[CHAT SCENE] Len (sender) and Kaito (receiver)

Len Kagamine

Kaito: christ, dude you took two whole weeks to reply I seriously thought you were dying or smth bad happened

Kaito: Are you okay?

Len: Sorry mate, I didn't realise I never opened my accounts for 2 weeks when I was so packed with assessments I had to finish D:

Len: I would play games to destress and forget to open social media and didn't notice you dropped a message here. I'm okay btw

Kaito: Good. Because I'm serious when I said I need to tell you something

Kaito: Bear with me because I know this will be a HUGE surprise to you

Kaito: My friends here want to meet you and talk to you about something important to them. They have this plan for Rin

Len: Oh

Len: I mean... I'm happy to help!

Len: But am I really the right person for that…? Would she appreciate me being involved?

Kaito: Seriously dude, you're the real one the people need to see. And we did background info together with Lily, Megumi and Neru, Rin will actually appreciate your involvement

Kaito: I'm not kidding. Part of their plan is meeting you and talking you into their plan. That is, if you want to meet them with me soon? Or I'll be the only one to visit and you meet them later? Whatever makes you comfortable. I'm fine with either dude

Len: Maybe if you meet me for now… I feel anxious meeting your people there D:

Kaito: No problem buddy. Your house or mine?

Len: Yours please. God knows how much my parents want to kick me out and do something besides school

Kaito: Tell Alan and Ann I'd be glad to introduce you to the outside world again lol
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[CHAT SCENE] Operation: Closure for R&L ? ゚ルマ - Kaito POV

Operation: Closure for R&L ? ゚ルマ

Kaito: Guys

Kaito: I have good news!

Luka Megurine
what

Kaito: Len just replied to my message after 2 whole weeks!

Miku Hatsune
OMFG!

Miku Hatsune
[oprah standing up screaming then sitting back down crying in joy and ]

Gakupo Kamui
[oprah audience ]

Oliver Cody
[clap hands ]

Finally! ? ゚ムマ

Kaito: [kermit excited shaking ]

Kaito: IKR!

Luka Megurine
Awesome job Kai! What did he say?

Kaito: he's quite shy atm, which is strange but nothing too bad i guess? He wants only me to meet him for now. I guess when he understands everything he'll meet you all soon

Miku Hatsune
that's okay. If we all rocked up to him we might have intimidated the hell out of him

so it better be soon! we've got to get this ball rolling and he's the fuel we need to make it into max speed!

Gakupo Kamui
lesgooo Kaii! We're closer to getting this plan in action!

But for now, we have finals ?

Luka Megurine
fuck ? ゚リᆳ?

Oliver Cody
[anya forger ]

Miku Hatsune
uhm chile ? ゚ᄂᄀ? ゚ᄂᄀ i didn't realise my next exam is two days from now

Gakupo Kamui
rip miks but good luck

Miku Hatsune
welp all the best Kai pls update us about 'Mystery Man' Len Kagamine on top of our exams hehehe

Kaito: oh come on ? ゚リᆳ? ゚リᆳ
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Kaito sighed and sat on the floor instead of any other spot on the couch that was free.

It was a huge relief it was Saturday and he could get a break from all the studying for their final exams. There was still more studying to do.

Len's visit was a perfect reason for a break. But at the same time, his nerves had never been this high. Maybe it was negligible on his part to not maintain their contact even after graduation.

Even when Kaito was frequently online, Len rarely posted anything on his social media. It was always the case since they were younger despite growing up with the start of social media.

It proved to be a disadvantage for Kaito. He did not know what had happened in his old friend's life.

If Miku and his friends had not conspired this plan, Kaito would not have sought out Len.

The pang of guilt was there on his chest.

For all the talk he said about Len being isolated from their former cohort, he was part of the problem.

Kaito vowed to change things now and be there for Len. When everyone else had not noticed him back in primary school, Len was there with him on those early days.

His mother was in the kitchen. She did the meal plans and prepped the food for herself and for the family the following week.

While his father was at overtime work, it was his mother's day-off. She was eager to hear Len, a familiar face from Kaito's former school besides Rin, would drop by today.

The doorbell rang, and Kaito felt his heart suddenly come out from his chest from the sound and the implication of it—the person on the other side of that door.

"Kaito, looks like he's here now!" Kaito's mother, Kanako, called out. She noticed there was no movement from the living room where her son was.

A millisecond later she heard her son rushed to stand up and went to the door.

Kaito unlocked the door knob and pulled the door open.

There stood on the foyer was his long-forgotten friend, Len.

"Holy fuck! Who are you!?" Kaito was stunned, his mouth agape and face motionless from shock.

"Kaito! Mind that tongue in my house!" Kanako scolded all the way to the kitchen.

"Uhhh… I'm Len, your friend from high school…?" Len replied meekly, his eyes also widened like a deer on headlights. "I-I know I look different now. But I swear I'm Len!" He stuttered.

"Your voice! It got deeper! Holy crap, Len! You look like a complete stranger!" Kaito exclaimed at the front of the door. "Oh crap, sorry for being rude. Come, thanks for dropping by!"

He opened the door wider to let Len in first before he closed the door.

