プレイリスト

一 ❅
二 ❅
三 ❅

I. II. III. IV. V.

ｆｕｒｉｋｏｍｅｒｕ

remonereji:

Strongly does the child pout, arms sandwiched against his torso, wrapping limbs around his chest as if giving himself a tight squeeze of a hug. Like most children do, for Len still clearly embodies the traits of one, his cheeks flame a vivid strawberry, flustering about while his brows knit together at the center of his forehead, just above the level of his eyes.

                      “Aaaah..!?? I didn’t mean it like that, you know!!”

His arms drop to his sides before an impulse brings him back to scratch the side of his cheek. The thought of having a lower set of vocal chords entices Len naturally, but not quite. In a lower voice now, crawling his appended voice bank into a small whisper he says,

                      “I’ll be one step closer to sounding more human, just like you. It’ll be smoother, and much more natural than what I’ve ever had in the past. When you hear me, you wouldn’t even think twice of me to be a piece of scrap metal.”

Stubborn brows dare never to entangle themselves as they remained furrowed across his forehead. Still, the words that came from his elder rung bells within his head. Cute, right? It is unavoidable, Len supposed. Sure it may be just a tease to pick at dead skin, but the concept remained firm in its roots. Len knew that he would forever stay at the adolescent age of a a juvenile boy. And even if Crypton did decide to fund for an adult version of Rin and Len, this particular Len would definitely be not included into this pile of Vocaloids. In fact, he might as well be considered ancient blueprints— only god knows how he still has his ACT02 within his system.

The boy lightly presses a fist against the other’s arm. This impression of his is only a subtle action that instigates a thoughtless thought.

                        “I’m not meant to have your kind of vocal range. That’s not who Len Kagamine is, yeah? If they were to do that, it’d be a different Vocaloid. I might as well call him chichi. Can you imagine that? A father? And his mirror? Kaa-chan.”

Maybe then he can at last call his mirrored twins as sisters rather than reflections, but that was already a long stretch as it is. It was a funny concept to consider, truly. Speaking it felt strange on the synth’s tongue. It is only a mere figment of wishful fiction.

                        “…so don’t you go thinking they’ll sell you out, baka-nii. They can replace as many androids as they want— they have tons of me and Rin in stock. However there’s only one of you and you’re one of a kind. Something precious. They can’t replace you no matter how hard they try. That’s how life is in the line of work. They’ll keep using you until you’re ready to retire, when your voice grows old and rusty, incomprehensible enough to barely sing a single note. Even we synthesizers have that kind of fate too, although it may not look like it now.”

_{He can’t help the smile that comes to his lips. It’s not a particularly pleasent smile, he knows that. He also knows that dwelling on such things is stupid, but he can’t help it. It’s the boy’s last words that really got to him. Saying that he was something precious. That he can’t be replaced.}

     _{❄~ “That’s very kind, Len-kun. But I don’t think it’s true.”}

_{He’s thought about it, of course, on nights where he stares at the shadows as they move slowly across the ceiling. Easy-going, cheerful Kaito, faced with thoughts of his own mortality every time he thinks of his own features copied onto the face of a man-made android. It sounds like a bad joke, doesn’t it?}

     _{❄~ “I think that I can be replaced, very easily. That’s exactly how life is in this line of work. Androids don’t age, and I do. Whenever they get too old to be used, they can be replaced, or have thier parts replaced. You can’t replace my parts when they age.”}

_{Ahhh, but what’s the point in dwelling? He can’t help it, sometimes – he supposes it’s just human nature, not that the other could know about that. He remembers a short story he read once, something he found at random when he was studying English as a High Schooler. It was a disturbing story, one of madness and paranoia, but one phrase had really resonated with him, enough that he could remember it word for word. “Bless the slack and don’t waste breath cursing the drop. A grateful heart knows that in the end we all swing.”}

_{A morbid thought, really, but wasn’t it true? Every story has an ending, and even the most beautiful song eventually fades from the air. Why bother dwelling? He has good years ahead of him, with people he enjoys and a job most people would kill for. Why can’t that be enough, even with the androids?}

     _{❄~ “But, I guess, what’s the point in complaining? It’s how life is. Maybe, one day, there won’t be any human singers. No offence meant to you, Len-kun, but I think that would be a shame.”}

_{Call him a purist, but he thinks that even if they do manage to perfectly recreate human vocals, there will always be something missing. A mechanical heart may beat and an electrical mind may dream, but not in the same was as the original thing, never in the same way.}