Miku: Happy New Year, everyone! ^^ Sorry we took so long.

Kaito: The Vocaloids are back with Track 11!

Rin and Len: Elise-sensei does not own Vocaloid; she just writes stories about us.

Luka: Please read, review and enjoy!

All I can say is I'm very glad Kaito had some spare time. I had to do some grocery shopping, but I'm not very good at doing it myself. Before I had moved, I would usually go with Mikuo, but I was happy that Kaito was willing to help out.

"Okay, which one should I get?" I asked, holding up two different-sized packs of beef.

"Hmm… Get the larger one," Kaito suggested. "It's less yen per gram, so it's a better bargain."

"Really?" I asked in amazement. "You did that fast."

"I've always been good at mental math," the blue-haired Vocaloid commented. "Anything else you need?"

"No, I think I've got everything," I said before a thought came to me. "Hmm, do I have enough leeks?"

"I think you've got plenty, Miku-chan," Kaito said, placing a hand on my shoulder before I could go back to produce. "Although you do seem to be short on ice cream…"

"Nice try, Kaito nii-chan. I'm just shopping for me!" I said, giggling as he pouted a little. I couldn't help smiling; while he was just helping me shop, it really felt like we were an actual couple.

And then his cell phone rang. "Sorry, one second," Kaito said before answering. "Kaito. Oh hey, Meiko."

I flinched when I heard Meiko's name. The last couple of times my time with Kaito was interrupted, Meiko had something to do with it. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against her! I just wish she wouldn't cut in on our time together.

"…Uh-huh, got it. I'll be right over," Kaito said before hanging up. "Sorry Miku-chan, I'm needed back at the studio."

"That's okay," I said, trying to be understanding. After all, he had his own career to worry about. "I'll see you later?"

"Yep, see ya!" he said with a quick wave before walking out of the store.

Letting out a sigh, I went into the check-out lane alone. I was kinda hoping he would help with the bags, I thought. Oh well, maybe next time…

Once I had gotten back to the apartment, I put the groceries away before heading out to a café that I had found in the area.

"Miku-nee, what a coincidence!" Rin's voice piped up, and I quickly looked around. I finally spotted her and Len sitting at a table.

"Hi Rin-chan, Len-kun," I said, walking over and sitting at an empty seat at the table.

Len glanced at my face. "Hey, are you alright? You look kinda glum."

Sighing, I told him, "Oh, it's Kaito nii-chan. He was helping me shop for groceries, but he got interrupted… again."

"Are you serious?!" Rin exclaimed. "Don't tell me it was Meiko-san again!" When I nodded, she got a thoughtful expression on her face. "Hmm… I wonder if she likes Kaito-san."

"Ehh?! You really think so?" I asked.

"It's a common rumor among Vocaloid fans," Len said. "It's a fact that Kaito-san and Meiko-san are close friends, at least. However, despite what all those gossip magazines say, there really hasn't been any proof that they have dated or are dating."

"Not really sure that's helping, Len-kun," I groaned, laying my head on the table. If Meiko-san likes Kaito nii-chan, how am I supposed to tell him how I feel?!

Suddenly, my phone vibrated and I quickly pulled it out. It was a text message from Kaito. Opening it, I read:

"Sorry I left so suddenly, Miku-chan. I'll try to make it up to you soon."

I smiled to myself and put my phone away. "That was Kaito nii-chan. He said he would make it up to me."

"Aww!" Rin gushed. "Maybe he likes you after all!"

A waitress walked over to us. "How can I help- Oh, Kagamine-kun! Nice to see you again!"

Len had a confused expression on his face for a second. "Eh…? Oh yeah, I remember now! Nice to see you, too. How's your little sister?"

"Oh, she's fine, and she says thank you for the autograph," the waitress replied. "She had such a huge smile on her face!"

"Len, you know her?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, we met the last time I was here," Len explained before turning back to the waitress. "Can I have a banana split and a slice of strawberry shortcake?"

"And I'll have some double chocolate cake, please," Rin requested.

