Chapter Text
Its been a little over 19 years since Len and Rin have known eachother
Its actually a bit hard for Len to imagine his world without Rin, even though he lived in it before becoming an idol.
It all started when he decided to see what's up with the whole idol industry. People were telling him beforehand that he had a nice, boy-ish voice with a lot of range and passion in it, so he knew he wanted to give singing a go at some point in his life.
He didn't know it would be at 14 though.
In any case, after hearing that the industry was in need of a new star, he knew this was the chance he was waiting for.
He wondered what his brand would be for ages before committing to the idol thing. If he wanted to leave an impression on people, he had to have something characteristic that would only be found on him, Len.
Would his voice be enough to be his standalone trait? Perhaps a specific color that could become his brand? Should he be the type of singer that the infamous Kaito is? With his amazing, deep and mature voice with a wide range, or give more emphasis on his poses and moves? Show or performance?
All those thoughts were thrown out the window the moment he heard that he'd be in a duo.
Now look, when Len signed up for the interview, he knew that the interviewer's opinion could change any minute. There were like, a quadrillion other aspiring idols behind him afterall.
But a duo?! That was never stated anywhere! Len wanted to leave his mark in the idol industry as a standalone artist, not with some other bozo! Duos usually only come when two people want to form a group, not when the industry decides to do so!
Whatever, Len didn't want to throw this once in a lifetime opportunity. He came this far, he wouldn't let the higher-ups decide his fate as an idol. He could just ignore the other guy that would complete the duo, right?
The first introduction was disastrous, to say the least.
The day after accepting the term, Len was introduced to this nice, lively young lady. Around the same age as him. Very beautiful, with short, blond hair and a large white bow on the top of it to complete her head. What would later become his other half and ultimately, what was missing in his life.
They were left alone, so as to "figure it out like coworkers".
You can't expect 14 year olds to act like professionals, though.
"..."
"..."
"Soo..."
"What's up?"
"People say their names first, weirdo"
And that was the moment Len knew that he should've never even considered singing with another person
"... Sure."
"I'm Len. nice to meet you" he gave a friendly smile.
"Nice. I'm Rin" Rin gave one back, and they shook hands. Copying what they've seen adults do.
And then awkward silence
...
This sucks a lot, actually.
See, before the introduction, Len was told that no matter what, he HAD to get used to his "partner". It would be his other half, he and they had to be in COMPLETE sync at all times. They had to be "twins".
Its really difficult to connect like this immediately after meeting what could possibly be an absolute nightmare of a partner.
"..."
"..."
"So."
"What's... your favourite color?"
Len had nothing else to say to the poor girl. He had to go back to the basics.
"Oh come on!"
"This is embarrassing, seriously"
"I-I have nothing else to ask you!"
"Yea but we aren't 4! Ask something better!"
"How about you ask something better?! Why do i have to lead the conversation?!"
"Uh. I-I don't know!"
"Ugh"
Great. 5 minutes in and they already hate eachother.
How in the everloving god are they going to connect like twins?!
"... I dont even want to be here."
"... Yea. Glad we could agree on that, Riley."
It seems that Len had unknowingly found something to connect with. Not that he knew that, though. He just said what came on his mind first
"Riley?"
"That's your name right?"
"No??? Its Rin!"
"... Right"
"No its pronounced Rin."
"I just said that as an affirmation!"
"How would i know?!"
"Why would you think that 'right' is your name?!"
"And why would someone name their son 'left'?!"
"I'm not named left! Its Len!"
"That's what i said!"
"No you didn't!"
"Yes i did!"
"Not!"
"Did!"
This is getting tiring already. Len refuses to believe that he's talking to someone who's supposedly the same age as him. She has to be at least 8!
And then the room falls right back to the same awkward silence.
"..."
"..."
"You know I'm actually pretty hungry"
"Yea, me too"
Len hadn't eaten anything since morning, and Rin just reminded him of that.
"Where shall we go?" Asked the young blonde.
"Theres this really nice café downtown that sells some good sandwiches"
"Oh nice" she gave a warm smile. This time, it seemed genuine.
"Yea i can take you there if you want"
"Why not"
Len had forgotten the argument beforehand all in order to put something in his mouth. Rin seems to have done so too.
"... My favourite color is orange, by the way"
"Orange? Yellow is a much better color!"
"Yellow is an eyesore to look at!"
"And orange makes me want to puke!"
And that was the start of a bond that would soon develop into complete dependence on one another, unknowingly.