Hi everyone! AoiCherry here, and I'm back with chapter 4! I hope you guys will enjoy reading this chapter too, and it's a little longer as well. Enjoy reading, and please review too!

Beauty in Rags

Chapter 4: Enjoyment Conquers Nervousness

The morning after the first round of the audition, Meiko brought an envelope from her mailbox to Rin and Miku during breakfast. "It's from Crypton. Open it," the brunette urged.

Rin nodded towards Miku, telling her to open the envelope. The tealette gulped once and started tearing the seal. Then she, Rin, and Meiko leaned over to read the results.

"We…We passed! It said we passed right?" Miku asked.

"You definitely did! Congratulations you two!" Meiko congratulated.

"Thanks!" Miku and Rin said at the same time.

"So now you have today and tomorrow to practice your song," Meiko reminded.

"Miku and I are already done with the instrumentals," Rin said. "All we have to do now is to practice singing together again, with the instrumentals."

"Happy practicing, you two. I'm looking forward to your final product," said Meiko. The three of them finished up their breakfast, then Rin and Miku headed to their room while Meiko cleaned up the plates.

"Len, Len, we're going on to the second round!" Rin squealed after she called Len.

"Congrats!" Len replied. "Piko, Rin said they got through the first round… Piko said congrats too, Rin."

"Thank you," Rin thanked. "Miku and I are thinking of practicing both today and tomorrow, but after the second round, we can meet up again."

"Yeah, you two should focus on the audition right now. I'll text you the times and days that I'll be free," Len said. "Actually, Kaito was thinking about treating you and Miku right after the second round. What do you say?"

"Sounds good!" Rin replied. "I'll see you after our audition then." After that, Rin and Len hung up at the same time.

"You and Len have been talking on the phone a lot more often," Miku commented. "What if you two started dating?"
"That's not possible," Rin rejected. "I'm just a model for him."

Miku raised an eyebrow after she spotted Rin's pink cheeks, then she grinned. "Oh? Are you sure you want to just be his 'model'?"

"Okay, let's drop this. We need to practice." Rin quickly changed the subject and turned on Piko's iPad to load the instrumental for their song.

Two days passed by quickly, and soon, Rin and Miku were back at the Crypton building. They already memorized the way there, so they went by themselves since Meiko left early, claiming that she had something to take care of. "Ready? Did you bring your lucky mike?" Miku asked Rin.

The blond girl put her right hand in her small bag and clutched a small toy microphone inside. She then took a deep breath, breathed out, and nodded. "Ready, and yes, it's in my bag." The two girls then walked into the building, waited for a while, then followed a staff member to the waiting area.

Once everyone was present in the waiting area, the staff member started handing out circular cards with numbers on them. "These numbers show the order in which you will go inside by. Number 1 will enter first. Wait for the light at the top of the door to turn green, then enter. Once the door closes, the light will turn red, and no one else will be able to enter. After number 1 has finished, he will leave from another door and number 2 won't be able to enter until the light turns green again, and the door opens," the staff member explained. "Only three groups will be able to pass. I wish you all good luck." The staff member then left the waiting room.

A few moments later, the light above the door turned green, and person number 1 entered the next room. "Do you think we're the only duo in here?" Rin quietly asked Miku, who was holding a card labeled "4".

"There aren't that many people here in the first place, but I think they're mostly solo singers," Miku answered just as quietly. "I think I saw another duo and one trio though." Miku's eyes darted around and spotted two girls huddled together and three men sitting on the floor together.

Some time passed, and after numbers 2 and 3 finished their auditions, Miku and Rin waited for the light to turn green. Once it did, the two of them breathed in, then breathed out, took each other's hand, and walked in the room.

"Number 4, Miku and Rin Hatsune," a familiar voice announced. Rin and Miku looked at the panel of judges and kept staring.

"Meiko and Kaito?" Rin whispered.

"They're judging too? No wonder Meiko refused to listen to us practice," Miku quietly told Rin. Apart from Meiko and Kaito, Rin and Miku didn't know the other three judges.

One of the other judges, mentally dubbed four-eyes by Miku, spoke, "First question is for Miku Hatsune. Why did you want to take this audition?"

