Disclaimer: The lyrics used here are not mine. I found them on YouTube. I don't own Vocaloid or the Kagamines, although I wish I did. Mr. Kagamine is an OC. Blah, blah, blah, you get the point. XD All I own is this story.
*Prologue*
"Mr. Kagamine? You may come back in now."
The man got up and anxiously followed the nurse back into the hospital room where his wife had been giving birth. "Is...is she okay? Are they both okay?" he asked as they walked briskly to the room.
"Please relax, sir, and see for yourself how they are-" the smiling nurse suddenly gasped in horror upon entering the room.
"What is it?" he demanded, impatiently walking in ahead of her. He practically ran to his wife's side. "Honey? How are you and the baby doing?" he asked.
His wife's eyes were closed as if tired, and she did not respond.
"Honey?" He turned to the doctor. "What's going on here?"
The doctor shook his head sadly. "Sir, I'm sorry to say that your wife lost too much blood while delivering the baby and has passed away. And your baby..." He held the child up. "She is sickly. It seems she was born with an unknown illness."
The man stood there in shock, feeling his world slide out from under him. "But...but will she at least live?"
The doctor sighed. "She'll live, all right. For how long, we don't know."
The full force of his words hit the man, and he found himself falling to his knees in tears. But then he heard a little sound from the baby. His child. He stood up and took her in his arms. She cooed and waved at him. He managed to smile through his tears somehow. And the man made a decision from that point on. He would protect his child with his life. She would live.
No matter what.
*Part One: -Flashback-*
I looked out the window of the hospital from my bed. "Daddy, Daddy look!" I cried, tugging at his sleeve and pointing. "See all those pretty blue flowers?"
Turning to him, I saw him smile. "Rin, dear, if you want I can get some for you on my way back from work."
"Can't I go outside and pick some for myself-"
"NO!" His face took on a fierce expression that scared me.
"Daddy...?"
"I-I mean...look, sweetie, you really shouldn't be leaving this hospital at all. Please? For your Daddy's sake? It's safer here, and I don't want you hurt."
I sighed. "Okay, Daddy."
He smiled brightly. "Good, good! Well then-" he glanced at the clock. "Oh! It's time for work! Bye, Rin." He bent down to kiss my forehead and left.
I waited until I was sure he'd gone, then got out of bed. I was determined to make today the day I finally got out of this hospital. I grabbed some paper and pens, because I wanted to draw some of the things I'd seen outside.
I wandered down the hallway, no one giving me a second glance. After all, I was just one out of many kids in this hospital.
I quickly found the front door and left. The fresh air hit me in waves, and I ran around laughing. I felt more...alive than ever. I mean, sure, Daddy had opened the window for me. But being able to spin around, being able to run into the wind...this was real living.
I danced along, skipping and giggling as I brushed the flower petals with my hands. The petals were the color of my eyes, bright blue.
I suddenly stopped, seeing a tall fence made of some strange looking wire. Weird, I thought. Why's there a fence here? Curious, I touched it with a finger and quickly drew back with a sting. It hurt! I was almost in tears, sucking on my finger, when I heard a voice.
"Hey, you! Don't you know that barbed wire hurts when you touch it?" a boy my age called. I heard him run up to the fence and looked up. Our eyes met...they were the same color...and I don't know what it was about him, but something made me want to become friends with him immediately. He seemed to think the same thing because he stammered, "Um, I-I'm Len. What's your name?"
"I'm Rin. It's nice to meet you, Len! I'd shake your hand or something but, you know..." I pointed at the fence between us.
He laughed. "Yeah, I know. Are you okay though?" he asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," I said, hiding the fact that I'd wanted to cry.
"Uhh...wanna talk?" he asked.
"About what?"
"Anything!"
"Okay," I giggled. We spent the next few hours talking about anything that came to mind, from flowers to food. Soon, I realized that Daddy would be returning from work.
"I'm sorry Len, but I need to go back to the hospital..."
He nodded. I'd told him about it already. "Your dad coming back?"
