Hiding his smirk underneath the cowl, Matthew quickly retracted his blade, the soft sound of metal sliding back into hiding filling his ears. Looking over the fallen body, he left the scene, casually making his way to an alley before breaking out into a run. On his wrist was an electronic device resembling a watch that indicated he had two pursuers on him. With a few jabs of his thumb Matthew began flicking through the targets, until he stopped on one with messy blond hair and grinned.

Matthew joined a small gathering of people as they made their way down a cobbled street, his eyes searching the diverse crowd for a shorter man with a familiar face. After a few minutes of walking, finally his violet eyes fell upon his target; known as the Footpad to others, Matthew knew this one was Arthur. This was made especially clear when he watched Arthur tackle a blonde haired barber to the ground, and stabbed him with such malicious glee it was slightly unnerving. Blonde tresses swaying softly as he shook his head, Matthew saw Arthur stand slowly, still glowing from his victory.

Marking it as an easy kill, he chose that moment to leave his fraction, gently brushing by the noble men and women as he moved swiftly towards the man. Footfalls silent over the stone, Matthew felt the comforting sensation of the mechanism activating, and ran his fingers over the cold steel. He held his breath, and tensed his muscles, ready to strike when the sounds of heavy footsteps filled his senses and made him still.

He retracted the blade when, looking to the right, he saw a plague-masked man running towards him, his confident blue eyes the only thing that gave him away as he neared. With a sharp intake of air, Matthew forgot about Arthur and ran. Taking a running jump, he scaled the side of a nearby building with ease, vaulting himself up over the lip, and racing over the roof. Tiles clacking beneath his feet, he looked behind him to see Alfred hot on his trail.

"You can't run forever, Mattie!" he taunted in a sing-song voice, slightly muffled and distorted from the mask. It did nothing but send slight chills down Matthew's back, no matter how he tried to ignore it. But the grin soon left his face as Alfred watched the robed man jump from the roof, pitching forward in a roll when he landed, and without missing a beat ran down a side street. "Hey, not fair!"

Alfred took a quick leap of faith, rolling out of the hay just as fast to chase after the man known to most as Il Lupo, but as Mattie to him…and to him only. Each slap of his feet against the ground matched the hurried pace of his heart, but it all played into the excitement. Just as he turned the corner, his vision was enshrouded with a wall of thick smoke. It filled his lugs, suffocating him in his attempt to breathe so he was left in a fit of coughs and wheezing breaths. He strained his eyes as he tried to look around, desperate in his search for the hooded man through the haze.

Violet flashed a second before he felt hands clap either side of his head, effectively bringing him to his knees, stunning him. Matthew followed Alfred down, his hand mockingly tender as he moved the fabric away from his ear so he could lick the shell. "How's that instead of running, Al?" Matthew laughed down at Alfred before turning, fabric swirling around him, and ran.

He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins as Matthew walked along the streets, searching for Arthur once more. A flash of blonde caught in the corner of his eye, and when he looked up he had to shake his head with a smile once more as he saw his target. Arthur stood in plain sight on a nearby roof, looking around for his own target. With a click of his tongue, Matthew walked over to a close enough spot as he readied another weapon in his arsenal- his gun. Matthew raised his arm, took aim, and felt the gun shift before- bang- Arthur flinched, his expression one of pained surprise as he pressed a hand to his chest. The feeling was quickly lost and soon enough Arthur fell to the side off of the building.

Displaying a soft smile from hearing the satisfying thud, Matthew took to hiding once more. From the information displayed on his device, he unfortunately now had three pursuers so Matthew decided to hide until at least one was taken out. 'But where would be best-'Matthew nodded to himself when he spotted a gazebo on a nearby roof. Taking off, he ran around to the side of the building and pulled himself up, his breathing and the sound of his booted feet the only thing breaking the silence. He didn't stop until he threw himself into the hiding spot, readjusting the cloth once fully concealed inside. He maintained a defensive stance as he waited, one eye on the watch.

When one red light finally disappeared, Matthew was about to let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, when it caught as a man pulled back the fabric and jumped inside. Matthew had quick reflexes, but unfortunately he had lowered his defences and wasn't fast enough to prevent the man from straddling him and pinning his wrists against the ground.

"Hey, Birdie," a leering jester's face rasped down to him. Red eyes could be seen flashing from beneath the mask as they gazed down at the man below him. Matthew could tell that Gilbert was smiling just like the mask he wore.

"Number one assassin, caught by the awesome me. But, you won't be number one for much longer," Gilbert sat back, removing his mask and throwing it to the side of the gazebo with a flick of his wrist.

"Get off!"

"Oh…I will," he cackled, which made Matthew's panic meter spike.

"What's taking so long! Just kill me!"

Gilbert leaned over, hovering over him completely in an obvious act of dominance. "Not just yet." He took both wrists in one hand, and his now free hand travelled lower. Matthew grit his teeth and closed his eyes, turning his head away and trying to will the feelings away. Cupping and palming Matthew's clothed groin, Gilbert smirked. "You're getting harder-"

There was a shout, the sound of fabric moving before all was silent. Matthew felt an odd prickling along his skin, the type one feels when they feel someone is looking at them, so he slowly opened his eyes. One moment Matthew saw a jester hovering above him, and the next a plague doctor stood before him, in the process of kneeling. His heart went into overdrive. Matthew tried to sit up and crawl away, but Alfred wouldn't let him. Alfred moved between Matthew's thrashing legs and pressed against him, holding his hips for a moment to pull Matthew closer as he grinded. Grasping the mask, Alfred took it off much more gingerly than Gilbert did, setting it to the side before the full power of his gaze fell on Matthew.

