Disclaimer: Vocaloid ain't mine.


Chapter 9

Rin's POV:

"RIN!" Kagamine screamed, his voice choked with panic. Why did he call me that? I wasn't very close to him, not close enough to have him call me by my first name, much less without an honorable suffix.

I closed my eyes and braced for the fatal strike. But it never came…

Tentatively opening my eyes and looking around, I saw that everything was still. The car, only inches away from me, had stopped. Unnaturally silent, the air had an almost ethereal tinge to it.

"H-hello? What happened?" my voice echoed ominously. I looked at Kagamine and the other pedestrians on the sidewalk, and realized with shock that each and every one of them was frozen like a statue. Glancing up at the sky, I saw a flock of birds in mid air, their wings completely still. Yet they were still aloft…

What happened? Was I frozen in time? Or was I dead?

My heart started to pound, and voices whispered in my head. A long-lost memory resurfaced, and I realized it was my last memory of my mother, Kagene Lily, before I got amnesia.

"Mommy, can Len and I go play?"

"Well, it's getting a little late…"

"Please! I promise we won't go farther than past the grocery shop."

"That's fine. Be back for dinner, make sure to look both ways before crossing the street-if you do-and watch out for cars."

"Okay!"

"…Be careful, Rin."

The last three words echoed through my mind over and over again. All of the memories of my earliest childhood flashed before my eyes, and my breath caught in wonder.

I remembered…

"Happy fourth birthday, Rin! We love you! Now blow out the candles and make a wish!"

…That I used to have a loving, complete family, and my biggest wish was that it would last forever.

"Rin, it looks like we have new neighbors. I've heard that they have a son that's your age. Maybe you can become friends!"

…That Kagamine and I used to be best friends when we were five. But I always knew him as 'Len'…

"Rin! RIN!"

…That I got hit with a car, and my mother blamed Len for it…

"Rin! Rin, are you alright?!"

"Who are you?"

…That ever since the accident, I didn't remember a single thing about my family or Len.

Ever since I lost my memories, I was stuck in time, like now, trying to find a way out. And now, I could finally move on. Only if I could have the courage to put the past behind me…

Right before time started to move again, I caught a glimpse of a young woman with long blonde hair and beautiful, electric-blue eyes. Oddly, she wasn't frozen like the rest of the people, and she seemed to smile at me.

Could it be? Was she my… mother?

Then she disappeared, and the car that was about to hit me started to move again, along with everything else.

However, since it was time itself that had stopped, everything seemed to happen in slow motion at first. This gave me just enough time to dodge the strike of the car. I took a great leap sideways, and went sprawling onto the rough ground, which gave me raw cuts on my hands and knees.

Len stared at me in shock for my impossibly fast jump, than he smiled with relief.

"…Kagene-san, are you hurt?" So, was he back to calling me by my last name now? Maybe when he called me Rin, it was an accident. It was quite strange, though. He wasn't the one who had amnesia, but he probably forgot that we used to be childhood friends.

"No, I'm fine. I just…is it okay if I-"

I was cut off by loud, pounding footsteps, and someone grabbing me by my shoulder.

"Rin, what happened? As soon as I got out of the car, I heard a huge commotion. Are you alright?" my father asked anxiously, fresh from the airport and dressed in a business suit.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I muttered.

He looked me up and down, raising his eyebrows at the cuts on my hands and knees. As his eyes slid over me to meet Len's, his expression changed from concern to one of utmost terror.

"Y-you…" he raised a trembling finger and pointed at the boy, whose face had become equally pale.

"Dad, what's wrong? He's my friend from school, Kagamine-san. Do you know him?" I asked, playing dumb.

"It's getting late, we should go home." Dad nodded curtly at Len, grabbed my fallen schoolbag, and set off at a brisk pace, forcing me to follow.


The crickets chirped serenely, staying hidden in the shadows. Walking quickly, I gripped the bouquet of lilies tightly and looked behind me.

"Rin…this is a waste of time. Why do you want to visit the cemetery so much?" my father scolded.

Stopping and turning around, I tilted my head in confusion. "Didn't you used to come here a lot?"

"…"

"…"

"…I moved on with my life. It's not good to stay fixated on the past."

Starting to walk again, I entered the graveyard and scanned it. "Ah, here it is! Lily Kagane's grave."

Dad recoiled in shock. "Y-you remember? After all this time…"

I frowned, having just heard my strict, business-like father stutter for the first time. "After what time? And why wouldn't I remember my own mother?"

"Exactly how much do you remember?" he demanded.

Starting to become annoyed, I placed the flowers on the grave and crossed my arms. "To be specific, I remember exactly as much as someone who just recently recovered from amnesia should. No thanks to you."

Dad gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "When did you get back your memories? And why didn't you tell me?"

My eyes widened with anger. "You were on a super important business trip! What did you say? 'It's for the best,' huh? And all this time, you didn't bother to tell me a single thing about my past! Was that also for the best?"

"Yes, it was for the best! You just don't understand!"

"Exactly! I don't understand a single thing! First, why didn't you comfort Mom when she was worried about me? Why did you let her cut off our friendship with the Kagamines? AND WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT HER?" I yelled, trembling with fury.

Dad was speechless for a moment. Then, his face clouded with anguish. "You remember everything, don't you? Do you remember what your first words were to your poor mother when you woke up from the accident? 'Who are you?' Do you have any idea how much pain this caused her?! YOU FORGOT ABOUT YOUR OWN MOTHER!"

Now, it was my turn to become speechless. I held up shaking hands and rubbed my forehead.

He still had more to say. "For months, she tried to stay strong. Lily dedicated every waking moment to taking care of you. And yet, you viewed her as a stranger. This broke her on the inside, but she continued smiling for you."

Tears started to stream down my face, and I tugged on the bow on top of my head. Why was I crying? Wasn't this what I wanted? I kept on asking my father to tell me the truth, and now he was. But did I really want to know…?

Dad lowered his head, with shadows obscuring his eyes. "Suicide. That is the result of someone pretending they're happy for too long," he whispered.

I took such a sharp intake of breath and started to tremble so violently that the bow dropped off my head and onto the ground, right in front of Mom's tombstone. Staring at the man who had kept such a tragic fact from me for so long, I realized that he probably hated me. Surely, he wished me dead, to pay for my mother's life.

I tried to say something, but my throat constricted painfully. Not daring to meet my father's eyes, I turned around and ran away.

I had no idea where I was going, or when I would get there. The only thing I knew was that I was running away.

Away from my long-lost, newly found memories.


Yay. Rin X Len. Lily's ghost. Muahahahaha. So how do you like Lily, folks?

Please review, everyone, and stay tuned for chapter 10! Thank you!

~Rikasa