Hey, everyone~! iPolaris here. This is my first time doing sisterfics and with BigMouth12349! Hopefully, I won't fail and the like. I write from Len's POV while Big-chan is writing from Rin's POV.
A question to Len side's title– "Where for art thou, Romeo?" is Big-chan's story, which can be found here: http: / www. fanfiction .net /s/7100093/1/ Where_For_Art_Thou_Romeo. Read it, too! Just remove the spaces, okay?
Warning: Language, violence, little harassment, pedos, Ted's OOC-ness ('cause I think it is necessary?), wrong grammar/spelling/typos and craziness.
Disclaimer: The first and last disclaimer I'll put because... Crypton always remind me that Len's not mine! D: *rants*
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My name, Cinderella, is hateful to myself
Chapter 1: The First Duet
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"Good morning, ouji-chama~!"
My name is Len. Call me any girl-related pet names or shota, and I'll let you taste my manly fists of hell.
"Ugh, stop it! I'm already awake! I'm a-wake!"
And on that fateful day, I had one of the worst mornings, starting with a crazy woman who cannon-balls onto my blue bed in my own bedroom.
"Dammit," I don't swear much but, as they always say, 'desperate calls for desperate measures.' I tell you, you can get pretty used to swearing if every morning, day, and night, you are being stalked or harassed by one of your maids who have an unhealthy obsession with you. Plus, I couldn't stay as a naive and ever-innocent boy forever, right?
I went straight into our kitchen. It would be hard to tell if it was a kitchen, what with all the wide space fit for a living room, until I saw a black-haired girl's back, in front of the counter. Houses and lifestyles are really different if you're really that stinking rich, you know.
"Come on, Len-chama, don't be like that," cooed the pale pink-haired, insane psychopath who had just raided my sleeping quarters. "Look, I even baked a pie for you~!"
With a stifling yawn, I tried my best not to gaze at the over-infatuated maid beside me, "I prefer eggs or something. I don't want to eat a cucumber pie and any of your poisonous baking for breakfast, Tei."
Tei is one of our maids, and a very brave one. …Although, one time, my mom is really scared of her. When Dad came, Tei didn't dare to even talk to him. Unfortunately, she somehow became attached to me like glue. She is very childish and possessive for her age. Salvation from Tei came when the black-haired maid put down a plate of normal food on the table in front of me.
"I presume you had a nice sleep, Kirone-sama," Ruko greeted me. The only one who could tame Tei was her friend, Ruko. She was our cook in the house (because Mom doesn't cook) with heterochromia indium, mismatched blue and red eyes–O-kay, that sounded too nerdy for awesome me. The point is, no one (even Tei) messed with her when she was pissed. Enough of that, Ruko was usually the one who woke me up when my alarm clock didn't work. She should have been the one to wake me up.
"It's because you slept so soundly that I thought you died sleeping, Kirone-sama," Ruko mumbled as she returned to the kitchen, doing her work. That was another creepy thing with Ruko–it was like she could read minds. "I figured calling Tei would be easier than waking you myself."
Believe me; I almost lost my purity from Tei's wake-up call! Hell, I swore that I'd wake up on my own every day from then on. I didn't really want to stay there for long (Tei was staring at me and really getting on my nerves) but, I figured, 'Hey, if I eat slowly, maybe I won't have to go to school!' School sucks. I mean, the lessons are all the same and I think I can pretty much live a real life without them.
Anyway, I couldn't keep my mind straight that morning. Besides the fact Tei almost squished me alive, I also had this odd dream that had been bugging me. Whenever I tried to remember it, all I had were fragmented pieces of either running or hiding. I guessed that someone was with me.
Another part was a strange moment where I was talking sweetly to somebody, who sat on a balcony while I'm gazing at her. I was sure it was a HER, judging from the shadowy she-like curves of the silhouette. The only mid-clear part I saw of her was that of her face with her rosy cheeks matching a bewitching smile of belief on her lips.
What was really disturbing was that I was saying a line like, "We're like Romeo and Juliet, but we won't have the same ending. Instead, we'll be..."
I wondered at myself. Could I really say something like that to someone someday? I was awfully single and with all the raging girls everywhere around me, I didn't think there was still a chance. Instead, we'll be... what? What we will be?
AGHHH! Why the heck was I going on with this? Screw it. It was just stupid and nothing more than a dream. Oh right, it must have had something to do with our class reading a script about Romeo and Juliet scheduled on Monday. They were also planning a play, probably.
