O
D
E

to

Joy

1.

She found her brother leaning against the school gates.

"Rin," he said softly.

Every inch of her muscle seized up, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. Rin contemplated running away, but there were few places she could seek shelter in her high school at five hours after dismissal.

"I can catch up to you easily, Rin, if you're thinking of escaping."

He left the wall and walked toward her calmly. Seeing his advancement, Rin tightened her fingers around the strap of her book bag.

"I-I thought you already left, Len," she said nervously. Without thinking, she took a step back.

Len's arm was around her neck before she could blink. He cuffed her head forward and leaned in, whispering into her ear, "Where have you been, Rin?"

Hiding from you, she thought, tears spring from the pain.

"Tu—tutoring," she gasped out.

"Tch. Lying now, are we!" He let go of her neck but grabbed her uniform collar, yanking her forward. "No way in hell does tutoring take five fucking hours."

"L-Len—I'm not—"

"Tell me the truth! Where. Have. You. Been?"

"L—let go of me—I can't br—"

"Hey, Rin!" a voice suddenly called out. "Rin! You forgot your geometry textbook!"

Immediately, the pressure around her windpipe disappeared. Len stood by her side, relaxed and acting perfectly indifferent to the blue-haired boy that just walked in the hallway.

Immensely relieved, Rin hurried over to Kaito, but was stopped by Len's hand around her wrist.

"Where the hell do you think you're trying to go, Rin?" he asked quietly.

Kaito soon caught up to them, hugging Rin's heavy textbook to his chest. He smiled and handed it to Rin, which she received with one hand, the other still held firmly down by Len.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem." He smiled. Then, he saw her flushed cheeks and slightly rumpled clothing, and his eyes trailed to Rin's and Len's interlocking hands. "Uh, sorry, did I interrupt something?"

Len dropped her hand like it was hot stone. "No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous," he snapped. "We're related. Twins."

"His name is Len Kagamine," she said, but in reality she was pleading with her eyes, Please, please, notice how he's hurting me.

"Ah! I thought you two look alike." Kaito smiled again, noticing nothing. "Well then, good to meet you, Len. I'd like to talk, but I have to catch a bus soon. Bye! Don't forget your books next time, Rin!"

She held her hand up weakly. "I won't. See you tomorrow."

After Kaito was out of sight and hearing, Len snatched Rin's forearm and dragged her to his car.

She tried to shout for Kaito's name, but Len's hand on her mouth made it impossible. And as simple as that, her escape had failed once again.

.

"At the end of this artificial paradise,
I am fated to sing prayers all alone."

.

"You really are a slut, aren't you?" Len asked harshly, throwing her down the bed. "Tutoring. Really, Rin? Is that the best excuse you can come up with?"

"I really was—"

Len slapped Rin across her cheek.

"Shut the hell up!" He climbed on top of her then, straddling her waist and pinning her arms down. Somewhere beside the bed, Len's book bag fell to the ground.

When he spoke, his lips were right by her ear. "You think you can get away from me that easily, huh? LOOK AT ME!" He wrenched her jaw sideways, forcing her to face him. "YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN THAT EASILY? Well, think again, my sister. If I ever, ever see you hang out with another boy ever again, the pain will be nothing compared to this. Do—you—hear—me?"

His fingers were pressing into her chin so hard it would surely leave a bruise tomorrow. Rin squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to give into Len's threats.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Len whispered.

"No," she answered.

"Then," his grip tightened, "answer my question: Did. You. Hear. Me?"

She wrenched open her eyes and glared at him with all of her anger, all of her fear, all of her hate. She hissed back, "Yes."

He paused. Rin thought he was about to strike her again for her attitude and braced herself for the pain. But then she felt his weight leave his body and looked down to see Len walking out of her room.

Without looking at her, he said, "Because of your behavior today, you are grounded for a week. I will accompany you to and from school to make sure you don't sneak off somewhere." He turned his head slightly to the right. "If you still want dinner, I suggest you try to discipline yourself."

He took a step, but stopped again and added, "Also, I don't want to see you around that Kaito guy again."

Rin sat on her bed, arms trembling. As her bedroom door slammed close, she felt the first drop of tear fall from the corner of her eye.

.

a/n: The quote in the middle of the chapter is from the song "Paradise of Light and Shadow" and does not belong to me.

Also, note that this story . . . might not be updated very often. If you've seen my other stories, you know what I'm talking about.
Sorry!