Proof of Life

Chapter 2

I was left alone with the boy, everyone just kept excusing themselves when he came to seat on the sofa across me. I am now watching the snow outside flutter down to make a white blanket on the surface. I know he was staring at me. Why couldn't he return on reading his book?

I was feeling something hard on my chest. I think it was longing, the feeling of want. I want anyone to take me out to the snowy wonderland. Kaito_nii, Gakupo_nii, Luka_nee, Meiko_nee, Gumi? Anyone? I just want to know what it feels like to be outside this cold time of the year.

He sighed, "Rin, wanna go outside?"

I smiled at him saying, "Yes, of course, if I wouldn't be a liability."

He smiled back at me, rising to stretch. He went upstairs, he said, he needed to get something.

I went to watch at the window again, while having a full view, not a bunch of yellow sunflowers beside me, tickling my nose. I stood near the window.

There were friends laughing, while throwing snow at each other. Wouldn't that be cold? Maybe not, they were joyous. A blonde girl with a long ponytail on the side of her head saw me, she grinned at me. She waved and shouted my name. Her friends saw me too. They beamed at me and started to act funny just to greet me.

I gave a small chuckle, which made the glass before me blur by my breath.

I breathe, yet I'm a robot. The others are just like me, though they act more human.

My hand twitched, raised and waved back at them. My lips mouthed a little "Hi."

They all laughed and said bye. The girl was left. She gave me two thumbs up then ran after her friends.

"Ah, so they decided to go out too." He said, putting on a big black jacket.

"So they have. I wanted to know, who's the girl with the yellow ponytail?" I asked, pointing at the glass where she was last standing.

"You don't remember? She's Akita Neru," He told me, requesting if I remembered her. "No? The girl who sent Kaito text spams?"

"'Spams', those are food right? Are they good?" I asked, still pointing at the window.

He chuckled, then stared at me. "Rin, aren't you going to get a jacket or something?" I stared back at him.

He nodded. "I'll get one for you then." He went upstairs again. "Meiko! Meiko! Rin needs a jacket!" No one answered him. "If you don't want to talk to me, then just tell me!" Gakupo_nii-san snorted and yelled from his room. "That's the whole concept, isn't it?" He asked, almost impatiently. It was quiet after that.

"Here you go Rin. I couldn't find anything from your closet, so I took one of mine. I know it would fit you since we're practically siblings and all..."

"We're...siblings?" My own belief is confirmed, he is my brother. Why didn't anyone tell me?

He looked at me as if I were mad, "Yeah, I'm your brother. Kagamine Len. You're acting funny, sis, very funny." He put on a very long yellow scarf. "Let's go before there are too many people enjoying the snow." Len took hold of my hand and opened the door.

"Wow, your hand is cold, Rin." He took my other hand and covered them with his own gloved hands.

"What...are you doing?" Curiosity made me ask the question. So cold is the feeling of numbness, and bitter chill.

His cheeks turned red, and quickly said, "Making sure you won't catch a cold. What else?" He unfolded the scarf from his neck and placed it around the both of us.

I felt happy again, I like being happy. Who wouldn't like this heart-warming season to get together with the ones you love? Where you would care for the other...while the 'other' is me...

"I am sorry, brother. Making you worry." I muttered.

Len patted my hair, "Just don't leave me with those idiots, Rin." We started walking again.

"Do you remember the first song we sang together, Rin?" He asked. My hand was in his, while he swung it like we were little children. He didn't seem to plan on letting me answer that.

"No."

"Yeah, 'KOKORO' – 'No'? Y-you don't r-remember? Come on, Rin! Let's sing it together again!" He exclaimed.

We ran towards the forest. There seems to be an isolated log cabin there. We went inside.

"Remember this place?" He opened his arms wide. "It was always our practice room! We sang, and dance, and laughed here!" He went to the kitchen, supposedly there should be one. "Here's hot cocoa. I told Neru to boil water, so she must have been here for a while."

He sat on a green sofa's arm. He looked down on the ground with a frown.

"Len?" I asked, concern why there were tears running down his face. "Len, why –?"

Len snapped at me, "Why did you leave me anyway? Huh? You left me with those idiots, Rin! Why'd you hurt me by shutting down? We're indestructible! We're robots, Vocaloids!"

I stared at him, stared at his angry blue eyes. My head turned to break our eye contact. "I am sorry, brother. A lethal virus had been living inside me then. Please forgive me." He moved from his place, I could hear. Though, I felt foolish for apologizing for having a virus break down.

"Stupid," Len told me, he's embracing me now. Why now? Did he need comfort? Or was it for me? "It isn't your fault if a virus was inside you." He sobbed on my shoulder. "It changes the whole situation. I'm sorry for accusing you, sis." He let go, wiped his tears and led me to a [music score stand].

"Shall I start, brother?" I asked him.

He chuckled, "Of course, sister."

We sang, we sang our supposedly first song.

"Log cabin! I'm back~~!" That should be Neru's voice. Len told me she was the only person who has access here, besides Len and me. "Oh hi Rin! It's me, Neru! How do you feel? I heard there was a vital virus had almost killed you. Well, Len didn't know that. He cried and shut himself in his rooms for days." We both watched Len, sleeping peacefully on the couch. I hope he has good dreams.

"I thought that he was just pushing that thought away." I kept quiet for a few seconds and said, "So he really doesn't know?"

