Chapter 1: Fangirls
"Oh my gosh! It's Len!"
Len turned around and waved at the girls behind him. "Hey," he called. "You girls are looking great today!"
The girls collapsed into giggles and grinned shyly at Len as he drew ahead. He knew he was very popular with the American girls—which was why he had gone on tour to that specific country. Not only that, he needed a break from Rin. He loved his sister, but she was a pain—both figuratively and literally—sometimes.
Len looked around for the other three Vocaloids that had come with him. No doubt they had scattered, unable to avoid the floods of fangirls. Why did we come to the mall in the first place, if so many teenage girls come here?
"Len! Can I have your autograph?"
Len turned to see a girl, perhaps thirteen, holding a bowl of ice cream in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. She looked somewhat disheveled, as if she rushed through every day trying to get as much possible done in every moment. Her braided brown hair was frizzy from the summer heat. Her face was slightly flushed and sprinkled with freckles on each cheek. A pair of thick glasses rested on her nose, and a pen was tucked behind her ear.
"Sure, if I can use your pen," Len answered, faintly amused by this girl.
"Thanks," she panted, fumbling with her things. The handbag tucked beneath her arm slipped down, the paper threatened to get away, and her ice cream was already gone. It seemingly hopped out of her hand, turning upside down in midair. Len made a grab for it and ended up with his fingers covered in Cookies & Cream. Then it landed, splattering all over the floor, the girl's toes, and Len's shoes.
"Oh!" Her eyes were wide. "I-I'm so sorry! Did I break your speakers?"
Len examined the clear-gray leg warmers covering half of his shins. He was glad that they were not on; it would be a shame to have broken speakers with the rest of his Append outfit. He shook his head, licking the ice cream from his fingers. "They should be okay." He glanced around, looking for some napkins. Ironically, Kaito walked up, slurping a milkshake.
"Hey, Len," Kaito greeted him in Japanese, swallowing. "Found another committed fan?"
"Nah," Len rejoined. "She just wanted my autograph. Can I have those napkins?"
"Sure." Kaito handed them other, taking another swig of his milkshake.
"I speak some Japanese," the girl interjected haltingly.
Kaito and Len gave each other a look. "She's intelligent," Kaito whispered. His eyes were sparkling; clearly he had been captivated by yet another fangirl.
"Molly, where did you—Len!"
Len turned around at the sudden cry. A somewhat dark-skinned girl, shorter than the first, was staring with her mouth open at him.
"Now this would be a committed fan," he muttered to Kaito. Kaito chuckled and took the napkins from Len to wipe the floor. Molly handed the pen and paper to Len and bent to help Kaito. She seemed very happy to be with the blue-haired man. And she's captivated by him.
He turned his attention to the new arrival. She was wearing a black shirt, one size too big, with a picture of Miku on it. Her hair was up in a ponytail. She gazed at him with astonished brown eyes, wringing her hands.
"Oh…my…gosh," she whispered. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh…Gosh…Oh my gosh! Jessie!"
Another girl joined the two, this one with medium-length brown hair, also frizzed and curled by the heat. She stared at her friend and then Len in turn through widened blue-green eyes. She caught sight of Kaito and Molly on the floor and turned away, smoothing down her hair with both hands. She looked around nervously before turning back.
"Alice," she breathed, "this feels like a dream."
"I know," the darker girl replied softly. She stared at Len for several moments without blinking.
"Remember what we were talking about?" the newcomer commented, smirking.
Alice flushed. "Please don't talk about it."
"Wait, you mean how Jess doesn't have a chance with Gakupo, or Ally asking Len out?"
Another girl came up. This one was taller than Jessie and had dirty blonde hair that was also medium-length, but still longer than Jessie's. She had her head tilted, seemingly unaware of the presence of Len and Kaito.
"Deborah!" Alice snapped, glaring with red cheeks at the new arrival. She jerked her head furiously in Len's direction. The new girl's blue eyes widened, and her hand flew to her face.
"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.
"You should be glad you're not quite a fangirl yet," Jess grumbled. She was obviously blushing. Her right arm hung down stiffly, and her left hand clutched at the elbow. She refused to meet anyone's gaze except for Alice's.
Len swallowed, feeling his own face grow hot. He redirected his attention to Kaito and Molly. Kaito hid a smirk with a duck of his head. Molly only seemed to be horrified by Deborah's bluntness.
