Darn it! I have avoided this chapter for too long. I am so ashamed. But I'm so happy for actually writing it. I know almost no one has even heard of Ice Mountain so I tried to do them justice with this chapter. I probably didn't. Just... just enjoy it anyway.
Chapter 9: Ice Mountain and the Vocaloids
Miku's POV
The sounds of birds chirping greeted me the next morning. A full night had passed without the Kagamines doing anything weird. Should I really feel that proud of them? My nose twitched. The air was chilled at the beginning of the day. Compared to my sleeping bag it was the Arctic out there. Wait a minute, why was my sleeping bag so hot? I turned my head. Rin and Len were in the bag! They were pressed close to me on both sides. Rin was on her left while Len was on his right. The sleeping bag was only meant for one, and with three of us in here, there was no space. The twins' legs tangled with mine and their arms held my waist. Our limbs were interlocked. My arms were probably the only thing keeping them from touching my ahhh...
Rin moved her hands up in her sleep, and I knew it was time to wake them up.
"Guys, wake up" I whispered. They didn't seem to react except for snuggling closer if that was even possible. Talking didn't seem to phase them. I squirmed up, millimeter by millimeter. The twins looked up and squinted with an annoyed expression.
"Miku, where are you going?" Len asked.
"It's time to move" I explained.
"Can't you just stay here, with me?" Rin requested. Len's mouth thinned in irritation.
"Don't you remember? We're going to see Ice Mountain today. But before we go, we have to meet with the band." Their mouths formed perfect O's.
"Why didn't you say that sooner?! Of course we have to go!" they cried. They pushed me out of the bag, and fought each other to also get out. At a safe place, I chuckled at their sibling rivalry.
We changed into casual clothes and raced to the hangout. I called everyone to tell them to come and meet us. When we got there, the whole group was already waiting for us.
"How'd you all get here so fast?!" I shouted.
"I picked them up. Obviously you wanted us here quickly so I drove everyone. If anything, you were the slow one." Meiko examined her red nails. "Anyways, that's not what we're here for. Luka!" The pink haired teen rushed to the right of the room.
"Miku, Rin, Len, Gumi, line up!" Gakupo ordered. We scrambled to get in formation. Luka came back with a pile of folded clothes in her hands. She gave us each a pile.
"These are your new outfits as part of the Vocaloid band. Wear them with honor and pride." We went one at a time behind the changing screen.
The Kagamines came out first. They wore white sailor blouses with Rin's cutting short at the bottom and had no sleeves. There was a tiny yellow treble clef underneath her sailor color while Len's had a bass clef. He also had short sleeves on his blouse that had a yellow and black stripes. Their sailor collars matched, being predominantly black with a yellow stripe at the end. Sleeve wraps that matched their color scheme were on their arms. Rin wore very small black shorts that were held by a yellow belt with checkered triangles. A similarly patterned mini belt hung on her left. Len also had shorts on, but they were much longer than Rin's and had yellow belts around each leg. He had a mini belt on his right that was longer than Rin's too. Their shoes extended from below their knee caps. They had a yellow rim at the top and was black the rest of the way until they got to the slipper part, which was white with a yellow outline. Len had a yellow tie on and Rin had a yellow handkerchief. She still had her large white bow and barrettes in her hair.
Gumi came out next. She wore red goggles that reminded me of bug eyes. She wore them nicely though. There was a white collar around her neck with a red jewel or possibly a brooch in the middle. She wore a small white dress with frills at the end. Another dress was layered over it, also being small but not as undersized. It was unmellow yellow, not my name for the color. It also had frills. There was a collar at the top that was attached to a mini orange shirt held closed by a green button. A matching mini skirt was around her waist. A dark green belt with a silver buckle hung under the mini skirt. There was a magenta garter with frills on both sides on her left leg. She wore white boots with dark green heels and folds. On her wrists were white collars held together with a red button. She and the twins earned an approving thumbs up from the band.
Finally, it was my turn to present myself. I revealed myself to be wearing a gray shirt with a split in the middle. It had a collar and teal tie. There were two black lines on the right of the bottom of the tie. At the end of my shirt, there were small lines that went into the split in my shirt. I had a short dark grey skirt with a teal outline. Farther down were black thigh-length stockings with a teal lining at the top. Shoes that were darker than my shirt with a thick teal outline were placed comfortably on my feet. On my arms were sleeve wraps that matched my skirt, longer than the Kagamines. Hot pink and grey square shaped ponytail holders held my pigtails in place. Everyone gasped as I stepped out.
"You all look beautiful. Like idols" Luka said with tears in her eyes. "I knew it was a good idea to base your shoes on Yamaha EOS" she said to the twins.
"Why are my shorts so... short?" Rin complained.
"It appeals to the crowd. Besides, it's not like your chest is going to do anything" Meiko stated with a smirk. Rin's eyes widened, and she moved to cover her chest while Len laughed.
"Shut up Banana Boy. I know that you practice taking off your clothes as if Miku were there" Rin muttered. Len blushed and looked at the ground shamefully.
