Chapter 2

Enjoy~

Len did not exactly remember falling asleep, so a fresh blast of icy shock ran through him when he heard his alarm clock, screeching just centimeters from his ears. Blindly- impulsively -he swung his arm out and accidentally smacked the clock from the stand, flinging it to the other side of the room where it crashed against the wall. He flinched at the echoing thump and got up hurriedly, making a wide arc around Rinto's bed as he hurried to retrieve his clock.

Rinto.

A shiver snuck down his back as he remembered his grouchy, unfriendly roommate, and he looked warily to the side, half-expecting a battle roar.

There was a little snore.

Len sighed in deep relief and crept back to his side of the room. Deciding not to turn on the lights, Len quickly dressed in his new uniform, freshened his face with a bit of water and hurried out of the dorm with half of his hair in a sloppy ponytail. He closed the door gently and locked it.

"You look suspicious," Kaito greeted from behind. "Everything okay?"

Len jolted a little and turned around. "I-I threw my alarm at Rinto's wall. I thought he was going to wake up."

"And you're still alive?"

"He didn't move."

Kaito laughed, slapped his back, and congratulated him. "You survived the morning!"

"Have you ever woken him up for school?"

"Once, on the first day of the school," Kaito grimaced a bit, rubbing his neck. "He broke my nose."

Len blanched. "You're lying."

"I still have the scar," Kaito leaned down, showing the small white mark on the side of his nose. "I think he punched me, but he tore off a chunk of skin with his nail."

Note to self: avoid waking him at all costs.

"So," Kaito swung an arm around Len. "Hungry?"

"Starving."

Thirty minutes later, Len was in his first period, math, and staring at the worksheet that had been placed in front of him, trying not to shrink at the whispers around him. As expected, they did not get new students very often and especially not many stupid ones.

Len was as good as a normal high school student at most; academically wise, he was not too sharp.

"Can you answer this question, Len?" Mr. Hiyama tapped the board gently. Len peeked at it and swallowed down his embarrassment. He shook his head shamefully. "I see. Well, then, I recommend coming in during the weekends for supplementary lessons." The class chuckled sympathetically and Hiyama, trying not to make things worse, shushed them and forced them back to their assignment.

Len looked down blankly, remembering all over again about not wanting to go to a rich school.

The teacher walked to the board, looking as if he might be writing something, but a loud patter of feet approached and slammed open the door before he could do anything. Len jolted, being the closest one to the door, and felt a burst of air blow in his face.

Rinto had finally arrived, panting heavily, but awake and lively nonetheless.

"I'm here!" he let out a breath and looked down at Len. He nodded in some sort of greeting.

"Tardy again, Rinto."

The boy turned around sharply. "I am earlier than usual!"

"You're supposed to be in your seat by the bell."

"But I'm your favorite student in the midst of these ding-dongs," Rinto motioned the room, earning a few boos of disapproval. "Look at the time! Five minutes before eight—a record, if I do say so myself."

"Late is late," the teacher dismissed him with a hand. "Go sit down, Rinto, before I have to get someone to do it for me."

"Spoil sport," he shuffled to his desk, looking sour and Len could not help but to give him an apologetic glance.

"Len Kagamine," Mr. Hiyama turned to the newest student, causing him to jolt. "You're also Rinto's roommate, right? Why did you not wake him up with you?"

Len straightened, his neck feeling hot, but Rinto spoke up again, saving him. "Because he valued his life."

"Regardless, he should have alerted you."

"Regardless?" Another student scoffed. "Have you ever been in the dorms in the morning? Rinto waking up is like listening to a behemoth giving birth."

"Amen."

Said birthed behemoth waved at the boy behind him and gave him a high-five. "Thanks Dell."

The class laughed in agreement and Hiyama knew he had been overruled. He shook his head in exasperation and seemed to mouth a prayer before turning back to the board, resuming his lesson.

For the rest of the period, it was quite obvious that the teacher was picking on Rinto, though it did not seem to affect the student at all. He answered each and every question easily, sometimes only waiting a few seconds before solving an equation that Len had just written down.

"I'm not just good at math," Rinto boasted as they were leaving the class. "I'm a genius."

"With a rotten ego," Mr. Hiyama commented as they passed. The students who heard it snorted loudly. Rinto whirled on them.

