Finally! Finally, a new chapter!

I was revisiting the older chapters and editing them. All of them are slightly longer now, more detailed. If you don't think it's any different, that's okay. But if you think it's better, or worse, please tell me about it? I spent a pretty long time revising them. Thanks. :)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Vocaloid.

Chapter 15

Miku's POV:

Eyes widening in horror, I watched helplessly as my best friend got stabbed in the stomach. Her blood splashed down onto the ground, dying her clothes in scarlet and splattering my face. A sickly metallic scent filled the air.

"IA…no…"

Meito gazed at her body with pleasure, crimson light reflecting in his crazed eyes. He chuckled cruelly.

"LIAR! You wanted to go to that worthless friend of yers, eh? Wanted to call the police? Call them! Call them, and the last thing I'll do is scar yer pretty little face so badly that she'll never wanna look at you again! No, how 'bout I scar her face! I can burn her house and kill her parents!"

Hastily ripping off part of my shirt and attempting to block IA's wound, I snarled at him, "How co-"

He casually wiped his blade on his filthy trousers, trying to get the blood off. It was no use, though; there was far too much.

"Don't say that. You know that it was your fault too, for thinking you could win against me."

The knife had so much blood on it: Mine, IA'S, Len's, and Rin's. Maliciously, it glinted scarlet in the moonlight, as if mocking the sacrifices of my friends.

My face darkened with rage. This man hurt all of my friends. IA, Len, and Rin had tried to help me, but he hurt them. He hurt my friends.

Gently, I laid down IA on the ground and stood up. Meito grinned. "So…you wanna have a go too, eh?"

"There they are!" Someone's voice shouted from the distance.

I swerved around to see two familiar people: a purple-haired boy with a fencing sword and a girl with pink hair. My shoulders drooped with relief. So that's why Rin was using my phone earlier…

Raising his sword, Kamui Gackupo charged towards Meito. Meito lifted his own blood-stained knife, in response. He made a jab at Gackupo's shoulder, but the boy dodged and slashed Meito with his sword.

Rolling underneath Meito's feet, Gackupo made a wide slash towards Meito's face. Meito hissed in pain and clamped a hand over his cheek. He tried to stab Gackupo in the head, but the purple-haired swords master didn't give him a chance to even get close to him.

"Miku…" Luka put a hand on my shoulder quietly. "What happened?"

Growling like an animal, Meito wildly lunged towards Gackupo, who was caught off guard. Meito jumped on top of him and wrestled Gackupo's sword out of his hand. Gackupo head butted Meito and, in one swift motion, retrieved his weapon, barely dodging Meito's sharp stab.

I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was stuck. Tears spilled from my eyes and dropped onto the ground. "I-I…"

Gackupo and Meito were sparring so fast now, that they were almost a blur.

"Don't cry, Miku. Don't cry…"

Gackupo cried out in pain. Blood dripping down his arm, he charged towards Meito, and the two were just a blur again.

Hurriedly, I blinked away my tears, and bent down to examine IA. With horror, I realized that her face was deathly pale. "We…we have to help IA, she-she got stabbed. And Rin and Len…they're hurt, too…"

Luka turned around to see that Gackupo and Meito were at a draw, each of them covered in cuts and bruises. She tossed me her cell phone, and then ran towards the two.

Gackupo was gasping for air, and was clutching his wounded left arm, which had a nasty gash from his shoulder to his elbow. Just as Meito was about to finish him off, Luka came up behind him and kneed him between the legs.

"UGH!" He gagged and growled at her in fury, but couldn't do anything about. As strong as Meito was, he couldn't handle both Gackupo and Luka at once.

Luka expertly feigned a punch towards Meito's head, and he attempted to block it, only to leave his stomach exposed. Before Meito realized what was going on, Gackupo had struck him in the lower abdomen with the hilt of his sword, and Meito sprawled to the ground, sputtering out a mixture of blood and spit.

As Luka attempted to hit him again, Meito suddenly grabbed her by the throat and sqeezed. Choking, Luka tumbled to the ground, allowing Meito to stand up in the process.

"Luka!" Gackupo shouted. Meito briefly glanced at the fencer, but accidentally loosened his grip on Luka. Immediately, the pink-haired girl roughly pushed herself out of his reach, sputtering in pain.

Deftly, Gackupo made a sharp jab at Meito, and managed to stab his side. While Meito winced in pain at the fresh blood that spilled down his already filthy shirt, Gackupo quickly seized him by the head and knocked him down to the ground.

Taking the chance to finish him off, Luka kicked Meito in the side of the head. A sickening crunch sounded, and he abruptly stopped struggling.

Ripping my gaze away from the ghastly sight, I quickly opened Luka's phone and called the police. Then, I called IA's dad, and finally, my mom. As I was talking, I checked on Rin and Len.

