Back at the school, where the sun was setting, class president Shion Kaito was hunched over his desk. He was the last to leave, as usual, but today he had Rin with him and it slowed his efficient work time down by half. Plus, he had a growing headache pounding in his temples. Kaito sighed and took a moment to rub them, elbows resting on the desk. The blonde girl tilted her head at him curiously, slipping off of the desk she was swinging her feet from.
"Are you okay?" The girl asks, frowning at the bluenette as she approached the desk. Kaito glanced up, managing a slight grin.
"Ah, yes...just stressed I believe. Almost the end of the school year, you know." He brings his hands away from his head and hums. "...I spoke to your brother today." Kaito then says softly. Rin perks up from hearing the mention of her twin, blinking a few times in surprise.
"You did?" She asks, voice quiet, curious. Rin may act oblivious and childish, but she knew Len didn't approve of her boyfriend. He never verbally brought up his distaste of Kaito, but he was obviously acting odd lately. It must be a twin-thing to know when something is just wrong with the the other. Then again, they've been like that since birth. "Is everything...okay?"
"He hates me, doesn't he?" Kaito was smiling, a small and calm smile. It made Rin shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
"K-Kaito...I can't speak for my brother." She says as she bows her head. "I would really love it...if you two would get along." Rin glanced up, and they locked eyes for a tense moment. Kaito watches her closely, and before he could reply, however, the classroom's door slid open quickly.
"Riiiin-chan~! Ready to go?" A teal-haired, twin-tailed student came bounding in, voice bubbly and bright, cutting through any tension that was in the air. "Eh? Am I interrupting something?" Student, Hatsune Miku paused and blinked, sensing the awkwardness.
"No, no," Kaito smiled politely at her, standing now. Rin stepped back from the desk, smoothing her skirt as she tried to keep herself composed. "I was just finishing up my work," he glanced at Rin and felt his smile falter a bit. Rin soon let out a giggle though, looking to Miku happily.
"Sorry for not telling you, senpai! I told Miku she could walk with us to your house today." Rin wears a sheepish grin and Miku just laughs, coming in to hug her best friend.
"Hope ya won't mind me imposing!" Miku says happily, and Kaito blinks, managing a grin.
"Ah, no...not a problem at all. You two go ahead, I'll just put all my stuff up and be right behind you." Kaito leaned over to place a kiss on Rin's forehead before the two giggling girls left the classroom.
The bluenette sighed and then leaned over to pick up his bag, closing binders to put them away. He was about done until he noticed the yellow notebook below his papers, smiling slightly at the name scrawled along the top.
"Property of Kagamine Len," Kaito read allowed, a smirk coming over his face.
...
Len and Yuuma were trudging through the tightly-packed book store, behind their green-haired, bubbly friend, Megpoid Gumi. She was enthusing over brand new manga that was, apparently, the best thing since sliced bread. The shounen manga was displayed with colorful cutouts and posters, standing proudly at the front of the store, and variously scattered throughout the bookshelves.
"Look, look, loooook!" The girl turned on her heel suddenly, finally finding the shelf which held the newly printed novels and grabbed one. Shoving the manga in Yuuma's face, Len muffled a laugh with his hand at the taller boy's comically squashed face. "Brand new from the author, CUL! She's soooo talented~" Gumi hugged the copy close as Yuuma rolled his eyes, itching his temple, pushing his beanie hat up from his forehead. "I wonder what her real name is...probably something cool!" She gushed, eyes sparkling as she flipped through the pages.
"Gumi, I don't get why you're so-ow!" Yuuma glared at Len, who sharply elbowed him in the side, glaring right back at him. The blond gave him a warning look to not upset Gumi, since the last time that happened, everything headed South...fast.
"Hm? Were you saying something?" The girl tilted her head, wearing a happy smile, her glasses falling from her head to the bridge of her nose, which she quickly adjusted back to their usual position. Yuuma blinked at her and felt his face flush a bit, looking away quickly to mumble a "never mind." Gumi didn't blink twice at it and giggled, brushing past the boy to go checkout.
Len snickered at his best friend's embarrassment, both of them following Gumi to the front of the store to buy her manga. He knew Yuuma denied constantly that he didn't like the green-haired otaku, but sometimes it was so obvious that Len had to give him grief. Yuuma glared at him again, only blushing more from frustration.
The group stepped out of the store and soon parted ways, Len heading out with Yuuma, Gumi insisting she'll be fine walking home without them, much to Yuuma's displeasure.
"She's going to get lost." The pink-haired teen muttered, bag slung over his shoulder, shirt tails tucked out for comfort's sake. It was getting hotter each day, but Yuuma never lost his trademark, gray beanie. It confused Len, but he didn't question it, for Yuuma's sake.
