~~Updated at December 27th as Kagamine's birthday present, 10 chapters after a chapter titled 'Len', the 38th chapter titled 'Rin'. Happy 4th birthday, Rin and Len!

A loud bam echoed throughout the empty house, not to mention the lack of light in the house, courtesy of the earth-loving girl who happened to live there. But the said girl didn't seem to be in the house, so there was him, her brother, slamming the every door one-by-one to find her, maybe she was somewhere behind the doors.

"She's not here..." He said after he slammed the eighth door in that house. He walked into the room and looked around. None, he found no one.

He immediately walked away from the room, not really bothered to close the door back, and went to another door. Again, he slammed the door open but still hadn't found the girl he was looking for.

"Not here as well..." He said as he breathed out. In less than 5 seconds, he left the room once again and made his way upstairs to the attic, the only place he hadn't checked.

"Rin!" He called as he opened the door to the attic. There was no Rin in sight, and the silence was the one who greeted him.

"..." He walked into the attic, looking at the things he hadn't had the chance to tidy earlier in the morning, thanks to his habit of waking up late and the fact that he had a small meeting didn't help. In front of his eyes, one or two music sheet placed carelessly on top of the piano, and the photo albums he looked in the previous night were still there, on the corner making a little mess. Though he could see one album seemed to be... Missing.

'...so she found it out first because of this...?' He thought, 'Actually if I tidy it up in the morning and didn't let this scattered like this, she wouldn't notice it, but... Well, this is something that had been done, no use in thinking it again.'

But his main concern was Rin, and he still hadn't found her. 'Where could she be? I think she had left Gumi's house since she called me like that but... Now, where is she?'

He walked out from the attic, ran to the front door and dashed away from the house. But stopped right away when he realized that he had no idea where to go.

Then, out from nowhere, someone cleared his/her throat. He looked around but he found no one in sight.

"Uh, sorry... Good evening..." The voice probably from before said. Now he could recognize it as a girl's voice.

Rin's voice.

"I... I am Rin and I..." She continued. He got really confused because he could hear her voice, but didn't see her anywhere. "I... I..." She said, repeating the 'I' again and again, not getting to the point at all.

'Where's she?'

'Duh, use your brain,' The voice said mockingly, 'If you can hear her, she must be in the—'

'Cemetery.' He finished.

'Well, that's it...'

Then he started to run after he knew where to go.

"I..." The 'I' echo was still there.

'Means that she's still there as well.' He thought as he continued running. But soon his legs got tired from running—he had ran like crazy in the morning!—and he was already out of breath.

'There's no use running, I won't make it...' He thought, and he stopped.

'What?' The voice said.

Len sighed, '...not really...'

Chapter 38

She stared, just stared at the grave in front of her. Her gaze was blank, and her face showed almost no expression.

'I always wondered who this person is.' She thought. 'I wondered, maybe he's my cousin? Relative? But I get no answer.'

'Now I got the answer but...' She brought her hands up to her face, covering her mouth. At the same time, her gaze on the grave softened, 'But why did he have to be my brother, who died rather tragically in front of my best friend's eyes?'

'Why did he have to be the one who turn me into someone like this? Forgetting him like he was no one to me...'

'And why does someone who looks like him live with me? And what make it worst is, I love him. I love Len.' '...but, Kagamine Len is my brother... I mean, was.'

'I... I don't understand all of this.'

She kneeled down, lowering her position so she was on the same level with the grave.

"Uh, sorry... Good evening..." She started, talking to the grave like an idiot. But an idiot or not, she didn't care, "I... I am Rin and I..."

"I..." She repeated. 'Now, what to say?'

She said the 'I' for more than 10 times. She didn't care, who would hear her?

She managed to say some other words after that, "I want to say sorry that I..." But at the end she got speechless again.

Want to say sorry that she what? She forgot about him? All the things they did together, and she didn't even remember about his existence in her life. And she was going to say 'sorry for forgetting you' just like that?

