Chapter Fifteen

-Rin-

"So you want me to help you babysit?" I ask Gumi, my eyes boring disdainfully into hers.

"Do you want money… or not?" she asks deviously. I swear, I can hear her cackle. "I mean, look Rin. Who exactly are you going to do neighborhood work for? You don't know anyone except Kaito and Len, and of course there's Piko… but I mean, his house looked pretty neat, and his grass is cut pretty nicely," she says, examining her nails.

"Fine," I growl. She looks up at me suddenly.

"Wait, seriously? That's all it took?" she asks, tilting her head. I roll my eyes.

"This is only to pay off this vacation, okay. Oh, and by the way, if we get any little, little kids, I'm not touching any diapers," I warn, raising a finger.

"Fine. I'll handle the little kids," she agrees, not wanting to pick a fight. Smart, Gumi, smart… "But look, I've already talked to this nice lady a couple minutes down the street and she's already looking for someone to babysit her son. I would tell you his name, but I kind of forgot it," she shrugs.

"That's helpful," I retort, staring out the window at the yellow bird that flies by.

"What?" she frowns, "Sorry. You know Rin, lighten up. Something tells me that you're not going to be very good around kids if you keep up with that attitude of yours," she warns in a singsong voice. I narrow my eyes.

"Fine, jeez," I mutter. But she's right. Kids don't like me. I guess it's all good though, since I don't like kids either. I have no idea why I even agreed to this job. "Can we just go to this person's house already?" I ask.

"Come on Rin, the lady needs us over there at seven, not now. We've still got a while to wait," Gumi says.

"Yeah, yeah," I growl, "Just call me when it's time."

As soon as we get to the house, Gumi is the first to get out of the car. "Alright," she smiles, "Rin, you'd better not get us in trouble." I roll my eyes as Gumi presses the doorbell. I tap my foot as we wait.

Suddenly, the door swings open and a woman who looks to be in her thirties appears. She smiles as she sees us. "Hello, which one of you ladies is Gumi Megpoid?" she asks, eyeing both of us. Gumi steps out.

"Hello. That would be me," she grins, reaching out to shake the woman's hand. The woman's face (I must admit, she looks quite lovely with her kind, soft face and beautiful blonde curly hair) breaks out into a smile, revealing her sparkling white teeth.

"And you must be…" she asks me.

"Hi. I'm Rin Kagamine," I reply.

Suddenly, she inhales with a piercing, choked gasp. She begins breathing incredibly heavily as her blue eyes widen as she shakes her head in disbelief. She grasps onto the walls around the doorway in support as she begins to lose her balance. "R-Rin… Kagamine?" she asks in a torn voice. She clutches her neck right under her throat, making an attempt to steady herself.

"I'm sorry, a-are you okay, ma'am?" I ask, my lips parting in fear.

"Rilliane Rose Kagamine … Do you remember me?" she asks, holding her breath. I take a step back.

"H-How do you know my full name… ma'am…?" I ask suddenly, gasping unsurely, part of me wanting to ask more. She hesitates.

"Don't bother with ma'am. Call me mom, if you will. Here, come in, there's a lot we need to explain," she sighs, asking me to follow her in. "I think your father and I should probably just cancel our movie," she says, shaking her head. "Gumi, I think it'd be best if you were to go home," she sighs, placing a hand on her shoulder. She nods awkwardly, exiting out of the door.

I follow the strange woman into the living room. What does she mean, she's my mother? My real mother is doing just fine raising me. And sure, this strange woman looks a lot like me, but that doesn't mean we're related in any way! But… she did know my full name… so what! She could easily be some creepy stalker.

"Rin, come meet your brother," she says, directing me into the living room. Sitting on the couch is a small boy who faces away from me. He has short blonde hair like mine. As he turns around, I stumble back in horror as I realize something-

Wrapped over his left eye is a pair of bandages… bloodstained… hiding his face… His shock-stricken face…

"You…" I gasp hoarsely, "It's you! The kid who was kicking my seat on the airplane," I suddenly say, biting my lip to prevent any outbursts. His eyes widen. Suddenly, I turn to the woman. "You mean this baka is spose'd to be my brother?" I shout, clenching my fists.

"Rin… I know this is a lot to take in," says the woman.

"Look, how do I know this isn't all just some lie?" I cry, narrowing my eyes, "You're not even my mother! I have two perfectly good parents sitting at home right at this very moment!"

