[NOTE]
Hi! Author here. As you can see, the title of the chapter has a warning, meaning that this chapter will contain some sensitive scenes that may be triggering to some readers. So, since you can't really skip this chapter as this is when it rises to a climax or rising action I guess, I will tell you when to stop and when to start.
Just a lil warning, anyways, have fun reading!
2:15 PM, The Next Day
[Kurohana Highschool]
"Sometimes..I wonder if I am a good friend or not."
"Rin-chan..."
"Rin-chan..."
"Hey, Rin?"
Rin's thoughts are broken apart by Gumi's gentle shoulder shake, the blonde female blinks and forces a smile as she grins nervously. "Hey, Gumi!" She says, forcing a smile but her lips thinned with worry. Gumi smiles brightly, sitting next to her best friend. "Guess what? I'm going to ask Fukase out today. Do you think I can do it? I hope so." The greenette says between small giggles, blushing slightly. "I've had a crush on him since elementary, so I hope I can ask him!"
But Rin wasn't focused on her conversation. She was too busy focusing on the tealette who was laughing with a couple of her friends. Even if the female broke down yesterday, she still had that warm smile on her face as if nothing happened. Even her friends didn't notice her swollen eyes.
She was surprised Len didn't notice either.
Geez, I guess a bright smile really can hide your feelings.
Gumi realized that the blonde female wasn't paying attention, and poked her cheek. "Rin? Are you okay?" She asked curiously, making the blonde-haired girl flinch with surprise. "A-ah, uh..y-yeah. Everything is fine..!" Rin laughed nervously. Gumi stared at her skeptically, before realizing that she was looking at Miku. "Did something happen between you and Miku-chan?"
Rin froze.
"What? Um...N-no! It's just.." She sighed in frustration, pinching her nose bridge. "I'll tell you later, Gumi. Just...I'm not feeling well right now." Rin shifted up from her seat and walked out of the classroom, her hands stuffed inside her pockets. "O-oh...O-okay, feel better, RinRin!"
Rin walked through the monochrome hallways, which were filled with bickering students. She quietly grumbled, moving away from the students as she bumped into them by the shoulder on purpose.
She finally made it to the bathroom after what felt like forever, and walked inside a stall. But before she could do anything, she overheard something that she wasn't expecting to hear.
[Stop]
(You can skip this part.)
"Ugh, that Megurine-san is so useless." Matsuri's voice spoke, echoing in the porcelain walls of the bathroom, "All I want is to get close to Len, and that worthless bitch tells me that she's busy and can't make it to events and bullshit. Ugh, the nerve." The redhead says as she applies a coat of lipgloss and popped her bulky lips, then stares at her reflection in the smeared mirror. "Mwa!"
Did she just...blow a kiss to herself in the mirror?
"That's such a pretty shade, Matsuri!" One of her friends says, squealing. "So beautiful!"
Rin rolled her eyes in reply.
There's always that one person that wants to make others feel miserable.
Rin sighed in frustration as she slammed open the stall door, and glared at Yamazaki Matsuri through the mirror. Rin looks around the bathroom stalls, the only people in the bathroom were Matsuri and her friends.
No one else was around.
"Honestly, I don't even know why Len likes her." Matsuri barks again, twirling a section of her red crimson locks. She didn't even notice that Rin was there, facing her smug reflection. "Sure, she's smart and got the looks but what is there that is so special about her?" The redhead rolls her eyes as she applies a large amount of blush on her cheeks. "Ugh, I just want him to be mine."
Pfft, well good luck with that.
Rin looked around again, sighing in frustration and facing Matsuri's curvy back, she bit her bottom lip and tongue, before she gave her a dirty once over, grasping her wrist and pinning her against the bathroom wall. "What the hell-"
"Listen, Yamazaki," Rin mumbles, "My brother isn't interested in you. And he never will be. Geez, I hate people like you. Always judging others before getting to know them. Now fuck off Megurine-san and my brother. Get lost." Rin says finally as she attempts to leave the room, but before she could, Matsuri grasped her hair tightly as she could.
Rin froze.
Oh no.
"What the hell did you just say to me!?" She clasps it tighter before Rin turns around and grabs her wrist, twisting it. Matsuri howled like a wild animal, letting go of her blonde hair before blowing a hard punch to her face, leaving her cheek bruised up. "Fucking take that back!"
Rin gaped, she felt a sudden heat hit her cheek. She winced, the pain overwhelming her face and piercing through her boiling skin.
The other girls in the bathroom, Matsuri's minions to be exact, gasped dramatically and took out their cellphones and began recording. The bright flashing lights blinded Rin's vision which made it easier for Matsuri to harm her.
