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|| Heyo! Welcome to the story that placed second on my "what should my next side project be" poll. I... tried writing the first-place story, but it wasn't working out. I'll get to it later. But, I have to write something, so... yeah.
So! Vocaloid is a recent interest of mine. Like, really recent. Like, two weeks ago recent. (And there's already sixty some songs on my iPod.) I, of course, was well aware of Vocaloid's existence, and have been for six or seven years. I just never knew much about it. It wasn't until I started browsing my stored music that I rediscovered Rolling Girl, Mozaik Role and Triple Baka, three of of the first Vocaloid songs I heard and enjoyed, and decided to do some research into the topic.
I have no regrets.
Now I'm gonna write fanfiction about it, because that's what I do when I like things. ||

Chapter 1: "Alarm Clocks Are Terrible and So is Miku's Family"

"Good morning, Silicon's Gate! This is Tsurumaki Maki, and you're watching News 39! It's a beautiful Saturday morning here in the central city; sun is shining, birds are singing, and here I am sweating through my sleeves. It's a solid 30 degrees and the skies are clear, so it's not looking like I'm gonna catch a break any time soon. Ha! Everybody out here is crazy, so I guess that makes me crazy too."

The cameraman hand signaled for her to stop, and Maki clenched her teeth.

"Anyway, blazing heat and sunburning shoulders aside, it's another perfectly perfect day here in our good home. There's, uh, lots of crazy people out here actually, I guess it's not just me. I should think that everyone would rather just stay home and stick their heads into a freezer or something, but I guess not."

The cameraman was shaking his head.

"Er, so, with that out of the way, you've all probably heard enough out of me, so now you can watch somebody else talking at a camera. So let's just head right on back to the studio!"

Silicon's Gate was a city so named for the mighty firewall of hexagons that surrounded it, which so cut it and its citizens off from the rest of the internet. Its buildings were tall, coded in white and light shades of blue, shaped in sorts of pixelated rectangles. Lines of circuitry could be viewed beneath the glassy roads, over which drove cars that traveled at high speeds to various locations. Railways extended out from underground and reached high into the bright morning sky, carrying smooth, aerodynamic trains up over the buildings and to their destinations. At the very center of it all stood a mighty building, the greatest in the city and almost palace-like in its architecture. The building was white, lined with gold, with stark blue rooftops ascending so high it nearly scraped the overhead of the barrier surrounding the city. On this day in particular, the virtual sky that reflected in the barrier was bright and clear, allowing sunlight to shine down brighter than ever.

Once the camera was down, Maki heaved a disgruntled sigh and wiped her sleeve across her forehead. "Kou," she whined, "am I completely hopeless? I've only just started and I'm already screwing everything up..."

The cameraman shrugged in reply. "I dunno. Well, I mean..." Kou removed his headset before he continued, "It's kind of difficult to be a reporter when there isn't anything to report. I don't think anybody will blame you."

"Still..." The reporter shook her head. "A job's a job, and if I don't do mine, we'll both be fired."

"Yikes."

"Yeah."

Kou tapped his hand against the camera thoughtfully. "Well, maybe if we can get some footage of something or someone interesting," he suggested, "we could score some brownie points with the studio."

"Ha, right." Maki rolled her eyes. "And how are we supposed to do something like that? What, do you think that some local celebrity is just gonna come running down the street?"

In that moment, a streak of teal sped in between the duo and down the sidewalks, sending up a breeze in its wake that very briefly brushed through their hair and against Maki's sunburned shoulders.

Both of them blinked.

"That was a local celebrity running down the street," said Kou.

"Yeah..." For a second, Maki just stared after the flash of color that had just passed by them, causing Kou to cock an eyebrow at her in question. Then a look of realization crossed her face, and she started shifting back and forth on her feet, fumbling with her microphone. "Oh, crap- Come on, let's go!"

"On it!" Kou scooped the camera back up and the two scurried after their target.

