"Whaaaaat? You haven't slept properly for two entire weeks?" Miku yelled at the blond youth in her arms, incredulity ringing in her voice.
The two of them had been on their way home after school on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, when Len had stumbled forward all of a sudden, between two monstrous yawns. She had managed to catch him before he staggered off the sidewalk and into the scarce traffic of the road.
"It's nothing. I'm fine," he shrugged it off as he regained his balance. After another giant yawn, he resumed walking, albeit quite sluggishly.
"No, you're not fine," she reprimanded the boy, her teal twin tails swaying in the air as she vigorously shook her head, catching up to him with ease at the same time. "C'mon, look at yourself. You're like a zombie that just crawled out of the ground."
He couldn't deny that in the least. His usually vibrant blue eyes had lost their glow, the dark circles underneath them and his ashen complexion likened him to a fresh corpse, profound fatigue seeping from his very being. Even his shiny blond locks seemed dull as they sat lifelessly on his head. His shoulders were slouched, as if he was carrying all the weight of the entire galaxy on them.
"Braaaaaaiinnnsss... Braaaaaaainsss..." he started to chant, stretching out his arms and lightly waving them in the air, letting his head droop onto his shoulder as he dragged his feet. He abandoned the act after a little while, breaking out in crazy laughter as his arms limply hung at his side.
"See? You're so tired now that you've crossed over to being exaggeratedly giddy! And it's a bit scary when you do that, Len-kun," she commented while crossing her arms, still trying to prove her point with a worried tone.
"That's good. At this rate, I'll collapse from sleep deprivation pretty soon and completely black out for like a day or two and get some rest at last," he reasoned once his giggles subsided, combing through his loose strands of hair with his fingers. Even his ponytail was messier than usual.
"Or you know, you could just sleep at night, like normal people do?" Miku proposed, rolling her eyes. The gesture went unnoticed, since he was suddenly intrigued by a flock of pigeons sitting on the electrical wires.
"I would, if I actually could. It's not that I don't want to sleep, because I really do, but that I simply can't," he began to explain, the irritation audible in his voice. "When I finally manage to doze off, I have a nightmare and I'm unable to fall back asleep for the next couple of hours again."
"Aaawww, that's horrible. Is it always the same nightmare, or a different one each time?" she inquired out of curiosity, taking a step closer to him.
"I don't know, I don't remember them at all," he replied, his left eye suffering from a small twitch. "It's only this really, really dreadful feeling that remains."
"Wow, two weeks of that, every single night...," she mused out loud. "How are you not a complete nervous wreck yet? And why didn't you tell me any sooner?"
He shrugged in response, stifling another yawn. The conversation ended there and a heavy silence settled in between them as they continued on their way home.
Finding out about his dilemma awakened the sisterly instincts within Miku. I'm an awful person. I've been so focused on my new song that I didn't even notice how ghastly of a shape Len-kun is in. Am I abandoning him just as much as Rin-chan is? Suddenly, the events clicked together in her mind.
"You can't sleep anymore without your sister beside you?" she blurted out without a trace of hesitation. Caught completely off-guard by her bizarre theory, the blond froze in place.
"W-w-w-what m-makes you th-think that?" he somehow managed to stutter out his question. "I'm n-not such a ch-child!"
"Well, what else would've traumatized you two weeks ago?" she remarked, raising her eyebrows. She stepped in front of him with her arms crossed and stared straight into his eyes, but she couldn't decipher the emotion reflected in them.
"Erm... Shion holding my banana hostage?" he weakly suggested, adding a clumsy grin. The tealette's stare turned into an icy glare.
"I'm dense, not dumb," she quickly retorted. "I admit, you might've lost one night's sleep -two at most- on that, but two weeks? Rin-chan has to be the reason for that."
"So what if she is?" he snapped at her, giving up on denying it any longer. He broke his gaze away and circumvented her, advancing a couple of steps. Miku had to strain her ears to hear what he whispered next. "Nothing can be done about it..."
She didn't need to see his face to figure out that he was probably wearing the 'hug me' expression. She sauntered over and gently wrapped her arms around his fragile figure from behind. He didn't even bother complaining about it this time.
