Incompitable

Chapter 12

"Kaito-nii… Miku-chan told you to go shopping for food, not just ice cream." I picked up the plastic bag filled with tubs of ice cream and dropped it back on the table. I looked at him and sighed. "Were you listening to Miku-chan?"

"Huh? Of course I was." Kaito said through mouthfuls of ice cream. He eats it too much…

"Rinta-nii, Rei and I'll do it!" Rui exclaimed, running up to me with Rei following behind her. I smiled weakly at her and nodded.

"Oh, thanks, that'd be great, Rui-chan, Rei-kun." I sighed as I pulled my wallet out of my pocket.

"You're welcome!" Rui sang, and Rei nodded.

"Yeah, we finished the laundry anyways," he said flatly, and I placed the money in Rui's hand.

"Ne, ne, buy some carrots, too!" Gumi called out from behind the couch, and Rui nodded.

"Oh, sure-"

"And eggplants!" Gakupo added, as Gumi hit him on the head with a rolled-up magazine.

"Saké!"

"Bread?"

"Oh, gosh, okay!" Rui said while frantically writing everything down on Miku's notepad.

"Get some curry ingredients, too, Rui-chan." I told her as she wrote all the requests.

"Uh-huh, got it, Rinta-nii!" Rui smiled, starting to skip towards the front door, the notepad in one hand, and Rei's in her other.

I turned around back to the kitchen table where Kaito sat and sighed, shaking my head. Meiko was supposed to be in charge, but she obviously didn't come through, so I had to step in. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, it's just tiring. Everyone's doing their job well, except for Kaito, Meiko, and I have a feeling Teto and Ted didn't vacuum yet.

"Ted-kun?" I walked over to the side of the room where a large, black leather couch was sitting in front of a wide-screen TV that was placed on a wooden table against the wall. It had game consoles on it, and the games themselves scattered all over. Gumi lounged on the couch reading an anime catalogue while Ted and Gakupo were playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii.

"Man, Gakupo, you're not as bad as I thought…"

"Ted, you're not bad yourself!"

"Tch! I'll beat you!"

I watched Pit use the smash ball and all the little angels fly around in different directions attacking Marth, and then in large red letters, the word "GAME!" appear on the screen.

"Yes!" Ted exclaimed, punching the air. "I won!"

"Aww, that's too bad." Gakupo sighed. "Why don't we go again?"

"You'll just lose, Gakupo." Gumi commented, not lifting her gaze from the magazine.

"Oh, Gumi-chan, not these direct comments again!"

"Hold on, guys." I cut in, walking over to Ted to tap his shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, Rinta-kun?" Ted turned his head to look at me. "What is it?"

I looked at him sternly as said, "Did you and Teto-chan vacuum the house?"

Ted grinned, nodding. "Yeah, Teto's just finishing up." He told me, and I sighed, relieved.

"Oh, good, thanks." I guess my feeling was wrong.

"Hey guys?" Akaito walked into the family room not wearing…his scarf?

"Uh, Akaito, where's your scarf?" Gumi asked, leaning on the back of the couch.

"Yes, your trademark?" Gakupo said, and I nodded.

"Uh, that's the thing… I can't find it…" Akaito shrugged with a sad frown on his face.

"Oh! Y'know what? I found it in the Hatsune's room, and then I gave it to Rei-kun to put int he laundry machine!" Ted exclaimed, while snapping his fingers. "That's where it is!"

"Oh, thanks, Ted-kun!" And Akaito ran off…

There was a short silence, but Ted and Gakupo eventually went back to their game. Gumi and I looked at each other with certain interest on our faces, and I
knew we were thinking the same thing.

Why in the Hatsune's room?

Len's POV

As we rode in a cab around Tokyo, we searched for a tall, gray building called the Crypton Future Media building. It was apparently where VOCALOIDS were created and distributed, as well as where we would find Sonika to upgrade Rin.

I held my bag on my lap and Rin's hand in my left. She was always asleep or something, never waking up or even sleep-talking. When we were on the plane here, the view was incredible, and I would bet if Rin was awake, she'd love it.

"Holy crap, is this it?" Dell asked as we pulled up in front of what I assumed was the Crypton building.

"Yes, Dell-kun." Luka answered as she paid the cab driver. We all thanked him except for Dell and climbed out of the small car.

The inside of the building was massive; it probably took up two square acres of land, but what did I know?

As I carried Rin on my back, sometimes alternating with Miku or Mikuo, we made our way beyond sliding doors, winding stairs, and men and women in official-looking black suits or stark white lab coats. Luka led us into an office, that compared to the building itself, was such an extremely small fraction, you couldn't even express it.

In other words, the office was small.

I laid Rin down on the green couch that made strange noises when you touched it. I sat down next to Rin and patted her head gently; her hair was as soft as ever, and it ran so smoothly between my fingertips.

Only a bit longer, Rin. We'll help you get all better and then you won't have to go through this ever again. Just hang in there…

"Len-kun?" I looked to my right and saw Miku and Dell were there. I nodded at Miku in response and she smiled sadly, looking at Rin.

"Do you…really love Rin-chan?" she asked quietly, as if she was embarrassed, and I looked at her, my face red, but I didn't care.

"Yes, Miku-chan." I told her, and she nodded, then leaned her head on Dell's shoulder. He put his arm around her and kissed her head. I looked back down at Rin's sleeping face, serene and so calm. I wonder if she's thinking about anything right now.

"Okay, everyone."

We looked up and saw Luka stand next to a woman with pine green hair. She was tall, and looked even more mature than Luka did.

"Are you Kagamine Len?" the woman asked me, and I nodded slowly, holding onto Rin. The woman held out her hand, and I took it into mine; we shook.

"Hello there, I'm Sonika."

Moments. How long are they exactly? How long did I stare at that woman, Sonika, before realizing that she was going to save Rin? And how many moments did it take for us to walk into a room filled with machines and countless wires? A gurney. She put Rin on a gurney. Strapped her down to it. I swear if I was on that thing, I'd kill myself. It looked like she was about to kill Rin. Murder her. The opposite of what she's supposed to do. And how many moments passed while she and Luka talked to each other and Miku, Mikuo, and Dell tried to figure out what they were saying? How long was I holding onto Rin's hand that wouldn't grasp my own? How long did I watch her carefully, for the slightest bit of movement? A blink? A breath taken? A smile? How long…how many moments was Rin going to stay asleep and completely unconscious?

"Now, Len-kun, Sonika's going to start upgrading Rin-chan," Luka told me, pulling my hand away from Rin's. I looked at her blankly and stepped away, next to Miku.

"I will now upgrade Kagamine Rin from ACT1 to ACT2." Sonika announced, plugging a cord into Rin's port on the back of her neck. There were other wires stuck on Rin's arms and legs, her chest and face. And all this time, my mind was blank. Nothing came to mind except one thought.

Rin will be saved.

"Upgrade, initiate." Sonika flipped a switch on a large machine with more buttons and more switches and more levers and more buttons. The cords and wires seemed to illuminate a bright blue every now and then as we watched and waited for the upgrade to be complete.

And again, how long was it till the machine started to beep and flash rapidly?

"Oh no." Sonika breathed, running over to the machine. "How could this…?"

"What is it, Sonika?" Luka asked, suddenly alert and Sonika's face turned confused and worried, but still serious at the same time. By now, we all seemed to be on guard, waiting for Sonika to say whatever she had to say. Our heartbeats were so loud, they could echo off the walls of this small room with all the machines and wires. And then Sonika finally spoke, after flipping many switches and pressing many buttons.

"There's…there's an error, an error with the upgrade."