A/N: THIS CHAPTER IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! Turns out that while I was writing it, it was going really, really, really long. Just to give you an idea, this was only the opening scene. So I decided to split it. I hope this chapter isn't too boring for you. School is really stressful, so it's getting harder and harder to write this. DX And this is something I definitely don't want to rush. Anyway, please enjoy!

Chapter 8: Pure Truth

"It's a shame Lady Miku could not join us this evening." Len's mother commented, filling the awkward silence that had been lingering.

"Indeed," Len's father added, "I wonder what illness has befallen her to confine her to bed. Len, I expect you to visit her."

"Mmmm..." Len mumbled, praying that his father did not notice the trembling in his voice.

"Len, I do not want mumbling, I want a definitive answer from you."

"Yes, father..."

"Honestly..." Earl Kagamine scoffed, "It's as if I'm tending to an oaf."

Len did not have enough will to defend himself. Instead, he turned to face what was beyond the window next to him and become lost in thought once more. For a moment, he was concerned about Miku. Illness? Had the news of his relationship with Rin troubled her that much? They did not have any mutual feelings toward each other. Was her illness merely a coincidence?

Len's thoughts quickly turned to Rin, however. He had been visiting her every night just as he had before, but anxiety seemed to have been gripping her more often. Len's kisses, caresses, and soft words were just enough to calm her, but every time he left her, he'd fret. Each time Len returned home, he would beg and pray that Rin would know peace and that their child would be protected.

"Regardless of Miku's absence, however," Earl Kagamine had dragged Len away from his thoughts, "you are to meet Lord Kaito and his fiance with Baron Shion, Earl Kagami, and Duke Hatsune together with me. This is the beginning of a newfound alliance—you must know how important this meeting is."

"Yes, father." Len repeated.

Something in the pit of Len's stomach felt awful. He suddenly felt lightheaded and felt something crease in between his eyebrows. A constant turning moved within Len's body, making him dizzy with nervousness. The lavish clothing he wore felt hot and a bead of sweat begun to form on his forehead. Then his breaths became shallow, and was grateful that he sat in darkness in the carriage. Len could not deny that he was frightened beyond belief. It seemed to him that he was being cornered in a dungeon cell—cold and shaking.

The carriage finally lurched to a stop and Len's heart began to pound even harder. His fingers were numb and his knees were trembling as the driver made his way to open the door for the noble family. Len squinted at the streak of dim light from the brilliance inside the mansion holding the party as the door was opened. Earl Kagamine immediately moved to step out first, then ushered his wife out after him. That left Len alone for a brief moment, and he seriously considered staying in the carriage a little while longer, or perhaps even the whole night. But when he saw the cold stare of his father's eyes as the man turned, Len moved his shaking body out of the carriage. With his knees nearly buckling, he followed his parents up the steps towards the mansion.

After greeting the hosts, they found themselves in the grand venue of the decorated entrance hall. Exuberant detail and beauty painted the room with pearl statues lining the wall and elegant candlelight lighting the ceiling. Len did not take any note of its beauty however, as he was nervously eying the crowd, walking behind his parents.

"Ah, Duke Hatsune." Len heard his father call out.

Len's chest immediately tightened as he dreadfully looked towards the direction that his father looked in. He saw a familiar man, even though he had only seen him once when his engagement with Miku was arranged, but familiar nonetheless. The teal-haired man turned, his wife standing next to him and smiled awkwardly at Earl Kagamine. He had begun to walk closer, his footsteps seeming to be loudly echoing in Len's ears.

"Ah, Earl Kagamine and Lady Kagamine... it's so good to see you here. And Lord Len, it's good to see you, here too."

Len opened his mouth to say something, but the words choked in his mouth. His bottom lip trembled for a bit and broken sounds escaped his throat, but nothing coherent came. He broke however when Earl Kagamine threw back a curt look at him.

"The pleasure is mine, Duke Hatsune."

