Chapter Two


Inksewn: Wow! Seven reviews… bigger than I've ever had on one chapter. And, plus, my graduation is over! I'm an official graduate! Yay! :) Thanks to all! Here are your review replies:

TheSilverWisp: Aww, thanks, senpai! :D You're great! I'm going to be updating this on a regular basis.

vocaotaku: Thanks! And duh, of course I won't.

Poweredtoenail offline: Aww, thank you! And of course you should. :)

Nerumi H: Wow! Nice review! And I really tried to make the characters realistic, but in a funny way, so that they wouldn't be so stereotypical… though I'm not sure about Rin, but she seems okay so far. And, yeah, I like Kaito and Meiko as a comedy team.

pinkalicious101: There will be, but not in a way you'll expect. ;)

rocketman182: Thank you! :D And sorry for no cookies, by the way, next time I'll just make the button do something else. And yes, out-of-normal-portray is a better way to say it. P.S. Are you a Blink 182 fan? :O

Marshmallow Ninja: MALLOW! :D Thanks for the review! And yeah, I tried doing it that way. Fanfiction is hard work. I know how Dragon Scent is now. XD

LadySchwarzDestinySBH: Thanks! :D And you must, otherwise I shall STRANGLE YOU! Just kiddin'. :P

Inksewn: So… that's about it, so all we need is a disclaimer.

Luka: Oh. I'll do it. Inksewn does not own Vocaloid. It is owned by Crypton. All Vocaloid rights belong to Crypton.

Inksewn: … Thanks, Luka.


"So, what are we going to do today?" Gumi asked, munching on her cereal hungrily. After being woken up to the sound of gun shooting, she had decided to go to the kitchen to eat breakfast with the other Vocaloids.

"Well, since you've just arrived, your debut video isn't ready yet," Meiko explained.

"A debut video!" squealed Rin, "Yay!"

"It's going to be very interesting," Luka said, "I can't wait."

"Yeah, I'm sure this week is going to be a blast," Gakupo said after swallowing his food.

"Don't be so sure," Meiko grumbled, stabbing some bacon with her fork, "The Utauloids are visiting today. Boss made another arrangement."

Everybody started spluttering and coughing; even Rin had a slight frown on her face. Gumi raised a brow, confused.

"Why? Who are the Utauloids?" she continued to chew even though everyone else had stopped eating.

"The Utauloid is our sister company," Meiko explained, "It's not as famous as Vocaloid, but they still make a decent amount of money. Most of them are our relatives."

"Relatives?" Gumi's eyes widened in interest, "Like who?"

"My three brothers, Akaito, Taito, and Nigaito," Kaito mumbled.

"Zatsune and Hachune, my dear sisters," growled Miku.

"Lin and Ren Haine, our cousins," said Len, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Luki," said Luka plainly.

"Kagura, disowned brother," Gakupo said in embarrassment.

"Meito, the stupid idiot he is," Meiko grumbled.

"So, if they're your relatives, why do you hate them?" Gumi asked. Everyone else cast dark looks towards each other.

"Well, except for Teto, Neru and Haku, they all hate us. Every single one of them." Meiko waved her fork in the air.

"How do you know? Did they tell you?" Gumi swallowed the last bit of cereal. Meiko smirked.

"Well, last year we had to surgically remove the toothpicks from Kaito's—"

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that!" Kaito yelled.

Meiko chuckled. "You get the picture."

Gumi nodded. It was quite sad that they had this feud, but what made the Utauloids want such a rivalry? The rest finally continued eating, Kaito finishing first.

"Should I try and make friends with the Utauloids?" Gumi inquired, sipping her orange juice. Meiko looked up from her glass of soda.

"What? No, definitely not. Since you've gotten into Vocaloid, they hate you the most. So just shun them, and if they try to hurt you, kick their asses. Especially Akaito."

And with that, Meiko walked away as everybody avoided her icy gaze. Kaito hurriedly walked up to Gumi, who replied with a curious look.

"I need you to help me with something," he whispered, his eyes darting in fear.

"What?"

"Keep Akaito as far away from Meiko as possible. Lock the doors on him if you have to."

"Wha—why?"

