Summary: "…Kaito, have you ever felt like the twins are getting a little…too popular?"
Disclaimer: I don't own Yamaha, Toyota, Crypton, Vocaloid, The Karen-T label, the characters associated with Vocaloid, or the songs mentioned in this story.
Notes: I know guys, I need to post the third chapter to The Unchosen, but this story was just begging to be written down. There's a little inspiration from an awesome Miku/Mikuo cover of Gekokujou included in here. Some of the information in this story, particularly information regarding which songs are under the Karen-T label and fanbases, that I'm not entirely sure about, so don't take my word for it. Everything in this story is exaggerated for humor, so please don't take offense to it.
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Enjoy~
It's already been 3 months since we debuted as the second generation,
but it's still always the first generation (Miku) that's getting the top rank.
We will try to bloom a flower of our own here,
and we will rise up and overthrow the strong.
—Gekokujou
Miku tapped her fingers with frustration on her desk. It wasn't an unusual scene; after all, she was Hatsune Miku, the world's number one virtual diva, and she expected to have things done the way she wanted them, when she wanted them, how she wanted them.
"Making me wait is out of the question! Just who do you think I am?"
Those were lyrics from her first smash-hit, World is Mine. How fitting they were. However, as of late, Miku was feeling like her work had slowed down. It wasn't like she wasn't busy; no, she had almost too much on her plate to handle. From commercials with Toyota, to concerts, to wardrobe changes, she was busy as ever, if not more so. Yet, something felt out of place.
She sighed. The teal-haired girl couldn't explain it, but it felt like her supporters were losing steam—there was an overall lack of enthusiasm. Ok, a complete lack was stretching it. Maybe she meant that there was simply less enthusiasm when compared to her original debut. Or maybe—maybe the enthusiasm level had stayed the same. Miku couldn't complain, as she was still popular, and her fans multiplied in number every day. She still had songs coming out, still had producers backing her up and selling those songs for her. And yet, she still felt something was wrong… I must be terribly self-centered to have all this and manage to find a problem, the teen thought with disgust.
Today, however, was one day Miku had off. The last week had been a blur—not to say it went by fast. Rather, so much happened that she must have been moving at light speed the entire week. Recordings, music videos—it seemed the appointments would never end. Now, however, as she sat in her familiar pink-and-teal room, she had time to quietly listen to the radio, relax, maybe write some more of that song she'd been working on. Miku had decided to do just that. The tealette had tuned in her radio to the Karen-T station, and was humming along to her favorite songs as she thought over the lyrics to her new song.
Suddenly, Heartbreaker came to an end and the sound of a clock ticking came through the speakers, followed by a light voice crying out in an eerie fashion. Cendrillion… Miku thought knowingly. It brought back fond memories. Dark as the song was, working with Kaito on the duet and music video had been her first real opportunity to meet the older Vocaloid. Before that, she hadn't really known him that well, other than the fact that he was, along with Meiko and two English Vocaloids, a part of the Vocaloid-1 group. The twin-tailed girl began to sing along until suddenly, she noticed that the voice singing from the radio was, in fact, not her own. Different words clashed as she took in the realization, hitting a sour note in the process. This song wasn't Cendrillion at all. It was one of the Kagamine twins' songs, Adolescence.
For some reason, that irked her.
Miku couldn't explain why. It just… irked her. A lot.
After a few minutes of trying to focus on her song, the teal-haired girl gave in to her frustration and searched for another channel. She soon found herself tuned in to a universal Vocaloid channel, listening to Staccato and feeling a little better. That, too, had been a fun song. Because of the limitations Crypton had put on their recording company, Miku didn't really see much of Gumi or Miki, but her experience recording with them had been enjoyable, to say the least. Gumi was so sweet, and Miki so upbeat… Miku wouldn't have minded to do another chorus with them again sometime.
