[Len Kagamine's P.O.V]

It hasn't been all that long since Rin left. But being apart from her for even such a short amount of time feels like torture. I still can't get over the fact that it's all my fault she left in the first place. If only I had been just a little kinder to her, she wouldn't be all alone in a new place… Wouldn't have to leave any of her friends behind… Yet at the same time, I know this is best for her. Maybe it's best for me, too. She can live a normal life and be surrounded by brand new faces and hopefully make some more lifelong friends. As for me… This feels like a punishment, but perhaps I can take this as a sign that we were never going to be together at all. Maybe I can even… slowly try to move on from her.

These thoughts have been racing through my mind from the moment I woke up this morning. It's a mild Tuesday morning, and I'm currently sitting at the kitchen table, taking small bites of breakfast. The tension between me and my parents has been the only other problem since Rin left. Although they're being kind to me, smiling, and preparing my breakfast and packing my lunch… I can just tell they don't fully trust me any more. They've given me countless chances before this, and it seems that they're finally all out of patience and our bond is irreparable now.

It'd be nice if I could just pack up and leave, too. I have nothing left here. Rin is gone, I can't work things out with my parents, and my circle of friends is getting smaller. I'm pretty sure the only one who can still stand the mere sight of me is Meiko. I don't blame Miku if she's only being nice to me because she feels sorry for me at this point. Kaito and Piko have joined up with the local asshole group, so it's only the two girls and I that remain. Yeah… Fuck. I barely have anything any more.

Finishing up my breakfast in silence, I take a quick glance between my mother and father. Father is hiding behind a newspaper as he usual, and Mother is making a start on loading the washing machine. Sighing lightly, I grab my backpack from where it rests on the floor next to my seat. I swing one of the straps over my shoulder, and use my free hand to pick up my plate and set it next to the sink. The least I can do is pull my own weight and put things away myself. Perhaps tomorrow, I'll get up earlier and make my own lunch, too. I don't want to burden my parents any further.

Once I've put away my plate, I slide the remaining strap over my shoulder and turn to head over to the front door. "I'm… I'll be off now." I speak in a low voice, saying goodbye to my parents. I don't hear much back, but that's probably because I get out of the house as quickly as possible.

When I arrive at school, I end up catching sight of Meiko and Miku walking together just a little further ahead of me. I make the decision at that moment to not let these strange new circumstances get in the way of my friendship with the girls. We've still been through a lot together, and if they don't want to give up on that special bond, then I won't either. "Hey, Meiko! Miku!" I call out, and they both stop in their tracks, turning around to face me.

"Ah, Lenny!" Meiko greets me with her usual bright grin. She seems to be in a much better mood than yesterday; that puts my worries at ease. I catch up to the girls within a few seconds, and we begin to walk into school together.

"Good morning, Len." Miku smiles sweetly at me. Maybe she isn't just pitying me after all. I really should have more faith in my friends than that, huh?

"You seem to be in a good mood, Meiko," I say.

"Mhm, mhm!" she nods, with a joy-filled giggle. "I stayed up practically all last night speaking with Rinny. It was so good to just see her and hear her voice!~ She told me all about her first day at her new school." I feel slight jealousy tug at my heart, but I know I shouldn't.

"Do you mind… telling me about it?" I hesitantly ask her. It feels wrong to ask that, considering Rin probably wouldn't want me knowing all about her new life, but I just want to know if she's settling in well.

"I'd love to hear, as well," Miku softly adds. We have about half an hour until school begins, so Meiko agrees, and we head towards some of the benches situated on the field.

"For a start, Rinny really is settling in at her new home," Meiko begins, leaning back against the bench. She closes her eyes for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face, as though she's remembering every little thing Rin told her.

Miku sits down beside Meiko, so I plop myself on the other end of the bench right next to Miku. "I'm glad to hear that," the teal-haired girl says.

"Yeah..." I sigh in agreement. Rin fits in just about anywhere she goes. She's got that sweet, charming type of personality – it's hard not to love her from the moment you meet her. The way her eyes light up when that awkward phase melts away…

"She told me all about her aunt Yukari," Meiko continues, before looking at me. "You don't know Yukari very well, right?"

Hmm. "I think I briefly remember meeting her, but Mother told me she's lived in some small village out in the countryside ever since she was old enough to leave home," I answer, giving a shrug. So, that's who Rin is living with right now. I just hope she takes care of my sister.