Miku answered, "I've always loved singing and dancing. Ever since I was little, singing had been my solace. It was the only thing I had during times when I thought it was better for me to just disappear." The tealette's once smiling expression quickly changed into a more solemn one. "Also there were times when I thought I had nothing important enough in my life, but whenever I see someone performing or whenever I sang to myself, I thought, 'I'm glad to be able to sing. I want to continue singing.' Then I met Rin and found out that she loves to sing too, so we became fast friends. Long story short, I want to spread my love for singing to the world, along with Rin, since she was the first person I ever sang seriously and passionately with."

The judges nodded as they listened to Miku's answer. The judges then kept bombarding Rin and Miku with questions, including their experience in performances and whether or not they wrote their own songs. "So the piece you're going to perform for us is your own work?" Judge Four-Eyes asked.

"Yes. It's the very first song Rin and I composed and it holds a very special place in our hearts. It's titled 'Promise'," Miku answered.

"Let's hear it then," Kaito urged. On cue, the instrumental version Rin and Miku created started playing in the room. The two girls took their places and started dancing to the tune.

When I touched your wound, you were shaking slightly

Not knowing where to go, you were looking at the distant sky

It's not like I want the answer to the pain in my heart

As long as you're here I just need to fulfill my promise

The judges, along with Kaito and Meiko listened to their song intently, paying attention to the lyrics as well, noting how meaningful they were.

The motionless feelings will go with the tomorrow we'll spend together

There is a thing that blocks that light, I will flick it away

The breaking world is now starting to show the meaning of "echo"

I make an oath in my heart to protect you, forever...

The song ended and the girls ended their performance in their finishing pose. Kaito and Meiko started clapping and the other judges, awed by their performance, quickly snapped out of their stupor and clapped along with Kaito and Meiko. "I can tell by the lyrics that you two are very important to each other," Meiko commented, smiling. "Like you said, this song must be very special to you two."

"Thank you very much for participating in the audition, and congratulations for getting this far," the judge with the glasses concluded. "We will notify you of the results in two days."

"Thank you very much!" Rin and Miku simultaneously thanked and bowed. The two of them then exited the room.

"I thought that went well," Miku commented while she and Rin walked toward the train station. "We definitely nailed our song!"

"We did!" Rin cheered. "Hopefully we'll make it to the top three!"

"I'm sure we will, Rin," Miku reassured.

As they were walking back to the train station, Rin's cell phone beeped. She checked her phone and said, "It's a message from Len. 'How was your audition?' he said."

"How did he know we'd finish at this time?" Miku commented, looking over Rin's shoulder at the message.

"Probably from Kaito." Rin then typed. " 'We just finished. Miku and I both think we nailed it!' And…sent!"

"Is it just me or have you and Len been texting each other a lot lately?" Miku wondered with a sly grin.

"Well, we kinda have been in touch a lot more, but that's also mostly because of Len's manga. We talk about plot and character ideas and Miku, I can tell you that Len's manga will make it big," Rin rambled excitedly.

"Well aren't you enthusiastic about him?" Miku teased.

"It's not just him though, it's his manga," Rin mumbled, slightly embarrassed. Rin's phone beeped once again. She checked the message and read aloud, "That's great! If you don't mind Rin, can you come by my dorm for a while?"

Rin looked at Miku and the tealette said, "Just go. I can go back by myself." The two of them had already arrived at the train station and Rin took a look at the train schedule.

Rin typed an "ok" to Len, then she took out her lucky toy microphone out of her bag and handed it to Miku. "Can you take it back home with you? I don't want to lose it."

"Sure no problem." Miku took the mike and put it in her bag. "Have fun with Len!" Miku said, then got onto a train that just stopped while Rin waited for another train; one that would stop at the station near Len's dorm.

Once Rin arrived at Len's doorstep, she knocked a couple of times and a slightly weary Len answered the door. "Come in," he invited.

"You're looking a little pale," Rin observed. "Didn't you sleep well?"

"I was up all night sketching a rough outline of some pages. I wanted to show them to you as soon as possible," Len answered with a smile.

"I'm honored that you wanted me to see them so fast," Rin teased. As she followed Len to his desk, she also greeted Piko, who was, as usual, in front of his computer. Len showed her the pages he sketched out after Rin sat on his bed. She then looked through them carefully, fascinated by the drawings.

