Chapter 7

Note: Happy (early) New Year everyone. Took me long enough to update, but here's finally a new chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Won't own. Can't own.

Len Point of View

How the hell did this happen again? Right now, I'm at the food court in Kyofu mall with Rin waiting for Rei and Rui to show up. Normal, right? It would've been, but there were Dell's "friends" running around everywhere, checking if everything was safe. Dell was WAY too overprotective sometimes.

"Hey, Len, Ri- Whoa!" Rui was suddenly stopped by one of our bodyguards. Yea, a bodyguard. Tall, wide, has a lot of muscles, all that stuff.

The bodyguard said in a deep, stereotypical tough guy voice, "What's your business with Mr. and Ms. Kagamine?"

Rui was staring at the bodyguard with huge eyes, her body trembling, and ribbon drooping. The bodyguard stared impassively back at her, his sunglasses reflecting the light.

Rin stood up and angrily walk up to the bodyguard. Her ribbon was spiked up, pointed toward the air as if it was alive and had a mind of its own. She glared at him and said with barely restrained anger, "She's my friend, now move!"

The bodyguard stared back at Rin's glare, unflinching, which was pretty impressive, especially since Rin's glare even stopped Dell from talking in midrant once. He looked back at the black haired twins and said, "Identification, please."

Rei calmly took out a wallet and showed him his school ID card. The bodyguard studied it for a few seconds before giving it back to him. He turned to Rui and said, "Identification, please."

Rui was still unable to say anything, just staring at the bodyguard with wide eyes. Rin, still glaring at the bodyguard, yelled, "Can't you see you're scaring her!"

The bodyguard impassively stared at Rin for a few seconds before doing the FUNNIEST thing I've see in a while. He got down onto his knees and begged, "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T TELL MR. HONNE ABOUT THIS! I'LL BE FIRED AND I'LL BE JOBLE-"

"Okay, okay!" Rin awkwardly said, rubbing the back of her head. "Uh…you were just doing your job. I won't tell him about this."

The guard, after thanking Rin profusely, ran off to annoy someone else. Maybe I'll try to get him fired, just for fun. We all sat down at the food court, an awkward silence between us. Rin munched on her orange, eyes looking back and forth. Rui just sat down and waited for something to happen. I leaned my chair back and stared at the ceiling, too bored to say anything. Surprisingly enough, Rei broke the silence by saying, "…These guys are your friends?"

Rin sighed and irately said, "Hell no. They feel more like annoying parents!" Rin yelled the last part loud enough to an anonymous figure in a trench coat could hear. The figure quickly got up and ran away as he tried (and failed) to merge with the crowd.

Rui confusedly asked, "Rin, why'd you yell that last part?"

"It's better if you don't know."

"Why not? Tell me!"

As Rui and Rin mock argued, Rei said, "You're quiet. Something wrong?" I thought he was sarcastic, but the (incredibly subtle) concern in his voice surprised me.

I tipped my chair back onto the floor and hesitantly said, "…You're not being sarcastic, right?"

Rei scoffed and said, "I would be sarcastic, but your quietness is starting to annoy me. Something wrong?"

I tried to get angry at what he said, but I couldn't make myself mad at him. I put my head down on the table and said, "We're shopping with Rin and her black haired clone. Shopping with Rin is bad enough, but shopping with an almost identical, second Rin is going to be so boring."

Rei frowned as he defensively said, "Rui isn't bori-"

"Have you ever gone shopping with her, Rei?"

He sighed in defeat and said, "I suppose you're right about that. Shopping with girls is quite boring."

I stood up and stretched before announcing, "Well, let's just get this over with." Rin and Rui stopped their small argument, which had now turned into whether the violin or the guitar was better, and eagerly ran off into the mall, pointing at various shops they wanted to shop at. I glanced at Rei and mockingly said, "What 15 year old says 'quite'?"

He stood up and calmly said, "Smart ones, unlike you." He walked after the girls. Damn. He always has a witty comeback. I walked after him, not looking forward to all the clothes I would have to try on later.


