Chapter Twenty-Six

I'll Probably be Forced into Your Cage

Gumi absently rummaged through the fridge in the morning, still in her pyjamas. She couldn't quite remember where she'd put her school uniform, but she'd find it later. Instead, for now, she focused on food. She considered cooking a bento since she couldn't sleep anyway, but she was about as good as cooking as her brother. Well, actually, his cooking was pretty good, but he always failed to warn her about the unwanted ingredients he added that left her personality greatly altered for hours on end. Of course, she no longer had to worry about that. She never saw her brother anymore. After all, they didn't live in the same house now.

So, bento. Yes or no? Definitely no. Gumi could pick up something at the convenience store for the two of them for the day. She could go get it now, but it was still dark outside and she was in no rush to go out. So, instead, she figured she might as well look for her uniform.

After pointlessly searching every single crack of the house, other than the room whose door was still shut, as she attempted to kill time, Gumi went to the place she was most likely to find it. Of course, there it was. The laundry room. Her skirt and blouse had been ironed and now hung on hooks next to a black suit. Gumi momentarily considered wrinkling the suit, just for fun, but she simply couldn't muster the drive to go through with it.

After Gumi got herself ready for school, there wasn't much left to do. She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet and stared into the fridge before closing it again. She looked at the clock and decided it was time to awaken the still-sleeping owner of the house.

However, she went to the door and found it open. She peeked inside and made eye contact with her new living partner. She smiled a little.

"Morning," she said.

"Good morning," replied Kiyoteru.

"I'm ready to go whenever. I didn't feel like making us bentos."

"That's fine, we'll just pick some up at the convenience store on the way."

"'Kay."

With that, Gumi left her teacher alone and flopped down in front of the television to watch some early-morning cartoons, unable to leave the TV on the news to update her on the latest horrible news.

In the last month, many things had changed. Miki and Rin were announced as missing, along with Neru, Haku, Iroha, and Miku. Piko still wasn't coming to school, but he did tolerate Gumi coming over after school with take-out food and forcing him to eat. She didn't believe he would, otherwise. Gakupo had dropped out of school completely after Luka's funeral and now worked a part-time job, where Gumi would go visit him whenever possible and take him out to eat. Gumi seemed to have it the easiest. Though she'd lost her one true love, Rin, and a great many best friends, she'd managed to keep it together enough to care for the three men in her life.

The fighting had grown even worse at Gumi's house after the silence had faded, and she'd been unable to handle it anymore. Without a word to either her parents or her brother, Gumi had packed up her bags and left for school one morning, never to return. She'd gone to Rin's house and taken a few things of Rin's, like her ribbon that had been the only thing left after Rin's father had busted down the door. She'd also taken custody of Rin's cat. Now both Gumi and Rin's cat were staying in Kiyoteru's home, though no one but Gumi, Kiyoteru, and the cat were conscious of this. When Gumi had explained her situation to Kiyoteru, he'd been quick to allow her to stay. It was probably because she had been Miku's best friend.

Len had vanished completely that night. When the door had been knocked down, both he and Rin had been gone, and there was no sign as to where they'd gone. There were no breaks in the wall; the windows were still firmly shut. Nobody knew what had happened. The police were looking into it, but Gumi knew they'd never find anything.

School was the worst part. Gumi was the only one of her friends still attending. The rest were either dead, missing, or had dropped out. Still, Gumi went, because Rin would have wanted her to. Rin had always wanted her to pursue a higher education, or at least finish highschool. So, even though she knew people gossiped about her all the time, even though she hated that everyone treated her with delicacy like she might blow up any second, even though she was sick of all the sympathetic gazes or crummy attempts at expressing their understanding for how she felt–like they could ever understand how she felt–she still went to school.

The next worst part was trying to sleep. Gumi constantly found herself haunted by visions of Iroha's last smile, of Miku's parting words, of Kiyoteru's mournful eyes, of Piko's gaunt cheeks, of Luka's love for her boyfriend, of Gakupo's painful realization that he'd lost the girl he'd just won, of Neru's refusal to leave Len without a fight, of Haku's dependant clinging onto Neru in the halls, of Miki's similar attitude toward Len in her final days, of the tattoos running along Len's arms, and, of course, of her last kiss with Rin. Over and over, the images played in her mind, and she thought again and again about the things she could have done to stop all this from happening, of the things she could have done to save them.

That day after school, Gumi went to the grocery store where Gakupo worked one of his part-time jobs. She chatted idly with him, carefully avoiding mentioning any of their friends. She asked him about the job, about the apartment he was renting, if he was making enough money, if he was eating, if he needed her to maybe come over one night. Of course, he acted as though nothing was wrong, though Gumi could clearly see how broken apart he was, and rejected any offers she made to help him out. In the end, he requested she leave so he could focus on his customers, and she had no choice but to leave.

From there, she went to Piko's. Unlike Gakupo, Piko didn't even try to put on a brave face. She had a key to his apartment, so she just entered, and she found him staring at a picture of him, Iroha, and Miki. In the picture, Iroha was poking up behind Miki and Piko. Piko had his hand around Miki's waist, and Iroha's had one arm hugging Miki around the neck and one hugging Piko around the neck. Miki was holding one of Iroha's hands, as was Piko, creating a continuous flow from one of the students to the next.

Gumi plucked the photo from his hand and scolded, "Stop acting like they're dead. They'll be back any day now, just you wait and see."

"Iroha's been gone for months," Piko said drearily. "Miki's been gone for almost a month. They're not coming back."

"Rin's been gone, too, but I know she'll be back," Gumi replied. "I just know she will. If I didn't believe that, then why would I even bother continuing to try?"

"I don't think they're ever coming back," said Piko. "Maybe I should just kill myself and have it done with."

Gumi's eyes flashed in anger as she stared at the boy, who stared back at her with unfeeling eyes. "Even if you were to do that, do you think Iroha and Miki would be happy?"

"They'd want me to be happy," said the white-haired boy. "I'm not happy, so I have to try to make myself happy."

Gumi turned away from him. "You won't be happy if you kill yourself, Piko. You'll just be dead. Then, when Iroha comes back, she won't have a roommate."

"She's not coming back."

"She is. Just you wait and see."

Gumi couldn't look at him when he spoke next or she knew she would start crying. "How much longer do I have to wait?"

Instead, without looking at him, she replied softly, "I don't know, Piko."

After that, they didn't say much, just ate. Then, afterward, Gumi returned to her temporary home with Kiyoteru. When she went inside, she heard a stifled sob and knew what to expect. She dropped her grocery bags and school bag on the floor outside the door and locked it shut. Then, she made her way to Kiyoteru's room, when he sat on the edge of the bed, hunched over and crying. She sat next to him and comforted him the best she could, putting her arm around him and stroking his arm as his body shook. Kiyoteru had been hesitant the first few times she'd done this, but she knew it provided him some comfort and, now, on a ceratin level, he expected it. She sat with him and did her best to lessen his pain until, finally, he grew quiet. She then excused herself to go for a walk.

Gumi had to be there for everyone. She had to be there for Piko, for Gakupo, and for Kiyoteru. Honestly, she didn't mind being there for them, but she was in pain, too. She'd never been one to openly show her pain, and she no longer had Rin to depend upon when things got too rough, so, now, she was left with no outlet for her grief, no one to lean on. When she cried, she had to cry alone, because she had to be strong for everyone else. She had to be the grown-up, because she was the only one who could manage to do that.

Gumi found herself in the meadow where she and Rin used to play. She went here almost every day. She felt like, somehow, on some level, Rin was here. So, comforted by the sense that Rin was with her, Gumi left herself cry, quietly at first, then progressively louder. She clutched her arms tightly around herself as she hunched over the ground, the long grass brushing against her.

Then she felt something change in the atmosphere, and she grew quiet, forcing the tears to stop. She stared at the shoes in front of her and followed them up to see the face. Her heart jumped as she stared at it. Blonde hair blew in the wind and blue eyes locked on hers. She searched their gaze for a meaning, searching for an explanation, a reason.

Len.

They stared at each other for a long time, neither accepting defeat, simply staring at one another. Gumi hated looking at his face, the face that looked so much like Rin's, the face she'd seen contorted in such cruelty, in such hatred, before he'd taken Rin.

"Where is she?" Gumi asked him.

"She's safe," was all Len replied.

"Will you let me see her?"

"Perhaps. Are you lonely?"

It was like when he'd told her to kiss him. She couldn't say no. She simply found herself answering honestly, even if she didn't want to. "Yes."

"Would my company be sufficient?"

"Never."

"Pity. You're a strange one, you know that?"

Gumi stared at him, ignoring his comment. "What are you? You can't be human."

Len smiled a little. "I am as human as you are."

Gumi stared at him evenly. "Are you the killer?"

Len laughed a little. "Not at all. I'm quite disappointed he got my emerald wave before I could whisk her away to safety."

"Then what are you?" Gumi pressed on.

Len smiled at her. "That's not a question I can easily answer, but, I can tell you this: I am human. There's only one difference between me and your everyday Joe."

"Which is?"

"I am God."

Gumi stared at him dubiously and retorted, "Right, because that totally makes you human."

"I am God, but not of this world. I discovered a new world, and made myself its God. Would you like to come to my world?"

"Is that where Rin is?"

"Yes."

"Then I would, but what are the conditions you no doubt have in mind?"

"You may be with Rin. You can spend every moment of every day with Rin. However, you may never have her in the way you want. After all, she is my blue rose. I can bring you to her, if you will be my black bird."

Gumi stared at him for a moment. "Take me to her."

"So you will agree to my conditions?"

"I will agree once I see her."

Len smiled triumphantly. "Very well then. Then come with me."

Len offered her a hand. Tentatively, Gumi took it. He tugged her to her feet and began to guide her up the hill. She followed him as he strolled straight into Rin's house, then into her room, which no longer had a door. Then, he gestured toward the vanity mirror invitingly. She gazed at him suspiciously, then walked to the vanity. She placed her hand on the mirror's surface, only to have it fall through. She pulled her hand back, startled. She looked at Len, who waited patiently for her to continue onward. Gumi reminded herself that Rin was on the other side of the mirror and stumbled inside.

Then, everything went black.

Author's Note: Oh, by the by, did anyone remember that the killer kills through poison? I never said Len wasn't a liar. Oh, and, because Vicki-chan once asked me this near the beginning, the reason Len is so interested in Gumi (perhaps more so than he is interested in Rin) is simply because she has a great strength in resisting him which he is totally not used to. And, fyi, I have mentioned the vanity mirror nearly every time they're been in Rin's room. Motifs, people! I've been doing an essay on rhetorical devices in the last couple weeks, is it obvious? Pfft, I thought I'd just write the first page and then get back to studying but studying is boring so I wrote the whole chapter. Oh well. Sooo, yeah. I'm gonna put a poll up later tonight for what chapter-story you'd like me to do next (descriptions for each story are gonna be in my profile. Some are up already but there's a few few I never go around to putting up) if you really like my writing and plan on reading other stories by me. This kind of story is very much my style so this is how most of them will be. Y'know, seems light-hearted-ish to start then gets progressively more dark and confusing. So yeah. Um I'm tutoring for a while tomorrow and I don't have time to write another chapter tonight so tomorrow's update won't be until late-ish at night probably.