Author's Note- UWAH an update! Finally, ne? Hehehe. It's a super long one, so hopefully you guys will like it! Also, before I begin this chapter, some clarification: no I'm not done with this story yet xD. When I said "finally done" in the author's note at the end of the last chapter, I just meant I was done with the chapter LOL. Yes Leon did live. He's currently in prison now. You guys are too smart. Enjoy!

A young boy sat on a chair in complete darkness. Only a few, dim strands of light seeped in from the lone window near the ceiling, but the meager rays were enough to elucidate his pale, sunken skin and silver hair which was pulled tightly into a high ponytail. His rouge colored eyes were dark and dull, as if he lacked any will to live. He breathed in short, shallow breaths, indicating that his body was in pain.

His limbs ached as if they had been beaten with metal pipes. A constant throbbing assaulted his mind and occasionally fogged his vision. Every moment he spent awake was torture.

The door behind him creaked open, allowing a brighter rectangle of light to shine into the room. A man's figure obscured the otherwise perfect shape. The boy did not bother turning to greet his visitor. He already knew who it was.

"Father."

The man quietly shut the door behind him, once again robbing the chamber of visibility. He stepped into the faint spotlight illuminated by the window. One could perceive, if he or she strained their eyes enough, that the man was of a fairly fortuitous build, had slick, blonde hair and piercing, brown eyes. He wore an impeccable white lab coat.

"How are you feeling, son?" The comment was empty, disheartened.

"The doctors said I would require another blood transfusion," the boy replied nonchalantly, "This time they're not so sure my heart can handle it."

"…Ah."

The room was quiet. He knew his father was once again disappointed. But who could blame him? Every time he visited, he only received bad news after bad news. Scarcely was there any faint glimmer of hope about his only son's condition. But the man couldn't accept it. Their family had come from a long line of strong, successful individuals. He'd be damned if it was his son who would be the first to falter.

The man ended the visit their and bid his son goodbye. The boy merely nodded, and once his father was out of earshot, let out a frustrated growl. He hated being a disappointment. He hated being a burden. He hated being in pain. Seething, he punched the ground beneath him, wincing as a particularly nasty jolt of pain ripped up his arm. But the boy didn't care. He felt as if he deserved the pain, and he continued to punch until his fist turned a ghastly purple and enough blood and pain throbbed from his knuckles to lull him into unconsciousness.

Len fell to the ground and clutched his head. He took a sharp intake of breath and writhed slightly. Those visions were happening again.

They started five years ago after the incident with Leon. Len didn't recall anything. He remembered falling unconscious in Rin's arms, and then waking up to her sobbing against his shoulder. Gakupo informed him shortly thereafter of what occurred, and Len was sickened, occasionally clenching his fists when Gakupo mentioned Leon's attempts on their, especially Rin's, lives.

The visions started not too long after, first happening during the car ride back home. Len concluded that they were the memories of Leon's son. Gakupo had tried his best to erase most of them but it's never really possible to fully remove a memory.

Len shook his head. "No, I shouldn't be thinking of this now. Time to wake Rin up."

He padded softly to her room and gently pushed open the door. A small smile graced his lips. There she was, sleeping in a tight little ball with her blankets wrapped around her like a giant, puffy cocoon. Usually, Len let her wake on her own accord, but today was different. Today was their first day of school.

Well, their first day together. Rin used to go, but after the media uproar five years before Mr. Kagamine thought it best if she stayed home and had Len tutor her. Now, however, they were fourteen, the age when one typically starts high school. Mr. Kagamine figured he couldn't shelter them from the outside world forever and finally consented to letting them go.

"Riiin," Len called and crawled onto the bed so that he kneeled beside her, "Rin, wake up! It's the first day, time to go get ready."

A groan was his reply.

"Rin, come on, get up now."

Another groan. Len sighed and shook her shoulder.

"Nnn..." a weak protest escaped her lips as she attempted to swat the intruder away, "Five more minutes…"

"Okay, if you wanna be late. It's already 7:00. School starts at 8, and it takes 35 minutes to get there. Plus you have to shower and eat breakfast and-"

"WHAT?!" Rin squeaked and shot up, fumbling and clambering to get out of bed, kicking Len onto the floor in the process. He landed with an indignant "oof!". Once free from the warm, comforting clutches of her bedding, Rin immediately sprinted to the bathroom, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER, LEN?!"

