"Wait . . . WHAT?!"
There was absolutely no way this was happening. There was absolutely no way she was hearing him right. There was absolutely no way Nero Akita liked Rin!
"I like you," Nero stated as he stood and puffed out his chest as if finally getting the confession out made him ten times more confident and bolder than before. At least he had let go of her hands as he rose to his feet.
Rin's head began to spin. A new sensation began to blossom inside of her. One that lit like a flame. A sensation she wanted to put an end to immediately and snuff out the light.
"I don't like you," Rin narrowed her eyes and said just as bluntly.
"Stop kidding yourself," Nero grinned, not for even half a second taking into consideration that Rin may have actually been serious. Crossing his arms, Nero began to wander the school yard as he said aloud, "Now that it's done, everything is set. All that's left is to plan. The flavor of the cake, the type of flowers, perhaps a cruise - what do you think, Rin?"
"About what?" Rin asked through gritted teeth.
"Our wedding, of course!" Nero answered as he gave her a look telling her that she was being silly.
"A-a wedding?!" Rin exclaimed, her eyes widening and her jaw hanging.
Ignoring her outburst, Nero started to pace as he mused, "A mansion would be a fine place to settle down, especially one with lots and lots of trees. I like trees. Besides, there needs to be a yard big enough for our children to play on."
"Children?" Rin could not believe what he was saying. This had to be a joke, right? There was no way the bozo was the least bit serious.
"Yes, children," he continued with absolute confidence, crushing Rin's hope that he was only kidding. "Three to be exact. Three does seem to be enough. Four is pushing it, and I don't think anyone would be excited about having to spend the rest of his life being able to say that he has five kids. I mean, would you want more than three kids, or would you prefer just two?"
Rin's blood was boiling. Who did Nero think he was talking about this kind of future? What part of "I don't like you" did she have to thoroughly explain to him? Maybe she should try breaking everything down for the idiot.
"Let me tell you what I think," Rin growled as she stood and stomped in Nero's direction and only stopping when they were face-to-face, nearly nose-to-nose. "I think you are a complete weirdo. Why are you planning all of this? We're only fourteen for the love of God! We haven't even started high school yet to top it off!"
"I can wait," Nero said, but Rin wasn't listening.
"Shut up, you creep! Don't forget I haven't even said that I like you back, either," Rin continued. "You are a wimp and a dolt and a pervert. I like a guy who is manly, smart, and knows how to treat a lady. You aren't my type at all! I would chew on glass and stick sowing needles in my eyes before I go out with you."
"Wouldn't that be painful?" Nero asked as he furrowed his brows.
"Yeah, that's the point!" Rin snapped her answer. Turning a one-eighty and stalking away Rin shouted, "Like I would ever go out with you!"
"I like you!" Nero called after her as she completely ignored him.
I don't like you the thought swirled around in Rin's head as she left the school grounds. Len or no, she was going home. She was plotting to lick Len's dinner fork as punishment for putting her in this situation.
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"Aw, it can't be that bad," Miku's voice came from the other end of the landline.
"Of course you would say that, it's not happening to you!" Rin exclaimed into the phone she had taken from the kitchen and carried to her room in order to call Miku. Rin really needed her own cell phone. "Nero Akita likes me. How am I supposed to act?"
"Less like a grouch and more like a civilized person?" Miku guessed.
"Stop kidding around, this is serious."
"Just tell Nero that you don't like him," Miku tried.
"You think I haven't done that?" Rin had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. "I tell him that I don't like him, and, next thing I know, the stupid boy is planning our wedding and asking me how many kids I want." A laugh vibrated through the line. "Miku, stop laughing! This isn't funny!"
"I'm not laughing," Miku defended as the laughter choked off. A soft "darn it" was audible on both sides.
"Dang it, Len, get off the phone!" Rin growled. She really should have asked for a cell phone for Christmas instead of a 3DS. Leave it to her priorities to pick video games and art supplies over practical and necessary things.
"You wouldn't talk to me so I had to improvise," Len replied. "I know Nero really likes you, but dang! Your wedding? Who's the best man? Please tell me that it's me."