"Woah… Looks like nothing changed much here…" Len looked around the view of the home, saw the same family photos that hung on the walls with unfamiliar ones that had a more recent look to it.

He took off his shoes and set them aside near the shoe cabinet. He was offered a fluffy pair of home slippers.

"Yeah, my parents don't really have any plans to renovate. Unless one of them suddenly gets an impulse from something, or my sister." Kaito chuckled as they went to the living room.

Kaito's mother stood nearby the couch. She waited for the two young gentlemen to finish their conversation at the front door.

"Len, dear! It's so nice to see you! I'm very happy you're still in touch with Kaito after all these years!" She quickly wrapped Len in a motherly hug that made the young man blush and made eye contact with his friend.

Kaito only smiled in embarrassment.

"It's been a long time! I haven't heard much about you from Kaito. He's recently met up with Lily, Megumi and Neru! I'm quite surprised since Rin is who he usually spends time with from your last school. But they're still classmates so no surprises there. And now you're here!"

Len stiffened at the mention of Rin.

"Are you guys planning a reunion soon?" Kanako enthusiastically asked.

"Mum, I think you're choking Len." Kaito had to intervene quickly after he saw the look of discomfort on Len's face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry dear!" Kanako released him from the hug.

"I was too happy to see you after all these years, and look at you! You definitely look more handsome! I bet you have the guys and girls over you~" Mrs Fuuga teased with a matching smile.

"A-Ah… Well, I don't think anyone is interested in me at the moment. So it's not what you may think, Mrs Fuuga." Len awkwardly smiled together and scratched the back of his nape as a habit whenever he felt embarrassed.

Eventually Kanako made Len share what he was up to in his life; how he had been in his current school, what his parents did and what he does outside school.

He still did things as when he was a kid; play video games, play his instruments and write songs. And there were new interesting hobbies he picked up that Kaito missed; surprised when Len mentioned he read some books!?

Kaito merely listened and observed—particularly Len's appearance. He recalled the photo Miku had dug up from his social media account when she and Luka did their 'background check'.

Len looked the same there. His hair became much longer than what he usually did back then. He still had a ponytail but was near his nape and longer than the last time Kaito remembered. Len wore little to no hair gel now so his hair looked like a natural mess, decent looking enough to pass as presentable.

He may have grown a few inches, Kaito thought to himself, on a give or take basis. Len looked taller than the last time they saw each other.

Until there was a lightbulb moment for Kaito as he realised the potential reason for it.

It seemed Len improved his posture and body language.

His shoulders were not slumped, his back was straight, and his head was held high and not gazed to the floor.

Those simple changes in his posture made a huge difference—he looked much more confident.

And he wore glasses!? They were black and rectangular with thick rims. Len always had perfect eyesight since they were kids despite the prolonged exposure on screens.

Something must have happened after they graduated. And there was his voice.

The high-pitched boy-ish voice was gone. It was replaced by this deeper pitch that was a bit rough on the edge. Len spoke so softly, a complete contrast to the obnoxiously loud but excited volume he was known for.

It was similar to his demeanour. Len acted… shy when Kaito talked to him both online and today.

Compared to the rowdy eager beaver Len who geeked out on their common interest at every chance he got, this Len was more reserved and quiet.

Kaito began his continuous adjustment.

An alarm clock suddenly rang and Mrs Fuuga gasped in surprise. "That's the bread! Alright Len, I'll leave you with Kaito. Boys, let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Kaito's mum made eye contact with the two young adults, who both nodded as she bolted to the kitchen and opened the stove.

Kaito told Len to follow him in his bedroom. He thought it was the perfect place where they had privacy, and allowed Len to settle in a familiar environment.

Even at the first second the door was opened, Len quickly noticed the room that allowed Kaito to express himself had not changed much.

He knew the few pieces of furniture, such as the bed and the study table, were in a different position from when he remembered. There were only minimal changes; the curtain drapes and the bed mattress with new-looking quilts and blankets.

But the overall ambiance in Kaito's bedroom was all the same.

Len thought he ventured into an actual time capsule— a piece of the past that still haunted him, yet he needed to come to terms with it.

"Sorry about my mum there. She knew you and Rin broke up. But she assumed you already made up and are friends now," Kaito began after he told Len to be at home and sighed.

"It's my fault. I didn't really update her since there was nothing to mention right after graduation. Rin would segway through her answers when mum asked about you. And I haven't really hung out with you since after graduation so I didn't know what to tell her…" He embarrassingly admitted.

To brush off the nerves, he attempted to relax on his computer chair specifically made for long-time gaming.

"That's okay," Len muttered, opting to sit on the edge of Kaito's bed. His voice softened much more than to Kaito's mother.

"Both of our parents didn't realise we ran to find Rin. They were both talking to each other and still did when we came back empty-handed…" His gaze lowered to his knees, where his hands rested on top and he fidgeted with his fingers.

There was an awkward silence until Kaito broke it again. "You're wearing glasses now. What happened to the twenty-twenty vision you so bragged about?"

"Ah, I fucked that up." Len had a dry chuckle. It was the first time he smiled since he entered Kaito's home.