"Len-kun, I thought you didn't like sweets?" I commented. The banana split wasn't surprising, considering his fondness for bananas in general, but it wasn't like him to order cake.

"The cake's for you, Miku-nee," the blonde boy said with blushing cheeks, not looking me in the eye. "I… thought it would make you feel better."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" the waitress said with a smile. "Comin' right up!"

After she left, I smiled at Len. "Thank you, Len-kun. That's so nice of you!"

"You're welcome," he said with a small smile, his cheeks still flushed but now facing me. "I'll even pay for it."

"Can you pay for mine, too?" Rin asked.

"Nope. I spoil you enough as it is," Len said firmly.

"Aw, c'mon! Pleeeeeeeease?" the female twin begged, and I couldn't help giggling. I felt better already, thanks to those two.

…

Later that night…

"For cryin' out loud, Meiko," I grumbled as I helped Meiko walk out of the bar. "You definitely had way too much sake."

"That's why I brought you along, Kaito!" she said in a slurred voice, leaning on me quite heavily. "I knew you would be nice enough to walk me back."

Sighing, I shook my head. "Sheesh, you keep this up and I may just leave you next time."

"Aw, that's not very nice!" Meiko pouted. "We're best friends, aren't we? I buy you ice cream and everything."

"And I appreciate that, but I'm expecting an extra-big tub for this," I told her.

"Surrrrre, don't let me forget," the older woman said, barely nodding once. Suddenly, she tripped on her own feet, and the two of us stumbled a bit until my back hit a wall. Leaning against me, Meiko giggled, "Whoops! Sorry bout that."

"You okay?" I asked, doing my best to support her but also trying to put a little space between us.

"I'm fine, baka," she said, giving my chest a light smack. "I feel great!"

"That's because you're drunk as a skunk, Meiko," I said with a sigh. How she was always able to drink so much was beyond me.

It wasn't another second later that I noticed a flash out of the corner of my eye. Following where the flash came from, I spotted someone running off. "Oi! Give me that camera!" I shouted, placing Meiko against the wall before taking off after the photographer.

"Go get 'im, Kaito!" I heard Meiko call after me as I ran.

Unfortunately, after a brief chase, I lost sight of the man. "Damn… I hate those guys," I groaned, giving myself a facepalm. "This is gonna be all over the tabloids…"

…

The next day at school, I was about to head out to the chain link fence for lunch, but a voice stopped me. "You seem pretty tired these days, Hatsune."

I turned to see Neru standing there. "Yeah, I have been busy these days."

"I can see that," the dark blonde said, moving a little closer. "School, work, vying for Kaito-sama's attention… It's totally understandable."

"Wh-! I'm not vying for his attention!" I protested. "We just… spend a lot of time together, that's all."

"Uh-huh," Neru replied, unconvinced. "Look, as your classmate and fellow Kaito fan, let me give you some advice: I'd quit while you're ahead. There's absolutely no way he would go for a girl like you."

Getting more irritated by the minute, I asked, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Just look at you: short, small breasts, childish face and attitude…" Neru pointed out. "You don't stand a chance."

"You're not much different!" I shot back. Neru fit almost the same description that she gave me! Who was she to talk?!

"Yes, but at least I can still enjoy Kaito-sama from afar," she countered in a slightly wistful voice. "I realize I'm not worthy of him. He deserves someone older, mature, and sexy… like Meiko-sama." As she spoke, Neru slapped a magazine down onto the desk between us. There was a picture of Meiko pinning Kaito against a wall, and they appeared to be quite intimate.

"Th-That can't be right," I said, my heart aching. "They're just friends!"

"That looks more than 'just friends' to me," Neru said. "Just do yourself a favor and give up. You'll only keep hurting yourself."

Finally, I couldn't take it. "Shut up, Akita! Just shut up!" I screamed before dashing out of the classroom, holding back my tears as I ran.

I made it up the stairs and to the roof, slamming the door behind me and running to the edge. Taking a big breath, I shouted as loud as I could, "BAKA TABLOIDS! BAKA NERU AKITA!"