"I did!" Len protested indignantly, rubbing his head where he had fallen, "You just wouldn't wake up!" His yells were drowned by the sound of a showerhead turning on. Len sighed and plopped back onto Rin's bed. Familiar scents of citrus wafted to his nose.

Five and a half years… that's how long he had been part of the Kagamine family. Well, technically he had been a part of them when Mr. Kagamine first decided his existence, but nonetheless he couldn't think of a time when he had been unhappy being with them. Nearly every day he spent in Rin's company, yet he never tired of her. She was so spontaneous, so bright, there were new things to look forward to every day. It was probably the nature of his construction, though, to take after her. To feel what she felt, to sympathize with her: those were the reasons why he was created, so that Mr. Kagamine could have someone to take care of Rin while he was gone. When she was happy, Len was happy. When she was sad, Len was sad. Thankfully, there weren't many times when she was upset… but the few times it did happen, Len felt utterly powerless.

Rin sat sprawled on the floor of the living room, sobbing and hiccupping openly. Her dress was being scuffed from rubbing against the carpeting. It was a nice dress too, one she had picked out and saved specifically for this occasion. Len stood above her, worry creasing his features. He held a three tiered birthday cake with 12 candles arranged neatly towards its center. He had spent all morning trying to prepare and decorate the cake, which, despite his advanced programming, had been surprisingly difficult. The blonde haired boy bit his lip.

"Rin… what's the matter? Please don't cry, I'm right here!" she didn't seem to hear his pleas and continued on. "I-Is it the cake? I thought you would like it; it's banana-orange cream." When that elicited no response, Len's face fell, "I'm sorry, Rin. I'll go get rid of it right away."

"N-No," her voice was barely audible, "It's not that... Daddy's not coming again, huh?"

Len froze. So that's why she was crying.

Rin smiled bitterly, "In that last e-mail he sent, Daddy promised he would be here for our birthday. He said when I woke up and went downstairs, he'd be standing there, smiling and wishing us happy birthday. But he's not."

"Daddy's been really busy," Len placed the cake on a table and bent down to rub her back reassuringly, "Mirror Corp is a big industry now. He has a lot of responsibilities."

"You always say that." Len was taken aback by the hint of resentment in her voice. "He doesn't come home anymore. He's always away on business trips or spending the night at his office… I can't remember the last time we saw him. You'd think he'd find time to see us sometime since he started leaving three years ago."

"No, he really does care. He's sent gifts and video messages, even on holidays. Why would he hate us?"

"It doesn't matter," Rin sniffled, "He can send as many gifts as he wants, I'll still be alone... like every other birthday."

There was a long pause. The only sounds that broke the silence were Rin's gentle sniffles.

Neither looked at each other.

Then, Len leaned closer and wrapped his arms around her. His bangs shadowed his face, concealing any emotion that may have been displayed. Rin gasped, not expecting such a rush of warmth. His embrace tightened, almost with a sort of desperate sadness.

"But... I'm here."

Rin's eyes widened.

Yes, Len had been there. He had been there the entire time. Fresh tears began to form. Len sputtered and started fussing about her, exclaiming his apologies for making her cry more, offering cake, gifts, oranges, etc. All Rin could do was laugh, which further increased Len's confusion.

"Ne, Len, sing me something?"

"A song? As you wish, my lady...

I'm glad I was able to love you from the beginning
I'm going to sing to the sky
Where I can launch a packed dream...

...No one can stop this
If the end of world
Arrived now
Then I would leave everything behind and
Two of us can be together forever
Like a Fire Flower."

Afterward, Rin didn't cry over her father's absence anymore. There were times when her sadness would peek through, but even then she'd quickly wipe it away and drag Len off to go play somewhere. He smiled.

"Even if Daddy isn't around, I'll always have you, right, Len?"

"PERVERT! What are you still doing in here?"