"Ah, messere Williams, why am I not surprised," Alfred cupped his face, turning it side to side as he spoke in a horrible Italian accent. Although he changed his voice, Matthew could hear the deeper, roughened lilt to it- illustrating his arousal even more. His hands were covered in blood, fresh from getting rid of Gilbert, and it smeared over his jaw line. Alfred pressed against Matthew harder, his grinding becoming even more rough as he threaded his fingers through Matthew's hair, making the hood completely fall back and coating the golden strands red.

"Where's-" A gasp and shudder.

"Taken out." Hot breath ghosted over lips.

"So you're not my pursuer?" Violet searched sky blue.

Matthew felt Alfred's lips press against him, stretching into a smirk before he opened Matthew's mouth with his thumb. Plundering his mouth, Alfred moaned loudly as he rubbed his tongue against the other's. There was a hint of a metallic taste, but all it served was to turn him on, on top of the delicious mewling sounds coming from Matthew as he continued to move against him.

"Alfred…"

"It's okay, Mattie…you have nothing to worry about."

Alfred moved back, pulled off Matthew's slacks and threw them to the side as Matthew closed his eyes, panting and holding onto Alfred's shoulders. Working him fast, pleasure exploded in Matthew's mind, effectively blocking out the small pinch.

"That's it, Mattie. Come for me."

Twisting his wrist, worshipping his member with his hand, Alfred watched fervently as Matthew came, shuddering beneath him. Acting fast now, Alfred slathered Matthew's entrance with his seed, stretching him before coating himself. Fumbling slightly, Alfred managed to push deep inside of him until they were flush against each other.

Not in any mood to be gentle, Alfred slammed against Matthew, brutally pounding into him. His choked screams were music to his ears, and only made Alfred that much rougher. He moved down to kiss Matthew, smiling as his whimpers fed his mouth…and then he felt it. He was so close to the edge that he was shocked he felt it at all. Alfred felt Matthew begin to shake and shudder against him, but it was not from arousal. Alfred rested on his hands, moving back so that he could see the distressed man's entire face. His eyes were a soul piercing shade of blue, nearly glowing as he watched Matthew take in labouring breaths, and felt the grip on his shoulders slowly loosen until they fell to his sides. The light in the violet eyes slowly started to fade, so Alfred leaned in close, right by his ear to whisper, "I love you, Mattie." With one final thrust, Alfred came as the last light was extinguished.

Pulling out, he tucked himself back inside his pants, adjusted his clothes and put his mask back on. A quick look to his watch made the man smirk once more.

'Currently in the lead.'

Kissing the quickly fading lips, Alfred slipped from the hiding spot and ran.

—

Matthew felt his feet touch the cobblestone before his vision cleared to show the church he was standing in. A quick look to his watch showed, in flashing red numbers, that one minute remained. Not caring about stealth anymore, and grateful that pain didn't carry over, he ran.

Twisting and pushing through the crowds, occasionally stopping to look around for any pursuers, Matthew searched for the sadistic doctor. Pushing back the sweat damp hair from his forehead and taking a deep breath as he looked over the clearing, he finally spotted Alfred, his back to Matthew as he was slowly approaching Arthur.

Silently but quickly, Matthew stalked up behind Alfred and jumped, just before he was able to make his move on Arthur. Wrapping his legs around his waist tightly, Matthew ripped the fabric back from his head, making the mask fall as he whispered, "I love you too." He quickly unsheathed his hidden blade and plunged it deep into his side, pointed upward. Matthew held Alfred lovingly close, feeling his muscles tense and go through spasms beneath his touch as the man fell to his knees, making Matthew untangle his legs to prevent him from falling as well. Keeping Alfred upright, Matthew stabbed him once more for good measure as he held him against his body.

Just as Alfred began to fade, a horn sounded, and everyone around them froze. White flashed before his eyes, and Matthew saw himself ranked first, Alfred second, then Francis, Arthur, and Gilbert last. The white quickly vanished, and upon opening his eyes, Matthew found himself back in the animus room. He sat up and watched the others stir to life. Matthew just slid off his animus when Alfred jumped off his.

"What the hell, man! ? Cheap shot, right at the end! I almost had the old man!"

"Who are you calling old, you-"

"Why you, my dear-"

"Cheap! ? You call that cheap! ? What about you, you psycho!"

Taken aback for only a split second, Alfred smirked and sauntered closer, grabbing Matthew by the hair at the nape of his neck. "It didn't hurt…and you know you liked it, baby. Wasn't it great? We can do whatever we want, however we want to, and nothing will happen! No rules!"

"There are rules, Alfred! That's not how you play the game!" Matthew took a fistful of Alfred's sweater, twisting it and pulling him close.

"I'll play however I damn well want to play, Mattie," his voice deepened as he tightened his hold, pulling Matthew closer.

"You son of a-" Matthew pulled Alfred the rest of the way, their lips pressing against each other harshly. The moment he felt Alfred relax his grip, he pushed him away and smirked across to him. "Yes, well you may play however you want to, but it still doesn't get you first place. Might want to try a little harder next time, eh?" With a sickly sweet smile Matthew left the room.

"…Was that a challenge?" Alfred called out, somewhat menacingly before running after the blonde.

"Alfred-"

"Just leave them alone," Francis cooed to Arthur, placing a hand on his shoulder. Arthur just shirked him off, turning to glare at him.

"And you! How did you manage to do better than me?"

Francis tilted his head slightly, his golden brows arching in pity. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Gilbert watched in amusement as another, much more modern battle began to take place before him.