MC Sniper's "I Can Do It" motivated me to write this one-shot. What makes the song even better is the lovely piano assisted by none other than Yiruma, the famous pianist. Everything about the song is beautiful and the MV is so heart-warming. Gosh, just thinking about it makes me teary. T_T

This one-shot is a gift for Minny, a.k.a . I My Me Mine, a special friend of mine. :) I wanted to create a story dedicated to her because she's so special to me. She's the first friend I gained when I joined this site. And her awesome reviews really makes my day! Thank you, Minny. Thank you. :)

Ah, this is my first time writing a fanfiction centered around Len and Gumi. It was very interesting.

Standing in the Light

Dedicated to - I My Me Mine

Sometime around night I was looking out the window until I heard the sound of the door opening. I turned to look at a man somewhere in his mid-twenties slowly moving toward the empty bed beside mine. He had his hand over his heart while a plain-looking nurse helped him reach his destination. I didn't say anything as he climbed to his bed, ruffling his plain hospital gown.

"Now, Mr. Honne, take a rest and the doctor will be back soon to check on you," says the nurse. The man doesn't say any thing as she leaves the room.

He mutters something I can barely hear and soon notices me looking at him. I gaze into his blood-shot red eyes and he looks directly at my crystal clear blue ones. We don't exchange words until the man breaks the silence first. "I'm Dell." He acted as if I was supposed to know who he was. So I acted as though I did.

"I'm Len Kagamine." I replied.

"Break your leg?" Dell questioned, looking directly at my wound.

I don't reply. All I can do is helplessly sit on my bed and look at the white cast wrapped around my left leg. It looks so useless. It doesn't matter if it heals; it really doesn't. It won't be the same again.

Dell didn't say anything else. He rolled his eyes and turned away, staring empty into space, just like me.

At seven AM in the morning a piercing scream shook me awake. I quickly sat up on the bed and turned to look at Dell, who shrugged and went back to sleep. The sound didn't come from afar, so I concluded it must've come from a room not far from mine. I was always the curious one. Such a thing like that made me want to go investigate, so I grabbed my crutches and began my journey out into the hallway.

"What are you doing?" a voice says. I looked up and there stood a nurse standing a few steps away, looking at me cautiously. I was startled because all I've accomplished so far was opening the door before I got caught. "You're not supposed to be here," she says. And then, as if on cue, the door across my room swung open and a petit woman with medium green hair stepped out. She eyes me for a second before looking over to the nurse.

"It's not working," she says in a hollow voice. "I…I thought…she was…getting…better." The last word breaks and I lower my eyes, staring at the marble floor.

I ate lunch at the cafeteria by myself and took a mini stroll outside before heading back to my room. The doctor warned me I needed to rest my damaged leg as much as I could, but I constantly needed to move around or else I thought I was going mad. I guess running around when I was healthy made me unable to stay still for long. I knew I looked pitiful with the crutches and I hated myself for it. I wouldn't be here if I didn't get into that...accident.

It took a while getting back until I noticed the room across from mine from that morning. It's quiet inside. There was something strange about that room. It was so strange that it sparked my curiosity. And before I knew it, I found myself reaching for the door handle and opening it.

Inside the first thing I saw was a girl; a girl somewhere around my age. Her hair was green—the same color as the woman who left this room in the morning. Her eyes are the same color as her hair but a shade lighter. She looks at me and I stare back, slowly observing her delicate figure until I see her hands.

There's blood all over her hands and the bed sheet. I look at her eyes again and she stares back, showing no emotion. I found myself walking toward the sink and reaching for the cabinets while she stares at me with dull eyes. The girl doesn't say a word as I grab the largest Band-Aid I can find and limp toward her direction, softly peeling the paper in hand. The source of the blood came from the back of her left hand, so I placed the Band-Aid there without a word.

"What happened?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't sound shaky.

"I spilled water on my hand," she replied softly, "with hot water."

