Hi guys! I have another chapter for you! I had so much fun writing this one. I think you'll like it. ^^. Oh Guess what? Contests has a new picture! It took me a while to draw it. I'm not a professional so i'm sorry if it doesn't look good. I tried my best. Also, me and Flame will start replying to your reviews. If you have any questions feel free to review! If you don't mind, address it to one of us so we know who your talking to. (ex. To Witch: or To Flame:)

I suppose I'll start asking questions too haha. um...What do you think will happen next? If your predictions are super interesting, I might incorporate your idea in the story :)

Like always, Thanks to everyone who Followed and Favorited! Special Thanks to: MikanAru, superpiggyy, Alice, B.L, Missy Missy Bounce, Lolly1o1, ZanyAnimeGirl, Marimosaber, moonlight quden, Kaleidoscopic Dragon, and Ashe Corinthos. I love you guys!

MikanAru: Thank you!

Alice: Thank you! Yep he is!

B.L: Aww thanks! ^^

Missy Missy Bounce: Thank you! I'm glad I stumbled on the idea.

Lolly101: Yep! They'll get to see more soon.

ZanyAnimeGirl: Thank you!

Marimosaber: It is! Thanks!

moonlight quden: Thank you!

Kaleidoscopic Dragon: Thank you! I promise to add more Kaito and Miku soon!

Ashe Cornithos: I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for reading!

FlameRuby's message to the public:

Hi!

Another question! What is your… favorite flavor of ice cream?

I'd like to say something to superpiggyy

It's awesome that you think so too! I cried. I was in a ball and my friend was patting my back. It was fantastic. For the past few weeks, Fridays are the days where we feel sad. And the pain! Oh the pain. It hurts.

"Don't you both love how you look?" Meiko asked. She seemed proud of her work.

Miku twirled around, "The dress is gorgeous!"

Meiko smiled. "Of course it is! I designed it! Continue complimenting my wonderfulness."

I laughed, "Meiko, you're amazing!"

She grinned, "Rin, Rin, Rin. I'm disappointed you figured that out only now."

I rolled my eyes playfully and shook my head slightly at her pride.

While fingering through the folds of my dress, I noticed the beautiful details even more. It was a magnificent golden yellow with fabric that was smooth and comfortable. Black floral designs were decorated across the fabric and made the dress stand out. The sleeves were black and poofy. They added a nice touch to the design. This dress reached my ankles as well, unlike the last one I wore. I absolutely adored it.

I wasn't really a feminine person, but Meiko knew how to bring the little femininity I did have out of me. The dress was an amazing work of art. Other than Miku's gown, there wouldn't be a gown that matched it's beauty.

Meiko had given me a black choker with a yellow stone in the middle to wear around my neck. Miku had one similar to mine and instead of the stone being yellow, it was a nice deep chokers made our the dress stand out even more.

"How's your hair and makeup?" Meiko asked.

"Fricken amazing!" Miku answered.

Miku's long, beautiful teal hair was down for the occasion. Meiko had placed a few raven black flowers in it. The colors clashed and created a marveling appearance.

My hair was put into a elegant bun for the occasion. Like Miku, black flowers were put into my hair, but they surrounded the bun. I didn't know how Meiko did it, but she managed to make me look regal. It reminded me of Rillane in the novel called the Daughter of Evil. Miku seemed to think that too, because she gasped and muttered, "My gods, Rin you just turned into Rillane!"

I chuckled. Meiko walked over and raised a brow. "It's an inside joke," I answered. She nodded and walked away.

Meiko's amazing job didn't end just there. She had done a wonderful job with the makeup too. It was light, but that had a certain beauty to it. The only thing she really worked on was our eyes. They looked fierce, alluring, and breathtaking.

With Meiko's great help, I knew I could make it past this round. From what I expected, the prince was probably going to judge us based on our appearances; there would be time to get to know each other later. This round was for first impressions and knowing who was in the competition.

