She walks to school with the lunch she packed,
nobody knows what she's holding back,
wearing the same dress she wore yesterday,
she hides the bruises with linen and lace.

The small blonde girl sighed softly to herself, staring down at her feet as she walked the familiar route to school. It was different to her friends, but she liked that. She liked that small period of time in which she could be alone with her thoughts, "Why Vash...?" she whispered to herself as she walked, "Why...?"

She let out a soft whimper as her small leather book bag smacked against her thigh, hitting one of the more sensitive bruises as it did so. She sighed and fingered the hem of her dress lightly, a small crease appearing between her brows. Pink. It was such a happy colour, so unsuited to a girl like her. Well, that wasn't strictly true, so unsuited to a girl like her after what had happened last month. Vash had raped her. Her own brother. The older brother she had depended upon. Trusted. Loved. Nothing could be the same between them anyway, not after that. But the fact that he now believed her to be nothing more than an object to vent upon, to use violence against was doing nothing to help their relationship, instead, making it worse.

The teacher wonders, but she doesn't ask,
it's hard to see the pain behind the mask,
bearing the burden of a secret storm,
sometimes she wishes she was never born

The petite Belgian woman stood at the front of the class, a small, un-noticeable frown on her face as she stared at Lili. 'Is she okay...?' she thought to herself, 'She's changed so much over the past month...'

It was true, ever since that night when her beloved brother had turned on her, she had changed dramatically, and not in a good way. She was colder, more distant. She wouldn't let anyone close to her, neither physically or emotionally. It was as if that night had caused a tough stone wall to be constructed around her, a wall that wasn't coming down anytime soon.

The teacher sighed as the bell rang and she dismissed the class. Whatever was bothering Lili couldn't have been that important, and if it was... well, she was a smart girl, she would get help if she couldn't get through it alone, right?

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
and she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

Later that night Lili Zwingli stood at her bedroom window, smiling sadly at the rain falling against the glass. She had been certain to lock her door before she did this, she didn't want to be so exposed and vulnerable ever again... not after learning what could happen if you let your guard down for even a moment...

She opened the window slowly and leaned out of it, a quiet, almost insane giggle escaping her as she stared down at the ground, watching raindrops soak into the slate coloured stones that lined the back yard. She sighed again and climbed up onto the window ledge, dangling her feet from the window. She shivered slightly in what most would call discomfort as the rain soaked her small feet, but stayed in position nevertheless.

Somebody cries in the middle of the night
the neighbours hear but they turn out the light
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it will be too late

After sitting there for a few moments, watching the silhouettes of her neighbours, through their curtains, she began crying, though she didn't notice for the rain that was now dripping from her delicate features. Apparently the neighbours could hear her though, as one of them shouted something to her and turned out the light. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head a little, rolling her eyes before jumping straight from the window, landing silently with precision that was uncanny. She crept forwards towards the trees that lined the property, her mind set on one task, and one task only. Killing herself. It would be doing the world a favour, after all.

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
and she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
As Lili walked through the trees the rain seemed to lessen in intensity, she knew that wasn't the case, but it seemed that way. She closed her eyes as she walked, smiling slightly as she listened to the snapping of branches beneath her feet and the somewhat calming sound of raindrops on the leaves above her.

A few moments later she reached her destination. A small hideaway she had constructed as a small child, it may have only been fallen branches and a variety of plants, but it was comforting to her. She also hid a multitude of weapons here; two knives and one small shot gun. The latter was really just for show though, as she never managed to get hold of any ammunition.

The statue stands in a shaded place
an angel girl with an upturned face
her name is written on a polished rock
a broken heart that the world forgot

She uncovered the smaller, sharper of the two knives and smirked a little, picking it up then dragging her finger across the tip. She practically purred as such a small action caused a drop of blood to surface in a minute pinprick, crimson amongst ivory.

With a cat like smile she began pressing the knife into her left forearm, barely even wincing in pain. She repeated the action until her arm was littered with cuts and her blood was soaking into the soil beneath her. She was a little dizzy, but it wasn't yet something that she couldn't handle. After a while she became bored with the simple, rhythmic motions, and decided to go for something a little more direct. Stabbing herself. She slowly raised the knife so that it was level with her chest. Subconsciously she realised that she was shaking, though whether that was in fear, anticipation, anger, blood loss, or just because of the fact that she was drenched and practically freezing with cold, was unknown to her.

Lili shrugged it off, it wouldn't matter in a moment anyway. Taking a deep breath, a final, deliberate breath, she brought the knife forwards with a surprising amount of force. The sharp point of the blade cut through her skin as if it was butter. It swam through the thick red liquid that was the Liechtensteiner's blood like a speed boat through water, like the wind through the trees. Lili let out a shuddering gasp as she felt the life leaving her body, she was close to bleeding out simply from the cuts on her arms, but this would finish her off. With the last of her strength, she picked up a smooth, grey rock and carved her name into it. She then fell back onto the ground, rock still in hand. She closed her eyes slowly, knowing that the green canopy of leaves above her would be the last thing she ever saw. The rusty smell of her blood mixed with earth the last thing she would smell. The distant calls of the owls that nested close to her house the last thing she would hear. Her own saliva and a hint of blood the last thing she would taste. The soft, cushioning feeling of the damp ground beneath her and the blood would be the last thing she felt.

As Lili Zwingli slipped away into little more than spirit, she felt nothing. It was as if her body had become numb. She could not move, nor speak. All she could do was hear, but there was nothing to hear. It was as if every creature in the woods knew what was happening, as if they were keeping silent as she passed away, yet it was strangely comforting to the Liechtensteiner. For some mysterious reason, the silence was not eerie, it was almost like a funeral. It would be creepy at any other time, but at that moment, it felt so right.

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
and she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel