Chapter 5: Psychology

"So... What do you study?" Rin found herself asking Oliver one night after the rest of her siblings had gone to a nearby party. She would've gone along with them, but upon noticing that Oliver seemed uncomfortable with the idea, Rin decided it wouldn't hurt to stay behind and get to know the Brit. Maybe she'll even get to know the story behind the white medical eyepatch...

"Well, I would actually like to pursue a career in voice acting, so I'm in the same department as your brother," Oliver answered calmly. He was happy that Rin had not only seen his uncertainty (high volumes didn't really mix well with him, especially when it was electronic music), but was also at least giving him a chance. It was refreshing, to say the least. "And, in case that doesn't work out, I'm majoring in psychology and biology."

"Psychology?" Rin inquired, "Isn't that the study of...um...y'know...the deep stuff?"

It was silent for a second before Oliver laughed. Soon, Rin couldn't help but want to laugh as well. The deep stuff? She couldn't come up with a smarter answer?

Oliver, however, was laughing for a completely different reason. "Th-That's the same thing Yohio said when I told him!" He giggled a bit more before he composed himself and smiled at Rin. "Guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, huh? Psychology is actually the study of the human mind and its behavior. But I understand why you would get the two confused."

Rin let out a few more giggles of amusement before asking, "Why voice acting?"

"Well-"

"Rin!" an exhausted voice rang out, and both Rin and Oliver looked up to see Yohio. "Is it true?"

Before Rin could even ask why Yohio was still in the house, another sibling made his presence known, this time with a small hint of annoyance. "Of course it's true! Why would I lie about something like this?"

It was Rinto who walked into the room then, his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. Yohio took a seat next between Rin and Oliver before facing his sister with a worried expression on his usually happy exterior. "You've been talking to strangers on the internet? Really, Rin, have you learned nothing from-"

"Don't you dare," Rinto growled defensively before he sat down on Rin's right.

It took only a minute for Rin to figure out what it was her brothers were talking about, and when she did, she wasn't happy. "Len isn't a stranger! He's actually really nice, mind you!"

"So it's a guy," Yohio mutters absentmindedly, causing Rin to frown at her brother's overprotection. "Do you know his full name?"

"Len Kagamine."

"Age?"

"He's a couple months older, I think."

"Have you face-chatted?"

"Of course we have!" Rin snapped. "I'm not an idiot! Rinto might've made a mistake-"

"Oi!"

"-but that doesn't mean I will. Len's safe, I promise you." At this point, Rin had her arms crossed over her stomach with a small pout on her lips. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Yohio. I can take care of myself."

Yohio still didn't seem too convinced. What happened to Rinto was entirely too heartbreaking to witness, and he didn't want the same thing to happen to his dear little sister. He didn't mean to be so pushy, but the need to protect her was just overwhelming! And Rin was so innocent, too. Not to mention... At that thought, Yohio gave Rin a knowing smile as he asked, "Does Mikuo know?"

The eldest Hibiki got his answer the moment Rin's shoulders rose with tension. "A-Ah... I, um..."

"Aha! If it isn't such a big deal, why should Mikuo be kept in the dark, hmm?"

Rin was quite honestly at a lost for words. Why hadn't she told Mikuo about this? He was her boyfriend, for Pete's sake! A relationship can't be founded with secrecy, unless you wanted the untimely end. And an end was something Rin defintely didn't want with Mikuo.

"I'll tell him tomorrow when we meet again," Rin declared. But that wasnt enough for Yohio.

"Why wait? Tell him now." He waved Rin's phone in front of her face, almost as if silently betting that she couldn't do it. This infuriated Rin, but she refused to show it. Instead, she simply smiled and took her phone back with smooth precision.

"Fine. I will."

A middle-aged women looked away from her computer to see a young youth waiting by her desk. She smiled at him as she finished typing out a few things before focusing her attention solely on him. "Good morning, sir. May I help you?"

Mikuo smiled politely at the woman as he brought the small box in his hands up to his chest. "Yes, I'm here to see Hatsune Miku."

"Hatsune..." the receptionist mumbled subconcsiously as she scrolled through her computer once again. After about two minutes, the lady turned back towards Mikuo and gave him a clipboard with a couple papers and a pen stuck to it. Mikuo gently took the items from her hold as she said, "Please sign in. Miku Hatsune is in room B109."

After quickly jotting down his name and time of entrance, he gave the receptionist a small thank you before running towards the elevator. He was really supposed to have visited tomorrow along with Rin, but today was just too important. After all, today was quite the occasion in his sister's life.

