DISCLAIMER:
The following content is the intellectual property of the
Yamaha Corporation and its respective subsidiaries
as well as any participating organizations that own
various designs and concepts that will be featured. The
Author in no way claims to be a part owner of any of
the characters that will be portrayed, and writes with
the full authorization of the ffnet website.

WARNING:
The following content is rated M for Mature, and may
contain graphical descriptions of mature scenarios
that viewers may not find suitable. This is a work of
fiction: Any and all similarities to real life situations is
purely coincidental.

~Act 2: The Second Day~
~Scene V~

"Ah geez." Haku massaged her head and groaned, watching the passing cars. "Standing in the middle of the street like this… I swear," she muttered as she pushed Rin to the sidewalk. "Something's wrong with your head." They reached the other end. Rin continued to stare off into nothingness. Haku looked around. She had places to go, and didn't particularly enjoy the thought of spending more time with Len's younger sister. "But I'll feel guilty if I just leave her here in a daze like this," she grumbled to herself. "Ugh… why do I have be nice…?"

She took Rin's hand and started to drag her in a direction away from her house. Of course she knew where Rin lived. After all, Rin and Len were sisters, and she would have to know where Len lived, but she didn't feel like letting Rin know that she had such a side to her.

Rin walked along as though she were on a leash. She didn't question Haku, nor did she make any sort of comment or apology. They walked into a busier part of town, where there were many different stores. She read the different signs: Company F, Sweet Ring, Pumpkin Witch…

She recognized all of the shops here. One in particular grabbed her attention.

A young girl stood with her face plastered to the window. She razed the displays left and right with hungry eyes. The dazzling colors and glitzy lights were truly a blinding spectacle. She broke into a wave of unrestrained moans.

"Hey, Rin-chan!" The young boy standing behind her looked cross, his hand resting on the knob. "Are you coming or not?!" He demanded impatiently. Rin looked at Len and nodded. "Well then," he opened the door and stepped inside, "Come on already!"

"W-whoa! Hey! Wait for me, Nii-san!" She dove in after her brother. The shop played a ringtone resembling the old children's song "Clementine." Len was already at the counter speaking with a rather amused saleswoman. She leaned over the counter with a playful smile. Rin ran up to him and bowed to the woman. "Hello! Hello!" she chirped cheerfully.

Len coughed and turned away, feeling rather embarrassed.

"Why, hello there, sweetie!" She relished.

Len stepped forward, drawing their attention to him. "Rin-chan. Go pick something like you like."

"Anything?" Rin's eyes went wide. "Nii-san! Can I really pick anything that I want?!" He nodded. Taking off at a run, she disappeared behind some shelves and squealed.

"Do be careful!" the woman cried, smiling exasperatedly. "Goodness…!"

"Don't encourage her, Kasane-chan." Len rubbed his face wearily and smiled. "This is going to make problems at home, for me."

"You never told me that your sister was so sweet," the lady chirped. "And you really ought to call me by my first name, after all."

"I'll use whichever name I see fit, Kasane-chan."

"Oh? That's not the name on my tag." She rubbed her chin teasingly. Len glowered. "Oh, you're so fun to tease, honey!" She giggled, pinching him on the cheek. "Introduce me while you're at it."

"Uh… Hey now. You shouldn't call me that while Rin's here."

At that moment, Rin came bursting out of an aisle different from the one she had entered. "Nii-san! Nii-san! I found it! I found it!" she sang. She looked happier than she had ever been in her life, holding a package high into the air. Len stared.

It was a very old, and very cheap phone. So old, in fact, that it didn't even support most of the standard features that came with the more recent models, such as the ability to play music or take pictures. It was his phone, except that it was pink and unused. He was tempted to question his sibling's choice, as she might have been laughed at by some of the kids in her school for having such an old model. But the smile on her face was undeniable. He asked her, but unobtrusively, as though he were her father, forcing her to unknowingly sign a contract that would negate any liabilities he might have if she were dissatisfied with what she bought.

"Yes!" she chimed. "Yes! Yes! I want this one! This one!"

"Mmm, so that's the one you want?" The saleswoman took the box from Rin and looked it over, glancing at Len with laughter in her eyes. She made sure that Rin glimpsed her nametag.

"Yes, Teto-onee-sama!" Rin bowed like she had when she first ran up. "Because it's the same as the one my Nii-san has!" Her cheeks puffed up with pride.

"You'll want a shared plan, then?" she turned to Len. He nodded. "Right, I'll have it ready in a few minutes. Would you like me to unwrap it for you?" She turned to the little girl who drooled with her fingers just barely reaching to the top of the counter. She nodded greedily.

"What's that, Teto-onee-sama?" She pointed to a little chip that Teto was pushing into the back of the unassembled phone.

"That's called an SIM Card, sweetie. You can put your favorite ringtone and save your brother's phone number on it. Oh, and do call me 'nee-san,' nee-chan!"

"Nee-san!" Rin repeated, taking the completed phone and staring at it. "Cool…"

As they left, Len gave a word of thanks to the saleswoman. As the door closed, her voice sailed out of the shop. "Anything for you, honey," she answered.

"Nii-san! Nii-san! Can I call you?" she asked him. Len laughed lightly.

"You can try, but I left my phone at home, so I won't answer."

"Aww! Nii-san, you're really mean!"

"Hey…" Rin stopped. Haku kept going until she yanked against Rin's hand. They met eyes.

"What…?"