Usually the attic has many unusual things you don't even expect to be there.

And what made Len interested to that 'special place' was; everything from before was stored here. It ranged from Rin's little bicycle, her first bow, her toy roadroller, and even his drawings, back then before he died. Actually he was pretty much surprised that those abstract pictures were still being kept, really not expecting that...

And photo albums.

He smiled to himself as he saw a picture of Rin. Her bow was still extremely over-sized at that time, the same went to the goggles which Gumi wore to practically everywhere. At the picture he was looking at, the three of them was facing the camera while making a peace sign with their little hands, smiles were on their faces.

Those innocent smiles only children have.

While looking at the pictures, he tried to remember the events through his fuzzy memory. He looked over albums and albums, there were so many of them. There was their parents' wedding album, their baby album, that album their parents managed to make when they were in kindergarten... That last one mentioned had a lot of Gumi's picture, either together with Rin, or with him, or the three of them together... How he missed the old times...

And finally he reached the part where pictures of humans starts to become more less, and sceneries were taken instead of it. But still, in the middle of those pictures of scenery, a photo of Rin and Gumi together could be found. Sometimes Rin and her parents...

His eyes landed on a portrait of the tree of them. Mother, father, and daughter.

With him being missing from the supposed to be a picture of a happy family.

All of them were smiling brightly, but Rin's smile was the one that really shone.

A real smile surrounded by a forced smile filled with guilt, and a fake smile with regret.

Like something precious had been taken away from them.

He stared at the picture for a long time, and felt a strong feeling of loneliness in his heart. He only sighed with a smile.

And speak of deaths, he remembered his death and their parents' death changed Rin's life, from what he heard from Gumi. Rin wouldn't be a troublesome trouble seeker if everything was normal from beginning...

But from what Gumi had said, he had changed her back from her 'trouble seeker personality'.

'I don't think I had done something... Special to her. What I have done is... No, I think she's the one who had done many things to me...'

Chapter 36

"Alarm clock... Be a good kid and shut the hell up, okay?" Rin mumbled in her half-asleep state. She cursed the fact that she forgot to set the alarm clock so it won't ring in Saturdays... And Sundays. She relied much to the alarm clock, though. She couldn't wake up on time without it, and her 'brother' was just... Unreliable if it comes to waking up at the morning. She even thought he could sleep for the whole day if nothing bothers him...

Rin knew that the alarm clock wouldn't turn off by itself, so she gave up and got up from her bed and went to the table where her phone was.

She loved on how phone is so useful. Calendars and alarms, internet and camera, everything in one.

After she turned off the damned alarm, she went back to the bed and covered herself again with the warm ans fluffy blanket.

She thought it was just 5 minutes from the time she turned the alarm off—at least it felt like 5 minutes for her, when suddenly she heard loud thumps and footsteps from outside.

Thinking that she should wake up, she tossed the blanket away then headed to the door and cracked it open, "What the hell is happening he—"

And what greeted her was the front door being slammed close after she let her head out through the door.

"Len?"

'Your habit of waking up late doesn't change at all, Len...' the voice said, he seemed to be shaking his head (if that even possible) at that moment.

'Why are you even speaking to me?' Len asked while running down the autumn-themed road... To the town center where the North Side Café supposed to be. 'I thought it was clear enough that I asked you to keep silent...'

The voice laughed, 'Sorry. It's just... Unbearable...'

Len sighed while keep on running, then finding the road was full of people, and mumbled something incoherent. But he continued running through the mass of people while avoiding himself from hitting the innocent walkers.

'It will take less time if you just fly through this crowd rather than stopping in every 5 steps you take.' The voice suggested.

It was true that he had to stop running for a while periodically because the road was simply full, he had no other choice but to wait until... At least a little route opened, it was okay to hit one or two people... But, flying?

'Do you want me to get stared by the walkers and bystanders, then they would think that I am some kind of unknown creature by flying with the wings in this crowdy place?'

