Len huddled in the corner of Kaito's house outside. A tree happened to shield him from the pouring rain that had started again, an occasional raindrop falling from the branches and through his transparent body. He didn't care. He was just a ghost. Why should he care?

He heard Kaito shouting outside. Len lifted his head off his knees and glanced over to see Kaito in the rain, his hair drenched as it clung to his face. Len couldn't hear what Kaito was shouted, but he looked pretty angry from where he was. Len couldn't help getting up and floating closer to Kaito. He couldn't see Len anyways. It wouldn't do any of them harm, right?

"Len, I know you're out here! Show yourself!" Kaito shouted through the rain, almost muffled out by the beating rain.

Len just stood there behind him, silent and unmoving. He didn't want Kaito to see him, not yet. If he had something to say, Kaito could shout it to the rain.

"I don't know how this stupid ghost thing works, but I'm going to suppose that you can still hear me, right?" Kaito continued, trying to shake the water out of his hair with no success.

"Yeah, I'm listening," Len whispered to no one in particular.

"Well I hope you're proud of yourself for making Miku cry, cause I sure as hell am going to wring your neck once I see your stupid banana hair!"

Normally, Len might've been angered by Kaito's insult, but those first words slammed into Len like they'd knocked the wind out of him.

Miku cried? Sure, she looked somewhat shocked, maybe a tad upset, but she couldn't have cried. She shouldn't have cared about what he, a client, had to say. The Miku he knew would've tossed his words off into the wind. She was the center of mystery and detecting. She should have been unreachable by words from amateurs like him. She couldn't have actually cried, right?

"I don't care where you are or what you might be thinking," Kaito continued to yell into the storm, "but you better take responsibility over this! You might think Miku doesn't care, but she's a fragile girl! She has emotions too!"

Len dug his hands deep into his pockets and buried his chin into his coat collar. He mumbled, "Then why would she leave me out of the investigation? Why is she so willing to capture her friends?"

"I don't get what you're all angry about. If you're mad that Miku doesn't want you in the investigation, she's not doubting your skills. You just don't have the whole picture. Miku probably just doesn't want you to get hurt," Kaito argued. "Why can't you talk it out with her? You were getting along with her pretty well, weren't you? How hard can it be?"

Len's mind was racing. Kaito, he'd always had a knack of messing with his mind. Len couldn't let himself be persuaded by Kaito. He refused to go see Miku. Maybe Miku was concerned for his safety, but he was a ghost. What could hurt him? Shouldn't Miku be more concerned about her own safety? If she got hurt, how could Len live with it? Not that he was alive in the first place, of course, but without Miku, Len had no way of achieving his wish.

Len mentally smacked himself. No, he refused to think about that. Len understood now that ghosts formed from the deceased's strong desire to achieve their last wish. He knew what his was, but he didn't want to think about it. It was a wish that would never come true, no matter how much he tried.

"Len!" Kaito was shouting again. "Can you just show yourself? We can talk about it together, whatever you're planning. You're not alone in this! Miku's as upset as you are right now. We can solve this together, peacefully. You were the one that said four heads were better than two, right?"

Len clenched his fists together. He agreed that what Kaito said was true, but he'd reached his limit. He couldn't stand working with Miku, couldn't stand watching her be so apathetic towards solving crime, couldn't stand knowing that his wish would probably never come true. His fingers curled around the small protection charm that IA had given him tighter than he thought he could, a sharp pain starting to rise in his chest. Len bit his lip as if to keep from letting his emotions surface. He muttered, "What do you know about what I want?"

Kaito suddenly gave a start, glancing around urgently. He shouted, "Len? Len, was that you?"

Len felt shocked, he glanced down at the charm. Slowly, he let the charm rest on his palm as he said, "No, not me."

Kaito didn't seem to hear him. Len curled his fingers tightly around the charm again and replied, "Yeah, it's me."

"So you were here the whole time!" Kaito said, his tone half angry, half relieved.

Len nodded, even though Kaito probably couldn't see him. Len wondered if the charm could open a portal to the material world for his voice to go through if he held onto it tight enough. It was good enough. At least he could talk to Kaito without having to have him see Len himself.

"Now come back inside, will you? We should sort things out with Miku," Kaito said.

"No," Len tartly replied.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to see her."

Kaito let out an exasperated sigh, casting a look in Len's general direction. He stressed, "You heard me before, didn't you? Miku's looking out for you. You should at least apologize for hurting her feelings."

"I don't need anyone to look out for me. I can take care of myself. It's not like anyone can kill me anyways," Len muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"It's not your body she's worried about. You only got half the picture. Luka has an accomplice. Miku doesn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you who that person is. She might not act it, but that must've been what she was thinking inside," Kaito argued.

"Oh yeah? How much more hurt could I get? I was murdered, my twin's been abducted, my best friend is dying, and my worst rival is dating my sister. How much worse can death really be?" Len shouted, his voice slicing through the rain.

Kaito seemed to have determined the source of his voice, since he was staring right at him. He calmly asked, "Do you really want me to tell you?"

"Do whatever you want."

"You remember when Miku asked you if you would be able to catch your own friend if they turned out to be a criminal?"

