Hi!

This is in fact the sequel to "Hatsune Miku: Rising to Fame" but it's a lot different. So it's not necessary to read that story first, this just takes place in the same setting, after the events of the first story. The bad news about this story is that it'll take me longer to write chapters because I don't have them prewritten (I wanted to start this as soon as possible.) Enjoy!

A short Utauloid with purple hair trudged down a hallway of the building dedicated to Vocaloid and Utauloid Education Program, eyes narrowed in thought.

She was on her way to the big room with the stage, where Meiko, the Vocaloid in charge of pretty much everything that went on, would probably be making an announcement about the success of those Vocaloids everyone just adored: Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin and Len, and SeeU.

The girl sighed inwardly as she thought about how unfair this whole program was. Though no one actually said it, everyone knew that Utauloids would just never be as talented as Vocaloids, except for the one exception that came close in popularity, Kasane Teto.

"Eri!"

The girl froze in place before reluctantly turning around. "Go away, Kyooteru," she said, before she had even seen who had called her name. She didn't need to.

The boy that had called Eri tilted his head to the side. "Is that any way to treat your best friend?"

Eri turned away indignantly. "You're not my best friend anymore." She kept walking, but she closed her eyes in exasperation as she heard the taps of running footsteps behind her. She turned around abruptly, preparing to yell at Kyooteru Subaru, when she realized in a panic that he wasn't stopping.

She yelped in surprise as he ran into her, causing them both to topple onto the ground. "Subaru! I told you to go away!" she shrieked, trying to push the boy off her.

Subaru grinned, standing up. "You're pretty cute when you blush," he remarked, tapping his own cheek.

Eri was up in a flash, trying her best to look intimidating. "Shut up!" she yelled, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Leave me alone, you stalker!" She turned and stomped the rest of the way to the auditorium, before relaxing slightly, hoping he was gone.

Glancing around, she spotted a girl with blonde hair wearing a pink jacket. She immediately recognized her closest friend, Uta Mai, and hurried to go sit next to her. Mai watched Eri, walking towards her, and smirked slightly. "Kyooteru?" she asked, seeing Eri's disgusted expression, and Eri nodded, frowning.

"He annoys me so much sometimes..." she complained.

"Well, I'm just glad it's not my problem," Mai said unsensitively.

Eri sighed. She knew Mai didn't mean it. She had never really been affected by Mai's comments, seeing how her own were just as uncaring. That may have been the very reason that they became good friends.

"Ma-i~!" A boy approached the two girls, smiling like an idiot, and sat down on the other side of Mai. "Are you having a bad hair day?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "Good to see you, too, Riku."

"Hey, I just wanted to see how it felt to be you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mai gave Riku a death glare, and he held his hands up in defense.

"You just always insult people, that's all..." Riku said quietly.

"Whatever, Miku."

"It's not my fault that I look like her! I don't know whose idea it was to make me look like her, but not mine!" Riku protested. "Even though she is kinda cute," he added.

Eri frowned. Another thing that was unfair about being a Utauloid. Vocaloids were always the trendsetters, it seemed. When one of the Vocaloids or Utauloids gained consciousness in that white room where each intelligent robot was created, their design and vocal ability was already determined...

A Vocaloid with white hair stepped onto the stage and glanced around quickly, checking to see that the room was full. As she picked up a microphone, the room quieted down slightly, waiting to see what she would say.

"Hello," she seemed to be greeting the whole room. "Some of you know me, but for those of you who don't, I'm Yowane Haku, and I'll explain in a moment, but for now just know that I'll be in charge for a while, assisted by Akita Neru.

"Right as I speak, Meiko is on her way with Miku, Rin, and Len to make sure they're safe as they participate in their first concert in the USA! Luka is also traveling with them to perform a few songs, and since she has the best English pronunciation.

"Also, SeeU has been asked to go to South Korea for an interview, and she could possibly be in a concert in the future. Kaito, who you should all know from when you were new here, will be accompanying her.

"Since Kaito was Meiko's first pick to be in charge, but can't be here, Meiko has trusted me to be in charge. So I'll greatly appreciate your patience if you'll just bear with Neru and me, and Meiko or Kaito should be back within the next week. Thank you for your attention."

Haku put down the microphone and smiled before exiting the stage, causing the room to erupt in excited conversations. Eri glanced at Mai, who seemed to be somewhere between curiousity and reluctance to accept the "good news."

"Want to come to my room?" Eri said over the noise that filled the room. Mai nodded and the two got up and made their way out of the room.

Once in Eri's room, the two girls sighed simultaneously. "Do you think it's nice to be loved by so many people?" Eri asked. "Or even just be known by so many people."

Mai shrugged. "Kyooteru loves you," she joked.

"He doesn't count. Besides, he'll probably stop bothering me soon," Eri mumbled.

"I doubt it. He even claims that you guys are best friends. I don't even see how that would be possible, though."

"It's because we were both created on the same day, and only us. So we kind of had to stick together for the first few lessons, and he wasn't so bad then. He got annoying after a week, though."

"You really should get more friends," Mai said, suddenly changing the subject and looking concerned. "You've been here for longer than even Miku, haven't you? And you still only have me, and sometimes Riku."

"Well, that would require me going out and making friends, which I don't want to do," Eri said firmly. She had to admit, it would be really easy, since the section of the building that the Vocaloids and Utauloids lived in was just a series of hallways lined by doors, each door being the entrance to a room that two Vocaloids or Utauloids would share. All it would take to make a friend or two would be knocking on a door and striking up a friendly conversation, since most were generally glad to make friends.

Mai sighed and walked over to the large window that covered the entire wall opposite to the door. There was one in every room, and each room showed slightly different scenery. Eri's window showed a small section of a beach, where it appeared to be very warm, as waves lapped at the shore with the setting sun glinting off of them.

Just then, Eri's roommate, Mommo Ran, walked into the room. Seeing Mai, she tilted her head and smiled. "Oh, hi, Mai," she greeted.

Mai made a small sound in acknowledgement, lost in thought. Eri turned to Ran. "You've met Miku once before, haven't you?" she asked.

"Mm, yeah, she seemed nice."

Eri sat down on her own bed and looked back at Mai. "I wish I had met her. She seems to have such an exciting life, going to concerts and recording multiple songs every day. I wonder how she keeps up with it..."

Ran looked a little bit downcast. "I wish I could even record one song. Just one. I don't know why I was even created, if no one wants to use me."

Eri glanced back at Ran, feeling slight pity. "Oh well. Nothing we can really do about it."

"Except make some more friends," Mai interjected. "You might be a bit happier."

There was silence for a moment, and then Mai turned away from the window and started to leave. "I'm going to go back to my own room now, K? If I see Kyooteru, I'll tell him you need some company."

Eri groaned. "What's her obsession with Subaru?" she asked out loud. Ran gave a small laugh and shrugged.

"He's likeable, you have to give him that."

"No. Just no," Eri said, crossing her arms and letting herself fall backwards onto her bed. Ran walked over to her own bed and lay down, closing her eyes to sleep, not caring what time it was.

Eri sighed, half-expecting a knock on the door from Subaru at any moment. There wasn't one, however, and Eri lost track of how long she spent just lying on her bed, motionless, with nothing to do. It really did seem pointless, to her, to be created for such a boring lifestyle. If no one wanted her to sing songs for them, she didn't see why she needed to continue to exist.

. . .

Eri awoke in the morning, unaware that she had fallen asleep in the first place, but fairly unbothered by that. Without checking to see if Ran was still in the room or not, because she really didn't care, Eri left her room and made her way down the halls, just as she had done nearly every day after she woke up for a long time.

She walked the familiar route of hallways and corners before coming to the room that she hardly ever gotten to use, but often spent time in anyway. She stepped into the recording room and quietly closed the door behind her, before she paused, still facing the door, to listen to see if anyone was singing at the moment.

The recording room was the room in which Vocaloids and Utauloids sang the songs that appeared on their beds, in the form of a piece of paper with written instructions on how to sing the song. Most Vocaloids would get quite a few songs a day, along with a few popular Utauloids, while the rest of them would be lucky to get a couple songs a month.

There was no one currently singing, and Eri turned around and found herself face to face with Subaru. She jumped with surprise, causing Subaru to break into a grin.

"Did I scare you?" he asked, smiling gleefully.

Eri narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked, ignoring his question.

Subaru pretended to look sad. "I thought the whole reason you came was to meet me here," he said, poking Eri's shoulder.

Eri brushed her shoulder off and scowled as she saw Subaru waiting for her retort. "No, actually, I come here every morning," she asserted in a belittling tone.

"I know."

Eri stared at Subaru. "Gee, that's not creepy at all," she finally said sarcastically.

Subaru looked at Eri as if he was examining her, before breaking into a smile at her uncomfortable expression. "Yes, well, I'd like to know why you do that," he said.

"Why's it even matter to you..." Eri mumbled, glaring at Subaru. "If you know I come here every morning, you obviously know why."

Subaru tapped the corner of his mouth, looking thoughtful. "To stalkerishly listen to other Vocaloids and Utauloids record songs and then sing them as if you were the one who had gotten them?"

Eri said nothing as she shifted her gaze to a random corner of the room, trying to ignore Subaru and wishing he would go away.

"Ahah, you're blushing again," Subaru announced.

Eri looked back at Subaru. She stared him down for a moment, before deciding that was the last straw. Bringing her hand up, she gave Subaru a moment to register what she was about to do, then, with a smirk, slapped him as hard as she could.

"Leave me alone, Kyooteru," she said coldly, before leaving the room and walking quickly down the hall. She arrived at the door she knew belonged to Mai and her roommate and knocked urgently.

Mai opened the door, and, seeing that it was Eri, moved out of the way so that Eri could enter. "What'd you do now?" she asked, reading Eri's expression.

"I just...slapped Subaru..." Eri said, somewhat surprised at herself. "I mean, yeah, I've been mean to him, but I've never just slapped him..."

Mai raised her eyebrows. "Do you feel bad?"

"Not really..."

"Why were you talking to him anyway?" Mai asked curiously.

"He somehow figured out that I like to sit in the recording room in the morning and listen to songs, and decided to wait for me there today," Eri explained, frowning as she was reminded of how he must know how desperate she was to sing.

"Oh. Well I'll just assume that you had the rightful judgement in that, then," Mai said simply. "Why don't you go back? He might be gone by now."

"I think I'll just wait until tomorrow morning. There was no one in there anyway, so it doesn't matter," Eri decided. "I think I'm going to go back to my own room now."

Mai laughed a little bit. "Ok, you do that. Glad to be of some help," she said somewhat sarcastically, though she didn't mind Eri's random yet consistently numerous short visits throughout the day.

Eri left and returned to her own room, already bored, even when it was only morning. Ran greeted her shortly, and Eri sat down in a chair next to the window, staring at the less-than-perfect ocean.

"What do you think would happen if everyone's favorite Vocaloids suddenly ceased to exist? Would more Utauloids get used?" Eri asked Ran. "I sometimes wish that would happen, just to see what it would be like to be the ones in the center of attention."

Ran closed her eyes and smiled. "Mm. It could be possible," she replied. "I doubt it, though," she added, opening her eyes with a glint of mischief.

"I just really wish I got more songs to sing. I'm tired of singing other Vocaloids' and Utauloids' songs."

Eri flinched slightly as she heard Haku's voice coming from speakers in the ceiling. "We have good news from Meiko in the USA. They've landed safely, and are currently staying in a hotel. More updates to come."

Eri sighed. She partially hated the day that Meiko had the great idea to update everyone else on the performers' activities, ever since they had started sightseeing a little bit at each concert. It just reminded everyone else about the opportunities they'd never get to have.

Eri spent the rest of the day thinking of stories in her head. She had found that was the only suitable way to spend her time. She had figured that if she just imagined futures that catered to her wishes, she could add little details here and there and find herself with quite an interesting story.

Eventually she got tired and went to bed, mentally noting that yet another useless day had passed.

. . .

"Again. You're here again. Why?"

Eri found herself staring at Subaru yet again in the recording room the following morning. She was nearly beside herself with annoyance.

Subaru nodded. "You didn't really tell me why you come here everyday."

Before either one of them could do anything else, Haku's voice resounded throughout the room, causing Eri to look up. "Only one day until the concert! Meiko says she'll be making the best of it with Miku, Rin, Len, and Luka. Remember, we'll be playing her concert live on the speakers here, so you can look forward to that."

Eri looked back at Subaru. "That's why. I'm so sick of having a pointless existence while some Vocaloids are having the time of their lives constantly. I never get to sing. No one wants to hear me sing, so I figure I might as well sing when no one has to, even if my voice is terrible."

Subaru looked thoughtful again. "And you feel the need to do this every morning?"

Eri avoided eye contact while she nodded.

Subaru smiled. "Well, I support you 100%," he said cheerfully.

"Of course you do," Eri mumbled.

Subaru pretended he hadn't heard her. "No one's in here right now, but you still know songs from previous days, right? Feel free to sing those," he said, sitting down on a couch that was in the room and leaning back, looking expectant.

