The Shadow's Life
Summary: "It's hard trying to grow up living in your younger, twin sister's shadow. She always was loved. While I smiled and protected her, I guess I wanted some attention too. Good think I met her, she gives me all the attention I need."
Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid. If I did, I'd be filthy rich, but I'm not. Boo-hoo.
AN: Thanks for the reviews guys! Here's the second chapter, Its starting to build up, happy reading!
The blonde girl's neck slowly craned around. Her smile was hiding something fierce, waiting to explode at her brother. He was sure of it.
Len laughed awkwardly, "Ahaha… Mikuo! Why don't you come in and sit down? I have to talk to Rin about something really quick." He grabbed the older male's hand, dragged him inside, and seated him on the chair in the living room. Just as he finished that task, his older sister grabbed the back of his collared shirt, and dashed up the stairway.
"Poor Len…" Mikuo blinked, as he observed his best friend flying up the stairs, he could have sworn he saw the blonde boy mouth the words 'Help me' before everything became a blur. Mikuo sighed, slouching in the lounge chair, in the 'living' room, waiting for the two to return.
The white ribbon bounced on the top of her head, as she dropped him from the slight height he was being dragged at. Len gulped and looked up to his sister.
"You didn't even tell him about me did you?" She leaned down, her eyes full of furry. "Wow Len. Just. Wow. I introduced you to Miku, and this is how you repay me right? Not introducing me to her brother. Swell." Her thin legs started to pace the room they were in, a sigh of annoyance. Len knew that.
"W-Well, you see, it wouldn't have been any good to tell him about you if you were abroad right?" Len attempted at his just thought of excuse. "And you're missing time talking to him now!"
Rin blinked. Her blue eyes rolled. "Wow Len. You're lucky we have a guest or else I would have kicked your tiny little ass by now." She jabbed his chest with every word she spoke, being sure to put more force in each passing word.
Len nodded, "R-Right, I introduced you a little while ago…" He defended, watching his older sister walk out of the room, irritated.
Ugh. That's why I didn't want you to know about her Mikuo. She's controlling, and very… violent.
Mikuo's gaze averted from the ceiling as he heard small footsteps approaching him. He swung his head up, only to see the girl's face, inches away from his. As a first instinct, Rin jumped back in surprise, and gave Mikuo one hell of a punch to the face.
The turquoise haired male writhed in pain as he held his face, aching. "Ugh! That's a nice greeting. Good morning to you too." He murmured through his hands that were cupping his face.
"Oh my gosh. I'm sorry! It was your fault for putting your face so close to mine!" Rin defended, crossing her arms, pouting at the male on the ground in front of her. She sighed, "I'll go get some ice."
Len then silently approached Mikuo, helping him up from the ground. He peeled his hands away from his face, to see the damage done to his friend. He winced.
"Ouch man. She got you pretty rough on the cheek." Len stated, looking around at other injuries. "Good thing she didn't get your nose though. Rin doesn't know how to control her strength at all."
The older sister returned with a bag of ice, and she peered over Len's head to see how explicit the damage was. She twitched.
"Oh. Oh gosh. I'm really sorry about that. I didn't think I punched you that hard…" Her ribbon flopped over, as if they were rabbit ears flopping over sadness. Her eyes glanced down at her hands. "Oh! The ice pack, right! I'm sorry." She handed it to Mikuo.
He chuckled, and put the square sack on his cheek, "You're interesting. Rin, right? Nice to meet you too." The turquoise haired male started. "So, abroad huh? Did classes just end for you or are you on some sort of break?" Mikuo asked, getting his mind off his swollen cheek.
Rin blushed, "Oh! Yea, my classes are done. I'm just back at the Institution again. I prefer it here rather than all the way over yonder." She imitated the distance that she traveled by pointing to the opposite end of the room they sat in. "I only got in since they wanted someone young, new to the institution, as an experiment. What pretty much happened was that my name got drawn from the hat, and bam! I'm on a plane, flying all the way to the abroad school." She sighed.
