Two Breaths Walking
"Look at her!"
She paid the voices she was hearing no mind and instead continued down the hall, her head turning if she walked past someone.
People from right to left exchanged glances from her back to their friends as they began to speak quietly.
Funny thing was, Miku had a feeling they didn't know she saw it. And if they knew she did see it, they would make up lies to make her feel like a wilting flower.
Soon her nutrients and water would run out and all she would be was a dried up piece of nothing in a field of beautiful, blooming flowers.
That's what she believed.
That's what she said to herself.
Oh, how much she wanted to land a punch on every single soul who bothered to mess with her; they wouldn't stand a chance, anyway.
But Miku always thought about the future.
How eventually she'd get out of school and live her own life. Get a lover and live a better life than this.
Have a job.
Raise a family.
If she spoiled her record now by attacking and going all-out on someone, get a rather large amount of bad grades, or miss school, she might as well kiss her future good-bye.
Highly contrasting with her own theory, it wasn't that she was bad with her grades and education, in fact, she had all A's and B's, but she highly disliked school.
On some days, to her, it was just another reason to open her arms wide open towards hate and unappreciation. Just another reason to let people push her around and step on her like a doormat. It wasn't like she wasn't already being treated badly; her parents, she felt, didn't care much for her. They gave her the necessary needs of food, water, shelter, clothes, as well as advice, but they didn't give anything beyond that.
Once she was old enough to go to school, it practically felt as if she were living by herself.
Nobody ever cared enough to become a 'friend', under Miku's definition of one. If they did attempt to, they would fool her in the end by either leaving her or finding someone else. So on most days she'd be found sitting alone at the empty end of the lunch table, sorting her thoughts.
Her thoughts.
It should've been Miku's hobby. She felt all she did was think. She reread what she was about to say aloud, at least, three times, and considered the advantages and disadvantages of saying it before finally letting it float into the air for other people to hear.
Nonetheless, no matter how much certain people would ask for her opinion or what she's thinking about, they would all stand in confusion when she finished speaking. Miku had seen it so many times that she was starting to title herself as misunderstood.
Too bad no one actually listens . . .
I may warn the world of something one day but they won't believe me . . .
She turned the corner.
Just to bump into a tall man with, Miku thought she saw, hair the color of a deep, cloudless sky. When they both collided, Miku's papers scattered all around the hall with only them.
"Oh, sorry . . ." he said casually.
Oh my gosh, he has a deep voice, too!
How is that possible for a high school guy?
She didn't look him in the eye. She couldn't. Her body wouldn't obey. If she did, she would disappear and reappear in the shy and introverted part of her mind and not be able to say anything.
"I-it's fine," she said rather quickly, practically sitting on the floor to pick up her graded work.
Miku noticed his hand collecting papers, too.
Why is he helping me?
Is this what it's like to have real-life friends?
For them to patch you up when something happens?
Not long after that did she pull out a collection for her papers subconsciously.
When she put everything away in one of her binders, she stood up again, planning to walk away. She didn't want to be late for class, after all. But a hand stopped her.
Without thinking about it beforehand, Miku raised her gaze to the person with the hand but automatically regretted it.
There was something in his sapphire eyes - Miku knew because she always could tell what a person was truly like by looking them in the eyes - that was soft and caring; while at the same time seeming unreadable.
"I'm really sorry about that . . ."
Fear rose in her as she searched for something to say.
"N-no, you shouldn't be sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."
And with that, she practically scurried down the hall towards her locker. She could feel eyes watching her. Blue eyes.
All through class, she felt eyes burning into the back of her head.
It wasn't like she cared anymore, anyway, but the thought that it still happened irritated her.
She was, as usual, the first to complete all her work, and, therefore, had no overdue classwork to finish, either. So she was just sitting there, writing.
Miku had attempted to show her parents her song lyrics before, but they never cared enough to read it, or would just be half-hearted about it.
