The 5th of November is

by SevenCandlesticks

An event where Vocaloids and Utauloids alike will cover Hatsune Miku's songs is happening the same day Meiko debuted 10 years ago. While she is trying not to let it bother, the fact that nobody seems to remember is more than a little painful, especially when the one person she wished remembered doesn't seem to either.

Just a little idea that I had since it is Meiko's birthday today~! Since it is already up on my dA, I thought I'd post it here too since I haven't uploaded anything in awhile.

It was early morning on the 4th of November as final preparations for a certain Vocaloid event was in place. Tomorrow night would be hosted a local concert with free tickets at a first come, first serve basis. The idea behind it was many of the Vocaloids, whether from the Japanese or English branch, and in some cases abroad or from the UTAU project, would be covering a song from the Vocaloid diva Hatsune Miku. Several singers were notified of this event 2 weeks prior and had been practicing since, typically assigned a song by her that they would fit.

Meiko sighed as she looked down at the paper. She had nothing against Miku, in fact, she knew Miku to be a very sweet girl who had no intentions to cause anyone problems even with her popularity. Besides, it's not like she set this event up, it was obviously the higher ups. Still, the date in which the concert was being held was more than a little painful. Tomorrow was Meiko's birthday, the 5th of November; it was the date in which she debuted into the world, but ever since Miku's debut, Meiko had been overshadowed and often forgotten. "It figures," she said to herself, opening the glass door that entered the building of the Vocaloid recording studio. Several Vocaloids were already assembled, holding a sheet of paper much like Meiko was and singing lyrics in practice for the big event. Never had Meiko seen so many of her colleagues in one place before, and since Miku even had English songs under her belt, it was a lot easier for the Engloids as typically known to get the chance to cover one of her songs without needing to translate it.

Meiko's assignment was to cover "Love is War", since she had strong vocals and could blow audiences away with the famous "AHHHHHH" that kicks off the song. The famed megaphone stage would be redone in Meiko's colors as she belts out lyrics about getting someone to gaze at her and not somebody else. "I guess it fits me in some ways," she said to herself. "Not that I'd declare war on something so stupid as that, though."

Meiko was leaning at the front desk, quietly singing the lyrics to herself, when the door beside it burst open. Meiko jumped a bit in startlement, sharply turning around, only to find her counterpart colleague, Kaito, there. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there!" Kaito apologized, smiling nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"Kaito..." she sighed a bit in relief. "Practicing, too?"

"You could say that."

"So what song were you assigned?"

"I'll be singing 'Yellow'. How about you?"

Meiko held the paper up so he could see the title in big letters. "This."

"Oh, that's good Meiko; you sing that even better than Miku!"

"Ahahaha, I wouldn't say that out loud, Kaito."

"But your scream at the beginning is awesome! I can't wait to hear you sing it tomorrow night."

"Yeah, tomorrow night..." Meiko looked off to the side a bit. Nobody seemed to be aware, or maybe they just didn't care, what the significance of tomorrow's date was.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing at all!" Meiko put her hands behind her back and feigned the best smile she could muster. Kaito didn't seem so convinced, but decided to ignore it. "Okay then. I guess I'll see you at the event tomorrow, I better practice or I'll be out of tune!"

"O-Okay, see you Kaito..." Meiko waved as her blue-haired colleague ran off to one of the sound rooms. She sighed, leaning back against the desk. "Not even he seems to remember..."

Things were already a bit too distracting in the main lobby. Everybody was singing something or trying to dance, and since everybody was being evaluated by the concert's two main coordinators, Piko and SF-A2 Miki, Meiko wanted to feel prepared since admittedly she hadn't been practicing for this event as enthusiastically as the others had been. "I'll just go find a sound room like Kaito's doing," she told herself, headed that direction. Down the hallway, she ran into more of her colleagues, leaning up against the wall and singing quietly to themselves. There was Luo Tianyi from the Chinese branch, singing "Senbonzakura" in Chinese, and on the otherside was SeeU from the Korean branch, singing "Electric Angels" in Korean (though she could sing in Japanese if she wanted, it probably was most comofrtable to sing in your native tongue). Meiko offered the two a smile as she walked on to find the vocal chambers, though with already meeting two colleagues out in the hall might prove that the chambers were full. Soon some from the UTAU branch were coming into view, such as Teto Kasane, UTAU's "diva" who seemed to be struggling with whatever song she was tasked. Then she saw Aiko Kikyuune, also known as "the blue balloon", who was assigned Circus-P's "Goodbye", a rather recent Miku song in her English library. Meiko waved to her, while Aiko just gave a thumbs up to which Meiko didn't quite understand why. Perhaps she was wishing good luck in finding a chamber?

