Chapter 9: The Disappearance of Samurai, and the Mystery Girl

Only two weeks had passed from when Mayu was broken from brainwashing before something else occurred: Yuma disappeared. Overnight, he had just vanished without a word. The maids had been on high alert for a full week, but then everything returned to normal, minus a Vocaloid. The other male Vocaloids were very distressed, though Meiko and Kaito seemed the most worried. They had known Yuma for years, and his sudden disappearance made them fear the worst. A full month soon passed, and rumors of a new Vocaloid being around sprang up almost overnight.
Meanwhile, Rin had other problems on her mind. She didn't care about this mystery girl who could've just been a ghost, and cared a bit about Yuma being gone. Still, Rin's main problem was Len. Rin was worried that she'd fallen in love with Len, the cocky idiot. Well, if she were to be in love with him, how would Rin even go about telling Len? And if she wasn't, what if HE liked her? Had Mayu, while brainwashed granted, been right about it being written on Len's face? It couldn't have been. Still, the thought tore at Rin almost daily.

"Rin?" In the middle of class, Zunko called out for Rin to answer, but she was lost in thought, "Rin?" Zunko narrowed her eyes a bit, "Rin Kagamine!"

"Ah!" Rin jumped a bit, "525!"

"Thank-you," Zunko sighed, "And that is correct. Please pay attention in class,"

"S-sorry."

I love him. I love him not. I love him. I love him not. I love him… I love him not…

After class had ended, Rin sat in her room plucking petals off of a flower. Luka had gone around and given each girl several flowers. The rest of Rin's flowers were sat in a vase on her dresser. Rin vaguely remembered how her Master had done this in the past, and how she had sang a song about something similar to this once. If the last petal was "I love him not," then you would say "I love him," and vice versa. That was at least how Rin understood it.

"I-"

"RIN!" Uni slammed open the door to Rin's room without warning. Rin tossed the flower stem behind her, startled by Uni's sudden appearance.

"Wh-" Rin tried to say something but Uni ran over and quickly pulled the girl to her feet, "Hey!"

"You need to see this!" Uni practically dragged Rin out of the room, her voice frantic.

Something had happened. All the girls had crowded into Meiko's room, surrounding Meiko who held a piece of paper in her hand. Luka closed the door behind Rin, standing at the door inside the room. Meiko noticed that all the girls had gathered and glanced around the room, then the note once more. She cleared her throat before reading it aloud:

"Dear Friends, this is Samurai a.k.a Yuma. You probably noticed I've been missing. No, I wasn't brainwashed, and no I'm not deactivated. Otherwise, this letter wouldn't be a thing. I found a small passageway to escape, one that Soprano and probably even Frankenstein didn't account for. I'm living in an apartment complex with my sister, Mizki. I have left instructions for several ways to try and escape that hell hole, though some require certain variables to be in place to work. I hope to see you all outside of that hell of that's called an estate soon. Take care everyone. Signed, Yuma VY2, a.k.a Samurai."

Gasps came from almost everyone's mouths. Yuma had actually escaped! Alive! The strategy itself was remarkable. He had slipped through the vents inside the laundry room, having snuck inside at night. He had crawled his way to the outside world, and ran off to where his sister lived. Yuma was sharp, but truly this moment showed how sharp he was. Rin was filled with hope knowing there was a way to end all of this madness.

"Luka," Meiko handed the note over to her promptly, "Please, deliver this to the boys."

"I will immediately," Luka promised, taking the note. She folded it and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

"So," Lily sat on Meiko's bed, holding Haiyi in her arms, "What now, Meiko?"

"We can't use Yuma's escape plan," Meiko paced the room as she spoke, taking long strides. Her face was twisted with thought, "When Soprano and Frankenstein realize there's a flaw, they'll block it or put security cameras in the area again. It took too long for us to get those deactivated." Meiko sighed in annoyance, "Maybe one person could use it, but definitely not all of us."

"Then, that's out." Ruby shook her head, "But there's other ideas, so we could try those ways."

"Yes, but we'll have to wait for the opportunity." Meiko nodded, seeming disappointed, "It's the safest way to get all of us out."

"Don't worry Meiko!" Gumi smiled, speaking up loudly for all to hear in the room, "We'll be okay together! Waiting a little longer to finally escape is nothing for us!" Gumi giggled. Meiko smiled at the girl's confidence. The younger Vocaloids always tended to be the most optimistic.

"Then it's set," Meiko decided, "We sit. We wait."

Len sat on the staircase after the meeting in Kaito's room, trying to write some new music for himself. He was rather impressed by how Yuma escaped, and wondered how he even got the letter inside the manor. Well, that didn't matter. Len knew that escape way was silly now, so he was stuck waiting. Len felt compelled to stay however, though he had no clue why.
Why do I even want to stay in this dump? It's awful here. Minus the people. Most of the people are pretty good people. …Lui needs all the help he can get…And…my resolve, heh. Well that's basically out the window at this point somehow…
Len chuckled to himself. Tokyo Teddy Bear had dug her claws under his skin, in a way he couldn't deny to enjoy. She was on his mind even now.

"Damn you Tokyo Teddy Bear," Len mumbled as he shook his head with a smile, "You and your sly ways…Always-"

"Tokyo Teddy Bear?" Len heard the familiar sweet voice from behind and spun around: Her. But…different?

