It was the middle of May, just a few days away from the sweltering summer season that always came down upon the small town of Rivera. Miku was sitting at her office desk, dressed in a loose white blouse, her teal hair tied up in two long pigtails as usual, once in a while fanning herself lazily. She was staring out the window, out at the streets below, where people bustled to and fro from the streets, already dressed like it was summer.

May was one of Miku's most favorite times of year. It wasn't as hot as summertime was, but it was no longer as cold as winter either. Even better, it was a time of new beginnings, the start of a new season and the beginning of the cycle of life. She looked forward to the things that might happen in May. Last year she'd earned her reputation as the town's best detective from an exceptionally difficult case. This year she was determined to keep that reputation.

There was a small knock on the door. Miku looked up in surprise. It was only seven in the morning. Clients didn't usually come knocking at her door then, but she was here to help them, no matter what time they came. She called out, "You can come in."

The door creaked open to reveal a young man, his short blonde hair tied back in a small ponytail. Miku tried to suppress her surprise. He was wearing a long black coat with a collar that almost covered his mouth even though it was too warm to wear an overcoat. His long bangs almost covered his bright blue eyes that glanced around the small office like he was nervous.

"Welcome to the Vocaloid Detective Agency. Is there anything I can help you with?" Miku asked in a professional voice, getting up and inviting the boy to join her on the couch. He cast Miku a quick glance before hurriedly going over to sit down as Miku prepared two cups of coffee.

"I'd like to have you investigate a murder for me," the boy quickly added after thanking Miku for the coffee.

"Murder?" Miku repeated, her surprise returning. Usually she looked into cases of theft and the sort. Murder was always rare. She cleared her throat, getting over her initial shock and asked, "Well, of course I'd be happy to help you. I'm Hatsune Miku. What might your name be?"

"Kagamine Len," came the tart reply. The boy seemed to have gotten over his initial nervousness, completely comfortable in her cozy office.

"So what kind of case is this?" Miku asked, sipping her coffee. She always put milk and sugar in her coffee. She liked the sweet taste. She observed that her client didn't touch his cup.

"Someone that I…knew died recently, and I think he might've been murdered," Len admitted.

"Why not go to the police then?" Miku inquired.

Len looked a little troubled. He mumbled, "Well, I don't really trust the police, and I heard you were the best detective in town, Miss Hatsune."

"Please, call me Miku," Miku stressed. She was slightly honored that Len would choose her over the police, but that only made sure that she had to work even harder to make sure she solved Len's case.

"So you will take the case?" Len asked gingerly as if he was afraid Miku would reject it.

"Of course. That's what the agency's here for. When would you like us to start investigating?"

Len was about to reply when a loud shout echoed through the building. Kaito was shouting, "Miku! Where the hell did you put my stash of ice cream?"

Miku snapped her head towards the door out of annoyance. Out of all his days to make an outburst, he chose this day? A moment later, Kaito burst through the door, an equally annoyed expression on his face. Still dressed in sweatshirt and pants, his blue hair a mess, Miku could tell he had just gotten out of bed.

"Kaito!" Miku hissed, glaring at him. "Can't you see we have a client? And how do I know where you put your ice cream?"

A look of confusion spread on Kaito's face as he glanced in Len's direction. He frowned and said, "Miku, I know you love talking with your imaginary friends, but that's still not an excuse for hiding my food!"

"Ha? What are you talking about?" Miku asked, glancing over at Len. Immediately, her eyes widened in shock.

The boy had vanished without a word, leaving behind nothing but a warm cup of coffee and an open window.

Len cursed his bad luck. He had finally managed to get a meeting alone with the famous detective Hatsune Miku, only to have it ruined by some other detective in the agency. Any person was fine, to tell the truth. Anyone could have taken his case and solved it for him, but for some reason, he felt like if it wasn't Hatsune Miku who solved his case, he'd never be satisfied.

The streets were crowded during this time of day. Of course, no one had even bothered to give him a sideways glance when he slid open the window and leapt out into the busy street. Then again, he'd always been somewhat a shadow. People had never really noticed him much.

He ducked under a grove of trees and found himself in a park. Children were running about, chasing each other while their parents watched on. It was funny how everyone seemed to crowd in such a small place on the weekends. He could almost see him and his sister as little kids, running about just as cheerfully as the children in the park were right now.

He unconsciously lifted his collar up over his mouth again, lowering his head as some people passed. They couldn't see him, for sure, but he was still wary of them. Just any of those innocent looking people who were bustling about could be a killer. The killer.

"Boo!" someone shouted, making Len jump. It was only a kid, laughing as he found his friend hiding under a park bench. Len winced when the kid who was hiding shuddered in surprise and hit his head on the bench. That'd happened too many times to him as a kid, so much that his sister even stopped laughing when it happened as if she was truly worried about his well-being.

