Slice of Life
Chapter 18 – Trick and Treat
I have a Chemistry lab report that I should be typing up; but, at the moment, I would much rather write out another chapter for this story. XP
Be prepared, though. This is a long chapter… But…. I hope all of you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: Vocaloids? Me? Own them? No, never.
Halloween. It was finally Halloween and the entire mansion was in an uproar. The residents had busily decorated the doors of their bedrooms and the outside of their residency with the traditional Western trinkets: "tombstones" had been set on the lawn lining the driveway, the doorbell would let out a shriek of terror rather than ring, a ghost hung from the ceiling and would greet visitors who happened to have the misfortune of entering the house before their Vocaloid host did. These preparations were done just for this night, and only for this night. An interview with a major television studio was going to take place later that day, and this interview happened to include a short tour of the mansion. Each Vocaloid was expected to sit down with the interviewer for a short interview and answer questions that came from the studio and from each of their respective fan bases. And they were all expected to be dressed appropriately. For Halloween, that is.
And Gumi absolutely despised the idea. Although she had (slowly) grown accustomed to the lifestyle that the Vocaloids had led, she was still irritated with having to be interviewed every now and again for the latest issue of a pop culture magazine or a segment of a TV show. It was not that she hated the people who conducted these interviews (yet sometimes the interviewers did piss her off); it was more accurate to say that Gumi hated going through the process of getting ready for those public appearances. Sitting in that chair while others applied her make-up or styled her hair for her. It made her skin crawl. Just the thought of even being anywhere near that damned chair made her want to punch someone in the face. All of those brushes laid out on the make-up counter and the bright light that shone in her face… It was irritating to sit through.
But somehow, she had a bad feeling about today…
Gumi chose to ignore this feeling and allowed a frustrated sigh to escape her lips. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. The red digital numbers screamed back at her "12:30 PM". She needed to get up if she were to shower and get ready in time for her share of the interview. She needn't worry about the tour about the mansion. She was sure that Luka had taken care of that, and Gumi was perfectly okay with the strong possibility of having been recorded sleeping. With puffed up cheeks, Gumi sat up and ran her hands quickly through her hair as a lazy attempt to brush it. The girl got up from the bed and pulled her oversized white t-shirt off. "Hmph… I wonder what everyone else is up to," she muttered to herself, when she realized she would barely see the others until the group interview that took place at the end of the day. Everyone was busy getting ready themselves….
Kaito
The eldest Vocaloid had been awake long before Gumi had ever opened her eyes. He was in his room, staring at the two costumes he had laid out on his bed. A wide grin was on the blue haired man's face as he picked up one of them. "This is going to be great!" Kaito laughed to himself, as he began to take his clothes off. Finding this costume online had caused the normally ice cream obsessed man to forget about the container of ice cream that he had bought that day. Yes, this costume was incredible. True, he had purchased a second costume just in case his manager did not approve of his first choice; but Kaito failed to see how anyone could reject such an amazing costume. A laugh escaped him as he began to pull the costume on.
A knock came from his bedroom door, and he glanced at it. "Shion-san!" his manager's voice squeaky voice called out. "Please hurry! Your interview starts in five minutes!"
Kaito knew that his petite manager was probably frantically looking over the tentative schedule that the Vocaloid producers had laid out. As an act of mercy, he put the finishing touches onto his costume before he threw the bedroom door open.
"GO, GO, POWER RANGERS!" He shouted, as he roll dived into the hallway. He leapt to his feet, and thrust one fist into the air. "BLUE RANGER, REPORTING FOR DUTY—"
"No. No! Absolutely not!" The frantic female protested. She threw her pen at Kaito's helmeted head. "Take it off and change into the other costume at once!"
A whine came from the sentai ranger. "Eh? Do I have to take it off?" Kaito whined. "I think it's awesome!"
"TAKE IT OFF!"
Kaito groaned, and went back into his room to change.
An outfit change, a brief argument with his manager, another outfit change and 5 minutes later, Shion Kaito was seated on the black leather arm chair in the main living room of the mansion. The room was the first sight that guests saw when the giant double doors were opened. The TV studio found it fitting to conduct all of the interviews here. They reasoned that it would give the viewers a better feel of things if it were in this room, especially since the interviews would be broadcasted live.
The blue haired man had successfully managed to convince the frantic manager to let him wear the Power Ranger costume. A proud smile was on his face as he removed the helmet and set it down on the arm of the chair. Judging from the grin on the interviewer's face, Kaito knew he was going to have fun with this interview.
"Alright, Shion-san. Thanks for joining us! I'm the host, Tainaka Ritsu," the host of the TV show began. "Time to kick off the interview! We have several questions from the official fan site for you and the other Vocaloids. We also have questions from our own website."
"Just call me 'Kaito', please," Kaito nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "And alright, Tainaka-san. Go ahead."
The interviewer picked up a notecard from a pile that sat beside her on the table. "Let's see… 'What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?'" She looked up from the card and looked at Kaito expectantly.
Kaito stared at the man, his mouth hanging open in an 'o' shape. "I have to pick one?"
"… Yes."
"IMPOSSIBLE!" The blue haired Vocaloid exclaimed. "I love them all. Next question."
"O-okay.. Uh… 'Would you rather go a week without ice cream, or a week without seeing Meiko-san?'"
Kaito's answer came immediately. "I'd go a week without seeing Mei-chan."
Off to the side, Gakupo facepalmed. "Kaito's damned lucky that Meiko-san woke up late and is still getting her costume on, or he would be a dead man…" he thought to himself.
The interviewer laughed, and continued on with the questions.
Meiko
Towards the end of Kaito's interview, the brunette slid into place beside Gakupo, her costume now complete. The eldest girl of the Vocaloid residency wore extremely short black shorts with a red belt looped around the waistband. Rather than a shirt, Meiko's costume designer had decided to take a white tube top and cut off the bottom half. Now that the white piece was on the girl, it covered her bust, but left room for the imagination of her rabid fanboys to run wild. On top of this white cut-off tube top was a short black vest. The outfit was completed by black knee-high boots with red laces and white trim, as well as a black pirate hat and an eye patch with a heart stitched onto it.
"Did I miss anything?" Meiko asked, as she lifted up her eye patch so she could look at the purple haired mobster that stood beside her. She looked over his gray pinstripe suit, and the black button down that was unbuttoned at the top with the white tie loosely tied. "Hmph… Western gangster?"
Gakupo chuckled softly and nodded. "Yes, actually, that's what my manager recommended," he answered. "But no, you didn't miss anything." His purple eyes flickered over to the armchair when he saw Kaito stand up and thank the interviewer for his time. "I do believe it's your turn now, Meiko-san."
Meiko flipped the eyepatch down to cover one of her chocolate orbs, and adjusted her hat carefully before she strode across the room. Before she took her seat, she grabbed Kaito and pulled him into a quick, but passionate kiss. She released him, and sank into the seat. The blue haired man stumbled towards Gakupo with a goofy grin on his face.
Gakupo simply shook his head at the two.
"Ah, wow, you look great, Sakine-san—"
"Meiko."
"Meiko-san!" The interviewer amended. She cleared his throat, and tried not to stare at Meiko's exposed cleavage. "Er, anyway… Interview, right?"
The brunette held a hand up to halt the young woman before he asked her the first question. "Oi, can I get a drink here?" she called out to whoever happened to be manning the snack table. When she saw the producers shake their head no, she scowled. "What? Why not?" she demanded. "It's just one drink!"
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of the interviewers head. She had heard about Sakine Meiko's drinking habits… But asking for a drink in the middle of an interview?
Meiko let out a frustrated sigh, and shook her head. She then waved her hand towards Ritsu, motioning for the girl to go ahead and continue.
"Uh—Let's see-… First question," Tainaka Ritsu cleared her throat once more. "What's the best drink you have ever had?"
"All of them are amazing," Meiko answered with a flat tone. "Next."
Ritsu stared at Meiko. She hoped that at least one of the Vocaloids would answer a question properly. "'How about your best date ever?'" She tore her tawny eyes away from the card and looked into chocolate eyes. "Ne? Describe it?"