"They're just rough outlines, so they're not that good, but what do you think about them?" Len asked.

"…Your rough sketches don't even look like rough sketches. They're really good! I should ask you to teach me how to draw sometime!" Rin gushed as she examined the pages.

"You're giving me too much credit. One of the main reasons I could come up with this many ideas was because of you too, y'know," Len said.

"I just contributed some ideas to you, and that was only a couple of days ago through text," Rin said.

"You still helped me out a lot. Plus having you as a model was also a great inspiration," Len praised.

Rin's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Thanks Len, but you're plenty talented too." Rin suddenly had an idea. "Hey, why don't you teach me how to draw something right now?"

The blond boy blinked once, a little surprised, but then happily agreed. "Sure. I can teach you the basics of drawing manga characters."

"Yay! Thanks! So, so, what's the first step, teacher?" Rin enthusiastically asked. Len then took out his sketchbook and tore off a sheet of paper. Then he gave Rin a pencil, sat down beside her on his bed, and started teaching her the basics of drawing.

"It seems…strange," Rin commented while looking at her drawing. "Who am I kidding, it's horrible! The lines are all scribbly and nothing's proportional…"

"Practice makes perfect. You'll get the hang of it if you keep practicing," Len reassured while patting Rin's head.

Rin sighed. "Sorry I'm such a bad student."

"You'll improve, don't worry," Len said.

"Wow, that is horrible," Piko commented, suddenly crouching in front of Rin and Len.

"I knooooowww," Rin drawled. "I'm horrible at drawing." Rin's eyes then wandered to Piko's computer screen. "What's that on your screen?"

"Ah, it's an MMORPG game. Do you wanna try playing?" Piko offered. "Maybe you'll be a better gamer than an artist."

Rin pouted but then retorted, "Teach me how to play and I'll kick your butt at it!"

"Sure, sure," Piko said, unfazed.

Interested in how Rin will fare, Len also watched Piko teach Rin the basics of playing the game. The blond boy took notice of Rin's various expressions; one of curiosity, of amazement, of happiness, and of frustration. When her avatar died in the game, the blond girl pouted, hung her head, then plopped her head down onto Piko's keyboard, which caused the silver haired boy to chastise her. Len chuckled while watching Rin's expressions and soon, he found himself not being able to keep his eyes off her.

"Heh, she's so into the game. I kind of wish she would be as interested in drawing too," Len thought. "Ah, she died again…haha, I can never get tired of her expressions. I wonder why every time she comes into our room, it's full of life," Len pondered.

"Yes!" Rin cheered. "I finally beat you! Take that!" Rin shouted at the screen. "Piko! I did it! Finally!" She turned the rotating chair around and threw her arms around Piko's waist. "That was fun! Can I come by again and play this?"

Piko froze once Rin hugged his waist, but managed to answer, "S-Sure. I-It's too early for you to fight against me though. Do you have a computer or a laptop at your apartment?"

"I think Meiko does, but I don't want to use her computer just to play a game," Rin replied. "I'm sure she has school stuff to do too."

"Well, you can't play against me if you don't have a computer, but it's fine. You can practice playing on my computer," Piko offered.

Rin's face brightened up and she squeezed Piko harder. "Yay! Thank you, thank you! You're the best, Piko!"

Piko's started blushing both from Rin's compliment and her hug. "Y-You're welcome. Can you let go now? It's a little…"

Rin realized how much she's been holding on to Piko and quickly let go while blushing slightly as well. "O-Oh, sorry about that. I got carried away. Haha." She laughed nervously.

Len watched their banter from a slight distance, with a blank expression. "Huh, how come she's having so much fun with him? I don't think I've ever seen her laugh or smile that much when we're working on my manga," Len thought. "It…bothers me for some reason."

"Len, Len, come here!" Rin invited. "Come closer and watch me defeat other people! Since you're not that good with games, at least I'm better than you in this area now. I'll show you my power!"

"You're not even that good yet," Piko teased, but Rin ignored his comment.

The blond boy looked at Rin's sparkling eyes and laughed softly. He then walked towards her and stood right next to her while she started playing. "One sentence from her and I'm already feeling much better. She's a strange one."

