[Strel-chan]

Chapter 1: Another Vocaloid

“I think we should re-activate him.” I heard a voice coming from the hall.

“You think we should what!? Are you trying to get us fired!?” Another voice.

“No, it’s just… don’t you think the boss was being unfair?” Their boss… that was Master, right? “Having him de-activated and abandoned just because he’s a boy?” It sounded as though they were talking about another Vocaloid. I had never been told anything about him, though. I sat down next to my bedroom door so I could try to hear their conversation better. I wanted find out more about this other Vocaloid.

“You know he wanted a female Vocaloid. He had every right to abandon Mikuo.” So the boy Vocaloid’s name was Mikuo. It sounded similar to my name. Miku. Mikuo. Like my name with an “o” on the end.

“That’s not a good reason to just abandon him! And besides, he never said he wanted the Vocaloid to be a girl until we had already activated Mikuo! At that point, it was way too late for him to decide that!” I definitely had to agree with this man. That boy didn’t deserve to be abandoned just because Master had wanted a girl!

“That’s why he was abandoned and Miku was built instead.” So, I was built, just… just to replace him?

“Then why couldn’t we just keep both of them?” demanded the first man.

“Because,” replied the other. They had started to walk away by this point, but I managed to hear the words, “he only wants Miku.” After that, they were too far away for me to hear the rest of their conversation.

I couldn’t believe Master could be so cruel, though! He always acted so nice whenever Meiko, Kaito, or I were around. But when we weren’t… apparently not.

During the course of their conversation, I had made up my mind to go find Mikuo. Secretly, of course. I’d start by searching the building. I’d check the basement first. I knew Master used it for storage, making it the perfect place to find a discarded Vocaloid. I also knew it was off-limits. I’d have to sneak down without being caught. I could go tonight, at midnight, when everyone’s asleep. I’d have to be quiet so as not to wake anyone, but it’d be easier than going during the day. Then I remembered Master was leaving for a business trip next week. That would be my chance.

There was one major problem with my plan, though: I had no idea what Mikuo looked like. How was I supposed to find someone I had never ment, and without even a photo of him or a description of his appearance? Although, if Master had been keeping him in the basement, he would be the only Vocaloid there, right? He couldn’t be that hard to find, right? If he was even there, that is.

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 2: Finally!

“Bye, Master!” I said as Master walked out the door. Finally! The past week had gone by so slowly. Each night, I was tempted to go search for Mikuo. I knew better, though. He would have to keep hidden from Master. I hadn’t quite worked out that part of my plan yet. That’s why I had decided to wait until Master left, so we’d have time to figure something out once I’d found him. If I found him.

“Hey, Miku…” I turned to see who was talking. It was Kaito. “If you miss Master while he’s gone, you’ve always got us. Remember that.” Miss Master? As if! I’d been waiting an entire week for him to leave!

“You know I know that!” I responded playfully. “You and Meiko are always there for me.” Well, Kaito was. Meiko was, too, but only when she was sober. She did get drunk a lot.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “Want some ice cream?”

“Sure…” I replied, though I didn’t really care. Kaito left for the kitchen and quickly returned with two bowls of ice cream. He handed one of them to me. It was a weird green colour. “Kaito… what flavour is this?” I asked cautiously, having no idea what flavour the oddly-coloured ice cream was. I wished I had just refused his offer instead.

“Leek flavour. I thought you would like it.” Leek flavoured ice cream? That couldn’t possibly exist… could it? I looked at Kaito. His appeared to be the same flavour. He was eating it. No, he wasn’t just eating it. He was enjoying it. It can’t be that bad, then.

Hesitantly, I took a spoonful of the dessert and put it in my mouth. It tasted… good, actually. Like leeks, my favourite food. It tasted better than any flavour of ice cream I’d had before.

“I swear, you two are the only people on Earth who could actually like that stuff,” Meiko told us. If only she knew what she was missing…

The rest of the day was pretty normal. Well, normal apart from the fact that the day seemed to drag on forever. I just couldn’t wait until night! The more I thought about my plan for that night, though, the slower time seemed to go. I looked at the clock. 7:30. Four and a half hours since Master left. Four and a half hours until midnight. Midnight. That was when my plan would finally be put into action. That was when I’d finally find Mikuo.