"When do we go down to the room?" Miku asked. She seemed nervous. It made my already-cute-friend be even cuter. I looked at her with a reassuring smile. Kaito was definitely going to love her. If I wanted anyone to win this competition, it would definitely be Miku. There was no doubt about it.

Meiko looked at her watch. "You guys still have half an hour." She grabbed the TV remote and turned on the television."Let's watch what's going on with the reporters."

I pulled on the back of my black elbow length gloves that Galaco had given me and turned my attention towards the TV.

"Kyaa! We're at the ballroom right now. Doesn't it look splendid?" the reporter asked. The camera circled around the ballroom. It didn't look bad at all. It reminded me of the ballroom in Beauty and The Beast. I couldn't help but smile at the elegant room.

Childhood memories washed over me. On halloween night when I was 9, I had dressed up as Belle. I felt so pretty in that charming yellow gown. Miku was dressed as Cinderella and Rinto had accompanied us as Beast. When I asked him why, he told me that every princess needed a prince.

I internally sighed. Rinto was a great brother to be with even though he did have his annoying moments. I truly missed him. He was currently working as a programmer in a prestigious company and he was usually never free to visit. The company was well-known, so it needed as many workers and working hours it could get. Rinto was working hard to earn money for our fathers operation. I could feel a wave of determination wash over me; I would work hard to earn some money from this competition as well.

I turned my attention back towards the TV. The reporter was commenting on how amazing both the princes looked. Kaito was wearing a nice suit that was a deep blue, sharp and well-fitted. I glanced at Meiko who had a hint of amusement in her eyes, "And he said it would make him look weird."

"Do you know him?" Miku asked out of curiosity.

She turned towards her and grinned, "Why? Want me to spread a good word?"

Miku flushed, "No!"

After another few teasing remarks, Meiko nodded. "I know both the princes."

Meiko looked my way to see my expression. I wasn't that surprised. She was with them not so long ago and was in a comfortable manner. They must have been friends.

"'I design their clothes and do their makeup. It's like what I'm doing with yo-" she paused and scrunched up her nose after glancing at the screen once again, "Len's bow is a little crooked."

"Meiko," I said catching her attention.

"We've known each other since we were kids. They're like my little brothers," she continued. A small smile grew on Meiko's lips. I could tell that she was proud of where they were now. She was proud of them more than any of her works.

My eyes darted towards the T.V. screen and zeroed in on Len. Maybe Len wasn't as bad as I imagined him to be. After all, Meiko did like him. There had to be some hope in this. He couldn't have been that bad.

I dismissed the thought once Meiko had taken out a deck of cards. "It's to pass the time," she answered when Miku and I gave her odd looks.

"Alright, let's play BS!" Miku declared.

To my surprise an hour flew by quickly. We probably would have been bored to death without the cards.

"We'll go after we finish the game!" I promised when Meiko had ordered us to go to the ball room.

"Please Meiko? Please?" Miku asked. We were playing an intense session of BS. Miku was on the verge of winning, but I had a plan to defeat her.

Meiko groaned and walked behind me. At first, I thought she had given up, but I felt a sharp pinch on my ear right afterward. I dropped my cards as she pulled me up to my feet. She walked over to Miku and did the same thing. With both of our ears in each of her hands, she dragged us out the room. She let us free when we reached the ballroom. I rubbed my ear with a hurt look on my face.

"You didn't need to do that," Miku growled.

Meiko rolled her eyes and questioned innocently, "Would you have finished your game in five minutes?"

"Yes," I replied.

She gave me a look that clearly said 'not believing it'.

"No," I corrected.

Meiko looked satisfied with my answer. She glanced at the ballroom before looking back at us.

"Here's some advice," Meiko started as she put both of her hands on each of our shoulders and looked into both of our eyes. "There are cameras everywhere. I want you two to smile wide and be on your best behavior. This is a great opportunity for you both to show you being yourselves. The interviews will be somewhat different this year. They're happening first instead of the dances. Think of these as part one and two. You have to do well in both. Make sure to give Len and Kaito good impressions. Good luck!"