A couple of days later during breakfast, Meiko brought in the envelope that contains the results of the audition. "Kaito and I just contributed to the judging. Even we don't know who the top three are, so I'm just as excited as you two to see the results," Meiko explained. She handed the envelope to Miku. "Go on, open it."

Rin and Miku gulped as Miku's trembling hands tore the envelope open. The two girls read the contents of the letter, and when they finished, Miku calmly folded the letter and placed it on the table. "We're number two!" Miku and Rin excitedly shouted.

"Congrats you two!" Meiko said while she clapped her hands. "I knew you could do it!"

Miku and Rin kept jumping up and down. "We're gonna debut! We're going to debut in a week! I can't believe it!" They kept saying over and over.

"I can't wait until you two become full fledged idols. I'm so proud of you," Meiko praised. She took out her cell phone and texted Kaito. "I'm telling Kaito the good news. He'll be thrilled."

The news quickly spread around in their friend group and soon, Miku and Rin were drowning in everyone's congratulations. Len, Piko, Luka, and Kaito all called them up and congratulated them. Kaito also told them that he would ask the company what they would need to do afterwards and call them back.

The next day in the evening, Meiko brought Rin and Miku to a private room in a fancy restaurant, and waiting for them were Kaito, Len, Piko, Luka, and Luka's boyfriend, Gakupo. The gang quickly introduced Rin and Miku to Gakupo and soon, they were eating and celebrating. At first Rin and Miku felt bad eating so much expensive food, but Kaito reassured them that it was all on him and that he's able to pay for everything, since he had some money saved up from his job as a host.

"You girls are awesome!" Kaito praised. "You managed to make it past the grueling auditions, and now you're going to debut. I can't believe that the girls I saw singing on the streets are here with us, going to become idols now."

"It's like a fairytale," Meiko commented. "You two used to live on the streets, but your overwhelming talent caught a scout's, aka Kaito's, attention and now you're on your way to fame! I'm so, so, so proud of you two."

"I've never heard you two sing, but you must be really talented if you even passed Crypton's audition," Gakupo said. "Maybe you can hold a mini concert for us right now."

"That's actually a great idea," Len agreed. "Sing for us, Rin, Miku."

The two girls looked at each other and nodded. "Ok!" They then started singing their song, "Promise", without any instrumentals, just like they used to on the streets. Their strong and beautiful voices filled the room and quickly captured the ears of their friends. Once they finished singing, the others applauded loudly.

"Wow, no wonder you two passed the audition," Gakupo said, awed by the girls' beautiful voices. "You even managed to get past Luka's test."

"They were very attentive, not to mention dedicated," Luka commented. "You two are going to be the center of the entertainment world after you debut."

"I-I'm sure there are many other talented idols out there though," Rin stammered, flattered by Luka's praise. "There are others who are much better than us."

"There may be, but you two can easily capture peoples' hearts," Luka calmly stated. "You two have a lot of charm."

"T-Thank you, Luka," Miku thanked. The tealette then turned to Kaito and said, "Rin and I will be in your care now. Please take care of us!"

Kaito smiled. "I hope to work well with you two as your manager. Rest assured, I'll make you two big stars. With your talent, it'll be a cinch."

Meiko held up her glass of sake and announced, "A toast! To Rin and Miku on their upcoming debut as the unit, 'Merodii'!" Luka, Kaito, and Gakupo all had an alcoholic drink in their hands while Rin, Miku, Len, and Piko held up either their water or juice. "Cheers!"

A week flew by, and during that time, Kaito worked with Rin and Miku and helped them prepare for their debut concert. Luka also helped with the choreography and dance practice while Meiko helped them improve their singing even more. Len would occasionally drop by Crypton and show Rin some of his manga pages. She finally saw the main character of the manga, and noticed how similar the character looked to her. "I guess Len didn't really modify the character's traits much," Rin thought. "Oh well, I'm happy to have been his model."

Then, came the day of Rin and Miku's concert. The tickets almost sold out, and crowds of people waited patiently for the duo who miraculously passed Crypton's audition. Rin and Miku gulped as they peeked at the large crowd from backstage. "I-It's more unnerving than I imagined," Miku stammered.

Rin nodded. "It's way too different from our street performances."

