HI GUYS! :) Enjoy~
DISCLAIMER: Vocaloid don't be mine. :(
Humming to herself gently, the girl strolled contentedly in the castle's vast garden, enjoying the cool evening air. A bright smile spread across her face when she saw a cluster of golden roses; their color was so vivid that they almost seemed to glow in the fading light.
"They're beautiful, aren't they, miss?"
Looking behind her, she saw a handsome young man dressed in a simple but elegant tunic, made from the finest silk in the kingdom. Hastily, she hoisted up her ruffled skirts and sank into a deep curtsy. "You Highness…"
The teal-headed prince laughed softly, friendly eyes twinkling in amusement. His carefree yet sophisticated aura was exactly like his sister's.
"No need for such formalities! After all, we're friends, aren't we?"
Chapter 3:
Lucky Charm
Len's POV:
Ever since the unfortunate seat change, Mikuo refused to speak to me. This was something Miku thought greatly amusing and teased me about it every chance she got. However, my younger sister, Lenka, mourned over this and demanded Mikuo and I to "make up"-though, technically, the fight was one-sided in the first place-so she could continue to express her unrequited love toward him.
It was early evening; the amber sun was just starting to sink beneath the horizon, washing the sky in warm hues of pink and gold. The air had a feeling of tranquility; everything was quiet and peaceful. I was in my room, completing my homework when-
"ALLEN TSUKI KAGAMINE!" my patient, wise mother's shrill voice shrieked from downstairs. "YOU FORGOT TO DO YOUR CHORES!"
I grimaced in annoyance and quickly stood up. Whenever Mom called someone in the family by their full name, it meant that they had to do whatever she said, no matter how trivial it was. Besides Mom and Miku and Mikuo, who sometimes called me "Allen" just to annoy me, no one else had called me that since second grade.
"Do you mind, semi-intelligent feline household creature? If I don't do my chores, Mom'll kill me!" I muttered to Rui, who was curled up underneath the kitchen table. I impatiently tapped the table leg with my mop, but the stupid cat meowed in refusal, stretching her back lazily.
Rui was a lithe Bombay cat with a shiny coat of pitch black and a pair of unblinking golden eyes that seemed to be a thousand years old. She was, of course, extremely intelligent, even for a cat-I only said she was otherwise because she annoyed me sometimes. Lenka and mom always fawned over her enough, anyways. For a mere household pet, Rui always acted like she was superior to other cats.
"Onii-chan! Don't be mean to her!" Lenka suddenly appeared beside me. A few years younger than me, she was the typical annoying-little-brother-type, but slightly more feminine, since she was a girl.
"Can you get rid of her?"
Large blue eyes twinkling with a mixture of amusement and smugness, Lenka flipped her long blonde ponytail over her shoulders and took a wind-up mouse toy from nowhere. "Want this, Rui? Yes, you do! Aw, aren't you so cute? Yes, you are! Good girl!" Lenka cooed, winding the toy up and letting it scamper across the floor, which was still wet from my mopping. A few moments later, a loud thudding sound came from the other side of the house, immediately followed by, "LENKA DERI KAGAMINE!" Lenka screeched and ran for cover.
"Nyan," Rui meowed in her irritatingly high-pitched cat voice. Then, she leapt out from under the table to chase the little mouse toy. I rolled my eyes.
Huffing in annoyance, I rubbed my arm and headed to my room. While mopping the floor earlier, I stepped two inches to close to Rui's bowl (everyone had to stay at least two feet away) and the crazy semi-intelligent feline household creature went berserk and decided to attack me until I apologized. Now, thanks to the cat's uncanny ability to estimate distances, I had cuts and scratches all my arms and wrists, making me looked like a depressed person.
I opened my bedroom door, only to see Miku seated at my writing desk and casually munching on my one of my delicious bananas. It didn't surprise me at all; the Hatsune twins broke into my room-by climbing through my window like sparkling vampires-on a daily basis. (1)
"Oh! Len-kun…uh, welcome back!" Miku smiled nervously, almost choking on the fruit.
My left eye twitched in annoyance. "Ah, so Lenka gave you my stuff. What did you do for her…?"