Len fell silent. He remembered that question. That's what had annoyed Len about Miku. The fact that she could easily toss aside her emotions and pretend her friendship had never existed. If she couldn't even stay loyal to her friends, how would she ever feel any other emotions, much less love?

"Well? What's your answer?"

Len gulped and replied, "I…I would. They might be my friends, but criminals must pay for their crimes. But I'd try to convince them first. I'd want to have them recognize their wrongs and maybe have them turn themselves in."

"And then you'd be freed from doing any dirty work," Kaito replied.

"What?" Len snapped.

Kaito sighed and brushed his bangs to one side. He explained, "You see, you're essentially doing the same thing as Miku, only Miku skips through the emotional part. She knows the outcome will always be the same, whether she sympathizes with the criminals or not. I've known her for many years now. Consider it a fragile girl's self-preservation tactic."

Len considered the thought. He guessed it did make sense. Miku must have caught many criminals throughout her career. He didn't dare guess how many must have been people she'd known. It never occurred to Len that it might be easier to ignore your emotions during a case. Still, he didn't know what this had to do with what Kaito was going to tell him. He asked, "Why are you asking me this?"

Kaito fell silent, leaving the pounding of the rain the only sound Len could hear. Len said, "What's wrong? You're not saying someone I know is the accomplice, are you?"

When Kaito still didn't answer, Len suddenly felt anxious. It couldn't be true, could it? No one he knew would commit a crime. They were all odd in their own ways, but they wouldn't commit such terrible crimes, would they? There was no…

Len felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Oliver was in the hospital because of the criminals. Piko was definitely on their side because he seemed desperate to find Rin. That only left IA.

"No. You're kidding me, right?" Len asked, his voice quivering.

"Now you understand why Miku didn't want you in this? She can handle the stress from the case. She didn't think you could," Kaito said in a serious tone.

Len was silent, stuck in shock. He mumbled, "But, why would she…"

"I don't know either. That's what we're going to find out, right? Now can you show yourself again? We can talk to Miku and work everything out," Kaito urged.

Len slowly nodded, still trying to process everything. His brain had shut down completely. IA was the accomplice. She was a criminal. He absentmindedly slipped the pouch over his head and was immediately drenched in a wave of water. Kaito just blinked in surprise before grabbing his arm and dragging him back into the house. They didn't speak a word until the front door shut behind them.

"Miku? Piko? I got Len back! How are you guys doing?" Kaito shouted, slipping off his shoes and grabbing a towel hanging from the clothes rack.

The house was strangely silent. Len finally snapped out of his shocked state, anxiety starting to come over him again. Why weren't they answering?

"Miku? Piko? Where are you?" Kaito shouted again, a worried expression on his face. They hurried towards the living room, their every step leaving a puddle of water through the hallways. Kaito threw open the living room door.

"Holy shit," Kaito muttered, rushing up to Piko, who lay unconscious on the floor. Len just stood there in the doorway. Miku was nowhere in sight.

"Piko! Hey, get up! What happened?" Kaito shouted, shaking Piko until his eyes fluttered open.

"Wh-what?" Piko muttered, trying to get a good look at his surroundings.

"Piko, what happened?" Len asked in a monotone, staring blankly at the scene. No sign of a struggle. Just where was Miku?
Piko blinked twice before suddenly leaping up onto his feet. He urgently shouted, "Miku! She, she was looking upset and then—"

Piko doubled over, clutching his head in pain. Kaito ran for the first aid kit as Len supported Piko. He continued, "I asked Miku what was wrong, and then she apologized for something and started heading out the door. I tried to stop her but then she knocked me out. I should've been more careful."

"No, it's fine. Do you know why she left?" Len asked.

Piko shook his head. Len bit his lip. He hadn't known Miku would get so upset. He started regretting being so angry with her.

His eyes fell on a sheet of paper on the floor. It hadn't been there before. As Kaito came back and started patching Piko up, he bent over and picked it up. His eyes widened as he read the letter.

To everyone:

I've decided to finish this case myself and solve it once and for all.

I'm sorry if I've hurt anyone because of my actions. I'll make sure to end this the right way, so please don't try to interfere with my work.

Len, you were right about me. I should've been more caring, but I don't want you to be hurt by the truth.

I'll definitely grant you wish and make sure your murderer is brought to justice.

Also, I'm sorry if we can't be friends anymore. It might be too late to say this, but in the end, I thought I should tell you.

Thank you for teaching me what love is.

-Hatsune Miku

Len stared at those last words. It was a mixture of happiness and dread in his heart. Miku loved him. It was supposed to be the happiest thing he could wish for, and yet he was afraid of what Miku would do, of what might happen to her

"Len, are you okay?" Kaito asked, casting him a worried glance.

Len ignored him. His mind was racing now, thinking of all the possible places that Miku could've gone. Suddenly, he knew. It could only be that place.

And, ignoring Kaito's concerned words, Len took off the charm once again and flew out of the house. He had to find Miku before it was too late.

A/N: This chapter ended up being sad and long... I was sorta ploughing through my writer's block here, so hopefully the next chapter will be more exciting.

I sorta just realized how many reviews I've gotten... (^_^;) Thank you guys so much for all the support!

As usual, thanks for reading!