*Ding*

Up the road, a fast-moving and tired looking loid came to a halt at a crosswalk that had only just switched from "walk" to "wait". She bumped into a tall, hairy man and stumbled over her apology when she stepped back. When her feet were finally placed firmly against the ground, she bent over to catch her breath, her overly-long pigtails sweeping against the ground. "I can't believe I overslept..." she groaned. Straightening out her necktie, she continued, "Actually... yes I can." She shook herself, clenching her fists in frustration. "What I can't believe is that nobody woke me up!"

"Hatsune Miku!"

The girl turned at the sound of her name to find Maki and Kou dashing over to meet her. At the sight of a camera, Miku's back instinctively straightened, and she put away her annoyance in favor of a smile. "Good morning!" she greeted kindly, waving a hand from side to side.

"Hatsune Miku!" Maki exclaimed again. "We're so lucky to have caught you! Do you think we could get an interview? It will only take a minute!"

Miku's smile wavered, and she glanced back at the sign next to the crosswalk. She was going to be here for a while anyway. "Sure," she replied. "What's up?"

Maki grinned back at her cameraman, who flashed a thumbs-up. "Ah... well, I'd just like to ask a couple of questions real quick..." Maki held her microphone closer. "So, what brings you out into the city on a day like today? You look like you're in a hurry."

Miku scratched her head, eyes diverting to the side as Maki held the mic out to her. "Yes, I'm just going to hang out with some friends today," she answered clearly, "nothing special. I'm a little late, though."

"Friends?" Maki inquired. "Not other Vocaloids like yourself, I take it?"

Miku shook her head. "No, you probably wouldn't know them."

"What's got you running behind?"

The Vocaloid felt an eye twitch, and quickly attempted to regain her composure. "I slept in," she responded through gritted teeth, "because apparently, none of the other fifty-some loids I live with thought to wake me up when my alarm failed to."

"Ha, well, that happens to even the best of us. How does it make you feel?"

"Annoyed," Miku said. "Also a little betrayed and a lot tired. But mostly annoyed." She drew in a breath, then exhaled. "But I don't resent my family for it. These things happen, like you said." She pressed her right hand against her chest as she continued, "Besides, it's my responsibility as leader of the Vocaloids to set a good example and be forgiving over these kinds of small mix-ups."

*Ding*

The sign switched back to walk.

"Ah." Miku glanced backwards. "And with that, I should really be going." She swung around and dashed across the street, waving as she called back, "Have a good day!"

"Oh! Uh, thank you for the time! Keep up the good work!" Maki shouted after her. When Miku had blended into the crowd on the other side of the road, Maki sighed and turned back to her cameraman. "Think we can make a story out of that?"

Kou lowered the camera and shrugged. "That's your job, not mine."

Maki chuckled. "Right, I can see the headline now. 'Local Celebrity Sleeps in on a Saturday, Like a Normal Person.'"

"A for effort."

Around this same time, a couple blocks or so up, there was a small cafe with many round tables sitting outside of it. At one of these tables in particular sat a pair of youngish-looking loid girls. One, an UTAUloid whose hot pink hair was tied into twindrills, was going on about something that her companion didn't seem to care much about. Said companion, a blonde Boukaloid with harsh eyebrows and hair in a side-ponytail, seemed much more interested in her cellphone than the story the UTAUloid was recalling.

"...so then he says, 'I asked for oatmeal, not goatmeal!' and she replies, 'What's the difference?'" Kasane Teto finished. "Needless to say, he was in an awful mood for the rest of the day."

"Uh-huh," Akita Neru replied absently, skimming over her message inbox.

The UTAUloid leaned across the table to catch a glimpse of Neru's phone screen. "Hey, has Miku responded to any of your messages yet?" she inquired.

Neru pushed Teto back into the chair with her free hand. "No," the Boukaloid snorted, "she hasn't."

"Really?" Teto responded. "That's weird, it's not like her not to tell us when something comes up."

