I am so soooooooorrrrrry, guys. I haven't been having a very good time lately. Nothing too serious and nothing I'd like to share, but it's interfered with my productivity. Just a few things to say before I conclude this little author's note

Yoshida is the last name I use for Mayu in all my stories. So yes, the Mayu mentioned in this chapter is in fact the Vocaloid.

Over fifty reviews! I may or may not have squealed when I saw that. I leave that up for you to guess. I'm really sorry if I didn't respond to anyone. I'm not good at remembering who I've responded to or not.

Done! You may now read if you wish!

/

But the fact that she was happy changed nothing. Actually, it seemed coming to Len's school was a horrible, horrible idea. There were demons lurking there that Miku could never guess at. One demon in particular.

Yoshida Mayu. Age sixteen, blond, caramel eyes, and a liking for rabbits. Those were not the things one primarily noticed about Mayu, however. Her wheelchair was a much more obvious feature. She knew that's what people saw when they looked at her; not the lovely young girl with bright eyes and a smile unrivaled by many, but the thing that marked as different. The thing that marked her as broken.

Her legs had been damaged severely in middle school after an accident her last year there. One of her legs had been broken; the other had been destroyed. Both the result of a heavy desk smashing down on her. Even if her legs had fared better, walking would have been near impossible with a broken spine, a result of being thrown against a windowsill and landing at a very awkward angle. Those odds had been stacked against her, no matter how hard any doctor tried.

It was her own fault, anyway. Though she regretted the mistakes leading up to the incident, she wouldn't get the use of her legs back. Mayu saw it as her punishment for the sin committed in middle school. Others might pity her, but she saw no reason for such pity. She pitied the one who had ruined her body and she hoped that the person who had done it never felt the need to do something like that again.

Of course, when she saw that person again on Friday after school, she was at a loss for a reaction. Mayu had never expected to see the girl again, let alone come face to face with her. There they were, though. Not ten feet away. The girl had but to turn her face thirty degrees to the left and spot Mayu. What would happen after that was anyone's guess.

When that situation arose, Mayu was not surprised.

In the middle of talking very quietly and personally to the blond girl she was entangled with, Hatsune Miku glanced over and froze. In that moment, there was no one but them; two girls, two former enemies, once again faced with the other. And neither could deny the fear they felt when their eyes met.

The blond girl Hatsune was with noticed her distress, pulling her face back around to her own. Mayu recognized the girl, though could not put a name to her face. Honestly, she looked like Kagamine Len's twin or something. Not that Mayu cared enough about the idol to know exactly what he looked like, but it was near impossible to get online and not see something relating to the idol. So of course Mayu knew what he looked like.

"What's wrong, Mi-chan?" the blond asked, a serious expression on her face. Mayu could see Miku's face at an angle now, not directly, but she knew that the look on her pretty features clearly read terror. Quite honestly, Mayu felt the same. Though she really couldn't believe Miku would be scared. After all, Hatsune Miku was the toughest, strongest girl she had ever encountered. Why would she still be afraid of Mayu after so long?

"It's nothing," the teal-haired teen replied in a whisper, though no one was fooled. Her eyes were a bit unfocused, staring off to the side where Mayu stood.

"Tell me what's wrong," the blond repeated, forcing her to look back at her by placing both hands on the sides of her face. It was a delicate, loving gesture, though Miku wanted no part of it.

"I'm fine," Miku said a bit more forcefully, though her voice still trembled. "I-" she stopped herself from continuing, shaking her head loosely. "Nothing, It's nothing," she echoed herself quietly.

This is so wrong, Mayu thought as she continued to watch this scene. I thought Hatsune Miku would be fine by now. It's been years. Besides, she left us pretty beaten down. She has no reason to be afraid of me anymore. For God's sake, I'm in a wheelchair! Mayu wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or flattered that someone still found her terrifying in her current state.

But Mayu was no longer cruel. Mayu knew her pride was pretty much damaged beyond repair. Not only that, but Mayu felt as though she deserved what Hatsune had done. Granted, she didn't like being stuck in a wheelchair, but sometimes no amount of repentance could fix a mistake. If Hatsune, who had been a strangely quiet and peaceful girl during the time Mayu knew her, had been driven to such extremes, then she surely was at fault here.

The blond stared down at Hatsune with a look of intense observation on her face. Quietly, she forced the teal haired teen to look back at her with a single finger on her chin.

"It's never just nothing with you, Mi-chan," she stated. Hatsune glanced away, off to the side. Her gaze found Mayu's again, both quietly stuck in the same moment from the past.

Mayu didn't want to remember those things she connected with Miku. She just couldn't. But some things should be addressed directly and Mayu had spent years avoiding the issue. Hell, she moved across the city to avoid it, changing schools and making damn sure none of her old classmates would be there with her. That's what shame will do to a person, she supposed. Mayu was done with shame. Mayu wanted nothing more than to let the memory of Hatsune Miku rest comfortably. Now was her chance.

With a tremor in her breath and a determined, stony look on her delicate features, Mayu wheeled herself forward, past the two girls the blond seemed to be accompanied by and right up to Miku. The girl hadn't gotten much taller, but Mayu had to look up at her all the same. She had to look up to everyone nowadays. Yet another punishment for looking down on them before.

The blond's face shifted expressions, twisting to confusion. Hatsune's grip on her companion tightened visibly. Mayu felt her own hands clenched around her wheels, skin whitening on her knuckles.

"Hatsune Miku," Mayu breathed her voice rough to her own ears. Those listening in heard soft birdsong, a sweet melody worthy of gods playing just under earshot. Miku's eyes showed clear emotions; fear and pity and regret. The lack of hate nearly froze Mayu. She had pictured this meeting happening but it was nothing like those nightmares she had envisioned. All the things she had prepared for were obviously not going to occur and she didn't know how to react.

"Mayu," Hatsune's voice was just as soft as hers.

She didn't know what else to say. What could someone say in this situation?

Swallowing a poisonous ball of doubt, Mayu did her best to hold those green eyes with her own. "I-" she began, losing the words she had been placing so carefully in her head. There were only two words that could cover everything she wanted to say, so she stuck to those.

"I'm sorry."

Those simple words could never effectively communicate what Mayu really wanted to tell the girl. They were too overused, too cliché and simple. No two words, or ten or even a thousand, could help Mayu dig herself out of the pit she had managed to fall in years ago.

Miku's eyes blinked once, evenly and slowly. When she opened her mouth, Mayu didn't expect to hear what she said in reply.

"Me, too."

Both girls were damaged. Nothing could change that. Nothing could fix that completely. But maybe finally sewing up those wounds would do both some good.

/

It is short. I am aware of this. Next chapter will be started as soon as I finish typing this sentence.