The one who did actually read it, and listened to her sing them was her only friend, Luka. She had long, azalea-colored hair, and was silent yet wise; relatable to Miku. Luka, also, wished to attain the singing career, so she helped alongside Miku while she wrote.
Oh, did she mention that she's an online friend?
Sigh.
Too bad they couldn't meet up that easily; they had to travel a long distance to see each other face-to-face.
Miku could feel the walls fading away as she fell into the paper she was writing on in her notebook.
But, soon enough, an obnoxious ringing broke through her isolated paradise to signal the next hell-hole she had to visit.
Here comes another forty-five minutes in gym . . .
She hurriedly gathered up her belongings, holding her notebook in her right arm, and, after wishing the teacher a good day, was the third one to escape the classroom.
Unfortunately, due to fourth period being the lunch block, Miku had to deal with her dear gym buddies for an hour and a half.
Stunk for her that nobody liked her in her gym class.
There were people like Gumi or Meiko that she talked to every now and then, but it was nothing serious. Some people were only nice to her so she could give them the correct answer on graded work; that they obviously didn't pay attention to.
It conflicted with her, honestly; for she wanted to help people, but at the same time, the demon deep inside her always questioned, 'What have you ever done for me?'
As she walked towards the cafeteria all by her lonesome, she sat by her desired end of the table that no one besides her had touched the whole school year, unzipping her packed lunch.
Miku rubbed the area around her bandage positioned on her left cheek.
It was a long story, but, putting it simply, she got scratched quite severely the day before.
Not even a covering on her face was enough to win over the sympathy of her peers.
I wonder who that guy was from earlier.
Will I ever see him again?
She contemplated her thoughts on the male from that day as she took a bite of a leek. Miku always wondered if she was the only one who enjoyed them; because she seemed to be.
Is he telling all of his friends about me . . . ?
Her thoughts left her as a blonde figure stood next to her, lunch tray in hand.
"Hey, um, is this seat taken?" they asked, glancing down at the empty spot to Miku's right side.
That was when Miku started to hesitate.
"U-um . . . No . . ."
"Don't be so scared. I just want to sit with you."
As the female sat down beside her, she got a good look at her.
She had bright blonde hair and radiant ocean-blue eyes. And Miku could see through her eyes; a look of determination. She also had petite facial features.
In the first few moments, they both ate their lunch in silence, and Miku suspected the usual once more.
Just another person feeling bad for me so they sit with me, but then don't talk.
What a waste of ti-
"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself," the girl said, turning her gaze towards Miku again and interrupting her thoughts. "I'm Rin Kagamine. And you are . . . ?"
Miku froze.
Phrases of how to introduce herself ran through her brain until she chose a slightly decent one.
Unlucky for her, she took a bit too long trying to pick something.
"O-oh, I'm Hatsune Miku. Nice to meet you."
A few more seconds of silence. Miku took the advantage to watch how Rin's brain works from the outside. She watched her every move; what food she ate next, whether she used a napkin or not, how she ate her meal . . .
"So, forgive me for asking, but why do you sit by yourself all the time? I've been noticing it since the first day of school."
Miku slightly smirked.
"Well, that's a loaded question," she mused.
"At first, I thought it was just a first-day-loneliness thing," Rin started, "but it never stopped. I wondered why, and then I finally decided to sit with you."
The teal-haired girl was speechless.
Someone . . . had noticed?
With her soft-spoken nature, instead of questioning it, she simply stayed silent, intent on listening further.
"I was just . . . hoping you were okay. A lot of people our age are getting too sad and lonely like this, and then disappear," Rin explained, somewhat wincing at the thought.
The two had talked more throughout lunch - even though it was more of Rin talking and Miku listening - but, a bit too soon, their time was up and they had to depart.
As they were standing up to walk back to class, Miku asked in concern, "Aren't you going to be picked on because you're talking to me?"
The blonde shrugged.
"Eh. It's not like I would care. I'd rather help someone in need and be picked on than be popular and not help anyone."