A sudden shout ended his reverie.

Shampoo bottles suddenly came hurling towards him. Len expertly dodged the flying toiletries, but was caught off guard by the sight in the doorway. Rin stood in nothing but a towel, her skin and hair still dampened by the shower water. He had accidentally caught her coming out of the shower before, especially when they first met and he wasn't yet accustomed to the concept of privacy, except this time she was 14 not 9.

"Are you staring?? GET OUT OF HERE!"

The poor Vocaloid didn't have much of a choice, as a projectile chair forcefully ushered him out of the room, a firm door slam sealing his exile.

As she listened to him scamper off like a scolded puppy, Rin smiled. Truth be told, she was also excited for their first day of school together. She always wanted to know what it would be like to have a brother, and now she could show him off in public. In addition, she could finally meet new friends and reconnect with old ones she lost after elementary school. Just thinking about it gave her goosebumps; Rin hurriedly put on her uniform, grabbed her bag, and rushed downstairs.

Len scanned the school's parameters, turquoise eyes bright with wonder. It was a very clean, modern looking building, with cream colored walls and spotless windows that glimmered spectacularly in the sunlight. He could tell it wasn't new, but it certainly hadn't been tarnished by time in any way. Even the grounds looked very kept. All around him, students were bustling about, hugging and greeting those they hadn't seen all summer. One boy recognized Rin and went over to hug her; however he made the fatal mistake of commenting on how Rin still looked the same as from 5th grade, body type and everything. That earned him a hefty elbow to the gut, courtesy of aforementioned girl.

"Why'd you elbow him?" Len gaped at the boy struggling to inhale, "He didn't do anything wrong, did he?"

"No… my hand just slipped." Rin huffed and walked towards the school's entrance. Len sighed and hurried after her.

"Say," one girl suddenly whispered "Is that Rin Kagamine?"

"No way, I haven't seen her in forever! And who's that cute boy with her?"

"What are you talking about? Let me see" a girl with long, golden locks made her way to the front. Upon making eye contact with each other, both girls paled.

"Akita Neru," Rin narrowed her eyes.

"Rin, I haven't seen you in forever! Who's this? Is he your brother?" Neru pushed passed her to examine Len closely. "He looks just like you… except cuter! You never told me!" She feigned hurt.

Rin frowned in annoyance.

"Hi there, my name's Neru," the cheeky girl batted her eyelashes seductively and leaned in so close Len could smell cherry lipgloss, "What's yours?"

"L-Len," he stumbled, startled by this girl's sudden closeness.

"You're a cutie," Neru smirked and ran a manicured hand along his cheek, "I'll see you around, ne?" she winked and sauntered off to greet other new arrivals. Len continued to stand there dumbfounded.

"Come on," Rin grit her teeth and dragged her Vocaloid off, "And close that jaw before you make the school drown from all your drool!"

"RIN! LEN!" two voices shouted in the distance. All irritation that clouded Rin before seemed to vanish as she laid eyes on the two individuals who had called their names.

"Meiko! Kaito!" the youngest Kagamine squealed with glee and ran to throw her arms around her elders, "Can you believe it? We're going to the same school now!"

"Easy there," Meiko laughed and tugged at Rin's omnipresent white ribbon, "It's not as fun as it seems. Wait until you see all the work you have to do... Who's your first teacher?"

"Literature and Language with Miss Ann," the young girl replied innocently. "Why, is she bad?"

"MISS ANN?" Meiko and Kaito yelped in unison. Kaito's face paled and Meiko began laughing hysterically. "She's your first teacher? Oh boy, have fun with that! HAH!"

Rin suddenly didn't have a good feeling about today after all.

"Welcome to the first day of school! My name is Miss Ann and I will be your literature and language teacher for the year. I hope you all enjoyed your days off, because there will not be anymore laying around and doing nothing in this class. This is high school and I'll be expecting more from you. Understood?"

The class groaned its reply.

Miss Ann sweat dropped and put on a fake smile to hide her irritation, "Yes, well… Now for the attendance. Please stand and introduce yourself when I call your name. Akita Neru?"

