CHAPTER 2: Lonely Hide & Seek pt. 2; One Man Game.


"Let's do it one more."

With those words said, the four of them started the kokkuri-san as if to repeat history. "Okay then, let's begin." Len announced as he set down the paper filled with letters and a coin onto the desk. "Everyone, place your finger on top of the coin."

And so they did as they were told and touched the coin as they chanted. "Kokkuri-san, kokkuri-san if you have come please proceed to "yes"" Their hearts pounded against their chest as the coin started to seemingly move by itself. Len loomed at the paper at the answer on the paper.

"Up until now, its the same as last time." Mikuo noted and Len said nothing. The last time they did it, they were too scared to go any further than this and so they ended it till this point. Len curled his hand to a fist. This time for sure, it will be different!

"Now then, Kokkuri-san please return to the gate." Len said and the coin started sliding across the paper once again, stopping at the middle again. He could hear the sound of his heart thumping loudly, nearly drowning out all sounds around him. He took a deep breath and said. "Next, everyone will ask each other questions in turn, to start off someone try asking me something."

Rin was the one who volunteered. "Okay, was Len's dinner last night made of meat?" Len sweat dropped. "What's up with that?" But nonetheless, the coin started moving and Len's breath hitched when it slid to...

"It says "yes"" Rin noted. "So what did you eat?" Len was hesitant at first but then he sighed. "It was...hamburger steak." Mikuo scratched the back of his head and gave a small awkward laugh. "So it was right?...Hamburger steak, huh. The hamburger steaks at Len's place are pretty good..."

"Kokkuri-san, kokkuri-san please return to the gate..." And the coin was placed in the middle once again. Len was actually really creeped out with just a moment ago. It felt like he was seen through and just that thought scared him but now was not the time to be thinking about this stuff.

"Then next is Rin." Len said. "...Does Rin have a crush on anyone?" Rin's face colored. "W-W-What kind of question is that?!" Rin exclaimed, obviously not expecting Len, of all people to ask that kind of question. Len just shrugged carelessly. "Look Rin-chan." Miku said. "Its no good if you dont calm down-"

To Miku's surprise and To Rin's horror, the coin moved and landed on the "yes" sign. "It says yes?..huh." Rin twitched at the uninterested reply. "Hey! If you're going to ask, why're you reacting like that?!" Rin yelled as she grabbed his collar tightly and Len put his hands up in an surrender motion.

"When I thought it over, I wasnt actually that curious thats all." Len said, until he noticed Rin was actually trembling. He couldnt blame her though, all of them were also creeped out. "Kokkuri-san, kokkuri-san please return to the gate." Slid.

"Next is Miku's turn. Here I go!" Miku blinked in surprise. "O-Okay."

And the game went on. Len thought that despite what happened today, nothing would change the next day...If only that was true.


Len shivered under his blanket as he was curled up into a ball on his bed. He could hear his heart pounding harshly against his chest as the familiar feeling of fear and nervousness was coming back to him, only ten times worse.

He was being watched even more than usual...

Len gripped the blankets over his head, his hand shaking and he was terrified out of his mind. Yesterday, they were still playing the kokkuri-san but in the end, nothing happened and so it ended up as a fail but probably in the worst possible way.

Len gripped the blanket ever tighter. It was quiet, too quiet. Len couldnt breath properly, it was like he was drowning in the most painful way as the piercing stares continued. He couldnt take it anymore!

He burst out of the blankets and reached out for the remote on his bedside. Noise! He needed noise! The horrify silence was getting on his nerves but there was nothing on TV but static. Len didnt care, he just needed noise as he turn up the volume but even though the volume was maxed out...It was still too quiet! No more. HE CANT DO THIS!

Len laughed softly before he threw the remote to the ground as he yelled into the air. "Shut up!" He sat on this bed, his hands on his head as he glanced around like he was trying to find who was staring at him so intently. The silence was deafening, his heart raced even more as he took shallow breaths. Under his breath, he was pleading so desperately to whoever it was.

Dont look. Dont look, Dont look, Dont look, Dont look, Dont look, Dont look, Dont look, JUST STOP LOOKING!

Len fell back into bed and brought the thin sheet over his head again. He cant sleep, he just cant sleep. And for the rest of the night, Len was wide awake the whole time.


