"Pain"

Yuki sat on the couch in the hotel room that they had gotten. It was already the 7th of July and they still hadn't done much. Luna would often take off, telling Yuki she needed to stay. She refused to take her along, saying 'Not yet' or 'Maybe next time'. It was starting to confuse Yuki. She could even go as far as to say she was feeling this, irritation she's heard so much about.

So to spite her, she'd decided to leave the hotel room and go down to the pool or something. Even though Luna specifically instructed her not to.

She stood there, staring off into space as she sat in the pool room. There weren't many people down here, most of them having left that morning. It was rather rare to see anyone in the pool until it got around the evening. Then it would get full of humans. They would linger around the area, some of them not even really getting in the water at all.

Today, however, there weren't as many people as she'd previously noticed when she'd watch from her hotel balcony. She closed her eyes and thought about a reason why that would be. She was currently seated on a chair in the shade closer to the hotel, preferring not to go out into the sun. As a precautionary method, she kept a white sweater on to ensure she wouldn't get sunburned on her arms.

Yuki focused in on the few voices there were in the area, one of them seemed to catch her attention. It sounded like a younger girl,

"Look! Another kid our age." She'd sounded elated, chirpy. More so than Luna can get on occasion, which kind of made Yuki's eyebrow twitch. Though the voice was still drowned out, she could tell that they were referring to her. Considering she was the only other one, for all she knew.

She could hear the pitter patter of foot steps as they approached her on the pavement near the pool. Thinking that they would just walk by and leave her alone she kept her eyes shut as she sat on the chair.

"Whoa! I thought that was your hood there for a minute. Is your hair really that white, or is it a wig?" A young girls voice squeaked out, making her flinch at the sudden sound. The small girl cracked an eye open and looked over at the source of the sound.

"She obviously doesn't want to be bothered, Mika..." A tall black haired male from behind her mentioned. His voice was a low monotone, much like Yuki's.

The white haired girl let out a grunt and nodded. "It is my hair. I do not wear wigs."

"I-I see..." The girl, Mika, responded. The two looked to be of Asian descent.

"What did I tell you?" The male sighed, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. His other hand holding, what looked like, a manga. This interested her. She had that manga.

"Well, we barely get to socialize with people our age as it is! Can't I try to at least be normal for once, Kai?!" Mika shot back at the taller male. He looked to be younger than her, despite his height. His dull brown eyes pierced into the smaller brown haired girl's.

They seemed to have an internal debate before the younger male sighed and closed his eyes, as if in defeat. This only brought a smile to the girl's face. Their expressions were pretty clear to her, so determining what they were feeling wouldn't be a problem.

Yuki was not sure if they had an alternative reason for approaching her, other than childish curiosity. She'd have to find out. Though, she doubted that they had any ill intentions.

Luna

(A few days later)

"And you'd mentioned your sister was with you, correct?" The man seated across her mentioned, his hands folded in front of him. His stubble was very prominent today compared to the last week or so she'd been meeting with him.

Was he getting nervous?

"That's classified." Luna spoke evenly as she took a sip of her coffee. It was still early in the day as they sat in a coffee shop just across from the hotel she was staying at. The smell of the coffee grounds wafted into her senses as she set her coffee back onto the table. Her client, Daniel, still hadn't really given her much information to go off of. He seemed...shifty.

"Well, I'm just trying to make conversation." Daniel smiled, doing the same.

"You haven't really given me much to go off of here, otherwise I could get the job done much faster."

"I understand." He sighed, "I had their whereabouts before you'd arrived, but it seems they'd caught onto me trailing them."

Luna grunted in response, not really opting for speaking at the moment. Lost in her thoughts, she stared down at her cup of steaming hot coffee at their two person table.

He didn't seem right. Almost as if he was the one keeping tabs on her. She was sent to eliminate him, but she had to wait until his other partner arrived. Which he hadn't, as of yet. When that would happen, she wouldn't know.

After this, she'd have gained a favor for yet another group of people. Her plan was almost complete, once she's gotten all of her pieces set into place-

"You look beautiful when you're concentrating like that." Daniel's voice rang through her ears. She blinked a few times and stared up at him blankly.

Silence filled the table as she kept eye contact with him. After a few seconds, she finally realized the man had complimented her.

