~~Disc: Don't own.

"Yellow thing here I come—!"

Chapter 13

It was summer.

Summer was finally there.

So, the three of them—Rin, Teto and Gumi was discussing about something on Gumi's desk. Lucky them to be in the same class.

"So, what are we going to do?" Rin asked, tilting her head a bit, making her white bow flutter a bit.

"Well, how about shopping?" Gumi asked excitedly, she want to do this, definitely.

Teto gave her a disagreeing face, "It could be done anytime?"

"I know you want to go to the beach," Gumi said, facing Teto, "But hello, it will be crowded!"

"Gumi's right!" Rin agreed, pumping her fist to the invisible air.

"You just too lazy to go there…" Teto muttered to herself. "Well, I agree now, nothing's wrong with go for a shop, beside I can go to the beach by myself…"

"Awww, Teto-chan, you shouldn't! I'll come along!" Gumi patted Teto's head.

All eyes landed on Rin.

"Erm, just go. Two of you. I'm not interested."

"NOOOO!" Both Gumi and Teto exclaimed.

"You have to go as well, Rin-chan!" Teto said.

Rin thought about it for a while, then her face lit up—Gumi swore that she saw a shining lamp appeared there, "Well, maybe I could drown someone to the sea and then I'll get a trouble!"

Gumi and Teto just halted in their current position.

'Rin never changes…'

"But!" Suddenly Rin pulled her index finger out, "Some conditions,"

Before they know it, weekend had come, again.

And at that time, Gumi and Teto were waiting for Rin in front of the small flower garden.

They didn't have to wait for a long time until they heard some kind of debate between a girl and a boy from their right.

"…I don't want to go…"

"You have to go! You know that you being here make my life worsen!"

"Then you don't need me at all."

"I need you to make me miserable!"

"I still don't understand…"

Gumi recognized those voices very well. They were…

"Why don't you say it earlier that you don't want to go?"

"B-but you just force me to change and pull me, how did I suppose to refuse?"

"No more complaints and here we are…" The girl's voice trailed off seeing a goggled girl and a drilled girl were there, right in front of the garden. "Ah, Gumi, Teto-chan! Sorry I make you wait!"

There the girl was, Kagamine Rin. On her hand was her male sibling. Despite of her cheery greeting, she got strange looks in exchange.

Rin just gave a smile in return, "Seems like you heard the debate, you know, I kinda playing with him…"

A person spoke, 3 people shocked.

'…I've figured that…'

'So she was playing with him? How could she do that?'

'…so she was toying me…'

"Well, I just can't leave him inaudible… Like that." She continued, unsure with her vocabulary. "So, let's get going…"

Rin's conditions. One, go shopping—they could go to the beach later. Two, she could bring Len with her—maybe something would happen.

Well, maybe…

After they go to an accessories shop, bookstore, smoothie bar, clothing shop, supermarket (yeah, supermarket. Oranges, bread and carrots), clothing shop again, fast-food restaurant, and many more, Rin pulled Teto to show her something. "Teto-chan, I want to show something to you soooo badly!"

"I know I know, just pull me…" Teto sounded exhausted but not struggling to get away. Their feet already sore by walking around like that with less than 5 bags in their hands—means that they just sightseeing, but the plan was shopping. And strangely, after that Rin just still had more energy to pull Teto here and there.

Leaving Gumi behind.

Gumi thought even after five years, Rin still want to befriend her. And Gumi decided to ask them to go shopping because she wanted to spend more time with her friends. But what she got was her being left behind, while those two walking her and there happily.

Is it still the same—their friendship? She thought no. Five years is more than enough for people to change.

It hurts.

It was Rin who forced Len to go shopping at the first time (even added with some-sort of drama), but seems like it wasn't like that anymore.

Instead of pulling him around like what happened at the last time they go shopping, she kept on pulling Teto.

Then, how about the green haired girl? Well, he noticed that she looked rather… down. Was she sad because Rin and Teto left her just like that? After all, she was the one who asked them to go shopping, right? Then why Rin and Teto left her?
It must be hurt to be left alone just like that.