Rin grasped her broken wrist, before biting her arm and kicking her in the stomach as she attempted to escape. Matsuri grabbed both of Rin's wrists and pinned her against the wall, kneeing her right in the guts. "You stupid asshole!" The redhead curses, kneeing her again. "Let go of me-" she attempts to say, but Matsuri doesn't give any mercy as she continues beating up the weak small female. "Shut the fuck up!" Matsuri howled.
The smaller female grabbed Matsuri's hair, clasping it as the redhead yelped in pain but then the door instantly slammed open to reveal two girls. One of them was a bit shorter than the other, but they both had the same expression written on their face.
"Oh my gosh- Rin-chan?!" One of them shrieked, running away from the bathroom as she tried to get the staff. "Hey! Why are you guys fighting in the bathroom!? Stop recording!" The other female shoved away Matsuri, breaking apart the fight and grasping the other girl's phones.
Rin growled under her breath, holding her stomach in pain as she coughed up a bit of blood. She stared at the small crimson puddle in her palm, before blacking out.
[Start]
4:00 PM [Principal's Office]
Rin and Matsuri quietly sat in the awkward yet tense silence, they occasionally spared deadly glares at each other. Len sat beside Rin, and Matsuri sat a few feet away from the twins.
Rin was covered up in purplish bruises, her crispy blonde hair was messy and out of place, and her skin was washed out. The hem of her beige sweater was almost ripped in half.
Matsuri on the other hand looked just as bad as Rin.
Her silky red hair was out of place and her makeup was smeared helplessly. She had a scar on her cheek, her uniform was slightly unbuttoned and her pink sweatshirt was speckled with tiny dots of dust and blood.
"Here," One of the staff members handed both of the girls an ice packet.
"Thank you," Rin mumbles silently, but before Matsuri could do the same, a woman with red hair had burst open the door, bawling her eyes out.
Rin and Len froze.
What.
A searing pulsing bolt of anger coursed through Rin's veins once she had laid eyes on the rich-looking woman, a familiar feeling she had once experienced that day.
Len however, was frightened by the woman.
No...It's...
No.
"Matsuri! Oh my gosh, baby, are you okay!?" The woman exclaimed abruptly, running up to her child and caressing her beaten-up face, not even sparing a glimpse at the two twins. "Ugh, who did this to you!? Ohh, poor baby...There, there, it's okay. Mommy is here."
Rin snarled under her breath.
How disgusting. She clearly did something wrong, why isn't she mad at her daughter?
The principal rubbed his temple in annoyance once the woman had sat down beside him. "...Why did you two get into a fight? Rin, you never act up during class. What is going on?" He asked the blonde female, in which she said not a single word.
In hopes of being able to get a reply, he decided to ask her brother, but he didn't say anything either. "Ugh, Yamazaki-san, why did you attack Kagamine-san?" The principal groaned quietly, facing the redhead with a deadly.
The woman with red hair blinked with shock. "Kagamine..?" She slurs in the last name, before looking at the blonde-haired twins.
"...O-..Oh..."
Len growled under his breath.
Clearly, the woman had recognized them, yet she didn't think much of it and then realized that she wasn't going to see them again in her life, so she brushed off the surreal feeling.
"She attacked me first." The redhead says, this time Rin decided to protest. "No, I didn't! All I did was pin her against the wall, but I didn't hurt her!" She exclaimed, eyes fuming.
The principal shushed the blonde female, but she didn't listen. The room was filled with retorts and screams and yells bouncing off the walls. The principal ordered them to shut up, and the two girls sat down.
The principal groaned quietly, facing the redhead with a deadly glare. "Dear God.." He mumbles.
"You know what, you two are suspended."
Rin froze. Everything came crashing down on her like a wave washing over collapsed buildings and poles. "Hold up," Len grumbles, pinching his nose bridge, "Suspended? But- W-we don't even have a guardian or a parent to sign the papers!" Len stood up from his seat, yelling out abruptly but the principal said nothing.
Matsuri snarled. The redhead's mother began signing the papers, but Len and Rin didn't have a guardian nor a parent to sign anything. The principal had told Rin that if the twins didn't have a guardian nor a parent, she could not return to school.
"But that's not fair! I-I need my education-" Len grabbed his sister's wrist, shaking his head with sympathetic ocean eyes. Rin sighed in frustration, accepting her fate. She began to sniffle but immediately wiped her eyes.
"Okay. I understand." Rin responded with a dead tone. Len sighed in frustration as the twins stood up before walking out of the office, and entering the hallways.
During the entire walk, everything was quiet.
Neither of the twins said a single word to each other.
Because nothing could be said.
