Hey Everybody,

just wanted to start off real quick by saying that i am very proud of this story. I've never written anything longer or deeper than this. i started writing this during my block on my other story, Pink & Teal. which i will get back to soon. but until then i hope you all enjoy reading this story as much as i enjoyed writing it, or even more. XD

Thanks to IdrewAcow for beta-reading, and for all her help during the writing process.

I Love reading and responding to reviews. so with that, Read on.

Teal colored eyes slowly opened, awaking from their slumber. They scanned the room; white, same as always. Everything was extremely clean. Even if you tried you wouldn't find a single piece of dust anywhere. The sole occupant lifted herself into a sitting position on the bed. She looked around taking in the familiar environment. There were several monitors and other various kinds of medical equipment, in the exact place they had been for years.

She looked to her left and on the other side of the glass wall that separated her room and the hallway; she watched as a few people dressed in white coats were walking the halls on their usual routines as she had seen many times. Then she looked slightly to the right of the wall where the door to her room would have been. In its place was a decontamination chamber. It contained a number of white suits that would completely cover a person's body when worn.

Yes, Miku Hatsune was in a hospital, as she had been for her entire life. She had been diagnosed at a very early age with an extremely rare disease that basically left her with a useless immune system. Even the smallest bacteria would render her incredibly sick, sometimes on the verge of death. It was this reason why she lived in the hospital. Because of her condition she was monitored and had tests taken regularly to see if there was any hope of a cure, or at least treatment. Miku sincerely hoped that a cure could be found, but she had remained in 'clean rooms' for sixteen years.

The room she was in was quite a bit larger than usual hospital rooms. It was only natural as it was the only room Miku was allowed to be in. The teal haired girl got out of the bed and did a few stretches, and then began walking around the room. She walked over to where there was a small exercise bench, and a treadmill. The thought of herself becoming 'Large' due to no movement was out of the question. She actually was quite thin. Petite, even.

She then moved on to a corner of the room where a television was placed along with a love-seat couch, a chair, a table and a few game consoles. Being alone can be boring so she needed things to eat up her time. The tealette made her way over to the window that looked outside. The view, by normal standards wasn't anything special, but it was to Miku. There were a few trees, a small pond and in the distance she could see the taller buildings of the city a few miles away. She would often spend hours just watching as clouds would slowly make their way across the sky, as planes were coming in to land at the local airport, or as cars made their daily commute into the city for various reasons. Even when it was a stormy day, Miku would simply gaze outside at the rain, listening to it patter on the thick glass separating her from it. Lightning was a favorite of hers. It was so fascinating the way it would crash on the ground or streak across the sky.

Miku then went to her favorite corner of the room. Sitting alone was a black piano. She would spend so much time sitting in front of the ivory keys. Music was her one true passion. She loved to play and she loved to sing. Even if it was only herself that would hear. That often wasn't the case though. On the floor directly above her was the children's ward, and Miku would occasionally receive letters written by the children who would listen to her music explaining how much they loved her songs. These always made the tealette happy. It was one of her few connections to the outside world. She would write back to the kids, thanking them. But they were usually never in the hospital long enough for friendships to be made.

Miku took a look at the calendar hanging on the wall; August 31st. Today was Miku's birthday. She was seventeen now. It'd supposed to be a happy occasion with a party and friends and presents, but not for her. She couldn't have a party because of all the germs and such. She might receive a gift from the hospital staff. Last year they had gotten her the new game console and a few games for her to play. She enjoyed playing the games, but it was always better if there was another person for her to share the fun with.

A lot of times she would spend time with her nurse, Haku. She was a kind person who had known Miku since she started to work at the hospital a few years back. The teal haired girl considered her to be a close friend. Speaking of her, she had just entered the decontamination chamber and was putting on the suit needed to be in Miku's room. The door opened and she came in.

"Good morning Miku. I have your breakfast here." She smiled at the teal girl, as she carried in a tray of food and placed it on the table.

"Morning. Thanks, I'm starved." The tealette walked over to the table, sat in the chair, and began eating. There was a bowl of cereal, some toast, and a glass of orange juice; all of which were safe for her to eat.

"So, how are you feeling today?"

"Fine. Same as usual."

"That's good, would you like to watch some TV?"

"Sure."

Haku turned on the television and switched to the news broadcast. She knew the teal haired girl liked to hear what was going on in the world even though she wasn't really a part of it. They were talking about the weather when the channel switched over, saying how it was going to be a beautiful day and whatnot. After the weather report, the news anchors started talking about an upcoming Luka Megurine concert. Miku stopped eating and watched the screen as they gave information about the show while clips of previous performances played.

Luka was extremely talented; not only as a singer but a dancer as well. She commanded the stage when she was on it. She was a worldwide sensation. And Miku loved her songs as well. She had most of them on her mp3 player. There was something special about her voice.

Her thought was interrupted by a beeping sound coming from inside Haku's suit.

"Oh, I'm being paged. I gotta go Miku. Sorry, but I'll see you later. And happy birthday, dear." She offered a smile as she made her way back into the decon chamber and began taking off the protective suit. Miku turned back towards the TV but they had already moved on to something else. She was slightly disappointed, but continued to watch nevertheless; learning about other things going on in the world.

It was noon-ish now and Miku had been alone since Haku left that morning. The teal girl had occupied her time mostly by gazing out the window. She wished she could go outside but knew that it was not possible. She often imagined all the sorts of things she would do if her dream were to come true. Just then a knock was heard on the glass wall. Miku turned around and saw a girl she had not been expecting to see, and upon the surprise of seeing her, a big smile made its way onto her face.

"Luka!"

The pinkette waved at her through the glass and then walked into the decon room. Miku anxiously waited for the long process to be over. When it finally was and the pink haired girl entered the room she was immediately embraced in a big hug. Luka happily returned the gesture.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well I came to see you, silly. I mean, it is your birthday. How could I not?"

"You remembered!" Miku was so happy at this moment, she didn't even care that the pinkette was wearing a protective suit.

"Of course I remembered. I even got you this." She brought up a small box that that she thankfully had not dropped when she was suddenly hit by the teal blur. "Happy Birthday, Miku!"

"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything."

"What are you talking about? People get presents on their birthdays. So go on and open it."

"Okay!" Miku was very excited, as she ripped the decorative paper off the box. Free of its wrapping, the small white box held in the tealette's hand was slowly opened, and inside was something that caused Miku's eyes to sparkle more than the object itself. She reached a hand in and delicately pulled out the gift. It was a necklace with a small pink butterfly that glimmered as the light passed through the jewels.

"Oh my… It's beautiful! Luka… I don't know what to say. Thank you so much, I love it!"

"You're very welcome sweetheart. And that's kind of only half the present. See, I had two of them made. One pink, and the other teal." The pinkette brought a hand up to her chest. "I have the teal colored one, and I'm going to wear it all the time." She smiled shyly as she observed the reaction on the teal girl's face.

"… Luka…" a happy tear started to stream down her cheek, only to be wiped away by the plastic-like feel of Luka's covered hand. She embraced the pink haired girl once again, and held it for several minutes. They eventually parted and Miku offered the necklace to Luka.

"Would you mind putting it on me?"

"Sure."

Miku turned around and Luka wrapped the necklace around her neck fastening at the back. The teal girl turned to face the pinkette and gave a smile before rushing off to look at herself in the mirror. The necklace hung delicately between her collar bones. It contrasted lovely with her teal colored hair and eyes.

"So what do you want to do today, Miku?"

"I don't know. Anything I guess. As long as you're here I'm happy no matter what."

The two girls smiled at each other. They had met about a year and a half ago. Well, maybe closer to two years. Luka had come to the hospital as the result of a stage accident while rehearsing one night when she tripped on a cable and sprained her ankle. She noticed the large room at the end of the hall with its glass wall, and a girl playing the piano. She was curious and made her way over to the girl on her newly acquired crutches. She had reached the room and the sound of the girl's playing was able to pierce through the glass where Luka could hear it.

The girl playing the melodies had her back towards the pinkette and was not aware that anyone was watching her. She continued to bring out the tones and chords that made up a simple tune that Luka found quite pleasant. She stood there admiring the teal haired girl until the song's conclusion, at which point she turned around and noticed she had an audience. And not just any audience, it was Luka Megurine. The tealette ran over to the glass and stared at the famous songstress.

