"That's weird..." Mikuo says to himself as he turns the knob "It's locked?"
Mikuo is in the right hallway where the collection rooms were located.
Identical wooden doors faced one another, anyone would feel surprised to see it, likely seduced into opening one of them. Just like Rin.
There were no particular decorations in this area, no one even seems to notice the empty flower vase beyond the end of the hall.
But there was one thing going through the boy's mind.
He had no intention of letting anybody see nor take them away again.
Mikuo did not react well when he saw Teto's bag full of those precious items that his parents left behind.
But his determination died out as he finds out the doors were locked. He had planned to lock it himself.
'Did that hag do this?' The boy thought as he pursed his lips
"You should thank me you know." A familiar voice catches his attention but his eyes steadily remained on the door
Miku approaches the boy with keys twirling around her finger, with a smile as proud as can be.
It's as if the incident earlier didn't happen.
Expecting a response, she punches him playfully but he stays silent.
"Hey!" She yells as her eyes narrow in frustration
"Hey," Miku says coldly "Say something."
Mikuo sighs and walks away from the girl, bumping her slightly as both their shoulders touch.
"Hey!" Miku yells as she throws the keys on the floor with fiery rage
"I shouldn't be the one thanking you." Mikuo said as he makes a left turn, leaving Miku's sight
"Aish." She quietly curses "Seriously, that boy."
When Miku picks up the keys that were previously thrown onto the ground, she thought about what Mikuo said to her.
What he said meant something more than she expected.
'I don't think they'd thank me for this anyway.' She thought as her face begins to fluster red
Through frustration, she throws the keys back to ground again.
"I haven't cried like that in a while." Meiko says as she wipes the corners of her eyes
Rin's eyes were swollen and puffy but she lets out a faint smile
"It's nice to cry once in a while." Rin says jokingly, reminding her of Mikuo's incident earlier
"I'm going to sleep." Rin says as she buries her head onto the pillow of her new bed
"Aren't you going to wash up?" Meiko asks her curiously
Rin was usually the one who never forgets to wash up, hygiene was one of her priorities.
The blonde nods as to signal Meiko to go first, she had no energy to speak.
"Ok." Meiko smiles as she leaves the room "I'll tell you when i'm finished."
After her older sister exits the room, Rin sits up with a deprived expression on her face
"Unbelievable." She speaks as she pinches her own cheek, hoping that she was in a dream but instead it left her with more pain than ever.
Rin grabs the pillow from behind and embraces it forcefully.
She stares at the pillow, it was colored white but the lining was a goldish-brown color that matched the same pattern as the carpet below her
The room was oddly cold than she expected, it was lonely.
Despite the expensive furniture and stylish designs, it was nothing like home.
She lets out a brief sigh as she places the pillow back onto its proper place
'I wonder if Mikuo's room is fancy as this.' She thought for a minute but lightly laughs at the thought
"Rin-chan!" A familiar squeaky voice came from the door
"Teto." Rin says her name without effort
"Rin-chan," Teto approaches her slowly with a worried expression "Did something happen?"
"Were you crying?" She adds as she touches Rin's pale and cold face.
"No," Rin replies with a forced smile "A cloud of dust blew on my face earlier."
"Oh, that's not good." Teto says as she examines Rin's eyes "Let's wash it!"
"Ah, it's alright." Rin says
Teto pouts
"Fine, it isn't my fault if you get a nasty infection there." She says to her teasingly but her eyes showed worry
The blonde notices this, Rin just drew a faint smile on her face
"Really, it's okay." Rin says as she touches the girl's shoulder in a reassuring way
Teto's smile finally emerges
"How was Meiko's room?" The blonde asks
Teto's eyes gleam with excitement, it didn't take Rin to question any further.
"It was beautiful!" She says "Everything was all wine colored!" "It really matches with Meiko-onee don't you think?"
"Wanna see?" The girl adds
Rin wasn't in the mood to explore nor had the energy to move but she needed something to make her forget what Meiko told her earlier.
A distraction perhaps?
"Let's go." The blonde finally speaks as she pushes herself off the bed
The two scurry ahead to reach Meiko's room that was just across from theirs.
Sure enough, Teto was right.
The room had an elegant vibe to it and the main color was deep red, Meiko's beloved and favored color.
One king-sized bed is placed between two fancy small wooden desks which each supported a lamp.
The bed sheets and pillows were colored red with a white lace around it.
It was the exact replica of their own room but the color was wine red.
For a moment Rin thought it was done on purpose that the room matched with Meiko, it was too perfect for her.
The items looked like they were bought very recently.
"Rin," The pig tailed girl starts to talk "Do you think-?"
Rin nods in response.
It's possible that they've already planned on living together from the start.
"What's done is done, right?" The blonde faces her
Teto pouts in response
"I can't believe it," She says "Why didn't they buy anything new for us?"
"That is just so rude!" She adds "Honestly."