When midnight finally came, I was prepared and ready to go Although I was wearing a nightdress, I had left my regular clothes on underneath. I could get dressed much quicker that way. I had also left my hair up in its usual pigtails, even though that was unnecessary. I quickly removed my pyjamas and put on my arm warmers, thigh-highs, and shoes. I then opened the door, which I had left slightly open so I could get out quietly.

When I opened my door, I noticed that Kaito’s door was open, too. His room was directly across the hall from mine; it would be hard to sneak out unnoticed if he was still awake. He was probably asleep, though. It was midnight, after all.

“Miku?” I was wrong. He was awake. He walked out of his room to where I was, holding a spoon and a small tub of Häagen-Dazs. “Where are you going? It’s midnight.” Now what was I supposed to say? I couldn’t tell him the truth! I’d have to think of an excuse. No, that wouldn’t work… Kaito may not be the smartest of people, but even he could tell when I was lying. I was a terrible liar.

“Kaito… can you keep a secret?”

“Yeah, why?”

I then explained everything to him. The conversation I had overheard. Mikuo. My plan. How I had waited an entire week for Master to leave, just for the perfect opportunity. I told him everything. Most importantly, though, I told him it was top-secret. He promised not to tell anyone, and I hoped he would keep that promise. I would be in huge trouble if anyone found out.

I then proceeded to enter the basement. Luckily, no one was around. Just as planned. It was pitch-black down there. I could hardly see a thing! I felt around on the wall for a light switch, and I soon found one. I flicked it on immediately.

The basement seemed so unfamiliar. I didn’t feel like home at all. I wasn’t sure where to start searching, so I just wandered around, looking for anything that might be a Vocaloid. Then I saw it: a hand, sticking out from behind a stack of boxes. The hand, of course, belonged to a body. I could only guess it belonged to Mikuo’s body. I had finally found him!

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 3: The Wrong Vocaloid

I couldn’t believe it! I had finally found Mikuo! I looked behind the boxes and saw… a girl? She had long pink hair that was a little shorter than mine, but still really long. Her outfit looked like mine, but with pink instead of teal. She appeared to be asleep. No one would sleep in the basement, though… unless… was she another abandoned Vocaloid?

I carefully placed my hand on the back of her neck and felt for her power switch. I found it and switched it on, re-activating her. She slowly woke up.

“Do you have any bread?” Well that was an odd way of greeting someone. “I like French bread the best, but any kind will do. My name’s Teto, by the way!”

“Nice to meet you, Teto!” I replied. “I’m Miku, and, no, I don’t have any bread with me.”

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“I actually came here looking for someone else. His name is Mikuo. Have you seen him?” I doubted she would be any help, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

“Depends. What does he look like?” Silence. I had no answer. I hadn’t the faintest idea what he looked like. “Well?”

“He’s, um, a boy…” To be honest, that was the best description I could give.

“Haven’t seen him. I could help you look for him, though.” Maybe Teto would be able to help me find Mikuo. Plus, I would have someone to keep me company.

“Thank you! That’d be great!” I hastily replied. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking… how did you end up down here anyway?”

“Master said my voice sounded too robotic. Not that it should really matter, though, since I am a robot. He also said I was crazy when I told him that I’m a thirty-one-year-old chimera.” I wanted to laugh out loud at what she had just said, but I didn’t because she sounded as though she was serious.

“You don’t look thirty-one,” I said. “And what’s a chimera?”

“A chimera is a dragon-bat thingy. The reason I don’t look thirty-one is because my human age is found by dividing my chimera age in half. Therefore, I have the appearance of a fifteen-and-a-half-year-old girl.” She seemed to know what she was talking about, though I was sure she was just making it all up as she went along.

“So, where should we look first?” she asked me.

“I’m not sure… I was hoping you might know…” I replied.

“Okay, then… you go that way,” she said, pointing towards my left. “And I’ll go this way!” She began to walk off in the opposite direction.

At this point, not much had changed at all. I was still searching for Mikuo in the basement, alone yet again. I continued to look for him anyway. I wandered around, searching, for what felt like forever. I still couldn’t find him, though. I was about to give up, but then I heard Teto calling me.

“Miku! I found him!”

[HanamisaMiku]

I have to agree that was a great story.Although,the writing kinda remind me of someone..

[Zodiac Rain]

I like the story so far. This interpretation of Miku is pretty interesting. I can't wait to see the next chapter!