Luka smiled at the teal haired girl wondering why she was in such a room to begin with. She looked to her left and noticed a decontamination area, and she wondered if this girl had some crazy disease, like small pox, or the plague. But that thought was quickly pushed out of her mind as the petite girl had no trace of bumps on her smooth pale skin. And she also looked very healthy. She couldn't figure it out. She was approached by a nurse with long silver hair.

"Her name is Miku Hatsune. She has a rare Immunodeficiency. She can't come into contact with any kind of bacteria or she'll become incredibly sick."

"That's so sad." Luka looked at the nurse with a frown. Meanwhile Miku just watched as the two pairs of lips communicated with one another. Then the nurse caught her attention she was making a gesture that seemed to be asking for permission to enter the room. The teal girl nodded and the two outsiders made their way over to decon and eventually came into Miku's room. Luka was unable to bring her crutches in and was limping along with the help of nurse Haku.

"You're Luka Megurine! I love your music."

"Well, thank you. It's nice to meet you."

The three of them went over and sat around the table in the room and talked for a while, mostly about Miku. Luka learned that the tealette had spent her whole life in this hospital. How she was an orphan, and how she loved to play the piano. She seemed like a perfectly happy teenage girl, despite the fact that she was isolated from the rest of the world. They chatted for close to three hours until Haku warned them that visiting hours were about to be over.

They said their goodbyes and Luka promised to return. And just like she promised, she did. She continued to come every once in a while when she could fit it into her busy schedule. They became friends, best friends even. They would share music with each other; Luka sometimes playing brand new, not yet released tracks for the tealette. The only unfortunate part was that Miku was always separated from Luka. Even in something as simple as a hug goodbye, between the two was a barrier that if not kept would result in disaster for the teal haired girl.

They sat on the couch together simply talking. It had been a while since they had seen each other as Luka was doing some concerts overseas. Miku was curious about what Luka had been doing during their time apart.

"...and then we were driving down the road and there was this huge car explosion just down the street! It was soooo big!"

"No way! Was anybody hurt?"

"Actually as it turns out, they were filming a movie." The two girls laughed at the situation she had described.

"So what about you Miku? What's going on with you?"

"Nothing new really, aside from rearranging the room a bit."

"I noticed. The piano used to be over there. And the bed was in that corner. And… I don't think I've seen that poster before." There was a poster of Luka winking with a microphone.

"It's new. Now I can see your face every day." She smiled playfully at Luka.

"Oh, I see, haha. I would show up in person everyday if I could you know."

"But you have your job and stuff, I wouldn't want you to give that up. You have a life outside this room. A great life. And getting to see you just once in a while makes it all the more special."

"… Miku…"

[Bing-bong - "Visiting hours will be over in ten minutes."]

"Well that stinks." Miku was disappointed.

"Yeah, it really does. I guess I'd better get going then. I don't want to get in trouble like that one time remember?" She was referring to one day when Miku hid her under the bed but was caught when Haku came in to check on her, and Luka sneezed resulting in her being thrown out of the hospital. It was actually quite funny to think about. She got up and opened her arms expecting a hug from the teal girl. But she was shaking her head no.

"Miku?"

"I actually have a birthday wish…" she was twiddling with her new necklace as she looked down at it in her fingers."

"Ok. What is it sweetheart? Anything."

"Well, actually… I want to hug you… without the suit."

Luka was stunned. It was not possible. If she took even one step into the room without it, Miku could be exposed to germs. "Oh, Miku. You know I can't do that. No matter how much I want to be able to do the same thing. It's too dangerous for you."

"No! It's not. I figured out a way. I've taken these immuno-boosters that should help a little and if you go in the decon room and spray yourself like crazy with the disinfectant I believe I can withstand it for a few moments." Miku seemed extremely determined to get her wish.

"That's a good plan, but it's still too risky. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I got you sick."

"… Please…"

She had the most sincere, sad puppy dog look possible. She wanted this more than anything, and she was willing to take the enormous risk in order to do it. Luka was on the verge of agreeing to the tealette's plan. She knew that she shouldn't do it. The risk was too high. But she also wanted to be able to feel the teal girl in her uncovered hands. And it was this want that pushed her over the edge.

"… Ok. But we have to be real quick about it."

Luka made her way into the decontamination chamber and removed the top half of her suit. She decided to leave the bottom half, hoping to minimize exposure as much as possible. She then grabbed a can of disinfectant sitting on the shelf and began to spray it all over her upper body. When she was convinced it was enough, she kept going; not willing to take any chances. Meanwhile Miku waited anxiously for the pinkette to return.

"Okay, are you ready?" Luka shouted from the chamber.

"Yes." Miku was slightly nervous. She had never really touched another person before.

"Super-fast, ok?"

"Alright."

Luka ran out of the chamber right in front of Miku and held her arms out. The teal haired girl tentatively reached out and embraced her. They only held the embrace for a few seconds, but they were some of the longest seconds either had ever experienced. Miku felt Luka's back; it was soft with a hint of muscle tone. Probably from all the dancing she did. She had her face on top of the pinkette's ample buxom. It was soft and warm and she felt the rapid heartbeat just beneath on her cheek.

Miku was so small and petite in Luka's arms. She held her close; her head resting on top of an ocean of teal. The girl was soft and frail and at this moment there was no regret in either of them. After they separated they looked into each other's eyes for a brief moment seeing the satisfaction and happiness in the other. Then remembering the danger, Luka quickly ran back into the chamber and closed the door behind her.

It seemed as though they had pulled it off. They had embraced each other with nothing in between. Luka smiled as she relived those few seconds again in her mind. And then a sound was heard that turned this warm happy feeling into one of dread and terror.

Cough-Cough

No. Luka looked back though the glass divider at Miku with desperate eyes. Please. No. The teal girl seemed fine though. Perhaps it was just a throat-clearing cough. Luka was relieved slightly, but then…

CoughCoughCough-CoughCough Miku was on her knees; buckling over on the ground, coughing her lungs out. Splatters of red fell on the floor in front of her.

"MIKU!" She wanted to run in there immediately but she needed to put the suit back on. Her scream had alerted a few nurses within earshot who came running into the decontamination chamber. The two nurses quickly got prepared to enter the tealette's room while Luka just stood there in shock. Oh my god… this is my fault… Miku…

The nurses rushed in and helped Miku lay down in her bed, while she continued to cough uncontrollably. Even more medical staff had appeared, decontaminated, and entered the petite girl's room. They were hooking her up to the many monitors and machines that were located next to her bed. They were all trying their best to help the tealette; injecting various serums into her pale skin.

Luka was frozen in her spot inside the decon chamber. At least until she was forcibly pulled out by even more nurses. She was asked if she knew anything that that would have caused her to become like this. Luka, in a panic, told the entire story. She mentioned the spray, the short period of time, and the immuno-boosters Miku said she took.

"Immuno-Boosters? She wasn't given any immuno-boosters."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, there is no record of her receiving any from the staff, and she couldn't have gotten them herself."

She lied..? Why would she do that? She looked through the glass at the teal girl, still heaving violently as she struggled for air. The doctors were placing a mask over her face to try and help her get oxygen.

"Ms. Megurine, we're gonna have to ask you to leave."

Through shuttering eyes, Miku watched as Luka was led towards the front of the hospital. She was leaving. ...No. Her coughing suddenly became much worse; the various machines hooked up to her started beeping and sounding alarms. She was dying.

CoughCough "I…" Cough "want. Lu-" CoughCough "-ka," Cough

She reached a hand out in the direction of the pinkette as if trying to grab her and pull her back, and then it fell, hanging limply off the side of the bed. All the beeping the machines were giving off had all become silent except for one, which was giving off a single continuous tone.

Luka stopped dead in her tracks. There was an extremely faint high pitched sound buzzing through the air. Her highly trained ear recognized it as E flat. She looked behind her and saw the motionless body of the teal haired girl. Without even thinking about it she took off running. She rushed toward the decontamination room and was about to enter when she was stopped by security. They were not going to let her, or anyone who wasn't medical staff in.

The medical staff surrounding Miku had been attempting to use a defibrillator to restart the tealette's heart, but they were unsuccessful. They began to turn off the machines one after another, a gloomy atmosphere overtaking the whole room.