She replayed the events in her head. Her memory was now as clear as a crystal—the moment she play with him, eat with him, sleep with him, do practically everything with him... And the moment when he didn't came back. After that, the moment when her mother told her a white lie about his whereabouts, the moment when she broke when she knew the truth, the moment she suddenly forgot about him...

Everything.

Without realizing it, tears were rolling down her cheeks. The tears ended up touching her hand, making her aware of its presence, and she wiped it off immediately.

"I want to say..." She tried to speak, but her voice came out shaky. "I-I want to... I..."

Tears flowed again. This time she didn't bother to wipe them off—she let them fell freely from her eyes. She felt that someone was watching her, but who would care seeing her crying?

"I know it must be hurt to be forgotten." She whispered, her voice was nowhere to be found. "But please forgive me that... That I... I forgot you. I forgot everything we did together with Gumi, I forgot everything the two of us did, I forgot your existence..." She blurted out.

She felt the last part sliced her heart into two.

"I really am sorry...!" She said, "It's... It's okay if you hate me because of this... Really, it's okay, I deserve this."

Silence greeted her, but sobs still could be heard. Whimpers were also escape from her mouth.

"Len..." She said.

In the same time, the feeling of being watched increased to an extreme level. She ended up looking back at what stood behind her because of that cautious feeling. And her eyes widened immediately at the sight.

Len, standing about 5 meters away behind her. He had been watching her silently with a look of concern without making any sound.

And one more thing that made her really shocked. His white wings, they were there, sprouting from his back, flapping slightly as the wind blew.

That was the time when the wings—no, everything finally made sense.

Thinking of that made Rin wanted to scream and cry even more. But she couldn't.

She couldn't but she didn't know why. So she just sat there, looking at Len as he looked at her as well.

Somehow seeing his face, which had awkward resemblance to her brother and herself made her remember about her past even more.

That time before everything happened.

"The two of you are miracles."

"Miracles? Somekind of sweets?" A 5 year-old Rin asked innocently as her mother said a word she didn't... Understand.

"No, no dear..." Lily laughed lightly while saying that, "Miracle is... Something..." Lily got lost, she didn't know how to explain the meaning of 'miracle' to 5 years old children. Asking them to open the dictionary wasn't a choice, either. Dictionary just limits their 'wonderful' imagination.

"Something... What, mom?" Rin asked as she found out that her mother hadn't explained what miracle means to her.

"Miracle isn't something I can explain." Lily said truthfully, earning an 'awww' of disappointment from her daughter. "But maybe I can explain what I mean by that... Let's see..." She put her hand on her chin and start thinking seriously, "Ah, I said the two of you are miracles, right? Now Rin, do you think you look like Len?"

Rin nodded, "Yep, because we're twins, right?"

"That's it. Having identical twin children is a miracle to me... Usually identical twins have the same gender, but here are the two of you, different."

"I get it..." Rin nodded, though Lily doubted that she actually understand. "But what if Len is a girl? Then it's not a miracle?"

Len who was standing next to Rin turned his head to Rin, giving a look of disapproval.

Rin only laughed.

"Don't worry, Len is Len, a boy. Being twins is a miracle." Rin said, twirling in a circle. "Len, hear that? We are miracles!"

Lily smiled seeing her daughter.

She loved being a mother with 2 children who always made her happy.

'Miracles...'

Rin didn't bother since when she had been friends with Gumi—she never bothered, actually. But Gumi was her best friend (beside Len) who she usually played with after school ended. Maybe it was because her house was the closest? Or maybe because their parents knew each other pretty well?

As long as she had Gumi as her friend, Rin didn't want tot think about that. She was only 5 years old, anyway, why bothered?

So there the two of them—her brother and herself—with Gumi in the small but still enjoyable park, it still had a slide and swings... The three of them were currently sitting on the sandbox, not caring about getting their skirt and shorts dirty, playing pointlessly with the sand.