'...perhaps it is true...' The voice wondered, 'Ah wait, there it is, North Side Café...'

'Where?'

'There! Though the road is blocked by the people... There, clean them up by sending them flying into the air with your magic.'

'...no way...'

Miku fidget, having her eyes wandering outside through the glass panel that separates the cafe and the outside, watching people's movement seriously, searching for a figure that might stand out in the crowd, though actually she wasn't really looking for anyone in particular.

Not even Len who she supposed to meet at 10 am in the cafe she was in, and 15 minutes had passed from 10 am. But she understood why. In fact she was expecting him to be late.

So who she was really looking for was a question she couldn't even answer by herself. Or she wasn't looking for anyone from the beginning?

She glanced to her left where Neru was, of course with her phone as well. She was texting someone Miku didn't bother to know carelessly using her beloved device. Miku knew that Neru was in her own world when she's with the phone, waiting for a whole day won't be a problem if she still has her phone.

Perhaps the phone is a good thing that can be used to communicate to each other in this world?

Caused of her boredom, Miku picked up her phone and started to play around with it. She had no idea what to do with the phone, she only used it to hear music sometimes (and of course, with her black headphones which she 'stole' from the shop), so she decided to try something unusual.

The menu titled 'games' caught her eyes, and she really did end up playing the phone-games.

That was it, until Len came running to their table. She looked up from her phone while closing its flap, Neru was strangely doing the same thing, minus the closing part.

Both of the girls stared at the boy without saying anything.

"Sorry I'm late..." He mumbled while catching his breathe.

Neru kept on looking at him, and finally spoke, "He doesn't change, after all..."

Miku didn't want to admit it, but she had to agree with her yellow-haired companion.

"It's kind of rude saying that... But I couldn't help but agreeing your statement, Neru..."

'What? Do they mean that I got late often?' Len thought.

The voice nodded (how?), 'It seems to be like that...'

Not giving any reply to the voice, Len positioned himself on the unoccupied seat on that table then he slumped to the table.

"Is everything okay, Kagamine-sama?" Miku asked with a slight concern in her voice.

"Nah, he's just tired from running here from his house..." Neru commented, her phone had become her main interest again. Then from the corner of his eyes, he could see Miku jabbed her with her elbow.

"She's right. Let me catch my breath first..." He said, not looking to the girls at all.

"There, listen what he says!" Neru said in an offending voice.

Miku took Neru's words just like flowing air, that didn't really give any effect to her. She continued straight to apology to Len, "I'm sorry Kagamine-sama, if that is what you really want to do, you may do it. We're the ones who follow your orders." She said, slightly bowing by lowering her head.

Len lifted his head up and looked at her, "No, it's really my fault for being late... I know I shouldn't do this." He fixed his sitting position and sat upright properly, even his eyes were fixed to her teal ones.

Miku shuddered when she felt his gaze on her. No one had ever commented anything about his eyes—at least, she never heard anyone talking about his eyes. She thought maybe it was just her, but his gaze always seemed to be...

Cold.

It was like, sure his eyelids were drooping just like usual. For her. It didn't really matter. It was the eyes, not the eyelids.

Miku didn't have anything to argue with him, but she had to convince him that it wasn't his fault. "But I really have to follow your orders and..." Suddenly feeling uneasy. She glanced at Neru, who was unluckily, busy with her phone.

While cursing in her head, Miku continued, "...and really, it wasn't your fault for being late, I was kind of... Expecting it."

Len hardened his gaze on her, successfully making her shift uncomfortably, 'Was she giving an indirect insult?'

Not that what Len was concerning. It was just the way Miku addressed him... Annoyed him. Not only the -sama part, she acted like he was someone whose order has to be obeyed.

Miku managed to clear her throat in the middle of that awkwardness, "Erm, so, we're here to talk about... How we are here."

Then she started to explain, "As you can see, we don't really belong to this world... This is the world for the living beings. And we're not."

