'Just try, Piko. Just try.'

The words encircled his mind like the small snowflakes whizzing around in front of his face. Piko rubbed his red nose. The weather was doing a good job reminding him that he forgot his scarf and gloves. Piko dug his hands into the sleeves of his jacket and hummed to keep himself distracted, but his sister's words were enough.

'Just try.'

And how the hell would he do that? Piko asked himself. It wasn't his fault that he and his mother were in Kahiru. It was his sister's. Her words meant nothing, even if they still stuck to him like a cheap sticker on a wall. He was sick of being blamed for all of his family's issues when the blame fell on her. He didn't exist to be a scapegoat. He ended it on that first day of school. He stood up for himself and made his sister face reality. Not that it did her any good; he still caught her at times sulking around the house.

Pathetic was the only word he could think.

It was, however, an astonishing feat itself that his sister managed to befriend the most popular girl in her grade. He wouldn't have cared much, except that her life was beginning to stomp and run into his.

Gacha had begun talking about how Gumi and Miku tutored together. "I didn't know Gumi was your sister."

"Er, yeah." Piko shrugged. For some reason, Gacha became excited over very mundane things. "We share the last name."

"She's tutoring me in math."

"Really?" Piko had tried not to show how he felt and feigned interest, but his fingers had tightened around his chopsticks as he tried to eat his tuna.

"Yeah, you guys are really alike, it's almost creepy."

"No, we're not." Piko snapped as he took another bite of his fish.

"I didn't mean that in a bad way. I wish that I had a younger brother. It would be fun…"

Piko immediately put down his chopsticks calmly and went to the bathroom. If he hadn't left, Piko was sure that he would have stabbed Gacha's eye out with his utensils.

Piko insisted that he and his sister had nothing in common. Gacha's determination to challenge his opinion was enough to cause Piko's hands to shake at the thought. It had begun to frighten him; if he lost control again, it'd make him and his mother look bad. He could admit that robbing a store and getting arrested for it was humiliating, but not as shameful as what his sister had done. Yet Piko found his hands shaking again and in the form of a fist, his mind juggling between Gacha's persistence and Gumi's pleading. He picked up the pebble that he had been kicking along for a few feet and, at first with slight hesitation but then with full-blown malice, threw the pebble at the tree in front of him. The split second of silence that followed soothed him.

"Someone would have thought you were crazy if they saw you."

Piko spun around. He gazed at the two teal pigtails while the girl who owned them weaved her hand through one of them. Piko felt all of the blood in his body rise to his face.

"Hello, Miku," he muttered, unsure of what to say to defend his actions. "I got mad," he mumbled.

"I don't throw rocks like an animal when I get mad. Here, let's sit."

Piko would have walked away at the insult but he found himself sitting on a bench with the girl. He slid his hands into the sleeves of his jacket again once he saw how white his fingers were. It was quiet and Piko began to wonder why he had decided to sit next to her.

'As long as it keeps me way from there,' Piko thought as he looked at his left and saw that he only had a few blocks away to go before he would reach his house.

"How do you like Kahiru so far?" Miku asked. She suddenly stared at Piko curiously. "Well, you are Piko, right? Nakajima Piko? Do you like it here?"

Piko began to feel small, as if Miku's eyes were looking for something. The conversation felt like an interrogation. "It's alright." He pulled his eyes away from hers and stared at the empty road. "My sister seems to hang out with you a lot."

"It's true." She chirped. Miku tapped her finger against her lips as she made a quick observation. "Aw, you have the same button-nose like Gumi."

Piko frowned. "I don't look anything like her."

"Don't lie! It's pretty obvious. You're a first-year student, right? You're not tall enough to be any older."

"Yes," Piko grumbled. A silence came between them and Piko rummaged through his mind of something to speak about.

"I'm sorry that that happened to you."

Miku frowned. "About…?"

"About that creepy Gaijin. That he sent you those messages."

"Oh." Miku shrugged and let one of her pigtails rest on her shoulder. "It was taken care of. Thanks for caring, though."

"I'm glad that he's getting held accountable." Piko nodded. "What a piece of shit."