"Yeah...I'd love to talk more though..." I thought of the paper and pens and got an idea. "Wait a moment!" I wrote him a quick note, folded it into a plane, and tossed it over the fence. "Heads up!" He managed to catch it inches from his face. I clapped, impressed. "Well, bye Len! I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah! And I promise to have a response written by then!"
I then rushed back to the hospital and got back into bed before Daddy could suspect anything. I pretended to be asleep, though I couldn't help but smile as I thought about what had happened. I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come! It seemed so far away now...
*Part Two: Impossible Wish, Torn Dream*
I looked up at the clock, waiting for it to be time when Father had to go to work...yes! "Father?"
"...hmm?" He was half asleep in a chair by my bedside.
"It's time for work, Father...don't you want to make it in time?"
He got up with a start. "Oh, right! Bye, Rin," he said, kissing my forehead as always. When he left I thought about the dream I'd just had. The one where I was five or six years old, the first time I'd snuck out of the hospital. And the first time I met Len. I reached under my pillow for his latest letter.
"Dear Rin," it said, "Haha, did that nurse really do that? I never thought nurses could be so strange! Well, over here on my side of the fence, the General is being strict as ever. And you wouldn't believe what one of his subordinates did!" He went on to describe a crazy subordinate's actions and pranks, which made me laugh aloud. I clapped a hand to my mouth, hoping no on heard my laughing. Glancing out the slightly open doorway, I saw that no one had paid any attention to me. I went back to his letter.
"The war with the Kingdom of Blue is still raging on. It feels like there will never be any chance for peace! Do you believe in peaceful negotiations, Rin? I wish it would happen, but it's an impossible wish.
"Anyway, Rin, I keep thinking about you every moment we're apart, every moment I can't read your letter because I'm running around doing errands. I confessed my love for you in one of the last letters, didn't I...? Oh, great. I made myself blush while writing this. You'd probably laugh to see my face now. Do you still have that flower from all those years ago? Is it still blooming every spring and summer? Oh, now I have to help some medics. Write a long letter back? Reading your letters are the highlight of my day.
With love, Len."
By the end of his letter I was blushing furiously. I glanced at my nightstand, looking at the small vase there. It had two of the blue flowers; one was from Len that he had picked the day after we'd met and sent along with the letter, and the other was from Father. Holding the letter close to my heart, I smiled, thinking of the response I'd write...
When Father barged into the room, panting.
I gasped, not having enough time to stuff the letter somewhere out of sight.
Seeing the letter in my hand, Father asked, "Rin...? What's that?" I moved to shield it from him, but he was much faster than me. He snatched it from me and read it.
"Father...? Please give that back!" I begged.
He said nothing for a moment, having read the whole letter by now. He turned to me, anger in his eyes.
"Rin! How did you meet this...Len person? Who is he? Did you...actually leave the hospital to receive this from him?"
"Father-" I started to say, but he interrupted me.
"Rin! I forbid you to meet this person, ever again! Don't ever leave this hospital! This letter," he said furiously, "should not have been written." With that, he crumpled it up and threw it to the ground. Picking up his briefcase, he muttered, "I forgot this," he walked out of the room.
Throughout his outburst I kept my face expressionless, not letting him know how much that had hurt me. I slowly got out of bed, got the crumpled up letter, and got back in bed. I set it in my lap and tried to smooth it out, to no avail. The folds wouldn't leave the paper.
What's so wrong with the love we share? I wondered. What's so wrong about being in love?
I started to cry. Why was it so wrong? Len was perfect for me in every single way. Why couldn't I be with him?
I started to sing, still crying.
"All I need, is for you to always stay by my side
Whats so wrong with the love that we share?
There's a light that tries to shine and brighten up this room
And it shows, a dark future, painful and false..."
As I finished the stanza, I began to feel lightheaded. What's wrong with me? I asked myself as I collapsed onto my bed, unconscious.
