Kay, so I was thinking this morning. Being bored and shiz, I couldn't be bothered to continue working on my other stories for a while, so I actually just gave up on stories althogether for a while. So I continued with my vaguely normal life, reading magazines and listening to Kerrang! Radio, as you do. Big. Mistake. You see, music gives me new ideas for stories, no matter what I listen to. First song I heard, 'Bring Me To Life (Wake Me Up Inside)' by Evanescence. Amazing song, but it gave me a WHOLE new idea. The first part of this chapter is a little bit confusing, but that was the effect I aimed to achieve anyway. So, without further ado, enjoy the new story, Vocaloid: Wake Me Up Inside!
I'm not gonna reveal immediately whose point of view this is from, although after a while it'll be fairly easy to guess. Hope you like it~
~Chapter One: Gypsy Curse~
Darkness. So much darkness all around me. The silence is deafening; the only things that dare to break it are my choked, unsteady breaths.
Suddenly, a force hits me in the chest, sending me back, plummeting through the air until another wall hits me solidly from behind. I seem to sink right through it like it has no substance at all. My fall is slowing considerably. I can't find the strength to open my heavy eyelids, and for the most part my body is consumed by numbness. My heart ploughs on unenthusiastically, fading out to a slow, almost unhearable beat. One...two...three...slowly, I count the pounds. The numbers swirl in my mind, continuously tearing my sanity apart, limb from limb. I'm too weak to fight back, so I allow the blackness to consume me, flooding my veins with ice cold numbness. There is no pain here. There is a gentle squeezing sensation around my lungs, and I weakly pull my eyelids up.
Immediately, my eyes begin to sting as water floods into them from all directions. I am drowning. The icy water takes me in a tight embrace, slowly devouring my life energy with a touch as gentle as an angel's kiss.
Above me, a faint light glistens. Back at the surface, life resumes as normal without me. I wonder, does anyone up there even know about the girl drowning right below their feet as they stroll down the pier? Perhaps not...oh, well.
The vice around my lungs begins to tighten, making it even harder to choke down what little air I have left. My vision is starting to become hazy around the edges, the world closing in on me, slowly blocking out the light. A small part of my brain screams at me to swim for my life, but my body won't submit, and I continue drifting limply away from the water's surface. With the last ounce of my strength, I reach my pale bare arm out towards the surface. My eyes begin to close, the last bubbles of air escaping my lips, when suddenly...someone grips my hand tightly. My eyes flutter open, confused, and there is a shape blocking out the light above me. Somewhere in my subconscious mind registers that it's a boy, around my age, with blonde hair and blue eyes similar to mine. Although I'm confident we've never met before, he's saving me...why? Who is this boy...?
My eyes begin to close again of their own accord, and no matter how hard I try they won't stay open. Everything goes grey and my already loose grip on the boy's hand releases. Instead of continuing to fall, however, I'm being pulled upwards, towards the surface. An arm snakes around my waist, and I can feel the distant beat of someone's legs kicking frantically below me. My head falls against the boy's chest, my consciousness slipping once more.
Suddenly, our heads break the surface, and the sun beats down on me fiercely. The water around me is freezing, and my limbs begin to spasm slightly at the sheer cold. The boy doesn't give up. He holds onto me tightly, ploughing through the water with his other hand and kicking his legs. Slowly, he begins to move us towards the shore, taking in gulps of air as we bob through the waves. At one point my head slips back under the water, and the boy slides his arms under mine and continues kicking, keeping up my body with his own. Finally, the water is shallow enough to crawl in, and he drags me with him onto the beach. Everything goes blurry, then.
"Wake up," a voice whispers, and slowly I resurface, my eyes edging open slowly. I'm lying on my back on the sand, and the boy who saved my life is staring back at me, his blue eyes filled with worry. I try to speak, but I can't find the strength to will the wisps of air in my lungs to become words. "Shh," the boy murmurs softly. "You're okay now." My eyes shift from his face to the lapping waves behind him. My hair is soaked against my scalp, and I'm shivering. My shoes are gone, and all I have is a short summer dress to keep me warm. He removes his coat and gently slides it under my head like a pillow below me. "Can you speak? Are you strong enough to speak?" Somehow, I find the strength to speak.
