Hello! Yeah, I'm not sure what I should say other than the fact that you guys thought Roddy was just plain crazy. Lol, not every criminal has a good reason, but they have a reason nonetheless.

The Capture

Chapter I: Promise

A man, around five feet and ten inches, sat sloppily onto an arm chair, his feet kicked over the table casually as he read through his latest files. He wore suspenders, his dress shirt's cuffs were unbuttoned, and his shoes were kicked off in some random corner of the room. His black tie hung loosely over his collarbone, and his ruby eyes seemed uninterested with the shit he was reading. Head resting in his hand in boredom, he kicked his foot to an unsteady, imaginary beat, trying to muster his utmost attention to the unawesome requests so many civilians had asked of him. He didn't understand why people would need him for such silly, unreasonable requests. He was a top detective, not some cheap teenager living on the streets, ready to make a quick buck. He was Gilbert Beilschmidt, a German renowned man with, although not the most hygienic or cleanest, a bright mind able to crack the most impossible of cases. If you didn't find him impressive, or didn't treat him like you should, then suck it loser. He's done with you.

Just as he was at the brink of giving up, something caught his pupils. A request by a man named Vash Zwingly, around the age of 17, asking for the capture of the Living Shadow. Sure, Gilbert has gotten many requests on capturing this man, but none of them had a reason why he must do so. But Vash had a whole paragraph printed onto the fine paper, and Gilbert could not resist the curiosity that welled into his steady rhythm. He read the paragraph out loud, his German tongue being obviously due to it's dominant pronunciation.

"Dear Detective Beilshmidt,

"I had, at first, not really payed attention the so called Living Shadow, the man who can disappear at will, but I have now come to an understanding that he must be stopped. On the night of December 29th, a man with unspeakably vivid eyes encountered me in an alley way. I don't know how, but I escaped within an inch of my life. It happened in a blur, he jumped at me and lashed a silver dagger around like a wild beast. I had a glance at his face, though, I cannot describe him. He looked young, around 20 or maybe even 19 years old. He had vivid violet eyes, and for a second, I was transfixed by how beautiful someone could be. It got me wondering if he might have been a woman dressed in mens clothing, but I threw that thought away as soon as he smiled. His teeth were a clean ivory, and under the moonlight... it was horrifying yet entrancing, and I partially knew why he was able to kill so easily.

"Once I escaped, heavens knows how, I went back home and fell asleep, assured of my little 15 year old sister was asleep in her bed. The next day, she and I ate breakfast and went out for a walk to the black market, ready to get some foreign fruit for guests that were sure to come later that evening. Though, as I walked, I couldn't help but feel as if someone one was following me. I turned to look over my shoulder several times, but not once found a thing, so I came to the conclusion that I was just being paranoid due to last night's attack. I hid my wounds so my sister would not worry, and thankfully it worked an awful lot.

"After our visitors had eaten their favorite meal, me and my sister cleaned up, washed the dishes, talked for a bit, then went to bed. It was just like any other normal day, excluding the times I felt like a pair of daggers were ready to be thrown at the back of my head, so I was able to sleep peacefully that night. However, the next morning when I woke up, things got a little... weird. I went downstairs, but Lilli, my sister, was not cooking breakfast as usual. I called for her several times, and I became worried. I went to her room, and didn't find her in her bed. I became even more worried, then looked into her study (which was connected to her bedroom.) That's when I found something that will forever give me nightmares. She was dead, with the same dagger the awful man attacked me with stuck into her forehead. I lost my dear sister that night, and I will never be able to sleep peacefully until the man is stopped, captured, and hung before my eyes. Mr. Beilshmidt, I ask for your help. May you capture this man, and may my sister rest in peace."

Gilbert was pleased with the background story to the man's desires, but that did not mean he did not feel the least bit sorry for Vash. True, he'd never say out loud that he felt sorry for someone. He was part of the Beilshmidt family, and he will never show remorse for anyone other than his own younger sibling, Ludwig. Though the story killed him as he related it to his own brother, Gilbert did not show emotion in either his husky voice or his facial features.

Sighing, he slipped on his brown trench coat, buttoning and tying it firmly to his waist, then bolted out the door, not bothering to slap on his favorite fedora hat for he had all he needed in his brother's apartment in London.

