Miku: Wow, we've got Track 13 up already?!

Kaito: Yep! And it's all thanks to you, fans!

Miku: I think you'll like this one, readers! Kaito nii-chan and I -

Meiko: Whoa! Spoiler alert! Let them find out on their own, Miku! ^^

Miku: Ah right. Sorry!

Kaito: Anyway… Elise-sensei does not own Vocaloid; she just writes stories about us. Enjoy!

Tatoeba fukai shigemi no (Let me just say that inside of you I see)

Naka suberi komasete. (Myself, hiding in your memories.)

Tsunaida ase no kaori ni (To be linked with the scene of your smile)

Tada okasareteru. (Makes me feel so very in love with you.)

"Good work, you two," Haku said as she turned off the boom box. "I think you'll be ready for rehearsal tomorrow."

"Thanks, Haku!" Meiko said with a grin. She and I were practicing for the MV for my song "Cantarella." It had been a while since we did a duet, and we were glad to see our teamwork was as solid as ever.

I did notice, however, that my friend was sweating like crazy. "Oi Meiko, you feeling okay? You were slowing down a bit at the end."

"Kaito you worrywart, I'm fine!" she said, waving a hand in dismissal. "We've been working all day, I guess I'm just tired."

"Well why don't we head on home?" I suggested. "We need to be rested up for tomorrow."

"Okay Mom, I'll join you once I get changed," Meiko replied with a roll of her eyes as she headed for her dressing room.

Going into my own dressing room, I muttered to myself, "Geez, sometimes I find it hard to believe that she's older than me…" Once I had gotten changed, I picked up my phone and found that I had gotten a text message from Miku. Opening it, I read:

"Hey, Kaito nii-chan! It's too bad we couldn't hang out today. How was work? School was boring as usual, and I actually fell asleep in class! I must not be getting enough sleep lately. On the bright side, I was able to finish recording 'Last Night, Good Night.' Hope I get to see you soon!"

I couldn't help but smile as I read the message. On days when we were unable to see each other, Miku would send me a text message just to check up on me, and I would do the same. I quickly replied:

"Evening, Miku-chan. Don't worry, you'll get used to not getting as much sleep. Hope the teacher was understanding! I'll try to make time to see you in about a week, this MV is taking up a lot of my time. Glad to hear you finished that song; I guarantee your fans will love it! See you in a week, I miss you."

I hit the send button and then slipped my phone into my pocket as I walked to the lobby. It was a few more minutes before Meiko finally showed up. "Uh-oh, I know that smile," she said with a smirk. "You got a text from Miku again, didn't you?"

"And if I did?" I replied as we left Crypton Records.

"I'm just happy for you, that's all!" Meiko said. "You really enjoy being around her, and I can't blame you. She is pretty darn cute, after all!"

"Oh, knock it off!" I said, giving her a light nudge. "Miku-chan's… like a little sister to me."

"Suuure she is," she replied sarcastically. "C'mon Kaito, just admit you like her already!"

Getting a little irritated with her, I said through clenched teeth, "We are not having this conversation."

"Deny it all you want, but sooner or later you're gonna realize your feelings for her," Meiko told me as she walked ahead of me with a grin. Turning around for one more second, she shot me a smile and said, "See you tomorrow!"

As Meiko went back to her room, my thoughts went back to Miku. Now that I thought about it, these past couple of months I was happiest whenever I was with the teal-haired girl. What exactly are my feelings toward her? I enjoy her company, but do I really like her?

…

"Ah-CHOO!"

"Uh-oh, do you have a cold Miku-san?" Luka asked me from my couch.

"I don't think so," I answered with a sniffle. "Maybe someone's talking about me? But anyway, Kaito nii-chan said he misses me! I'm so happy right now!" I squealed, clutching my cell phone to my chest.

…

The next day…

The next morning, I headed to Meiko's apartment to get her. "Meiko open up, we have to get to the studio. …Meiko?" For some reason, she didn't answer the door. Taking out the spare key she had given me, I opened the door and slipped in. "Meiko? Where are you?"

"In here…" I heard her groan, and I could tell that wasn't a good sign.

Entering her bedroom, I saw the older woman buried under her covers. "Hey, are you feeling okay?"

"Nooo…" she groaned. "I think I caught your cold, you baka."

I felt her forehead, and it certainly felt warm. I found a thermometer and quickly took her temperature. "38.9 degrees (Celsius)… Well you've definitely got a fever. I'm sorry you feel so bad. You want me to stay here?"

"No, go on without me. Save yourself," she answered, draping an arm over her eyes. "Just ask Miku to take my place."

My eyes widened at that suggestion. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, my script's on my desk, just take it to her," Meiko said, pointing over to her desk.

Well we're on a deadline, so I guess I don't have a choice. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. Just rest up, okay?" I told her, patting her head.

"Heh, like I have a choice," she chuckled weakly. "Thanks, Kaito."

Leaving Meiko's apartment with the script, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "So she wants Miku to take her place, huh? Hope I can catch her before she goes to school," I said, checking my watch. It was 7:50, so I still had time.

I went straight to room 201 and knocked on the door. "Miku-chan, are you there?"