[Strel-chan]

@Miku and Zodiac: Thank you! I finished chapters 4 and 5 last night; I just have to type them so can post them. I'll have them up soon!

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 4: Mikuo

Teto came running up to me. A boy was following her. He must be Mikuo. He looked a lot like me. He had short hair and was a little taller than me, and he was a boy, of course, but he still looked very similar to myself, apart from those small differences. His outfit was also a bit different from mine, He was wearing a t-shirt and shorts; I had a sleeveless shirt and a miniskirt. His clothes had the same grey and teal colour scheme as mine, though.

“I take it you must be Miku?”

“Yes, I am,” I replied.

“I’m Mikuo. Teto said you were looking for me.”

“I WANT DRILLL-SHAPED HAIR!” Teto randomly yelled. Mikuo and I burst out laughing. “I’m serious!” she snapped, looking annoyed.

“Teto, drill hair is, well, not normal,” I told her. “I’m not sure if it’s even possible…”

“I’ll make it possible, then!” she countered. She then ran off towards the stairs.

“Teto, wait!” I called after her. “You have to stay hidden!” By the time I had said that, it was already too late. She was already gone. This was bad. She would get in trouble if anyone saw her. I would get in trouble in anyone found out I was the one who re-activated her. I wanted to follow her and tell her to come back, but that would get us both in trouble if we were seen.

“Should we go get her?” Mikuo asked me.

“No… it’s probably best we wait for her.” I replied. “I wonder why she left, though.”

“With her, who knows…” He was right. There was no telling where she was going, or why.

Mikuo and I discussed our plan on how he would keep hidden from Master while we waited for Teto to return. After about an hour or so, we still didn’t have much progress, but Teto came back. Her hair was in messy pigtails that were spiral-shaped, like… drills. She really had been serious about that.

“Like my hair?” she asked us.

“No,” we responded in unison.

“But… but it took me ages to do my hair!”

“Teto, it’s just… your hair, it’s all messy. Maybe you should try something a little more, um… normal?” I suggested. Really, though, her hair did not look good. Not at all.

“I don’t wanna change my hair!” she protested. “I like it like this!” How could she possibly like that hairstyle? Teto sure was different… “Do you guys have a plan yet?” she added, changing the subject.

“Not yet…” Mikuo told her.

“I know!” I said as I got a good idea. “Follow me!” I then led the two of them upstairs. When we reached the top of the stairs, I peeked out the door to make sure nobody was around. No one. I opened the door completely and went through, motioning to Mikuo and Teto to tell them the coast was clear. They followed. I quietly led them through the building to the front door. I opened the door, and we went outside. Master would never find us now…

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 5: Stupid Mikuo. It’s all His Fault.

I didn’t know why I had ever run away. Okay, I did know the reason why. What I didn’t know is why I had chosen to run away instead of coming up with a better plan. Running away had seemed like a good idea at the time, but I hadn’t even thought it through. That wasn’t like me. Whenever I make a big decision like that, I always think it through at least a little bit.

Not thinking was what had caused the problem we were in. It was morning, and we were hungry. We had no food. We had no money to buy food.

“Miku, I’m hungry…” Teto whined.

“What are you complaining to me for?” I asked. “You know I don’t have any food or money.”

“Well, this was your idea,” she replied.

“She’s right,” Mikuo told me. “You should’ve thought about this before you dragged us into this!”

“I want bread…”

“Teto, we don’t-” Mikuo began, before being interrupted by me.

“Just ignore her.” I told him. “Anyway, this is the thanks I get for helping you to hide from Master!? Just you and Teto complaining to me about my plan!?”

“Miku…”

“Shut up, Teto!” I snapped. These two were seriously annoying me now.

“What plan?” Mikuo asked.

“Running away, duh!” What was he, stupid? How could he not realize that was my plan?

“I’m hungry…”

“I said shut up!”

“Sorry…” Teto muttered quietly.

“You don’t really have a plan, do you? You thought we could all just run away and everything would be okay! It’s not! Don’t you realize that, Miku?” Now he was really getting mad. He was right, though. That was exactly what I had thought.

“I know it’s not okay...” I said. “But it’s not like you had a better plan! You didn’t have any plan at all! At least I had one!”

“I wouldn’t exactly call this a plan! You could’ve at least tried to figure out how this would work!”

