Black and Ashes

Chapter 6
Error

Rin laughed, she was having too much fun with her new family. "Ne, Miku-nee! Tell another one!" Rin said, a tear slid down the side of her face, her stomach ached from laughing.

Miku giggled, she had been telling Rin some of the embarrassing moments of Luka. The pinkette's face flushed with embarrassment, and gave the tealette a heated glare. "Hmm…" Miku then noticed the glare, and raised a peace-sign with her fingers, and gave the pinkette a grin. "Anyway… Ah! I remembered when Kaito—" Before Miku could continue, Kaito had slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Miku~!" he whined, pouting. Rin laughed at Kaito's reaction, Meiko smirked and drank the contents of the bottle she was holding, and Luka blinked, then chuckled, she was glad that she was not the topic anymore as her eyes refocused on the book she was reading. Miku peeled Kaito's hand off her mouth, a huge grin on her face.

"Ah—! I saw~!" Miku started, "Kaito~!" she sang, the tealette jumped off the sofa, "Danc—!"

"Miku!" Kaito tackled the girl before she could continue. The two wrestled on the floor, Miku was giggling like an idiot, while Kaito was trying to keep her mouth shut. His face was red as a tomato. Miku was able to pull away, she ran to the other side of the room, with Kaito hot on her tail.

Soon after, Kaito was able to subdue Miku, his hand pressed on her lips. "Not another word, Miku," he said, a pout on his lips. Miku tongue went out of her lips, and licked Kaito's palm. The bluenette pulled his hand back, "Miku~!" he whined, a disgusted look on his face.

Rin doubled in laughter, clutching her aching stomach, "Ne~! Ha~ha!" she laughed, and then she breathed heavily. "Ne…" she started, slowly calming down, "Ne, Miku-nee, Kaito-nii, y-you guys look like a couple!" she said, grinning innocently. The two Vocaloids stared at each other, before blushing heavily. "Though…" Rin's gaze fell, "I feel like I'm missing something," she muttered, a distant look on her face. The Vocaloids quieted down, glancing at each other.

Meiko mouthed a 'Len' towards Miku's and Kaito's direction. Kaito shrugged in reply, while Miku nodded her head in agreement. Rin sighed, and buried herself deeper in 'her' sofa.

At the same time, the door opened. The Vocaloids turned their attention to the opened door, Yamamoto-san was standing by the doorway with a huge smile on his lips. "Hello, everyone!" he greeted, his glasses reflected the light, hiding his brown eyes. "I want you to meet a very important person," he said, slight excitement was present in his voice.

The Vocaloids shifted from their sits; Rin sat up from the yellow sofa when she felt Yamamoto's gaze upon her. "Ah, Rin," he said, his smile widening, "Come here," he ordered, waving a hand for her.

Rin sat up, her face held confusion, "Okay," she mumbled, uncertainty present in her voice. She slowly walked towards the scientist, she stopped right in front of him, and she started to shuffle nervously, while her gaze focused on the floor.

Yamamoto's turned around, "Okay," he started, "Come on in," he said, gesturing for someone to enter. He stepped away from the doorway, and allowed whoever-it-was to enter.

Rin kept staring at the floor, she heard exclaims from her friends, yet she refused to look up. Soon, she saw a pair of white sneakers, with black leg warmers. She slowly looked up, from black leg warmers, to black shorts, to a white shirt, a yellow tie, and soon she was staring at a pair of electric blue eyes.

Rin gasped.

It was him! The guy that harassed her a few days ago… Yet, he looked different.

The guy smiled warmly, his eyes shone, and his blond locks framed his pale face perfectly. Rin felt a blush rush into her cheeks. "I'm Len!" he said, as he extended an arm towards her. Rin blinked, she was unsure of what to do, yet, she extended her arm to shake 'Len's' hand. He grinned.

Yamamoto cleared his throat, "Well, you guys be good, alright?" he said. The Vocaloids nodded their heads loyally. Satisfied, Yamamoto left the room without another word.

Rin immediately pulled her hand back, and gave 'Len' a weird stare. Len tilted his head to the side, "What's wrong Rin-chan?" he asked, a worried look on his face. "Did I scare you or something…?"

"You…" Rin mumbled, "You're the guy that harassed me!" she shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the oblivious blond.

"Eh? Harassed you? But we only met!" Len exclaimed, a surprised look on his face, "And, why would I harass my other?"

"Other?" Rin muttered, her brows furrowed together in confusion.

The grin he wore before returned, he placed an arm on Rin's shoulder, "Of course! If there's a Kagamine Rin, then there must be a Kagamine Len!" he said, then followed by his laughter. "Right, guys?" he asked the others as he—and Rin—turned around. Rin opened her mouth to protest, but her voice got caught in her throat when she saw something slip out from behind her sofa.

The thing; it was white, with black, and a head full of blond hair. It stood up, its eyes hidden behind his blond locks.

"Eh?" Len stared at the thing with a raised brow, "He's still here?" he muttered.

The thing, or more like a 'he', looked up, a pair of flaring red and blue eyes glared hard on the male Kagamine. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice cold and icy.