My friends and I had been chatting the previous day, about taking a girl somewhere and how Ted messed with me about all the girls after me and that. A senior from our academy, Kaito, fussed about how he would propose to Meiko and live with ice cream and sake if ever they ran like the two runaways while his name look-alike boasted that it wouldn't just turn out right. And Gack, our eggplant-loving classmate–well, I didn't really think it was funny but, he bragged about how he was going to live with a guy I didn't know. He made me shiver.
After finishing my breakfast and thanking God for normal food, I went by the sink and tried to wash my plate. Hey, being rich didn't make me God; I should still have done chores. Unlike my parents, I could still manage myself and some household chores. As I planned on doing that, Tei snatched my plate and giggled, washing the plate while Ruko looked at me.
"Kirone-sama, don't attempt to be a slowpoke, ne? Please hurry and prepare yourself for school. And don't even think of pretending to be sick." Dang, she was good. "Or shall I help you prepare, Len-chama?" Tei's naughty smiles creep up her playful face. I forced a grin and muttered, "No, thank you!" I ran fast, bolting to my room. I had just heard this cool song on the radio, so I set it as my ringtone. Singing SPICE!, I stepped into my very own bathroom (after locking the door so no one, namely Tei, could peek in on me) and went for a warm spray. How refreshing.
Finishing my wonderful bath, I put long, slender black jeans on before I walked out of the bathroom. Catching my reflection in the mirror, I dried my yellow hair with the damp towel and smiled my usual grin. I didn't know why girls at the school I was attending fell so easily for that. Besides, they were after me when I had a thin body that looked too young. I just wished that they would stop interrupting my peaceful life soon. Like when I first moved in. But I really didn't care; since I really didn't have my life.
I took a plain white polo from my wardrobe of random clothes and buttoned it quickly. I combed my shoulder-length hair, thinking, 'Man, I really look like a girl if my hair is down,' and I mentally slapped myself as I tied my hair into a neat ponytail. Voila! I was done. Only a finishing move and I was ready. I grabbed a black neck tie and tied it quickly. Then I heard a familiar ringing and grabbed my phone.
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One New Text Message Received!
To: Len
From: Ted
Hey sleeping beauty, you still sleeping in there? Hel-lo, we're gonna pick you up, remember? Don't forget that, shota. :D
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Oh yeah, apologies for the angry introduction earlier; I'm not always like that. It's just I hate people when they call me shota, girly-girl and anything related to being girly. Curse Kaito for making that dumb pet name up. When people call me that, I usually snap and end up crushing their faces. If it weren't for the fact that Ted was one of my best friends, I wouldn't be able to guarantee his safety.
Anyway, back to the real world. I hurried down the stairs with my checkered bag pack, passing by the living room. I saw my mother checking her daily fashion magazines, and I greeted her in an incoherent mumbling, "Hey, Okaa-san."
It's wasn't like I hated my mother or anything, she was just really annoying. "Len-chan!~" And yes, she did as she hug me like she hadn't seen me in years. Okay, I could explain her excessive sweetness. First of all, I could only see her during the mornings, because she was working the rest of the time. Second…
"Don't let me and your dad let go down," That was her real voice–the voice of a frigid and solid ice queen, commanding me as if I were a robot. "We expect you to be successful, Len. That's how we raised you–" BLAH BLAH BLAH was all I heard as I tuned out her speech… That was the issue with my parents–they always expected things from me, telling me about stuff I must do in a very demanding way. It would be better if they left for work forever and left me alone. That was only wishful thinking, and I didn't really care.
I was about to get chomped on by her words when, luckily, my phone rang. "I need to go," I muttered fast, wanting to get out of her sight as soon as possible. And I did get out of her sight as soon as possible, answering the phone to keep her from stopping me.
"Did I just save you… again?" A familiar happy and mocking voice asked. I climbed in the red sports car near our house and gazed at its red-headed driver. I said, "Yeah, you just saved my ass again, you retard." With that, I turned off the phone as I heard laughter in the vehicle.
"You're welcome!" My best friend, Ted said, reviving the engine and starting to drive. "Actually, it was Akaito's idea. He knew Medusa would turn you to stone in there, because we know you can't fight your snake-headed–"
"Thanks, Akaito," I turned back and interrupted Ted, glancing at the red man behind us in the backseat. It's true; I can't fight my parents. Ever since I was born, I couldn't get the guts to stand up to them, because I owed them my life. It made me feel so small. I'm so pathetic, aren't I?
"…Len, no problem!" Akaito flashed me with one of his boasting grins. Heck, I knew he was going to make me pay one of my debts to him. Ted pouted at Akaito while glaring at me, "You bastard, where's my 'thanks,' huh?"
"Face the road, Ted! …THE ROAD!"