"Oh! And am I the maid of honor?" Miku asked.
"There is no wedding!" was Rin's violent answer. "I don't even like him."
"Or you're in denial."
"Can it, Banana Brain. This is all your fault!"
"Because I gave Nero my blessing?"
"You gave Nero your blessing?" Miku asked Len.
"He asked for it, being that I'm Rin's twin brother and all," Len answered.
"Aww, that's so sweet and considerate of him!"
"Is nobody paying attention to the fact that I don't even like the bafoon?" Rin questioned.
"No one's paying any attention to you at all," Len replied.
"Get off the phone, Len."
"But I want to hear the conversation."
"Get off or I'm telling Mom."
"Bye Miku, see you tomorrow."
"Bye Len."
Both girls waited for the click that signaled Len's hanging up. After taking a deep breath Rin sighed, "I don't know what to do."
"Solve the problem sheet Mr. Hiyama gave us in pre-algebra and choose a classic Ms. Megurine approved of to write a report on due by the end of the month," Miku said.
"I'm not talking about homework," Rin furrowed her brows as she tried to figure out if Miku was serious or just screwing with her. "I mean I don't know what to do about Nero."
"Accept his feelings," Miku said with so much casualty Rin wanted to smack her.
"How many times do I have to say that I don't like him?" Rin had to keep from growling. "Geez, is the whole world deaf or something?"
"You are so dense Rin that I swear drowning you would never work because you wouldn't sink," Miku replied. "Wait, is it the densest objects that float or the objects with less density? Never mind, all that matters is that you are not getting this at all."
"What?" the blonde asked.
"You are blind, Rin," Miku answered. "First you are absolutely clueless to the fact Nero has had a crush on you since at least last year, and now you're unaware of your own feelings?"
"I am not unaware of my own feelings!" Rin argued.
"Are you, Rin?" Miku questioned. "Are you?"
"Duh," Rin rolled her eyes, but deep down she was starting to doubt her own self. She was no expert on emotions, and she wouldn't deny it either. However, she was certain she would know if she liked Nero. Well, she was pretty certain.
What exactly did she feel for Nero? Whenever Rin thought of him she felt . . . fluffy, like she weighed nothing. His confession left her head spinning and her stomach twisted. There was no way that was like, right? What she was feeling had to be dislike. Yeah, that's it. Rin definitely disliked Nero.
After telling her friend goodbye and promising to save her a seat in class tomorrow, Rin lied on her back and stared at the ceiling. She took hold of her giant stuffed panda and hugged the poor thing tightly as she thought the confession over. She hated the boy for putting her into this situation, but she also . . . enjoyed it?
"Ugh, why is this so hard?!" Rin exclaimed into her panda's plush head. "I dislike Nero, right? Right?!"
Only Nero made Rin feel the way she did, but what was it he made her feel? Her heart rate increased, and her palms grew sweaty. She couldn't eat, couldn't think. It was almost as if he was some kind of drug. Only Rin did not want to be addicted. However, something told Rin that she would miss the feeling if it ever disappeared. So, did she like Nero, or was this some sort of addicting dislike?
"This is impossible," Rin huffed as she tossed her panda aside. With all the willpower she could muster, Rin pushed the topic out of her head and began to clean up for dinner.
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The rest of the week and the beginning of the next were no better. As always Nero offered to walk Rin to her classes, and as always she turned him down. Now instead of finding excuses for Nero to not walk with her Rin simply flat out told the boy to leave her alone. The more she rejected him the more he pestered her. The more he pestered her the more she was annoyed. The more she annoyed her the harder she rejected him.
And the circle of life continues.
"Rin," Nero ran after on their way to class one day, bumping into others in the hall and apologizing for his disturbance. When he noticed how his calling only made Rin walk faster he jumped over the crowd and shouted her name. "RIN!"
Said girl stiffened at the sound. She wanted nothing more than for Nero Akita to leave her alone, but the more she wanted it the less likely such a thing happening became. She wanted classmates to stop teasing her and calling her Mrs. Akita.
