Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Vocaloid. Each character used belongs to the respective company that produced him/her; I merely borrowed them for non-profit entertainment purposes. The Hatsune Miku song Streaming Heart, of which this fanfic is based, belongs to DECO*27. Please give credit to him and check out the original song. It's amazing. Regardless, I do claim ownership to the cover art and words below. Please enjoy.
I can't say I ever understood the depths to the lives of others.
For so long I had believed that what we saw in everyone was what we got; every person I knew was just as put together as they appeared in public.
Little did I know how wrong I was.
"Wait, stop!" I shouted, but there were none to hear it. Love Makers screamed and ran as another gun shot pierced the morning air. Love Wreckers were crying out to tell whoever was shooting at the crowd to come out and fight. Len and his friend - Miku, I believed was her name - continued to run even as I called after them.
Realizing they were not going to stop and wait, I allowed the adrenaline and self-preservation instincts to kick in. It really would have sucked if my childhood friend died, but there was no way I was going to go down without doing something to save myself. If Len wanted to run and drag that girl along with him, then he was on his own.
I jumped to my feet - I had knocked Len and Miku over when I saw a large arrow coming for them and had yet to get back up at that point - and ran to the nearest store: a bakery. Instead of going inside like many other Love Makers, I ran behind the building and scaled the ladder of the fire escape. When I reached the top, I pulled out my pocket knife. As I looked around, I saw I wasn't the only one who took this course of action. The only difference between me and the others was I was the only one who wore white.
There was a Love Wrecker on the bakery roof with me. She scanned me, saw that I was serious, and nodded her head as a form of respect. No other Love Maker would do what I was doing, and that was enough to keep the Love Wrecker from telling me to get lost.
We each began to look around, searching for whatever it was we were after. I saw the pillar just in time to see Len pull Miku through the portal. Now that my concern for his safety no longer had reason to exist, I began to scan the rooftops. It was up on the clock tower just an arm's throw away from the bakery that I noticed a rogue Love Wrecker shooting at the pillar, a bow and quiver of arrows slung over his back and agitation clearly written on his face.
"There!" I pointed at him for the Love Wrecker, and when she noticed, she shot at him.
The rogue dodged the bullet and made to retreat. I jogged closer to him before throwing my knife. He was hit in the leg, and it was enough for him to crumple down and slide to the alley below.
"You missed him!" the Love Wrecker shouted, her accent British. She must have been visiting the area, which would explain why I didn't know her.
"I hit exactly where I was aiming," I told her. "We shouldn't hit to kill, especially if we don't know why there was an attack. Don't you think we should figure out why he shot at all those people before we kill him?"
Just then another gunshot echoed, making me jump. I looked over to see a Love Wrecker standing over the corpse of our attacker. Putting his gun away, the Love Wrecker looked at us before giving a thumbs up.
"Seems he didn't think so," was how the British Love Wrecker replied to me.
She and I both made descended the bakery, and some other Love Wreckers approached the body as well. The sight of my switch blade in the deceased's leg made my stomach churn, but I pushed it aside. I wasn't glad that he was dead: I hated that I played a told in this guy's death. However, I was grateful that no more innocents would be hurt. Soon enough the Love Makers would come out and tend to the wounded. I prayed we wouldn't lose anyone to this incident.
"I've never seen him before in my life," the Love Wrecker who killed the rogue said. He also had a British accent. "What do you think, Rui?"
Rui, the Love Wrecker on the roof with me, bent down and looked the rogue hard in the face. "I know him," she said finally. "His sister is my brother's partner. His name's Rinto."
I almost apologized, but I caught myself. The relation wouldn't matter to Rui. She didn't care if Rinto lived or died, nor did she care how his sister would react to the news. Heck, Rui probably wouldn't give a rat's hat if her brother had any feelings over what just happened. It wasn't that Rui is heartless: she's just a Love Wrecker.
"Better not leave this in there." Without blinking, the male Love Wrecker pulled out my knife and wiped the blade against his pants. "I don't suppose this is yours."
Rui pointed at me. "It's his. You should have seen it, Zeito. This Love Maker has some wicked aim."
Taking me in, Zeito looked dubious. "A Love Maker who will injured another? Now I've seen everything." He handed the pocket knife to me, which I accepted because he had cleaned off the blood. I don't think I could have taken it back otherwise. "So it's possible for your kind to fight after all," he said. Our police are never Love Makers, just Love Wreckers. If I could fight, it was strictly self-taught.