Luka, being restrained by two security guards and struggling to get free looked at Miku's lifeless form just lying there on her bed. The sight practically tore the pinkette's heart in two. This can't be happening. It can't be. Not because of me, No. No! NO! Tears burst from her eyes as she screamed out her name.

"MIIIIKKKKUUUUUUU!"

Haku, a tear running down her face, reached up to turn off the last piece of equipment: the heart-rate monitor. And just as she was about to flip the switch something caught her eye: a small blip on the screen. If you weren't standing right in front of the device, you wouldn't have noticed, but it was there. She looked down at Miku and then back up at the monitor. The tiny blips were growing in size ever so slightly. Eventually they were large enough that the faint beep that went along with the spikes on the screen became audible.

Beep… … Beep… … Beep… Beep… Beep…

Then a slight movement came from the girl on the bed, confirming what the monitor was indicating. She was returning. The doctors and nurses all returned to the bedside and began injecting more liquids into the girl, trying to stabilize her condition. The coughing returned, although this time is wasn't nearly as severe as before. Over in decon, Luka was on her hands and knees sobbing uncontrollably. She didn't even notice that the teal girl had begun to show signs of life again. She was too lost in her own despair.

I killed her… I Killed Her! Why did I have to let my own selfish need get the better of me? Sure, she asked me for it, but I could've said no. I knew it was dangerous, so why? WHY? ...Miku… Miku… Miku!..

The pinkette was then lifted up by one of the security guards, tears still streaming down her cheeks. When she was on her feet the guard released her, at which pint she lost her balance and fell forward reaching out and placing her hands on the glass in front of her to stop her fall. Then she saw it. Her eyes widened at the sight of Miku moving once again. "Mi...ku?" She still appeared to be quite sick but she was alive. "Miku!" Luka suddenly had a determination she never knew she had. She was getting into that room. And no one was going to stop her. She dashed towards the decon chamber, and when she felt a hand grab onto her arm she ducked down and swung her leg behind her, effectively tripping the guard. She made it into the chamber, and put on the top half of the suit, which she had taken off earlier, in the blink of an eye.

She was all prepared and just as she was about to open the door to Miku's room, something held her back. It wasn't one of the guards or on of the hospital staff. It was her memory. She had been the one that caused Miku to become sick in the first place. She had been the one that had caused Miku to be suffering as she was now. She had been the one that had almost cost the teal girl her life. And she wasn't going to make anything worse. Her hand fell from the door handle and hung by her side. With absolutely no emotion showing on her face, apart from her reddish eyes due to the crying, she slowly began to take off the clean suit.

Luka spent the next few hours sitting silently outside Miku's room. She was a statue; not moving, even the slightest bit. On the inside she was an emotional wreck. But she showed no sign of her inner turmoil. It wasn't until she was spoken to by one of the doctors who had been in Miku's room did she show any sign of life.

"Ms. Megurine?

"...yes."

"I want you to know that she has been stabilized and will slowly recover over the next month or so."

Oh Thank God!

"She has to remain in quarantine for the next few weeks while she recuperates. No visitors of any kind. We were also going to ban you from this hospital due to your choice in endangering her life, but fortunately for you, Nurse Yowane has said some good things about you, and how important she believes you are to the girl. Therefore, we have decided not to ban you. But we will be keeping an eye on you. You can be sure of that."

"I understand… Thank you, doctor."

"Goodbye Ms. Megurine."

Luka saw Haku across the hall and ran over to her. She wrapped her arms around the nurse so tightly she almost crushed her, while tears began to fall.

"Thank You! Thank You So Much!"

Haku just accepted the pinkette's embrace without saying a word.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you…"

Miku spent the next couple of weeks lying in her bed. She was hooked up to various machines; each one giving off its own unique sounds. She was told she wasn't allowed to have any visitors, but at times when she was awake, she would occasionally look out into the hospital hallway and see Luka, sitting in a chair holding her legs; burying her face in her thighs.

How she must feel right now. Probably horrible, right? Good job Miku. This is exactly the opposite of what you wanted. You just had to push the envelope.

Miku would lie in her bed and cry herself back to sleep.

After the first couple of weeks, Miku was allowed to get out of bed and work her muscles a bit; nothing extraneous, but just to get used to moving again as she had been motionless for a long time. She hadn't seen Luka since she started moving around and this caused her to be quite depressed.

It had been a week since Miku had been told that she was allowed to have visitors once again. However, aside from Haku, she had none. The next day, she awoke and looked out the window only to discover that it was raining. It was sort of fitting for the mood she was in. She then looked to her left, and saw the pink haired girl sitting in the chair that she always sat in.

She got out of bed and made her way over to the glass divider separating the two of them. The glass was thick enough to prevent a conversation unless they were going to yell their sentences at each other, which Miku didn't have the strength for. She knocked on the glass to get the pinkette's attention. Her response was slow. Luka slowly lifted her face up to look at the teal girl. She looked like a mess; her eyes were red, as if she had been crying every day. She also looked like she wasn't eating much, if anything. She looked like her soul had been sucked out of her. And this look shocked Miku.

The tealette grabbed a notepad off the shelf as well as a marker and began to scribble upon it. Once finished, she held the pad up to the glass displaying it to the pink haired girl.

'Luka, you don't look well.'

The outsider read what the teal girl had written. She knew it was true. She had cried her eyes out all day, didn't eat, and taking care of herself seemed to have lost its meaning. She was glad that the tealette was going to survive, but she still blamed herself for everything that happened. Another knock on the glass and when she looked up there was a new message.

'Please come talk to me, I'm worried about you.'

Luka gave in to her request and stood up from the chair, but surprised the tealette when she started walking away and then disappeared around a corner. Miku was perplexed until she saw the pinkette return with a notepad of her own. She watched as Luka began writing and then lifted up the pad, showing what she had written.

'I'm glad you're ok.'

'You're not going to come in here?'

Luka looked at the question, and didn't even need to think about her answer.

'No'

Miku felt a pang in her heart when she read the pinkette's answer. And before Miku could as her why not the pink haired girl had asked a question of her own.

'Why did you lie to me?'

Miku took a moment to think about her answer. Finding no easy way to write it down on a piece of paper, she simplified it.

'It's complicated.'

Luka pounded her fist on the glass startling the girl on the inside. She looked as though she was about to burst like a dam if she had not already drained all the tears she had to offer. But even so a few drops leaked out of the corners and slowly rolled down her cheeks. Then she started writing again.

'That's not good enough of a reason'

The teal girl had relaxed after being frightened from the loud bang of Luka's fist. She wanted to tell Luka, but it was hard.

'I can't talk to you like this. Please come in here.'

'No, I can't'

'I have to talk to you. Don't make me come out there.'

Luka read this and then looked at the girl on the other side of the glass. She seemed serious, but Luka knew that this would be suicide for her.

'You can't'

Miku was determined to talk to the pinkette, and she was going to do just that.

'Watch me' she threw her pad and marker down and began making her way toward the chamber protecting her from the outside. As soon as she made contact with the handle another bang was heard from where Luka was standing. Miku looked at her holding up her pad.

'OK'

Satisfied, the teal girl let go of the handle and waited for the pink haired girl to enter.

Luka reluctantly walked to the decontamination room but before she entered she was stopped by the guard standing just next to it. According to him, she wasn't allowed to see the tealette alone because of what happened last time. So she waited while the guard had a nurse paged. A few moments later Haku had joined them and together with Luka, they began getting prepared to enter the Miku's room.

No words were exchanged between the two of them as they put on the various protective pieces of the 'clean suit.' Luka was already feeling an enormous pain run through her heart, but she didn't have a choice, Miku seemed determined to talk to her no matter what.

The two of them finally entered the teal girl's room. Haku realized that there was tension between the other two girls and made her way over to sit on the chair off to the side. Luka however remained standing just by the exit. She felt Miku staring at her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at the girl.

"Luka?" The tealette was concerned about her. She stood up from the bench and began to walk towards the pink haired girl but stopped when she watched her take a step back. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's Wrong? What do you think is wrong? You almost died because of me, Miku!" She was practically screaming at the girl. "Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?" Luka started to tear up again. She was hoping that she would be able to avoid this exact situation.

Miku watched as Luka poured out her emotions. She didn't attempt to close the distance between them yet. Luka's words were getting to her and she began to feel the tears welling up behind her eyes. "But… that wasn't your fault. It's mine. I asked you to do that."

"But I could've said 'no'! I knew it was too dangerous, and still did it anyway."

