Tick. Tick. Tick.
The white haired boy looked over the blonde girl worriedly, elbow digging into his knee almost painfully, thumbnail finding its' way wedged between the pristine teeth that was as white as his hair. It was a bad habit, nailbiting, but he couldn't help it; he was so nervous that his New Year's resolution of putting an end to his awful habits didn't come to his mind at the time.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Time seemed to lag and drag on endlessly. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days of an eternal, unmoving, tense hellzone. He felt like he was in physics class, listening to his teacher drone on and on in his montone and calm, steady voice that made an hour seem like a trillion.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Oh, sweet Mary, the boy thought suddenly, his teeth stopping just as they were about to mercilessly chomp down onto his poor, abused nail, what if she's dead? Or some freaky serial killer that wears skinsuits of her victims?
His panicked thoughts, no doubt from watching one too many horror movies, were irrational, he realized, but it didn't stop him from making up various scenarios about who the girl laying on his bed at 3 a.m, unconscious for several hours and all dirty and worn out, could be and how she got to where she was. Specifically, why she chose his house to be the one to come to. Why couldn't she go next door to his ladykiller, insanely handsome neighbor? Or the middle aged friendly nurse that had a love for dogs on the other side of the house?
Why, why did she have to come to the awkward, alone at home for a few weeks, teenage boy's home?
While said awkward teenage boy was in the middle of making completely insane and irrational conspiracy theories and chewing brutally on his nails unconsciously, Rin opened her bluer-than-blue eyes only to be greeted with the familiar sensation of laying on a nice, large, soft bed with a thin blanket thrown over her petite, tired body.
A few seconds later, something leaped onto the bed, making it dip due to the weight of the living creature. Rin heard something nearby and immediately tensed.
It was a soft, nearly inaudible. It reminded Rin of the gentle quakes her home planet often received- gentle and tender, soft, and rumbling so quietly and melodically that it could lull a young infant to sleep.
Her eyes landed on the same black and white colored cat she saw before blacking out. It stared at her with curious, piercing emerald eyes before closing its eyes contently. Purring. Displaying content. Cats do this. She relaxed.
Rin racked her brain for memories before she lost consciousness.
She heard of her brother's escape. Supposedly, he had been shot by one of those fancy memory blocker things, which was why she was so hell bent on escape, more than usual. The pill, though in a small pack, felt heavy against her front pocket. It was the key to her brother's memories, and maybe the only one. If she had lost it somewhere...
Rin faltered. At least I know I have it with me right now. This thought is what helped calm Rin, making the tension that had entered her body upon the thought of losing her brother's memory loss remedy disappear instantly. She felt a pressure on her leg and looked at it, alarmed.
The cat stepped on her thigh, making its way to her stomach. It stood there for a bit, lookig down at Rin with content, closed eyes before laying down and curling up in a small ball of fluff. She let the corners of her lips turn upward- they had creatures on her planet, as cute as these ones, but she had to admit that she'd take a million cats home given the opportunity.
The cat. The cat that led me to discover my brother, memory wiped in this town, dancing with-
"Ah, jeez, Mel, get off of h-"
Rin sat up abruptly, eyes wide in realization. The white haired boy let out a surprised screech and dropped the cat he held. The cat let out an irritated yowl and scurried off elsewhere, tiny paws pounding lightly against the polished hardwood floor and fading away into a quiet thud of paws hitting the floor, eventually turning to silence.
-a girl who he looked so warmly and lovingly at.
"Nuggets on a stick!" The boy gasped out, vivid torquoise orbs going wide and meeting with Rin's royal blue ones.
"I- uh, where?" Rin muttered, feeling slightly dizzy from sitting up so quickly. The boy reached his hand to her shoulder, then stopped and put his hand back in one completely awkward moment that made him want to die on the inside.
"My- uh, house?" He answered almost questioningly. "You kinda, uh, collapsed...so...that happened." He cleared his throat. The silence between the two was tense.
"By the way, who- who are you, exactly?"
"I'm Rin Kagamine of-" Rin stopped herself abruptly. She can't simply explain that she was one of the next rulers of a distant planet. I'd be placed in the- what is it? Looney bin? Mad house? I think it is.
"I, uh..." Rin cleared her throat and forced a look of confusion and concentration on her face. "Can't...recall."
The boy blinked "Wait, so you have amnesia? I should take you to the police- maybe you're a missing person?" Rin shook head frantically.
"No! No. I just..." She trailed off, letting a moment of silence envelope them. Be convincing, Rin told herself. I didn't pass theater only to not put my skills to use.
"I...don't want to be some Jane Doe." Rin quietly continued. "I mean, what if I- I'm some kind of...I don't even know. Re-refugee? Prisoner? I don't want to be...that public yet. I- maybe, I can get my memories back?" Rin offered, managing to slide some hopefulness in her voice. The boy's eyes turned softer with consideration and sympathy.