"I had constant headaches for two weeks, and then I struggled to read things from a certain distance. It wasn't until dad connected the dots and brought me to the doctor and I was prescribed these glasses. This was in the middle of eleventh grade, so it's been a year now." Len explained, fingers still squirmed after he lifted the bridge of his glasses.

"Ah, it finally got you, huh? After all that joking you wouldn't have eye problems in the future." Kaito leaned on the backrest of his chair, and stared at the ceiling. Len only hummed in affirmation.

Kaito changed the topic. "How have you been? You enjoying school?"

"Fine as I could be, I guess?" Len still fidgeted his fingers, a childhood habit that lived to this day.

"I'm now more mindful with deadlines and assessments; you can say it was my wake up call." Len chuckled.

"Wow," Kaito chuckled. "What was that wake up call?"

"I've made up my mind to get into game development. But even if most universities don't ask for your grade from end of year exams, they still ask for portfolios, background checks and rely on interviews. I want to get into a good program that I like by next year and I have to work hard to make it happen…

"I've never felt so pressured in my life. But for once I actually enjoy learning and being in classes, and to realise I can make a living out of what I love…"

That was when Kaito had sincerely smiled for his friend.

Not until…

"If only attending classes was as easy as getting along with people you had to be with." Len had a distant look in his eyes. "I'm not with the friendliest bunch, that's all I can say…"

"Oh. What about them? Surely you have some people to talk to, right?" Kaito had a worried tone in his voice.

Len hummed. "Yeah. There are some. But they're all so invested in the petty drama in our cohort. I just don't have the energy for it. Maybe that's why I'm struggling to get along with people at the moment."

"Oh… Sorry to hear that. I don't know what to say besides how much that sucks." Kaito replied, wanting to comfort his friend.

Now Kaito felt stupid for being optimistic that Len would have new connections after they all left.

"It's okay, Kai. I've long accepted it."

"How come though? It sounds so impossible knowing you've been there for two years and surely there would be at least one person you'd be hanging out with." Kaito reasoned out.

Len only sighed. "I know it's been two years but I don't know why I can't seem to not get the hang of it. I thought having that common goal and the same classes would have made a connection for me to start. Most of my classmates have these certain 'characters'..." Len emphasised it with air quotes together with gestures on his fingers.

"We're in art school and you would assume we would have been leaning towards being liberated and radical from the nature of our work. But can you believe it when most of them are actually conservative… Like not just in their art, but in what they think about life outside the classroom."

"Oof," Kaito cringed on behalf of his friend. "Wait a minute! You're into politics now?"

"Not really, but you have to be informed about it at the minimum. It's art when it disturbs the comfortable, and comforts the disturbed." Len replied, shrugged his shoulders afterwards.

That was a pleasant surprise. Kaito swallowed all the anxiety and mustered up the few doses of courage he had.

"I'm so sorry you have to endure all of that. I thought things were going well for you throughout the two years we didn't talk… But I swear we'll start hanging out! Right after my exams are finished, I'll drag you to tons of places to chill and have fun!"

At the sound of it, Len smiled. It was a new sight for Kaito.

This smile was new, different from the mischievous and jokester kind of smile Len usually had in their high school days.

It was a small smile. But his eyes had a different sparkle— a gentle twinkle so visible from the lens of his new glasses.

This was the moment Kaito finally knew.

In front of him was a new person that evolved from the remnants of what he knew of Len, his childhood best friend.

It was high time for Kaito to get to know this new man.

"Thanks, Kai. I should be the one apologising here for making our first thirty minutes together so depressing. It wasn't my intention. But I thought you'd like to know about the truth early." He looked up to make eye contact with his friend.

The Len he once knew often stayed away to know the truth and would rather live in ignorant bliss, and so was content to stay in the corner.

But this Len in front of him was headstrong and sought to set himself free after he knew about the truth.

There was a lot more for Kaito to unpack here in this meeting.

"Ah, enough about me here. How have you been? We have two years worth of events to catch up with." He simply chuckled. This laidback version of Len was refreshing, Kaito thought.

"Eh… Fine, I guess? If we both forget I'm in the middle of studying for final exams for two weeks." Kaito awkwardly answered; scratched the back of his head as he remembered the frustration he had before today.

"I heard it's tough for all of you guys doing it. I can only send in my moral support." Len commented in support.

"Wait, you're not doing it?" Kaito raised his torso that once leaned against his chair to face Len.

"Yeah," Len's cheeks flushed and smiled awkwardly as he scratched his cheek with his finger. "I said a while ago my course doesn't really require the academic scores for university, so I wasn't required to take my classes as scored when twelfth grade started. I actually just finished all my classes a month ago."

Kaito's face was dumbfounded. "No fucking way!? A month!? Why do we have to suffer here while you blitzed your way through?"

He whined. "I feel like I'm cheated here by the system. I'm taking music as a minor but I'm required to take exams!"

"You're taking Food Sciences as a major, right? You obviously need to take the exams since universities would ask for your scores." Len said in a matter-of-fact tone, but in a fond and joking way with the slight smirk he had.

Kaito groaned. "Yeah, Mr Genius. Good for you for finishing early." He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "So, you already graduated then?"