"Hai!" the blonde stood up with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary. She winked at Len, who looked confusedly at her and then to Rin. Rin sighed and buried her face in her hands.

The teacher went down the list strategically, not once making an error with a student's name. She called out Rin's name, and then Len's. At the mention of the latter Kagamine, a hush befell the class. They looked at him curiously, whispering cautious gossips about the incident five years ago, which all of them could barely remember. Many girls giggled and remarked on his cuteness, calling him a "shota". Len's confusion only increased. But he was forgotten, as soon as the next name was called.

"Hatsune Miku?"

A young girl sitting in the top left corner of the classroom stood. For the second time that morning, the class fell to a hush. The girl had bluish green, almost teal, colored hair that was drawn up in long pigtails. Her striking, heavily-lashed viridian eyes scanned the room timidly before she bowed, allowing her school uniform to stretch tautly over her slender, graceful form. Every boy blushed as their eyes roamed unrestricted up and down her creamy, exposed thighs and ample chest. Rin's eyebrow ticked. Psh, typical hormonal boys. At least Len wasn't like the-LEN?!

As she turned to look at her "brother," Rin caught Len staring wide-mouthed at Miku. Faint hints of red stained his otherwise porcelain cheeks. A small bit of annoyance started to form within Rin and she turned away gruffly.

For some reason, Len couldn't tear his eyes from Miku. She was beautiful, yes, but that wasn't why Len was so intrigued. There was something very familiar about her… but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. Almost like he had met her before…

The teacher finished her roll call and proceeded to pass out a stack of papers on her desk. "Over the summer, I assigned you several books to read, correct? And I trust you all did that? Good! But just to make sure, I whipped up a little test for all of you. The first 45 questions are multiple choice, and the last 3 are essay topics. Choose one and quickly write a 1 and a half to 2 page essay, no less and no more. You may begin as soon as you receive your test. When you're done, bring it up to my desk and I will grade it immediately."

Rin's face paled. A test?! Nobody said anything about there being a test, especially on the first day! She looked around her and noticed the rest of the class had stricken looks on their faces. "At least I'm not alone," Rin concluded, in a frail attempt at comforting herself.

Soon the only sounds heard were pencils scratching and whimpering students. 15 minutes passed… then 20… and at the 40 minute mark Len pushed his chair back and handed his test to Miss Ann. The class's jaw dropped. He finished already?! And even wrote two pages, all the way down to the last line! Miss Ann regarded him skeptically. He probably didn't read and just blindly felt his way through. Suddenly, another chair was pushed back and Miku stepped forward to turn in her test as well. Rin gritted her teeth and nearly snapped her pencil in half. Overachiever! And Len, that jerk! He could have at least snuck her some of the answers.

As Miss Ann graded both the tests, a smile alighted on her face. "Well, well, I'm surprised! We have our first 100%s, and this is the hardest one I've ever written! Excellent work, I have high expectations for this class!"

Sadly, everything would only go downhill from there, especially when Rin turned hers in.

"A 70?!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, at least it's not failing!"

Len looked worriedly at his "sister". They were in PE now and were doing a few warm up stretches before the teacher arrived, as well as discuss their tests that were graded almost immediately. Miss Ann sure was a dedicated teacher, almost to a frightening extent. And this was only the first day too!

"Yes, but it's not exactly acceptable either…"

"Tch," Rin grinned cheekily, "I'll have plenty of opportunities to make it up later." Len sighed dejectedly. Had everything he taught her gone to waste??

Loud whistle calls signified that the teacher had arrived. The kids clambered to their feet and assembled in neat, straight rows. "Good morning, class! My name is Kei-sensei, and I'll be in charge of making sure you all leave your first year in high school in tip top shape! BAHAHA!" After quite a frightening burst of laughter, or rather cackling, he turned back to the class with a certain fire in his eyes that wasn't all too comforting, "I trust you all got plenty of exercise over the summer, ne? I'll be testing your physical fitness today, so let's warm up. 100 JUMPING JACKS, GO!"

"W-Wha?!" Rin sputtered in disbelief. 100?! "You're kidding me."

"LET'S MOVE IT, KAGAMINE!"

