Chapter Two

Dear Diary, My New Mother Is . . .

"Big breath, Yuki," Miku told the little girl as they stood outside the apartment door. Yuki wasn't very worried, but Miku looked at her so brightly and expectantly that she found herself taking in a deep breath. Miku rewarded her with a smile, and Yuki gave one in return. "Good girl. Are you ready?"

Yuki nodded, though she didn't understand why Miku was so concerned. Yuki had already met Len. She knew Len would be a great dad, and a great dad had to have a great mom as a wife, right? Yuki already knew her new mother would be spectacular.

"Okay, let's meet her, then," Miku said, drawing herself up to ring the doorbell. After a moment, a girl with a long, pale pink ponytail answered the door. "Hi, I'm Miku Hatsune, Yuki's social worker. Are you Rin Kagamine?"

"No, I'm her friend, Iroha Nekomura," the long-haired girl replied. Yuki was a little disappointed. She would have liked to have such a pretty woman as her mom. "Rin's kind of . . . sick right now."

"Oh," said Miku, a little thrown off for a second. Then, she perked up again. "Well then, is Len here? I'm sure he'd be able to get her to come to the door."

Iroha shifted uncomfortably. Yuki watched her curiously. She could tell something was wrong. It was obvious that Iroha was keeping something from the social worker, but, when Yuki looked up at the teal-haired girl, there was no sign that Miku had noticed anything off.

"No, Len isn't here," replied Iroha. "I can get Rin for you, though."

"Please, if you wouldn't mind," said Miku, bowing her head politely.

Iroha took a few steps away from the entryway and called into the apartment, "Um, Rin, I need you."

"I'm not coming," a voice called back hoarsely. Yuki frowned. The woman's voice was so hoarse. She must have been very sick. Yuki could help her feel better, though. Yuki was a great cook. She could make some yummy warm soup to soothe her new mom's throat.

"I'm sorry," Iroha mumbled embarrassedly to Miku and Yuki. Yuki followed Miku's lead and smiled reassuringly at Iroha before the pink-haired girl called in the room, "Rin, just get over her, please."

It was quiet for moment, then the sound of Rin dragging her feet across the floor was heard. Yuki trembled, both nervous and excited. She wondered what her new mother would be like. She was sure she'd be just as pretty as Iroha. Yuki stared at Iroha, who smiled uncertainly at her as she watched the room where Rin would be entering from anxiously.

When Rin entered, Yuki could do nothing but stare. Rin was just as beautiful as she had imagined. Sure, she had red imprints on her face and the bottoms of her arms—from where, Yuki couldn't be sure—and her short blonde hair stuck out at odd angels, and her eyes were very bloodshot, and there were dark bags under those blue eyes, and her clothes were crinkled and sloppy, and her hair was darkened from grease, showing that she probably hadn't had a bath in a few days, but, to Yuki, she was still absolutely beautiful. Yuki understood immediately why Len loved her so much.

Yuki shifted nervously when Rin's gaze fell on her for a moment. She wondered what Rin thought of her. Miku had helped her choose a cute outfit, a light blue shirt with a big flower and a flowing white skirt, along with hair ties that each had a pretty blue flower to tie her hair into pigtails, so that Rin and Len would be happy to see how cute their new daughter was, but she was suddenly wondering if it didn't look as cute as she thought it had when she'd seen herself in the mirror earlier, because Rin didn't look impressed.

Rin's eyes fell to Miku after what couldn't have been more than a second, but Yuki's cheeks and ears had bloomed bright red as she'd tried to analyse Rin's reaction, or lack thereof, when she saw Yuki.

"Rin Kagamine, hi!" Miku chittered excitedly, offering her hand to Rin. Rin gazed at it suspiciously. Yuki watched Rin, confused. Why wasn't Rin shaking her hand? The blonde woman did, after a moment, but not until Iroha prodded her with a kick to the ankle. Yuki suppressed a giggle when she saw Rin glare at Iroha. They must have been good friends. Yuki hoped she would have a good friend like that one day. "I'm Miku Hatsune, Yuki's social worker. We're happy to say that all the paperwork has gone through and, after your long wait, you and Len Koyama are now Yuki's legal guardians."