"It breaks my heart to see you two like this. I'd say it goes against the very laws of nature. Tell her you miss her and then everything can go back to normal," she advised him. He swiftly broke out of her hold and walked ahead at a quickened pace, while she lagged a few steps behind him.
"No, I can't do that. If she's happier while hanging out with that freak Utatane and his gang than with me, I have to suck it up and endure it. No matter what, I mustn't hurt Rin. Not ever," he stated, his tone brimming with conviction.
"Wouldn't seeing you in so much pain hurt her the most?" she attempted to reason with him.
"Which is why I'm not letting her see," he swiftly countered. "And it's not like she's looking at me anymore."
Miku was at a momentary loss for words. The saddest thing is, that's he actually right.
"Well, I'm looking at you and it hurts me to see you like this, so I'm going to do something about it, as a responsible older sister should," she declared out of the blue, matching her steps with his and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. They both glanced at each other; to her, it looked like a tiny spark had returned to his orbs of blue.
"Ah, is that so?" he wondered, layering his tone with a healthy dose of sarcasm. A smirk almost appeared at the corner of his mouth, but turned into another yawn at the last second. The tealette couldn't help but smile endearingly at that.
"Yeah. I promise. I'll help set things straight; it's the least I can do."
"You can't be serious," Len flat-out rejected Miku's proposal, looking at her like she was a recent escapee from a mental institute. "No, nuh-uh, never, no way, not ever again, no, just no, not in a bazillion years, I refuse, proposition denied and completely and utterly rejected. And I almost forgot to say, NO! No, no, nooo and no."
"Aww, c'mon, she'll never know, if that's what you're worried about. And you want to sleep, yes?" she tried coercing him to accept her idea, unfazed by his outburst.
They had somehow safely made it back to the dormitory and were now in the girl's room, after Len had dropped off his belongings in his own. She was sitting on the edge of her bed with her legs crossed while he took a seat in one of the swivel chairs, placing his arms atop the backrest. The tealette had come up with a brilliant plan; however, he didn't deem it as such.
"But what if she comes back early today? And if she finds me here like that, then... then..." he couldn't even find the right words to properly convey his immense anxiety over the issue as he began to twiddle his thumbs. "Besides, it'd give me what, four or five hours of sleep at the most? It's not worth the risk. And it won't really get me anywhere; I'd still be just as worn out. No, I'm not doing it."
"Okay, you have a point there..." she admitted, cradling her chin in the palm of her hand as she pondered over the dilemma. "But that's still more than the amount of sleep you've been getting lately. And anyways, she wouldn't have the heart to wake you up, nor would she mind it that much."
"When I said no, I really meant no! What's so hard to understand about that? Get it through that thick skull of yours already!" he exploded from the pent-up frustration and got to his feet, mercilessly hurling the words at her. "Sheesh, you're so freaking difficult to handle at times! I said no and that's that! Forget it; I don't need your help."
Miku just sat there without so much as blinking an eye, accepting all his anger. He's not actually mad at me. It's just the exhaustion. I guess it really was a stupid idea to suggest that, of all things. But what other solution is there?
"Len-kun, calm down. This is exactly why you need to get some proper sleep..." she declared with composure.
"Calm down? Calm down? How the heck am I supposed to calm down when you tell me to take a nap in my sister's bed?" he continued to yell, pointing a finger towards the aforementioned piece of furniture. His cheeks were already flushed and his breathing had gotten heavy, glowering at the tealette with resentful eyes. "No! There's no way I could ever do that again!"
"Why not?" she asked innocently, cocking her head to the side. "You're just overreacting... Rin-chan didn't complain about it at all, that time. If she'd see you now, I'm sure she'd suggest it, too."
"You still don't get it, do you?" he countered, his lips forming a scowl. However, the sheer mention of his twin's name had considerably cooled him. He plopped back down onto the swivel chair, entwining his fingers in his bangs. "It's... dangerous... for me to sleep in her bed... and for her to sleep in the same bed with me..."
