The Shadow's Life

Summary: "It's hard trying to grow up living in your younger, twin sister's shadow. She always was loved. While I smiled and protected her, I guess I wanted some attention too. Good think I met her, she gives me all the attention I need."

Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid. If I did, I'd be filthy rich, but I'm not. Boo-hoo.

AN: … MY GOD ITS BEEN AWHILE SINCE I'VE UPDATED. DEEPEST APOLOGIES. Pfftt it's not like anyone REALLY reads this anyway. /shot

JUST KIDDING. I LOVE YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING AND FAVING AND WATCHING. It's really, really sweet of you all ;w; So thanks for everything! It means a lot to me w

Besides that, I REALLY don't hate Miku. I just… dislike her? XD But for you Miku lovers, here's a chapter all on her. (No Mikuo until the next one. ;A; )

Please keep in mind that all of these flashbacks are when the Hatsune twins are both young, so around the age of 10 ish. Maybe a little younger xP

"Miku?"

"Hmm? What's wrong Mikuo?"

"Oh… The usual…"

"Aww, don't let them get you down like that! You'll be fine!"

"That's the spirit! Lift your chin up alright? You'll pull through it!"

"… I always do don't I?"

"Mhm! That's why I know you will! Just keep up your confidence! Oh! Mom's calling, be right back!"

The small footsteps faded off into the distance as the elder brother stared at his small feet, his hands balled into fists.

"But I don't have any confidence Miku. You're the one who always takes it from me as soon as you step into the spotlight."

"Miku? Is something wrong? Your ice cream is melting." Deep, worried blue eyes stared into her turquoise eyes, as she finally snapped out of her reminiscing. The pigtailed girl lifted her head and looked towards her boyfriend, who smiled at her.

"H-Huh? Oh! I'm sorry. I was just… thinking." Miku said as she started to munch on her icy treat.

Kaito let out a small sigh as he leaned back onto the bench they were seated on. "I figured. Do you mind sharing what was on your mind?" He smiled at the turquoise haired girl, playing with his scarf that was wrapped around his neck.

Miku looked back down into her lap and let out a long sigh. "It's about my brother. I can't help but feel worried about him…" She muttered as she looked back up towards Kaito, hoping that he would be some help to her problems.

The blue haired male blinked, "You have a brother?" He tilted his head timidly, licking his finger which had a small droplet of melted ice cream sliding down.

Miku couldn't help but stare, she was positive she mentioned her brother while she rambled to her boyfriend during their dates. She bit her lip, or did she over look that subject? N-No. I'm positive. I'm super positive I mentioned Mikuo to Kaito before. I mean, I live with him! I love him! He's my brother! How could I forget about—

"Hey, earth to Miku." Kaito waved his hand in front of her face. "You didn't get lost in your thoughts again did you?" He asked her as he finished up his ice cream. He retracted his hand to pull away some of her turquoise hair out of her eyes. "You feel alright Miku? Not sick or anything right?" Her boyfriend asked her in a worried tone.

Miku blushed and pulled away from Kaito's hand. "I-I'm fine! Really! I just can't believe I didn't tell you anything about Mikuo. D-Did I really, never mention him? Not at all?" The pigtailed girl asked in astonishment, still amazed.

She watched the blue haired male shake his head, "Nope. This is a first for me. So judging by your names, you're twins?" He asked his girlfriend, starting up a conversation between them.

Miku nodded her head as she cleared her throat. "To be truthful, I don't think I've been as kind to him as I think I should have… I mean, we're close, but…" Her voice drifted off as she recalled his outburst to her the previous night.

" It seems like you prioritize your precious 'Prince Charming' more than me. No, more than me, Len and Rin." He pulled his arm out of his sister's grasp. "Now if you'll excuse me, your older brother will be working on his composition. Not like it matters anyway. Since I've always been stuck in your shadow."

"It's hard to explain… Its sorta like, since I'm so popular at the institution, I've been casting a large shadow behind me in the spotlight, and I never realized until now, that Mikuo's been stuck in that shadow. And I haven't been doing anything to help him get out… He's always been so supportive of me too. Whenever I was down and needed help on what to compose, he was always there, smiling at me, encouraging, urging me to go on." She started on her brother's description to Kaito, glancing over to his expression.

"He sounds like a sweet brother." Kaito stated bluntly with a bright smile on his face, his blue eyes staring up at the skies above him.

