Hey, guys~ Leilani here, with another story!
This fic is actually based on a story idea that I had from months before I made my account, I even wrote quite a bit for it before I sort of dropped it. Now, though, I kind of feel the urge to put it out there.
Like 'Melancholic Attention', I would like for this fic to be multi-chaptered. We'll see how things turn out.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with, Vocaloid in any capacity, or any other real-life organizations/services/songs that are mentioned in this fic. Any names of real people are merely references or coincidences. Please do not sue me for a fic I made for a franchise I love. I have, like, no money for that.
Cover pic by 春日菖蒲 (pixiv id: 92820)
* Not beta read. Mistakes may be present.
Mysteries of the Heart
"WAKE UP!"
Rin's eyes shot open, as she immediately sat up from her bed in response to the loud shout. Unfortunately for her, she was still a bit too dazed from her slumber to realize that a boy, one who looked very much like her, was sitting in her bed with her. His head was directly above hers while she slept, and it got knocked by hers as she rapidly rose from her sleep.
"Ahhh!" The impact caused the two to let out a scream, as Rin was pushed back onto her pillow and the boy ended up stepping back and tumbling onto her carpeted floor. They clutched their foreheads and groaned in excruciating pain, as Rin got back up and began to berate the male now lying on the ground. "What the actual hell, Len?! Are you insane or something?! Why on Earth would you, 1. Dare to come into my room and get so damn close to me, and 2. Scream bloody murder into my ear holes like a damn nuclear war was starting?!"
The boy, who was called Len, steadily stood up after his fall and matched the intense glare that the blue-eyed girl gave him with one of his own, equally enraged and just as blue. "Hey, don't blame me! Maybe if you weren't a damn heavy sleeper, I wouldn't have to literally yell and threaten to lose my voice so that you could get up! For Heaven's sake, woman, I shouldn't have to be your alarm clock whenever you need help rising from your practical state of death!"
"What on God's green Earth are you even waking me up this early in the morning for?!" The bright blonde girl hollered. "Did you have another Diarrhoea Disaster again?! Do we have to evacuate the house?! I told you not to have those beef and beans burritos with the coke before bed again, you know what happened last time!"
Len's cheeks suddenly flushed a bright red hue as he shot back. "That was a one-time thing that happened years ago, Rin! Just drop it already!" At that, Rin gave a smirk and crossed her arms in sweet amusement. No matter what, the look of embarrassment on her twin brother's face never failed to entertain her. He was just soooo cute and dumb, sometimes. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the colour of his face returning to normal. Reopening them and setting his gaze on his sister once again, he got to why he came into her room. "Anyways, the reason that I'm in here is because Mom told me to come get you so we could get ready to go."
It took Rin a few seconds to fully understand the context of his words, until it hit her like a freight train. She instantly shot out of her comfy bed and began to push Len out of the room. "OkaythanksforthereminderLenbutyouneedtogetoutnowsoIcangetreadyforschoolnowgo!" Len could barely make out what his twin was saying as she forced him towards and out the door. He spun to look back at her, but before he could even get a word out, she locked the door shut and hurried off into her bathroom.
. . .
As Rin and Len's mother, Kagamine Yui, fried the strips of bacon on the kitchen stove, she let out a deep, irritated sigh from the bellowing of her two children upstairs. "I swear, sometimes those two make me regret my decisions to become a parent. It's way too early for this ruckus." She knew that for a mother to think this way was terrible, but many times the two noise generators she birthed had led her to that train of thought. She quickly dismissed it and continued cooking breakfast. From the staircase, Yui heard footsteps rapidly making their way down. Sure enough, soon to enter into the kitchen was her son, hands rested at the back of his head.
"Well, I did it. Went about as well as you can imagine," he said with a nonchalant tone.
She merely rolled her eyes at his casual behaviour. "Honestly, with the levels of screaming you two always seem to reach each and every passing day, I'm both shocked and relieved that neither of you have gone dumb."
Len gave a cheeky grin and sat at the dining table with his hands on his cheeks. "Well, mother, we must have gotten our strong vocal cords from somewhere, right?"
"We are not having this discussion right now, young man," the older woman swiftly answered. As the teenage boy snickered at her annoyance, she once again let out a long sigh. "What am I going to do with you and her sister?"
Len put on a false face of thinking, and hummed. "I dunno, maybeeee love us unconditionally?" He finished the question off with a cutesy smile.
As she set the freshly fried bacon on the table with a plate of pancakes, she patted the boy's head of yellow and chuckled. "Yes, I suppose I will."
. . .
"Gottahurrygottahurrygottahurrygottagottagooo!" The only thought running through Rin's mind as she rushed to finish getting ready for the day ahead. It was the first day of school after the break she had, and not just any first day of school, her first day of high school! This was a huge deal, and she couldn't believe she didn't remember it sooner! She's only been dreaming of this day since she first learnt what the words "High School'' even meant. She worked so super hard on those entrance exams, and they actually paid off! She got into her dream school (and Len got in with her too, which only doubled her happiness)!
