Same Boat

Disclaimer: I do not own Vocaloid.

Chapter 1: Hello Freak.

When you wake in the morning, you don't expect much but the sun blaring in your eyes and probably a parent hollering so loud the kids next door wake up for you to get your lazy butt out of bed. Well not today. Not ever for a matter of fact. Luka groaned and mumbled as her alarm clock blared into right ear, flashing the time as if the world was going to implode. She cracked an aquamarine eye open to her offender and quickly slammed a pale fist on its bells. The clock immediately stopped and became dormant. Luka glanced at the time for a moment before deciding that it wasn't wrong or Daylight Savings and rolled out of her bed on to the floor. Catching herself from years of practice, the young woman rose from the ground without a scratch and wobbled over to the bathroom, stripping herself of her camisole as she trekked and stepped into the shower.

The hot droplets felt like heaven on her back as she began to wake up. Her long pink hair clung to her flawless skin, resting down by her the middle of her back. Once clean and rejuvenated, Luka turned off the water and brushed her teeth, staring at her reflection in the mirror. I wonder if Meiko finished her part of the assignment… Who am I kidding? That's like asking if she is sober on a Saturday night… The high school student laughed at her small joke and wrapped a towel around her body before leaving the bathroom. Living alone had its perks. No waiting in line to do your morning routine and nobody banging on the door to make you hurry up. And there's always a good supply of hot water.

She entered her closet and pulled out her school uniform. The navy blue blazer and white-blue plaid skirt made her sigh as it reminded her of what was yet to come. Another day of school, another day of hell. Luka slipped into the garments then stood in front of the mirror to fix her long pink hair. She would never dream of cutting her hair but the prospect and the fighting she went through some mornings made the idea more tempting. The girl brushed her tresses and began working the pink locks into a makeshift bun held by clips and a band. Not bad. Now for the finishing touch. She reached on to her dresser and grabbed a pair of black thick glasses, pushing them up on the bridge of her nose, the outfit was complete.

Luka looked around her small but nice room. A koatsu sat in the center with a TV resting by the wall. Her bed was close to the wall, under the window and a kitchen with a few cupboards, a stove top, and mini fridge stocked with tuna could be seen from an entryway. Her closet wasn't the best but it suited her needs with an appropriate sized bathroom for a girl. Her laptop sat on her cream colored comforter in its travel bag for safety. A white cat hat with a cute smiling face hung nonchalantly on her bed post. It was a tidy and organized dorm room and much better than her neighbors as the ones below and above sometimes were either reproducing like rabbits and mice in spring or partying until someone fell off their balcony and into the small pool below if they were lucky.

Grabbing her book bag, Luka locked the door to her room upon exiting and was greeted by a brunette lass.

"Morning Luka." Yawned out Meiko as she rubbed her eyes.

"Binge drinking or beer pong?" The pink haired girl asked and started walking down the hall with her friend following not too far behind.

"Both. And I sorta need a favor…" Meiko answered and ran a sheepish hand through her scalp.

Luka merely sighed and pulled out a sheet of paper with a couple of lines on it. It was their assignment for history and the part Meiko was supposed to have finished over the weekend. Her partner grabbed the project from her hands and quickly skimmed over it memorizing every bit of information that seemed relevantly important.

"Luka, you're a miracle worker!" She exclaimed and kissed the sheet before slinging an appreciative arm over her resourceful and reliable friend.

"Don't mention it. You forget my butt rides on this grade as well and someone has to pull your end up." Luka retorted and pressed the button on the elevator which they had entered while talking and walking.

Meiko laughed at her reply and tightened her grip on her best friend. Known each other since freshman year, the two girls had an odd relationship. Meiko was irresponsible and always under some influence during breaks and being the lively one of the bunch while Luka laid back and kept her nose out of big scenes and attention. She balanced out the brunette's crazy lifestyle while the girl in turn made sure Luka was entertained.

Exiting their co-ed dormitory and hitting the sidewalk, the pair chatted a bit along the way. It was still a bit early in the school year as cherry blossom petals continued to line the streets as they passed by. Students came pouring into the school yard of Hamatoriwa Academy, riding bicycles and gossiping before the first bell. Meiko pulled Luka away from an out of control cyclist and glared at who she recognized the idiot was.