The corridor seemed to be neverending, until finally she reached a door which would lead toward the vocal rooms. Hearing the silent singing and lowered voices of conversation behind her made the atmosphere feel a little eerie, especially since the hallways were often dimly lit. Upon entrance, she found that many of the vocal chambers were indeed occupied. "Just how many are involved with this concert, anyway?" Meiko said to herself. Practically every room was full, with others waiting for their turn. She sighed in defeat, taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other to wait. Considering the power she'd need to produce the kind of sound she wanted in this song, a vocal chamber was quite the essential thing she needed right now. Hours would pass that day, and Meiko would only feel completely exhausted when she arrived home.

She promptly collapsed on her bed, face first, rolling onto her back and staring up at the ceiling fan that was rotating. "Not even a passing mention..." she said to herself. "I guess nobody knows what tomorrow is, not even...nn!" Meiko brushed her fingers passed the corner of one of her eyes to find moisture there. Was she crying? Meiko sat up, trying to get ahold of herself. It never bothered her before, right? Why was it bothering her now? "I better get some sleep. Sitting here, sulking about it isn't going to change anything anyway, so why waste what little energy I have left?" After saying that, Meiko crawled under her blanket and practically fell asleep in mere minutes.

The next day, however, Meiko would arrive at the Vocaloid studio to hear some unpleasant news. Upon entrance, she could see Kaito coming at a speed-walking pace toward her. Something about him didn't seem normal, something was up. "Uh, good morning Kaito?" she greeted, hoping that some of her concern would be voiced in the way she spoke those words.

Without hesitation or reply, Kaito grabbed her wrist. "Sorry Meiko, I need to tell you something."

Before Meiko could even have a word in edge wise, Kaito promptly began dragging her off into one of the office rooms, closing the door behind them so they could have a private conversation. This wasn't like him at all, he's rarely ever this urgent. "Kaito, what gives?" Meiko questioned, a slightly irritated edge to the tone of her voice.

Kaito sighed, turning around to look at her. "I'm sorry, Meiko, but the director informed me to tell you that you will not be performing tonight and that Gumi's tasked with the song instead."

Meiko was silent for a solid 2 seconds, unsure if she even heard that right. "Excuse me, what?!"

"I'm sorry, it was their decision, it's not like I could do anything about it."

Meiko was trembling now, she felt cold and frozen stiff, the only warmth being the tears that were now streaming from her eyes. "What B.S...this isn't fair at all, you tell them to reverse that decision!"

"Meiko, you know I can't-"

"Then what use are you then?! That's all you have to say to me, that I'm no longer needed!?"

Kaito sighed, a little more than displeased at how she was reacting to this. "Yes, I'm sorry but that's the decision. You...probably should leave now."

Barely able to comprehend what had just happened, Meiko's eyes were shaking and pouring out a smooth stream of liquid now dripping down the sides of her face. So that's it? Not only did no one care to remember what today was, the one person she cared about most was the one to tell her that she'd no longer be participating in this event. She staggered backwards, almost losing balance as one hand searched for the doorknob and the other covered her mouth as she tried to muffle out her sobs.

Once the doorknob was finally turned, there just so happened to be another person trying to enter the room. "Mr. Shion, I just wanted to let you know that Axis and I-!" Meiko of course bumped into the poor girl, and without even apologizing or acknowledging what happened, took off running. The girl, who was a new recruit in the UTAU branch, Atlas, was feeling a bit confused before returning her attention back to Kaito. "Is she going to be OK?"