"And...I think my brother is here." She said truthfully, though she already knew he was present in the town. "All I know is my name and age and that I have a brother named Len Kagamine, who might be in this town." The boy shifted in his seat.
"Alright, I won't contact authorities...I guess." He mumbled, scratching his ear sheepishly. "Uh- what're gonna...do? Until your memories come back or...whatever." He asked. Rin thought for a moment. What could she do? She didn't know anyone in the town she currently resided in, and she didn't have the faintest clue as to exactly where her brother could be hiding. So far, she only had one lead- the video of her brother, live, from at least a day ago, before she fainted.
She got an idea, then, and maybe it was a little far-fetched, but what harm could it do? Besides, she'd be needing a place to stay and a guide for the town and the normal customs of Earth. Though she was well-educated about the strange ways of the humans, who were very close in relation to Rin's species, writing a 20 paged essay about them and their world was far easier than simply acting it out naturally, as if she was a normal citizen in the town and not some alien from a distant planet.
"I suppose I should get to know the town more- maybe a few other things I forgot, like...stuff from around here." The boy blinked. "You know. Customs. Food. Why things work. That type of stuff." He gave her a quizzical look before shrugging.
"I- I guess that's normal for an amnesia patient." He mumbled. He looked at her with thoughtful, if not vaguely worried, blue eyes. "Where will you stay?"
Rin paused. "I know it's not my place to ask. In fact, it's far too much of me to ask this, but...can I stay...here, for a bit?" The boy's eyes went wide, panicked, almost.
"W-What?!"
"P-Please, only for a few da-"
"I-I'm fine with it, I'm ju-just surprised!" The boy quickly explained. Rin raised an eyebrow at his unusual behavior. She knew that, like her people, humans did not all act in the exact same way. In fact, most were different. Some celebrated this, others did not. Of course, that was to be expected when such diverse personalities were involved.
"My uncle's out of town for a bit, anyways..." He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. He looked down to the floor. The surprisingly clean and polished floor was pristine and unblemished, seemingly having been spared by the harsh scraping of a chair against the bare floor or other scratches through careful, cautious care. Rin, while studying the amazingly clean floor, realized the strange feeling on her knee. The strip of cloth that she tied to her scrape wound wasn't there, because she didn't feel the pressure of the tightly tied makeshift bandage around her leg. She looked down at her knee, where a pink strip decorated with flowers and a strange looking pink star-shaped cartoon character smiling at the viewer toothily stuck.
Another strip stuck to her skin from under the pink one, this one baby blue and showing what appeared to be a cartoon squirrel in an- astronaut costume?
Rin stared at the strips, puzzled. The boy noticed this and offered an almost apologetic smile. "Sorry. All I had were Spongebob band-aids..."
"Spogebob? Band-aids?" She asked in a questioning tone. He nodded.
"Yeah...band-aids. You put them on scrapes and cuts and it helps stop the bleeding." Rin blinked. She didn't have band-aids on her planet- not those kind, anyways. When a person was cut or hurt, the wound was often smothered in a pain relief creme that helped the regeneration process move quickly. Though when these were not present, one would usually tightly wrap a cloth around the wound.
"And...Spongebob?"
The boy's eyes widened almost comically. He stared at Rin as if she had just revealed her true identity and reason for being in town. "You haven't seen it?!"
"No..."
He sighed and put his head in his hands, obviously distressed at the news. "Amnesia really sucks ass..." He mumbled, a disappointed tone lurking, hiding in his voice. "I'm definitely showing you my favorite episodes- Frankendoodle, Band Geeks, The Camping Episode, Survival of the Idiots, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III- all the good, classic stuff. If- If you're alright with watching cartoons, I mean." The boy stammered, his excited look disappearing and being replaced with a somewhat embarrassed one as he added the last part quickly
Rin smiled. The boy with snowy hair- whatever his name may be- seemed rather pleasant to be around. He can surely help me find Len, she confidently thought, all while being an enjoyable companion. "Of course. This 'Spongebob' sounds amusing. I'd like to watch it with you some time." The boy turned a shade of light pink, making Rin's smile stretch wider at his cuteness.
"Y-Yeah," He muttered, scratching his ear and looking to his left. "I-I'm, uh, Piko. Piko Utatane." He held his hand out, his head down so that Rin was staring at the top of his head. Rin blinked. Ah. A sign of...greeting? Meeting someone knew, Rin recalled silently. Sort of like royalty's greetings. On her planet, it was usually tradition if, when some form of royalty met another, that the two clash swords, or daggers. Rin realized that on this planet, that may be a little strange, as carrying swords and daggers around cities was uncommon and apparently outlawed, whereas where she was from, royalty was supposed to carry many forms of weapons, typically the traditional sword or knife, or sometimes a shooting device.
Rin gave a somewhat sad smile and shook his hand, feeling nostalgic. What she would give for one more sword-clash, though she often found the custom unnecessary when experienced.
She just wanted to go home, but she wouldn't go back without her brother.