"KAITO! For the love of Buddha, watch where you are driving that thing!" She hollered while Luka connected her palm to her forehead, embarrassed for their blue haired companion.

The young man in question had landed miraculously and safely in some bushes while his bike crashed into a tree. It was slightly dented in the front but still functional. Kaito lifted himself up and brushed off his navy blue blazer and slacks, readjusting his tie a bit before grabbing his bag off a tree limb.

"Morning girls! Wow, that was close… Sorry about that Luka." He apologized and parked his bike next to a shiny black motorcycle on the rack, locking it with some chains.

"Just be careful next time, alright?" Luka sighed and turned to head toward the ivory building that would confine them for a good 9 hours.

The trio made their way to the locker compounds in the front of the doors and put away their things. Meiko grunted and Kaito grimaced for a second, giving a sign to Luka at who was approaching. The crowd departed a bit as an overly feminine figure walked down the hallway, flipping her long blond and highlighted pink hair behind her. Around the idol was a boy and a girl, looking almost identical to each other if weren't for their genders and clothes. The blond duo with matching sky blue eyes had wide smiles on their faces as they watched the student body make way for their leader. Behind them was a sea green haired maiden who grinned genuinely compared their leader.

Luka turned paler than ever before. Don't notice me. Don't notice me. Don't notice me.

"Luka-chan! Good morning, I see you're here on time!" Sweet Ann called out and rushed over to her "pal", interlocking their arms and almost causing the pink haired girl to drop her books.

"Sweet Ann, nice to see you here as well…" Luka answered with little to none emotion. Come on… that light has been swaying back and forth since our freshmen year. Fall and hit me already. Luka hoped and looked up at the swinging light that blinked mockingly at her.

Meiko growled almost feeling like punching the chick in the mouth, but Kaito placed a cool hand on her shoulder to calm her nerves. Luka could handle herself. She knew better than to make a scene and fall into "Sweet" Ann's plans. The twins sighed. They hated when she messed with that kid and never really understood why she did. The sea green gal in the back came to the front and opened her mouth to speak.

"Sweet Ann-dono, first period is going to start soon and we need to get going or our seats will be taken." She lied. No one ever took Sweet Ann's seat without facing her wrath.

"Ah, you're right Miku. See you in class, Luka-chan~" She waved a quick good bye before "accidently" removing her arm and causing Luka's books to fall on to the ground at her feet.

Miku, Len and Rin all collided their palms with their heads before helping the pink haired girl pick up her books. Luka wondered why they hung out with her. They were obvious not nearly as nasty as her. Then she remembered the companies their parents' owned and who their "big brother" was. The three couldn't escape their wicked leader without being disowned by their own flesh and blood. Letting out a sigh and feeling better that none of her books had gotten damaged, Luka turned the other cheek and headed straight for class, leaving the 5 there to frown at her backside.

"Man, I wish we could give her a piece of our minds!" Meiko mumbled loud enough for them to hear.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, but Swe- I mean, Ann's family owns part of the school and the dormitory you three stay at." Len pointed out while Rin stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"I just want Luka to stop taking her rotten milk down without flinching." Kaito added in and walked with his friends to homeroom.

Luka entered to the room A-2, causing the entire class to become death silent. She looked around. Everyone had their eyes on her though it didn't faze the lass as she made her way to her desk. A thumb tack laid on her seat was easily removed, and she bent to down to get rid of a timed stink bomb. Seeing that her desk had the oh so pleasant words of "Nerd" "Ice Queen" "Fugly" written on it, she opened the top to find a dead mouse and quickly chucked it out the window the for a stray cat to feed on. She had been through this almost every Monday. Nothing new. Luka would wash off the graffiti later at lunch and unpacked her things when Meiko sat right next beside her with Kaito on her other flank. They were a nice guard against flying spit balls and paper airplanes that tried to target and land in her pink bun. Meiko growled and ripped a straw out of an offending boy's mouth before threatening to stuff the projectile launcher into a hole that wasn't his mouth. Kaito had flung some of his precious ice cream into another delinquent's eye when he reeled back to throw a ghastly looking rubber band ball.

Luka loved her friends.