Miku smiled, "Thanks Meiko."

"No problem! Kiddos, that's what I'm here for," Meiko glanced at the party one more time before continuing, "I'll be back here in a few minutes for the party. I'll see you then."

We watched her walk down the hall until she disappeared from our view.

Taking in a deep breath, I scanned the ballroom for all the different competitors. I recognized some faces from the TV screen that first day. Neru was by the punch bowl cheerfully talking to some of the other competitors. Gumi was sitting by herself in the corner. She was reading something on her phone. IA was grabbing a drink that the butlers and maids were passing out.

"Our first obstacle," Miku murmured while looking at the reporters and cameras heading towards us.

"Yep," I muttered back.
The perky reporter that we had seen on the TV that day had reached us first. She was followed by her camera man who was pointing his camera at us.

I tried my best to put on a dazzling smile. Miku had done the same, except mine probably didn't look as genuine as hers. I hoped my attempt at a pretty smile didn't look odd. It felt awkward keeping that expression on my face.

"Rin Kagamine and Miku Hatsune have just walked into the ballroom together. They look dashing in their matching gowns, don't you think? You can just tell how deep their friendship," She commented cheerfully.

I tried to not change my expression. While trying to take in the crowd in front of me, I wondered if wearing matching ball gowns was a gesture of friendship for royalty.

The reporter put the microphone in front of my face. I wondered why I felt the pressure of hundreds of eyes watching me now. Butterflies flew rapidly in my stomach. I groaned underneath my breath and tried to regain my confidence. Quickly composing myself, I looked towards the reporter directly in the eye and complimented, "Oh, you're too kind."

The reporter smiled and switched the microphone to Miku. I relaxed slightly knowing that the focus wasn't on me anymore. Miku replied with ease, "Rin and I wouldn't let anything in the world come between our friendship. Not even clothes."

The reporter nodded and turned to face the camera. "A beautiful friendship indeed," she turned back towards us to say, "Well I hope you beautiful ladies have a good time here. Good luck with your interviews!"

"Thank you so much. We hope you have a good time too," Miku cheerfully replied.

The reporter nodded and walked away towards another contestant who was just walking in.

"Look who's a professional," I whispered when the reporter was gone.

Miku grinned, "So I did good?

I nodded in agreement. Miku smiled even bigger and was obviously proud of herself. She saw my frown and reassuringly said, "Cheer up, Rin. You did great."

I nodded again, but I really didn't pay any attention to those words. Miku frowned and stepped in front of me. She put both of her hands on my shoulders and stared directly into my face. I stared back and started to feel uncomfortable.

"Cheer up. You did great. And hey! Even if you didn't, you shouldn't frown. You should suck it up and recover from your blunder," she advised.

This time I took Miku seriously,"Thanks."

Miku slapped my back with sympathetic look, "C'mon interviews are going to start. I heard they're random."

Just as she gestured to the glass bows with little white slips of paper, Meiko came out in a red, knee length dress. Looking beautiful as always, she picked out a paper with probably a hint of amusement in her eyes. I was probably just imagining it until Meiko leaned forward and cleared her throat, "Can Rin Kagamine please come to the private room to have her interview?"

The evil little butterflies returned. Miku nudged me forward and mouthed 'good luck'. I beamed for the cameras and went up the stairs. I put my chin up high when I remembered what Effie Trinket had told her tributes in The Hunger Games.

Wondering if Effie's advice would be useful, I realized that I was facing my own battle to the death right now. I was against a hoard of Len fangirls and it was more terrifying for every step I took. I could feel all their envious stares watching me from behind. They were probably judging me at the very moment. Even if I didn't win in the beauty category, I hoped my personality could win over the prince.

"You'll do fine," Meiko whispered comfortingly when I stood at the top of the stage and held my shaking hands together. "Remember what I told you."

