"Look who's the slow one now!" Len shouted over his shoulder as he continued sprinting on the rooftops.

"No fair!" Rin called after him. "I just ate, so I'm cramping up and-"

"Excuses, excuses," Len cut her off. He saw the approaching gap between two of the roofs and quickened his already fast pace. It was a daring move, but Len had leaped across roof gaps hundreds of times before. With one graceful jump, Len sailed across the gap and stuck the landing. "Woo!" he shouted. "Len one; Rin zero."

Rin stopped just before the jump and said as she panted, "I'm going to kill you, Len."

"You'll have to catch me first," Len replied as he stuck his tongue out at his sister. It was then he noticed something from the corner of his eye. Walking down the streets of the marketplace was a young maiden wearing a pink kimono. Her skin was pale, her stride was graceful, and her turquoise hair was neatly tied into a bun on the back of her head. "Miku-Chan," Len sighed as he lied down and watched as she stopped to talk to a merchant about some of the vegetables she was interested in purchasing.

"What are you looking at?" Rin asked after she had gathered enough strength to jump to the other roof and saw Len staring dreamily into the distance. "Her again?" Rin asked when she saw who Len had his eyes fixed upon. "What is so special about that human girl?"

"You don't understand, Rin," Len looked at his sister, "Miku-Chan saved my life. If it weren't for her I would be dead right now."

"If you had listened to me in the first place then your life wouldn't have been endangered to begin with," Rin huffed. "I thought you were dead, Len. I truly thought you were dead."

"Well I'm not," Len said. "She took me back to the river, and I was able to find you, Mama, and the rest of our sisters again."

"After two weeks of believing you were dead!" Rin hissed. She refused to show Len how worried the whole event had made her, but when she saw he was still alive her first thought was to kill him for making her worry so much.

"That was ten years ago, Rin," Len said. "It's not a past we need to worry about."

"It is if you keep staring at that girl!" Rin snapped. "Just leave her be."

"She saved my life," Len reminded Rin, "and I can't rest until that debt is repayed."

"And pray," Rin began, "how shall you repay that debt of yours?"

"I'll think of something," Len said, now feeling cross due to Rin's carelessness of his will to keep the promise he made to Miku.

It is said that when a cat's tail grows too long that same cat becomes a Bakeneko, a monster cat that holds wondrous abilities that no other creature can posses. That saying is true. Both Rin and Len were the only members of their litter to have their tails grow to that incredible length, and both became Bakenekos at a young age. If they hadn't been blessed with their early achievement, both would be physically old in their ten years of life, but since they weren't yet a year old when they turned, their aging had changed more closely to that of humans. Both had long lives ahead of them, but they weren't garunteed immortality either.

"Hey, look," Rin said as she looked at the world below her, "your human's beau has made the scene."

Len looked in Rin's field of vision and saw a blond man with gray eyes approaching Miku. Miku happily greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

The man was Kagamine Rinto, and he was engaged to be married to Miku. It may have been an arranged marriage, but anyone could to tell that the love they had for each other was real. Miku would make a beautiful bride, Len knew, and he was happy to see her smiling. If she would always smile so happily then Len would have all the reason in the world to be happy himself.

"Why do you need to fulfill your promise?" Rin asked. "By the looks of things, she doesn't need you around to make her happy."

"I know," Len said, "but even if she never needs me I'll still be around just in case. You never know when things take a turn for the worst."

"Careful, Len," Rin warned her brother, "least you might predict a tragic event."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How's my beautiful gril doing today?" Rinto asked his wife-to-be.

"Wonderful, now that you're here," Miku answered. She stuck a strawberry into Rinto's mouth and said, "We had ought to have strawberries at our wedding. They are so good, no?"

Rinto nodded. "They taste really good, I'll give them that."

Miku giggled. "They're beautiful, too."

"But not as beautiful as you," Rinto said before placing a kiss on Miku's lips.

"Stop!" Miku laughed when he released her. "We're in a public market; now is not the time for affectional gestures."

"But Miku has to restrain herself too, doesn't she?" Rinto teased.

"Yes," Miku playfully sighed, "because even the Great Miku-Sama is a fool for love."

"And that's what I love most about you," Rinto smiled before kissing Miku on her cheek.

"Save it for the wedding," Lenka, Rinto's twin sister, said as she approached the two.

"Aww, Lenka-Chan," Rinto ruffled his sister's hair, "you're just too cute."

Lenka playfully swatted his hand away. "Leave me alone, Dork." Looking at Miku, Lenka said "So how's the 'Great Miku-Sama' doing today?"

