"They'll kill you for it."

I peek at the passers-by from the corners of my eyes, trying to seem as nonchalant as I can. Luckily, no one seems to be paying much attention to the small girl buried in her white parka, even if it's a new face that's hidden by the hood.

I whisper it to myself again; "Remember, Rin. Don't let anyone find out that you're not human, because they'll kill you for it."

It's a mantra mommy has made me repeat again and again. They'll kill you for not being human.

Well, it's okay. I look human. I can pass as human.

I glance up at the sky. It's probably the fifth or sixth time I've seen the sky, and it's the most beautiful, too. It's a clear day, a few pieces of lacy clouds drifted off towards - wait, that's where the sun's coming from, so east? I must stop forgetting things like these.

It's those other things I must forget.

Wires . . .

I made it. Well, almost made it. I can see the school, three square, glass-and-steel buildings one would describe as 'modern', what I presume is the gymn, and another smaller building that I'm not sure what it is. I'm so close, I start hurrying a little, when abruptly I'm tackled roughly from the right.

I cry out a little, arms crossed protectively over my head. Am I under attack? Have those people found us already?

"Ahh~ you're so cute!"

I blink. This tone of voice, those words - not hostile? I twist and pry the arms off, wriggling away.

I turn around to see a girl around my age, just a little taller than me (which makes her quite short). Her face is heart-shaped and beaming, with a clean ivory complexion and huge, long-lashed eyes. But what pops out is her luscious teal hair, curled in large ringlets down to her knees, held up by floppy pink polka-dotted ribbons.

I suppose she's extraordinarily pretty.

"Nice to meet you! I live right nextdoors. I'd have caught up with you sooner, only Mikuo - that stupid booie - was wearing his shoes the wrong way and insisted on stopping to fix them. I'm Miku! Hatsune Miku! What's your name?"

She speaks quickly, and I struggle to keep up with her words. This is how real people are!

"I..."

What should I say? What can I say - ?

A teal-haired boy comes up behind her, hands pushed into his gray trousers. He's taller than Miku, and naturally quite a bit taller than me. His eyes and hair are the same color of Miku, and his face is like hers, too - on the feminine side, in fact. He must be Mikuo, I decide. But the way Miku talks about him, he seems younger than her. Or at least her victim. Younger brother, then?

Mikuo looks down on me, expression bored. He's good-looking, isn't he?

"Sheesh, sis. Can't you be satisfied with terrifying one person per day? The poor kid."

"Mikuo! She'll think I'm crazy~ don't make your big sister look crazy in front of neighbors!" Miku cries, clutching the hood of my parka. She swats at Mikuo playfully, then turns back to me. "So, hi!"

"Hello." I say cautiously. One miscalculation, one slip. One little mistake and I - well, it wouldn't be pretty. I must be careful, careful. That's what mommy has taught me, and I know that she's right.

"Aww, you're shy!" Miku's voice hits decibels that I wasn't aware was possible. "Just makes you cuter! What's your name?"

I fix my backpack strap, too aware of these colorful people around me. "Rin. Kagamine Rin."

"Rin!" Miku smothers me in another choking hug, grabs my arm, and starts skipping towards the school. "You're new to this school, aren't you? Winter break's over, so the year's almost over, but we're going to have sooooooo much fun!"

I glance back and see Mikuo grumbling as he hurries to catch up. He sees me and grins reassuringly.

"She's always like that! I'm Mikuo," he calls, and playfully salutes me.

I smile slightly. They seem like good people, the type of people mummy told me to find. Are they the ones that I can call 'friends'?

I turn to Miku, who looks immensely pleased for some reason. Perhaps she's one of those people who are always happy? She shoots a blinding beam straight into my face and points at the school.

"That's Vocaloid Academy! You know what it is, right?"

I nod. "A school for musically talented children."

Miku nods. Her expression turns into one of gentle fondness as she skips through the gate, a very interesting sculpture of shiny metal that looks like a bunch of ribbons and musical notes.

"I'm going to be a singer someday!" She announces, her tight grip slackening a little. "Not sure what on earth Mikuo's going to be, but he's good at drums!"

Mikuo mutters something unflattering. Miku whirls around and pinches his cheeks in reply.

"How old are you, Rin?"

I blink. "Fourteen."

Miku sags a little, but brightens in a millisecond. "I'm sixteen - well, almost sixteen, but that's okay! In Vocaloid Academy, classes are sorted by how good you are! Our homerooms might be different, but we might be in the same classes!"

I smile. "That's nice."

Yes, it'll be nice to be in classes with Miku.

"Yay~" Miku hops around, cheering childishly. "What classes did your mom sign you up for? I'm taking singing, but - " Her eyes light up. "Ohhh! Look!"

She bounds off towards a group of students, gesturing for me to follow. Are they her friends?

There's a girl with long pink hair, smacking a shorter, also pink-haired boy with a sigh of reproach. A green-haired girl clasps her hands and laughs as the boy behind her - her brother? - hangs back, glowering at the rest of the students with an impressive scowl. The girl with long blonde hair and a button too many undone on her blouse throws back her head and laughs until she's breathless. I'm not sure, but these seem to be the type of people who are popular. Their posture, relaxed. Good looks.

Mommy said that popular - famous - was bad. Can I trust them?

"Luka! Lils! Guys~"

They all turn at Miku's voice.

"Good morning, Miku~" the green-haired girl smiles brightly and waves.

