Chapter 2
Rin could not stop the fit of giggles that erupted from her throat. Who could? This was just too priceless!
With all the stealth and cunning of a ninja, not a very skilled one to be honest, she had crept out of bed before Len, which was actually quite a difficult task. The boy had a serious death grip! But once she had managed to free herself, she quietly slid open his desk and rummaged through for a certain, fatty permanent black marker he kept for apparently no reason at all. Ah! Found it. Now that she had her weapon, it was time to exact vengeance upon the fool that dared double cross her: Len.
"Bwahaha," the girl was sure devil horns sprouted from her head just now, "This is for yesterday, jerk!"
After about five minutes or so of "administering justice" to Len's face, Rin sat back and admired her handiwork with glee. She had initially planned to make him into a cat, with 3 thick whiskers on each cheek, a "3" shape on his upper lip, and a cute little triangle nosey to finish up the job, but then decided that punishment to be too merciful. She then drew some crudely shaped "eyes" over his eyelids, giving the impression that he was awake. That always really freaked her out to be honest.
"Hmm, what else," Rin tapped her chin in wonder. Chin? Ah! She could give him a goatee! Rin tried in vain to stifle her snickers as she applied the facial hair, deciding that he also needed a handlebar mustache too. Maybe a unibrow… oh, and some freckles! Yeah, maybe some under eye circles too… hehe this was so fun! And for the grand finale, a giant "BAKA" kanji across the forehead.
Len groaned and stirred. Rin squeaked and quickly ducked under the bed. A second passed… then two… Eh? The idiot wasn't awake yet? Rin shyly peeked from her hiding spot and let out the breath she had been holding. Thank goodness, he only rolled over.
Rin crawled out and examined her brother again. This time he had kicked most of the blanket off, leaving his shirtless self exposed to the open air. A slight bit of pink tinted Rin's cheeks. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but Len really did have a nice body. It was slender and lean, yet toned but not to the point where it became overbearing. He was a bit on the skinny side, as evident by the ridges exposed by his ribs, and for the most part was hairless, but Rin figured that suited him better. Her fingers lightly ghosted over the light bumps of his abs, marveling at how soft and smooth his skin was. It was even nicer than hers, she was disappointed to say.
Wait, why was she even touching him?
"Gah!" Rin's blush darkened even further. That's gross, he's like her brother! This could be considered incest almost. Rin shivered. "H-He just… looks too naked! Yes, that's right." In an attempt to console herself, Rin set out to remedy Len's "nakedness". With the aid of her trusty black marker, she graciously decided to bestow upon him the gifts of chest hair, a more defined six-pack, nipple flowers, and a huge bubbly "SHOTA" label across his chest. Ehehehe!
Turquoise eyes fluttered open.
"Rin… what are you doing?"
"…"
Well, shit.
"KYAAAAA!"
Needless to say, she bolted out of there. Rin leapt behind the couch and plugged her ears, waiting for the great explosion to happen.
"…RIN KAGAMINE, WHAT DID YOU DO?"
Yep, there it was.
Rin gasped as she felt herself yanked up by the back of her collar and pinned to the floor, a very, very enraged Len hovering dangerously over her. She gulped.
"Why," Len's chest heaved, "Why did you draw all over me?"
If Rin had been smart, she would have whimpered and apologized to her dear older brother. But nah. "It's for tickling me and being a jerk yesterday when I bumped into you!" She defiantly stuck her tongue out at him.
Rin could have sworn she saw regret flicker across his eyes, but that was quickly drowned by a mischievous, vindictive smirk.
"I see," Len voice was dark. It sent shivers down her spine, "One thing to keep in mind, Rin-chan: never leave your weapon behind." He relished the horrified look on her face as he held up the fatty, permanent black marker.
"No, you wouldn't, Len that's not fair! Len, stop-LEENN!"
After half an hour of struggling, wrestling, and laughing, both teens lay panting on the floor, Rin sprawled across Len's lap. Both were ridiculously covered in marker, though more tended to be just random squiggly lines than anything. Len's fingers wove idly in and out of Rin's hair, occasionally switching their attentions to rubbing her back comfortingly. Rin busied herself by tracing the doodles on Len's leg.
It was odd, Len thought, how relaxed they were around each other at home, yet in public they avoided each other like the plague. His face fell. It was his fault, though.
Because two years ago, he found out that he was in love with Rin. True, he had only been fourteen when he made that discovery, but they say that the hormones that cause a person to "love" another usually fade after two or three years, and he's been in love with Rin for five now. Not once did any of those feelings fade, if anything they've grown stronger, just like Rin. Each year she becomes brighter, more confident… she'll be beautiful when she's older.
And he didn't deserve her. Him, a deceitful playboy, couldn't possibly be worthy enough of someone as pure as Rin. He thought that maybe if he distanced himself somewhat from her and let her find some other boy, then things would be ok. But just the thought of seeing any boy near Rin filled him with so much jealousy and rage that he always ended up beating up any guy who so much as looked at her. He also thought that by going out with other girls, he could forget about Rin. He was wrong.
Len sucked in a sharp breath when one of her fingers trailed a little too high up his thigh.
"Did I hurt you?" Rin blinked, briefly wondering if she had inadvertently elbowed his "children" or something.
"No," Len shook his head, "I…" but his words were lost as he caught sight of her bright, concerned eyes. Those innocent irises… her slender shoulders… petite figure… those lips… Len needed to get out of there. He needed to see someone. Now.
"Where are you going?" Rin called as her brother abruptly got up and headed towards the bathroom. Her questions were drowned out by the sound of the showerhead turning on. Len came out some time later, fully dressed and pulling his hair up into a ponytail, "I'm going out. Don't know when I'll be back, k?"
Rin frowned as she heard the apartment door slam shut. She fell back on the floor with a sigh. "Aren't I good enough for him?" Why did he always need to go out? Didn't he want to stay with her for at least one day? She really missed the times when she could just sit around playing video games with him, talk, or just do stupid things like wrestle with permanent black marker.
"Times change don't they?"
The phone chose that moment to ring. Rin sighed and picked up the receiver, "Hello?"
"Rin-chaaaan!" Teto's high voice echoed from the earpiece, "Are you busy now?"
"Hey Teto, no I'm not, why?"
"Huh? You sound sad, is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?"
"Mou, if you're sure. Listen, my cousin Ted has come over for winter break and wants to meet some of my friends! So I thought it'd be nice if you could come with me while I showed him around town. How's that?"
"Alright, sounds cool."
"Yatta!" Rin could practically see Teto's grinning face on the other line, "Meet you at the plaza in an hour?"
"Yup, see you there."
"Don't be late. Bye!"
"Bye."
Rin hung up the phone and walked over to the bathroom, "Ted, huh? Wonder what kind of person he's like…"
"He's… really cute." Rin's mouth fell agape as she watched two redheads approach her from afar. One was a grinning, pig-tailed girl, Teto, and the other much taller individual must have been Ted. He had long, crimson hair, much like Teto's, except his was pulled into a low, loose ponytail that swished elegantly behind him as he walked. Shorter bangs delicately accentuated his foxy, angled face structure. His skin was fair and smooth, but what struck Rin the most were his eyes: they were soft and narrowed, reminiscent of a certain blonde male she knew, a male that she swore she wouldn't think of during this trip.
"Rin-chan, I'd like you to meet Ted!"
"N-Nice to meet you, Ted-kun," Rin bowed and blushed. Teto should have told her Ted was hot, she would have put on nicer clothes!
"It's nice to meet you," Ted smiled, "Rin-chan." Oh god, his teeth were perfect! And his voice... so dreamy!
"Hmmm?" Teto raised a brow, "Rin-chan, you're blushing. But I can't imagine why… gasp! Is it because you think Ted is cute?"
"Huh?" Rin's eyes widened, "N-No way, you've got it all wrong!"
Teto sneered, "Uh huh."
Ted decided to be a gentleman and switch the topic, "Rin-chan, Teto-chan has told me so much about you. I'm… kind of excited to meet you in person."
"Eh? Ted, you're speaking so quietly! Are you nervous? Do you think Rin-chan is cute also?"
"W-What?" It was Ted's turn to flush.
"You do you do!"
"T-Teto-chan…"
"Oh really?" now it was Rin's turn to save Ted, "What kinds of things did Teto tell you? Nothing bad I hope, I've got some pretty nasty stories of her too."
"Ah, really?" Ted grinned, "I'd like to hear!"
"N-Nevermind that," Teto suddenly grabbed both teens by the arms, "Let's just get going! Everything's going to close if we just stand around here talking all day, eheh..."
Len growled in frustration and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Akita Neru slept soundly on the bed, worn out from their previous activities. Len, however, still felt dissatisfied. He paced about the room disgustedly. It was a cheap motel room that he always rented out for these purposes, and smelled strongly of musk and alcohol. Empty bottles were strewn all about the floor and bed as well as discarded clothes and random trash.
Lately, it had been getting harder and harder for him to find satisfaction from these encounters, be it Miku, Neru, Gumi, Luka... At first he had been able to delude his senses with alcohol, been able to believe that those doleful, hazy blue eyes beneath him were hers, or that those light, airy moans were hers. But now the idiotic, nagging voice of reality has been getting louder and louder.
"Dammit," Len seethed as he punched a wall, leaving a fairly sized dent in his wake. Good thing those dingy motel owners didn't care what anyone did to the rooms, anyways.
"Len?" a groggy voice met his ears, "What are you doing?"
"Go back to sleep, Neru."
"No, you're going to leave again aren't you?"
"Go back to sleep. It doesn't matter if I do."
The girl pouted and rose to drape her arms lazily about his shoulders. He could still smell the alcohol present in her system. Len almost felt tempted to shrug them off, "Len-kun, stay with me, won't you? You always rent this room out for one night but you don't even stay the entire time, such a waste."
"I have to get back. It's 11PM."
"Well then… I'm coming with you!"
Len rolled his eyes, "Fine, but you leave as soon as I get to my apartment."
"Yaaaay!" Neru cheered and haphazardly threw herself into Len's arms, "Carry me there!"
Len sighed. A drunk Neru is a very annoying Neru.
"Mou, Len-kuuun, why do you have to go back now? It's only midnight, let's play some more."
A vein popped in his forehead. Not once during the drive back did she stop whining, "Sorry Neru, that's all for tonight."
"Isn't it such a hassle having to come back every time you go out? Come ooonn!"
"I told you, I can't. That's all."
He walked up the steps and unlocked the door to his apartment. Neru, however, wouldn't let go of his coat.
"Tch, is it your sister?" she puffed up her cheeks in anger, "Ugh, I don't see why you care so much! She's 16, gonna be 17 in like a week, she can take care of herself. What, is she so much of a baby that she'll whine and cry if you're gone for one day?"
Len narrowed his eyes, "Neru."
"Let me talk to her, I'll slap some sense into the gi-" She gasped when Len's hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist. She whimpered when he twisted it behind her back.
"Neru-chan," his tone was icy, "You weren't seriously just threatening my dear little sister now, were you?"
"O-Ow, that hurts!" Neru's eyes widened when Len grabbed her chin and forced her to look in his eyes. She gasped. They were cold, hateful.
"Rin is loud, sometimes scary," his voice was dangerously low, "Not very bright, and immature, but... she's the only one I'd want to wake up to every morning."
Neru couldn't seem to form any words.
"Ja, well, goodnight!" he released her with a smile. Neru fell back on the cold ground and winced. "Oh," Len suddenly stopped, "And if you so much as lay a finger on her, don't think that your being a girl means I'll hesitate to take action against you, because I won't."
And with that, he entered the apartment, leaving a terrified Neru to stare dumbly at the door as it shut in her face.
No comments:
Post a Comment