Though Rin Akita does sound nice. . . . Ah, what am I thinking?! Stop it, stop it, stop it! You dislike Nero. Remember that. You completely, utterly dislike Ne-
"Rin," Nero tapped her shoulder in attempt to gain her attention.
"What?" Rin asked, having no energy left to snarl. This had been going on long enough as it is, and Rin was failing to find the energy to keep going.
Nero answered her question with one of his own. "What will it take for you to stop pushing me away?"
Narrowing her eyes, Rin wondered how Nero could have the nerve to ask her such when the answer was so obvious. "Leave me alone, if you need a starter," was how she replied.
The way Nero rolled her eyes told her that he was definitely not going to start leaving her alone. "What are your feelings for me?" he suddenly asked.
Taken aback, Rin let out a single "What?"
"What are your feelings for me?" Nero repeated.
If only I knew the answer . . . Rin sighed. The more Rin thought about her feelings, the harder it became to distinguish them. Were her feelings of like, or dislike? What's the line between the two? By the looks of things, Rin was forced to choose, but she didn't know which answer was the correct one.
A grin growing on his face and reach ear to ear, Nero called out, "You're hesitating."
"Gah! I mean, no I'm not!" Rin shouted, her face and ears burning. There was not a doubt in her mind that she was blushing now. "I was just trying to think of an insult suitable enough to tell you to get lost."
Her comment went ignored. "I knew there is hope!" Nero proclaimed.
"There is no hope!" Rin pushed Nero, causing the boy to stumble back but not fall over. "Just leave me alone, why don't you?"
"Not when I now know that there is indeed a chance for the knight in shining armor to win his princess's heart!" Nero loudly declared.
Rin knew if she was in an anime this would be a scene in which she would pull a comical face of disbelief. "Uh, what?" Imagining that her chibi form sitting in the background, Rin listened as Nero, hand over his heart and wearing make believe armor, continued.
"Every soldier knows that the toughest battles are the ones worth winning. Same can be said with women. If you give up too easily, you're not worthy of her. If she's too easy, she's not worth it. A true man will never stop fighting for the woman he loves. No matter the struggle, no matter the battle scars, a man will travel through the worst of storms, the driest of deserts, and the longest of distances to be beside the love of his life. So no, Rin Kagamine, I won't just 'leave you alone.' I will keep fighting, for men all over the world, and for you, my dear princess. I will not rest until you are standing by my side!"
. . . Nero isn't crazy. He's absolutely insane! All Rin could do was gawk at him. At least the halls had long since emptied so no one saw Nero's heart filled declaration. This boy needed professional help. Bad.
"What Shakespeare play did you have for breakfast?" Rin just had to ask.
"Don't be silly," Nero answered. "I'm more of a Victorian literature reader."
"A what kind of literature now?"
"Victorian. You know, like Queen Victoria of England."
"I thought the queen of England was Queen Elizabeth II."
"No, crazy goose," Nero smiled. Did he seriously just call me a crazy goose? "Queen Victoria ruled during most of the nineteenth century. Hers is the longest reign in English history."
"So what's a dead queen have to do with any of this?" Rin asked.
"Rinny, Rinny, Rinny," Nero teased before answering. "Victorian literature is some of the most romantic literature in the world."
"And you read a lot of it why?" Rin didn't know why she was asking.
"My big sister is supposed to be reading it for school," Nero answered, a large smirk on his face, "but she hates it. In order to spite her I began reading the novels she's assigned to read just so I make of fun of her for being unable to understand the classics why I can."
"Sounds like something I would do," Rin mumbled before the words "big sister" registered in her brain. "Wait, your big sister wouldn't happen to be Neru Akita, would she?"
Frowning, Nero replied, "Yes, Neru is my sister. Do you know her?"
"Not directly," Rin said as a plan began forming. With a grin spreading across her face, Rin exclaimed, "I got it!" before breaking off into a run.
"I'll see you around," Nero called, aware that Rin wasn't listening to a word he said.
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"Thanks for inviting me over," Miku said as she sat across from Rin, Len sitting by Miku's side.