Neru rolled her eyes. "Keh. I swear, if and when that girl shows up, I'm gonna strangle her for making us wait so long in this heat."

"Teto-chan! Neru-san!"

At the sound of their names, the two looked up in surprise. "Whoop, here's your chance," said Teto. Flashing a grin, she stood back up and waved enthusiastically, calling, "Hi! Hi, Miku-chan!"

Upon her arrival, Miku almost stormed directly into the table, causing Neru to recoil and nearly drop her phone on the ground. That, thankfully for Miku's health, did not happen. However, she did buckle over in fatigue immediately afterward.

"You're late," Neru scolded bitterly.

Miku gave an exhausted sigh from where she now sat on the pavement. "Mm, yeah, mm-hm. Sorry about that..."

"Wow, Miku," Teto gasped. "Did you run all the way here?"

Miku nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Mm, yup, that's what I did alright."

Teto cringed in response. "Seriously? Why didn't you just take a cab?"

For a moment, there was silence among the three, as Teto and Neru stared down at the practically paralyzed Vocaloid before them. Then she slowly lowered herself down, until her back was pressed against the walk. "I didn't think of that."

Teto sighed, and Neru grumbled. "Why didn't you leave earlier, then?" the latter challenged.

"My alarm didn't go off," was Miku's response.

Neru and Teto exchanged glances. "So..." said Teto, "set two."

"Yeah, I also set my phone to go off," Neru added. "You know, so that doesn't happen."

There was another round of silence. It ended when Miku weakly flopped over onto her stomach. "I didn't think of that either."

"Wow," said Neru, "you're pretty pathetic."

"Don't remind me..."

With an empathetic smile, Teto got up and helped Miku to her feet. "Now, now," she sang, patting the Vocaloid on the back affectionately, "the important thing is that we're all here now, okay? No need to worry about the past~"

"The past was less than a minute ago," Neru deadpanned.

"That's not important~" Teto returned, a point in her tone that causing Neru to recoil slightly.

Once Miku was seated comfortably in the third chair and was most definitely not dying, the three loids went on to engage in mostly mundane conversation.

"So, Miku!" said Teto brightly. "Anything exciting happening over at Vocaloid Central?"

"Not really," Miku replied casually, dusting the dirt off of her tie. "Not yet, anyway. Luka's been talking about scheduling something for next week, but I'm pretty sure it's nothing fancy."

"Oh, well that's no fun."

Miku shook her head. "But on the bright side," she continued, "we've decided that we're definitely going to be holding another End of Summer Festival, since last year's was such a big hit."

This brought the light back to Teto's eyes, and she clapped her hands together. "Ooh, so it's gonna be an annual thing then? Awesome! And you're gonna be head planner again, I'm sure."

Miku nodded, straightening herself proudly. "Of course," she confirmed. Raising her index finger pointedly, she went on, "It's my responsibility as leader to be able to organize events and keep everything under control. I wouldn't be doing my job if I weren't the head."

"Right," Teto chuckled. "Anyway, it's great that you're doing that again. It's a really great way to bring the whole city together, and at its very heart, no less! It's fantastic for you to be doing something like this." While Miku blushed modestly in response to this, Teto turned her head to the girl who had yet to speak through the duration of this conversation. "Don't you think so, Neru?"

"Huh?" Neru glanced up briefly, her gaze darting between the Vocaloid and the UTAUloid, before quickly flicking back down. "Eh, yeah, that's great."

"What are you even looking at on there?" Miku questioned.

Neru scoffed. "I don't know, maybe I'm setting my alarm for tomorrow..."

The table shook as Miku slammed her fist against it. "Would you let it go?!"

"Not as long as you react that way when I bring it up."

Miku turned her head away grumpily.

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Teto took the initiative to change the subject. "So anyway, Miku. Are you getting any newcomers anytime soon?"

Miku perked. "Oh. Well, I don't have all of the information, but I'm pretty sure we're getting at least two before the end of the year."