After the shower she just had, Rin dashed out of the bathroom and headed straight to her closet. She paused to glance at the uniform of her old middle school; a basic blue and white school uniform with a pink bow. She thought about all of the friends she made and all of the fun she had at her old school as a small smile graced her face, until she stopped pausing to grab her new clothes to wear. "When I get to campus, I'm gonna make a bunch of new friends, join tons of clubs and it's gonna be the best!" She hummed in tune to her happy thoughts as she fumbled into her uniform. She ran over to the full length mirror and looked at her reflection. She was now donning a white dress shirt with the school emblem on the right breast area along with a black ribbon, a green, blue and white plaid skirt and a pair of dark grey stockings that stopped below her knees. "Wow, I don't wanna sound self-centered but I kinda own this uniform!"
Rin had moved over to her dresser to grab the hair clips to keep her short, yet unruly hair intact, and finally went to put on the main attraction of every single one of her outfits; her big black bow attached to an alice band. She used to have a white version to it, but she decided a year or so back to forgo it and replace it with a darker colour. Make herself a little more mature, y'know? She went back over to the mirror a second time and fully took in her appearance. "Perfect," she thought to herself, as she grabbed her book bag and headed downstairs.
After the time it took for Rin to hurriedly eat up her breakfast, drink up every last drop of her milk (she needs it to keep developing after all!) and run to the entrance door to slip on her dark brown loafers (all without even putting her dirty dish in the sink, much to her mother's chagrin) and receive their bento boxes from Yui, she and Len (who wore essentially the same uniform, but with pants) were finally ready to head to their new school. Yui began to give a speech to her two kids, "Now, remember what I told you two about your new school", and before she could get another word in, they spoke up in unison.
"Treat all our peers and teachers with utmost respect, do all assignments and tasks to the best of our abilities, and do not let ourselves be bullied out of our belongings." They heard the words so many times, it was practically ingrained into their brains at this point and they could recite it without hesitations. The older woman merely nodded her head in confirmation and approval. "Hm, if anyone even thinks about getting a single yen outta me or Len, I'll pull the ol' Kagamine Scissor-Kick Manoeuvre on 'em!" Rin raised her right leg in the air as she said that.
"Woah, we don't wanna hurt them too badly, getting suspended or expelled on the first day can't be anything fun," Len suddenly said as he waved his hands around in a nervous manner.
Yui laughed softly, "I'm glad you're looking out for yourself and your brother, Rin, but Len's got a point. Now then, I believe you two are ready to go?"
Rin and Len nodded simultaneously. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Well, in that case, I'll see you two later," Yui pulled the two into a loving hug. "Have a wonderful day at school, my darlings." She let them go, and as they headed out the door, they said, "Goodbye, Mom, love you!" and finally ran off. Yui watched them off with a wide smile on her face. "They may be little nuisances from time to time, but they're still my precious babies. I wouldn't give them up for the world". Her final thought before she shut the door to finish the chores around the house.
As the buttercup-blonde teen ran to the school compound with her brother by her side, she thought about the events of the day to come. Letting a quiet squeal slip, in Rin's mind were the words, "This is gonna be such an awesome day!"
. . .
Aria's eyes steadily opened, as she woke from her sleep. As she lay silently in her king-sized bed, she stared at the white ceiling above.
Another dreamless night. It's been quite a while since she had one. It was probably for the better anyway. Nowadays, the dreams she did end up having were never pleasant ones.
She remembered that her break was over, and she once again had to get out of bed to attend school that day. She sighed inwardly. She was actually rather enjoying the fact that she did not have to get up so early every single day to go to the place of her nightmares.
Yes, 'nightmares'. Aria hated her school, not because she was shunned, bullied or doing poorly in terms of grades. No, she was one of the highest achievers in her grade and was admired and adored by almost all of her peers. Yet still, she often found herself in an unpleasant mood whenever the very thought of the campus arbitrarily entered her mind. It wasn't as if she personally cared much about how well she did on tests, and she had very few people she could truly call friends among her sea of fans. Not only that, but-
*knock-knock-knock*
Her thoughts were then interrupted by a sound at the door. Aria sat up in her bed and turned to the source of the sound. "Ah, yes. You may enter." With her permission, Aria's bedroom door was opened and there stood a man with dark silver-ish hair and dressed in a sharp black suit. It was her butler, Tsubame. His full name was Utanomiyatsuko Tsubame, but the surname was a bit of a mouthful so he was simply referred to as Tsubame. He's been with her family since she was learning to walk, and has been taking excellent care of her from then. He was one of the few people in her life she actually trusted and felt comfort in. The man was like a real father to her, and she appreciated him greatly for it. "Good morning, Lady Aria," he said as he gave a small bow.
"Good morning, Tsubame-san," Aria replied. "I presume you are here to take me to get prepared for school?"
