Disclaimer: I do not own Vocaloid in any way.

Chapter 6

The pink-haired directress heard a thump from the back of the theatre, like someone was folding up a seat. She turned around to see if there was anyone in vicinity. Hopefully, it was a cast member and not an outsider. She didn't want to use her trusty black-peppered tuna to threaten anyone.

"Who's there?" Luka commanded, raising the goose bumps of the three people there.

"L-luka, it's just me!" Miku popped up from under the seat. Her hair was rustled, so she assumed Miku fell. The pink-haired directress sighed in relief, though the voices alerted Gakupo.

He bolted from his chair and turned to Miku. "Were you watching, Miss Hatsune?"

"Yes…" The teal-haired girl admitted, clutching the envelope to her chest, "I was told to hand you this," Miku held up the envelope, grinning, "so I wasn't totally eavesdropping."

Luka walked over to her and asked, "Are those Meiko's new designs?" Miku nodded in reply. Luka took the envelope and grabbed Miku by the hand, dragging her to Gakupo. I can walk by myself, Luka, Miku deadpanned in her head.

"So what did you think of the prism-haired songbird's performance, Miss Hatsune?" Gakupo smiled, gesturing to Ia, who was on her way down the stage. Her face was flushed, and she looked a tad tired. Her clothes were splattered in paint and her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail. Clearly, the left wing inhabitants had their way with her.

"I thought she was wonderful," Miku said honestly, "she's grown a lot more confident since middle school."

"Thanks, Miku." Ia beamed, slumping down on a nearby audience seat.

Gakupo noticed Ia's tired expression and spoke, "I think that's enough for today."

"I agree." Luka gave Gakupo the envelope for him to survey. "You two run along home now, we'll deal with the designs ourselves."

"Alone." Gakupo added, winking. His pink-haired partner karate chopped his head. "That hurt, my pink-haired angel!" Soon, the two started bickering like children. Ia and Miku decided to leave the two to themselves. Besides, Miku had good news to tell her best friend.

xoxoxo

When they had finally arrived to Miku's apartment, Ia asked to use the shower. She smelled like paint and tinted water. Her own smell made herself grimace. She peeled of the articles of her clothing and stepped inside her teal-haired friend's shower and lifted the knob to let the water flow.

She let the hot water seep into her skin, breathing in the steam. She felt relaxed as droplets of water dotted her face and wet her hair. She squeezed the nearly empty bottle of shampoo, and lathered her hair with the scent of strawberry.

Miku paced around the living room, biting her thumbnail. "Ia, are you done yet?" She knocked on the bathroom door. "I've got something to tell you, so hurry up!"

Ia dried her hair using a towel and finally exited the bathroom. She wore a simple oversized shirt over boxer shorts. She saw the impatient Miku face-down on the bed.

"Miku, you okay?" She asked, walking towards the bed.

"You were too slow!" Miku let out an exasperated noise, her voice muffled by the pillows. Then, she was thrashing about the bed like a madwoman being subjected to electrocution. "I don't know what to do!"

"What do you mean?" Ia hung the towel on the clothes rack beside the bed. She searched the Miku's vanity for a big-toothed comb to smooth out the tangles in her hair. I need to use more conditioner, Ia thought.

Miku raised her head and spoke, "Kaito, the guy I told you about, he…" She started bouncing on the bed again then finally sat up, "HE ASKED ME OUT." She buried her face in her hands and began squealing like a banshee.

"Calm down!" Ia hit Miku's head with the comb to snap her back to normal, "You're acting a little bit crazy." She took off the hair tie on one side of Miku's twin tails and began running the comb through her best friend's teal-haired locks. She had missed doing this with her, just relaxing and having a bit of girl talk.

"I don't know what to do, Ia." The teal-haired girl fumbled with her fingers. Her fingernails had been chewed short by her own nervousness. "I said okay, sure, I'll go."

"When will he pick you up?" The prism-haired girl removed the other hair tie and let the comb slide down Miku's hip-length hair.