"Am I lying?"

Len laughed and they walked back to their dorm. "Sorry about not waking you up, by the way."

Rinto opened the door, giving him a look. "I told you not to wake me up," he waved his hand airily. "Did Kaito tell you about how I bruised his nose?"

Len nodded hesitantly. "He said you broke it."

"Not even, I just slapped him and he bled a little," Rinto pushed on the door and it opened. "Get your English book. It's the green one."

"All of these are green," Len grumbled under his breath, but took out the right one anyway.

"Olive green," Rinto picked up his own. "Come on, let's get to mess hall. I'm starving and we've got time for a light sandwich."

In his next few classes, Rinto displayed consistent mastery in every class. In between lessons, he wisely taught Len how to kiss up to his various teachers; Kamui, English, liked a lot of flattery; Leon, History, liked good jokes; IA, one of the two female teachers on campus as well as their Bio teacher, liked to talk about genetic engineering. Occasionally, Rinto also helped Len with their classwork, taking over questions that Len couldn't answer or creating a good distraction to relieve Len of the pressure.

"He's friendlier than he appears," Kaito explained in fifth period, which was also P.E. "I know it's weird seeing him help people, but he does have a heart, black as it may be."

"You told me he was good at school, but," Len looked behind him. "He's a lot smarter than I thought."

"Isn't he though?" the blue turned around and jogged backwards. "Sucks at sports, though."

Sure enough, Rinto was far behind them, panting heatedly. They were only on their second lap with two more to go, and already the short blond looked as if he might pass out.

"That's ironic," Len murmured. Kaito tilted his head.

"How so?"

"Never mind."

From back at the bleachers, Coach Al cupped his hands and bellowed across the field. "Ka-ga-mi! Pick it up!"

Len heard the long expletive that Rinto spat and saw him trying to catch up, though it was obvious the boy was not going to get far.

"Hurry, Len!" Kaito, before he had realized it, was already a length ahead of him, still pacing backwards smugly. He caught up and looked back sympathetically.

"Is he okay?"

"Who? Rinto?" Kaito nodded. "Yeah, yeah. He'll be cool. We do this every day. You should have seen him in the beginning of the year…"

After their run had finished, Rinto finally came limping into the rest of the class, his face flushed red.

"You okay, Kagami?" The coach asked in that deep, resounding voice of his. "Need a break?"

"Bite me," the boy panted and straightened his back, combing back his sweaty hair proudly. He walked over to Kaito and Len who were near the water fountain and collapsed, swallowing the water in gulps.

"You'll throw up," Len warned but he shrugged uncaringly, drinking to his fill. He tilted his head back and sighed.

"God, I need a shower," Rinto commented and sneezed, a stray wind blowing in his face. "It's still winter and we're running and it's hot and freaking cold."

"Ooh, we're playing soccer today!" Kaito chirped, slapping Rinto's already bent over back.

"Dammit."

The large class moved onto the grassy field, which was so carefully trimmed, and seemed to form two teams automatically. To save him from the awkwardness, Kaito pulled Len to his side, sticking out his tongue at Rinto who stayed with the other team.

Coach Al said something about a fair game, evening out the teams a bit, and then stepped back. "Ready?"

Kaito grinned at Rinto. "Wanna bet on the winner?"

The blond sneered. "Sure. Five bucks says that you'll sweep my team clean."

Coach's whistle started the game and immediately, Kaito took the ball from the opposite side. Deliberately, he made a wide circle and then stopped in front of Rinto who swore.

"Are you mocking me?" he growled, getting into a defensive position.

Kaito smiled and shuffled the ball teasingly. "I need to get my revenge on you somehow." He kicked, feinted, and turned so fast that Rinto lost his footing, landing rather painfully on his back. The whole field laughed as he groaned, allowing Kaito to prance by him triumphantly. Len walked closer and helped him up.

"If he ever says that I never let him beat me, you will be my witness," Rinto hit Len's back in some form of gratefulness and turned to the game. Yet, no matter how many times he tried, Kaito was simply too good at the sport, in fact, he trumped every opponent with the same ease as he had with Rinto.

In short, Rinto's team lost four-to-one; three of those shots from Kaito alone.