"We will die now," I declared as if it was the end and looked at the window at how we passed other vehicles in that insane driving (is it still called driving?) frenzy, while Akaito screamed at Ted began ranting while in his hyper driving mode. It was a miracle we were alive when we got to school. Tei's wake-up call somehow paid off because it was a bit early yet for our first class and that meant we could still stroll through the hallway. I grunted, and we paused by our lockers to get our stuff. Afterwards, we walked briskly to our first period.
"Be happy. This is heaven. All girls are looking at you," Ted whispered in my ear. Akaito chuckled and agreed, saying, "Len, Ted's jealous of you because he hasn't got a date yet. We bet you already had one."
"What date?"
"Man, you are seriously from Mars, aren't you?" Ted exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "We're from planet Earth and tomorrow, one of the most epic, historical and awesome party will happen at Meiko's! Aren't you excited?"
Oh, I forgot. I had an only friend who was a girl and that was Meiko. I don't hang out with most of my class except for males like me and I'm a bit glad that at least, I had a woman friend. However, she's a bit weird, for this woman was a party animal who threw parties every weekend and craved sakes. No offense, but I didn't know what Kaito saw in her.
"I'll see you both there!" Running inside the room, Ted rushed forward and I followed him. I was near the doorway when Akaito stopped me. "Ne, ne, Len, you owe me, right?"
"Yeah," I mumbled, gazing at Akaito's mischievous simper. I knew he was up to something! I hoped it didn't involve cross-dressing this time. "You know my brother's girlfriend is throwing her party again. Kaito wouldn't stop bugging me with his ranting about what he will wear, etc."
I wished Akaito would just get to the point because I knew that in any second, Mr. Yamaha would be there to teach the first class of the day–music. We did musical instruments several years ago, and I wondered what the difference between that and this was.
"I want you to substitute for me!"
"WHAT?" I snapped back to reality when I heard Akaito. Kaito was his older brother who was going to say 'bye-bye!' after this year because he was already a senior. Unfortunately, he was a friend of mine. He loved ice-creams, Meiko and teasing me, so I didn't hang out with him too much. There was no way I was going to spend an entire night with him. Akaito was joking, right?
"Hell no, Len, I'm not joking. I know Kaito wouldn't dare invite you because he's busy now, and he's scared of you when you're in shota mode–" I gave Akaito a death glare. "Okay, sorry, but I know you'd come, yeah?"
"Uh…" I knew Meiko had all different themes for her parties and even if I'm elite, I knew I don't have any proper or rich-like clothes in my closet for a theme she might invent. I didn't bother with what to wear so I didn't mind buying it, now–
"Cool!" Akaito bursts, while I tried to protest. But, he shot me the 'you're-in-my-debt-out-of-the-goodness-of-my-heart' look and I froze. I sighed and went inside the classroom as I felt a look on me. Or maybeI was just self-centered. I scooted to the seat by the window in the farthest row of the room where the guys are and I call it 'the best sleeping spot,' while Akaito sat beside me. I could hear different chitchats about the party starting with the ever-energetic Teto.
"Oh, I don't think you can ask her out, Len," I heard Akaito say. So, I actually stared at her. What's going on with me? "Ted's first."
"Don't tell me… Ted's gonna ask that crazy chick out to Meiko's party?"
Akaito nodded, apparently not worried about those two insane people clashing. Anyway, I still wanted to live so, I took a quick gaze at the people. Lily, the gladiator, beat the fashion-freak Gumi again, Akita had her own world with her cell phone, and Megurine-san comforted Gumi while Hatsune got playful with–
"You know you want to ask Rin-chan out," Gack told me with a glint in his purple eyes. I didn't socialize with that guy much and I thought he barely spoke. It was really creepy. I shook my head and muttered, "Shut up, turn around to your seat and please mind your own business, Gack-san."
The older man turned around and sighed. "Suit yourself, Len-kun. I'm just telling the truth."
"Someone's in a bad mood," Akaito smirked. I shot a glance at him while Ted sat beside him, nervousness on his face.
That 'Rin-chan' and I were supposed to be opponents. We were supposed to compete with each other on everything from Academics to Athletics. You see, Kirones and Cryptones just didn't get along with each other, and always exist to rival and ace each other. I was commanded not to do with anything with the Cryptones, especially their only daughter, so I didn't, up until now, have any social or physical contact with her. In fact, I didn't really give a damn about her and I didn't want to waste my time knowing no one so I didn't care and just do my job. 'Sides, I was pretty sure she thought the same.
"Okay, everyone get to your seats." Everyone scrambled to their seats as soon as Mr. Yamaha walked in with his normal stupid air around him. He was called "Master" behind his back by others, but I didn't think of him that way.