"He won't. We'll meet at 7pm at the lobby." Miku responded, her fingers now playing with the hem of her skirt. She sensed Ia taking three locks of hair and intertwining them, braiding her hair into a ponytail.

Left over right… Ia thought, trying to make the braid as tight as possible. When Ia had finally processed Miku's response, she replied, "Great! We'll go shopping tomorrow."

"Shopping? But I already have so many—" Ia tugged at Miku's braid. "Ow!"

"I'd rather spend hours looking for the perfect clothes at a mall than at home." Her prism-haired friend said, finally finished with the braid. She picked up one hair tie she removed from Miku earlier and used it to seal the braid.

"…You've got a point there." Miku smiled and turned to Ia. She looked into her friend's eyes. They weren't the same cheerful eyes Ia had; they were her brooding eyes. "What's wrong, Ia?"

"Nothing, it's just..." She racked her brain for the right words, "if I play Isabella… that means I'm going to be Ethan's fiancé…and that means we're going to have a kissing scene…"

Well that never crossed Miku's mind. She grabbed Ia's hands and squeezed them, "Don't worry, okay? What happens onstage stays onstage. I trust you not to steal him away from me."

Ia giggled. "Don't worry, he isn't my type anyway. I like intelligent men."

"Hot for teacher, huh?" Miku teased before receiving another bonk on the head with the comb.

"I won't feel comfortable kissing my best friend's boyfriend—"

"Wha-wha—BOYFRIEND?!"

"Okay. Boyfriend-to-be?"

"Stop that, Ia." Miku punched Ia on the shoulder gently, and yawned.

"We should sleep now," Ia remarked as she glanced at the wall clock. It was 11:30PM, and her jet lag was setting in.

"Yeah…" Miku agreed and fluffed her pillows. She pulled up the blankets as her teal-haired friend stood to turn off the lights. "Goodnight, Ia."

"Goodnight, Miku." She mewled, shortly snoozing off to a good night's sleep.

xoxoxo

NYANYANYANYANYANYANYANYA!

The teal-haired girl bolted from the bed, searching for the cellphone that made the sudden noise. Miku reached for her phone on the other side of the futon, stirring Ia awake.

The prism-haired girl groaned, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"

Miku pressed a button on her cellphone to turn it on. Her eyes were alarmed by the sudden light which attacked her retinas. She stared at the screen for a moment, squinting. "It's… 8:00AM."

"What time does the mall open?" Ia mumbled, half-awake.

"9:00AM," Miku replied, flopping back to her fluffy pillow.

Ia jumped off the bed rushed to switch on all of the lights. She stripped the blankets off the bed and pulled away Miku's pillow.

"What the heck, Ia?" Miku growled, tugging at the blanket which her prism-haired friend was determined not to give back.

"Wake up!" she gripped Miku's wrists and proceeded to pull her slowly off the bed, "we need to get ready!"

She kicked Ia's hands away. "Okay, okay, I'm up!"

"Get dressed; we're going to the mall in an hour." The prism-haired girl hurried to the bathroom and slammed the door.

Miku sought her brush and sat in front of her vanity mirror. She noticed her hair was still braided, and proceeded to unbraid it. She raked her hands through her long tresses and noticed how it had become slightly wavy. I need to thank Ia for that, she thought. She decided to keep it that way, tangles and all. She parted her hair from the back and tied it in low twin tails.

She dressed herself with the first clothes she saw at the front of her closet: galaxy leggings, and a long pink top with fringes at the bottom. She thought to add a pink headband with a mini ribbon at the side, and slid on her lucky Dr. Martens. And so, she waited for her friend to exit the bathroom.

"Ia," She knocked on the door once, "get dressed."

"Wait." The girl responded.

Miku knocked twice. "I need to wash my face, you freeloader!"

"WAIT!" She complained from the other side of the wooden frame.

"I'll kick the door open," The teal-haired girl bluffed, lightly bumping the door with her foot, "You aren't naked, are you?"

Silence.

"Fiiiineeeeee," Ia groaned, defeated, "just try not to scream." Miku heard a click! And let herself inside the bathroom.

As she entered, her eyes were widened in shock and… hysteria?