He nodded. "That's right, m'lady."
Aria lifted her comforter off her lower body and placed her sock-covered feet onto her intricately designed tile floor. She made her way over to the door where Tsubame stood, and looked up at him. "Thank you, Tsubame-san, I shall make my way down."
He nodded and said, "Of course, m'lady." She went to walk through the long hallway and down her long flight of stairs, Tsubame close behind.
Downstairs, Aria quietly ate her breakfast. She was the only one seated at the large dining table, but she was very much used to this. Once finished, she headed back to her room, brushed her teeth, showered, and got dressed. This routine had become so formulaic to her, that the details were barely even worth getting into. Once she put on her freshly pressed uniform (courtesy of one of her many household maids), she sat in front of her dresser mirror, grabbed a hairbrush and began to neaten her long, messy hair. This was possibly the one part of her daily procedure that she actually fully enjoyed. She had been quite proud of her hair that had grown over several years to its current length, right down her calves, and thought it to be her most defining feature. It also reminded her of her mother, a marvelous and incredibly devoted woman with hair just as lengthy.
"It's been 12 years since I'd last seen her…" Aria thought with sadness. She was very young the day her mother went missing, she had barely even turned 4 years old yet. Nonetheless, the day of her disappearance was a day Aria would not soon forget.
*knock-knock-knock*
Once again, it was the sound of knocking on her bedroom door that took Aria out of her thoughts and back to reality. "Come in." Her short command. The door opened and, as she expected, Tsubame stood behind its frame.
With a bow, he spoke. "Apologies for the interruption, Lady Aria, but it's just about time for you to head out."
"Ah," she softly responded, "of course. Thank you, Tsubame-san. Tell the driver that I'll be down shortly."
Tsubame nodded, "Very well, m'lady," and walked over to the cushion chair that held her bookbag. "Shall I also bring your bag down for you, m'lady?" he asked.
"No, I will carry it myself, thank you," was her brief answer.
"Alright," and with that, Tsubame headed down to relay his young mistress's message. Aria looked back directly in front of her and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was now neatly brushed and in place, save for the strands of hair that covered the middle of her face and the ahoge that jutted from the centre of her scalp. She braided some of the strands at the side together and tied the ends with black elastics. Now, her hair was perfect for going out.
Aria stood from the seat, grabbed her bag, headed downstairs, slipped on her black loafers by the door and finally went outside to her chauffeur-driven limousine. The driver opened the car door for her, and waited for her to settle inside before closing it. She looked out the window and saw Tsubame approaching. "Lady Aria," he said as he now stood by the limo, "I've been asked by your father to remind you that you are to meet with him at his office directly after school to discuss an important matter."
Aria nodded and answered, "Yes, I remember, thank you Tsubame-san." His task now complete, he gave Aria a goodbye and wished for her to have a good day. She once again thanked him before allowing her chauffeur to carry her to school. As the vehicle drove through the large gates, Tsubame looked on with a wistful expression. He sighed softly, before returning to the house to finish his other duties.
As Aria rode in the car, she gazed at the passing scenery and went back into her thoughts. "12 years since I've seen her…" Due to how long it's been since Aria's mother went missing, almost all of her family and friends came to the somber conclusion that her soul was likely no longer on this earth. Even her father, who had loved the woman with all his heart, had little faith in his wife still being alive. Aria gave a deep frown. "Everyone else may believe otherwise, but I know better. I know she's still out there somewhere, I'm sure of it." Aria fished through her book bag and took out a small photo album. She turned to a page that held only one photo; one of an infant Aria in the arms of her brightly smiling mother. 13 years ago around this time, the photo was taken yet it still looked as new as could be. She traced her thumb over her mother's grin. "I'll find you, mother," she thought with great resolve, as if she was hoping that her thoughts could reach her mother, "I'm not sure how or when, but it will be done. Mark my words."
She kissed the photo before she closed the album and placed it back in her bag, fastening it securely. She returned her gaze to the view outside, her heart filled with determination.
. . .
Rin was currently sitting in her homeroom class, Class 1-B, sitting in her first official class of the day, History. Her least favourite subject back in middle school, and still her least favourite subject now. Her day had started out so spectacular, what with getting to see the huge, beautiful campus (sure, she had seen it in person a few times before when visiting as a prospective student, but being on the school grounds while actually being one of its students filled her with an entirely new sense of glee), seeing all of her new schoolmates (and some old, familiar faces) and hearing about all the great achievements of the alumni and present pupils as well as what extracurricular activities they offered in the opening ceremony; it all just brought Rin to a newfound sense of pride and disbelief that she was actually at her dream school.
Crypton Academy, the school where those titled "nobodies" with some level of aptitude could enroll and nurture their talents so that they could truly bloom and grow into the future's newest teacher, engineer, doctor or actually decent politician (because, in Rin's humble opinion, most of the politicians today suck hard). Rin wasn't too sure what career path she wished to pursue just yet, but here she was sure she'd be able to figure it out.
