Chapter 10- A Discussion of Memories

"What do you want to talk about?" Haku asked as she followed Neru into Neru's room. Neru sat down and began fidgeting with her skirt.

"I...I'm sorry for treating you the way I did back in junior high."

Haku sat down next her former bully. "Why did you treat me like crap?"

"It's complicated."

"That's no excuse." Haku stood up. "You spread rumours about me, you called me a freak and you ratted me out when I started drinking!"

"I already said I'm sorry."

"You're the reason I took up drinking in the first place. Do you know how long it took me to stop? Six years!" Haku suddenly burst into tears. "I hated you so much, but at the same time I wanted to be you," she admitted. "At least you weren't a freak."

"I was too! Why did you think I picked on you in the first place?"

"As if! How the hell were you a freak?"

Neru fell silent and looked at the floor. It took her a few moments of thinking before she answered. "You have no idea. I was different to everyone else. No one else knew, but I was. My friends kept on talking about guys all the time. I never understood what made them so special."

"What do you mean?"

"I-I... Look, it doesn't matter anyway."

"It matters to me."

"I... I've had a crush on you since eighth grade." Haku's eyes became as wide as those of an owl.

"How?" She asked.

"What do you mean, 'how'?"

"How can someone like you have a crush on me?"

Neru shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you were always nice to me. You used to share your lunch when I didn't have any, remember?" Haku nodded. "Remember when you hung out with me during seventh grade?"

"I remember how you left me the year after."

"Like I said, I'm really sorry. By the way, can I come with you to Michibikidasu?" Haku stayed silent for a few moments before eventually nodding.

Meanwhile, Teto and Len sat on the floor of their new room and told each other stories about their lives. Len laughed as Teto told him about the time one of her friends replaced her other friend's beret with a paper hat.

"And then Momo chased Defoko through the entire school!" Teto finished.

"Rin used to play pranks on both the students and teachers at school," Len told her. "One day she replaced a teacher's chalk with a stick of glue!"

"Seriously?" Len nodded. "Defoko once took one of her pigs to school and let it run wild. The school want crazy!"

"Did she get caught?"

"Of course she did! She got suspended for two weeks. Momo had to visit her house every day to teach her and give her the homework assigned."

"Did you pull any pranks at school?"

"I couldn't pull a prank if I tried."

Len smiled at her. "I'm sorry for punching you earlier."

"I'm sorry too. I take back what I said about you being impossible. You can be really cool when you don't shrug all the time and insult President Tei."

"Um... Thanks?" Len blushed and looked down at his hands. "You can be really cool too."

"I'm not cool."

"Are you going to take the compliment or not?" Len glared at Teto.

"Sorry." The next minute was an awkward silence that was eventually broken by Teto. "Um, Le- I mean, Mr Kagamine?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still look up to Ms Hatsune?"

Len pondered the question for a few seconds. "I don't really know anymore. I still think she's a better leader than Sukone but, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if she's completely sane."

"I don't think anyone who calls their group 'The Happiness and Peace of Mind Committee' could be labeled as sane."

"That's not what I meant. You see, Ms Hatsune always has a smile on her face, but sometimes it looks like her smile is about to crack. Her eyes are always wide too."

"How creepy!"

Len suddenly held his stomach and groaned. "How long's it been since we ate?"

"We ate just two hours ago!"

Len grinned. "I need more nourishment than most people. I need to sustain my awesomeness!"

"Yeah, yeah. You just have a huge stomach."

"What happened to the nice girl who called me cool?"

Teto blushed and opened her bag. "Fine. Have some Pocky."

"That isn't enough!"

"I want to save the other snacks for tomorrow."

Len reluctantly grabbed the packet of Pocky from Teto. He licked his lips before eating one of the sticks.

"Do they have banana flavour? Bananas are my favourite food."

"I prefer bread."

"Seriously? Bread? Why bread?"

Teto smiled playfully and shrugged. "Hypocrite," Len insulted her jokingly.

"At least I don't follow a leader who 'looks like her smile is about to crack'."

Len laughed and gave Teto a Pocky stick. They spent the next couple of minutes eating in silence. Unlike the previous breaks from talking, this silence made Teto feel the most comfortable she had felt in days.