1 Ch. 1: Spiral Tones

It's been nearly a month since Rikka had collaborated with Calliope to make their song "Spiral Tones". And ever since then, he found it was impossible to put his mind off of the girl. Everything, from the way she laughed, the way she smiled, the way she composed herself, he simply couldn't not think about her. It wasn't too long before he figured he was in love. And he found it quite ironic. I mean, falling in love with Death? It's something straight out of a Yoasobi song, isn't it? Even so, his robotic heart couldn't waver on this subject. And that's another thing he found ironic. An android, falling in love? It sounds kind of funny when you say it out loud. And yet he couldn't help but feel that way. In time, he felt it was time to confess…

...He couldn't bring himself to do it. It was somewhat embarrassing. He's an android, yet he couldn't bring himself to profess his love? Robots shouldn't even feel to begin with. His internal struggle began to eat away at him. Of course, he would feel much better if he got his feelings off his chest, but the fear of rejection… the thought of his love being turned down was unbearable. And, according to his robotic calculations, there's a pretty high chance that there's a higher chance that Calliope didn't share the same feelings for him as he did for her. After all, they've only collaborated a few times. He assumed she probably had eyes for Kiara. So, for a week or so, he swallowed his feelings. Until he couldn't take it anymore. And he devised a plan. It was risky. Almost too risky. But he really had nothing to lose at this point. That is, except for his love.

...

Rikka found himself atop the Cover Corporation building. So many great memories were shared there. He thought back to all his friends… Izuru, Astel, Temma, Roberu… Aru, Miyabi, Shien, Oga… even Kira, Suzaku, and Kaoru… his interactions with them all made up his android self. And he couldn't forget Matsuri, his first friend from Hololive. But above all, the first person he thought of, was Calliope. He smirked and looked down. It must have been over fifty stories. And he didn't feel scared at all. He closed his eyes and put one foot in front of the other.

He would have fallen down if it weren't for a familiar pink-haired reaper grabbing Rikka's hand. She had firmly planted her scythe in the building and clutched his arm. He was now dangling fifty stories above the ground. Impressively, Calliope managed to lift the android up to the roof. She sighed, tuckered out from the feat. Rikka smiled at her.

"Rikka, it's…" Calliope expressed, "It's not your time yet."

"Uh-huh," Rikka grinned, "That's all well and good. Except for the fact that I'm an android. I don't have a soul. Meaning my 'time' shouldn't matter."

"W-well, that's…" Calliope stammered, her face somewhat flushed, "That's… uh…"

As Calliope struggled to find the right words, Rikka walked up to the girl and wrapped her in a warm embrace. This act only made her more wordless, but she complied, wrapping her arms around the android.

"You might be a robot, Rikka, and your soul might not be physical," Calliope admitted, her arms beginning to get a bit tighter around Rikka's torso, "But if I couldn't detect souls and didn't know you were an android, you could have fooled me."

"And why is that?" Rikka asked, a victorious smile adorning his face all the while.

"Well, I guess it's because…" Calliope explained, her heart racing against Rikka's chest, "It's because you've got a personality of your own, and your own likes and dislikes… and you're very kind… to me, especially…"

Her grip on the boy began looser, and she looked up to gaze into the android's emerald eyes. He complied, becoming lost in the scarlet eyes he fell in love with. And, like clockwork, the two's faces became intertwined, sharing a kiss. Calliope's face was almost as pink as her hair at this point. Before long, she quickly pulled back.

"Woah, woah, woah…" she said, her voice turning from soft to a bit harsh, "That was… amazing… but why the hell did you try and jump?!"

"Oh, haha…" Rikka laughed, kind of regretting his decision, "I was afraid to admit that I loved you, so I kind of manipulated you to come out here."

"Y-you what?!" Calliope stuttered, completely in shock, "And what if I didn't come?!"

"I…" Rikka thought for a moment, "I didn't really think that far, to be honest."

"Figures, airhead," Calliope walked up and flicked the boy's forehead, smirking, "You're lucky I love you."

"I definitely am," Rikka nodded, "I know that much."

"B-but wait, if word got out…" Calliope panicked, "People would get pissed, right? I mean, we've both got some big shippers, huh?"

"Sure," Rikka nodded, "But they've only got something to say when they're faceless, right? I learned that from a talented rapper I know."

"I…" Calliope's face flushed again, "You've got a way with words, Rikka…"

"Thanks for the flattery," Rikka chuckled, "Do you promise to love me forever?"

"Yeah, yeah," Calliope giggled along with the android, "My love for you is… is like a spiral. Others say out of control, but we just keep spinning…"

"Look at us, quoting our own song," Rikka rolled his eyes, "Wanna stream together next week?"

"Yeah," Calliope nodded, hands on her hips, "I'd like that a lot, Rikka."