I apologize for any and all writing errors. this was written rather hastily.

Twenty chapters! This milestone makes me very happy!

Sorry to RainbowSpaceJelly; I wasn't able to fill your request quite yet. But the next chapter will fit your demands! I promise. I'm actually really looking forward to writing it now!

Now, a bit about Miku's mother - I never intended to give her a name. I find it's a bit easier to sympathize with characters who have names. While a bit of her perspective is explained in this chapter, I don't want people to sympathize with her. Maybe just understand her a bit more. Anyway, I don't think I'll ever give her a name unless I get sick of typing "her mother" or "Miku's mother." Now, then. I think I'm done.

Enjoy!

/

"I'll repeat again," her mother said, a fierce look burning to life in her cold eyes, "where the hell were you?"

Miku found herself unable to speak at the absolute rage she saw dancing just below the surface, covered in a thin sheet of hard ice that served as her mother shield. She hadn't seen much emotion directed towards her in the past. At least, not from her mother. What had brought this on?

"Just at a friend's house," she explained quickly voice rough with fear.

"What gave you the idea that you could just disappear?" the woman demanded. "No texts, no calls, nothing. You could have been dead!"

Like you would've cared much, Miku thought icily. Instead, she said, "But I was fine."

The look on her mother's face twisted into annoyance. "That's no excuse."

What the hell had brought this on? Miku wondered, staring fixedly at the woman who so resembled her yet was so incredibly different it was nearly frightening.

"What gives you the right to suddenly act like my mother?" Miku demanded coldly. The stiffening of her mother's shoulders told her that this was quite the wrong thing to say. Miku didn't really care anymore. This stunt was taking it too far.

"I am your mother," she snapped in reply.

"I'm sorry, really? Because I might have forgotten after those last few years of neglect!" Miku spat in return. Her entire body was trembling and fear fought against her naturally snappish side internally. Despite these things, Miku held her mother's gaze steadily in her own, daring her to speak.

"You say that as though it's my fault," the woman brushed off the retort mildly. Miku wasn't going to let that fly.

"Oh, it's definitely your fault," Miku replied, voice harsh and loud. "What you did was pitiful. I'm supposed to be able to depend on you. Instead, you might as well have been dead for all the attention I got. Why the hell is that okay now?"

"What you did was pitiful!" her mother exclaimed angrily, raising her voice significantly. "It was horrifying and cruel! You're lucky I convinced your father not to kick you out! It's probably what ruined our marriage in the first place!"

That was new. She had never heard about this.

"Then why try?" Miku shouted. "If I've been such a burden and a horror, why try?"

"Because you're my daughter!" she erupted. "Just because you're difficult and violent and uncontrollable doesn't mean we aren't family in the end. I thought that even though I could never look you in the eye, at least you wouldn't go hungry! At least you wouldn't freeze to death!"

"I was starving for affection! I've been left on my own for years! You pushed the duty of both mother and father onto Mikuo! If you won't accept the fact that you've been unfair to me, accept that he's never deserved that!" Miku shot back. She had yet to pull her winter clothes off and was beginning to boil under her various layers. Snow fell from her boots and melted on the floor below. She didn't even care. Leave the mess and let it stew. This problem had been on the burner far too long.

"Mikuo could be trusted!" her mother retorted. "You couldn't!"

Miku kicked off her shoes and stomped past, her school bag clutched close to her chest.

"You should've left me on the streets years ago," she spat. "At least then Mikuo might not be failing school."

With that, she stormed up the stairs and slammed the door hard. With her brain in a fit of rage, she turned to her room, where the only thing not packed up was a sleeping bag that lay across her bed. Everything else was stacked in boxes that had been shoved in a corner as far away from Miku as she could get them. They were as bad as the plague. A symbol of everything Miku despised.

She couldn't see the light at the end of this tunnel.

She was pretty sure there wasn't one.

/

Miku fell asleep on top of her bed with her feet on her pillow and her head on her book. It was cold, as she hadn't managed to pull her sleeping bag over her at any point last night. Her skin was covered in goose bumps and felt cold to the touch.

With a shiver, Miku glanced over to her clock. It was nearly twelve thirty in the afternoon. This alone let her decide whether or not to get up.

Stretching lazily, she stood and smoothed down her wild hair as best she could. There wasn't much hope, but you couldn't blame a girl for trying.

Her head ached and she vaguely remembered crying a few times last night. Whether out of frustration or sadness, she didn't know. It was probably both. She glanced down with tried eyes and realized she had fallen asleep in her school uniform. In that same moment, she realized that yesterday had been her last day of school. The last time she would wear her uniform. And suddenly she never wanted to take it off.

What was left to do, really? Her room was packed. The plane tickets had been bought a while ago. She couldn't fight it anymore, not internally and not externally. She was tired and worn. Sometimes you needed to know when to just sit back and accept something or you'd drive yourself crazy. That was where Miku was at now. She knew there was nothing to do to stop this.

She didn't even know very much German. It was funny to think her mother was fluent in it. She had never bothered teaching her kids. An entire language she would come to understand. That could be interesting, she supposed.

Miku was never very good at looking on the bright side.

Even if I make new friends and manage to get a nice life in Germany, this heartache will take a while to get used to, she determined. Her chest pounded silently and painfully, protesting her imminent departure. It hurt so much. She couldn't do anything to stop it. No bandage or medicine could help her.

She was hurting. And she was alone. Like she had been for years.

/

To those who may be interested, I will be writing a very short sequel to this. While the primary pairing will be PikoxRin, our other characters will show up. Just keep this in mind when I end this story. And don't be mad. It ends happily in the sequel.

...That was kind of a spoiler.

Whatever. Just wanted to tell everyone a bit about it without giving away the whole plot.