"I don't want to."

"Yes you do. You just don't want me to hear. The thing is, I've heard you before, you just didn't know it. So what's the big deal now, hm?" Subaru asked, his tone slightly challenging.

"The day that I sing knowing you can hear me is the day I publish a book," Eri retorted. "It's not happening."

Subaru appeared interested. "You still like to write? I thought you gave up on your journal," he said.

Eri rolled her eyes, remembering the journal she had kept for about a week after being created. "I stopped writing down what happened to me in reality because that was boring. Yes, for your information, I do still like to write. In my head. About made up things that could happen in the future."

"Am I in your made up story?" Subaru asked, smiling cheerfully.

"Yeah, locked in your room forever."

"Hm. That's not very fun," Subaru remarked. "Well, we've made progress today. Good talk, and I'll meet you back here again tomorrow morning." Subaru pretended to formally offer his hand to Eri to shake, but she rejected it with a cold glare. Subaru shrugged and made his way out the door.

"Don't you dare come back tomorrow!" Eri called after him. She groaned, knowing he probably would anyway. "Well, I just won't come back here," she decided out loud.

. . .

Contrary to her original resolution, Eri found herself going back to the recording room the next day, after being encouraged by Mai, much to her disliking. Sure enough, Subaru was waiting for her on the couch. He greeted her with a surprised smile.

"That was pretty fast. I didn't expect you to get bored for at least another few hours," he remarked.

Eri pressed her palm to her forehead. "You would've waited here for hours? You really are a stalker."

"Hm, well, I knew you'd come, anyway."

"Why are you so persistent all of the sudden? You haven't talked to me this much for at least a few months. Sure, you bugged me quite a few times, but why do you keep coming back?" Eri asked in exasperation.

"Funny, I was going to ask the same of you," Subaru replied with a grin.

"I'm serious."

"It seems unfair that you don't have to answer your own question, but fine. I'm here because I ran out of other girls to annoy."

"Don't act like you know girls," Eri said coldly.

"I ran out of other boys to annoy."

"Now you're just lying," Eri said, her voice rising with annoyance. "Fine! Don't give me a reason. But if you can't give me a reason, stop bothering me!"

Subaru looked slightly nervous. "Well if I gave you the real reason, you might have second thoughts about certain other people's loyalty."

Eri thought for a moment. "You mean this wasn't your idea?"

"Maybe."

"Ok, well if someone just wants me to spend time with your or something, fine. You have to stay with me for the rest of the day, got it? All the way until Miku's concert. You can go back to your own room when it's over. By that time, you'll have proof for whoever made you do this that you got me to spend time with you," Eri decided.

"Uh, it's not exactly like..." Subaru trailed off, then shrugged his shoulders. "Ok," he agreed after a second thought. "If it'll make you happy."

Eri, satisfied with her plan, marched out of the recording room, determined to at least leave Subaru bored out of his mind by the end of the day. Subaru followed, not sure if he should be happy or scared.

As the day progressed with Eri doing nothing but staring out her window with Subaru sitting next to her, clueless of what to do, and Ran occasionally checking up on them out of curious amusement, an announcement finally came on the speakers.

"For unexplained reasons, our connections with Meiko have been eliminated. This means that we will not be able to let you listen to the concert live, and it also means that Meiko and/or Miku, Rin, Len, and Luka may be in an unplanned situation. Please don't panic, we will be doing our best to figure this out, but just know that the singers may not be returning as soon as we had hoped. Thank you for your attention."

Eri looked at Subaru for the first time nearly all day. "Doesn't Meiko usually communicate announcements and updates using their airplane pilot/guide's cellphone to email the computer in Kaito's classroom? I mean, I know she can't get the concert to us live like that, but if Haku can't get a hold of Meiko at all, that means something has at least happened to their guide."

Subaru shrugged. "I don't know, I've never heard anything like that."

"Oh, well I was curious once so I decided to check it out. What if something happened to the Vocaloids?" Eri asked, a small edge of panic growing in her voice.

Ran, who was currently in the room, laughed softly. "Didn't you say you sometimes wished that would happen? Just to see what it would be like?"

Subaru looked from Ran to Eri. "Was that what happened in one of your made up futures? What happened in it?"

"I don't know. I couldn't think of a good enough future without Vocaloids."

Subaru tilted his head in worry. "Well then, considering your imagination, this could be bad."