From Computerized To Real (On hiatus until July 2021. See bio.)

Chapter 6: What's a Vocaloid?

"...Kaito. Kaito!"

"Wha-?"

I opened my eyes too see Annabelle leaning over me with a worried look on her face. When she saw that my eyes were open, she sighed in relief.

"Oh, good! You're awake," she said with relief. She helped me to sit up. "Are you okay?"

"I...I think so," I said slowly. "What exactly happened?"

"I'm not completely sure. I had just told you that you're a Vocaloid, then you passed out a moment later. Do you remember anything?"

I rubbed my throbbing forehead. "Just a lot of pictures. As soon as you said that word, 'Vocaloid', a lot of pictures flashed through my head."

"What kind of pictures?" Annabelle asked.

"I--ah!" My head started pounding when I tried to recall all I had just seen. "My head..."

"Here. Lay down." Annabelle helped me onto her couch and put a pillow under my head. "I'll get you some water," she said, then she walked off to the section of her apartment that wasn't visible from the doorway. I heard the sound of running water, and a moment later Annabelle returned with a cup in her hand. I sat up a little as Annabelle handed me the cup.

"Thank you," I said. I brought the cup to my lips and emptied it of its contents, then I handed the cup back to Annabelle. Now that I had had a moment to collect my thoughts, I slowly thought about what I had just seen, trying not to induce any more head pain. "I...I remember bits and pieces. The pictures were mostly of me, but...there were others. Others like me. Other...Vocaloids."

"You remember the other Vocaloids?" Annabelle asked excitedly.

"Well, it's like I said, I only remember bits and pieces."

"Still, it's awesome that you remembered even this!" Annabelle looked to be deep in thought. "It's interesting that because you heard me say the word 'Vocaloid', you suddenly remembered so much about yourself."

"Yeah. And now it's like I'm seeing the world through brand new eyes. I understand simple things that I didn't understand before. Like that the black rectangle on the wall is called a 'TV'," I said, pointing to the black rectangle behind Annabelle. "And that the metal things you used to unlock the car and your apartment are called 'keys'." I looked at Annabelle. "But there is one thing that I don't understand. Many things, actually, but one thing in particular. If I'm not real, then how come I just saw a video of a live concert?"

"Well..." She hesitated a moment. "Remember earlier when I said that your 'voicebank' was designed for both English and Japanese?" I nodded. "That's because you're a synthesized singer, but a famous singer none the less. That's what Vocaloids are."

I thought about that for a moment. "So, I'm fake?" I said plainly, suddenly feeling drained of all emotion.

"I wouldn't put it that way--" Annabelle started.

I cut her off. "But it's true, isn't it?"

"I..." Annabelle looked away. "I never thought of you that way," she said softly. "You've always been real to me."

Those words hit me in a way I couldn't quite explain. I looked at Annabelle curiously. What did she mean by that? Did she mean that she...? No, that was absurd. We had just met.

Annabelle realized that I was staring at her and looked away, blushing.

"So...uh...are you hungry?" she asked, changing the subject.

Until she had mentioned it, I hadn't realized how hungry I was. After all, I hadn't eaten for the entire time I'd been real, which was almost a whole day. "Yes," I answered, still looking at her.