Disclaimer: I do not own VOCALOID :)

Chapter Four:

The Inevitable Meeting of Two Souls

~RIN~

I didn't know where else to go.

The coach left me here in town and quickly sped off back to the manor. Mistress Miku left me with only a meagre sum of money, enough for food and water that would last for two days. I had to find another job soon before I ran out of money. But where could I work in? Len was the one who took me to work for Mistress Miku so finding a job by myself would be a new experience for me. It was a mistake to rely on Len all the time. My complete reliance on him made me unable to make my own decisions; always relying on him for the right advice was a bad idea.

"Flowers! Beautiful flowers for sale!" A lady shouted energetically while the man next to her was giving flowers to every person that passed by. The man's blue eyes suddenly locked with mine and then as if by instinct he left the woman and ran to me. He brought with him a blue-white flower with yellow markings on it. He then handed it to me and smiled.

"Please take it, the name of the flower is Euphrasia and it means to "Cheer Up" don't wallow in the sadness miss. Be optimistic and try your best to look into a good future." I took the flower and watched as the man ran back to the woman and then started giving away more flowers to the people. I caressed the flowers petals with my finger and walked back towards the pair as they started to open their shop.

"Oh so you came back miss? Care to buy another bunch of Euphrasia, I can tell you're finally lightening up." The man grinned as I walked inside the shop. The shop smelled of fresh flowers and the colour was so light and beautiful it made me easily feel at home. The man sat next to the woman by the counter, both holding a bouquet of flowers ordered by a couple. The woman turned to me and smiled as well.

"So Kaito you've managed to attract another customer."

"Oh no, I came by here of my own free will." I replied and the man named Kaito laughed.

"See Meiko! I would never use my charms to cheat on you." Meiko hit him on the head with a bunch of flowers. It didn't hurt the man but the sight of him covered in flowers made everyone in the shop laugh.

"So what did you come here for then miss?" Meiko asked me. I did come here of my own free will but I really don't know why came here. I could only stare at her for a long time. And just as if reading my mind, Kaito stood up from his spot and looked at Meiko.

"She must be looking for a job Meiko." Meiko turned to me waiting for an answer.

"Umm… I really am looking for a job. I'm good at growing flowers so I can help you with caring for them while you mind the shop. I was also a maid once so I have a huge experience when it comes to cleaning up." I blurted out. I wasn't expecting an easy yes from them. It was a good experience to be rejected once; it made you more determined at what you did. Meiko and Kaito looked at each other and then laughed loudly, surprising the customers.

"Fine you're hired! Welcome to the Flowers of Hope." I smiled and nodded in reply.

"Arigatou Gozaimasu! I'm Rin a pleasure to meet you." A ray of hope was given to me and I seized it. For the first time, I can finally walk towards a better future.

I was easily accepted by kind strangers I can now call my new family.

~MIKU~

It seemed cruel of Len to fire Rin.

If only mother and father did not side with him then maybe Rin would still be here. I regretted that Rin had to leave; she was one of my best maids and one of my best friends.

"Mistress Miku…Master Len, tea is served." Cheska placed the tray of jasmine tea before taking her leave. I drank the tea but it was missing something…

"Rin always made the best tea for me; Cheska could never replace her when it came to tea-making." I complained as I placed the cup back on the table. Len finished his tea and returned the cup on the table.

"Well you have to start getting used to Cheska's cooking then."

"How can you be so cruel Len? Rin was your childhood friend and you just set her aside as if she was someone else." I replied angrily. Len looked at me a bit surprised and then looked away as if embarrassed of his actions.

"How can you expect me to forgive someone who almost killed you? I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you Miku. I thought it best for your sake."

"For my sake Len or for yours? She would never hurt anyone Len, she was just doing her job and it just happened. You can't expect her to rewind time and prevent it." I pointed out which made Len quiet. I hoped for Len to see reason. To see that it was a mistake to cut off such a great bond. The look on Rin's face on the day she left made me realize she deserved to be forgiven.

She was not only Len's friend but mine as well.

"What's done is done Miku…Even if you make your parents see reason and forgive her, you'll never be able to get me to see it. I would never risk it, losing you is like losing half of my soul. I'm sorry Miku but my decision is final." Len got up and left me to my thoughts. Persuading him was hard but I refused to give up. He will see that I was right.

-Flashback-

"Miku this here is the son of Valice's Duke, his name is Len and I hope you two become great friends." Father nudged the blonde-haired boy forward. It was love at first sight. The moment father introduced him; I knew he was the Prince of my dreams.

"Neh~ Len tell me is it beautiful there in Valice?" I asked but Len was so busy drawing on his sketchpad that he could only nod in reply. I pouted and grabbed the sketch pad from him. I always hated it when someone ignored me. I was always pampered that the slight act of ignoring me would make me irritated.