Rin looked at the heap of the sand that was unknowingly in front of her. Maybe someone, either Gumi or Len, made it and she didn't notice it?

"A sand mountain..." She said.

Gumi looked at her, then the 'sand mountain', "Eh, what?"

"Never mind." Rin said. Then she glanced to his brother, who was... Staring back at her.

She never knew why Len was untalkative, unlike her.

"Do you need something?" She asked.

He shook his head, "No."

"Well, then..." She said, "Let's go to the swing! Who reaches the swing faster wins!" And she ran away to the swing.

"Ah!" Gumi widened her eyes when Rin was already 5 meters ahead, then she ran to the swing as well, "How unfair!" She cried.

Rin just laughed, looking back at her green-haired friend while still running, "But it's fun to have a race like this!"

Unfortunately, one innocent pebble was waiting ahead, and Rin didn't saw it. She tripped by the pebble and fell down after that. "Oof!"

Gumi stopped running and looked back, since she had caught up with her, "Rin?"

"Rin! Are you okay?" Len ran to her from behind. It didn't look that he play along with her game, though. He just sat there on the sandbox until... Well, until she tripped.

She grinned at him, "Of course I am! Though this is..." She pointed at her bleeding knee.

"Then let's get back to the house!" He said as he pulled Rin and ran to the house, Gumi followed behind with as concerned look to Rin.

"N-not so fast! It's hurting!" Rin said.

Len stopped running immediately, "Sorry..."

They continued their way to the Kagamine's house walking. After they arrived, Lily was the one who was waiting near the door.

She looked at the children who looked tired, then to Rin's bleeding knee.

"...again?" She asked to herself.

"That should do it." Lily said, patting Rin's knee that was now bandaged.

"Ehehe, sorry mom..." Rin said, "I will watch my steps next time."

"Now that's my good girl..." She said. "Now the three of you are here... Go play something together!"

"Right!" Rin said enthusiastically as she stood up and ran to her room to take some toys.

"...is her knee okay already?" Len asked. She said it was hurting before, but in less than ten minutes, it was gone.

Somehow, that was what Len liked from his sister, she always looked happy.

"I think so." Gumi said.

"And this is it!" Rin suddenly threw a box full of toys to the floor, causing the content to jump off the box.

"Rin, you'll break it..." Gumi commented.

"No, I won't." Rin said easily. "Now, what should we play?"

"Eh, no!" Rin said with sad and surprised face.

"...what 'no'?" Len asked.

"I... I left my bow in the park!" She said.

Now Len thought about it. That was why something seemed to be missing from Rin's head...

Both of them got out from their room and walked to the front door.

"Mom! We're going to go out for a while!" Rin shouted and walked out from the house, not waiting for an answrer with Len following behind her.

They walked to the park together, side by side, hand in hand. Anyone passed by would take a glance at them and thought, 'What an adorable siblings...'

Len looked at Rin, hesitating before finally spoke, "How did you left your bow? You always have it on your head..."

Rin pouted, "I removed it because it's getting on the way when we played with Gumi earlier... I put it carelessly on the swing and I forgot to pick it up... Maybe because mom already called us to get back home... It's late now..."

Then Rin and Len looked up to the sky which was getting darker in ans awkward silence.

"Do you think it's okay to get out...?" Rin asked. When they were already outside.

"I don't think so..." He said with a worried look at her. She replied with a sheepish laugh. "We just have to make this quick..."

"Right." She said.

Finally they reached the park. They walked around the park and searched for the bow, which seemed to be missing from the place before.

"Eh, where is it?" Rin asked, still looking around. "I think I put it here..." She walked around the swings.

And then, an awkward silence again.

"I think." Rin repeated, breaking the silence. Then she sighed, "Aah~ I wish I could be more... Responsible to my belongings just like you, Len..."

"...really?" Len asked. His sister—the one he admired because of her personality that could cheer almost everyone—was...?