"Oh my god," Miku tried to stifle a giggle, ignoring Ia's pissed off expression, "what is that on your face?"

Her best friend's face was covered in a moss green facial mask that looked like slime pasted onto her face. She looked like the swamp monster Miku used to see in her nightmares as a child but instead of feeling terrified, she could barely hold her laughter.

"Laugh all you want," Ia said, splashing a handful of tap water twice onto her face to rinse off the mask. She slid the nearby face towel off the rack and proceeded to wipe the residue off. She smirked, "my skin is now ten times smoother than yours."

"Well," Miku reached out to touch her friend's cheek, "that's true."

Her best friend's complexion was already healthier than Miku's but the mask made her skin glow. Too bad she'll never be caught dead trying it though; it looked icky, like a kid trying to convince you that a mud makeover can make you twinkle like a pixie.

"I'll go change now," she stated, bringing her toothbrush and beauty products with her.

"Okay, you go do that." Miku grinned and proceeded to brush her teeth in front of the foggy mirror. She tried not to compare her clean teeth to Ia's pearly ones, and she tried not to think of how tolerable she actually looked even with the goo on her face. She was a schoolgirl next to Ia's model-like looks, but then who bagged the main role? Miku Hatsune did.

When she exited the bathroom, she saw Ia donning a black jumper with a beaded heart in the middle that hung off the shoulder paired with hot pink shorts.

"You ready to go?" She smiled brightly, grabbing her handbag. Miku nodded, taking hers as well.

"Yep, I am!" Miku replied, spinning the apartment keys on her index finger.

They headed for the door and Miku was the one tasked to lock it tight. She spoke, "I sure hope you have the funds for this."

"Don't worry~" Ia responded, "We'll make sure to check out the dresses on sale first."

And so, they left for the mall.

xoxoxo

The two young women found themselves in a newly opened boutique called "World's End Boutique" because they were informed by the trustworthy Mr. Internet that the prices of the items were affordable and high-quality. It was run by a peculiar red-haired lady named Teto Kasane and her brother, Ted.

"No," Ia shook her head at the plaid dress Miku held up, "too tacky. Is plaid still even a thing?"

Miku browsed through the clothes rack, picking up a dress once in a while then placing it back on the rack again. A strapless red dress? No. A silver dress that literally twinkled? NO thank you.

"Do you need some help, ma'am?" said a young saleslady with crimson drill-tails.

"My friend here has a date later and we're looking for the perfect outfit." Ia explained, putting her hand on Miku's shoulder.

The young saleslady observed Miku from head to toe, even staring deeply into her eyes. She suddenly exclaimed "I know!" and scrambled to the storage room of the boutique. Miku and I watched as she returned with two dresses in hand: on her right, a little black dress with a teal ribbon adorning the back; or two, a white blouse paired with a blue, high-waist flared skirt.

"I don't know what to pick…" Miku stammered, eyes going left, then right and back again.

"Well, what kind of guy is he?" The drill-tailed saleslady asked, letting both outfits sling over her right arm.

"He's…" Honestly, Miku didn't know much about Kaito, "friendly… and an oddball sometimes."

"What does he like?" The saleslady responded.

Miku giggled as she was reminded of their little banter yesterday. "He has an affinity for ice cream."

"With that description," Ia spoke, "I think you're better off with the skirt and blouse combo. We need to pair that up with a belt and some flats."

"I have to agree," The redhead nodded, setting the little black dress atop a rack of clothes. She handed the outfit over to Miku with a bright smile on her face. "I think I know the perfect accessories for that." She took a thin brown belt from where the belts were hung and a pair of brown flats from the shoe shelf.

"Oh, this is just perfect," Miku sighed, her eyes twinkling. With much enthusiasm, she exclaimed, "I'll take them!"

"How much is all this anyway?" Ia spotted a small price tag attached to the tag of the dress and immediately dropped it. She leaned over to her friend and whispered, "Miku, I hope you can just swipe this off because the prices are killer."

The redheaded saleslady smiled sweetly, "Don't worry! First time buyers are given a 30% discount! And since this store just newly opened, EVERYONE gets a discount!"