"Only those of us who don't want to be hopeless in situations such as this," I replied. It was then I noticed a tiny figure slowly approaching the scene. I would have thought nothing of it had it not been for the fact she was trembling where she stood.
"Rin!" I called out as I ran towards her, foolish because I still held my knife in my hand. "Rin, are you all right? Were you hit?"
I noticed that Rin tightly clutched her right arm, blood pooling from an over her elbow and seeping through her fingers. Rin was hit all right, but she was also fine. Based on how little she reacted, this was just a scratch to her. Because it was the smart decision, I didn't ask if she wanted help cleaning her wound. "It'll stop bleeding eventually," she would say whenever she cut herself while we were children, "and after that you just slap a band aid on it. No big deal."
"He's with her," Rin whispered. Physically she was fine, but I wasn't about to get my hopes up for her emotional state. Not yet. "He shouldn't be with her. Why's he with her?"
"Who shouldn't be with whom?" I asked, speaking softly.
With a shake of her head, Rin answered, "Len shouldn't be with that girl. She shouldn't even be here. It's not possible."
Then she collapsed. I grabbed her uninjured arm to keep her from falling to the ground. Regaining her balance, Rin shook me off as she said, "Let me go, Nero. I'm all right."
"Rin, what's going on?" I asked. "Why shouldn't Len let be with Miku?"
Sighing, Rin answered, "Long story."
"I don't know what this shooting practice was about," Zeito said, approaching Rin and me while Rui followed close behind, "but he wasn't the only one. His angle didn't give him much area to cover, and there are people out of what was his reach hurt."
"Either the others took off after your excellent aim took out their ally," Rui said – Love Wreckers never associated with others as "friends," just allies – "or they lost their target and went chasing after it."
This information made Rin catch her breath. If I didn't know her so well from having grown up nearly side-by-side, I wouldn't have caught this little action. In an instant, I understood.
Len shouldn't have been with Miku, according to Rin.
Len and Miku went through the portal.
The rogue Love Wreckers disappeared shortly after Len and Miku left.
Something was up, and Rin knew it. She may have not known everything, but she knew something. I wondered how hard I would have to try to get her to tell me what was going on, and with how stubborn Rin is, I would have to try very, very hard.
"Any ideas why this pocket of all Love Worlds would be attacked?" Zeito asked. "Is there an alliance issue we need to know about? There's one between the British and French pockets that's coming close to war, that's why we're here, for safety. I wonder if this is over something similar."
"No issues that I know of," I answered. Rin still shook by my side, her blood still pouring at a rate I didn't like. "There haven't been any big disagreements in recent years, and everyone's happy. Whatever this shooting was about has nothing to do with alliances and more with specific targets." Like Len and his out-of-town friend.
"Then let's hope they don't come back," Rui said. By this time the other Love Wreckers have completely lost interest. With the exception of Rui and Zeito, they have all left the scene in favor of more entertaining activities. Solving a mystery just wasn't important to them, I supposed. "Things like this just don't happen, not in the Love World," Rui went on to say. "If there's a problem that has nothing to do with alliances between respected pockets, then it has to mean that the Streamers are involved."
"What do you know about the Streamers?" Rin asked, returning to us. She still clutched her arm, but the bleeding began to subside, much to my relief.
"It's what our alliance over in Europe is about," Zeito answered. "The French pocket want to accept Streamers into Europe's Love World society, but our pocket won't have it. They refuse to have mutts treated as equals, let alone have them become citizens."
"We want to keep our blood pure," Rui added. "The sooner we accept Streamers as one of us, the sooner we will start having each other as partners and soil ourselves."
"But Streamers can't reproduce," Rin pointed out. "There's no reason to worry about ruining 'pure blood' because there won't be mixed blood offspring to be had. Nothing's going to change."
Rui shrugged a single shoulder. "If there's one stereotype I agree with, it's that we are an arrogant people. Of course, every groups have people has their flaws. Zeito and I came here of all places because it's a small pocket. Nothing of significance ever happens in a small pocket, or that's what we believed until today. . . ."
Neither Rin nor I had a comment to that. Something more was going on, and I knew we had to figure it out. Turning to Rin, I asked, "May I walk you home?"