*Part Three: False Hope*
Mr. Kagamine rushed back into the hospital, having returned earlier than expected from work. A nurse, seeing him, quickly nodded at him and gestured for him to follow her.
"I suppose you heard what happened to her, sir?"
Trying to keep calm, he answered, "Yes. You said her condition has worsened? What happened to her?"
"She was just sitting up in bed when she suddenly collapsed. We don't know why, though I'm guessing you know about her illness?"
"Yes...has a cure been found?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but it is still an unknown disease. We are still trying to find out what it is."
"Okay," he responded. He should have known it would be so silly of him to grasp such false hope like that, but he was desperate.
Even though sometimes clinging to false hope hurts more than the truth itself.
***
I floated in a place between consciousness and unconsciousness. I wasn't dead or alive. I simply...existed.
In my dreamlike state, I thought about Len. I wanted to see him so badly, even if it meant hurting myself in the process.
"Rin!" someone cried my name, bringing me back to the land of the living. I turned my head to the sound and whispered, "Father...?"
"Oh, Rin! Are you alright?" he asked, sounding as if he was in tears. That's not possible, I thought. Father never cries.
He took my hand tenderly. "Rin, you're going to be okay. These tubes will help you live, alright?"
Now that he mentioned it, I could feel several tubes connected to various places on my body.
Father continued to talk consolingly to me, but all I could think about was Len. How would I be able to leave and see him again? Then again, I knew I was going to die soon. I could see it in the faces of the doctors and nurses who attended me. I didn't have long, and they knew it.
So when Father left, I managed to pick up my pen and paper and write my final letter to Len. I would tell him that I can't see him anymore at all, though I really loved him. I wouldn't tell him about my imminent death. I just couldn't.
Though, when I really thought things over, technology is steadily advancing. There could be a cure for this illness slowly deteriorating my body.
But I knew not to cling to false hope.
*Part Four: Forever Melancholy*
I lay there the next day, wanting to go see Len and explain my absence yesterday. My letter, already folded into my plane, was on my nightstand, within reach when I got up.
If I could get up.
I gingerly moved my legs. When they refused to move I tried harder.
And lost all feeling in them.
What? I thought in confusion. What's happening? Why can't I move? Then it hit me. The illness. I couldn't help but think, It really is gonna kill me...
Then I shook my head violently. No! I couldn't die now! I at least had to see Len again...even if for the last time!
Suddenly feeling returned and I could sit up. I forced myself out of bed and changed into my usual white dress with pink sash, and took my wide rimmed hat. It was supposed to protect me from the sun, but it was also useful for covering my face. I picked up my letter and slowly walked out of my room.
Once out of the room, I felt dizzy and had to lean against the wall to catch my breath often. Determined, I stumbled along, finally reaching the outside. I managed to walk by myself once out of the hospital. I felt much stronger with the breeze brushing my face, gladly it wasn't strong enough to steal my hat.
I walked to the fence. "Len!"
He was sitting by the fence looking melancholy, but when he heard my voice he brightened. "Rin! You're okay!"
"Not exactly..." I murmured.
Seeing my expression, his happy smile turned quizzical. "Rin? Something wrong?"
Without a word, I tossed over my letter, shielding my eyes with my hat.
Len eagerly unfolded it and read it on the spot. As he read, his smile faded and was replaced by sadness.
"Rin...why?"
I didn't respond. I just lifted the hat brim to look him in the eye, and smiled sadly. I refused to cry, not wanting his last view of my face to be sad.
I turned and began to walk away, whispering, "Goodbye, Len, my love...forever..."
*Part Five: Song of Sadness*
I heard Len whisper, "Rin..." I didn't dare turn around. I wouldn't be able to face him, to see that sad look in his eyes watching me go. I couldn't turn around. I wouldn't...
"Please don't leave!"
What? I stopped dead in my tracks. Len was singing to me!
"Can't you understand how much I need you? Will you ever come back to this place?" At this I opened my mouth to reply, half turned around, but the words wouldn't come.