"I babysat Rui!" the teal-haired girl replied cheerfully, not noticing that she was confusing the cat for a baby. "You're so lucky you have such an adorable cat, Len-kun! She is the cutest thing I ever-"
"Yeah, I know, right?" I leaned in closer so that I could look her in the eyes. "Would you like to adopt her?"
"Oh, look at this gorgeous pencil. Isn't it so perfect and beautiful? The way the lead shines, the warm rosiness and smooth texture of the eraser…how shiny the golden, sun-kissed wood is!" Miku held up my "perfect and beautiful" writing utensil, waving it in front of my face.
"…"
"…"
"So, is Mikuo still mad at me?" I took my homework from my desk and plopped down on the floor beside my bed.
Miku, still sitting in my comfortable, cushioned chair, looked at me reproachfully. "Len-kun, don't just change the subject so randomly!"
"Look who's talking."
The tealette smiled. She got up from her chair and sat on the floor beside me. Her long pigtails cascaded down and swept to the floor, shining softly in the dimming light streaming through the window. Scooting closer to me, Miku said, "Mikuo's just being childish, you know. He's scared of Animare-san."
I chuckled softly. "There's a reason he's in Class B, I guess."
"I think…that he's just stressed out. So am I. It's Dad. He, he's still-"
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I pulled her closer to me. Although they didn't like to talk about it much, the Hatsune twins' father had cancer, and was currently bedridden in the hospital. Since their mother had passed away at childbirth, they were forced to take care of themselves and their dad. I didn't know the details, since Miku and Mikuo rarely invited me to their home-they did have a small apartment, due to the savings their father had earned before he fell ill-but I could imagine how hard it was for them.
"Don't worry. He'll get better soon."
Miku sighed and closed her eyes slowly, cheeks turning slightly pink. She turned her head upwards and looked at me. Her face was so close that I could see tears pooling in her turquoise eyes. The warm fading light of the sunset from outside made her lashes seem longer and her lips fuller.
"Len-kun, I…I like…I really like…"
"…"
"…"
She suddenly broke eye contact with me. Quickly standing up and opening my window, she stuttered, "B-bye!" Then, Hatsune Miku jumped out and left me gaping at where she was seconds ago in the empty, silent room.
"Wha…?"
"See you at the tables, Len-kun!" Miku took off immediately after the lunch bell rang, wanting to be able to buy lunch without having to wait in a long line.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out of the classroom, making my way through the crowded halls of annoyingly slow people. My stomach growled with hunger. Brushing my bangs out of my eyes, I walked until I felt someone tap me on my shoulder.
"Hi, Kagamine-kun," Sukone Tei smiled sweetly and flipped her long silver hair over her shoulder. I could see her group of giggling, shallow-minded girls a few feet away, eying us like hawks.
"…"
"…"
"Oh, hey." I turned around and started walking again.
"Kagamine-kun!" Sukone pouted and intercepted me again. "I have something for you!"
I fought back the urge to roll my eyes. It took me some time to eat lunch, and I also had to run a few errands for lazy Mr. Al. This girl was completely wasting my time.
"Um…yeah. Okay, what is it?"
"Here's a gift for you! See you later!" Sukone thrust a small keychain with a dainty glass heart into my hand, and then headed back to her friends.
I opened my palm and looked at the charm. The heart was mostly clear but with a slight tint of crimson, like water with a swirling drop of blood in it. Wow…sometimes it unnerved me at how morbid my poetic comparisons could be sometimes.
I shrugged and stuffed it into a pocket in my bag. Maybe Lenka or Miku would like it. Although Miku, upon finding out that it was from Sukone, would probably fling it on the ground and stomp on it until it shattered into a million pieces. For some reason, the tealette had a burning hatred against the popular girl.
As I took a shortcut to the cafeteria and made my way down an empty staircase, I noticed a wrinkled white ribbon on the ground. Picking it up, I looked around and saw someone with disheveled blonde hair and lifeless eyes disappear around the corner.
After a moment of hesitation, I hurried to catch up with her. "Um, Animare-san, I think you dropped this."
She stopped abruptly and turned around, avoiding eye contact with me.
"…"
"…"
"Thank you," she murmured softly, tentatively taking the ribbon from my hand.
"No problem," I started to walk past her. "I could tell it was yours, because- "
Eyes widening, I swiveled my head around to gaze into two beautiful orbs of cerulean blue. "Thank you," Animare-san repeated, a ghost of a smile spreading across her pale face. "It's quite precious to me. Someone special gave it to me, a long time ago…His name was Allen." Then, she turned around and swiftly walked away.
Miku's POV:
By the time I finished eating, Len was not at the lunch tables yet.
"Where is that nerd? Did he die or something?" Mikuo voiced my concern, albeit lazily and rudely. He had wolfed down his lunch within seconds, and had been silent the rest of the time. Although he was acting casual, I knew he was waiting for Len so they could make up.
"I'll go look for him." I stood up and dumped my tray into the nearest trash can.
"You'll tell him to come back here, right?"
"Of course! I'll get down on my knees and plead him with my life to have mercy on you. Hopefully, I'll be able to trick him into believing the wildly-spun urban myth that you're not an idiotic, self-absorbed jerk." Then, I went to look for him, not bothering to stay and listen to Mikuo's lame comeback.
I turned a corner and saw a girl with long silver hair, who was surprisingly alone. Making a face, I hesitated, wondering if I should turn around. But Sukone Tei saw me and grinned, walking towards me and draping an overly-perfumed arm over my shoulder.
"Miku-chan, sweetie, how nice to see you!"
"…"
"If you're wondering where Kagamine-kun is, he's probably searching for me! After all, the blonde heartthrob is, like, the love of my life!" Sukone batted her eyelashes and flashed a blindingly white smile. If my looks and social skills matched hers, would Len and I be together by now?
"Really? Well, I'll make sure to tell him that next time I see him," I replied stiffly.
"Look! I gave him this lucky charm earlier, but he, like, dropped it. Maybe he's, like, looking for it now."
Reluctantly, I looked where the girl was pointing and saw a heart shaped glass charm. It was extremely pretty, I grudgingly admitted to myself, with its slightly tinted rosy hue and shiny texture. Not having a single scratch or blemish on it, the key chain appeared to be flawless.
"Can I ask you to give it to him, sweetie?" Sukone tilted her head and smiled at me.
Her expression looked genuinely friendly for once. Perhaps I was wrong about her; she just had a slightly airhead attitude and tendency to call people 'sweetie' sometimes, but maybe she was actually a nice person. Then, I blinked rapidly and suddenly, I became so dizzy for a moment that I almost collapsed. The odd feeling disappeared as quickly as it came; apparently, Sukone didn't notice.
"Sure, see you later in class."
As I walked down another hallway, I suddenly spotted a boy with a blonde ponytail talking to a girl who was holding a white ribbon. "Ah, there he is!"
Just as I was about to call to him, someone else smacked into me. Hard.
"Oh, look who it is! Hatsune Miku, the nerdy goody two shoes of Class A!"
I glared upward at Shion Kaito. He was much taller than me and surrounded by a herd of chattering, mindless girls, but I didn't care. There was nothing more I wanted to do then punch that stupid chiseled jaw, that dazzlingly smirk, that carefree windblown blue hair, and the annoyingly mesmerizing dark eyes. Shion was even worse than Sukone.
"Oh, so you're angry, huh?" the disgusting player leaned in closer to me. His breath smelled like a mixture of vanilla and chocolate. "You wanna go out with me?"
"…"
"…"
"Ugh!" I shoved him violently in the chest, feeling inwardly satisfied when I heard him grunt in pain. "You stupid, ice cream-addicted PERVERT! I hate you!" Every single fan girl of his gasped in shock and horror at my sudden outburst.
I ignored them and ran away, only stopping when I finally caught up with Len-kun, who was alone now and almost to the cafeteria. He fixed me with a look of confusion, golden bangs sweeping casually into his face. "Did you hear that commotion? I think I heard two people arguing about nerdy goody two shoes and ice cream-addicted perverts…?"
Feeling heat rise to my cheeks, I pursed my lips and tried to stop the light pink spreading across my face. "Nope, no idea what that was about. Anyway, let's head to the lunch tables. Mikuo wants to tell you something."
Mikuo's POV:
"Hey," Len nodded to me coolly. Like me, he had wolfed down his whole meal in just two minutes, and now he was sitting across from me. Miku awkwardly hovered over both of us, as if preparing to flee if something exploded. Maybe it was because both of us ate too quickly.
