AN: Geez... I think it's been almost a year since I even looked at this website. Sorry, guys... I don't even know if anyone remembers this story. It's been ages... I looked back at my old stories and I thought... dang... I was just awful. It's just embarrassing to look at. But good news! Over the time that I've been gone, I've improved my writing skills and I'm ready to get back in business! Here's the ever strong recovery of "Love, Hate, and Other Cliches!"

T for bad language, violence. Warning for mention of child + verbal abuse and kidnapping. (Not in this chapter specifically, but later in the story it'll be inevitable.) Should there be anything potentially triggering that I haven't included here, I'll put a warning at the beginning of the chapter. Gender role stuff and... very, very slight weight shaming too, sorry. I'm trying to accurately depict what 14 year olds are like, meaning that I can't make them fully informed sj workers.

*Len is a growing teenage boy by the way, alright? Keep that in mind and what it may entail... eeek...

Love, Hate, and Other Cliches

I stared into her eyes, trying to search for something - anything other than that plaintive, hollow expression. But there was nothing. Nothing but anxiety and guilt and pain and anger and panic. I wanted to say I sympathized with her, say that she wasn't alone, but there was no way I could say that without it being a lie. I couldn't ever possibly understand the pure anguish she was feeling. I couldn't even think of words to comfort her. How could I? There was nothing I could say that would make up for what had just happened.

"N… Neru, I…"

Finally, Neru tore her eyes away from the floor and directed them at me. Her features fluctuated between horror and agony and disbelief, each drenched in complete despair.

"Kuu… wha… I… I…"

That's when I saw the greatest shock from her yet. A tear. I never would have thought that I'd see her do something like cry, and there she was, trying her best to stop herself from bawling. It was enough to remind me that despite her bad attitude, her limitless stubbornness, and her stony disposition, she was still a normal person with normal feelings.

And then Neru surprised me again. She-

… Wait, wait, wait. Scratch that. Scratch all of that.

You guys would want me to start from the very, very beginning, right? Forget all of that for now.

It would be better to start from the very, very beginning, right? Forget all of that for now.

If my memory serves me correctly, it must all have began something like this.

Love, Hate, and Other Clichés

Chapter 1

The Curiosity that Killed the Cat

"You gonna wake up any time soon, Outoto?"

"…Go away, Rin."

"It's 6AM, Outoto! You only have 20 minutes to fix your hair. It's a disaster, you know!"

"Alright, alright… But didn't I tell you several times to stop calling me 'Outoto?'"

"What?! Then what else am I supposed to call you!?"

"There's my name, for one."

"Really? You expect me to call me by your name, Outoto? I thought we were closer than that! Boohoo!"

"Isn't that just contradictory? You don't usually call…nevermind. I'm getting up now, so will you leave already?"

She never did use my name that morning, so here it is.

My name is Kagamine Len. I'm 14 years old, and... I've never really been any good at these introductory things. I'm normal, if anything else. The only attributes I have that could be called a talent are my aikido skills, but otherwise my grades are as average as average can be. On the attractiveness scale, anyone would say I'm a five out of ten. My favorite thing in the world? Sarcasm. Bananas are good, too.

That girl's name is Rin, and she's my older (by a few minutes) twin sister. We're complete opposites, despite our identical looks. She's got a stand-outish, obnoxious personality and she's lazy yet full of energy at the same time. The girl never really knows when to stop talking, either. A typical annoying sister.

After my terribly average morning routine (brushing teeth, making my hair presentable, getting in my uniform), I headed downstairs to our kitchen. I think Rin and I were both silently surprised to see two bowls of steamed rice, miso soup, and a side of grilled fish waiting for us at the low table. It came as such an eye-opener because Dad never makes us breakfast. As a matter of fact, we never really see him in the mornings before school at all, yet there he was, sitting on his knees and sipping coffee from his dad-mug in a very dad-like fashion. He didn't even look up from his newspaper when we walked in, but had apparently acknowledged that we were in the room and duly said "Good morning," which we returned as we dove into our food. It must only be for today, I had guessed. Today was special.

My parents aren't together, so we live with my Dad. He's a good guy, but I must have gotten my terribly, terribly plain personality from him.