Miku pouted her cheeks. "That's all you have to say?" She questioned her boyfriend, she was hoping for a little encouragement, just a little pick-me-up like… Like how Mikuo would support me…

Kaito's azure gaze fell upon Miku's disappointed face as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about it. You said you two were close right? I'm sure it'll resolve on its own. Time heals doesn't it?" He grinned at her.

The pigtailed girl looked up to him and weakly smiled. "Y-Yea. I suppose so…" Her voice drifted off as she stood up to discard her melted treat. Her eyes fell upon her watch, watching the small second hand tick away.

His blue eyes watched her as she sadly sat back besides him, her whole body language was sending off depressed vibes, that made Kaito frown, not knowing how to respond to cheer his poor, saddened girlfriend up.

"Mikuo! Mikuo!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs as she happily dashed up the stairway into his room, crashing into his arms. The turquoise male was taken by surprise, not expecting his sister to tackle him down all of a sudden.

A large thud rang in the empty house as his sister giggled at his distressed face. "Did I surprise you?" She asked as she laid on top of him.

"Slightly. Because I totally expect you to come home flying into my arms every day." The elder brother grinned at his sister, laughing along side with her as they were sprawled across the ground in his room.

She lifted her legs up and started to wave them up in the air with a smile plastered across her face, just fully content being in her older brother's presence. The male lifted his arms behind his head to rest comfortably, staring at his younger sister's smile.

"Mikuo?" She finally piped up, breaking the friendly silence.

"Yes Miku?" He replied almost immediately to her question.

"I love you." She grinned at him. "Never, ever, ever forget that alrighty?" The girl childishly remarked as she wrapped her arms around his chest.

The elder brother's eyes warmed and his cheeks turned slightly red. "I love you too Miku. And I won't forget." He smiled as he wrapped his arms around his sister.

A small laugh escaped from Miku's lips. Mikuo blushed and looked down at her. "W-What?"

"It's nothing. Really! I'm just the luckiest sister in the world to have you as my older brother! That's what." Miku announced as she nuzzled her head into Mikuo's chest.

Miku was snapped back into reality once she heard the large clock in the city ring, announcing that it was nearly night time. She finally looked up from her lap, her eyes gazed around the park area she sat in, alongside with Kaito, her boyfriend who playfully fell asleep beside her during their silence. The turquoise eyed girl balled her hands in her lap and bit her lip, staring up at the now orange filled sky.

"H-How long has it been? Since I said those simple words to him?" She asked herself out loud. She can clearly remember the times she had uttered those same three words to Kaito, but not to Mikuo. So lost in her thoughts, she completely ignored Kaito's presence beside her. The pigtailed girl's sudden question shook Kaito awake, as he drowsily rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry; I dozed off on our date." The scarf wearing male apologized as he looked over to his girlfriend. She didn't seem to notice that he had awoken; he was about to speak, to ask her if she was feeling alright, but once he opened his mouth, Miku stood up from the bench of the park.

"That's it! I know what I have to do! Exactly what I have to do. How could I have been so blind all this time?" She asked herself, staring up into the sky, her eyes shining with energy and enthusiasm.

Kaito blinked curiously, "Alright, can I ask what you're going to do?" He finally said his second attempt at questioning her. As he waited for his reply, he played with the scarf around his neck. Readjusting it in certain places, once he looked back to where Miku was previously standing, she was gone.

The male jumped out of his seat on the bench and quickly looked around, seeing her dash off nearby the park fountain. He quickly followed after her, careful not to run into any by passers, playing children or pets. Once Kaito caught up to Miku, she stood before a large, sturdy tree at the edge of the park.

"Miku! Don't dash off on me like that!" Kaito scolded his girlfriend, clearly exasperated of air; he leaned on his knees, trying to catch his breath as he glanced up at the tree. "What's this?" He asked before really taking it in. "It looks old."

Miku nodded her head. "It sure is. But this place is really special to me. Because whenever I was sad and pressured by my parents, I'd always come here to cry." She reminisced. "Mikuo would always come chasing after me whatever time of day it was, even as the years passed, he would still chase after me, no matter how silly the reason was."

Miku sobbed silently, her knees were scrapped and her dress was dirty from running and stumbling, but she didn't care. She cried because her parents had yelled at her for being childish, but she didn't understand so she ran off without thinking about the situation.

It was dark, nighttime, and it was in the middle of the night. Frustrated, their parents didn't bother to rush after her, but not Mikuo, once he heard their argument, he rushed outside to search for her. Because only he knew where she would be.