"Don't you have something to say to me?" the boy continued, frostiness evident in his voice.
"…"
"…"
"Um, um…it's a beautiful day, isn't it? And we still have plenty of time before lunch break ends! Cool, right? By the way, sorry for ignoring, you, man. Since there's so much time left, we could, um, go and annoy Big Al or something!" I blurted out as quickly as I could.
Len raised his eyebrows, hostility radiating outwards from him, making him look like a cartoon villain or something. Miku anxiously started chewing on her nails. She did that a lot.
"…"
"…"
"Yeah, sure! I have to run an errand for him, anyway! We could take the chance and prank him!" He blew his bangs out of his eyes and playfully slapped me on the back, grinning.
"You know what?" Miku stood up and slammed her clenched fists down onto the table, causing Len and me to jump. "You guys are idiots! IDIOTS, YOU HEAR ME?! I was so scared; I thought you were going to start killing each other or something!"
"I know, right?" I said sarcastically. Len laughed.
Stretching lazily, I sighed. "Stupid Big Al."
Miku sucked on a paper cut on her thumb. "We didn't mean any harm; it was just a harmless prank! But he just had to go and throw a pile of algebra homework at us!"
It was the end of lunch, and we were in walking in a hallway, heading to class. Of course, since I was too stupid to be in Len and Miku's class, I would be parting ways with them. Everyone must have left already; there was no one else in sight.
"Pfft," Len tried and failed to hold in a laugh. Simultaneously, Miku and I turned to him and yelled, "And you didn't even try to help us!"
He rolled his eyes. "I was about to take out my phone and record it. After all, aren't twins supposed to be the best pranksters?"
"It was your idea in the first place, man!"
As Len and Miku laughed, a flash of silver appeared in the corner of my eye before disappearing. My head snapped towards Len. "Um…Len, what's that on your throat?"
The carefree atmosphere disappeared instantly. With trembling hands, the boy pulled down his collar, revealing a winding thin cut that circled around his entire neck. My eyes widened as I realized that the impossible was happening: it was moving. Like a crimson snake, the cut writhed and swirled as it grew deeper. Len collapsed on the floor, face turning blue. Miku gasped in horror.
As if time had slowed down, I looked over Len's shoulder and nearly screamed. A girl with blonde hair and a white bow lifted her eyes off of Len, eyed me curiously, and then walked away.
Suddenly, everything was normal again. The strange mark on Len's neck disappeared and he shakily stood up.
"Len-kun! A-are you alright? W-we should take you to the n-nurse!" My sister stuttered nervously, chewing on her nails again.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Len said, still slightly paler than usual.
"You know…when you almost got strangled by a magic winding snake on your neck just a few moments ago." I winced even before the words were out; they sounded so stupid, even for me. Had I just imagined it?
"…"
"…"
"We should get to class. See you later, Mikuo," Len tapped the watch on his wrist and made his way towards his classroom, leaving us in the hallway.
Miku and I exchanged worried glances.
"Did you see it? Was it just me, or did the cut actually move?"
"…Animare was right behind him. Staring at him. Muttering something under her breath, like an incantation."
"What if that girl cursed him?!"
"It couldn't be, right?"
Bending down to scoop up the shattered "lucky" charm, the cerulean-eyed girl held it gingerly, as if it had poison on it.
"Ah, I see," a voice whispered tauntingly from behind the girl. "Clever, so clever of you, Rillianna. Couldn't let your precious Allen die just because of some silly cursed object I sent him?"
Clenching her fist, the girl gritted her teeth. Then, she whipped around and fled from her silver-haired tormentor.
(1) Twilight reference, anyone? XD
Okaay...that was definitely the longest chapter I've ever written. DX Sorry if it's bad. BTW, I've decided to stop using the previews. It's the reason writing this was so hard.
PLEASE REVIEW, EVERYONE! Review review review and good things will happen! :) In the meantime, I'll go and work on Memories and The Snow Fairy. *Gah, both of them require fighting scenes* If you don't want to review because this is bad, at least review to give me tips on how to write action, 'kay? :3
Please review, everyone, and stay tuned for Chapter 4! Thank you!
~Rikasa