"Come on you two, you'll be fine," Kaito assured them. "Just do what you always do; enjoy singing and spread that happiness to the people who came to watch you. As your manager, I'm going to go first to announce you two as a unit, so you'll have some time to calm down on stage. Plus, Meiko, Len, and the others are in the front, cheering you on."

"I still feel very, very nervous," Miku admitted, slightly trembling as she took Rin's hand and squeezed it.

Rin seemed to have calmed down a little as she took in deep breaths and focused her eyes on Len in the crowd. "Maybe thinking about Len's manga will help calm me down. Okay, 'Magical Mirror', 'Magical Mirror'…" Rin chanted mentally.

Kaito noticed that Rin had slowly started to calm down, but nothing was helping Miku's nerves. He rested his hand on Miku's head and hummed a small tune. His humming quickly grabbed Miku's attention and she found herself closing her eyes. The tune rang softly in her ears and had a soothing effect on her. Once Kaito finished humming, Miku opened her eyes again and noticed that she no longer felt nervous.

"That's such a nice tune," Miku sighed. "How did you compose it?"

"Meiko came up with it, actually," Kaito corrected. "When we were young, she would always stroke my head and hum this tune when I felt down. She could always calm me down whenever I was nervous, threw a fit, or whenever I just had problems."

Kaito removed his hand from Miku's head and suddenly Miku felt a small pain in her chest. The tealette was slightly confused. "Wait, why did my chest feel a little painful? I thought my nervousness was gone. Oh well…"

A few moments later, the crowd settled down, and Kaito proudly walked on stage. He did a quick introduction about Crypton and about himself. Then, he announced the girls' names, which cued Rin and Miku to walk on stage. The bright lights blinded the girls for a while, but then they got used to it. "Rin and Miku came in second in the Crypton audition. Today they will be debuting as the unit, 'Merodii'! Please welcome them warmly," Kaito announced, then he walked off backstage, giving Rin and Miku a thumbs up and mouthed a "good luck".

The hall erupted into cheers and applause when Rin and Miku bowed. The two of them held their mikes firmly and Miku said, "Thank you all so much for coming to our debut concert. Rin and I are very honored that you all came!"

Rin continued, "Miku and I will be singing a song that is very special to us. It's one that we wrote ourselves, and is called 'Promise'." After the audience's cheers died down, the music for the song started, and Miku and Rin started dancing to the opening tune. Then, Rin started singing her part, then Miku followed.

When I touched your wound, you were shaking slightly

Not knowing where to go, you were looking at the distant sky

It's not like I want the answer to the pain in my heart

As long as you're here I just need to fulfill my promise

Until the tears that are left fade away there's a sad shine

I embrace it very strongly, as if there's nothing to bear

The motionless feelings will go with the tomorrow we'll spend together

There is a thing that blocks that light, I will flick it away

The breaking world is now starting to show the meaning of "echo"

I make an oath in my heart to protect you, forever...

A dry wind is flicking over the pages of a fairy tale

"I'm not alone," I feel that I could be stronger, just with those words

I spread my injured wings and attempt to fly again

If this voice goes through to you, then I don't have to be afraid of anything

If your memory ties your heart

Die it into the colour you want and draw your future with it

The strong bond is, yes, will tie us together strongly

As long as I live on I won't go away, so to the never ending sky I reach my hand out

Find the hope, the future you want, we don't have far, it will reach someday, and surely that's a feeling that never changes

Together, let's face the woven tomorrow

The motionless feelings will go with the tomorrow we'll spend together

There is a thing that blocks that light, I will flick it away

The breaking world is now starting to show the meaning of "echo"

I make an oath in my heart to protect you, forever...

After the music died down, the hall was quiet for a few seconds. Then, like a tsunami, the audience roared with cheers and applause, with most of them asking for an encore. Rin and Miku smiled widely and looked at each other, extremely happy that their first performance went so well. The girls then looked down at the audience and saw their friends clapping for them. Meiko gave a thumbs up to the girls, looking like a proud older sister. Since the audience chanted "Encore!" multiple times, Rin and Miku decided to sing once more and fill the hall with even more cheers.

Whew! Chapter 4 is done! Congrats to Rin and Miku for debuting as idols! I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter, and hopefully also liked the small romance development I sneaked in there. :D

Please review! Reading your feedback makes me happy, and of course, constructive criticism is always welcome! :3