"A lot of people aren't held responsible for the shitty things they do. Since the law didn't do crap, we have to do it ourselves. After what he did to Rin…" Miku shut her mouth and stared emptily at the fading sun.

Piko nodded. Watching the boy crumple to the ground after he was punched was extremely satisfying. One of the upperclassman had told him what he had did to Miku and the anger lurked in him and boiled inside of his stomach until he watched Gaijin be thoroughly punished. He had been tempted to spit on Gaijin like the other boys did but he didn't let himself join.

"Gah, you're so cute!" Miku suddenly filled with life again and she squeezed Piko's right cheek. Piko was reminded of his socially inept aunt who had done the same thing during the middle of his father's funeral as she mentioned how much he looked like him. Then she inquired where Gumi was. Piko had never seen his mother give someone such a dangerous glare in his whole life, his mother's red eyes blazing at his ditzy aunt.

"I wish I had a younger sibling. Actually, maybe a younger sister." Miku's eyes glowed like a lightbulb plopped into a fishbowl.

Piko suddenly felt his head throb and his eyes squinted. Even if this girl was the 'Queen Bee' and even if Piko had made a major fool of himself in front of her earlier that could spell trouble for him later on, he wasn't going to hesitate to prove her wrong. "Do you have any siblings? It's not as wonderful as you think."

"I do have an older brother." Miku's face suddenly filled with annoyance. "He's a bum."

"So is Gumi. All she does is sleep in on the weekends."

"You're so mean to your sister! Geez. Your sister volunteers with me. Don't you know that? We help tutor other students. Also, Gumi is really diligent with her schoolwork and homework. Give her some credit."

"You just called your older brother a bum. For all I know, he could be a hard worker."

Miku laughed. The laugh was laced with ridicule. It made even the smallest hairs on Piko's neck rise. "That's because he is one. I know him better than anyone else does because I'm his sister."

"And I know Gumi better than anyone else because I'm her brother. I'm sorry, but what do you see in Gumi?" Piko asked, feeling flabbergasted.

Miku laughed. "You really are mean. No wonder Gumi doesn't talk about you."

Piko winced but then shook his head slowly. "You're both very different. I didn't mean that in a bad way."

"Oh." Miku blinked unconvincingly. "Your sister is likeable. I know she's the type to hide in the shadows, but I think I'm helping her. She can be funny when she wants to be. She's smart. She can be easily influenced, but I think she'll overcome that. She reminds me of an old friend I had." Suddenly Miku smiled broadly and looked up at the sky. Piko wondered, as he gazed at Miku's marble-like skin, glowing eyes and shiny teeth, if the stars that inhabited space could see Miku from where they were. Piko looked up with her. He thought that Miku had turned to look at him, expecting him to inquire about her said friend, but Piko didn't care enough to ask. It remained quiet for a few moments, and Piko shivered once the cold reminded him again of his gloveless fingers.

"You're pretty nice, actually. You're a lot better than a lot of the boys around here." Miku stretched out her long legs in front of her.

Piko stared at her uncovered legs. "You're not cold?" He stared at a snowflake lingering in the air.

"It's not that cold." Miku shrugged. "Like my brother says: I have a frozen soul." With that statement Miku frowned bitterly and tucked her legs up to her chest.

She looked vulnerable for a few moments and Piko wanted to feel at least sympathetic for her, yet for some reason he couldn't muster up the compassion. He gazed at her for a few moments. He knew that he was very good with reading people, as if the words were written down on their faces. He was good at reading the face of his stressed out mother; the faces of the horny upperclassmen, except for one or two of them, he can't remember who; and he can read the inside of his obnoxious, naïve, cheek-pinching aunt who believes that there is good in everyone. He couldn't read her face, though. The only other face he couldn't read very well either was his sister's, which only makes him want to rip out his brain whenever Gumi gave him that empty stare. Between Miku, Gumi, and the upperclassman, Piko wondered if he was actually any good at reading faces.

"That sucks."

"At least I have a future, unlike him." Miku stood up, stretching as she tried let the stagnant blood in her body flow again. "Tell Gumi I said hi."