Ignoring who she bumped into or who was staring, Meiko made her way out of the door, completely distraught. The rest of the day would be found spent in her room, crying. She hated feeling this way, appearing weak, but how else was she suppose to feel? Today was her birthday, her 10th anniversary as a Vocaloid under Crypton Future Media. And yet tonight, they'd rather celebrate a highly auto-tuned teenager who is too cute for her own good. Meiko usually never thinks of Miku as such, but when you're in an emotional frenzy, sometimes you'll think negatively about even one of your best friends. And she definitely wasn't thinking too kindly of Kaito, either. Night had already fallen, and though she really didn't want to go out and do anything, being cooped up in your room for hours wasn't healthy. "Maybe I'll just take a walk," she said to herself, grabbing a black coat and putting on her signature brown boots.

The town was unusually quiet, but it figured. After all, a free Vocaloid concert was in town, who would miss that opportunity? Though it would seem that Meiko wasn't the only one who decided to go for a walk.

"Meiko Oneechan!" A familiar, bubbly voice called for her. A girl nearly identical to Kaito, though younger and wearing a feminine version of his default would tackle the brown-haired singer from behind. "Happy birthday!"

Meiko sighed, finding it funny that his little sister Kaiko would remember, yet not him. "Thanks, you're the first to say that to me."

"Really?" Kaiko tilted her head. "Not even Oniichan?"

She seethed. "Yes, not even him."

"Oh, I see..." Kaiko put her hands behind her back. "But um, aren't you going to the concert tonight?"

"Why should I, after they kicked me out of it!?"

Kaiko gasped in shock, covering her mouth. "They did?"

"Yes, they did. And your Oniichan had the glorious task of telling me that a few hours prior."

"That's really mean! But I am sure he had nothing to do with it!"

"No, but that's not what I wanted to hear from him, today of all days. That's all he had to tell me, that jerk..."

"Hmm..." Kaiko got in a thinking position, promptly tapping her foot. "Ah! Well, then you have every right to show up at the concert!"

"What kind of logic is that?"

"Think about it, we could sit up in the front seats and jeer at them! Especially Oniichan, he deserves it for being so mean and not remembering your birthday!" Kaiko grabbed her hand, not even letting her decide. "Come on, let's go before all the good seats are gone!"

"H-Hey, Kaiko, I didn't say...!"

Almost in minutes, they arrived at the concert hall where there was a line forming. The android UTAU sisters, Atlas and Axis, were in charge of tickets at the entrance. Kaiko pushed through the crowds, cutting through lines. "Oniichan deserves a good jeering, especially since I wasn't allowed to perform, either!"

"You had an alterior motive all along!" Meiko shouted.

"Ah! I don't know if we can get through Axis, but coaxing Atlas to let us in without waiting shouldn't be too hard!"

Meiko sighed. What was Kaiko getting her into?

"Hey, you two should be in the back of the line." Axis told them, motioning towards where the end was.

"Nu-uh, I'm Kaiko Shion, the little sister of one of the big 8!" she smiled, holding up Meiko's arm. "And this was the first of the big 8, Meiko!"

"And there are plenty of other Vocaloids and Utauloids waiting in line as well."

"Aww, come on!" Kaiko whined. "The director of this whole thing was so mean, I mean, not only was I not allowed to perform, but they kicked Meiko out! This event should have been for her in the first place, you know, 'cause it's her birthday!"

Meiko facepalmed, shaking her head. "My life..."

"Oh, it's your birthday today?" Atlas chimed. "Is that why you were crying this morning?"

"Crying...?" Axis questioned.

"It doesn't matter." Meiko said quickly. "Miku's obviously a better Vocaloid than me, I just need to accept it."

"Oh, no, no, no, don't say things like that!" Atlas said, almost pleading. "All of us are special in some ways, including you!" she then whipped out two tickets. "Here, there's two left in the very front row. Consider this a curtesy for your birthday~!"

