~Rin's POV~

I remember yesterday. We had jumped all around town. We had laughs, arguments, but they were all friendly little quarrels. I haven't felt this close to happines. It felt good. Like a weight that my music or art or poetry couldn't lift off my heart. Something that my happy place couldn't lift off my chest.

I stared at the wall next to my bed, sighing. I had built up enough pain tolerance to keep my food down. My brother had seemed happy that he thought I was feeling better. And I did feel slightly better, but the pain was still there.

I rolled over in my bed to stare at my sleeping brother. He seemed so calm. It was nice to see him loosen up once in a while. I could see a black tuft of fur sticking out from under his blankets.

"His tail…" I mumbled to myself, trying not to burst into laughter, as it wormed around through his blankets, apparently having gotten tangled in his bed sheets. I turned again so I stared at the bed above me, my eyes slightly wide.

I hadn't felt the need to cut or wanted to go to the room today. I had almost felt happy, and that alone felt better than I normally felt, but I knew it wouldn't last. It never lasted. I sighed with resignation. I didn't care if I was suspicious anymore. I knew tomorrow I would want to cut and play and spend my entire day up there. Even using the laptop up there to play something that would give me nightmares…

Wait, something that would give me nightmares. That would take my mind off of everything else, wouldn't it?

Yes, that is one solution to add to everything else. There was that one game I found called Five Nights at Freddy's… I'm pretty sure they almost made a 2nd and 3rd of it, too. Wait… I think it costs money… Then I can just watch people play it on the computer, can't I? Anything to distract me, I suppose. I've been doing so many things to try and distract myself, like cutting, painting, playing, cooking, writing, and so many other things. They did make me feel better for the time being, sure, but not for long after. This would give me nightmares and make me jumpy for a while, so it would have a more lasting effect, right? It's perfect!

Is Rin-sama okay? Kurosune asked in a worried voice.

'Oh. I'm sorry if I worried you, Kurosune.' I replied in my mind, trying to sound as sympathetic as I could in my mind.

Alright… Is Rin-sama having trouble sleeping? Kurosune has noticed that Rin-sama has been awake for a while now.

'I'm just having a little trouble falling asleep. Azami is slowly getting close to finishing, so the pain is just a little bit worse, but nothing more than a pinch, I promise. I just have to get used to it is all.' I reassured her in my head.

Oh… Okay… Rin-sama promises Kurosune?

'I promise, Kurosune. I'll just go downstairs for a while. It's only midnight, so I could also go upstairs and start a search now.'

I think you should go downstairs first and grab some water and snacks so you don't need to run downstairs while you're doing the search! The voice suggested cheerfully.

'Kurosune?'

Yes?

'What's your astrological sign?'

Hmm… The voice seemed to drift into though. I'm a Gemini, why?

'I don't mean any offense by this, but I've always noticed that your personality seems to jump back and forth. Sometimes you're bubbly, but sometimes you're a little depressing.'

Hmm… Now that you mention it, I guess I do. Ahh, well, better hurry, and be careful not to wake Yukio! You know how he gets when you wake him up at night.

'I do..' I nodded solemnly, remembering the last time I accidentally woke up Yukio. No, not the time I went downstairs and was in the kitchen, the time before that. A shudder went down my spine as I slowly and carefully sat up, eyeing Yukio and his guns warily.

But mostly his guns.

I slowly leaned onto the floor, and the floorboards creaked as I put weight onto them. I ducked my head and bit my lip, looking at Yukio again. His tail had stopped moving and my own went around my torso and tightened warily. I slowly leaned onto the floorboards again, standing up and quickly but quietly making my way to the door. As soon as I did, I closed the door behind me, but when I turned around, Bon was standing there.

"Bon? What're you doing up?" I whispered.

"I was coming back from the bathroom. What about you, blue-haired monkey?" He smirked, crossing his arms.

"I'm going there now, rooster." I could feel my temper rising for no reason.

"Are you sure, monkey?" I could hear his voice become a little quieter, and I could see him glancing to the floor even though it was extremely dark. Strange, but anyway, I could feel my temper rising still.

"I'm sure, rooster. Cya in the morning." I quickly slipped around him, slipping into the bathroom and leaning against the door. I felt tired all of a sudden, so I decided to wash my face. When I stepped in front of the mirror, I stared at myself. The cracks had widened a little bit and were a little farther down my stomach. I sighed before dunking my head into the sink and going into the kitchen and grabbing a sandwich before heading upstairs to the room, turning on the lights.

Everything was as I had left it. I crossed the room and took a huge, green binder from one of the shelves and sitting down at the desk, writing in the book rapidly. After several minutes I closed it and put it away, spinning in my armchair and wondering what to do.

Are you wondering what to do, Rin-sama? Kurosune's voice rang through my head

"Yes, I am, Kurosune." I sighed.

Maybe first you should let your tail out of your shirt. Kurosune knows that it is hurting.

"Oh. I forgot it was still in there…" I sighed, lifting up my shirt as I stood up. My tail uncurled from my chest and swayed back and forth behind me as I picked up a violin. I wanted to play something that would make me tired, since I didn't want to search up Five Nights at Freddy's yet. I thought to myself and quickly decided on a song as I adjusted the violin against my collarbone and played 'Kiss the Rain'. I made sure I was being gentle so that I didn't wake up everyone else, especially on the high notes.

As the music reached my ears I felt myself calm down a little bit. I ate some of the snacks and just left the rest of them on the table before heading back to the bedroom, careful not to wake up Yukio and careful not to lay on top of my tail.

I lay down gently on my side and stared at my brother's sleeping back as I felt myself drift off into sleep.