"Well, as lovely as her aunt is and all, Rin was saying that her school is even better," Meiko says, although as she comes out with the next part, a bittersweet smile pulls at her lips. "Apparently, the people there are way nicer than everyone else here… There aren't any bullies, everyone is super close with each other… And she found a new group to settle into. They've been best friends for years, but they welcomed her and treated her like she's been there alongside them all this time."

I understand that sad smile of hers. It's very painful to hear the harsh reality that Rin is already starting to prefer her new school over this one at home. "It's what she's needed all this time, huh?" I quietly ask, lowering my gaze.

"I know Rin will always love all of us. Even you, Len..." Miku responds, trying her best to reassure me in a gentle tone. I resist the urge to laugh bitterly. She definitely does still love Miku and Meiko, that's for sure. But not me.

"I must admit, being in such a friendly environment must be doing wonders for Rin's confidence and self-esteem," Meiko adds. "She didn't need all those bullies constantly dragging her down. I don't think she could've handled much more – in fact, she kinda said something along those lines last night. With Luka and her gang… And even Kaito."

"Well… As long as she's happy… Then I'm happy." Miku confidently says this, nodding to herself. I wish I could have that kind of mentality. I simply remain silent, letting Meiko continue.

She tells us a bit about Rin's new group of friends. Two girls named Teto and Neru. Two boys named Fukase and Dell. Again, that feeling of jealousy flares up when Meiko mentions the boys, even though I know Rin likes both boys and girls. The only reason I feel jealousy specifically towards the boys is because Meiko ends up saying just a bit too much, and slips the fact that Rin is getting on very well with the boy named Dell. It's so typical of Rin to get ahead of herself and catch a new crush… I can't say I blame her. She wants to feel loved. I just hope Dell doesn't mess with her like all the other people she once had a crush on. Because I will find a way to catch up to him and make him pay if he ever hurts her.

Something that's interesting, however, is the way Miku's expression shifts ever so slightly once Meiko starts talking about Rin's two new girl friends. Meiko is oblivious as always to those subtle kind of changes; I only notice in the first place because my eyes have been wandering between Meiko and Miku, as I expected Miku to add her thoughts just like she's been doing up until now.

"Hehe, she told me that Teto totally reminds her of me," Meiko laughs. "But apparently, this Neru girl isn't anything like either of me or Miku. She's like, uh… I dunno, I guess kind of tomboyish? But she sounds like the loyal, protective type, too."

There it is again. That expression shift on Miku's face. I don't stare right at Miku, of course – I just keep watch from the corner of my eye, and I can pinpoint exactly when she looks a bit nervous. It's when that Neru girl is mentioned. There's no way Miku knows her though, right? As far as I know, Miku's lived in this area all of her life. Then again, maybe I'm looking a bit too deep into this. I've been on edge this entire time too, stressing and worrying about Rin… Maybe Miku feels the same way.

Sighing quietly to myself, I decide not to focus on it. I push those thoughts from my mind, dismissing them as a silly overreaction. All of us are a little all over the place right now, so it's likely nothing more than concern. Meiko talks for a little bit longer, but after a while, she's interrupted by the sound of the bell from the distance.

My eyes widen a little bit, as I'm caught off guard by the sound ringing out. We must have been talking for a lot longer than anticipated. Which means we're now late to class. "Ah, great," I groan to myself. I don't need to be in any more trouble at school than I already am. I feel bad for the girls as well, though. I don't think they've ever been accidentally late – well, I think Meiko might have been because of how clumsy she is… But definitely not Miku. Never.

"Ooh, I'm sorry…! I talked for too long!" Meiko apologises, with a whine.

"Oh no, my perfect attendance record!" Miku cries out, jolting up from the bench. "Quickly, let's go, let's go!" Before Meiko and I are even fully stood up, Miku has already dashed away from the field and makes a beeline right for the school doors. It's not that far away. She could have easily power walked and only be a couple minutes late.

This leaves the two of us dumbfounded at her uncharacteristic panic. Meiko and I exchange glances, expressions blank… and a bit confused. Miku's always been the model student, so to see her absolutely lose her shit when she's faced with being literally two minutes late… Wow. I can't help but chuckle, and not long after Meiko also breaks and begins to giggle along with me.