Miku and the twins sat up front next to Sweet Ann, posing as good friends of her. It came with its benefits that they couldn't deny as Rin and Len were no longer picked on for being short and Miku didn't get her beautiful pig-tails pulled or called an ugly swine for them. The cost was almost too much to bear though as they had sometimes take part in what Ann deemed as fun and keeping the school in its "natural" order. How warped could you get?

The teacher strolled in, holding his textbook and glared. The class stood up as a whole before saying the hackneyed phrase that had been plastered into their minds since pre-school.

"Good Morning, Mikatao-sensei, how are you today?" They questioned all in monotone unison.

The balding teacher huffed and slammed his book on his podium before writing on the board the lesson of the day.

"Everyone take your seats, I have an announcement to make. We have a new student today. He's from Hokkaido and hasn't been in Tokyo for quite some time. Give him a warm welcome that doesn't include childish horse play or pranks please." Mr. Mikatao addressed.

A buzzing murmur blanketed A-2.

"Hokkaido? He's probably a tan country bumpkin."

"Well, he said he's been in Tokyo before. Parents probably made him move."

"I hope he's not a dork. Got enough of them already."

The last comment was of course directed to Luka as she had her face buried in the textbook for next class. Math wasn't her best subject unfortunately. Miku and Rin would tutor her sometimes in exchange for her help in history, but that didn't mean she could waste time caring about what the ignoramuses around her badmouthed and gossiped in front and behind her back. Too tough skin to care. Reading over the last chapter they had been covering, Luka didn't hear the door slide open or the increase of whispering as a tall young man walked into the room, keeping his eyes to the floor.

"Holy crap… he's huge…"

"He should go for basketball"

"The baseball team calls dibs!"

Mr. Mikatao cleared his throat to get his unruly class's attention. They simmered down for a second, waiting for the newcomer to speak. The young man stood next to the teacher's podium, gaze still focused on the ground and covered by a matching navy blue baseball cap that had their school's logo sewn on the front. He towered over their teacher with his broad shoulders that slumped slightly to lower his impressive height. The navy blazer he wore looked a little too small on him

"Well? What are you waiting for? Introduce yourself to the class, young man." Mr. Mikatao blurted out to quell the growing anticipation he could feel festering.

The boy glanced at the old man before releasing a deep sigh.

" Kamui Gakupo." His voice was deep but at the same time girly which didn't go unnoticed students. He pushed up his thick silver glasses, shaking slightly.

He had only uttered two words, his name, yet they were already evaluating him.

"What? Gakupo? Who names their kid that?"

"Ew… What's with the hat? Is he bald under there?"

A few strands of purple hair peeked out from his hat, making the boy cringe as they criticized him more.

"Settle down. Settle down. Now, Kamui-san. Would you please take a seat in front of…"

Everyone seemed to move closer to each other, filling in empty seats present next to them, leaving blank spaces that formed a ring on the outside of the students. Luka, Kaito and Meiko hadn't budged.

"Kaito-san and stop eating that ice cream! We already have ants from bananas. "Their teacher sent a glare at both Kaito and Len who lowered their heads a bit as a bad attempt to hide themselves.

Before Gakupo could even take a step forward, 5 spit balls, 3 paper airplanes and 1 large paper ball came flying through the air, hitting the poor guy into the black board behind him. He slip down, gathering chalk on to his back and smudged the lesson plan Mikatao had written earlier.

"FREAK!"

"NERD!"

"Alright, who threw those things?!" The balding man bellowed.

No one answered.

Dizzy and slightly stunned, Gakupo clutched his aching head and wobbled over to his desk, using the icecream on the blue haired boy's desk as a marker. He sat down, using his book bag as a shield in case another barrage was coming in the near future. Luka glanced up to see the cause of the disturbance in the class. Who is this guy? She wondered for a moment before delving back into her book. Meiko shook her head at her friend and tried to make the new guy feel welcome.

"I'm Ichiromii Meiko, that's Yamamoto Kaito and this…" She pointed to the pink haired bookworm "is Megurine Luka." Meiko introduced.

Gakupo looked at all of them with dim sapphire eyes, resting his gaze on Luka for a second. She didn't seem all that friendly, but a lot better natured than most of the other classmates. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad for him. A spit wad flew into his glasses lens.

Or maybe he stepped into the 7th level of hell…