Rin just lets out a sigh, she expected this much from her slightly oblivious friend.
"Hey-" A voice grabs the attention of the two
A boy with turquoise colored hair emerges from the door
Mikuo had already changed to his casual clothes, wearing a black sweatshirt and dark green cargo shorts that reached below his knees.
He looks as if he'd just came back from the shower, for the aroma of mint surrounded him.
Rin, who was used to seeing Mikuo in uniform, felt a bit surprised to see him in different clothes
This is the first time she has ever seen Mikuo wear something like that.
The girl had no stomach to face him at all, what Meiko told her earlier added to her nervousness.
In turn, she turns away from him in an instant.
"Wh-What?" She asks him in a nervous voice
"I'm just asking if you guys are hungry." He replies blankly
"Aha! I've already eaten!" Teto says cheerfully "Meiko and I ate some curry back in the old house before we went here."
"What about you?" Mikuo turns to the blonde in a smooth manner. He did sense Rin's obvious tension.
"Uhm." Her voice grew meek "I'm not that hungry."
"Eh?" Teto says "But you have to eat dinner!"
"I'm not hungry, oka-" Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise fills the room
And the two stare at Rin with surprised looks
"AH!" Rin exclaims as she covers her stomach
"Rin-chan," Teto speaks as she bumps her elbow onto her stomach "A stomach doesn't lie!"
"You are hungry." Mikuo says in a somewhat stern tone
"No, I'm fine-"
Rin didn't have time to speak, Mikuo had already gotten a hold of her.
"Mikuo-?" Rin spoke with pierced eyes
"Hatsune!" Before Teto could pull Rin back, Mikuo instantly shut the door on the pig tailed girl with Rin still in his grip.
He carefully but swiftly locks the door and pulls Rin across the hallway
"Hatsune!" She says while she tries to resist his grip "Let go!"
"Why are you always like this?" He speaks suddenly
"Eh?"
"Why are you always hiding?" He asks
Finally, he stops.
"What do you mean?" She replies
"I mean," He says as he lets go of her "You're always hiding your own feelings."
"I don't-" She meekly tries to defend herself
"You do." He says bluntly "You're doing it again."
Unfortunately, it was true.
Rin is the type of person who keeps her feelings to herself, she didn't want to be a burden to anyone.
She also hated showing her weaknesses in front of people, Especially Mikuo.
"So," He speaks "Are you hungry or not?"
Rin nods slowly in a sullen manner as if defeated
"Good." He says as a playful smile draws on his face "You have to speak up once in a while or else something important to you might get taken away."
"I don't need a lecture from you, okay?" She replies coldly
"So, what're we going to eat?" Rin asks
"Lets go out." He says in a deadpan manner
"EH?" She freezes as her face turns bright red
"There's no trace of food here." He says "Let's go to some convenience store or something."
'Ahh.' Rin thought as she sighs with relief
"Do you want to change or something?" He asks
Rin was still wearing her school uniform, she wasn't planning on changing yet until it was her turn to take a bath.
She wasn't expecting to change clothes in the house of the Hatsune's either.
"Ah, right." She replies softly "Be right back."
"Sure." He replies "I'll just be downstairs."
Rin quickly walks back to her room
'Now that I think about it,' Mikuo thinks to himself 'This is will be the first time that i'll be able to see Kagamine wearing something else besides her uniform.'
Mikuo's face turns bright red
'I can't believe this is actually happening.' He thought as he walks down the stairs
As Rin closes the door behind her, she quickly melts to the ground
'This is unreal.' She thought as she crawls her way to the brown cabinet next to the window
She uneasily stands up as she opens the two wooden doors.
A small breeze sweeps in as she opens the cabinet.
She then reaches her hand to one of the hangers then pulls out her familiar plain white sweatshirt with a panda animal pattern.
Rin throws the clothing to the bed as she searches deeper into the cabinet, not that she had many clothes, most of it was Teto's actually.
Rin wasn't the type of girl who wastes her time dressing up. But in this particular situation, she had a hard time to decide.
'Why am I fussing about for?' She asks herself as she sweeps her hand over the hangers
Finally, she pulls out a black pair of leggings.
'This will have to do for now.' She thought
Mikuo was sitting on the sofa, looking through the glass window.
It wasn't particularly dark nor bright, the sky was painted a bluish color that signaled nighttime.
"Hey-" A familiar voice calls him from behind
Mikuo turns to see the figure, hardly recognizing her in different clothing.
Rin was wearing a simple sweatshirt with an obvious panda design and black leggings
Mikuo quickly smiles
"Are you copying me, Kagamine?" He asks in a playful manner
"Do-Don't be stupid." She replies with scrunched up fists "Let's just go already."
Mikuo chuckles as the two head for the front door
Just beside the door, was a small cupboard.
"Oh," Mikuo speaks "Just tell them to put their shoes here instead."