"Ugh, keep it down, will ya?" an unfamiliar voice said. I whirled around and saw a girl sitting next to the door to the roof. My eyes widened at her appearance: short blue hair, blue eyes, and a light blue scarf around her neck, despite the warm weather. Her expression was a little dazed, as if she had just woken up. I must've been imagining things, but she looked exactly like Kaito!

The resemblance was enough; I couldn't hold my tears back anymore. "H-Hey, are you alright?" the girl asked, quickly standing up and walking over. "Did I upset you?"

Sniffling a little, I quickly wiped my eyes. "I-I'm sorry, it's just… I've had a rough time lately."

"Because of tabloids and this Neru Akita person?" she guessed.

"They do have something to do with it," I answered with a nod.

"Gotcha," the girl said, leading me to where she was sitting before. "Here, sit down. You can stay here with me."

"Thank you," I said with a small smile. It was then that I noticed that she wasn't wearing the uniform for our school. In fact, the one she wore was entirely different. "Um, are you new? I don't think I've seen you before."

"I'll be transferring here soon," the girl answered. "I just snuck onto the grounds so I can check it out. I like it up here on the roof, though: it's private, for the most part."

I'm surprised she hasn't gotten caught yet! I thought, looking at this girl with wide eyes. "Um, why did you come here before the transfer?"

Fiddling with her scarf, the bluenette replied, "I guess I was eager to be closer to onii-chan."

"Onii-chan? You have a brother here?" I asked, suddenly very interested.

"Not at this school, no," she answered. "But he does live in this city. I'm pretty sure you know him, uh… Kaito Shion?"

My eyes widened again when she said that. "You're Kaito nii-chan's sister?!" That certainly explained the resemblance!

"Sure am!" the girl said with a grin. "I'm Kaiko Shion. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, too!" I said, quickly standing up and bowing my head. "I'm Miku Hatsune."

"I thought so," Kaiko said. "I saw you on TV, but you're really cute in person."

"Thank you!" I said, feeling my cheeks heat up. Sitting down with her again, I asked, "So you don't think I look childish?"

"Eh? When did I say that?" Kaiko asked, tilting her head in confusion.

I took a deep breath before answering. "W-Well, Akita said that Kaito nii-chan wouldn't like me because of my childish appearance…"

The blue-haired girl stared at me for a minute before answering. "So that's why you were upset," she muttered. "You have a young face, but you should consider that a gift. Trust me, as you get older, you'll be happy for that face. And besides, onii-chan is pretty fond of you. We text each other all the time, and he's talked about you a lot! Whoever this Akita girl is, she doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Kaito nii-chan is fond of me?" I asked, my whole face turning red. "But that photo that was taken of him and Meiko-san…"

"Yeah, I saw that and don't worry about it," Kaiko said quickly. "Those two have been best friends for a long time, and that's it: just friends. Knowing Meiko nee-chan, she probably had too much to drink again and onii-chan was taking her home. I've seen her smashed, and she's pretty clumsy. But really, you can't take tabloids too seriously; you'll just get unnecessary headaches."

I smiled, feeling a little relieved. "You sound like you've been through a lot of this yourself."

"I'll tell ya, it's not easy being the kid sister of a celebrity," Kaiko said, placing her hands behind her head and leaning against the wall. "At my old school, people would always ask me for free concert tickets or some kind of autographed memorabilia… It's not like I'm that well-connected!" Then she looked me straight in the eye. "While I can't say that I completely understand your position, I know enough about it because of onii-chan. It'll be tough, but I think you'll get the hang of it. Onii-chan has faith in you; you can do it!" She then flashed me a smile that reminded me so much of the man I loved.

"You really do look like him," I commented. "Kaito nii-chan, I mean."

"Ha ha, I get a lot of that, too," the girl chuckled.

"Thank you, Shion-san," I told her. "I'm glad I got to meet you today."

"Same here," she said in response. "I hope I end up in your class."

