Aneko: Long live the snow, except for the fact that it kept me from my apartment and finishing Kingdom Hearts. Sad face. :(

And I'm finally finally finally updating this again! I know, it took forever, if anyone even follows this anymore, you have my gratitude for being patient with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid, you lovelies.

Chapter 11

The rest of the trip passed Saki by in a whirlwind of school and practice.

"I'm amazed you haven't fainted again," Riko said when Saki returned late to the hotel one night. "They're running you ragged."

"I'm honestly surprised too," Saki said, closing her eyes.

"You faint on normal days, but when you're hard at work you're completely fine? That's just weird, Saki."

Saki groaned. "I know, I know."

"Well, at least tomorrow's the concert," Riko said, patting her arm. "And then it'll all be fine."

"I hope so," Saki whispered, staring up at the ceiling.

But she couldn't stop seeing Kaito in her mind, and wonder.

"I wish our school could go to the concert," Riko mumbled, her knees pulled up to her chest. She was watching Saki pack her suitcase. While everyone on the school trip was staying for another night, Saki was going home a day early with Vocaloid to start working on the next project.

"You know how hard it would have been to get tickets for all the students," Saki said, throwing a shirt into her luggage. "Besides, it's not like it's the last concert we're ever going to have."

"I knoooow," Riko whined. "But I just found out my best friend is a part of Vocaloid. Can you blame me for being even more interested than before?"

Saki looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe I can get you a backstage pass to the next concert or—"

"Yes!"

Saki laughed. "Okay, then."

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Both girls shouted.

Kaito walked in and waved. "Good morning."

"Good morning!"

He raised one eyebrow. "You both seem lively this morning." They giggled. "What is it that's making you two so happy?"

Riko and Saki looked at each other and grinned.

"Boys."

"Fashion."

"Make up."

"Girl stuff," they said together.

Kaito shook his head. "Sounds…complicated. You ready to get going, Miku?"

"Yeah, I just have to grab my stuff."

"Here, let me help." Kaito slung her bag onto his shoulder.

"Oh, thanks." Saki turned back to Riko. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Riko raised a fist. "Knock 'em dead."

Saki and Kaito walked out, and Kaito chuckled. She shot a sideways glance at him. "What?"

He gave her an easy smile. "It's nice to see you so happy now. I don't think you were ever your happiest before you told Riko the truth."

Saki shrugged. "Well, yeah. Keeping secrets and lying to someone you care about is really hard, you know?"

"Yeah," Kaito said, his voice so quiet she almost didn't hear it.

"We're on in five!" A techie called over the backstage hubbub.

'You ready, Miku-chan?" Meiko asked, adjusting Saki's microphone for her.

"Uh-huh," Saki replied. For the concert, she was singing the opening song. She could hear the distant hum of a full crowd, and her pulse sped up with adrenaline.

"Remember, only five steps out of the fogs, or you could fall off the stage," the brunette reminded her.

"Right."

The chattering of the audience faltered as the lights began to flicker. Fog began rolling in from the sides of the stage, and the music started.

Painfully lying thick like a blinding white snow
Momentarily coming apart here like a sound without breaking into tears.

Five steps, and Saki was in front of the audience. She bobbed her head to the beat of her song, almost getting lost in it.

I thought I don't feel anything, but the truth is that it hurts so much.
Climbing the long stairs to exhaustion, thinking I've finally met you

You're not here anymore, I can't accept it
It's no use, would you listen to this song?

What are you doing now? What do you want to do? I am here
I will send this message: "I loved you"-no, "I love you"

I thought there's something, but my hand signals meant nothing

That warmth, and that gentleness
Aren't there, so, would you listen to this song?

It's excruciating, It's painful, It's lonely, It hurts, I want to cry
Saying "sorry" before "thank you", I wasn't able to do, aaa

What are you doing now? What do you want to do? I am here
I will send this message: "I love you"

Painfully lying thick like a blinding white snow
Living tough like a flower to become happy

People whistled and cheered, and Saki gave a little bow before heading backstage, where she tagged Meiko.

"My turn," Meiko said, and ran out.

Gakupo nodded to Saki. "Nicely done, Miku-dono."

