Hurray, an update~!

I woke up that morning to crashing downstairs. Eyes wide and alert, I grabbed a baseball bat and made my way downstairs. I need to protect Rin, I thought. Wait, Rin was dead. That was strange; how could I forget something that killed me every waking moment? I must have been dreaming about her, or something. It was difficult to remember just what my dreams had been about. Shrugging it off, I walked downstairs, expecting to see a burglar.

I can't say I was particularly relieved to see Dad, instead.

"Dad, what the hell? It's too damn early for you to be making this noise!" Yeah, I was never big on that 'Honor thy Father and Mother' rule. Why should I be? I hadn't even seen Mom since they tore Rin away from me, and when Dad was home, he was an **.

"Quiet, Len." He pushed me out of the way roughly, staggering to his study and lighting a cigarette. I was pretty sure I saw a pill bottle in his hand.

"Dad, when was the last time you slept?" He was always taking these illegal meds to keep himself up. He took the term "workaholic" to a whole new level.

"None of your damn business!" He turned around, looking like he was about to hit me. I would have liked to see him try it. "I'm leaving in about an hour, anyways." And, knowing him, he wouldn't be back for another week. Why he was here was beyond me. Maybe to get a good month's sleep? An hour would be an improvement for him.

I didn't say anything, not wanting to continue the conversation, and instead grabbed a banana for breakfast. It wasn't much, but it wasn't like I needed that much to eat. Setsuna and I could go and get food when we went out on our date, even if it was closer to dinner when we were supposed to meet.

Shrugging, I laid low in my room for an hour, waiting for Dad to leave. I couldn't let my guard down when he was like this. He could attack me in the shower, or something stupid like that. So I just sat on my bed and read a book, surprised when my phone went off and Neru texted me. I ignored it. She was a jerk, and had never really forgiven me for breaking up with her.

When I heard the front door slam, and my Dad's expensive car pull out of the driveway, I stood up and got in the shower. I tended to shower two times a day. I was a restless sleeper, and I felt pretty sweaty whenever I woke up. I kept my eyes off the razor this time. Setsuna was counting on me, after all.

After getting dressed in a simple outfit and tying my hair up in its usual ponytail, I was ready to go. It was still too early to meet Setuna, but I could sit under the tree and continue my book, or something. I looked at Rin's picture before I left. I swear I saw acceptance in her eyes, and I quickly leaned down to give the glass separating me from the paper a quick peck.

"Thanks for understanding, imouto." Sure, she wasn't technically my younger sister, but I protected her like one. Or, at least, I had, before that ** shot her. Why hadn't I been there to protect her then? The thought made my breath catch in my throat, and I closed my eyes, my legs growing weak.

And then I felt Rin's hands on my cheeks, comforting me.

My eyes snapped open, but of course no one was there. I was left staring at Rin's picture, her smile telling me that everything was alright.

"I don't deserve someone as understanding as you," I said softly, brushing my fingers across the glass. With that, I left, tucking my book under one arm.

I read for awhile, thinking to myself how peaceful it was. Every once in awhile a petal would land on my book, but other than that, I was completely undisturbed.

"Hey, Kagamine, you aren't answering my texts." And, just like that, my peaceful moment was ruined. I looked up to see a certain pony-tailed tsundere glaring down at me.

"Did you need something, Neru?" I knew that it was no use being polite with her. She just didn't get it, most of the time.

"Teto said she saw you with some girl yesterday." She looked angry, for some weird reason.

"Yeah, and? Am I not allowed to date? We broke up, Neru, remember?" Now I was a bit angry. What, did she think that she owned me, or something?

"Teto said she looked almost exactly like you," Neru said with a teasing look on her face, "So is it a narcissistic thing? Or do you have some sort of sister I didn't know about?" Okay, that was where I drew the line.

"I don't know about narcissism, but you should know what happened to my only sister, Neru. She died, remember?" I saw regret on Neru's face, but I was too ** to care.

"Len, I'm-" I cut her off, pointedly looking in the other direction.

"Save it. You came here to ** me off, and you succeeded. Now get out of here." Thankfully, she listened, and I was left by myself. Sighing, I closed my book and waited for Setsuna to come.

It didn't take long before I saw her. I smiled, and she grinned back, looking so much like Rin that my stomach hurt. I started to stand up to meet her…

And then she tripped. "Setsuna! You okay?" I jogged over, worried when she didn't get up. "Setsuna!" My jog turned into a run, and I dropped to my knees next to her. There weren't many people in the park today, and those that were didn't pay any attention. "Setsuna!" I scooped her off the ground, looking at her peaceful face. Her eyes were closed.

"Setsuna! This had better be some kind of joke!" I couldn't stand losing her, not after Rin! I looked at her, trying to find something that would have caused it, when I noticed blood one of her sleeves. Pulling them back, I saw long cuts across her wrist. I was about to yell for help, but then she groaned. "Setsuna?" I shook her lightly, and her eyelids fluttered. "Setsuna? Are you okay?" She finally opened her eyes, and after a moment they focused on me.

"My head hurts," she whimpered, clutching at it, "What happened?"

"Y-You fell." I realized for the first time that I was close to tears, and tried to blink them away. "And you got hurt really bad...you had a huge cut on your wrist and stuff." It was probably from the fall, right? Unless… "You didn't do the cut on purpose, did you?"

She giggled nervously, making me worry. "Nah, I'll never be that crazy. Well, I'm starting to feel a bit better now." She didn't look much better, but she shakily got to her feet. "Now, let's go!" She started to rush forward like a child, only to fall again. My heart hit my throat.

"Setsuna!" I rushed over, grabbing her shoulders. "Are you okay? Do you have a cold?" I thought blood loss was a lot more likely. Maybe she didn't eat anything, either, and those things combined were making her weak?

"I...I don't know. My legs just hurt a lot..." I looked down at her, worried. I thought of Rin, and how I hadn't protected her when she needed me. What if Setsuna had some sort of serious illness, and I couldn't protect her from that?

"Wh-Who's Rin?" My eyes widened when I realized I must have said her name out loud.

"O-Oh...just someone I know, that's all." Well, technically, it was someone I –knew-, but changing it now would make me seem crazy. Which I probably was.

Suddenly, a car drove by, drenching us both. "Stupid driver!" I looked over at Setsuna, surprised by her impulsive outburst.

"...Heheheh… You act just like her..." I felt myself getting ready to cry again, and tried to stop it. I had a feeling it was already too late, though.

"...I'm sorry." I was surprised to see that Setsuna was near tears, as well. Did it really hurt that much? Or did she figure out on her own that Rin was a touchy subject, and felt bad?

"Don't worry about it... Here, let me take you to my house to get you washed up. My dad's out and he won't be back until next week." I wasn't positive of that, but I was fairly certain. I smiled, trying to take her attention off the fact that I was crying.

"Ah...but I can't move. It hurts too much." My brow furrowed. What if she was really sick? It was a terrifying thought.

"Don't worry about that." I scooped her up in my arms, taking her to my house as quickly as I could. I figured I could bandage her wrist and get her something to eat. If she wasn't better by then, I would take her to the hospital.

As I opened the door, I realized just how nasty my house smelled. "Sorry for the terrible smell. My dad smokes a lot, and..." I trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"Oh, it's not much of a problem..." I glanced back at Setsuna, who was far too understanding for her own good. Just like Rin.

I really had to stop making these comparisons, didn't I?