Of course, that was a mission for another time. Right now, she is stuck in History class trying (and failing) to pay keen attention to her history teacher, Kamui Gakupo, give a lecture on Ancient Chinese civilization… or something like that. She wasn't too certain at this point, honestly. All she knew was that she was bored out of her mind. She glanced over to her right where Len was seated. He seemed to be faring better than she was, listening intently to the lesson and furiously taking notes every time Kamui-sensei finished a point.
"At least he's having more fun than I am…"
He always did seem to like History classes (why or how, she could never know - though, some topics could be interesting), and always excelled at the subject being an A student. Rin, on the other hand, could barely get consistent 80s. It was a subject she always sort of struggled with and lacked much interest in, thus she found it unworthy of her time. She groaned softly before turning her attention back to the ongoing class, and taking up her pen to write. It was her first day of high school, so she might as well make every effort to do well.
"I just hope this class is over soon so we can get onto something more exciting."
She looked at the clock above the chalkboard at the front of the classroom. 9:00. Only 15 minutes of this 50 minute class has passed. Rin sighed and rested her head on her desk. "This is gonna be a loooooong day…" Crypton Academy sure was looking to be something special.
. . .
It was now lunch break at Crypton Academy, and Rin couldn't be more thankful. After that borderline torture of a History class, Rin had Japanese (a subject she rather enjoyed), Math (a subject that she loved to bits and was pretty good at), then Contemporary Society (a subject that Rin firmly believed was a curse from The Devil himself, and could go crawl into a trash-filled hole and die a slow, painful death). The latter class completely shattered the mood that Rin was put into during Math. It was so utterly dull and boring, and the fact that it was being taught by a Tanaka Ona (a teacher who Rin could swear hated her job, students and possibly herself) in the most passionless, lacklustre voice she could muster. She had half a mind to stab her pen in her eye so she could bleed out and end her suffering, she was positive that it would've been less agonizing than the lecture she just went through. She started to think she gave History a little too much flak.
"Ughhh, that class was horrible! Why is that woman even a teacher at this school, it's pretty obvious she doesn't enjoy it!" Len complained aloud as he and his sister walked up through the relatively busy hallway towards the rooftop to find a bench to eat on. At least her brother thought the same as her, though Rin wasn't too surprised - they did share quite a few things in common (also she was fairly certain that everyone in that class felt the same way she did.) "Psh, tell me about it," her response as she rolled her cerulean blue eyes. "Let's just thank God that it's over now, and keep on moving. I'm sure Miku's waiting for us at the rooftop!" At the mention of Miku, Len's eyes widened and he began to dart down the halls towards the stairs, leaving Rin in his dust. "Wha-?! Hey, doofus. Don't think you can just leave me behind so you can hurry and see your precious Miku-chan!" She chased after the blond-haired boy, and turned the corner onto a quieter part of the corridor. As soon as she did, she saw a figure straight ahead of her and before she could even slow down, they crashed right into each other.
"Aaaack!" both she and the individual exclaimed.
The clash caused the container of food to fly out of Rin's hands, as well as both her and the other person to fall to the floor, right on their bottoms. Rin squeezed her eyes shut and held her head in immense pain, and she could feel her rear aching from the collision between it and the ground. "Gah! Dang it, why did something like this have to happen to me a second time today?!" She steadily opened her eyes, and got a clearer view of the person she knocked down. It was a girl, with long platinum-blonde hair with a pink tinge in the locks. She also clutched her head in her hands, and Rin noticed a mess of some sort behind her. She looked closer and realized that it was a container with spilled contents of food inside. "Oh, crap," Rin thought in panic, "that must've been her lunch!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She rose to her feet and walked closer to the girl, reaching a hand out to her. "Are you okay? Please, let me help you up." The girl looked at her blankly for a few seconds, and took the hand that was offered to her and let Rin help her to her feet. Now that the girl was on her feet, Rin noticed that she was a couple of inches taller than her. "Uh, are you okay?"
The girl dusted herself off, and said, "Yes, I'm alright… What about you?"
"Oh, me? Yeah, I'm alright. I may not look it, but I'm tough as nails!" Rin proudly proclaimed, before she looked at the two spilled bento boxes on the ground. "Unfortunately, it seems that neither of our lunches are quite as resistant…"
The girl glanced over where Rin stared before gazing at the ground beneath her. "It's rather unfortunate, today the chefs had made my favourite dish." The girl spoke with a hint of dejection, and it made Rin feel all the more guilty. "However, I have more than enough money to purchase food from the school store for the both of us. We can just go there."
Rin's ears perked at the word 'we'. "Wha, you want me to come with you?"
The girl nodded, "Of course. I'll buy something for both me and you. I do believe it was both of our lunches that were ruined by the impact."
