Chapter 95

Gakupo.

Whoa. She said it. She yelled it, right there, in the middle of an echoey, empty school hallway. She confessed her love for me? I couldn't believe it. This was a dream. It had to be a dream. The lovely Luka liked me? She actually liked me!

"Luka," I turned to face her. We were still ten feet apart, "Do you really?"

She nodded slowly, eyes blank, as though she were in a trance. Her lips were slightly parted, but there weren't any words coming out.

"Luka," I said again, a warm smile taking over my quickly reddening face, "Me too."

We stared at each other for a long, silent moment. I was hesitant to take even another step towards her, afraid that it might break the spell. She was so pretty, even from such a distance.

"Gakupo," she began finally, looking away for half a second before meeting my eyes again, "I'll...see you tonight, then?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Yeah," I said, "Tonight at eight. I'll pick you up."

She nodded with a small laugh and walked out of the classroom, one hand wrapped around the opposite arm. Her face was tilted downwards and her coral-coloured bangs drooped past her forehead and over her eyes, blending with the intense scarlet of her cheeks.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, my feet loosened from their spots and I walked towards her. We met in the middle, with my gaze down on her and her gaze set on the ground.

"Hey," I whispered, putting a gentle hand to her chin and tilting her face up, "It's okay."

"You know what? I am sorry," she said, "Sorry for one thing. I'm sorry for judging you these past years. You're nothing like I thought you were. The real you, Gakupo, is compassionate, creative and imperfect, and really, that's it. That's what makes you perfect in my eyes."

I smiled. "You've fallen hard, haven't you?" I whispered. She nodded furiously.

"I just kept falling and falling, and I'm still falling, waiting to hit rock bottom," she mumbled.

"You won't," I said, "You won't hit rock bottom, because you'll keep falling and falling, and once you're about to hit the lowest possible level...I'll catch you in my arms."

Miku.

As soon as Jeremy stopped in front of my place, I hurried out of the car and pulled open the front door of my home.

"Kaito!" I yelled like that guy from that anime movie, the one who yells 'Kanedaaaa!'.

"Miku!" Kaito yelled from upstairs, like the other guy yelling 'Tetsuooooo!'

I hurried upstairs and saw Kaito sitting on my bed, grinning. He looked exactly the way he did when I left him that morning, but he didn't have stinky morning breath, not that I would've minded, I mean, I do eat leeks every day! Anyway, I leapt into his arms and he fell back, laughing.

"What was all that yelling about?" He smirked, stroking my hair. I looked down at him with a grin.

"I just felt like it," I answered, "Did you even get out of bed?"

"Er...sort of...," Kaito looked past me and up and the ceiling, "After you left, I finished breakfast. Jeremy the Second came up and brushed my teeth. Awkward, I know. Against my will, too!"

I giggled. "Good for him!"

"And then he suggested I take a nap, so I did," Kaito continued, "When I woke up, it was noon, and my eyes opened to the beautiful sight of a sandwich!"

"What kind of sandwich?" I asked, getting off of Kaito and sitting down beside him. He sat up straight and grinned, his deep blue eyes sparkling.

"An ice cream sandwich!" Kaito whispered, excitement in his voice. I laughed.

"Obviously," I said. Kaito put an arm around my shoulder.

"How's our Rinny?" He asked.

"At school with Len," I began before realizing that Kaito didn't know the whole story, "Kaito, there's something...something that Len wanted me to tell you..."

I told Kaito the entire story, and he listened patiently, nodding every time I stopped to look at him. His expression didn't falter; it was that same signature straight face of his, with the slightest hint of a smile across his lips, so slight that it almost looked as though he wasn't smiling.

"So that's how it is," I finished, "They're probably talking to Ms. Yowane now."

"Hmm," Kaito looked up at the ceiling, "Miku, don't you think..."

"Think what?"

"Don't you think that's a little sad?" He finished quietly, "How hard it must've been on poor Len, to find out that the girl he had such a huge, intense crush on liked him back, and that they seemed so perfect together, but blood kept them apart?"

"I know what you mean," I said with a nod of my head, "They've decided, though. I told you, they won't let it get in the way."

"Still, it must've hurt," Kaito continued, "Len's attitude changed so much during those days...he must have been conflicted, confused and in pain."

"I still think they should be together, you know," I said. Kaito chuckled.

"I know," he smiled slyly, "I also read that little story in your bedside drawer while you were at school."

I blushed madly. "You mean my Rin and Len one?"

"I never knew you could write things like that, princess," Kaito whispered, pressing his nose against mine and pulling me forward, "It was very emotional, too, but I wonder..."

"Look, I was bored, okay?" I said quickly, "And they make a cute couple..."

"But what about our story?" His sly smile transformed into a childish one for half a second before he kissed me. My cheeks burned, more out of embarrassment that he had read my strange romance and less because of our kiss. He ran his tongue along my teeth and I let him in, digging my hands into his hair.