Nemu, his one-time love, still had her short black hair, but was now wearing a rather bulky pink sweatshirt under some shorts. Her skin was more pale than normal, and something was…off? Len couldn't put his finger on it, but he was more in shock that SHE was in front of him.

"N-Ne-Nemu?" Len stammered out. The thought that something was off faded from his mind as quickly as it came.

"Who's Tokyo?" Nemu repeated. She smiled just as brightly as the last time he'd seen her.

"R-Rin Kagamine…" Len replied, slowly blinking.

"Bye Len!" Nemu skipped away towards the girls' staircase. She left as quickly as she had came: instantly. Len stood up, looking around.

"Did I…imagine that?" Len rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had just lapsed and gone insane. Len slowly sat back down, deciding to return to his song writing, despite his confusion.

Rin sat alone in her room, binge watching videos of Miku online, as well as other Vocaloids. It was mostly concert footage, and Rin was transfixed on the video. She hummed along to the song as someone came in, likely Gumi, Uni, or Mayu. Mayu often came in to hang out with Rin, the two becoming somewhat close since the brainwashing had been lifted. Rin let out a soft, "Hey," not even checking to see who it was.

"Sooo, you're Tokyo Teddy Bear," That was a new voice. Rin turned around, to see this mysterious girl.

The girl in question had short black hair and grey eyes, with rather pale skin. She seemed awfully comfortable in her pink and white sweatshirt and white shorts. A smile was plastered on her face, yet, there was…there was something wrong with this girl. Wait, how did this girl know Rin's code name? Was this the weird mystery girl?

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Rin tried to be polite, but wasn't too keen on a stranger being in her room. The girl smiled.

"I'm Nemu Yumemi, close to Len," Nemu explained with the same smile. God, there was something up with this girl, but Rin had no clue what it was.

"Uh-huh, I see," Rin had no clue who she was, but knew about these silly rumors of a mystery girl, "Are you new?" She was supposedly close to Len, but that sounded unlikely.

"No," Nemu shook her head, "I was here before you! I was sick for a long time but I'm better now!" Nemu giggled, "I won't be staying with you girls though."

"Th-then are you staying with someone else?" Rin asked, nervously adding, "With Len?" For some reason, the thought of this girl rooming with Len made Rin upset.

"Of course not!" Nemu smiled, "I'm staying with Una! Oh! I'll see you later!" Nemu waved goodbye and left the room without a further sound. Rin looked at her door with a puzzled expression, but returned to her computer again.

However, despite having convinced herself Nemu's appearance hadn't bothered her, Rin couldn't sleep. She laid in bed, not feeling a tiny bit tired. Even closing her eyes was pointless. Rin fisted her sheets, glaring at the ceiling. She wanted to see Len. She didn't know why, but she wanted to. It was almost midnight though. Rin tried to roll over, hoping to convince herself to sleep. Why do I want to see him of all people?! Is-is this that love thing again? It makes you want to do stupid things? Like desires, and wants… But why would I love him? Why is this so complicated! It should be easy! AHHHH! Rin rolled onto her stomach and face planted to her pillow, moaning in annoyance. Things were never easy.

Knock! Someone was at the door. Rin rolled back onto her back and sat up, "Come in?" The door opened: Len.

"L-Len?" Rin asked in surprise. Had he somehow heard her thoughts? Probably not, but he seemed nervous as he glanced around her room.

"Yeah, uh, sorry for coming in late." Len apologized, not looking at Rin as he spoke, "…Were you asleep?" He was unusually flustered, and not his arrogant, cocky self.

"No, I can't sleep," Rin pulled her sheets up to her neck. She was afraid to expose her bra and shorts, her pajamas for the night, "I'm guessing you can't either?" Len shook his head.

"Could I? Uh, sit down?" Len asked her, tapping the frame of her door. Rin nodded, "Cool, cool." Len closed the door behind him and sat at the edge of her bed.

Well, this was awkward. Rin stared at her lap, unsure of what to do or say. Len sat at the very edge of her bed, legs dangling off the end and scratching the back of his neck. A weird tension filled the room.

"Rin," Len finally broke the 2 minute silence.

"Hm, what?" Rin looked up at Len again.

"Have you ever wanted to do something stupid?" Len quietly asked her, still not looking at her, "Something that you just wanted to do because, you wanted to do." His face was a bit red on close inspection.

"…Actually yeah." Rin admitted. Had he not conveniently shown up at her door, Rin was certain she would've snuck out to his room and do the same thing he was doing now.

"So," Len hesitantly asked, "…If I well, If I did something like that, would you be mad?" Len added right after, "Assuming it involved you in some way, or would affect you."

"Well, it depends," Rin said, sighing, "If it was something I was totally against, then yeah I'd be pissed, but," Rin continued on, "I guess if it's something pretty normal then no." Rin glanced away from Len for a moment, "But, it depends for-" When Rin glanced back at him, Len was right in her face, "AH!" Rin fell back onto her bed.

"S-sorry." Len apologized, wondering if he had scared her.

"I-I'm fine," Rin looked up at him. She realized that for all intents and purposes, Len was pinning her against the bed, "H-hey," Rin blushed a bit, "Could you-mmm!"

Now, Rin found herself being kissed by a boy she was in love with, but couldn't admit to herself or him about it. Len on the other hand was kissing the girl who had broken his resolve for, but struggled to word his feelings. Yet, it felt right for this to be the moment.

This chapter is almost the same as the original if I'm honest… Minus Neru now being Nemu. – Kingdom Mitsumi