"I'm really glad I still have you and Miku, Lenny," she says, slowly regaining her composure. We start to walk at a leisurely pace towards the school from the benches, and I let out a long sigh.

"Honestly, I don't know what I did to deserve those kind words… Not to mention you girls still being my friends," I reply. After a little bit of silence, the school doors come into sight. Meiko mustn't know how to respond to that at first.

With a thoughtful hum, Meiko soon answers once we enter the main hall. "I dunno… I just can't hate you, Lenny. I've definitely been mad at you, though." She flashes a teasing grin at me. That's true. But I still can't quite understand why she's forgiven me. "It's hard to explain. There's just… this feeling inside of me..."

I raise a brow as she utters those words – I'm left speechless when she stops in her tracks for a moment. I stop beside her, and for some reason, the mood between us changes when our eyes meet. "What do you mean by that?" I try to push her to explain further.

Meiko breaks eye contact, looking down to the floor. She opens her mouth to say something. I swear I can see more colour in her cheeks than usual. But before she can get any words out, a harsh voice interrupts the moment.

"Oi, you two! Get a move on, didn't you hear the bell?!" A hall monitor who's two or three years our senior barks his orders at us, causing Meiko to look up from the floor and straight over to him. She smiles apologetically at him and begins walking to class without any other words.

"Huh…?" I mutter to myself, rubbing at the back of my neck. Why was that so intense all of a sudden? I stand for another couple of moments trying to figure out what just happened, but I'm snapped out of thought by that aggressive hall monitor once again. There's a swift smack to the back of my head within a split second – there's no way I could've seen something like that coming. "What the-?!" I stumble forward at impact.

"Are you deaf, kid?! Get a fuckin' move on!" he growls.

"Geez! Alright, alright – I'm going!" I complain in an irritated tone, starting to swiftly make my way over to class, rubbing the back of my now sore head. "What an asshole." I mumble this under my breath, making sure he doesn't hear. I forgot how brutal this school is. Rin really has gotten a lucky break.

…

The school day is over before I know it. It's also as uneventful as ever. Well, it's only been uneventful since Kaito and Piko fucked us over, and of course, since Rin… It's so hard to go a whole day without thinking about her. A lot of different things remind me of her, and all the fun we had as a group of best friends. It's pretty hard to believe our birthday wasn't that long ago, and it only took a short amount of time for it to go downhill from there.

When we're dismissed from our last class of the day, I'm preparing to go home by myself. However, both Meiko and I are called over by Miku, who's standing at the classroom door, waving to us. She must want to continue this morning's conversation, since we didn't touch on it any more at lunch time. We head over to meet up with her, and we exit the class together.

"What's up, Miku?" I ask, once we're a bit further away from the loud students hanging around right outside the classroom.

"Yeah, what is it?~" Meiko echoes my question, although in a much more cheerful, upbeat tone.

"Um, I..." Miku sounds hesitant. She pauses to find the right words. "I was wondering if you two would like to come over to my house tonight."

"Ooh! I'd love to, I'd love to!" Meiko is the first to answer, jumping up and down happily. Enthusiastic as ever. Miku breaks out into a grin upon hearing Meiko's answer, and then they both turn to look expectantly at me.

"Uhh..." They're both looking at me with puppy eyes. Oh no. How am I supposed to resist this? It's not that I don't want to hang out with them… But I don't think my parents trust me quite enough to let me stay out after school just yet. "Well, ya see…" My words trail off. I pause to think for a moment. My parents really can't get any more annoyed at me right now. If I stay out for a few extra hours after school, I don't think they'll care enough to shout at me again. Sure, they'll be disappointed, but I doubt they're going to forgive me any time soon, so why should I care? This is probably a dumb decision, but…

"Aww, please don't say you can't," Meiko pouts at me.

"I-It's okay, Len. I understand..." Miku is also frowning. God damn these two and their guilt trips…!

"N-No! No, it's fine!" I immediately shake my head at them, trying to reassure them as it looks like they're about to fake cry any moment now. Anything but that, please. "I'll come along with you girls, don't worry."

Miku clasps her hands together, lighting up as soon as I say those words – Meiko is quick to follow in beaming brightly once more, too. Damn them… Why must they be this way…? "Yay! Then let's go!" She links her arm through Meiko's, and we begin to walk out of the school doors.

