A/N: Thanks for you reviews, guys. Really! "Project: VOCALOID" has a surprise for you later on! ;D

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Chapter 3

Rin

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Kaito's POV

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"You left him there?"

I gulped.

"Well, see-"

Nami slammed the cupboard and glared at me. "Nuh-uh! I don't want hear it!" Boy, she was steaming mad."You just left your brother stranded on the road and told him to run the rest of the way. Almost nine miles." she said through clenched teeth. "Were you even aware of the storm forecast? His asthma could turn fatal!" I hung my head in shame.

"Listen, Kaito," Dad began, "We understand you and Len don't get along well... but what happened between you two that made you abandon him?" My anger came back and I immediately scowled.

"His tongue is what happened." I said, "Because of him, my history teacher is in the hospital!" The story spilled from my mouth. I told them about Tei and how the brat hurt her into assaulting my friends. They were surprised, but didn't show the support I'd hoped for.

Nami sighed, "Len-kun might've said unnessary things, lord knows he could be more gentlemanly..." then, she shook her head. "But what he did doesn't excuse your actions."

"But-" I tried to protest.

"Two wrongs don't make a right." Dell said sternly.

I sighed.

"You're right... I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, buster. We're disappointed in you."

Dell fixed his glasses. "Just find Len and bring him back." He snapped his fingers and immediately, a whirring dinobot appeared. "Take R3000, he'll track him down." GachapoidR3000 chirped as if excited to tag along. I laughed.

"He?" A snort escaped from me, "R3000 is a robot, it's an it, not a 'he!" The dinobot's eyes became misty, as if hurt.

Dad ignored that, sipping his coffee, "Use my hovercar." he tossed me the keys.

"Let's go, unit." R3000 perked to attention and floated after me. I grabbed my coat and shoes before heading into the garage. "Man, I can't believe this." I mumbled, opening the door to dad's sleek-gray hovercar. "To think I'm taking most of the blame because of shota." I started the engine up and moved the vehicle onto the driveway. "Of all the..."

Gachapoid chirped beside me in the shotgun seat.

"Oh, can it." We drove down the road and re-traced the school path. "Alright, I hope we don't run into any of your kind." I said to the robot, who starting bopping on my head. "The last thing I need is a horde of metal-headed pirahnas scratching up dad's car-h-hey, hey! Don't eat my hair!" Gachapoid, apparently oblivious to what I said, beeped and began gnawing my hair playfully.

I sighed, "Sometimes, I forget you're a dinobot."

General POV

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Two children stood amidst in the rain. One was a ill-humored boy with a begotten reputation. The other a mysterious girl in rags.

"Who are you?" Len asked the girl, but received no reply. "Who are you?" he repeated. She answered with a stare. He finally snapped, "Are you deaf? Who the hell are you?" People would have a natural reaction to flinch at this harsh demeanor, especially if it belonged to a one no older than a child. The girl, however, was unnerved and kept silent. He gave up and stepped back inside.

Len felt awkward sitting on the bed. The mattress was hard as a rock and not at all uncomfortable. The dark room was so moldy and full of dust that he kept sneezing. He saw the girl was still sitting outside. From his perspective, it looked she had been there for hours. Sheets of heavy rain pounded from above, forever staining the windows. For a few quiet moments, he sat there on the bed and waited.

Twenty minutes had passed and nothing changed. The rain hadn't stopped and the girl hadn't spoke or even bothered to come inside. Len snorted. Hmph, she was practically asking to catch a fever in this god-ridden weather.

Grrr…

His stomach rumbled. It then occurred to him how hungry he was. He grumbled a bit at the thought of having to miss dinner. But feeling starved, he reached into his jacket pocket and found his beloved stash of confectionery. No one but his mother knew he had quite the sweet tooth. He denied sugary treats despite loving it. His favorite were banana taffies. But all he had in his hands at the moment were hard orange candies. Sighing, he unwrapped one before popping it into his mouth.

It was until she turned to find Len munching noisily. Interest dawned on her when something mouth-wateringly sweet filled the air. He noticed she was staring at him and glanced down at his candies.

"What? You want this?" he asked, displaying an orange piece.

Of course, she didn't answer.

He got to his feet and walked back to the platform. Somewhat reluctant, he dropped the piece into her clasped palms and waited for her to eat it. She looked down at her hands, appearing at a lost.