"Technically, yeah." Len nodded. "I'm required to attend the graduation ceremony a few weeks from now. I don't want to. But my parents threatened to kick my arse if I refuse to bring them there."

He sighed at the ridiculous behaviour of his parents with a strained smile.

Kaito laughed. "Your parents would definitely do that. They want to be at the ceremony to support you. They're proud of you for finishing school. So they want to flaunt your success and spoil you."

"Yeah, I know that." Len smiled. "I just wish they did it in less embarrassing ways."

"You know how parents work. They're shameless as they get older." Kaito chuckled. And Len agreed with a smile.

"Are you seeing someone? Any luck with dating compared to me?" Len tried to add humour to his perilous situation; hoped it was a different case for his friend.

Kaito sighed. "Well. I was interested in this friend Rin and I have since last year. She's very talented with music, a very popular person in our school and in the local community she used to compete in. But the fame never went into her head. Her down to earth attitude is what attracted me first. But I never had the guts to confess."

"Why not? If you're here to convince me to approach Rin, surely you can have the courage to do it now for yourself." Len gently encouraged his friend.

"She's in love with someone else. That's the sad part. I'm just getting started to get over her." Kaito had a sad smile, head lowered to the floor in a soft kind of sadness.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Kai. I'm thankful you're working on letting me meet with Rin after all these years. But I feel bad you're hurting on your own in the process."

"Don't be, Len. It's okay. If I can't be happy, I want you to be happy. That's all I could ever ask for." Kaito smiled to assure his friend.

And then there was silence.

Both men felt it was comfortable silence after being able to open up like the old times.

It lasted long until Len initiated a new topic.

"So… How's Rin?"

Kaito tried his best to hide his reaction. "She's good. Still reading shitton of books and studying like her life depends on it."

"Ah, good to know. You know what she's studying for next year?"

"Hasn't changed from laws. She doesn't know what to specialise in. But she said she can figure it out later during the first two years."

"Wait, she's taking Law?" Len was sceptical. "I thought she wanted to do journalism."

"Nah, she changed her mind by the end of tenth grade. And then she hasn't changed it since then. She did say that—Oh wait, yeah. Sorry, you wouldn't have been around when she said that…" Kaito realised his mistake and grimaced at himself.

Just when they did well, he hit a sore spot. Now Len might be reluctant to speak.

But to his surprise, Len smiled in sympathy. "That's okay. I wasn't aware. It's good for her to finally realise it before starting uni. Since her course is popular, she must have a lot of options to choose from."

"About that… She told us months ago her family's visa will be released at any moment soon. So more likely she will fly out by the time we graduate next month."

"Oh. I thought her family's plan to migrate was put on hold…" Len stared ahead, away from Kaito and to the closed wardrobe. "Guess not. I hope she's coping well. Last time she told me, she's not a fan of moving."

"Until now. That's why she's making the most of hanging out with us." Kaito explained.

"Even our friends at CFH are anxious and want to prepare when that day comes. They all wish that we could climb the stage together with Rin, even if it's pushing our luck."

"I'd feel the same. Just imagining it, it'd be a tough feeling being so far away from your friends, especially if you have a strained relationship with your family. At least, that's from the last time I heard from her." Len's gaze once again returned to the floor.

"You're right, it's still complicated for her." Kaito did not know what to say, and so decided to let it finish there and invite the silence to occupy them once more.

"So you've met with our other classmates. How are they?"

"Still the usual for most things on them. Neru has a girlfriend. Lily's still active in her volunteer groups. Megumi is still Megumi, interestingly she's doing a mix of virtual and on-site classes this year. She and Rin are still best mates. I still talk to Lia and Nana once in a while but I haven't met them recently."

Len simply hummed. He struggled to think of words to say.

Until Kaito tried to revive their conversation again. "Have you been in touch with our classmates? Before me, that is…"

"Not really. If you had not reached out, there would have been no one. Akito's pretty dead with social media so I haven't really gotten to talk to him."

The silence was so profound that the noises from downstairs were heard.

The activity in the kitchen thanks to Kaito's mother echoed in the bedroom. The sounds of vegetables being chopped, and refrigerator organisers being pushed and pulled was the only noise that lingered in the household.

It was a short while until she finished and left the kitchen, as if Kaito and Len were given their own silence once again.

"Do you and Rin still hang out?" Len hesitantly asked.

"Yeah! We're actually still in the same friend group. It's nice to think we've been together for almost six years. But now that you think of it, six years is such a long time ago." Kaito stared ahead at the ceiling.

"Almost like growing up together. That's nice… It's good to hear she's doing well from someone who knew her for a long time." Len continued fidgeting with his fingers.

The gentle smile he had looked strained.

Kaito lowered his gaze to the bed frames. "You've already mentioned Rin twice now and we've just talked for an hour. If I wasn't smarter, I would have thought you still like Rin!" He chuckled.

But Kaito realised there was no follow up chuckle or even a slight reaction.

He quickly turned his head towards his friend.

Len's eyebrows were scrunched. But the sides of his mouth were upwards.

Kaito thought as if he was smiling—

"Wait—"

Len did not have to say anything. Because it was already said enough.

"...You still like Rin?" Kaito's eyes were wide, his voice in a softer tone in fear he would ruin an important moment.