Len scoffed arrogantly, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question?" he asked back, as he stared at the other. The other glared hard at him, he walked towards Len. Rin yelped and hid behind Len's back. He stopped right in front of Len, just for a moment, then he rammed passed him, purposely hitting Len by the shoulder, then he exited the room.

If one was paying close attention to Len, they would've noticed the cruel smirk on his lips.

Then he turned to Rin, "You' alright?" he asked, worry was present in his voice.

Rin stared at the door for a moment, before turning her attention to Len, "Yeah," she mumbled in reply.

Then a silence blanketed the room.

Not until, "What the hell?" Kaito blurted, breaking the deafening silence. His face scrunched up in confusion, the other Vocaloids mirrored him as well. "There are two of them now?"

What the hell was going on?

Len. The real Len was back in front of 'his' wall.

Fuck.

What the hell was going on?

That guy… He has the same face as Len's… Are they going to replace him too?

How dare they try to replace! Is he really that easy to replace? Doesn't he matter at all?

Suddenly, pain burst from within his chest, Len's breaths came out as short gasps, beads of sweat slid down the sides of his face, and his blond locks stick to his pale skin. Len turned his back on the wall, the blinding pain in his chest worsened. As the back of his head collided with the wall, he let out a pained yell, and pain spread across his head; he could've sworn he heard a crack from the impact. Then, bright red numbers spread across his vision, and the corners of his sight soon darkened.

He was in too much pain that he did not notice a person stop before him. Sapphire blue eyes observed his pained expression with amusement reflecting from them. A sadistic grin occupied the person's lips, and he sent Len a kick by the abdomen.

Len screamed even more.

If it weren't of the pain, he would've seen who had done it, and he would've heard the cruel laugh echoing across the hallway and the sound of footsteps, slowly fading.

Len's vision finally blackened.

Rin anxiously fidgeted around with her yellow blankets, playing with the hems as her gaze focused on the floor. Currently, Rin is in her room, and she's currently on 'her' bed. Len—the new one—told her to wait for him there, and there she was, waiting for her 'other' to come.

It was just weird, seeing two people at the same time. Len and… Len?

There were two Len(s); the only difference between them is their eyes. The old Len has a red one. And their personalities totally clash with each other—or so she thought. This new Len was kinder to her, while the old Len… The last time she saw him, his face was blank and void of emotions, however, a few moments ago, he appears to be angry. Luka had told Rin a few days ago that Len's emotions weren't working, but… Why did he looked angry?

"Rin?"

RIn snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone mentioned her name. She looked up to see Len, she mentally sighed in relief when she saw a pair of blue eyes. Len smiled warmly and sat down next to her on her bed.

"Umm…" Rin started, "What do you want to tell me?" she asked. She still feels uneasy around him, it'd be a long time before she could get used to his face.

"Ah," Len head perked up, "About that…" he grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I forgot."

Rin felt a nerve snapped, she gave Len a hard glare and slapped him by the side of the head, "Idiot!" she hissed. But then she realized what she had done… Oh, crap. Len cradled his head, whining. "Ah-ah! Sorry! My body just moved on its own!" she said truthfully, a blush spread across her cheeks.

Then, Len looked up and grinned, "That's alright, you can hit me every time you want," he replied.

"What? No! That'll be—!" before Rin could finish her sentence, Len placed a slender finger on her lips.

"It's alright. You don't need to be guilty about it!" he said, laughing, "And you can still hit me if you want!" he added.

Rin made a face, "But—!"

Len stopped laughing, wearing a serious face, he placed his hands on Rin's shoulder. "Rin, I will do everything for you, so don't you worry, alright?" he said. Rin stared at him weirdly, before reluctantly nodding her head. Len's grin returned and he patted Rin's head, satisfied with her answer.

Len's eyes fluttered open, he found himself on the same floor where he had blacked out. He grunted, and tried to stand up, which was a mistake, the moment he moved a limb, pain like electricity spread across his body. He yelled out in pain. His hand gripped his chest, his nails nearly dug down on his skin, soon, he was drawing blood out of his torn skin.

"Haa—! Haa—!" his breaths came out as short gasps, his eyes narrowed, while red numbers weaved across his vision.

Minutes of agonizing pain later, the pain started to subdue, yet it was still there. This time, Len tried sitting up, pain shot from his back, but he managed sitting up anyways. He clutched his chest with one hand, while his other hand went to the wall, and supported himself up from the floor, and into a standing position. Len tried his best to ignore the pain, as he pathetically dragged himself down the hallway.

Soon, he reached his room. His hand landed on the knob, but it automatically opened. Len blinked, a confused look on his face, but then he realized 'who' was the one standing in the doorway. Standing on the doorway was him. Len's replacement. Len's confused face turned that of anger, he bared his white teeth, "What are you doing here?" he hissed, his blue and red eyes turned into slits.

The replacement smiled, as if he was mocking him. "I do live here now, right?" he said in a matter-of-factly. Len growled, almost animalistic. The replacement chuckled, "Ah right, you have no where to sleep now," he paused, a thoughtful look on his face, "Ah! You could always sleep in the floor, yes?"

