Hello, MikuxLen fans. Or just Vocaloid romance fans. This fanfic was inspired by a certain tumblr blog, negibanana. (I hope it's okay to credit that blog on here) Anyway, this is the introduction to what will probably be a 3-part story, but I won't have another part up for a while since I can't seem to multitask and work on two stories at once. I hope you like this for now :)

It's a sad way to live, the way I do. It's an endless cycle.

"I need to think positive," I'd say.

"Have you done that at all in the past few years?" my mind would counter.

"No," I'd admit.

"So then you need someone else to help you." Now there's a suggestion.

"No one can," or at least I feel that way.

"Then why are you even bothering with the thought?" Even my own mind is tired of me.

"I need to think positive," I'd say.

My thoughts were interrupted as the phone rang. I went over and checked the caller ID. A smile found its way to my lips as I read the name. She can leave a message. It's not at all that I don't like her, it's just really better to let her voice her opinions to an answering machine than me.

"Hello, dear brother, I'm coming over. You need my help, so there's really no avoiding it, of course."

As caring as ever.

"And by the way, I know you're in the room. If you keep ignoring me like this, you're going to die alone, you know that?"

As sweet as ever.

"...I'm just kidding, but really, it doesn't hurt to pick up the phone once in a while for someone as important as me, the Great Rin Kagamine."

As humble as ever.

"Now, back to business. I've been looking around for some jobs for you, since I'm just that considerate, and I'm going to present them to you tomorrow, kay? You can't just keep singing for charities and stuff. I know it's a good thing to do, but you won't be able to sustain yourself if you don't get a real job. Your money won't last for-"

Only the Great Rin Kagamine could keep talking herself past the time limit on the answering machine. I actually don't know whether she knows the message ended or not. Either way, she's still coming over, and I can't escape that fact.

It's not that I'm depressed and need help like Rin claims. I've just never been super outgoing, really, and it only got harder when my friends moved away from the neighborhood we had all ended up in, the one that was reserved specially for the singers in the Vocaloid company. Of course, every popular thing comes to an end, as did that. Some of us are still requested for concerts and such, but other than Rin, I don't even know what happened to everyone else.

I don't even know what Rin does anymore. She doesn't seem to have grown up at all. For all I know, she's trying to become a model or something. I know I should try to take care of her, or at least make sure she's okay once in a while, but I just can't seem to get over the fact that I can't take care of myself, at least not in the way Rin wishes I could.

Sure, I can do just fine in my own house, and I keep the place fairly clean, but what Rin is worried about is my financial and social situation. I'm not depressed, I swear, but I don't feel like I have the courage to start a different lifestyle. It's hard to find courage when the results of using courage in the past were futile.

I felt my heartbeat quicken as I think about the past. It seemed so important then, like everything that happened then was the only thing that would ever matter. But now I have a broader perspective, and it's better that I just get over the unhappiness. After all, it's very hard to succeed at everything. And those who can't succeed at everything shouldn't try to be friends with those who can.

I know there's no one like that, but at sometimes it seems like it.

I glanced around my simple living room. It was meant for two people, but Rin moved out to pursue one thing or another, so I got rid of some things to make it suitable for one. If Rin is visiting, though, I might try to add something to accomodate her. Then again, she'd probably be happy just sitting wherever.

Deciding I couldn't keep idling in my thoughts, I got up from the couch, grabbed a coat, and left the house to take a walk around the neighborhood. It really is a nice time of year to take a walk. The air is cold, and there's snow on the ground, but at the moment, the sun warms the air enough to keep it pleasant.

It's also near Christmas time, and the neighborhood is decorated, quite extensively, but of course that's to be expected, since the people who live here are quite rich. Since this neighborhood was the old home of most Vocaloid singers, it's sort of like a novelty to live here, thus the extra cost of the homes.

As I walk along with my hands deep in my coat pockets, I continue to muse about how many people here would readily be my friends, I'm sure, if I just gave them a neighborly gift of some sort out of good spirit and struck up a friendly conversation. It wouldn't hurt, and I'm sure Rin would do something like that, even if it was with a subtle note of superiority, just because that's the type of person she is. I can't bring myself to act upon such an outgoing idea, but maybe one day.

An orange car sped by me on the road, going the opposite direction. I sighed, but I couldn't hold back a small smile. How many people own orange cars around here?

I turned and started to head back towards my house, trying to think of the reasons she could possibly have for coming a day early. I hadn't been walking for very long, so it was a short trip back home, but when I arrived, Rin was tapping her foot impatiently at my door.

"What kind of person leaves their sister out in the cold?" she asked, giving me a disapproving look.

"You said you were coming tomorrow," I explained calmly as I stepped forward to unlock and open the door for her. Her face immediately brightened.

"Oh, that's right," she said with a grin. "I couldn't wait any longer. Happy early Birthday!" she cheered, pulling out a present from within her own coat.

As I took the present, I paled at the sudden realization that I had forgotten not only my birthday, but her birthday as well, since they were the same. I was suddenly thankful that she chose to bring me a present almost two weeks early.

"Rin, is this the only reason why you came?" I asked, glancing at the average sized gift. I followed her into the house, and as I took off my coat, she made herself at home in front of the TV.

"Maybe..." she said, turning on the TV. I walked over quickly and turned it off, standing in front of it with arms crossed.

"That's not a very polite thing to do," I pretended to scold, though I really just wanted her to answer my question. She seemed to be avoiding it.

She pouted at my actions. She definitely doesn't seem to have grown up in the least. "I'm missing a show I wanted to watch to come see you, you know?"

I stared at her in disbelief. "Are you really going to say you want to come see me and then sit down and watch television?"

"I'm just kidding, of course," she said with a wave of her hand. I still wasn't so sure, so I stood my ground in front of the TV. Rin pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her pocket, and looked over it quickly before looking back at me. "I have a list of possible jobs for you," she said, trying to be cheerful, but knowing from experience that I wasn't going to take this easily.

"I don't want a job," I said quietly, looking off to the side in annoyance.

Rin ignored me as she looked around the room. "Well, the first one that I recommend is a hotel maid, with how clean you can keep things."

I looked back at her with a bored expression, knowing that in itself would say enough. She gave me a hopeful smile for a moment before sighing dramatically. "Fine, no hotel maid for you. Okay, well, there's a job opening at the grocery store for cashiers. You could work there."

"I am not going to work some mindless job, okay? I've only ever had one job ever, and I don't want anything different."

Rin gave me a dangerous stare, though she hardly ever lost her temper for real with me. It was something I could appreciate about her. Really, I could appreciate a lot about her, like how she was putting up with my stubborness for so long. She really did want to help, I know, but I just can't stand the thought of doing something I don't enjoy.

"Well, you know what? You're being a mindless slob..." Rin paused, looking around at my spotless house once again. "Okay fine, you're being a mindless recluse, and it's kinda creepy if you ask me. You're going to be living here when you're like 90, and everyone's going to have spread stories about the creepy old man who NEVER GOT A JOB."

"While you're the delusional old lady who thinks she rules the world?" I asked with a straight face, deciding to poke fun at Rin. She wasn't amused.

Finally, she sighed and crumpled up the piece of paper in her hand. "Fine, just open your present," she said, looking away and waving her hand at me in an uninterested fashion.

"Now?" I asked, deciding it was safe to step away from the TV and take a seat next to Rin.

"Of course," Rin said, looking back at me expectantly. I couldn't really do anything but open the gift, with her staring at me like that.

As I laid my eyes on the peculiar object in the bottom of the box, I was left speechless for a moment.

"It's a leek," I finally managed to say something. Something stupid, but something nonetheless.

Rin clapped her hands with a joyful expression. "It's a good luck charm for you," she said proudly, as if she had just solved all my problems.

I breathed out something inaudible, but Rin continued to talk. "Frame it, cuddle next to it when you sleep, eat it, I don't care," she said, oblivious to my difficulty in processing the situation. She finally realized I was still staring at the leek blankly and waited for me to say something.

"Why would you do something like this?" I asked, finding the 'gift' only to be a grim reminder of the past I couldn't change.

Rin's eyes lit up; apparently she had been expecting me to ask something like that. "It's to counter the past and offer hope for improvement," she declared.

I frowned, despite the effort she was making to cheer me up. "I don't even know where she lives anymore," I mumbled, more to myself than to Rin.

"See, that's the best part of a good luck charm," she explained excitedly, as if I didn't understand how good luck charms worked. "You will get lucky, and find her at the best moment!"

"Really now," I said, still giving her a skeptical look. She stared at me with an intent childish expression that made me forget what I was going to say. I finally broke my gaze and looked away. "Okay, fine, I'll keep it as a good luck charm. That seems kind of hopeless and over-obsessive, though, doesn't it?" I asked halfheartedly.

Rin didn't say anything to respond to my question; instead, she continued to stare at me with her creepy expression. "What?" I finally asked.

"I'm hungry."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Did you eat before you came over here?"

"Yes."

"I'll go make you a sandwich," I said, giving up once again. I walked over to the kitchen, ignoring the immature giggles from Rin, and collected the ingredients, noticing that I didn't have much food left in the process.

Having finished making the sandwich in silence, I walked back over to Rin and handed it to her, grabbing my coat in the process. When she gave me a questioning look, I shrugged it off. "I'm going to the store. I need to buy more food. Feel free to stay here if you'd like."

"It's okay, I'll leave," she said cheerfully, and bit into her sandwich. She got up to follow me out the door and we went our separate ways. I decided to walk, since the store wasn't too far, and I had been planning to walk anyway.

"Byebye!" Rin called, getting into her car. I turned to her and waved, a small smile on my face. After all, she was my sister, and I was glad for the company that wasn't usually present in my solitary lifestyle.

I walked on in silence, letting my mind calm down. Surprisingly enough, the minutes flew by, and the twenty minute walk felt like five. I started to cross the store's parking lot, wary of the fact that it was icy. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that other people weren't so careful, as I learned when I was hit full-on by a falling body.

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," I responded as I looked down at myself, kneeling while I brushed the snow off of my coat and pants. I looked over at the girl who had fallen and was currently trying to get up, and our eyes met.

Those eyes were the same ones that made my heartbeat quicken ten years ago.

The same ones that were making heat rise to my cheeks, despite the cool temperature.

"Len?" the girl mouthed my name, looking at me with wide eyes. I stood up and offered my hand down to her.

She grabbed my hand, and I couldn't tell if she was blushing, or if the cold was just making her cheeks rosy as she stood. Yes, from the characteristic teal hair, cut shorter and let down, to the sweet visage was still present behind the flustered look she wore now, Rin's good luck charm just might have worked.

"Miku."

And the memories came flooding back.

I hope you liked it! x]

Reviews are always welcome and replied to.