Miku nodded her head and began to walk away, just to be stopped by a hand.
"Wait, Miku!" Rin called. "Do you mind meeting me after school on the track?"
"Uh . . . well . . ."
You might as well go, Miku. It's not like there's anything exciting waiting for you at home.
"I guess . . ." she managed out.
"Great!"
A smile grew on Rin's face.
"See you later, then! Bye, Miku!"
"Bye . . ."
Miku watched as she walked off, disappearing outside the large doorway.
For a few seconds, she couldn't move; she was stuck in that one spot in the cafeteria.
But, soon after that, something shouted at her in the back of her head.
Duck!
Without thinking, she quickly followed the command and lowered her head; just to see a plate of food dart towards her, missing her by an inch.
The plate collided with the wall, the impact smashing it to pieces.
Miku hesitantly forced herself to turn and see who the source was, but she immediately regretted it.
It was Zatsune Mikuo, the Sophomore bully.
Miku could honestly tell that there was more behind his coincidentally red eyes; sadness, loneliness, anger, envy. But instead hid it with a mask that reflected his face incorrectly.
She didn't even feel like starting with him, so she hurriedly sprinted out of the cafeteria, eyes following her.
Quickly.
She had to get out of there quickly. If she confronted him, then she would lose her calm and collected nature and just explode.
But at least she had one good thing to look forward to that afternoon.
Finally, as the dismissal bell rang through the school, Miku darted out of the classroom and to her desired place behind the school. She had always hidden her bike there; since putting it in the parking lot wasn't logical after she tried to.
Long-story short, some lifeless person stole her bicycle in the remarking that it was hers, so she had to walk all the way home.
Her house wasn't that far away; that's why she rode her bike there, but it was a mile.
It sucked.
Once she was sure she was alone for the time being, Miku took a deep breath, leaning against the now-comforting brick wall.
It's been a long day.
I just know they'll get better . . .
And then she drifted her hands along the air before her in a certain order that she was now used to, and as she did, a magical aura seemed to form.
She mumbled her protection spell that she memorized as her hand glided over the colorful light in the air forming.
Once she stopped murmuring, her eyes gradually opened to reveal a glowing, bright gray hue creating a ring in the oceans of teal in her eyes; but as soon as you saw the color, it was gone.
Miku felt less tense and more relaxation running through her muscles and veins.
Standing up straight once more, she walked towards the gravel track for gym activities in the spring.
"Where is she?"
Miku checked her watch one last time before letting her arm fall back to her side, looking utterly unaffected by the spell earlier.
Ten minutes had passed ever since she first got in that agreed spot, and Rin was nowhere to be found.
She was beginning to hum one of her songs in the making, 'Odds and Ends'; but right when she was halfway through the first chorus, she caught sight of a blonde head of hair practically flying down the hill towards her.
Miku immediately stopped her actions and stood silently as Rin neared her. She watched as she stopped right in front of her, hands meeting her knees as she gasped for air.
"I'm sorry . . . that I . . . didn't come . . . I was . . . held back . . ."
"O-okay . . ."
The teal-haired teen didn't question or make a big deal about it; she was here now, wasn't she?
Rin started small-talking, and Miku answered with one or two words, or either a quiet, simple explanation.
After a few moments of seemingly distracting her, Rin glanced to the back of her before her face lit, determined eyes turning towards Miku.
"I've been meaning to introduce you to . . ."
She moved to the side so her friend could see the new-comers a few feet away.
". . . my friends."
Without her saying anything else, Miku's eyes quickly widened in terror.
There stood two males, one about an inch shorter than her, and the tall one standing next to him looked all-too-familiar. The shorter one had blond hair and vibrant aqua eyes that looked quite like Rin's; while the taller had unnatural bright blue hair and eyes the same color.
"Miku," Rin started after a short silence, "this is Len and that's Kaito."