"Really..." She said, "Because leaving things like this means get into a trouble—I never like it, a trouble."

Len glanced at Rin, and looked away before she realizes that he was looking at her. "But..."

Then they heard someone... No, at least 2 people talking to each other. What they were talking was unclear, but both of them knew that they were getting nearer.

Rin remembered her mother's saying. Always be careful with the surroundings.

The getting dark sky wasn't helping at all, it just made the atmosphere became worse.

"Len..." Rin whispered to him.

"It's okay, Rin..." He said. But she could hear a slight uncertainty from hids voice.

The voice getting clearer and clearer, also means it was getting nearer. Then two people revealed theirselves from the small road.

2 people. One female with a long, wavy pink colored hair, and the other one was...

Rin hung her mouth open slightly. The other person... A him? But somehow... Wait, a female?

"Still, I don't believe in you." The person with an unknown gender (but from the voice, Rin took that person as a him, although that person had a ridiculous long purple hair in a ponytail) said while looking at the pink haired girl.

The pink haired girl (actually she was in her late teen) seemed to notice her gaze, and she walked into the park then looked at her and Len worriedly.

"It's getting late, why aren't the two of you home?" She asked with a slight worried look on her face.

Strangely, Rin didn't have any suspicion on the pink-haired... Girl, so she answered, "We're looking for something..."

"This late? Do your parents know about this? What are you looking for?" She asked at once.

"Um... A bow." She said hesitantly.

"Then let me help you, so you can get home soon." She said and began to walk, "Bad people is everywhere, that one for an example." She said, pointing at her purple-haired companion with her index finger.

The man (man? Rin doubted this, even Len did too) shook his head, then looked at the pink haired girl with a playful smirk on his face, "There, don't tell wrong information to children... You'll ruin their point-of-view of the world. And you want to be a teacher with that mean personality of you? It doesn't suit you, believe me."

"J-just shut up!" She said, then turned back to Rin and Len, "So let's hurry and find the bow."

Rin and Len nodded together in unison. After that they began to look over the park... Again.

The girl tried her best to help the children, but something really bothered her... "You there!" She called, accusing a finger to the boy again, "At least help me!"

He sighed and came closer to her.

"Help her, not me!" She snapped at him, gesturing at Rin.

He rolled his eyes while thinking, 'Fine... But you said 'help me'...'

After some minutes of searching, they found Rin's bow... In the heap of the sands in the sandbox with the help of the girl and the boy, whose names were unrevealed. The pink haired girl said that she was glad that they can help them, and told them to get home quickly. After that, she went away with the boy. Rin and Len did the same as well, they walked back home.

"Eh, Len..." Rin started, "Sorry for bringing you into my problem..."

Len shook his head, "No, it's okay. If I noticed it early, I could remind you... Sorry."

"No! It's not Len's fault!" Rin said. "It's not your fault for not noticing it."

Len had opened his mouth to retort back, but then he decided to close it again.

"Now the bow is already in my hand! Thanks for the kind onee-chan from before... And the scary purple-haired man..."

"...what if that person kidnaps you?" Len asked with no reason.

"Eeek! Then you have to rescue me!" Rin said.

Len smiled, "But I won't let him kidnaps you."

"Eh, like that?" Rin asked with curiosity in her eyes.

Len nodded, "Like that."

Their mother scolded them non-stop after they got home, and Rin cried because of guilt...

Lily hmph-ed before saying the last sentence directed to her children in that day, "Next time, Rin, watch your belongings and Len, look for your sister."

Both of them nodded and walked to their room. They threw theirselves on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Rin sniffed, then looked at her brother, "Sorry, Len. I made you got scolded as well..."

"No need to say that." He said. "We're twins... One has a problem, then the other one has to help."

Rin looked at him for some seconds before speaking, "Um, you're right..."

Rin always loved her brother... As her brother. The way he cared about her, his kindness, not only that...