"Sure."

Miku suddenly laughed. "I know you won't."

Piko watched Miku rise and walk away coldly, her pigtails jumping in sync with the movement of her body. She's like a robot, Piko thought. He silently hoped that he didn't turn her off; he doesn't want to earn a bad reputation. Perhaps she thinks all brothers are bad, Piko wondered, as Len had killed his sister, and Miku's brother is a so-called bum. The thought only brings him more turmoil; he's the good sibling, not his sister.

Piko walked home and slammed the door on the way in. His mother was working and his sister was actually busy nowadays. During the past few days it was Piko's turn to be ragged on by his mother:

"Piko, you have to start doing something. You can't lie in your bedroom all day. Blah blah blah…"

Piko sneered and went to his room. He slammed the door again and checked his phone to see that it was dying. He took out his charger and stared at it. Piko examined it, rubbing the gray plastic chord in between his thumb and his index finger. He wondered what it would be like to be able to fall asleep peacefully with a charger plugged into his belly button, filling him up with the energy and determination he didn't seem to have anymore. He was trying in school and he was trying to make friends, yet the only people that have befriended him were irritating. He saw a group of upperclassman beating on Gaijin one day after school and Piko had the urge to join them, to give him his punishment, to shame him and forget that other people like his sister walked free after the destruction they had caused.

'But where are you going to go if you embarrass your family again with your delinquency? What will you do?'

For one final time, Piko reminded his conscious that this was all Gumi's fault, not his. Piko collapsed into his bed to sleep, the chord of the charger still wrapped in between his fingers.

Gumi collapsed onto her bed.

'Thank God it's the weekend.'

After what had occurred that day –with watching an outcast's face being bashed in and now tutoring that outcast being one of them- had sizzled Gumi's brain and left her feeling numb. Gumi placed her shoes next to her desk, shimmied out of her skirt, and threw off her sweater. She hopped into bed and snuggled into her comforter, not caring that it was too early for her to fall asleep and that she still had to prepare dinner. She had other things to do.

She found herself sitting in that chair again. She leaned back and sighed. Then she realized that she was only in her bra and underwear. Her face filled with red and she quickly looked around for a place to hide behind.

"Hello! I-…did I pick you up while you were still deciding whether to go commando tonight?"

"I-I didn't remember that my soul was transported with whatever I was wearing." Gumi snapped, her cheeks burning at being caught. She groaned and curled up into a ball, hoping that she would shrink.

"Oi, calm yourself, Gumi. I'm not a pervert."

Gumi felt fabric tugging at her wrists. She looked down and found herself dressed in a white nightgown, with floral lace decorating the ends of her dress that barely covered her knees and on the ends of her sleeves.

"Thanks," Gumi said. She peered at the vase of lilies quietly while Rin bounced in front of her eagerly, the girl's dress billowing excitedly as she hopped on her tip-toes.

"You did it!"

"Did what? With Len? That's just the start."

"But you're getting to him. You're beginning to crack him open like a hardboiled egg. You're peeling him like a banana."

Gumi frowned at Rin's simple metaphors. "Thanks."

Rin sat down and leaned her torso over the table, offering Gumi a look of eagerness. "Okay, now that we've managed to peel a piece of shell off of him, you just have to keep his moral high. You need to be there for him. But, it's really all uphill from here. Just keep his nose buried in his textbook and he'll graduate, and then he can get out of that town and live his life."

"But how?"

"How what?"

"Keep his moral high? Rin, it's like asking a bunch of soldiers during the middle of a battle to smile and keep their heads high; he's in pain, Rin. Just assuming that he'll be okay once he's out of Kahiru won't do that much good. Even if- when he gets out, everything he suffered from will still be in his head. And where will he live if he moves out of Kahiru?"

"Okay, Gumi." Rin sighed and folded her hands on the table. "Leave it to me. I know what I'm doing. All you have to do is get him to graduate. Just talk to him. You don't need to hire him a therapist, just talk. You'll do him a lot of good. If he's hungry, just get him food. If he's bruised, help patch him up. Gumi, I know my brother. He's not going to do anything stupid." Rin gazed down at her neatly folded hands. "He feels like he's run out of options anyway. Poor Len…"

Gumi squirmed in the ensuing silence. "I'll do my best, Rin."