She pointed at each of them as she said their names and Len grinned when her finger landed on him.
"Nice to meet you!"
"Good afternoon."
Their distinct voices overlapped each other as they both greeted Miku.
But she was still caught off guard.
"Y-you're-!"
Kaito lightly smiled.
"It's a small world, isn't it?"
Her jaw nearly dropped to the Earth's core.
"I-I'm so confused right now . . ."
"What's confusing about it?" Rin mused. "They're my best friends. Len is a Sophomore, like us, and Kaito is a Junior."
Miku could see Rin's hand enter her vision. She turned her gaze nervously to see her arm stretched out to give a hand-shake.
"Now that you know my closest friends, I hoped that we all could hang out more often."
She stared at the outstretched palm.
She strongly wanted to accept it and shake her hand back; of course she wished to.
To have the friends that she hadn't experienced in real life for at least two years.
But did she really want to take the chance with another friend?
Just take the offering. If something goes wrong, just know it'll be a nice run.
The teal-haired Sophomore hesitantly reached out her hand, trembling a bit as her fingers neared Rin's. Then she quickly placed her hand upon hers, then shaking it.
A happy grin passed through Rin's lips.
Something from outside practically tore down the front door, revealing a teenage girl with long, bright hair.
"Mom?" she called, expecting to get an answer and know where she was.
She got the reply she wanted, shouting emitting from the kitchen.
"Yes?"
Miku immediately followed the voice, stopping precisely in the middle of the arch, to see her mother cutting a fish into bits.
"Hey, Mama, I met the person that I like," she forced out, grinning uncontrollably.
The older female turned her gaze to face Miku, slightly smiling.
"I'm happy for you."
Miku was about to run up the stairs to her room to write and talk to Luka, but her mom stopped her.
"Um, Miku, can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Uh . . ."
Upon the unexpected request, Miku began to hesitate, but she merely said, "Sure."
They both sat down at the dining table - which was in the lower-right corner of the kitchen.
"You know with your power, you need to make sure that you pick the right person to love. If you pick the wrong person, both of you will end with an unfortunate fate."
Miku knew about all of this.
How could she not?
So why was her mother talking to her about it again?
"I know, Mom, do you think I would have picked him if I didn't know-"
But she kept talking.
"And if you decide to simply kiss this person, they will forever be your partner; if one of you decide to leave, it won't end that well."
"I'm not clueless about all thi-"
"I know that, Miku." Her mother paused so she could get Miku's attention, for she had begun to scowl at the floor. "I'm just warning you."
When her eyes finally raised, they were as cold as ten Antarctica's combined, and her eyebrows were curved in an irritated manner.
"Why? It's not like you care, anyway."
Before she had time to stop her, Miku practically shot up from her wooden chair and darted out of the room.
She could hear the desperate calls of her mother behind her, but it didn't stop her from slamming her bedroom door shut after entering.
Miku sighed heavily before turning to her bed. Laying in a perfect circle was her Short-Hair cat, fur glowing a bright white as she purred affectionately.
The Sophomore could feel a small smile spread on her face upon seeing her second-closest-friend. As she gently stroked under the cat's chin, she kneeled down on the light blue carpeted floor to look her in the eye.
"My little cutie," Miku mused. "You won't ever leave me, will you Shinko?"
As some sort of way of answering, Shinko rubbed the top of her head on Miku's knuckles, and finally opening her eyes. Oceans of Payne's Gray formed the graceful cat's eyes, now-and-then disappearing due to blinking.
Understanding what Shinko's signals mean, Miku smiled lightly before standing back up.
Her facial expression slightly changed to one of regret, just now coming to realization.
"I left my backpack downstairs . . ."
The words continued on.
She couldn't stop them.
Not even friends would save her from the torture everyone there put her through.
Miku was walking behind a boy with gold hair, and, suddenly, he pushed back his arm and hit her near the mouth; the moment his elbow collided with the area between her lips and jaw, she yelped like a dog when getting stepped on.