Len rolled his eyes and sighed. He impatiently snatched it back and tore the wrapping before pushing the candy to her lips. She put a hand to her chin hesitantly. "Eat it, you dope." he hissed before forcing her jaw open and pushing it in. Her teeth unexpectedly clamped down and smashed it to pieces. Her eyes widened slightly at the taste. The flavor was startlingly explosive and addictive, with tangy, bittersweet juices quenched her dry mouth.

"Mm..." she made a small noise of satisfaction.

Honestly, girls nowadays. He scoffed and walked back into the dry shelter, "If it tastes good, you just can say so. And anyway, why are you sitting out here? You'll freeze to death." He motioned her forward. To his surprise, she stood to her feet and followed. Though, he pretended to look passive. "Anyway, it's considered rude not to mention your name... especially to your guests." he paused. "What are you doing?" Her hands were currently rustling through his pockets, as if searching for something. "H-Hey!" He moved away.

The girl, however, continued to rumage through his jacket. She found what she was looking for; orange candies. Len suddenly had an idea. Before she managed to eat the first one, he grabbed it and held it up teasingly above her mouth.

"You like them, huh? Well, they're mine and I'm the one who decides whether or not to share." he said. She pitifully tried reaching for it, only to have him bring it further away.

"Ah, ah. Nope. You're not getting one until you tell me who you are." Len stated. He pocketed the rest of the candy and looked at her. "My name is Kagamine Len. I come from a line of wealthy and talented people such as myself. My mother is Nami, her maiden name is Kisaki."

"As for my father...," he paused, "Well, you haven't earned the right to know about him yet." His back leaned against the pale wall and he looked at her uninterestedly. "Since I'm so bored, you have to tell me about yourself. Otherwise, no candy." He said. The girl stared weakly before a thoughtful look suddenly appeared. She rose to her feet and lifted her head to the ceiling. Her lips parted.

"Wo... ist?" she asked dazedly.

(Where is?)

Len was startled to her speak. He honestly hadn't expected her to say anything. It brought relief to hear her at least something at last. She then started walking towards the door. He blinked and stood up. "Hey, where are you off to?" She started down the stairs and he stumbled after her. "Hey!" She was already half-way down and he ran to keep up with her. The door swung open and she stepped out to the pounding rain.

Len didn't know where she was going in this weather, but the last thing he wanted was to be left alone in a creaky, broken-down lighthouse. Heavy rain pounded below and the wind slapped against his soaked clothes. His legs tore through the tall grass blanketed with mud.

"Hey!" he shouted.

The girl was a few feet beyond his reach. She walked through the field with graceful ease. She didn't seem to pay mind to the rain falling down her face. Wet hair plastered to her face and her skin reddened from the stingy wind. Her swollen lips moved ceaselessly in soundless chants. Her words were of a foreign language he couldn't comprehend.

The two traveled to the city streets, which were currently empty due to weather conditions. The wanderer (as Len decided to dub her) looked down road gutters, climbed rooftops, and searched in alleys, as if looking for something important. She was relentless, it seemed, to find that certain item (or person). But no matter how high or low she searched, she couldn't find it. Len constantly wondered what object was so significant that she had to go looking for it in this weather.

Len tried multiple times to get her to stop and try looking for a storm refuge instead. But she would ignore him and resume wandering the grey city of Metropolis. He growled impatiently and enclosed himself in his jacket even tighter. Since he lived in the East suburbs, he didn't visited Metropolis very often. His father had taken him to visit the city once when he was five, but he couldn't remember much about it.

'What a dumb girl. Seriously, who in the right mind takes a stroll in weather like this?' A spasm of anger shook his muscles. 'I'm damn cold for crying out loud.' Maybe it would've been a better idea if he had stayed in the lighthouse instead. Len suddenly stopped when his chest began to tighten uncomfortably. He gasped and found it harder to breathe properly. Great, his asthma was acting up again. He reached into his pocket to grab his inhaler but couldn't find it. With a groan, he realized it must've fallen out.

"Damn it." Len's normally clear voice came out in a throaty wheeze. He clutched his left breast.

The wandering girl led him to the city backstreets where dinobots thrived. Dinobots were snappish things with dinosaur-like characteristics. They resembled scaly bowling balls with antannaes sticking out of their heads. At first, their existence served as toy pets made from scrap metal. They ate garbage that they efficiently turned into fuel. Extraodinary concept, until Crypton officials customized them to be police machines that devour their victims, mostly stray animals and defective runaway robots. A wave of nausea settled in Len's stomach when he thought about what a dinobot would do if they encountered one.

They stopped at a dead-end, much to Len's chagrin.

"You...!" he rasped harshly, "Look where we are now! Do you have any idea how-"

A sudden growl interrupted him.