Miku laughed. "You heard that?"

"You'd be amazed what my ears can catch," Lenka replied with a wink.

"Well I'm doing fine today, thank you," Miku said. "How are you, Lenka-Chan?"

"Nervous," Lenka said. Seeing Miku's confused face, Lenka said, "Hasn't Rinto told you yet?"

"Told me what?" Miku asked.

"Lenka," Rinto said her name with venom.

"Sorry," Lenka apologized, "but I thought you would have told her by now."

"Told me what?" Miku repeated.

Rinto sighed. "I'm going to travel with some merchants to a nearby island. I want to see if there's a suitable place for us to live and raise a family, and the ship sets sail tomorrow."

Miku gaped at him. "Why am I just now hearing about this?!" she demanded.

"Because I just made up my mind last night!" Rinto defended himself. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I'm not saying we're going to move there after the wedding, but I want to at least see if there are any great options for us. We don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to."

"It's not that," Miku shook her head. "I'm only worried about you sailing. Do you know the risks sailing has?"

Rinto laughed. "Trust me, I am fully aware. Don't worry, though. Odds are nothing will happen. I will go there and come back safely. The trip will take only three days. Five tops."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been over two weeks since Rinto's departure, but he had yet to return. Rumor had it that the storm that hit the night the ship left lead the boat to sink, but there were no confirmed facts. As far as anyone knew, Rinto was dead, and the ocean was his grave.

Miku began to grow depressed with worry over the loss of her love, and as the weeks continued to pass she began to lose weight. She was already a light girl to begin with, but now it was becoming child's play to count her ribs. She needed to smile again. Something had to bring back Miku's smile.

Len sighed as he sat on her window and looked in to see a trembling Miku, her sobs reaching his sensitive ears. It was night, and she was supposed to be asleep, but instead she was soaking her matress with her tears. He had to do something, anything, to make her happy again. He promised her that he would bring back her smile, and now was the time to do so.

Len snuck into tailor shop and, with his cat mouth, dragged away a dark green kimono. As humorous as it was for a cat, let alone a Bakeneko, to steal a kimono, Len knew that his thievery was only the easy part. Her dragged it to the woods, the shadows cast by the trees acting as a cloak to hide him. Len had heard of, and even met, Bakenekos that could take on the appearance of humans, but never once had Len tried to change his form. He had to try, though. For Miku.

With much focus and will power, Len tried to change his form to that of Kagamine Rinto. How he managed to do it, Len didn't know, but after a long time of trying he finally managed to change forms. Len looked at his paws - hands and began to curl his fingers. He never knew the feeling of moving fingers, and now he found the sensation breathtaking. Len then looked down to inspect himself. He was all human, all right. No tail, no fur, and no clothes, which he had nearly forgotten about putting on.

Len slipped on the kimono with little difficulty and used his fingers to brush out his black fur - blond hair. Being human was something Len had never imagined feeling so amazing. He had only been human for minutes, but Len already wanted to be human forever. Now for one last thing: To approach Miku.

Len was not sure how he was to achieve such a feat. Certainly he couldn't knock on her door and things would be perfect. No, he had to do this right. Before a plan could be formed in Len's head, Miku emerged from her home and began walking down the street. Expecting a moment to reveal himself to Miku to appear, Len followed after her.

Miku unknowing lead Len to the beach, and when she got there Miku fell on her knees and began crying harder than when she was at her home. Miku was looking out to Rinto's watery grave, and she knew it. It was now or never, Len was aware, and he knew just how to go to her.

Due to bad experiences, Len did not like water, but for Miku's sake he was willing to do anything. Len carefully slipped into the ocean as to not make a sound and swam around until Miku was dead ahead. Cutting his quiet act, Len splashed as he swimmed towards Miku. It wasn't until he close that she noticed him, and by then Len knew exactly what he was going to say. Except he almost blew it.

"Are you okay?" Miku asked as she helped Len out of the water. When she got a closer look at him she said "Rinto . . . ?"

"Miku-Chan," Len said, speaking as a human for the first time.

"Rinto!" Miku exclaimed as she threw her arms around Len and began trebling with sobs. Len's plan was still usable, but right now this girl needed comfort. Hugging Miku tightly, Len said, "I promise I won't leave you alone anymore," he whispered in her ear.

Ah, God Len silently prayed, I am so cruel.

Author's Note: So here's the next chapter! It's really short, I know, but I promise the next chapter shall be both longer and far more interesting.

-Ray