"... I love Rin,"

Len whispered.

"... I still have feelings for her." Len gazed below his knees to avoid Kaito's eyes. "Even after all these years."

Kaito's mouth was agape. He had no words to describe the ground-breaking revelation.

All their speculation was finally put to rest. It would be a field day once he informed the gang.

When Len raised his head to Kaito, his eyes widened and his cheeks flushed out of embarrassment at his reaction.

"Fuck, that was embarrassing. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make this awkward!"

Len frantically muttered apologies to save himself from the embarrassing moment he just created.

When Kaito gently convinced him that all was well and there was no need to be ashamed, Len finally stopped.

"Don't be embarrassed. In fact, you just answered what all of my friends and I had asked for so long." He smiled, in hopes to comfort his friend.

"What do you mean? I've always loved her even when we left YMH." Len was confused about the doubt that Kaito had. He thought he had made it clear.

"Wait, wait. Basically, my friend and I were sure you still have feelings for Rin. But then another friend reminded us that you could have changed your mind, or in this case your heart, throughout the two years we didn't get in contact. So we've been speculating with Lily and Neru ever since!"

Len frowned, his shoulders slumped. "There was one point I wished I didn't realise I love Rin after all. But this is all there is to me—I love Rin. I don't think I can change that part of myself, even if it hurts too much."

Kaito did not know what to say, especially after he saw right in front of his eyes the smile that Len had.

The smile that carried too much weight for him to carry but still clung to it.

With Kaito's silence, Len took it as a sign for him to elaborate on it—the first opportunity he was able to do so.

"I've had some realisations after settling in ICL and I was sulking most of the time. I need to improve myself so when the time comes I meet Rin, she would be impressed to see me as a person who wouldn't hurt her and give me another chance; not as someone who caused her biggest heartache.

"I want us to start over. I need to fix everything that I ruined for the both of us. I want to go back to her, Kai. She inspired me even without us talking. I want to show her I can be the person she can rely on, the person to trust her heart with and would protect her. I won't fuck it up this time because I know what I'm fighting for."

Kaito was speechless—incredibly astounded by what was just said in front of him. He had to get back to the moment and be there for Len.

Len took the silence for him to continue. "It's funny to look back when I tested myself whether my feelings for Rin can be swayed. I tried to be interested in the people around me. But all I ended up doing was comparing them to Rin. I tried remembering all the stupid shit and unattractive things she did. I still ended up convincing myself Rin is still the one.

"I eventually had to accept it and continue hoping like this. If I could go back in time and change our past, I would." Len's eyes seemed clouded.

It was at this point Kaito was not sure whether it was the beginning of a sob or a dry look of misery.

"I wish I realised sooner how happy and content I was when I had her. I would do everything now to go back to when we were. But… I just can't." He lamented.

There were feelings being stirred within Kaito's mind. But this was now or never to find that answer they were all desperate for.

"I know both of us have been avoiding this. But it's been set aside for too long. We need to talk about it now." Kaito sighed and braced himself.

"What happened, Len? Why did you call off everything?"

Len raised his head. His eyes seemingly had a darker shade, the azure eyes of his reflected the internal conflict within him.

He muttered, "I was sick from it. All of it."

Kaito's eyebrows furrowed. "That's what you told me. That you got sick of her. But why, Len? There's got to be a reason. Even if it sounds dumb and stupid to all of us. It's still a reason for you. Everyone asked the question but we never knew the answer, especially Rin. She needed that answer the most."

At that moment, Len's expression solidified into misery. His fists were clenched. "People often saw me as Rin's success story. I was always labelled as a lost cause before she came in. It was all too much for me…"

He sighed. "I was so sick of Rin being the perfect role model while I was the guy who was good for nothing without her. When people said how I didn't deserve her and she didn't have a good eye for choosing me, I still can't describe how it made me ashamed of myself.

"It was all I heard; their whispers in the hallways and in the classrooms. I've always had issues, and Rin helped improve that. But hearing those words felt like I was being swallowed whole from my own predicament for being just me."

Kaito felt his skin prickled, an ugly sensation spread throughout his body. He fought through until Len finished.

"At that time, everything suffocated me and I just wanted to get out. I needed to be free from everything that made me feel useless and worthless. My biggest mistake was associating my self-deprecation to Rin, when it wasn't her fault nor she did anything with it… It was all just me."

Throughout the confession, horror plagued in Kaito's eyes.

Never could he have thought Len carried that severe baggage, and he was none the wiser to even notice a hint of it.

Yet he still had his questions.

"... Why didn't you tell her, Len?" Kaito begged, restrained sobbing. "You know Rin would have done anything to stop them from talking like that. She would not have given a flying fuck in the first place on whatever they said. She loved you, Len, because she appreciated everything about you. It was never about wanting to rehabilitate or changing you with the power of love. She just wanted you because you loved her, as she loved you for being you!"

Kaito's words only made Len's feelings profound.

It showed in his strained smile of pain. "Oh Kaito, you don't know how much I regret not doing that. I could have trusted Rin and told her everything. I believed what they said about Rin instead of asking the truth from her. I was a stupid coward! We could have still been together if I had not let my selfishness get into me… I fucked up, Kaito!"

Len raised his voice at the last phrase.

He sharply breathed in the beginning of a sob. "When I saw Rin on the first day of ninth grade, it hit me how much I regretted what I've done. All the relief and peace I thought I'd have after I broke up with her never came. How could I not notice how she was so lost and broken after I left her? She cried at any moment and it only made the guilt heavier."

Len paused briefly. "But I thought I would make things worse if I approached her. I had to pretend I didn't notice it and to appear composed. I was stupidly worried what everyone else would say on top of the mess I've started. That's how fucking stupid I was. Obviously I couldn't say this to anyone, even to you Kai, at the time because it would only have made things that I started worse."

At this point, Kaito felt too exhausted.

"Oh Len… Why did you let yourself listen to them? You know nothing good comes out of it. You and Rin were one of the few people who openly defied it and proved it meant nothing if you didn't pay attention to it…"

"I told you Kai, I was a fucking idiot!" Len raised his voice.

"I was already ashamed at what I'd done and I was desperate to think of ways to fix it." Then Len stuttered, but chose to end his statement that kept failing at him.

"But what stopped you?" Kaito whispered.

"The same people I listened to. If I wasn't hearing the whispering in the hallways everytime I passed, it was the looks they gave me even when I was behind them. I was everyone's public enemy number one after what I did to Rin. Now that was my second biggest mistake," Len rubbed his face with his palm and breathed.

"I let my pride control me and saw everything as unfair. I was already beating myself up for what I did. But no one bothered to understand that. I was the asshole in everyone's story. Looking back to it now, I definitely agree with them.

"But at the time, I was spiteful when almost everyone took Rin's side. I thought: even when I lost everything, she still gets everything even more after we broke up. I felt betrayed because none of my friends bothered to reach out to me."

Kaito was guilty. So he dared not to say anything.

"I quickly realised all of you wouldn't be with me if not for my relationship with Rin. It all made sense why you all sided with Rin and were angry at me. That's why I started disconnecting, out of frustration. Everyday I was reminded that they were right: I was nothing without Rin. It was humiliating…"

Kaito felt he was being eaten alive with remorse. There was nothing appropriate enough to convey his countless apologies for Len.

Throughout those two years, he only listened to Rin.

But never had he thought there were crucial details hidden in plain sight in Len's perspective.

"I knew it didn't help things with what I did next. Being snobbish and letting myself get into the heat of the moment with Rin's mood swings at me. I thought she was selfish, acting all miserable even when she took away what I had after we broke up. Then I shortly began chasing off Neru and being a third wheel to her and Kiyoteru, and then that girlfriend after Rin… They were all my poor attempts to forget about her."

Kaito sighed once again. His forehead was covered by the palm of his hand.

"Len… Two years of all that ache to you and Rin… I'm so angry at you but I feel so sorry for you."

Len's gaze moved upwards, at the ceiling with scrunched eyebrows.

"I know, I'm the perfect case of an asshole who can't correct his mistakes. But I need to tell you all of this. If I can't do it now, how am I supposed to tell Rin someday?"

Kaito was supposed to scold Len for self-deprecation. But after he pleaded for his attention, he was only a good friend. And so he listened.

"You're right. She would need to hear about this… But," Kaito began.

"That one time we had lunch together after rehearsals for graduation. You told me you dated Rin to get over Neru. Now you're telling me the other way around happened after. You're confusing me with all this contradiction."

This time, Len braced himself. "I sort of lied to you there. It's true I dated Rin to get over Neru. But eventually I did really love Rin until I became stupid with my insecurity. I didn't want to tell you, couldn't tell you, that I was wanting to get back to Neru to forget Rin. I wasn't ready to admit to myself and seriously thought I was having feelings for Neru at that time. Turns out I wasn't.

"And when I eavesdropped on their conversation? I actually felt hurt. My chance of approaching her to apologise vanished since Rin didn't want to do anything with me anymore. I thought I should stay away for both of our sake…"

Kaito was exasperated. He never had such an emotionally draining conversation as this one. If he already felt like this, how would Rin feel about this?

"Now things are clicking together. You've always had feelings for Rin all along. You became distracted for a brief period, and eventually denied yourself. Until you slowly learnt it again and finally accepted it." Kaito summarised the gist of the events that were pieced together. It was more so for his own sake to completely make sense of it all.

"Bingo. That's what happened." Len's smile was faint. His eyes lost the certain twinkle it had and were now hollow.

"All this time, I thought it was all too sudden of you to have feelings for her again. During rehearsals for graduation, I was almost at a point of discouraging you because I didn't want Rin to be hurt again. At least spare her that pain after she achieved her goal of finishing our last year together." Kaito adjusted his seat, leaned further on his chair and never removed his focus on Len's sunken posture.

"That's why I'm sorry for everything, Kai. I let myself fall down and didn't even think of reaching out."

"I could be mad at you right now, just thinking we could have avoided those two years if you had made up your mind sooner. But I should be the one who's sorry to you."

Kaito weakly smiled when Len quickly turned his head to look at him in shock.

"When Rin was irrational with her emotions, I was the one with the logical mind and in the proper headspace to make things better for you two, as your friend. Yet I didn't do my job as your friend to approach you.