The hairs on Rin's neck stood up at the teacher's frighteningly stern face and immediately launched into the exercise. Five minutes later the entire class was grabbing their knees in a feeble attempt to catch their breaths, save for two individuals who looked as if nothing had happened. Rin recognized them as Len and Miku. Len, she understood why he wouldn't be fazed by this type of physics exertion, but Miku?! So she was pretty, smart, and athletic? Rin snorted for the umpteenth time that day.

The teacher then proceeded to shout out various stretches, reprimanding and correcting students' forms, then forced them to do 30 crunches, 50 twist sit-ups, and 50 pushups. By the end of it the class was a heaving, sweaty red mass… except Len and Miku. Rin felt her indignation grow every type she laid eyes on the green haired girl.

"OK, warm-up over! Time for the real test!"

"WHAT??" the class paled in fear. If that was the warm-up…

"Two miles around the track. GO!"

"Kami-sama please have mercy and kill me now," Rin prayed.

After thirty minutes, everyone was exhausted, even Kei-sensei from all his yelling.

"Well, I'm surprised! Great jobs Len Kagamine and Miku Hatsune! A plus for both of you for today. AS FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS… You could all learn something from these two here! Exercising is a serious thing, you can't slack off during the summer! Look how unhealthy all of you are now- you should be ashamed…!" His words were soon tuned out and melded together into a jumble of complaints about television, childhood obesity, how more people should be like Len and Miku, etc.

"Thank you sensei," the two teenagers grinned and bowed in unison. They locked eyes and a bit of pink began to tint both of their cheeks. Miku looked away shyly.

"A-Ano," she began, "You did great, Len. I could barely keep up with you."

"You weren't so bad yourself," Len smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

If Rin wasn't so busy clinging onto consciousness with every breath she would have stomped over there and slapped the both of them into next week. Miku for being so perfect, and Len for being such a show off. The duo continued to talk and compliment each other until the bell rang, signaling it was time for them to get ready for the next class. But the teacher was lost in his own world ranting about the woes of fast food or something of the sort. Seeing as how hhe wouldn't be done anytime soon, everyone excused themselves and went to their respective locker rooms.

"Sooo, how do you guys like high school so far?" Meiko smiled slyly and took a sip of her sports drink, "It's fun, ne?"

Rin groaned and almost threw her bento box up in frustration. It was lunch time. Luckily, she and Len had Meiko and Kaito to sit with, which was better than sitting in awkwardly separated groups like the rest of the other freshmen.

"No?" Kaito furrowed his brows, "I've been hearing good rumors about Len all day."

"People are talking about me?" the young boy blinked.

"Mhm," Kaito bit off another piece of his ice cream sandwich, "Most of the upperclassmen have been commenting on how a kid with blue eyes and blonde hair in a little ponytail has been showing up all the other freshman. I heard you got full marks on Miss Ann's first test and passed Kei-sensei's fitness assessment barely breaking a sweat. Man, my first day I only got a 93 on that test and didn't get nearly as fast a time as you. Ha!"

"Show offs," Rin grumbled.

"Mou, Kaito you really shouldn't be eating ice cream for lunch," Meiko scolded and snatched the offending object from him.

"M-Meiko!" Hey, give that back!" Kaito whimpered defensively.

Rin and Len shared a giggle at the two upperclassmen's antics, especially when Meiko resorted to pulling at Kaito's scarf until he made funny choking noises.

"LEN!!"

Abruptly, all four looked up to see who had called the name. There, skipping happily towards them was an underclassman with long blonde hair tied into one ferociously large ponytail.

"Ah, Akita Neru?" Len smiled.

"You remembered me! I'm so glad," Neru grinned and threw her arms around his neck.

"Well, I just met you this morning-"

"Say, Len, are you busy this weekend? I know we just met and all, but I'd like to get to know you more! What do you say?"

"I-I'll have to think about it, but that sounds great!"

"REALLY? AWESOME! Meet me at that ice cream shop downtown, you know the one with the big plastic statue of chocolate and strawberry soft serves in front of it. Three o' clock, kay? Don't be late!" Neru winked before hopping off to join her other friends, who were watching open-mouthed nearby. Rin felt as if her eardrums were going to bleed from all the fan girl squealing resonating from that table.

