~Rin's POV~

I woke up to find myself on the couch in an uncomfortable position, the pain immediately coming back. I rubbed my head again, to no avail yet again. I sighed and sat up, stretching, my memories working their way through the quiet, dull throb behind my head.

I remembered what had happened after a few minutes before sighing, heading up to the second-to-top floor, quickly locking myself in my little 'art room', quickly unpacking the bag and placing the violin on one of the shelves and my sketch pad on the desk and placing the pencils in a drawer. I sighed inwardly, picking my Kurikara and filling my backpack with the items that were in it previously, tossing them into the room that I shared with Yukio and heading down the kitchen, as it was about lunchtime, and I was getting hungry again.

I quickly headed into the kitchen and began making some rice balls for lunch. About 4 minutes in, Yukio walked into the room.

"Hello, Nii-Chan." He greeted. "Where were you today?"

I shrugged. "Just out on the town. Did you head out, too?" I looked over my shoulder.

"Yeah. Hey, did you hear anything… like a violin playing?"

I froze up slightly but not for long enough for it to be noticed. "Not that I've heard of."

Did he hear me playing? Crap! I need to pay more attention to this stuff, otherwise I'll get caught. Yukio has kept secrets from me for years… but I have several secrets he doesn't know about, and several things he will not likely find out by the time I am gone.

The pain is slightly more intense now, but I don't show it. I can't show it now, when it hardly started. As it continues on, I know it'll go faster, and hurt more, but I know what I'm doing.

I can't let Kuro, Shima, Izumo, Bon... Really anybody see it… Not that they would care whether or not I stayed. If they did try to stop it from happening, it would probably because they felt indebted by the incident with the huge Gehenna Gate and all. I don't care anymore…. I just have to keep my cover and no one will suspect.

"No, I didn't. Why?" I went back to what I was doing, wrapping the rice balls in the seaweed.

"Oh. It must just be a person then who likes to play the violin…" He mumbled.

I didn't respond, just finished up, setting 2 rice balls on each plate.

"Alright, lunch is done." I sighed, placing on in front of Yukio and one on the opposite side of him, before getting Kuro's food and placing it next to me. Ukobach simply continued to stand in the kitchen and lounge around. I guess he already has something to eat or he already ate.

I sat down and quickly gave thanks for the food and wolfed it down. "Well, I have to go do some other stuff." I quickly got up, about to run off, before Yukio grabbed my sleeve.

"Nii-Chan, wait." He stared at me. "Where do you keep running off to? I understand taking a walk and getting lost, but you keep disappearing."

I froze up slightly before standing up straight, not turning around to look him in the eye. "I'm not doing anything in particular. Just moving around."

"I don't believe that." He continued to stare at me, still holding onto my sleeve. "That's an excuse. Now, what are you really doing?"

"Not anything in particular, just getting a few things done."

"What kind of things?"

"I'm just hanging out."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Talking with some of the other students in normal school, listening to some gossip, exploring town a bit, things like that."

He didn't seem to like the answer, but they were a good enough lie, good enough for him to believe, so he didn't push it farther, letting go of my sleeve.

I rushed upstairs, grabbing my Kurikara and my backpack before going to the locked doors and locking myself in the room. As soon as I entered, I fell to my knees, before staring at the wall between the doors. The whole wall was covered in mirrors. I stared intently at my black eyes, white glowing dots, cracks and all. The cracks were now about up to my collarbone, but they had also gone up into my hair and across the side of my face over my ears – it had my entire head and neck.

I sighed, turning my head, tracing the few cracks along my neck, before sighing and sitting at the desk, spinning around in the revolving chair.

"What to do, what to do…" I mumbled, rubbing my head unconsciously. "Maybe I should just do some pottery or something… I haven't done that in a little while." I looked up at the few bookshelves lining the wall. There was one behind me, one on the opposite side of the room, and 2 between the several windows aligning the wall, filled with books, paints, clay, strings, picks, several different items. This room must've been an office, or whoever found before me used it as an office, as the armchairs were positioned towards the office table or around a small coffee table on the opposite end of the room, a TV sitting between one of the windows. I settled with sketching, continuing the picture of the park. By the time I finished, it also showed the Old Man and Yukio, and even my classmates. Except, I had made sure not to include myself, before sighing and putting the picture away. The picture had taken several hours to finish. I may be good, but it still takes time. Later, I'll have to add the shadings, and colors, too, but other than that, it's just about done.

I grabbed the Kurikara and the backpack, locking the door behind me and heading down to my own room. It was past dinner already, almost midnight again. I dragged myself into the bedroom quietly, to see Yukio standing in front of his desk, staring at me.

"Nii-Chan, this is getting serious." He walked behind me and closed the door, locking it.

'Oh great, an interrogation…' I inwardly sighed, not losing the composure I had when I entered the room.

"This is two nights in a row that you've come home at midnight. Where are you going, for real?"

"I told you. Around town."

"You did tell me that. Earlier, when it was around dinner, I went to look for you. I went and talked to some students around town, even asking some employees and residents if they saw you. They said they hadn't seen you."

I hadn't expected him to do that. But he IS my brother, after all, so… Nothing less was expected, at the same time.

"Whatever, I need to go to sleep. I have training with Shura tomorrow."

"What do you mean? Tomorrow is mass."

"Yeah, but I missed yesterday's training so we're making it up tomorrow."

"What do you mean you missed yesterday's training?"

"I forgot that I had training and left for the walk before I did it. She came by this morning, and when I told her I had plans, she said we'd do it tomorrow."

"What do you mean she came in the morning?"

"She came really early."

"So, what, did she wake you up?"

I knew she didn't, but if I said I had a headache, combined with the weird violin music, he may think it's some sort of temptaint..

"Yeah, but I told her to stay quiet."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now, can I go to sleep so that she doesn't pound on me tomorrow because I'm falling asleep?"

"Not quite yet."

"Why not!?"

"Because you haven't answered my original question. It's midnight and I know for a fact that you were not 'out on the town', so spill."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my head.

"What can I say, I just did whatever. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep, or do I have to sleep in a different room?"

He just sighed and shook his head slightly. "Whatever, Nii-Chan, but so help me if you keep coming up with these stupid excuses." He death-glared be before getting into his own bed, putting his glasses away.

I just sighed, grabbing a pair of boxes and a loose-fitting red shirt and heading into the bathroom, staring in the mirror at the cracks in my face.

"Little does he know~" I hummed quietly.

Yes, little does he know~ A young, childlike female voice rang through my head. She sounded a few years younger than me, like a 10 year old.

"Kurosune..? You haven't spoken in ages…"

Kurosune is sorry, Kurosune was busy.

"Heh. Busy with what?"

Kurosune was thinking about what would happen after it happens. Where do Kurosune and Rin-sama go with her? Where will she bring us?

"I don't know, Kurosune. I don't know…" I sighed, staring at one of the cracks in my neck.

Is Rin-sama hurting?

"It doesn't hurt a lot, Kurosune… It's not bad, I promise… It doesn't hurt bad."

Kurosune will sing for you~ Kurosune began singing some tune I hadn't heard of before.

I unconsciously hummed with her. I might be gone soon, but at least I have someone – or some earring [I'm aware of the fact I'm basically ripping off Beautiful Fool… Apologies] – whose a dear friend of mine who actually cares about what's going to happen to me. Who cares enough to follow me into it.

I sighed, washing my face. I heard slight footsteps as I opened the door but didn't think much of it, heading back to the room I shared with Yukio to sleep.