And at that moment, Teto and Rin had vanished to nowhere, leaving the two of them in the silence, though the green-haired girl didn't seem to notice his existence there.

Nothing's going to hurt to speak, right?

"…hello."

Gumi heard that someone was saying 'hello', but who? She thought she was alone after Rin and Teto left her. Maybe a salesman who wanted to give samples? But why he said 'hello' just to give sample, then?

Wait, it was four of them who go shopping. Her, Teto, Rin… and Rin's brother.

She turned back and spotted him right behind her.

Well, she had been avoiding him for a straight 5 days since she joined the school, would she avoid him again like usual? She could go away whenever she wanted to. But something told her that she didn't need to avoid him at all, there are many look-alike in the earth, anyway…

After all, that voice sounded heart-broken. She just couldn't ignore him just like that.

"…yes?" She answered slowly.

After that, she could hear his sigh clearly. Why did he sigh, anyway?

"…why did you say hello to me?" She asked, still slowly. That scared feeling just wouldn't disappear that fast.

"E-eh…" There. Gumi knew it. He was nervous just because of being with her. "You're… Eh, I need to say something because it's really awkward…"

That was his reason saying hello? Seriously? Was he really a coward boy?

"Well, it is. Awkward." She repeated the information she just got from him.

No one said anything after that. Then a sudden voice startled her.

"You look lonely."

She widened her eyes in disbelief hearing his statement. Sure, she was really-really lonely because her friends just ignored her and left her. But what was bothering her mind was, how did he know?

Before she knew it, she felt herself was holding back her tears from falling out from her eyes. No, she wouldn't cry at that place.

"A-are you okay?" She heard a voice-full-of-concern from her back.

Oh yeah, she was backing him. Now what she really had to do was to stop crying. That thing went successful and she turned to him a minute later with a fake smile on her face.

"I'm really fine!" She smiled. She had to keep smiling in front of him. She just didn't want to make him worried. Why then? Maybe because he understand her? Seriously, her brother wasn't even like that kind.

Maybe they could spend time together? They had nothing to do after all. And nothing was wrong with that.

All her fear disappeared instantly and her right hand moved to grab his left hand.

"Let's go somewhere!"

It was strange. Really strange.

No one ever hold his hand (except Rin), pull him (except Rin), and smiled to him (again, except Rin).

Len just felt strange that a green haired girl who he met in front of his house (Rin's house, actually. Seriously, he didn't even know how he got there) with red—once again, red—goggles and mistaking him for Rin…

That Kasane girl didn't even comment about anything with his… Existence as Rin's brother who looked scarily like her. Ah, that wasn't that important for that moment…

Back to Gumi, she pulled him to he-didn't-know-where. Well, he couldn't do anything to stop her or to break free from her tight grip. And actually, what was wrong with that girl? She looked sad and lonely and… despaired just a few minutes ago and now? She pulled him with a smile. Not a small one, a huge smile.

Maybe saying hello wasn't that good from the beginning?

"The town is pretty crowded now, eh…?" Gumi commented. "It wasn't like this before I go on… holiday."

"So, when you came… You just get back from your… Uh, holiday?" Len asked, though it didn't sound like a question. His way of talking was still monotone and that could be clarified as bad.

"Yeah, you can guess it from Rin almost killing me there…" Gumi giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

Gumi knew that Len had become more talkative from before. So she was a good person who could befriend anyone less than an hour? Well, good for her to know that. "The two of you was a good friend, then?"

Strangely, Gumi found herself giggled at his way of talking. Her giggle disappeared into nothing as she heard a cheerful voice directed to her—no, them.

"Come here come here!" Both of them turned their head just to found a girl with a megaphone on her hand, currently standing behind a small stand.

That wasn't the strangest part, because Gumi could see it with her own eyes, that the red-haired girl with an ahoge on top of her head was wearing a Santa costume in the summer.

Seeing Gumi hung her mouth, she knew that she had caught their attention, "Yes! The two of you! The yellow-green couple!" She yelled again.

Then Gumi just realized that she was holding Len's hand. She quickly stepped a step further from him, releasing the grip while giving the random yelling girl a 'we're not a couple' look.