"Gumi~!" Miku waves back, plunging into the group with me in tow. "Hey, is Gumiya coming to our school too?"

The green-haired boy - he must be Gumiya - crosses his arms and mutters something under his breath. Gumi nudges him, smiling mischievously.

"Yep, he is!" she says when Gumiya ignores her. She's around Miku's height with short, choppy green hair and wide green eyes. A pair of goggles hang around her neck. "Has to take all his tests today and everything. Starting from tomorrow, he'll be taking classes with us too!"

Miku's smile grows wider, if possible. "Good! This is Rin, everyone~ She's new too!"

Gumi cheers. "Hi, Rin!"

The pink-haired girl smiles and holds out her hand. "Hello. I'm Megurine Luka. And this - " she adds, ruffling the hair of the younger boy, "Is Luki, my brother."

I shake her hand. It's a bit more formal than her friends, but she seems like a good person too, not harmful at all. Except towards her brother, perhaps.

"Kagamine Rin," I reply.

The blonde girl sticks out her hand too, more boldly than Luka. She's the tallest of them all, even taller than Gumiya. "Lily."

"Lily!" Miku frowns, looking very much like mom. "Button your shirt!"

Lily grins, more fierce than happy. "Hey, Miku."

Miku pouts and reaches up to button down Lily's blouse. The girl flashes a devilish smile before she reaches out and tugs on one of Miku's fancy twintails. Miku dances away, faster than I can blink.

"No touuuuching!" She squeaks.

Lily laughs. Is she a cruel person? I believe that people who enjoy the pains of others are called sadists. But she reaches over and pats me on the head, her hand surprisingly gentle.

"We're of bunch of crazy bitches, but you'll manage," she says, seemingly unaffected by her coarse language.

I nod.

"It's time."

Gumi squeals. "Gumiya spoke!"

The green-haired boy scowls at her from behind his large glasses. I realize that it is the first time that I've heard Gumiya speak.

"It's eight," he says flatly. "You're going to be late, Gumi."

Gumi pouts. "Fine!"

Miku walks up to me again, linking my arm through hers. "You're new, Rinny, so you have to go to the Admins office to get your homeroom and take your tests. You're fourteen - right? - so you'll probably be with Gumi or Luki or Mikuo~ But I hope you'll be in singing or something with me!"

"Go with Gumiya!" Gumi laughs, pushing the bespectacled boy towards me. "Administrations is on the first floor."

Gumiya grumbles something.

Miku claps her hands. "Peeeerfect! You can go with Gumiya. Gumiya, please help Rin as much as you can! Byeeeeeee, Rinny! Let's eat together at lunch!"

Mikuo waves, as do the rest of... Can I call them my friends now? I'm not sure if mommy will approve. The more people know about us, the more possibility that we may be found out. And that cannot happen. I watch the retreating backs of Miku, Gumi, Luka, Luki, Mikuo, and Lily with mixed feelings. Wouldn't they be harmed too, if those people found me?

I shudder slightly.

"Hey."

I look up. "Yes...?"

Gumiya looks somewhat ticked off, although I have noticed that he seems to wear that expression constantly. "Didn't you hear me? We're going to be late."

I nod and hurry to catch up to Gumiya's longer strides. He's about a head taller than me, with far longer legs. He vaguely resembles Gumi, with the same green hair and blue eyes, but whereas Gumi's face is open and bright, Gumiya's face seems to expres his general hatred for the world. He wears what I suppose is the boys' uniform for Vocaloid Academy; gray trousers, a white formal shirt, a black cardigan, and a green tie. I'm dressed normally in jeans, a sweater, and my puffy parka, since mommy said that I'd get my uniform at school. Gumiya seems to have been here before - maybe he got his uniform then.

We pass a trio of girls hurrying towards the buildings. They're dressed similarly in a blouse, cardigan, tie, and gray skirt - I guess that's the girls' uniform. As I struggle to keep up with Gumiya, I notice that their ties are pink, purple, and red respectively. I recall Lily's tie, draped casually around her shoulders. Yellow.

Customizable ties. Interesting.

"Hurry up, you," Gumiya calls from where he's holding the door open. I hurry through, head bowed as I skirt the inside of the building.

"Thank you," I add. I mustn't forget my manners.

Gumiya only grunts.

The - lobby? I suppose - of the building is wide and spacious, full of dark leather couches and reflective glass tables. The air is cool and scented. Jasmine? No, iris.

Walking further into the building, I can see that the couches extend into a huge atrium, two large passageways branching out on either side. I take a few cautious steps and see that the corridors are quite long, lined with glass doors. I look up and see that this building has five floors. Large glass stairs wind up, and there are tables and couches on each landing. A nice school, I suppose.

"Come on," Gumiya gestures me over to the first door on the right, larger than the others. A sign above the door reads, 'Administrations'. Opening it, he slips inside with no hesitation at all.

I pause.

And smile.

Yes, maybe I'll be able to have a happy life here. Here, at school. But I'll always have to remember. So I say it to myself one last time before I follow Gumiya into the Administrations office.

"They'll kill you for it."

A/N

oh, Rin. such morbid thoughts. xDD

so far, we've met Rin, Meiko, Miku, Mikuo, Luka, Luki, Gumi, Gumiya, Ryuto, Lily, and partally, Hagane Miku. plus the 'trio of girls'. cookies to those who knew who they were!

thank you for reading and please review! :)