"Miku!" The elder brother called into the silent night as he ran as fast as his legs could take him.

Miku shot up her head looking around as soon as she heard her brother's familiar voice. She tried to stand but her knees pained her too much, "Mikuo!" She called out, in reply, hoping that her hoarse voice would be able to reach him.

Not too long after, the elder brother found his sister crying at the foot of the tree, he grasped her by the shoulders and pulled her into a comforting hug.

"I know mommy and daddy can be mean, but they're saying this for our own good. I promise." He comforted his crying sister.

Miku sniffled and clutched her brother's shoulders nodding her head. "Okay…" She whimpered. Mikuo smiled at her, and carried her back home and tended to her scrapped knees.

Kaito stared up at the large tree, "Wow, it must hold a lot of memories huh?" He glanced down to his girlfriend, who had her eyes glued to it. She then turned to him with a determined look; he was surprised by her sudden glance and blushed slightly.

"Kaito." She announced his name into the evening.

"Yes Miku?" He smiled at her, holding back his hair as a long breeze passed by the area.

She walked towards him and held his hands between hers as she smiled up at him, feeling her pigtails fly behind her due to the strong wind.

"I know this is really sudden, but;" Miku paused to looking from their hands back up to Kaito's eyes. "I have someone much more important to me, that I have to prioritize before anyone else." She started to explain.

Kaito blinked and stared at the girl before him, "Wait, are you trying to…?" He managed to ask her before she finished her announcement to him.

"I'm not ready for a relationship." Miku then looked up to the sky. "Huh, I didn't phrase that right." She thought, and then nodded her head when she thought up of a proper response. "Kaito, to be frank; I'm breaking up with you." She smiled sweetly at him before letting go of his hands and dashing away. "I hope we can still be friends!" The turquoise girl called out to him as she ran.

The blue haired male was surprised, but he sighed and smiled to himself, scratching the back of his head. "Looks like Miku knows what she's doing. She's prioritizing her brother before me. That's good." He stared up at the great tree before him and chuckled before calling it a day, he started his way home in the opposite direction from his previous girlfriend.

Miku dashed all the way home, having the wind blow through her long hair, make her nice clothes ruffle, but she didn't have a care in the world. The girl made an abrupt halt before her house and quickly opened the door with a large grin plastered across her face.

"Mikuo!" She called throughout the household. She happily ran around the house, looking for her brother. Her smile faded once she realized that he wasn't home. Her side bag slumped from her shoulder and made a small thud onto the ground beside her.

"I wonder where he is now. I hope he doesn't feel too bad…" She muttered to herself as she sat down on the kitchen chair, kicking her feet as she if she was a child again. The girl rested her chin on her hand as she stared at the area around her, "He must have felt lonely when I wasn't home huh?" She announced into the vacant house, the only sound in the whole household was the loud ticking of the clock, announcing every lonely second that passed by.

Two blonde haired siblings, in their room, accompanied by one turquoise haired male as they laid on the ground, lazing around munching on icy popsicles happily, staring up at the boring ceiling, drawing pictures into it. Their laughter rang loud and proud throughout the household. The three of them had been spending the whole day together, not aware of anything that happened in the world outside that room. That room, was their sanctuary, their place they can escape together.

Len looked down at his bare ice cream. "You guys want some more ice cream? I'll go get some for you." He grinned as he took the two elder sibling's wooden popsicle sticks as he left the room. The blonde nudged his sister with his foot that she quickly wacked away playfully. She got his message loud and clear.

Rin sat up from the ground and looked over to Mikuo who smiled at her. "Hm? What is it Rin?" He questioned her glance.

She blushed and turned away. "N-Nothing." She lied, hoping that he wouldn't see her burning face.

Mikuo blinked and sighed as he sat up from the ground "Come on, it's not that hot in here is it? Cause your face is all red." He teased her, pulling at her cheek.

The girl quickly slapped away his hand. "Ow! That hurts you jerk." Rin exclaimed, only joking around as Mikuo laughed at her expression.

Len reentered the room with three icy cold popsicles and a large grin on his face as the returned to their laying position, staring back up at the ceiling.

Mikuo bit at his ice cream, and smiled. Being with these two make me forget all my worries with Miku, I feel so at ease now. I'm glad I have them as my friends.

AN: Okay I lied. I ended the chapter with a little Mikuo. But hey, you can't blame me! He is the main character and all. Oooh~ Don't you guys wonder what's in store for the next chapter! Let's hope it doesn't take too long this time. XP