Meiko drummed her fingers along the armrest and grinned. "Well, the best date I've ever been on was with Kai-kun," she began. "And we went to a bar! I guess I was pretty drunk because he helped walk me back home. Once we got here, we hung out in my room. From there, things got a little bit spicy if you know what I mean—"
"WHOA, WHOA!" Gakupo stumbled into the view of the camera, his arms flailing. He stood beside the armchair, arms up in the air in an "X" formation. "Meiko-san! You can't say things like that!"
"Nani? What" She looked up at the purple haired mobster, feigning confusion. "Why not? I'm just answering the question."
"Just—No! Let me go ahead and do my interview!" Gakupo insisted, as he shook his head furiously. "Something normal!"
Meiko stood up on the armchair, kicked Gakupo off screen, and sat back down. "Like I was saying, things got a little heated, and that was that," she finished her story.
Ritsu simply stared at Meiko. "Right.. Well, next we have Kamui Gakupo-san!" she said quickly, eager to escape another awkward answer to a seemingly innocent question. She waved over at the crew to push the purple haired man back onto the set.
The brunette scowled when she realized that she was forcibly being removed. "This is some bull sh—"A bottle of sake was waved at her from off screen, and the brunette promptly shut her mouth. She stood up, and scurried over to the refreshment table, arms outstretched towards the bottle. Gakupo merely watched as Meiko left, and he sighed. Was everyone in this mansion insane?
Oh wait. Of course they were.
With another shake of his head, the long haired boy strode towards the interview area, sank into the black leather armchair, and offered the interviewer an apologetic smile.
Gakupo
"Call me 'Gakupo'," the purple haired man said before Ritsu could even begin to introduce him to the viewers at home. He continued to give the tawny haired girl an apologetic smile, hoping that by some miracle, the viewers would forget about the embarrassing interviews that came before his. He knew it was unlikely, but he liked to hope.
"Right, well, Gakupo-san, it's your turn for our interview!" Ritsu grinned, feeling a little relieved that Gakupo seemed normal. At least, he seemed more normal when compared to the blue and red Vocaloids. But looks could be deceiving. "There have been a lot of rumors going around about your relationship status," she began, as she looked at the first notecard that had been labeled in purple marker to signify that this was intended for Kamui Gakupo.
At this, Gakupo raised a brow. "Oh? Rumors?" he repeated, sounding a little surprised. "I haven't heard of any. What is the world saying about me, Tainaka-san?"
The girl's amber eyes skimmed through the note card, and she failed to suppress the grin that had crept its way onto her face. "Apparently you have been spotted about the city with a girl on your arm, ne?" She asked, an almost teasing edge to her tone. It was suddenly becoming hard for her to stay professional and keep herself from teasing the now blushing man before her. "The first incident was a few months ago, when you were seen waiting at the train station. And you were accompanied by a young woman to the movies that same afternoon."
Off to the side, a snort came from the now properly dressed Megpoid Gumi. A pilot's outfit had been thrown on her; khaki skinnies tucked into knee high brown leather boots, as well as a white low cut tank-top beneath a tight fitting aviator jacket which had been left unzipped. (She had insisted on the outfit so she could continue to wear her trademark red goggles. After she had dressed, she did admit that the costume looked much better on her than she had originally thought.) A month or so ago? At the train station? That must have been the date she had set up using the eHarmony accounts. She had completely forgotten that her onii-san had gone on a date of his own; her own attentions had been focused on helping Miku that she had forgotten to check up on her elder cousin. A shame, really, since they lived in the same house. With a shrug, she folded her arms across her chest, her black leather gloved hands clenched into fists.
Gakupo could not hide the faint pink that had appeared on his cheeks, but he let out a good natured chuckle. "Oh, yes," he nodded. "I did go on a date with her back then. That was when we first met, actually."
"Eh?" Ritsu blinked. "You never met her before then? Then how did you end up going on a date with her? Or did Gakupo-san use his gentleman charms to snatch up a date?" This last sentence was aimed at the viewers at home, and the tawny haired girl winked at the camera.
"No, no," Gakupo laughed once more. "I didn't really do anything to get on a date with her, actually. My younger cousin, Gumi-chan, was the one who had made the arrangements."
A camera instantly swung around and zoomed in on Gumi.
The green haired girl twitched, but she gave a passive nod at the camera, and shoo'd it away with one hand. "It's not my turn to be interviewed yet," Gumi said as she shook her head once.
The cameraman obliged, and turned the lens back to Gakupo.
"Go on!" Ritsu grinned. "Tell us more!"
"Well, Gumi-chan and the other Vocaloids—Well, the younger ones—decided to play a little prank on Lily-san, Luka-san, and myself," the mobster explained, as he set his arms down on the armrest. "They made accounts for us on one of those dating websites, thinking it would be funny to see us go on a date with complete strangers. So, they made the accounts and put us up to these little dates. I didn't think it would be anything special, but I ended up having fun on my date." The long haired man went on to tell the tale of his date; how they went and had a small lunch, saw a movie, and he walked her to the train smile became a little bit wider. "It's a shame that she and I haven't really seen each other much since then, though. Only on occasion do we get coffee together."
The interviewer nodded, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "So what does that mean, exactly?"
"Huh?"
"Are you single or in a relationship?"
Gakupo stifled a laugh, and shook his head. "Single," he answered. "And very much so."
"I see!" Ritsu pointed at the camera. "Did you hear that ladies! He's still single!"
Another chuckle came from the interviewee. "Yes, I am single," Gakupo repeated once more. "But if there happens to be a young lady out there who would like to become Mrs. Kamui—Oof!"
His sentence was interrupted by the brown leather glove that had smacked him in the face at high speed. With one hand, he picked up the glove, and with the other, he rubbed his now red cheek. "What the—Gumi-chan!" Gakupo glowered at his younger cousin.
Gumi, who was still leaning against a wall, glared back at him. "Nii-san, you're not allowed to get married," she said flatly, highly un-amused with his interview. "You're not allowed to reproduce, either."
"Excuse me?" Gakupo frowned.
Ritsu had to cover her mouth with one hand to keep herself from bursting out into laughter.
"You're not allowed to get married or have kids," she repeated, with a roll of her eyes. "We can't have any more purple haired buffoon's running around. And besides, I don't see anyone falling in love with you any time soon—eh?" She stopped midsentence when she felt a weight on her shoulder. A frown was on her face as she looked up into the light blue eyes of Megurine Luka. "Oh, Luka-nee." Gumi nodded in acknowledgement. The short haired girl noted that trailing behind Luka at a distance was Lily, who had a bloody handkerchief pressed against her nose.
Luka gave Gumi a weary smile. "Gumi-chan, I think that's enough of picking on Gakupo-san, don't you think?" she asked, her voice ever so calm.
Gumi contemplated this for a moment. She shrugged her shoulders. "Sure."
Gakupo stared at Gumi and Luka, amazed at the fact that Gumi had obliged to Luka's subtle request. How could Luka pull that off when he couldn't and he was related to Gumi? He shook his head in disbelief, and stood up from the armchair. "Ah, maybe Luka-san should have her interview now?"
Ritsu nodded. "That's fine," she agreed. "Megurine-san?" With a wave of her hand, she gestured for the bi-lingual girl to take a seat.
The pink haired girl turned her smile to Ritsu, and she went and sat down in the arm chair.
Luka
During Meiko and Gakupo's interview…
Luka was in her closet, her light blue eyes staring at the costume that hung from the hook before her. Just looking at the costume was embarrassing enough, and she wasn't sure if she should be angry that she had to wear it, or extremely embarrassed. But she had no one to blame, after all. She had told Lily to go to the Vocaloid webpage and post a poll on what costume she should wear when she couldn't decide on a single one. And it came as a shock when one choice won by a landslide of votes. Now here she was, staring at the black and white costume.
"Oi, Lu-chan," Lily called from the bedroom. She was sprawled out on Luka's bed, already dressed in her dark navy, almost black, police officer outfit. The costume was a one piece, with the bottom portion being rather short. Admittedly, the entire outfit was a little skimpy, but like Luka, Lily had decided to poll her costume. She stared at her exposed cleavage, and tried once more, in vain, to button the outfit up. She let out a frustrated sigh and gave up when the button snapped off. "Lu-chan, you better hurry. I'm pretty sure your interview is coming up real soon."