Axis rolled her eyes, sighing. Her sister was a little too nice at times. Upon seeing those tickets, Kaiko's eyes widened, and she ripped them from Atlas' hands, holding them up high in victory. "Woohoo~! Come on, Meiko, let's get going!"

The two promptly ran in, with the two UTAU sisters peering down the hall and watching them enter. Kaiko saw that the two seats their tickets were for were right by Haku Yowane and Neru Akita.

"Alright!" Kaiko fell into her seat, excited like a little kid about to ride a rollercoaster. As Meiko was about to take a seat in between Kaiko and Haku, she noticed a sheet of paper with the words "RESERVED" written upon it.

"Don't worry, you can sit here." Haku said, ripping the piece of paper off.

"Yeah, who cares what idiot was suppose to sit there, they can find somewhere else to sit." Neru added, her eyes never leaving the screen of her phone. Meiko sighed, falling down into her seat. She really wasn't in the mood for this. These seats were practically in the center of the front row, with the clearest view of the stage. It was going to be a long night, and Meiko didn't even receive some sort of program to tell her exactly what'd be in store. Of course, considering her luck lately, this was just icing on the cake.

Soon the lights darkened and the voice of Piko echoed throughout the speakers. "Greetings audience, may we have your attention please! This is Piko, one of this event's coordinators."

"And SF-A2 Miki here, the second coordinator!" Miki added. "As you know, today is a very special event!"

Meiko sighed, wishing this would just end, until Miki's voice continued to echo throughout; "Today is a special concert for Vocaloid MEIKO, the first from the Japanese branch, one of the originals from Vocaloid's first generation, counterparted to Vocaloid KAITO."

"Huh?!" Meiko's eyes shot open, unable to believe what she just heard.

A sound of a camera snapshot could be heard, coming from the phone of Neru Akita, who was standing in front of her now, taking a picture. "Kaito's gonna love this shot."

Meiko glared at her, seething, while Haku and Kaiko were both laughing and about to fall out of their chairs as Neru returned to hers. Piko's voice continued through the intercom; "Tonight many Vocaloids and Utauloids will be performing some of Meiko's songs. We would like to thank our two directors for this project who are on stage now, please welcome Vocaloids KAITO and Hatsune Miku!"

The spotlight flashed onto the stage, revealing the figures of a blue haired man in a matching muffler and white coat, and a teenage girl with teal pigtails in a black and gray school-inspired outfit. Miku stepped up to the mic, waving at fans and smiling. "Thank you all for coming! We hope you enjoy the show, especially you, Mei-nee! Happy birthday~!"

The spotlight was then directed toward the short, brown-haired singer, whose eyes were now watery in disbelief. The entire hall was silent, and Meiko couldn't do anything but try to muffle out her own sobs. Kaiko looked at her phone, noticing a text summoning her. She patted Meiko on the back before promptly running back stage. Haku signaled for the spotlight to return to the stage, since it was obvious Meiko couldn't find the words to describe how she was feeling right now.

Miku nodded, signaling with her index finger toward Piko and Miki to return the spotlight. "Alright, let's start~!"

Both Miku and Kaito disappeared from the stage, and music began blasting. The tune was familiar and was a song composed by shu-t five years ago. It was none other than her song "Change Me", and to grace the stage to cover it was Megpoid GUMI, who was also performing the dance routine assigned to it. Behind her on each side was SeeU and Luo Tianyi, serving as back-up dancers as she performed. Meiko was still trying to recover from her shock, and almost couldn't believe the reality. "Why am I not waking up yet? This has to be a dream, there's just no way..."

Haku leaned in toward Meiko, smiling. "Betchu were shocked to find out he remembered all along, eh?"

Her hand was trembling, and she wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of it. "Idiots, Miku and Kaito can expect me to kill them later for this...ahaha..."

"That a girl!" Haku smacked her on the back. "Looks like mission accomplished!"

Once the song completed, next up was Kaito's little sister, Kaiko, who had changed into a formal blue dress. She would be tasked with singing "Nostalgic", which her voice fit for perfectly! The M-E-I-K-O part of the song, however, was changed to K-A-I-K-O to make it a tailor fit to the blue-haired girl. She seemed to be having a lot of fun up there, and was constantly smiling at Meiko.