"Meiko and Akaito used to be in a relationship. But then Akaito was cheating on her with Zatsune, so she got so furious… and she went emo for a couple of weeks. She wouldn't sing. She drank more sake than ever. Then she said something really rude to Akaito, telling him he was good-for-nothing and an asshole… but worse than that, and then he hit her, so they got into a big fight and Meiko ended up in the hospital for her broken leg and a hemorrhage. He was sued, but he got out of it. Taito gave the defense."

"That's terrible!"

"Not only that, but Zatsune spread rumors about her… telling everyone she was a… let's just leave it alone. I think Akaito told her to do it for revenge, and Zatsune did it to show her loyalty. It just left Meiko depressed and we had to stop her from hurting herself, especially in her condition. She wasn't her usual, bossy self."

"… That shouldn't happen to her again," Gumi whispered.

"Exactly. I don't want Meiko getting hurt… so can you help me distract my brother? Please? Just for today? She shouldn't go through that kind of situation again." Gumi nodded. Kaito gave her a sorrowful smile, and then left off with everyone else.

Gumi left her plate in the sink and watched the rest of them go up the elevator.

Were some of the Utauloids really that bad? Did they really want to ruin Vocaloid that much? Zatsune, a gossiping snake spreading lies about Meiko, a girl she had known for her strength and dominance? And Akaito, Kaito's own brother, beating her up and leaving her in the hospital, not even going to jail for it? Not to mention leaving her in a swirling depression. Gumi had only known Meiko for a few days, but she knew that Meiko was a tough nut to crack.

Had all of this nonsense started just because of envy? Gumi had barely known Vocaloid until they'd sent her a comment on her Youtube video, let alone Utauloid. And since when did the Vocaloid popularity matter? They were sister companies anyway. Arrogance was a vice. They were family, after all.

Situations like these just shrunk Gumi's faith in humanity.

And, with that depressing note, Gumi entered the returning and now empty elevator to go back to her room.


Gumi awoke from her mid-morning weekend nap as she heard Len's soft yet masculine voice ring throughout the rooms. What he said had made her sit upright immediately.

"They're here!"

Gumi peered through the window; quite a crowd had turned up to visit them, almost all of them looking disgruntled and impatient. Teto, however, was looking excitedly through a gap in the door.

She ran out of the room, still wearing her green pajamas. The other Vocaloids were also outside, the only one not there being Kaito.

The group rushed into the elevator, pushing the 'lobby' button impatiently. Gumi remembered what Kaito had told her; she had to keep Akaito away from Meiko at all costs. If she were Kaito, she wouldn't want Meiko to go through double the emotional pain she had gone through.

The elevator opened with a 'ping' and everybody scrambled out of the doors. Teto greeted the Vocaloids with a grin, Neru and Haku with a faint smile. The rest frowned or gritted their teeth. Zatsune had an evil look on her face. From a distance, Gumi could see a hint of blue…

Rin waved enthusiastically to Teto, who waved back, and avoided the gaze of the other Utauloids, who shot her death glares.

Luka opened the doors, letting everyone in. Gumi immediately grabbed Meiko, who seemed as annoyed as ever.

"Let's go get some old food from the kitchen," she said, "Preferably expired. Akaito's probably hungry."

A rather sadistic and evil grin spread across Meiko's face. "Sure," she said slyly, "Let's go." Gumi praised herself under her breath as they quickly walked towards the elevator. Meiko and Gumi took sharp breaths as the elevator made its way up.

"What do you think? One of Gakupo's failed dishes or some of Len's unfinished rotten bananas?" Meiko asked.

"Both. Put them into a sandwich and I expect someone will eat it."

The two laughed, though Gumi's was rather shaky; what if Meiko presented the dish herself? What if something happened and she would go to the hospital again? What if she didn't recover?

Gumi helped Meiko by getting some bread and a plate while she put on some gloves and searched the trash can.

"Here. Gakupo's burnt eggplant surprise and one of Len's barely finished bananas from a month ago." Meiko pinched her nose, "Let's put this into the bread." The sandwich was finished, and then Gumi and Meiko carried it into the elevator.

With the usual 'Ping!' the elevator doors slid open to what seemed like an all-out war. The Boss must've been out; Gumi was sure that if he had seen this, he would've put a stop to it.