3:23 PM
Fukase gaped in shock as he set his gaze on Rin, who awkwardly waved in reply. The redhead ran up to her, and immediately placed his tray filled with food on the table and again faced Rin.
He cupped both of her cheeks, "Dude, what happened!?" He scanned every inch of her face which was covered with tiny scrapes and cuts. "Geez, Rin. Who hurt you?" Rin smiles awkwardly, moving his hands away. "Who hurt my little potato!?" Fukase's expression had changed, she could tell he was extremely worried about her. He always has, ever since they were little kids.
"It's nothing, I'm fine."
"Pfft, sure. Like I'm gonna believe that, Rin." Fukase sighed in frustration, "I don't want you getting hurt," he said gently, blushing slightly as he grabbed the edge of her hand as she flinched in response. Rin laughs nervously in response, trying to not let the waterworks out. "I'm fine, Fukase. Really, I am."
"Jeez, what happened?" Fukase continues to talk, "Did you get into a fight or something?" He asked in which Rin slowly nodded in reply, sighing in exhaustion. "Matsuri was talking crap about Miku, and I got pissed. I told her to get away from my brother and tried to leave, but then she started beating me up." The female sounded dissatisfied and disappointed in her actions. "Stupid right?" Rin scoffed as Fukase sighs, "Who cares about that, as long as you're okay it's fine." He sighed in exhaustion. "Whatever you say, man." Rin grumbled, and sighs.
"Listen, I uh.." he coughed nervously, reaching for the edge of her palm in which Rin froze in confusion. "I-I.." He swallowed nervously.
...
"I like you, a lot."
He says sweetly, which makes Rin paralyze with fear.
No.
No.
No.
"I always did," he says, pulling her palm closer to his lips but before he could do anything, she pulls back.
No.
No.
No.
Afraid of what he might do, she hesitated. "Wh-what? B-but..I thought.." Rin swallowed nervously, walking backward while stepping away from him. "I-I don't..No! I don't like you, I only like you as a friend, Fukase." She says nervously as he froze, he was hurt yet...shocked. "Wait-"
"B-besides, Gumi likes you and I can't break a promise!-"
Rin froze, realizing what she had said.
...
Oh, shit.
Students in the lunchroom began laughing at the two, hysterically with humor and excitement. "Did that guy just get rejected!?" One student hollered out, "That's not even funny, Gumi likes Fukase! They look horrible together!" One laughed.
"Wh-what?" Fukase stammers, "Gumi likes..me?" He asked in shock, crimson eyes widening with clear confusion. Before Rin could say anything, she caught a glimpse of Gumi staring at her best friend with remorse and hatred.
'How could you..?' Her jaded watery eyes spoke silently.
No.
No.
No.
Rin apologized for her actions to Fukase, before running off and out of the lunchroom. She ran in the crowded hallways as she tried to catch up to Gumi, and then entered the classroom. No, this couldn't be happening right now, no. She refused to believe it. This had to be a dream, right? No.
It wasn't a dream.
This was reality.
No way. Fukase had liked her this whole time and she didn't even realize it? How could...why did he like her and not Gumi!? Gumi did everything she could to get his attention, yet Fukase ended up having a crush on her best friend?
How the heck...
"Gumi!" She yelled as she ran up to her desk, "I was looking for you, are you okay?-" The greenette quietly sobbed, breathing heavily. "Are you happy?" Gumi asked with tears gleaming in her eyes with the sun.
"Are you satisfied by humiliating me like everyone else does?" Rin froze, her mouth opened but nothing came out. "Don't say anything, and don't talk to me anymore. You don't even spend time with me like you used to. I don't want to be friends with a backstabber and a girl who already has a bad reputation." Gumi's voice was frail, and low. She was clearly upset.
"B-but-"
"Go away, Kagamine." Gumi says coldly, her voice breaking up as she quietly sobs uncontrollably.
The blonde female stood silent. Not moving a single inch from her best friend's seat.
"I SAID GO AWAY YOU-" Gumi was about to yell, but broke down in pieces. Her sobs were so fragile and hiccups began to flood the room like water entering a house, covering every piece of furniture in salty ocean waves.
"...Fine." Rin whispers, forcing a smile as tears begin to come out, but she doesn't let them. Rin walked towards her seat, defeated and her heart broken into pieces. She felt lifeless, like a soul leaving its own body.
She started packing up, and left the classroom before meeting Len in the school courtyard. He looked at her with a pained expression as he swallowed.
He looked like he was going to cry any minute now. "You ready to go?" He says as he forces a smile, his voice breaking up.
Rin doesn't say a single word, and walks up to her brother before the two of them begin walking out of the building's yard.
They walked in complete bitter silence.
Because nothing could be said.
And nothing ever will be said.