"Pfft, she tricked me, she was allowed to perform after all." she slightly laughed.

"Yeah, well Kaiko was sent to fetch you..." Neru told her, leaned over her knees a bit, texting something.

Haku stared at her. "Hey, isn't that bad for your eyes?"

"Hey, I am in charge to remind all the idiots when it's their turn. Speaking of which, looks like it's time for the Kagamine twins to join Maika." Neru's thumbs furiously hit the keypad, specifically writing [Time to get your lazy ass up there, Len!] to which she was responded [Says the girl who does nothing but text and sleep] Neru almost broke her phone, she gripped it so hard. "Idiot..."

Only a minute after her instruction, MAIKA from the Spanish branch alongside the twins, Rin and Len, appeared on stage. They would be performing "Libérate", a song Meiko had recently sung with her. Meiko giggled a bit as she heard the twins struggle with the Spanish lyrics, not that she didn't struggle with it herself. Haku was just blatently laughing loudly while Neru had her phone set to record mode so she could embarrass Len with it later.

The next to follow were three UTAUloids, Aiko Kikyuune, and Ted and Teto Kasane, performing "Evil-Food Eater Conchita". Meiko literally facepalmed, since people keep calling her a cannibal for this. Out of all the 7 deadly sins Mothy could have assigned her to, it had to be Gluttony. Aiko seemed to be enjoying herself too much in this performance, which literally made Ted and Teto sweat a bit in nervousness when it was their turn to be "eaten".

Many other Vocaloids and UTAU would come to follow, each performing their hearts out many of Meiko's well known songs as well as some of her lesser known masterpieces. Nekomura Iroha did especially well on singing "Flame Princess", and Lily on "The Far Side of the Sky". Some of the few English songs under her belt were also being performed, giving the Engloids a chance to shine. Big Al and Sonika sung "Find You", a song she originally sung with Miku. Avanna and Oliver were tasked with "Overheat", though Meiko thought some of the lyrics were slightly edgy for the 13 year old to harmonize on, but oh well. Then Sweet Ann did a great performance of "Dream Guy", turning it into a song all her own, she definitely had the right vocal tone for it. One of the greatest honors was THE first Vocaloids, Leon and Lola, showing up to perform another of her duets. It was one she happened to sing with Kaito called "I Know", but honestly the lyrics were kinda weird and awkward.

Oddly enough, Meiko was surprised not to see Kaito in any of these performances. She was expecting him to make a fool of himself singing one of her songs and ignoring how stupid he'd probably look doing the dance. Soon it was Miku's turn, which seemed to signify to Meiko that the concert was almost over. The teal-haired diva decided to also go for English, singing "Witness" which was Meiko's first original song for the language. Miku sung it beautifully and emotionally, which almost brought Meiko to tears. Personally, the song made Meiko sad considering not only the lyrics, but the video she and Kaito had been directed to film for it. It was about unrequited love, and Meiko was left alone crying on the bench at the end, one of her greatest fears. But it was just a video after all, and Meiko was still honored to sing it regardless.

"Thank you everyone, we all hope you have enjoyed the concert tonight!" Miku shouted, her voice echoing throughout the room as applause errupted. "Before we close though, there is still one last performance, so I'm gonna get off stage now so you can enjoy it." Setting her mic aside, Miku jumped off the stage and gravitated toward where Meiko was sitting, temporarily taking Kaiko's seat.

"Are you enjoying it, Mei-nee?" Miku asked.

"Oh, yes, yes I am..." Meiko smiled warmly at her, still feeling teary-eyed after that last performance.

"Sorry we had to deceive you like that, it was Kaito-nii's idea to make it a surprise."

"And mission accomplished!" Haku added.

Neru stuck her phone in front of Miku's face. "Here's proof!"

Meiko groaned while Miku giggled a bit after seeing the look on Meiko's face. "Kaito's gonna love that picture!"

"Kaito's gonna have a black eye when this is over..." Meiko muttered.

