Alex walked out of the studio, dressed as Yunikuna Kotae. He found Miku waiting for him at the sound equipment. He smiled, walking to join her.
"Hey there, Vocaloid." Miku greeted him with a grin.
Alex smiled and kissed her, "Hey Miku. What're you doing here?" He asked.
"Well, the press conference ended early. Faked a few tears to get out of it. Got all emotional when they started 'bringing up my torn ties with Kaito'. Figured that'd help draw some attention." Miku said, standing up.
"Nice. I'm sure that'll help your fans pay attention. What happens next will be critical for our image." Alex said, taking her hand and walking with her to the elevator.
"I know. You act like I've never been famous before." Miku teased, pushing his arm as the elevator doors closed.
"Haha touché. Now that I think of it, have you ever been not famous before?" Alex asked.
"No." Miku shook her head.
"Mmm. Brat." Alex teased.
Miku scoffed, slapping his arm forcefully. He rubbed his arm.
"Ow." He whined a bit with a smile.
"You deserved it." Miku said.
"Yeah I did." Alex laughed, kissing her forehead.
The elevator doors opened. Alex and Miku quickly spotted some photographers camped around and waiting for them. They walked side by side to Miku's limo, resisting the urge to hold hands and not looking at any of the photographers.
They climbed into the limo, getting comfortable next to each other once the doors were closed. Rin, Len, Hiru, Kathy, and Gumi were all waiting for them inside.
"Hey there, Yunikuna." Len greeted slowly, grinning.
"It's like a dream come true." Gumi giggled.
"Hey guys. How're ya'll doing?" Alex asked.
"Good. Great." Everyone answered in a jumble.
"So, Alex, big question: what are we looking at for Yunikuna's music?" Kathy asked.
"I'm working on some demo songs. I'll probably revamp them later on and make a small album, so no one can say it was just a false story. I think Yunikuna could actually make some headway in the Vocaloid industry, so I'm gonna focus on that for now, at least for a little while." Alex said.
"Got it. By the way, Abel called. He wanted me to say congrats, and maybe now you'll stop stealing his songs." Kathy chuckled.
"Haha! I'll pay him back for that next time he wants to collab." Alex said.
"Whose Abel?" Miku asked.
"Ugh, The Weeknd! Duh! He was Alex's mentor when he started making music!" Gumi answered.
Miku looked at Alex. He nodded to confirm, then simply shrugged with a chuckle, "It's true. My first song, Acquainted, was his song first."
"Really? How'd it become yours then?" Miku asked.
"Well, my friends at school were always telling me I should do music, so I made a cover of the song. But, to make it better, I tweaked the instrumental and remixed it to make it sound cooler, and it got popular enough, so I cut a deal with Abel and he took me under his wing." Alex explained.
"That sounds really cool! I've never heard of him though." Miku said.
"Here. I can pull up a picture." Len said, pulling out his phone and typing for a bit before tossing his phone to Alex. Alex scrolled through a few pictures.
Miku burst out laughing, "Oh my gosh, his hair! It lookes like a deformed pineapple!" She laughed.
Alex laughed, "Yeah it was pretty stupid. It looks better now. More normal."
"What do you have in mind for your Vocaloid music, Alex?" Hiru asked curiously.
Alex hummed, "Well, I have one cover I think would work well. I'm sure I could do a duet or something too. Any takers on that?" Alex offered.
"Pick me!" Gumi shouted quickly, raising her hand.
"Haha sure." Alex agreed. Gumi squealed in delight.
"Man. This is crazy. We're part of a new brand now." Len said to Rin, who nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. That makes me like ya'lls boss now." Alex chuckled, and everyone rolled their eyes.
"You're cute babe." Miku giggled, patting his shoulder. Alex laughed again.
Kathy's phone rang. She had a call. She answered it, "Hello? ... Mhmm... What?! ..." She sighed, "Okay. I'll let him know." She hung up.
"What is it, Kathy?" Alex asked, his eyebrows folding.
Kathy shook her head, "We'll discuss it later." She said with a wave of her hand.
"Is everything alright...?" Alex asked, sitting back a bit.
Miku observed a nonverbal exchange between Kathy and Alex that spoke wonders. Kathy's eyes fell, and she shook her head ever so slightly. Alex swallowed, and nodded slightly in return.
"So, where're we headed, boss?" Gumi asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh. Well, I figured we'd celebrate the new deal today by having some fun. Go some places." Alex said.
"Anywhere specific in mind?" Len asked.
Alex shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me."
"Ooh! I know the perfect place!" Rin pitched in.
Alex took a large look around the two-story shopping mall, complete with gaming centers and multiple food courts. It was pretty big, and pretty nice.
Alex whistled approvingly, "This is pretty nice." He said to Rin.
"Told you! C'mon, there's this awesome laser tag field down this way." Rin said, grabbing Alex and hurrying off. The others followed behind.
They were all worn out from the day.
After several intense rounds of running around in a two story laser tag field, glow in the dark mini golf, and an extensive shopping spree, the mall was now closing, and the gang still hadn't left yet.
Alex, Miku, Rin, Len, and Gumi all sat around at a table at the food court, sipping sodas and eating pizza.
"Gosh, I'm beat guys. Today was awesome." Alex chuckled, slumping back in his chair.
"Heheh, told you." Rin said, nodding sluggishly.
Miku yawned a bit, "We should probably be heading back, huh?" She suggested.
"Ugh, but that requires getting up, and I kinda don't wanna do that right now." Alex complained, letting his head fall back.
"I'm with Alex on that." Len agreed, doing the same.
"Oh, come on guys, let's head back." Gumi said, standing up first. Everyone followed her lead, heading out to the parking lot and waiting for their limo.
"Did you get any word from Kathy?" Miku asked Alex, holding his hand as they waited in front of the mall.
"Hmm? Oh, lemme see," Alex pulled out his phone. He had a Voicemail from Kathy, "I do have something. Haha, what would I do without you?" Alex laughed, patting Miku's face as he pulled up the Voicemail. Miku smacked his hand, making him laugh.
Alex listened to the Voicemail, folding one arm across his chest and tucking his hand under his arm. His eyebrows immediately furrowed in seriousness as he listened.
Miku glanced around at her friends, who were messing around and tossing rocks around the lot. She turned back to Alex.
Alex started to pace a bit, running a hand back through his hair. His breathing got heavier, and his posture stiffened. Miku immediately grew concerned, but the message wasn't done yet.
Alex finally put his phone away, shoving it in his pocket.
"Alex?" Miku called to him softly.
Alex glanced back at her. She saw something in his eyes... Something she'd never seen in him before. His eyes didn't sparkle with cute flickers of light like they typically did anymore. They were dark...
They were full of rage.
"What did Kathy say?" Miku asked.
"I need to make a phone call." Alex said, pulling his phone back out and walking some distance away, disappearing behind a corner.
"Is he okay?" Rin asked.
"I don't know, but I'm about to find out." Miku said, going the same direction. Everyone quietly followed behind her, listening to what Alex was saying.
"Frank? Yeah, it's me. What the hell do you mean civil trial? You told me this wouldn't come up again!" He shouted.
There was a pause.
"You gotta be f- Unbelievable. Unbelievable... No, I'mma be there. You make that very clear. If she's gonna play the 'rape' game again, you can bet I'mma throw some harassment charges right back on her.
"She's been screwing with my image for nearly 2 years now. It needs to be made extremely clear that I'm innocent, and if she wants to get herself ruined in court, I'll gladly hand it to her!" Alex spat.
Miku gulped. This was a scary way for Alex to talk.
"Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down?! It's a court case, Frank! It's gonna be all over the news that I'm back in court for the same dang accusation!
"She's doing this on purpose, Frank. I swear to God, she's doing this on purpose. It's because I'm getting big again... Yeah, and where do you think this new evidence came from, Frank?
"You don't find it the least bit convenient that this is happening right friggin now, when I JUST secured a record labeling company?"
The limo pulled up in front of the mall, and honked to get everyone's attention. The Vocaloids all flinched, and everyone but Miku ran back.
"The limo's here, Frank," He sighed, "Yeah. Yeah, I'll see you soon."
Alex hung up the phone, muttering a flurry of curse words under his breath. He walked back around the corner, running right into Miku.
"What was that?" She asked with a measure of fear, hugging her arms.
"You heard that?" He asked.
"Most of it. They did too." Miku said, gesturing towards the limo with her head.
Alex sighed, "I'll explain it in the car." He said, walking to the limo. Miku followed behind him, and they got in.
"Alex, are you alright?" Gumi asked, sitting on the other side of Alex.
"I'm afraid not." Alex said, adjusting his hair a bit in the front with his hand.
"What happened?" Len asked.
"What happened... What happened was that I just got a voicemail from Kathy that, heh, apparently, I'm going back to court." Alex said sardonically, raising his hands up.
"What?! For what?!" Rin asked in shock.
"Valerie Martinez." Alex grumbled.
Gumi gasped, "No."
"Yeah. Apparently, new 'evidence' was found, so her mother appealed for the trial to be re-examined in a civil trial, so that's what's gonna happen a week from now." Alex explained.
"You can't be serious." Miku said, rubbing her eyes.
"I am so angry, you do not understand." Alex said.
"I'm sure you are." Miku said, resting a hand on his arm.
"I fly out to Texas tomorrow for the trial." Alex said.
"I'm going with you." Miku said quickly.
"Okay." Alex agreed.
The rest of the ride home was extremely silent.