Rei Point of View

I consider myself to be a person that favors solitude and quietness over socializing and loudness. However, shopping with these three was admittedly...fun. The first thing Rin did was taking us to a random store selling dresses and forced Len to put some of them on. After about ten minutes of hearing the brat whine and yell, he finally stepped out of the dressing room in a very…revealing dress. It was quite funny, especially since Len looked more like a girl than Rin in a dress when she wore one. (I secretly got a picture on my phone for blackmail purposes). As Rin coaxed Rui into buying whatever she wanted (saying that she would pay because she had a large allowance), I also saw the same man in the trench coat I first saw when I entered the mall. I made sure to watch out for him.

After we visited the dress store, we all went to the arcade; it was actually Rui and my first time at an arcade. When Rui told Rin and Len that it was our first times at an arcade, the spoiled brat just laughed and teased us. Luckily, Rin told him to shut up. We – excluding myself – tried a lot of the games. I favored watching them play the games. However, I tried playing skeeball and I found out that I was adept at it, and Rui discovered that she was talented at Dance Dance Revolution.* Unfortunately, a 15 year old girl beating everyone in D.D.R. attracted a lot of attention, especially from other boys. I was carefully watching the boys as Rui danced. In the small group of people surrounding the D.D.R. machine, I saw the same man in the trench coat from before. He hid face under the shadows of his hat, so I couldn't tell who he was. Why was he following us? Maybe he was Akaito… Before I could go up to him and talk to him, I was pulled by Rin to the D.D.R. machine. She wanted me to try D.D.R. I kept on refusing her, but I was actually a little (not a lot…just a tiny bit) curious. After finally being persuaded by the others into playing D.D.R. with Len and beating him, which he kept on saying that I got lucky, we left the arcade.

And now, we were again at the food court, eating and relaxing. Well, everyone except the brat. He was yelling and ranting about how the trip was boring and how he wished he had stayed home. We just ignored him and talked.

"Hey, Rei. Do you have a girlfriend?" Rin randomly asked.

I looked at her, right eyebrow raised, and said, "Why would you ask that?"

She shrugged and said, "Just wondering."

"No. I don't have a girlfriend."

Rin smirked and said, "Well, Rei, I think that I can get you a gir-"

Rui and I unanimously said, "No."

Rin, surprised by the fierceness in Rui's voice, said, "Why not, Rui? Don't you want your brother to have a girlfriend?"

Rui shook her head and said, "I don't want him to get one." I wasn't surprised by that. She was always protective of me, even though I was the older twin.

Rin looked like she wanted to ask Rui more questions, but she said, "Why wouldn't you want a girlfriend, Rei?"

I flatly said, "I don't like girls." I realized how that must've sounded to them right after I said it.

Rin, Rui, and Len froze. Len's mouth was halfway to the straw on his smoothie. Rui stared at me with wide, curious eyes. Rin hesitantly said, "…So you're ga-"

"No! I didn't mean it in that way." I mentally scolded myself for not choosing better words. To make the situation worse, "If You Were Gay" by Avenue Q started playing over the speakers. I ran one hand through my hair and sighed at the unluckiness of the situation. "I just don't like girls. That's all."

Rui, who was now recovering from her shock, said, "Rei, if you were gay, you could tell me."

If she wasn't my sister, I would've been quite mad right now. I took a deep breath and said, "Rui, I assure you, you would be the first to know if I was."

She nodded and went back to drinking her strawberry smoothie. Len, who was silent up until this time, finally laughed and said, "Rei's gay? So, Rei, do you top or bo-"

I punched him in the head at the same time Rin punched him in the stomach. We yelled at the same time, "SHUT UP AND DRINK YOUR SMOOTHIE, SHOTA!" Len grumbled about it being a joke and went back to drinking his banana smoothie.

I sighed and decided that I had to calm down before talking to these three again. "I'm going to the restroom," I said. I got up and left the table. When I got to the very unsanitary restroom, I went to the sink and splashed some water on my face. It was hard to believe that Rin could live with Len for even one day, let alone fourteen, almost fifteen, years.