The red-haired girl yelled again, yet still cheerily, "Want to try? Miki Miki is sure, going to give you presents!"

"Well, now you know it…" The girl, apparently with the name 'Miki', said after explaining.

Gumi looked at the gift list once more, skimming the names of gifts that being listed. Tissue, tissue, tissue…

"Why there are so many tissues?" Gumi asked when she noticed that the word 'tissue' was listed more than once and there were like, twenty of them.

Miki blinked twice, then replied, "I can put whatever I want, you know. But don't be displeased, there are many more prizes!" Then she pointed to the bottom of the long list that was filled with nearly tissues.

Main prize: Cellphone

Gumi thought before she said something to Miki. Right, she needed a new one because his brother just recently sliced her phone with a knife. How? He was cooking (something carrot-related), then Gumi tapped his shoulder while holding her phone. Then he turned to her and sliced her phone accidentally, thinking she was someone else. She had no idea how the knife could be that sharp but whatever…

"So the first prize is a cellphone?" Gumi asked.

"Exactly!" Miki exclaimed, "Want to try?"

"Uh, sure…" Gumi said, taking some money from her bag, then handed it to the girl.

"Right, here it is!" Miki said as she took something from under the counter, then back with a bunch of paper strips in her hand, the lower part of the paper were covered with her gloved hand. There were probably 50 strips of it.

Gumi had her mouth hung open again, "Are you sure there are some gold colored paper strips between that?"

"I am 1000% sure there is," Miki smiled.

Then Gumi pulled one paper strip from Miki's hand, she looked at the lower part and saw gray.

"Tissue," Miki said, as she handed a pack of tissue to Gumi, "You know, you got tissue because of the color, gray. It's dull, right? That means the price isn't that valuable…" She explained, more-less unnecessary, "But sure, you get your second and third chance!"

Gumi took her second and third paper strips, but she got the same color, gray.

"You know, the probability to get a gold strip is 1:25," Miki randomly said, "And the number of stripes is 50, if you're wondering…"

"Well, I'm unlucky for now, eh…" Gumi muttered to herself while taking the pack of tissues from the counter.

Gumi was going to leave the counter when Miki yelled—again, "And the boy there, are you going to try?" Then Gumi turned around and spotted Len (who was forgotten there, she felt sorry for him), still standing at the same exact spot.

He looked at Miki, then to Gumi, back at Miki, turned to Gumi before facing Miki and give the answer, "Ah, sure,"

Miki set her hand like what she did previously, then Len pulled out a strip of paper.

Gumi just didn't want to see it, she thought he will face the same fate as her, getting a gray strip. But at the end, she looked at the stall.

"Blue!" Miki said (but it was more 'yelling' than 'saying'), "That's a bunny for you!" Then she shoved a bunny plush into Len's arm, then continuing the lottery-taking, "Pick the second one!"

'Well, he got a plush there, maybe he's luckier than me…' Gumi thought, getting interesting in watching the 'scene'.

"I see a gold colored strip there, congratulations!" Miki suddenly said while clapping. "You got a phone,"

'Eh…?' Gumi thought in disbelief. He got a phone… That easy? But the strangest part was, Miki said that like it was obvious already that he would get the phone.

"May I ask something?" Gumi asked.

"Oh sure, green-girl!" Miki said.

"Um, actually… How often people get gold strip?"

Miki looked at Gumi curiously, then answered her question, "Well, this is the first time in a week, you know…"

"Oh…"

Gumi averted her gaze to somewhere else for a minute, then back to Miki and Len. And now Miki was grinning like crazy.

"Green-haired-girl-san, I would like to take my words before," Miki spoke.

Gumi raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"This is the first time someone gets two gold strips in a row! Another phone!"

Strangely, no one said anything after that.

The dark green-colored flip-phone was on her hand, glimmering because of the glittery color that reflected the bright sun's shine.

Her eyes were bright as well, if anyone see it. A new phone. Of course, a new phone, completely free of charge from a random person who was walking next to her. Well, not really random, but…

"Are you really really giving it to me?" She asked for the umph-teenth time.

"I… Really…" He answered the same question again. And again. Though the answer was different for each 'are you really giving it to me?' "I only need one…"

"Th-thank you sooooooo much!" She finally said after asking 12 times. "But are you really sure?" Her tone changed. Realizing she did it again (asking), she quickly cover it, "Never mind. One more time, thank you so much. I never got something like this even from my friend…"

"But you said that you need it… So I give it to you…" He tightened his grip (or hug) to the fluffy white bunny that had been there on his arm for a while. The bunny's ears flopped a bit while he did this.

"Oh, yes I did…" She took a glance on him. Golden (really golden? Or yellow? Well, she thought it was more to gold) colored hair in the usual ponytail, sea-green somewhat half opened eyes (he had always been looking like that), white shirt under blue jacket (and somehow it looked nice on him), brown shorts (with some pockets) and sneakers (a white one), and an additional fluffy bunny plush on his arm. She had to admit it, he looked cute.

"But…" He suddenly looked at her direction, making her looked away unintentionally, "…for what is this thing?"

Gumi turned her head to him, didn't care anymore whether her eyes met his or not, really didn't care. What was on her head was just, 'What did he just…'

"What did you just said?"

"The function of this 'phone'." No. he wasn't playing or joking with her, he really asking her because he… didn't… know…

"You… don't know?" Gumi asked in disbelief. Of course, who don't know what a phone is?

He shook his head quietly for the answer.

"Really?" Of course, who would believe that? This is the 21st century!

"I… do… not know." He said it slowly but straightly as if that was just the matter of fact. Wait, that was the fact, right? Was he saying the wrong thing? He thought no. He didn't know. That was the truth.

"Erm, how should I put this…" Gumi thought for a moment to find a good way to explain what a phone is to Len. She got a way to tell him, but it was nothing 'good'. "Yah, well… A phone is for communicating."

"Human can communicate by talking." He stated robotically. He wasn't a robot, right?

"Eh, this is an easier way to do it, when you're far away… You can call your… Friend or family using the phone—you talked to them via the phone, though you can also do that using a telephone, but cellphones have something that a telephone doesn't—the ability to send and receive short messages… And phone is… mobile, yeah. So that's why… Mobile phone… Like that, more-less…" Gumi explained with her best way.

But from his facial expression, it said 'I do not understand'.

She sighed, "…I'll show you how." After saying that, she took his phone from his pocket (yeah, right). Pressing the button here and there while explaining a bit, then pulled her own phone to show something and that just go on.

"Uh, you can try it yourself, you know." She said, handing back his phone while scrolling her new phone's contacts that was already… Kind of full at that moment. "Try to text Rin, maybe?"

Strangely, she saw him flinching at Rin's name, or it's just her imagination?

"No." He answered quickly.

Well, something was… Surely strange there. Maybe because the previous incident? Was he still mad at her?

"I'll send her contact in case you need it, not now though…" Gumi said, eyes back to the phone screen. "About Rin," She started, finger pressing some button on her phone, "She's… Like that."
"I know it." He said seriously.

Well, who knows that he could be serious?

"Know what?" She asked his statement.

"Her actual… personality."

"…am I missing something here?" Gumi asked. Rin had been nice to her from the beginning until now but did something happen when she was gone?

He shook his head, accidentally flapping the bunny's ears, "Nothing. Let's go somewhere else… I don't want to go home for now…"

She grinned, "Same here, I still have something to show you and you really will like it…"

They were looking at a small alley between huge buildings. Well, both of them had that strange-looking-facial-expression seeing the pretty much, small building from the small alley.

Gumi had her mouth slightly open, gaping at the building from the small alley. The alley was really small, only one person could walk through that alley at the same time. "…it wasn't this… sad about 6 years ago…" She was probably commenting the location of the café-look-alike. But the café itself wasn't that bad, it was actually cute with pastel color and a sign that read as 'Rainbow Ice' with a bubbly letter also in pastel color.

So, Gumi want to show him a café… Or the alley?

"…maybe they renovated it… or someone took over the café and changed it?" She continued wandering. "Ah, I better take a good care of these feet and throat. Let's go inside."