"Okay!" Luka called out from the closet. She began to undress. "Ano, Lily-chan?"
"Mm?"
"Do you know what happened to Miku-chan?" the pink haired girl asked. "She hasn't been herself lately. Especially when she sees you or me; it's kind of like she doesn't know how to behave around us." She paused as she struggled to pull the black fish-lace tights on. "Did something happen?"
"No idea."
"Oh…" Lily heard the disappointment in Luka's voice. "But… Mmm… She came up to me saying that her and I couldn't stay close to one another or talk the same way," Luka tried to explain. "Does that mean she doesn't like me anymore?"
Lily was quiet as she tried to formulate her answer. She could lie, and say that Miku had completely lost interest in Luka. That option would probably make her life a hell of a lot easier since it would effectively eliminate Miku from the competition to win Luka over. Or she could tell the truth and say that Miku still had strong feelings for Luka, and that there was something wrong. The blonde scowled at the ceiling and began to drum her fingers against her stomach as she tried to figure out what to do .
"Lily-chan?"
"Eh—Ah, uh…" Lily stammered. "Nah, I dunno what that means." She shrugged, deciding to go for some sort of compromise of an answer. "Maybe she does still like you, maybe she doesn't." The blonde's fingers continued to beat against her stomach as she kept up the little white lie. "Why? Do you miss her strawberry chapstick?" She asked with a snicker.
From the closet, Lily hear a squeal. "Wh-wh-what!" Luka stammered as she poked her head out from the closet, her cheeks red. "N-no! That's not it!"
Lily pushed herself up with her elbows and grinned back at her blushing friend. "Eh? So what is it then?" She asked. "Were you hoping to take advantage of a young, love-struck, girl? That's naughty, Lu-chan. Shame on you!" The grin on her face only widened when she saw how dark Luka's cheeks had become.
"N-n-n-n-no!" Luka groaned, and hid in the closet. "Baka! It isn't like that!"
"Oh, okay, okay," Lily backed off. "I'm sorry. You weren't trying to take advantage of her, but you were just wondering if she switched from strawberry chapstick to mango chapstick. I gotcha."
"Li-Lily! Stop that!"
Hearing Luka flustered like this always brought a smile to Lily's face. It had been a while since she had last teased Luka like this. "I get it. I'm not good enough for you, so you want to have Miku-chan, too." She was half-kidding now, for she really did want to hear Luka's opinion on the love triangle. To her surprise, Luka was silent. "…Lu-chan?"
"Lily, you know that isn't true, either," Luka called out from the closet as she slipped into the costume. "You know I like you, too… It isn't fair for you to say something like that."
"Eh." Lily got off of the bed, and strode towards the closet. "You ready yet?" She completely ignored Luka's statement. When she stepped into the closet, her dark blue eyes widened and a hand flew up to cover her nose.
Before her stood Megurine Luka, dressed in a black and white maid outfit. The hem of the dress was a little shorter than normal, obviously created for some fan service. On top of her head sat pink cat ears that matched her hair, and a pink tail was at the back of the costume. Nekomimi. Maid outfit…
Nekomimi + Maid Outfit = …..?
Luka looked at her friend, blushing a little from the stare that she received. "Wh-what?"
"SORRY!" Lily sprinted out of the closet as soon as she felt blood gush from her nose. The blonde left the bedroom in a mad search for an efficient handkerchief.
The pink haired girl sighed, and shook her head. She followed her friend out of the bedroom, and headed towards the living room. As she grew closer to the interview area, she heard a yelp of pain, followed by a smartass comment from a certain greenette. Immediately, Luka took control of the situation, and before she knew it, she was sitting in the seat for her interview.
"So, Luka-san," Ritsu began as she flipped through the notecards to find Luka's questions. "Most of the questions we received for you were pretty similar. So you really only have a couple of questions that I can ask you today." She glanced at the composed girl before her. "I'm sorry we couldn't get more than that."
"Oh! No, that's quite alright," Luka smiled. "Please, go ahead and ask me a question. I'm sure our viewers would like to start the interview right away."
Ritsu nodded and began to read from the first notecard. "'We noticed that you have been seen around town with Miku-san much more frequently than before. Is there something going on there?'" She looked up from the card, and was surprised to see that Luka's face had instantly become pink.
"Oh—That.. Miku-chan and I…" Luka stammered as she tried to organize her words into a proper sentence. "We have gone on a few dates…"
"Sugoi!" The interviewer exclaimed. "Can you tell us about these dates!"
Luka took a deep breath and tried to recompose herself. She nodded once before she began to speak again. "The first date we went on, we went to my favorite café. It was nothing fancy, and very casual. It was comfortable," she explained, with a small smile on her face. "We talked and had cake and…" the girl stopped. "The second date—"
"Wait, why did you stop talking?" Ritsu noticed the cut off sentence.
"The second date we went on," Luka pressed onwards, her cheeks darkening in color as she did so. "We went to a restaurant. It was quite a fancy place… I was surprised that Miku-chan was able to get a reservation so quickly, but then again, she is the most famous out of all of us." She let out a laugh. "The date was quite unexpected. We ended up leaving the restaurant for personal matters and decided to simply walk around the city and talk. It was nice… I really enjoyed it." She was surprised to realize just how much she enjoyed that second date. Although it had taken a rather unexpected turn, talking to Miku had meant a lot to her. She realized how much pain the younger girl had kept hidden from the world, and she was able to slowly scale the wall that Miku had built around her heart. That night was extremely important to her, and she only realized the importance of that night now. And now that she thought about it, she deeply regretted allowing Miku to simply say that they were no longer able to continue their short venting sessions.
"Whoa, that sounds awesome!" Ritsu exclaimed, with a cheesy grin on her face for she was oblivious of Luka's inner turmoil. "Does that mean you two are a couple?"
"No, no," Luka answered with a shake of her head. "We're not. It's.. Complicated."
"Because of Masuda Lily-san, right?"
"Huh—How did you-?"
"That's actually your next question! People saw you at the fall festival in the city with Masuda-san!" Ritsu gave Luka a thumbs up. "How did that go? Was it a date or were the two of you just hanging out?"
Luka felt her cheeks warm up once more. "It—It was a date," she answered hesitantly, her voice now squeaking. "But—"
"AHA!" Tainaka leapt to her feet and pointed a finger at the camera. "Did you hear that, Japan? I think there's a love triangle going on! A love triangle between Miku-san, Lily-san and Luka-san!" She then pointed her finger down at the startled Luka, who cowered at the sudden shift in mood. "How does that make you feel?"
"I—I thought you wanted to hear about the date?" the pink haired Vocaloid stammered out, desperate to avoid talking about the love triangle itself.
The interview put her hand down and sank back into her seat. "Oh, yeah, go ahead and tell us about that."
Luka let out a small sigh of relief and tried to recompose herself. "Well, we went to the fall festival. And we really just walked around and looked at all of the little stands that were there," she began to summarize their date. "Mm, we went goldfish scooping, too! Lily-chan's really good at it, so she taught me how to catch a goldfish after she caught Koujiiro-kun," she added, with a laugh.
"'Koujiiro-kun'?"
"Ah—Yes! That's the name of Lily-chan's goldfish," Luka explained, her smile apologetic. "After she caught Koujiiro-kun, she taught me how to catch Yuki-chan—My goldfish," she corrected herself. "And that's really all that happened… When I returned to my room, that was when Miku-chan had asked me out on our second date."
"Sou desu ka?" Tainaka nodded her head several times. "How did Miku-chan ask you out?"
Luka's smile became a shy one as she looked away with flushed cheeks. She twiddled her pointer fingers as she explained what had happened. "I came up to my room and saw a note taped to my door. Of course, I was very confused, but I went inside anyway. On the bed was a bouquet of roses and a note from Miku-chan," she breathed. It was clear that the girl was a romanticist at heart, and had found the whole act to be very romantic. "And that was that."
The interviewer nodded. She tossed the pink highlighted notecards over her shoulder and grinned. "So, Luka-san, if you had to pick between the two of your, ah, suitors…" She wiggled her brows. "Who would it be?"