"Hey! I was drawing." He tried to get the pad back but my hands were quick.

"Well come and get it!" I then took off. I was always fast at running and by the looks of it; Len was not that good in running. He was panting even if we've only ran for about ten minutes but the determination in his eyes showed he refused to give up. I decided to climb a tree and hide there while Len was down below calling for my name.

"Onegai Miku! Give it back." Len cried out which made me curious. I wonder why he wanted this back so much. I opened the pad and saw a drawing of a young girl grinning while hugging a cat. I flipped the page and again it was the same girl, this time she was seated by the window sill of house. All the pages were pictures of her, whether she was happy, sad or annoyed. It made me jealous that this girl was in every page of Len's pad. Was she truly this important to him?

"There you are! Give it back Miku." I looked down and found Len trying to climb the tree. I panicked and suddenly I lost balance. I tried to grip for the branch but the branch was too small it easily broke. I closed my eyes waiting for death when suddenly I felt myself land on something.

"Ow…" I opened my eyes and I saw that I landed on Len's back. Did he just save me? It made me feel guilty now about stealing his pad. I then helped him up and gave him back the pad. He eyed cautiously for a minute but I assured him that he had nothing to worry about.

"I owe you my life Len so to return the favour you can have it back."

"What did you see?" He asked when he took it from me. I just shrugged and said about the drawing of the girl. Len then sat below the tree while I sat next to him and pointed at the portrait of the girl when Len opened his pad.

"Who is she Len?" I asked back curiously. Len adjusted the fringes of the girl's bangs and then turned to me as he closed the pad.

"A childhood friend of mine."

"What's her name?" I asked again. So Len had a childhood friend then. I wonder what she's like. Is she really that important to have one whole sketch pad dedicated to her?

"Her name is Rin. She was an orphan my father took in during one of his trips. She's pretty much like a sister to me." I sighed in relief. So he only considered her a sister then. It made me feel reassured then that Len didn't think of her as more than that. But just to be sure I wanted to meet her.

"When the time comes Len, would you let me meet this Rin then?" Len grinned and nodded.

"I'm sure she'd love to meet you Miku! You're both rowdy so you'll get along very well." I hit Len on the head and laughed. "We'll make sure then that you'll get punished for mocking us." I then stuck out my tongue and ran again with Len chasing me.

Rin huh? I wonder if we'd get along well.

-End-

I giggled at the thought. Those times I was always jealous when Len talked of no one else but Rin. I hated her but when we met personally I started to think of her more of a friend than a rival. It touched me that Len loved me this much but if it was in expense of Rin's happiness it only made me feel rotten inside.

This was not the kind of happiness I wanted.

~RIN~

"This one should be planted exactly on the 3rd day of spring; if you plant them too early or too late then they won't grow tall enough by the time summer comes." Meiko explained while she handed me the packet of seeds which I placed in the pocket of my apron. It was my first day working for Meiko and Kaito and I was determined to impress them.

"I'll leave you to tend to the Jasmines while I go back to the shop and make sure Kaito's selling and not stalling." I nodded in reply as Meiko left the greenhouse. It may be smaller than the conservatory back in the manor but the flowers here were of more variety than those back at the manor. It was true that I missed the times when Miku would always teach me how to tend the flowers in the conservatory and how she'd cut off some and give them to Len. I gave him a bouquet of Chrysanthemum once since it said in the book that it meant as a sign that he was a wonderful friend to me. Len only smiled as he accepted them. I was happy at the thought but I knew he loved the flowers Miku gave him rather than mine. If Len could never love my flowers more than Miku's then why not let other people love them instead.

"When did I make a mistake? If I turned back time could it possibly have a different result? I've already started thinking about it..." I was busy singing when suddenly the sound of pots shattering echoed in the conservatory making me stop.

"Ouch!" I went to the source of the noise and found a boy covered in soil. He had snow white hair and both his eyes didn't have the same colour, one was green while the other was light blue. I wonder how this boy ended up here. Meiko never mentioned another person living with them. The boy seemed too old to be their son, so who could he be.

"Um… Who are you?" I asked. The boy turned to face me with a quizzical look on his face.

"I should be asking you that question. Since this conservatory belongs to my sister."

"So Meiko is your sister then? I don't actually see the resemblance." I replied. Meiko never mentioned a brother to me. Maybe she was too busy to tell me. The boy scowled at my comment and got up.

"We may not look alike but she's my sister no matter what you say. Besides what are you even doing here?"

"Well I was hired about a day ago to care for the plants." I replied, trying to act polite. The boy looked at me doubtfully.

"Really now? Well then if my sister hired you then you should at least know the name of her brother."

"Which is?" I asked and the boy bowed and smiled.

"Piko…My name is Piko."

HIYA! I just didn't check my account for a day or two and when I did I was surprised to see 53 reviews! So I had to update

Till we meet again!

-xXGemini14Xx-