Len did everything in his power to suppress the uneasy sigh that lingered in him.

"My condolences for your daughter, Duke Hatsune." Len's mother spoke up, "It's truly sad news that she is feeling ill."

"The girl just came home one day and said she was feeling light-headed and retreated into her room. She has barely come out since." Duke Hatsune sighed exasperatedly, "Honestly, what a weak creature..."

Duke Hatsune's voice seemed to trail off for Len and he focused more on the pounding heart within his chest. Never had a man appeared more intimidating to him than at that moment. It seemed that with one glance, Duke Hatsune and his father would be able to break him as easily as they would glass. And if he were to raise his voice and speak of his and Rin's relationship, that would be the very end of him. Len's breathing gradually grew more and more shallow as his thoughts raced and his eyes frantically searching the crowd for some answer. He could run away without any trace... but when he spotted a familiar pair of blue eyes, he knew that he could never consider that option.

When his eyes were set on Rin, his entire world and entire being focused on her. The sight of her clung to his heart, causing his chest to feel heavy and hot and he wanted to cry. As Len locked his gaze on her, he could see a hint of anxiety on her face, similar to his own. He longed to break from this dreadful conversation, hurry to her side, and take her into his arms to ease her pain. At that moment, Len had not known that Earl Kagamine followed his gaze.

"Ah, there's Lord Kaito and his fiancee with their parents."

Just like that, Len was snapped back to reality, still slightly trembling. He had not known at first that Kaito was standing with his parents and Rin with hers, but with Earl Kagamine's notice, he slowly began to register the people standing around her. Before he knew it, gazes were interlocked and the six of them were approaching, walking through the crowd of lavish clothing. Len's knees buckled and he nearly fell to the ground.

Even though smiles were painted on faces, the air between the nobles was extremely tense and forced. They skeptically glanced at each other, as if there were some hidden secret or motive they were trying to discover from each other. Baron Shion was the first to speak,

"Earl Kagamine, such a pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is mine as always, Baron Shion. So good to see your son here as well." With that Len relucantly looked towards Kaito, expecting to see some shallow, obligatory smile, but instead it was of a much different nature. It had more life in it, yes, but it radiated a sense of complete haughtiness to Len.

"Len, where is Lady Miku?" Kaito asked, seemingly straining his face to appear concerned.

"She's... not feeling well tonight."

"I see..." Len saw a strange expression on Kaito's face as he breathed the words.

"I see you've brought your fiance," Earl Kagamine observed, but he did not take one glance at Rin. Instead, he was staring directly at Earl Kagami and his wife, "I do hope we can forget our past differences."

"Indeed," Earl Kagami muttered straining his face a little, "That would be beneficial since our families will be somewhat closer together now." Earl Kagami reached his hand towards Earl Kagamine.

"I don't think you've met my son, Len Kagamine. He is to wed Duke Hatsune's daughter."

Earl Kagami moved his hand toward Len to take hold of. Len glanced toward Rin, who stared back pleadingly, urging him to speak. Len knew what she was trying to ask of him and the thought of it simply suffocated him. Something seemed to leap up into his throat so he could not speak. All noise around him seemed to muffle into some faded buzzing as his chest gradually began to rise and fall harder. His tongue dry, he stared into Earl Kagami's eyes, sweat running down his forehead. The only thing that broke him from his daze was his father loudly clearing his throat. Palms nearly sweating, Len took the outstretched hand.

"It's a pleasure."

Len paused for a moment, debating whether or not to continue speaking. After a few moments of dryness in his throat and the bead of sweat that rolled down his brow, Len exhaled and freed his hand from Earl Kagami's. In the corner of his eye, he could see Rin exhale and close her eyes half out of relief but half shaken up. The next moment, music had begun to waltz through the air and the nobles all moved at once, releasing hidden stiffness.

"Shall we meet at another time, then? Perhaps over tea tomorrow?"

