+Aoki+

Piko paced outside of Kaito-nee's door, thinking deep thoughts, I supposed. His little silver curl flounced on his head distractingly and made it hard for me to focus on what I was supposed to be doing; which was spying on him for my friend, Miki. She had a major crush on him, but had 'better things to do', so made me watch him day in and day out. Honestly, I couldn't blame her for having a thing for him. He was really cute, and he had this adorable habit of chewing on his bottom lip when he was thinking. His laugh was kind and- for lack of a better word- bouncy. It was sweet how much he idolized Len-kun, too. All these made me look at him as the perfect little brother that I would never have.

Piko suddenly halted in his steps, coming to a conclusion. I stifled a tiny giggle as he smiled in some kind of victory, over what, I would never know. He began walking towards me, and I ducked under the staircase so he wouldn't see me. I followed him silently up the staircase, all the way to the end of the hall, to a door that read "Aoki".

Wait, that was my door. I gasped inwardly as he knocked timidly, red gracing his cheeks. Apparently, blush was contagious, because I could feel heat creeping up my neck as he stood there, waiting for an answer that wouldn't come from the other side of that door. I stood up and walked over to him, tapping him on the shoulder. His head whipped around and I shyly waved up at him. He attempted to wave back, but it seemed that his arms weren't working. I laughed outright, and that loosened the mood right away.

I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon with Piko. It was quite a lovely time, I must confess.

+Oliver+

As much as I was ecstatic to be back, I couldn't help but feel as if something were missing. I couldn't exactly place my finger on it, but it felt as if the House had lost a critical part of it, and was drooping without it's energy.

It was while Len was telling me a story about Rin and Aoki, and then something about Piko, that it hit me.

"Len…" I interrupted, "Where's Rin?"

Len looked up at me for a few seconds, his mouth mid-word, before he realized what I had uttered. His electric blue eyes widened and his mouth snapped shut, and he vaulted himself off the floor and into his twin's adjoining room. I heard a strangled kind of yell, and I rushed over.

There was Rin, sitting on her bed, reading a manga, half transparent. I could see right through her torso to the yellow and grey bedsheet underneath her. I covered my gasp with my pale hand, my yellow eye narrowing in confusion. She looked as though she didn't even notice herself, she just sat there calmly reading. How could she not realize what was happening? Or was it my eyes playing tricks on me?

I staggered over to Len in my surprise and gripped his arm. "L- Len, are you seeing this? Is she… transparent?" I asked weakly.

Len nodded, barely able to stand up. I decided me clutching to his arm wasn't helping, so I let go. He collapsed into his knees, stunned at the sight of his sister. I myself was in a minor state of shock. What was going on? I walked over to Rin and gently took the book out of her hands.

"Rin?" I asked, looking her in the eyes. She glanced at me, then continued staring into her hands. I tried again. "Rin, look at me. What's going on?" I tilted her chin so she had no choice but to look at me, and I could see tears on her otherwise emotionless face. I wiped them away with the sleeve of my jacket and asked her again what was going on.

She finally responded. "I don't know." she replied, in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "I just suddenly began disappearing like this. I don't know how it happened!" She closed her eyes tightly and let the tears flow while I forced Len over to comfort his sister.

+Meiko+

I could feel it. Something was wrong with the atmosphere in the air, and it wasn't just the depression after one of Master's yaoi kicks. It was something far worse, something I couldn't quite catch. I walked slowly into the kitchen, spotting a saddened Kaito slumped over the kitchen table, his face implanted into a part of the newspaper. I began methodically rubbing his tensed-up shoulders, and he sighed in pleasure. I smiled softly and moved up to his neck, causing him to relax and his body to go limp. I chuckled at his boyish behaviour that made him so… him. His blue hair fell across his face as he looked up and grinned at me tiredly, and I brushed it out of his eyes.

"Hey, Lover Boy. Sleepy?" I asked, teasing him. He groaned.

"Yeah, that nickname's probably the best one yet. Geez, Meiko. And of course I'm sleepy. Master made me get up way too early today."

I patted his head in mock sympathy. "I won't get mad today. You feel that?" I asked, wondering if anybody else had picked up on the low feeling surrounding everything in the House.

He nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. That damp feeling, that makes you think that the last happy day of your life was yesterday, so say good-bye to everything you've ever loved?"

I sighed. "Yup. That's the one." Grabbing his hand, I pulled him off the table and to his feet, when we both heard a yell. "What the-"

We ran up the stairs and looked around. We could hear soft sobbing now, and we followed the noise to Rin's room. Kaito opened the door, a little too forcefully, and we took in the scene before us. A slightly see-through Rin was sitting on her bed, a manga discarded on her pillow, Len holding her hand and wiping her tears, with Oliver behind him, whispering questions to Rin. I swallowed. What was going on?

Oliver glanced up at us and waved us over shyly. "Meiko, Kaito, do you know what's going on?" he questioned us in that soft, british voice of his. Kaito and I shrugged, just as lost, possibly even more so, than he was. He sighed and turned his attention back to Rin, who was becoming less and less solid at an alarming rate. Len was gripping her hand, tears pricking at his eyes.

"Rin, stay with me! Rin, please, don't go! Come on, Rin!" he was saying, over and over, as if it was a desperate, last-ditch attempt at a magical spell that would turn everything back to normal.

I crouched in front of Rin as well, Len scooting over to make room.

"Rin," I said, putting a reassuring hand on her knee, "Do you remember everything that happened today?"

Rin nodded, tears obscuring her ability to speak. I gently wiped them, and asked her to tell us everything. She obliged, and her story began.