Inside the café, everything was colored mainly white and the rest is… Colorful pastel color. Several pastel colored comfortable-looking sofas were being set here and there, complete with a white table between the two face-to-face sofas. Even the floor, white and pastel color. Every girl would really love to go in there.

As soon as the set their selves to the comfortable sofa (so it was not just comfortable-looking), a waitress with a frilly maid-costume came holding a menu. That was when they discovered that the menu was colorful as well. Most of them were ice cream. Judging from the name of the café, that must be true. Other than ice cream were drinks. The ice cream menu itself… Was a kind of strange. They had ice (an ice flavored ice cream, for God's sake! It'll be flavor-less!), cheese, and pizza, and many more strangely flavored ice cream. To add the strange already menu, vegetable flavored ice cream was full on the list. Just to make it worse, there was a black colored ice cream as well. Well, just guess what the taste will be…

Of course, no one will think that there's a cute café that was hiding between two huge buildings. And no one will think that a cute and adorable café sells many life-threatening ice creams.

Seeing a carrot flavored ice cream, Gumi ordered it without a second thinking of maybe they put in some poison in the ice cream. A Gumi just couldn't and wouldn't resist that orange-y vegetable named carrot. They're just… Good. Her brother usually scolds her because of her liking of carrot but then, what does he like? The same, carrot. Well, her brother was being unreasonable.

Len wasn't as clueless as anybody would think, he knew that the odd colored ice cream was absolutely inedible. Rin made those strange colored food pretty… often and always told him to not eat it because it maybe poisoned by accident… That was what she said. She said it easily, anyway. Ah, back to the menu. The banana flavored one looked tasty and banana itself was good (in his opinion, at least)… Well, that reminded him of that 'The Reason why Kagamine Rin chose a Banana Smoothie for Kagamine Len'.

Rin. She was never serious with him—maybe not just with him, maybe with everyone. Rin was that kind of person, a girl who plays with anything. He realized that she was just 'playing' with him since the beginning—well, since she found him in her house. Since that day.

So, before even meeting (finding) him, she was like that to… Everyone?

"Kagamine, you're not choosing anything." Gumi's voice just made his thought shatter in instance. Oh yes, the ice cream.

"Water…" He said, but sounded awkwardly like a mutter.

"…you were taking a long time to choose and came up with water as the answer?" Gumi asked, not believing her ears.

The waitress had taken it as the order, so she left already from the table, leaving the dating-couple-look-alike.

It didn't take a long time for the order to come—preparing ice cream and water won't be long wherever you order it, anyway. Gumi had interest in her eyes as the orange-colored ice cream was moved from the tray to in front of her. The color of the ice cream was bright orange, as bright as a real carrot. Nothing was wrong from it (at least Gumi thought like that). She took a lick on it and it taste d strangely good, so she just ate it up until the cup was empty. What Len was doing at that moment was just drinking his water silently while giving some weird stare to Gumi. That orange-suspicious-colored ice cream was actually edible?

Just when she gulped the last ice cream, her phone vibrated and she opened it cautiously like it was going to explode if she opened it harshly. Her somewhat panicked face because of the previous thought that her parent knew that she was out and threaten her to come home changed into an annoyed one once she saw the sender ID. It was just her brother. Who asked her to come home because their parents asked him to ask her. Don't tell her that her parents were asked by the God—if that really happens, then she would be really home, or dead.

So her brother just asked her to get home. Great.

She flipped her phone close and faced the person in front of her. "Seems like I have to go now because my brother is asking me to do so." She began to pack her belonging (her belonging? A bag with carrot candies—the source was unknown—and her wallet. Her phone was being held so it wasn't in there, right?) and ready to get away. Before she left, she turned to Len again. "Well, thanks for the phone to the ice cream…" She trailed off but continued it instantly, "Thank you for cheering me up today!"

He had cheered her up? Well, that was an unnoticed thing he had done, then…

"No, you cheered me up." He replied truthfully. It was true, if Gumi wasn't there, who knows? Maybe he was sulking at the corner—wait, he wouldn't do that.

"So both of us do!" She said in a happy tone. Her smiled turned to a mysterious one, "You really remind me of my old friend…" With that she left the café. The last part was strange…

Wait, she asked him to pay the ice cream indirectly, right?