They continued staring at the ceiling in a silence. The Rin shifted again, making a slight noise.

"Then, I have a request." She said, "Next time, remind me if I forget about something..."

But she got no answer, which ticked her off.

Rin glanced at her brother, and she found him already sleeping. She smiled and ruffled his hair softly.

"Len is tired already, I should ask him tomorrow..." She said to herself, before pulling the blankets up so it would cover both of them to keep them warm.

"Good night, Len." She said before closing her eyes and went to sleep.

Happy moment with her family, happy moment with her friends... Everything didn't last forever. It was about the time for the little girl's happy, peaceful, free from trouble and problem life to end.

Everything started when they planned to make a flower crown, all inspired by a random show on the television. Then Len went out to take some flowers...

And didn't come back until the night.

He had left before Gumi arrived in their house to play, until she went back home... He still hadn't come back. She had a good time with Gumi, playing with Gumi (it was 'playing around' with Gumi, actually). Gumi's mother was there as well, while Rin's mom left the house and didn't come back until evening. She came back, but Len didn't.

She felt weird sleeping with her mother and father with the absence of her brother. She used to sleep with him since they were 4, and a night without him was... Strange.

Somehow, she had a bad feeling.

Rin just finished her drawing her just made for Gumi, as the payback of the drawing that she gave her. Although before giving it to Gumi, she thought it would be good if she show it to her mother first, so she did.

She walked out from her room and searched for her mom. It wasn't hard to find her mother, she was sitting on the couch with the telephone in her hand and it was pressed to her ears. Lily had told her not to speak or do anything to her when she's making a call, so being a good girl, she waited behind the couch until her mother finished the call.

"Yes... Hm, yes..." Rin heard her mother said to the telephone, "...the funeral? Yes..." She paused, "No, I don't want her to know... Yes. Yes... Don't worry, it's fine... Yes, thank you."

And she put the phone back on its place. Seeing this, Rin knew immediately that her mother had finished calling and now she could speak to her, so...

"Mom, see this!"

"UWAH!" Lily exclaimed as she heard someone spoke, she even jumped at the voice, literally. Then she saw her daughter, extending a paper to her. But she took it back to her, confused why her mom freaked out really badly seeing her. "O-oh, it's you Rin... What is it?" Lily asked after regaining her composure.

"A... Drawing..." Rin said hesitantly, then she extended her hands again. There Lily could see the picture in it. "I made it for Gumi who gave me a drawing yesterday!"

Lily smiled at the drawing, "It's good..."

Rin giggled, "Thank you, mom!" She exclaimed happily.

She thought for a moment, and it made Lily wonder what she was doing. After that, Rin asked with that big curiosity in her eyes. "Mom, what's a funeral?"

Lily's face looked shocked in a brief milliseconds, but after that she smiled playfully and pinched Rin's cheeks, "Don't eavesdrop on the others' conversation, bad Rin~"

"Hyaa~ Sorry mom..." Rin said as she moaned from the slight pain, but she was smiling, knowing that her mother wasn't really mad to her—she thought Lily wasn't even mad, actually...

Lily stopped pinching Rin's cheeks and started explaining, "Funeral is... Where the dead person's body gets buried and some other... Things that have something to do with the person that had died... Like mentioning their good deeds and at the end, people put flowers at the grave..."

Rin really had no idea what her mother was talking about. She tilted her head in confusion, and she was going to ask what 'dead' means, but the phone rang right when she opened her mouth.

Lily looked at the ringing telephone, and then to Rin. Then she smiled and motioned a shoo-shoo to her daughter.

Rin giggled, "Right, I won't eavesdrop again!" She said as she walked away from the room.

One day, about a week after Len's 'disappearance', Rin, who had kept her curiosity about Len's absence to herself, finally decided to ask her mother. The fact that no one talked about Len in her house bugged her even more.

Like it was normal for a 6-year-old to 'disappear' from the family, or went out and never come back.