The time spent at Miku's house isn't so bad. Her house is a bit closer to school than mine, so the walk there doesn't take long at all. Once we're inside and chatting away in the living room, it begins to feel like the good old days. Her parents are out at work and won't be home for a while, so we have the whole place to ourselves – it also means we can eat all the junk food we want and be as loud as we want for the time being. It's a very fun time, and it serves as a good distraction to shut my mind up. It's not that I don't want to think about Rin, but the constant worries and thoughts are slowly driving me insane.

It's around 8pm now, and we've only just finished watching some anime movie in the living room. I make a grab for the remains of the popcorn in our huge sharing bowl, with a smirk. Meiko makes a dive for it at the same time as me, but I'm only just too fast for her. "Too slow," I say, proudly shovelling the food into my mouth.

"Noooo, that's no fair!" Meiko begins to whine, puffing her cheeks out in frustration.

Miku softly giggles at the interaction. "Such a meanie, Len. A gentleman never lets a lady go hungry."

"A gentleman? Where?" I speak with my mouth half full, and exaggerate my movements, turning my head to the left then to the right. "I don't see a gentleman anywhere around here."

"Meanie, big meanie!" Meiko stomps her feet off the couch, and out of nowhere, I feel something being whacked off the side of my head.

"Ow!" I complain, groaning at the sneak attack. When I turn to look at Meiko, she's the one who's grinning proudly, holding a pillow in her hands. "Now that was mean."

"Nuh-uh!" She shakes her head, before sticking her tongue out at me.

"Ahaha..." Miku lets out a laugh, followed by a happy sigh. She grabs the TV remote and switches the set off. She leans back against the couch, getting a bit more comfortable. Just as I'm about to squabble some more with Meiko, Miku speaks up to interrupt us. "Hey, guys…? There was kind of a reason why I invited you both here tonight."

"Hmm?" I raise a brow, looking to the teal-haired girl. Her expression is now kinda serious, and there's a nervous twitch of her eyebrows – that face matches the one I saw her make this morning while we were talking about Rin. The mood changes to a slightly more tense one; even Meiko is silent now, not daring to make a joke.

"Well, I… I couldn't keep it in any longer, y'see..." Miku says, in a hushed tone. It's like she feels guilty or something. Has Luka been bullying her again? I swear to all that is holy, I'll mess her up if she's going to try and hurt my friends again.

"What is it…?" Meiko gently urges Miku to continue, a sincere smile pulling at her lips. We're both looking right at Miku, waiting.

"It's about what you said this morning, Meiko. About Rin's new friends," she starts. I narrow my eyes slightly at this. Had that suspicion of mine really been correct? "Uh, well, more specifically… Neru."

"Don't tell me you know her..." My thoughts suddenly slip out of my mind. I couldn't help but say that.

I expect Miku to look surprised, but instead, she hangs her head. "I grew up with her, actually. I know that doesn't sound too bad on its own, but… Oh, god… I can't believe this." Those words must be an echo of what we're all thinking right now. 'I can't believe this'. She buries her head in her hands for a few moments, appearing to lose her composure. Although I'm not mad at her, I am a bit disappointed. I thought everything she told me about Luka was the only thing that she's keeping secret from us.

"It's okay, Miku," Meiko speaks up after a few moments of silence, during Miku's heavy breathing. She reaches over to her friend, rubbing her back reassuringly. With the comfort of her friend, the teal-haired girl appears to regain control of herself; she lifts her head up, but her expression is miserable.

"Neru and I grew up together..." Miku starts again, and her eyes begin to sparkle lightly with tears. I hold my breath, waiting for the worst to come. The words that come out of her mouth next are words I never expected to hear. "But what I haven't told either of you... is that… Luka grew up with us, too."

…

A/N: Ooooh, more juicy secrets. :^)) Thank you all for the support on this story! I've been struggling a lot over the past year with various things which is why I had to take a break, but I'm finally feeling better and have a lot of ideas for the rest of this story. I'm glad I waited rather than forcing myself to write back then – it would have been very stale and very rushed in terms of Rin's return, but with all these fresh ideas, I feel like this story is ready to be carried through to completion.

Also, totally not related at all, but would you guys kill me if I paired off Len and Meiko? *insert skull emoji here*