Miku was having a yell fight with Haine Lin and Kagura, while Luka was fighting off Hachune and Zatsune. Len was wrestling with Haine Ren and Meito, who were both bigger than him and stronger. Nigaito, Luki and Gakupo were having a loud argument. Kiyoteru was trying to carry Yuki away from the fight as she yelled at Taito at the top of her lungs.

And there, in the center of the madness, were Akaito and Kaito, in a brawl that seemed like it was to the death. Kaito had a black eye; Akaito had a bleeding mouth. Kaito's blue muffler had hints of purple. Meiko, who was agape, ran straight through the crowd and tried to pull Kaito off his brother.

"What—the—heck—are—you—doing?" she yelled, heaving with all her might.

"Called… you… slut… not… funny…" he panted, still trying to pummel his sibling. Meiko still tried to pull him off, but then she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Why, it isn't Akaito's little hoe… Cheating on someone else with your little blue pet?" Zatsune's shrill voice was caught by Meiko's ear.

"Never… loved… me… leave… alone…" Kaito huffed.

Meiko continued to try pulling him off as Zatsune continued to insult her, Meiko redder than her pop-star outfit.

"Dating another idiot like the blue pervert, are you? Or just doing it for more popularity than you can chew? Might as well kill someone for more publicity, that'll be another Vocaloid—"

Zatsune was pounced by her sister; Miku grabbed her ebony hair and yanked on it with no restraint. Zatsune howled, trying to kick her little sister off.

"That is enough!"

Teto's loud, raspy voice bellowed through the lobby. Neru was behind her, looking furious, along with Haku, who looked like she was close to tears.

"Can we all just get along? We're supposed to be family! We aren't supposed to beat each other up! What happened to caring about each other? We used to be fine a few years ago. What happened?"

"Miss Pop Princess here got rich and threw us into a ditch," Zatsune replied, Hachune nodding in agreement. Teto sighed.

"What does fame and fortune matter? Isn't life about being happy?" Teto asked, making eye contact with every single one of the Vocaloids and Utauloids., including Gumi, who was silent.

"I can only be happy with fame and fortune—see the cycle?" Haine Lin spat, a bitter look on her face.

"True happiness comes from non-materialistic things. Like friends," she said, glancing at the Vocaloids. "So can we all be friends?"

There was a long silence.

"No," Akaito stood up from the ground where he was once wrestling Kaito, "I quit, Teto. Ive had enough of being their co-worker." And so he brushed himself off, wiped the blood off his face, and exited the building.

"If Aka leaves, I'm leaving too!" Zatsune squealed, and she stomped away, following her boyfriend. Hachune left soon after, along with Luki, Kagura, Nigaito, Taito, Meito, and the Haine twins.

The blood and sweat left on the floor glistened in the sunlight. Teto coughed.

"So… I guess Neru, Haku and I are the only ones left, huh?"

Len nodded slowly.

"It's okay, Teto. You're like the star icon of Utauloid, I'm sure nothing would've changed. Only a few people will stop watching, and those are the Shion brother fans," Luka reassured.

"Yeah… you're right. It's just a minor setback. At least you guys won't have to deal with them anymore… especially you, Meiko," Teto said.

"Yeah," Meiko replied.

"Well… we best be off. Bye, guys!" The trio walked out, Neru raising her phone to call a cab. Meiko glanced over to Kaito; there was a bloody scratch near his right eye, which had been turned black and blue. His lip was swollen, too.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Wha—Beiko, whad's wrong?" Kaito's swollen lip had altered his way of speaking, but his speech intention was clear.

"You didn't have to do that for me, you baka," she gulped, tears now streaming down her red cheeks, "Look what you've done to yourself…"

"He called you a slut… thad's not cool…" Kaito said, grimacing, "Ib I see hib again I'b going to pubbel hib…"

"No, don't, you baka, you look like you need to go to the hospital… and the dentist," she added after seeing his teeth.

"No, ibs okay."

Meiko swooped down and gave him a warm hug. "You're such a baka… and that's what I love about you."


Rin: D'awwww! :D

Miku: Shut up, blondie.

Rin: You shut up, diva.

Gakupo: D: That's enough, you guys. Anyway, thanks for reading, and don't forget:

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