"Honestly, what's the worst that could happen? But it's just as dangerous for you to not sleep at all. You'll seriously get sick. That would hurt her the most, no? And it's not something she won't notice," she approached the situation from another angle. "Go lie down and get some rest already. You really need it."
"No. I. Can't. Do. It," Len stressed every syllable. He abruptly stood up from the chair. "I've had enough; I'm outta here."
As he began to walk towards the door, she got up from the bed and hurried ahead of him. She grabbed onto his shoulders and started pushing him backwards.
"Miku-chan, what do you think you're doing? Let me go!" he retaliated, trying to pry her hands off without much success. On the contrary, she strengthened her grip on him.
"You left me no choice. I promised I'd help, and that includes making sure you're okay. If I have to force you to sleep, then so be it," she announced, steering him toward Rin's bed. A bewildered expression appeared on his face.
The blond's legs bumped into its frame and he collapsed onto it, Miku pinning him down to make sure he won't escape. Her twin tails tumbled down, tickling his cheeks.
"Good boy," she praised him with a sweet smile turned eerie. "Now, close your eyes and let her scent drift you off to Dreamland."
"You can't possibly think..." He was interrupted mid-sentence by a giant yawn that forced his eyes shut. The soft pillow beneath his head and the drowsiness completely overpowered him. He was asleep in a matter of seconds.
She released him from her hold and took a couple of steps back, pleased with her achievement. That wasn't so difficult in the end, was it?
While the boy slept, Miku decided to get a head start on her homework; it was the only thing she knew she could do in total silence.
Half an hour had barely passed when he began to stir. A few moans escaped his mouth as he tossed his arms about. She turned around upon hearing the noises, worry creeping into her mind. Is he having another nightmare? My idea didn't work?
"Rin!" he shrieked all of a sudden, abruptly sitting up. Plump teardrops streamed down his face, accentuating his frightened expression, but he didn't seem to notice as he fixated his empty gaze upon his outstretched fingers lying in his lap.
The tealette stood up from her desk and sat down beside him on the edge of the bed. He showed no sign of detecting her presence. The tears kept falling, falling, falling and he didn't utter a single sound.
"Len-kun... you're crying..." she broke the silence by pointing out the obvious. She cradled his face in her hand and tilted it up, brushing the sparkling drops away with her thumb.
"I'm not crying. My eyes are involuntarily leaking, that's all," he replied, his mouth shaping into a pout. She couldn't stop herself from letting out a soft laugh.
"Aawww, you don't have to act so tough all the time..." she told him with a reassuring smile. She let go of his cheeks and grabbed a tissue from the box sitting on the nightstand, handing it to him. He muttered a word vaguely resembling 'thanks' and blew his nose.
"I'll stay here, so try going back to sleep, okay?" she advised him. She extracted the used tissue from his grasp, placing it on the corner of the nightstand, and took his hands into hers.
Following a huge yawn, he nodded in response and obediently lied down, closing his eyes again; he hadn't come to his senses enough after the nightmare to object. She commenced humming a tune, in hopes of soothing him. She had always thought of it as a lullaby, a gentle song that was born in her first year at Kaion Academy.
"Suyasuya, yume wo miteru,
Kimi no yokogao.
Kidzukazu koboreta namida,
Hoo wo tsutau.
Setsuna no tokimeki wo,
Kono mune ni kakushiteta no.
Last Night, Good Night
Last Night, Good Night
Kono yoru, kimi no te
Nigitte, nemuru yo,
Oyasumi..."
She sang the words in a low yet clear voice, almost at a whisper. By the time she reached the end of it, Len was peacefully sleeping once more, still holding onto her hand.
Too cute. Way too cute, she remarked to herself as she gazed at the boy. His serene expression was paired with puffy eyes and lingering tear stains on his cheeks, making him seem completely defenceless.
I wonder... would Len-kun be so broken now, if I hadn't rejected him back then? Did I make the right choice? Couldn't I have fallen in love with him, and saved him from all this suffering? He's a precious friend to me... Couldn't a little lie have turned into the truth?