Our Mom and he had fallen utterly, completely in love when they were in high school. This later led to disaster when they had had kids too soon (which turned out to be twins. Yeah.) and Mom decided just before marriage that she wasn't ready, saying things like she was a "free spirit," "couldn't ever possibly settle down," "the world is her oyster," "needs to spread her wings," silly stuff like that. It's all pretty ridiculous, if you ask me. She just left my Dad with only a note and their engagement ring. and he never had the heart to tell us exactly what it said.

But he always did tell Rin and I about her every night when we were little. If you didn't know what happened in the end like we didn't back then, the stories sounded really heart-warming and fairytale-esque. He spoke of her like she was one of the best things to happen to him in his life, like he had met an actual goddess, but whenever we asked him where she was, why Mom wasn't there with us, he'd always say, "If you love something, set it free."

I couldn't ever imagine a guy like me falling in love, though.

Rin kissed Dad's cheek, and he gave me a firm handshake. His expression looked contemplative for a moment, as if searching for the appropriate words to say. He can be a really awkward guy sometimes, so I wasn't surprised when he just went with a dad-like cough and said "Good luck." We would need it, too. It's our first day in our new school.

We move around every two or three years, and there's usually never a good reason. No job promotions, no escape mechanism, no rhyme or reason to it other than tradition. Rin's always heartbroken over having to leave behind the friends she makes, but I get over it pretty easily. I guess I just don't get attached to others that well, especially knowing that I'll only know the people I meet for a few years. I'm not a hermit or anything, but I've never had any "best" friends as a result. Normal friends that I could talk to and partner up with in class I had a bunch of, but no one worth inviting over for dinner or sleepovers. If you were to ask anyone I've met over the years, the word they'd use to describe me would be "distant," I'm sure. Assuming they even remembered me, which I doubt.

Rin, on the other hand, got along with a lot of people, and some she even got really close to. A few years ago, I saw her on her hands and knees in front of dad, begging him to change his mind about moving so that she wouldn't have to leave her friend, Teto Kasane. It was hard not to sympathize with her, even though I didn't know Kasane very well, because she had easily become a member of the family. It was rarer to not see Kasane in the house than the other way around.

They still talk to each other, but only every few weeks. I don't think their friendship will ever be the same.

...

Rin and I walked to the bus stop after leaving our house, she a few feet in front of me and skipping merrily. She's always like this on our first days, always excited to meet new people and make new friends. It's probably better not to think about it the way I do and distance yourself from others because you won't know them very long, and I admire her a little for it. She's optimistic, despite being a nuisance sometimes. I'll give her that.

We don't get on any of those fabled American yellow buses like you see in the movies. Here in Japan, we have to use our own method of transportation to get to school. The bus we're taking is the same kind that car-less adults ride to get where they need to go. They typically smell bad and have a bunch of advertisements about idols and energy drinks. Rin and I both showed the driver our bus passes and climbed on board, not daring to try actually sitting down on any of the seats. If you have any experience with these types of buses, you know that people do all sorts of disgusting stuff on them. Our stop must have been early in the route, because there weren't many people aboard it yet. She and I settled for an iron pole in the center of the vehicle to support ourselves from falling over, but not before simultaneously reaching into our pockets and taking out our can never be too safe with these public transportation places. We waited. It was an uneventful drive.

Well, it was, up until a pair of girls in our school's uniform arrived on the bus shortly afterwards. The first I saw was tall and busty, and her hair was… white. The way she carried herself was absolutely submissive and shy. I could see her head dart all around the bus in every direction, visibly paranoid and anxious like a kid who had lost his mother in a supermarket. The other one, apparently accompanying the white-haired girl, was nearly an entire foot shorter. Her hair was a mustard colored blonde in a sloppily tied side-ponytail. Her thick eyebrows matched the color of her hair, with hazel eyes to match. The expression on her face was hard and annoyed, as if there was a "do not disturb" sign taped onto it. She seemed the type who'd actually bite you if you were to bother her. In short, they both came off as polar opposites.

Before going anywhere, the taller girl whispered something worriedly in the blonde one's ear. The busdriver and a few passengers seemed irritated. She raised an eyebrow and didn't reply as quietly, because Rin and I both were able to hear it. The two of us as well as some other people on the bus were watching it all go down. It wasn't as if we had anything else to look at.

