Disclaimer/AN: I've got nothing except a bad temper so don't go around saying that any of these characters are mine 'cause they're all made by SNK-Playmore. Although, it would be kickass if one day I came over there for a job or something.

Well, I must say that I'm a little proud of how things have turned up for K' in 2003. Finally over his fetish for NESTS but still being whipped by Maxima to being the "good guy". Ha! I wanna play '03 just to see if there's a win pose of him and Kula. :)

Remember all * is always translated at the end of the chapter. BTW, the * is Japanese if you didn't know.

Kyodai

So there she was. I knew she was around. Damn, never could pin down how I ever knew. Maybe it's her frozen stature. Or her whole pale complexion. Damn it. Seeing her isn't making anything seem easier. Just makes things worse.

When I saw her everything seemed to warp around me like I was on some acid trip or something. All of it was just slow motion… no sound, no feeling, no life. Thought about all of those times the bitches had nagged to me about her. Thought about all of the times when I saw her when I was still in NESTS. Thought about all of the times she came into my head. And every time came up with the same thing.

Miserable. I just felt miserable.

Yabuki came outta the store and slipped on the frozen asphalt. I would've laughed if I knew that it wouldn't cost me a crow bite from her. I had to keep my guard up; I knew I couldn't lose to this kid. It'd just be embarrassing, but not only that it would've—

"Ite~~! Oi, K-san! Naze omai wo…?" *

"Damaterou. Ore wa koisu wo korosu." *

"Eh~~?!"

After that there was silence. Not a damn word from her. In those naive eyes of hers was just cold sympathy for the devil. She just had fifty billion calculations of how to start killing me. That evil little thing was serious. She saw me and wanted to kick my sorry ass until I could taste her steeled-toe boot in my gut. No words of regret, no last chance speech, no goddamn way to get anyone of us outta this. Was thinkin' crap like that at the time.

I swear, I just wanted it to all end then. Both of us already knew how wicked NESTS could be… both of us were half-blood crazed with the redundant minds of all of the innocent fools around us… both of us were just so tired of seeing each other like this… I wanted to either burn that little shrimp into a crisp or be crushed by her ice. Anything felt good at the time.

Because I just don't understand her.

Every once in awhile I come to wonder what the hell that girl thinks at night. Candy? Skating? Killing me? She probably didn't have to think too much on that last one 'cause she was ready to go. No stallin'; just waiting for me to charge her… waiting for me to screw up. She's like every other goddamn NESTS in that way. Always under minding me, taunting my skills, making them all shitty with their huge ass ego.

Except she was different.

I could tell. Just by the way she talked and moved. There was something that made her like the way she was.

I'd see her and it'd near kill me. Every time. Just there…just there to imitate me. Just a girl who was dragged into this because some pansy-ass bastard at NESTS thought it would be fun to ruin another person's life. Just a girl who was dragged outta her home to go through the same god-forsaken torturing process that I had to go through. Just a girl –a doll- who was dragged into this just to stain those pure hands with the same red paint that spilled through her. Just a girl who was dragged into this.

She was just a girl… and I knew that from the start, damn it.

I could see her for what she is. I could read her so easily. Screwed around with my head and pride again doing it. I wasn't supposed to feel anything for this girl, but here I was just seeing the whole goddamn life story about her. I wouldn't even need to talk to her to know her. I've been there. I didn't want to be a stuck up hypocrite and say that I 'pity' that pretty girl, because it wouldn't be true. I know-damn it, did I have to learn- the life of a bootlicker to those shitheads at NESTS. If I were one of them, though, I would tell her how meaningless her life was in the scope of NESTS and pull the plug.

Damn it… I'm not like NESTS. I'm not there to control her life as much as those rat bastards do.

That poor, ignorant, beautiful girl wouldn't even notice it at all… She wouldn't be able to see how much of a girl she really is. All she knew was how she was supposed to act; the way that NESTS had taught her. Every time she was made to go kill someone she would get a treat for her work. And all the while they would just coo away those doubts –those hidden human doubts- saying that she's a good 'girl' for living up to their standards. That's why I can't understand her… because she couldn't understand herself.

My head rang like mad thinking about it.

 It stopped for a little bit when that pansy-ass bitch came around. The one with the frizzy black hair and the trippy blue dress. The one who had morphed Kula into the 'girl' that she was today.

I snarled for a moment. Damn pansy-ass bitch. For some reason, I just wanted to tear her apart for ruining the poor girl that was in trying to kill me. Couldn't she see how much of a monster she was; following the words of those damn rat bastards as if that were the only way this poor girl could live? She pointed her rapier at me and ordered to Kula,

"The same as always, all right?"

And for a brief moment, for a brief sweet moment, I saw all the coldness of her eyes melt away as she nodded. As if she was reassured of what she was programmed to do to me was just a chore. As if everything leading up to my encounter with her was nothing more than a sick little game. As if all of her fears of taking a life was just like that Dance Dance thing; simple and possibly entertaining. Seeing her accept this was practically NESTS winning one over me; she might as well have frozen me and shatter me right then and there.

It damned near killed me when I saw her return to her cold self. Yabuki was yelling something to me, but all of that didn't seem to matter anymore. I was too goddamned stunned to see how much that poor girl changed to really care. She was ready to kill or be killed. She didn't give a damn if anyone tried to stop her 'cause she just got her "pat on the head". Damn near deadly to touch now.

