"Okay. I know neither of us are looking forward to this, but let's try to enjoy ourselves. It's still a spectacular event."
A lean girl with teal-colored hair gazed at herself in a mirror as she addressed the young lady sitting on a couch behind her. She worked at tying her hair into two twin-tails, marking a signature appearance that everyone around town recognized her for. Both of the girls wore dresses that were just the right amount of fancy for the party they would be attending.
The fashionable young women were hosting an annual get together in their mansion. The party would unite all local musicians, both popular and up and coming, giving them the chance to network and exchange ideas. The two hostesses happened to be among the most popular singers around, so everyone who received an invitation was bound to show up. Meeting them would be a tremendous honor.
"Well, Rin, I think I'm ready to head out there. How about you?" the twin-tailed singer turned away from the mirror.
"I'm good to go! I think," Rin stood up as the other hostess approached her.
"This isn't going to be too much for you, is it? I know I tasked you with an awful lot to accomplish…"
"It's fine! I've been studying for weeks. I would never neglect the opportunity to be Hatsune Miku's personal assistant!"
"You're adorable," the girl named Miku giggled before planting a kiss on Rin's right cheek. "I really appreciate you doing this for me. I'd be so lost without you."
"Right back at ya," Rin giggled. "Now let's get out there and start this party!"
Miku and Rin fully expected a heavy turnout, and sure enough, their expectations were more than met. A blue-haired man and brunette woman greeted the guests as they came in through the front entrance, approving invitations upon seeing them. There were several uninvited folks who tried to sneak into the party or present forged invitations, but they were quickly turned away.
Throughout the ground floor, tables, chairs, and party decorations could be seen in every corner. Long banquet tables were stocked with different kinds of food, various genres of music were playing through loudspeakers on the walls, and a blonde boy around Rin's age offered numerous guests drinks and finger foods from a tray. The atmosphere greeted all the attendees with a warm welcome.
When Miku and Rin joined the party, they took it upon themselves to speak with all of the guests that were deemed "people of interest." They stayed close to one another and meandered through the main hall, eyeing everyone they saw. When they spotted a tall man in a fancy white vest, Rin leaned in to whisper something in Miku's ear.
"Big Al. Power household. Possibly dating Sweet Ann."
Once she received this information, Miku approached the man in question and presented herself with a bow.
"Al, it is so good to see you! Is Ann here with you?"
Many of Miku's interactions with her guests followed the same pattern. Prior to the event, Rin heavily researched the available information on everyone who received an invitation. This way, Miku would be able to seem genuine in her interactions with them. At her level of fame, she had little time to get to know people.
"Hey bro, where's the food? I'm starving over here!" the rambunctious voice of a rebellious girl attracted the attention of a few people standing nearby. Unlike the others, she was not well-dressed in the slightest. She had short purplish hair with a ripped up sweater and shorts on. Miku took particular interest in this girl.
"Flower, Gynoid household. Specializes in punk rock music and fashion. Getting very popular," Rin whispered.
"I see. Let's go have a word with her for ourselves."
As Miku went to speak with the rowdy punk rocker, a small group of friends from the same household entered the hall. They were talking among themselves while scanning the surrounding area, checking for anyone they recognized. The one at the front had green hair and a nice orange dress on. She made conversation with her friend, a taller blonde girl with a black and yellow getup.
"Told you it would be fun to come along! Isn't everything here so lovely?" the green and orange girl said to the blonde one.
"I guess, but everything is so out of my league here. Everyone here is eons more successful than anyone in our band. Not to mention, I hate wearing dresses."
"Come on, Lily!" the pink-haired girl behind the blonde popped between her and the shorter girl. "Who cares if we're the least popular people here? Kokone and I are happy, so you should be, too!"
The fourth girl in the group, Kokone, had brown hair and a nice purple dress. She was not the most social person in the house, but she still enjoyed visiting mansions and seeing pretty things. The pink one wore a maid uniform, which was not a far cry from her usual attire. She usually went anywhere Lily did, acting like some kind of personal servant.
"I am happy," Lily returned. "I'm just completely out of my element."
"Nonsense! Look, there's food over there! You like food, don't you? Come on, let's go over there!"
