One Without A Heart

"Now… open your eyes"

The female robot raised her metallic lids slowly, revealing her solid eyes which were colored with a beautiful shade of blue. She would have looked like a normal girl if it wasn't for the screws on her chest, but they were easily hidden under a short sleeveless white shirt with a yellow ribbon. Her thighs had a few screws as well, covered by some darkly-colored shorts. She had arm-warmers and some leg covers, and to make her really look like an ordinary girl, a big white bow was added on top of her blond hair.

How this robot was made was said to be a miracle. However, she was still incomplete for she lacks this program. A program called "Kokoro".

Still, the scientist who made her was very pleased with his creation. He put up a lot of effort to finish his robot. Now, he has to concentrate on finishing the program Kokoro.

"From now on, you shall be called 'Kagamine Rin'…" the scientist told her. "Now, tell me your name again."

The robot slowly opened her mouth to speak. "Vocaloid 02, Kagamine Rin," She said lifelessly. She had a beautiful voice, which was one of the things the scientist concentrated on.

The scientist smiled, very thrilled with his work. He gave her a pat on the head. "Very good… and I am?"

The robot looked at him, her face still expressionless. "You are my creator… my master."

The scientist gave out a small laugh. "Yeah… I am, but you could just call me doctor. Can you say that?"

The robot named Rin paused for a while, analyzing and storing the new information in her memory. After a while she spoke. "Doctor…"

~o~

"Doctor…" Rin called, carrying a tray in her hands.

The scientist's eyes flew open, and then he scrambled up to his feet sending some of his paperwork in the air. "Oh crap, I've slept for two hours now!" he exclaimed, grabbing the fallen pieces of paper.

"According to my research, humans should sleep for at least eight hours or so. You should have some proper rest, doctor." Rin said, putting the tray down the empty space on the scientist's work table. She got down on her knees and helped in picking up the paperwork.

The scientist laughed a bit, pushing his glasses up with one finger. He got back to his seat and watched Rin collect the fallen papers. "You see, Rin… I can't relax right now. I still have something to finish."

Rin finished picking the papers up. She arranged them neatly before handing them to the scientist. "And what is that, doctor?" she asked.

"It's a program called 'Kokoro'…" the scientist answered.

"Kokoro?" Rin asked.

"Yes…" the scientist answered. He bent down a bit to make eye contact with Rin. "In other words, it's your heart." He added, patting Rin on the head.

"Heart?"

The scientist nodded. "I want to let you know what it is like to feel different emotions. You know happiness, sadness, anger, fright, gratitude, love… I want you to experience what it is like to be a human."

"I do not understand…" Rin said.

The scientist laughed. "Soon you will…" then he went back to his work. "I have to finish this quickly…"

But…

Hundreds of years later…

Rin was now left all alone inside the abandoned laboratory, still without a heart of her own. Though she had a lot of scratches and she looked like a used robot, she was still functioning properly.

"The doctor… He said he was working on it" she said to no one in particular. She looked around the dusty room and her eyes found the computer the scientist used before. She slowly approached it and turned it on. Surprisingly, it still worked.

"Rin, do you remember the 'Kokoro' program?"

"Yes, I do, doctor. What about it?"

"I know I promised you that I would finish it, but…"

The weak scientist started coughing, and blood came out from his throat. Rin saw the blood.

"Doctor, you are sick. You need to be attended to immediately. If not the disease will spread and might lead to death."

The scientist's eyes suddenly filled with tears. He brought Rin into a hug.

"Doctor, is there something wrong with my analysis?"

The scientist started sobbing.

"I'm sorry… Let me tell you this, thank you. Thank you."

"Identification…" the computer's screen lit up with those words.

Rin leaned her hands on the keyboards and said, "Vocaloid 02… Kagamine Rin."

The monitor suddenly turned black, and the word ERROR appeared on the screen in red colors.

"Error… Error…"

"What? This can't be… It's impossible to have any errors." Rin told herself. She started to move her hands swiftly across the keys, and after a while, the error sign disappeared and the screen turned back to its normal state.

"Error fixed… Now installing, the program 'Kokoro'…"

Rin closed her eyes as she waited for the program to finish installing.

"Rin… The program 'Kokoro', it might be too much for you. I only have little time left."

The scientist said. He was near his death.

"You might not be able to handle it…"

After a few minutes, the program finished installing. When Rin opened her eyes, she felt a wet substance stream down her face. She felt her whole body trembling.

"W-why? Why am I crying?" she asked herself. "Why am I trembling? Is this what I wanted? Kokoro?"

She began crying as her memories from the past came rushing back to her.

"Kokoro… This is… Kokoro…"

"Rin… I want you to practice this song."

The scientist held out some pieces of white paper to Rin. He smiled warmly at her.

Rin took the papers and examined it.

"What is this, doctor?"

"It's a song…"

The scientist patted her on the head.

"Song…"

Rin paused for a while, analyzing.

"A musical composition made for the human voice… Doctor, I am not a human. I do not understand."

The scientist gave out a small laugh.

"Someday you will… With the help of the 'Kokoro' program. Now, you know how to sing, right?"

Rin nodded once.

"Now, I'll teach you how to sing this song."

"Yes, doctor…"

The scientist reached out his hand. Rin just stared at it. There was silence between them, broken by the scientist's laugh.

"My, seems like you still don't know what to do…"

He took Rin's hand in his.

"Come on… I'll show you to a place where I love to relax when I'm stressed."

The scientist took her to a place by the hills where the grass was soft and green and the sky was blue, mixed with the white of clouds rolling by. You could see the city clearly from there.

"This is my favorite place…"

Rin walked out of the old building and into the dusty streets. "I must go to that place…" she told herself.

"Now… I understand…" she said softly. "Why you created me. Why I was brought to this world."

"Doctor…"

Rin looked at the scientist lifelessly.

"Yes, Rin"?

The scientist turned from his work to face Rin who stared at him.

"According to the data stored in my memory, humans have this so-called… family. I've just observed that the doctor doesn't seem to have one."

The scientist smiled sadly.

"You see, Rin… I have no family."

"It must be sad…" she started, walking up to the hill. She looked around her. The grass was no longer green; the city that used to be beautiful was now a big mess due to the hundreds of years that passed, when there were no people to take care of it.

She cried a bit from the sight, but when she looked up she felt a bit happy. The sky was still as blue as before. The clouds were still white, beautifully rolling by.

"It must be sad…" she said again. "…to be alone. That's why you created me."

She began to remember her past with the scientist. She cried and cried. "When I was with you before… Why? I didn't even hold your hand back. I didn't talk to you properly. I never thanked you. I never told you… how much you mean to me."

She closed her eyes and smiled. "So now… I will sing. Forever, I will sing for you."

She moved her lips and began singing. Her voice was beautiful.

"Thank you for bringing me into this world! Thank you for showing me kindness! Thank you for giving me life!"

She opened her eyes and looked in front of her. This hill also happens to be where the grave of the scientist was located. She smiled some more and continued to sing.

"Arigatou… Arigatou…"

But, after a while, her system snapped. The 'Kokoro' program was too much for her to handle. Her system malfunctioned. Her eyes closed, before she fell down on the ground.

And then she never opened her eyes again.

But, although this happened, a smile was still visible on her lips. She was happy, to know what it's like to be a human even for a few moments.

And on the gravestone, on the edge of the hill where the scientist lies, was the name: 'Kagamine Len'.