Chapter I

24 August 20XVI, Shizuoka, Japan
12:34am

Light raindrops fell like a thousand silver needles, forming ripples on the puddles. The young lady slacked her pace as she was panting from exertion. However, she could not stop running. She had to keep on going. With her quick thinking, she made a turn to her right. The "Private Property" sign was ignored. She jumped down from the tall fence which she just climbed over. She hid behind the bushes, hoping the officers lost track of her.

"Over there!" a firm yet feminine voice yelled from not so far away. "Do not stop until we catch that monster!"

Her lips formed a smile as she heard the officers ran towards the other direction. She stood up, hurriedly. There was not a single second to lose. She mustn't stop here. Checking her surroundings, she had no idea where she was. It was pitched dark. The lady could see nothing - not even a glimmer of light. Were there any street lamps? Why was there no lights along the way? She continued down the pavement, surrounded by the trees.

Slowly, the rain became heavier. All a sudden a flash of lightning streaked across the sky. It was followed by a crash of thunder. The young lady desperately needed a place to crash over the night. There was no way, absolutely no way she was going to be fried under the thunderstorm. From a short distance, her attention was caught by a staircase ahead of her.

12:35am, Sleeping quarters of a private tree-house

The clap of thunder echoed in the woods. It was past midnight and the lone inhabitant of the cozy tree house was still awake. The reason of his inability to sleep was not because of the weather. In fact, he loved the thunderstorm. Len had been suffering from the frustrating bout of insomnia that had assaulted him for the entire week. For seven days straight, he had not been able to fall asleep until it was almost sunrise. However, his sleep lasted for only a few hours as he needed to get up for work. It was at least two to four hours of sleep. Len hoped that the change of scenery would help him. Thus, he shifted from his mansion in Tokyo to his private tree house in Shizuoka earlier.

He tried to shut his eyes once more. There was no difference. He stared through the transparent glass door. Outside, it was pitch black as the rain beat against the surroundings outdoor with all of its might. Sighing, he made up his mind to get up from his futon. Should he take a walk under the rain? Or perhaps, a hot bath to help him fall asleep? Len wasn't sure yet. Maybe he'll choose the latter.

Len put on his scarlet robe and walked towards near the door where the bridge led to the other part of tree house. He grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the corner. There weren't much items in the part of the tree-house he was currently in. It was just meant to be the sleeping area. Besides his comfortable futon, there were just bits of wooden antique collectibles and furniture. An old family painting was hanging which he ignored. It gave him the bitter-sweet feeling.

His mother had passed away due to an unfortunate car accident. The bitter memory of his mother dying just the day before he turned sixteen never left him. It was a depressing year for both Len and his father. Len's father checked on him each morning before leaving for work and each evening once he was done with work. Both of them strove to be strong for each other since Mrs. Kagamine's death. Their time together in a single day would be amounted to an hour at most; it was enough for them. Mr. Kagamine would always remind that his son was better than the others around him in many ways. Len understood that his father did not want anyone belittling him as he had lost his mother during his adolescence years. Len firmly believed his father's words until it was time for his passing - he still hold on to those words to this evening.

Four years later, it was when Mr. Kagamine's life came towards an end. He had suffered from cancer. It was during the terminal stage when Len had discovered about his father's illness. Mr. Kagamine was well-prepared. He knew he would that it was his turn next after the day his wife passed away in that horrible car accident that crushed her. When Mr. Kagamine found out about his lung cancer, he didn't want to add trouble to his son. He thought that keeping it a secret was for the best. As he prepared to die, he prepared Len to live his life without a father- taught his son everything he knew and their business.

After his parents' death, it led Len to his solitude life. Len had never been close with many of his relatives and his so-called 'friends' left him. Even their mansion staffs quit upon Mr. Kagamine's death. It seemed as if he was exiled. Len, being an intelligent man he was, knew they owed a lot to his father but not to the son. They did not want to entertain the cynical son. It didn't matter to Len. Why should he care if they left or not? He could handle himself well. There was only a particular blonde relative, his distant cousin, that gotten quite close to the lone wolf, Len.

There was another roll of thunder cracks, louder than the previous one as Len reached the main part of the tree-house. Len's cerulean blue eyes scanned the stormy sky under his umbrella. He watched as a bolt of lightning lit the sky. Most of the times, people could not see the true beauty of the thunderstorms. The way the bright flashes of lightning struck at the incredibly dark, gloomy sky was like dancing in the clouds. The scenery would just drawn Len in awe. A moment of time would stop for Len as he enjoyed the fleeting view.

"I wish she's here to see this," Len silently wished to himself. "With me." Upon the realisation of his thoughts, he scolded himself. He stared back at the skies above as if he was cursing the forces of nature that refused to grant his wanted sleep for making to have such unacceptable thoughts. Len erased that he had such wishes from his mind and headed inside the house.

It had been a week since it was her wedding. Her wedding. Her wedding. Len dreaded the words. Her wedding which was an event that he was never invited to attend. He huffed as he undressed and entered the wooden bath. Why should he even care about that? If he did attend, without any doubt, it would had just been a waste of his time. It was an occasion where the woman who vowed her love for the better or worse to an unworthy man till death they groom could never survive how the world of high society works. Tch. Why was he having such thoughts?