"Ah—Ano, that's—Mmm…" Luka gulped and shook her head quickly. "I can't say. At this moment I'm not sure who to pick," she laughed nervously, as she gave the interviewer an extremely nervous smile. "I'm sorry."
Tainaka Ritsu shook her head, and waved her hand dismissively. "Daijoubu! It's okay, Luka-san! Sorry to put you on the spot like that," she apologized. With a quick glance at her watch, she nodded her head. "It seems we're out of time. Thank you for talking to us, Luka-san," she smiled.
The pinkette continued to give off her nervous smile as she stood up. "You're very welcome. Thank you for having me." She bowed and stepped away from the set.
Lily
Before she stepped over to take a seat for her interview, the tall blonde checked to see if her nose was still bleeding. Nope. No more bloody nose. With a sigh of relief, she tossed aside the bloodied handkerchief and strode across the room. Her deep blue eyes met Ritsu's tawny ones and she took a seat in the waiting armchair. "Alright! I'm ready for this interview!" Lily exclaimed, as she gave the camera a grin.
Ritsu was prepared this time, the proper index cards resting on her lap. Rather than kick off the interview with another random viewer question, she thought it would be best to keep the dynamics up by continuing her previous conversation that she had had with Luka. "So, Lily-san, is it okay if I call you that? Yeah? Yeah, cool," she continued. "How was your date with Luka-san?"
Lily shrugged, and leaned back into the armchair, arms behind her head. "It was fun, I think," she answered. "I had a lot of fun. And I got a goldfish outta it, so it wasn't like it was a waste of time," she joked.
Ritsu laughed, and nodded in agreement. "Because the goldfish is definitely more important than going on a date with the famous Megurine Luka-san."
"Right," Lily grinned. She shook her head and let out a soft chuckle. "Seriously, though, it was really fun. I got to see Luka-chan over there fail at catching a goldfish the first time around," she snickered. "She flung the fish in the air and didn't keep it on the scooper, so it ended up landing back in the water. The poor guy swam away from her. He probably thought she was psychotic!"
"Nice," the interviewer grinned. "So, you and Luka-san seem pretty close. Wanna tell us more about that?" She had reverted back to the flashcards, un-sure of how she could possibly relate goldfish scooping to dating. "Did you two only become close recently or…?"
The blonde shook her head no. She removed her arms down from her head and set them on the armrests. "Nope. We've been best friends since we were little," she answered. "The two of us basically grew up together. Hell, I can't even remember what grade we were in when we first met, but we went through our entire school life with each other." Lily grinned. "Went to the same elementary school, the same junior high, the same high school… And by some miracle, I got into the same university as her!"
At this, Tainaka laughed. "I know exactly what you mean! I got into the same university as my childhood friend, too, even though she's infinitely smarter than I am!"
"POUND IT!"
Both Lily and Ritsu bumped fists and burst out into laughter.
From off of the set, Luka stood beside Gumi, her head resting against the wall. The younger girl simply patted her on the back. "It's okay. I understand your pain," she sighed. "That's how I feel when I'm around Miku."
"Oi." Ritsu stopped laughing, and sat up straight. She stared at Lily, who stared back at her in confusion. "If you've known Luka-san for so long, you must have a lot of stories about Luka-san."
Lily grinned.
Luka's eyes widened and she whipped her head around to stare at the blonde in horror.
Gumi looked at Luka, then Lily, then back at Luka. "You're fucked."
"'Course I have stories about Luka-chan~" The blonde sang. She clapped her hands together and rubbed them deviously. "Where do I even start? Lessee…. We had to do a group project on the respiratory system in biology one day. Poor girl thought she had to memorize everything that was on our notecards. So in the middle of her part she stopped talking because she forgot what she was saying."
"And?" The interviewer leaned forward in her seat, amber eyes wide with curiousity.
"And she started crying."
"No way!"
"Yes way!"
Gumi looked at Luka, a look of disbelief on her face as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of her head. "Luka-nee, please tell me that that didn't-…. Wow."
The normally composed pinkette had her head back against the wall, and she was surrounded by a thick black aura of doom and gloom. "Mou… Gumi-chan… Let's let the past be in the past, okay?"
Lily drummed her fingers against the armrest as she tried to think of other stories worth sharing. "Oh. We had sleepovers all of the time. But most of the time, at least until we were 14, we had them at Luka-chan's place," she began, with a shrug. "Only because she couldn't sleep without this kitty nightlight that she had."
"LILY-CHAN!" Luka shouted, clearly mortified that all of this information was being shared with Japan.
The blonde waved her hand at Luka. "Oi, Luka-chan! Tell them about the neko nightlight!"
At this, all of the cameras swung to point their shiny lenses at the pinkette. In an instant, Luka's face became dark red, and she opened and closed her mouth several times. "Ah—I—That is—The nightlight—I'M SO SORRY!" She apologized as hid behind Gumi, eyes squeezed shut.
Gumi facepalmed. Normally, she would turn around and slap someone in the face for using her as a shield, but Luka was pretty embarrassed. And she could sympathize with the feeling of having to put up with a loud mouthed idiot.
Gumi
A minute before Lily's interview ended, Hatsune Miku skipped into the living room, finally dressed in her witch's costume. The corset that she wore was black in color with teal lacings. Her black skirt was short, but not too short. This skirt coupled with boots that went up a little past her knees. Zettai ryouiki? Definitely. Did she care? Not really. The outfit was completed by the witch's hat that sat on the top of her twin-tailed head. She stopped beside Gumi and the cowering Luka. She blinked a few times and stared at the two. "Eh? Gumi-chan? Luka-senpai?" She looked at them curiously. "Did something happen-?"
"Oh, Miku. Here, take Luka-nee. It's my turn for the interview," Gumi said briskly, as she shoved the pinkette towards Miku. She turned her back to the pair and headed over to the interview area. As soon as the tall, slender blonde stood up from the armchair, the goggled girl plopped down into the armchair, arms folded across her chest. It took every ounce of self-control that she could muster to keep herself from throwing a punch at Lily's face for laying hands on Miku at the recording studio. Gumi took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She exhaled and then opened them. "Okay. Tainaka-san, I'm ready to start this interview.
Ritsu blinked, and looked at her index cards. "Uh—Right, Gumi-san," she nodded quickly. "But, ah, it's time for a commercial break! We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors!"
Gumi twitched. "What?"
The cameras were shut off and the crew went off to take their potty breaks or to grab a quick drink. As soon as the lights were turned off, Ritsu whipped her phone out and began to send texts to her friends. Gumi stayed seated in her seat as well, and closed her eyes. She covered her closed eyes with one hand, and let out a frustrated sigh. Of course there would be a commercial break when it was her turn to get this damned thing over with. Of course.
While she sat in the seat in silent angst, she wondered what deity she had pissed off to deserve going through this prolonged hell. She sat in the seat, completely unaware of what she had started by shoving two unwilling beings together…
From off of the set, Luka and Miku were left alone by the others. The two looked at one another awkwardly after being shoved together by Gumi. Since Miku had first told Luka that they needed to stop talking seemed like ages ago; but in reality, the incident had only occurred two days ago. But the tension between the two of them was palpable. One wanted to reach out and seek the truth, while the other was insistent on keeping things a secret.
Luka sighed and shook her head. "Miku-chan, ano, about what you said yesterday," she began slowly, refusing to take her light blue eyes off of the teal haired girl beside her.
Miku stiffened a little bit, but merely smiled back up at the older girl. "Ne, ne, Luka-senpai," she shook her head as well. "I don't know what you're talking about." She feigned ignorance and looked away, choosing to observe her stressed out green haired friend.
"Miku-chan," Luka put a hand on Miku's shoulder, and frowned a little. "Please talk to me. I don't understand why you said what you did yesterday, or what exactly is going on… So help me understand." The look in her eyes was pleading, and she was hoping Miku would look at her and realize that she only wanted to help the younger girl.
"Nn… Luka-senpai, now isn't such a good time to talk about this," Miku replied as she struggled to keep the smile on her face. She looked up at Luka and flinched when she saw how desperately Luka wanted to help her. "Ah-…. Do… Do we really have to talk about this?" She mumbled, the corners of her mouth turning down into a frown. "I mean… I have an interview—"
"Gumi-chan gets interviewed first, and then it's your interview."