"Hey Len! Morning!" Kaito greeted. Len stood in front of his shoe locker in a daze, he looked at Kaito with an empty expression before he sluggishly reach out for his locker. "Hey whats wrong?" Kaito asked worriedly as he touched Len's wrist. Len jumped and turned at Kaito so suddenly that it surprised him. "Whoa!" Kaito exclaimed. "My bad...Are you okay?" Len sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. "Ah, no...I just..."

In the back of Len's mind, he was glaring at the confused Kaito furiously. Okay? Did he look okay? There's no way he'd be okay after last night! This insolent-! Len clenched his teeth angrily. He probably just wants to ask him a bunch of stupid questions like always. He cant put up with that sort of thing right now! But Len had to put up a straight face as he opened his locker. "Do you need something?" Len asked. "Im not really feeling well to-" Suddenly something fell out of locker which Kaito noticed.

"Hm? Whats that?" Kaito pointed at the ground and Len blinked as he looked down then his face paled drastically when he saw it was actually a white envelope. Certain words suddenly popped into Len's mind as he continued to stare at the envelope in pure terror.

Rule of the Demise: Kokkuri-san's Demands are delivered via Letter.

Could this actually be... Len started breathing heavily again. Fear and panic welled up inside him. What should he do? He didnt make a move to pick it up but Kaito, who completely misunderstood the situation, picked it up and looked at it in awe. "Oh! Could this be...a love letter?!" He exclaimed. Len flinched. "Hey...cut it out." He reached out for the letter but Kaito pulled away, much to Len's irritation.

"I wonder who its from~" Kaito sang. "Aw, come on, just let me take a little peek okay?" Len narrowed his eyes at him as he thought it over. If he remembered correctly...If the contents of the demand are seen or discovered by an outsider...He or She will die..

If thats true...and Kaito sees the letter...He will die. Len gulped. What should he do? Should he test it? There was a good chance that it wasnt related to the bookmark of demise, he was pretty sure it ended as a failure too...but if by chance that this was the real thing...should he test it if it was true of not?

Len took a step back and smiled warily. "I guess...it cant be helped." He said. Kaito grinned. "Really? Wow, Len you're the man!" He cheered. "Dont tell anyone else, okay?" Len warned but actually he was nervous as Kaito started opening the envelope. "I know, I know.."

Kaito pulled the letter and opened it. The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. Len looked up at the suddenly silent Kaito in confusion. His heart stopped when he saw Kaito's face turn pale and horrified. "What is this..." Kaito murmured. Len cowered in fear, his heart skipped a beat as he watched Kaito continuously muttering to himself about things Len could hear. What happened? Just now...What did he...?

Kaito suddenly passed Len the letter. Len flinched but reluctantly took the paper while Kaito started wobbling out of the school. "H-Hey." Len called out but Kaito continued moving without looking back. Len couldnt do anything but watch him go.

And then, during lunch break. The incident happened...in which he was killed. His body cut in two. Just like the rules say, he was an outsider and he read the demand so he died. Everything was connected and slowly, Len's instincts told him...Thats definitely the real deal!

Because of the incident, school was cancelled for two whole weeks. Len didnt feel or want to move around so he shut himself in his room, it worried his parents but Len didnt have the will to tell or show them that he was alright when he wasnt at all. For several days, he simply sat on his bed while continuously questioning himself over and over again.

Was he the one who killed him?

Does it really exist?

Len held his head and clicked his tongue. He was too scared to do anything. When suddenly, something clatter in his room like something fell. Len slowly looked up and saw on the ground was a big black book, it had a some symbols on it and inside that was sticking out was a bookmark with a black cat on it.

Len's eyes widened. There it was. The Book of Demise. Len jolted and clamps his hands over his mouth to hold back a scream. He stared at the book intently. A bookmark...with a black cat, in a pitch black book. Len's heart beat speed up. "It really exist.." Len mumbled to himself then he shuddered as he remember the incident with Kaito then the piercing stares he had felt every night up until now.

This time, Len really did let out a scream and pulled the covers over his head. At that moment, Len was having a panic attack. His mind blurred and for the entire time, Len chanted to himself to stay calm. Over and over again, he repeated the same words. "Stay calm, stay calm, stay clam, stay calm, stay calm-"

How much time has pass, Len wasnt sure anymore. All he knows right now is that it was already night time and he could hear was the ticking of a clock then the sound of rain falling outside, there was flash of lightning here and there.