She fell to the ground, hard. After a solemn second of feeling the cold marble school floor, she gently touched her face, only to feel pain run through her veins.
The male turned to her, signaling the other boy he was with to turn around, as well.
"Watch how close you are to me," he said emotionlessly.
Miku stared at him, hurt and sadness in her eyes as she suddenly felt so small to him.
He looked away from her, raising a hand towards her as if to block her out.
The boy that was standing next to him turned his gaze to him doubtfully, then glancing down at Miku.
He seemed to be tempted to hold out a hand to help her up, but the way that he continued glancing at the male looked as if he was afraid of his reaction.
Miku could somehow tell that he was about to do something else - hit her again, or something of that sort - but right when he got literally an inch away from her, she heard a familiar voice.
"Excuse me, Nero. But I think you're picking on the wrong girl."
Teal-colored eyes shot up to see Rin standing beside her, hands on her hips and eyebrows pointed.
'Nero' smirked and seemed to decide to leave them both alone, walking away as if nothing ever happened.
"Come on, Mikuo."
As if saying a silent 'sorry', Mikuo slightly waved before he followed after his friend.
Rin quickly lifted Miku up off the floor to stand on her two feet, but she noticed that her aquamarine eyes were still filled with irritation.
"Don't let them talk to you like that; they'll lower your self-esteem," she stated.
Then, Rin half-way smiled at Miku as if nothing had happened before walking off again.
"I'll see you during lunch!"
Miku stood silent and motionless.
"Okay . . ."
She really did help me.
Maybe I was wrong.
Like Rin had said, later at lunch, Miku and Rin sat together, just to soon be joined by Len and Kaito. Rin, Len, and Kaito seemed to be the life of the party, while Miku sat quietly, observing, at times laughing.
At some times, Miku didn't even know what they were talking about because they jumped all over the place with different, funnier subjects each time.
The teal-haired girl couldn't help but hear, from all around her, people's whispers suffocating her.
They're probably going to drag them into this now, aren't they?
She had to ask.
"I know I asked this before," she hesitantly started, causing their gazes to turn to her, "but aren't people going to pick on you now since you're with me?"
They all seemed to glance at one another as if that would give them their answer.
"Miku," Rin said sincerely, "I told you before, I don't care if people bully me, and you don't have to worry about us if we are. We all know how to defend ourselves - physically and verbally - and Kaito's a Junior, so the Sophomores don't even know he exists."
"But they will when they see him with me . . ."
Miku didn't know why she was always so hard on herself. It was just something she did for as long as she could remember.
"What did I just tell you?" Rin prompted.
"That I don't need to worry about it . . . ?" Miku remarked.
"Bingo."
Coincidentally, that's when the school bell rang for the end of the lunch period, and, after saying their good-byes, they all parted ways.
Rin's words rang through Miku's head for the rest of the day.
"And you don't have to worry about us."
Really . . . ?
For the next month, eating lunch with Rin, Len, and Kaito became the best part of Miku's day.
They made her feel like she belonged. Even Luka was happy for her.
The only down-side was that Miku's tiny crush on Kaito had grown into something gradually becoming too much to sustain.
Generally speaking, she was more of her louder self - that she was with Luka - with them now, but around said male, she couldn't stop herself from remaining her quieter self.
Miku still didn't know what the three of them were talking about at some times; Len was overall the funniest, Rin was the loudest, Kaito didn't make sense most of the time that he was with them, and Miku, as a change for her, was actually quite silly and cheery around them.
Some nights or days after school, they would meet up together to do homework together or study for upcoming quizzes and tests.
Anything to get Miku out of the house was fine.
She still kept her friendship with Luka balanced, though. She was always good at that; making sure that one friend didn't overlap in importance or frequency than the other.
On rare occasion, Miku and Kaito would study alone - that's where she realized that, by the way he acted around her, Kaito liked her, too - and he would help her understand topics that she couldn't quite grasp.