He continued, "Our letters, I've always kept them close to my heart." My eyes widened and I could feel the tears coming...no! I'd told myself I wouldn't cry! But...his singing sounded so sad, and his words...
"So I'll be here, waiting for you, to return," he finished. Now I was flat out sobbing aloud. I couldn't bear to be away from him...but I couldn't help that at all.
I turned around, still crying, and I saw that Len was in tears himself. I shook my head. I didn't want to be without him, but when I died...wouldn't it be better if I wasn't near him? Wouldn't it hurt him less?
I cried, "I'm so sorry, Len! I'm just...sorry..." I turned around and ran to the hospital, refusing to turn at his screams of, "Rin! Please, don't go! RIN!"
But even so, what would he do when I died? And what would I have done without him if he'd been the one dying?
...questions that I could never answer.
Once safely back in my hospital room, I reread Len's last letter, still crying. I could feel unconsciousness tugging at me, and I laid back down with one hand over his last plane, welcoming the fall into nothingness.
*Part Six: A Father's Feelings*
Mr. Kagamine literally ran to Rin's room, earning an angry "Don't run in a hospital!" from a passing nurse. He stopped in her doorway, panting from exertion.
There Rin lay, lifeless. Her eyes were closed and there was an oxygen mask strapped to her face. The tubes had multiplied in number. However, they were soon removed by a somber doctor. Not seeing Kagamine there, the doctor looked at the nurses, his face falling...and shook his head.
Kagamine asked, "Is...is it true?" The doctor was startled out of his reverie.
"Is it true that Rin won't make it?"
The doctor, his face falling even more when he realized Kagamine was the father, nodded.
The man strode into the room briskly, startling the doctor and nurses. "Let me near her."
The doctor barred his way. "I'm sorry. I can't do that. She can't be riled up by anything at all, especially not an emotional parent. I'm sorry, sir, please leave the room. We must continue out tests to see if we can..." His voice faltered. "...help her. So please, leave."
"No!" cried Kagamine. "I refuse! How can I leave my own daughter when she's in this state?" He struggled, trying to move toward Rin, but the male nurses forced him out of the room and closed the door, firmly locking it.
Kagamine stared at the door for a moment. He couldn't see her now, even as she lay on her deathbed...his own daughter, whom he had vowed to protect...
But then again, how can you protect anyone from an unknown illness?
He clenched his fist, not letting the agony he felt show on his face.
Kagamine walked out of the hospital and headed back to his job. Maybe by doing some "overtime" he could let out his feelings.
*Part Seven: Song of Anguish*
My eyes opened and I assessed my situation.
Legs? Some feeling, I think. Not much though.
Torso? Some tubes.
Arms? More tubes.
Head? Is this an...oxygen mask?
Body in general? Couldn't move an inch.
Looking around, I saw some nurses with me, watching the machine I was hooked up to. I blinked at them in acknowledgment and stared up at the ceiling.
I am not going to look there, I told myself. I won't look, won't look, won't look...
I couldn't help it. I looked out the window, staring at the sea of flowers and the fence beyond them.
I was allowed to remove the mask for short times, and I did. I began to sing a song to myself in my head, pretending Len was my audience.
"Ever since we shared that last moment
My body just refuses to move at all
Before long this disease will just take my life away
That fence that divided us will be gone."
By this time I was singing aloud. The nurses watched me in amazement. I just ignored them and continued on.
"I need you, to continue in this world
Forever on the other side
How are you, going to smile, when I don't come back?
It hurts...it hurts...it HURTS!"
I released my pain and sadness with that last high note. Sighing, I put the mask back on and laid back down, ignoring the tears in my eyes.
Trying not to notice the fact that my little song had moved the nurses to tears as well.
*Part Eight: At the Warfront*
Mr. Kagamine drove the miles to the special place in the barbed wire fence. He walked to the door in the fence (a door of sorts, made of wire and metal strips) and flashed his ID card at the detector. It read his card and the light flashed green, the door swinging open. He headed inside the fence, the door closing behind him. Kagamine walked to a little tent right by this section of the fence, changed into his "work clothes," and opened his briefcase to take out his machine gun.