"Thank you," Saki said. "I can't wait to see you go on. I'm sure you'll be even better."

Gakupo smiled. "I thank you for that."

Saki would have responded, but she was being hustled off to be changed into her costume for the next song. By the time they had changed her, Gakupo was already onstage, and the girls were going nuts. It was no wonder—his voice was deeper than Kaito's, and he had a more mysterious look about him.

"Like I said," Saki said when he came backstage again. "That was great."

"Why thank you," Gakupo said. "And now, I do believe it is your turn once again."

"Yup! Me and Rin and Len."

And so the cycle continued as they played tag back and forth, going into the blinding stage lights and approving fans, and back into the dark, hectic backstage area.

After her final song, Saki stumbled gratefully into backstage, somehow locating an empty chair amidst the chaos. She closed her eyes, catching her breath. She must have been sitting there for a while, because Kaito came by sometime later, searching for her.

"Hey, miku…you okay?" He asked. "You aren't looking well…"

She could hear Gakupo singing the final song onstage. She was glad she had made it to the end of the concert, at the very least.

She looked up at Kaito. "Kaito, I'm going to—"

And she fainted.

When she woke up, someone was carrying her.

"Kaito?" She mumbled.

"Saki?!" The fact that he had not called her Miku let her know just how worried her had been. He looked down at her. "How are you feeling?"

Saki shook her head slightly. "I don't know." Fog still seized her brain in a fuzzy coat.

"Don't worry," Kaito said. "We'll get you home right now."

She felt him shift, and she was laid on a cushiony surface. Kaito said beside her.

"Drive," she heard him say, and the sound of an engine starting. They were in a car. Her head was in his lap. "You're going home now, Saki. We'll be there soon. We're going to send a doctor over, okay?"

Saki nodded, trembling. She saw Kaito's hand and reached for it. He wrapped his fingers around hers in response. "Saki? Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "No."

I'm not…

Saki looked up at him. "Kaito, what's wrong with me?"

I'm not fine at all.

They drove straight to her house. She fell asleep several times along the way, but she always woke with Kaito still holding her hand and humming to her. When they got there, he carried her inside and up to her room as her mother directed.

"The doctor will be coming by to see her tomorrow," Kaito told Saki's mother as Saki was laid in bed. "I think she'll be alright until then."

"Thank you so much, Kaito-kun,"Mrs. Fujita said. "I have no idea what would have happened had you not been there."

"I just did what I could," Kaito said. "Well, I'd better go. She should sleep." He started to leave, but Saki grabbed the edge of his jacket.

"Kaito…don't leave."

Kaito looked surprised, but he turned back to take her hand away from his jacket. "I promise I'll be back tomorrow, Saki. Right now you need to sleep."

"Okay."

And she did.

The next day, she felt like nothing had ever happened, but she wasn't allowed to get out of bed until the doctor came and, upon examining her, declared nothing to be wrong. He credited it to overwork and not enough sleep. As he was packing up and leaving, there was a knock on the door. Kaito walked in.

"How are you feeling today?"

Saki sighed. "Restless. I've felt fine since last night, so now I'm just bored."

Kaito sat on the edge of her bed, studying his hands. "Saki, I have a favor to ask you.""

"What is it?"

"I want another doctor to look over you. A different doctor."

"What kind of doctor?"

"I want him to do some blood work and an x-ray."

Saki's fists clutched the comforter. "What's wrong?"

"It's probably nothing. I promise. It's just to make me feel better."

"Okay."

"Just don't worry about it. I promise it's nothing."

But that was the last she heard about it for a while—first, her mother refused to let her go to work for a few days, though Saki still went to school. When she finally got to go back to work, she had her hands full trying to catch up to everyone else. She didn't see much of Kaito, so he must have been just as busy as she was.

One afternoon, having just run to the office after school, Saki sat on one of the lobby couches, trying to catch her breath. After staying home for so long, everyone was about a week ahead of her in new songs. She'd started running to work so that she could have as much extra time to practice as possible.

Saki stared at the doors, watching people, workers and visitors alike, coming and leaving. As she watched, her gaze was drawn to a patch of soft pink. Saki frowned, squinting. It was too far away for her to identify. Maybe it was a balloon. Saki kept staring at it—it was getting closer.

And then she realized it was a woman. A woman with long, pink hair. She approached the doors to the Yamaha building and walked inside. The proud tilt of her chin didn't falter, even when it became obvious that she didn't know where she was going.

Having gotten very familiar with the layout of the building by now, Saki slid off the couch and walked over to her. "Can I help you?'

The woman turned piercing eyes on her and then frowned. "I need to speak to an employee, not a high schooler."

Saki blinked, taken aback by the sudden snub. "What? But…"

"Miku-dono."

Saki turned. Gakupo was striding across the lobby. "I believe that Kaito-dono was searching for you."

"Oh! Thanks, Gakupo."

They heard a squeak and turned. The woman's face had lost its haughty look. "You…"

Gakupo looked outright astonished. Saki had never seen such extreme emotion—usually he was all stoic politeness.

"Luka."

No honorific.

Luka's eyebrows snapped back into place, and into a glower. "What are you doing here?"

The rapidity with which Gakupo's expressions were changing was impressive. "Luka, did you not know that I work here?"

A luminescent blush. She had not.

Saki looked from one to the other. "Wait…is Luka-san by any chance going to be working with us?"

"Correct, Miku-dono. She is going to be the last addition to Vocaloid, Megurine Luka."

'This has to be a mistake!" Luka declared. She turned on her heel and was out the door before Saki could stop her.

"Gakupo, I thought you said she would be joining us…?"

There was a crease on his forehead, which he massaged. "Yes. Luka is quite a stubborn woman. The last time I saw her, I upset her terribly, and now she wished to never see me again."

"I'm sorry…"

Gakupo sighed. "I am too."

Saki was walking out of the elevator, and someone grabbed her arm. Startled, she looked up to see Kaito.

"I finally got the chance to talk to you," he said, looking worn.

"So you've been busy too, huh?" Saki asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Well, I've been pretty busy myself, so I probably would believe it."

"Anyways, we should go and—"

"Ah, Kaito, there you are."

Kaito froze. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin. She looked up. A man in a suit stood a few feet away from them. Saki hadn't even heard him approaching. He smiled. There was absolutely no warmth in it at all. "We never got to finish our conversation—rather rude of you to rush off in a huff like that when I hadn't even finished talking yet."

Kaito was staring at the floor, his fists clenched. "My apologies, sir."

The man snorted. "Since when have you called me "sir"?" He turned to Saki, and she straightened, despite the churning of her stomach. "So, this is our dear Hatsune Miku-chan. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Yamaha Saito, the president of Yamaha."

He held out his hand, and Saki shook it with great trepidation.

"Well, if you'll excuse us," Kaito said, interrupting the unpleasant quiet. "Miku and I are really busy, so we have to get going."

"Ah yes, of course. Work hard, then." Saito smiled and waved to them.

Kaito grabbed Saki's hand and yanked her down the hall.

"Kaito—Kaito, you're hurting my hand," Saki called, wincing.

"Oh, sorry." Kaito finally stopped, letting go of her hand, and Saki massaged the sore bone.

"Are you okay?" Saki asked. "You looked like you had seen a ghost back there."

Kaito sighed. "Saki, will you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

Kaito grabbed her shoulder. "If you ever meet Saito alone—ever—don't stay and talk to him, please. Just walk away from him. It doesn't matter what he says, get away from him. Please."

"What? But Kaito, he's—"

"I know, he's the president. Please just do as I ask."

Looking into his earnest and worried face, Saki nodded. "Okay."

Aneko: I AM SO SORRY! I'm trying to keep up with this story, but it is going slow because I have a life to keep up with, and horrible homework and blah.

Saki sang "VOiCE," which is a sweet little song if you haven't heard it. About a robot. Yep. It's Wall-e!

Anyway, I don't own that one. And Gakupo is probably singing the song "No Destination." I was just too lazy to put the lyrics…

Oh yeah, and now Luka's in the story too. She's the last Vocaloid I'm going to add, though. For serious. Last one.

Ja ne. :)