The Perfect Duet - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Entwined


"No, that's not right!"

Len's teacher, Mr. Kagamine, had slapped him on the wrist when he had sung slightly flat on the last note of the piece they were studying. Len flinched at the sudden sting, drawing back his hand and rubbing it gingerly. He glanced over to his teacher's stern eyes, the eyes that Len so admired.

"You can't allow that to happen—you must achieve absolute perfection in everything in music. Don't even allow the slightest bend to a note, and don't accept those that do allow that to happen. Try it again from the beginning."

Len rubbing his hand one last time glanced over at Mr. Kagamine for a moment, then returned to the music and nodded. He thought more carefully of how to sing it now, how to prevent all his mistakes, how to be absolutely flawless...

Over the course of the next few months, Len kept eagerly returning to Mr. Kagamine. And in each lesson, he would be lectured on how he hadn't sung the music well enough. Len would return home and practice constantly for hours and hours, sometimes forgetting to even eat his meals. Then one lesson, Len noticed something. When singing, his teacher had made a flaw, it was subtle, but it was most definitely there. Len noticed these mistakes more and more as the days passed, and so, eventually...

---

Rin clenched her fists at her sides. For a brief moment, she wished she was merely dreaming, that the darkness of the night still held her fast, but reality said otherwise. She could feel Len's breath against her—his touch. She could feel the way her heart pounded whenever he spoke. She could feel his undeniable presence before her. Everything assured her that all was real—that when Len spoke, he spoke the truth. Tears welled up in Rin's eyes and she parted her mouth and inhaled sharply. Her deep breaths escaped in wails as she brought her hands to her face and knelt on the ground, not finding the strength to stand anymore. She could feel Len bend with her... and then a soft touch on her shoulder.

"Rin..."

"Don't touch me!" Rin sharply slapped his hand away, then buried her face in between her knees, "How could you do that? Why did you kill all those people? Why did you kill my father?"

Len hesitated for a moment, listening to her cries pierce the sound that came into his ears.

"It is because he wanted perfection."

Len heard Rin stop her sobbing for a moment—it had reduced to sniffles now. She still crouched over her knees, like a flower returning to its bud and hiding its beauty. Slowly Len leaned over her and brought his face close to her cheek, whispering as gently as he could.

"Yes, your father was my teacher. And he always taught me to always strive for perfection—absolute flawlessness. He told me never to settle for less. There was something about his words... there was something within his voice that enchanted me—that allowed my soul to delve further into the depths of music."

Len reached to tuck a lock of Rin's hair behind her ear. At his touch, she tensed, and when Len had felt her shiver, he drew his hand away.

"Before I knew it, I had completely engulfed myself into this beautiful world... the world your father showed me. But one day, I realized that I had surpassed him in skill—he made more errors than I... he wasn't perfect like I was. And so, for the sake of the world he showed me, I killed him and made his body a part of the place that he envisioned. But I wanted more—I wanted to delve deeper into this world of music, and so I tried searching for more teachers... but none of them could match up to my vision, so I simply killed them."

There was something in Len's voice that caused Rin to look up at him. He stared straight back at her with the eyes of a murderer, but also that of an honest man. Yet, she could see something else lingering behind those blue irises—a deep longing and loneliness wanting to be cured—a hole longing to be filled. Seeing Rin's gaze, Len slowly brought his hands to her cheeks.

"But you see—it's awfully lonely in this world by myself, and that's why..." He leaned his forehead against hers once more, still holding her face in his hands, "...that's why I need someone like you to be the second voice. I need you to sing with me."

Rin closed her eyes for a moment, as if in deep contemplation. Merely thinking of it wasn't enough however, for she stood up and began pacing around, all her thoughts attacking her at once. She moved from place to place in Len's abode as he remained crouching on the floor, his eyes following her. Rin looked toward the lake out beyond to the pipe organ and then to the music sheets scattered across the floor. After pausing for a moment, Rin made her way to Len's bed and sat herself down, covering her face with her hands. Len was the one who murdered her father... but Len was the man she truly loved.

As she kept her sight averted from everything around her, she could hear Len rise from his spot and move around. She heard several rustlings of paper and some sorting of objects before she heard his footsteps approaching. There was a shifting in front of her, and then suddenly warm hands were set on her lap. Rin lowered the tips of her fingers so that she uncovered her eyes to see Len kneeling down looking up towards her.

"When I fell in love with your voice, I fell in love with you, also. Only your voice can resonate in this chest of mine. We cannot return now that our souls are so entwined, so please..." Len reached for Rin's hands and held them in between his, rubbing her fingers gently with his thumb, "Lead me away from my loneliness. Let me hear you say that you'll have me stand by you wherever you go. This is all I'm asking of you... please sing with me now and always."

Len gently turned over Rin's hands so that her palms faced upwards and slowly he slipped something into them. Rin suddenly felt something hard and cold, and as Len moved his hands underneath hers, she saw a gleam in the corner of her eye. Looking down from his gaze, Rin saw a small ring sitting in the cup that the palms of her hands formed. Instantly, she was breathless and tears filled her eyes. The thought had crossed her mind to pick the ring up in between her finger and thumb and return it to Len. However, rather than doing that, she found herself slipping it onto her finger—after all, Len was the man she loved... she could not refuse him. His voice carried a peculiar, sweet sound that never failed to make her heart fly. After Rin had moved the ring to her finger, a smile crept over Len's face and he moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her. His lips moved from the bottom of Rin's neck to her own lips.