Now, as he left the tent, Kagamine was greeted by subordinates. Now he wasn't to be called "Mr. Kagamine" or "Kagamine" casually, even by friends. He was General Kagamine now.
The General shouldered his machine gun and started to patrol the camp. He walked around to the various medic stations, asking how everything was going. He made sure that everyone that should be on duty was on duty. No slackers allowed. Not in a warzone.
He continued on to the brick wall protecting them from the enemies-the Soldiers of Blue. The General walked, head held high in his pride.
The Soldiers of Yellow seem to be doing quite well here, he thought. Then he saw a boy with a pile of papers at one corner. What's this? He wondered, marching up to him.
The two soldiers talking to the boy saw him and snapped to attention. "General!"
The General nodded to them and looked down at the boy and his papers. On close inspection, the papers looked like...planes?
He held out his hand. "Give one to me."
The boy, shivering in fear, handed him one.
General Kagamine unfolded it and read,
"Dear Len, Yeah, that nurse is insane isn't she? Hah! But I think your guy tops even her in this crazy department!
"Anyway, all jokes aside...Len, I feel the same way. I can't stop thinking about the next time I get to see you, the next letters we'll share. Yes, you did confess, and again, I feel the same way...and reading your last letter made me blush too! Probably even harder than you did writing it. The flower? Yeah, I do! I have it in a vase on my nightstand. I look at it and think about how it matches the color of our eyes. It blooms beautifully, and when it does it's like I have a piece of fresh air in my dismal room. It even blooms in winter every other year or so! Amazing, huh?
"Oh, I nearly forgot! About the peace negotiations. Of course I believe there can be peace! Peace can always be achieved with a calm tone and kind manner. I think the Kingdoms of Yellow and Blue should just sit down and have a long talk. Maybe then all the problems would be resolved, right?
I can't wait to read your reply! Reading your letters always makes me happy.
All my love, Rin
P.S. Long enough for you? Hahah!"
By the end of the letter, the man was shaking in fury, the paper crumpling a little in his hands. So this is that Len boy that Rin has been seeing? He glared down at Len. The boy was still shaking in fright. Good, he thought angrily. He should be scared.
Keeping his voice level, the General said, "You know, boy, letters aren't allowed here. Who knows who this Rin girl is?" My DAUGHTER! he screamed in his mind, but kept his face expressionless. "For all I know, she's a spy for the Blues. Which makes you a spy, if you've been replying."
Len slowly shook his head, face still frozen, scared. "No...we're no spies..." he whispered.
"For all I know, you're lying through your teeth," said General Kagamine, letting some of his rage seep into his voice. "Letters are forbidden. Do you understand?"
Len nodded frantically. "Yes sir. Can I please have it back now-"
"No. I'm making an example of this one," the man said, holding it in his hands as if to rip it.
Len's face contorted in horror and another emotion. "No! Stop, please!" He tried to lunge forward but was held back by the two soldiers.
General Kagamine ripped the letter in half, letting the pieces fall to the ground.
At this point, Len's hair was falling over his eyes, hiding them from the General. His lips were pressed into a thin line.
"There, now you've learned your lesson!" said the General, starting to turn away when-
"NO!" cried Len, breaking free from the soldiers and rushing at General Kagamine. Before he knew it, Len had punched him, hard, knocking him to the floor. Len sat on his chest, a wad of his shirt in one hand and his other drawn back in a fist. The man winced, squeezing his eyes shut and waiting for the inevitable punch...
When he felt a tear on his cheek. He looked up. The boy was crying, shaking in sadness and rage.
"Th-that letter..." he yelled, "isn't from any spy girl! It's from a girl of Yellow! She lives a the hospital and is in delicate health. We throw letters folded into planes to each other every day."
By this time they were both standing and the General was staring at him in shock.