"Yeah, but it was the impact that I caused! I can't ask you to do this for me, I should get something for you! I have the money!" Rin retorted with slight confusion. "I caused her lunch to get messed up, why does she wanna buy something for me?" Rin wondered to herself, not at all understanding the girl's thought process.
The stone-faced girl raised a hand and spoke, "Please. It's fine, I don't mind at all. Now then," the girl went to clean up the bento box mess and disposed of it in the nearest trash bin. She did the same for Rin's, who just stood in utter shock. After disposing of the spilled food, the girl began to walk in the direction of the school store. She stopped for a second and looked over her shoulder at the yellowhead behind her. "Shall we be off?"
Rin was snapped out of her stupor, and responded, "Oh, uhm, sure," and began to follow closely behind.
They turned the corner that Rin came from, and here she could see all of the students suddenly hush up as they stared in her and the girl's general direction. She could hear their whispers;
"Wow, is that Akasaka-san?"
"Hey, it really is her! Uwah, she's so cute!"
"She's in my class, y'know. She's so hot."
"Yeah… Hey, do you think I could have a chance with her?"
Rin looked over all her present schoolmates, and noticed how they would immediately clear the way whenever the girl that she followed, whose name she figured was Akasaka, approached. "She must be popular here or something," Rin thought. She could hear more whispers;
"Who's that blonde girl walking behind her, though?"
"I dunno, I've never seen her around campus before. She must be new."
"Why does she get to walk so close to Aria-chan? I thought that other guy was bad enough, now this?"
"She looks pretty scrawny. She probably doesn't get fed much."
"Heh, right? Plus she's flat as a board. Can't imagine she gets much attention from anyone."
At those two last remarks, a few persons in the corridor giggled, and Rin felt so humiliated by the statements. She had always felt somewhat conscious of her skinny body. No matter how hard she tried, she could never seem to keep on any significant weight. This unexpected rude remark sought to dampen Rin's mood even more after what happened with the bento boxes, and it sure as heck worked. Just then, the girl apparently named Akasaka-san stopped in her tracks, and turned directly to the boys who made those nasty comments with what Rin could only refer to as an usual glare in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but could you please speak a little louder? I didn't quite catch that, something about you calling my acquaintance over here 'flat' and 'scrawny'?" she said with a noticeable edge in her voice.
The crowd went tensely silent and the two boys froze in their places with emotions of surprise and ever so slight fear drawn on their faces. "N-N-No, Akasaka-san! We, We didn't say anything about your f-f-friend here…!" one of them mumbled out. "R-Right! That would be so horribly impolite of us! We would never do such a thing!" said the other, with a bit more confidence but just as much fright.
"Well then," Akasaka-san began as she gestured a hand over to Rin, "I suppose an apology from each of you two is in order?" The two males nodded furiously and turned to the short-haired girl, bowing. "Ah, we're so sorry for our rudeness! Please, accept our apology," they pleaded in perfect unison.
Rin felt a bit awkward now, what with all this discomforting air focused all on her. "Um, sure. It's, all good, you guys…" A few seconds of complete silence passed and Rin felt like she was starting to suffocate on her own agitation.
"Alright. Now that that's over with, my acquaintance and I shall take our leave. Good day, everyone." With Akasaka-san's words, the hallway was at ease once again as she and Rin walked down the halls towards their destination.
During the walk of quiet, Rin found herself in her thoughts once more. "Holy crap, what was all that?! Did she really just do that, for me?! Why, though, she barely even knows me…" Treading behind the girl, Rin decided to take a glance at her figure. "She's got a nice, slender-looking body. I'm sure she probably gets tons of compliments about it…" Rin also took notice of her long, silky-looking hair that reached all the way down her calves. "And her hair is super long, too. The only other person I've seen with hair that long is…" And just like that, Rin remembered something very important for the second time that day. "Oh my gosh, Miku! And Len, too!" Akasaka-san stopped to look back at the yellowhead with perplexity in her expression, and it was then Rin realized she spoke aloud. "Oh, I'm so very sorry! I just remembered that I had some friends waiting for me up on the rooftop!" she explained to the clueless girl before her. "...I see…" the girl muttered, and stared off to her side. Rin once again felt a sense of shame rise within her. "I'm really sorry, I appreciate you wanting to repay me for lunch, but I think I've kept my friends waiting long enough," she clarified and the girl looked her in the eyes with her usual blank expression.
"It's fine, I understand. I suppose I'll just have to treat you another time, then."
Rin wanted to say, "No really, you don't have to do that", but ultimately decided against it, instead opting for a simple "I look forward to it," with a wide smile. She was about to run off in the opposite direction, but then she was reminded of something. "Hey, I still don't know your name. I figured you were called Akasaka-san, but that's all I really know."
The girl gave her somewhat of an odd look before she started, "If you want to know my full name, it's Akasaka Aria."
"Aria. That's a cute name," Rin thought. "Well, my name is Kagamine Rin. I'm a new 1st year student at Crypton Academy. Nice to meet you, Akasaka-san. I assume you've been here longer than I have, right?"