He was staring at the phone screen blankly. A blank message directed to Rin was displayed on the screen. He really didn't want to go 'home', as he would meet Rin if he do that. But he just couldn't leave her like that, as she will go to find him and she found him and there! They met each other.

No, he wanted to get away from Rin, knowing the real Rin was like. At least for a while, he needed a break from being played. Today was more than enough. From the force to the drama and ended up with the ignorance. Enough.

Why did he felt like that? Hurt from being ignored by someone? Why did it hurt, anyway? There was no wound or anything similar, but it just… hurt. Rin just ignored him (and no, she didn't, she just left him behind) anyway. Nothing was wrong with that, really. His heart didn't agree with that, though. Instead, it made a strange feeling inside of him.

Maybe he shouldn't try to understand it. It just spins around his head, making everything hundred times worse.

A sudden unknown voice was more than enough to startle his 'thinking' state, "Hello there."

He looked up to see a person—a woman with red top and a matching red short skirt, her matching-with-her-locks brown eyes looking down at him, "Hello." He said, greeting back.

She positioned herself in front of him, the place Gumi was sit on previously. "You're telling me that you're troubled from your face." She stated. Wait, she was looking at—seeing him?

Talking about personal thing with a stranger will never be comfortable, so he just looked away and mumbled, "Nothing."

"There's a thing." She said. It's really impolite to go into a random person's problem! "I'm not asking you, though. But maybe something will make you better like… Ice cream?"

She continued before he could even comment that he wasn't in mood to eat that sweet and cold thingy, "Free of charge. You don't need to pay."

"No need to do so." He replied as polite as he could.

"Come on, a sad and troubled customer will make our unnoticeable reputation went even lower!" She said like she was saying the truth.

"You are the owner of this café?" He asked. If her answer is yes, he just have to compliment about the café and reassure that he was fine then pay and get out from that café as fast as he could, it wasn't that hard.

"No, my friend does." She answered. So that was the truth… "Since I have no privilege to know your problem and seems like you're not in mood to eat our tasty flavored ice cream—they might looked inedible, but you'll realize that it's actually edible—even more than just edible—when you eat it, I'm sure of that." She paused, realizing that she was promoting the ice instead of saying the thing that she supposed to say, "Well, you can always try the ice cream later, but maybe you need something like a job? You could get a filthy amount of delicious money just from working here! We have just about 7 people in here including me. Interested?"

There, weird offering. It was really weird or it was just him who thought like that?

"The shift is on 15, after school—of course I know that you go to school—so nothing is going to be missed, right?" She continued.

What? There was no plan of him getting a job at all. He didn't need any money for now.

After school. Usually he would be home, doing almost nothing with Rin.

With Rin.

No way.

"I will… Think about it." He said. The woman squealed in joy hearing that. A woman squealed? That was rare.

"I will really tell my friend that someone's going to think over this job!" She still squealed in joy when she said this. "Tomorrow! You have to tell me tomorrow!"

"O-of course…" He said while sweat-dropping.

"I'll close the café now, just left the food—drink there and you don't have to pay. Free of charge."

He just didn't understand that person at all… Well, she was being nice to him, right? "Thank you." He walked to the door, having a strange feeling that she would kill him if he didn't leave that place at that time.

"My name's Sakine Meiko, anyway," She said, gesturing him to leave as fast as he can. "You can tell yours tomorrow. It's okay if you don't want to, but I think I'll know it anyway…" With that the door closed.

Setting her bag on her desk, she could hear her phone vibrated.

From unknown:

"Will come home late. Don't wait for me"

"…what?"

~~LONG. Because I can't cut the Gumi-Len epicness *shot* I even think that this chapter is over-sized (for this story)... And this story is too predictable, I guess...

Erm... Erm, I don't know what to say... Anyway, I found the summary annoying... I've changed it but still, nothing better!

For Campanella-san... I... Am glad that you like this story! Your reviews make me really happy ･ω･

Anyone who pressed that review button must be a really kind person...

*^%)$#(%%$#{:%$)*%)&*)(_%}:"[.

I am just simply stressed right now...