The two girls were startled by the saleslady's eagerness. Miku decided to ask, "What's your name, Miss?"

"I'm Teto Kasane. You might have heard of me." She informed them, giving a bow.

"So you own this place, huh?" The prism haired girl marveled at the creativity of how the clothes were arranged, "Where are your employees?"

"We haven't gotten around hiring anyone, so me and my brother switch places." Teto told them, showing the girls a picture of her older brother on her cellphone. He had the same crimson hair color, but tied into a long ponytail. "I know he's handsome, but don't get any ideas!" She giggled, putting her phone back into her pocket.

"I'll take them!" Miku announced, giving the load of clothes to Teto, who carefully led them to the cashier. The redhead input the items on the computer and waited as the computer calculated their total expenses.

"That'll be 7,000 Notes," The redhead told them, "Apply the 30% discount and… 2,000 Notes in total." She opened her hand to receive cash or card. Miku reached for her wallet and gave the exact amount to the store owner.

"Thank you for your business!" Teto beamed brightly, folding the items and placing them in a brown paper bag. "Please visit us again." She said, and bade the two girls goodbye as they exited the store, satisfied.

xoxoxo

Ia glided the red stick on Miku's upper and lower lip, making Miku look a little bit more mature than she should.

Miku shook her head. "Don't you think red lipstick is a little bit too… bold?" Miku asked, wiping the red color off her lips with a ball of cotton.

"I agree," Ia took the cotton ball and tossed it to the trash bin.

"Just a little bit of makeup, then?" The teal-haired girl suggested, revealing a small bottle of lip tint and a compact press powder. She applied a dash of lip tint and patted her face with the powder.

Miku buttoned up her blouse and inserted the belt into the slots of the skirt. Her hair was fixed in an intricate French up-do clipped by a blue ribbon patterned with white polka dots. The teal-haired girl stared at herself in the mirror. She looked presentable, that's for sure. Miku glanced at the wall clock which simply ticked away.

"Don't you think you should be going?" Ia said, holding the two doll shoes between her fingers.

Miku slipped on the pair of flats and scurried for her clutch. "Bye, Ia!"

"Be careful, okay?" Ia waved goodbye to her friend. "Good luck!"

xoxoxo

Miku found herself alone in the lobby, not including the receptionist who didn't even take time to glance at her. By this time, most of the people had gone home and only the executives are bothered to ever stay at this time. She wondered why Kaito asked to meet her at such a late time.

She crossed her legs, and leaned back on the leather seats. She looked up at the ceiling which had a huge stalagmite chandelier glowing bright yellow. The speakers played a soothing instrumental song that seemed to be Celtic from the arrangement. Miku sighed and checked her phone: "7:01PM."

"Hey, Miss Hatsune."

The teal-haired actress was startled by the sudden figure that blocked her vision of the chandelier. It was her blue-haired knight in… a turtleneck sweater and white pants. Miku disliked wearing turtlenecks because they make her feel needlessly hot, but for some bizarre reason Kaito's testosterones could carry the turtleneck as if it was an expensive suit.

"Flowers for you." With a wide grin, Kaito revealed one red tulip which he placed on her ear.

"Thanks," her face was tinted pink. She brushed her finger on the flower and smiled gratefully.

"Let's go then?" Kaito suggested, bending his arm for her to latch on to. Miku's face was pink as she slid her arm into his as they walked out of the lobby. She felt awkward hanging onto him like that so she shortly removed her arm from his. He noticed her unease and decided to spark a conversation.

"You look great," Kaito remarked after he cleared his throat awkwardly, "those are my favorite colors."

Wow, who would've thought? That Teto is a psychic. "I-I'm glad you like it." Miku responded, placing a stray strand of teal hair behind her ear. A wave of awkward silence overcame the two as they walked past many stores.

"You know what," Kaito broke the silence as they stopped in their tracks, "let's go to an ice cream parlor." He grinned at her, and took her by the wrist. "I know a great place!"