"Was...it all just a dream?" He questioned himself but he knew that its impossible. He lifted himself up, the covers slid off his form and he glanced at the ground again and it was still there, that godforsaken book.

Suddenly the TV was turned on, startling Len. "W-What..." On the screen was nothing but static and the brightness of TV stung his eyes bu that wasnt the issue at the moment. Why was the TV on? How did it turn on? He never touched the remote, not once. Then the sound of a reporter was heard beyond the static, it was as clear as day.

"Good evening."The voice was very high pitched and was oddly cheerful at that. The image on the screen suddenly changed to an unfamiliar street as words being said by the voice slowly rolled upwards. "This is a special broadcast. We will be announcing the victims thus far."

Len stared at the screen nervously, the faint sound of static was still heard through the TV. He had heard from the internet that there was a special broadcast that gives a list of all the victims who have already passed away and those who are going to be next. Len started crawling backwards until his back hit the wall. "T-Thats...why.."

"The person who looked at his phone as he walked today..."

"The person who kept a rabbit in his Japanese-style room because his life was too lonely..."

"The person who felt accomplished after walking 10,000 steps..."

There was an unease pause when the announcer spoke again.

"The person who peeked into another person's letter."

Len felt his heart skipped a beat and his face was slowly losing its color as it continued its list.

"Moving on, we will be listing tomorrow's victims...

"The person who spoke to someone directly if they're curious..."

"The person who ignored the requests made..."

"The person who skipped school and played all alone..."

"The person who was turning pale at this very moment.

Len jumped in fear and shivered. His face was extremely white and pale now as he thought of what might happen and who that person was referring to.

"Tomorrow's victims are these people. We pray for your happiness in the next world...Good night."

With that, the picture disappeared with a click and all was left was complete static then the book on the ground flipped out by itself, the pages rapidly turning until it stopped at where the bookmark was.

"One-Man Hide and Seek"

Author: Len Kagamine

Len stared at the book in shock as he stood up from his bed and approached it. He knelt down and touched the page. "One-Man Hide and Seek?" He read and caressed his name on the page. "My...name." Len didnt move or make a sound as he realized that tomorrow...will make it one week since he received the letter.

Len slowly started to laugh. One week, you are given one whole week to fulfill kokkuri-san demands, if he doesnt do it...he'll die.

Len continued laughing before he mumbled to him. "...Do it." He stood up with the book at hand. He quickly moved to his discarded bag and dug inside it. "I'll do it! "One-Man Hide and Seek""

If he does it right, he wont die. Len pulled out the envelope from his bag and snatched the letter out of it. He'll be damned if he dies now!

The rules of "One-Man Hide and Seek" were already written in the letter. Firstly, he need to prepare a stuffed toy with limbs.

Len opened his cabinet and searched inside it until he took out a worn out stuffed rabbit, it was bright pink and had an eye patch on one of its eyes, one of the ears was missing and stuffing was popping out of it. Len didnt want to go out late at night and buy a stuff animal, it was a good thing Len didnt get rid of this thing.

Len quietly went down stairs. His parents were out in a business trip for next week so he had the whole house to himself which was a convenience for him. He entered the kitchen to see a plate of rice balls on the table, probably left for him by his parents.

The next thing Len needed was rice. Len shivered and dropped the rabbit. He groaned as he looked over to the living room, it was that stare again. He clicked his tongue but he wasnt going to let that stop.

Now, all he needed was salt water, a needle, red string, scissors, and a box cutter. Len sprinkled salt into the water and stirred it and went to get his mother's sewing kit. When he finally got everything, Len took the cutter and knelt down at the floor with the rabbit set on the ground.

The next thing he has to do was take out the stuffing from the stuff toy's stomach and Len slashed at the belly of the rabbit. He cut into in a rather violent way but he didnt care, he just has to get this over with.

He found this kind of situation oddly laughable because it reminded him of those suspense and horror psychological movies were things start to get scary...and Len stated to wonder if he was making the same expression on his face right now.

As soon as he was done removing the stuffing, he quickly placed in it rice and some nail clippings and then using the needle and red string, he clumsily stitched the hole up. He stared at his handy work and cringed in disgust. "Kinda looks like blood vessels. Gross..." Len then picked up the doll and the glass of water.

"And then, I've got to take this to my hiding place." He mumbled to himself as he walked up the stairs again and into his room, he carefully placed it in his closet before closing it and walking out of his room.