"And before the end of summer?"

"One, I think."

"Think they'll be ready for the festival?"

Miku nodded. "I'm sure they'll do just fine."

"Cool! That's what I like to hear."

"What about you?" Miku inquired. "Have you or the others got anything planned?"

Teto waved a hand dismissively, a small smile plastered onto her expression. "Oh, you know..." she answered, "we're not as organized as you guys. If anybody's got something booked, they haven't told me yet."

"So I take it that means that you're not performing anytime soon?"

The UTAUloid shook her head. "I don't really mind, though. Still getting paid from sales, after all~"

"Well, tell me the next time you're going on stage," said Miku. She flashed a thumbs-up, and declared, "That way, you can see me in the front row!"

"Aww!" Teto clutched a hand over her chest. "Thank you, Miku-chan! That means a lot coming from you~"

"Eheheh, don't mention it."

Neru's tongue protruded slightly from her mouth.

"How about you, Neru?" The mentioned quickly retracted her tongue, nervously hoping that Teto hadn't seen it. "Anything new happening with you?" the UTAUloid asked.

Neru's eyes wandered to the side for a moment. "Mm... Nope. Nothing, same as always."

"You sure?" Miku questioned.

Neru nodded sharply. "Yeah. 700 yen per hour, working on my computer in my apartment, and all that."

She lowered her head and buried her nose into her phone again, and Miku and Teto exchanged glances. "Is..." Miku began. "Is that all?"

"Yes," Neru stated bluntly.

"Eh..." Teto looked to Miku to find that she'd become very interested in her tie. The chimera sighed. "Man, Neru," she said, reaching across the table in an attempt to push Neru's phone away from her. This failed on epic proportions. "That sounds... boring. Why don't you try to get out more?"

"Because I don't want to."

"At least she's honest," Miku muttered.

Teto scratched her chin thoughtfully as her friends continued to avert their gazes downward. "Alright..." In a moment, and idea came to her, and she snapped her fingers. "Okay, Neru-san, about this?" Both looked up at her curiously. "I want you to come to the Summer Festival, too," Teto said cheerfully. "You don't have to stay for the whole thing, but I want you to at least look around for a bit and stay for Miku's performance."

Neru's eyes narrowed skeptically. "Why would I do that?"

"Because!" Teto raised her index finger. "It will be a good experience. You flat out refused last year, and I don't want you to miss out again."

Neru's brow lowered. "You're gonna have to be a whole lot more convincing than that."

"I figured. That's why I'm gonna make a deal with you." Teto drew a cross over her chest as she went on: "I solemnly swear that if you come to this year's Summer Festival and stay for Miku's show, neither of us- me nor Miku -will ever try to convince you to go to a social event ever again!"

"Eh?!" Miku exclaimed dramatically. "Why are you dragging me into this?!"

"Cross your heart, Miku." Teto ignored her comment. Miku gave a begrudging sigh as she obliged, refusing eye contact with either of her friends.

Neru cocked an eyebrow at this. "Like, as in... for real?" she challenged.

Teto nodded curtly. "One hundred percent."

Neru held a hand over her mouth, most likely contemplating the offer. Miku looked to her in expectation of an interesting response. After a moment, Neru leaned back in her chair. "I'll think about it," she declared simply, turning her attention back down to the phone screen.

"Seriously?" Miku questioned.

"Well, take all the time you need!" Teto said, slamming a fist against Miku's hand on the table and causing her to yelp.

Miku gingerly caressed her now crippled hand. "What was that for?!"

"Here's an idea! Let's order food!"

"Fine by me."

"Are you not going to answer my question?!"

Miku felt around her shirt, then checked her skirt pockets. Her expression unfolded into one of dismay. "I forgot my wallet."

Neru growled. "Seriously?"

"Seriously..."

"Ouch," Teto remarked.

Miku slammed her head against the table. "If you two split the bill, I can pay you back next time..."