"Ugh, where is that idiot? Get on stage already!" Neru groaned with impatience, texting in response something. "No excuses, we don't have all night, I wanna go to sleep!"

"Hm, this is taking longer than expected." Haku then put her arm around Meiko, pulling her in. "Let's grab a couple drinks later! Oh, wait..." she pulled out a can of beer from under her seat, pulling up the tab. "Nah, let's just drink now, cheers!"

Meiko sighed as she watched Haku chug down the whole can without even a pause.

"Finally!" Neru fell back in her seat after reading her last message. "After cake, I'm hittin' the hay..."

Upon hearing that, Meiko's eyes returned to the stage, where the final Vocaloid performer would sing the last cover. Only for this performer, it wouldn't actually be a cover he was singing. After the long wait, Kaito finally took the stage, walking all the way to the edge of it and outstretching his hand toward Meiko. "I'm gonna need your help with this one."

"Help?" she questioned. "What is it we're suppose to sing?"

Kaito smiled, grabbing her hand and hoisting her up. "You'll see~"

"I-It's not like I had any time to practice, you know..."

"That's fine, it's one of ours, so you'll just know it."

"One of ours...?"

A familiar tune started to play with a slight traditional sound to it. It was indeed one of Kaito and Meiko's duets, which had made it into the first Project Diva and has reprised itself twice. Meiko looked at Kaito, "Tsugai Kogarashi?"

He nodded, "Yup"

"Y-You intended for us to do the dance for it, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh."

She sighed, though blushed a little. It would look a little weird, since they were in their default attire rather than the song's costumes, but it's not like she was prepared for this anyway. Kaito quickly hooked her up to a headset mic so everyone could hear her, and thus they began to sing and dance together to one of hinayukki's well known duets for the two.

"Picture time~" Neru held up her phone, slightly muttering complaints how it looked too blurry and being thankful the dance wasn't an intense one.

Kaiko re-appeared, falling into what was once Meiko's seat, taking out some professional lens. "Camera phones are for losers, I got the real deal~!"

Neru rolled her eyes, retracting her cell. "Tch, whatever."

When the song came to an end, and the two looked toward the audience, everybody cheered. Piko's voice quickly spoke through the intercom, saying, "And that's it, guys! Thank you all for coming!"

"And have a wonderful birthday, Meiko!" Miki added. "Goodnight!"

"Yeah! Let's go drinking now!" Haku shouted, already looking flushed from the two cans she'd been drinking already.

"Finally, it's over!" Neru stretched, falling back into her seat and backing up as far as she could. "Wake me up when it's cake time..."

Since Meiko was now standing on the stage, she could get a good view of the audience and noticed a lot of people were holding hand-written signs. Things were written upon them such as "we love Meiko!", "keep on singing!", or "here's hoping for 20!". It was too much, her eyes were starting to feel moist again it was that overwhelming. Again, she had to cover her mouth to try and muffle it out.

"Meiko? Hey, what's wrong?" Kaito asked her, concerned.

"Tsk...you're such a jerk, Kaito, only you'd think of something this crazy..." she managed to say, feebly trying to wipe away her own tears only to be bombarded with more.

"Well, not completely, Miku helped me with the idea." Kaito admitted.

Pretty much the planning went something like this...

A little over 2 weeks before the 5th of November, Kaito was pacing around his office with something on his mind. The door opened, revealing Hatsune Miku, who noticed Kaito's dilemma. "Kaito-nii, are you OK?"

"Meiko's birthday is coming soon, it's a special one. She'll be a Vocaloid for 10 years."

"Really? We need to throw a grand celebration!"

"That's what I thought, but I want it to be a surprise. I was thinking we should have a concert where everyone sings her songs, but I don't think we can hide that."

"Hmm..." Miku put on her thinknig cap for a moment until she reached a conclusion. "Aha! Here's where I use my popularity to benefit the advantage!"

Now Kaito was curious. "You think we can pull it off?"

Miku nodded, wearing a face of determination. "Yes! It will be a little cruel, though, but it will be worth it to see Mei-nee's face in the end!"