"Today we're going to be working on mostly solo and duet songs," Mr. Yamaha said, calling a student who was in front of me. "Let's see... Kamui, get up here." Gakupo went up to the front.
Ted, seeing that he wasn't going to be called, relaxed and said, "Oh look, Gack–" Yeah, we gave him a pet name because his real name is kinda lame–"Is going to be killed by Jynx. It used RAWR!~" He exclaimed stiffly with a high pitch girly tone. "It is super effective!"
Akaito and Ted tried to stop their laughter and muffled their mouths with their hands. I smiled at Ted's nice joke using pokemon reference, but I wasn't in the mood to laugh along.
"Something funny…" I swore I could see my best friends stop with their breath, afraid that Mr. Hag-face found them out. But, they sighed with relief when they heard, "…Girls?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hatsune, the teal-pet of his and Rin Cryptone, looking at the teacher. She must've done something stupid, considering how ashamed she looked. Or it was Ted and Akaito's fault, and they were just being blamed. I thought, "Just your face," because his face was always covered in shadows. I guess it was a lifetime mystery. The next thing I knew, everyone was laughing.
"Who said that?" Mr. Y demanded. I felt Akaito's quivering nudge and Ted's hard slap at my back, while they cracked up. "Wow," Akaito said, still laughing. "I never thought you, out of all weirdoes, would have the courage to say that." Wait, I said that?
"Oh God," Ted added, wiping a tear off his eye dramatically. "Len, I am seriously proud to be your best friend. I am glad to be by your side. I am so happy, you finally hit puberty!"
Shoot. That's it. Ted was out of his mind. I was a normal fourteen-year-old already, geez. Not like anyone cared. Anyway, Mr. Y called it off and said, "Whatever. Kamui, I wrote this song, and I want you to try to sing it, alright?"
He instructed like a grandma. Okay, Mr. Y had some good points, too, so don't judge him, kids. He liked writing music and songs and let us sang it. He handed Gack the sheet music with care, "Okay. This song is called 'Breathe.'" After Gack sang 'Breathe,' (and how he really breathed the whole song) Miku sang a song called 'Aikotoba' which is cute and matched her. Mr. Y liked Miku the best, I guessed. Most of the songs were dedicated slash made for her.
Meanwhile, Kaito sang 'I Wish They'd Just Die,' and I thought he was point his finger at me and smiling while singing his song. I tell you, I felt like he was cursing me. Gumi was next and she sang, 'Coward Montblanc,' making me hungry for sweets. Then, 'Triple Baka' was sung by Miku, Teto and Neru. Believe me; Neru still had her phone, texting while singing. Just looking at Ted's face when Teto was singing made Akaito and me laugh silently.
Then, he called an exchange student from Britain, Sonika. She sang an English song with bells or something and she woke me up while I was dozing off on my desk. Luka and Miku (again) sang a duet of 'World's End Dancehall' which kept me awake with the rock tone. I didn't get to sleep throughout music, though.
"Okay, this next song I want Rin-chan singing," Mr. Y said, as I smiled with relief that I wasn't called today, with Ted and Akaito. "…along with Len-kun." I stared at Cryptone with an 'o,' as she blinked back at me. It was evident we were both surprised by this, since we both looked shocked. Who would've thought that there's more to his sentence? Ted and Akaito gave me thumbs-up, good lucks and a few sneering that they were 'lucky we're not called.' I was originally planning on sitting my grumpy butt on the chair all day, but with the look on Mr. Hag Face's face, I didn't think I could still do that.
Threatening them with a sharp look, I shrugged and went down to the front, slowly. Hey, you are coming? I waited for Rin, who looked like she was still deciding whether to come down or not.
"Is this a problem?" Mr. Y asked, gazing at Cryptone. She smiled like there's something's funny as she hopped down to the front of the class. "Why would it be a problem?"
She said it. Why would it be a problem? Nothing's wrong! I was sure nothing bad would happen with this and it was just a few verses, it would be all over like nothing happened. It was just for a song. And I remembered that I'm bad at singing. I mean, I could sing but, I have a little high pitch for a guy... which can be quite embarrassing.
I continued to walk towards the front and I saw Cryptone doing nothing but checking the sheet music. …Like we could talk with each other. I pressed my lips together and wait for the 'Go, sing!' signal from Mr. Yamaha. I sucked at singing. If I could just play that with any of the instruments nearby instead, then, everything would be solved. Come on, Len, suck it up and deal with it, like a MAN.
"What's the song called?" She asks at Mr. Yamaha. Okay, maybe this was revenge for my comment about his face. I'm now sure he knew it was me. "Yumezakura," The man replied, answering Cryptone's query.
