Other Fan Fiction ❯ Crypton Academy for Vocaloid Enhancement (クリプトンアカデミーボーカロイド用の拡張) ❯ Chapter 1: Meiko, age 20. (芽衣子、20歳) ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1: Meiko, age 20.

 

Meiko was the first Vocaloid by Yamaha.

 

The day that she first opened her eyes, men in lab coats surrounded her. It was a pristine white room, and the bed she was laying on was very hard plastic. She remembered seeing something like this before she was shut off. The familiar sight meant nothing to her, though, and she blinked, eyes processing information. Plus, she felt different.

 

“Hello, Meiko.”

 

She turned her head slightly to the side. They all seemed to be looking at her. Was Meiko her code? The scientists rejoiced over the small reaction from the robot, and smiled at her.

 

“That's your name. Meiko. Can you say it?”

 

The android's mouth opened and choked out a sputtering “May—ee—ko.” Seeing the faces react to her choppy sound made her say it again, getting more applause from the scientists. If there was one thing she was programmed to know, it was applause, and applause was good.

 

“Meiko, would you come with us, please?” A scientist extended his hand to grab her forearm and help the android off the table. He quickly taught her standing and walking, and took her over to a large surface. She could see the scientist in it, staring back at her, and then she saw what he was holding.

 

A girl with short brown hair stared back at her. She was wearing a small red vest over a black tube top, and a red skirt with black boots. Her red eyes blinked as Meiko blinked, and her gloved hands touched her face when Meiko touched her own. The scientists explained the idea of a mirror, and Meiko picked up fast, understanding she was seeing herself. Meiko enjoyed mirrors, and for the first few weeks would be caught singing and playing in front of one, watching her reflection with a smile.

 

After 7 long months of teaching, Meiko was as human as they could make her. Her voice needed some work, because it still sounded a bit robotic, but with the wide use of auto-tune as decorative elements to modern pop music, they would pass it off as that for now.

 

The only issue was teaching age. It seemed Vocaloids only aged when turned off, due to the change from 16 to 20 for Meiko during those 4 years of being offline. Explaining that she would be 20 forever was hard to do, but imagine if Meiko was to be interviewed- how could she explain she had no birthday?

 

Meiko was currently lounging back in a chair, her boots up on the table, and reading a magazine. They even taught her how to read Kanji and English during her time there, but Meiko could only speak and sing in Japanese. She had a rocker's attitude to her, quickly rebelling to whatever the scientists were trying to get her to do. She loved singing, but she refused to be one of those 16-year-old tarts dancing about the stage singing primitive “I love you because you're cute” songs. She was 20. She wanted songs with meaning. The scientists gave in, and agreed that she had a point.

 

But, Meiko was very moody, and this didn't fly well with her creators. They quickly came to the conclusion she was lonely- a concept introduced two weeks ago. They thought a male counterpart would be a good idea. They could even develop a nice voice for him so they could harmonize together. It would be a great idea, they agreed, but after putting up with teaching Meiko, they were hoping their next Vocaloid would be an easier thing to teach.

 

Meiko's voice lessons originally got more in depth as weeks went by, and she was working hard, but couldn't help but notice the scientists were pre-occupied after a while, and her studies were becoming less and less important to them. Could someone be taking her place? `Are they developing another Vocaloid?' The thought couldn't escape her head, and to be honest, she hated it. `I'm not ready to go out into the music industry yet! I still need work, you idiots!' She huffed. She was not going to cry in front of them. They weren't worth it, from how they treated her. She threw a small jacket she got during a shopping trip with one of the scientists over her shoulders, and walked out to the lower complex of Yamaha to the vending machines. It was always cold down there.

 

Eyeing one machine, she noticed a small drink inside. Vocaloids were able to drink and eat like humans, and she was thirsty after her lesson. The crying that had started once she left the upper complex was wearing out her throat, and her eyes burned. She took some of the money that they supplied her for these occasions out of her pocket, and bought the drink, as well as a cup of microwavable Ramen and chopsticks.

 

Heating up her noodles, she looked down at the drink. One Cup Ozeki Sake. They taught her about sake, but she usually stuck to water. The way she was feeling, though, she didn't care. She popped the top of the drink, grabbed her Ramen, and sat at the small table in the room. Taking a bite of the noodles, she wiped her eyes and choked in a breath.

 

“They can't replace you, Meiko. You just have to remind them that you were their first ever Vocaloid, and without you, this all wouldn't be possible. You're special,” she sighed out and picked up the sake, taking a gulp. It burned a bit at first, but the taste was good. She had never experienced something like this before. It was nice. She took another drink, and put the can down, focusing back on her noodles, appealing to her growling stomach.

 

“Maybe it would be better with company, though.”

 

That was it. Someone like her would be nice. Someone who could relate to what she was going through. It was hell at Yamaha. Her room was basically a medical check-up room modified to construct androids. The times she ate was going to the Ramen vending machine with the little money she was given. Yes, she knew they at least were new to this, but they weren't treating her like the human being they wanted her to be.

 

She was sick of it.

 

After a month or so of the decrease in lessons, Meiko knew there was another Vocaloid in the building. She had heard the staff talking about this guy- Kaito. The office was now split in two- half to continue lessons and care for Meiko, and half to focus on developing this new voice. Meiko was curious about this Kaito kid, but she convinced herself she couldn't care less.

 

Then the day came that the scientists woke Meiko and stole her from her room. It was time to meet Vocaloid 0-B.