DISCLAIMER: I don't own Vocaloid. Too bad, so sad.

Chapter 4

Rin's POV:

"Ok, people, school's dismissed, so…LET'S GET TO WORK!" Luka yelled happily.

"Our task is tending all of the plants on campus today," Neru explained. "There are six of us, so I think that we should split up into groups of two. Each group gets its own part of the school, and is responsible for all of the plants there. How about I write down all of our names down on paper, and do a drawing to randomly pick our partners? That way, there will be no arguing about who gets to work with whom."

Everyone nodded while grabbing their plant-tending tools. Our task was to water the flowers, cut shrubs, plant some new seeds, and pick up litter.

"Here are the pairings." Neru announced. "They are Luka-chan and Gackupo-kun, Miku-chan and I, and Rin-chan and Len."

The late afternoon sunlight made the water sparkle as it trickled out of Kagene-san's watering can, onto the fresh, glinting soil. My heavy shovel made a dull thud as it dug into the dirt, and I carefully planted the seeds as neatly as possible.

"…"

"…"

"Um, Kagamine-san…" Kagene started shyly.

"Y-yes?" I responded, just as shyly.

"I-I wanted to apologize for that day. You know, when said that you knew me, and I brushed you off. S-sorry, I guess I was a little rude." She stammered.

"O-oh! I'm sorry too. I thought you were… someone I used to know. When I saw you again, I thought you were annoyed with me." I replied truthfully.

Kagene set down her watering can, and turned around to face me. "Well…I was really nervous, since it was my first day going to a real school. And, well…I know it sounds really dumb, but…I read this novel about a shy girl who went a new school, and met this group of popular, and the most popular girl and guy bullied her, and-"

Dropping the shovel, I burst out laughing so hard that I clutched my stomach and gasped for air. Kagene-san hesitated for a second, and then joined in. We laughed for a few minutes, then eventually stopped and went back to work.

"What book was that, though?"

"Hmm…I think I don't remember…I probably read it when I was about six. I only thought of it because the ending was really sad. The girl got so upset that she jumped off the roof of a building."

"Six? You read a book about intense bullying and suicide when you were six?!"

"Um…yeah."

"…"

"I like reading, though…"

"Really? I never knew that."

As the sun set, we finished tending the plants in our area and headed back to the garden. Walking with Kagene in silence, I pondered about her. Since she seemed to read a lot, she must've been extremely intelligent, yet lonely. Kagene was so timid and reserved, yet her eyes were bright and danced energetically. She looked just like that girl from my distant childhood memories…

I used to have a friend many years ago, when I was about five. Because of me, she…no, I couldn't think about it. All I knew was that she and Rin couldn't be the same person. It just wasn't possible. The girl was most likely dead. Even if she was alive, by some microscopic chance, she would hate me with all her heart, for what she went through, thanks to me.

Up to this day, I was still weighed down with immense, grief-stricken feelings. The girl wasn't the only one who had died because of me. There used to be a boy, who was in love with Neru…but they would never see each other again, and it was my fault.

As we came back to the garden, meeting up with everyone else, I forced down my guilty thoughts. Instead, I plastered a smile on my face, like always. My smile was fake. My life and happiness was fake. I was fake! Every day, I would bury the sorrow deep in my heart, and cover it with a thin film of false happiness. I couldn't let Neru see. I had put her through enough already…

Neru…my loving, caring older sister. She didn't deserve a horrible sibling like me. She always acted so kind and mature, like the older sister of everyone in Crypton Club. But I knew that her heart was broken permanently. What had I done to her?

"GUYS, LOOK! RIN-CHAN AND LEN-LEN ARE HERE! NOW WE CAN HAVE LOTS OF FUN TOGETHER!" Kagene and I suddenly found ourselves being strangled by someone with pink hair.

"Yes, let's party, everyone." Gackupo remarked sarcastically behind her. Sitting at the lunch table, next to Neru, he was showing her his cell phone, saying that it was dead. Neru took it and smirked. Two seconds later, she handed the phone right back to him, good as new. She had always had a way with technology.

Miku was sitting across from them, diligently doing her homework. She seemed oddly quiet today, even compared to usual.

The six of us usually did this once every week. We would go around campus, cleaning or tending the plants, and then we would stay in the garden until around 4:00 or 5:00.

One by one, the Crypton members started to leave, until it was just Kagene, Miku, and me.

As the sky started to darken, we sat silently in the middle of the garden, not knowing what to say.

"It seems that Crypton Club always has a lot of work to do, huh?" Kagene joked, tried to break the awkward silence. "This school doesn't hire adults to do the labor, and lets honor-roll prodigy students do it instead?"

I chuckled. "They do hire workers to do the jobs, but…they're not that good. There's always a bunch of leftover work, which is up to Crypton Club to finish. I mean…someone has to look after our campus, right?"

"Oh…that reminds me of a book I read…it was really sad, though…"

"Another one? Please tell me that you didn't read it at six."

"No, I was seven!"

"Big difference!"

As Kagene and I made carefree small talk to each other, Miku stayed silent. Her face had no expression on it, and although she gazed at us, she seemed to be looking at something else.

"Miku-chan, are you okay?" I said.

Miku shrugged. "I guess I'm just a little tired. No problem." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and suddenly, I thought I saw a mark on her lower jaw. It looked like I bruise. I suspected that someone hit Miku, but I couldn't be sure. After all, whenever anyone asked her about her family, she always tried to change the subject.

Kagane-san checked her watch, and gasped. "Oh, it's already dinnertime! I have to leave now. See you on Monday!" Then she turned around and hurried away.

The atmosphere seemed slightly lonely now. Sighing, I sat down on the soft grass, gazing at the blood-red sun. Only half of it could be seen over the dark tree-tops.

The grass rustled as someone sat down beside me, also facing the setting sun. I turned around to face her. Miku-chan rested her head on her palms, and gazed into the distance. Her teal-colored bangs cast dark shadows over her face, so I couldn't see her expression.

"Len-kun…," she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"What…What do you think of Kagene-san?" Miku inquired. She titled her head slightly upward, with her bangs still covering her eyes.

I hesitated, wondering why she would ask a question like this. "...I think that Kagene-san is a nice person. I'm glad that she joined us. She seems like a good friend."

After a brief but awkward silence, Miku abruptly stood up. "It's getting late now, so I should leave. Bye." She turned away from me and swiftly walked away, never showing me her face.

Please review, everyone, and stay tuned for Chapter 5! Thank you!

~Rikasa