"Absolutely. Though, Rin?" She was sitting on the couch arm, just like what Len did a few hours ago, beside me. "I'm really glad he still doesn't now. Or he would have committed suicide. I'm still curios what runs in his mind. Hmmm..." Was I glad she wasn't talking about Len now. It's not that I don't like her. It's that it breaks my heart that Len, my only brother, doesn't know what really happened to me.

"When I shut down, what...happened?" I asked her, still watching Len. He stirred in his sleep.

Neru thought the right words to say to me, I could see it in her face. "Um, a small voice inside me told me not to lie, so..." She sighed again. "You two were coming home from this cabin. Len forgot your lyrics for your new song. Then when he came back to see you," She held her breath. "Y-you had fainted."

"Oh hey, Neru. Hey, Rin!" It's Len, he should have wakened up. Inside me was wishing he hadn't heard what Neru and I were talking about. He stood and stretched. "Let me make you some Hot Cocoa, Neru." Not hearing Neru to reply he headed to the kitchen. His movements were showing that he have heard us talking.

I gave a sad frown.

Len, I'm sorry.

I thought you knew and disapproved of it.

"Oh crap! Rin you're tearing up! Are you okay?" Neru asked, out of the blue.

I touched my cheek and there was certainly a wet, thin stream of tears. Why— sadness? I'm feeling it right now, and it didn't feel any good. It was as if I had something burdening my heart. My body became stiff. My limbs were out of control. My hands grab my hair. I fell hard on the cold floor, my knees breaking the fall. Then;

"!"

Then my eyes rolled to the back of my head, my eye-lids closed. With a hard THUD I was out.

"So you came back to me, Rin?" Master asked jokingly.

The blonde VOCALOID did not open her eyes nor did any movements. She lied there like a fragile porcelain doll.

He sighed. "Computer, activate last sighting before breakdown." He commanded the voice command computer.

Then before his eyes, on the screen was Neru staring at Rin, bewildered. Trembling hands came in view, it looked that it went to grab its owner's head. The view seemed to fall. After so, a high-pitched scream. Then the screen blacked out.

"Please contact UTAUloid ; Akita Neru." Master commanded the computer again. The stereo beep two times then came the voice of Akita Neru.

"Uh, who's this? Neru speaking. Ah! MASTERPAYALLMYPHONEBILLS!" She exclaimed. Master kept quiet before she told him all her problems. "OK, what do you really want?" She sighed.

"This call is about Kagamine Rin. Were you talking about something before her incident?" He asked her.

Neru gulped and confessed, "It's my fault, Master. I brought up the subject. I asked her if she was alright after her previous incident."

"But what made her do this, I ask."

"Len was sleeping- well maybe acted to be asleep -and when I told Rin she had fainted then, she cried— no, a tear slid down her cheek then you-know-what happened."

"Is that what happened?"

"Motto chotto! I forgot! Before she cried, Len woke up offered to make me hot cocoa. That's all, sir."

Master sighed, "Thank you, Neru."

"Make sure you let Rin live, or I will rip of your—!" Before Neru could finish her threat, the all ended.

Master smiled sadly at Rin, and then turned on the sleeping VOCALOID.

"VOCALOID #03; Kagamine Rin starting up."

"Good morning, Rin."

"Hello, brother." I greeted Len.

We were in his bedroom, and he was sitting on his yellow bed, gazing outside the window. I stayed put at the corridor. The lights were out so that didn't let me make out his face if he was crying or not.

He hiccupped, "H-hi Rin..." he mumbled. "I thought they were going – "

I approached him, "Hey, why don't we sing that new song?"

Len looked as if he was going to bawl at her again. "Why? Are they REALLY gonna kill you?" He bellowed at her.

A laughed at him, "No idiot! It's just... we haven't sung for awhile before, have we?"

He gawked at me, I raised a brow.

"Len?" Then I was caught in a tight hug. A hug that didn't show any sign of ceasing. "Please don't leave me, Rin! I've told you many times before, and I know you're stubborn and all that. But no one can replace you, Rin! Not in my heart! You're the only one who's good enough for me—!"

I stopped him. "You're too corny, Len." I snorted.

He bawled at me, "RAHH! I LOVE YOU! NOT JUST AS A SISTER, BUT FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!"

"Thank you, brother."

I turned to leave, but he got a hold of my wrist and pressed his lips on mine. No, this isn't good, this is NOT good. I squirmed, but he held me firm on the shoulders. How could he be so relax, when I'm already trying to beat him up? I gazed at the door, I left it open. And to my delight, was Kaito-nii and Luka-nee...watching us. They were crying like they were watching a very sad movie or something. You idiots! I'm being kissed by my brother! Len bit my lip, and I opened my mouth to scream but he forced his tongue in playing with mine.

"Oh hey, guys. What are you watching—?" Meiko-nee, help me... "What the hell?" Then thankfully, Meiko-nee beat him up for me.

Just outside the house was the VOCALOID diva watching her lover making out with his defenseless sister. She pouted and twirled her teal hair.

"So Rin's going to steal my man, huh? Why don't I steal him from her?"

Suddenly her phone rang, "Ah, Master! Miku speaking. Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can. You will be boarding in the UTAU house for awhile. You will be learning from Akita Neru. She had learned a new foreign song, that we want you to sing." Master told her.

Miku retorted, "WHAT? Can I go there next week? I need to do something very, very important."

"No."

Miku sighed, gave the VOCALOID house a last regrettable glance, and then headed to the house where her master told her to go.

Master turned back to the screen. He had planted a video-cam in every room in the VOCALOID house (except the bathroom) to observe if anything wrong goes to his creations. Though he was planning something on a certain blonde VOCALOID, he watched her few last days.