Chapter Text
It’s his first day of high school, and Kaito is unreasonably nervous.
He had woken up all jittery, brushed his teeth in a hurry and grabbed three slices of plain bread for breakfast. Across the dining table, Meiko had watched him shrug on his uniform in an almost haphazard manner. “Kaito, what happened? You’re usually more put together than this,” she had scolded him before helping him with his crooked tie and wrinkled shirt. “Good luck out there,” she had told him jovially as she had sent him out their front door with a clap on his back.
Kaito wishes Meiko could be there for his entrance ceremony, but she’s already in some exclusive academy for all the top students in the nation. Then again, maybe that’s for the best. Having her around 24/7 would get exhausting really quickly.
Kaito joins the other first years entering the school gates to look for his name and class assignment. There’s a lot of unfamiliar faces, which doesn’t help to ease his misgivings in any way. He eventually finds his name right smack in the middle of the board announcing he is to be in class 1-B. Kaito clutches his bookbag closer to him and looks here and there, hoping to spot a new classmate or two.
Unfortunately for Kaito, he ends up standing there awkwardly for a few more minutes. Everyone else seems to already know a bunch of people from middle school. After several agonisingly slow moments, a short boy with golden hair and an oversized hoodie approaches the board. Then he glances up at Kaito. “1-B too?”
“Y-yes!” Kaito tries not to sound too eager. That would be weird, right? He doesn’t want to come across as weird. Maybe this boy doesn’t know anyone else either? If so, the last thing Kaito needs to do is drive him off because he was too creepy.
Kaito’s new classmate flashes him a smile. “I’m Kagamine Len. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Sakine Kaito, and it’s nice to meet you as well.”
“Want to go to the entrance ceremony together?”
“Of course! Lead the way.”
Great job, Kaito, he tells himself in relief as he walks alongside the shorter boy. Here’s to not messing up and being social with your classmates!
In yet another unlucky break for Kaito, Len suddenly pauses and takes off running. “Miku!” Kaito watches as he runs up to a girl with glasses and twintails and flicks her arm. “Where the hell did you just run off to?” Len teases her. “I can’t believe you left me all alone to fend for myself!”
First of all, is Kaito really the only person here who doesn’t know someone from middle school? Second of all, he actually remembers Miku from all that time just now spent pretending he was still looking for his own name. Hatsune Miku is a very pretty name. And that brings Kaito to his third point: Hatsune is her family name.
Why is a boy addressing a girl of the same age so casually?! That’s definitely going to make her uncomfortable –
“Len, maybe I need to give you your own pair of glasses,” Miku scoffs theatrically with her head held high in the air. “You see, I dropped my book on the floor, and then I panicked, and then I dived on top of it to hide the cover, and then you were gone, and then!”
“Alright, alright,” Len groans. “Make it out to be my fault again, why don’t you? I’ll make it up to you, okay?” He shakes his head and helps her tie one of her messy sidetails again. Len steps back to pet down loose teal strands, looking satisfied. “All better now. What would you do without me?”
Kaito stands there, rooted to the ground in shock. Len had just… just touched her with so much familiarity? And Miku had even stayed still and let him? That can only mean one thing.
They’re dating!
This is probably Kaito’s cue to walk away quietly and apologise to Len in class later for even daring to speak to him. Because clearly this guy is a total stud if he’s managed to snag a long-term girlfriend in middle school. Kaito isn’t worthy.
Len stops Kaito before he can sneak off. “Anyway, Miku, this is my new classmate, Sakine Kaito,” he says while gesturing to him. “Wanna head to assembly together?”
“It’s so cool you’ve already made new friends, Len!” Miku responds excitedly, but Kaito can tell she’s more hesitant with him around. Kaito puts on his best disarming smile but isn’t really offended when Miku chooses to walk beside Len instead.
“Sakine,” she begins quietly, “what class are both of you in?”
“We’re both in 1-B.” Kaito feels as awkward as Miku probably does.
“Awww, Len, no fair. I’m all the way over in 1-H in the next wing.” And Kaito isn’t even surprised she immediately tried to go back to a conversation with her boyfriend. He feels like he’s intruding upon their easy camaraderie.
Len shrugs and hums good-naturedly. “We can still talk during lunch.”
Their chatter lulls, and silence settles over them both. Eventually, unable to help himself, Kaito meekly says, “Um, excuse me, you two… if I’m third wheeling I can… go ahead if you’d prefer?”
Miku crashes into Len, who had stopped right in front of her. Both of them whirl on Kaito, looking mortified. “What? No, n-no, we aren’t dating or anything!” Miku protests, crossing her arms in an x shape.
“Holy hell.” Len is gagging. “Ew, no! She’s just a friend!”
Kaito isn’t sure what he looks like. Probably lost, confused, and like he needs to pee urgently. “Pardon me for asking, but if that’s the case, then what happened just now?”
“Huh?” Len wrinkles his nose.
Does Len really not know what he’s getting at? “You two are on a first name basis and Hatsune seems very comfortable with you,” Kaito explains himself hurriedly. “I’m truly sorry if I made either of you uncomfortable with my assumptions. But, ah, well… if a boy and a girl are that close, it almost always means they’re a couple.”
Len and Miku stare at him for what feels like forever. Sweat gathers at the back of Kaito’s neck. He takes a few steps backward when their gazes flick to each other. They seem to be silently communicating, but he doesn’t know either of them well enough to know what their secret talk might be about.
Don’t tell him… the reason Len doesn’t know this is because he gets so many girls?! Oh, Kaito is going to regret even making eye contact with Len.
“Ohhhhh!” Len finally exclaims. It’s an exaggerated high pitch that sounds really, really fake. “Thaaat!” Len coughs and leans against the nearby wall with one hand. “Yeah, so, uh, like, we’ve been childhood besties forever! So, uh, that’s why we act like. Weird, or some shit. I bet all that miiight seem a teeny tiny bit funny to you!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Miku waves both her hands around, glasses in disarray. “Like, yeah, it’s totally not normal and I totally agree with you, Sakine! But like, it’s because Len’s a super close friend of mine so it doesn’t really matter that he’s a boy to me! But also we’re not dating, I promise you. Of course not! That’s crazy!”
It’s Kaito’s turn to stare at them, because he feels like he’s seen this exact scene in anime romcoms over and over again. It’s only ten episodes till this pair of childhood friends confess their undying love for each other, and Kaito doesn’t even know if he wants to be there when that happens. “I’m glad you two are such close friends,” is what Kaito settles with eventually.
“W-we really should get going! We’re gonna be late!” Flustered, Miku makes a move like she’s reaching for Len’s hand, only to forcefully shove her hand back to her side. Len looks upset for a brief moment before he schools his features. Soon, Kaito finds himself running after the duo, doubts forgotten as they all dash for the school’s main auditorium before it closes.
First days of high school, man.