"You're the famous Kagene Rei?"

I quickly spun around and saw the man in the trench coat from earlier. He was leaning on the wall of the bathroom. The only thing I could tell about him was that he was taller than me. I disapprovingly frowned and said, "You probably shouldn't wear a trench coat and a hat if you're trying to blend in."

He took off his hat and chuckled. "You're an observant one. I was certain that no one noticed me following. You can call me Dell." The first thing that stood out to me was his gray hair and dark red eyes. He looked like he was in his late forties.

I made note of possible weapons in the restroom. I wasn't sure about this man. He could be dangerous. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it up, and placed it in his mouth. He nonchalantly said, "Calm down. No need to be so tense. You look like you're going to tackle me." He walked towards the door. Right before he opened the door, he said, "Learn how to relax, kid. Oh, and keep an eye on my son." He turned his head around and smirked at me. "If you wanna ask him out, I'm fine with that."

"I AM NOT-"

He laughed and said, "Calm down, I'm just kidding. I've got some work to do. See ya, kid." He walked out the door. I sighed and ran one hand through my hair. So that was Len's dad. He was just as annoying, if not more annoying, than Len, as hard that was to believe. Like annoying father, like annoying son.

I decided to go back to the others. They were probably starting to wonder what was taking me so long.

Len Point of View

When Rei came back, he looked angrier than before he left. Huh. What was his problem? I was curious, so I asked, "What took you so long, Rei?"

He glared at me and venomously said, "Nothing."

I smirked as I said, "Did you get lost on your way to the bathroom?"

He angrily snatched his vanilla smoothie and stormed away into the mall, muttering about 'annoying brats' and 'family resemblances'.

I yelled out to him as he walked away, "See ya, Rei!"

I turned back to drink my fruit smoothie but was met by two angry faces. Rin and Rui both looked like they were ready to rip me apart, especially Rui. Rin said in a dangerously low voice, "Len…why'd you do that?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "It was just a joke."

"You should apologize to him. Now."

Why should I apologize to him? I didn't do anything wrong; he was just too much of a girl to take a joke. I rolled my eyes and said, "Why should I?"

Rui spoke up and said in an almost demonic voice, "Because I'll rip you apart if you don't."

I scooted my chair away from her when I heard her talk. Her voice…she just sounded so…angry…or insane. I frantically nodded and said, "I'll apologize to him. Let's go and find him right now." I got up and quickly walked away. I wanted to get away from Rui as fast as possible; saying she was scary would've been a HUGE understatement.


After about half an hour, I found Rei sitting with Rin and Rui down near a large fountain. He had a notebook out and was writing, or drawing, something in it. He looked like he was concentrating. Rin and Rui were carrying some shopping bags and were talking to each other.

When I got near them, they quieted down and expectantly looked at me. I stood next to Rei and said, "Uh…what you doing?"

He curtly said, "Drawing."

"What you drawing?"

"None of your business." I bit my lip as I tried not to yell at Rei. He should be answering all my questions when I ask them! Also, I NEVER apologize to anyone. Rui glared at me and mouthed 'What're you waiting for?'

Dammit. I really didn't want to apologize to Rei for not being able to take a joke, but I also didn't want to make Rui mad again. I looked ay the ground and quickly said, "I'msorryforearlier."

He kept on drawing. Without looking up, he said, "Excuse me? I didn't hear that."

I gritted my teeth and said, "I said that Iwassorryforearlier."

He looked up at me with a bored expression on his face and said, "Raise your voice. I can't hear you."

"I SAID THAT I WAS SORRY FOR EARLIER!" Right after I said that, I covered my mouth. I didn't want to say it that loudly.

He smirked and said, "Apology accepted." He turned to Rin and Rui and said, "I'm going home."

