Chapter 3
I found myself face-flat on the cold cement ground.
Picking myself up, I turned around. Rin was there – but wasn't I hugging her just a second ago?
Rin was looking at me with a cold glare – yet she showed hesitation beneath her mask.
"Rin-chan, wasn't I—"
"You can't touch me," Rin's tone remained distant, "No one can…" Her words faded into a weep then she knelt to the ground and cupped her face in her hands, again those transparent tears dripping onto the floor and disappearing.
I held my hand out to her, but went straight through her.
She must've felt me, for she lifted her teary face and looked at me as if waiting for me to say something.
However, I did nothing but stare at Rin's tears which led me to her beautiful eyes.
And that was when I saw and realized something.
I asked without thinking, "Rin-chan… Are you sure you're really dead?"
Almost immediately, I felt a gust of chilly wind stab through my face.
When I turned to Rin, I saw her with more water running down her face. "Stop making things worse! Ughhhhhh, this is so annoying – I can't even slap you!" Her tears burst out, and at the same time, my laughter blew out uncontrollably, too.
"Why are you laughing?" Rin yelled in a teary, yet cute, voice.
"Ah, ha, ha, ha!" I held on to my stomach, for it ached so much it might actually blow up. "I think… I think you're so cute, Rin-chan!" When my laughter finally gave me a break, I continued, "I asked you whether you were dead because look—" I pointed at her face, "Your tears, they're flowing nonstop – aren't ghosts supposed to b emotionless?"
Rin eyed me blankly.
"And your eyes—" I admired her closely, "they're so – what's the word – alive."
"W-What do you mean?" Slight happiness surfaced over her face.
"I can see my reflection in your eyes – clearly and without any lack of color."
"Well, my last name is Kagamine* (* = mirror)!" Rin joked, and for the first time, laughed.
"You're beautiful, 'specially when you smile." I attempted to touch her again, but as expected, my hand ran right through her body.
Rin's sadness returned. "But… You can't touch me… and," she gestured me to look at her body, "I'm nearly see-through." A tear jiggled above her eye sac as her words grew as tremulous as her body. "S-So that means I really am a—"
"Shhh…" I pressed my finger in front of her mouth, though all I could feel was a shiver from her body that emanated to mine.
As she knelt there, I sat still, staring through her (not through "her", but like through "through" (?)).
We didn't talk for quite a while. The stunning moonlight grew soft and reflected a gorgeous shade of silver, or brightness, on Rin.
"Do you know the song 'Kokoro (Heart)'?" Rin suddenly looked up at me. "I think it's a really sad and touching song…"
I blushed for her sudden movement so shifted my glance away from her. Playing around with my gold-ish hair, I said, "Yeah, some friends showed it to me before my acci—" I stopped. Rin does know that I-I'm the killer, r-right?
"It's okay…" Rin stood up and looked out the window. I got to my feet as well.
Rin made a quiet and heavy sigh. "I've been dead for over a month already. It doesn't really matter who the person was, does it?"
"I'm sorry, Rin-chan… I'm so sorry," was all I said to her.
She was still, again, emotionless and did not open her mouth to continue the conversation.
"I-If there's anything I could do for you—"
"Anything?" Rin's mouth curled slightly upwards.
I nodded eagerly.
"Okay. I do have some regrets of which I had not done when I was still alive." She drifted in front of the window, still staring into the starless sky.
"Please, tell me, Rin-chan! What would you like for you senpai to do?"
"Alright." Rin turned around and faced me. "I need you to buy me something…"
A few days later, I went back to the hospital with what Rin had wanted me to get her.
What she asked for was really simple to get – easy to find, cheap, and, uh… plain. It's something hard to imagine that someone would regret not doing when they're once alive.
So I was on my way to the hospital, hogging what'll soon be Rin's possession tightly in my arms.
When I got there, Rin was already bouncing around excitedly. I handed her the Target bag.
She eagerly, like a child, ripped open the bad and pulled out what she had desired for, I'm guessing, some period of time.
Damn it, she's so cute…
When the object was pulled out from the bag, she violently stripped the wrapping off its body and immediately turned to me.
"Hey, hey – put it on for me, Len-senpai! Oh, please, hurry!"
I laughed and took the device from her hands.
"Alright, Rin-chan, turn around so you're not facing me."
She did what she was told. Her golden hair glistened even prettier up-close.
Wait, won't this thing fall through her?
I hesitated.
"Hurry up!" Rin was so excited her body shook.
Oh, well, I'll get it a try then!
I gradually lifted my hands over Rin's head and placed the pair of plain, white headphones with a pallid bow on top over her head.
I admit, I was holding my breath, for I was afraid Rin might be depressed when the next second she finds her valuable item on the solid ground.
But the moment I placed the headphones on her head, unexpectedly, there was no clang! And what more? Maybe it's just me, but Rin was actually becoming more and more "colorful".
I rubbed my eyes while Rin turned around, looking at me with even more astonishment than I had.
"L-Len-senpai!" Rin's words were tremulous, though, her tone was full of excitement, "I-I can feel myself again! P-Perhaps I'm alive again!"
To Be Continued…