"I know you will. That's why I picked you to help him, silly!" Rin smiled.

"…but once this is over, I'll get to see my father?"

"Definitely."

"Pinky promise?" Gumi smiled crookedly as she held out her pinkie.

Rin giggled. She stood up and walked over to Gumi. "I promise." The blonde girl wiggled her pinkie and stretched her hand out until Rin yelped. "Oh no, I forgot to record this conversation! Gumi, wait here."

Rin disappeared, leaving Gumi alone with her pinkie stretched out. Gumi put her hands in her lap and waited for the girl.

"Sorry! Alright, the recorder is on."

"Rin, I really have to ask: do you like what Miku is doing to your brother?"

"Of course not." Rin's eyes widened with horror. "It's horrible, but…Miku's hurt. So is Gakupo. So is everyone else who loved me." Rin rubbed the back of her neck, the pain of her confliction becoming clear. "There were very few people out there who didn't mourn my death and still don't, one of them being the person who killed me, but, besides that, I think Miku will learn. I was her first best friend. I was the only one who understood Gakupo. He'll learn, too. I think Gakupo knows that I'm disappointed in him. I made a lot of people happy." Rin smiled unsurely while she rubbed the locket of her necklace, something Gumi hadn't realized that Rin wore. "I didn't realize how many people I brought joy to. I always thought I was seen as insecure and annoying because of my problems. It wasn't like that. I didn't realize that until after my death."

Rin stared at her silver locket as she rubbed it over with her thumb. She brought her head down, lost in thought, her earrings dangling from her earlobes. Gumi licked her dry lips and chewed on the insides of her mouth until she managed to build up the confidence to speak again.

"I still don't know a lot, Rin. I still don't even know who killed you."

"Which isn't important." Rin huffed. She gazed at Gumi sternly. "This is not a mystery novel. All you have to do is help my brother. Don't focus on my killer. You won't find out until this is all over and done with."

"Right." Gumi bowed her head. "Sorry."

"I don't like what they're doing to Len, Gumi." Rin rubbed her fingers together. "I still care for Miku and Gakupo and the director, even though they all made Len's life hell."

"The director?"

Rin continued, "I should hate them, but I can't. They're people, too. They still love me. They have their reasons for being mad and hurt. They're hurt that Len wasn't brought to justice, and now they think that they're doing justice by calling Len dirt every day. If anyone who lived outside of Kahiru saw Len's abuse, like you did, you'd think that the people there are horrible, but they're still upset. They still think that Len's a jealous murderer, which he isn't. Nothing is going to change their minds now, though, and that's why the only thing I can do is get Len out of there. No, I can't make excuses. I'm just out of options.

"I just want Len to be safe and I just want everyone to stop hurting Len so that they can focus on healing themselves. They all let themselves broil in hatred during the years of Len's trial. They let themselves out of the pot when Len was dropped back into their world. I probably seem like a monster for letting Miku and Gakupo and the rest of Kahiru hurt Len but what can I do? I can't just kill them. I'm an angel anyway. I could hold them in contempt but they were my friends. I just still feel like a monster after what they are doing to him, after what I did to Len. I practically set him up for this. I set him into his own personal Hell unintentionally." Rin rubbed her face with her hands. She set her hands down and she stared at the lilies while Gumi rubbed her wrists.

"I understand." Gumi nodded. "Miku genuinely likes me for whatever reason, yet she still hurts Len like that, but I can't abandon her because she trusts me. That, and Miku thinks that I resemble you, and that's why she's clinging onto me. I'd just be causing a lot of strife too if I unfriended Miku. I think that might become a problem, Rin."

"It won't. Just keep her company, too. You'll both be going to different high schools anyway. At least, I'm sure of it." Rin sat up and rubbed her necklace some more. She then slowly slid the necklace behind the neckline of her dress, letting the locket rest on her bare chest. "I think you're good to go. I'll send you off with a memory. I need to release some of the pain…"

"Len, let's go outside!"