Yuki watched her foster mother eagerly, waiting for Rin's reaction. But Rin just stared at Miku like this was a complicated math problem. "Snowing?" Rin wondered. "But it's summer."

Yuki giggled, though no one noticed. The adults were too concentrated on Rin to notice her. Rin was funny. "Yuki" meant snow, so she'd made a silly joke, maybe to try to make Yuki feel more comfortable. Iroha and Miku didn't get it, though.

"She said Yuki," Iroha told Rin. "It means snow."

Rin's gaze fell on Yuki. Yuki offered a smile, but it faltered when Rin spoke again. "Why should I care?"

Yuki froze, a partial smile still on her face. Why should she care? But Rin was going to be her new mother, right? Was she making another joke?

Yuki turned her head to Miku as her social worker spoke. "Why? You're her legal guardian, Rin!"

Then, she whipped around to look back at Rin as Rin shook her head. "No I'm not. I've never even seen her before."

Yuki turned back to Miku. "But Len—"

Then to Rin. "Len is dead, okay? Never mention him again."

This time, Yuki didn't turn back to Miku when the woman spoke. She stared at Rin as Miku gasped, "Len is . . . dead?"

Len was dead? Len, her new father, the man who had come to visit her so many times in her life, the only consistent face she knew, the only face that wasn't gone after a month or two? The man who'd promised to get her out of foster care? The man who had been the first person to say that he loved her and wanted to keep her forever? The man who'd promised her happiness with him and his fiancée?

Len was dead?

After Iroha sent Rin away, Yuki didn't hear most of what happened. Miku and Iroha were deep in a serious conversation, but Yuki's mind was stuck on Len. She wanted to cry, but she wouldn't. After all, Rin had to be in more pain. Yuki glanced over to where Rin had left. Maybe she could help Rin. That's what Len would want her to do, right? He loved Rin with all his heart, so he'd want her to be happy. Yuki waved goodbye to Miku when she and Iroha seemed to come to an agreement and let Iroha guide her into the apartment.

Rin had dug herself into the couch. That must've been where all those red imprints had come from. Rin and Iroha argued for a moment, but Yuki's mind was still elsewhere. She was too busy wondering what she could do to make things better for Rin. She wanted to do all she could to make Rin happy, and that was all she thought about until Iroha caught her attention.

"Okay, honey, let's go unpack, alright? I know which room will be yours."

Yuki smiled up at Iroha, who smiled brightly at her in return. Then, the woman, who had been stooping down to the girl's level, straightened herself up and offered a hand to Yuki. Yuki took it and let Iroha walk her over to one of two rooms and bring her inside. Yuki was a little thrown off by the Western style of the room.

"Rin's half French," Iroha explained to her. "And Len's half German. They decided to make their house more Western style to honour that since pretty much everything else they do in Japanese."

"Oh," Yuki murmured. She looked up at Iroha and wondered quietly, "What about you? Why is your hair pink?"

Iroha blinked at her, then she smiled. "Your voice is adorable, Yuki-chan. Maybe if Rin hears that voice of yours, she'll fall in love with you and your adorableness."

Yuki looked at her curiously. "Is my voice really that cute?"

"Of course it is!" Iroha informed her. "Anyway, to answer your question, my hair has always been pink, but I'm still a full-fledged Japanese. Who knows why my hair's so odd? Now, why don't we unpack your stuff, and I have some cute Hello Kitty stuff you can borrow, too, okay?"

"Okay," Yuki replied.

"I'm here most of the time, too, to take care of Rin, so you'll be seeing a lot of me, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do you know where your school is?"

"Yes."

"That's good. Well, I'll be home by the time you get back. I work from home in the afternoon."

"Okay."

"Rin works later than that, though, so she won't be home till later. But she works at home most days so you don't have to worry about that."

"Okay."

Iroha smiled at the girl, who was a little flustered from all of her attention. Iroha stretched and, with a huge yawn, said, "Well, I'm going to go reheat dinner, then we'll all eat, okay?"

"Okay."

Iroha rolled her eyes and tapped the girl lightly on the head. "If you don't learn more words, I'm gonna be mad, goof." She giggled at Yuki's confused expression and said, "Unpack your bag for now, okay? You can just throw my stuff into the hallway and I'll deal with it later."

Yuki watched her go and then gazed around the room. She looked at her tiny suitcase. This room seemed too big. She'd never have enough stuff to fill it. Did normal girls have enough stuff to fill a room like this?

. . .

"Good morning, Yuki-chan!" Iroha called as she entered the kitchen the next morning.

Yuki jumped, and the octopus sausage she'd been making nearly fell to the ground. She smiled at Iroha and stuttered, "G-good morning."

"What are you doing up so early?" Iroha questioned. "It's still dark out."

"Bentos," was all Yuki mumbled in response before turning back to her cooking.

"Bentos?" Iroha questioned, coming to watch over Yuki's shoulder. Yuki resisted the urge to giggle. Standing on a stool, Yuki was only a few inches shorter than Iroha. "Wow, those look good! You woke up to make your own bento? I would have made one for you, honey."

"I made one for you and Rin, too," Yuki mumbled embarrassedly. "Len liked it when I made bentos."

Yuki squeaked in shock as Iroha's arms wrapped around her. "Yuki-chan, you're adorable! You're such a sweet little girl! I want you to be my daughter instead!"

"Shut up, Iroha!" snapped Rin as she stormed into the room, still wearing her clothes from yesterday. "I have a headache!"

"That's your own fault for substituting the yummy dinner I made for frozen saké!" Iroha retorted, pouting at her. "Now I'm going to sing a beautiful song to make you suffer!"

"I. Hate. You," Rin hissed, turned around and leaving the room.

"Boo, Rin," Iroha called after her.

Rin shouted something that Yuki didn't hear because Iroha swiftly covered her ears. Yuki was a little disappointed that Rin hadn't noticed the bentos, but she returned to the cooking all the same, and Iroha helped her. Yuki was grateful. She'd never quite been able to make nice rice balls, and Iroha's were perfect, even though they turned out as Hello Kitty's head each time. When they finished, Iroha kissed Yuki on the forehead and thanked her. She then rushed off, apologizing as she informed the girl that she'd be late for work if she didn't run.

Yuki watched Iroha go, frozen, and looked at the clock. Her own school started in about half an hour, but there was a problem. Sure, she knew where it was, but she had no idea how to get there.

"You."

Yuki jumped, startled by Rin's harsh voice. She tried to smile for her guardian, but that only seemed to annoy Rin more, so she let it fall and stared at the woman.

"Don't you have school?" Rin wondered.

"Y-yes," stammered Yuki. "But I—"

"Speak up," Rin commanded, glaring at the girl. "I can't hear you over this stupid ringing."

Yuki didn't hear any ringing, but she forced her voice louder, anyway. "I don't know how to get there. Could you . . . could you take me?"

"No," was all Rin replied, turning away. "Figure it out yourself."

Yuki opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. She'd get lost if she went looking for it, she knew that. Maybe she'd better just stay home today. She could have Iroha walk her to school tomorrow, right?

A part of her wanted Rin to walk her, though.

"I'm going to be working, so don't bother me," Rin told her, beginning to leave.

"W-wait!" Yuki shouted.

Rin cringed and covered her ears, shooting Yuki a deadly glare. Yuki bowed her head and murmured an apology. Then, she said, "I-I made you a bento, for when you get hungry."

Rin stared at her for a moment. Then, she walked away without a word of response. Yuki watched her go. Unsure what else to do with herself, she started cleaning up the mess she'd made while cooking. She glanced up at the clock a few times as she worked until, finally, it warned her that she should have been at school by this time. She sighed and returned to her chores, wondering what else there was she could do that might make Rin happy.

Author's Note: Mm, not much to say about this chapter. Well, if you didn't catch on, Iroha actually kind of lives at Rin's apartment (she has her own home, too, she just doesn't go there very often). And the room she gave Iroha was her own room. Okay, that's all. Hope you liked it! Please review!