"… R-right."
The pinkette was quiet for a moment. Her mind was racing as she tried to think of things that may have possibly upset the younger girl.; but the only thing that popped into her mind was the situation between Gumi and Miki. Aside from that, Luka had no idea what may have caused Miku to begin acting distant towards her. "Eto, Miku-chan, did something happen between Gumi-chan and Miki-chan?"
"Eh?" Teal eyes widened at the question, and gave back a confused stare. "No. I don't—I don't think so. Unless you know something I don't?"
"Ah, no," Luka shook her head. "I thought that perhaps that something had happened with Gumi-chan that had made you upset."
Miku bit down on her bottom lip. Well, what had made her upset was the incident with Lily… And Gumi had been present for that… "Well, Gumi-chan was there when something happened," she began slowly. "But—Ah, nevermind." She shook her head again.
She was getting close, Luka was getting closer to the truth. She just needed to push the conversation a little more and maybe Miku would tell her what in the world was going on. "No, no, tell me," Luka insisted. Her hand moved down from Miku's shoulder and slipped into Miku's hand. Fingers laced together. "Please? I only want to help you. I'm worried about you, you know."
"Ah…" Miku glanced down at their hands. A small, unfamiliar smile appeared on the girl's face; and Luka realized that for once, Miku was not trying to hide her feelings with a poker face of a smile. "Thank you, Luka-senpai." Her teal eyes looked back at her green haired best friend, who still wore an expression of frustration. "Gumi-chan would be angry with me if she knew that I told you that you and I should put some distance between one another."
"Gumi-chan doesn't know?" Luka was thoroughly surprised.
"Nope. She'd probably punch me if I told her," Miku laughed, and scratched at her cheek with a somewhat cheeky grin on her face. It was an expression that Luka hadn't seen in quite some time, but she decided she was glad to see that Miku was comfortable enough to express herself around her. "No one knows that I said that to you… But I kind of wish that I didn't say it. I really wanted to tell you what happened. But..." She shrugged her shoulders.
Luka gave Miku's hand an affectionate squeeze. "Then don't stay away from me," she replied. "If you want to tell me what happened to make you say those things, then tell me. I promised that I would listen to you, didn't I?" A smile was on her face as she looked down at the younger girl. "I keep my promises."
Miku smiled, but kept her gaze focused elsewhere. "Thank you. About what happened yesterday…" There was a pause as she tried to find a way to sum up what had occurred between her and Lily. "Lily-nee and I had a disagreement. That's all." She was also trying to avoid mentioning that Lily was now playing dirty. The plan to use her weakness, as well as Gumi and Miki's weaknesses, against them was foul play and Miku knew that. But she did not want Luka to be aware of what was going on when her back was turned. If Luka were to become aware of Lily and Meiko's plans, pandemonium was sure to ensue.
"'A disagreement'?" Luka repeated in confusion.
"Yeah. Ah, let's see… We didn't see eye-to-eye on something and she became angry with me," the teal haired girl continued. "But luckily Gumi-chan and Gakupo-nii were there or things would have been bad." She shrugged her shoulders and slipped her hand out of Luka's.
It took a moment for Luka to comprehend what Mkiu was trying to hint at. "Wait—Lily-chan was—"
"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE READY? We're on air in 3… 2… 1…!" The director pointed at Ritsu and Gumi as the lights flashed back on.
Luka frowned a little bit when she realized that this conversation would have to wait. She sighed and focused her attention onto Ritsu and Gumi.
"Awwwwriiiiight!" Ritsu pumped a fist into the air. "We're back for more interviews with the famous Vocaloids!" She grinned at the camera and then looked at Gumi. "So, Gumi-chan, I like your costume."
"Thanks." Gumi put a smile onto her face, but failed to hide his displeasure at being interviewed. "Tainaka-san—"
"Ritsu."
"Ritsu-san, can we please get this interview over with," the green haired girl sighed.
The interviewer laughed. "Did you hear that everyone? Gumi-chan's so straightforward, and she doesn't even care! But, yeah, sure. First question is from a fan." She read over the index card quickly. "What is your favorite color?"
Gumi wanted to slam her head against a wall. "Orange and green are my favorites… I do believe that this has been covered in one of those specials in a magazine," she said flatly. "It should even be on that fan site that my manager is running."
"Right, right, Gumi-san. But I'm just asking you the questions that we've received," Ritsu shrugged, and flipped to the next card. "What is your favorite food?"
"Carrots…" If all of the questions were like this, Gumi was in for an unbearable interview.
"Describe your best date that you've had so far."
Gumi facefaultered. "Excuse me?" She frowned slightly.
Ritsu waved the card in the air and shrugged her shoulders. "That was one of the questions. 'Can you describe the best date that you've been on, Gumi-sama?'." She repeated.
The green haired girl kept her arms firmly locked across her chest. She looked away from the interviewer and stared at the ceiling. Her cheeks became a faint pink as she thought about her answer. "Er… Well, I don't really have a best date ever," she said, looking almost embarrassed. "I liked all of the ones I've been on."
"Oh, sou desu ka. I see, I see," the tawny haired girl nodded. "Well, since you don't have a favorite, wanna describe the last date you were on?"
At this, Gumi's face promptly burst into a bright shade of pink. "My last date? Uh…. It was…. Nice."
Ritsu pouted. "Aw, come on! That's not a description—"
"We went to a café, ate some sweets. I kind of left half-way through, though, when they started—Well, anyway. I ended up going to a park by myself because I got upset while we were at the café," Gumi explained, carefully avoiding the use of Miki's name. "But things ended pretty well. I think we got closer. Maybe." She looked at Ritsu and frowned. "Maybe."
"Sweet! And who'd you go on a date with?"
"None of your business."
"Right! So was it Miku-san?"
"No."
"Luka-san?"
"What? No, you buffoon."
"So maybe it was Miku-san?"
"No means no."
"Whatever happened between you and Miku-san, anyway?" The interviewer pressed onwards. "Didn't the two of you date? Why'd you guys break up?"
"That doesn't concern you," Gumi answered, her tone suddenly icy. This interview had taken a turn for the worst. If Tainaka Ritsu wasn't careful, she could very well find herself in a hospital room.
"Eh? Well… Okay, so you guys broke up."
"Yes, yes we did."
"Would date Miku-san again if you had the chance?"
Gumi shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. I… There is someone else," she answered passively.
"Who?"
"None of your business."
"Is it a boy?"
"Maybe."
"A girl?"
"… Maybe."
"It's a girl! Do we know who she is?"
Another short pause. "Possibly."
"Can you tell us?"
"No."
"Aw, okay." A shrug came from the oblivious interviewer. "What about your parents? There were rumors going around that your parents didn't approve of you and Miku. Is it because you two are both girls? How would your parents react if you dated another girl?"
From the side, Miku stiffened. Her hands clenched into fists. That was a topic that none in the house dared to bring up around Gumi. It was an incredibly sensitive subject, and had become taboo. Not even Gakupo dared to ask Gumi how her parents were doing. The only person who knew anything about Gumi's relationship with her parents was Miku. Even then, Gumi refused to talk to Miku about her parents. "Oh, no," she whispered, as she watched the costumed aviator tense in the leather arm chair. She left Luka's side and began to make her way towards the set.
"You shouldn't ask people about the intimate details of their personal life," Gumi snapped, as she stood up from her seat. "This interview is over." She left the interview area and strode past Miku in cold silence.
Miku reached out to grab Gumi's hand. "Gumi-chan, it was just an interview. Just take a deep breath—"
"Shut up and go get your interview over with," Gumi glared at her as she pulled her hand out of reach. She went and stood beside Luka.
The pinkette looked down at Gumi, an expression of extreme worry plastered onto her face. But she kept her mouth shut, knowing that Gumi would be provoked by any words of comfort…
Miku
The worried tealeatte sank into the armchair. She looked at the interviewer who sat across from her and wanted to scream at the other girl. She wanted to tell the other girl that questions like that should never be brought up; but she knew that she couldn't do that. Not only would it be extremely rude, but it wasn't Ritsu's fault. The interviewer had no idea how heavy the subject that she brought up was. With a shake of her head, Miku offered the other girl her poker face of a smile. "Hello, Ritsu-san. May we please begin the interview?"
