Yay! It's another chapter... finally... There seems to be a lot of talking in this one. And I fail at coming up with chapter names... ahahaha...

Thanks for the continuous support everyone! Thanks for the reviews and everything - I shall try my best to surprise you as the story progresses, because even I don't know what it's going to turn out to be like! (not a great way to write stories, but hey ho)

Vocaloid (c) Yamaha

Telling the Truth

Rin rolled over in the warmth of her bed, under the soft duvet. She couldn't get to sleep no matter how hard she tried. Her blue eyes were heavy with sleep, but she was afraid of sleeping then dreaming a nightmare.

She still remembered vividly how Len had stood there, stiff and silent as she'd handed him the towel. He had snapped out of his trance quickly enough and grinned cheekily at her, but the smile never reached his eyes. She had tried to smile back, but soon excused herself and left, saying that she was too sleepy.

Len always called her an idiot, but the truth was, she wasn't as stupid as he thought she was.

He's lying to me, thought Rin, as she curled up into a tight ball on her bed. She felt tears sting her eyes. Why was he lying? Why would he have to lie? He's breaking our promise, isn't he? I'm not stupid!

Rin vented her frustration out onto her fluffy pillow. She punched it over and over again and when she felt somewhat calmer, she lay down and began to cry. The night sky was cold and merciless, looking down at the world with its uncaring scowl. Rain still fell like an angel's lament, just as tears still fell from Rin's sad, closed eyes.

Before she finally fell asleep, she decided that tomorrow, she would confront Len and ask him the truth. No. She would force it out of him, even if he didn't want to answer. And if Rin wanted to do something, she got it done…

The next morning, Rin rolled out of bed, commando-style, energetic as she was. After getting dressed as quickly as possible, she ran down the stairs, two by two and went to find Len. Bursting into the kitchen, she yelled out her brother's name, but there was no reply. Instead, a square of yellow paper stuck to the fridge by a banana-shaped magnet caught her eye.

"What…?" Rin ripped the piece of paper off the fridge and screwed it up in anger. She let out a cry of frustration. The note, which was now a crumpled ball in the bin, had read: Been called out. Master S. wants to talk. Ciao x

How dare he just go off like that! No warning, no anything! Then there was another note, this time stuck to the fridge by an-orange-shaped magnet: Oh, by the way, we're out of bananas. Could you go buy some, cute little sister?

Rin stormed out of the kitchen, ripping up the second note and shouted to nobody in particular, "NO!" She hoped her cute brother could feel her wrath right now.

...

Knock knock.

"Come in."

Len obediently did as the voice told him to. Closing the door softly behind him, he wondered whether Rin was at all angry at him for leaving just like that. Well, at least she would be kept busy going to the supermarket and buying some fresh bananas. They could perhaps do with some chocolate… but unfortunately, he'd forgotten to mention that. He shrugged.

"Master Shion."

The Master peered at Len from under a messy ink-blue fringe. He was dressed smartly in a suit and loose tie, but it didn't seem to… suit him. In his mind, Len laughed at his little joke. The man was rocking back in his chair, which threatened to break or fall, as he put his feet up on the desk. Paperwork stood in an intimidating pile on the tray labelled To Do.

Standing straight, Len glanced around the room. It was somewhat cleaner than the last time he'd been in here, though he seriously doubted that it was Master Shion who had tidied up. He ran a hand through his blond hair. "Why did you call me here?"

"Mmh?" mumbled the man lazily. He waggled a pen in the air and pointed to the empty leather sofa. "Sit down, Len."

Scowling, Len sat down. He was always ignored like this. He sat in silence for what seemed like hours, his scowl deepening, until at last the Master sighed, "Stop making that face. You're not cute when you do that. Smile. Then I'll listen to what you have to say."

Taking a deep breath, Len calmed himself. He hated it when Master Shion treated him like this. And he didn't like being called 'cute' by a grown man. Even if… even if it was this very person who had been a father figure to him and the only person he could trust for so very long. Len faced Master Shion and forced a smile, as sweet as he could make it in such a foul mood. Luckily, the Master was bought and half-smiled. He reached out for a piece of scrap paper and began doodling. "So, little Len. What is it?"

"I was supposed to be asking you that. You're the one who called me here."

"Hmm? Really? Is that all you have to say?" there was a small pause. "I'm not an idiot, Len. I know you want to ask me something."

Len frowned again. He glanced away. He did have something to ask. How could that man even know, though? Hesitantly, he began, "Uh… It's just that… I don't really want to… I mean…" he trailed off pathetically. Master Shion laughed to himself and raised his eyebrows expectantly. Len finally flared up. He'd had enough. "You know exactly what I want! Stop acting dumb, Master!"

"Ah, looks like little Len's angry again," teased the man, his dark blue eyes fixed upon the blond. They smiled ever so cruelly.

"I'm not a puppet for you to order about and tease!" Len shouted, rising from his seat and approaching the desk.

Master Shion regarded him with cool eyes, emotionless. He replied quietly, "Indeed, you're not my puppet. You're a lot smarter than a mere puppet. Hence, you are my dog."

Len felt tears sting his eyes. Turning away, he refused to let the man that was so important to him see him cry. He managed to say, "I hate dogs."

There was a creak as Master Shion stood up and walked over to Len's side. The man smiled gently and embraced Len. The boy sniffed and mumbled a "get off", yet made no move to shake the man off. Master Shion held Len's shaking shoulders and whispered, "You're still such a young child. You haven't changed, have you? No matter how strong you pretend to be, you're always hurting on the inside."