"Don't thank me yet," Rin replied before proceeding to tell Miku and Len both about what Nero had told her earlier that day. "The point is," Rin sighed as she finished telling her story, "Nero is never going to give up. Or not until I agree to be his girlfriend, at least."
"I think that's so sweet," Miku said as she thought the encounter through. "He must really like you if he's refusing to simply give up because you won't accept his feelings." Rin only snorted.
"He's a hero to friend zoned guys everywhere," Len said.
"Wait, friend zoned?" Rin questioned. "He and I aren't friends. Nero isn't even acquaintance zoned. He's more creepy-guy-who-won't-leave-me-alone zoned."
"Regardless of whatever zone he's in," Miku narrowed her eyes, "it's pretty clear that Nero is not going to leave you alone without fighting first. Think about it: If Nero had just a simple little crush on you he would take his rejection like a man and stop bothering you. However, he has basically sworn to not ever give up perusing you. If he's this committed don't you think that perhaps Nero likes you a lot more than just a crush?"
"Forget how much he likes me," Rin rolled her eyes, "I have a plan that will keep him away for good."
"Now this I gotta hear," Len said as he leaned in, waiting to hear Rin's apparent master plan.
Without blinking, Rin said, "You and Miku need to get married."
"WHAT?!" both Miku and Len shouted, their faces turning beet red. Both looked at each other, saw how their shoulders were touching, and jumped arm's length away from the other. "Why would you say something like that?!" Miku exclaimed as she hid her red face behind her hands. Len only sat in silence, his blush covering his face and dying his ears.
"Because it's so super obvious that you two like each other," Rin rolled her eyes. "Len, I've heard you say Miku's name in your sleep more than once." Her twin coughed once out of embarrassment before pulling his shirt over his face, imitating a turtle hiding its head in its shell. "And Miku, don't pretend you don't stare at the back of Len's head during social studies in between doodling 'Miku Kagamine' in your notebook." Said girl squealed in horror as she pressed her palms further in her face. "Marriage is definitely something that has to happen between you two," Rin finished.
Removing her hands from her face, the embarrassed Miku, face burning and tears spilling, cried, "That's not for you to decide! If Len and I ever get together, we will do it in our own way in our own time. If we go out it will because we want to take our relationship there, NOT because you tell us to because it somehow will keep Nero from trying to ask you out or anything."
Pouting, Rin replied, "But you guys look so cute together. I mean I totally ship it."
"Not helping," Miku mumbled as she wiped the hot tears of shame from her eyes. All the while Len still remained hidden in his make do turtle shell. "How does Len and me getting married stop Nero from perusing you, anyway?"
"Your brother Mikuo is dating Neru Akita, isn't he?" Rin asked.
"Yeah," Miku answered, "but I don't see what that has to do with any of this."
"It's simple, really," Rin promised as she pulled out a pen and a picture she drew earlier of her plan. "If Neru and Mikuo get married," Rin drew a line between her chibi Neru and her chibi Mikuo, "and when you and Len get married," she drew another line but this time between the chibi versions of Miku and Len, "then Nero and I can't get together because we will be siblings-in-law." With that she crossed out the dotted line between hers and Nero's chibi selves.
"I don't think it works that way," Miku frowned, her face returning to its normal, pale complexion.
"Still," Rin set aside her items, "when my brother marries you and if Nero's sister marries your brother, wouldn't it be inbreeding if Nero and I hooked up under those conditions?"
"I . . . guess?" Miku mused. "And stop saying when Len and I get married!"
"I haven't even asked Miku out yet," Len mumbled from under his cotton shirt. "Marriage is not open for discussion right now."
"At least you're not asking Miku how many kids she wants," Rin wrinkled her nose.
"That's easy, two daughters," Miku smiled. "Kyoko and Sakura."
Rin gaped at Miku. Even Len emerged from his "shell" to stare at the girl. "Why would you have something like that planned?" Rin asked.
"Not planned, just what I would like to happen," Miku answered, her blush returning. "Right now my real plans consist of passing finals, getting into high school, and talking my mom into letting me wear high heels taller than one inch. Stuff like that doesn't have to happen for years."