"But one day," Len continued, "she wrote that she couldn't see me again and I don't know why! So I'm keeping all the letters she sent me, they're so dear to me! I love her! She...I couldn't stand to live without her! But then you just go and rip one of her carefully written letters? How horrible can you be?"
General Kagamine's eyes were wide as could be. So the boy really had loved her...but it didn't change anything. Rim was still dying. She had lied to him. The General felt a pain in his chest as he had that thought. His own daughter lied to him about not leaving to hospital...
He pulled his hat down over his eyes. "Just take the boy back to the medics he was working with," he told the soldiers. When they were gone, he stared at the pile of letters. Rin's letters...
He turned his back on them to yell at some poor soldier who was sleeping on the job.
*Part Nine: Wilting Flower*
I lay there in my bed, swimming in and out of consciousness. I remember always being hooked up to this machine with a jagged green line that moved more whenever I thought about anything. It also beeped a little faster and slowed down when I went unconscious. Reading my brain waves, I suppose. It moved even more when I was awake and singing. The nurses and doctors seemed to be quite fond of me and my singing, and whenever I raised my voice in song they gathered around the room to listen. One day, I think I was unconscious for much longer than usual, because the nurses and doctors were frantically hooking me up to this and that and testing me. When I opened my eyes they all breathed a huge sigh of relief and unhooked me from everything except the usual IV, oxygen, and brain wave reader machine.
Father walked into my room, had a quiet but intense discussion with a doctor, and came to sit by my side. He kept a cheerful look on his face as if the doctor hadn't given him bad news. I knew he had, though. I could see it in his eyes.
"Rin, dear," Father said calmly, the doctor says that the coma you were just in was way too long. It was twice the average length of the others. It means-"
"What?" I cut in a little crankily. "That I'm going to die sooner than expected?"
His face fell and he looked on the verge of tears.
"Oh, Father...I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I was just irritated. Forget it."
"No, Rin...it's true."
I sighed, closing my eyes a little. Not enough to welcome the darkness that is a coma, however.
Father reached to stroke my cheek gently. "Oh, my little blue flower..."
I blinked. That was a nickname he'd given me years ago. In response, I sang what I felt.
"The flower, standing in a patch of old and dirty weeds
No longer has the light to live on."
I could see the tears standing in his eyes and turned away.
"I only want the letters that you sent to me
I can feel as my life begins to slowly fade away..."
My eyes closed again, this time in a dream of sorts. As I dreamed, I kept singing.
I was younger, outside in the field, holding one of my paper planes to Len in my hand. A gust of strong wind blew it away.
"Even though I'm weak and fragile, I've kept every single one..."
I cried out, reaching to grab it, but it flew away on the wind.
"My feet carry me quickly in order to reach there..."
I ran after it, always trying to snatch it back, but always it was just out of reach.
"If I die, I only want one thing from this world..."
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Falling to my knees, I clutched at my heart.
"I want you, no matter what, to survive..."
Looking up, I saw Len just yards away.
"Len!" I called, spirits rising.
He just gave me a sad look...and turned away.
"What...?" I asked. "Wait, Len, please don't go!"
He walked away, leaving me to reach after him with my free hand, tears streaming down my face. Then I...just...blacked out...
***
Mr. Kagamine held on to his daughter's hand as if for dear life. That machine with the jagged green one and beeping...is something wrong with it? He wondered to himself. The line is getting straighter and the beeps were slowing down.
Kagamine's eyes widened in realization. Her life signs were...disappearing...
He held on even tighter to her hand, seeing that her grip on that letter had loosened and that her hand in his was going limp.
The line straightened itself out and the beeping became one continuous beep.
Rin's vital signs had flatlined.
She was gone.
*Part Ten: Duet of Devotion*
In my dream, I'd blacked out upon hearing that long BEEEP sound. So how was I still capable of thought? I opened my eyes.
And found myself face to face with Len.
I blinked in complete and utter confusion. "L-Len? What're you doing here? Now that I think about it, where are we?" Looking around, it certainly didn't look like the hospital or the flower filled fields. It just looked like we were floating together in the air, much like the planes we sent each other.
Len pressed our foreheads together, smiled at me and said, "Sing with me, Rin."
***
Mr. Kagamine sat there like a stone, unmoving. The nurses and doctors had already flooded into the room and were checking the machines and her pulse. The doctor checking her pulse then put his ear to her heart, listening for something, anything. Just a tiny sign of life.
He lifted his head. Everyone looked at him. Nearly in tears, the man said gravely, "...no...she's not coming back this time..."
The staff there all started crying, or at least tried furiously to hide it.
However, Mr. Kagamine just sat there, unable to take in this information. Rin. His precious daughter, his little flower, wasn't going to move again.
Her hand slowly got colder in his.
He felt a drop of water on the back of his hand. Reaching up, he realized he was crying. He put his face in his hands and sobbed. Some of the staff walked forward to pat him on the back, making futile attempts to console Kagamine.
All of a sudden, the green line came back to life and the beeping started up again, spaced at healthy intervals.
Kagamine looked up. "What does this mean?"
The doctor looked completely stumped. "I-I have no clue...she could have somehow revived herself...!" He realized the full extent of his words. "Revived herself! She might not truly be dead!"
Everyone blinked as one, then smiles spread from one end of the room to the other.
"So chances are that she'll live?"
"Oh, this is wonderful! When she wakes up we're throwing her a party..."
"Yeah, this is unbelievable! Always liked her, such a sweetheart..."
"She had such a lovely voice as well! Hah, it's HAS now, isn't it?"
Kagamine just sat there in shock for what seemed like the millionth time in a hour.
It was true! Life was returning to Rin! Her hand was growing warm in his.
How could it be possible? What a miracle...
"Oh! She's receiving too much oxygen!"
"Get the mask off her face!"
The mask was hastily removed from Rin's face...and she took a small breath.
Celebrating broke out in that little room, loud and joyous.
She opened her eyes halfway and they cheered even louder. She moved to sit up and her Father and doctor helped her. Once up, she began to sing.
***
"Okay, Len! What should we sing?"
"I think you already know the words, Rin," he said mysteriously. "Just open your mouth and let the sound flow."
"Okay..."
I opened my mouth, feeling like I did know what to sing, strangely enough.
***
"Since we met, we've spent every day there for each other..."
Kagamine got a sad expression on his face. She was singing about Len, he knew.
"I'll never forget what it is your smiling face looks like
The deep darkness that engulfs us both by pulling us away
Is taking away happiness and replacing it with pain..."
She really did have an amazing voice...some of the nurses started to cry, hearing it.
"Until tomorrow...
At that place, with you..."
She finished on a high note and fell silent.
***
Our voices intertwined, just like our hands.
"We make a great duet, huh, Rin?" Len grinned.
"We really do, Len," I smiled back. Feeling myself slipping away, I whispered, "Please don't forget me..."
"How could I?" he said, eyes filling. "You're my one and only true love, Rin. You'll always be in my heart."
Hearing his words, I was able to fall back asleep.
Into the kind of sleep I'd never, ever wake up from.
***
With that, her eyes closed and she slid down in bed, a serene smile on her face.
All her vitals flatlined once last time. Her pulse quickened, then disappeared altogether.
Her hand was, again, cold. Only this time, the changes were permanent.
All the celebrating came to a dead stop.
Rin was truly dead. She was never again going to come back, sing for anyone...or even throw a special someone a letter folded into a plane.
*Epilogue*
After Rin's true death, her father walked to the barbed wire fence. Here, he guessed, his daughter and Len had thrown paper planes at each other. Len was sitting there, a desolate expression on his face. The boy visibly brightened when he heard footsteps, looking up, but his eyes widened in shock at his unexpected visitor.
"Len...I'd like to speak privately to you, inside camp. Wait a few minutes for me to enter?" murmured Kagamine.
"O-okay," stammered Len, running to wait for him near the door.