"A date already?" Meiko's face grew mischievous, "Wow, someone sure moves fast."

"And she's cute too," Kaito added.

"Y-You think so?" Len struggled to comprehend all that was going on. He had a date now? What was that?

Rin was pretty sure if looks could kill, three certain people sitting near her would be dead right now. She didn't feel like finishing the rest of her meal and closed up her bento before storming out of the cafeteria, claiming she needed to go to her locker. Alone.

"What's up with her?" Meiko blinked, "Did you poison her bento, Len?"

"What?! Why would I do that?!" The poor boy looked mortified.

Kaito and Meiko spent the remainder of the lunch period reassuring him that they were only kidding.

"Man, today was great!" Len swung his arms up happily, "School is so fun, I could see why you wanted to go back so much. People are so friendly!"

"Yeah," Rin replied gruffly.

Len blinked, "What's wrong, Rin?"

"Nothing." …other than the fact that you hogged all the attention.

"You seem mad. Did I do something wrong?"

"No," … except everyone threw themselves on you and only two people recognized me from elementary school, but even then they went to talk to you more! Rin sighed and shook her head, "Now hurry up or we'll miss the transit bus and have to walk all the way to the end of tow-LEN! What are you doing?!" The blonde haired girl gasped and clutched at her heart. Len had suddenly decided to stop right in front of her and peer into her face, so close that their foreheads were almost touching. Rin felt her cheeks grow warm. "P-Personal space, Len!!"

But he continued to scrutinize her. "Rin… are you sick?"

Sick?! What the, "No! I'm not sick, what are you talking about??"

Len narrowed his crystalline eyes and leaned forward even more so that their foreheads were touching. Now her cheeks were really hot. After a somewhat awkward pause, he finally decided to speak. "…You are sick! You've been acting funny all day, and your face is warm!"

"UGH!" Rin pushed him away in frustration, "Let's just get home!" Just as she lifted a foot to proceed down the walkway, a soft inquiry met their ears.

"Len? Rin?"

Rin froze. She'd recognize that melodic voice anywhere, but unfortunately, instead of sounding like bells it was more like grating against her ears.

"Miku?" Len blinked, scarcely able to believe her presence, "Hey!! What're you doing here?" He ran up enthusiastically to the green eyed girl's side. Rin narrowed her eyes. Really, she didn't know why she disliked Miku so much. The girl was sweet and hadn't done anything against Rin the entire day, and it wasn't as if Miku was avidly pining after Len like Neru and several other girls at school were. But still… Rin just… didn't like her. At all.

"I was just on my way home…" Miku replied, "I guess you two are also?"

Len nodded vigorously, "Are you taking the bus too?"

"Oh no, I live around here, in town." Miku motioned to a group of buildings in the distance, where the heart of the city was. "But I should get going now. Ne, it was very nice meeting you two today. Maybe we can hang out sometime?"

Rin was just about to say that they were probably going to be busy with a lot of work.

"Sure!" Len took it upon himself to answer on behalf of Rin also, "Just name when."

What?! Rin couldn't believe this! Since when did Len make decisions for her? Wasn't she the one who was supposed to be in charge?

Miku gave a genuine smile, one that was a little to sparkly for Rin's liking. "Ja, I'll see you guys tomorrow then!" She waved and ran off, locks of silky, teal hair flowing like elegant ribbons behind her. Len grinned and waved, not stopping until she was merely a speck in the distance. As he turned back to say something to Rin, he found that she was already well down the street, and judging by how firmly she was stomping against the pavement she probably wasn't too happy.

"Rin?? What's wrong? Why're you walking so fast??"

"Don't talk to me, Len!"

"What? Did I say something wrong? What did I do? Hey, wait for me! RIIIN!"

Behind them, the sun began to set.

BAM! Whew, glad to have gotten this off my chest. Wish I could have updated sooner, but what with school yadda yadda. Dreadfully sorry! Review, review, and happy Thanksgiving loves! Gobble gobble.