"O-Oh...is that so?" Luna stuttered, confused. Thankfully it made her sound kind of surprised. She put on a bashful face to finish the expression. 'This is getting exhausting...'

"Do you have a boyfriend?" His teeth shone as he smiled, yet again. Luna had to admit, he was quite handsome for an older man. Though, that wasn't the main thing that was on her mind. The fact that this could give her an opportunity to get him to invite her to wherever he was staying.

Luna smiled, playing with the rim of her coffee cup.

"If I did, would I be here in this city all by my lonesome?" She giggled, grabbing her coffee and sipping it.

Yuki

(Later that day)

She'd left so early this morning, Yuki wasn't even awake when she'd gone. Fortunately for the young girl, she had people to alleviate her boredom. She figured out that when she felt bored and had nothing to do in the room, she could either observe humans or talk to the kids she'd met just earlier in the week.

A knock resounded at the door, pulling her out of her thoughts. She peeked up from where she lay on the bed. She'd been staring blankly at the ceiling thinking of what to do to pass time. It was now sometime in the evening, which kind of interested her.

Usually Mika and Kai would visit her during lunch, bringing her a slice of pizza or whatever it was that they had back where they were staying.

That was another thing, what were they doing in the hotel for this long?

The small girl grunted as she pushed her body lazily off of the bed and ambled toward the door. Luna always got back at a later hour, making her even more curious of who it was.

"Yuki! Open up!" A feminine voice yelled from the other side. She sounded distressed, making her go faster. Not even bothering with looking through the peep hole, she threw the door open.

A short brown mass flew by, followed by another much larger. Yuki blinked rapidly, watching as the second person threw the door shut and locked it. It took her a bit to realize it was the siblings, out of breath and scared looking.

"Is something the matter?" Yuki breathed out, startled slightly by the sudden outburst. Mika was hiding just around the corner on the ground, her knees pulled up to her chest. Kai was just standing there, stoic as ever. Though, she could tell from the look in his eye, something wasn't right.

The brunette started to cry, holding something close to her chest. Yuki tilted her head in confusion, why on earth was she crying? Upon closer inspection, that object looked to be a piece of paper. Perhaps a letter?

"Would anyone care to answer my question?" Yuki repeated, much louder than before.

"Can you help us with something?" Kai replied to her almost instantly, his eyes darting around in a rather nervous fashion.

"If you explain to me why the girl is crying, yes." Yuki shot back, her heart beat quickening. It was a rush of adrenaline of some sort, notifying her that whatever was going on wasn't quite right. She'd known they were hiding something, but decided to trust them. Let them be around her for the sole purpose of pissing off Luna.

For some reason, she had a feeling she'd regret that.

Kai looked down at her for a moment, seemingly contemplating something. He was about the same age as Yuki, yet he was taller. Though, not by much.

"You can't tell anyone...You can't..." Mika choked out from the corner of the room, making Yuki divert her attention over to her. Tears were falling from her cheeks, making her look kind of pitiful. It made her feel odd, her stomach twisting into a knot. She felt like she needed to help her, seeing her like that.

How troublesome.

"I won't." She sighed. "It's not like I have anyone to tell, anyways..." She added quietly, looking back over to Kai.

Luna

Daniel opened the door to the room he was currently staying at, revealing a rather large suite with two beds in a room just opposite of the door. The color scheme remained simple, bland colors all around. But even so, it looked rather nice.

The older man grabbed Luna's hand gently and led her into the lounge area, a handsome smile adorn his face. Even so, she did not feel like one would normally feel with an attractive male. She did not know why that was, but she only felt a tinge of sadness within herself.

He turned around, grabbing her by her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. As he embraced her, the only thing on Luna's mind was to push him away. Get him off of her. She didn't like this kind of attention.

At least not from him...

Images passed through her head, a certain brown haired cop came to mind. This only caused her to back away, her hair causing a dark shadow to cover half of her face. It hurt, thinking about him. Why did she, of all times, have to remember him? Now? Today?

"Stop..." Her voice quivered as she stumbled back even further. She covered her face with her hands, trying to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

Luna wasn't ready to do that. To be this close to another male. Even if it was artificial. Even if it was just because she needed information out of him.

She couldn't do it. It hurt too much.