"Now now children. Let's not fight" Kaito said easily. They shot daggers at him.
"I think we're all ready to leave now, right?" Gumi questioned.
"Indeed we are" Meiko answered. "Don't bother changing. We want to make an impact on everyone we meet. We are a band that will be taken seriously. Our fans will learn to memorize our outfits. We will be that popular!"
We sat down in Meiko's limousine and discussed possible types of music Ice Mountain could perform.
"I always thought of Sensei Hiyama as a Jazz sort of guy" Rin said.
"He seems more like an R & B player" I suggested.
"Maybe he does Pop" Kaito added.
"Nonsense. If Ice Mountain only did Pop, they would go out of business. I mean, it plays on the radio all the time." Meiko dismissed the idea.
"Perhaps they do Country" said Gumi.
"Wouldn't that be interesting" Len remarked.
"Gumi might be on to something. He could do Traditional Japanese music" Gakupo shared.
"I believe that he does Rock and Roll" Luka piped up after being so silent.
"Hiyama! Our clumsy, always well dressed science teacher? You've got to be joking. No way can he do Rock and Roll" Rin guffawed.
"You'd be surprised to what appearances can hide." Luka smiled mysteriously.
"I got to go with Rin on this one. No teacher can be cool enough to play in a rock band" Meiko said.
"Miss Sakine, we have arrived at our destination" Meiko's butler announced.
"I guess we're going to find out." Meiko winked.
Meiko's butler dropped us off in front of the building Ice Mountain was performing in. It was a club named Hachigata-jou Minami which translated to South of Hachimantai. The building was dark grey on the outside. We gave our tickets to a bouncer and walked inside. A deep blue light illuminated the interior of the room. A crowd stood cheering in the middle of the room in a large space. The Vocaloids stood at the back of the crowd. In front of everyone was Ice Mountain on stage.
Sensei Hiyama was singing at the head of the stage. He was wearing a long, plain, white shirt with rolled up sleeves. The shirt exposed part of his chest. He wore dark grey pants held by a golden belt. Black shoes were on his feet and around his neck was a gold pendant. His hair was ruffled and his eyes were yellow. I found that odd because his eyes were usually black, not to mention he wasn't wearing his glasses. To Sensei Hiyama's left, a man with flaming red hair was playing a guitar that was also red. He wore a black and white leather jacket with a black undershirt beneath that. His pants were black and were held up by a brown leather belt along with a sideways white one. He also wore black shoes.
On the right of Sensei Hiyama, a man with brown hair that reached all the way down to his collarbone was playing a black bass guitar. He had a black suit jacket on with white cuffs and white undershirt. A black tie hung loosely around his neck. He wore black pants that were held up by three black belts. Two of the belts were crisscrossing. He also wore black shoes. Behind him, a guy with blonde hair was performing on a keyboard. He wore a black suit jacket with gold buttons and white cuffs. It had a red collar at the front. A fancy white undershirt that split at the bottom was beneath that. He had black pants which at this point didn't surprise me. It also had a silver chain. He wore black, buckled leather boots. By far he was the best one dressed. The last player in the band was a man, or at least I thought it was a man, with dark brown hair that reached to his shoulders. He was hitting the drums vigorously with a surprising amount of force. He or she wore a long white trench coat with black buttons and buckles. There was a black undershirt under it. He or she wore black pants, figures, with black buckles. His or her shoes were black on top with grey curves on the bottom.
And they were all playing Rock and Roll! The singing, the guitars, the drums, even the keyboard, were making the music of rock. The song came to an end, and the fans clapped for the band.
"Yeah yeah! Alright everyone! That was If You Aren't Here performed by yours truly, Ice Mountain." Sensei Hiyama pumped a fist into the air. The crowd went wild. He made eye contact with me and smiled. "It looks like some of my students have found their way here. Everyone, make way for the upcoming group, the Vocaloids!" The audience parted to let us through, probably realizing that our strange outfits meant that we are the band he was talking about us. Sensei Hiyama pulled me up and put his arm over my shoulder. The rest of my friends took that as their cue to get up on the stage.
"Let's head backstage to the lounge. We'll talk more there. Okay everybody, that's all for today! Stay cool!" He winked and then proceeded to the left of the platform. The rest of Ice Mountain followed. We went to a room far behind the stage. It was crimson with five seats in it and a coffee maker. The band fell into the chairs and relaxed, though the man with the lighter brown hair chose to lean against the wall. Sensei Hiyama put on his glasses from a pocket in his pants.
"Whew! What a show. I am beat." He smoothed his hair, and his eyes began to revert to their original color. "Where are my manners? I forgot to introduce you to my friends and colleagues. This is Amane Haruto, Hokaze Natsuki, Hiyama Akito, who also shares my last name, and Azuchi Tohma. These are my buddies. We've been together since college; middle school for Akito and I." Each bandmate gave a little wave at their name.
"Natsuki, you were amazing" Rin said to the person with dark brown hair.
"Oh, uh, thank you. Yeah, thank you! I don't always get the applause I deserve." Natsuki glared at Akito who sneered at him.