"Luka, I don't blame you a single bit-"

"But I do! I blame myself for everything that has happened! When I saw you coughing up blood that day… I just… I thought I had killed you!"

"But you didn't! Look at me, I'm still alive."

"Yeah, thanks to some kind of miracle. But what I really want to know is why you lied to me about the immuno-boosters. Why would you say that knowing it was so dangerous?"

Miku slowly looked down at the ground. Yes, she had lied to Luka. And both of them had suffered greatly because of it; Luka, more than herself from her viewpoint. She deserved the truth. And she was going to tell it to her. She started walking towards the pinkette, who in response, tried to back away but ran into a wall. Miku stopped about three feet from her and then looked into the deep blue eyes that had been stained red from tears.

"The reason I lied… is because…" Miku was nervous. She was about to reveal her little secret to the very person she was afraid of revealing it to. "Because… I love you."

The two girls stood staring at each other. Luka had stopped crying out of shock and just looked at Miku's face which had grown a bright red blush. She loves me..?

"And, it was killing me that I could never touch you, or feel you, or smell your hair or…"

The tealette drifted off and began to cry silently. Listing off these things had pushed her over the edge. She was about to fall to her knees when she was suddenly embraced; arms wrapping around her tightly. She looked up and saw that Luka had hugged her, eyes shut tight. A few tears had escaped and dripped onto the inside of the mask she wore. Miku smiled and returned the hug.

They held it for several minutes, the two of them crying quietly in the other's arms. When they separated, Luka looked at Miku with eyes that were happier than they had been in a very long time.

"Miku… I love you too." She grabbed the teal haired girl and pulled her into another tight hug. "And I almost lost you."

"It was worth it you know." Luka looked at her surprisingly.

"Almost dying for a three second hug? How is that worth it?"

"Because it was a three second hug… with you." The two girls blushed slightly at this comment.

"E-Even so." This was the first time Miku had seen the pinkette flustered. She was usually so calm and collected, but Miku found this side of her incredibly cute.

"… Are you still wearing it?" Miku asked as she reached up and grasped the pink butterfly hanging around her neck.

"I never take it off, sweetheart." She smiled and tilted forward so Miku could see through her helmet at the sparkling teal butterfly.

"Well, I think I'll just leave you two alone for a while." The two girls were slightly startled by Haku's voice. It seems they had forgotten she was in the room as well. "I trust you won't be doing anything foolish right?"

"Actually, Luka, I think you should leave too. You look like you could use a meal. Why don't you go down to the cafeteria, eat, and then you can come back."

The idea of some food sounded really good to the pink haired girl. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go eat. I'll be right here when you get back." Miku chuckled slightly at her comment. Where could she go?

"Well, ok then. I'll be back real soon." She hugged the tealette one more time before standing and walking out with Haku. Miku walked over and dragged a wooden stool over to the window and sat there watching the rain; listening to the pitter-patter of it against the glass, and smiled.

I actually told her…

Luka felt much better now that she had some food in her belly. Haku had spoken to the hospital director, and having a lot of say in the matter as Miku's personal nurse, had convinced him to allow the pinkette to be alone with the teal girl. Said pinkette was now putting the clean suit back on and entering Miku's room. She found the girl sitting by the window staring outside at the rain. She grabbed a stool for herself and joined the tealette.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?"

"Better than I have in a long time."

"Me too."

There were a few minutes of silence except for the sound of the weather outside.

"Luka, what does rain feel like?"

"Well, it's… wow. It's, hard to describe. It's wet, and usually cold. When it hits your skin it feels like you're getting poked lightly all over." She started lightly poking Miku's arms and legs for emphasis. "I suppose it has its own unique feel that can't be experienced any other way. That's not really a good description, sorry."

"No, it was perfect." She smiled a Luka and then looked back out the window; her gaze drifting to the pond and she watched as the rain drops made ripples as they would land. "I hope I can feel it for myself one day…"

This wish to be able to feel something as simple as rain embedded itself into Luka's heart and mind.

"I'm sure you will, Miku." I swear I'll make it happen for you.

After a while the rain began to die down, and rays of sunshine began to spear their way through the cloudy atmosphere. The sun was setting behind the mountains off in the distance. It truly was a beautiful sight as the usually blue sky began to grow a pinkish color. The two girls had been chatting the way they used to; the emotional turmoil from the past month slowly fading away, just like the rain.

The next day Miku awoke in her bed as always, although this time she had a warm feeling that radiated from her heart. She hadn't felt this way in years. Feeling rejuvenated with energy, she decided to work out a little bit. She put on her work out clothes, which consisted of a pair of shorts and a tank top. She grabbed her mp3 player, stuck the ear buds in her ears, stepped on the treadmill, and began jogging.

She had been running for about fifteen minutes when, pouring out her ear buds came Corruption Garden, one of Luka's songs. This song always got Miku amped up, but this time even more so. She increased her speed a little and was now in a light run as she listened to the hard rock of the song. Then something, or rather someone, walked in front of her.

"Luka!" The tealette exclaimed happily in between heavy breathing.

"Morning sweetheart!" Miku took out her ear buds and began slowing down. "Oh, you don't have to stop on account of me."

"Nonsense. Plus, it's been a while and I don't want to push myself too hard." She stepped off the treadmill and grabbed a hand towel wiping the sweat off her face and neck. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Well, I actually have something really important to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

Luka gestured to the couch. The two of them walked over and sat down facing each other. Luka took Miku's hand in her gloved one, and looked directly into her eyes.

"Miku… I want to help you, now more than ever. What you told me yesterday really opened my eyes to this whole thing. I don't want you to be lonely; living out your life in this hospital room. I want you to see the world, feel the rain. I don't think it will be an easy process, but if you agree, then I promise that I will do everything within my ability to heal you."

Miku just stared at the girl. What she was hearing was… she couldn't even describe it.

"W-What would y-you do, exactly?"

"I plan on donating millions of dollars towards research on fixing your immune system."

The pinkette had decided to give it to the girl straight. Nothing would be hidden from her.

The teal haired girl had wide open eyes. Sure, Luka was an extremely popular and successful pop idol, and probably had plenty of money. But this was too much.

"No… No. I can't let you do that. That's your money that you worked hard for. I don't want you to spend it on me. You should use it so you can be happy when you retire."

"Miku, listen to me. It's my money, and I can do what I want with it.

"But-"

"No 'but's'! I want to do this for you. Miku, look at your chest." The teal haired girl did what she was told and looked down. Resting there, shining in the sun's morning rays, was the pink butterfly Luka had given her for her birthday a month ago. Without even thinking she reached up with her hand a gently held it in the palm of her hand; shifting it and seeing how the sparkles reacted to the movement.

"I love you Miku. And I want you to have a life outside this hospital… with… me."

The tealette suddenly looked up at Luka. "You… want me to be with you?"

"Yes, more than anything. I want to go places with you, live with you, and spend the rest of my life with you."

The petite girl was starting to feel overwhelmed. She was being offered a life with the girl she loved. Something she had only dreamed of ever happening.

"You've thought pretty hard about this haven't you?" She didn't need an answer from the pinkette: it was obvious she had. "Nothing would make me happier than to be with you Luka, and I can see that you're not gonna take 'No' for an answer. So I guess that makes my answer yes."

Luka smiled at the girl and pulled her in for a hug. She wanted to do nothing but good for the girl after what had happened. The plastic-like material of Luka's suit was sticking to Miku's sweat soaked arms and face.

"Ok, I feel gross. Not from you!" She quickly added upon seeing Luka's confused face. "I'm all sticky from the sweat drying…do you mind if I go clean up real quick?"

"Not at all. I'll be waiting for you right here."

The tealette excused herself and went into her bathroom. Due to Miku's condition, a shower was not possible because the water could not be purified in a way that would be effective. So she began filling her bathtub, and because she planned on just rinsing off quickly, when it was about half way full she turned it off. She reached into a container that was sitting on a countertop, pulling out a puck that was a little smaller than her palm.

The puck was designed to release electrolytes and other chemicals that purified the water so Miku could use it. She tossed the puck into the tub and watched as it bubbled profusely. While she waited for the bubbling to stop, Miku began to take off her work-out gear and tied up her hair. She didn't want it to get wet because if it did, it would take forever to get it dry once again. And when the bubbling stopped she stepped in; using a loofah to splash water on to the upper parts of her body. The pink butterfly around her neck had her attention for most of the time. Just the sight of it caused a smile to spread on her face.