"Oh my gosh, Miku-chan, you so won't believe what just happened!" Rin burst through the door, squealing like a little kid in a candy shop, her smile reaching from ear to ear.
"Shhh!" the tealette promptly hushed her friend. "Len-kun's sleeping."
"Ah, sorry," she immediately apologized, sticking out her tongue and bonking herself on the head with a fisted hand. "Wait, what?"
That's when the female Kagamine became aware of her brother's figure in her bed, with her roommate sitting beside him and holding his hand. He started to regain consciousness as his sister's voice reached his ears. Luckily, he'd managed to sleep for about five hours straight.
Assessing his situation, most notably its awkwardness, he tore his hands out of Miku's and stumbled out of Rin's bed, onto the floor. She looked at her brother in utter confusion.
"It's her fault!" he declared, pointing accusingly at the tealette. Rin's gaze travelled to her friend, just as puzzled as ever.
"Explanation please?" she asked with a demanding edge to her tone. "I don't mind if you two are dating each other, but why are you using my bed?"
"Rin, that's not even funny for a joke."
"Rin-chan, you're completely misunderstanding it."
They both rebuked the claim at the same time in a relatively tranquil manner. Knowing Rin, a heated objection would've only assured her of the opposite.
"Ahh, that's a shame," she said, though her voice lacked the disappointment. "We could've turned my date with Piko on Saturday into a double date."
Miku was speechless; torn between feeling happy for Rin and feeling sad for Len. His face distorted into a grimace, a deathly aura surrounding him. He got to his feet and stormed out of the room without another word.
"Sheesh, what's his problem?" she wondered, oblivious to her brother's emotions.
That you're forgetting him, Miku replied in thought. But why can't I say it to her face, even after promising Len-kun that I'd help? I have to say something, though.
"Maybe you should go after him and find out?" she suggested. Even if you say you won't, I'll definitely drag you to him.
"I should, shouldn't I?" the blonde answered after a short contemplation, biting her bottom lip. Dropping her schoolbag onto the ground with no delicacy whatsoever, she ran out the door after her brother.
Miku got to her feet and walked out onto the balcony for a breath of fresh air. Reconciling these two won't be an easy task, that's for sure. This isn't just a friendship to be mended... it's a blood tie that has to be fortified.
Rin returned within fifteen minutes, arms crossed and fuming as she joined her friend outside.
"Len-nii's an idiot," she announced grumpily. "I honestly don't understand his resentment towards Piko if he hasn't even met him yet..."
"Well, isn't it normal for brothers to be protective about their sisters?" Miku wondered, poking her chin with a finger. "He just doesn't want you to get hurt."
"I know. He said the same thing... But we're not children anymore. We're in high school now. It's about time I learned to take care of myself. I can't always rely on him to be there for me," she explained, leaning against the railing and staring up at the starry sky, resting her head on her palm. She let out a heavy sigh. "Sooner or later, we have to live our own lives."
The tealette had no idea how to comment on that. I never really thought about it... What happens to twins when they get older? Are they capable of being separated, after having spent all those years side by side?
"Try to be a little more considerate of Len-kun, okay? For all it's worth, I consider you two to be my siblings, so it affects me as well, if you aren't on good terms with each other..." she voiced her request. Rin merely nodded in response.
"I'm starving, so I'm going down to the kitchen to grab a snack. You coming with?" she asked her roommate.
"Nah, don't really have an appetite right now. I think I'll stay here for a bit," she replied, not once looking at Miku. "I need to clear my head a bit..."
"All right, good luck with that," she said, walking away. For your sake and Len-kun's, too.
Disclaimer: Last Night, Good Night belongs to kz/livetune, NND code is sm4141643.
Author's Note: Forgot to mention it on the previous chapter, but all music-related help is thanks to my friend who also inspired the 'hug me' expression, because I know next to nothing in that area XD
Well, with school starting again, updates will be scarce once more... I'll aim for at least monthly, but nothing faster than biweekly. It's so demotivating when your summer break is over, but the characters you write about still have that blessed period ahead of them...
A huge thank you to everyone who keeps reading the story ^^