Len glanced away uncomfortably, "I... Know that. Everyone I see is alive, Rin is alive as well... While I have died some years ago."

Miku wasn't expecting him to know that he was dead. Something or someone reminded him, perhaps?

"That's right. The two of us had died as well." She continued, "And I suppose Rin-san is your sister when you still alive?"

"Right."

Miku stared at him for a long time without saying anything.

'I thought he doesn't remember his past before he died?'

"So," she said again, "You had remembered everything now?" A part of her was glad, but she could feel something was wrong and not supposed to be like that...

"Not really." He said, "It still doesn't explain why I am here when I supposed to be 'dead'."

'Right... Now he mentions it...' She thought, 'It's not explaining at all why he ended up here, the earth?'

"And..." He began, "Do I know any of you?"

Miku could heard a loud sigh from Neru, "Miku, just explain him everything from the beginning, you're making it confusing... God, he doesn't remember us, just tell him who we are..." Annoyed, that was what Neru felt at that moment.

'But doesn't that mean that he remembers event before he died, but not after he died?' Miku thought seriously, 'It was supposed to be the other way around... From what I know. Wait, he got his memories back but giving his other memory to get it?'

"Okay, I understand." Miku said, "We are the ones in charge to find you and take you back to... To where we really belong. Where the dead peope live."

"The dead people live?" He asked. How could dead people... Live?

"The Afterworld," Miku nodded, "Place where afterlife is there. A life after death."

Len got more confused. It didn't make sense... But the fact he was there didn't make sense, either. So he just nodded.

"There's no hate in that place, because everyone could live peacefully with no war, because everyone will die... Or we prefer calling it 'disappear' when we reach a certain age limit, so no matter how much we stab someone, for example, that person won't die if that person hasn't reach the age limit..."

"Though you can use a better, less sadistic example, Miku," Neru commented with her eyes on the phone, but her ears were listening.

Miku slowly turned her head to Neru before continuing, "Unlike humans, we have the ability to use magic, so technically everything can be fulfilled easily."

"And a pair of wings?" Len asked.

Miku sweat-dropped, "We do have wings, maybe because we're 'dead' after all..." She laughed sheepishly, "But the main thing that creates peace is, everything is organized well, so everyone has the same right and can live peacefully with each other. It's the ruler's job to rule... Or organize the world."

"A single person ruling the whole world?"

"Not really a single person, and not really the whole world..." Miku said, "I don't know how, but the world is divided by sections, which I really have no idea where are the others, but it just illogical for the humans from the earth to be fit in just one kindgom-sized world. And the ruler has helpers in many things, most of them became assistant-like, though. The ruler lives in a palace-like building, along with those people who helps him that I mentioned before."

Miku used too many 'like' word. Len thought that the said world is practically the same as earth, but the difference was only, it's the Afterworld, a 'world' after world.

So how did he got there, anyway?

"Speaking of the ruler, the two of us are just a little part of the palace-worker. Means we also help the ruler to do his job." She said, then gesturing at Neru, "She helped with the paperworks, and I am the one who usually take care of the ruler. And we're not the only one who assigned with that tasks, there are many more."

"And..." She started again, "Actually I am the one who supposed to look for the ruler, because I am his caretaker."

'...they ask a girl to look for the ruler... In this dangerous earth? They can't be serious...' Len thought.

"And what about Akita-san?" Len asked.

Miku explained innocently, "She got into an argument with someone, so she was forced to go here with me."

Neru grumbled under her breath, "No need to tell him about that."

"So Kagamine-sama, I would like to tell you, that you are the ruler of the Afterworld, and we would like to bring you back there..." Miku trailed off.

A ruler? The one who rules the 'world'? And he was the ruler?

"...what?" He asked slowly.

"You can get to that point from the beginning, you love having everything complicated, don't you?" Neru said.

"Not really..." Miku replied, not wanting to have an argument, "We have to explain it to him."