“Fine, then! Who cares if you don’t like my plan? I’ll just go home! Unlike you, I’m actually allowed to go back home! I’m actually wanted! I’m sure everyone is worried about me right now, wondering where I am! And what do they think of you? I bet no one even remembers who you are! They just remember you as ‘that Vocaloid that nobody wanted’!” Then I turned to face Teto. “Same goes for you, drill girl! And let your hair down; it looks stupid like that!” I turned around and started towards home. Why did I ever have to go look for Mikuo in the first place, anyway? All I ended up with was two stupid, good-for-nothing Vocaloids. It really had not been worth finding them.

What happened next just helped to make matters worse. It started raining. I heard thunder. Great. Just great. It would still be a while before I got back home. If it hadn’t been for Mikuo, I would be inside right now, watching TV while snacking on a leek. Stupid Mikuo. He could get struck by lightning from this stupid storm and die for all I cared. Same for Teto and her stupid drill hair.

I eventually arrived back at home, starving and soaking wet. Kaito was first to greet me.

“Miku! Where were you? We were all so worried about you!” I was right. I was the one they were worried about. Not Mikuo. Not Teto. Me.

“I was trying to help that stupid Mikuo to keep hidden. But then he decided he didn’t want my help anymore. He thinks my plan isn’t good enough, but he doesn’t even have a plan of his own!”

I then went to my room to get some dry clothes to change into. It felt so good to be dry again; I had spent the past half hour walking home through the pouring rain without an umbrella.

Once I was done changing, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a leek. Not exactly breakfast, but whatever. I headed over to the living room and turned on the TV as I began to eat. I flicked thorough the channels for a bit before deciding on what to watch. My whole morning probably would’ve been like this if a certain someone hadn’t ruined it for me. Kaito soon came and sat down next to me. As we watched TV together, I started feeling really tired, probably because I had gotten hardly any sleep last night.

Next thing I knew, I was just waking up. I must have fallen asleep after all. I opened my eyes. Everything was sideways, but… why? I wasn’t lying down. Then I realized why—my head had been resting on Kaito’s shoulder. Wow… how could I not have noticed that? Of course, I returned my head to its upright position now that I was awake. Wait a minute… I had been resting my head on Kaito’s shoulder. What if someone had seen us and thought we were in love or something? What if Kaito thought that? I highly doubted that, though. Anyway, Kaito and I were just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Definitely nothing more.

Kaito noticed I was awake once I lifted my head. “Miku, lunch is ready.” He told me. “Meiko ordered pizza for us.”

Was it time for lunch already? I must have slept for longer than I thought! Come to think of it, though, I was quite hungry. Had I even finished the leek I had for breakfast? Apparently not; I was still holding the half-eaten leek. Oh well, I could just eat it with lunch.

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 6: Kaito

During lunch, I was in a much better mood. I wasn’t mad at Mikuo anymore. Well, not much. I didn’t have to think about him, though, because he wasn’t here. He was… somewhere. Somewhere away from me, probably with Teto. Anyway, things were normal again. Kaito, Meiko, and I were having cheese pizza for lunch; things were perfectly normal now. I was happy to be with them again, especially Kaito, but… why? I always enjoyed being with him; he was my friend, and he was generally a fun person to be around anyway. Now, though, it felt different.

How did it feel different, though, and why? Around Kaito, I felt…. happier than I used to. I didn’t understand why. I hadn’t felt quite this way around him before, had I? Similar, but definitely not the same. Then I remembered what I had noticed when I woke up after falling asleep earlier. That couldn’t be it, though. I wasn’t in love with Kaito… was I? No. We were just friends. That was it. We were just friends and nothing more.

Anyway, everything was back to normal, and that was good. Mikuo and Teto were gone; I could forget they ever existed. Master would be back in six days. I knew he had a kind, gentle, caring side that he always showed around any Vocaloids. Any that he wants, at least. I knew that side of him was just an act, but I could make myself believe that’s what he was really like. Then everything would be truly normal once again. I liked the way things used to be, and I wanted things to be that way again.

That was why I felt happier than usual. It was because things were back to normal. Not just because Kaito was here. That was the reason, right?

“Where were you this morning, Miku?” Meiko asked me. I couldn’t tell her that I was with Mikuo and Teto. I couldn’t lie, either; she would notice. Now what was I supposed to say? “Miku?”