Aria nodded, "Yes, that's correct. I'm currently in my 2nd year here."
"Cool!" Rin beamed, "I guess that means to me, you're Akasaka-senpai!" Rin gave a polite bow to Aria, "I'll see you around, senpai! Bye!" Her last words before she ran off towards the rooftop.
Aria looked back at the girl who was standing in front of her just a second ago and watched her leave. When she was finally out of sight, Aria mumbled to no one in particular. "I'll see you around, Kagamine-san." She continued on her way to the school store alone.
. . .
"Oh, Rin! There you are," the short-haired buttercup-blonde heard as a familiar, feminine voice called out to her. She finally arrived at the rooftop, and there she saw her brother Len, a girl with dark green locks, and her childhood friend Hatsune Miku. She was the one who shouted after Rin, and had long turquoise-blue hair that she almost always styled in her signature twintails. Miku was currently waving her over to their spot, and Rin followed the order.
"Geez, Rin, where the heck were you?! We were starting to get worried!"
The girl scowled at her twin, and shouted, "Well, if you were so worried, why didn't you come looking for me?!"
Miku let out a nervous chuckle, "Ehehe, that may have been my fault. You see, I saw a pretty blue butterfly flying past our bench, and I just had to catch it! I maaaay have convinced Len and Zunko to help me out."
The green-haired girl then spoke up, "Don't lie, Miku, you straight up forced us to tag along with you! And we wasted 10 minutes on a butterfly that we didn't even end up catching!" and she playfully smacked Miku on the head, causing the bluenette to clutch her head in false pain.
"Ahhh, Zunko! Are you trying to give me brain damage?! Please, not so rough," she wailed in a phony tone.
"Phhht, I think you already got brain damage, you dork," the dark-greenette retorted. As Miku and the other girl play-fought each other, Rin and Len looked on with slight amusement and awkwardness. This green-haired girl was one that we've met before, but wasn't too familiar with. Her name was Tohoko Zunko, a girl that Miku introduced us to while she was in her 1st year of high school, and has been friends with right up to her current 3rd year. The girl appeared nice enough, and she and Miku seemed to get along so well, it was kind of adorable.
"Okay, okay," Miku finally relented, "Play nice." The turquoise-haired girl turned to Rin and continued on with Len's inquiry, "but Len asked a valid question, Rin. Where have you been for so long? A whole 20 minutes of lunch break's gone by, and we didn't see you. What happened? Did a teacher call for you? Did you get lost or something?"
Rin could hear the concern in her voice, and she assured her that wasn't it. "I just accidentally ran into a girl in the hallway and we spilt our lunches. We were gonna go to the school store to buy something else, but then I remembered you guys and came up here."
"So you forgot about us!", Len was quick to interject, "And here you were getting all pissy at us!"
Rin gave her brother a glare, "Ah, shut it, banana-head! I had a good excuse! And whatever, at least I'm here now!"
Miku and Zunko watched the two siblings bicker for a little, before the latter spoke up. "Hey, Kagamine-san."
The two turned to her, "Yes?"
Zunko sweat dropped and said, "Uhm, I meant Kagamine Rin… So, you said you spilt your lunch and you didn't get the chance to buy it back, right? That means you don't have any lunch to eat."
Rin dipped her head as her bow drooped and her stomach grumbled at the reminder. "Ah, yeah. That is correct." She instantly turned to Len and placed her hands on his shoulders with a bright grin on her face and rosy cheeks. "Sooooo, Len, as your dear older sister, I'm gonna ask you to be a dear and share some of your lunch with your 'Onee-chan'," she said the last word in a cutesy drawl.
"What, why?! Can't you just go to the school store like you said you were?!" he asked in irritation. Rin glowered fiercely at him and he looked at Rin with a face of anger, before sighing in defeat. "Fiiiine, we can share. But you better not run into any more girls so I don't have to do this again."
The older girl beamed cheekily at her brother and chirped, "Thank you, my darling baby bro!" He rolled his eyes and let her feast on his food, causing Miku and Zunko to chuckle at their antics.
. . .
The time was now 3:30 pm, which meant that Crypton Academy was officially finished with regular classes for the day. After lunch, Rin and Len had Science, English and Music; all subjects they were both fairly good in (except Len with Science who rarely ever managed to break into the 80s), and Music was their especial course of excellence. The twins had been told since they were not even 3 feet tall that they were good singers. Of course, it was likely just a little white lie those days as the two could barely sing 'Ame Furi' without going way off tune. The praise they got, however, had encouraged the two to take music classes when they were a little older, and since then they had only gotten better and better. Now, Rin and Len could read music sheets and play the keyboard, guitar and flute with ease. Rin enjoyed Music so much that she was actually debating between joining this club or a sports-oriented club when the time came. After some hard deliberation (and re-watching some clips of her favourite moments in sporting history), she finally settled on choosing the latter while Len went for Kendo.