Suddenly, the door opened and Luka walked through. "Miku-san, are you up here?" she asked, looking around before spotting me. "Oh, there you are! I thought that was you shouting. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay now," I said, standing up along with Kaiko. "Sorry I made you worry. Oh, this is Kaiko Shion, Kaito nii-chan's younger sister."

"Nice to meet you," Kaiko said with a bow. "I'll be transferring here soon. I'm looking forward to being at the same school as you!"

Luka smiled and bowed back. "It's nice to meet you, too. My name is Luka Megurine."

Soon the break period was over, and Luka and I said good-bye to Kaiko before heading back to our respective classes. "She seems nice," Luka commented. "Do you think you'll be in the same class?"

"I really hope so!" I said excitedly. "She had a scarf just like Kaito nii-chan's… I wonder if that's a family thing…"

"You should ask her that next time," the older girl said. "I should go; I'll see you later, Miku-san."

"Bye, Luka nee-chan!" I said before slipping into the classroom. Neru spotted me with a smile on my face, and I just walked past her, trying not to laugh at the confused expression on her face.

…

After school and work were over, I had returned to the apartment building, but before I could go inside my apartment, Meiko suddenly popped up in front of me. "Ah, there you are! Bout time!" she said as she grabbed my wrist and started dragging me up the stairs.

"What the-?! Meiko-san, what's going on?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"It's just Meiko," she quickly corrected before continuing. "Well first off, I wanted to apologize for cutting into your time with Kaito. It was stupid of me. And about that photo; I'm much more interested in that brother of yours than Kaito."

I was pleasantly surprised by this. "Uh… thank you, Meiko. Now where are you taking me?"

"Kaito's place," Meiko answered. "He said he would make it up to you, and I think you're gonna like it!" It didn't take us long to reach Room 305, and she gave a quick knock on the door.

"Come in!" I heard Kaito call just before Meiko opened the door and pushed me in.

"He's all yours, bye!" she said quickly as she closed the door.

I sniffed the air; it smelled like someone had been cooking. Removing my shoes, I made my way to the kitchen. "Kaito nii-chan?"

Kaito was sitting at the table, and he stood up when he saw me. "Evening, Miku-chan. I'm glad you could come."

"Kaito nii-chan, what's going on?" I asked before noticing the food on the table. "Is that…?"

"Oh, I made this," he explained. "Baked salmon stuffed with leeks – your favorite – garnished with dill and lemon, complete with a side of sugar snap peas."

"You made this?!" I asked in surprise. "I didn't know you could cook!"

"I've picked up some things in my 20 years of existence," Kaito said as he led me to the other chair and sat me down. "Here, try it."

I couldn't help the grin on my face. He went to all this trouble? "Thank you so much! Itadakimasu!" I said before trying a piece of the salmon. "Mmm! This is delicious!"

"So glad you approve," Kaito said happily as he sat down opposite me. "So, am I forgiven?"

"Definitely!" I said before taking another bite. "Oh by the way, I met your younger sister today."

Perhaps I shouldn't have said that when he was drinking, because he ended up doing a spit take. "*cough cough* My sister? Kaiko-chan?!"

"Um, yeah," I said, slightly confused. He doesn't know she's here? "She told me she was going to transfer to my school soon."

Sighing and shaking his head, the blue-haired man muttered, "Honestly, that girl never tells me anything… I hope you two got along."

"Oh, we did! She's such a nice girl!" I assured him. "I really, really hope she's in my class!"

Chuckling, Kaito said, "Me, too." Suddenly, his cell phone went off. "Whoops, I knew I forgot something…" he said as he reached into his pocket.

Frowning, I had a feeling he was being called away again. But then he did something surprising: he answered the phone, hung up, then turned the phone off and put it back in his pocket. "Now, where were we?"

Laughing, I replied, "Enjoying this delicious food!" To think he would go so far as to turn his cell phone off… This is why I love him!

Next time:

Len: Okay, this is it! I'm gonna tell Miku-nee how I feel!

Meiko: Good luck, kiddo!

Rin: Yeah, you can do it, Len!

Len: …Wait, what is this feeling? Is Miku-nee really the one I love?

Next time: Track 12 – Spice!