As the tealette was drying off she heard the sound of the television in the other room. Luka must be watching TV. She quickly donned a t-shirt and some pants before heading out to spend some more time with the pink haired girl. But when she saw what the pinkette was watching she stopped in her place. She was watching the news and they were reporting that the next couple of Luka Megurine concerts had been cancelled for unknown reasons.

"Is that true?"

Luka turned around and saw Miku, who seemed to have a rather stern expression on her face.

"Is what he just said true?" Miku asked again.

"Yes, it's true."

"Why did you cancel your shows, Luka?"

"So I could be with you while you were getting your treatment."

"I don't care! You're going to those concerts. Think of all the people that love your music. I won't let you disappoint them. If you don't then you can just forget the whole treatment."

"But, Miku…"

"No, I won't have you changing your life any more than you have to for me."

Luka had never seen the tealette so adamant in a decision before. She stood with absolute confidence that it was either her way or no way. The pinkette had no choice but to give in.

"Ok fine. I'll do the shows."

Miku walked over to the pink haired girl, and sat down next to her. "Luka… I'm unbelievably grateful for what you're doing for me. So much that I still don't think it has hit me yet. But I know you. Music is what you love. It's why you're so good at it. I don't want you to give up on one thing you love for another, OK?"

Luka looked into the teal eyes that were staring back at her. The things she was saying, the way she was saying them. They sunk into Luka's mind.

"… I love you Miku. You're so wonderful, I feel like I don't deserve you."

"That's my line. But I love you too, Luka."

The two girls laughed and then pulled each other in for a tight hug.

"Well, I made a call while you were in the bathroom, and everything is all set up. The doctors are gonna start doing some tests and other things with you tomorrow Ok?"

"Y-Yeah, ok…" Miku was starting to feel slightly nervous.

"But I want you to know that I'm going to be here, with you, the whole time. Alright?"

Miku simply nodded, deep in thought. She had taken tests before, had blood samples drawn. But something about the way Luka was acting gave her the impression that there was going to be a lot more than that taking place.

The next day when Miku woke up, Luka was already in her room.

*Yawn* "Luka? What are you doing?"

"Just watching you sleep. It's adorable." She playfully stuck her tongue out at the tealette.

A shy blush crept its way onto Miku's cheeks and she began fidgeting with her fingers.

"O-Oh…"

"By the way… you snore."

Miku's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "I Do Not! How could you even say something like that?"

"Haha, relax sweetheart. I think it's cute."

"… Even So!" Then Miku ran off to the bathroom feeling slightly embarrassed.

When she emerged a few minutes later with a brush in her hand, she looked over and saw that Haku was now in the room with her breakfast. She walked over and sat down next to Luka on the couch while Haku was in the chair.

"Good Morning Miku."

"Morning Haku. Thanks for the food." Today she had some pancakes, some toast and a glass of milk; Miku's favorite.

As she began eating, Luka had grabbed the brush and began running it through the long teal locks of Miku's hair.

"Kind of a big day for you huh? Even though all they plan to do today is get some blood, it's like the first step on a big journey."

"Yeah, I suppose it is kind of like that." She looked over at Luka who simply smiled at her while continuing to brush her hair. "What time are they going to come in?"

"I believe they're scheduled to start anytime now." She said while looking at the clock on the wall. "Ah, speak of the devil. Here they come now."

Inside the decontamination chamber were two doctors who were in the process of putting on the clean suits. When they were fully protected they entered the room, bringing with them a tray loaded with needles. Miku took one look at the number of needles and almost fainted on the spot.

While Miku had taken blood tests many times over the years, it never got any easier. The sight of the needle was very frightening to the teal girl. And the sheer number of them that the doctors had brought in was just ridiculous. There were approximately twenty needles all neatly lined up on the tray. Isn't this a little overkill?

"Good morning Miku. You may continue eating while we get everything set up here. We'll get you when we're ready."

"Luka… Why-Why do they need so many?" The tealette stared at the pink haired girl with wide eyes of concern and fear.

"I know it's a lot sweetheart, but they plan on doing a lot of different tests and experiments."

Miku made no sound and went back to eating her food. She now understood that there was a reason for it being her favorite today.

She eventually finished eating and was brought over to sit in the chair that Haku had vacated. She was genuinely afraid. They were going to be drawing a lot of blood, and it was going to take a while. Luka noticed how frightened the teal girl was and moved over to where she was within reach. She grabbed onto one of the delicate hands of the quivering tealette, and held onto it reassuringly.

"I'll be right here the whole time Miku. OK?"

"Y-Y-Yeah… O-Ok." The feeling of Luka holding onto her helped calm her nerves a little even if it was through a gloved hand.

"Ok, Miku you ready?" One of the doctors asked; a syringe in his hand, at the ready.

"… As-As I'll ever b-be." The tealette squinted her eyes tightly, not wanting to watch as the needle inched its way closer and closer to piercing her pale skin. As if sensing its approach, her grip on Luka's hand increased to a near bone crushing strength.

"Hey Miku, what was the name of that song you played for me a while ago?"

"… umm, Time Machine?"

"Yeah that's the one! Will you sing it for me again?"

"What? Right now?"

"Yeah." Miku realized that the pinkette was trying to keep her thoughts off of what the doctors were doing. And it was actually working they had already stuck the needle in Miku's arm and were drawing blood.

Miku wasted no time and began to sing the song at a slow tempo. Luka forgot why she was having the teal girl as she listened to the angelic sound of her voice. Even the doctors found themselves wrapped up in the song for a moment before quickly realizing that they had work to do.

When Miku had finished her song the doctors had already finished taking their samples and were making some notes in their charts. The teal girl looked at her arms. There were several bandages on both of them.

"It's over?" Miku was slightly shocked. She had pushed away the thought and feeling of the needles while singing.

"Yep! And you sang beautifully, Miku." The pinkette was smiling a soft and kind smile up at her.

"Now Miku, you'll want to take it easy for the rest of the day. We took quite a bit of blood and it will surely have an effect on you."

"Don't worry doctor. I'll stay with her for the rest of the day and help her out."

"Very good, Ms. Megurine. We will give you an update later with how the tests are going."

"Thank you."

Luka helped the tealette into a standing position as she felt incredibly weak and was starting to get light headed. She led her over to her bed and laid her down onto it. Not more than a minute later she fell fast asleep.

Luka reached over and delicately pushed a few stray hairs off her face and sighed. "… Please let all of this work. Please."

Over the next couple of weeks Miku was given various types of medicine in all kinds of forms. Some of them seemed to help, others, the exact opposite; making her sick. Not nearly as sick as when she had been exposed, but sick nonetheless. She was injected with different immuno-stimulants almost every day. They were just about the only thing that showed any progress. But it was temporary.

Luka was sitting in the research department at the hospital with Doctor Sakurai, the new research director she had hired to work on Miku's condition, who was looking over the newest data they had received from the tests.

"Explain to me again what the underlying cause is. It still isn't very clear to me."

"Miku's body contains no b-cells. The primary function of b-cells is to create antibodies; the body's main defense against bacteria and viruses. We could do an antibody injection, but without some way for her body to produce its own antibodies, she would be forced to take an injection every few hours or so: not very practical."

"I see."

"But what makes Miku's condition even more problematic is the lack of t-cells, which are a type of white blood-cell that regulate the b-cells. So even if we were to implant b-cells they would be useless."

"Why don't we implant both then?"

"First off, the t-cells would have to be harvested from a donor, as they cannot be synthesized. Second, they would need to be taken from someone who has the same blood type as Miku. And because she has an extremely rare blood type, AB-, it could be difficult to find a match. And third, it is a dangerous operation that if not done correctly could potentially leave the donor in a condition similar to Miku's."

Luka had been listening up to the point where he mentioned the teal girl's blood type. AB-. That sounded familiar.

"Can you pull up my records on the computer?"

"I suppose, but why?"

"I want to check something."

He began searching through the hospital's electronic database until he found the file with the pinkette's name on it. Luka leaned closer to the screen; her eyes searching for the info she wanted, and then she saw it. AB-. She was the same as Miku. She would be able to help her.

The doctor saw this little piece of information as well, and from the look on the pink haired girl's face; he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Ms. Megurine, I know what you're thinking, and I really think that you should take some time to consider the situation."