Mikuo nodded, listening to Len's older sister chatter about her school life abroad. Len occasionally glanced over to his friend, bored with Rin's conversation, hearing it for the second time wasn't too exciting as it was the first. Huh. Mikuo seems interested. Go figure.
The younger girl strolled the streets alone, having her long pigtails fly, lagging behind her slightly. She hummed the same tune from the morning composition, adding a small bounce in her step.
"Huh. What did I need to buy again for dinner?" She thought out loud. The twin tailed girl took off her side bag, and started digging through it, hoping to find the long list of ingredients for that night's dinner.
Suddenly, a soft, light blue cloth covered her eyes. In response, she took a deep breath, ready to scream for help, but she recognized the scent and the laughter behind the cloth. She heard a low chuckle from a familiar male, as she peeled the cloth off her head. Miku finally turned, to see the grinning Kaito she's always known.
"Kaito! You scared me! Don't sneak up on me like that!" She playfully pounded her fist into his broad chest. Her cheeks pouted up as she met his calm eyes.
"Sorry, I couldn't help it. You caught my eye about a block down, and I knew it was you since who else still wears their hair in pigtails?" Kaito ran his hand through one of the lengthy rivers of hair.
Miku blushed, and twirled a piece of her own hair between her fingers, "I don't recall anyone to wear the same scarf everyday either!" She countered, and then started to giggle at their attempts at teasing each other.
Kaito was known for his goofiness in the institution, all of the songs he created were always comical, and gave a good laugh, cheered other students up, or just brightened their day. Miku admired him for that; despite him being so clumsy at times. Occasionally, from time to time, he would create a 'masterpiece' as he would name it, being a new composition, nothing including comedy at all. His viewers would always shake their head, saying "No way Kaito wrote something as serious like that." Miku always found herself defending him, since she always loved his songs. Especially his "Pane dhiria", she brought herself to love that song.
Miku shook off her thoughts, and continued to listen to her older friend ramble about his love for ice cream, particularly Haagen-Dazs. A smile formed around her lips, "How about we go get some ice cream then? My treat!" She suggested toward her taller friend.
Kaito's eyes shined, "Really? You would do that for clumsy o' me? How cute Miku!" He exclaimed, ruffling her turquoise locks. "Nah, how about I treat instead? Why would I have a cute little girl treat me when I have money as well?" He proudly stated, pointing his thumb to his chest, winking at the pig tailed girl.
Miku giggled, "Alrighty, lead the way." She followed him by his side, stopping for a little treat before her errands. Kaito then nudged her with his arm; she looked up, smiled at him, and linked her arm with his.
The twins waved a quick bye to their guest he returned the wave, and exited the orange lighted room. Len glanced over to his sister, and she glanced back, with a noticeable smile across her face. The younger brother rolled his eyes, already knowing what Rin had on her mind as her blue eyes sparkled.
"What do you think Len? Did I pull out my role pretty well?" Her eyes gleamed. She was so satisfied, her ribbons stood straight up from her head. Len still wondered how they seem to display her emotions so well.
"Yea, yea. I know. I was there." Len sighed, pretending to clean his ear, Rin's yelling was starting to ring. "Does that mean I have to do my end of the agreement?" He winced.
Rin's ribbon bounced as she nodded her head in excitement. "Of course! You've known her for a while now right? I'm sure you'll do fine Len! Go get her tiger!" She smacked the back of her younger brother, having him lunge forward slightly.
The spiky blonde bit his lip, not out of pain, but out of irritation. How did I agree to this deal again? Darn Rin and her manipulative skills… I swear.
Rin proudly laughed, but it slowly faded away once she noticed his expression. "Len? Are you alright?" She asked, leaning up to his face, examining his expression. "Hey, I was kidding, no rush alright?" The older sister perked, only to pout in frustration at her younger brother's nonexistent smile.
Len looked up, "Oh! Yea… I guess I am a bit worried. I should get it done and over with though. I don't want to wait till the last minute, or regret not doing it." He laughed, and looked up to Rin's worried expression. "I'll be fine! I'll prepare for the worst!" He tried to lighten the mood, as Rin rolled her eyes, "Right. Wish me luck." He finally said, as he exited through the same doorway that Mikuo had not too long ago.