"I really don't want to, Rin…"

"Len, come on." His sister huffed and took Len's hand. "C'mon, off your bed!"

Len grumbled reluctantly as his sister led him from their bedroom and down the stairs. He looked at his sister. Her hair shimmered in the light and her cheeks gave off a healthy glow. Len gazed at his sister's peach hand that was grasped onto his pale fingers. He kept his eyes on the stairs and tried to keep up to his sister's pace as she eagerly ran.

"Rin, dear?"

"A-ah, good morning, Miss Sukone!" Rin beamed at the woman. Len kept his eyes on the floor while Rin straightened her back.

"There is a couple who'd like to see you."

"R-really?" Rin jumped up eagerly.

"Yes." The woman nodded. "Come along. This might be a very good day for you."

The woman grabbed Rin's hand. Rin continued squeezing Len's hand.

"Len can come to, right?"

"Of course. You are a package, after all." The woman gazed at Len and her eyes filled with apathy. Len stared at the ground. "Keep your head up."

Len raised his head at the director's demand and followed his sister and the woman into her office. Len hated her office. The director's office was frequently cold. To Rin, it seemed like paradise, her opportunity to flourish. The small room only gave Len more opportunities to humiliate himself and more fuel for the director to scold him for being unlikeable.

"Do you not want to be loved? Do you want to be stuck here forever?" She reprimanded him one day after a couple had left in a hurry. They had wanted to look at Rin, of course. Once the couple had seen him and the director told them that they were a 'package', their eyes dimmed with disinterest. It happened frequently, the excuses consisting of, "Well, we were just looking for one," or, "We can't afford another." At least one couple was blunt, stating, "We only wanted the girl. The boy looks…sickly." They said it out loud. It didn't hurt Len too much. He was used to being frequently criticized and he was capable of tuning it out. The criticism had been occurring for years. However, he did try to be as good as his sister. He hated seeing her eyes become glassy whenever a prospective couple left. It squeezed his heart worse than when the director berated him. The least he could do for Rin was try to be perfect.

So today Len was determined to keep his back as straight as his sister's and his grin just as wide. He attempted to think of him and his sister in a happier place, in a nice home with their own bedrooms, where he could be free from the criticism that was heaped onto him. He was glad his sister wasn't able to bring him outside; while the children played and chatted with Rin, Len usually found himself isolated. The older boys prohibited him from playing on the wooden playset with them, leaving him to sit on the edge of the sandbox. He knew he wasn't fun to play with in the first place. His introverted behavior hadn't made him popular with the other children.

Len smiled just as broadly as Rin when they both saw the couple. Of course, Rin introduced herself first, and then Len was lucky enough to get his name in before Rin began chatting with them again, repeating to them her accomplishments with a hint of humility, just as she did with all of the other prospective parents. Len could see the desperation behind the staged twinkle in Rin's eyes, as she yearned for a permanent home. So did Len. Before Len could speak about his own personal achievements, the director had ushered the twins out and closed the door behind them to speak with the young couple. Len's small body filled with aggravation.

"Rin, why didn't you let me talk?" He snapped.

The girl withered under her brother's stare. "Y-you didn't even try, Len. I felt like I was trying to speak for you at times…"

In between the slits of the plastic curtains, Len could see the director's red face. He felt his heart sink into his stomach.

"I just felt that you didn't give me a turn. It doesn't matter. I'm never going to be adopted."

"Len, please don't say that." Rin begged. "I wouldn't leave without you. You're the only one I have."

Len stared at the wall. "No, I'm not. You have friends. Even the director likes you."

"N-no, Len. We're the only family we have. That's what I meant."

A yell was smothered by the glass panes. Len looked through the slit again to see the director perspiring. She opened her mouth and Len felt the instinct to cover his ears. He heard her loud scream filled with pleas, and Len watched Rin's eyes crumple and her small lips split open out of disbelief.

"N-no, she wouldn't do that. She didn't say that, Len. No, wait, no-!"