"Yes," I reply hoarsely.
"What's your name?"
"My name..." What is my name? My brain refuses to cooperate for a second. "...I'm Kagamine Rin..."
"I'm Shion Len," the boy says softly.
"Thank you...for saving my life..." I whisper, coughing up water. Len strokes my forehead gently.
"Hey, don't strain yourself. You almost died today." I guess I can't argue with that. If not for this boy, I would have been lying dead at the bottom of the sea. I try to sit up, but just end up collapsing again. Len catches me. "We should probably get you inside...Rin? Rin!" I can't hear him properly as the world closes in on me. "Damn, she's out cold...better get her inside..." Everything turns black.
~TimeSkip~
"Rin? Can you hear me?"
"Yes," I choke out, opening my eyes. Len is sitting near me, and I'm lying on a soft sofa, a blanket resting over me. A fire crackles softly to my left.
"You okay?"
"I...I think so," I whisper.
"Good. You scared me for a second there. Warn a guy before you pass out on them, okay?"
"I'll try to remember that next time," I sigh.
"Yeah," Len murmurs, looking at his shoes. Without warning, a sudden rush of pain leaps through my body.
"Aah!" I screech, curling up and hugging myself.
"What's wrong?" Len asks, standing up. "Rin, what's wrong?!"
"It hurts!" I yell. "Everything's burning!"
"W-What?!"
"My entire body is burning! Make it stop!" I scream.
"Rin, I don't know what you're talking ab-oh, God." He takes one of my hands and holds it up, and I catch a glimpse of the black veins spreading across my skin, taking the fire with them. "Rin, what is this?"
"I don't know!" I shout. "Len, what's happening to me?"
"I have no idea, but it doesn't look good at all!"
"It's BURNING! Someone stop the fire!" I scream over and over. Len looks at me desperately. He takes my face in both of his hands, and I hiss as his cool skin touches my burning cheeks.
"Shh, Rin! Calm down," he pleads.
"I can't calm down, I feel like I'm on fire!"
"Please, just try to calm down. Trust me, it'll help. Calm...down..." I take in a deep breath, trying to do as he says. Slowly, the fire begins to retreat from my body. The black veins slowly begin to fade until they're nothing but shadows beneath my skin. I sigh, exhausted. Len sits down next to me, putting his arms around my shaking shoulders. "It's okay. It's okay. Just calm down.."
"What just happened to me...?" I ask weakly, my head falling onto his shoulder.
"I don't know," Len whispers. "But I'm gonna do my best to stop it happening again." All of this is so confusing. Black veins? A burning sensation? Just what is going on here?
~TimeSkip~
"Hey, Rin, you should probably eat something," Len calls.
"I'm good."
"Look, you're hardly in any state to argue with me, Rin. Don't make me force it down your throat." He looks at my shocked expression, and laughs. "I'm just kidding, Rin. Sorry for scaring you." I roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at him. Len winks at me from where he stands near the stove.
"Um, Len...where are we, again?" I ask, looking around.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Welcome to my humble abode," he grins, bowing low to me. "It's not much, but I guess it's-"
"It's nice," I say quietly. It is, to be completely fair. Small, but cosy and warm and comfortable.
"Maybe it'd be a good idea for you to contact your family, let them know you're safe?"
"Family?" I mutter, confused. "Oh...that's fine, I don't need to..."
"You probably should. They'll get worried about you."
"Well...the truth is...I don't have a family..." Len blinks at me, shocked. "My mother dumped me in an orphanage when I was three weeks old...I lived there until my seventh birthday...then there was a gypsy woman, she came to the orphanage, and out of all the children she chose me...then I joined a group of travellers." Len comes over with two cups of steaming tea, placing one in front of me and sitting opposite me in the armchair, listening. "You ever heard of the Crypton Travelling Circus Group?" Len nods.