"You know why?" Rinto coughed as they returned to their dorms, shivering in the cold, even though he was sweating through his shirt. "He's here on a scholarship for athletics. He is naturally gifted in the art of balls."

Len laughed and opened the door for the both of them. "I don't know anyone who bought their way in here then."

"Ha! That's because you know only the two of us," Rinto grabbed some fresh new clothes and entered the bathroom. "And trust me, the ones who have the money to buy into here are the snobbiest bastards you'll ever meet."

Once they had both showered, they walked to lunch together, meeting up with Kaito who was already eating at a table.

"Len, why are you walking with the loser," Kaito jeered. "He'll rub off on you. He's such an influential brat."

"Shut up," Rinto snapped, although it seemed to be generally more light-hearted than usual. "Anyhow, where's my money? I bet on that outcome."

"You said 'sweep clean' and yet, your team scored a point on me," Kaito pointed out. "That's not a clean win."

"Oh, okay, let's just ignore the four goals you played on us consecutively then."

Len took careful note of that. Rinto's mood was significantly better after showers. He decided it was safe to butt in. "But Kaito was the one defending the goal when you guys scored on us, so you did beat him once."

"Not you too!"

They continued to bicker, pointing fingers and forks at each other, tracing numbers on the table. Kaito had his wallet out and at some point, looked like he was actually going to give up his money.

That is, until someone passed by and tipped over Rinto's tray.

The movement was casual enough, and if the offender had not stepped all over the fallen food, Len would have thought it was an accident. Their conversation stopped and Rinto stood up abruptly and once he took a good look at the person who did so, his voice grew cold.

"Get out," there was no demand for an explanation or a reason. Len took a glance at the culprit; a tall, sneering green-haired student.

"Sorry," the boy drawled, kicking the tray away with his heel. "I thought I saw a roach. Just you." Rinto stepped closer, deliberately kicking food onto the culprit's jeans.

"Oh look at that," the blond simpered. "Is that a stain on Monsieur Megpoid's silken pants? Oh, I am so sorry!"

Kaito put himself between them, towering over them. At this, Len stood up too, realizing that this was no joke between friends.

"Back up, Gumo," Kaito told the both of them, putting a heavy hand on Rinto's shoulder. Gumo crowed.

"Aw, do you still need your boyfriend to clean your messes?" he sneered. "Can't do anything without him kissing your boos-boos?"

Kaito glared down at him, using his height to lean over Gumo. "Back up."

"Ooh, sorry, Mother," Gumo whined throwing his hands up mockingly. He sneered. "Blue-haired freak. Sit down; you'll trip on yourself." He turned and caught Len glaring at him. He whistled. "Hey, hey. You're that new guy right?" He shoved Rinto as if they were friends. The blond made a movement as if he was going to punch him, but Kaito's grip on his shoulder tightened. "Sucks for you. You're only sleeping with the gayest guy in Yamaha. He'll sniff your old clothes and-"

"Back up," Kaito repeated. Gumo looked at him in disgust and sniffed. Still, even he must have been intimidated because he stepped back slowly.

"Fine, fine," he gave Len one more good look and then walked towards the lunch line, dusting his hands as if he had just finished working.

"Let go of me," Rinto shrugged off Kaito's hand roughly, muttering a long list of choice words and phrases. Len noticed that, unlike when he was angry at Kaito, there saw no passion in his eyes.

This was just cold hate.

"Who was that?" Len asked, looking at Kaito who had gone silent.

"Gumo Megpoid," he grunted. "He was cool when we first met him-."

"-And then he turned into the world's biggest-," Rinto finished furiously. "Look at this! I hardly started to eat!"

Len also noticed that the boys around them had gone very quiet, glancing at the three of them every so often. Kaito must have seen this too, because he quickly dragged both Rinto and Len out of the mess hall.

"You know what would help, Megpoid?" Rinto continued angrily. "A good kick to the head."

"Don't," Kaito warned. "You'll be expelled on the spot."

"Worth it," Rinto growled. "If I ever want out of this school, that's the way I'm going to do it."

Since none of them had an appetite any longer, they all decided to break to their own dorms. Kaito dropped off the two blondes, giving them a shoulder pat each and then walked further down to his own room.