The children found themselves looking at a savage dinobot lingering in the shadows. Its jade spheres glared at them menacingly and an ebony screen opened to portray sharp, jagged teeth ready to gnash them to pieces. But the worst thing Len saw was seeing black liquid oozing from its fangs. 'Crap,' he thought, 'it's infected.' His eyes narrowed and he backed away before taking up an iron pipe from the side. He was scared but attempted to hide it by brandishing it like a sword. The dinobot snarled but moved away. For a moment, he felt triumphant. But then, the girl decided to walk up and reach out to the dinobot.

"Moron! Don't go near it!"

The dinobot lunged forward with a raging cry and clamped its jaws down on the outstretched hand. Shock ensued. She dropped her gaze to her bleeding fingers. For the first time ever, she showed emotion. Seeing this, an unfamiliar fierceness gripped Len and he took a blind swing at the machine, missing. It screeched, however, and bolted back into the darkness.

Suddenly, a pack of snapping dinobots came. They looked very dangerous, growling and hissing. Coughing, Len quickly grabbed the girl's arm and they backed up against the wall. A searing pain ripped through his lungs.

Len gasped and fell to the ground. 'Of all times, an asthma attack? It... hurts!' He moaned painfully and clenched his throbbing chest. A wave of dizziness overcame him- no, he had to get up. Otherwise, they were doomed. The first dinobot plunged, roaring as it bit into the girl's arm. She didn't make a sound. Two more lunged at her and started chewing her skin. '...They're going to eat her.' he realized, '... then, I'll be next.' "G-get away-!" a violent spasm encolsed his lungs and he nearly screamed.

Everything happened at once.

Her skin shred apart, revealing metal armor instead. A strong current of electricity flashed through her steel arms and flared. Electricity. She gripped one of the dinobots. Wild shrieks erupted.

It exploded into pieces.

With superhuman strength, she broke free from the grasp. Part of her face showed metal, and her left eye was, in fact, fully blue bionic eye. Screaming dinobots flung themselves at her. Mechanically, the girl grabbed and viciously tore them apart, even going so far as crushing them with her bare hands as if they were mere flies instead of vicious human-eating robots. A dead look entranced her as she raised a bloody hand and revealed a metal device hidden underneath the skin. It looked like a gaping hole with a charging blue beam.

BOOM!

Shockwaves flew forth and came in contact with the dinobots. The electricity danced around their bodies as they screeched, froze, and finally, shut down. They fell the ground. Len watched her fight in weary astonishment. Fear and hatred filled him as he realized something about this girl.

"Robot..." he gasped just before he fainted.

Kaito's POV

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Gachapoid is probably the only non-hostile dinobot in Metropolis. It's pricey, but harmless. Unlike dinobots nowadays, it's very tamed and eager to please. To be honest, I favor it over most greasy metal-heads.

It beeped several times before plugging itself into the automated dashboard. A blue projecter popped up and showed me the coordinates of where the brat was. I squinted, looking at the virtual grey buildings. "He's in Metropolis?" Unbelievable, he must've ran far. The system showed he was currently moving on Main street. I swerved the wheel into the next lane and headed towards the city limits. Heavy sheets of rain pounded on my windshield. The weather was murky and dark, I could barely see ahead of me. With a click of a button, the hovercar ascended and whooshed through the fog.

Meiko and I visited the city several times during sophomore year. We both agreed it had to be the coolest place in the world. Despite the annoying robot overpopulation, the city breathed with majestic authority and excitement. There were loads of attractions to visit. For instance, Imperial Mall is a rad location to shop, do stupid things that get you into trouble, and pull pranks. The best part was riding the sky trams, much better than buses and trains in the 20th century.

Yup, those were the days.

The grand city came into view. I grinned. It was a beauty, even in a rainstorm. I especially liked how the fog curved the titanium buildings. It was like staring at a grey city in the sky, surrounded by clouds. Everything about Metropolis is glorious, just like a kingdom. "We're heading in." The vehicle descended towards shota's location. A big yawn escaped me and I suddenly wished I had brought along a bowl of rocky-road ice cream to keep me awake.

We landed in the middle of Main street and stepped out of the hovercar. I pulled the hood over my head and said to Gachapoid, "Get tracking. The faster we find shota, the faster we can go home." It looked at me with large beady eyes before bolting to the task. It paced the air in full concentration.

"Bleep!" Suddenly, its antannae flashed green. Gachapoid perked and started beeping excitedly. That was fast.