I wasn't about ready to lose to a girl… but I wasn't about to hurt her either.

She finally came at me. She aimed low for my feet, sliding on the new ice asphalt. Too damn slow to see her in time so I just fell down like the dumbass that I am. When I got up again, she was already coming at me again with a thousand jabs and kicks. I was smarter this time and went past all of that. Her back was open to me but the only thing I could do was stare at her blue hair. She was so freaking open for me and I didn't do a goddamn thing to even hurt her. All I did was look at her. She noticed this and sent a kick tipped with razors at me. I stepped back a bit and watched her spin a kick to my side. What the hell was wrong with me now? It was so bad that Yabuki had to shout,

"K'-san! She's not going to go easy on you! Don't go easy on her!"

He kinda snapped me outta whatever was bothering me and somehow my concentration came back. When my blood boiled the pain in my head –all of it; everything, even my new emotions- shouted for me to kill the brat.

Stupid brat. She wouldn't know what was coming. I sent her flying with a minute spike. I didn't want to feel anything when I saw my boot smash her chest but there was that damn feeling of guilt. There was a part of me that wanted to take her away from all of this… to end the misery between us. Must have been mulling too long cause I didn't see her at me again. After she kicked my head twice, all I thought was how that brat was going down.

Screaming at the brat, I sent her blazing with a crow bite. When she got up again, we went at it again. She went high this time with a fierce punch so I went to sweep her off her feet with a roundhouse. But seemed like she was expecting that and sent me flying with her version of the crow bite. Cussing as I got up, I sent her an iron trigger, thinking that would make up for it. But that stupid-ass brat sent it back to me; couldn't dodge so I got fried.

And that's when I lost it. I dunno if it was the thought of that damn Kuzunagi's flame biting at my ass or the fact that I was getting beat by a brat, but something snapped. Anything that I had held back for that girl was gone. I was back in my mission days at NESTS and ready to follow an assassination. And then it just goes shitty.

I look back at it now and the most I remember during that phase was her screaming. First surprised, then in shock, then in agony. I was a damn machine again; just the scared snot-nosed murderer of ten years ago, trying to save his own skin against everyone. I used anything I had back then –training be damned- and the only thing left sometimes were the eyes of the victims.

There was a time I remember… after that damned DNA torture transfer. I was sent out to test my new flaming abilities. That rat bastard 'Hitler' and the molester were ordering me around then. They were telling me crap like being their hidden ace in their grand ploy. About how my flame played a key in capturing other people for 'testing'… said I was going to be their 'Moses'…that their 'God' was going to be pleased.

I look at it now and laugh at their damned stupidity. What the hell were they on when they said that? I wasn't some pawn of a spiteful 'God' that was going to follow his will. They weren't God because they made me and it was damn hilarious that they thought they were. But there was no choice back then. They had me chained and they could've killed me at any goddamned moment that they pleased. All I could do was follow what they told me to do.

And hate every god-forsaken minute of it.

They sent me out on a co-operation. I was supposed to assassinate some one who had lived with a mind as sick and stupid as they were. I didn't care it was just another life that I had to take. Even when I sent that guy's head to ash, nothing really got to me. I was ready to sneak out of his wealthy wannabe office, when his phone rang. I was curious; I was done with the job too soon anyways so I took the time to hear their message. I heard that message and cringed: it was a boy calling his dad to see if he could still come to pick him up after school. I heard it for an eternity when he hung up.

Then the guilt hit me. And when it did, it felt like reality wanted to blow me apart.

I was a dumbass kid so I guess it wouldn't be too surprising when I yelled my brains out. Damn blew my cover, guards came in at once. They were all in shock when I was blazing my hand all over the place. Thought I was a monster… said that I was a bloody scientific nightmare. Then they all shot at me.

Had to burn the bullets, but I didn't want to hurt them. So I was dancing around yelling and waving my blazing hand like a bloodthirsty maniac. But then they wanted to beat me down. Hell I was so damn scared. I was forced to tear them apart. They came at me so fast… they came and I ripped their flesh with my teeth. They came again and I'd spit their blood in their eyes and puncture their guts with my other hand. They came and I would grab their jaws and snap their teeth.

But if it weren't for him…I would've done her in like them too.

"K'-san! Yamete kudasi! Kuroisho…!"**
            When I saw again, she was cringing from fright and Yabuki had tackled my ankles. He had to pin me from her; it had got so bad. Kula was crying. I tried to reach out to her and she sprawled away. I stepped out of Yabuki's frantic arms and stood next to the girl. She was so damn scared… so scared. Never thought she could whimper like that. I watched her a little longer before I walked off. Yabuki slid on the ice again and followed me after awhile.

When I was watching her, I wanted to say something. Something to make her understand me… but I couldn't say a damn thing. What could I say to her that'll make her programmed existence understand? I couldn't even stop her tears from falling… reminding me why I couldn't kill her. Her cold eyes filled with all of the things that all NESTS forbade. She looked all right and I was back so there was nothing left to do there anyways. Pointless…and miserable.

Because I couldn't help feeling so damned helpless.

Wow, that was sappy. I hope I got K' like I wanted him to be. R/R please (or flame if you hated it). :P

* The whole translation between K' and Shingo

"Ow! Hey, K! Why are you?"

"Shut your mouth. I'm gonna kill her."

** "Please stop! If you continue…!"