"I have no objections." Duke Hatsune replied.

"And neither do I." Earl Kagami added.

"It's always a pleasure to meet with you." Baron Shion finished.

"Excellent, then tomorrow at noon, then."

With that, Earl Kagamine held out his hand to his wife, who had took hold of it with a recounted motion and disappeared off into the growing crowd of dancers. Baron Shion, Earl Kagami, and Duke Hatsune followed suit, leaving Len alone with Kaito and Rin standing before him.

Rin and Len gazed at each other longingly as if they would never get a second chance in the world. Yet Len still wore the mask of the facade, even though it tore at his soul. He tried to tell her without speaking that he was sorry, that his voice was silenced in his weakness. Rin had unconsciously placed a hand over her belly and Len could see an evident fear growing in her eyes. He fought back the urge to scream when he realized he couldn't take her into his arms, smooth her hair, or gently caress her with his breath.

"Now, if you will excuse us," Kaito nearly snickered, "Until later, then."

Rin was pulled toward him as he turned to walk into the crowd of dancers. She glanced once more at Len, pulling at his heart again before she disappeared into the sea of heads along with her fiance.

When Len was left to himself, his breath gradually became heavier and heavier. His mind raced from one thing to the other, eventually leaving him in a crazed disassortment. Something within his chest was constraining, feeling like someone was gripping his heart and squeezing mercilessly. After the pain had got its place, a chill that felt like pins and needles raced up Len's spine and to his head, leaving him nauseated. The people around him quickly turned into blurred figures moving back and forth and the music that played sounded like some hellish lullaby.

"Are you all right?" He heard a voice ask that he could not place who.

"I just... need a breath of air..." Len responded to the nameless voice before hurrying off.

Gripping the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, Len stumbled around trying to find the way to enter the courtyard. The more the crowd grew, the more he suffocated until he had finally found something that resembled a doorway into a garden. He plunged himself out into the night and, now trembling, stumbled toward a fountain in front of him. Leaning forward, placing his hands on its marble ledge, Len finally lost control of his breathing.

He coughed at first before it had escalated into moans and then weeps. Finally out of the presence of others, Len tore off his aristocratic mask and twisted his face into that of a very frightened man.

"I can't do this..." He breathed, "I can't do this... I can't do this... I can't do this...!"

Never had his father or any of the other nobles appeared more intimidating than at that moment. It seemed to Len that no matter how strong he made himself appear, his father, Baron Shion, Duke Hatsune, and Earl Kagami would still be able to break him like glass. Even Kaito appeared colder and more strange imagine the lashes that awaited him when he would speak out of his love with Rin, let alone the child she bore within her. At that though, Len's stomach churned and he heaved some empty substance.

"Len...?"

When the sweet, dulcet tones had chimed in his ears, the tears could not be stopped from forming in his eyes. He turned around to see her dark figure against the light of the hall inside. Still slightly bent over, Len reached out toward her, his lips trembling. It was then that Rin moved toward him, engulfing herself completely in the moonlight. She took hold of Len's hand and moved her other to his wet cheek. Breathing heavily along with him, she loosed her hand from his fingers and stroked her palm along his back.

"Rin, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't..." Len's face twisted again and he lowered his head to her shoulder.

"Shhh..." Rin cooed, still a little panicked herself, moving her fingers through his hair, "I know, this is a very hard thing to do..."

Len started moving his lips again, but was murmuring something incomprehensible.

"Len." Rin said a little more firmly, moving both her hands to his cheeks, so that he could face her eye-to-eye, "You have to face it."

One more tear escaped Len's eye and trailed down Rin's thumb, "We can just run away... Just flee from all this..."

"Remember that night when I told you about our child, Len? Didn't you say you weren't going to run anymore?"

Len closed his eyes and even though his breaths were still heavy, they gradually slowed. Then slowly and shakily, but very lovingly he moved his hands to Rin's sides, stroking her until his palms rested on the small of her back. Rin responded by moving forward so that her forehead touched his.