'An important role there, huh...' The voice suddenly commented.

'Can you please, stop talking?'

"You mean I have to get back to the Afterworld as the ruler?" Len asked.

"Unluckily, yes. I know you're having a great time here, meeting with your sister, but—" her words were interrupted by Len, who spoke sternly.

"No, it's not possible."

"He left."

Rin spoke to herself when she couldn't find Len anywhere in the house. Perhaps it was him who slammed the front door earlier.

'Say, he probably has something to do," she thought, "...when I'm here doing practically nothing." She laughed to herself while making her way to the bathroom to take a bath to make herself fresh.

Taking a bath wasn't the thing she really care, it only took fifteen minutes and she already revealing herself outside the bathroom door.

She had no homework at that moment (if she wasn't mistaken), so she decided to do something... Practicing her cooking skills? Perhaps it wasn't a good idea since... Well, maybe she would burn down the whole house—no, the whole neighborhood because an accident happened in the kitchen. Though she thought she was exaggerating in her imagination.

Suddenly an idea popped up in her mind.

Sneaking to Len's room and see what's inside sure is a great idea... So she walked to his room with an evil smile and opened the door.

She was expecting the room to be at least, a bit neat. A good thing that she got her expectation to be true but books and paper were scattered everywhere.

'Not only in the attic, he puts paper everywhere here as well?' She thought, '...maybe it's always been here for a while, I haven't go into this room lately, anyway...'

She bent down to see what was behind the paper. To her surprise, the paper had nothing in it.

She shrugged as she walked out—there was nothing interesting in his room after all. But she suddenly had an urge to go to the attic. To find another clue about what Len was probably thinking using his music sheets.

So she went there. Only a small amount of light could get into the room, making a creepy feeling. She turned on the lamp and scanned the room with her eyes.

Strange, the amount of paper reduced. She wondered where the paper went.

'Did he throw the paper away? How eco-unfriendly!' She thought. She just loves the ecology...

Throwing her thought away, her eyes wandered around the room again. Then her eyes caught something. At the corner of the room, books were scattered. But it didn't really look like book, it shaped just like a photo album. She walked closer to the corner where the 'books' were, and examined it closer.

'It's a photo album.' She thought as she picked one and brought it up to the level of her eyes. Actually it was obvious already that those books were actually photo albums, since photos were scattered there. She just didn't notice it earlier.

She sat down on the floor and began to smile to herself as she opened the album she was holding. She flipped the pages filled with photos, and she saw a smaller her (well, herself when she was younger), often in the picture with someone else. A green haired girl and a blonde boy.

'The green haired girl, Gumi.' She said in her head, holding a laughter. Gumi just looked... Really different back then, more childish, that's it.

'The blonde boy, Len.' She thought as she questioned herself after that, 'Len? This kid looks like him, but...'

She lingered the photo by using her fingers while she was thinking for a moment.

She suddenly looked up, her eyes went wide.

'T-that's right! How could I forget? Len is—'

~~The voice was there! I missed him...

A cliffhanger? No? Well~ Actually I'm too lazy to update, have been playing games a lot this week. Even while typing this note, I am playing. And today is December 21st, so 27th is coming, but I haven't made the 38th chapter because of that ↑ *laughs nervously* Just hope I'll make it on time... And school hasn't ended yet even though Christmas and New Year are nearing! Imagine that!

Thank you for the reviews (Mirrored Sounds-san, the only person who reviewed the previous 2 chapters, thank you very much T^T), favorites, and alerts. And more importantly, reading and enjoying this story! I'm just... Impressed, that people are actually still reading this awkwardly over-stretched story which is getting more... Confusing—I mean, the way I write the story is getting confusing orz Well, thank you!

One question. Have the authors in this... Vocaloid section covered songs together? A chorus? Sorry for the random question, I just suddenly get curious... If there's any, I would like to hear it ・ω・

See you in 3-4 days, hopefully...