When Kagamine entered, he immediately took Len aside.
"Look, Len...I want to apologize."
Len eyes got even wider, if that was possible. "Apologize for what, sir?"
"I didn't know that you and Rin really loved each other that much...and to think I destroyed one of her letters..." Kagamine lifted a hand to his face. He really hadn't wanted to cry, especially not in front of this boy, but he found it hard.
"Sir...? Are you Rin's father?"
Kagamine blinked, then smiled suddenly. "You're very sharp, you know."
Len smiled up at him, but his smile soon turned wistful. "I always wanted to have a father..."
Kagamine thought for a moment. Oh, that's right, he said to himself. Both his parents had died in the war against the Kingdom of Blue. I suppose, he thought, there's a good way I can respect Rin's memory.
"Well...do you want to be my son?" he said with a sincere smile.
Len stared in shock. "Wh-what?"
Kagamine smiled in amusement. "Do you want me to be your father? Seeing as, had she lived, you would definitely have married and you'd be my son anyway. Oh!" Kagamine's smile disappeared for a moment. "Do you know of her death?"
"I do, in a way...I had this vision, maybe an hour ago, of Rin and I singing. The song was short, it went like this:"
Somehow, Kagamine knew it was going to be the song Rin sang before dying.
Len sang:
"Since we met, we've spent every day there for each other
I'll never forget what it is your smiling face looks like
The deep darkness that engulfs us both by pulling us away
Is taking away happiness and replacing it with pain..."
Pause.
"Until tomorrow...
At that place, with you..."
Len had a nice voice as well, and if Kagamine could have heard them sing it would have been phenomenal.
"You have a good voice, too, Len," the man smiled. "So...will you let me adopt you?"
***several months later***
"A little to the left...no, make that right...just a little more...stop! That's good right there."
The doctors nodded at the yellow haired boy and went to tend to their patients.
Len looked at the new plaque he had helped install in the door.
"This room is dedicated to:
Kagamine Rin, a lovely singing voice and a delicate flower in the weeds. May she always sing in heaven."
Perfect! Thought Len with satisfaction.
"Len! Is it all set up correctly?" called a voice down the hall.
Len turned to see Mr. Kagamine running up to him. "Yeah! It's perfect, see?"
The man inspected the plaque, smiling. "Wonderful job, son! Now, this room will only be used for patients with mysterious diseases. It's almost like a memorial to Rin, huh?"
"Mmhmm!" Len beamed back at him. "So is it time to visit her?"
"Yes. Let's go."
Len followed his father to the car. Never again would Len be called an orphan with no surname. Now, he was Kagamine Len.
They drove to the nearby graveyard, got out of the car, and walked to Rin's grave. The tombstone had the same inscription as the plaque, except it said "In loving memory" at the top.
The man and son stared down at the little grave.
"Rin...the plaque has finally been installed above the door," whispered Len. "I made sure it was perfect."
"Your old room will only be used for kids who have similar conditions to yours," murmured Kagamine. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"We still love you, Rin...and we hope that you really do keep singing in heaven," they whispered in unison. They had made a habit of saying that together after talking to her. Also, the day she died, Kagamine and his soon-to-be son had planted some of the blue flowers on her grave. They were blooming beautifully, and Len had a feeling that they'd bloom in winter as well.
Kagamine took Len's hand. When Len looked up at him, the man nodded, and they walked away from the grave.
The collection of the planes Len and Rin and sent each other were staying in a box in Kagamine's house. The flowers they had given her were still in their vase, next to the box.
Now all that was left of Rin were the flowers that were the same color as her eyes.
And a paper plane.
A/N: yay, finally got this on here! :D I originally wrote this on my iPod Touch and posted it on this social app called Minination, and I've been planning to post it here for a long time. Well, hope you like it! I know there are some grammar mistakes throughout this. Sigh. If you see one, tell me so I can go back and correct it? Thanks. And if you have a Minination, check me out! My username's YamiAoiRin. ^.^