Rin found her mother rather quickly, she was arranging the lilies on the vase on the dining table. Talk about her name...

She walked closer to her mother, and she began by pulling Lily's skirt lightly.

"Mom..." She said.

Lily looked down at her daughter who was pulling her skirt, "Hey—oh, Rin? What is it?"

"Have you seen Len?"

"Hm?" Lily raised an eyebrow, "Isn't he picking the flowers?"

Rin looked at her with her innocent big emerald eyes, "Um, right."

"So?" Her mother asked.

"Eeeh... I was wondering, where he was because I haven't seen him for a while and... I want to make the flower crown, together, with him..."

Lily just smiled after that, then she said, "Rin, can you help me with this flowers?"

Rin forgot her main purpose asking her mother, and she agreed instantly, "Ah, sure!"

Days and days passed, and Rin asked her mother about Len everyday and her answer stayed the same, "He's picking the flowers."

Was picking flower needed that so much time? If it was her, she would manage to take it in less than an hour. But Len had spent more than a week... Though she had went out several times and passed by the flower garden, she never saw him there.

Was something happened to him?

"Mom, where's Len?" She asked again.

Lily glanced from the book she was reading to her daughter. She just looked at her without saying anything. Just... Quiet.

"M... Mom, what's wrong? Why don't you say anything?" She asked innocently.

It took about a minute for Lily to finally say a word, "Rin... Do you... Really want to know?"

"...about what?" She asked.

"About Len." Lily sighed heavily.

"Of course I want to!" Rin said without hesitation.

Lily's face saddened a bit, "Then, come here." She said, gesturing at her laps and asked Rin to sit on it.

Rin climbed up the chair and sat on her mother's lap.

"Rin, are you sure?" Her mother asked again. It was clear that she hesitated to say the truth to Rin.

And instantly, Rin knew that something bad must had happened.

"I-I'm sure! What is it?" Rin asked, her voice was a bit panicked.

Then Lily hugged her from behind tightly, making Rin got startled a bit from the sudden hug.

"Len had... Died, Rin..."

The first thing Rin did after hearing the 'dead' word was…

Gaping.

She remembered that she was going to ask the meaning of 'dead' to her mother, but she hadn't gotten the chance to. That time when she asked what a funeral is…

Where dead person gets buried? Then…

"And mom, what 'dead' means?" She asked again with pure curiosity.

Lily blinked twice, a bit surprised with her daughter's question. She thought Rin already knew what dead means…

And Rin didn't know what dead means, then she had to explain it to her?

'Ouch, this is going to be really hard to tell…' She thought.

She sighed before she started, "Rin… You do know what we're alive now, right? Because we're alive, we do things like eating, talking, walking, sleeping, playing, reading, and many more. But the most important thing, the main activity that decides whether that person is alive or not is… To breath, and for our heart to beat." Then she took Rin's right hand and placed it on her chest, "You can feel it, right? Ba-dump, ba-dump, like that."

Rin nodded, "Yeah, I can."

"It means your heart it's beating. Then, what do you think if you hold your breath for a minute?"

Rin innocently tried to hold her breath, but she quickly inhaled, 10 seconds hadn't even passed. "I can't!"

Lily just smiled, "Because you need to breath, your body will always make you inhale and exhale your breaths. You breathe without realizing it, right?"

Rin nodded.

"The same goes to your heart. Do you ever ask it to beat? You never, right? It beats by itself unconsciously. Without breath and heart which circulate your blood by beating, you'll die."

Rin didn't fully understand what her mother was talking about, or what the point was, she only nodded again.

"Dead people, means that they don't do all things we do anymore. They don't breathe, their heart doesn't beat anymore. They don't have any 'life' anymore. They…" She stopped purposely and she started to stroke Rin's head softly.

"If… If Len has no… Life, then where is he?" Rin turned to face her mother.

Lily got surprised by Rin's sudden snap and opened her mouth, though she didn't say anything.