"I-I need to go to orchestra," Len grabbed his violin case. "I'll be back at four." Rinto brushed past him, acknowledging his words with a flick of his hand and dragged his textbooks to his desk. Seeing that he was not going to get a friendly send-off, Len hurried back out, keeping a wary eye for Gumo Megpoid.

He honestly did not think bullies existed in such a school, and just his luck, he meets one on his first day. Len blamed Rinto, and then shook his head to clear the thought. It didn't matter who he hung out with, he'd have met Gumo one way or another, right?

He hurried out of the dorms, trying to focus on finding the concert hall instead.

It was yet another building on campus, a large, dynamic stage with rows and rows of seats and stairs. Len had entered from the back entrance, and stood breathless in wonder. Several students were already seated in their chairs, tuning their instruments in time with the concertmaster, their ears straining against the sounds of the other instruments. One of them noticed Len lingering in the back.

"Luka!"

Len swallowed nervously as a tall, well-matured older woman raise her head from the piano.

Luka was the second female instructor on campus, and according to Rinto, one of the scariest music teachers he's ever known. She was dedicated to her expertise too; she not only was the maestro for orchestra, but she also led band, guitar and choir- all the music programs the school had to offer.

"Len Kagamine?" she asked and beckoned him closer. "Huh. What's that, 'mirror sound'? Hopefully you'll be able to do more than that. Set up here. I'll bring a piece for you to play. I want to hear what this transfer student is all about."

She forced him down on one of the outlying seats and had one of the boys set up a stand for him as he carefully took out his instrument.

"It's just a placement test," one of them assured him. "She just wants to know what Chair to put you in."

He nodded thankfully, his hands shaking as he set his tuner and tweaked with his strings. He had only just begun to rosin his bow when Luka came back with several scores of music. She set them up in front of him. "Play when I cue you."

Len hurriedly put his case away and sat a little straighter in his chair, re-adjusting the stand for moral support.

"Everyone, please," Luka silenced the class with a few lilting motions of her baton. She turned to Len. "Ready? One, two and-."

For a second, the notes swam around his eyes and floated in his mind. Desperately, he fought to unlock his fingers, as they were clamped around the neck of his violin, and gently played the first few notes of the piece. He stared at the paper, listening more to his panic and anxiety than the actual song and he knew that he was messing up.

Nevertheless, he played and he did not stop. He skipped over mistakes, trying to pretend as if they didn't happen, and emphasized his dynamics, hoping that they would not hear his roaring heartbeat. He was halfway in when he realized that he already knew how to play the piece, and maybe that was why he had yet to collapse, and that he actually liked the song. He forced himself to calm down and shifted his neck so that his cheek was lying on the chin rest. It was bad posture, but it was habit and he played a lot better when he was in habit.

When he finished, he was given a light, polite applause from the class and when he looked at Luka, she was giving him a small but evident smile.

"You could use improvement," she said, taking back the score. "But it is a rather difficult piece to play. Fourth chair, first violin, right next to Honne. Come on." Len got up, relieved and elated to have gotten a good seat. He sat down, jumping when the boy next to him clapped his shoulder.

"Dell!" he greeted. "H-hey."

"I didn't know you were in orchestra, and a violinist, no less," the silver haired boy patted his back. "Nice playing!"

"Thanks," Len quickly took a survey of the rest of the boys around him. "I was so nervous though."

"Oh yeah, we could tell," Dell laughed. "You looked ready to piss yourself at the beginning."

Len felt his collar flush. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"It's fine, everyone gets like that," he signaled Len to straighten his back. "Brace yourself though. If you don't practice, you are going to lose your chair within a week. First violin competition is rough."

"Alright, alright, introductions are over," Luka pinned down the two with a stare. "We're starting our warm-ups. You have a lot of catching up to do, Len, so I expect good things from you."

"Y-yes."

Choir was not so different either. He was made to sing until his voice nearly broke, stretching to notes so high he didn't think they could be written down.

"I'm impressed," Luka told him as she made him join the tenors. "You'd make a good female soprano, as well. They say you play guitar as well?"

"A little," Len admitted sheepishly.

"Good, good, looks like you're more than your name says you are after all."

After choir practice, Len stayed on the stage for just a while longer, staring at the seats and the shadows that sat on them. He looked up at how high they went and then looked at the lights that illuminated the stage.