He was essentially dragging her to the ice cream shop. Thank goodness she wore flats. She tried to catch up with his speed so that her arm won't detach due to how fast the man was running. Soon, she was running alongside him. She nodded at him and prodded him to lead her to the ice cream place.

Out of breath, they finally reach the place called "World's End Gelato." Wait… that sounded a bit familiar…

"Welcome, sir and ma'am," the redheaded waitress gave a respectful bow. Miku noticed how she looked so much like…

"Teto?!" Miku exclaimed; her eyebrows high and her eyes wide.

"Hey, it's the customer from early today!" Teto smiled. She turned to look at the man the teal-haired girl brought in, "I knew she was going on a date with you, Mr. Kaito." Kaito winked at the redhead before she led them to their seats. She gave them each a menu and to call her if they had decided.

"I've tried everything in this menu," Kaito boasted proudly, his thumb pressed to his chest, "but I think this one," he pointed to 5 scoops of different flavored gelato arranged on a tall heart-shaped container, "you'll really like."

"It's your call," Miku replied, setting down the menu. She tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table.

Kaito snapped his fingers and signaled for a waitress. Teto came rushing towards them, notepad in hand.

"We'll have the 5-scoop special," Kaito pointed to the item on the menu.

Teto jotted it down on her hand dandy notepad, "Great choice, sir. And for the missus?" She teased.

It was immediately followed by, "She's not my—"simultaneously with "I'm not his—"

The giggling redhead held up her hands and gestured them to calm down, "Relax, I'll be back with your order in five minutes." With a bow, she went to the counter.

They both gazed at the table as they tried to make the reddish tone on the faces disappear. Kaito scratched at the side of his face while Miku took off the tulip from her hair and observed it. What did red tulips mean again? She tried racking her brain for the answer, but when she saw her blue-haired knight staring at her… let's just say that her brain had a temporary shutdown.

"Are you okay?" Kaito asked, tapping on Miku's forehead. When the teal-haired girl realized that Kaito was making skin contact with her, she backed away, flustered. "Phew, I thought I'd lost you there!" He let out a goofy grin and sat back on his seat.

"You're beet red, Miku Hatsune." He leaned on his right arm, watching her trying to wipe the embarrassed look on her face.

How can I, with you looking at me like that! Miku retorted mentally. "T-the ice cream is taking awfully long, huh…"

"It's just been three minutes," Kaito glanced at his wristwatch, "and Teto said she'd be back in five."

"Like when you arrived a 7:01." Miku grinned, sticking her tongue out briefly.

"Oh, ha ha." Kaito replied sarcastically, before he spotted the drill-tailed waitress carrying the 5-scoop special on a tray.

"Here you go." Teto set the heart-shaped container onto the table, along with the bill. Kaito placed the amount on the check plate. "Please enjoy!" She gave them a sweet smile and returned to her post at the entrance.

The 5-scoop special was indeed a unique one. There were five different scoops of gelato in different flavors. Namely: strawberry, pistachio, chocolate, vanilla and mint, and smothered in chocolate syrup. Miku wondered if Kaito orders this item when he's alone as well. It's a bit… much for one person but knowing Kaito and his affinity for ice cream…

"Ladies first!" Kaito gave Miku a long spoon, and ushered her to take the first bite. The teal-haired girl took small scoops of every flavor with the spoon and devoured it in one mouthful.

"How does it taste?" Kaito asked, his eyes twinkling. Miku gave an approving thumbs-up. Kaito smiled and made a big dent on the pistachio portion of the ice cream soon after.

"This tastes awesome," The teal-haired actress remarked, feeding herself to a spoonful of vanilla. She didn't think there would be such a huge difference in the experience of eating ice cream and gelato. Gelato was like the lovechild of ice cream and yoghurt.

"We better eat it fast or it'll melt." The blue-haired actor dipped his spoon and extracted a part of the chocolate scoop, consuming it just as quickly.

"You know, it's funny," Miku said, nibbling at her spoon, "you said you'd treat me to dinner."

"Desert is always more fun." Kaito winked as he went for the mint-flavored gelato.