"I was ignorant to think you had your own struggles. Because I didn't understand what was happening to you, I was harsh to you during those early days. And I'm so sorry for it."

Another sob seemed to let out from Len. "No, Kaito… There's nothing for you to feel sorry about. You got caught up in the regrettable mess I created for Rin. I've hurted you besides her. I'm the one who fucked up, so I'm the one who's supposed to clean it up and not just keep wishing I could go back to change everything…"

Kaito needed to drag the both of them away from the past and start healing each other now.

He closed his eyes, sighed, and gave himself a moment to breathe.

"Okay, we both feel the need to apologise to each other while we stubbornly take all the blame to ourselves. We won't go anywhere there. So we should start accepting things that already happened. We can't do anything about it anymore.

"We're here now, Len. You and I can only do what's in front of us now. And right now there is still hope. That's why we're here. My friends and I will help you. This is our parting gift for Rin before she leaves. We won't let her leave without talking to you, that's the whole goal of the plan."

Len was flabbergasted. He could not control himself anymore with the first drops of tears.

"Thank you… I've been gathering courage for the past two years but I always back away in the end."

He sighed. "It sounds creepy, I know, when I say I'd visit Rin's social media sometimes without thinking of it and everytime I just think I can't possibly show myself in front of her like this: miserable, hopeless and can't get his life together even when he begs for it.

"You see it yourself, Kai, Rin's thriving and she's doing so well in what she does. I'm proud of her and would always support her…" He paused to let out a few sobs. Kaito reached something from one of the drawers behind him and passed a tissue box to Len.

"That's why it scares me to reach out. She can't possibly want to see me especially when I'm so lost with myself. She'll think I'm not taking my apology to her seriously…!"

"Hey, hey," Kaito gently interrupted him. "We're assuming things here. We can't assume what Rin wants or does not want to do with you. What if she actually wants to meet you? Because based on the information my friends have collected from our folks… Rin wants to talk to you."

Len wiped his eyes and cheeks from the tears. He used the hem of this shirt for his glasses. When he heard the last sentence, he quickly raised his head and was shocked.

"... She does?"

Kaito nodded and hummed in reply.

"I told you. That's what my friends and I have been doing throughout the year. We met with Lily, Neru, and Megumi and convinced them to hop on our plan. The three shared stories since we can't ask Rin herself or else she becomes suspicious of us."

"But I thought Rin would have wanted to talk to me… Why the secrecy…?"

"My friends kept insisting Rin was in denial, and if we did tell her directly, she would back off and nothing would happen. We had a huge argument about whether to do the plan in the first place. I was one of the people hesitant to make it happen.

"But I changed my mind after one of us suggested meeting with three other people who could vouch for the plan with the best interests of Rin, and your's. In the end, Lily Neru and even Gumi agreed. Now we only need you to make this work." He smiled.

"Wow… I-I," Len stuttered over his amazement at the plan. "I just can't believe I actually have a chance… Before it's too late… Before she leaves!"

"Yeah," Kaito agreed. "And don't think that she would judge you or whatever's happening in your life while you meet her. Rin has her own insecurities. Her life isn't all that perfect and stable as you think. She's still open-minded and would never put things like your struggles against you.

"It's not only you who needs to grow after the break up. Rin also needs to do that for herself. Part of that growth is forgiving you, which I had to scold her for early this year. Trust yourself, Len. We're here to help you. But it's you who will make this plan work."

"I feel so relieved… Thank you Kai, to your friends too. I-I don't know what to say with all of this, honestly!" Len sobbed in joy.

"You'll have more time to think of what you can say in thanks, if you agree to meet with them and discuss the plan." Kaito smiled and relaxed in his chair.

The look of hesitance crossed through Len's face. "I-I.."

Before Kaito could probe on it, there was a knock on the door. "Kaito, Len. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, mum. I'll open it for you." Kaito stood up from his seat and went to the door. On the other side was his mother and an aroma of freshly baked sweets that lingered from downstairs.

"The cookies are finished, and it's Len's favourite. Come downstairs and I can continue catching up with dear Len."

The boys followed Kanako and went downstairs.

Len forgot how good the baked goods his friend's mother made, especially these cookies that were his favourite.

It only reminded him of how much he missed the good early days of his friendship with Kaito. Most of the conversation with Mrs Fuuga was about Len and his plans for next year and the anxieties of starting university.

"Ah. It feels like yesterday when you two were little with your school hats and just starting primary school. Now you're all grown up going to uni. Time flies so fast, it's so heartbreaking at the same time." Mrs Fuuga smiled fondly with a palm on her cheek.

"Time does fly fast," Len agreed in a soft tone. "I guess that's why we should make the most of every moment."

Kaito looked at Len while he had a bite of his cookie. With what he just said, it was befitting of what he needed to convince his friend today.

The conversation led to the shenanigans Kaito had been up to, including embarrassing stories that were told by his friend Gakupo, all exposed to Kanako, to the shame of Kaito.

The conversation ended when Mrs Fuuga offered Len and his family an invitation for dinner sometime when both families were free. Len expressed his gratitude to Kaito's mother before he and her son went to the living room.