"Truth shouldn't be hidden. It shouldn't be in the darkness, but in light. So do not hid your love for me any longer and face your father."

"But I'm afraid what will happen to us..."

"I'm scared, too... Believe me, I'm scared." Rin's arms found their way around Len's back and squeezed, "But no matter what chilling winds may blow, no matter what stormy waters may flood... no matter what happens, I will always have the same heart for you as I do now." She set a chaste kiss on his cheek, "I will always love you."

Len clung a little tighter to Rin, drawing her ever closer.

"It will be all right, no matter how long it takes. We just need to have faith and believe that through thorny ways, we can find a joyful end. It's not forbidden for us to have this feeling for each other, right?"

Rin did not get a moment to breath after because after she finished speaking, Len had taken her lips. A warmth he had been longing for suddenly overtook him and anything that ached in his body now became soothed. Rin's hear traced faster and faster as Len drew her in deeper, moving his tongue along her lips. Their breath colliding, Len ended the kiss by closing his mouth on Rin's bottom lip and slowly pulling away to look into her eyes. Smiling briefly, Len then leaned forward once more, this time to brush his lips across her cheek, letting his mouth linger over her ear for a moment.

"Before I met you, it was like I had never seen the sky. However, when I saw your face, all of that changed and I will never forget that moment." He then hovered over her neck, "I will always love you, too."

Len held Rin closer to him as if he wouldn't feel her warmth if she was any farther. The air that had separated his lips from the skin of her neck diminished as he trailed down farther and father almost to her collarbone. Rin's fingers gradually found themselves entangling with the locks of his golden hair, breathing against him.

Oh, how Len longed to simply remain here, holding Rin in his arms with the satisfaction of their sweet declarations of love to one another. He wished that they would need nothing else to live and that the world that lay just beyond the doors would only disappear. But as Rin and Len pulled back from each other, gazing into the other's eyes, they both knew that their happiness came at a price. And because they loved each other, they were willing to pay anything to reach their heaven.

In the darkness, they remained for a little longer soon to return to the party taking place. However, it wasn't long until someone had noticed their unusually long absence.

Just after another waltz had drifted to an end, Kaito bowed to the lady he had partnered with as she curtsied back. Then, as if they had never knew each other in the first place, parted to enjoy the party in their own way. It was shortly afterward that Kaito noted that Rin had been away from his presence for a considerable amount of time. He began looking for her, muttering darkly to himself, eyes seeking the room as the next song began to play. Even with his particular searching, he could not find her. Instead of being frustrated with her behavior, he grew to be suspicious. Then finally, he saw her pass underneath the doors that led out somewhere, making her way back into the hall. Kaito walked in her direction, and somewhere along the way, they had met each other in the middle of the room.

"There you are."

"Pardon my—"

"You were absent for much longer than your usual amount of time." Kaito interrupted, "Where did you go?"

"I was getting a breath of fresh air."

Kaito paused, "I see. Well, as my fiance you should not deviate from me for too long."

Rin turned her head and scowled as he held out his arm to her to grasp. He pulled her forward to dance, staring down at her with a stone face. Rin looked back at him with an equally cold expression, unwillingly following his feet to the music being played. When Kaito couldn't take her stare any longer, he began to focus on other things around. One of which was the sight of Earl Kagamine in the corner of his eye. It was at that moment that he realized something else.

"Have you seen Len anywhere?"

"...No, I have not."

Rin's words echoed in Kaito's mind for a long moment afterward. He studied her expression closely, as if it would hold more words than what she had uttered. Rin looked away, though, glancing at the other dancers around her, as if already looking for a new partner. Only just a few moments later did he notice Len walking towards the center of the dance floor.

A/N: So for sure NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST CHAPTER. I promise. XD I'm in the middle of writing it now. And then there's an epilogue. Anyway, please review!