"Still weird that you have baby names already picked out," Rin wrinkled her nose. "Don't you think so too, Len? Len?"
"Sakura is a beautiful name," Len said to Miku, his face still red.
"Uh, thanks," Miku smiled, her own face still colored.
Rin perked up. "So does this mean you guys are getting married and Nero and I will practically be siblings?"
"NO!" Miku and Len shouted in unison.
"Looks like I need to find a new plan," Rin mumbled. "I wonder if telling Nero that I'm into girls will work."
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That night Rin lied awake. Since she couldn't sleep, her eyes were locked on the ceiling. No matter how hard she tried to push the thought of Nero out of her head she couldn't stop picturing his striking, beautiful golden eyes. The more Rin imagined Nero's eyes, the more difficult it became for her to think anything negative about him.
Miku was right, Nero was one of the nicest boys in the school, albeit the weirdest. Nothing he did ever gave Rin reason to question his morals. He was generally an overall good guy. He was sweet, funny, good looking . . .
Stop thinking about Nero! Rin ordered her brain. Brain complied by recalling the time in art class there was a paint fight. Neither of them started it, but they sure enjoyed it. A student by the name of Gumi Megpoid had aimed a tiny tub of paint Rin's way. Nero, in a hilariously heroic act, jumped in front of Rin just in time for the paint to hit him.
The drama king collapsed on the floor, a growing red stain over his heart, and began to pretend to die. He stretched his hand out to Rin, said that he was grateful that the last thing his eyes will ever beheld was such beauty, and feigned his death. It was to her very surprise Rin began cracking up. She dumped some of her blue paint on his face, and Nero retaliated by reaching for her face and smearing a bright yellow on her cheek.
In that moment, he wasn't the creep of a boy who was always driving Rin crazy; Nero was just like any regular guy. Of course, it wasn't as if Nero was an alien or anything, only it wasn't until then Rin realized she could actually like him if she stopped acting annoyed by him and actually gave him a chance. Who's to say that she has liked him the whole time but has simply been reading her feelings wrong?
What does this mean? Rin wondered as she finally drifted asleep. I don't like Nero, but I do like him? Maybe . . . Maybe I do.
Author's Note: You guys. . . . When writing this fanfic all I could think was that nobody was going to read it because of the shipping. Not that I cared since I enjoy writing this and in the end that's what's really important, but I never would have imagined this. Seriously, I cried when I saw all the wonderful reviews. Cried! They were tears of surprise and joy. To those who reviewed, you guys are awesome. TuT
iloveyugiohGX93: Yep, Nero-Kun really does like Rin-Chan~. Yes, yes, RinXNero needs more love.
B.A.G-GOMEZ: What can I say other than I'm freaking hilarious. XP
The Super Twins: You know what's hilarious about your review? I was actually going to have Rin-Chan mention the Barbie version of A Christmas Carol but in the end didn't because I already named enough adaptations. XD By the way, watched that version with my youngest sister a few years ago, loved it, haven't seen it since.
Yubi Fanficts: Thank you! :)
VocaloidWriter: RinXNero Suki Kirai fan art? Cool! :D I'd draw art for this myself, but I'm only a talented artist during math lessons. Hehehe.
BlackStar01451: Thanks! Haha, I think Wolves and Flowers has brought out the RinXNero shipper in everyone. That fanfic brought out my inner RinXNero shipper, and I'm the one who wrote it! XD
Black White and Superstitious: You gotta remember that our dear Rin-Chan is incredibly dense, and Nero-Kun would wait for centuries if that's what Rin-Chan wanted! Hmmm, shall we count the number of blushes in this story?
Ushinatta Neko: Funny, you struck me as a RinXMikuo to the grave kinda girl. :P Hey, the number of reviews surprises me more than it surprises you!
Anon: Agreed! :D
I don't know why, but my absolute favorite line out of this entire chapter is "Dang it, Len, get off the phone!" Not sure why. . . . My next favorites are tied between "You and Miku need to get married" and "I mean I totally ship it." XD
-Ray