At this same time, another man in London was seated in a piano bench, legs crossed. He seemed to be deep in thought, something about his family passing through his mind. His eyes were unreadable, and his expression didn't falter. His breathing stilled in his train of thought, and maids walked by casually, though they were not used to their master's unusual behavior. The man's name was Roderich Edelstein, son of the famous composer, Charles Edelstein. Roderich never liked his father, due to the abuse he inflicted to Roderich's little adopted brother, Feliciano. Roderich was strict with his sibling, trying to make sure that he stayed in check so their father wouldn't hurt him, but Feliciano wouldn't listen, and Roderich would end up hugging the boy and cooing soft whispers into Feliciano's ear. Earlier on, Feliciano had a brother named Lovino, but their parents had filed a divorce, so Feliciano and Lovino were separated. Roderich hated this, and he had to do whatever his father commanded to keep Feliciano as safe as possible.

The thought agitated him. Why can't he just take Feliciano and leave? But, that plan was easily thwarted by the idea that their father would more than likely find them and probably kill Feliciano, and Roderich would never be able to live with himself if that happened. Why not kill his father? No, he'll be caught then. They will know that he's the Living Shadow, because he carries the similar violet eyes. And there were few people who carried such majestic eyes. Nobody accuses him as the Living Shadow, though, because of his famous name. Why would a well taught man with an extraordinary life become a murderer? Such stupidity.

Finally, Roderich found him self once again stumped. He could never put Feliciano in hiding, nor could he send him away to another country. He doesn't want to put the young boy through that. If that happened... then he doesn't know what could happen to his dear brother's sanity. After being brutally abused by his overly strict and expectant father he is suddenly taken away and forced to go into hiding, encased with fear of being caught and most likely killed by the very same man who abused him? He'd be traumatized. Roderich was stumped, and he couldn't do anything about it other than to obey his father's horrid orders of murder. Roderich will do anything to keep Feliciano safe, become a cannibal if so be it, even kill the whole entire royal family of England. If Feliciano is safe, then it is all that matters to him.

Suddenly, tiny footsteps were heard running down the hallow halls, making Roderich smile lightly over his stern features. Feliciano came running out of the hall and rushed towards Roderich.

"Big brother! Big brother! Do you know how to play Claire de Lune? Do you? Do you?"

Roderich chuckled, picking up the excited, pasta loving boy and settling him onto his lap. He patted the boys head, nodding contently. "Of course I know how to play that song. Would you like me to play it, Feli?"

Feliciano giggled, shaking his head and running away in a flash. Roderich chuckled once again, not at all surprised by the boy's never ending flow of energy. He wondered why Feliciano asked such a random question for no obvious reason, but it wasn't much of a problem.

Roderich got up, collecting his music sheets into a neat pile and tucking it into his file, then walked off in his formal, straight back pose, chin up high ever so aristocratically. Maids stopped and stared for a few seconds before going back to their works, smiles instantly placed on their faces as they noticed their master's improved mood. They always thought that their master looked his most handsome when smiling, and it always brightened everyone's mood, though Roderich never noticed. He always took it for something like "the air around him is mixing with his happiness" or something of that matter, so he just shrugged it off.

Though, the happiness was great while it lasted, as his father once again called him into his study, back turned. Roderich hated this room, because he knew that he would be getting another job soon. And by the tapping of the older man's foot, it meant that it was much sooner than he could prepare.

"Roderich, there is a certain person by the name Sadiq Adnan. He wears a mask and has a child by the name of Hercules. His wife, a young woman by the name of Elizaveta, is the one I want you to target, however, I want you to first study Sadiq in secret. I know that wont take long with your fine skills. Now go, I have important business to attend to, and I cannot be late for my meeting with the archdeacon. You are dismissed."

Roderich nodded, exiting the room and closing to the door. Once it was sealed shut, he sighed, his once cheerful mood already turned sour by the very voice of his father. He must obey him, though, for Feliciano's sake. For the sake of an innocent, untainted mind that he has sworn to protect, no matter what the cause.

It was about noon now, by the time he finished working on his new sheets of music, and he was just ready to go outside and bask in the light sunlight. It was Winter, yet that did not mean that there was no sun. But the sun was going to set much too soon, so he made sure to rush to the private gardens without having it be called running, so the maids wouldn't tell his father. If that happened, Feliciano would get hurt. He would hate himself for the rest of life if he let that happen.

Finally, he escaped into the dim, warm light, it touching his skin like the very fingers his mother used to use when she was still around. Soft, gentle, delicate. He missed his mother's warm embraces, and he liked to think of his mother as being the very sun that brightened his day as a child, but now those fantasies were shattered by the wicked man he calls father. Roderich refused to say anything about mother in front of the man, even if he was asked to, because he knows that the man is just trying to get Roderich insane. He knows that his father is just trying to find a way to mess with Roderich's sanity, like a little string around his finger, but he won't crack. Not to him and not to anybody, because he needs to be strong for Feliciano.

He promised to his mother.