"Debbie," she pointed out, getting to her feet, "maybe you shouldn't be so impulsive."
"I'm not usually this impulsive," she protested. "I was just surprised, and the words popped out of my mouth."
Jessie finally lifted her head, looking Molly in the eye. "Don't worry about it," she commented. "I understand Debbie's actions; I've done it myself. I remember one time I…. Well, I don't need to tell that story. Alice," she said quietly, "you okay?"
"I'm fine," the other girl grumped, her eyes downcast.
The six of them fell into an awkward silence. Molly scrubbed at a clean spot, and Kaito seated himself on the floor and continued slurping his milkshake. Jessie fidgeted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, and Debbie hung back hesitantly.
"What's going on over here?"
Len looked up at the sound of Kiyoteru's voice. He came up and stood beside Len, looking at the four girls and Kaito on the floor.
He stared for a bit, then spoke.
"Why are you on the floor?"
Kaito started. "Er, there was a mess. Ice cream—spilled—napkins—Molly—"
"Chill," Len interrupted dismissively. "Do you guys know where Gakupo is?" Without looking over, he heard a stifled gasp from one of the girls—probably Jessie, considering Debbie's statement earlier.
Kiyoteru shrugged. "Somewhere."
"Gakupo-san!"
"Get away from me!"
Kaito caught Len's gaze and raised his eyebrows. "Oh boy."
Len turned and saw Gakupo running full tilt toward the small group. A crowd of young women was behind him.
Gakupo sprinted the remaining distance and hid behind Len.
"What are you—?" Len began, realizing too late what the man's plan was.
"Oh my gosh, it's Len!"
Len rolled his eyes, feeling helpless.
The young women bunched around the four Vocaloids. "Sing for us!" they begged.
"Um, we're kind of busy," Kaito noted.
"Doesn't look like you're busy to me," Kiyoteru commented mischievously.
"Shut up!" Len shot at him.
Four fangirls positioned themselves around Kiyoteru. "Don't tell Kiyo-san to shut up," they warned, caressing Kiyoteru's shoulders and hair. It was Kiyoteru's turn to roll his eyes.
Gakupo came out from behind Len. "Ladies," he called. They all looked up and crowded around him, gazing up at him eagerly.
"What is it, Gakupo-san?" one asked.
"We're on tour," he began. "We don't have much time to spend with beautiful ladies such as yourselves."
Several of them giggled shyly.
"However, we will be having a concert sometime. We haven't decided when yet, but I assure you, you will know when we have decided."
"Yes, Gakupo-san," they chirped.
"Now go have fun."
The girls scurried off with longing glances at the Vocaloids. As soon as they were gone, Gakupo turned back to the group.
"Goodness," he panted. "Len, you have it tough. Sorry I took so long."
"It's fine," Kaito replied. "We met these fine young ladies while you were gone. Molly—" The girl bowed slightly. "—Alice—" She waved timidly. "—Jessie—" Her face was beet red, and she avoided Gakupo's gaze. "—and Debbie."
"Hi!" Debbie piped up. "It's an honor to meet a real Japanese samurai."
Jessie seemed to cringe, Molly smirked, and Alice shook her head slightly. Gakupo himself seemed embarrassed.
"Don't tell me they're fangirls, too," he muttered.
Jessie jumped. "No, no, no, no!" she exclaimed. "Well…." She trailed off and occupied herself with a nearby plant.
"Don't say a word," Alice grumbled, elbowing Debbie with repressed roughness.
"Hey! Don't do that!" Debbie protested. "I wasn't going to say anything!"
Molly exchanged a look with Kaito as the girls began to argue. More accurately, Debbie argued and Alice ignored her. Jessie was stripping a leaf apart vein by vein, her cheeks still red. She glanced up and gazed at Gakupo. He was talking to Kiyoteru, explaining what had happened during his excursion. Suddenly he turned around and slowly met Jessie's gaze. The two stared at each other for a long moment until Gakupo turned away. Kiyoteru said something that Len didn't catch, and Gakupo flushed.
"This is really awkward," Jessie mumbled. "I wish…." She didn't finish her sentence.
Len frowned, confused. Jessie had seemed so peppy until the subject of Gakupo came up. She's obviously a fangirl. He allowed himself a faint smile. She doesn't know what to do.
"Tell me about yourselves," he began, addressing the girls.
"I'm new to Vocaloid," Debbie called.
"I like different songs," Alice offered.