Pale and unconscious, Rin was breathing heavily, gritting her teeth in pain. Her ankle was a mess. Completely bent out of its shape and dripping blood, it was the most gruesome sight I had ever seen. For fear of making it worse, I didn't touch it.

Len, on the other hand, was doing even worse. The stab wound in his lower abdomen looked like it was getting bigger. Beneath the torn shirt and pooling blood, I could see his ripped I did with IA, I wrapped Len's wound in some cloth, and looked at him with worry. Brushing aside his messy blonde bangs, I felt Len's forehead, and found out that it was burning hot.

Pursing my lips, I fidgeted nervously. There was nothing I could do. The only thing would be to wait for help to come.

Moving back to IA, I gently brushed her silvery, light blonde hair from her face. "IA…" I whispered.

She didn't seem to be breathing. Shaking her by the shoulders, I said her name again, more loudly. I tried to find her heartbeat, but I couldn't. A wave of panic washed over me, drowning me in terror. "IA!"

No…she can't be…

"IA! Wake up! Wake-"

Suddenly, I saw flashes of light and heard wailing sirens. On top of that noise, there were many footsteps and a loud chorus of voices.

"No…it can't be…"

"Good heavens! Look at the kids!"

"Is that…Is that Meito Sakine?!"

"Are they…are they dead?!"

"Let me through! Let me through, that's my daughter! IA!"

"No! How can this be?!"

"Miku!"

Countless hands tapped me on the shoulder, and then tried to pry me away from IA. Brushing all of them off, I refused, deaf to the chorus of voices that tried to comfort me.

IA…was she alive? Was she dead? No…she couldn't be. She couldn't be dead…

"Come on, Miku-chan…you can't stay there…"

"No."

"Miss, please…"

"No!"

But one hand, warmer and softer than the rest, managed to snap me out of my daze. "Miku…you can't stay here. Neither can IA. C'mon, we have to go."

Slowly, I followed my mother her car, but only after seeing that IA, Rin, and Len were carried into the ambulance. I was so tired, so dazed, that I stumbled and almost fell. But she caught me and held me to her chest.

Stroking my hair, she murmured, "I'm so sorry, sweetie."

Sighing softly, I closed my eyes and relaxed in Mom's arms, feeling safe once again. No matter what happened, I knew that she would be there for me, always.

Before I knew it, I was at the hospital.

"…a few minor scratches and bruises, here and there. Other than that, you're fine."

I looked up at the lined face of Dr. Yowane. He had dark bags under his eyes, and he seemed ten years older than he was supposed to be. Just by looking at him, I could tell that IA, his daughter, was in a critical condition.

He and I were in his office. I was already feeling better, after washing up and putting ice on my bruises.

"If you're worrying about Rin and Len, they're under good care. Rin's ankle is broken, but she'll survive. Len, on the other hand, is having surgery right now, but don't worry. He'll definitely be alright. Luka and Gackupo, by the way, are just being checked up. The three of you can leave tonight, if you want."

Frowning, I opened my mouth to ask how IA was, only to change my mind. Dr. Yowane had already told me about all of my friends' conditions. If he didn't want to talk about IA, I wouldn't press him. She was his daughter, after all.

"Can I…Can I meet them right now? We'll stay in the waiting room." I said.

He considered it for a minute, and then nodded briskly. "Please feel free to tell a nurse if something happens."

Luka sighed. "I hope they'll be alright."

Fidgeting with the bandage wrapped around his bleeding left arm, Gackupo said, "They'll be fine. The doctor said so himself."

I curled up in a tight ball, brow furrowing in concern. "IA, though…"

Gackupo flashed a reassuring grin at me, but I could tell he was worried too. "Well…she's a tough girl. I'm sure she'll-"

The door to of the waiting room clicked open. Dr. Yowane and my mom walked in, talking in low, anxious voices. Luka sprang to her feet instantly. "Mrs. Hatsune!"

Mom gave her a friendly smile, but the warmth didn't completely reach her anxious eyes. She turned back to Dr. Yowane and they continued to talk. I could only catch a few phrases of their conversation.

"…critical condition…"

"…slim chances of surviving…"

"…it was a fatal wound…"

"…doing all we can at the moment…"

After discussing for a few more moments, the doctor nodded curtly to my mother, and left the room. Mom immediately turned towards us, face darkened with worry.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," she said, so quietly that we had to lean in to hear her. "It's about IA…"

Ohohohoho...I already killed Neru. Who else should I kill? Jk. For the sake of the story, I won't say anything about IA for now. I have my reasons...

But anyway! Just so you know, next chapter will be all IA's POV! :)

Please review, everyone, and stay tuned for Chapter 16! Thank you!

~Rikasa