"It's not a problem, Haku. Don't you see the other poles available? Calm down already, moron."

"I…is it? Okay… I'm sorry…" She hung her head slightly, shyly embarrassed as far as I could tell. The blonde just shook her head and patted her friend's back with a very, very slight grin.

And then the bus shot forward out of nowhere and knocked both of them off of their feet.

Or maybe it was just Haku, because the blonde caught herself swiftly and lifted herself up. The other wasn't so agile, having collided with the filthy ground face first.

"Hey! What the hell was that?! Didn't you see that we were still walking?" The blonde glared hard in the direction of the bus driver's seat and her hands shot up, accusatory, but he barely returned the acknowledgment.

"I got a schedule t'follow, kid. Keep movin' or you and your friend are outta here."

"Excuse me? Just who do you think you are?! How about you try getting off of your lazy fat ass and come-!"

"It's…it's okay, Neru-san… W-we… we were taking too long…" Haku's voice didn't sound any louder than a peep, what with the yelling, but somehow Neru was able to hear her friend gather herself off of the dirty floor. It seemed like there was a bruise forming on her cheek, but the dirt didn't show on her navy blue uniform. Haku's voice had apparently soothed the obvious anger present in Neru's tone, causing the blonde's volume to reach something much quieter. She turned towards the other girl and clenched her fists.

"Haku…."

"I'm sorry…"

Haku stared at the floor shamefully while Neru held eye contact for a few strained seconds, then peacefully went to the very back of the bus.

...

It was pretty quiet after that.

Rin and I stayed silent for the remainder of the ride. The girls behind us didn't talk, either. I might have been imagining it, but everyone seemed to have been staring at the blonde one… expectant.

When it was finally time for our stop, Rin hopped to the front, apparently eager to leave. I was right behind her, up until I made the mistake of looking back and saw the other girls still idly standing at the pole. I didn't think they realized that it was time to get off, and I was presented with two options:

A. Leave them and let them miss their stop, it's not your problem.

B. One of them has a bruise on her face and should see a nurse. Come on, Len.

I debated the two options in my head for a few seconds, weighing the pros and cons. You can say I was overthinking, but I really, really hate confronting others, especially people I've never met before. Forcing my hands in my pockets and exhaling tiredly, I shoved my heart back down my throat and turned around to face the girls behind me.

"…Hey, you both are Sorairo students, aren't you?" The shorter girl was engrossed in her phone and didn't even look at me, but Haku nervously glanced around left and right before answering.

"Um…are you talking to us…?"

"I don't…see anyone else I could be talking to. Do you?"

"I-I…am I supposed to…?" I was worried that I was scaring her or something, despite being five or more inches shorter. She seemed like she was really on the verge of tears. Instantly, I knew that this had been a bad idea.

"C…Hey, calm down. I was kidding."

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to-alright, we're holding up the bus. Are you from Sorairo or not?"

"Um…yes… How did you know…?" I glanced at her uniform with our school's insignia stitched above her chest pointedly, but she didn't notice.

"...Lucky guess. But this is your stop, isn't it?" I gestured to the windows which revealed Sorairo Junior High. If there was anything to compensate for the hour it took to get there, it was the exterior of the school. In front of the school was a 20, maybe 25 foot bridge extending over a lake of dazzling blue. It looked clean enough for fish to swim in. Alongside the length of the bridge were rows of even bluer potted flowers encased and supported by clear glass. It had an arched shape, like a cat stretching after its nap. The school itself was mostly white, with stories and stories of glass windows that could've fooled someone into thinking it was tall enough to really touch the sky. Separate buildings extended from what I assumed to be the main building through tiled paths. Of course, there was enough green to account for several football stadiums. And you can't have a high school in the spring without Sakura trees blossoming, can you, because there were probably hundreds of them, dotted randomly and sporadically within the school's college-like campus.

'Get to the point already,' is what you're thinking, right? Sorry.