In Luka's mind there was only one answer. From where she was she could look across and see Miku's room across the way. She was staring out the window, as she did many times. She seemed like she was off in a fantasy; living out in the world and doing the many things the earth had to offer.

"No, I don't need any time at all to think about it. If it is possible for me to help her by volunteering myself for the procedure, I will." She had a stern expression on her face. She was as determined as Miku was a few weeks ago.

"You're sure about this then?"

"Absolutely. I promised her that I would do everything I could to help her, and I intend to never break that promise. I will help Miku."

The two of them continued to discuss details about Miku's tests and the procedure. Meanwhile Miku was deep in thought as she gazed out the window. She was dreaming of life outside the four walls that trapped her in this hospital. This was not an uncommon dream for her to have, but this time there was a small yet important difference.

In her daydream this time she was not alone. She was with Luka. They were living their lives: eating meals together, going out together, living together. The last thought caused Miku to blush. Would they really live together? Now that Miku thought about it, if she were to one day leave this hospital, she wouldn't have anywhere to go. What would she do?

Luka was already doing so much for her, she'd feel bad asking for anything more. How would she even pay her back for the incredible gift she was currently giving the tealette?

The sun was setting behind the mountains in the distance. The sign that the day was about to end and turn into night; the time when the sky lit up with thousands of stars. Miku loved stars, but she was forced to see them through the glare that was created by the window she looked through; never to see their true beauty.

Miku drifted off to sleep that night; for the first time, unsure of her future.

The day of Luka's operation had arrived. Luka had not seen Miku since she had decided to do it because she was away doing a concert. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if she should tell the tealette. She didn't want her to be worried. She came to the hospital earlier than usual with a backpack full of things she wanted to have with her during her stay while she recovered from the procedure. One of the items more important than the others combined.

Before she reported to the doctors to get prepped for surgery, she looked for Haku she found her in the cafeteria eating breakfast. She had a quick talk with her, then handed over the item with some very specific instructions to go along with it. Haku agreed with a smile on her face, somewhat excited about Luka's plan. Then the pinkette left her to her meal and was off to surgery prep.

Miku was finishing the breakfast Haku had brought for her, when there was a muffled sound coming from somewhere by her bed. Miku glanced over with a questioning look on her face. Then she looked at Haku who was watching the TV as if she hadn't heard it. The same muffled sound again. This time Miku got up, and walked over to her bed, eager to find the source of the odd noise. A third time and Miku found it. Underneath one of her pillows was a walkie-talkie.

Miku, slightly nervous, pressed the button. "Hello?"

"Finally you found it. I was afraid I'd have to give you a map or something. Haha."

"Luka?"

"Morning sweetheart!"

"What's with the walkie-talkie? Where are you?"

"Turn around."

Miku did as she was told, turning on the balls of her feet. And there on the other side of the glass wall, was Luka. Only she was on a hospital bed with several doctors around. She seemed perfectly fine though which caused some confusion in the teal girl.

Running over to the glass divider, Miku held a worried expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Then what's going on?"

"Miku, I want you to listen to me. The doctors think they have found a way to cure you, and they need some of my white blood cells to do it. So I'm going into surgery right now so they can take them out."

Miku suddenly became very worried. Surgery! Was it dangerous? She shook her head furiously trying to show her disapproval. "Why does it have to be you? Why can't it be someone else?"

"It's because we have the same rare blood type. I know you're worried sweetheart, but please… you don't have to be. I'm going to be fine. The surgeons are the best and it's a…" The pinkette didn't want Miku to worry, but she remembered how she felt when Miku had lied to her. The tealette saw Luka hesitating and pressed herself up against the glass separating the two.

She didn't even use the walkie-talkie as she mouthed the pinkette's name. She knew what was coming but she didn't want to hear it.

"Miku I made a promise to you. This procedure is potentially dangerous…"

No… This was the information Miku desperately wished she hadn't heard. She didn't want the pink haired girl to endanger her own life for her sake.

"But I don't want you to worry, ok? I know it's going to be tough, so I asked Haku to stay with you while I'm in the operating room. And I promise that you will be the first one to know when it's over. I'll call you on these walkie-talkies as soon as I come out from the anesthesia. I'll be ok… I promise."

Miku wanted to shout in protest, but she knew it would do no good. All she could do was stare at the pinkette with wide eyes that glistened with moisture from the tears that were welling up.

Luka saw Miku's distress and attempted to calm her down. "Miku, I'm doing this for you because I want to, okay?" She looked at the doctors waiting patiently for their conversation to be finished, and gave them a look that told them to leave for a moment. When the two girls were more or less alone she continued. "I love you Miku. And I want you to live the life you deserve. You're such a sweet girl with so much potential. And when you get out of here… I want you to come and live with me. Ok?"

Miku's eyes were sparkling. What she had just heard was beyond comprehension. To live with Luka… it sounded amazing. The tealette had only dreamed of such a life.

"Y-You really want me to live with you?"

"Of course, I want to spend every moment with you Miku. But in order for that to happen, you have to get better. And for you to get better I have to do this surgery."

Miku understood. She didn't like it, but she understood. "You promise you'll be okay? And that you won't leave me alone?" the tears were starting to slowly fall down the tealette's face.

"I promise. And when they're done I will be in this room right next to yours while I recuperate so we will be close the whole time."

Miku looked to her left at the wall that would be separating the room Luka had pointed to from her own as if she was trying to look through it.

"Okay… but you better keep your promise." Miku tried to sound tough over the walkie-talkie, but was failing due to her sniffles.

"I wouldn't dream of breaking it sweetheart." Luka offered a small smile. Then one of the doctors came to her and said that they needed to get started with the operation. She nodded to him and began to be wheeled off towards the operating ward. She waved to Miku and before they took the walkie-talkie from her she said one more thing to the teal girl listening on the other end.

"I love you Miku."

The tealette watched as they rolled the pink haired girl away from her waving as she went. She heard Luka's words over the radio and added some of her own.

"I love you too, Luka!"

And then she disappeared behind some double-doors that lead to the operating rooms. Miku's heart sank. She was uncertain whether she would see the pinkette again. She wanted to remain hopeful, but the whole situation was a little too much for her to handle. She walked over and buried her face in Haku's lap and cried.

Luka was being rolled on her bed through a large hallway and then entered a room with a sign over it that said, 'Op Room C'. She was nervous. While she had faith that she would make it out of this room, there was still that uncertainty that something could go wrong. She was wheeled to the center of the room; surrounded by surgeons and nurses. One of them came over and placed a mask over her mouth and nose, explaining that the anesthesia would have her fast asleep in a few moments. Before her eyelids became too heavy to support, she thought of Miku… and how much she loved her.

"Alright people, the objective of this operation is to successfully remove…"

Miku paced nervously back and forth, holding the walkie-talkie tightly in her hand.

"She's been gone too long. Something must've happened. She would have called me by now right?" She looked over at Haku who was sitting on the chair and reading a magazine.

"Relax Miku, it's only been two hours. These procedures take time. You just have to be patient."

"Yeah, right. The way I feel right now…"

"You just need to have faith, Miku. I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

Some time passed and after she was done pacing, Miku sat on the bench in front of her piano. She had one hand on low end of the keys, playing a single deep note over and over again. The other hand was clutching the pink butterfly around her neck.

"How long has it been now?"

"Fifteen minutes since the last time you asked so about 3 hours."

"Jeez, why does it feel like days are going by?"

"You really care about her don't you?"

"Well, yeah. She's the most important person in the world to me."

"Because she's doing all this to get you out of this hospital?"

"No, not at all. I knew she was special to me a long time ago, before anything crazy happened."

"What is it about her that makes you feel that way? If you don't mind me asking."

Miku took a moment to think about the answer. "I don't know… It's not just one thing. It's everything. I love everything about her. Her smile puts my heart in a flutter. Her gaze lights a fire in my soul. Her voice makes my ears dance. She's absolutely perfect. And what she's doing for me right now, just proves how kind and warm she is."

Haku was awestruck. "That's pretty deep, Miku."

"I guess, but it's the truth. I want to be with her always, and if something were to go wrong… I just…"

Miku was interrupted by a doctor coming in to Miku's room. The teal girl stood and looked at him with desperate eyes. The doctor gave a thumbs up and it was all Miku needed to drop to her knees in happiness.