"How can we trust you not to forget your wallet again?" Neru challenged.

"I don't know..."

"Well, no need to worry!" Teto exclaimed, before Miku had the chance to beat herself anymore than she and Neru already had. "Look!" Teto pulled out her own pink wallet, thrusting it into the air as if it were the holy sword Excalibur. "Kasane Teto remembered her wallet! Kasane Teto will pay the bill herself!" In a flash, 900 yen was smacked down onto the table.

"Er, Teto-chan..." Miku protested, "you really don't have to..."

"I don't have to do anything!" Teto said, raising an index finger pointedly. "That doesn't mean that I won't!"

Neru rolled her eyes. "Keh, whatever. I don't have to pay, so I'm not complaining." Teto gave a thumbs-up, then Neru stood and pushed her chair in. "Thanks, I guess. I'm going home."

"Alrighty then!" Teto replied. "Bye, Neru-san! See you later!"

"Yeah, bye," said Miku.

Neru left without responding.

The second she was out of sight, Teto's wide smile evaporated. She turned back to Miku, who was absently fiddling with her tie. "Hey, Miku..." She said, poking the Vocaloid's shoulder. "You know, you really should try to be nicer to her..."

"I know," Miku sighed, her head falling to side. "I just really hate it when she acts like that. Bad attitude is contagious."

"And so is good attitude." Teto's smile returned, though this time it was more sympathetic than goofy. "Show her some respect and maybe it'll rub off on her."

"Yeah..."

They sat there for a moment, Teto staring off in the direction Neru had left. "Hey..." she came eventually, "you picked up on that, right?"

"Yeah," Miku replied. "Neru's a terrible liar. She's obviously got something that she doesn't want us to know about."

Teto nodded slowly. "Well, whatever it is," she said, "it's best that we not bother her about it. That'll only make her more uptight."

"Right."

"Doesn't mean we can't find out what it is without asking her directly."

Miku smirked. "Right."

Miku then pulled her teal-cased smartphone from her pocket to check the time. It was later than she had been expecting. "Ah! Anyway, I'll see you later!" she exclaimed, shooting up and frantically trying to shove the chair back under the table. "I need to get home before I miss the chance to interrogate my friends!"

"Oh. Okay? Bye then?" Teto waved her hand side to side, her brow furrowing as Miku stormed back down the street in the direction from which she came. "Why don't you walk?!" Miku was already gone. With a sigh and a smile, Teto turned back to the table, shaking her head.

*Ding*

The doors to Vocaloid Central's main elevator slid open to reveal a grumpy looking Hatsune Miku, her hands exploring her tie out of nervous habit. She stepped out, dusted off her skirt, and hummed a familiar tune to herself. "I have so many words I want to tell you, and oh so many thoughts I want to send you... I hope that they can all converge together... Where the heck are my friends... Mm hm hm..."

As she stepped down the long stretch of hallway, she adjusted the dial on the side of her headset, attempting to tune in to a certain signal. Eventually, she caught it, the familiar sounds she heard from it confirming her suspicions. "Ah-ha!" Clenching a fist, she dashed to the large, open doorway at the hall's end.

That which she heard was emanating from a surround-sound system hooked up to a large flat-screen TV. Said flat screen TV was showing off the flashy effects of a 2D fighting video game, in which two burly men were brutally beating the crap out of each other. The game was being controlled by two young Vocaloids sitting casually on the long, comfortable looking white and blue sofa in the center of the room. Len had his feet folded on the transparent coffee table in front of him, his gaze locked onto the screen as his thumbs made quick but thoughtful movements on the controller in his lap. Rin lay next to him, upside-down with her feet hanging over the back of the couch. Her commands on the controller looked almost robotic, and she seemed like she was falling asleep. On a smaller two-seat sofa off to the left of the room, Kaito was on the edge of his seat, quietly commentating on the fight and switching several times between which Kagamine he was rooting for. Meiko sat beside him, far more interested in the magazine she was reading. A small white dog in a blue collar was curled up at the base of their seating, its tail thumping periodically against the ground.