He looked at the doll as he moved through the hallway. "After that, the doll's name..." Len pondered for a while on what name he should give to this thing. After a bit of time, he decided to use that person's name. He reached the bathroom where the bathtub was filled with water and Len took a deep breath. "Lets begin." He said and began chanting. "Len is first to be, Len is first to be, Len is first to be, Len is first to be-"

He continued chanting until he lifted the doll up and violently splashed it into the water. Water splashed to his face and his hands until his elbows. Bubbles started emerging out of the doll and Len shivered as he looked at the doll, it was like it was staring at him mockingly.

He walked out of the bathroom for a moment and closed the door. Len stood in front of the door. Len's arms dripped with water and he huffed. "I cant turn back anymore."

Once the stuffed toy sinks in the bathtub, close your eyes and count down. Len took out the box cutter fro his pocket and inhaled, closing his eyes as he started the count down. "10...9...8...7...6..." Len's heart beat loudly. "5...4...3..2...1..0.." Len opened his eyes and murmured. "Are you ready?"

Len then charged into the bathroom and pulled out the soaked rabbit doll out, he quickly placed the doll to the ground and raised the cutter above his head. Without wasting time, he stabbed the rabbit.

Stab!

Len huffed as he sat on the ground, staring at the rabbit with the cutter tucked into it. He didnt have time to waste as he stared another chanted and continued stabbing the doll over and over again.


After that, Len rushed to his room and ducked into his closet where the glass of water was left, closing it. He sat in the closet, curled into a ball and clenched his teeth. What's the point of all this?!

In the first place, who is this so-called traitor? The game shouldnt have started yet so then why? Where did he go wrong? Just why?! He doesnt want to die!

There was silence. The sound of the clock ticking was all Len could hear at the moment. Its been a couple of minutes, perhaps everything is okay now..."I should go find the stuffed doll..." Len suggested. When he was about to open the closet. The glass of water moved, Len caught it in time before it could spill.

"If I dont pour some of this in my mouth..." Len huffed and just before he could take a sip...

Creak.

Len's heart stopped. Footstep. No one was suppose to be here but him so why can he hear something?! Len was shaking as the footsteps were getting closer. Was it just him or did he hear something was dripping as well.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

"S-Stay away." Len whispered desperately. There footsteps got even closer and then it stopped. Len stared at the slide door of the closet, expecting it to open any second now but then nothing happened. He sighed in relief. It suddenly became quiet.

Slide.

Len flinched when he noticed the door was slowly opening. There was a pause in the air and Len stared at the figure in horror and shock. "Wh-" Len started. "Why are you...?!"

"I found you."


"This is a news flash."The announcer reported as a certain blond hair boy's picture flashed into the screen. "Today, in Yamaha city, The body of a male student was discovered."

"The male student was inside his room, with a blade stabbed into his body. The victim was discovered with a cellphone gripped tightly within his hands.

In addition, it appears the victim of the mysterious murder incident that occurred several days ago in the same city was a classmate of today's victim..

Police suspect that the same perpetrator committed both murder. An investigation is in process-"

-0-0-0-


And that ends the Lonely Hide and Seek chapter. Shocking isnt it? I still cant believe I actually killed off Kaito, suddenly I feel guilty anyways please always support this story and no flames please okay? For now on, I will be responding to your review if you do so dont hesitate to review!

Responses to Review.

Awesome D.T: Aww Thanks so much for favoring my story! I really appreciate it! *Hugs tightly* Well, I guess Len does seem like a sociopath now that I think about it. Hahaha sorry to burst your bubble but they're all not related to each other, they're (somehow) friends and I totally agree that the Vocaloids need more horror stories- I mean, have you not seen how many horror pvs they have created! Though honest, Im not much to horror fan but I do like to read horror once in a while because life becomes boring without a good scare right? And um...thanks for understanding how terrbile math is and thank you for comfort(?) me.

Zhane17: Oh Im honored that you like the story thus far, Im happy and You actually read the light novel?! OMG! You have got to tell how you were able to read that! I've been searching for that for days now and its frustrating! The internet wont let me take a glimpse of that horrific novel and its actually impossible to have a book of that here (if there is one anyway) Please tell me, oh great one! Have pity on this pitiful writer who loves reading *bows*

-Yugao702