on her face.

"It's fun, right? I can't believe you've never been. We should sing a song together!"

A blush broke out across Neru's face. Miku wanted to sing a song with such a nobody? It was a dream come true, something that could push her singing career to the next level.

"Yeah, okay."

"Oh, me too! I wanna sing with you too, Miku-chan!" A bubbly girl with pink corkscrew pigtails exclaimed. She was practically bouncing with excitement at the mere thought.

"Of course Teto-chan. We can all sing Triple Baka together. It's a fun song."

And so the three girls stood up and sand next. The lyrics were silly, and Neru felt a bit stupid singing them. But maybe that's just what she needed. When the song ended, she returned to her seat. A man with blue hair smiled at her and introduced himself as Kaito.

"Um, yeah. I know," she answered, a bit dumbfounded. "You've been in this industry for longer than anyone."

He gave an easy laugh and responded with, "I made my debut with Meiko. Man, that seems like forever ago. Are you a fan?"

"Not really. I always preferred Taro."

"Who's Taro?" Miku asked, "I've never heard of him."

"Doesn't matter," Kaito answered with a smirk, "any fans of his are as irrelevant as he is."

"Babe, that's not very nice!"

Neru could only laugh. She didn't know what was funnier. Miku not knowing her boyfriend's debut name or the fact that Kaito was willing to keep her in the dark.

"Ah," he mused playfully, "Are you a fan of Daisy?"

"Well obviously. Newer songs just can't compare to the classics."

Just as she answered, a young blonde boy picked up the microphone. He had piercing blue eyes that peered at the song selection screen. His fingers tapped the side of the mic as he debated which song to sing. He smiled as he started one called Paradichlorobenzene.

It was a song that both meant nothing at all and everything that could ever be. Neru felt herself pulled further and further in with each line. She hadn't been expecting such a song to impact her. Why was she doing any of this? What was her purpose? All of the crazy insanity that had been going on lately... What was the meaning? Benzene.

The singer is what Neru found herself the most drawn to. He was still young and his childish voice brought such vivid life to each word. It was both upbeat and depressing. It was perfect. It was just the thing that Neru had needed. Kaito laughed a little and nudged Neru out of her trance as the song ended.

"What were you saying again," he teased.

"Oh. Um. Right... Daisy's overrated anyways for a band that's discontinued."

The boy handed the microphone over to a girl slightly taller than him. She also had blonde hair and blue eyes. They looked so similar that they had to have been siblings. At least, that's the conclusion that Neru came to after staring at both for quite some time.

She sang a very similar song to the one that the boy had. It was called Antichlorobenzene. It spoke more nihilistically while keeping an upbeat tune. Neru could only imagine the two songs being sung together, mirror images of one another.

And yet, even through all the similarities, Neru's gaze consistently returned to the boy. He never noticed, but Kaito sure did. Each time she got distracted, he gently prompted her back into the conversation.

When the party ended and it was time to return home, Neru hugged both Miku and Kaito. She thanked them both for such a wonderful night, meaning every word.

"His name is Kagamine Len," Kaito whispered in her ear before wishing her safe travel home.