"I have changed. I've learnt what it feels like to love someone."

"Oh, really?" Master Shion let go of Len and took a step back, leaning against the desk, too lazy to stand properly. "And do you love me?"

"No," came the reply, quick as anything.

"Ah, so cold!" wailed the Master in mock lament.

"Just like how you taught me to be," Len countered defiantly.

The Master smirked. Len was sharp, witty and deft. How could he ever have refused a boy like this to join the Organisation? Good thing he didn't. This young boy was probably their most valuable and talented member. Not counting me, of course, thought the man with another smirk.

With a sigh, the Master sat down on the comfy sofa, lounging around. He loosened his tie a bit more and undid the topmost button on the shirt to stop himself from suffocating any further. Honestly, smart suits just weren't meant for him. "Tell me what you want, Len. After all, dogs beg."

"I'm not a dog. I am a person with feelings."

"And just who was it that taught you it was okay to have feelings?"

Len wasn't able to reply to the challenge. He gritted his teeth and scowled again.

"Well," Master Shion carried on, "So long as your feelings don't interfere with your work, then that's fine. Know your priorities, boy. Know your place."

Biting his lip, Len felt himself shaking again. He hated what this man was saying; he hated all that this man did. And yet, he couldn't find it in his heart to hate the man himself. Master Shion had taught him everything and cared for him when he was younger, back when he had been first recruited. Even if what he'd been taught was to be cold and cruel, he could not possibly be cold and cruel towards the man. It didn't make sense. Len could bring himself to hate his own sister if he really wanted to, but never Master Shion, who had been there for him since… since his own useless parents had abandoned him, and his worthless biological father had demanded his murder.

Over and over again, Len had convinced himself it was not okay to think of this ruthless man as his father. Over and over and over again, he had cried himself to sleep because of this. Though he had no real reason as to why he should not love the man, he refused to. And yet… his mind was in turmoil as he argued with his own conflicted emotions. Even now as he stood there, hopeless and helpless as a toddler, he had no idea what to think.

Master Shion saw the conflict in Len's sad blue eyes and smiled to himself, plotting something. All the previous hardness in his voice had melted away when he next spoke, "Len. I have a deal to offer you."

"I don't care," whined the boy like a child having a tantrum.

The Master ignored this and continued, unperturbed, "If you are able to carry out this next assignment successfully, I will no longer give you assassination missions. That's what you wanted from the very beginning, isn't it?"

"There's a catch, isn't there." It was more of a statement than a question. Master Shion could see through Len, but just this once, Len could see straight through his Master.

"Maybe. Will you accept?"

Len was cautious. He was treading on enemy ground, not knowing what would happen next. If he accepted, he would have to carry the task out to the very end. If he didn't take the chance, then he may never be rid of those assassinations. He hated them… and so did Rin. He wouldn't ever be able to face her again, knowing he'd had the chance to finish it all off but refused it.

"Will you accept?" repeated the Master, not impatiently.

There was no more reason to hesitate.

"Yes," came the sure answer.

"Good!" the Master sat up straight again and grinned, rubbing his hands together as if he meant business. "Right, a few questions first."

"What? I never–"

"Okay. Do you like samurai?"

"No, I–"

"Are you interested in older girls?"

"No way. Master, what is the meaning of this–"

"What about older guys?"

"What the hell do you think?" Len shouted.

"Last question. Cross-dressing?"

"Heck, no! Master Shion, why–"

"Hmm, this could be problematic," murmured the Master, fingering his hair vainly. He began talking and pondering to himself, ignoring Len entirely. The blond boy glared with a silent, murderous intent. He realised that the Master was toying with him again.

Len calmed himself again and looked at Master Shion with the best lost-and-hopeless expression he could muster. He even threw in a bit of innocence. Immediately, the Master smiled. The boy swore under his breath. Why did he of all people have to go through this torture?

"Master Shion… please, could you… elaborate matters further?" asked Len with as little malice in his voice as he possibly could.

"Of course, little Len," mocked the Master, laughing in his mind. "This mission is to bring two people to me. Alive. The problem is that they're a tricky pair. They only trust who they want. They're careful and alert at all times. It'll be hard to catch them by surprise."

"Why want them in the first place?"

"They're ex-members of the Organisation. We had a little, ah… fall-out and they left. Not permanently, I think. They just want to cause some trouble for the world. And they have. Only last week, they managed to hack into the Underground's trading centre system and… well, you can read for yourself, if you want. The paper's on my desk."

Len politely declined. He wasn't in the mood to read about petty things. He wanted to get this sorted as quickly as possible. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Like I said: bring them to me alive. I don't care if they're unharmed or not, but alive."

There was a moment of silence.

"Aren't you gonna give me any hints?" Len complained.

"Hmm… Well currently, they're trying to recruit a girl for some reason or another. We don't quite know why yet. They're being very specific, see. They want a blonde girl of about fourteen – your age and around your height. A scout found the advertisement in one of the black market buildings in the Dark Alley."

Len grumbled, "You want me to cross-dress as a girl to get to them? I don't think that's gonna work particularly well."

"Not necessarily. I'm sure you can find someone to do the job for you while you watch from a safe distance."

"What? Who would be stupid enough to be willing to do that? And why do I have to find someone? Why can't you…" Len trailed off again, as realisation dawned upon him.

Master Shion smiled a knowing smile. "Because you know the perfect person."