Meiko opened up the door and gestured for me to go inside. Prince Len was sitting there, reading a book. He looked up and smiled when he saw me. I supposed it would make most of the contestants heart melt, but I wasn't amongst the most.
After I sat down on a chair opposite to his, I heard Meiko close the door. I looked around the room out of curiosity. I noticed that there weren't any cameras, so that was a relief. I faced Prince Len who watched me with interest. Other girls would have felt happy, but I felt slightly creeped out at his behavior. Even though I knew it was currently his job to observe me, I couldn't help but shudder from the amount of attention I was getting.

He smiled, "Hello dear. How was your day?"

I scowled at the use of dear. It felt disgusting to be called by that name. In the end, I quickly covered it up with a smile. "It's good. Thank you. How's yours?" I asked.

He noticed, but ignored it, "Good, thank you."

I nodded while giving a small smile, "Of course."

The conversation was quickly turning more awkward. I mentally chided myself to be more talkative. However, I just couldn't bring myself to talk to him. Something in my head said that it was probably because I hated him. I groaned and decided that I had to put aside my anger for the time being. Prince Len heard me talking under my breath and raised a brow. My cheeks flared and I shook my head with embarrassment. He stared at me for a moment before his eyes looked at me with recognition.

I supposed he remembered that I was the girl with Meiko from this morning. Mentally wincing, I saw my good impression fly out the window. He probably thought I was a weirdo now.

Prince Len unexpectedly grinned, "You're the girl from the morning, aren't you?"

I debated whether to lie or not. Deciding it was pointless since he would probably find out later, I answered, "Yes, your majesty."

He continued smiling with amusement dancing across his eyes. My evil little butterflies were going crazy in my stomach again! I gulped while awaiting his answer. I hoped that he wasn't going to kick me out. He opened his mouth to speak, "Do you often do things like that?"

I felt a hollow feeling settle down in my stomach. I hated myself for worrying whether he disapproved or not. Sadly, I couldn't help it no matter what I tried. "Not intentionally." I answered. My voice sounded quiet.

He chuckled, "Of course."

My face flushed from embarrassment again. I reminded myself that I could and had to get through this competition. For the sake of my dad, I brought myself together and watched him with curious eyes.

"What did you do before you came to the castle?" he asked, changing the subject.

I smiled recalling the memory of college, "I was a student at Vocaloid University."

Len nodded and inquired, "What were you studying?"

"I want to be a musician when I grow up. I was studying music," I replied.

I thought I was imagining it, but for a moment I saw his eyes light up in interest, "Did you enjoy it?"

My face brightened as I started to enjoy the conversation. This was heading into my territory.

"I enjoy it a lot. I love music," I paused and looked up. Prince Len continued giving me a big smile. My breath hitched since he seemed actually interested. I ignored it and continued, "I love the feeling of being free when I sing. It's like I'm creating a story through my words. A short story full of love, pain, regret, happiness, and every other emotion you can think of."

Feeling how passionate I sounded while saying this, my cheeks turned red. I looked up at the Prince. He gave me a warm smile. I didn't understand why, but that made me turn redder.

"I love music too." He announced, surprising me. He laughed, "My father get's really annoyed because I spend way too much time studying it."

We talked about our musical interests for the next half hour. I was horrified when I found myself feeling disappointed that I had to leave.

"Goodbye, dear," Len called out.

I scowled once more, not bothering to cover it up this time. He chuckled, "What is it?"

"I'm not your 'dear'," I answered with my eyebrows furrowed.

He sighed, "Alright. What would you like me to call you?"

"Rin," I said. "You can call me Rin."
He smirked, "Well Rin, I had a nice time talking with you. I hope we see each other again soon."

I could feel my face grow hot. When I came back to the ballroom I had asked Miku about it. She seemed as surprised as I did. Unlike me, she had an answer to my predicament.

"Maybe it's because you're falling in love," Miku dreamily said.

I replied angrily to her illogical answer, "I am not falling in love with Len Kagamine!"

My heart told me otherwise…..This was bad.