He shuffled along the sidewalk, passing people, wandering the park. He wasn't looking for anyone in particular. He just wanted to waste some time before he attempted to start solving the murder himself. Len didn't think the detective would help him after what had happened. That didn't really matter. He wasn't letting that crime go unpunished.

After what seemed like forever, he wandered back into the streets, slightly annoyed by the enormous crowd of people. Just why did people like going outside all at once on the weekends? He suddenly missed his nice lonely room with the cool air conditioning. He'd pick that a million times over this.

Suddenly, his eyes caught a flash of teal. He jerked his head towards the girl. There was no doubt about it. It was the one and only Hatsune Miku, the only person who could possibly help him. But he'd already shamed himself in front of her for running away just because her partner had intruded in. He couldn't ask for her help.

Len withdrew from his thoughts and returned to reality. Something was bothering him. He glanced at Hatsune Miku again. The detective was staring at him intently, her sea green eyes burning with a fierce passion. He gave a start and stumbled backwards, alarm flitting through his whole body.

She'd seen him. She just had to see him. Len gulped as he watched her push through the crowd, waving to her friends. She was heading for him.

Without another thought, Len ran for it. He suddenly didn't want to meet up with the detective. He wished he'd never disturbed her in the morning. Len regretted getting her involved.

See what you've done? A voice whispered in the back of his head. Just who will you blame if someone else dies because of this again?

Len ground his teeth together and ran faster, trying to lose the detective, who was now hot on his heels. Just why was she chasing him? He wished she'd just stop.

After all, he really didn't need, much less want, another death on his hands.

Miku was glad she had put on jeans and sneakers before heading out with Kaito and Luka to get lunch. Man, her client (she vaguely remembered that his name was Kagamine Len) could run fast. What was stranger yet was that he seemed unhindered by the crowd of people blocking his way. He just seemed to run straight through them, while Miku had to push through all the people, shouting apologies along the way.

She didn't really know why she was chasing Len. Maybe it was because she felt like she had to solve every case that her clients brought to her. Maybe it was just because their private meeting had been ruined by an ice cream-deprived Kaito, who had so ignorantly blamed her for stealing his breakfast even though they were right there in the fridge and she wanted to make it up to Len.

Len took a left into an alley way, his coat trailing behind him. Miku was already panting. Just how did he manage to run so fast even with that heavy coat? She slipped into the alley behind him. He was just ahead, blending well into the darkness if it wasn't for his bright yellow hair. With the absence of people, Miku sped up for the last sprint. She hadn't been a track star for nothing.

Len cast her a backwards glance. He couldn't understand how the detective not only hadn't given up, she'd even sped up so that she was just a few paces behind him. He considered suddenly stopping in his tracks but decided against it. It wouldn't help him anyways.

Just at that moment, Miku leapt forward to grab onto Len's wrist. He yelped out in surprise and tumbled backwards, landing right on the ground.

Miku just stared at Len in shock, looking from Len to her hand. It hadn't been an illusion. She was a hundred percent sure that just then, her own hand had passed through Len's arm, overcoat and everything.

"Y-you…" Miku stammered, for once unable to organize her thoughts. She experienced this kind of stuff on a daily basis, but the shock was a bit too much for her to handle.

Len sat frozen on the ground, his mouth slightly open out of shock and fear. He'd been lucky enough to find out that the great detective could see him, but his luck ended there. This definitely had not been in his agenda.

Finally, Miku let out a deep breath and said, "You're a ghost, aren't you?"

Len cringed at the words. They were still harsh to hear. He muttered, "That doesn't matter."

"Then why were you running away from me before?" Miku asked, holding her hand out to help him up before remembering that her very action contradicted her assumption.

Len slowly got up and replied, "Because I decided I don't need your help anymore."

"That's not a very good reason," Miku argued. "Human or ghost, I'll always help my clients. The fact that you came to me must mean that you need something, right? That's why you couldn't go to the police."

Len just stared at the ground, beginning to inch backwards into the alley. Miku noticed his retreat and added, "I'd be happy to help you. I'd just like you to tell me what you actually want to learn the truth about."

Len stopped and looked at her. Her eyes were still burning brightly even in the dark alley, full of determination and everything else he didn't have. He didn't know what to do. If he let her help, something bad might happen again. If he didn't, who knew how long it'd be before he found out the truth.

After a long silence, Len sighed and stuck his hands into his pocket. He looked Miku in the eye and said, "Fine then, Miss Hatsune, I'd like you to investigate the truth behind my death."

A/N: So... here's a new story I randomly came up with... Hopefully it'd come out pretty well, though I really should be doing homework, not this... =_=

Anyways, real plot probably begins next chapter. I just need to figure out a plot.

I'm sorta writing this as I go, so feel free to give me suggestions or reviews!

Thanks for reading!