"I'm in, tell me the plan!"

"To make it plausible, we'll tell everyone involved and even Meiko that the concert is for me. She seems to get the idea people have forgotten her, so we'll use that to our advantage for now. People in the city will be notified of a free Vocaloid concert, but not know of the event until they receive their tickets! If they don't wanna come, they can just move out of the way for the next person in line who does, I'm sure it'll be a full house!"

"But you have not explained how we hide it from Meiko."

"Simple! On the day of, you suddenly tell her that she's been replaced by Gumi and will no longer be performing."

"Ouch...hey, why do I have to tell her that?!"

"Because then she'll be even more surprised when she learns you remembered, silly~"

"Still, if I tell her that, then she won't come."

"I got that covered, too! Kaiko will coax her into coming, she'll wish her happy birthday so it looks like somebody remembers and Kaiko can probably think of a way to get her here."

"Okay, but she's probably gonna hate us for this."

"She'll get over it, though, let's make this something Mei-nee will remember forever!"

...and that's pretty much how the plan went down, and it succeeded.

"Heh, you two are cruel, tricking me like that." Meiko told him, though even so a smile was breaking through. "But that's just how sweet you two are, it's killing me..."

"I'm just happy you didn't hit me this time!" Kaito said happily.

Meiko gave him a devious smile. "Who says I wasn't going to hit you?"

"Ehehe..." Kaito was beginning to feel nervous now.

"You still haven't said it to me yet yourself, you know."

"Oh, sorry Meiko, I wanted to wait until I gave you your present."

"Huh? Wasn't this whole concert scheme your present?"

"No, that was from all of us to you."

"You...have a personal gift for me?"

Kaito nodded. "Mmhmm."

Meiko groaned, slightly sighing. "Quit torturing me already, or I swear I really will hit you! So while I don't mean to sound like an impatient brat, let me have it already!"

"If you say so~" Just then, Kaito scooped her up in his arms, catching Meiko off guard. In a reflex action, her arms wrapped around his shoulders to secure herself from being dropped. "H-Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Happy birthday, Meiko!" After saying that, Kaito's lips met Meiko's in a long, passionate kiss. While initially the shock caused her to try and resist it, she found herself unable to pull back and instead return some of the pressure. Of course, when the two finally pulled away, Meiko's face was covered in blush as the realization of what just happened completely registered. "Ah...! You...!" And like Meiko pretty much promised, she started beating on his shoulder with her fist like a frustrated, embarrassed little kid, only to have Kaito laughing at her. But so nobody else could hear it but her, he leaned in towards her ear and said in a low voice, "I love you, Meiko."

"Nn..!" Meiko paused, ceasing her attack. She could feel the pounding of her heart now, she heard that correctly, right? "I..." she wanted to respond, but it was hard to get the words out, but this was pretty much all that she could must. "I...m-me too..."

Now that caught Kaito off guard, he actually didn't expect her to say anything, much less return the favor. Even if she couldn't repeat the same words, he knew exactly what she meant in reply. "H-Hey," Meiko began. "Could you, um, give me my present again?"

"H-Huh?" At this point, Kaito's face was as red as hers.

She nodded. "P-Please, if you...really meant what you said, I-I want proof...and, I...also really liked your present..."

"O-Okay," he was smiling, but was feeling a lot more nervous than the first time. Still, he wasn't going to say no to her request on her birthday, right? And so, slowly and nervously, they closed the space between them until their lips were locked in another embrace. What they didn't realize, while everyone else was exiting the concert hall, a certain four individuals were still there.

"Oniichan's gonna be surprised when he sees this shot~" Kaiko said, smirking.

"Hey, that's an intrusion on a private moment!" Miku scolded.

Just then, a snapshot could be heard from Neru's phone. "Now I have more embarrassment ammo. I had none for Meiko before."

"I thought you were asleep!"

"Woke up. Haku's passed out, though. So, we having cake yet?"

Happy Birthday, Vocaloid Meiko! Here's to a great 10 years and hopefully many more to come~!