Len ran off. He ran down the halls and up the stairs and down and down the infinite hallways with the wooden walls and he felt as if the house wanted to keep him trapped inside. He couldn't find any way out. He turned toward a window and his mind hastily wondered if he would survive if he jumped out.

"Len?"

Len mistook the voice for Rin's and told her to go away. He rested his head against the edge of the windowsill and his eyes burned and watered.

"I told you. I was right. People only want you. They'll give you more money to have you rather than have me."

"Len, it's me."

Len turned around and whimpered. "S-sorry, Tei. I didn't realize…"

"It's okay, Len. Do you want to talk?"

Len wondered why the director's daughter would have ever wanted to befriend him. Everyone else despised him, more or less so because the director's word was like the word of God's, and because of his frequent sickness and anti-social personality. None of the other children took to Tei very well either, as she was the director's daughter. The orphans and the abandoned children only smiled at her while inside they were too jealous to befriend a loved child. Whenever Tei had her gray locks turned towards the children, their sugar-coated words became unraveled and exposed.

"Spoiled."

"Weird."

"Annoying."

Len figured now that it wasn't a strange thought now: they were a perfect fit, the two outcasts. Tei and Len sank to the floor, their backs pressed up against the wall, as Len vented to the girl.

"I try to be good. I just don't think that I'm loveable." Len finished with the sniffle of his nose. "I just want to get out and be with Rin, but people only want her."

"I'll be here for you, Len. I'm your friend."

Len smiled and both children sat in silence.

Tei sighed. "I was looking for you, actually. I was just downstairs, and I saw my mother with the couple," Tei said. "Rin was with them, too. She was smiling."

Len looked up at Tei anxiously. "W-was Rin-?"

Tei squeezed her lips together and nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Len. I wasn't sure how to tell you-"

"B-but she said she'd never leave me!" Len exclaimed loudly, his heart beating crazily and he felt tears dribble down his chin.

"But that's why I'm here, Len. I've always been here for you. Sometimes blood isn't thicker than water." Tei wrapped a hand around Len's. "She wasn't going to wait for you, but I will. I promise."

"You don't understand, Tei. She's my sister." Len's voice cracked. Tei watched Len's eyes crack. He was cracking all over. "She was supposed to be there for me."

Tei's eyes darkened. "Len, nobody likes the truth, but I'm being honest: Rin was never going to wait for you. She was tired of it. Len, don't cry, this wasn't your fault."

"I-I can't believe that." Len groaned pitifully as Tei's brutal words were pressed into his head. "She's my sister. My sister…she's leaving me."

Tei hugged Len close, wrapping her thin arms and rubbing her hands along Len's bony back. She trailed her fingers along Len's spine. "This is what my mommy did once when I was upset," she whispered. "Sometimes I wish she did it more often. It makes me feel better."

They two sat in silence for another moment.

"Tei, why doesn't your mother like me? I know that I'm boring, but I try to be good. Am I that unlikeable?"

Tei remained quiet. "Sometimes, I think mommy likes Rin more than me. I'm surprised she's sending Rin away." Tei tapped her fingers against Len's neck before sighing. "I think she'll always love coins more than anyone else. She always yells at me whenever I try to put a few coins into that water fountain in the mall."

"But how can she love money more than people?"

Tei shrugged. "Maybe that's what her mom and dad told her?"

Len separated from Tei slowly. "I-I have to find Rin before she's gone forever."

"Don't be rushed, Len. It takes a long time. The parents have to fill out a lot of papers and give a lot of money before they can have the kid they want."

"I still have to see her. I have to ask her why."

Len ran to find his sister. Tei followed him from a distance. She watched Len run into his bedroom. She slid up against the wall next to the door of the bedroom as soon as she heard Len screech. Tei listened to his sister try to justify herself before both siblings sobbed loudly. Tei knew it was wrong to smile, and she covered her mouth with her hands as she attempted to contain her giggles.

"Thank you." Tei smiled warmly as she gazed at the ceiling and thought of Len staying in the orphanage with her. He'd keep her company. Now that his sister would be leaving, she could spend more time with him. As much as she tried to be nice to Rin, Tei did not like her. Why did Rin deserve more attention from her own mother? Tei knew that it had to be illegal. Tei didn't see anything special in Rin.