The elevator let out a soft ding, signaling the end of the ride as the doors automatically opened. Mikuo's smile never faltered as he walked through the halls of the hospital towards room B109. While he walked, he couldn't help but feel like some sort of programmed robot. He had been in here so many times before that it seems his body just knew where to go the moment he got there. It was kind of funny, in a sense.

Mikuo grinned at his silly little comparison as he grabbed the door handle to B109's door. Before he could swing the door open to yell "surprise", however, a doctor had opened the door and looked down at Mikuo with a bit of shock in her eyes. "Oh! Excuse me, Hatsune-san. I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow..."

The young boy shrugged but otherwise stayed silent as he strode past the doctor in a hurry. Dr. Aria stared at the space Mikuo had been occupying for only a minute before she walked away to attend another patient. She only hoped that Mikuo didn't accidentally cause an episode. That was one thing she just didn't want to deal with today, especially when Miku has been progressing so well...

Inside B109, however, the atmosphere was a happy one. Miku turned towards the door to see that it was her litte brother whom had come in. At the sight of him, she couldn't help but smile and run towards him to give him a big hug. "Little bro! I missed you!" She stepped back with a laugh and her hands on Mikuo's shoulders as she asked, "No Rin?"

Mikuo shook his head in response. "Tomorrow. Today, however, I have a gift." He held out the box in his hands towards his sister, a feeling of happiness washing over him. "Congratulations! You got straight A's in your report card today, you lucky little genius."

Miku laughed as she took the box into her own hands. "It's not that big of a deal. Right, Chocolate?"

She looked off into the left corner of the room, which didn't phase Mikuo at all as Miku stared off for a couple more seconds before snapping her attention back to her brother. "Chocolate says you should stop being a bastard and come here more often. Quite mean, that cat is."

"In my opinion, Chocolate is a bigger bastard than I am, the damn cat," Mikuo muttered jokingly as he stared down at the still-unwrapped box. "Well, what are you waiting for? Open your gift."

He watched with held breath as Miku slowly tore apart the wrapping paper to reveal a simple box, which was later opened to reveal a small, light brown teddy bear. The bear had a peculiar blue scarf around its neck and a stitched heart on the spot a human's own would be located. Chocolate spoke out to Miku harshly, saying that the stitched heart was probably a laugh on Mikuo's part about how her first (and probably last) boyfriend had left her cruelly after finding out she was a crazy freak. The cat kept commanding that she destroy it in front of her brother's eyes, so he would know that such a joke wasn't appreciated at all. A second voice, that of a little girl's, told her to simply accept it and ignore it. Since when was anything Mikuo gave special anyway?

Miku, however, listened to neither. Instead, she simply muttered an expressionless thanks in Mikuo's direction and went back towards her hospital bed with the bear held out at arm's length. The scarf looked eerily familiar... Could it belong to one of the hospital's staff? No, that wasn't it...

While Miku tried to figure out on whom she had seen that suspicious scarf, Mikuo turned around and left Miku to her own devices. That expressionlessness usually meant that Miku no longer felt like talking. He wished that her cheeriness could've lasted for longer...

At that thought, Mikuo felt like punching the wall next to him. Dammit! Why did it have to be Miku? Why couldn't it had been himself? It just wasn't fair! Her schizophrenia had cost her all the wonderful things in life that most people take for granted. She couldn't go to school as a normal person could, as she found it hard to concentrate with those cursed voices in her head. Other people thought her crazy, which really pissed him off because humanity seemed to have a knack for being frightened of the unknown. He just wished...

He just wished that he could do more for her. More than just bringing her uplifitng little gifts and frequented visits. Mikuo wished that he could just eat her schizophrenia away so she wouldn't have to worry about Chocolate or Pines or Sakura or any of the other voices in her head. So she wouldn't have to be scared of hurting herself or those around her...

His phone suddenly vibrated from his back pocket. Mikuo started at the sudden buzz and quickly fumbled for his phone, which displayed his girlfriend's nickname in glowing letters and the text message she had sent.

My Bunny:3 secs. ago
Hey, are you busy?

Did she want to meet? He hoped so, mostly because he wanted to lay his mind off of the depressing thoughts he'd just had. Thus, a soft smile graced his face as he quickly texted back.

Not at all ;] something u wanna do?

To his disappointment, that apparently wasn't the case as their conversation went as follows.

No, not tonight. Just wanted to tell you something...
Oh? U can tell me anything c:
I... You know about the Star Connection project, right?
Of course what about it?
Um... I was chosen to take part in it.

What? No, this must've happened recently. Rin would never keep secrets from him, they tell each other practically everything!

Oh, that's great! :D When do u start?
That's what we need to talk about. I actually started about two weeks ago.