“She doesn’t have to say it if she doesn’t want to.” Good. Kaito was on my side. That was definitely a good thing; he knew why I hadn’t been at home. “The important thing is that she’s back home again.” Hopefully, now, Meiko wouldn’t ask any more questions about where I had been.

“Yeah, I guess…” Meiko replied.

Throughout the rest of the day, I was glad to be at home and away from Mikuo and Teto, especially Mikuo.

“You seem happy today, Miku,” Kaito said to me later that afternoon.

“I’m just happy everything’s back to normal,” I told him.

“What about Mikuo?” Luckily, we were alone; we couldn’t let anyone hear us talking about him.

“Oh, him? Who cares.” I knew I definitely didn’t care.

“Want some ice cream?” Kaito asked me.

“Okay!” I replied. I decided that I wanted some of the delicious leek-flavoured ice cream Kaito had given me yesterday.

We ended up going out for ice cream rather than just eating at home. Not surprisingly, there was no leek ice cream. I ordered vanilla instead.

“Hey, Miku, we got the same flavour!” said Kaito.

“Huh?” I looked at his ice cream. It was also vanilla. “Oh yeah, we do!”

As we sat at a picnic table, eating our ice cream, I noticed two familiar people passing by. Two people I did not want to see.

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 7: Boyfriend

It just had to be those two, didn’t it? Anyone else would’ve been fine, but it just had to be them. Mikuo and Teto. I did not want them to ruin my afternoon. They had already ruined my morning. I saw Teto look at me. Great, now she had seen me. Mikuo watched as Teto approached me.

“You never told me you had a boyfriend!” Teto said excitedly. Was she talking about Kaito? She must’ve been; no one else was around.

“Boyfriend? N-No, we’re just friends!” I stammered. Why did she have to say it when Kaito was right next to me?

“Of course he’s your boyfriend; you two are on a date, after all.” On a date? With Kaito? As if! It did sound like a good idea, though… Wait… did I seriously just think that!?

“No we’re not!” I quickly replied. “Kaito and I are just friends…”

“Oh, so your boyfriend’s name is Kaito!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I told her again. “How about you just go find Mikuo and leave or something….”

“She knows about Mikuo?” asked Kaito.

“Yep!” replied Teto. “Miku found me and then I found Mikuo!” Then I saw Mikuo walking towards where the three of us were, probably to see why Teto had spent a while talking to us. I had been hoping he wouldn’t come, though. I knew I definitely didn’t want him around.

“What are you doing here, Mikuo?” I asked him.

Before he had a chance to answer me, Kaito said, “If you two still need a place to stay, you could always come live with us.” He did not just say that. He did not just offer for Teto and Mikuo to stay with us.

“I refuse to live with him!” I protested.

“And I refuse to live with her!” he shouted in response.

“Well, I think it’s a great idea!” said Teto. “We accept!”

“You mean you accept,” Mikuo corrected her. “I’m not coming.”

“Yes you are!” she told him. Mikuo still refused, but, eventually, Teto and Kaito got him to reluctantly agree. Today couldn’t possibly get any worse…

Apparently, I was wrong. Today could get worse, and it did. It got much worse. First of all, it rained again on our way home. At least it wasn’t another thunderstorm like in the morning. Anyway, during the whole walk home, Teto wouldn’t shut up about my “boyfriend”. Honestly, it was getting quite annoying, especially since Kaito just happened to be with us. Then, when we arrived at home, she told everyone. And by everyone, I mean every single person she could find in the entire building. She didn’t just stay in the part of the building where Meiko, Kaito, and I lived; she went everywhere. Or, at least, that’s what she said. Now what was I supposed to do? Teto had gone around spreading a false rumour about me, and, worst of all, even she believed it! Now I was absolutely one-hundred-percent sure this day could not possibly get worse! This was officially the worst day ever!

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 8: Confusing

Hopefully today would be better than yesterday. Yesterday had been terrible. Why? I couldn’t really remember…

“I can’t wait until Master gets back! I still need to tell him about your new boyfriend!” Oh, yeah; that was why. Of course, there was also the argument Mikuo and I had that morning. That had been bad, but not as bad as late afternoon.

“Teto, can you please stop talking about that already?” I asked her.

“But-” she began, before getting distracted by the sound of a car pulling up into the driveway. “He’s here! Miku, Master’s here!”

“It’s not Master,” I said bluntly. “He’s not coming back for another five days.” Then, the door opened, and in came—guess who—Master! He was back early!