"Coming!" Miku's voice called back. A few seconds later, the younger girl opened the door. "Wha-! Kaito nii-chan?! I thought you'd be at the studio by now."

"Uh yeah, about that…" I said, scratching the back of my head. "Meiko's got a fever, and I need someone to take her place in my MV. Would you like to do it?"

Apparently the words didn't hit her right away, because the first thing she said was, "Aw no! I hope Meiko feels – Wait, what'd you say?!"

"I said, would you like to be in my MV?" I repeated.

At first Miku didn't say anything, but she finally pulled out her cell phone and called her school to say she couldn't make it. Once she was done, she said, "I'll do it!"

"Great! You're a real lifesaver!" I said, giving Miku a hug. When I pulled away, her whole face was red. "C'mon, I'll brief you on the plot on the way."

…

A ton of stuff was going through my mind at that moment. First off Kaito wanted me to be in his MV, and then he hugged me when I said yes! I knew there was quite a bit of work ahead of us, but I still felt like I was walking on air!

"…ku-chan? Are you paying attention?" The snap of Kaito's fingers snapped me out of my haze.

"Eh? O-Of course! I heard everything you said!" I answered quickly, though truthfully I only read through the script once.

"Alright then, what did he just say?" Haku asked, folding her arms. By this point, we were in the MV room and had already changed into our costumes. Lucky for me there was an appropriate black dress in my wardrobe.

"Um… uh, we're doing the scene where I open the box and find Kaito's mask and gloves?" I answered uncertainly.

Kaito blinked a couple of times before pinching my nose. "Okay, you got it this time. You're not nervous, are you?"

"No, I'm not nervous at all!" I replied, holding my nose. I had done a couple of MVs for my own songs, but this was different: I was legitimately working together with Kaito, and despite my words I was actually pretty darned nervous!

"Just relax, kiddo!" Haku said, dragging me onto the set. "Look at it this way: it's just rehearsal, but you do this right, and we'll get this done as quickly as possible. Okay, quiet on the set!" she shouted, startling everyone within range. I even saw Kaito flinch from his position.

Haku turned on the music and I went into action, using the key in my hand to open the box. I stared at the box's contents, waiting for Kaito to make his move. Right on cue, Kaito's arm wrapped around my waist while his other hand gently held one of my pigtails. My heart started pounding like crazy; aside from that quick hug he gave me outside my apartment, Kaito and I had never had this kind of intimate contact before!

Kaito then spun me around and I leaned against the wall, looking up at the older man. I unintentionally started trembling; acting or otherwise, I had never been in such a position in my 16 years of existence. Kaito's stare was intense, and he reached out to cup my face in his hands. He then leaned in even closer, as if he was going to kiss me, and I instinctively closed my eyes in anticipation.

"Cut!" Haku's voice cut in, and I quickly snapped out of it while Kaito pulled away.

W-W-What was I doing?! I thought, covering my blushing cheeks. For a second, I really thought Kaito was gonna kiss me!

"The trembling was good, but you have to be more scared at first," Kaito told me. "You weren't expecting my appearance at all, remember?"

"Uh, right!" I said with a nod, trying to regain my composure. Right, I'm gonna do my best with this! No more getting distracted by my hot co-star!

…

After rehearsal, I finally got a chance to relax. Miku was doing pretty well so far, much to my pleasant surprise. It was almost as if she was born to be in this line of work, and I had to admit I was glad to be working alongside her. Of course, whenever she blushed from my getting close to her, it was so adorable I had to keep myself from chuckling.

I spotted Miku coming out of her dressing room, and I couldn't resist sneaking up on her. She let out a small yelp of surprise when I covered her eyes, and I leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Guess who?"

"Oh, Kaito nii-chan!" Miku said with a sigh of relief as I uncovered her eyes. She then turned to face me and I saw she was blushing up to her ears. "Don't do that, I could've elbowed you in the gut!"

Chuckling, I said, "You know some self-defense, eh?"

"Yeah, my brother insisted I learn some basic self-defense," she answered with a hand behind her head. "It's not like I'm an expert or anything, I haven't really had to use it."

"That's good," I said, leaning against the wall along with her. "You're doing really well so far. I'm glad you were able to come in."

"Me, too!" Miku said with a grin. "It still feels weird hearing Meiko's voice on the track instead of mine."

"That's understandable," I agreed. "Don't worry, we'll rerecord it soon. Your acting is pretty good, though."

"You think so? You were so much better; your stare was so intense!" she told me. "I really thought you were gonna kiss me in that one scene! Not that I would've minded…" A split second after she said that, she quickly covered her mouth. "Oh god, did I say that out loud?!"

I had to admit, that comment surprised me. "You… wanted me to kiss you?" I asked, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit.

"Well I, uh…" Covering up her blushing face, Miku stammered, "I uh, I gotta go! See you tomorrow!" And with that, she took off running out of the MV room.

Confused by her words and actions, I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh. "What was that all about…?"

…

Over the next couple of days, we went through the rest of the scenes from the MV until we finally started work on the scene where I secretly visited Miku's character for the first time.