At first Rin drew back, but something in her body pushed her forward towards him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as Len pushed her back so that her head lay against the pillow. Len kissed her again and again and again, moving his body against hers. Both parted for air, looking at each other dazed and enchanted, everything hot in between them. Len, with both his hands now on either side of Rin, bent over her once more to return to his kisses. Rin gladly accepted now, moving her hands along up his back to his head where she tangled her fingers in his hair. Len moved his hands along Rin's body until they had reached her shoulders, where the wrap of her nightgown had begun to slip.

---

Rin glanced in the mirror, fixing herself to prepare for the rehearsal that was about to start. She adjusted her hair and dress, making sure that she looked presentable. Before she turned away from the mirror, she touched the small ring haning from a chain around her neck. As her finger stroked the metal band a small smile came across her lips. In Rin's mind, she honestly had no desire to go to rehearsal—it all seemed so dull now.

"Rin, are you there?" Miku's voice came from beyond the door.

"Yes, come in."

The door opened as Rin turned to find her childhood friend walking into her room. Miku glanced at all the flowers around her, parting her mouth a little before facing Rin again. Rin stared into Miku's eyes that seemed to be from a foreign land. An unfamiliar awkwardness had grown between them, as if the air was more tense than before.

"Are you ready for rehearsal?"

"Yes." Rin replied

As Rin walked to her side, Miku noticed the indifference painted over Rin's voice. Miku opened her mouth to speak, but then decided not to say anything. Then without a word between them, the two made their way to rehearsal.

---

No costumes had been stolen, no props had been misplaced and no bodies had been found mangled. Perhaps it had something to do with the opera production being something other than Romeo and Juliet, therefore keeping more distance between Rin and Kaito, but stress had been reduced. Kaito still seemed to be approaching Rin, and she would feel a murderous glance whenever he had, but Len had made no action. The Opera Ghost had made no daring moves, and the opera house managers and the maestro gradually returned to ease. Eventually, three months had passed and the year's end had finally come, so the scent of celebration had filled the air.

When the night of the first day of the new year had fallen, brilliant candlelight filled the already grand entrance hall. It's already elaborate ambiance appeared more elegant as the cast members dressed in enchanting attire moved across the marble floor. There was a certain sense of relief in the air, particularly from the two opera house managers off drinking champagne with a woman in each arm. They went on about how cowardly the "so-called opera ghost" was—only making one murder and running off when they had summoned the police out onto the streets to look for him. And Len's lack of action led everyone to believe that the rumor of the Opera Ghost had finally settled. Of course—one person knew better.

Rin stepped forward alone onto what was now the ballroom floor, dressed in a gown of gold and black that touched the floor, layered and adorned with beads ad jewels. The corset she wore accented her slender waist Black lace lined her bust and the edges of her sleeves, and to compliment it, a black barrette in the shape of a rose was placed in her hair. On her face was a black mask lined with clear, glimmering jewels and gold paint. Everyone around her was dressed similarly, all gowns, suits, and masks seeming to change color in every direction.

Off in the distance, Rin could see Miku dancing with Kaito. She wore her hair up in a knot of braids and her dress was painted the colors of silver and green. Her eyes behind her emerald mask seemed to be in a daze as she looked at Kaito, who was dressed in a blue coat over a silver vest with a rapier strapped to his waist. Rin smiled to herself at the sight, but suddenly frowned when Kaito had glanced in her direction. Saying something to Miku and letting go of her hand, he began to make his way across the marble floor towards Rin. Behind Kaito, Rin could see Miku with her lips parted and and eyes that reflected a struck heart. When she followed Kaito's path and spotted Rin, her eyes narrowed and she whirled her head around and turned away. Rin grimaced.

"Good evening." Kaito said as he finally reached Rin's side.

"Good evening." Rin replied, her expression blank.

They could hear the orchestra, that the maestro conducted, had suddenly began a waltz, and the couples across the dance floor changed their pace. Kaito lifted his head in the air, as if that would allow him to better sense the music, before he extended a hand to Rin and smiled.

"May I have this dance?"

Rin hesitantly reached her hand out. Once the tips of her fingers touched his palm, Kaito immediately pulled her in close to him and began leading her. Rin dared not look directly into Kaito's eyes, which undoubtedly had stars flying in them. She peered down her chest, seeing Len's ring dangling there, catching any light that shone on it.

"Why do you look away from me?"

Rin was forced to look at Kaito now. She quickly thought up an excuse, "It's because I don't want to trip over my feet."

Kaito chuckled bringing Rin closer to him, moving his mouth to her ear, "You don't need to worry—I'll make sure you won't stumble one step."

His whisper was painted with seduction, a smooth and low tone that would make the heart of any girl flutter. He flashed his pearly whites at Rin when he could see that she was not appearing as dazed as he had hoped. To satisfy him and hope that he would not make any further advancing, Rin smiled sheepishly. To her disappointment, that only seemed to intensify it all. Kaito at first rubbed his fingers against Rin's side, but then it eventually grew to his whole hand. He had brought her so close to him now that their chests touched. Rin now attempted to slightly struggle, trying to free herself from Kaito's grasp, but the more she moved, the tighter Kaito held her.

Off in the distance, in the corner of her eye, she could see a single figure standing at the top of the curving steps. Then suddenly, she felt a familiar murderous glance that gradually intensified until the candles in the room had suddenly been hushed. The music had grown silent and all who danced on the floor stopped—everything was frozen in the sudden darkness. All gazes suddenly shifted toward the frightening figure that stood—a boy with blonde hair tied back into a short pony tail and eyes as blue as a storm over the sea behind a white, bone-like mask. He wore a golden vest with a black, frilled collar at his neck. Over his vest, he wore a long black coat with gold lining with an upright collar that accented his menacing presence. Rin was the only one who smiled.

Len took several steps forward, slowly, the click of his boots piercing the silence in the hall. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he glanced around at all the terrified glances looking at him and said,

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen—I am the Opera Ghost."