Kagamine Fever
Ichi
(Chapter One)
The two teens onstage stared into each other's eyes as the final notes faded out, their chests heaving from the effort of singing and dancing for 20 minutes. The lights blacked out and they dropped from their pose and rushed backstage. Len, the male of the two and slightly taller, gave a half smile as he splashed water on his face.
"Good crowd tonight, huh Rin?" He asked his musical partner, Rin. Len and Rin Kagamine, the "vocaloids" that bombed the entertainment world with their auto-tuned voices and new TV show. Everyone loved following the identical duo, whether it was preforming onstage or acting in their show "Kagamine Fever". In real life, Len and Rin weren't even related, nor had they met before the talent scouts found them. But even they had to admit, the likeness between the two of them was incredible. With some make-up and dyed hair, they really did look identical. On stage, they were a couple, in the show they were twins, and in real life they were co-works and friends. A complicated situation.
"It's pretty neat, yeah!" Rin answered with a perky smile as she sipped her own water bottle. They were allowed five minutes backstage between each performance set. Each set lasted 20 minutes. This concert had three sets. And all of them were musical. So the two had to keep themselves hydrated, or else their voices would give out.
"Seeya in 20," Len mumbled to his counter-part, taking a swig from a new water bottle a crew member brought him. As the piano notes for "Hide n Seek" started, he was at his cue spot and ready. Even though the song was hard to sing, it was one of his favorites. He found he could relate to it. While it was a sad song, it was full of hope. Longing. Things Len had in abundance. He let the music wash over his mind and his blue eyes got intense.
"Kokonotsu, too sakuragachiruyo," He sung out, the last notes ringing out clearly. He looked down and stayed still as he waited for the lights to change. He knew the routine, Rin would waltz out and they'd go into South North Story. A song that was truer than anyone would think. Two individuals, completely different, brought together to perform a lie for the media.
The concert continued on, the ending song Magnet, their biggest hit yet. They two wandered backstage and prepared to go back to their hotel suites. Exhausted but energized, they made idle babble in the limo and the lobby.
"Did you catch the mistake with the lights at the end there of Dark Nel?"
"Oh, yes I did, I had to quickly move to stay in the light!"
"Yeah, so did I, but during Okizari Tsukiyosyou I stuttered! That's an even worse mistake."
"I don't think it mattered. The crowd loved us," Len reassured Rin, stopping as he had reached his suite door. Rin was three doors down and on the other side of the hall. "I can't wait to take a shower and collapse in bed!" He commented, nodding his head in goodnight to his friend and co-worker.
Inside her room, Rin closed the door and leaned against it, giving a sigh and closing her eyes. Concerts always get her a little stressed, for obvious reasons. But also, the tension between her and Len was so… strong during some of those songs. Especially Magnet. With another sigh, she opened her eyes and propelled herself off the door, detaching the yellow butterfly headphones and quickly changing into her pajamas. She was exhausted, but too wound up to sleep. Turning on the TV before snuggling under the warm fluffy covers, she carefully took out her hair accessories from her shoulder length blonde locks. Finally, she let her muscles relax and her mind settle as she sunk into the silkiness of the high-quality bed. An old re-run of some American TV show played on the flat-screen and she looked out across the bustling city of New York. It was her first time in America. Len and she had only been doing this for a year, but their popularity had already spread all over the world. She came from Tokyo, Japan so big cities weren't unfamiliar to her. But there was something extra exciting about American cities! With that buzzing thought on her mind and a faint smile on her lips, she fell into a deep sleep.
Len, in the mean-time, tossed and turned in his bed. He had grown up in the country, and still hadn't gotten accustomed to the constant city noises. America seemed even worse than Tokyo. Between the honking cars, squeal of tires and lights shining in through the blinds, Len didn't understand how anyone could sleep. With a frustrated sigh, Len kicked his legs over the side of the bed and padded across the carpet to his bag in the corner. He passed a mirror on the way, and was greeted with a sincere face and bright blond hair sticking in every direction. Using one hand to try and pat down his bed-head, he used the other to dig through his bag to find his Song Notebook. He kept a notebook full of songs he wrote. He never showed anyone, as it was a private hobby. His current work in process was a song collaboration, the same song with two different views. He had titled them Cool Len's Love Song and Timid Len's Love Song. He grimaced when he thought of anyone finding them, because of how immature and pathetic they were. But he flipped to the Cool Love Song page and settled down criss-crossed on the floor of the room with his pen in hand.
"The singing profession sure sells,
But I'm trying my best in others' shadow.
There are still people above me,
But I'll soon knock them over."
Len's bright blue eyes stared at the page, but nothing came into his head. Feeling defeated, he turned the page for the Timid Love Song.
"Although I am timid,
I love singing very much.
Although I am still immature,
Please, listen to me."
Two different songs, two different sides of Len's own self. How to deal with them both? How to know which to show?
"Urgh!" Len muttered, closing his notebook and tossing it into his bag once more. His attempts were useless, no inspiration was there. With a glance at the clock, he knew if he didn't get some sleep now, he'd be a zombie for tomorrow. Reluctantly but dutifully, Len let his head rest on his pillow and forced his eyes shut. But just as he fell into a slumber, a couple lines for his song flowed through his thoughts and into his dreams.
"Although I seem indifferent about love,
it doesn't mean I'm not interested.
Although I'm only at the stage of admiring,
there is someone that's on my mind."