"Hey, Miku?"
"Huh?"
Miku snapped back into reality as Kaito's voice broke through her imagination.
When her eyes finally adjusted to see him, he slightly smiled.
"You need to stop spacing out all the time," he teased, giving her a somewhat nudge.
Miku laughed back, going back to reading her book.
But something was bothering her.
She didn't know what.
I can't focus . . .
Is it because of him . . . ?
She glanced up at Kaito. He seemed like he couldn't focus his mind, either.
Miku noticed he was still on the same page he was on fifteen minutes ago.
"Have you gotten better with your self-consciousness?"
His sudden question caused her cheeks to burn and quickly tear her gaze away from him.
"O-oh, yeah, I guess . . ." she replied, her voice quiet and meek. "Having you, Rin, and Len around really brings it up."
She smiled, causing him to grin, too.
Her head lowered, eyes meeting her lap.
Just act natural.
It'll be fine.
"This is the first page on the history of my growth."
She looked up at him with the most confidence she'd ever felt.
"And now I've got a story . . ."
She slightly grinned as she added, "That no one can tell correctly besides me . . ."
Her sudden small speech made Kaito look a bit shocked, but at the same time, he felt elated inside.
She was finally getting better.
Miku's backpack slammed into the carpet floor of her room as she sat down at her desk, forehead then leaning against the painted wood.
What am I gonna do . . . ?
She felt something furry touch her ankle.
She moved her head to look under her table, just to see a white furball at her feet.
A mixture of gray and blue glowed against the darkness under the piece of furniture.
Miku slowly smiled.
"Hey, Shinko."
From across her desk, a vibration emitted and her phone potentially lit up.
She reached for it, soon seeing that it was Kaito.
'Hey. Meet me at the school track ASAP'
And with that, Miku hurriedly threw her gray coat on, followed by her boots that she was wearing that day.
"I'll be back, Shinko."
Before the cat had time to do anything, Miku was already out the door and running towards the front of the house.
However, she did respond with a small meow.
When she finally reached school grounds, she practically hurled her bike down on the grass as she spotted a blue-haired figure in the middle of the track.
By the time he had turned around, Miku was already standing before him, except about twenty feet away.
Suddenly, they both felt an uncontrollable strange feeling filling their consciousness, and they were hypnotized in each other.
Miku gradually took one step forward, her body trembling.
Because I want to hold you, I walk on my two legs.
The two figures slowly took continuous steps towards one another, one at a time.
They stopped when they were a bit less than an arm's reach away.
Because I'm all lonely by myself, I'll breathe with you.
Without thinking, they both hesitantly pulled together like a magnet.
Miku's mind wasn't even clear by that point.
She was just going with her instinct.
The moment their lips connected, the world seemed to fade. Nothing else except for each other ran through their minds at that exact second.
Through our kiss, you'll now live breathing in my own breath.
Your words have just dissolved in my saliva.
An unexplainable force dashed through Kaito's body, forcing him to feel under pressure.
But he didn't care.
All he needed was here and now.
Their mouths slowly pulled apart, and Miku began to say something again.
It wasn't like her usual mumbling that she did; it had clarity. The words didn't make much sense to Kaito, but he listened all the way through anyway.
"Hey, breathe in my breath right now. You can try saying, 'I love you', too."
She paused to take a deep breath, knowing that the last part would make it final.
"If so, I should always be your oxygen tank."
A grin spread on her face as she finished.
"Draw the words I mutter until my last breath."
Although this is my first FanFiction posted, this is not the first I have written. I have, in fact, written many FanFictions, just haven't posted them for my sake :/ Also sorry if I didn't get the story line quite right; I wrote this without reading any other FanFiction on it, and how I personally viewed the story line.
Nonetheless I hope you enjoyed reading! I'll be posting more works soon!
Credits:
Crypton Future Media |
I do not own Vocaloid. All rights go to their original owners.