"That's too bad. For all it's worth, I think you look like a lovely woman." Akito began to crack up while Tohma glanced at Rin warily.
Natsuki shook. "I'm... not... a GIRL! Why am I always mistaken for a woman? I'm a man!" Len dashed to the chair Natsuki was sitting in.
"I know how you feel! I'm always called a shota by Rin. Sometimes she even dress me up in these ridiculous girly clothes. I'm a boy too!"
"Len-san..." Natsuki's eyes sparkled. They held each other's hands.
Meiko glimpsed at the black bass guitar Tohma was playing before. It was resting in a guitar holder.
"Is that a Fender Japan PB62-DMC BLK I see?"
"Yeah. How were you able to tell?" Tohma asked.
"My parents raised me to be a musical genius. I wouldn't be a Sakine if I weren't a musician."
"I've played for the Sakines once or twice before" Haruto mused. Meiko and Tohma watched him for a moment, but Haruto said no other words.
"Still an odd one as ever. Oi Teru! Can you get me some coffee please? Make it the normal temperature."
"On it!" Sensei Hiyama replied. He took a cup and filled it at the coffee maker. "HOT!" he yelped. He quickly passed the cup to the grinning Tohma.
"Ha ha. Never get's old. Always look forward to your reaction Kiyoteru." Sensei Hiyama laughed unsurely.
"I got it!" Akito yelled all of the sudden. The entire group jumped except for Haruto who was still lost in thought.
"I knew that I knew you from somewhere!" He pointed to me.
"Eh?"
"You're the girl who buys leeks at my store every day!"
"Oh, I hadn't realized you were the green grocery store owner."
"Hey kid, you're kinda weird for buying only leeks. Don't you eat anything else?"
"I love leeks. They're my favorite food of all time. I feel sorry for you not seeing how delicious they are."
Akito stared at me before laughing. "I like that response! Maybe I'll try one sometime. Just for you kid, I'll make it half off any day of the week."
"Really? Oh thank you Akito-san!" I jumped for joy.
"To celebrate this special occasion, why don't the Vocaloids perform for us" Haruto requested, coming out of his reverie.
"What? How'd you know that we were musicians?" Kaito questioned.
"Just a feeling. And also you are wearing unusual clothing that seems to be color coded, including the fact that Miss Sakine, a musical genius, is with you and Kiyoteru mentioned that you were an upcoming group. All the evidence points to it." Kaito hung his head in defeat.
"Well, we haven't as a whole band made a song, but we've been working on a song for Miku, Rin, and Len" Gumi explained.
At the mention of our names, we stepped forward.
"Alright. You three, sing what you've got so far" commanded Meiko. We nodded and faced our audience.
"The name of the songs are called Remote Control and the World Is Mine" I said. The twins went first. They didn't sound at their best since they didn't warm up but for the most part, they were excellent. Then it was my turn. I sucked in my fear and sang. I didn't crack on any of the high notes which surprised me. Maybe I was really getting better by spending time with my senpais.
Ice Mountain applauded as I finished.
"That was some exceptional singing. There is definitely potential for you" Sensei Hiyama commented.
"Your lyrics are confusing, Len and Rin. However, I think that it adds to the mysterious, mischievous theme of the song. Your song Miku was very straight forward. I think your voice suited it" Natsuki said.
"Are you kidding little Suki! She rocked the scream at the end" Akito yelled. Natsuki grumbled at the annoying nickname.
"I can't wait to hear the music for Remote Control and the World Is Mine" Tohma said.
"Thank you for performing for us" Haruto nodded in gratitude. He eyed the twins which only I was able to tell.
"Well, I think it's about time for us to leave. We really enjoyed the concert. I hope we can hear you again" Meiko said.
"As do we. Ice Mountain will forever be friends with the Vocaloids. Come to us anytime you have any questions or want to join up" Sensei Hiyama declared. Everyone smiled at his proclamation.
"See you next week Sensei Hiyama" Rin said with a wave. Our band left the room with Ice Mountain remaining inside. Haruto held Len and Rin and put a hand on each of their shoulders. He whispered something to them which I wasn't able to hear. Then he released them. They hurried to me and looked back at him. He smiled and turned back to his friends.
"What was that about?" I asked the Kagamines.
"Nothing important" Len answered curtly.
"Okay. Just checking" I said cheerfully. Their mouths curled up and they linked arms with me. We walked behind the senpais and Gumi. I wonder why though that they felt so tense.
Done! This was very long and I hope it somewhat made up for the wait, though to be honest you are all probably here just for the ships. Nyeh! Well, so am I. There were a lot of descriptions of clothes in here. I probably could have summarized Ice Mountain's by just saying "They all wore black shirts and pants except for a few of them and blah blah blah..." I like describing clothes so you can't fault me on that. I also didn't know how to describe the weird belt thingies on Rin and Len's design. I don't know what they're called! Next chapter will have a POV from someone we haven't heard from in a while; the Narrator! I'm just messing with you, it's gonna be Len.