Len had enough, ignoring the pain still lingering around his body, the blond took the other blond by the collar. Len pulled him closer, their faces almost a few centimeters away. "Who do you think you are?" he hissed, his eyes glared daggers at him.

The smile on the other blond never left, his eyes held amusement. "Who do you think?" he asked back. Len did not answered, his eyes narrowed with hate. "Ah," the replacement pulled back, brushing Len's hand of off him. "Oh, look at the time…" he said, suddenly changing the subject. "I'll be going to Rin-chan now… Ja~!"

The replacement brushed past him, his shoulder collided painfully with Len's. The blond bit back a pained scream, the replacement glanced back at him, an amused look on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said, but his voice did not sound sincere. The replacement left him and walked down the hallway, heading to the lounging room.

Unable to bare the pain any longer, Len collapsed on the floor, with red numbers still dancing across his vision.

"Damn you," was all he said before falling back into unconsciousness.

Len had waked up (again) from his temporary shut down. He had shut down from a few malfunctions in his system. Len felt a little better than before, however, he still feels pain once and a while. A few days had already passed after his temporary shut-down and his replacement came. Len was wondering why he was still there. He shouldn't be complaining, and he knows that, but he was still curious.

Len and his replacement was not in 'good terms', however. The replacement had been a complete 'asshole' to him, and that just pisses Len even more. Len doesn't like him not one bit, and so did his replacement. Len still has to find the reason of the replacement's hostile attitude towards him.

Currently, Len was walking down the same old hallway, and he entered the kitchen. His eyes widened when he noticed another person inside the room. Fuck the Devil, it was him. The other blond noticed him, he was currently chewing a certain yellow fruit… a banana. Not only that, it was Len's stock of bananas.

The replacement grinned, "Oh, it's you," he said casually, as he swallowed the yellow fruit. He went to get another one and peeled the skin off. Len frowned, he turned on his heels and was about to walk out, not until the other stopped him. The replacement placed a hand on Len's shoulder and forcefully pulled him into the room. Len stumbled and ended up hitting the kitchen's counter, pain shot from his back; his back arching as he yelled in pain. The replacement smirked sadistically, as he gave Len a sharp kick by the abdomen. It made Len scream even more. The replacement chuckled, "Pathetic," he said, as he shook his head.

Len gasped, as he clutched his aching abdomen. He looked up and sent a glare to him, "What do you want?" he demanded, his red and blue eyes flared angrily.

The other shrugged, and he squatted down to Len's level. "Nothing…"

Len hissed, he swiped his hand out and tried to claw the replacement's face. "Bastard!" he shouted, but the other moved out of Len's reach. Len groaned, pain shot from his chest.

The other laughed cruelly, clearly enjoying Len's suffering. "Okay, I'm lying," he said, he stood up and cleared his throat, "What I wanted to say is…" he paused, his hand suddenly went to cover his mouth, trying to subdue an incoming laugh. "I just want to…" he trailed off, before bursting in laughter. Len's eyes narrowed, his grip on his chest tightened. "HAHAHA! Y-You—! HAHAHAHA!" he laughed, he was clutching his stomach, "Y-you l-look so p-pathetic!" he said between laughs.

Len watched him laugh, his anger boiling up inside of him.

Soon, the other Len's laughter was slowly subduing, he wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes. He stood up straight once again, and he cleared his throat. "Really, if looks could kill, I'll be dead by now," he said out loud.

Len scoffed, "Dead, and ripped into pieces," he growled, a scowl on his face.

The other Len chuckled amusedly. "Figures," he muttered. His eyes then snapped towards him, "Ah, you're probably wondering why you're still here," he said, changing the subject. However, Len remained silent and made no attempt to answer. The other Len pursed his lips, "I'll take that as a yes… Anyway, I was wondering too…" he trailed off, a thoughtful look on his face. "Ah, doesn't matter, sooner or later, you'll be disposed off," he added.

Len's scowl deepened even more, "What makes you think that?"

The other Len stared at him, tilting his head to the said, "You're quite slow, aren't you?" he said, his smirk returned. "You do see me right now, right?

I am your replacement, Kagamine Len."

The other Len's words felt like daggers, and needles, stabbing Len from everywhere.

The other continued, "You don't have to be worried, though… I'll be better than you'll ever be. Also, unlike you, I'll take more care for Rin, than what you did."

It was a stab in the heart. Almost forgotten memories crashed down to Len's, filling his mind of the scenes from the burning building.

The flames.

The ashes.

Blackness.

Her smile.

Rin.

Len eyes started to water. He ignored the cruel laughs coming from the other Len. He didn't even notice the other Len leaving the room, nor the banana peel he had thrown on Len's head.

Rin. Rin. Rin. Rin. Rin. Rin.

Len's vision was flashing red, the bright numbers swirled around his vision.

RIN. RIN. RIN. RIN. RIN. RIN

Bright red letters flashed before his eyes.

Systems Malfunction.

Error.

Systems Failed to Shut Down.

Error.

An uncharacteristic grin spread across Len's lips.