Obviously, it's was a forbidden love song. It was love at first sight for a poor violinist and an engaged girl. They met with each other secretly within days before breaking up with each other because, in that time, they can't be. I bet the boy's just a total jerk because he gave up on the odds and especially, the girl. Well, the girl has her fault, anyway. She can run with him but–I should stop criticizing and thinking things over too much.
Good news was that Rin got the bigger part of the song, like half-half of it. And she looked like she was really glad she could sing. The nostalgic violin piece began the start of the song, and Rin started singing the first verse about how the boy's violin-playing is awesome and how she "loves him with all her heart."
She looked like she wants to puke when she caught Hatsune chortling at her quietly. She didn't care but, she continued the song with no effort. Meanwhile, Ted and Akaito grinned slyly, so was Kaito with his pure 'You-can-do-it-Shota' smile on his face. I ignored them, shrugging my shoulders. I must say Rin had a really admirable voice, especially when it came to mid-high tones.
So, my turn came. In this jerk's verse, he explained his life and how "he loves the girl" but, he knew it was better for them to be apart. What a wise decision he finally made. I sang; removing something invisible that obstructs my throat like, for a long time. I realized that it's the first time I sang again, after years that I couldn't even bear to hum a tune.
When it came to the chorus that he "swears to play the violin forever" (dude, I think it's impossible), I couldn't help but sing wholly. Even my body wanted to sway with the music. Rin sang a short bridge, and we sang together until the end. That signified the end of my torture. I gladly went back to my seat as a new kid took up the stage and sang a song.
My best friends beside me complimented me with "You just levelled up your shotaness, Len! Congratulations!" by Akaito and, "Len, I'm so proud of you! Come here, give me a hug, you sweet little thing!" by Ted. While they were cracking up (in a quiet way), I gave myself a head desk and tried to doze off to sleep. I even shielded myself with a music notebook opened in front of me to make sure Mr. Y wouldn't notice me. When I was almost unconscious, my phone vibrated. Gritting my teeth lazily, I quickly flicked my phone open to see the idiot who sent me spam. I glared at the blue-haired freak across the classroom, who saluted me, then back to my phone.
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One new text message received!
To: Shota
From: Kaito
Yo, shota~! I didn't know you can release your shotaness from the inside. Just keep that up, okay? I'LL TRY TO MAKE YOU SING ALL DAY TO MAKE SURE YOU DO SOMETIME KEKEKE XD Akaito told me he won't be coming tomorrow for my Meiko's party. Glad to know you will be coming! Oh, did he tell you it's a masquerade ball? You have to be Juliet~! You know I know the best~
Go at Meiko's around 6pm or something, shota. Oh yeah, DON'T FORGET TO BRING LOTS OF ICE CREAM. XD
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It's a masquerade ball? That was unexpected. I really had nothing to wear! Akaito forced me to use my allowance. Just as I was about to question his great idea, Akaito patted me. I whispered, "What, Akaito? Are you happy now I'm doing this all for you? I must tell you the truth. You're a sadist, dude. A sick, evil sadist from hell and I bet you're enjoying this. You know Ted wouldn't want to torture me like this."
Ted was so pre-occupied with how to ask Teto out that he didn't grasp any of that. Akaito opened his music notebook and pretended to read it. Seconds later, he kept low and whispered to me, "What a very nice way to say you love me. I'm glad to know that." He gave me a friendly smirk before continuing, "You know; you and Rin-san sound perfect together. And you look perfect with each other."
He really liked to kid me, right? I thought Ted was the romantic, not Akaito. Besides, he often joked that Rin and I were long-lost twins or something like that, sometimes. Not that I cared, anyway.
"You're crazy, alright," I mumbled, trying and failing to return his grin. "What are you trying to say? Oh, I know. You're toying with me again… Me and Cryptone; Yeah, I got you."
The red-haired shrugged and looked at the new kid who was still singing, "Nope, I'm not kidding with you this time, idiot. I know it when people are–never mind," He glanced at Meiko and Kaito, "But I just wanted to tell you, it's like you and Rin… were made for each other."
A/N: Ouji means prince while Oujo means princess in Japanese. Also, Okaa-san means mother, in case that you don't know. Yes, I'm also lame at jokes, resulting in a lame Pokemon joke or whatsoever in the story. I'm sorry for that.
Anyway, this is the end of chapter 1 and I hope you enjoyed reading this! Don't forget to drop by comments to Big-chan and I, because that's what motivates us. I'd also love to hear about it and reply to you in the future chapters. Thank you~!