Rin nods slowly
The small cupboard contained the Hatsunes' shoes, it only sheltered about three pairs of shoes despite its small size.
Rin had already worn her shoes, small flats in colored black.
"Let's go." Mikuo says as he pushes open the front door.
Though it's not obvious, Mikuo can hardly contain his nervousness around the girl.
Instead, he hides it with a smile.
Darkness had already purged the streets, luckily the bright lampposts lead them the way.
It was completely quiet, the sounds of their footsteps were the only noise they could hear.
Rin couldn't take the silence, so she speaks
"Where exactly are we going?" She asks
"The convenience store is about three minutes away from here, right?" He replies
"Ah." She says "That one, huh?"
Since they lived near each other, the convenience store was familiar to Rin.
The awkward silence returns. They had no idea what to talk about.
But they had to talk to each other, it's almost like nature's duty to communicate with someone.
"So... Uhh." Mikuo starts to speak as a faint blush of red appears on his cheeks
Rin turns to him in a curious manner but the boy shifts his head away from her
"What?" She asks
"Uhh.." He replies "What're you going to eat?"
"Oh," She says "Let's see.."
Rin places her finger below her chin in a curiously thinking manner
"A burger or hot dog would be nice." She replies
Mikuo laughs but Rin's reaction turns cold
"What's so funny?"
"No, nothing." He says "Normally, girls would buy something like crackers or ice cream."
"Those kind of foods, you know." He adds
'So you really have dated girls before, huh?' Rin initially wanted to keep this thought to herself however, that thought eventually escaped her mouth
"AH-!" Rin covered her mouth the instant she said it
Mikuo's face was pale and he's completely wide-eyed, he had no idea how to respond to her.
"Forget what I said." She said as she turns away from him
But Mikuo grins mischievously as he comes closer to Rin
"Why so interested?" Mikuo whispers to her
"I said forget it." She says coldly, trying to hide her flush red face
"Do you want to know how many girls I've dated?" He asks playfully
"Just drop it, okay." Rin replies "No need to feel proud about it."
"So you do think that I've dated girls before, right?" He asks her
Rin ignores him in response
"You really think I'm that cool?" He says as a vain smile forms in his lips
The girl couldn't tolerate his arrogant statements, so she thought of a revenge plan
"Don't act too cocky," She says, slightly smiling proudly "You're not the only one here who's experienced dating before."
Rin turned to the other side, hiding her victorious smile.
But she wanted to see Mikuo's reaction, wanting to see if the results were as she expected
She takes a quick glance but her smile disappears as she focuses on the boy's face.
Mikuo's happy energy was replaced by slight depression, his face looked strained and uneasy
Rin only wanted him to feel what it felt like for her, constantly bragging about himself.
Rin felt guilt piling up her stomach, she urged to tell him it was just a simple joke.
She couldn't let the atmosphere remain like this until the end of their trip.
But before she could say anything, Mikuo spoke
"So you are really dating that Minami guy." He says strongly as his eyes focused on hers
Mikuo still hasn't forgotten about the incident that happened much earlier, he was still confused as to why Rin was with him that day
The blonde didn't know why Mikuo brought Kaito into light, she didn't want to talk about him as much as Mikuo did
'Why is he bringing this up?' Rin thought 'Was he really jealous?'
Some part of her wanted to ask him if he was indeed jealous but that would probably lead their conversation into something worse.
In addition, Mikuo would probably shrug it off and avoid answering her question.
The two obviously wanted to abandon the subject but it was far too late.
"There's nothing going on between us." She replies
"Then what was that all about?" He asks instantly
"Nothing..." She replies softly "And it's none of your business."
A brief pause fills in
"Ah, so that's it." Mikuo says, obviously upset
Dead air begins to occupy their surroundings yet again
"This is impossible." Rin speaks as she stops and stands on her ground "I can't keep up with you after all."
Mikuo halts to a stop and turns to the blonde with an empty expression on his face
"You're right," Mikuo says "Getting along with you is hopeless."
The two stare at each other's eyes, not in a romantic way but it was signaling themselves to separate
"I'm going home." Mikuo says as he walks past her
Rin bites her lower lip in frustration
But a familiar voice from afar grasps their attention
"Mikuo!" The voice is begins to draw near the pair
A lemon colored hair boy emerges from the dim streets
Mikuo's eyes widens in surprise. Among all the people they run in to, it had to be him.
"Len." Mikuo speaks the boy's name
7/30/12
I'm really sorry if this chapter took some time! I made sure that it had a lot of words to fill my long absence. hehe. Initially, this chapter was suppose to be after the "Sports Festival" chapter which will hopefully be next to this one. SPOILER. So about this chapter... Yes, at first they made up but they're fighting again OTL I just wanted to show the readers that they are the kind of couple that always argues with each other and have a lot of misunderstandings, you know? Haha. So expect a whole lot of fights in the following chapters. If anybody wants to know, Len actually plays an important character in this story :)