"Then…" Rin said again, looking down, "I can't play with him anymore?"

Lily shook her head slowly, "…no."

"I can't hear his voice again?"

"…no. No, Rin…" She hugged Rin even tighter, if it is possible. Somehow, not too tight, Rin didn't feel suffocated or anything else that made her uncomfortable. Or maybe she didn't even care about that, her mind was focused on Len.

"I can't see him again?" Rin said again, her voice started to shake.

This time Lily didn't gave her any reply, she was holding her own tears, that's why.

And that was the time when Lily realized that telling the truth later to her daughter was a wrong choice. She didn't even have the chance to see him for the last time…

"For… Ever?" Rin asked, and it was clear that she was crying, it could be heard from her voice.

Lily didn't answer that, instead she apologized, "Sorry… Sorry, Rin…"

"I'm sorry…"

That was the first cruel truth she got in her life.

"Gumi…" She said when she was with Gumi, swinging on the swings slowly in the park, "You were right after all…"

Gumi slowly turned her head to Rin—she had been looking at the sky before that—and she felt uneasy.

What was Rin going to say? The usual things she had been saying lately, about waiting for Len? Gumi had known it that he wouldn't come back, but Rin…

She was afraid that Rin would know the truth. She didn't want her to hurt because of that…

But Rin had already looking… Unlike usual. The usual Rin was the one who smiles, and Rin wasn't smiling as she sat beside her.

"About what?" She asked, hoping that it wasn't about Len—

Somehow, her wish didn't get granted.

"Len won't come back, he had died already, right?"

Gumi didn't say anything, she was too shocked to say even a word.

'She found it out already.'

But when Rin said that, the image of his corpse just passed her mind, making her shook her head to 'erase' it.

"…what's wrong?" Rin asked, her voice had no tone in it.

Gumi gulped, "That's… That's right." She answered her first question instead of the later one.

"You've known it, but you didn't tell me anything about that." Rin said monotonously.

"I… I don't want you to—"

"I still want to play with him, do things together with him… And be with him. But it's not possible anymore…"

Gumi still looked at her friend worriedly. And she started to panic when she saw tears rolling down Rin's cheek.

"Maybe… Maybe you will meet him again…" She said unsurely.

"No!" Rin yelled, "It's not possible!"

Then somehow, she calmed herself down after yelling, but tears flowed down even more from her eyes.

And right there, Gumi stood up from the swings and hugged Rin who needed some comfort.

"No, I'm sure you will."

The first, Len's death.

The second, her parents got killed in a car crash about a month—just a month—after Len's death. Not only one, both of them.

Again, she lost her family member. Now she was alone. Even though like that, she still had her best friend, Gumi.

So currently, the two of them was in Gumi's house, right after the funeral of Rin's parents.

"Gumi, I…" She said, "Do you think I'll be okay by myself."

Gumi nodded, somehow hesitantly, but Rin didn't really notice this, "It's okay, Rin. You can."

Because she doubted it. Rin already changed from her cheery personality after she found out about Len's death, and her parents' death depressed her even more.

How was she supposed to live on with that burden, by herself?

"But I…" Rin said, and didn't continue.

"What is it?" Gumi asked.

Then Rin smiled, "No, nothing."

Rin woke up pretty early the day after that. She stretched her arms to the air. She heard the bird chirping from the outside. So she immediately opened the window.

"Good morning, everyone in the world!" She yelled on the window, full of spirit—if anyone happened to pass by, they would surely turned their head to the source of the loud and full of excitement voice.

Then she skipped to the living room to reach the kitchen to fetch some oranges. She passed by a framed photo on the table. Then she looked at that picture for a moment. Herself, her mom and dad.

"Morning, mom and dad!"

Sure they had died, just a few days ago. But should it change her?

'It's the fate.' She thought. As her mother said, everything is caused by fate.