"Hey, hey...are you okay?" He asked and she felt a large hand start to pat her shoulder. Fake sympathy. She could practically hear it in his voice. He was doing what she was doing. This didn't seem right.

"Daniel! I'm back!" A young girl's voice called from the doorway, making both the adults look over in that general vicinity. Daniel grabbed Luna and held her close to him, effectively blocking her view. He was looking around frantically. What was going on?

He seemed to be looking for a place to hide Luna. Who-

"Who's that...?" A hesitant voice called, now she was much closer to them. Luna's back was turned away from the small girl, so she couldn't see what she looked like.

She sounded young, very small from the weight of her footfalls too.

"Rin...you're back early." He mumbled, "I am kind of busy right now."

"Who's that?" The little girl, Rin, repeated completely ignoring his statement. Although her tone was much different this time, her voice sounded deeper. Less innocent.

Luna spun around, getting a look at the girl. What she saw made her mind practically go blank. She couldn't comprehend what was even before her.

"Who are you!?" Rin yelled, her white hair revealing her unusually dull black eyes. They were wide with a kind of psychotic gleam. She wanted blood.

This girl. She looked exactly like Yuki.

"Answer me, bitch! Who are you to Daniel?!" She hissed as she launched herself forward, grabbing Luna by the arm harshly. She slammed her body against a nearby wall, all the while not letting go of the older woman at all.

"Augh!" She grunted, trying to pull her arm back from the small girl. She had a real good grip, she could admit that.

"Yuki...?" Luna whispered, staring down at her. Besides the uncharacteristically psychotic look on her face, she would not be able to tell the difference between Yuki and this small girl. Her hair was even cropped short just like hers. All besides the cute white and pink dress she wore, frilly sleeves hid her shoulder.

Luna couldn't see her number, but it had two digits. Just like hers.

"Looks like Rin has blown my cover...oops." Daniel chuckled with a friendly look on his face. Who were these people?! Why was he with a-

Long invisible arms snaked around Luna's neck and secured themselves around her waist, choking her and stopping her thoughts completely. Rin let go of her arm and picked the woman up with her vectors, slamming her against another wall.

Luna could hear a crack as her shoulder hit the hard wall, making her scream in agony. It's been too long since she'd felt that kind of pain. It faintly reminded her of the times she was at the facility.

She needed to get out. Now. But she couldn't bring herself to even think of hurting another girl that looked like Yuki. The thought made her sick.

Luna choked, coughing uncontrollably. She tried to regain some control, in hopes of at least fighting back enough to escape.

"W-who are you?" She managed, one of her eyes closed tightly. Some blood was coming down from the top of her head and falling into her eye. It must have been when she hit the wall earlier. Shit.

"Oh...we've been tracking you for some time. Number 05." Daniel smirked, as if he'd won.

That statement only made her struggle more, kicking her legs in a futile attempt at fighting back. The pain was preventing her from using her own vectors. If she had the chance, she'd cut that man's head off.

"Let me go!" She hissed, grabbing the solid arm that held her throat just enough to allow her to speak. She could see them. This girl, Rin, she was strong. Enough to allow her to visually see her vectors. This was bad.

"Now now. Why would I do that, dear Luna? And let you go out and do god knows what to the public? I will not allow that." He chuckled, shaking his finger as if scolding a child. This only proved to anger the woman even more.

"We only wanted to live normal lives, what makes you-" She was cut off by a punch in the face. Rin's hard fist hit her enough to make her bite herself on the inside of the cheek and part of her tongue. "AHH!"

"Don't speak when Daniel is trying to talk! You insolent bitch!" She spat, her eyes showed nothing but hate. Resentment.

A copper taste filled her mouth as she started to cough. The weight of her vectors on Luna's chest was really starting to hurt!

"You're a monster! How could I trust you?" Daniel replied to Luna's question, his face showed glee as his smile only widened and showed his pearly white teeth. That statement brought Luna back into her mind, making her remember that same sentence was said to her so long ago.

(Years ago...)

Luna stood over Matsumoto's corpse. This man was the lone man responsible for founding that hell hole they call 'The Lab'. She was sure there was a much more significant term that they used, but had refrained from using it's true name. Probably to keep her from finding anything else out about it.

