Firstly, there are two things to say.

1) This chapter contains a tad bit of bad language.

2) This will be the last chapter for the time being, as I am going on holiday for two weeks (as of today) with no internet connection. So please bear withh me! I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I get back.

But anyway, enjoy!

Vocaloid belongs to Yamaha.

The Schoolgirl and the Cat

"No father? What are you talking about?" yelled Miku. "Of course you have a father! Everyone does!"

Len gave a soft hmph.

"Who are you anyway? I've had enough of you messing around. And Rin's been acting all weird lately because of you," Miku continued ranting. "It's all your fault, see? And now you just stroll into our apartment, in your wet clothes and just say to me that you have no father. What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

Miku was all fired up. She was annoyed and angry and extremely frustrated. She glared at Len. Steadily, Len held her stare. He was only just taller than her, so it was easier than the times he had to stare down others who had been much taller.

"I mean what I mean," he whispered with a hint of menace in his voice. "It's not as if people like you could understand anyway." He turned around and started walking away, when Rin's cheerful voice rang in the air.

"Len! There's some cake on the kitchen table for you. That's all we have, I'm afraid."

Grinning, the boy strolled into the kitchen, coming back out with a slice of chocolate cake on a plate. In his left hand, he held a silver fork with a lump of cake on. Eating it, he smiled contentedly.

"Very nice," he shouted to Rin, who was busy washing up a few bits and pieces. Len leaned against the doorframe, eating, and occasionally glancing murderously at a glowering Miku.

"Just don't break the plate," she commented bitterly, receiving another murderous glare from Len.

...

"Rin! You can't go on like this! You can't love him!"

"Why not? Just because you're jealous or something?"

"Why should I love a jerk like that? I'm telling you, he's no good. He left without a goodbye!"

"So what? Besides, Len is not a jerk!"

The two girls argued with each other on the way to school that day. It was a beautiful morning, ruined only by the sparking quarrel and the tense atmosphere.

Last night, Len had slept in the living room, on the couch, after a quick shower and drying his clothes off. Miku and Rin had also gone to bed and had woken up this morning to find that the boy had gone without a word. All he had left behind was a paper crane with "unfold me" written on its wing.

It was actually a letter to the two girls, and a short one at that. All it said was:

Thanks for the stay.

Len x

Miku wasn't quite happy with this, although Rin protested, saying that at least he said thank you. However, what Rin did not say was that when she woke up this morning, she had found an origami heart on her dressing table and, upon unfolding it, read a letter from Len as well. It asked her to come round to his house in the afternoon, after school. He gave her his address and phone number, before signing it off with his name, a kiss and a heart.

Rin could only blush and a hurried thought had flitted through her mind. He came into my room when I was asleep.

After school had ended, Rin made an excuse to Miku, saying that she would do a bit of grocery shopping. She told Miku to go home first. In reality, Rin was doing just as Len said. Meet me.

She slowly walked down the streets, as she searched for her destination. When she arrived, at the house, she marvelled at the size and sight of it. It was a huge house – almost like a mansion – and it stood, towering and alone.

Following, the gravelly pathway, she opened the iron gate which was, surprisingly, unlocked. Suddenly, a dog barked. Rin froze. WOOF! She ran to the porch, slamming into the huge, oak door, which flung open. Consequently, Rin landed on the hard, wood floor. Why was the front door unlocked as well? Strange.

It was beautiful inside. The high ceiling was well over twenty feet above her head and with every step she took, a click echoed down the empty hallways. The house had an odd, old-fashioned feel to it.

Curiously, Rin looked around and went into the first room she came across. It was pitch-black.

A sudden white flash blinded her. Once her eyes had adjusted to the light change, she realised she was framed by a spotlight. Gazing around, she saw black curtains draped over windows and sets of modern equipment… so out of place with the old atmosphere. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was filming equipment. Cameras, studio lights, boxes full of props and costumes and even sound mixers lay scattered across the gigantic room.

"Rin Kagamine," announced a voice, which had been amplified through a microphone, or a megaphone. "Blonde girl, aged 14. Likes cooking and daydreaming. Dislikes dogs and school. 5 feet tall. Looks cute with ribbons. That was my addition to this boring information. Current occupation – schoolgirl. Dreams of being whisked away by a prince in shining armour on a white horse. Has only a handful of personality defects, one of which being… not knocking on front doors to come in to someone's house."

Staring up, Rin saw a shadowy figure on the balcony. Len.

With a flick of a switch Len turned on his own spotlight. He was holding a file, full of papers. He had been reading these many times over. He had practically memorised the information that they held.

"Len?" Rin repeated aloud.

"That's me," replied the boy. And, with one hand on the balcony ledge, he pushed himself off and jumped, landing cat-like on the ground, only an arm's length away from a pink-faced Rin. "You came much earlier than I had expected."

He wore a scruffy white shirt underneath a black jacket, which was equally scruffy and dirty. His black trousers were slightly ripped by the knees and his black shoes had grey stripes which were once supposedly white. His waiter's tie was carelessly draped around his neck.

Len took a few swift steps forward, his left hand in his pocket, until he was right beside the trembling girl.

"What… what else do you know?" stammered Rin.

"Oh," he whispered in her ear, "Quite a bit. It's my job, you know?" It was a slightly sinister whisper which chilled Rin to the bone. Len took another few steps forwards, before turning on his heels to face Rin, cold blue eyes twinkling with mischief in the half-dark.

"Anyways," Len continued in a brighter, more playful voice, "Come on. This isn't a proper room for a guest to be in."

Rin stepped forward uneasily, feeling dizzy. Why? For the first time, seeing Len's smiling face made her uneasy. Why? Could Miku be right? What did Len mean by this being his job?

Not watching where she was going, Rin tripped over, but before hitting the hard floor, she was caught in soft arms.

"Careful."

Rin saw Len's worried face. As she stood up, he held her gently, arms around her waist.

"I'm fine," Rin flustered, turning bright red. She shook his hands off. Even in the dim light of the hallway, Rin saw Len's bandaged left hand. "What happened to your hand?"

Len shrugged and grinned. "It's fine."

Taking her hand in his, Len led Rin to upstairs and around various corners, before opening the door to a room. Once inside, it was obvious this was Len's bedroom. Unlike the overall old-fashioned feel of the house, this room was new and contemporary. And it was enormous, although very untidy and extremely disorganised. To the left side was a king-sized bed, with the duvet hanging off the side; against the front wall that they faced, was a desk at least two arms wide, complete with a yellow laptop, sheets of paper, miscellaneous pens and pencils, and a stylish desk lamp; and to the right hand side, where there should be a wall, there was instead a sheet of thick glass with a sliding door to a balcony overlooking the garden. Clothes were strewn all over the bed and bits of snacks – crumbs and packets alike – were strewn all over the floor.

"Wow," breathed Rin.

"Wow it's messy, or wow it's awesome?" joked Len. He added to himself, "Seems like I forgot to tidy up. Again."

"It's fine. I don't mind," replied Rin, having heard the boy's muttering.

Sunlight shone through the glass wall, lighting up the room significantly.

"Come in," beckoned the boy.

Rin stepped in, taking in her surroundings. There was a simple, white and red fur carpet by the bed. She blinked. What was the black object on it?

Seeing her stare intently at something, Len followed the girl's line of vision.

He swore to himself as he realised what was lying there on the carpet. Shit. He really did forget to tidy up.

Len sidestepped and was about to kick the black object back under the bed when he saw Rin's expression and he froze. It was a mixture of curiosity, anxiety and, ultimately, fear. He had seen that sort of expression far too many times in his life already. Fear.

Scared blue eyes met a pair of regretful, sorrowful ones.

"L-Len…" began the girl tentatively. She inspected the red on the carpet closely. It was no ordinary red. She glanced back at the boy's bandaged left and. She had the pieces of the puzzle, but how did it all fit?

"I'll tell you how it fits," said Len, with a dangerously serious tone. It was as if he'd read her mind. But things like that were easy. "But firstly, you were surprised by my dog, weren't you?"

"I… I thought you had a cat," whispered Rin, her voice trembling.

Len smiled slyly. "Whoops. I lied again. But the thing is, I do have a cat. In a way."

"Wh-what do you mean?" ventured the girl.

"Let's say… we've been playing a game of cat and mouse since you met me. And, as you're the scared, cute, little white mouse, then I must be the hunting black cat. Right?" He winked.

Rin couldn't believe it. Any of it. It can't be true.

"Well, let's get back to this carpet then, shall we," continued Len with a tired sigh. He bent down and picked up the offending black object.

Rin could bear it no longer. She blurted out, "Why? Why is there a gun? Why is there blood on the carpet?"

Len held the gun in his left hand and cocked it. Single-handedly, he aimed a shot just above the girl's head. Bang!

His expression full of menace, he stared the girl right in the eyes. With a bitter laugh, he explained:

"Because it's my job."

Hehe... a bit of suspense there. Well, you can keep guessing. All will be revealed in two weeks' time!

And thank you for reading!