"I went to see them with my sister, Neru, when I was younger," he smiles, remembering. "They were amazing. There was this girl, she was on the trapeze...she was amazing. She couldn't have been more than about seven, the same age as me, when I went to see her...but she was brilliant. She sang, sometimes...she had the most beautiful voice. She was cute, too. Once, during the show, our eyes met, and she smiled at me. I'll never forget that, even though it may seem unimportant to most."
"It was important to me, too."
"Huh?" Len looks at me. Slowly, recognition crosses both our faces. "Rin, you..."
"Roll up, roll up, see the magnificent Crypton Travelling Circus Group as we amaze and entrance you! See Lily riding her herd of pirate horses! Laugh at Gumo and Mikuo, the clown brothers! And marvel at the young trapeze artist as she dances through the air. Our youngest performer, Kagamine Rin!" I look at Len, who is shocked. "Sound familiar?"
"That's...that's the thing that I heard at the start of the show!"
"Sure is!"
"I can't believe it! You were the girl I saw all those years ago?"
"Yup! Almost ten whole years ago, to be precise. I turned sixteen almost a year ago...I left the circus when I turned fifteen. Do you know, every single show after that night, I looked and looked through the audience for that little boy, but he never came again."
"We moved away," Len says, and I swear I see tears in his eyes. "I begged my father to let me go see the circus one last time, just to see that girl...but he refused. He told me she was just a trickster, and her only aim was to draw me in and steal all of the money I had." Charming.
"Your father was nice," I scoff. "I'm not like that at all."
"I know that," Len smiles. Our eyes meet, and a blush creeps across my features. I decide to look at my shoes instead. "Fancy that. Out of all the girls I could have rescued, I saved you. Crazy, huh?"
"Yeah," I agree. "Crazy." My eyes are fixed on my wrist. More specifically, my veins, which are pulsating and flickering beneath my pale skin. Len sees it too, and his face pales. I suddenly can't focus on him, though. My vision blurs, then becomes sharper than ever, tinged with red. Len looks at me, worried. He reaches out, but a snarl bursts out of me. What the...?
"Rin? It's me, Len. Are you alright?" He reaches out again, his hand near my face. I slap his arm away with new strength.
"Don't," I growl. "Don't touch me! I don't know what's happening, but whatever it is, you'd better keep away." Len is gaping at me. "What is it?"
"Rin...your eyes..." He grabs a mirror and holds it up to me. My eyes are unmistakably red. Wait, red? I stand up, kicking the cup of tea aside. It splatters onto the wooden floor. Len stands up with me, arms held out as if to restrain me. I give him a dangerous look.
Suddenly, though, the fury seeps away, and the blackened veins that have crept up my arms fade. They don't disappear, though. Not completely. As soon as the anger fades, a wave of nausea sweeps through me, and my knees buckle.
"Rin!" Len says, catching me. I look up at him weakly, the red tinge from my vision disappearing. I'm guessing my eyes have returned to blue. Len is looking down at me with an expression of concern and worry. "Okay, that's it. We're taking you to a hospital."
"And tell them w-what? That my eyes turn red and black veins cover my arms? Yeah, they're sure to believe that."
"We should tell someone.."
"What are they gonna do about it? Chuck me into a padded room and give me a straightjacket?" I sigh. Len considers it for a moment. I can see that he knows I'm right. "Um, Len.." His arms are still wrapped around my waist. "You can put me down now."
"Can I? Or are you gonna just drop again? I'm worried about you, Rin," he murmurs, setting me down on the sofa.
"I'm fine...it looks like this thing, this illness, or whatever, will give us a little warning before it gets worse. So, we just see what happens."
"You expect me to just sit here and watch you get worse? Watch this illness get worse, make you even more sick?"
"Yes," I say, stunning him into complete silence.