"The operation was a complete success. Ms. Megurine is in the next room sleeping. She will need to remain there for about a week while her immune system creates new lymphatic nodes. So you won't be able to see her until then."

Miku was so happy. Luka was going to be okay. She didn't even care that she couldn't see her, as long as she was fine.

"Now, Miku. Tomorrow we will be injecting you with the lymph nodes and running some tests to make sure they are bonding properly."

"Yeah, okay. Thank you, doctor."

And with that he took his leave, asking Haku to go with them as they had some details to discuss.

Now all Miku had to do was wait for Luka to call her over the radios. But she couldn't resist saying a small something on her end hoping that Luka's was turned on. It probably wasn't, but she didn't care. "I love you so much Luka."

Miku was asleep when a voice that had worked its way oddly into her dream woke her up. In her half-awake state she realized that the voice was singing, singing a lullaby to be precise. Even over the slight distortion caused by the transmission, she could tell that it was Luka's voice over the walkie-talkies. Miku smiled and rubbed her eyes, simply listening to the sweet sounds coming from the device.

When the song was over, Miku pressed her finger down on the button. "What a beautiful song."

"Ah, Miku. Finally you pick up that dang thing. I've been trying to get your attention for a while now. Haha."

"Well, I was asleep you know. I mean it's-" She looked at the clock on the wall. "Two in the morning!"

"Oh, I'm sorry I woke you up… I just wanted to hear your voice. I missed you."

"No that's alright. I'm glad you did. I missed you too. And I was so worried while you were having your operation."

"I told you I would be fine. Although I do have these cuts all over me, where they took out those nodes. Seriously they're EVERYWHERE! I am not going to be able to go out for a while." She laughed at her situation causing Miku to laugh as well.

"Well I'm glad to hear that you're okay."

"Oh, Miku… you have no idea how good you have it in there."

"What do you mean?" Miku was very confused.

"This room is soooo boring. You have all that nice stuff over there, while the only interesting thing in my room, is me."

"Yeah well just be grateful that you get to leave soon."

"Hey, you might get to leave soon too you know."

"Yeah… I know. Thank you by the way."

"For what?"

"For everything. All that you're doing for me. I never really said thanks. So thank you."

"Oh sweetheart, you don't need to thank me. I would do anything and everything for you."

Miku blushed, but was thankful that the pinkette couldn't see it. The two continued to chat into the early hours of the morning when Miku's tired eyes forced her back to sleep. Two hours later she was awakened by Haku who walked in a found the teal girl propped up against the wall dividing her room from Luka's. She had a bit of drool on her chin which Haku decided to wipe up. This action woke the tealette.

"Mmmm… Oh, Haku. G'morning."

"Morning Miku. I have your breakfast here."

"Looks great. Thanks."

Miku suddenly realized she was on the floor and when she stood up she winced in pain due to the cramp in her neck. Haku walked her over to couch, had her sit down, and then began to gently massage her neck.

"Ahh, that feels good. Thank you Haku."

"So how come you were on the floor."

"I was up all night talking to Luka. Oh!" she quickly turned to the spot where she fell asleep and saw the walkie-talkie on the floor. She quickly got up, went over and picked it up, only to discover that the battery had died: which she didn't find surprising because she was nervously pressing the 'talk' button over and over while Luka was in surgery.

"Dang. Haku, I need some batteries."

"Okay, I'll bring them too you when I come back with the doctors in an hour."

"Thanks." She went back to her food, while Haku gave her a goodbye wave, and left. Miku was disappointed that she wouldn't be able to talk to Luka until she got new batteries, but she made her peace with it and decided to watch TV.

An hour later Haku returned with a couple of doctors. Miku noticed that they had more syringes with them. The fear returned and this time she didn't have Luka with her. Haku walked over to her and handed her a couple of batteries for the radio. The tealette eagerly replaced the dead batteries with the new ones. She turned it on and called Luka.

"Luka?" She waited a few moments with no answer. "Luuukaaa…"

"She was sleeping when I checked on her a little while ago Miku."

"Oh, well okay then." Miku was saddened by this, but she understood that the pinkette needed her rest. She was also slightly distracted by the needles the doctors were preparing.

"Alright Miku, today we will be injecting the lymph nodes we extracted from Ms. Megurine."

"Ok… and what will those do?"

"Well, the basic idea is to essentially 'grow' you an immune system. By injecting these lymphatic nodes, we hope that your body will accept their chemical signature and start creating white blood cells and antibodies on its own. If it succeeds then your immune system will be as if you were just born. But over time it will learn how to fight off infection, as a normal kid would while growing up.

"Huh… sounds easy."

The doctor nodded and went back to his preparation. Just then Luka's voice came from the walkie-talkie.

"Miku?" The tealette excitedly reached for the radio and replied.

"Jeez, finally!"

"Oh, don't you start that with me. That's my thing. haha." The pinkette laughed at Miku's revenge.

"Hehe, well it's true. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. What about you?"

"A little nervous the doctors are in here… with needles."

"Miku, it'll be alright. You just need to relax."

"Yeah… okay."

"These were taken from various parts of Ms. Megurine's body, and we need to inject them in the same locations they were taken from. Alright Miku?"

She simply nodded. Haku came close and offered the trembling girl her hand, which she quickly latched onto. Luka continued to speak over the radios to prove that she was still with the teal girl. The doctors began injecting her with the solution contained within the syringes. Miku winced every time a needle punctured her skin.

The teal girl had needle holes all over her body by the time they were done. She now understood Luka's predicament.

The doctors left, and about an hour later when one returned, Miku was feeling a bit strange.

"So, Miku. How are you doing?"

"Well, I feel a little… weird." She sounded unsure of herself.

"What do you mean?"

"I wouldn't say I feel dizzy, but it's kinda like that."

"Huh, interesting. Well let's take a quick look then."

The doctor pulled out a pen light and checked Miku's eyes thinking it could be a vision issue. They seemed fine. Seeing no other possibilities other than some kind of brain damage, the doctor drew some more blood; something the teal girl found no pleasure in.

"I'll go check this out right away. In the meantime how about you just lie down; it might help."

"Yeah, Ok. Thanks doctor. I will."

The doctor took his leave and went off to the lab to analyze Miku's blood sample. He sat down at a workstation and then placed a drop of blood onto a slide before placing the tube of blood into a machine that would scan and compute data from it. While waiting for the machine to do its job, which usually took about ten minutes, he took the slide and placed it under a microscope. What he discovered was astounding. He immediately called in the research department head. After a few moments he arrived.

"Ah, Dr. Sakurai. Come take a look at this sir."

"What is it?" he then walked over and looked into the microscope the other doctor had pointed to."

"It's the newest sample of Miku's blood."

Dr. Sakurai immediately saw the reason he was called in. "This is happening much sooner than we had even hoped."

"Yes I know, it has only been about an hour since the initial injection."

"Well this is just remarkable. We should spread the news immediately."

"Yes sir!" The doctor rushed out of the lab and made his way back to the teal girl's room.

He put on the clean suit as fast as he could; eager to give the girl the news. The speed at which he was doing actually made said girl a little nervous. But the doctor approached her with a smile on his face.

"It's working."

"What?"

"It's working! The nodes we injected into you an hour ago are bonding and creating white blood cells on their own. The treatment is working!"

Miku just stood dumbfounded. It was working? It was really working?

"Well someone certainly seems excited." Dr. Sakurai had just walked in; his comment obviously sarcastic.

"No, I'm thrilled… it's just that this is… I don't even know what to make of it."

"Understandable. Well, we just wanted to give you the good news. We'll continue to monitor your condition for the time being, but so far, it's looking quite promising."

"So then, this strange feeling I have?"

"It's most likely just your body's reaction to the white blood cells. It should go away after a while. Oh and if you could share this news with Ms. Megurine for us, it would save us the time of having to get suited up to go in her room as well."

"Yeah sure! I'll do that."

"Plus, I think she would want to hear it from you anyway, don't you think?"

Miku smiled shyly. He was right. And even more, she wanted to tell the pinkette herself. While the doctors were leaving Miku ran and grabbed the walkie-talkie off the bedside table, immediately pressing the button.

"Luka! Hey Luka!"

"What is it Miku?"

"The doctors just told me that the treatment is working!"

"REALLY! That's wonderful Miku!"