"You smell like ice cream," I said, pulling away just a little.

"You smell like leeks," he smiled and I blushed.

"Sorry, that's..."

"That's good," he nodded, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"We have to go," I said, suddenly remembering Rin's party, "Remember? Rin's party?"

"When I'm with you, I forget myself, princess!" He laughed before kissing my forehead and letting me go, "I'll limp, right?"

I paused and thought for a second. "Hang on," I said, running downstairs.

"Jeremy, did you get any clothes for Kaito?" I whispered after finding Jeremy the Second in the kitchen. He nodded.

"They were supposed to be kept secret, correct, miss?" He frowned and I nodded.

"Can you bring them upstairs, along with a bowl of water?" I was instructing more than asking, and then I hurried back with Jeremy right behind me.

"Okay, Kaito," I said, walking back into the room, "Time to wash up."

Jeremy brought in the bowl of water, and I grabbed a small face towel from the bathroom. I dunked it into the bowl and slowly began wiping Kaito's face.

"Miku, I'm not bedridden or anything!" Kaito squirmed as I wiped his face intently, "I swear, you're so cute..."

"I'm doing this so that you don't have to put too much load on that ankle," I said quickly, "And also, this is a very interesting first."

Len.

Haku took a seat and gestured towards two desks. We both took our seats as well and looked straight at Haku.

"Now, as I was saying...," Haku nodded, "Your mother, Rin, Shiki...she went through hell. She married a young man that she met in college, and I won't lie, I thought he was a nice guy. Turns out, that wasn't the case. He was abusive. He...hurt your mother, and as much as I tried to get her to do something, she wouldn't."

"I know that my mother remarried," Rin began slowly, "And...then she ran away, leaving me behind with my father, Ren."

"Right," Haku nodded.

"The problem is...," I swallowed slowly, "Ren's my father, too. Or, at least, we think he is."

Haku's eyes widened. Suddenly, it seemed that she completely understood what we were yearning for.

"That's true," Haku said slowly, "Ren married Shiki after divorcing another woman...your mother, Len."

So it was true, then. Rin and I really were half-siblings...

"But Ren is not your father, Rin!" Haku said suddenly, shattering my thoughts, "Ren hated young children! When Shiki married the first man, she had you, Rin. She had you, and her husband abused her. She was afraid that he would hurt you, Rin...so she divorced and lived life as a single mother. That is, she lived alone until you started kindergarten."

"What?" Rin and I said in unison.

"Shiki met Ren during those days. He didn't mind the little girl, namely, you, Rin, because you were usually at school. Even when you weren't at school, you were old enough to be left to your own devices. Ren had taken a liking to Shiki, and he knew that she needed the support. So, they married."

"So, I'm not...related to...," Rin stammered, looking at me and then at Ms. Yowane.

Ms. Yowane shook her head. "Rin, you are the daughter of your mother's first marriage. You share a common father with Len, but that does not mean that you are truly related. You are not bound by blood, you two..."

"So that means..."

Rin pulled me close for a hug before I could finish. Her shoulders were shaking, but she wasn't laughing or crying.

"Ren was Shiki's second husband," Haku sighed, "You poor kids. Nobody ever told you, huh?"

"Ms. Yowane," Rin began, pushing me back suddenly, "I have one more question. Why...why did my mother leave me behind?"

Haku's face paled slightly. "Apparently, her first husband was sending her threats. She couldn't risk your life, so she left you and Ren and killed herself. She knew that he would never come after Ren."

"W-Where is he now?" Rin whispered, "My real father?"

Haku smiled. It wasn't a happy smile or a sad smile, but it rested somewhere in between those two extremes. "He also committed suicide, only three years ago. All I know is that the news was kept quiet. That's...probably why you didn't know."

"Okay," Rin's voice sounded far away. Haku sighed and got to her feet.

"Is that all, you two?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Thank you."

"No problem," she smiled, "You two like each other, don't you? Stay that way."

Rin got to her feet suddenly, like a puppet. I followed suit, watching as she took slow, uneasy steps towards the door.

"I'm an orphan, Len," she smiled sadly, "A real orphan."

I sighed slowly, setting my gaze against her blue eyes. "Orphan or not," I whispered, taking her hand, "I'm here for you, forever and always."

Intense feels everywhere! I'm exploding! Maybe it's just me...

Luka x Gakupo is getting so cute! And yes, Miku is a Rin x Len shipper!

Also, BAM. What'd you think of the truth?

See you next chapter! Thank you kindly for your comments, votes and reads! I try to reply to every comment, too!

Basically, tell me what you thought of the chapter!

Also, I was looking over this chapter, and it has potential as an ending, but it's not! No more joke like that...heh.