Argh. I don't really like this chapter as much as the Prologue, but I finally got it written. Not much to say, really. Again, please read and review, and please critique it well.
Chapter One
The Kagamine family was a highly respected family that had lived in their area for as many generations as anyone could count. The current family made their residence on the top of a high hill overlooking the rest of their town, in a large, extravagant mansion. Needless to say, the family was very rich. They were not particularly reluctant to share their wealth, however. Any charity to come knocking on the door could expect a large and very gracious donation. In fact, anyone in need of serious financial help could expect some sort of assistance from the Kagamine family. As such, they were very well known, and when Mr. Kagamine's wife was declared pregnant with twins, the entire town appeared to give her their congratulations.
And so, the Kagamine family was blessed with twins, one boy and one girl. It was almost a blessing that they were of opposite genders as well, for otherwise they would have been completely indistinguishable from one another. The boy was named Len and the girl Rin, which became something of a joke when it was discovered that Rin was right-handed and Len left-handed.
And so, the two children grew into two great assets to the Kagamine family. Rin had exceptional skill in sports - she was strong, athletic, and very outgoing. Len, on the other hand, had taken the opposite route - he was incredibly smart, and spent most of his time reading. As such, the two would often get into fights about their differences, but even still, the two became very close, more like best friends that brother and sister.
Kagamine Rin and Len were born in the year 2001. They were eight when the war began, and eight when they discovered just how greatly it would affect their lives.
~*~
A typical Saturday evening at the Kagamine household. Rin, ushered inside by her father after it had gotten dark, was lying on the floor, watching the news with her father, who sat behind her on the couch. Curled up in a large armchair in the corner was Len, avidly reading a book.
"A group of protestors has gathered outside of the building," a woman with a microphone was saying on the news, "And they claim to have nuclear weapons, although their purpose is as of now unknown."
"Dad?" Rin said, turning to face her father. "What are nucular weapons?"
"Nu-cle-ar," Len corrected, eyes still on his book, "Nuclear, not nucular."
"Right, sure..." Rin said, waving an uncaring hand in his direction. "What are nuclear weapons, then?"
"Weapons of mass destruction," her father answered. "Basically, they're bombs, but instead of just blowing people up, they let out radiation that makes people sick too. It's not good."
"Why are they even rioting in the first place?" Len asked, now putting down his book and moving to the couch to join the conversation.
Mr. Kagamine sighed. "Well, we're not entirely sure, but what I've heard is that China is trying to rise up against us and retake Japan."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Rin cried, looking disgusted.
"Well, it does kind of make sense that they'd want to, but still..." Len said.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, making the two twins jump. "I'll get it," their mother said as she walked quickly to the door and looked through the peephole at the people outside. Her face seemed to turn a little pale, and she quickly motioned to Mr. Kagamine.
He stood up. "Rin, Len, go to your rooms," he said in a quiet voice, striding over to his wife. Rin and Len glanced at each other, then sprinted up the stairs. At the last second, Rin turned to see three tall men stepping into the living room, her parents following behind them, both looking nervous.
When they reached the top of the steps, the twins stopped and sat down beside the railing. They were just out of sight, but close enough to hear the conversation below. Their parents should have known by now that the two were far too curious to ever go to their rooms at a time like this.
"What are they saying?" Rin hissed to Len, who was closer to the stairs and therefore could hear better.
"Hang on," he whispered. He could only catch small snippets of the conversation, but that seemed to be all he needed to piece together what they were talking about.
"They're with the people in that riot on TV!" he hissed to Rin, whose eyes widened. "It sounds like they're the ones running the whole thing!"
"What do they want?" Rin asked, trembling slightly.
"They want Mom and Dad to give them more money for weapons!" Len hissed. "But Dad said no...I wonder-"
Bang! A shot rang through the house, bringing tears to the eyes of both twins and almost sending Len into a freefall down the stairs. Bang! Another gunshot, and both knew without a doubt that their parents must now be dead. Silently, both stood up and scrambled down the hallway to a wide window facing the backyard.
"We can't let them find us!" Rin whispered, and Len nodded. "Alright, listen. We have to jump. Once we're out, start running. Head for the woods. And don't stop for anything! If we stop, we both die. If we don't, at least one of us might live. Both, if we're lucky."
Len nodded again, blinking away the tears that came with the thought he might never see Rin again. She flung her arms around him, and he knew that she was crying as well. And then the window was unlatched, and suddenly they were out in the crisp night air, and he was running through the woods, dodging trees and crashing through bushes, Rin streaking along beside him.
Shouts came from behind, and both twins increased their pace as the three men chased after them. Rin turned quickly to see how close they were, and suddenly she was gone.
Len turned in alarm to see her lying on the ground several yards behind him, knocked unconscious by a large tree branch. His first instinct was to run back to her side, but her own words echoed in his head. Don't stop for anything! Swallowing his tears, he turned and fled through the trees, his legs slowly growing numb from the effort of running so fast.
He almost didn't realize it when he hit the ground. Desperately, he tried to push himself upright once more, but his legs had at last run out of energy, and he collapsed again on the hard earth, and barely felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.
