Aneko: And here comes a Vocaloid fanfiction. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Vocaloid. I wish I owned one of the programs, though…

Koko Ni Iru Yo!

Chapter One

"It's this girl, right here."

A folder was dropped in front of him on his desk. He opened it, glancing at the picture of the smiling young girl inside before looking up at his subordinate.

"You're certain?"

"I am."

"Good. I would not want you to repeat the same mistake that you made last time."

"I swear, sir. The data has been checked by myself and at least ten others. It can't be wrong this time."

"Well have ten more check it. I won't start moving on with the project until we know for sure that it's her."

"But—"

"Do it! Or do you want to find a new job?"

The employee scurried out of the room as fast as he could to carry out his orders.

The man turned his chair toward the window, looking up at the sky. He hummed a quiet tune under his breath as a soft smile spread across his features.

"Saki!"

A young girl looked up from unpacking her school books at the sound of her name, smiling when she saw her friend. "Riko-chan! Good morning!"

"Good-mor-ning!" Riko chirped happily, bouncing on her heels.

"What's got you so happy this morning?" Saki asked curiously.

"This!" Riko shoved a magazine right under her nose.

Saki blinked before staring, a little cross-eyed down at the page. "Wha…?"

"Look right here!" Riko put the magazine down and tapped an article on the open page. "The 'Vocaloids' project is about to premiere! There's just one week left." She was almost squealing with excitement.

"Oh yeah, you've been talking about that for ages…"

"For good reason! It's going to be so awesome!"

"What do you even know about it?" Saki asked. "Hasn't the whole thing been some big secret? There's no date. How do you know it's coming out next week?"

Riko's eyes glittered as she gave a rather canine smile. "I have my ways." And she sounded proud of it.

"Well that's a bit…creepy…"

"Just look!" Riko pointed. "You see these four people?"

Saki noted the two girls and two boys. "What about them?"

"They're what all the fuss is about. They're going to be the head of the project. New idols who are said to have voices so amazing it's almost inhuman."

Saki rested her head in her head. "Yeah, right."

"No, really! They say that they can sing any octave whatsoever."

Saki's attention span was quickly drifting from her friend. "Well, that certainly is inhuman, and I doubt they'd be able to do that. It's not possible for humans to sing all octaves…maybe they were given steroids."

"Saki!" Riko squealed. "That's not funny! Aren't you excited about this?"

Saki sighed. "Not really…" She had nothing against music. She actually really liked it. But Riko was just so…obsessed over it that it wore her out every day. Saki had bands that she liked, and she had posters and CDs, but she didn't follow the trends, like Riko did. She just liked what she liked. And the Vocaloid thing just sounded like a new trend that Riko had picked up. As soon as the next thing came along, Riko would drop what interested her at the moment and pick the new one up. Saki had watched it time and again without fail.

At least it made her easy to shop for.

"You're no fun, Saki."

"I think I can live with that."

"Oh, you!"

She sounded like she had a mind to say a few other things, but the class bell rang right at that moment, sparing Saki from a further tirade.

"We'll talk later," Riko said, and with a wave, scooted to her desk a few rows over before the teacher began talking.

Yep, I'm sure we will…

Saki packed her school books up, rolling her head on her shoulders a little to relieve some sore muscles. School was over for the day, and she was happy to get a break from Riko's ranting. She hadn't stopped talking all day, and now, since she had club practice, Saki could go home by herself.

Saki wasn't sure what club she wanted to join. Nothing really seemed to fit her. She had tried going to a few of the sports clubs, and the art, photography and cooking clubs, but she hadn't found one that really clicked with her yet, so she was still looking. There was still sometime before the school year got into full swing, so she wasn't that worried, but she hoped that she would be able to find one she liked.

Friends lingered in the shoe locker hallway, having a few last-minute conversations before heading off to clubs, going home, or going to hang out. Saki took her time leaving. She didn't have anywhere to be besides home, so she didn't have to rush.

Saki hummed quietly to herself as she walked down the street. It was a beautiful day. The sky was one of the bluest she had ever seen, and the air was crisp and deep. Saki was so busy looking up at the sky that she wasn't watching where she was going, and suddenly, she ran right into someone. With a gasp of surprise and a rain of loose papers, she tumbled to the ground.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" As the last of the papers fell to the ground, Saki looked up and saw…blue. Lots of blue. It was a guy, probably older by the look of it. His hair was a beautiful, startling shade of blue. What Saki found odd was his (also blue) scarf, and long sleeves. Why he was wearing such cold-weather clothing on such a nice day, she couldn't fathom.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Here, let me help you up." He offered her his hand, still looking concerned. Even his eyes were blue.

Saki smiled, giving a little laugh. "I'm okay, really. I just fell over, that's all." She looked down at her feet, noting the scattered papers all over the pavement. They were pieces of sheet music. "We better get these off the ground," she suggested, and bent over to start gathering them together.

"Oh, right!" He started collecting them too, and within a few seconds, all the music was secure in his hands again. He grinned at her. "Thanks for helping me." Tucking the music under one arm, he offered her his hand. "My name is Kaito."

"I'm Saki," she replied, shaking his hand. Frowning, she studied his face, her head tilted to one side. "Wait a second…"

"What is it?"

Saki's face cleared up. "You were one of those people in Riko's magazine. You're part of the Vocaloid thing coming out."

He grinned wider. "You've heard about it?"

"Only because my friend won't stop talking about it. She's a bit…obsessed."

"Ah. I see."

Saki noticed one of the sheets under his arm. Uncertain of what she had seen, she squinted at it. "Wait a second…is that…a picture of me?"

Kaito blinked, following her gaze, and then his eyes widened. He spluttered. "Oh, uh, yeah, see, it's—I mean I'm not—it's not what you—" Saki crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. Kaito sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, I overreacted. The truth is, I was sent to look for you."

"By who?"

"My employer, who started the Vocaloid project."

A moment of silence fell between them.

"Come again?"

"I was sent to find you by the President of the company that I work for. Actually, we wanted you to join us in this project, to be one of the Vocaloid idols."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. So a President—from a real company—wanted to find me?...Are you playing a joke on me?" Saki felt slightly dizzy. She couldn't have just been scouted, could she?

"No! No, I promise it isn't a joke! Here, let me show you—the president gave me this letter in case you wanted proof." Kaito sorted through the papers and pulled out a pristine manila envelope. Saki took it, giving him a skeptical look, and broke the seal on the back. The paper inside was official looking, with the company logo printed in one corner.

Dear Fujita Saki-san,

I assume that right now you are probably very confused, and very distrusting of what you are being told right now. I understand that you probably find it hard to believe. I have sent one of my employees to look for you and offer you a job at my company. Please understand that you do not have to agree with this if you do not want to, but we would sincerely enjoy having you at our company. If you are interested, Kaito can assist you with any questions you might have. If you need some time to think about this offer, please contact the number in this letter if you would like to join us. I look forward to hopefully hearing from you, Fujita-san.

Yours Truly,

Yamaha Saito.

"So?" Kaito looked down at the letter. "What do you think?"

"Um...I don't know…" Saki frowned. "It just all seems so...so…"

"Sudden?" Kaito supplied.

"Maybe that's it. It's just that…there's nothing really special about me, you know? I just don't understand why you chose me to be…an idol, of all things."

"We didn't choose you, exactly."

"What does that mean?"

"Um…"Kaito looked lost for words. "It's kind of complicated, and kind of a long story… In any case, it seems like you're still not sure. Why don't you just go home and think about it? The boss left the company number. Oh—and here." Kaito took out a pen and scribbled on the corner of the letter Saki still held. "This is my number, if you want someone to talk to about it."

"Okay, thanks." Saki said.

"I know it's unexpected, but we're not trying to force you into anything, so don't worry about it."

"Okay."

"I've got to go, but it was nice to meet you Saki-chan!"

"Yeah, you too…" Saki waved as Kaito left. She glanced down at the letter in her hands again. "...Right."

"I'm home!" Saki called, kicking off her shoes in the entryway before stepping into the house.

"Welcome home, Saki-chan!" Saki followed the sound of the voice and ended up in the kitchen, where she saw her mother chopping daikon. Fujita Nadoko was a small woman with brown hair. She said she had bleached it when she was younger, and it never turned completely black again. She looked up and smiled when she saw Saki. "How was your day, dear?"

"It was good. Riko was all excited about a new idol sensation that's going to be coming out soon."

"That sounds…interesting."

"Hum. I don't know. She's really excited. Sometimes I think too excited."

Mrs. Fujita chuckled. "Well, you know she's always been like that."

"Yeah. She still tires me out sometimes though…" Saki fell silent for a while. "…Hey, mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"…No, it's nothing. Never mind."

Her mom paused in her dinner preparations to peer at Saki in concern. "Are you sure? You sounded a little uncertain there."

Saki shook her head. "It's fine. I'm sure."

"Okay. Well, if you're feeling tired or stressed, make sure to get plenty of sleep tonight."

"I will, mom, don't worry." Saki went upstairs to change out of her uniform, throwing her school bag on her bed. She pulled out the letter again, reading the brief statement written.

"I just don't know," she sighed. She had almost told her mom about it, but something had held her back. She didn't know if she wanted to share this with anyone. A part of her immediately rejected the idea that Kaito was telling her the truth, and that this whole idea was a bad idea. Another part of her, though, a much smaller part, was already starting to consider it. Just suppose she did accept? Who knew what could happen?

"But I don't even know what I'd be doing," she said aloud. "I know as little about this "Vocaloid Project" as the general public, even though I'm being asked to participate in it." Saki fell onto the pillows on her bed, blowing air through her mouth. "Whatever. I don't want to think about it right now." Saki threw the letter into her school bag and got changed.

"Saki! Want to go to the library with me after school? I've got a lot of studying to do for the next test."

Saki raised an eyebrow. "How low was it this time?"

Riko reluctantly held up the last test, revealing the angry red mark up in the corner.

"Whoa, a new record," Saki marveled.

"Oh, stop it!" Riko swatted her with the paper as Saki laughed.

"Okay, sure, just let me tell my mom and then we can go."

"Awesome."

Riko dropped her books in a pile on the table. "Okay! This test is critical. I have to pass it with flying colors."

"Why not just settle with passing? Flying colors might be a little difficult."

Riko shook her head. "If I don't do well on this test, Dad's going to take away my cell phone."

"Oh, no! Good luck." Saki pulled out some homework to work on. She wasn't the best student in the class, but she was a pretty good one and didn't need to study as hard as Riko apparently did. They worked in pleasant silence for almost an hour before the thought occurred to Saki. She looked over at Riko and saw that her friend had her nose buried in a textbook. She looked like she might give off sparks if she was touched.

"Hey, Riko?"

"What?" She only sounded like she was giving half of her attention.

"You said that the Vocaloids are coming out in a week right?"

The word 'Vocaloids' pulled Riko away from her book immediately. "Six days and counting!"

"So, they're going to be new idols?"

"Yeah! It's exciting, you know?" The four I showed you are just a small part of it. There's more, but even I couldn't find out what else was involved."

Saki looked out the window. "You sound like you really…admire them."

"Well yeah. Don't you think idols are cool? I mean, everyone watches them and looks up to them. They're really cool. Wouldn't it be awesome to be one?"

"Yeah," Saki mumbled. "I guess it would."

As she left the library, Saki paused at the door, pulling out the letter that was still in her school bag. Almost before she was aware of it, she had pulled out her cell phone and was dialing the number written.

"Hello? This is Fujita Saki…"

Aneko: End of first chapter! I borrowed Fujita Saki-san's name for this chapter, for reasons which you will understand in the future. Isn't Kaito just a dear?

Well, until next chapter, my dears, stay well.