"What? You found him?" Gachapoid nodded and headed off into a certain direction. I ran after it as it swerved in random directions. Then, it stopped, almost causing me to crash right into it. As I was about to scold it, a looming figure walked towards us. I paused and squinted through the fog to see who it was.

A girl, no older than Len, approached. She was nothing but skin and bones and looked incredibly grimy. But what surprised me most was discovering the brat being carried in her arms, mud-soaked and unconsious. Without a moment's hesitation, I shouted, "Hey!" She stopped and stared at me. A shudder ran up my spine as her steel gaze bore into me. "Excuse me, miss. That guy you're carrying is my brother." I said, "If you don't mind, I'll just take him back-" Just as I tried to take shota, she suddenly moved away. Her stare hardened.

A silence.

I narrowed my eyes, "I didn't want it to come to this, but... Go, R3000! Attack!" Copper fangs poked out from behind the dinobot's snarling mouth. Its usual friendly demeanor turning abrasive. The girl became alert and rose her fist in a challenging gesture. I breathed and felt the intensity between the two. Gachapoid charged and opened its jaws, ready to bite down on her head...!

"Raaar!"

Then, it trilled cheerily and started bopping on her head,.

Fail.

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"Oh my!" Nami gasped as soon as she saw us coming in with the unconscious brat. "My baby!" she wailed and practically knocked me aside before cradling his body in her arms. "Who did such a cruel thing to you? Oh, my sweetheart... my only baby!" she looked at me accusingly. "Kaito-kun!"

"Wha- it wasn't me!" I protested, "he was already like that!"

"Len-kuuuuun!" she wailed.

Dad came in and leaned against the doorframe. "So you found him, it seems." Just as I was about to reply, the weird girl walked in. Dad's eyebrows raised. My face flushed.

"Hey! I told you to stay in the car!"

Nami rose from the floor. "Ah, who's this?" Gachapoid circled the girl's head, trilling and chewing her head. She didn't react. I sighed and shrugged.

"Beats me. She was carrying Len when I found them."

"Goodness." Nami, being the overly-protective mother she was, touched the girl's cheeks gently. "You're all scratched up... and look how thin you are!" she exclaimed in horrified awe, "It's because you've been protecting my son, right?" I rose a brow.

How did she come up with that idea?

"Don't just stand there, you must be freezing! Please come in!" she urged, pulling the girl in. "You can use our bathroom to wash up- ah, silly me, you'd like a bath, right? I'll help you." Quickly, they headed into one of the floor's bathrooms as dad gave Len to the robotic butlers He instructed them to put in his room, change his wet clothes, and properly care for him. The butlers beeped in mechincal obedience before rolling away.

"Where did you find her?" Dad asked as he watched the robots carry Shota off to his room.

"You mean that girl?"

"Yes."

"Well," I said as I ran a hand through my slick hair, "Me and the unit were on Main street, Metropolis. We saw her approaching, and she was carrying Len in her arms." I paused, "But how did that happen?" Dad simply sipped his coffee, shrugging. Minutes later, Nami came back. Apparently, she didn't look too happy.

"She's rather quiet," she said, referring to the girl. "She wouldn't tell me her name or where her parents are. The robots are taking care of her right now." I shrugged.

"Maybe she's shy."

"Or maybe she's a poor, abused child! You've seen her! There's bruises covering her from head to toe, she can hardly walk, and for heaven's sake! She looks like she's been starved! And...! And her clothes!" she sniffled, "What kind of parent would treat their child like trash? How horrible!" Melodramatic cries escaped the distressed woman. Dad got up and tried to soothe her.

"Nami, calm down."

"Calm down! You're telling me to calm down when I've seen the girl's body? I won't calm down, I can't calm down!"

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions. I'll call the police and see if I can find a missing persons report. In the meantime, why don't you go to the kitchen and make some cookies and tea for our guest. I'm sure she'd like that." Nami's mood lightened enough considerably to where she managed to stop crying. She managed to smile just a little bit.

"I can use my grandma's old recipe; snickerdoodles and lemon tea. Do you think she'd like that?" Dad nodded, patting his wife as if she were a child.

"Of course." I sighed and yawned, stretching lazily on the couch. I had been planning to go upstairs and check up on the brat, but I decided to stay for Nami's world-famous snickerdoodles. My eyes wandered upstairs where that girl was. I frowned. There was still one thing that bothered me.

Who was she?

General POV

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GachapoidR3000 was excited.

Why, you might ask?