Her voice was mesmerizing. I almost got plastered just by listening to her speak. "Be careful." I said. "You might want to call the nurse for a new sheet."

She didn't reply as I turned to go back to my room. On my way out I stepped on a pen and reached down to grab it, wondering why it was on the ground. I turned around to ask if she wanted it, but by then she was looking out the window, not caring if I was still here or not, so I placed it on a nearby countertop and left.

That was our first encounter.

My parents are too busy working to come see how I'm doing. It's not like they don't care about me—they do—they're just too busy working. They call me from time to time to see how I'm doing. I get some visitors from my sister and my friends, but the person who always comes to see how I'm doing is my best friend, Lui Hibiki.

By the time I entered my room, I noticed Dell wasn't on his bed. He must've went somewhere because Lui was sitting on Dell's bed watching TV until he noticed me. He jumped up and came hugging me so tightly that he almost knocked me over.

"Lui. Lui! My leg! You're hurting my leg!"

"Sorry, sorry." He smiled bashfully. He helped me up to my bed and turned off the television before taking something out from a bag he brought with him. "Here," he said, giving me a ball, "this is for you."

The gift wasn't just a ball; it's more than just a simple ball. It's a soccer ball. A soccer ball with the signature of my favorite soccer player in the whole world, Lionel Messi.

"Thanks." I said, feeling the corner of my mouth tilt upward. "This is the best gift I've ever received." And I'm telling the truth.

"When are you coming back?" Lui asked. "The team's waiting for you. When are you going to be released from this place?"

"…I don't know." I almost whispered.

"Why not?"

"I got into many accidents in the past," I whispered, "but this one is different."

Lui doesn't say anything back because I'm telling the truth. We've been friends for as long as I can remember. I've been playing soccer since I was a child and I grew to love it. I've gotten into many injuries because of soccer, but I was fine with it. This accident was, however, different.

Everyone has a dream. My dream was to become a professional soccer player until the last game I played shattered it. During the second half of the game, the other team was ahead by one point, so I mentally challenged myself to score a goal to make it a tie. During that game the captain of the other team was in hold of the ball, and I was tempted to steal the ball before he could kick it, so I did. But I was too late. His kick, I remember, inflicted the most powerful pain I've felt in my career. No, scratch that. It was the most powerful pain I've felt in my entire life. I remember falling to the ground, gritting my teeth in pain. It hurt so much that I cried. The next thing I remember is awakening at the hospital and the doctor telling me that my leg will heal but I won't be able to play soccer again. Your leg won't be able to endure the pain. He said. You can't run freely as you used to.

I forced a smile and looked at Lui in the eye. "So, how's Iroha doing?"

In an instant Lui blushes a thousand shades of red and I laugh. Iroha Nekomura is a friend of ours. Lui has had a crush on her for years, but I don't think he has a chance considering the fact that she likes Piko Utatane, who is also our friend. Lui's too stubborn to accept the fact that she doesn't return his feeling and still clings onto that dream of asking her out. "T-th-that's not any of your business!" He stammered.

I chuckled. "Calm down, Lui. I only asked how she's doing." I narrowed my eyes at him after pausing. "Wait, were you thinking about—"

"No way! I don't think of stuff like that!"

"Wow...I'm truly frightened by your level of obsession when it comes to woman."

"Shut up, Len!"

It was exactly forty-five minutes after eight in the morning when I heard that scream again; that horrible piercing scream that reaches your heart. Dell shifted in his bed without concern and went back to sleep. I didn't.

I couldn't.

"Can I sit here?"

I looked up from my banana and saw the girl from yesterday, the girl who was covered in blood, standing across from me with her own tray of treats. She looked as lifeless as ever, and the only change I noticed is a blue scarf she had around her neck.

I shrugged. "Sure. No one can stop you. I don't own the place."

"Thanks." She sat down and slowly began digging into her food with a spoon.

"That's a nice scarf you got there." I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's cold around here."

"My name's Len Kagamine."