Haku followed the direction my hand pointed in with her (…maroon?) eyes, which quickly widened from their partially closed state as she gasped inwardly. While she immediately went to alert her friend, I repositioned my hands in my sweater jacket and went on ahead. Rin was, surprisingly, waiting for me a few seats in front of where I was and grinning annoyingly, as if she had something to tease me about. But she didn't.

"Hey, what's your name?"

I was a footstep in front of Rin when she stopped right beside the driver and turned to face him. She had a very fake, almost threatening wide smile that looked like it creeped out both the busdriver and I.

"…What're you askin' me that for, kid?"

"Oh, no reason! I mean, I guess your name doesn't really matter much, does it? After all, you're just a busdriver! That may as well be your name, right? Busdriver-san!"

"The hell-"

"Yep! Because no one cares about your name really, am I wrong? How long have you been doing this, anyway? Most people are proud of how long they've been doing their work, but what about you? Ten years? Fifteen? Maybe even twenty?! Isn't that kind of sad? I mean, this is a pretty crappy job, isn't it?"

"Rin, I think you ought to-"

"You also seem kinda old. Forty? Fifty? Sixty, even?! How are you ever going to save up enough money for retirement with a dead end job like this?

"You…you better shut your mouth right now, kid, or I swear I'll-!"

"You're not going to try and hit me, are you? Isn't this job the only thing of value in your life? Do you really want to lose it and go to jail? I'd have thought that this was a lot more important to you, crappy as it is."

"Khh-!"

"I suggest anger management lessons, Busdriver-san. Your temper is pretty flammable, especially seeing as how you made a girl trip and hurt herself because she was taking her time, you know? I don't even wanna know what kind of stressful and tight life you've had that made you such a terrible guy. Maybe you should just quit your job instead. It hasn't made you any better as a person, has it? Was the pay worth becoming who you are now?"

"…Rin, we really need to-"

"You're right, Outoto! I think we've been holding up the rest of the bus, haven't we? Sorry, everyone! We'll just get on our way now. See you this afternoon, Busdriver-san!"

"…"

"…"

Rin ushered me to follow her as she energetically waved goodbye to the busdriver.

You probably don't want to hear about our classes. Those were just the usual new kid introductory things. We didn't actually have to do any classwork. Rin got chatty with our classmates instantly like she usually does, and a few people wouldn't leave me alone for a while either. I hate the first few weeks as the transfer students; we get treated like zoo animals, like trophies on display that people can ogle as much as they please. Not to mention I hate the "New Kids" trope.

Lunch came, and a bunch of our classmates invited us to eat with them. While Rin struggled to decide whose company she wanted, I politely declined all offers and got out of my seat to go… somewhere else. I didn't have any place in mind where I wanted to go. (Not that I could, being completely unfamiliar with the building.) I just knew that I didn't want to deal with a flood of personal questions while struggling to memorize names and faces. Rin was too distracted to try to stop me.

I turned a left, a right, climbed a staircase and took another left. I ended up exploring the school more than actually eating my own lunch. Outside the windows I could see some sport teams, and I peeked in the windows of some classes and saw a few clubrooms. I've never done any school activities other than aikido, and I wasn't looking to join a new one. I moved on.

I was about to turn another corner until I heard two feminine voices. One of them I felt that I had heard before, but the other was higher pitched and more cheerful.

"…about it, Neru-chan?"

"I'm not the mood to waste my time today and I'm definitely not going to waste it with you."

"Oh, but you're never in the mood! We never spend any time together, Neru-chan…"

"That's because you hate me, and I hate you. Stop acting innocent and get out of my way." Neru retorted loathe fully and shoved past the other girl (will I get charged if I say "bluenette"?), whom feinted hurt and quickly followed after her.

"You're bringing tears to my eyes!" Her pursuer flailed obnoxiously and dropped to her knees, reaching for Neru's ankle as she walked away, three feet, six feet, while dramatically placing the back of her hand on her forehead. "Someone get me a handkerchief, anyone…?"

I probably should have stopped watching right then and there, it was none of my business, but for some reason, I wanted to see what this girl's relationship was with Neru. (And felt a bit of pity.) They clearly weren't friends, so why was she so stuck on getting her attention? I dug my hand into my pocket and withdrew the thin piece of cloth that I used on the bus earlier and was faced with another choice. Do I entertain this girl in order to find out why she's so clingy to Neru, or do I regain my senses and mind my own business like I normally do?