The pink-haired teen was already looked at as an oddity since his older sister was the famous pop-idol, Miziki. Too many kids approached him for his sister's autograph, and quickly, Yuuma got annoyed, threatening anyone to come near him. He already hospitalized a few perverts for asking for some of Miziki's panties. Even teachers were scared of what he may do, not even making him remove the beanie in class or reprimand him when he bleached and dyed his hair pink, even if it was against school uniform policy. Yuuma hated the attention, even if people were avoiding him, they still knew he was there, watching him like a wild animal. Only Len and Gumi treated him like a human being, and Len didn't see why he shouldn't be seen as anyone else but normal. It's not like Yuuma was the big idol sensation sweeping across Japan right now…
"Hey, do you want to grab something to eat?" Yuuma asks, pointing at a ramen shop. There were people bustling in and out of the little shop, mostly the workmen who got off from the night shifts. Len surveyed the crowd a little bit before shrugging.
"As long as no one steps on me, sure." The blond nods, following Yuuma to the entrance. They stepped inside and were met with the wafting smells of cooking broth and noodles. Len didn't realize how hungry he was until he saw a server walk by with a tray of ramen on her shoulder, eyeing the food like a hungry animal.
"Come in and sit down, boys," She smiles and goes to her table, long black hair swaying as she walked. Len noticed her particular cat tattoo on her arm, peaking out from her shirt when she moved, eyebrows raising in surprise. It wasn't too common to see women with large tattoos like that, nowadays. The woman noticed him staring and he blushed a bit, catching her smiling as he shuffled behind Yuuma.
Yuuma picked a booth against the wall, sliding in opposite the side of Len. The boys tucked their schoolbags underneath the seats and soon pulled out the menus waiting for them, looking them over.
"So," Yuuma began, making Len glance up at him, grinning a bit before ducking his head to look back down at his menu.
"What?"
"So what's really been going on?" Len looked up again to see Yuuma leaning forward, green eyes fixed on Len's, staring down into his very soul. The blond had to look down and clear his throat.
"...what do you mean, Yuuma?"
"You know damn well what I mean." Yuuma said firmly. Len sighed and looked up at his friend, a blank look on his face. He was the master of keep emotion off his face when pressed for answers he didn't want to give away, yet his actions tended to express what was wrong. Yuuma was determined though, brows furrowing at the deadpan stare. "You're moody, and lethargic. I haven't seen you sleep in class since grade school! Len, what is going on?"
"Nothing. Just tired from all the studying we've been doing." The blond said listlessly, looking back around the restaurant to avoid eye contact. Yuuma proves to have quite the provoking stare...Len has never had it trained on him so seriously before. It made his fingers curl into fists at his side, nails digging into his palms, feeling nervous.
Yuuma suddenly lowered his voice, leaning over to get a little closer. "Is it about your mom? I know it's close to her birthday-"
"Shut your mouth!" The boy's face suddenly contorted into a snarl, glare hard enough to cut steel. The restaurant quieted, Len's outburst louder than he expect. The blond felt his ears heat as all eyes were on him and he felt ashamed, looking down at his lap.
Quietly, the boy stood and grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder, exiting quickly. Yuuma followed after, bowing in apology to everyone in the ramen shop before chasing after his friend. Len moved fast, being in Track & Field, Yuuma proving to have a hard time keeping up to his friend's gait.
"H-hey, I'm sorry, Len! I'm just...worried about you!" Yuuma huffed after him, hands resting on his knees as he caught his breath. They were heading up a hill, near the park where some grade school students sat on benches, along with some old ladies, all chatting happily. Len stopped at the top of the hill, watching a mother and her little daughter playing underneath a few trees, a strap of his bag slipped off his shoulders as they slumped. "Len?" Yuuma caught his breath, jogging up to the blond's side.
"Mom's birthday is next week," Len said softly, looking down at his feet before glancing up at Yuuma. "You're...welcome to come with us. Lily is getting off work to spend the whole day with us, and she's even going to cook." The boy said grudgingly, itching the back of his head, fixing his bag. Yuuma's eyes widened a bit and he smiled softly.
"I'd love to." Len nodded and shuffled his feet a bit. The two continued walking down the street, soon approaching Yuuma's home, being quiet as they were both thinking.
"Sorry for...freaking out back there."
"Hm? Ah, don't be sorry. I actually have been needing to save money, so that was a blessing in disguise." Yuuma laughed, glancing over at the blond, seeing that he was still down. "But...I guess you can buy me dinner sometime, for payback. I'm still starving you know!"
Len laughed as Yuuma gripped his stomach in "pain", whimpering as he turned to his home, heading up the stairs. The blond followed close behind, a nagging feeling in the back of his head.
'I wonder...did I grab my notebook?'