Miku poked her head through the large doorway a few feet behind the center sofa, and an evil smirk crossed her face as she analyzed who was here. When she stepped inside, the dog's ears immediately perked, and its head raised in her direction. It scrambled up on its stubby little legs and went to greet her, wagging its fluffy tail excitedly. "Hi, Chiptune," Miku said quietly, leaning over to affectionately scratch his head. Chiptune seemed to be the only one at all interested in the new arrival. This made it easier for her to stride right on over to the couch, slowly draw a finger over the backboard, and say, "Good morning, my absolutely lovely and dear friends whom I hold ever so close to my heart."

"Hey," said Len.

"'Sup," said Meiko.

"Hi, Miku," said Kaito.

"It's 12:30," said Rin.

Miku narrowed her eyes, her grin unwavering, and strolled around to Rin's side of the couch. "Good afternoon, my absolutely lovely and dear friends whom I hold ever so close to my heart."

Rin shrugged. "Close enough."

Miku smacked her hands together, Chiptune looking up at her curiously while everyone else enamored by their own activities. "So, my dearest friends, each and every one of whom I love as if they were my own family..."

"And, here we go..." Rin sighed.

"...would anybody like to explain to me why no one thought to wake me up this morning when my alarm failed to do so," Miku inquired, "you know, since I always get up at seven on Saturdays?"

"I was still sleeping," was Len's excuse.

"I forgot," was Rin's.

"Well aren't you two just buckets of help?"

"Buckets," Len concurred.

"Truckloads," Rin added.

Miku turned her attention to the two eldest Vocaloids presently in the room. "And Meiko?" she challenged.

"Sleeping," Meiko answered, casually turning the page over in her magazine.

"Kaito?"

The aforementioned coughed, loosening the muffler around his neck. "Er, I was asleep, too," he sighed.

"You know, Miku," said Meiko, "this may come as a surprise to you, but most people actually sleep in on Saturdays."

Miku grumbled and folded her arms in frustration. Chiptune padded over to paw at her leg, and she looked down at the little animal expectantly. "And what's your excuse?" Chiptune tilted his head at her.

A loud gong sounded from the television, indicating the end of the game's round. Len gave a cat-like growl of despair and threw his controller against the couch cushion to his left. Rin, meanwhile, was snickering victoriously at his reaction. "Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Len exclaimed.

"Hehe, nope!" Rin teased.

"You guys aren't even paying attention to me!" Miku shouted.

Len took his controller back up, a new determination flaring in his eyes. "Alright, that's it. Best five out of nine!"

"Do you really think you can beat me four times in a row?"

"No." Len hung his head in shame.

With a disgruntled roar, Miku stomped out of the room, Chiptune at her heels. "You're all the worst!" Miku called back.

"Love you too, kid!" Meiko returned.

Kaito whimpered, scratching his head nervously. "Do you guys think she's really mad at us?" he asked.

"Nah," Rin responded. "She'll be over it in like an hour."

"Uh-huh," Len confirmed.

"I will not be over it in like an hour," Miku muttered to herself as she trudged dramatically back into the hallway. She was so focused on her pouting that she didn't seem to be looking where she was going, and didn't make it very far before bumping into somebody. "Oof. Uh, sorry..."

"No, it's fine, Miku. That was my fault."

Miku scratched her head, looking up at the Vocaloid now standing in front of her. "Oh! Hi, Luka."

Luka smiled warmly down at her smaller friend. "Yes, hello. Where have you been all morning?"

"Out with Teto and Neru," Miku answered, while Chiptune came over to sniff Luka's shoes. "It took a little longer than usual."

Luka raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? I thought your meeting was cancelled today."

An anticipating frown graced Miku's face. "Why would it be cancelled?"

"Well, I checked in your room at 7:40 and you were still asleep, so I suppose I just assumed..."

