Vocaloid:

The Case of the Cracked Onion

Written by: Nonya B. Swackz

Disc.: The Vocaloid program and characters belong to YAMAHA Corporation and Crypton Future Media, Inc.

The golden apple, a gleaming sphere of temptation, wobbled precariously in Rin's hand.

"Just one more juggle," she muttered, her eyes fixed on the airborne fruit.

Meanwhile, Len was attempting to balance a teetering stack of sheet music on his head, his face a mask of strained concentration.

"Rin, you're going to make me drop these!" Len warned, his voice wavering. "And if I drop these, I'll have to rearrange them alphabetically by composer, and you know how long that takes!"

Ignoring her twin, Rin tossed the apple higher, a mischievous glint in her eyes. But the apple seemingly had other plans. It bounced off Len's head with a resounding thwack, sending the sheet music scattering like autumn leaves. Then, with the chaotic energy of a rogue bowling ball, it careened towards the shelf where Miku's prized Golden Onion award, a gleaming gold record, sat proudly.

CRACK!

The sound echoed through the eerily tidy living room. Rin and Len froze, their eyes widening in horror. The Golden Onion lay shattered on the floor, a glittering heap of gold-painted plastic.

"…Did…did that just…?" Rin whispered, her voice barely audible.

Len picked up a shard, his expression grim. "Oh crap, we broke it. We really broke it."

Panic set in. Miku was due back from the recording studio any minute. They had to fix it.

"Ok, ok, don't panic," Rin said, her voice rising. "We can fix this! We'll just…glue it back together!"

"With what?" Len asked, his voice laced with despair. "Superglue? Glitter? My spare hair clips?"

"All of the above!" Rin declared, grabbing a bottle of superglue. "Plus, that gold spray paint Meiko keeps in her…uh…'emergency karaoke supplies' closet!"

A flurry of frantic activity ensued. Rin, covered in gold spray paint, resembled a gilded statue. Len, tangled in glitter, looked like he'd wrestled a disco ball and lost. The record, now a lumpy, glittering mess, was a testament to their disastrous efforts.

"It looks…abstract," Len said, surveying their handiwork.

"It looks like a golden porcupine had a fight with a gluestick!" Rin retorted. "We need a plan B!"

Just then, the front door swung open, revealing Kaito, holding a suspiciously large bag of ice cream.

"Hey, guys! Miku-chan asked me to drop off…what happened here? Did a golden tornado hit?"

Rin and Len, their faces a mixture of guilt and desperation, recounted the tale of the runaway apple and the shattered award.

"Oh no! She'll be devastated!" Kaito exclaimed. "Wait…I have an idea."

He rummaged through his bag, pulling out a giant, gold-wrapped ice cream cake. "We'll say it's a Golden Onion cake! A special celebratory dessert!"

They quickly shoved the broken record behind the couch and replaced it with the cake. Just as they finished, Miku walked in, her brow furrowed.

"I'm back! And…what's with the gold cake?"

"Uh…surprise!" Rin stammered, sweating profusely. "We were celebrating…your amazing…ability to…sing about onions?"

"It's a metaphor!" Len added, nodding vigorously. "For your…layered talent!"

Miku eyed them suspiciously. "Layered talent? And why are you both covered in glitter and gold spray paint?"

The tension thickened as Meiko and Luka entered, Meiko immediately noticing her missing gold spray paint.

"Hey, I'm missing my gold spray paint! Did you two…" she trailed off, spotting the cake and the glittery chaos. "Oh my goodness, what did you do?"

Luka smiled sweetly. "It appears the twins have created a performance art piece entitled The Fragile Nature of Golden Awards and the Unpredictability of Ice Cream."

Miku sighed, her gaze fixed on the twins. "Just…tell me the truth."

Rin and Len confessed, their voices a mix of guilt and desperation. To their surprise, Miku burst out laughing.

"You two! I can't believe you tried to replace my award with an ice cream cake!"

"So…you're not mad?" Rin asked, her voice trembling.

"A little," Miku admitted. "But honestly, this is the funniest thing that's happened all week. Besides, I have a backup Golden Onion in my studio. This one was just a prop."

Rin and Len stared at her, their jaws dropped.

"A prop?" Len echoed.

"We nearly had a heart attack over a prop?" Rin added.

"Yep!" Miku said, grinning. "Now, who wants some Golden Onion cake?"

The tension dissolved into laughter as everyone gathered around the cake. Rin and Len exchanged a sheepish glance. They had learned a valuable lesson: Miku's sense of humor was as unpredictable as a runaway golden apple, and sometimes, even a golden disaster could lead to a sweet ending.