A "no" was on her lips, but it faded away when she saw that I knew what that rogue Love Wrecker was trying to shoot. She knew I was aware that this had to do with Len, and she knew me well enough to know that I was not going to stop bugging her until she at least told me something. Though with clear reluctance, Rin answered, "Yes, please."
"Be careful," Zeito said as Rin and I showed that we intended to leave. "Brave Love Makers like you are as good as a myth. I'd hate to lose one."
"Will do," I replied before telling them farewell. As Rin and I left, I heard Rui whisper something that made me tense so tightly it was a miracle I was able to still keep walking.
"I think that's the girl," she told Zeito. "The one we're looking for."
If she heard that, Rin didn't let on. We just kept with the walk to her home, side-by-side but never interacting. There was nothing to be said, or at least nothing in a public place like that. It was an unspoken agreement to wait until we had gotten somewhere private, and if Zeito and Rui were looking for Rin, then I would do everything I could to keep them from hearing anything that might confirm their suspicions. If the shooting had to do with Len, then Rin was a target, and I was not about to leave Rin clueless and unprotected.
When we entered Rin's home, I was surprised to see that the only furniture in her living room was a wooden stool, a base holding a canvas, and a small desk. Paints of many colors stained the furniture, floors, and walls. Scattered throughout were paintings – paintings of landscapes, animals, and even people. I tried not to stare at any of the faces for too long: they made me uncomfortable for reasons I couldn't pinpoint.
Rin didn't argue as I peeled her hand away from her bullet wound in order to inspect the damage. "Bowls are under the sink," she said, knowing that my next course of action would be to get a bowl of hot water and a fresh, clean towel. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she questioned as I made my way to her kitchen.
"Sit still so you don't risk opening the wound up again," I ordered. Rin's silence acted as a promise to comply. It made me worry.
As I cleaned off the dry, caked blood, I told Rin, "I know that whatever happened today involves Len." She didn't react; Rin must have expected my saying that. "Do you have any idea why that may be?"
"I wish I did," Rin replied. If my scrubbing her wound hurt, she didn't let on.
"You said that Len shouldn't have been with Miku."
"More like Miku shouldn't have been here." Rin shook her head. "Why Len thought it to be a good idea to bring a human to the Love World, I could never guess."
I froze mid-motion. "Miku's a human?!"
"Yes, or I thought she is. I don't even know what's going on anymore."
For the next half hour, I cleaned Rin's wound in silence. Maybe she lied because she didn't think what was going on was any of my business, or maybe she was being perfectly honest with me for once. Truly, there was no way of knowing with her.
After I had bandaged the wound and Rin thanked me for tending to her, I said, "We need to do something. Whatever Len has gotten himself involved with, it's serious."
"Really? By the shooting that happened in the marketplace, I wasn't sure if this was a minor issue or not." I snorted: this sounded more like Rin. "And what's with this 'we' business?" she asked. "Nero, this doesn't involve you."
"Len's my friend, and you're his sister," I answered. "I would have to be a pretty terrible person to not do anything to help."
"You can help by not sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." Rin stood and, arms crossed, walked across the room. "I have enough to worry about as it is. There's no point in adding you to the mix."
Standing as well, I pointed out, "I'm very much capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. Besides, something big must be going on if you're acting so droopy. You haven't sounded much like yourself in the past few weeks. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I've long ago accepted the fact that I'm never okay."
That wasn't exactly a nice thing to hear.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I don't know."
Without anything else to say, I told Rin, "You remember those two from earlier? Zeito and Rui? I think . . . I think they're looking for you."
"I know. I heard every word."
What unnerved me was how calmly Rin had said that. "Aren't you going to try to get away and hide while there's still a chance?"
Laughing without humor, Rin replied, "Of course not."
"What?!" I felt my eyes bulge. "Why?"
"If Len has himself caught up in something, then maybe they can help me figure out what."
I shook my head. "This could be suicide."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take."
"Not me."
"Then go. I'm not asking you to put your life on the line."
"Not my life. Yours." Before Rin could ask what I meant, I explained, "I'm not willing for you to risk your life, or at least not alone. If you're going to go through with this madness, then I'm in."
This time Rin snorted. "You really amuse me sometimes."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Only if you see it that way."
How many times did someone tell me "I'm okay" when their world was falling apart?
How often did someone smile to hide the pain they felt?
How long did someone suffer in my presence and I never noticed?
I couldn't believe how blind I was.