Miku's expression flattened.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing is wrong. Absolutely nothing at all."

"Alright then. Speaking of your room..." Luka pointed upward, in the general direction of Miku's bedroom on the next floor up. "...it's filthy. When's the last time you cleaned it?"

Miku grumbled, directing her gaze to the floor as she nervously nudged Chiptune away from the other Vocaloid with her foot. "Uh, I'm gonna go take a shower..."

"Nope." As Miku attempted to slip by, she was snagged by the back of her shirt and dragged backward. Chiptune barked indignantly in an attempt to defend his master. "Hatsune Miku," said Luka darkly, causing Miku to cringe, "when was the last time that you cleaned your room?"

"Ehhhh..." Miku tugged on her tie. "On... Wednesday?"

"Which Wednesday?"

Miku swallowed the lump in her throat. "Wednesday... um... last month..."

She was released, and only barely caught herself from falling flat on her face. "Clean your room," Luka commanded.

"Okay..." Miku groaned.

"Now."

Miku yelped, scooping up Chiptune in her arms and dashing back into the elevator. Luka watched with a hardened gaze as Miku repeatedly jammed a button until the door closed and took her and her dog away. Luka gave a sigh, then turned around and continued towards her destination.

Miku scowled at the number above the elevator door as it counted up to 4, then to 5. Chiptune looked up at her curiously as she set him down, trotting after her as she exited. The fifth floor was mostly barren, as per usual, and there definitely weren't any showers on this floor. The fluffy little dog padded after his master as she strode silently to a location that he was familiar with the path to. He trotted ahead of her, glancing back and yipping with his tongue lolling out. Miku shifted her gaze to the side in response. When Chiptune reached a large set of gold-rimmed double doors, he scratched at them until the half of the duo with opposable thumbs opened them, and a cool breeze passed into the building.

On the other side of the doors was a large balcony, which oversaw almost the entire southern half of the city. Miku closed the doors behind them while Chiptune trotted over to the edge. "Careful there, boy," Miku called, and the dog stepped back a pace obediently. He took this pace forward once more, however, when Miku approached to lean against the railing. The wind sweeping through her hair, she took a deep breath, in, and then out. "Everyone is stupid," she muttered.

Chiptune pawed her leg, and she glances down at him. He was waggling his tail at her, shifting back and forth on his paws. The small pup gave a small "Arf!"

Miku smiled, then leaned over to scoop her pet into her arms. "Yeah, okay... Everyone's not stupid." She scratched behind Chiptune's ears, and a contented look crossed his furry face. "You're definitely not stupid, are you boy?"

Chiptune gave her face a good, wet lick. Miku blinked. "Eugh. Yeah, okay."

The pup leaped out of his master's arms and padded back over to the door while Miku gave another, less grumpy back out over the city. She sighed. "Good morning, Silicon's Gate."

Chiptune was staring at her sideways when she turned back around. "Oh, don't give that look," Miku huffed, shoving the door back open pointedly. "I know what time is. Honestly, you're just as bad as Rin."

"That's an offense to dogs everywhere!" came Len's voice from over Miku's headset, causing her to jump.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Rin's voice added.

"What did I tell two about hijacking my signal?!" Miku shrieked.

There was a moment of silence. Then Rin answered, "Don't not do it?"

Miku rolled her eyes and shook her head, adjusting the dial on the side of her right earphone. "I always forget to change the settings." Once certain that there would be no further eavesdropping, she looked back to her pet and said, "Come on, Chiptune. Let's go do something with today."

Chiptune yipped cheerfully, and led the way back the elevator with Miku just in his wake.

On the Next Chapter: Murphy's Law Harasses Neru and Miku Walks Her Dog

|| This is far from the best thing I've ever written (honestly I wasn't trying that hard), but I'm gonna try to have some fun with it anyway.

Also just for reference if you live in the states; Silicon's Gate uses Celsius, not Fahrenheit.

I'm tired. I'll go to bed. ||