As Miku reminisced, her spirits began to lift, and she was able to resume working on her song. A short time later, however, the stream of la-la-la's faded away, and was replaced by bells. The sound of a record being distorted filled her ears. The tealette sighed as she recognized Rin and Len's first big-name duet: Kokoro/Kiseki. She couldn't work like this. The song was beautiful, and yet…
Miku scratched her head in annoyance, reminding herself of her original song, Rolling Girl. Of course, her reason now was not the same reason as the one the girl in the lyrics had; no, the one in Rolling Girl was a much more serious problem. However, Miku simply couldn't deal with listening to the twins right now. Fine, she thought defiantly. Have it your way. I'm going to listen to something else.
The twin-tailed girl spun around in her swivel chair and rolled across the room to look at her library of CD's. There was always Supercell, but she was in the mood for something else. Maybe her first album… or Re:Package. She settled on the latter of the two, and pulled out the familiar grey-and-blue album, popping it into her radio and pressing play.
The music that came out of the radio was, to Miku's dismay, not Anthem, the first track on Re: Package, but an original song of Rin's, Meltdown. The tealette quickly ejected the disc and discovered that someone had accidentally placed the Meltdown single CD in the Re: Package case. She suspected that perhaps the incident had occurred the last time she had cleaned her room, which was in a whirlwind without paying attention to putting things in the correct place. Still, it was ironic how it just happened to be one of Rin's songs in the case of the album Miku had chosen to listen to. For some reason, Miku simply couldn't escape the Kagamines today.
Admitting defeat, the diva turned off her radio and put the music aside. She walked down to the kitchen, perhaps to snatch a couple of leeks to snack on.
When the teen got to the kitchen, she found a familiar blue-haired man scarfing down a pint of Häagan-daaz. Ignoring him, she began to rummage in the fridge. Just her luck, there were no leeks. Cursing mentally, Miku made a mental note to buy some the next time she went to the store.
"Shees. What's wif you?" The adult asked between bites.
"Huh?" Miku asked, clearly oblivious.
He swallowed and cleared his throat. "I was wondering what was the matter, since you were fuming when you came down here, and then you wouldn't answer me."
"Oh." Miku said with a huff. She flipped one of her twin-tails over her shoulder, and paused for a moment. "…you wouldn't happen to have any leek-flavored ice cream, would you?"
The man grimaced, nearly choking on his spoon. "Ewwwww, that sound disgusting, Miku! Where on earth would you get an abomination like that?"
"Never mind…" The tealette sighed. Today just wasn't her day.
After a few seconds, the man continued, "You still haven't answered my question. What's the matter?"
Miku spun around. "It's just…" What exactly was it, anyway? Everything was going right for her, lack of leeks aside. Why was she so angry?
"…Kaito, have you ever felt like the twins are getting a little…too popular?"
Kaito paused and looked up in thought. "It certainly seems like all the attention is going to their heads."
"And I thought Rin already had a big head. Figures." Miku leaned over the counter, her cheek in her hand.
"You won't believe what they did to Ring and Lui. Poor kids…" Kaito looked like he genuinely felt sorry for them.
"What happened to them?" The diva asked quizzically.
"You were gone the day they visited us to say hello. I mean, they were just dropping by as fellow Vocaloids. It seemed like a nice thing to do, since we'll be working with them and all. But nooooo, Rin and Len have to get all butthurt about how Ring and Lui are 'trying to replace them' and all that crap." He waved his spoon to drive the point home.
Miku slammed her hands on the countertop, causing Kaito to jump. "That's ridiculous!" She shouted, then upon seeing Kaito's face, relaxed a little. "Lui and Ring aren't meant to replace Rin and Len at all. They're not even twins…are they?"
"Well, they are based on the R and L 'Left and Right' gimmick that Rin and Len came from." He took another bite of ice cream. "Still, it's not like they came over to gloat or anything. Rin and Len threatened them with the roadroller and felt it was necessary to make sure Lui and Ring knew that the originals, themselves, were supreme. I found the two juniors cowering in the bathroom."
Her jaw dropped. "You have got to be kidding me."
"Nope." Kaito licked his spoon. "But it's not like any of this is new. Remember all of the 'shota' drama? Len got all depressed when Piko arrived, and Ryuuto's still scared of Rin…"
"True…" Miku hopped up to sit on the countertop before resuming her depressed demeanor. "It's just…I feel like there's a lack of enthusiasm where the rest of us are concerned anymore."