Mikuo didn't really know what to think. It wasn't that big of a deal, of course, but... Rin had been talking to a stranger on the internet for two weeks? Has she learned nothing from the Rinto fiasco? He made sure to text back quickly, mostly so Rin wouldn't take his silence the wrong way.

Really who u talkin 2?
Ah! You're not upset? *n*

A little, Mikuo thought. But of course, he couldn't say that.

No! It's fine!
Thank goodness! I was scared that you might be mad at me for not telling you anything!
Can I meet them?
Um... Let me check...

"Let me check"? What, she needs this person's permission? Ah, those really aren't the kind of thoughts he should be having.

Before long, his anticipated reply came.

He said yeah! Can you come over to my house tomorrow? You can even bring Miku along with you! :3

So this person's a guy. Well then...

Sure. Miku and I will be there.

"Oi, kid bro!" Lily screamed as she made her way towards Len's room in nothing but a towel. She banged open the sticker-covered door with her foot as she fastened her towel with a frown on her face. "Where's the shampoo? Honestly, if I'm going to stay here, I'm not going to be using guy shampoo! And the conditioner seems to be missing as well!"

Len wasn't even phased by the fact that his sister was practically nude as he typed away on his computer. "They're in that cabinet by the mirror. You should really reconsider 'detective' as a possible career choice, sis."

Lily laughed before muttering a thanks and going back into the shower. Len only rolled his eyes as his fingers continued to tap away at the keys on his keyboard.

She was just in here, towel and all. I wish I was an only child like you at times likes these.
Oh my! And hey, don't say that! I often wish I did have siblings! You're so lucky!
Am not! But, admittedly, I do love her.
See, even the heartless Len Kagamine has the willingness to care for others!
I'm not completely heartless! I just... Don't socialize very well.
"Socialize"? With words like that, no wonder you can't find many new friends.
Not my fault they're stupid.
xD Oh gosh, I don't know why, but I'm laughing right now!

Right when Len was going to reply back, the phone next to his computer started to buzz. He unlocked it to see Rin had sent him a message.

We'll be video chatting tomorrow, right? *^*

He raised an eyebrow at the question. Didn't he already tell her? I'm busy tomorrow. Can't it wait?

Please! I have a couple people I'd like you to meet. xc
"A couple people"? What does that even mean?
... My boyfriend and his sister?

Oh. Mikuo and Miku Hatsune. Len didn't know much about Miku, as she was kept from the press quite well, but he sure knew a lot about Mikuo. More than he'll admit to, in fact.

May I know why?
Well...
Let me guess. You told him he could before you came and asked me.
... Have I ever told you that you know me too well? n.n;

A first, Len laughed. Guess it wouldn't hurt.

At the next message, he could practically hear Rin's squealing. Kya! I love you! Thank you so much! :D

Len's face grew warm. She shouldn't be using a term like "I love you" so lightly! ... Why was he even bothered by it?!

With a frown, he went back to chatting with his childhood friend.

Sorry I took so long. Was texting Rin.
It still amazes me that you get to talk personally to the Rin Hibiki! I'm so jealous! What did she say? C'mon, you have to fill me in!
Wants me to meet her boyfriend. Not sure why.
Ooh! Jealous, much? cx
What?
You always start typing in short sentences whenever you're upset. Plus, I can practically see you pushing down hard on the keys.
Even after five years, you still manage to surprise me.
Yeah, yeah! Now, tell me mooore! xc
Fine! She also wants me to meet Miku! Happy!
Oh gosh, I quite literally hate you right now.

"LEN! WHERE IN GOD'S NAME ARE MY CLOTHES?!"

Gotta go. Lily's probably gonna show up here in only her underwear while giving me a good scolding. *insert disapproving shake of head here*
Lol! Well, good luck! c:

Len shut his laptop closed before he sighed towards the door. Tomorrow was going to be a long day...

A.N./ Kinda rushed, I'll admit. There's something about this chapter that I really don't like, but I don't know what it is... Anyway, Miku has schizophrenia. Hopefully, my extensive research isn't futile and I actually represented the mental illness correctly. If I didn't, I'm very sorry. I've watched many documenteries on schizophrenia before even writing this story, and it's very serious from what I can see. Oh gosh, I hope I didn't offend anyone by my interpretation! xc Also, Len's childhood friend won't be revealed until later! I will tell you this though: it's a female vocaloid. c; Also, in case you didn't know, Oliver wanting to be a voice actor is based on the fact that he's the voice of Puppycat in the series "Bee & Puppycat". Watch the series. I've watched it (there's currently only two episodes released - with more to come in November) and I'm completely addicted to it now. Anyway, this is one lengthy Author's Note! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! c: