the. wanderlast

[ l u k a . m e g u r i n e ] vocaloid. performer. tuna enthusiast. master to ... affiliated with knights vocation but feel free to say hi.

[the-wanderlast]

No Turning Back. [Summoning Musashi]

[stray-cat-musashi]

“Angler.” He replied in almost an instant.  ”I mean, I like all types of fish, but my favorite is Angler! Rare, meaty, and puts up a hell of a fight!”

As Musashi continued his grin, the memories of the Anthedon began to flow back.  The assignment in which he had to help prepare Angry Angler Hellstew—which, as the name sounds, is excruciatingly hot— for a cooking tournament with a rival restaurant.  It was one of his easier missions, yes—but the sheer thrill of trying to catch an Angler always put a smile to his face and Mycella’s face.

Then he thought of Mycella, and as soon as that happened a frown of grief and sorrow appeared only briefly before fading away back into his grin.

He also remember when he was one of the first to taste the diabolical concoction.

To this day, his tastebuds are still healing from the rigorous sores and burn marks imprinted on his tongue.

“No S-Spicy fish, m’am.”

[the-wanderlast]

Luka blinked.

Angler...? It wasn't tuna...but it wasn't salmon, either. She pondered momentarily, wondering how to reply to such a revelation. Then again, everyone did have their preferred food, so she supposed it wasn't completely bad...and at least it wasn't salmon. Or eggplant. Luka suppressed the urge to shiver as she remembered Gakupo's last eggplant dinner...she had a computer for a brain and even she couldn't figure out how it was scientifically possible to mix eggplant and eggnog.

Anyway, where was she again? Angler fish. That was acceptable enough.

"I've never had angler. But tuna is my personal favourite. Considering how versatile it is as an ingredient, it's the perfect fish for anything." she said, before smiling, "So I guess you won't be trying my spicy tuna roll, then."

The android gave Musashi a nod, "I have a feeling things won't be this peaceful for very long. But...I'm certain we can handle it." She held out her hand again, as if affirming their partnership. It wasn't like he had a choice whether or not to be her servant, but she wanted their relationship to be based on friendship, not servitude.

"Let's win, Musashi!"

[the-wanderlast]

No Turning Back. [Summoning Musashi]

[stray-cat-musashi]

A frail doll.  This was the first thing that popped into Musashi’s head.  A frail doll of priceless detail that it would be quite a shame if someone were to ruin the doll’s physique.   Would this be Musashi’s motivation? A new drive for him until he can reach the Anthedon? To protect and serve a robot—an ironic twist of fate one would bring on the vagabond—would prove to be his most interesting challenge yet.

Musashi rubbed his chin, and then gave an affirmative nod:  ”Course, I’ll help ya out.  Well, I don’t have a choice, right?”  He grinned, scratching the back of his head.  ”You did summon me after all.”  He was already beginning to like Luka for more than her honesty.  For a robot, she seemed to have quite the leveled head on.  Not to mention her singing abilities caught his eye—mostly because in reality, Musashi is quite the accomplished Karaoke singer himself.  (Not really.  In fact he is a poor singer that he only justifies with his flashy showmanship.)  Having someone like Luka around could boost his morale to finally write that theme song of his.

“Well, ah, partner, what else do ya wanna know?”

[the-wanderlast]

What else did she want to know? She wanted to know everything. Obviously, one could never really know everything, especially in regards to another person, and a human to boot. Androids like her were much easier to get to know, it was all there in the manual. But people were a lot more complicated than that. Was there anything she wanted to know right now? The pink haired woman pondered for a moment, going through possible questions in her mind.

She would definitely be interested in whether he could sing or not, or if he played any instruments, or was a pervert, or...other things, but there really wasn't much she was dying to know. A metaphor, of course; androids didn't really 'die', but they do get broken and being broken was not something Luka ever really wanted to experience.

Oh, wait a minute. How could she have forgotten?

"Fish." She said, turning her head towards her servant in an almost in a robotic monotone, "What is your favourite fish?"

This was a make or break question. 

[the-wanderlast]

No Turning Back. [Summoning Musashi]

[stray-cat-musashi]

  Musashi was at least pleased by her honesty.  It was a trait that was surprisingly dying with some people, so it’s wonders when a robot goes the honest route. After answering his questions, Musashi was a bit disheartened at the ‘what he does’ question.  Normally, he’s all for explaining the art of the samurai, his own style, and his journey, but would it really matter to someone like her?  Someone who’s probably cold hearted?  These were all assumptions, yes, but they cycled his mind like a bike.  Musashi, tired of standing, leaned on his giant Oar, now propped and settled firmly into the ground.  He took a moment to think, and then he responded:”

  “Well, to begin, I’m a samurai.”  Then, he paused, and continued, “Well, actually, I’m the ‘Blade Master’ in my world.  Any sword, I can probably wield and use to my advantage.  At first, I was a simple traveling samurai—a vagabond, to be specific.  Then…some things happened…regarding a giant flying whale and my eternal rival.  Since then?  There’s been these portals that’ve been summoning me and sending me to a bunch of different places.  So, I thought the best thing I could do is to keep going down the rabbit holes and hope for the best to come back…to the flying whale I mentioned earlier.”

  That wasn’t the full story.  Musashi didn’t want to mention to her the never ending robot armies he slain—due to his childish thought of Luka getting revenge for her ‘fallen brothers.’—, or get into more detail of the Anthedon, the aforementioned flying whale inhabited by the people who worship him, and the multiple princesses he had to save (including one he was particularly sweet on.).  So, he decided to keep it to himself.  At least until he could trust his master more.

“But, that’s all that I can think of aside from talents.  How about you, Mast—err, Luka?”

[the-wanderlast]

A samurai? Luka let out a small sigh of relief. The concept of the samurai was familiar to her, and she was pretty sure she had some sort of, uh, 'data' about it in her brain. And Gakupo was a samurai, wasn't he? If Musashi held a title, especially something that sounded as important as 'Blad Master', then she really had nothing to worry about. She was certain that with cooperation, the two of them could probably handle anything this war threw at them.

Hopefully.

The android wasn't quite sure what to make of...large, flying whales, but hey, she was a singing android. She'd seen a lot of weird things before, so who was she to judge? She had just revealed that she was an android, and he didn't seem to have a problem with that.

"Me?" She asked in response to Musashi's question. "You mean my talents? Um...the purpose of my creation was to sing and perform. I'm supposed to realistically mimic human voice and action. My body isn't real, but it doesn't really do much in terms of combat." She scratched her head slightly, "I suppose that's why I need someone to fight for me."

Luka let out a small smile, "But I'm sure with your help, I won't need to."

[the-wanderlast]

No Turning Back. [Summoning Musashi]

[stray-cat-musashi]

   Musashi stared a bit blankly at the woman—or what appeared to be a woman.  He cupped his chin, examining her features, and noticing a few traits about her. She was pretty, without a doubt, and she looked young.  Probably in her early twenties.  Slender, interesting clothing.  Hell, Musashi would even go as far as to say that she had features of Mycella.  But that’s where the problem lied: everything about this ‘Luka’ woman seemed a bit…’too’ perfect, one would say.  Like, she wasn’t born like that, but rather ‘created.’  Musashi admittedly was lacking in the intuition department, compared to other samurai, but there was no questioning that this woman was indeed a rob—

  “She’s staring at my hair.” Musashi thought, a visible tick mark appearing on his forehead.  Well, she can’t be all too bad if the first thought she has is regarding his impressive hair.  Along with that, her speech patterns were pretty concealed.  She was nervous of the whole situation itself.  Not to mention that she seemed pretty sincere with her questions.  

Musashi gave her a reassuring smile, extending a hand for a greeting handshake.

“Let’s answer all the questions you have:  I’m Miyamoto Musashi, I am going to be your servant, and I know my hair is considered odd.”  After giving a bit of a laugh-snort, Musashi continued: “It’s nice to meet you, Luka.  Hey, I don’t have to call you ‘master’ all the time, right?  I’m…not really used to that.  Ooh!  How about short names?! Or nicknames.  Say, did anyone ever tell you that ya looked like a robot?  You are a robot , aren’t you? Blahblahblah blah blahblah…” 

Thus, Musashi continued with his never ending assault of questions that have little to no correlations with each other than to serve Musashi’s appetite for answers.  Let’s only hope that he quits while he’s ahead…

[the-wanderlast]

Luka shook her servant's hand, his name was apparently Musashi. It sounded Japanese, and with the katana he wielded it didn't seem so far-fetched that he actually came from Japan. Perfect. There would be no miscommunication between them.