Kaito and Len decided to play a video game. It was a quick choice when they pulled out a fighting game, nothing too heavy and just casual.

They both sat on the sofa as they got settled and prepared for the game.

Despite the lack of facial expression and their calm posture, the two were in a competitive mood evident with the intricate and fast-phased movement of their fingers on every hit of their buttons. Kaito and Len were in a stronghold that made them tie in an endless game of tag in their rankings.

The competitive nature seemed to tone down when Len attempted a conversation, his focus remained on the screen. "... I don't think she would want me back in her life though."

"What do you mean?" Kaito's gaze also stayed on the screen. But he perfectly heard what his friend just said.

Len sighed, still continued to hit the buttons on his controller. "I actually saw Rin a while ago. Like early this year."

"What!?"

Kaito got so distracted that Len took the chance to complete a ten-hit combo; severely damaging the health of Kaito's character in the process. "And you managed to not say a word of it until now!?"

"Well, yeah. I thought you needed to know this." Len continued to inflict damage on Kaito's character and also defended himself from the receiving hits.

"I was at the public library doing codes for my assessment. Then I saw her at the reception desk. You know those cliche moments in romance movies where you saw your love interest? I couldn't believe I was experiencing it. She was so beautiful, especially when she was smiling and talking about some specialised books she needed to borrow. My table was near the reception desk, so Rin would have more likely noticed me than I noticed her.

"But she didn't, and I was wearing a face mask and these glasses. It could be why I wasn't noticed, if she had not intentionally pretended not to see me there." Len paused after he realised Kaito turned the tables against him in the game. Then he got back to his story.

"I actually thought of standing up and approaching her. But I suddenly doubted myself and thought I might have made her uncomfortable if I did. I couldn't let myself be the reason for putting her in that situation. So I just watched her leave."

Kaito thought of screwing his chances to win the game if it meant to convince Len to join the plan. "But you didn't try, Len. You are in where you are now because you never knew what happened. You would have known had you become brave enough to approach her."

"You don't get it, Kai," Len rebutted. "Rin acts in a different way to people she's not comfortable with. It hurts to be at the receiving end of it now that I want to be with her. I can't handle it anymore than I had back then. You know Rin is fucking blunt that she never thinks about what comes out of her mouth and gets trouble for it.

"But the few times we talked, especially by the end of tenth grade, she was very guarded. As if she was carefully choosing every word she said to me. She would be crude and a little shit to you, Megumi, and her friends. But it felt like she was walking on eggshells when we had to talk, like trying to be too nice to me.

Len sighed. "We both know that Rin can be the most friendly person. But you won't know better that she actually dreads doing it if she can't bear being with you. That's what's happening to me. I know it's because she's protecting herself thinking I might hurt her again like last time. She's right to do that. But I can't deny it feels like I was slapped. And it stings."

"This is all the more reason why I should be sorry for not supporting you back then." Kaito replied, the guilt from earlier returned.

Len had a relaxed smile while he faced the screen. "You said so yourself, we have to be in the present now. And in the present, you're here to help me. And I don't know what else to say how much I'm grateful for that."

Kaito did not have to think twice that it was meant for him.

With a final hit from Len's character, Kaito's character fell down after his health gauge was depleted. The game declared a K.O, Len's character reigned victorious after a tight battle.

He put down his controller beside him and sighed. "I think I'd like to meet your friends."

Kaito set aside his sulking after he lost the tight battle when he heard Len. "Wait! Really!?"

Len hummed as he nodded. "Your friends don't know me but they've gone out of their way to help me for Rin. That's the best thing I've heard. It only settled to me how much effort they invested to make this plan possible. And that honestly made me realise I should do my part too. I won't be alone this time."

He smiled, and it was different. Len's smile was genuine, matched with the glasses that made him look like a dork.

But this dork was his best mate, and Kaito was proud of him.

"The mastermind has all of us convinced after she reminded us Rin could leave at any moment. That was from the start of this year. Now that we're almost finishing, we've never felt more agitated and in a rush to make this plan work where Rin could leave literally any day, even today." Kaito shared, finally relieved from today's events.

"Ah. That has always been at the back of my mind, asking myself whether her family's plans to migrate had ever changed. But after meeting you, I finally confirmed those questions. Now I know I have to gather all my strength."

There was silence from the two of them. The audio from the video game's menu still played from the speakers.

Kaito exited the game to turn off the audio. He was meant to ask Len if he wanted to play another game, or to shut down the console when he was interrupted.

"I'm done regretting the things I could have done." Len's eyes were serious that left no doubt, but only conviction in his words. "It's time I give Rin the closure she deserves."

He smiled then, relaxed and seemingly at peace with his decision.

Kaito could not help the large smile on his face. He wrapped an arm on Len's shoulder in support.

"It's not only Rin who needs closure. You need closure too. Fixing the mistakes of your shared past isn't a one-man team. It's for two people, you and Rin, to heal each other."

Len never thought this day would come. But it did.

His old friend Kaito reached out to him; not only to rekindle their friendship but also helped him correct his mistakes with Rin.

He finally felt hopeful.

With the newfound help from his best mate, he would finally be able to return what was once abandoned.