Lily could not keep up with her energetic pink companion. The maid excitedly grabbed Lily by the hand and ran with her toward a large table that Flower could be seen picking food from.
"Hey, wait for me!" Kokone called out, stumbling along behind her two bandmates.
The green-haired girl, Gumi, watched her friends run off with a chuckle. They always made any trip they took amusing. Unlike those three, Lily, Kokone, and Cocorobo, Gumi was not in a band. She was a soloist and a rather successful one at that. Much of her house's income came from her career alone, so she handled almost every payment. Nevertheless, Lily had her own dreams of attaining equivalent success.
Before Gumi could follow after her compatriots, she stepped right into Hatsune Miku's line of sight. Upon seeing the guest, Rin went to whisper something into her partner's ear, but Miku held up a finger to stop her.
"No thanks, I know who this one is."
Miku gleefully approached Gumi and extended her arms to welcome the singer to the party. Seeing the hostess, Gumi happily returned the hug.
"Gumi! Thank you so much for coming!"
"Miku! You know I wouldn't miss it for the world!"
After sharing a heartfelt hug, Gumi and Miku separated to share a brief conversation. Rin stood behind her fellow hostess and watched the two.
"What's new with you? I haven't seen you in, like, a year!" Miku lost some of her professional composure when talking to her old friend.
"Not much, just keeping up with the music biz! The house is always loud, that's for sure."
"I'd believe it. We've had to soundproof pretty much every room upstairs. Len and Kaito are always going ham during their rehearsals."
Many of the performers around town were divided into "houses" provided by the record labels they were signed with. Gumi and her friends came from the Internet house while Miku's mansion belonged to Crypton. Housemates regularly grew accustomed to living with each other, but they could also get on one another's nerves.
After chatting for a bit, Miku looked over Gumi's shoulder to spot Lily swiping a soft boiled egg from a platter and tossing it into her mouth.
"By the way, is she with you? I thought I saw you come in together."
"Oh, yeah. She's mine," Gumi turned toward the banquet tables. "Hey Lily, come over here!"
Hearing her name be called, Lily quickly swallowed the egg and speed-walked in Gumi's direction. The dress she wore very much limited the speed of her movement, but she got there eventually. During her trek, Rin had enough time to whisper a few things to Miku.
"Lily. Internet house. Has her own band, but she's really unpopular. She's really hard to find information on."
"Lily! It's good to see you!" Miku gave a traditional bow to the blonde. Lily took a moment to grasp the situation, then she returned with a bow of her own.
"Hi. Killer party you got here. I like… the music."
"Haha, I'm sure it's very different from the kind of stuff your band performs. You really bring a unique sound to our town. I appreciate you for that."
"Heh, thanks."
Gumi put an arm around Lily and pulled her close.
"Let me tell you, Lily is a fantastic singer. You really need to see her perform sometime. She's even better than me!"
"Oh, don't say that…" Lily's cheeks turned bright red.
"I'm sure she is," Miku giggled. "Let me know when your next show is. I'll see if I can squeeze it in."
"I will! We'd all love to see you there," Lily was not sure how to respond to such a flattering remark, especially one from the great Hatsune Miku, so she stopped herself from saying too much else.
"By the way, Gumi, there's someone here I'd like to introduce you to. He's a real big fan of yours," Miku changed the subject and directed her glance at someone at the other side of the room.
"Really? I'd be happy to meet him!" Gumi said as she lowered her hand from Lily's back.
"Go on, Gumball," Lily referred to Gumi by her cutesy nickname. "I'll catch up with you later. I should go make sure Kokone and Cocorobo aren't getting into any trouble."
"Yes, you should," Gumi laughed. "I'll see you in a little bit, then!"
"Yeah! Go mingle with your adoring fans."
Gumi and Lily shared a friendly smile before the shorter girl walked off with Miku and Rin. Lily watched her go for a moment, keeping the smile on her face. Living in Gumi's shadow never bothered her too much, but she slightly envied the green girl for being recognized everywhere they went. She sometimes wished she had dedicated fans of her own.
Lily returned to the banquet table to see Kokone speaking with a much taller pink-haired woman in an elegant dress. Cocorobo sat in a chair against the wall, nibbling on a pastry she had retrieved from the smorgasbord. By the time Lily made her way to Kokone, the pink lady started to walk away.
