This is the story of the week that changed everything. For Len, at least.
It started the same day the school cycle started, and for the blonde, the whole thing began with a day off. His boss, a man who had been working for thirty years or more, told him he was starting to look like a raccoon rather than a man, and that if he didn't take a day off, his boss would break his hand. It was all in good nature, of course. The man had been his teacher when he was studying to be a lawyer, and he was working under his wing now. That man had known him for a few years, so he simply shrugged it off and said "alright".
And that's how he took his first day off since he started working as a lawyer.
Maybe the man was right, he did look like a raccoon with those bags under his eyes.
He was thinking about that as his deep blue eyes stared at him from a cheap mirror at the convenience store. It was… early. There were a few people in there. A woman, around thirty-something, trying to decide between two phone charms and two students, clad in their uniforms, clearly playing truant; at some point, the woman walked towards him and shoved both charms on his face, demanding "which one" with a determination that would make his twin sister submit to her will.
"Uh, the pink one?" was his awkward reply, and the woman nodded, satisfy.
"Thank you, young man… Oh, you have a pretty face. Have you considered being an idol?"
"Ah? Nah, nonsense. Besides, I'm too old for that…"
"Is that so? Well, you don't look a day past twenty-four, if it helps" the woman shrugged "Thanks a lot!"
And she left him alone, happy with her purchase. The students were watching them, and they exchanged playful glances when he glared at them. "Cougar", one of them mentioned under her breath, but he pretended not to listen.
He only looked twenty-four, after all.
Back to his shopping. He wasn't sure of what he was supposed to do. The house was clean, stocked with groceries and his friends were working. Even his best friend. So… yeah. He was bored. Len was bored, and a bored Kagamine is not a good Kagamine.
But at this hour, especially during school days, there wasn't much he could do. It was… boring. Of course, a city is always noisy and it always is boiling with activity, but there's always an empty hour in which it's activity decreases. Or at least, it was like that for him. Maybe because he was alone, in a convenience store, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and the whole experience felt surreal.
He shrugged it off. He grabbed a phone charm (one with a metallic chain and a yellow star), paid for it quickly and left. He didn't want to be home just yet.
He'd just take a walk, clear off his mind and… who knows. Maybe he'll find something to do.
The only thing he couldn't tolerate, is the lack of activity.
For the students of the 2-A class, the hour was crawling slowly down a long, endless hallway of monotony and boredom.
For Reiko, also known as Leech, it was quite a lot slower.
First, her seat was in the middle row, and it was the closest to the door, therefore, the only thing to stare at was either the English teacher (whose monotonous, droning voice had the entire class almost in tears), or the wall. First day of school, and she had already memorized the stupid sign that told them to clean the classroom before leaving. There was also a whole different problem. Behind her, there was a boy.
A boy with the exact same shade of blonde hair that she had. A boy with sharp, green eyes and a pretty face. A boy who was poking her in the back with a ruler, in order to make her rage.
It was working.
"Rikku, knock it off…" she whispered, angrily. The boy snickered, and kept poking at her back, between her shoulders. She shuddered a bit, and bit her lower lip to avoid another burst of anger. The teacher continued, relentless, telling them about verbs or something. She wasn't sure why she was taking that class, maybe because it was in the curriculum and it was mandatory. But she was bored. And Rikku, her twin (fraternal, mind you) brother was bored too. And as it was said, a bored Kagamine is NEVER a good Kagamine.
"Rikku…" she warned him again, after a particularly painful jab. The boy was radiating self-satisfaction, and she didn't want any trouble. Not yet. She'd have all the time in the world later, around mid-year, to choke her brother until he was blue in the face.
Another poke.
"Bastard…" she coughed.
"In English, Miss?" the teacher called her out. She heard Rikku's almost imperceptible laugh behind her, and blushed. "Nothing, sir, just… thinking out loud." An apology was better than nothing, so the teacher nodded.
"Don't let it happen again" he warned her, and continued droning. At least, one of her classmates must have been asleep by then, pity it wasn't Rikku. Because he was poking her again. She'd murder him. She'd definitely murder him.
To anyone else, this was just a brother annoying his sister. To Leech, it was clear he had malicious intent behind his actions, because she lived with him, she saw him on a daily basis and she knew she'd be doing the same. Nothing, absolutely nothing in the world would give her more satisfaction than her brother being sent to the counsellor's office. Nothing.
The only thing they couldn't tolerate, were each other.
Life is too short to look so down, cheer up! Love ya!
He stared blankly at the yellow post-it stuck to his door, and the flowery, girlish calligraphy used to write that sickeningly syrupy inspirational note. As usual, he shrugged it off, removed it from the door and unlocked it, only to step into his parlour. An empty house was always silent, but he was never there to witness it first-hand. Only the quiet snores of the family Shiba, Blue Sky —also known as Biscuit, because Reiko hated when they misnamed the mutt— disturbed the silence.
But it wasn't enough. Rin was working, Reiko and Rikku were studying —he hoped—, and he was… well. The silence was deafening, and it made him feel worse.
Len had been in a rough path for a while, and the daily grind and running from one side to the other helped to mitigate the constant feeling of vertigo, but now there was nothing he could use to take his mind off, so the sensation returned tenfold. He heard the quiet steps of the dog, as it walked slowly to greet him. Finally.
"Are you going to run and jump and be a normal dog for once?" he asked, kneeling. Blue Sky just tilted his head and sat down "at least pretend you're happy to see me, damn it"
He wagged his tail, jumped on his owner, and Len scratched him behind his ears. As soon as his hand left his coat, Blue Sky ran off, slumped on the couch and proceeded to sleep his head off again. As usual. Meanwhile, the blonde stood up and patted the dust and dog fur out of his clothes. For now, he supposed he could start with dinner.
He ignored completely the light of the phone, on a table near the couch. Blinking, signalling new messages.