"Yeah! He said that's why I feel weird and stuff."

"Well, that's so exciting that it's working!"

"I know!... And it's all thanks to you Luka. I wish I could hug you right now."

"Aw, I wish I could hug you too sweetheart. But you realize that because the treatment is working we may be able to do that soon enough."

"You're right! I'm so excited that I can hardly stand." And as luck would have it she couldn't. Miku's legs collapsed on her and she fell on her bottom. Hard. Luka heard the resulting thud on her side of the wall.

"Miku are you okay?"

"Ow… yeah, I just suddenly lost the feeling in my legs is all. I'm gonna go back in my bed and lie down."

"Ok, well just be careful alright?"

"Yeah ok."

One week later, Luka had been released from her quarantine, and the first thing she did was go to see Miku. There was already a pair of doctors in the room with her. And when Luka was all suited up she realized why they were there. More needles.

"Miku!"

"Luka!" The teal girl ran over to the pinkette and smashed into her in a big hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you, rather than just hearing your voice, not to say that I don't like your voice of course."

"I know what you mean. And it's good to see you too."

One of the doctors interrupted the two reunited girls. "Miku if you could please come back over here we can get this over as quickly as possible."

"Oh yeah, sorry." The teal haired girl walked back, bringing Luka with her by holding her hand. She sat down in the chair, never letting it go. As the doctors were placing a needle into her arm for more tests, Luka noticed that the tealette's grip on her own hand was not nearly as strong as she was expecting.

"Miku? Have you finally gotten used to the needles?"

"Eh, not really, I'm just so glad that you're here is all." She smiled at the pinkette who responded with her own smile.

The doctors took the blood relatively quickly and then began to discuss some details with the two of them.

"Well, here's the situation so far. Miku's body seems to be developing an immune system. At this point it is not strong enough to fight off anything that would cause an illness, such as a cold. But it is getting stronger as the days go by."

Luka grasped Miku's hand with both of hers and smiled brightly at the girl; obviously excited by the news.

"I suppose the best way to describe it, is to think of Miku as newborn baby that came a little early. We expect that very soon she will be able to handle human contact."

"This is great, isn't it Miku?"

"Yeah, it really is!"

"So with that said, we'll let you two celebrate."

"Yes, thank you so much doctor."

He nodded and then left to join the other doctor in the decontamination chamber. The two girls, who remained together, embraced each other in a tight hug. They then decided to catch up with each other as talking over the walkie-talkies just wasn't the same.

A few weeks later, and as Luka was entering the hospital in the morning, she was stopped by Dr. Sakurai.

"Good Morning Ms. Megurine."

"Morning doctor."

"Could I talk to you a moment?"

"Of course."

"I was just going over Miku's blood work, and I believe it may be time."

Luka had an idea what he meant, but she couldn't resist asking as she wanted to hear the words. "Time for what?"

"For Miku to have human contact."

Luka had trouble containing her excitement, but was able to stop herself from jumping up and down with joy.

"Really!"

"Yes, and it is a crucial step in the long term goal. She needs the contact for her immune system to learn how to fight off basic infection. If she were to remain in that clean environment, her immunity would slowly degrade into being useless again."

"I see. So how should we do this. Just walk in without the suits."

"Well we can't overwhelm her either. I think the safest course of action would be for a single person to enter the room wearing the suit and then slowly take it off piece by piece."

"Uh-huh. Now, you know what I'm gonna ask don't you?"

"You want to be the first don't you?"

"I do."

"It's probably what she wants as well." He pointed to the tealette who was still sleeping due to the early hour. Luka watched as she slowly breathed in and out, while mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do. The last time she entered the teal girl's room unprotected, she almost died.

Miku woke up about an hour later. She was greeted by Haku, who was already in the room with her breakfast. For about a week, she hadn't needed to eat sterile food, and she was discovering just how good something that wasn't 'super cleaned' could taste. Everything had more flavor to it. She never knew what she was missing but now that she did, she couldn't believe that she had missed out on all these wonderful tastes for so long.

It wasn't long after that Luka and three other doctors walked in all wearing clean suits. The tealette perked up upon seeing the pink haired girl, but was slightly confused when they all kept their distance from her. She took a look at some of the equipment the doctors had brought in with them. She recognized some of them from when she would get really sick. She didn't really understand until she watched as Luka started moving.

When Luka walked into Miku's room, the pink haired woman suddenly became slightly fearful. She was afraid that something would go wrong, and that again it would be her fault. The doctors assured her that things were different this time. She had seen the test results herself, plus this time, they were not alone. Luka worked up the courage and slowly began taking off the gloves of her suit.

Miku just watched in silence as Luka began to slowly take off the suit piece by piece; first the gloves, which revealed her long slender fingers. Then the helmet was removed, and her long, flowing pink hair draped down her back. Deep blue eyes became unobstructed from the glare of the plastic.

Miku slowly took small steps towards the pinkette, inching her way closer and closer with each one. Luka did the same as she began to remove the upper portion of the suit. As it fell to the floor, a single thing caught Miku's eye. A sparkling teal butterfly.

The two girls were now just a foot apart. Unlike the last time where it was very rushed, the contact between them now was very slow and cautious. Miku reached a hand out, as did Luka, and when they connected between the two of them, a spark was felt instantly in each of their hearts. Fingers intertwined, along with a simple smile.

The two of them were looking at the connection between them; skin on skin. Then they both looked up and deep into each other's eyes. A few tears began to work their way down both sets of cheeks. And then just as quickly as the first time, Miku pulled the pinkette in for a tight hug; crying happily on her shoulder.

The doctors let them have their moment but remained vigilant in case something unexpected was to happen. But nothing did. There was no coughing, or sneezing of any kind. It was just a simple, yet beautiful moment.

Some time passed with the girls continuing their embrace. Miku showed no signs of complications. The doctors decided it would be safe for them to leave. Haku remained with the equipment they had brought in just in case. She occupied herself with a magazine while the two girls had their moment.

"I love you so much Miku."

"I love you too Luka."

The two of them separated, tears finally beginning to dry up. Miku reached a hand up and lightly grasped the teal butterfly hanging around Luka's neck. She studied it for a moment, simply staring at its sparkling beauty. When she finally let it go she looked up at Luka and felt a little embarrassed, having basically been staring at her chest. She gave her a sweet smile and walked over to the table to grab a tissue.

Miku figured she also needed a tissue, and after wiping the dry tears from her cheeks, joined Luka on the couch.

"You're really pretty, you know?" Miku said while wiping away the stray tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Oh stop." A blush crept its way onto Luka's face.

"No seriously, I never noticed when you had the suit on… but you have some great, uh, features there."

Luka looked down at what Miku had hinted at. "Oh… well I like your 'features' too."

"Please, I don't have any features."

"Not true. I think what matters is the overall look. And I think you look perfect sweetheart."

Now a blush made its way onto Miku's cheeks. "...t-thanks."

The two girls enjoyed each other's undivided company for the next few days. Miku's immune system kept growing stronger and stronger as it got used to dealing with germs and such. Eventually the clean suits were no longer needed. Miku was even allowed to go up and visit the children's ward and play with the kids. A few weeks and the day finally came when Miku was to be discharged from the hospital; free to live her life out in the world.

"Now Miku, you need to be careful out there. Your immune system is still that of a child's so don't take any exotic trips for a while and be sure to protect yourself from the sun."

Miku stood at attention and saluted. "Understood." She and the hospital staff all laughed at the tealette's antics. She was going to miss these people they had basically been her family. On the way towards the exit, she was given a lot of cheers, some handshakes, and a few hugs. Especially from Haku. She even had some tears on her face.

"I'm going to miss you Miku." she said weepily.

"I'm gonna miss you too Haku."

"Take care of yourself out in the world, okay?"

"I will. You should come hang out with us sometime."

"I'd like that." Haku gave the girl a smile and another tight hug before letting her be on her way.

The teal girl took her first step outside letting the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, and the fresh air all hitting her at once. It was amazing. Something she had only ever dreamed of. She then felt her hand be taken in another. Luka's hand to be exact.

"So Miku. What do you want to do first?"

"Doesn't matter to me, as long as I'm with you."

The two girls smiled at each other and began to walk off to their new life together. Two butterflies; one pink, and one teal, dancing together as they did so.

"Hey Luka?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"When do you think it will rain?"

THE END