"Hey Lily!" Cocorobo called up from her snack. "Gumi ditch ya?"
"Kinda. Miku wanted to introduce her to someone and I didn't want to get in the way. Anyway, who was that woman you were talking to, Kokonut?"
"Oh, um… That was, er… Megurine Luka. Hehehe."
"No…" Lily's jaw dropped as soon as she heard the name. "Luka herself?! Don't tell me I missed her!"
"I'm sorry… Maybe you can still catch her, I don't know how fast she can walk…"
Lily looked off in the direction Luka walked away in, but she could not catch sight of the elegant lady. Sighing in frustration, she decided not to hunt the woman down.
"Hey, no worries! I'm sure Luka knows you exist," Cocorobo stood up from her seat with markings of jelly on her face. "Besides, you should have your sights set on another girl tonight."
"Oh, really? Do I dare even ask who it is?"
Cocorobo wrapped an arm around Lily and guided her to face the large crowd of people beyond the table. At the far end of the hall, Gumi could be seen chatting with Miku. Still holding the half-eaten pastry in her hand, Cocorobo pointed her index finger toward Lily's partner in crime.
"That one. You see that girl in orange? Yeah, I think you might like her. As a matter of fact, no, I know you'll like her. Or rather, you do like her. Isn't that right?"
"Coco, now isn't the time for-"
"Shush, shush! Listen to me, Lily," Cocorobo turned Lily to face her, gripping both of her arms and smothering one with a pastry. "She looks gorgeous tonight, you look gorgeous tonight, the music is going and everything is fancy! There will never be a better time than tonight to confess your undying love for her. I mean, you could die tomorrow! Just last week, my grandmother-"
"Coco, settle down. You're eating too much sugar. I think it's getting to your brain."
"N-No, I agree with her…"
Lily flipped around to see her shy bandmate that decided to speak up.
"Kokonut? You couldn't-"
"I mean it. You're head over heels for her. The only reason you came here in the first place is because she was going… You can't keep it a secret forever. You have to tell her how you feel sooner or later. That's just my opinion, though… I could be wrong…"
"Ha! Two against one, you gotta confess!" Coco teased.
"I'm not gonna confess to her tonight! It wouldn't be appropriate. This is a special event for musicians to network. I can't possibly overwhelm her with a romantic confession with how much else she'll have going on. Besides, she'd obviously say no. I'm nowhere near on the same level she is."
"Hey! Don't say things like that!" Cocorobo nearly smacked Lily with the remains of her snack. "Gumi loves you, you're one of the best friends she's ever had! She doesn't view you as inferior to her just because you aren't as big and famous!"
"Maybe not intentionally, but internally-"
"Lily, please don't say things like that. You're making me sad," Kokone pulled an emotional card.
"See, Lily? You're making Kokone sad. Go confess to Gumi to make up for it!" Cocorobo insisted.
"How long are you two gonna keep this up?" Lily sighed.
"Is that even a question? We have an end goal here, so help us meet it!"
This was not actually the first time Cocorobo and Kokone prodded Lily to confess her feelings to Gumi. Lily could recall adoring the green-haired girl for as long as she had known her. The two were always hanging out and making memories together, but Lily never expected the apple of her eye to return her affection. Just the thought of mentioning it to Gumi filled her with an overwhelming amount of dread. The thought of the heartbreak that would follow a rejection was enough to keep Lily from bringing it up. She could not put her and Gumi's friendship on the line like that.
Still, when she got a good glance at her loved one, Lily could not help but smile. Gumi really did look gorgeous that night. With her hair done up and a nice orange dress that suited her perfectly, it was hard for anyone not to fall in love with her. To Lily, she always looked adorable, but the environment really contributed to her appearance.
A silence fell when Cocorobo and Kokone looked to see where Lily was looking. The three of them stood side by side, gazing at the woman of Lily's dreams. More and more fans approached Gumi to share a conversation with her, none of them having any trouble professing their love for the idol. It should not have been hard for someone who truly loved her to do the same.
"Coco," Lily finally said. "You have no idea how much I wish I could."