Rin opened her mouth to say something, but Len moved too quickly before she spoke. "Ugh. Stupid Len. Good luck."
Mikuo hopped up the steps leading to the doorway of the house he grew up in. Turquoise eyes blinked in confusion when he saw his blonde friend silently closing the door.
"Len?" Mikuo asked as he approached. His friend quickly brushed beside him, running home, not even giving him another glance. "Len!" Mikuo called down the street this time. His friend froze and slowly turned to the waiting turquoise male. The street lights flickered on, allowing Mikuo to see Len's pained expression.
"I-I tried to tell her. But, it turns out I'm too late." The spiky blonde said, attempting to hide his pain behind a smile. "I'll be fine. Really." He reassured as he slowly walked down the empty street, into the night.
"Too late? Don't tell me…" Mikuo rushed inside to see his little sister seated in the kitchen, her phone in hand, she smiled at her brother, and rushed up to him, excited. "Mikuo! You wouldn't guess what just happened today!" His little sister exclaimed, excited.
"I told Len when he visited, he was really happy for me too! He's such a sweet boy." She beamed. The older brother looked puzzled when he recalled Len's expression as he left the house. As I recall, Len didn't look too happy when he left.
"What happened then? Is it something with one of your friends again?" Mikuo asked, hoping his assumption was incorrect. "Who was it this time? Meiko? Luka? How about Teto or Gumi?" He started to list, hoping he might change the subject.
Miku shook her head, "Nope! None of them!" She put her arms in an 'x' position; then showed her phone screen towards her older brother. Mikuo backed off a bit, to see the image clearly, once his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness of the screen he quirked an eyebrow.
"That's Kaito in front of an ice cream shop." He recited.
"That's right! He treated me to ice cream today while I went on errands! You wouldn't believe what he asked me while we were there either!" She retracted her hand and closed the screen of her phone.
Mikuo blinked, "Don't tell me he…" He bit his lip.
"He asked me out!" Miku jumped in glee. She started to twirl around the kitchen table, dancing, jumping, singing, with all of her heart.
Mikuo froze and recalled Len's expression. "He came to confess… But then he heard your news and couldn't bring the heart to hurt your feelings…" He muttered under his breath, knowing Miku was too distracted with her new happiness to pay attention to his low mutter.
The younger sister stopped her twirling and looked to her older brother. "Mikuo? Everything alright? Did something bad happen at Len's house? Or while you had your day out?" She asked in concern.
Mikuo shook his head, "Oh, no it's nothing. That's great news Miku!" He faked his enthusiasm; he was still worried about how his best friend would take the news. "I have some good news too." He changed the subject, bringing his mind off of the grim thought.
Miku's eyes shined with excitement. "What? What?" She asked in excitement, leaning forward towards her brother.
He let out a small laugh, seeing Miku's behavior as if she was a little girl again. "Len's older sister is back from her abroad studies. She'll be attending our intuition. She's a nice girl, I think you'll get along with her."
"Whoa! Rin's back?" Miku exclaimed, "I haven't talked to her in forever! I gotta catch up with her, heck; we'll be talking all day tomorrow!" She smiled, recalling her old friend.
Mikuo blinked "You knew about her too? Was I the only one left in the dark about Len having a sister? Dang." He sighed; running his hand through his hair.
The two siblings continued to talk throughout the night, the older brother faked excitement for his sister, but on the inside, he was lost. Why hadn't he known about certain things? Was it because he wasn't recognized enough? Was it because he didn't matter? Was it because they simply forgot? Or it was a slip of the mind? Thousands of questions flooded Mikuo's head as he laid in his bed.
"It's because I'm a worthless shadow isn't it? I need to step out of the dark…" He muttered, staring at the dark ceiling above him. "I have no singing talent like my sister. That's why I'm not recognized…" He recited the truth in the darkness. "No one would love a shadow like me."