"Meaning the creepy songs," Jessie interjected. Alice smiled sheepishly.
"I'm taking Japanese and don't need English subs," Molly boasted.
"What does this mean?" Kaito jumped on her comment and began talking rapid Japanese.
"I like the cute ones," Debbie continued. Kiyoteru smirked and opened his mouth, but Len stepped firmly on his foot to quiet him. Kiyoteru fell silent and glared at Len.
"Have you guys cosplayed yet?" Len asked.
"Yes!" Jessie burst out. "It's tons of fun."
Len started another sentence but was cut off by Kaito's World is Mine playing suddenly. Molly reddened for perhaps the first time since meeting and pulled her phone from her pocket.
"Hello? Yes, we're all here. We're by the food court. No. I'm not sure, let me check." She covered the speaker. "You guys got money?"
The other girls reached into their purses but Kaito cut them off. "We'll pay."
Molly's eyes widened and she blushed again. "We're good," she said into the phone. "Some nice guys will pay for us. Yes, I trust them. Trust me! They're not creepers. They're famous." Molly recoiled from the phone for a second. "Mom, really, it's okay. They're…." Molly turned her back on the others so she could whisper in the phone. She turned back after a bit. "So it's fine. Look, I'll even let you talk to one of them."
Gakupo, as the oldest, took the phone from her. "Hello, ma'am," he said in his deep voice. "Your daughter and her friends are sweet young ladies. I'll be sure to keep them safe. Don't worry about a thing, ma'am. We can even give them a ride home if it would be convenient. Yes, ma'am. I don't think they'll mind. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. Have a good day."
He handed the phone back to Molly.
"Okay, Mom," Molly concluded. "We can go? Thanks! I'll see you at six-thirty!"
She closed the phone. "Okay, people, my mom wants us back at my house at six-thirty. Where…where are you guys staying? Do you need a ride?"
Kaito shrugged, appearing to be nonchalant. "We were staying at a hotel, but…we have loud neighbors…."
Molly shrugged back. "I have a big house."
"Who's hungry?" Jessie called.
Kiyoteru stepped ahead and gestured at the food court. "Come on!"
= A line =
"I can't get comfortable," Kaito muttered for the eighteenth time.
"Just breathe," Gakupo mumbled, mostly asleep.
Kiyoteru broke out into barking laughter.
"That wasn't supposed to be a pun!" Gakupo snapped halfheartedly.
Len yawned widely and rubbed an eye. "Go to sleep, you guys."
"How can I go to sleep when this mattress has lumps?"
Len buried his head in his pillow. "Must sleep. Just think that you're…on ice cream."
Kaito's voice grew excited. "I'm sleeping in a bowl of ice cream!" Len heard rustling as Kaito snuggled into his sleeping bag.
The four of them had been put in one medium-sized guest bedroom at Molly's house. Len was in his sleeping bag on the floor, Kiyoteru sat like an owl in the desk chair, and Kaito and Gakupo were on the bed. Kaito had kept his sleeping bag with him even on the bed and had managed to sprawl out in the tube. Gakupo did not seem to mind Kaito occupying three-fourths of the bed and actually seemed to be more comfortable on the edge.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Len asked Kiyoteru.
He was out cold with his glasses crooked on his nose and a book on his lap.
"Never mind," Len whispered. "Goodnight."
Len rolled over and gazed up at the ceiling. He felt so far from home. He was used to Rin's gentle breathing instead of Kiyoteru's soft snores. And there was a design of him and Rin on the ceiling in his room; here, it was plain white.
He got up and slipped quietly out of the room. He went in the bathroom and cupped his hands beneath the faucet to get a drink. He dried his hands on the towel and exited. He walked slowly back to the room but paused outside a different door.
A sign said Molly's Room.
He cracked open the door and peeked in.
The room was large and cluttered around the edges. A twin bed with a large adorned headboard was at the far end of the room. Two sleeping bags were on the floor.
Len scanned the four still forms, averting his gaze from the poster of Kaito above the headboard. Alice was easy to recognize, half sitting up in her sleeping bag with her headphones on. Debbie was nearby, appearing as if she was pretending to be asleep. Jessie and Molly were on the bed. Jessie was curled up with her face to the wall, and Molly mumbled to herself.
All four girls were fast asleep.
Len felt a sudden rush of protectiveness for them. They were so alive when they were awake, but sleep made them look helpless.
Goodnight, girls. I'm looking forward to spending another day with you.