Ritsu nodded her head and flipped through the index cards in order to find the proper set for Miku. "Right-o! First question! How are-…." She paused, looked the card over once more, and then looked back at the patiently waiting tealeatte. "How are things between you and Gumi-san?"
"Ah! Daijoubu! We're both okay," Miku laughed in an attempt to break the tension. "She and I are still best friends after everything that has happened, and I'm very thankful to have her as a friend." A smile, though it was her poker face of a smile, was on her face as she continued to speak. "Gumi-chan is easily one of the best people that I have ever met. Even though I know I make her angry, she still keeps me around as a friend."
"I know that feeling! Sometimes my best friend hits me when I say stupid things," Tainaka laughed and nodded in agreement with Miku.
"You too? Gumi-chan does the same to me!" Miku continued to giggle. "One time she threw me out of her room when I had fallen asleep studying with her! It was like I was flying through the air—Until I hit the wall, of course."
As irritated as she was, Gumi managed to roll her eyes at the laughing duo. Somehow she had a feeling that those two would get along well. Damn those idiots.
Luka looked down at Gumi. "Did… Did you really throw Miku-chan out of your room? Like… Throw her?" She asked in disbelief.
Gumi nodded.
Luka felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her head. "Note to self… Never annoy Gumi-chan," she made a mental note of this.
"But, anyway, Miku-san," Ritsu cleared her throat. "Are you interested in dating Gumi-san again? Or is that all in the past?"
Miku blinked a few times, and brought a teal polished finger to her cheek. She tapped her cheek as she pondered over the question. "Ne? Mm, I wouldn't say that I'm interested in dating her again," she replied. "I admit, she is attractive. Very attractive, but I don't think I would date her again right now. Besides, I know that the person that Gumi-chan might be interested in likes her very much." She smiled at this. "Gumi-chan is very lucky, I think."
The interviewer whistled. "Well, that's good for her!" she nodded. "So, Miku-san, we've heard about Luka-san's dates with you. Wanna talk about Luka-san? What do you like about her? I mean, you dated Gumi-san, but when you think about it, Luka-san and Gumi-san are pretty different."
"Ah, that's true," Miku nodded. "They do seem pretty different. But they have some similar qualities to them. Both of them worry about other people a lot. Gumi-chan just doesn't show it, is all," she laughed. "So it makes Gumi-chan look cold hearted, but she really isn't… Sometimes. And they both don't like the feeling of having other people worry about them." A nod of the head. "But, ah, Luka-senpai?" She paused and tapped her finger against her cheek once more. "She's kind and patient. She knows what to say to put a person at ease, and she's very genuine with her words. Luka-senpai likes to look for the best in people and that's something I really admire. Besides that, she's just very comforting to be with," Miku continued. "She's just one of those people that you can't really stay away from. At least, that's how I see it."
"Really?"
"Really. And, she has an amazing figure!" Miku giggled.
Gumi facepalmed. Of course that idiot would say something like that on camera.
Luka, on the other hand, blushed furiously.
"But before you ask, yes, I know that Lily-nee likes Luka-senpai, too," the tealette added. "I think things will work themselves out for the best, though. I'd like it if Luka-senpai and I were a couple, but, ah, if things don't work out that way…" She shrugged. "I guess things would be fine. I mean.. Lily-nee isn't a bad person—Oof!"
The teal idol was interrupted by two yellow human bullets that had tackled her from either side of the arm chair. The twins grinned and hugged their senpai.
"Miku-nee! This is a boring interview!" Kagamine Rin exclaimed, as she made herself comfortable on one armrest. She wrapped one arm around Miku's neck, and pointed at a camera. "You gotta make it exciting for the viewers!"
Len nodded in agreement, and sat on the other armrest. He un-wrapped his arms from around Miku, and rested an elbow on her shoulder. "Yeah, Miku-nee, it is kinda boring," he agreed with his sister. "Time for some excitement!"
Miku looked at the twins, and giggled. "Does that mean you two want to do your interview?"
"Duh!" The twins chorused in unison.
Rin and Len
The twins rested against Miku as they grinned stupidly at the camera. The teal haired girl simply smiled and allowed the twins to rest against her. It was no different from when the three of them used to take photo-shoots together when the twins first became Vocaloids.
The twins were dressed in matching costumes; twin vampires, if you will. Len wore a black, fitted tuxedo. The tails of the tuxedo were black, but the inside was red. Attached to the back of his jacket, by his shoulder blades, were black bat-like wings. The shirt he wore beneath his tuxedo jacket was white, and the tie was orange in the spirit of Halloween. Likewise, his sister wore a black pleated skirt with white trimmings and a white belt. The buckle of the belt was orange, as were her stockings that went mid-way up her thigh. Rin's tuxedo jacket was cropped, and the white shirt that she wore beneath it was cropped as well, exposing her stomach. The bow-tie that completed the outfit was also orange. Her bat-like wings were slightly smaller than her brothers, but she didn't seem to mind that.
Ritsu blinked a few times. She shifted through her index cards once more, and found the set labeled for the twins. But she had a feeling that it'd be more fun to wing this interview than to follow the supplied questions. "So, Rin-san, Len-san. Do you guys like living in this mansion with everyone?"
Rin put her thumb up and continued to grin. "Yup! It's a ton of fun!" she gushed. "I get to play pranks on everyone and run around and just have fun. I can stay up as late as I want and do whatever I want, whenever I want."
Len looked at his sister and then shrugged. "Yeah, like Onee-chan said, it's a lot of fun," he agreed. "We can just joke around and have fun, but, uh…" He frowned a little bit. "It can be scary sometimes."
"Scary?" Ritsu asked.
"Yeah… Like when some of our Nii-sans and Nee-sans get angry. Especially Meiko-nee and Gumi-nee," Len added, with a shiver. "They're insane! They always throw stuff at us or something." A scowl was on his face as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Nah! They're not that bad!" Rin exclaimed. "I don't usually get hurt."
"I do," Len retorted. "You use me as a human sacrifice!"
Rin blinked a few times. She nodded, and went back to grinning. "Yup, I do. And it's a lot of fun, too. Like the time that Gumi-ne threw a bar of soap at your head at supersonic speed—"
"That wasn't fun for me at all!" Her twin groaned. "Besides, didn't she roundhouse kick you into the bathtub?"
"Oh yeah…"
The twins looked at one another and collectively winced.
"Anyway," Ritsu coughed into her fist. "Wanna tell us how you feel about the love triangle that's going on?" When she received blank stares from the twin, she sighed. "You know… With Luka-san, Lily-san, and Miku-san?"
Once more, the twins met each other's gazes. It seemed that the pair were communicating through telepathy, for they both nodded and looked at Ritsu at the same time. "We don't really care anymore," they answered in unison. The elder twin threw her arms up over her head, and stretched her torso. "I mean.. Ya know, Luka-nee can date whoever she wants. Before I really wanted her to date Miku-nee, but, eh," she shrugged. "I think at this point I just want Luka-nee to hurry up and pick one of them. It's been almost two months, ya know!"
Len nodded as well. "I think Luka-nee would be happy with either of them," he added. "I mean… Lily-nee is her best friend so they already get along really well. But Miku-nee could probably help her open up more instead of being really shy and stuff." A thoughtful look came onto his face, and he looked at Miku. "Right?"
"Eh?" Miku blinked a few times. "This is your interview, Len-kun, not mine!" She smiled a little bit, and shook her head.
Ritsu looked at the trio seated on the armchair. "So… Twins… What if Miku-san dated Gumi-san again?"
The twins blinked.
"I guess that would be okay," Len began. "Miku-nee can date whoever she wants—"
"THAT'D BE GREAT!" Rin interrupted, with a wide grin on her face. "If Gumi-nee dated Miku-nee, then that means that Miki-nee can't date Gumi-nee!"
Off to the side, Gumi twitched. After all of the effort she had taken to avoid mentioning Miki's name… This blonde girl was going to get a good slap to the face.