It's because a playmate has come to visit the Kagamine mansion. Oh, yes. Her hair was the prettiest and softest, pretty and soft enough for his tiny metal fangs to gnaw on. She never cried or got angry no matter what he did, unlike all humans, and best of all, she smelled wonderful. Oh yes, she smelled something like ocean salt mixed with oil. It was heavenly.

Gachapoid tittered and promptly began bouncing on top of the girl's head, much to the annoyance of the copper-headed butlers, who were busily trying to scrub out the mud from her hair by pouring a whole bottle of 2-in-1 shampoo. The others scrubbed down her back with soaps and towels. Bubbles mixed around the giant green tub. All the machines crowded and bustled around her, pushing and shoving. Of course, she just sat there quietly.

They ushered her out of the tub and dressed her into a spare change of clothes; yellow polyester pajamas (previously belonged to mistress Nami in her younger days). Gachapoid, eager to please, stole a comb from master Kaito's room and quickly started combing her hair, trilling as his fat metal body floated up and down. This was very curious indeed. Afterwards, the robots scattered, leaving Gachapoid alone with the mysterious guest.

Gachapoid, programmed to be the friendly household pet, beeped and started eating her hair again (as it was a dinobot's habitual way of showing affection). The girl stared ahead, unmoving. Black eyes glowed in happiness. How pleasant, the she-guest wasn't complaining. He rather liked her. She wasn't anything like his masters... especially not like master Len. Oh yes, master Len was scary indeed. All the household machines knew how much he despised robots.

It was until she noticed an open door across the hallway. Interested, she walked over and stepped inside the dark room. Gachapoid immediately recognized the room and trilled warningly around her head, trying to get her to leave.

"Who's there?" A raspy voice asked. R3000 froze, then melted to the ground in horror. In the shadows, there was a person laying in the bed. He got up and squinted through the dark before reaching over to the nightstand and putting something on his face. A gasp. "You!" The lights flashed on and the person was revealed to be none other than Len, red-faced and sickly. He looked angry nonetheless. "What the hell are you doing in my room? Get out!"

The girl blinked. "... Out." she repeated.

"Yes, out! Get out of my room, you... you robot!"

"Out... my... r-roooooom." Len stopped, confused. "R-Roooo... bot." she drawled out, her face scrunching slightly. Len blinked, squinting at her through his glasses. Then, he rolled his eyes before plopping back against the bed.

"Don't tell me. You can't speak Japanese."

She tilted her head at him.

"Don't. y-you... yoooooooooou. Japa. N-nese..."

Great, after today, he gets stuck with a robot who looks human, caused him trouble, but not only that... it's a foreign robot. People probably wouldn't believe him if he said she was a robot anyway. He sighed. Whatever.

"Alright. Who are you? Do you even have a name?"

"... You name?"

He sighed.

"Look," he sat up and patted his chest, "My name is Kagamine Len. I'm 14 years old." he pointed at her, "and you?"

"... and you?"

"Look, I'm Len." He pointed at himself. "I... am... Len."

"I am Len." He sighed. What an annoyance. "I am... Len!"

"No. I'm Len. I'm asking who you are."

"... I am who?"

"Hmph. At least we're finally getting somewhere."

Then, he noticed something. Within the folds of her clothing, there was something imprinted on shoulder. Without thinking, he reached rolled up the sleeve and in gray English letters, it said;

VOCALOID 02

RIN

The letters were faint, but clear enough for him to read.

"Rin."

Immediately, the girl perked up. She got on the bed and crawled towards Len. He was startled- no, freaked out was the better term when she started unbuttoning his shirt. "H-hey, hey, wait... what are you doing! Hey!" He reddened. Something unexpected happened.

She reached out and touched his heart.

An electrifying jolt traveled down his spine. Then, she lowered herself and pressed her head against his left breast and gently kneaded his shoulder. He did not protest this time. He blinked in realization. She was listening to his heart-beat. It was the most intimate contact he allowed from someone else besides his mother. Embarrassed, he immediately shoved her off, causing her to exclaim.

"... I suppose I should thank you." he grumbled.

She tilted her head. "...?"

"I won't tell anyone your secret," Len said, still slightly flushed and crossing his arms, "but don't misunderstand." he narrowed his eyes, "I absolutely hate you, robot. What I really want to do is turn you in to the recycling center... but I'm indebted to you." He narrowed his eyes. "But after today, I don't ever want to see your face again." 'Rin' blinked several times.

It was then Gachapoid magically appeared out of nowhere... and started eating Len's hair!

Oh my!

A/N: Random ending. I know. LOL. Of course... that won't be the last Len will see of our beloved Rin. :D

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