Vocaloid: SHADOWS IN THE SPOTLIGHT [Miku X Luka]

Home Sweet Home - #71

Luka's PoV

That night passes by slowly. Darkness has enveloped the ward, the only existing light coming from the dim lamp placed in the far left corner. The seat I'm curled up on is discomforting; every now and then, I fall into a state of light sleep, the room brightening that little bit more each time I wake up.

Miku's chest falls and rises rhythmically as she sleeps peacefully, clearly exhausted from her long, eventful day. Occasionally, a nurse peeks her head around the corner, to which I smile sleepily at her. She nods before exiting the room once again, moving to the next ward along.

I peer at Miku, who seems more tranquil that ever. Her prior fears were completely understandable; the sight of the unnerving ward alone is enough to make me feel sick to my stomach. Flashing lights, sirens, life support; I've seen it all before, that dreaded day several years ago.

My mother stepped in front of a moving car, right before my eyes. The shell shocked driver wasn't able to break in time; she flew back, scraping across the gritty road, blood everywhere, unconscious. Much to my devastation, she died later on in the hospital, her last words to me being "I'm sorry".

After several days, I came across a suicide note. It has been rewritten several times, leading me to believe she had been planning her death a long time in advance. I still recall falling to my knees upon reading it; I felt like the biggest failure ever.

And then the bullying worsened. If I were given a dollar to my name every time someone said to me "your mother died because she couldn't bare her failure of a daughter", I'd be filthy rich.

Finding Miku several days ago collapsed in the bathroom seriously terrified me. I can't lose someone in such a dreaded way again - I can't stand the thought of it. Especially her.

I can't lose her.

As if on cue, Miku twitches slightly, before slowly sitting up, eyes still half closed. She glances around briefly, eventually setting her eyes on me. "Good morning..." she mutters sleepily, about to swing her legs around to scramble off the bed, though she stops dead, momentarily perplexed. "...oh."

I raise an eyebrow and flash the forgetful tealette a quick smile. "You're not going to be able to move very easily in that cast," I tell her, before nodding towards a pair of crutches in the corner. "The nurses left you those. I think you're going to need them."

Miku follows my gaze, before exhaling a long sigh. "Yeah, I think I will." She rubs her eyes and yawns, before wincing in pain. "Ouch... everything hurts..." she cries, examining the cuts and bruises on her arms.

"We can get you some painkillers," I suggest, watching the pained tealette through saddened eyes. "It'll ease these stinging sensations."

Slowly, Miku nods her head. "I wanna go home," she whimpers. "Are we going home today? I don't like it here, it's not home." As she speaks, Miku glances around the room once again, taking in the empty room and the unsettling aura.

"I think so, yeah," I respond, smiling at the thought of getting the hell out of here.

Conveniently, a nurse knocks on the door, before letting herself in. "Good morning, Hatsune-san." She smiles at the younger girl. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Miku cocks her head slightly to the side. "I'm feeling alright, though everything feels pretty sore," she admits, pushing the paper-like duvet away and glancing at the white cast on her left leg. "This is going to take some getting used to..."

The nurse fetches Miku a glass of water and hands her a painkiller. "It's not forever," she says in attempted comfort, watching as the tealette gulps down the drink. "As long as you're feeling alright, we can dismiss you pretty much immediately."