Then he began to bombard her with questions. Luka blinked again; absorbing everything he had said was easy with her not-really-human-brain. It was actually more like processors than a brain, full of computer chips, and memory drives, and wiring that served as her body's nervous system. With an artificial breath, Luka answered the questions one by one. "No, you don't have to call me 'master', I would find that awkward. Short names and nicknames are fine, I suppose, but I'm not sure how someone could shorten 'Luka'. People don't usually tell me I look like a robot, but I suppose I am, in some way." She looked at her hands, her metal bones and plastic joints covered with synthetic skin, "Is it that obvious?"

Well. He was a curious young man. She figured it was useful to be curious when in a strange place, but only if it kept one out of trouble. After all, curiosity did kill the cat, but she was in no way bothered by the countless questions. Besides, they were only trying to get to know each other, right? How bad could it be? And if he could figure out that she wasn't really a human, then he must have some sort of talent in reading people. That could be a good trait in this new city.

"What about you? What is it exactly that you do, anyway?"

[the-wanderlast]

No Turning Back. [Summoning Musashi]

[stray-cat-musashi]

     It was the strangest day Musashi had encountered.   More strange than his first arrival in the Anthedon.  More strange than his first (and thankfully final) bite of Angry Angler Hellstew.  There was never an instance in which he was summoned twice in the same day, let alone in the same area.  He wanted to object.  Wanted to run away from the ominous portal, and get out of the city as fast as he could.  Yet, he couldn’t help but feel…comforted…by the call.

 ”Could you please be with me, always?”

 That voice, that constant echo made Musashi feel more welcome than any warm home could ever provide.  This voice was calling to him.  It needed him.  

     So, he turned around.  He let go of the hardened grip on his Katana, and walked forward to the portal, providing the same embrace with the same enthusiastic grin he always delivered.  This wasn’t part of his journey, no.  But it was something else.  A new path for this vagabond to travel.  With a new companion, no doubt.  

   Then, he arrived out of the portal exit, staring directly at the person who he would now serve.

“…So, uh, you’re my master, then?”  Musashi inquired.

[the-wanderlast]

Luka was rather surprised at the person she seemed to have just summoned. It was a man, with weird hair and a weird katana. The weapon wasn't a stranger to her, she herself had wielded it a few times before. But she had never seen a person with such strange...hair before. That was hair, wasn't it? And this was coming from a humanoid android with pink hair that often resembled an octopus at its worst.

"I...erm, yes. I suppose I am." she replied, scratching the back of her head, "I think you're supposed to protect me during this war. If you don't mind, that is."

The Vocaloid coughed into her hand. She was never that great with social interactions. Usually she left that with the more 'famous' Vocaloids, Miku, the twins...she preferred staying in the studio and recording instead of actually talking to strangers. But if he was supposed to serve her, she figured that some sort of understanding had to happen between them. 

"I guess we can start with names. I'm Luka Megurine. It's very nice to meet you."

[the-wanderlast]

No Turning Back. [Summoning Musashi]

Luka paced back and forth in the small room she had claimed for her use. It seemed she found herself in the middle of a war. That was not good, no, not at all. Her body wasn't designed for fighting, and as durable as it seemed, it would not last long under the stress of prolonged fighting. She knew of the master-servant contract that existed here, and she figured it was the only way to defend herself if push came to shove. And as such, she definitely needed to summon one of those.

Whatever they were.

At first, Luka was hesitant to summon her 'servant'. What if they didn't want to serve her? Well, she assumed they were obliged to do so, but what if they were uncooperative? Did she have it in her to force them into servitude? And she would be responsible for them too...

So many questions, but there was really only one answer. It was time to call her servant forth. Hopefully, they'd at least be civil.

She wasn't quite sure how she did it, but Luka found herself drawing a circle on the ground. It was as if the memory was stored in her mind somewhere, she wasn't quite sure. But it was there, and for some reason she knew she needed a chant now. Er. What chant? Did any chant work?

Hm. Rubbing her chin slightly, she thought of an idea. She couldn't think of a real chant, so maybe she'd just sing to summon her servant. And since this summoning apparently involved circles, why didn't she just...well, sing about circles?

"A radius of 85 centimeters is the furthest distance I can reach," she sang, holding her arms out, "When that day comes, when I get so tired of spinning 'round," She spun once, her hair whipping as she did, "Could you please be with me, always?"

The circle began to glow, and a faint humming began to echo in the room. Shielding her eyes from a flash of bright light, Luka blinked and stared at the figure within the circle.

"Hello...?"

[the-wanderlast]

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?

I am not a human. My memories consist of whatever was found important enough to upload into my brain. I suppose that act in and of itself can be considered my first 'memory'.

[the-wanderlast]