She'd remembered this guy. He was the older man that stood behind that glass window as they injected her with foreign substances. He was the one that Aurora had said would often do 'things' to her. He was the one that created them.

He was the reason Aurora was dead. He had killed her first close friend. Her biological sister.

He caused all of this! She knew of the Diclonius War, but instead of keeping her specie dead. He brought them back. And what for? Not even Luna knew.

She had made sure to be extra careful, as to not puncture his body with too many holes at first. Luna smiled at her handiwork. She'd made it quite slow and she felt proud of herself.

Yet...she felt disappointment. Why? Her smile faded as she thought for a moment. That man, had he really changed her that much?

She knew that this was the last thing she was going to do. The last time she'd kill a human in the name of revenge. Luna had to put a stop to this if she wanted to become serious about living a normal life.

That idea had popped into her head only because of him. He seemed to have helped her feel differently, but how?

"Drop your weapon!" A deep voice called, the cocking of a gun could be heard on the other side of the garage. She was in one of the bottom floors of a car garage just outside of a hotel. No one was out, because it was so late at night. The cold air bit her skin, as she stared down at the man she'd just slaughtered.

A knot formed in her stomach, making her feel unusually sick. She was shocked to know that he'd be here. That he would have to find out this way. Luna didn't want to turn around. She was scared.

Blood ran down her arm from when she'd thrown the man's limb over her shoulder. Pieces of his body lay on the ground in random parts of the cement. Blood pooled at her feet, she could smell it. She was sure he could too.

So much for trying to live a normal life.

"Turn around with your hands behind your head." He yelled, his voice sounding shaky. Luna didn't want to face this. She didn't. "Don't make me repeat myself, dammit!"

Luna rose her hands and slowly put them behind her head, her eyes focused on the bloody cement beneath her.

"Now, turn around."

Luna shifted her weight on one foot and slowly started to spin herself around, her hair forming a curtain in front of her face.

With blood matted in her hair and on her neck, it was a sight to behold. The man let out a strangled gasp, almost as if he didn't want to see what he was seeing. He couldn't believe it.

"L-Luna...?" He stuttered out, his gun lowered slowly at his hip. "You did this? Please tell me you didn't do this, Luna."

"Matt..." She mumbled, looking up and making eye contact with him. "I can explain this."

"You did it, didn't you?"

"Please, listen to me. I have a reason for doing this, I-"

"That's what they all say, isn't it?!" Matt's voice rose, his brown eyes went wide. Lips quivering, almost as if he were about to start crying. That look, it was fear. The last thing Luna wanted was to see that look in his eyes.

"No, this is different! He-"

"Shut up!" He yelled, cutting her off. "I trusted you!"

Luna let out a whimper, not expecting him to yell at her like that. She couldn't blame him, though. Seeing as how she'd just slaughtered a man. In his eyes, that was a crime. Murder. But did it make it any different if she even explained why she'd done it?

Was she any different then all of them criminals running about killing people?

"You just need to trust me, I – I'm not …"

"You're a monster! How could I trust you?" Matt's words pierced her chest like a dull blade. It hurt. Just a few nights ago he'd even said he loved her. Now …

No, she couldn't blame him for that. This was all her fault. She didn't even deserve to be around him.

"I'm not even human..." Luna's voice shook, she shifted her gaze away from him. A sad smile tugged at her features. She could feel that horrible tearing sensation in her chest area and she felt like she just wanted to break down right there and cry. She couldn't, though.

Through her blurry vision, she peered back over in his direction.

"I'm not human..." She confirmed, "I can never lead a normal life. I am cursed to live like this. Forever." Luna's voice shook as she came to this revelation. Why hadn't she seen it before.

In her life, she is nothing but a lowly crook. A criminal. She didn't even deserve to be by Matt's side. He was a good man, and she'd done nothing but taint that.

Her feet took off on their own, down toward the entrance. She didn't look back, not even once. Her vectors made a loud smashing noise as she launched her body to go faster and faster. Car alarms sounded from the sudden burst of energy.

Matt didn't call out for her. He didn't even try to shoot her or stop her. He just let her leave. Left her be.

Luna was alone again.

Been awhile, hasn't it? School does that to you, sucking time out of your day so you can't do what you love to do. Darn it. Christmas break soon!