"You know I can't do that, Rin-"
"Try. Please, Len. There's nothing you can do about this."
"There must be medicines or something..."
"Len."
"We just have to-"
"Len, listen to me! I think I know what this is..."
"What? What is it?" Len kneels beside me, taking my hands.
"I think...do you remember that night at the circus? I wasn't just on the trapeze. The gypsy lady, my adoptive mother, used me as her assistant...do you remember that hypnotism thing she did?"
"Yeah, but.."
"I don't think it was hypnotism." Images of that woman's sly smile flash through my mind. "I think...I think that was some sort of curse.."
"WHAT?"
"The gypsy's curse...that's it! In her caravan, there were always pictures of a red eyed monster with black veins spread across its skin...some said she was once a pure-hearted girl, but she'd been cursed...and so many bodies lay around her...hold it. Hold on a second...there was...oh, God."
"Rin, what is it? Speak to me!"
"There was a picture of the red eyed monster...and when everyone else ran, there was one...being...it looked like a boy, but it was more like an angel, all in white, with golden hair and eyes of the brightest blue...he stayed at the creature's side when she destroyed the world...when she killed everyone...and then, at last, when she turned on him, he said, 'your beauty remains, even when your pure soul has long since perished; I will stay by your side, and you may do as you wish to me, for we always have the memories...when I pulled you from those murky depths...when you danced through the air right before my eyes...all beautiful memories, never forgotten'. And then the creature stopped. Slowly, blood began to trickle from her lips...the monster felt herself slipping away..." Len's grip tightens on my hands. "...and she died." My cheeks are wet, and Len wipes my tears away, staring into my eyes.
"Rin...that won't happen...I won't let it happen...you can't die, you hear me?"
"But, what if it's something we can't control? What if I'm gonna turn into this monster no matter what happens? What if...what if it's fate?"
"Screw fate! I won't let you die, Rin!" I stare at him, at his sad, angelic face. I can't put him through this. I just can't. I stand up. "Rin?"
"I have to go," I whisper.
"Where? Where will you go?" I take a deep breath.
"I don't know." He blinks at me, then folds me in a hug. The tears flood in endless streaks down my face, making his shirt wet. "I don't know!"
"Then stay," he murmurs into my hair. "Stay here. Stay with me. Don't go, Rin. Please."
"I don't want to put you in danger...I don't want to hurt you. You're the only one who has ever been truly caring towards me...and...all I'm able to repay you with is hurting you!" I could almost feel him smile.
"Don't you get it? I want to help you. I don't care if you turn into some monster every five minutes. Just don't leave me. I won't force you to stay if you really don't want to...but..." He sighed. "I...you just mean a lot to me..."
"Len, we've known each other for a few hours.." I manage a half-smile, looking up at him. He rests his forehead against mine, and for one crazy second I think he's going to kiss me. But then he sighs and walks away.
"I'll make you up a place to sleep."
"Len..." I start, but he's already gone. I sink down onto the sofa, my head in my hands. "Oh, Len...I'm sorry I never got a chance to say goodbye." Then I stand up, grab a coat from the coat peg, and head out into the rain.
Well, chapter one is over. That. Was. Strange. I mean seriously, it was weird. I did like that chapter though. I know a lot happened, but stuff will be explained later. There MIGHT be a kiss scene in the next chapter, but I might be prolonging it until further chapters, depending. We've established a relationship between Rin and Len (non-cest, woo. I've been trying to explain to pretty much everyone that RIN AND LEN ARE NOT MEANT TO BE TWINS. Even Vocaloid said so. They decided to create mirror images, so to leave more to the imagination of the readers. SIBLINGS. OR. LOVERS - so sheesh, people, stop commenting on Youtube videos and other random stuff; you're getting on everyone's nerves). This relationship between Rin and Len is a sweet one, I think you'll agree. ANYWAY, I'm blabbering, so I'm gonna start work on chapter two. Hope y'all enjoyed this one, and suggestions welcome.
Bai, y'all c: