Kamia: So maybe the reason I haven't updated any of my stories is because I've been working on a book... and other stuff. Anyways here's something I've been working on with my best friend to help get rid of the stress from publishing. Hope you guys like it, because we've been having a lot of fun with it.


Chapter 1

The rain poured over the city, the sky a dingy gray with small patches of black that seemed to peek through the blanket of mush. A young male was walking with an umbrella, making his way home. Normally he never liked walking in the rain, it reminded him too much of crying, making the connection of him when he was a younger kid. Turning the corner, he ran into a young woman, causing her to fall to the ground. "Oh, I'm so sorry, here let me help you." Reaching his hand out, he helped her up, giving her an apologetic smile before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cloth he always carried with him in case of emergencies.

"It's quite alright, I wasn't looking where I was going." Lelouch noticed the blush tinting her cheeks, it was common for him every time he interacted with a woman. "Maybe we should get out of the rain, I think there should be one final train coming before they're done for the day," he said, holding the umbrella over her. She nodded and followed him to the nearest subway entrance. Their footsteps echoed down the hall, catching sight that they were the only ones down there. He approached a train schedule and smiled. "We're in luck, there's one final one and it should be arriving soon."

He turned to see her looking at him, her blush getting brighter. "Is something wrong?" "Eh...nothing it's just...thank you...for helping me," she stammered, looking down at her feet. Lelouch chuckled before rubbing his head. "It's no problem really." "Um...here let me give you my card...that way I can repay you." He took the card from her, reading her name. "Shirley..." Then it hit him, a big wave of pain causing him to drop the card to the ground. "Are you okay?" Lelouch groaned, leaning against the wall. "Yeah...my head just hurts..."

Slowly, he moved towards the bathroom, asking if she'd alert him if the train arrived. Standing over the sink, he stared into his reflection, waiting for it to come. Closing his eyes, he released a ragged breath, opening them up once again, his eyes a different color and his hair seemed to tint a bit. "It's my time to play," he said out loud, his voice low and seemingly demonic. Opening up his bag, he took out a pair of gloves and slipped a knife into his coat pocket. Making his way out, Shirley turned to face him, her face questioning if he felt better.

"Are you alright? Oh, I never did get your name..." "It's Zero." Shirley blinked in surprise, wondering if he was being serious. "That's a strange name..." Zero smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I know, but that's the last name you'll ever hear," he said before lunging forward and burying the blade deep into her abdominal. The noise she made was a mix between a gasp and a gurgled gag, as blood was pushed out of her mouth as she stumbled back when Zero retracted the blade. He sighed as she continued to move away from him, trying to make distance so she could be able to escape.

"Oh come now, you're only going to make this harder on yourself," he said with a laugh. She was shivering, holding her hand to cover the wound but blood was spilling fast. Looking at his watch, he knew the train was going to get there soon so he'd have to finish her soon. "Darling, if we don't make this quick, then we'll miss our train," he commented, slowly walking closer to her. Shirley darted to the side, attempting to make an escape but her arm was caught in his Zero's hard hold and he yanked her towards him before plunging the blade into her throat.

Now that was a gurgle, the blood began to pour everywhere, spilling on his clothes. She collapsed to the ground, blood pooling around her as she tried to move but the pain made it too much for her to accomplish. Tears of pain and fear were falling from her eyes as she stared up at the cynical male. Leaning next to her, he leveled the blade over her chest, smiling down at her. "Bye bye, Shirley. It was nice meeting you." With that, he plunged it deep, watching the blood flow out and the life draining from those pretty brown eyes she had.

Zero sighed before continuing with cutting up her clothes so her chest and stomach area were exposed to him. With the blade, he cut a precise line over the fair skin to the point where he could pull the skin back and began the same operation with the muscles until her internal organs were exposed. He'd always wanted to do this but he would have to make it quick. Cutting up the long intestines he formed the letter R, with the ending connected to her body. Once he was done, he removed thin waxed paper which he stepped on and began to shed his clothes, dressing into an extra pair he'd carried in his bag.

Once he was clean, he wrapped plastic around his feet heading over to the trashcan and tossing everything he'd used from his clothes down to the gloves, wax paper and even his shoes. "Hmm, let's leave something to help draw attention," he said aloud, emptying a small canteen of liquor he carried into the trashcan before lighting a match and watching it burn. A cynical laugh escaped him as he walked away, pulling out his umbrella and headed back out into the pouring rain.

The rain was pouring heavily upon the city. As the civilians quickly disbursed from the streets, flashing lights and sirens replaced them. Arriving in his own car Suzaku, turned off the small signal atop of the roof. His green eyes surveyed the area carefully before making his way over to the men in blue. Giving one last look to the skies above, he could see a glimmer of light peeking through the clouds.

It had stormed heavily last night, as if to weep for the loss taken. Being lead to the bottom of the subway platform, he looked over the body of the latest victim on the case. The twenty-six year old was not some rookie cop on vice, nor was he the sergeant for a leading team. Suzaku was a detective, and a damn good one if he did say so himself. It had been his dream to solve crimes for as long as he could remember. He had plenty of memories of playing murder-mystery games with his beloved younger "brother". It came at a great shock to him where he first joined the force, but he had gained enough experience over the years to earn his own shield.

Now here he was staring at the mutilated corpse of a young lady in an old subway train station. "The victim is white female, between late teens to early twenties, with long orange hair. Her brown eyes are open fully gazing upward, possibly staring at the killer. She has two stab wounds, one to the throat and one to the chest. Her top is sliced open (probably from a hunting knife of some sort) exposing the breasts and abdomen; that of which has been cut open, exposing numerous organs, excluding the small intestines which have been pulled nearly fully out and laid upon the ground to form what appears to be the letter 'R'." he observed while his partner wrote down notes. Kneeling closer to the body, he examined the wounds more closely before pulling away.

"It appears that she was attacked near the men's restroom, before putting up a fight and coming to an end at this point. Judging from the blood trail, of course." his colleague imputed while walking over to the starter point for emphasis.

"We'll have to wait for the blood work to come back before we can conclude anything." Suzaku commented as he walked away from the body to stand near his partner as well. "From this distance it gives us a possible clue to the killer's gender." he noted while sending a team of forensics to check out the public facilities. There wasn't much he could do at that point for the night. He would have to wait for the formal reports on the dead girl's identity, cause of death or anything else before calling anything a certainty.

After leaving his notes back at the station, the auburn haired man made his way back to his apartment, beating the morning traffic. Once inside, the detective made his way over to his bedroom while coming across sight of the living room. The television was on with a news report of the crime scene he had just left behind. Sprawled across the leather couch was his young roommate, dozed off in a deep sleep. Sighing slightly, Suzaku turned off the electronic box before nudging the other's shoulder softly. "Wake up, buddy, you know you can't sleep here. It'll give you back problems" he whispered as he rubbed the back of his neck. He had pulled an all-nighter working over this case before receiving a call about the recently found body.

Lelouch didn't know when he'd turned back to normal, nor did he remember making it back to the apartment but when he'd come to he was greeted with the TV, guessing that Zero had turned it on to see how long it would take them to discover the next body. And before he knew it, he passed out on the sofa, since Zero normally took a lot out of him. His dreams consisted of nothing but darkness and there were times he would come face to face with Zero, even most times it felt like even his dreams were being controlled by the other male.

He sat up with a start when he was awakened by his roommate. He yawned before looking up to face Suzaku. "How long was I asleep," he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes. Glancing at the clock, he couldn't really guess how long since he didn't recall even getting home, at least not sanity wise. As he took in the surroundings, he sat up stretching out before actually getting up this time. "Did you just get in? You look really tired," he commented releasing another yawn.

The clock read 6 a.m. but luckily today he wasn't going to be needed for work. Walking into the kitchen, he opened up a cabinet and took out a container of pills. He passed them off for vitamins but in actuality they were his prescribed pills that his parents had paid off so that way no one would know their son had an imperfection. He filled a cup with water before swallowing them down, putting the container away.

"I guess since I'm awake now I'll head out to buy breakfast, want anything," he called walking over to the door to put his shoes on, finding they'd been kicked at the entrance. Lelouch reached out for his bag when his hand stopped midair. "I suggest you take another back," he heard the voice comment. He sighed before picking up the bag before walking over to his room to take out his wallet before tossing it in the closet and taking a different bag out.

When he came back out, he followed the other male into his room. "Is that a yes or no for wanting something for breakfast cuz once I'm out the door I don't want you texting or calling saying you changed your mind and actually want food," he said, yawning again as he tried to get all the sleepiness out of him as he possibly could.

Chuckling at the drowsiness of his roommate, Suzaku looked over to the window to jester to the rising sun. "Not sure, was it raining when you got in? Well than again that shower just finished a few minutes ago, so I'm not sure if that helps." he joked before lifting himself up from his crouched position in front of the younger man. Following the other's example, the detective release a rather long yawn before rubbing his neck again. Stretching his arms far into the air, he felt the tension released enough for the soreness of the night to wither away.

"Pulled another all-nighter." he admitted while looking at his friend sheepishly. "This case is really getting to me. So many victims with little in common; only the display of the corpse bonds them together. No doubt in my mind that it's a serial killer, but you know how pig-headed my chief can be about drawing those conclusions." Reaching out to ruffle the messy locks of the dark haired man lightly, he then turned around to walk to his bedroom.

Opening the dark oak door he peered into the darkness before glancing back over his shoulder to give Lelouch another reassuring smile. "Don't worry though, I'll catch this son of a bitch soon. No way is he going to lay a hand on you or anyone else for that matter." Entering the bedchamber, the brunette allowed himself to collapse onto the pile of blankets on his bed. His sheets have long since been kicked off, revealing the mattress beneath. Pillows laid askew in opposite corners as the comforter hanged over the far post. Just another sign of his occupation, never to be made into a perfect bedspread since the first night they were laid.

Dozing off amongst the mess of his bed, Suzaku disregarded the first call for breakfast. As he felt his muscles relax was when he noticed the loud question of his "younger brother". His green eyes opened slightly to look back up to the person in the doorway. "I was planning on hitting the hay, but if you happen to go by Micky-Ds than can you grab me one of those breakfast sandwiches?" he asked hopefully, realizing the emptiness of his stomach. Used to eating fast food made the detective wonder when was the last time his indulged in a proper morning meal. How lucky was he to have a caring and thoughtful roommate as Lelouch.

After the younger man had left, Suzaku reclined back into his bed hoping to catch a quick nap before the meal. Slumming off, he found himself back at the newest crime scene. There was the blood of the young woman recently slain but no body to be found. Walking towards the tunnel of the sub rail, he saw her up ahead of him. Her soft brown eyes held no life yet she still managed to smile softly at the detective. The gash in her throat continued to dribble blood as she giggled at his confusion. "Who did it?" he questioned as she seemed to stand completely frozen in time. It was then that he noticed the shadowy figure behind her. The ginger opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. "The dead don't talk." a voice chanted softly as red eyes from the shadow opened fully.

Awaking from the nightmare, Suzaku stared up to the ceiling in a daze. His eyes focused and unfocused on the many patterned of the tiles above while the clock in the living room ticked off the seconds. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but knew that the sun was high up in the sky by then. Had Lelouch returned yet or was he still out? He didn't know and felt he had no energy to check either. Closing his eyes for a second, he thought back to the dream and the possible meaning it could have had. Blinking a few slow times, he found himself slowly drifting back to sleep.

Lelouch nodded at the comment of getting a breakfast sandwich from Mickey-D's since that was the only thing that seemed to be open this early in the morning. Walking out the front door, he thought back to what he'd said earlier. 'Don't worry, I'll catch that son of a bitch...' Releasing a sigh, he wondered which case he was referring to, after all his other persona wasn't exactly the only one committing crimes in this city. He lifted the flaps of his jacket, feeling the leftover chill of the rain that had passed.

T.V's flashed in an electronics store, making him stop to see what exactly they were reporting. No expression showed on his face when he saw the cops doing examinations of the dead body found in the subway station. The flashing lights and yellow caution tapes blocking off all entrances stood out more than the woman's voice reporting it. He could hear the laughter in his head as he turned away and continued walking. After all of this, he'd let go of the queasiness he felt when he was forced to face the handiwork on the news every day.

Arriving at the fast food joint, he walked through the doors glancing at the menu to contemplate what he wanted to eat as well. Lelouch felt stares on him, causing him to stare straight ahead at the worker at the register. There was no denying he was staring especially at the sudden blush that formed on his cheeks when he had looked down to face him. 'Well, well isn't he the cute one.' Lelouch moved closer, placing his hands on the counter. "Hi, may I have two breakfast sandwiches to go?" He couldn't contain the smile at the way the flushed male was fumbling with the register. "That will be 3.84," he stuttered after a while.

Lelouch pulled out a $5 bill handing it to him, but made sure that his finger made contact with the others hand. He heard the gasp, and he knew that he had in his grasp. "You can keep the change," he said in a low voice, a smirk grazing his lips. Lelouch was rather glad that there was no one else in there aside from the workers in the back that were currently making the food. "I know this may seem a little forward of me, but do you want to meet up later today? Unless you're not...you know into men." He couldn't contain the chuckle that left him when the male behind the counter blushed a bright shade of red.

"Uh...I...uh...s-sure..." Lelouch released a genuine smile before taking a pen and writing his name and number down on the receipt. "We can meet up when you get out of work, just give me a call," he said with a wink. "A-alright...um, I'm...Rolo..." There was then a beep signaling that the food was ready to go. Rolo quickly packed the food, slowly handing him the bag. "Alright Rolo, I'll see you later," said Lelouch, taking the bag before turning and walking it out leave the blushing male to stare at him till he was out of sight.

When he was a pretty good distance from the place, he released a cynical laugh that was actually playing inside his mind. 'Damn I'm good, I love how these stupid suckers easily fall into my hands!' Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a prepaid phone, making sure that the number on it was the exact one he'd given the boy. 'This will be good.' Reaching the apartment, he unlocked the door to find all the lights still off so he figured Suzaku was still asleep. He put the others breakfast on the table before leaving once again, deciding to head to work early.

The walk to his work was still as quiet as the walk to go pick up breakfast. He figured people were now getting too scared to walk around this early in the morning, well not with the bunch of killings going on. He began to hum to himself before actually letting words spill from his mouth. He knew he was good at singing, due to his parents making him take singing lessons as well as piano lessons, violin lessons and guitar lessons. They were all the aspects of being the perfect son, until all of this started happening.

Awaking fully from the chronic pain in his back, Suzaku released a displeased growl at how harsh his body seemed to want to awake him. A part of the detective wanted to give up on the real world and fall into a coma-like state. He honestly hated the reality that society could be so cruel. That a fellow man can so brutally torture another living being. If he was still a rookie, there was no way he could solve this case. That was then, and this was now. He had a responsibility to the next target victim.

"I need to find this lunatic now, before the next guy's guts are lying in the dirt." he muttered, as he lifted himself from the comfort of the sheet. Scratching his head lightly, the brunette made his way back to the small kitchen he shared with his roommate. On the table was the sandwich the other promised before he left.

"Kid must have gone back to work." he guessed, before trotting over to the icebox and pulling out a bottle of milk. Chugging down half of the liquid, he sat at the pulled out chair before eating his much desired breakfast. There normally wasn't time for common etiquette with his line of work. Giving a glance around the apartment showed how much time was actually spent in there. Suzaku found himself chuckling at the memories of how it was before Lelouch came to live with him. There was a mess everywhere before the college boy fussed about it. Now it was a clean as it could possibly be with two bachelors living in it.

He had once joked how they should bring in a maid since the detective was too busy to do the work and the grad student was intolerant of the mess, but didn't want to get his own hands dirty. His grin quickly became sullen with the silence surrounding the living room that day. He had forgotten how long it has been since Lelouch's family had passed on, but the old lifestyle was most likely still fresh in the other's mind. Suzaku never did find out what exactly happened that day, but has resolved to wait until the younger man was ready to open up about it. He remembers that phone call in which his childhood friend gave him the news and asked for a place to stay. There wasn't much the detective wouldn't do for the man he felt was like a younger brother to him, but that day, after years of absence, he swore to never allow the dark haired boy to feel that kind of pain again.

Shaking his head of grim memories, the brown haired man quickly finished his meal, showered and dressed before heading out the door. He didn't have to report into the department until later on that day, so the man made the decision to visit the last crime scene again. There must have been something he had missed that day.


To be Continued

Special Thanks to my best friend Ayame for helping me with this.

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