It was Saturday, so she had no school. She thought of visiting Gumi. So she hurriedly walked to the bathroom and prepared herself. She had to visit Gumi early, before her aunt who was supposed to look for her came to her house (and like, live with her until she had gotten old enough to live by herself), because she had no one watching over her, a 6-year-old child.

After taking a bath and dressed, Rin ran outside quickly, not before locking the door. Gumi's house was too close, she can reach it in less than 10 seconds by running.

Rin didn't expect Gumi to stand in front of her house, so she didn't have to knock he door and asked for her whereabouts, "Gumi! Good morning!"

Gumi, on the other hand, was really confused with Rin's real cheery voice and smile. Even like that, she greeted back, "Rin, good morning!"

"What are you doing here so early?" Rin asked, walking near her.

Gumi laughed, still with that strange feeling, "The same goes to you. What are you doing?"

"I want to play with Gumi because no one's home…" Rin said easily. "Besides, my aunt will come later, so I better play with Gumi first, then meeting her after that. And you haven't answered my question! Answer it now!"

"I'm going to water the flowers in the garden." Gumi said, pointing at the small flower garden.

"Then I'm going to do it with you!" She said excitedly.

'When actually she's scaring me… Yesterday she was all depressed, and now… It's good that she's happy, but somehow… Strange.' Gumi didn't want to think like that, but she couldn't help it.

They took the watering can (Rin had to go back to her house to take one), then filled it with water, and began watering the flowers.

"It's all done!" Rin said excitedly, after they finished. "It's pretty fast eh? Maybe because we're together…"

"Um, ye—" Gumi was going to answer, but Rin had pulled her hand and took her away, "What… Where are we going, Rin?"

"The park, of course—playing!"

In her head, Gumi still questioned Rin's change of attitude—no, it was more to a change of mood.

And she was watering the flower garden, but didn't talk about Len—she assumed that was the last place he visited, and Rin was supposed to know that he went there, because he said "Rin asked me to."

Len's absence had finally got accepted in Rin's mind?

And there she was, still thinking about Rin and Len, while leaning on the swing post. Rin was swinging happily on the swing, continually asking her to join her at the swing, but Gumi didn't feel like 'swinging'.

She even ended up burying her head in her dress while hugging her knees, "I wonder what Len is doing right now…" Maybe dead person still do things up there… Perhaps yes?

Her words made Rin stopped swinging right after she said that. Then she panicked, 'Oh no, I… I reminded her.'

Then Rin spoke, "…Len? Who is that person…? A-ah, don't tell me now Gumi, I'll figure this out by myself… Uh, let me guess… Ah, it must be your friend!"

What?

Just… What?

"So my guess must be right, then!" Rin said happily, and Gumi just realized Rin made that conclusion because she didn't say anything.

Then Gumi looked at her with wide eyes, "…Rin?"

Rin, who had been looking at Gumi, smiled, "What?"

"Len, I don't know you can hear me or not, I'm not in the usual place—Rin's should be there and I don't know how to face her. But… I… I've always believed that you'll come back. With that way, Rin would… Rin would be happy again. I want Rin to smile again, stop being a trouble seeker, and make everything just like before.

But why I ended up making her run like that with a sad expression on her face? Did I make her sad?"

They still stared at each other silently for a long time. None of them knew what to say.

Len ended up as the one who spoke first, "Rin…"

"Len…" Rin said as response, her head was lowered. A moment later, she lifted her head up, tears began to fill her already teary eyes again.

Then, one drop of tear fell from her eyes. She bit her lip, then without saying anything else, she ran away from the scene.

However, Len didn't go for her this time, although now she was running away in front of his eyes.

'And you're not going to run after her?' The voice asked.

He sighed, 'Nothing I can do for now. Besides… She won't like it if I go after her…'

'Then what are you gonna do?'

He looked at the direction where Rin run to, "…"

~~Now that's a real over-sized chapter I uploaded in a rush! But I made it!

Tell me the errors, please! And 39!