"Miki-san is the girl that Gumi-san is interested in?" Ritsu exclaimed, with a gasp. "NO WAY!"
"YEAH!" Rin frowned. "AND I HATE IT!"
Len facepalmed, and Miku looked up at Rin with a smile on her face. She couldn't wait to hear the blonde girl explain herself.
"If Miki-nee dates Gumi-nee, then that means they'll have sleepovers with each other all of the time! Then Miki-nee can't spend time with me or Len-kun! And Miki-nee's supposed to be our Onee-chan! She's supposed to take care of us," the young blonde girl whined. "So Gumi-nee can't have her!"
The interviewer laughed at such a ludicrous response. "Well, gee, guess Gumi-san's got to compete for Miki-san's affection, huh?"
"THERE IS NO COMPETITION!" Rin roared."GUMI-NEE IS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE MIKI-NEE! EVER!"
"Ano, Rin-chan… I think you should calm down," Miku giggled. She pointed off to the side and smiled. "Miki-chan just arrived, and she looks pretty embarrassed…"
Miki
When the cameras swung around to point at the petite redhead, Miki felt her cheeks grow warm. Listening to Rin rant about her and Gumi had been embarrassing enough, but now the fact that several cameras were suddenly pointed to her while she wore this costume… True, she had asked Gumi to try the costume on back at the store, but she had no idea that her manager would pick out the very same costume for her to wear for the interview.
The fitted white dress was quite short, and her white stockings went up to her mid-thigh. She was hyper aware of how much skin was showing. The sleeves hung off from the shoulders, and were loose and flowing. Her wings were attached to the back of the dress, and a halo hung from above her head via an extremely thin wire.
Everyone in the vicinity stared at her, awestruck by just how innocent Miki looked while wearing such a revealing outfit. Gumi, especially, had been affected by the sight. The green haired girl had to turn away and cover her nose with her hands to stop the stream of blood that had gushed from her nose.
"Ah—ah—H-hello," Miki stammered, as she tugged down at the bottom of her dress in an act of self-consciousness. She slowly made her way over to the group in the interview area, and took a seat in an available armchair that had been pushed up there. She shifted uncomfortably in the seat, trying to find a way to be seated comfortably without exposing too much of her leg skin. "D-does this mean it's my turn to be interviewed?" She asked timidly, as her ruby eyes darted frantically between Ritsu's amber eyes and the video cameras.
Ritsu looked off stage at the director, who simply shrugged and nodded for her to carry on. "Uh—Yeah! Sure, Miki-san! It's your turn!"
Miku grabbed onto the twin's hands and stood up. "Come on, let's let Miki-chan have her interview~" she sang, as she tugged the twins away from the view of the cameras. Although the twins may have been struggling in her grip (or maybe it was only Rin that was protesting), Miku kept a firm grip on their wrists until they were safely out of the camera's watchful gaze. She released them, and took her place between Gumi and Luka. The twins scampered off to the snack table to sulk while eating sweets.
Everyone's focus went back onto the uncomfortable Miki, who was nervously trying to untangle her ahoge from her halo. "Nn…" Her face became a darker shade of red once she realized that everyone was watching her. The ahoge sprung free from the halo, and she quickly set her hands down, and clutched the end of her dress.
Ritsu was having a hard time resisting picking on the poor girl. "Wow, moe, moe, kyuuuun!" She sang, with a chuckle.
Miki gulped, and simply gave Ritsu a nerve-wracked smile. "Ano… R-Ritsu-san, the interview…?"
"Oh, right," Ritsu laughed and picked up the first card. "How do you feel about the Kagamines adopting you as their older sister figure?"
Miki relaxed a bit. At least her first question was something she could easily talk about. "I don't mind being their Onee-san while we live together. It's kind of flattering, really," she admitted. "I try and keep them from doing anything too crazy, but I guess I'm not doing a very good job at that." An easy smile was on her face now that she felt more comfortable with the situation. "But I do enjoy having them sleepover in my room even when it isn't a hall sleepover night. It's fun."
"Ah, gotcha, gotcha," Ritsu nodded. "So… What do you think about what the twins said? About you dating Gumi-san?"
The blush jumped back onto Miki's cheeks. "Ah—M-me and G-Gumi-nee?" she stammered. "D-d-d-dating? That's—Well, I mean—I'd like that—But—I don't—Maybe—Ah?" She covered her face with her hands, and pressed herself as far back into her seat as humanly possible. There was a long pause as she tried to recompose herself. After taking a deep breath, one ruby eye peeked out from behind her fingers. "I'd like it if we dated…" she whispered. "I do like Gumi-nee a lot…"
Instantly, Miku and Luka looked at Gumi to see how the green haired girl would respond. They both smiled when they noticed that Gumi was blushing and staring at the floor.
Ritsu blinked a few times. "That's.. Great, but that wasn't the question…." She held back a laugh. "But, ah, okay then."
Miki nodded, and bit her bottom lip. She kept her face hidden behind her hands.
"So… If you like Gumi-san, does that mean you're over Iroha-san?" Ritsu asked, as she looked over her notecards. Yes, there was a question about Miki's former crush.
"Huh?" Miki continued to peek between her fingers at the interviewer. "I-Iroha-senpai?" She repeated, a little surprised that the cat-like singer would be mentioned. "I-…. N-no," she mumbled. "I'm not over her completely…"
Miku felt her heart sink. This was unexpected. Extremely so. She had thought that the redhead had moved on. This could be trouble. She glanced at Gumi to see how her friend would take this new information.
Gumi had tensed and her emerald eyes had gone from gazing at the floor to staring at Miki. It seemed like the green haired girl was not enjoying the fact that there may be a rival for Miki's affection.
"Seriously?" Ritsu fake gasped. "That's… Surprising. Sort of. Not really. You seem like the type that would take a while to get over someone, eh?" She shrugged and flipped to the next card. "So if you had to pick between Gumi-san and Iroha-san, who would it be?"
Miku's mind began to race, and she was mentally screaming at Miki not to answer the question. If Miki said 'Iroha', she knew that Gumi would instantly decide that Miki may have been messing around with her emotions. The last thing she wanted was to see Gumi get hurt, and she definitely did not want to see Gumi build more walls up.
The ahoge'd angel slowly put her hands down, and took a deep breath. Her ruby eyes were gazing down at her lap as she seriously considered her answer to the question. "I… Do I have to answer this?" She asked, as she timidly looked back at Ritsu.
"It'd be great if you did, but I guess you don't have to answer," Ritsu replied passively. "I mean, you don't wanna disappoint the fans, right?" She gave Miki a devilish grin, knowing that the innocent girl would fall for the guilt trip.
"Ah.. R-right," Miki agreed. "I guess… If I had to pick…"
Gumi's hands clenched into fists.
Miku held her breath, and continued to silently scream at the younger Vocaloid. "Don't answer, Miki-chan! Don't answer! And if you do answer, please say Gumi-chan… Please, please, please…" she thought to herself in a desperate frenzy.
"I guess I'd pick—"
"Nya~ Me, right?" Nekomura Iroha suddenly sauntered onto the filming set, and promptly sat down on Miki's lap. She gave the camera a cat-like smile, winked, and looked back at Miki. "Hiya, Miki-chan!"
Miki's face went back to being bright red. Her mouth opened and closed incoherently and she stared at the girl on her lap. "What are you—Why—I—How did you even get here—Or, better yet, why are you here-?"
Iroha pressed a finger against the stuttering girl's lips, successfully silencing the blushing Miki. "Nya, nya, Miki-chan!" She continued to give Miki a Cheshire cat grin. "It doesn't really matter how I got here, or why I'm here," she said airily, with a mew. "But if you really want to know, I was invited here!"
"By who?" Gumi hissed under her breath as she glared at Iroha from across the room.
Miku looked at Gumi, clearly worried that things may go horribly wrong within a few seconds. "Easy, Gumi-chan. Iroha-san might be joking around—"
"Damare!" Gumi snapped back at her friend, arms folded across her chest. She watched as Iroha rubbed her nose into Miki's cheek.
Miki jerked back, and pressed herself against the leather backing of the armchair. This was no interview. This must have been a set-up or something! "I-Iroha-senpai, could you please get off of my lap?" She asked, as she stared into the golden eyes of the cat-like girl.