"Oi, Hatsune-san! Hurry up, we're waiting for you!" Haku called, knocking on the door of Miku's dressing room.

"O-Okay…" I heard her say before the door opened. Miku slowly came out in a simple black slip lined with black lace. "This is kinda embarrassing…" she muttered, her face red up to her ears.

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. Somehow she seemed so cute and vulnerable like this, and suddenly I was wishing that I was wearing my mask already so they couldn't see my flushed face. "W-Wow…"

"Hee hee, sounds like Kaito-kun approves!" Haku said with a smug grin. "C'mon, you'll be in the bed anyway, he won't see your legs."

A few minutes later, Miku buried herself under the covers of the bed on set and pretended to be asleep while I prepared to make myself known. Kneeling next to the bed, I removed the hat I was wearing and leaned over to kiss Miku's cheek, causing her eyes to fly open in surprise. "Eyaaaah!" she screamed as she sat up, pulling the covers up with her.

"Cut!" Haku interrupted. "Boy, you're really getting into it, huh Hatsune-san?"

"S-Sorry! It was a reflex, I didn't mean to scream so loud!" Miku stammered. "Kaito nii-chan, I didn't startle you did I?"

Lifting the mask for a minute, I replied, "No, I'm fine. Just keep in mind that they won't hear the scream in the final cut, so try not to strain your voice, okay?" She nodded in understanding, and rehearsal continued.

…

Argh, how embarrassing! I thought with a red face as I started changing back into my usual clothes. Just how long did I spend in that slip?! I can't believe Kaito saw me in that! We haven't even started dating yet! Wait, yet? Ohh, I don't know what to think now!

In case you couldn't tell from that last paragraph, my head was a mess and for good reason! I wasn't even sure if I would be able to face Kaito for the rest of the day.

As I left my dressing room, I heard "Miku-chan?" and froze on the spot.

Ack! I thought he would've left by now! I thought, glancing back at Kaito.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a concerned expression. "You left the set in a hurry."

"Um, I-I'm okay Kaito nii-chan," I answered, hoping that he couldn't see my blushing. My heart was beating quickly, just like it had when he saw me in that slip. "I'm just not used to people seeing me in such… little clothing."

"Ah, I see," Kaito said in understanding. "I guess I can understand that, it was your first time doing something like that."

"Right, exactly!" I said quickly. "I've never let anyone see me like that before…"

"Well, that's a good thing," Kaito told me, placing a hand on my shoulder and causing my heart to skip a beat. "It means you have respect for yourself. Although I have to admit, you did look pretty cute like that."

"I'm glad you think so," I said before realizing exactly what he just said. "Wait… you think I looked cute?"

"…Yeah," he said, glancing off to the side. His embarrassed face was kind of cute, actually, and I couldn't help giggling a little. "What's so funny?"

"You! I've never seen you embarrassed," I answered.

"Is that so?" Kaito asked as he backed up a little. Suddenly he tripped on some cables and started falling backwards. "Huh? Whoa!"

"Ahh!" I exclaimed as I fell with him when I tried to grab him. I landed on top of him, my face inches away from his. We stared at each other for a few moments, our eyes wide and our cheeks flushed. I could feel his heartbeat quickening along with my own, and it took me a minute to find my voice. "A-Are you alright?"

Nodding, Kaito replied, "You?"

I nodded as well before carefully standing up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to land on top of you like that."

"It's okay," the blue-haired man said patting my head reassuringly. "Let's go, I'll walk you back to your apartment."

"Thank you," I said with a shy smile. The two of us walked back to the apartment building not saying much, and we eventually reached my apartment. "Thanks again for walking me home, Kaito nii-chan."

"Anytime," he replied with a smile. But instead of patting my head like he usually did, Kaito seemed to be stroking my hair. He then leaned over and, to my complete surprise, kissed me on the forehead! "Good night, Miku-chan."

"G-G'night!" I stuttered as I watched him walk back to the stairs. Once he was gone, I went inside my apartment and dashed to my bed before flopping down on it. Eeeee! He kissed my forehead! Omigod, omigod, OMIGOD! I thought excitedly, rolling back and forth. He likes you, Miku! Why else would he do that? I'm so lucky!

I finally settled down and crawled under my covers. Wrapping my arms around my body pillow, I buried my face in it with a giggle before finally drifting off to sleep, dreams of the beautiful Kaito dancing in my head.

…

Falling back on my bed with a sigh, I brought a couple fingers up to my lips. Without thinking, I had kissed Miku on the forehead before saying good night to her. Why did I do that? That's not like me, I thought as I removed my scarf and shirt.

I needed time to think, so I got back off my bed and walked into the kitchen to grab some ice cream. I know it sounds crazy, but I think better with ice cream in me.

Once I had finished a small tub of strawberry ice cream and got settled in bed, I came to a startling realization: I liked Miku Hatsune!

Next time…

Miku: Hey Kaiko-chan, you're in my class!

Kaiko: I know! Cool, huh?

Miku: Definitely! Hey, can I get your opinion on this song?

Kaiko: Ooh, a song of forbidden love? This I gotta see!

Next time: Track 14 - Magnet