And so, she and Len, along with many other students among the 1st year level, got to filling out application sheets for the clubs they wanted to join. When finished, they handed their sheets in at the student council meeting room for them to be later distributed to club leaders. While the two walked down the relatively empty hallway and talked about how they couldn't wait for the tryout period to begin, Rin searched her skirt pocket looking for her cellphone before realizing that it was not in there. "Crap!" Her eyes widened and froze in her tracks, remembering that she had taken it out during lunch break to show Miku and Zunko some embarrassing pictures of a younger Len at a Christmas party (much to his utter dismay). "I must've put it on the bench and forgotten about it!" Len, noticing that his sister was no longer at his side, stopped and turned to look at her. "Hm? What's up?" "My phone, I think I forgot it on the rooftop," the girl answered worriedly, "I haven't used it since then, so it must be up there. I'm gonna go look for it." "I can come with you if you want." "No," Rin said, denying her brother's offer, "it's fine. I'll just be up and back down in no time. Just, wait for me outside." Not even waiting for his reply, she was already sprinting up towards the rooftop.
When she arrived at the rooftop, she located the bench that she was on a few hours before and managed to find her cellphone there, with everything still intact. Rin sighed a breath of relief and carefully placed it in the skirt pocket where it belonged. She was about to head back down to meet with Len, when she noticed another figure in the distance standing behind the railings. She took a closer look and saw that it was the girl she ran into earlier, Aria. She moved a little closer and watched the girl keenly. She was staring down over the school grounds, her long blonde hair blowing in the cool spring breeze. She seemed to hold a gaze of discontent as she looked below. Rin stood for a few seconds, pondering on whether or not she should call out to her senpai, until the girl made a face, as if she'd seen something of interest happening, and ran to the door and the other side of the rooftop and disappeared. Rin watched as she left. "Hm, I wonder what that was about…" She decided not to think about it any longer, and she went back the way she came to meet up with Len.
. . .
"No, no, no, this can't be, it can't," was the only thing running through Aria's mind as she raced down the staircase and out to the school's back garden. When she finally made it out there, her breath hitched.
Outside, she saw a stern-looking elder man with greying hair and a dark blue suit with a red-striped tie adorned with a brooch of dazzling diamond. Standing next to him was a dark-haired, far younger one as the two lightly conversed with one another as they waited. The old man caught sight of Aria, and his gaze firmed as his lips drew back into a frown. He had at last found who he was here for.
"Aria," He simply said, and began walking closer and closer to her. "No, no no no, please no," Aria's mind constantly spoke, as she backed up an inch for every foot he walked. Before she knew it, he was right in front, towering over her as she slightly quivered from his daunting presence.
"G-G-Gr-Gra-Grandfather," the small (or at least so she felt in the moment) girl stuttered out, "I wasn't expecting t-to see you here…" But that wasn't quite true. She had known that he was set to arrive in town just around this time of month. She overheard her father discussing it with Tsubame just a few weeks back, and feigned ignorance to her knowledge of the matter. She just couldn't and didn't want to believe it was true, yet here he was, right before her in all of his intimidating glory. She had met him once before as a very small child, and after that one experience he was deemed a man she had never hoped she would have to come across again in her young life.
"Yes, I didn't believe you would be. After all, I specifically asked your father to keep talk about the issue minimal," he declared as he adjusted his glasses on his face. It seems he hadn't caught her lie. "I had some important business to attend to here, after all. I'm sure you can guess what, or rather, who that 'business' pertains to."
"I suppose," Aria gulped, "that business must pertain to me, doesn't it?" He nodded, "Precisely. More specifically, it pertains to you living in this very city." Aria stayed silent, waiting for him to explain. So he did. "You see, Aria, many years ago, around 5 after your mother had disappeared, your father and I had made an agreement. When you turned 16 years old, I would take custody of you and bring you over to come live with me in Sony City."
At this, Aria's eyes widened. What did he just say? She would come and… live...with him? And this was an agreement made he made her father? And he consented? Why on earth would he agree to such a thing? She recalled a younger self running over to the man in tears, frightened cries and sorrowful tears flowing from her widened eyes. She asked him, begged him, never to allow him to have to be around her as she clutched onto his pant leg. She recalled him staring down at her in great worry. She recalled him bending down slightly to take her into his arms. She recalled how he stroked her hair gently and gave her a soft smile of reassurance. She recalled his words, "I promise you'll never have to stay alone with him. I promise." She recalled the way her fear slowly melted into happiness, and how she snuggled into his chest, feeling safe.
Why was now different? Of course, she had little reason to believe this man was telling the truth. After all, as far as she knew, he and her grandfather were never on the best of terms since her mother had up and vanished. It was something in his words, though, something tenable that made her feel as though his words were not lies. She felt her shaking body filling with grief and terror. "Wh-Why...?"