Iroha laughed, and shook her head no. "How about you answer the question, first? Me or Gumi-san, ne?"
Ritsu blinked. "Yeah! The question! I wanna know your answer, too, Miki-san!" She exclaimed. "And I bet all of your fans are dying to know, too!"
Under the sudden pressure, Miki felt herself begin to cave. She had to answer now that everyone was expecting her to. It would be wrong for her to ignore them, right? "I—That is—I s-suppose I would—Maybe—Ah, but-," she stumbled over her words. "M-maybe… I'd pick—mm?"
Her words were interrupted by a sudden kiss from Iroha. Ruby eyes widened and then squeezed shut, and her cheeks jumped from pink to scarlet in an instant. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, screaming at her to pull away from the kiss, or even deepen it. Miki was conflicted and had no idea what to do. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she knew she couldn't escape from the kiss. After all, Iroha had her trapped between the seat and the cat girl herself. There was no escaping the kiss.
And as conflicted as she was, Miki couldn't deny that she liked the kiss. It was different from the kisses she had with Gumi. Iroha was more demanding and more urgent with the kiss where Gumi was cautious and gentle. The redhead had no idea which kiss she preferred, and the thought terrified and enthralled her. Was this how Luka felt, knowing that both Miku and Lily were fighting for her affections? Did Luka feel the same rush that she was currently feeling?
Miki wasn't sure what the answers were to those questions. But she was sure of one thing. She really did enjoy this kiss. She was reluctant to return the kiss for her feelings for Gumi were strong. Thoughts of the cold, but caring, green haired girl continued to jump to the forefront of her mind; but her instincts and carnal desires somehow managed to shove Gumi to the back of her thoughts every time. It wasn't long before her conscious mind lost to her instincts, and her lips began to move despite her better judgement.
When Iroha noticed that Miki was hesitantly returning the kiss, she smirked.
Mission accomplished.
Ritsu and the other studio members whistled and watched, unable to figure out what the right course of action was.
Miku watched in absolute horror. This was wrong. Everything was going horribly wrong. With Iroha here, there was no way Miku could possibly unite Gumi and Miki; and the scene that took place before them was concrete proof. No, Miku was sure that Miki would regret this, but… Regretting the act did not mean that Gumi would be okay with all of this. The tealeatte was positive that Gumi would snap Iroha's neck, avoid Miki, or it could even be a combination of the two. And all of those were equally unpleasant. She turned her teal eyes to look at her best friend. "Gumi-chan?"
The aviator tore her emerald eyes away from the kissing couple on the armchair and glared into Miku's teal eyes. "What? That? That doesn't bother me at all," Gumi snorted, as she turned her back to Miku. "So what? I knew something like that would happen in the end. My parents left me, you left me, and now Miki left me. I knew I couldn't trust anyone." She stormed off heading towards the staircase.
"Gumi-chan! Chotto matte!" Miku called out as she began to take off after her friend, but was halted by a tug on the arm. Her wrist was locked in a tight hold, and she whipped her head around to glare at the one who had dared to stop her from comforting her best friend. "Luka-senpai?" Her glare vanished and she gave the older girl a frantic look. "Let me go! I need to go after her!"
"No… Miku-chan," Luka shook her head sadly, and sighed. "You can't. She needs time to clearly think things through." She looked pained, as if she didn't want to say this. "I think… I don't think that that was supposed to happen. And you know Miki-chan. Miki-chan wouldn't—She wouldn't be so quick to abandon Gumi-chan."
"I know that, but Gumi-chan doesn't know that!" Miku's voice jumped an octave as she spoke in frenzy. "I need to tell her—This is a mistake—It should have never happened!"
Luka gave Miku a sad, sympathetic smile. "I know, Miku-chan, I know. But if you go and try to talk to Gumi-chan now, do you think she would answer?"
"Yes-…. No…. No, Gumi-chan wouldn't…"
"Exactly… Maybe tomorrow you can talk to her…"
Miku looked at Luka, and then at Iroha and Miki. It would seem that during her brief exchange with Gumi, the kiss had been broken. "Maybe… I just hope it isn't too late by then—" She was interrupted by the laughter that came from Iroha.
"That was fun, ne, Miki-chan?" The pony-tailed girl exclaimed, as she stood up from Miki's lap.
Miki gulped and looked away from Iroha, refusing to answer the question. Her ruby eyes wandered, and she met the gaze of her teal haired friend. Those teal eyes told her everything. Miku was upset… And Gumi was upset.
The redhead felt her heart drop, and she quickly looked down at her lap.
After a long, awkward silence, Ritsu cleared her throat. "Uh… Guess that's all the time we have left for this interview," she said quickly, as she forced a smile on her face. "Hope all of you out there enjoyed our segment with the Vocaloids! SEE YA!"
The two walked away from the set after Ritsu's dismissal, and each wore vastly different expressions. The short haired brunette had a triumphant look on her face, and she walked with a spring in her step. Beside her, the long haired blonde was blank-faced.
"That worked out perfectly, huh, Lily-san?" Meiko sang. "Did you see the way Gumi reacted? She just got up and left!" She began to laugh.
Lily glanced at the brunette, and her deep blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah, I saw. Miku got pretty upset, too," she added. "But… I dunno.. This seems kinda wrong."
"It's too late for you to back out on it now," Meiko pointed out, with a shrug of her shoulders. Shoved her thumbs into the front pockets of her black shorts and began to whistle. "We called Iroha over, told her to do something crazy, and BAM. She comes up with that! I swear, that kid's a genius!"
"Right…" Lily tore her gaze away from the clearly elated girl that walked beside her. "You're right… It's too late to say 'sorry' after all of that. Oh well. I guess this means I can focus on trying to win Luka-chan now."
When she heard Lily fold and agree to what she had said, Meiko smirked. "Exactly. You're on your way to victory, kid."
Note: It's the end of the chapter. Oh man. That was long. 12,772 words at the moment, and I still have to reply to reviews! xD;; I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing to read through, but, ah, I think it's a pretty important chapter, none the less. And I hope it gave you some more insight into the characters relationships with one another, as well as a better look at their personalities as well!
Reviewer replies:
PaperCutVictim: See! I told you someone would want to hurt Meiko after that chapter. I just… wasn't expecting it to be you LOL. And I agree. Len will have to go through therapy by the time we're both done with our stories! XD
Jak656: Ah, no! I'm sorry for the confusion. OTL Miku doesn't keep her diary in the library, but she writes in it while she's there, since she's normally the only one who ever uses the room. But thank you for reading and reviewing! I appreciate that you always leave a review! :D
LukaFan: Yeah, I felt like Meiko needed to try and seek revenge on Gumi at some point in time, and it turned out that now was a good time for her to seize that opportunity. xD; And no, I don't think I have heard any of his songs. What songs did he compose?
Neko-Kath-01: I agree, they all need to chill out. XD But I mean… I wrote the story to be pretty dramatic. OTL I like the pairings that you've come up with, though! I'm sure there are plenty of people who would agree (or even disagree) with the couples you've chosen! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Chinesis' Fan: Oh boy… If Luka finds out…. XD;; Guess you'll just have to wait and see what happens! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Meislovely: Ah, poor Ao-chan! Such an uke! Kawaii! And, hey, guys, you can have all of Meiko's booze. We all know that she doesn't need it!
Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D Much appreciated!
AltairSV: Yup! You're right! Gakupo and Kaito have a bet on who ends up dating Luka in the end! :D Glad to see that you remembered that bit! But the twins are NEUTRAL at this point. They'll help out whoever as long as they get something in return. I'm really happy to hear that you enjoy the story so much! ;w; Thank you so much for your support!
(I can also relate to Miku's pokerface as well. I can be pretty guarded about how I feel as well.)
ANYWAY! I'd really like to thank you all for your support! :D I really appreciate it, and it makes me feel great knowing that all of you read the story.
If there's any flaws in my writing that you'd like to point out, please, please, please leave a review and let me know what I can improve on. (:
I'm going to do my best to keep this story interesting for all of you. So please bear with me until we reach the end of Slice of Life together!
See you all in the next chapter!