They had a mini-battle on who will have the final bite; with Kaito in the lead as he blocked Miku's every attempt at scooping something up. Only the almost-melted vanilla flavor was left, and the last person to get the scoop is the winner. They hadn't decided what the prize was yet, though.

"Ah, ah! No you don't!" Miku's spoon clashed with Kaito's. She decided to play dirty and flick away his spoon with her fingers. She took a big portion of the vanilla gelato and quickly put it inside her mouth. Before Kaito could get a scoop, the gelato melted away.

"I win!" The teal-haired girl happily thrust her fist in the air while Kaito slammed his head on the table.

"That, you did." Kaito rubbed his head with his fingers, "what's the prize, anyway?"

"Well, I guess you just owe me something." Miku grinned. She placed her shoulders on the table and leaned on her palms.

"I can deal with that," He smiled, holding his hand out for a handshake. "That was a great battle, Miss Hatsune."

She shook his hand, insides shivering at his rough palms. "Please, call me Miku."

"Alright… Miku." He still hadn't let go of her hand, "please let me escort you home. My car is just at the Vocaloid-P building."

"But I—"

"I insist. I want to make sure you get home safe." He set both of their hands down, his hand atop hers. His sapphire eyes were staring into her opal ones. Miku glanced at her hands; it made the butterflies in her stomach flutter can such a man make her heart beat so fast?

"Okay," she conceded, averting her eyes. Kaito smiled, and they prepared to leave the shop. He gestured at her to cling onto his arm. She gave in, and slid her arm around his. She picked out a loose thread of wool from his sweater.

They walked like this to the building, with Miku hanging onto Kaito. He didn't mind it at all. Her whole face was pink, but she shied away from his eyes. God, why won't her heartbeat slow down?

They had finally reached Kaito's car, which was a small car, nothing truly special about it. It was squeaky clean; perhaps he had it cleaned for the date? It smelled like pine cones inside, and had an empty cup coffee sitting on the cup holder. It was quaint, which was exactly what Miku liked.

On the ride home, they were both quiet. Kaito turned on the radio halfway and for some twist of fate the DJ was playing old love songs. Miku stared out the window, admiring the stars in the sky. He would hum along to the song on the radio, and she would join in.

"We're here." Kaito said, stopping in front of Miku's apartment building. "Do you want me to—"

"N-no, you've done enough."

Miku didn't exit the car yet. She didn't know why, but her body just wouldn't move. She wasn't waiting for anything, and the apartment building was guarded so she shouldn't be scared of muggers. So why wasn't she getting out of the car?

At that moment, Kaito interlaced his fingers with Miku's. He still had not turned off the radio; it was playing a lilting song about first love. Feeling Kaito's fingers between hers made the butterflies multiply and flutter even faster. He was gazing at her again, those beautiful sapphire eyes meeting at hers.

He leaned forward and brushed her fringe back. She inhaled, bracing whatever comes next. Her heart was beating like a bass drum; it felt like it would explode. He planted a delicate kiss on her forehead. Miku gasped, her eyes widening. He lingered there for a moment, until he let go. With a kind smile, he opened the car door for her.

"T-thanks for the ride," Miku said, still stunned from what happened just a few seconds ago. She shut the door gently.

"You're welcome."

He drove off, leaving Miku to walk like a zombie towards her apartment. She pressed the door alarm once.

"You're here!" Ia exclaimed, pulling her inside. She was wearing her pajamas with star patterns on them. "Tell me everything."

Miku fumbled with her words, mumbling nonsensical gibberish.

"Speak like a human, Miku Hatsune."

"Oh GOD!" Miku plopped face-first onto the bed, squealing into the pillows.

-end of chapter 6-

A/N: Whoo! Did that take long? I kinda lost motivation in the past week, but now I'm alright. Special thanks to my dear friend, vongore. Wow, this is the longest chapter I've written yet! 4.5K WORDS! (notes excluded) Again, feedback is love. [Mini rant: I don't wanna come off as a review whore, but it makes the author very unhappy to see so many readers (whom I am truly grateful for) but only such a few who show appreciation. I would love to see a simple review.] Till then~