I couldn't believe that I never stopped to think that maybe there is more to someone than what initially meets the eye.
For someone who anticipated abduction, Rin was rather calm and relaxed. She got on with the rest of day as if nothing was wrong in her world. The only emotion she displayed that showed she hadn't forgotten her predicament was frustration that her kidnappers were taking too long to show up.
It was decided that I would go with her. As much as Rin told me that I was stupid for putting my life on the line over something that didn't concern me, she didn't talk me out of trying to get myself kidnapped as well. Good thing, too. I couldn't abandon her even if she told me to; I just didn't have it in me to even think of doing such a thing.
Why she wasn't more persistent in getting me to go away before things came crashing down, I don't know. Maybe with everything else she had to deal with, Rin didn't want to put in the energy for talking me out of helping her. I liked to think she didn't want to be alone and was willing to accept my presence as the price to pay. Odds are it was the former.
When somebody finally came for Rin, it was neither a big sneak attack nor a full-out attack like the shooting the day before. No. When someone came for Rin, they knocked on her door and patiently awaited an answer. Rin raised an eyebrow at me when we heard the knock. I shrugged. Neither one of us knew what to expect, but we expected the worst. Imagine our shock when Rin and I stepped outside to fine Rui and Zeito waiting a decent distance away.
"I know this is unexpected," Rui began, unaware how wrong she was, "but we need you to come with us. Rin Kagamine, we know what you are, what you're brother is, and what's happening to him."
Without so much as a hitch in her voice, Rin merely said, "Okay," and began to approach the duo.
They cast each other side glances. "You're going to come with us, just like that?"
Rin didn't blink as she stopped in her steps. "Yep."
"Even though you have no idea who we are and could be walking to your death for all you know?"
"Yep."
"And you're not just coming along willingly so we'll think we can trust you and when we least expect it you will attack and maybe kill us before fleeing for your life."
"Now that's actually not a bad idea."
Rui cut in. "We're wasting time. Rin Kagamine, are you really going to come with Zeito and me regardless of the nonexistent trust between you and us?"
"Look," Rin began, "I can run and cry 'You'll never take me alive'" - Rin mocked a jazz hands as she said this, almost making laugh despite the situation - "but the fact of the matter is I won't know what's going on unless I understand what you're collecting me for. Given my circumstances, it'd be stupid to run. However, try something and it won't end well for you." Here Rin held a hand behind her back so that only I could see what she did with her fingers. With the rest curled, Rin stuck out her thumb and pointed her index finger to the ground. I immediately understood the sign.
Pressing her lips together, Rui merely said, "Then I suppose we should get going." She and Zeito led the way, and Rin and I followed close behind. When she noticed that I was coming with, Rui kept walking as she said, "This does not require your presence."
"I'm going, and that's that." I hoped I sounded confident and that there was no room for arguments. If I wasn't wanted, I feared what they would do to make sure I couldn't follow.
"It's pointless for you to come," Zeito said.
"Which is exactly what I tried to tell him," Rin replied, "but he's insisted that wherever I go, he goes, and I'm not going to fight him on it."
Silence, and then, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you two are partners."
My face might as well have caught fire. Rin made a strangling noise before shouting, "We're not partners! Nothing of the sort has ever existed between us."
I almost pointed out that Rin kissed me in our physical forms some months back, but then I decided I liked living. "I'm just childhood friends with her brother," I said instead. "If there's anything I can do to help Len, then I'm going to do it."
Sighing, Rui told Zeito, "We've wasted enough time as it is; might as well let him come. With everything going on, I doubt Tonio would be against Rin's having something familiar to cling to."
"I'm not clingy," Rin growled, but none of us acted as if we heard her. Rui and Zeito began to lead the way, and Rin and I followed after. I could have been making a mistake. I probably should have turned around and left Rin on her own. But I didn't. I couldn't. Why couldn't I?
Zeito looked me up and down as we continued our trek forward. "Normally I'd be against having a Love Maker join us, but your willingness to put yourself in danger yesterday to find the shooters is enough for me to give you a chance. If you fail to be as brave as you initially appeared, I'm going to be very disappointed."
He said the last part as if I did not want to disappoint him. Maybe I didn't. "Running and hiding is not always the best decision when things get scary. Sometimes staying to fight is the best choice."
"Only sometimes?"
"It's pointless to risk your life when there are no benefits to be had, isn't it?"