Later that day, I would learn the true meaning of the phrase "curiosity killed the cat".

I closed the distance between the two girls and I and bent on one knee, awkwardly offering her what she had requested. What was it with me and getting involved in other people's problems that day? It must have been the enormous new school, making me dizzy and messing up my head or something.

She didn't even notice at first and neither did Neru, so I coughed loudly and got their attention.

"So…take it." I was doing something bold and stupid and completely unlike me and I didn't know why, but I did. "Are you…you know, okay?."

What the hell am I doing? I thought.

They both looked at me for the first time, and I started to sweat. Why am I so stupid?

The girl on the ground stared, eyebrows raised, like she was surprised that someone was dumb enough to actually give her one.

"Oh, oh, oh! Oh! Oooh! Don't you see, Neru-chan? Don't you see what your cruelty is doing to yourself?" The overdramatic girl said, completely befuddling me as she snatched the piece out of my hand. Neru glared stiffly at me, like she was angry because of what I did.

"Don't humor her. She just wants your attention." She muttered sternly, then looked away and took out her phone, but I could tell she was trying to seem indifferent, to act like she didn't care about what I thought about this situation. If she wasn't, she would have left already.

The other apparently couldn't tell and her expression instantly shifted to something much more enraged and offended. I took it she didn't like being ignored.

"Ha ha ha," She chuckled stiffly. "Ha ha HA! That's…so funny, Neru-chan! You must be the opposite then, right? Trying to be all cool and mysterious, pretending that I don't exist!"

From there, it happened so quickly that I didn't get a chance to react. The blue-haired girl shot up from the ground and stuffed my handkerchief in Neru's mouth. She dropped her phone in surprise, but almost immediately grabbed the other girl by the wrist and hurled her backwards. Miraculously, she landed on her feet, but Neru didn't wait for her to steady herself. She ran straight at the blue-haired girl and threw a kick. The other just barely ducked and threw a few hairpins at Neru's face. It seemed pointless and ineffective at first, but then I realized what she was actually trying to do; the girl with the pigtails wanted Neru's phone, and the pins had just been a distraction. I only watched as she snatched it up with her blue finger-painted nails and curled herself into a ball a split second later, rolling away from Neru's incoming kick. Neru came hurling right after her until the other held up her fingernail next to the phone's touchscreen.

"You wouldn't want to get any ugly scratch marks on your Android, would you, Neru-chan?"

"Give it back, Miku," Neru growled in a low voice. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but if you mess with my phone, I swear to God I'll-"

"Oh sure, sure! I promise I won't break it! But you have to promise me something in return, okay? Meet me at the tree outside the health room. You know, the really really tall one? 6:30 o'clock after school!"

Miku, I assumed her name to be, since Neru had just called her that, avoided another punch and hid behind my back. She put her hands on my shoulders and pulled me closer to her. I flinched. I'd been frozen in place for so long that I didn't even notice her there until she kissed my cheek and said, "Bring this cutie along with you, by the way, or no deal!" and abruptly skipped away.

Huh? Yeah, I said that she kissed my cheek. No idea where that came from.

My face felt warm and my eyes widened a little. I'd never been kissed at all by a girl before, so don't judge me when I say that I blushed and felt my cheek with my fingers. Had she really just called me cute? Me?

But then I remembered the circumstances and felt less flustered. That girl, Miku, she probably didn't mean it and just wanted to irritate Neru, considering the equally red color on her own face that I saw when I looked. I guessed stuff like that embarrasses her. I shouldn't be over thinking about that sort of thing anyway, I don't even know that girl, and from what I've seen, she's definitely not my type. (Not that I even know what my type is, just... not that.)

We waited in the hallway as the sound of Miku's footsteps eventually faded further and further away, until it was just the two of us standing in uncomfortable silence. I didn't know what to make of everything that had just happened. I'd just left my classroom to explore the building, witnessed a random fight between two girls, and gotten my first kiss from a girl I didn't know. I've had a lot of "first day at a new school"'s in my life, but this was by far the weirdest and most eventful.