"Why would you leave me? Why?"

"Len, listen…"

Tei pressed her head against the wall and smiled as Rin struggled to redeem herself.

"Len, I tried. Miss Sukone said that my new parents are paying a lot to have me and that this is my best bet. T-they seemed to have already shook hands on it too before I got to say a thing. T-the people are really nice, too. I'm sorry, Len, I tried."

"I tried hard to be good. Why, Rin?"

"B-but Len, listen: the people- my parents said that you can visit me whenever, and I asked them if we could go to the same school together. They said they could try. I don't want lose you either, Len. I'm so sorry."

Rin wailed and Tei's smile vanished. Tei peeked over the wall to see the twins embracing each other, grasping each other as if the world was ending. She scowled and sat against the wall, mildly irritated that Rin wasn't going to leave Len alone as she had hoped. The girl was too nice and Len was still extremely attached to his sister. Tei continued steaming in her discontent as she picked at the ends of her hair. She thought how, at least, Len would still be living with her. However, Len was still determined to be at his sister's side, and the thought of it made Tei grasp at her knees angrily and dig her nails into the skin.

Gumi exclaimed a jumble of words as soon as she awoke. She rushed to her desk and searched for her notebook. She found it and ripped it open. She grabbed at the pen closest to her and scribbled in Tei's name. POSSIBLE MURDERER SUSPECT, she wrote in large letters on the header of the page. Gumi's heart raced as she thought of Tei: Had she seen this girl before? Did she go to the same school with her? Perhaps she was already in a mental institution for stalking someone else? Gumi took out the seat from under the desk and sat as she scratched her scalp, watching the green strands of her hair fall sloppily over her face. She pushed her hair back and listed other possible suspects mentally but struggled doing so. Miku was best friends with Rin and still put her on a pedestal. Gakupo admired Rin. The director couldn't have, as she loved Rin more than Tei. Yukari didn't move into Kahiru until after Rin's death. Gacha didn't seem to have the ability to plan out such a thorough murder plot (no offense to him). Lily just didn't seem very likely. Gumi thought about Gakupo's posse, yet she didn't know enough about any of them.

Another thought crawled into Gumi's head. She recalled the scent of vanilla and Rin's glassy eyes. No wonder Rin feels responsible for Len's fate, she thought. The director practically sold her, separating her from Len: the first dent in their relationship. Gumi tapped the pen against her notebook and gazed at her window, staring at the streaks of frost that had covered her window. She looked at Tei's name on the lined paper and wondered if she really could be asuspect (She wondered if Len was still friends with her). Rin had even told her that she wouldn't discover the killer until the end.

There was a knock.

"Come in."

Gumi's mother stood at the door. "Morning. I have to head to work. Just make sure you make lunch for Piko and dinner for everyone tonight."

"Oh, geez, I didn't mean to fall asleep so early last night."

"That's alright, I was able to get home a bit earlier." Gumi watched at the crow's feet that formed next to her mother's eyes when she smiled. "Hey, I haven't seen that nightgown in the wash. Is that new?"

Gumi yelped as she stared down at the nightgown she was still dressed in. "M-Miku got it for me. She's a friend. We both do tutoring. She knows that I sleep a lot, so…"

Gumi's mother chuckled. "That was nice of her. We'll have to look for something for her, too."

"Yeah. I've just been busy with tutoring lately. I have more students to tutor now."

"Make sure you don't end up killing yourself over it, okay?"

Haku throws her hand over her mouth a second too late. She stares at her daughter while her daughter stared back blankly.

"I didn't mean that, Gumi."

"It's okay, mom. I really didn't notice until you made a scene about it…" Gumi trailed off and let her eyes settle onto the floor. The ambience was too tense and awkward to fill in with words now.

"I'll see you later, Gumi." Then her mother mumbled another apology before walking away, slowly closing the door behind her.

"How was your weekend?"

Len shrugged while Gumi hands him a pencil. "I survived."

Gumi laughed, albeit a very tiny laugh, not sure whether or not if Len was being literal. "Well, today's a treat. We're learning about- okay, first, a drumroll."