"Gumi," she simply responded.

"Were you the one who screamed this morning?" I questioned.

There's complete silence. It was too quiet. It almost felt like Gumi and I were the only ones here.

"I saw your friend coming out of your room yesterday." She said, avoiding my question. "You have…friends?"

I don't know if I'm supposed to be offended or not. "Yeah, he's my best friend. "

"I see."

"Do you have any friends around here?" I asked.

Gumi nodded. "I have a friend named Miku..."

"Where is she?"

"She's sleeping right now."

"Don't worry," I said, finishing my banana, "she'll wake up soon."

That was the end of our second conversation.

A few days later I realized something. There's a question I needed to know so I went to the information desk and said, "Can I ask you something?"

The plain-looking nurse behind the counter gazed at me for a second before answering, "Do you need anything?"

"What room is Miku in?"

"Excuse me?"

"Miku," I said again. "What's her room number?"

"I don't know any Miku around here." She said, turning to the other nurse sitting beside her. "How about you?" The other nurse shook her head, and I felt my eyes widen. And then I realized something.

"I spilled water on my hand." I stabbed myself with a pen.

"It's cold around here." It's a cover-up of the marks I made on my neck.

"She's asleep." She's dead.

Gumi's been lying to me the whole time.

Dell fell asleep that night.

I was tossing the soccer ball up in the air while Dell quietly read a book. We never really talked to each other unless it was necessary, but we chatted whenever one felt like starting a conversation.

It was like any other day. He always had a book in hand and I always wondered where he got them. There weren't any actual books in the hospital; there were only magazines and picture books. So while I tossed my ball in the air, I would always come up with crazy ideas about how he got those books.

Dell coughed once in a while but it was normal. He never told me what sickness he was infected with and always told me to deal with it whenever I asked him about it. But that night he would unpredictably begin coughing harder and harder, until his body was wracked and jerking in agonies that were painful to watch. A nearby nurse came in after hearing the fuss and took him away by rolling his bed out into the hallway.

I never saw him again.

I sat on my bed, scared for my life because the only thought that came into my mind was: am I going to end up like him?

I couldn't sleep that night. It was difficult. After my sixtieth failed attempt to fall asleep, I woke up in the middle of the night with the darkness greeting me. My throat was dry and I thought I was going to die if I didn't drink something, so I grabbed my crutches to go drink some water at a nearby water fountain.

When I opened the door, I noticed the hallway was dimly lit and completely silent. It was so quiet that I almost fooled myself thinking I'm the only one here. Then all of the sudden the door across my room opened up and I saw Gumi take a step back in surprise when she saw me standing out in the hall doing nothing. I noticed her eyes were swollen and her expression told me she had a difficult time sleeping like I did. Gumi spoke first.

"Why are you up this late?" she asked.

"I couldn't sleep." I answered. "What about you?"

"…Same."

I realized something right at that moment. We may be okay on the outside but in reality we're broken and have no reason to live. I have my reasons and she has hers. We are two people who lost the true meaning of life. The only help we can find is the dimly lit light bulb shining over us from the ceiling, and for some reason I feel secured under that light. Gumi must've felt the same way because she doesn't move either.

And so that's what we do. We stand in the light.

The ending...the original ending I intended to use was completely different from the one I actually used. I thought this one fits the story better.

This was an attempt to try something new but I still need more practice.

Putting that aside, I want to apologize for not being active this month. I'm sorry. The reason why I was gone is because I hurt my left hand and my wrist. It hurt to a point where I couldn't use my hand without feeling pain. What's worse is that I'm left-handed so I had difficulty using my right hand. I somehow hurt my wrist while playing a fast piece at an orchestra concert. But now it's better so no worries! :D

Spring break started so I have the whole week off! I'll try my best to update and publish more stories!

Ah, before I forget, I want to apologize to Minny for delaying this gift. I originally intended to publish it sooner but I couldn't. I'm sorry Minny. ^^"

See you next time! ^^