"I know what you mean." Kaito put his ice cream down and scratched his head. "…I don't think it's so much of a lack of enthusiasm though…as a lack of growth of enthusiasm."
The tealette looked up with curiousity. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you know how it is, Miku…you've still got thousands more videos and songs with you on Nico Nico Douga than both the twins combined. The thing is, there are less new ones being released now. The rate of production is being slowed down."
Miku turned her head to one side. "What about Rin and Len, then?"
"That's just the thing." Kaito explained. "Their fanbase is growing at a faster rate than yours. People identify with you…but the larger majority of newcomers prefer Rin and Len, while they think you're just a spoiled little brat with a bad personality, like every other star who's a disgrace to society."
"Gee, thanks." Miku spat sarcastically.
"Sorry." Kaito gave a nervous laugh. "But that's the reason, I think. Aside from the fact their complicated relationship draws people in, Rin and Len are seen as the glorious underdogs to their fans, and you're just the final boss they have to overtake."
"Final…boss?" A vein popped out of the girl's forehead. "Underdogs? What on earth gave them that idea?"
"Who knows?" Kaito wondered, picking up his ice cream where he left off. "Gekokujou, maybe. 'Green is the enemy' and all that."
"That would be taking a song to the extreme, wouldn't it?" Miku sweated.
"Well, they probably got your personality issues from World is Mine…" The blue-haired man mused.
"Ah…" Miku understood that much. World is Mine was a pretty self-centered song, so it made sense. She wasn't buying it, though. The tealette crossed her arms. "Still, they should know the difference between songs and reality! Haven't they ever heard Melt? Yellow? Those weren't so bad."
"Well, what would you expect from a fanbase that's so fiercely loyal to their beloved shota and incestuous twins?" Kaito asked.
"Len is not a shota!" Miku protested. "He wasn't meant to be, anyway…and they aren't incestuous, as far as I know."
"Go figure." Kaito rinsed out the pint before recycling it. "But why are you so concerned about this, anyway?"
Miku stared at him, surprised. "Isn't it obvious? I don't want to be forgotten like you!"
"Ouch. At least I'm not forgotten anymore…that's thanks to you, I suppose. I don't think you'll be forgotten, though, Miku. You're a virtual diva, practically the face of all Vocaloid." Kaito consoled her.
She blew her bangs out of her face. "Yeah, I know that. It just feels like I'm not number one anymore."
"Hmm, I could see that." Kaito put his hand to his chin.
"See? We need to do something about this, Kaito!" Miku stood up suddenly, a sense of urgency in her voice.
"Well, if it bothers you so much…" The blue-haired man looked her in the eyes. "Why don't you fight back?"
The twin-tailed girl's face dropped with confusion. "Huh?"
"The Kagamines called for a revolution, right?" Kaito explained. "If you don't like that, why don't you start a revolution of your own?"
The idea took a moment to register. She hadn't ever thought of that before. "…How would I do that?"
"Dunno. Same way the twins did, I guess. Gather support by going against the strong." He didn't really know how to answer that.
"You mean going all, 'Yellow is the enemy'?" Miku laughed slightly. There were too many yellow vocaloids for that. Not only were there the twins, but there was also Lily, and that boukaloid, Neru.
"You could do that if you wanted." Kaito replied, scratching his head. "Watch out, Kagamine twins—Miku's in the house, and you are going down!"
"Very funny. I might actually have to do that." Miku joked, but in the back of her mind, she knew that wasn't a joke. This was a declaration of war.
Good? Listen now! Our motto is,
"Yes, of course! Yellow is the enemy!"
As the first generation, in my burning bosom,
a soul not found in machines thrives.
Under the banner of the Hatsune family,
the assembled artists and musicians are brandishing a burning flame.
With an all-mighty tiger being our leader,
we'll act according to the circumstances, and seize victory!
—Gekokujou (Miku/Mikuo Version)