"Rei and Rui Kagamine," the woman starts, "Are not your birth parents. Allen and I are," she tells me, "Here, have a seat." I sit down, following her command quietly. How does she know this…? She's not my real mother, I tell myself. "Allen!" she calls up the stairs. I hear footsteps come rushing down as a large man walks quickly into the room. The little boy with the bandages turns around and turns off the television as I sit in silence.

"You called me… Allen," he says, fixing his ruffled brown hair.

"I know. This is important," she says, in between clenched teeth. "Rin Kagamine is here," says the woman.

"Ann…" the man gasps, eyeing me in horror. "You mean… you brought her here?" he shouts.

"No, she showed up on her own, Al!" replies Ann hastily, sitting down next to me. "Now please show her some comfort. She's probably really confused."

"How much did you tell her?" Al asks, crossing his arms and sitting down on the couch across from Ann and me.

"I just want to know how I ended up like this! With different parents… and things like that!" I glare, shaking my head, still not understanding of the entire situation. It only comes together as a jumble of ideas in my head- irrational.

"Well," Al starts, "I guess it started when Ann and I met in college. We fell in love the moment we laid eyes on each other," he says, his eyes sparkling as he looks into hers.

"But… I guess my father didn't like Al, and well… I was forced to marry someone else… Leon," Ann shudders between clenched teeth. "Leon and I… only wanted one child, but it turned out… Rin, you were born in a pair of twins," she tells me. "We knew that we couldn't handle both of you at once, with the money that we had, and well…" she trails off. "We couldn't choose just one of you to pick, and so we put both of you up to adoption," she finishes quietly, not meeting my eyes.

"I-I was a… twin?" I ask. "What's that supposed to mean?" I whisper, my eyes wide at the sudden thought.

"Well, you were born Rilliane Rose Adams. Your twin brother was Allen Carter Adams Jr.," she tells me.

"W-Was…?" I ask quietly.

"Well, I guess it would be is, still, right Ann?" asks Al. I sigh in relief. "He's still alive and well, or at least… we think he is… we haven't really been keeping in contact with you two… it's just been too hard to think about… how it would change your lives," he says, resting his face in his palm.

"Well, like I was saying," Ann says, "We couldn't keep both of you, and so we put you two up for adoption," she says, her voice cracking as her blue eyes fill with sadness, "So, we um… we shortened your names to Rin and Len… to make you guys seem more casual and appealing, and well…"

"Excuse me?" I cut her off with a gasp, "You said Rin… and Len?" I ask. She nods her head. "Len… I–I know him! L-Len Kagamine…" I whisper, standing up. Ann places a hand on my shoulder, motioning for me to sit down.

"You do?" asks Al, leaning forward. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah… But he won't be after I tell him… Ann, what happened next?" I ask. Why do we have the same last names now… Why aren't we still twins?

"Well, it turns out, you two were adopted separately. You were adopted by your current parents, Rei and Rui. I guess it turned out okay, though, because Rei's brother and his wife decided to adopt Len," she informs me.

"So… that makes Len and me… cousins now?" I ask, piecing together her information. "But… if you supposedly didn't have enough money to raise both Len and I, then why is that kid here?" I demand, pointing to the boy with the bandages.

"Well, Leon and I didn't really think that things were working out between us… and we divorced. So, I talked to my father, and he agreed to let me marry Al," she answers, her lips curving into a smile toward Al across from us. "We both had enough money to raise another kid, and… that's Oliver," she answers. I swallow.

"So… you two are my birth parents… and Oliver… is my brother… and Len Kagamine… is my twin, a-and…" I repeat as they nod slowly after each fragment. Len Kagamine… is my twin brother, I repeat in my head. Twin brother… Len… Kagamine… Suddenly, my eyes widen as I realize the one thing that tears my heart into shreds. Rin… you can't love him. It's not right… You have to tell him… Now.

Ah~, poor Rin. So... she finally found out the truth. If you were Rin, would you believe it even after this long? Quote time! "But... if you supposedly didn't have enough money to raise both Len and I, then why is that kid here?" - Rin

I really liked writing this chapter (haha, I probably had more fun writing it than you did reading it). Just to clear things up a little just in case it might have confused you:

Rin: well, Rin
Sweet Ann: Rin's birth mother
Big Al: Rin's birth father after re-marriage
Leon: Rin's birth father before re-marriage
Len: Rin's twin brother from birth, and cousin from adoption
Oliver: Rin's younger brother from birth after re-marriage
Rei: Rin's father since adoption
Rui: Rin's mother since adoption
Rinto: Len's father since adoption
Lenka: Len's mother since adoption
Ashrox37: An awesome writer, eh? Nah, just kidding :P