Neru finally did something to break the silence - she groaned loudly enough for every classroom in the hallway to hear and kicked a wall so hard it left a crack. The walls had looked sturdy, so I was surprised that she didn't break at least a few toes on impact. She looked as if she wanted to punch another thing, to take out her anger on something else, and I wasn't so sure that it was going to be just a wall this time, so I started to turn around and leave. She was sharp, though, and caught me moving no more than probably an inch.

"Hey! You're not going anywhere, kid." Neru said as she flicked her light brown eyes towards me. I stopped moving and looked at her hesitantly, a little worried to be dealing with a person that seemed ready to pulverize me.

"Uh… why is that?"

"Because I need you come with me and get my phone back!"

"I still don't see why I need to come with you to do this."

"Do I have to explain everything? It's because Miku said that you need to come, too."

"I didn't think she was serious about that, though."

"It doesn't matter whether or not she was being serious! I'm not taking any risks. Just come with me!"

"Gee, I'd love to, but… Getting involved with girls who break out into fights at school reeeally isn't how I like to spend my afternoons."

"Fine." Neru huffed and folded her arms against her chest. "What do you want?"

"To be left alone?" I offered, pointing in the direction of the exit.

"No, you idiot! I mean, what do I have to do to get you to come with me?"

"I don't want anything from you, really. I just want to pretend I didn't see anything and go on with my day."

"Okay, this is bothering me, so I want to ask you something. I'm pretty sure I've seen your face before, but I don't remember. Do I know you?"

"We just ride the same bus to get here, that's all."

"Oh, you and that girl. You're the ones that took the pole Haku and I always use!"

"Took your pole? I don't know wh-"

...

"'It's not a problem, Haku. Don't you see the other poles available? Calm down already, moron.'

'I…is it? Okay… I'm sorry…'

And then the bus shot forward out of nowhere and knocked both of them off of their feet."

…

"... Oh. Sorry about that." It might have been indirect, but Rin and I taking Neru and her friends' spot on the bus was the reason why they held up the bus and Haku hurt herself. It wasn't really our fault, but I still felt a little guilty about it.

"'Sorry' nothing! You have five seconds to say you'll come with me before I kick your ass, kid. One, two, thr-"

"Alright, alright! I'll go. Just stop calling me kid, I'm pretty sure we're in the same grade."

"Then what else am I supposed to call you?"

"You could have asked for my name. It's Kagamine Len."

I had a feeling of deja vu.

...

"'It's 6AM, Outoto! You only have 20 minutes to fix your hair. It's a disaster, you know!'

'Alright, alright… But didn't I tell you several times to stop calling me Outoto?'

'What?! Then what else am I supposed to call you!?'

'There's my name, for one.'"

…

"... Akita Neru. 6:30 tonight at the health room. If you stand me up, I'll really make you regret it tomorrow!" As Neru stared at me, examining me with her eyes like I was some interesting new species to a scientist, somehow I felt that this girl would be a problem for me in the future. I felt that our conflicts wouldn't just end after I helped her get her phone back, that I'd be seeing her more than just on the bus to and from school. Her sloppily tied ponytail, her unbuttoned uniform jacket, her permanently furrowed brows and steely eyes, all of it screamed bad news to me; this isn't the type of girl I should be getting involved with, I told myself. I should just take a beating tomorrow instead of concerning myself with her, instead of complicating my school life like this. I should stay away from those girls and keep living the peaceful school life that I've always devoted myself to, leaving people to their own affairs until I graduated quietly and normally.

But for some reason, I don't know why, I'd done a lot of getting involved with other peoples' problems on that day. I told Haku that she and Neru were about to miss their stop, I intervened between Miku and Neru, I got involved in something that wasn't any of my business. I thought, maybe this should be the year that I don't hide so much. Maybe I should try being a new Kagamine Len and open up to other people.

I had no idea what a terrible choice that was.

AN: Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong! This is -not- going to be a Miku x Len story, I promise! Len only blushed because - well, what boy wouldn't when a pretty girl kisses his cheek? I don't even like MikuLen, Miku's just flirty and Len is a dork. If the next chapter is going to be as long as this one, you can expect an update… I dunno, in a week or two maybe? Unless I'm bored and just get it all done in a day or two haha. Till the next update, see you guys!