Len was not like that kind of person. He would not stoop to their level. Len was a man of high status who would not marry any bachelorette. She had to prove her worth of the family name, Kagamine. She had to match his assets. Or better yet, was there a woman out there who will surpass them? Len chuckled bitterly at his thought. Who was he kidding? He was the youngest billionaire bachelor with a net worth over of US$3.8 billion in Japan. Who could surpass his riches? His riches where he inherited everything left behind from his wise father. As the heir of the top SPICE! clothing line in Japan, Len had been doing a great job sustaining his family name. His father dreamt of expanding SPICE! all over Japan which he had achieved over the years. Now, it was Len's turn to conquer the fashion world with SPICE!.

Splat! A loud yet strange sound disrupted Len from his thoughts. He pondered what was that noise all about. It was beyond any doubt not a crash of thunder. Getting out of the tub, Len covered his bottom part of his body with his favourite banana-printed towel. He was going to investigate what was that strange noise all about.

Len made his way out to the front door of the tree-house and walked into the wet wooden pathway. He believed the noise came from the east at where he stood -the entrance path of the tree-house. The chilly rain did not bother him one bit. It was fall but the cold weather was giving a message that winter was on its way.

Splat! There was that noise again but it was nearer. It sounded like there was an intruder invaded his property. Len dashed back to the tree-house, carefully not to slip. He knew that putting his black revolver with a silencer in a secret by the entrance would come to be handy some day. Before rushing back to the spot he was earlier, he turned on the lights surrounding the outdoor part of the tree-house. He tried to identify what was, or who was, causing that ruckus.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a most intriguing sight. He would probably had missed it if he did not turn on the outdoor's dim lights. At the stairs which led to the main entrance to the tree-house, there was a shadow which made out the shape of a human trying to make her way up. The person seemed to be struggling to find her way. To his amusement, he watched the person's shadow slipped. Splat! So, it was this clumsy person. Len tried to hold in his laughter and reminded that this person could be a thief. Turning his heel, he headed down to the particular stairs.

He doubled his speed and screeched, "Halt who goes there!"

12:59am,Private tree-house, The entry stairway

She turned around sharply, surprised by what she heard. No one was behind her. Could it an officer? It can't be. She knew she lost them. All she wanted was a shelter. There was an abandoned looking tree house, at least what she thought at first. Her intentions were clean; she just intended to hide. The young lady wanted to take a refuge from the officers until she could come up with a way prove her innocence. Somehow. One way or another. She heard the heavy footsteps coming close from her the stairs ahead of her.

"Don't move a single inch!" Those words made her stiffen. She gulped.

As Len got closer, he had a look on the troublemaker's back. Thanks to the dim lights by the trees, he realised the trespasser was a young woman soaked to the bone. Len observed how this lady had a unique hair colour -it was blue-grey. He was unable to describe it just yet in the dusk. Len secretly smirked at the idea of how unlucky she was. She just stood there,frozen like an icicle. What was her objective for trespassing his property? He was about to find out. Len eyed her warily. "Turn around and face me."

Many thoughts were troubling the lady's mind. Who was behind her? Should she not look back and run for it? The young lady reversed the direction of what she was currently facing, gradually. Why the hell was she following his commands? Was it too late to retrace her steps? The thought she would run into someone once she had lost the officers after her never crossed by her mind. Well, especially, not a young man quite inappropriately dressed for the weather. No, he was definitely not in a proper attire. The sight shocked her so much that she stared, noting that he not only lacked a shirt or coat at least but also shoes. One should not be out in that weather at all, let along barefoot with a towel that exhibited basically no warmth. She noted that his abs were to die for. Cross that thought.

Her ethereal green eyes were staring into his azure ones. The young woman stood there as if she was paralyzed as he lifted up his right hand. On his hand, there was no mistaking it. It was a gun. She gulped once more. One wrong move she could be done for.

"Dare move a step forward, I won't have a second thought about triggering this gun." Len gave her a warning. He pull back the hammer of his gun to show serious he was.

The black revolver was aimed right at her, point-blank. Her eyes widened and she lifted her both hands, in surrender. The young lady wanted to speak. She wanted to say that he meant no harm but she could not find her voice. Her breaths were still being laboured from all the running she did to get where she was now. Not to mention, her bottom hurt after slipping for three times. She blamed the rain for that.

"I-I...I wasn't trying to...I meant...I was…I just…I need…I wanted….I-" She paused. The combination of stress and drama was too much to bear for the young lady. She lean towards the railing and muttered. "I promise you that I didn't do it. I swear I didn't do it."

Len managed to catch her last line. However, he was still puzzled by what she was trying to say. "What did you not do?" he asked her in a cool manner. She must be petrified of the gun that he was pointing at her. Len silently thought to himself that he found a new "toy". She had been obediently obeying his orders after all. He was going to be entertained.

The lady tried to find her voice once more. "I," She began to confess. "I-I didn't kill Rin."

Len's blue orbs widened in shock. Rin? It can't be her. Not her. No. No. No. "Rin is dead?" His grip on his black revolver tightened, his trembling right index finger resting dangerously on the trigger. "Utatane Rin is dead?"

A/N:
Between Shadows and Lies is an inspiration between a mix of stories, including an unfinished novel of mine under the same title.
If this fanfic would be an anime, in my opinion, The day I became a Monster by rerulili ft. Fukase fits as an opening song. Go listen to it...and maybe you'll understand why I picked the song.
From this fanfic, I hope to promote vocaloid songs each chapter which I would feel that it's suitable. There's so many good stuff out there (sadly not translated in English etc). I don't know the things will go from here.
Thank you for reading! I hope you'll enjoy the story and the future chapters.