He decided not to go back to the dorms just yet. It was only four o'clock and chances are, Rinto would still be studying or pacing frustratingly in their room. Len had to practice music anyway. He seriously doubted that Rinto would enjoy listening to his chicken scratch screeching as he tried to make sense of the score.

"Hm, you're lucky today," Luka replied to him when he asked her if he could stay for another hour or so. "Band is practicing out in the field. So, just for today. Leave whenever you want, we never lock the back door. Good luck." She took her baton and purse and then marched out of the back briskly, leaving Len to sit down in one of the middle rows.

As he practiced, he slowly recapped his entire first day at Yamaha. In all honesty, he had pictured this day to be a lot less eventful, to be a bit more monochrome. He did not expect being pushed around by a shorter, aggressive roommate or a tall, athletic sophomore. Not even Piko had approached him so suddenly, it took them months of being stuck together with a conjoined desk for them to start talking. It took them two years to become close friends.

Len was not sure if he liked the change.

Rinto and Kaito both were too lively, too uncontrollable, and too unpredictable. Len never had too many friends, but all of them combined could not amount to the excitement or openness the two of them have exposed him to in a single day.

Unconsciously, he began to play one of his favorite songs, one that he knew by heart. His cheek settled on his rest and his bow hand angled strangely, but that was how he played. Soft notes rose like clouds and when the dynamic shifted, they shook to the floor harder than hail. His voice hummed right along with it, his fingers cramping and loosening all too quickly and his shoulder was getting sore from the awkward position, but oh the grace and beauty of the way he played that he would never see.

But Rinto saw it, and he was in awe.

"Who knew that I would ever know someone as talented as you," he made Len jump two feet into the air and onto his feet. He laughed as he walked over. "Whoops. Forgot to knock."

"Rinto," Len hurried to put his violin away, feeling a sudden sense of guilt. "What are you doing here?"

"Good question," the blond put a hand on his hip. "My good-for-nothing roommate told me he was going to come back at four. I come back from Mock Trial and golly! It's five ten." Len flinched apologetically.

"I thought you were studying," Len blurted. "I didn't want to bother you so-"

"Ha! If you played like that, it wouldn't be bothering me," Rinto waved his hand and shook his head, showing that he was not mad. "You can practice in our room, you know? I'm not going to kick you out if you make some noises. In fact, it'd be good if you made more of a presence, I keep forgetting that I have roommate."

Len could not help from smiling a little at the praise, "you just happened to hear a song I'm good at."

"Obviously. But if you can play like that, then your worst pieces can't be too bad," he shrugged. "I don't know what Kaito's been feeding you, but I'm not going to punch you every time something pisses me off. You wouldn't last an hour if I did."

"It's not that," Len said hastily. Rinto rose a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Don't think I haven't noticed how you cringe when you look at me," he teased. "It helps my ego, but I won't actually kill you."

"I don't-." Len stopped and then turned away in embarrassment. Rinto grinned.

"Yeah, you do. I don't mind it, but you might want to fix that." he looked outside. "Come on, it's getting dark and my stomach is just about ready to collapse. Are you ready?"

"Huh?" Len, dazed and surprised by the sudden kindness Rinto was exerting, could only nod. "Uh, yeah, yeah! Sorry, let's go."

"Also, before I forget," Rinto reached into his pocket and took out Len's cell phone. It was vibrating like mad. "Someone's been calling you since four-thirty and for whatever reason he has not stopped so that's why I came looking for you."

"Since four? ...You didn't have to…" Len took it hesitantly and looked at the caller I.D. He paled.

"Who's it? Your mom?"

"No, I wish," Len pretended not to see Rinto's curious face and pressed the phone against his ear.

"Len! Len! Len! Oh God, Len! You're alive!" Piko sobbed loudly from the other end, sounding like he had his face stuck in a pillow. "Are you alright? Are you sure? Oh my poor baby Len-Len."

Rinto snickered, being able to hear the screams from the phone and Len hung up quickly, his ears burning red.

"Len-Len?" Rinto nudged him with his elbow. "Who was that, poor baby Len-Len?"

"Don't," Len stressed. "Please."

"Too late," he smirked. "You better call back your friend, he seems to be really worried about you, Len-Len."

