As you turn the doorknob to your one-bedroom apartment, your hand trembles with the ennui of another day spent battling the mundanity of life. Outside, the city is cloaked in twilight, and the faint hum of neon lights and bustling traffic promises a night as alive as the day. Yet, as you step inside, it's the unexpected squeak beneath your worn-out sneaker that rips you from the monotonous rhythm of existence, pulling you down a rabbit hole — or perhaps more aptly, a rat hole — of the extraordinary.
At your feet, a small, grey rodent is squinting up at you with bright, azure eyes, so startlingly human, so unnervingly familiar. The creature bears a minute, pixelated tattoo on its flank, an uncanny, holographic 01. The sight of it sends your heart racing, your mind sprinting towards the unthinkable, the impossible: Hatsune Miku, the world-renowned virtual pop idol, turned into a rat.
Your hand hovers over the creature, a silent gasp caught in your throat. How, you wonder, could such a transformation occur? You, a long-time fan of Miku, know that beneath the binary code and the synthetic voice, there lies no flesh, no blood—certainly no fur. Yet, here she is, the turquoise twintails replaced by a furry tail, her melodious voice now a squeaky chitter.
A well-worn photograph sits on your table. Miku is there in her signature ensemble: the sleek silver tie, the pleated miniskirt, the electric blue hair caught in mid-motion, her twinkling eyes mirroring the thousands of adoring fans reflected in them. You look from the photograph to the rat, your heart pounding a bewildering rhythm. As you absorb this twist in your tale, a single, bone-chilling realization trickles down your spine. Hatsune Miku, the pop sensation, is now Hatsune Miku, the household rodent, scurrying across your linoleum floor.
And then, like an echo from a forgotten dream, the rumors that you once brushed off come rushing back. Whispers of a spiteful producer, dabbling in forbidden tech and arcane knowledge, cursing Miku to live as a rodent for thirty days. A jinxed idol, a span of four weeks, and a fan caught in a bewitching predicament.
What once seemed like an urban legend now feels strikingly real. You glance again at the little rat, and suddenly, you're no longer a fan staring at a cursed idol. You're a guardian, a caretaker to an entity far from her digital comfort. A month stretches before you, an uncertain road littered with potential catastrophes. You swallow hard, stepping back from the precipice of your new reality.
A month with Miku. A month to shelter her, protect her, nurse her back to her true form. Your life, previously defined by routines and an unchanging pattern, is now set off course by a small rodent with azure eyes and an extraordinary secret.