"It is," Rin said, forcing herself into the conversation. "Before you choose to either fight or flight, it's wise to weigh your options. If you choose to run, that doesn't make you a coward. One might run to strategize and retaliate in a fight they might actually have a chance of winning."
"You lose the thrill of uncertainty if you take that course of action," Zeito said. "I'd rather stay, fight, and suffer the losses if I fail."
"Then you are a fool," Rin replied.
"How about when there are no chances to retaliate?" I asked, hoping Rin would understand what I was really asking.
She did. "Cut your losses and save yourself." she answered. "Some battles are not worth fighting, especially those that aren't your own."
Before Zeito or I could respond, Rui stopped us by saying, "Now's the time, Zeito. There aren't any witnesses."
My body went rigid. We walked back to the marketplace, but we stopped in an alley. As Rui pointed out, there was nobody else present. I immediately evaluated our setting: There were two of us and two of them - a man and woman each, a simple scream would be enough to attract attention, and Rin and I were both armed, but that didn't mean Zeito and Rui weren't. Zeito noticed my internal calculations, and I know he did because he then said, "We needed a private place to use our portal box. We can't go around activating this thing in public, y'know."
While Zeito said this, Rui produced a small black box from her pocket. She gently bent down to set the item on the ground and then pushed the center button. A light blue glow emitted from around the button, slightly illuminating the alley in which we stood.
"It has to warm up," she said as she stood up again. To Rin and me, "We can't take the main portal - it'll be easy for them to track us if we use public transportation."
"Who's 'them'?" Rin asked.
"And why would they be tracking us?" I added.
"'Them' are the people who have Len Kagamine," Zeito answered, "and they won't be tracking us. They'll be tracking Rin Kagamine."
"To use against Len, no doubt," Rin mumbled, her fingers curling into tight fists. She didn't miss the part about these mysterious people having her brother, and I know Rin well enough to not doubt that she would claw out the eyes of anyone who dare touch Len.
With nothing else to do but wait for the portal box - an object I have never seen before that day - to warm up, I looked at Rin and said, "I'm not changing my mine, but I have to know: What exactly am I getting myself into?"
Rin didn't say anything. She just shook her head. For reasons I wouldn't understand for another hour, Rin would be unable to speak the truth. Looking back, I don't blame her.
"Who are you really?" Rin asked the two before us. Her fingers had yet to uncurl. I wanted to reach out, take her hand, and massage her chalk white fingers.
"We really are European refugees," Rui answered, "but the main reason we came to this specific Love World was to find you."
"We . . . We know what you truly are," Zeito added. "Try as you and Len might, your secret was never a secret. We always knew, that's why your brother is in his situation, and that's why we have to move you to a safe location before they get you, too."
For a moment nobody said anything. All there was to be heard was the buzzing from the charging portal box. I didn't trust that thing, but I didn't try to get away from it.
Finally Rin sighed and replied, "I feared as much." She shook her head. "I am so stupid to endanger Len like this. Of course this is happening! I damned us both from the start." Under her breath, perhaps not to be heard, Rin whispered, "We should have run away when Len first suggested it. We might have had a chance in a place as vibrant and in motion as the human world."
I couldn't understand what they were talking about. For as long as I have known them, Rin and Len weren't that different from other Love Makers and Love Wreckers. Sure, they got along better than most of us got along with our siblings, but nobody thought much of it. How was I supposed to know that there was a lot more going on?
"It's ready," Rui said, forcing our attention back to the portal box. She knelt down and pushed the same button. This time a portal opened above the box. Rui smiled at it. "I'll go first," she announced before diving head in. She disappeared into the light, and I felt my stomach drop.
"Better not keep Rui waiting," Zeito said. "The portal box will self-destruct in precisely one minute, so it'd be better if you don't wait to jump in."
"No problem," Rin replied. When she stepped forward, I stopped her by grabbing her arm. "What are you doing?" she snapped at me.
"Just let me go with you," I replied softly.
Recalling past events, Rin shook free from my grip so that she could take my hand. She almost never acted so soft, but in moments like this, it was easy to see that she truly is a kind soul. "Now let's go," she said as she pulled me along.
Swallowing my fear, I let Rin pull me into the terrifying portal. Neither of us knew where we would end up. We were probably making a mistake, but we went in anyway. This was something we had to do, and we were going in together.