“Welcome back Master!” I said. I was glad he was back; that meant no more Teto and Mikuo. I waited as the others greeted Master, knowing it wouldn’t be long until I got exactly what I’d been waiting for…

“Miku has a boyfriend now!” Why did she have to say that now?

“Really? Who is it, then?” Master asked. What!? He… why wasn’t he de-activating her yet? Shouldn’t he have done it when he saw her? And the same for Mikuo?

“I don’t-”

“Kaito!” she interrupted. No. No…. she just… said it… again!

“Teto, can you please stop telling people? It’s not even true!”

“Yes it is!” she said happily.

“No it’s not! Just ask Kaito!” Kaito was probably the only person who knew the truth. I could trust him to tell her.

“Kaito?” asked Teto.

“Well, um…” he said, sounding a little unsure of what to say I noticed that he was blushing a little. It made him look cute. “I guess so…” Wait, what!? He was supposed to say no! “I mean, if it’s okay with Miku, that is.” So now this was my decision. I just had to say no. I just had to say no. I just had to say…

“Yes!” I replied. “Wait, I mean no!” I said. That’s what I wanted to say, right? Somehow, it didn’t feel like it was the right thing to say. “I-I mean… I don’t know; this is all too sudden!” I blurted out really quickly, before running off to my room.

Now what? I had just made a complete mess of things. I had to go back and say something, though. I was supposed to say no, but that didn’t feel right. So did that mean I had to say yes? Did I want to say yes? I wasn’t sure. This was all too confusing. Then, I heard a knock on my door.

“Miku! Come on out!” It was Teto, that annoying, drill-haired girl. “You still need to give Kaito your answer!” Then again, it would’ve been worse if it had been Kaito and not Teto. I would be too embarrassed to face him at the moment.

“I don’t have an answer,” I told her.

“Well, what am I supposed to tell him?” she asked.

“Just tell him I don’t know yet…”

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 9: Ten Hours

I had to come out of my room eventually. I had spent pretty much the whole entire day locked in my room. I had to come out. I couldn’t leave, though. Not while Kaito was around. What would he say to me? After what happened earlier, I’d rather not find out. That was why I kept myself locked away in my bedroom all day. I was avoiding him. I was avoiding him for fear of embarrassment. I couldn’t hide forever, though. It had already been, what, ten hours? That was probably about right. Ten hours I had spent locked in my room. Ten hours I had left Kaito waiting for my answer. Ten hours. That was a long time. I had to come out.

I placed my hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. I hoped Kaito wasn’t nearby. I still didn’t want to speak to him. It seemed silly, really, avoiding him just because I hadn’t been able to give him a single answer, but… it was true. The was exactly why I was avoiding him. Anyway, I opened the door, and someone was walking past my room at the same moment. That someone just happened to be Kaito. The exact same person I had hoped not to see. Hopefully, he wouldn’t mention anything about earlier. Knowing him, though, if he said anything to me (which he probably would), it would most likely be about ice cream. I had nothing to worry about!

“So, Miku, what’s your answer?” That was what I had to worry about. Teto making it so that I had to say something.

“I don’t know…” I replied. I still hadn’t been able to decide. That was why I had kept myself locked in my room.

“But you’ve had all day to think of an answer! And besides, it’s just a simple yes-or-no question! It’s not exactly difficult, you know.” Then, she looked as though she had just thought of a great idea. Or, at least, she thought it was a great idea. Whatever she was thinking of right now couldn’t be good. “Her answer,” So, her ‘great idea’ was to answer for me, huh? If she said yes, that would make Kaito my boyfriend, right? I wasn’t really sure if I wanted that or not. But if she said no, well... I didn’t want her to say that. “is…” I had to answer immediately, or else Teto would answer for me!

“Yes!” I blurted out. I had finally given an answer. I still was unsure about it, though. But… it was the answer Kaito wanted. It also seemed to be the answer Teto wanted. As for me… I guess I was satisfied with my answer.

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 10: Teto

Yesterday was… I don’t even know how to describe it. It started out bad, then it got worse, then… I wasn’t really sure, but the day ended well. Today was also going well, so far. And plus, Teto and Mikuo were gone! Master must have shut them off overnight or something. Today was going great!