The old man raised a brow at her simple question. "Why?" he repeated, seemingly unsure if that was what she actually said.
Aria went again, "Why... Why must I come live with you?"
"Why not?" he asked in turn. "I'm sure you're enjoying your quaint little simple life here in Yamaha of waking up, going to school, returning home and going to sleep to repeat the daily cycle, but in Sony, there's so much more waiting for you. So many more opportunities, opportunities that you're hardly likely to find in a small town like Yamaha. Your father agrees with my sentiment, hence his approval."
As much as she hated it, she had to admit he was right. Life in Yamaha was incredibly repetitive for her. All she ever did was wake up from dreamless sleeps, get ready for school in a manner not unlike a machine, go to school and surround herself with people that she barely cared much for and who rarely ever took the chance to know her, leave and return home, go whatever schoolwork she had due, then get ready to go to bed and start the process all over the next day. Yamaha had a few restaurants and places of entertainment to visit, but she hardly ever went to them as they did not interest her much as they once did years ago. Meanwhile, Sony had a plethora of exciting activities and areas to do, see and explore. One could never seem to find themself tired of the city that seemed to have something new to find each day. In this regard, comparing Sony to Yamaha was like comparing a mountain to a molehill.
Yet still, she had still wanted to stay. Aside from not wishing to live with the older man, she had loved ones in Yamaha. She loved Tsubame, her maids, butlers, chefs and all deeply - just as if they were blood family. Even her father was dear to her, despite how distant the two had grown and how he allegedly was willing to send her away. She also had some precious friends, however small the number was, that she cared for. She did not have it in her heart to leave them, regardless of how big of an opportunity she may be throwing away.
Her grandfather could see the uncertainty in her eyes as she pondered, and he tsked. "Don't tell me you want to stay here and waste away when you could make more of yourself elsewhere."
Looking back up at the man, she asked, "Do I have no say in this at all?" She wanted to know if she even had a choice in living with him, or if he'd simply come to whisk her away from her life here without a moment's notice.
"Of course you do." His curt reply. "Think what you will of me, but I would never just appear unannounced just to try and take you away without your prior consent. The agreement between me and your father was mainly to ensure that I have his permission first and foremost."
Aria glanced to the ground beneath her, trying her best to take it all in without collapsing. Her legs felt as if they were about to give out at any second. She did her best to stand upright, as straight as possible. A discomforting silence passed between the two for what felt like an eternity. It was not until a clearing of someone's throat could be heard that the quiet was broken. "Pardon, sir," said the younger man, who Aria had totally forgotten was even standing there. "We should get going soon. Your meal time is quickly approaching." Aria's grandfather nodded at the younger man, and he turned back to his granddaughter.
"It seems I'll be off, then. Please, consider my offer." His last words to her before turning away with the other man, and walking away.
The weight of everything that had just occurred finally weighed on Aria, and she fell to her knees. She couldn't believe any of it. The man whom she spent her entire childhood in fear of had come to her hometown and announced an 'agreement' of sorts for her to stay with him in an entirely new city. Not only that, but this was apparently something decided on years ago with the man whom had promised to never let this sort of thing happen. Her fists clenched. She reached down into her pocket and retrieved her cellphone. Dialing a number, she let it ring a few times before the person on the other line picked up.
"Aria." The deep voice said carefully, presumably knowing her purpose for calling.
"Father, we really need to have a talk later today." She hung up, no chance for him to reply, and with not another word of her own.
Oooooh boy, what have I gotten myself into?
You know, when I first wrote this, I had stopped at the point where IA's grandfather told her she would be living with him. I honestly did not realize until rereading it, the sheer amount of words I had generated with this thing. It was over 7000! I ended up taking out a part that I deemed unnecessary to try and count down the word count a bit, and it was still tremendous. Add the fact that I added everything else after that point, and you have the result of a fairly long chapter of nearly 9000 words. I didn't cut this chapter down to half because I couldn't think of an appropriate place to do so, but I'm a bit scared that the first chapter is so long, then every one after is, like, half or less of its length.
I also feel like the way I portrayed Rin and Len as somewhat immature for their age (like they're 7 or so) gives me sort of a 2011-2014 Vocaloid fanfic kind of vibe. Usually, I'm a bit peeved when stories do this unless they are actually much younger than 14, but I felt it would fit in the theme(?) of this story. Mainly for Rin, who is usually the more childish one in contrast with her being the older of the two. Though, I don't plan to make them act like younger-than-double-digit kids, just like kids who are about a year or two from adolescence.
So anyway, that's Chapter 1. I still personally find this premise I imagined interesting, and I would really like to continue on with this, (more so than with 'Melancholic Attention', which only has one chapter out and I already feel sort of tired of it. I still plan to work on it, though, so no worries) so if you liked it, please let me know! If you think I could work on something, let me know still. Just don't be rude about it, is all I ask.
Sooo, yeah. Guess that's it for now. Later~.