"Shut up," his phone rang again and he picked it up again, talking quickly. "Piko, stop. Please. Just-what do you want?"

"Excuse me," the boy sniffed on the other end. "I am worried sick about my good friend who was shipped off to no-woman's-land, is that so wrong?"

"Be quiet!" Len threw another embarrassed glance at Rinto before hissing at his phone. "What is it?"

"Fine then," Piko huffed. "I just called to tell you I'm going to be visiting you on Sunday."

"I don't-wait," Len stopped walking. "You're visiting?"

"Yeah! You better get ready and pucker your lips 'cause I'm going to want to see everything."

Rinto stifled another fit of laughter, and Len turned away from him pointedly, scowling. "Stay home, Piko."

"Your parents agreed to take me and everything. Isn't that great?" Piko sighed and swooned. "You're treating me to lunch too, right? They serve meals on Sunday, right? How's the food? Is it good? I told you it would be! You can't get anything past my nose-."

Len hung up again, feeling as if he might explode from humiliation.

"Hey! Don't let me get in the way of your lover's reunion!" Rinto said with his hands up innocently. "Tell him that we have a nice sweeping field for you two to enjoy a picnic together."

"Oh no, please," Len groaned. "The last thing I need is for Piko to find out another way to make my life ten times harder."

"But wouldn't thatbe just so cute?"

"No," Len pushed past him. "Leave me alone."

"Ho, ho, so you do have other moods other than 'fear' and 'shy'," Rinto whistled.

"This is different!"

Len's phone rang once more and Rinto elbowed him, laughing at his frustrated expression. To add to his luck, Kaito walked over to them, looking very curious.

"What's up?" he greeted, looking between the slightly annoyed Len and the gleeful, grinning Rinto. He gave a bewildered look. "Rinto… Who did you kill?"

"I am going to ignore you and jump into something good," Rinto pointed at Len's phone. "Len has a boyfriend and he's coming on Sunday and-."

"No!"

Rinto continued anyway, "We need to set up a picnic for them on the soccer field."

"Shut up!" Len snapped, flushed. He tried to get out of Kaito's inquiring reach and frantically picked up his phone. "Piko, Piko, please, stop."

"Music buggy's got bite," he heard Rinto whoop.

Kaito, very curious, leaned over Rinto and put his head close to Len's. "Piko? Who's Piko?"

"Who's that?" Piko asked. "Friends? Already? Without me?"

"Quiet, guys-," Len pleaded, but Kaito swung an arm around him and leaned in so he could listen to the phone.

"Hello?" Kaito greeted curiously, completely undeterred by Len's struggling.

"Hell-Wait-Huh?" Piko wailed loudly. "Len! Have you replaced me already?"

"Get off-," Len, sinking at Kaito's weight, held the phone at arm's length. "Please-just-."

Rinto, seeing his chance, snatched the phone from Len's grasp, grinning mischievously as he held it to his own ear. "Good evening, Sir, how do you do?"

Len's jaw dropped. Kaito laughed, keeping Len from getting near Rinto who was having a very animated chat with Piko.

"Hm? Oh yes, yes, what is it? Reservation for two?" he asked in a stuffy, heavily accented voice. "We offer a grassy field during the afternoon and a quiet, warm dining area in the evening."

The harassment continued for a good ten minutes, ending with Rinto chatting and laughing amiably with Piko. Len, who had sat down on the grass in defeat, looked up irritably once he heard his phone shut off.

"Done now?" Len asked dryly. "Now that you have successfully invaded and ruined my personal life?"

"We're roomies, personal lives don't exist here," Rinto snorted, tossing him his cell. "Weird guy, that Piko. Sounds a lot like Kaito."

"That's not fair!" Kaito whined. "I didn't get to talk to him."

"He's coming on Sunday," Rinto shushed and held out a hand at Len. "Hey, you mad at me now?"

Len glared at him in reply, but took the hand and let himself be hauled upwards. "I hope you know what you just did."

"Nothing you can't repay," Rinto snorted. "You're not only one who gets embarrassing Sunday visits."

Kaito tugged Len closer and whispered in his ears, "Rinto has this beautiful older sister and I mean, her chest is-."

"Kaito!"

Woot! Woot! Thanks guys, hope to see you next chapter!

Mush Luvve

~asianchibi