And now… well, to be honest, I never thought this would actually ever happen. I was on my first date with Kaito! We had decided to go out for ice cream. Well, more like he decided, actually. I had suggested we could maybe go out for dinner or see a movie; he had insisted we get ice cream instead. He always wants to get ice cream. He’s, like, addicted to it or something.

Anyway, so there we were, on our first date, and all because of what had happened yesterday… because of Teto. What had happened yesterday… despite it being very embarrassing because of her, that did lead to this. And now, well… I didn’t even know what Master had done with her. Had she been de-activated and stored somewhere in the basement again? There was only one way to find out! Once again, I would have to risk getting in huge trouble just for her. Okay, so it was for Mikuo last time, but that’s how I had found Teto.

“Kaito… should I go find Teto? Do you think it’d be worth it?” I wasn’t exactly sure why I was asking Kaito to help me with this… I doubted he would be able to help much. He was, however, the only person I could talk to about this; no one else ever found out that I was the one who had found Teto and Mikuo.

“Well, you can if you want to. If you do, you should bring her some ice cream! I’m sure she’d like that!” …I swear, ice cream was the only thing he could think about sometimes. Seriously, that was all he could think about. Ice cream. Ice cream and nothing else.

“It might take me a while to find her… the ice cream would probably just end up melting. Anyway, I’m not sure if finding her is worth the risk. If I get caught, I could get in major trouble without accomplishing anything!”

“You did it for Mikuo, right?” He had a point there. I had done it for Mikuo.

“Yeah… so I should do it for Teto, too! Got it!” I said, smiling.

That night, I was prepared. Again. Yet again, it was midnight, and I was ready. I was about to go find Teto… until I heard someone opening the door, that is. Great. Just great. I was about to get caught. Then, Teto came running in. Wait… so it was just Teto?

“Miku… I need you to hide me… Master wants to de-activate me again…” she explained, barely above a whisper. She sounded like she was really desperate. Of course, I also would’ve been if I was in her position. I wasn’t exactly sure how to help, but at least I didn’t have to find her. “Oh, never mind; I’ll just sleep in the closet! Goodnight!” she said as she entered my closet and closed the door. She wouldn’t have much room in there, but at least she wasn’t likely to be found.

[Strel-chan]

Chapter 11: No

“Teto… where’s Mikuo?” I asked quietly the next morning, so as not to be heard talking with Teto. I didn’t want to help Mikuo, but… it was only fair. If I was helping Teto, I had to help Mikuo, too.

“Um… let me think… he was… uhh… I dunno!” she replied. If we didn’t know where he was, we didn’t necessarily have to help, right? We probably should, but I know that I definitely didn’t want to. I was glad he was gone. He was gone, and I never had to think about him ever again.

“Let’s just not find him, then,” I said.

“Miku, he’s our friend. We have to help him.”

“He’s your friend…” I muttered quietly. I was definitely not going to call Mikuo my friend. “Anyway, we don’t even know where he is. He’s been missing since yesterday.”

“But Miku…” she whined.

“No.”

“But-”

“I already told you we’re not going to look for him.” Why couldn’t she just realize that I didn’t want to help Mikuo?

“Fine then, I’ll go find him myself!” said Teto.

“Teto… you can’t. I can’t keep you hidden from Master if you’re looking for Mikuo.”

“I’ll go at midnight, then! You didn’t get caught when you did that, so I won’t get caught, either!” I wished she would just shut up about Mikuo already!

“Why are you so intent on helping Mikuo” I asked, annoyed.

“Because,” said Teto. “Mikuo’s our friend!” she told me.

“He’s not my friend!” I told her. “And he never will be! I refuse to be a part of this!”

“Why do you hate him so much?” she asked.

“I don’t hate him,” I said. “I just… okay, I do.”

“I knew it!” she exclaimed. “Now, tell me… why?”

“Don’t speak so loud. Someone might hear you.”

“Answer my question,” she said sternly.

“Remember that morning after I found you and Mikuo?” I asked, beginning my explanation.

“Yep!” replied Teto.

“And remember the big argument he and I had?”

“Yep!”

“That’s why,” I explained.

“Well, that’s unfair!” she told me. “That is not a good reason for you to hate him.” I knew she was right.

“I know…” I replied. “It just… left me with a bad first impression of him, I guess. But we are not helping him!”

“Why not?” asked Teto.

“Because we can’t. I’m not willing to risk getting caught with him.”

“But-”

“I already told you—no.”