Len rolled his eyes. "We're in the library. Do you want us to get caught?"

"Er, sorry. We're learning about slope form."

"Speaking of treats, where's my snack? And my bananas?" Len raised an eyebrow. Gumi suddenly seemed deflated. Guilt began to seep into Len and he muttered an apology. "I'm just hungry. I really haven't eaten all day…"

"I'm really sorry, I forgot. I'll grab you a snack right now. What would you like?"

Len tapped his pencil against the desk as he thought. Gumi stared at the fresh thin cut on his chin while he did so. The thought of Tei reappeared and Gumi decided to do her own research first before asking Len anything.

"Something sweet. No chips though, please."

The 'please' made Gumi feel slightly better. "I'll get on that."

Before she can rise from her seat Gumi's eyes widen at the flash of pink walking behind the aisles of shelves located in front of the teenagers. Gumi watched the librarian disappear behind each shelf and then reappear repeatedly, until the librarian was to far down for Gumi to see.

"Do you think she saw us?" Gumi asked, flashing Len her anxiety-filled eyes. On the contrary, Len was still in his seat, playing with the pencil Gumi gave him.

"She's the only one who leaves me alone."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't think she really saw us. She really doesn't care about me, either."

Gumi offered Len a sad stare. Len frowned.

"Stop pitying me."

Gumi's face flushed. She quickly stood up and left the library to buy the snacks. She watched the librarian type on her computer before she left.

Luka looked up at the door of the library and watched it close. She permitted herself to let out a shaky sigh before continuing with her typing, but it didn't take long for her to realize that her fingers were shaking. She convinced herself that she was cold and Luka grabbed her blazer that was resting on her chair and wrapped it around her.

Gumi reentered the library, her arms filled with snacks. Luka pretended not to notice and listened to the girl walk back to Len. Luka attempted to focus on her work and began stamping due dates on library books until she heard the door of the library swing open.

"I think I lost my textbook in here. Do you have it?" The student asked her.

"N-no." Luka shook her head rigidly.

The student sighed. "Can I check?"

"No. Wait here. What book is it?"

"It's a biology textbook."

"Fine, wait here patiently."

Luka ignored the student mutter how Luka was a whack-a-doo and she set off to find the book. She spotted it on the table, only a few tables away from Len. She quickly grabbed it and felt her hair swish over her shoulders as she made a sharp turn and walked back the student.

"Thanks."

The student walked away. Luka slumped into her desk. Her heart was beating wildly, as if she had just robbed a bank or, even worse, shot the emperor. Luka, however, knew that what she did was worse than shooting the emperor. She felt as if she was covering up a prostitution ring. Luka shivered.

Her blanket was being unraveled. Luka wondered if it was time to panic yet.

IT IS DONE

Okay, to prevent any confusion: The director is Tei's mother. Tei is not the director. I hope I didn't confuse you guys at the beginning of that flashback?

Okay so an apology: 1) The chapter is fudged up and the tenses are all screwed up because my writing is bleh 2) College got the best of me and 3) I've been dealing with personal stuff. I know I can't make excuses, so the best thing I can say is that I've been working on a number of other things.

I've also been giving Scorned more thought and for the past four months since I've updated it's been transforming into something else separate from Vocaloid. I'll do my best to finish the story on here but I might rewrite it one day with OCs and other stuff that doesn't fit in this story.

I'm really sorry for the delay. I just wanted to get this to you guys before I travel again. Hope you're all doing well. Also, welcome new readers! Don't worry, this story isn't dead. It isn't dead until I say so.

Sorry if this chapter is boring. It's just an intro to the other shit that will go down…as per usual. See you all later! Thank you so much for sticking around, guys! I appreciate it! I also might be editing this chapter since it's three in the morning right now and I can't think straight. I'll let you know. Also let me know if something is off in the story. I would hate to make a continuity error and not realize it. I don't want to confuse anyone!

Okay, thanks again!

EDIT 5/10/2015: Fixed edit that could have potentially confused readers. I also fixed other grammatical errors and misspellings.