Rin and Rui stared at him as if he just announced that he was going to give birth. Rin, after a few seconds, loudly protested, "WHY? It's only…" she took out her cell phone and checked the time. She looked at the phone in confusion and slowly said, "It's…8 P.M."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Let's go home now. Mom and dad will be looking for us."

Rin sighed and said, "It felt like it was only twenty minutes though."

Rui, instead of agreeing with Rin, surprisingly sided with Rei and me and said, "We should go home, Rin. It IS getting pretty late." She yawned and drowsily said, "I'm getting tired, too."

Without letting Rin talk, I said, "I'm calling dad to pick us up." I took a step back and yelled, "DELL! CAN YOU TAKE US HOME?"

I saw him pop up behind the other side of the fountain. He walked over to us and casually said, "Car's outside. Let's go."

I followed Dell outside as Rin said, "Bye Rui. Bye, Rei."

"Wait!" Rui's excited voice caused us to stop moving and turn around. She ran up to us and hesitantly said to Dell, "Well…uhm…I was wondering if…"

Rin sighed and said, "What she wants to ask is if she can be a singer for the Vocaloid Music Company."

Dell looked at Rui with an interested look in his eyes and said, "Ah, so you're Rui Kagene in person. I've been shown a lot of your song covers by Rin." Suddenly, I realized why her name sounded so familiar to me when I first met her. Rui was a famous singer on Youtube that uploaded videos of her singing songs created by the Vocaloid Music Company. I even had her cover of Fire Flower on my iPod, and I never realized it was her.

Dell went into his "business mode" and solemnly said, "You do know that being a singer is no easy job. You have to create your own original songs and constantly keep your singing voice in good shape."

Rui eagerly nodded, trying not to break eye contact with Dell. He stared at her for a few seconds before he grinned at her and said, "I'll contact you when we have a spot. We'll have more openings soon. I'm impressed with your talent, and I hear only good things about you from Rin."

Rui squealed and glomped him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Dell laughed and said, "Your welcome." He tried to move but was unable to because of Rui. He uncomfortably laughed and said, "Uh…you can get off me now."

She quickly let go and backed away, blushing. Dell looked at his watch and said, "I can give you and your brother a ride if you two need one. I have time."

"No need. Our parents are on their way." Rei, Rui and Dell were talking, had quietly managed to get near us and hear the conversation.

Dell said, "Alright then. Bye." He looked at Rei and smirked. "Remember, kid. Learn how to relax. It'll help you later in life." Rei looked mildly annoyed, but waved at us. Huh? What was that all about? Do they know each other or something?

"Hurry up, Len!" I suddenly realized that I was being left behind. I frowned and ran up to them. Right before we exited the mall, I saw Rin give Rui a thumbs up. She probably knew about Rui's love for singing and showed Dell her videos.

Once we got in the car, Dell said, "How was your trip at the mall? Fun?"

Rin flatly said, "It's no use pretending. We both saw you there."

He started the car and said, "No harm in trying to be clueless."

The car ride back home was silent. Dell looked content as he drove, occasionally glancing back at Rin and me. Rin was listening to her iPod as she stared out the window. I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep.

When we got home, Rin immediately went upstairs to get ready for bed. I went into the kitchen to eat a banana before getting ready to sleep. Neru was cooking something in the kitchen when I went in there. Without taking her eyes off the food, she asked, "Did you have fun, Len?"

I was forced to crossdress, I almost got killed by Rui, and I was beaten in D.D.R. Surprisingly enough, it was pretty fun. I answered, "Some fun."

Neru sounded content as she said, "Good. Now go to sleep."

I finished up my banana and went upstairs. As I went upstairs, I heard Dell and Neru talking about donating money for something. It was probably nothing. I brushed my teeth and laid down on my bed. Maybe school was going to be better tomorrow, but I doubted that.

*=To those of you that don't know what Dance Dance Revolution is, it's a dancing game at an arcade. It looks pretty hard.

Note: Hopefully, everyone has a good 2012. Let's hope the world doesn't end on December 21st, 2012.
Reviews, especially criticism, are always welcome.
VVV