Gold

Weary sapphire eyes glanced resignedly at the sprawling neon lights of Tokyo City. What a failed heist… Cobalt hair fluttered gently in the wind as the man continued his casual stroll atop skyscraper rooves, slowly and unwillingly ambling his way back to base with the heavy knowledge of his first failure weighing on his shoulders. Maybe that one was a bit ambitious… He wasn't a professional, he knew that much. But stealing a measly piece of rock from a near-bankrupt museum shouldn't have been such a huge feat.

If it weren't for that damned brat… A sigh, truth be told the kid was pretty good, he had to admit he underestimated him. But it's not over yet.

Almost unconsciously he let his eyes wander the almost deserted streets far below, and it was because they were so deserted that he spotted the yellow hoodie almost immediately. He thanked his lucky stars and his perfect vision.

Bingo, time to get even.

The young thief was unaware of the eyes on him. He weaved through to the city outskirts speedily, arriving at an old brick apartment. Sapphire eyes tracked his every move, as he laboured up numerous flights of stairs, finally arriving at a wooden door.

"I'm back."

"Len! Welcome back!" The high pitched greeting was from a golden haired girl. Her welcoming smile was made all the sweeter by the large white ribbon on her head.

"Rin! What are you doing?"

"Peeling apples" was the girl's amused answer.

"That's dangerous, you could hurt yourself!" He made to grab at the dangerous knife she was holding, but the girl evaded him.

"Oh, come on, I'm perfectly fine, and so are these apples. Try one!"

"Riiin," the whine was almost comical, considering this kid stole a jewel from the most important centre of culture and art in all of Tokyo.

"Leeen," she imitated him, "relax, I'm going to wash my hands, they're all sticky now~" seeing his dissatisfied face she continued, "and I'm not gonna hurt myself, I've been there many times. Gosh Len, lighten up. And I'm supposed to be the older twin."

"But, Rin." Yet the girl merely responded with a backwards wave.

Len "hmphed" as he sat down on the worn couch. The old thing squeaked in protest under his weight. Sighing he took out his latest prize and set it on the table. Now Len was no aesthetic genius but even he had to admit, for a bit of rock it really was rather beautiful. The lamplight was dim, but even the meagre light was enough for the gem to display its true potential. Len found himself tilting it this way and that to be able to see the different effects the reflected light produced. He turned around, trying to get access to more light, and was met with a shock of blue hair.

"Holy- I thought I locked that door!"

"You did." The unmasked man's cunning smile irked him to no end.

"What are you doing here? How did-"

"Len, I'm back! See, I'm safe! Do we have a visitor?"

Said uninvited visitor gently wrapped his arms around Rin, bringing her closer to him, and further away from Len. Len gave an almost inaudible growl. An amused smile made its way onto the mysterious man.

"Rin-chan! I finally get to meet you! My friend Len has told me so much about you!"

What a liar! Len was about to fire a vehement retort, but froze as he saw, unnoticed by his older sister, the man take a knife from his deep blue cloak and hold it up behind her neck.

"Oh, Len! Who is this man? You never told me you had a friend here! Would you like something to eat?" He wanted to wince at Rin's blatant obliviousness, more so because of the evident danger they were in.

"Oh no, didn't Len tell you? I'm arranging so that you two are going to move out of this apartment."

Wait, what?!

"Oh, but our landlady, Miss Lily, would be so disappointed! She really loves having us here, you see, and-"

"It's all been arranged." Len was amazed at this guy's ability to lie through his teeth with such a convincing smile on his face, not that it mattered.

The man then proceeded to cast another irritating knowing glance at him. "Why don't you wait outside, Rin-chan, while I sort some things out with Len."

"Yep, sure!" and with that, she had disappeared beyond that door, beyond Len's reach, his way to her barred by the cobalt-haired stranger.

Len was having a mini panic attack. Would Rin be alright? What was going to happen now? What was with this guy?

He gulped. "Y-you want the gem, right? I've got it here. I-I'll give it to you. Just let Rin go."

The man was really relishing his control over the boy. But he found himself wanting more than the jewel.

"No, I don't want it anymore."

"Then what do you want?"

An anticipating silence followed. Len could feel his heart beating like a drum.

"I want you to work for me."

What? Seriously?

"Are you insane? I met you today, you stalk me to my house and now you're offering me a job? Give me one good reason why I would accept a job offer from a complete stranger who potentially hates my guts!"

"I have your sister."

…Damn that is a good reason…

Seeing the boy's speechlessness, he continued: "I am slightly miffed you stole from me."

"Hypocrite", Len managed to mutter under his breath.

"Shut up. Anyway, you're really interesting, y'know. Nobody's ever been able to best me in a heist before,"

"You probably weren't worth it."

He ignored the sarcastic retort. After all, he was the mature one, and he had the upper hand. "I think we could do some really great things together." He almost winced as the boy glared daggers at him. Almost.

Come on, man up. I can beat this kid.

"It's not like I'm gonna harm your sister or anything. When I said you guys were moving, I meant it. I've got rooms much better than this whole apartment." He could see a change in Len when he mentioned Rin. Seems like I'm on to something.

"Think about it, Len. Won't Rin-chan be so much happier away from this dirty place? And you wouldn't need to steal to scrape through life anymore."

"Wait-how did you know-"

The man ignored him. "That Miss Lily, I'm sure if you give her that jewel as a farewell present she wouldn't mind one bit."

Len's eyebrows creased together as he started to think. Rin didn't know he stole to pay their rent, and frankly he wasn't happy keeping a secret from his only sister. Rin was his whole world, and he had to admit, she would probably be happier away from this poverty-stricken district. And all he would have to do in return is help out this lame thief do a couple of heists. Something he had been doing his whole life, for as long as he could remember…

"All right," he gave up with a resigned sigh, and Kaito almost felt like doing a little victory dance. He settled for a seemingly-warm smile (you never know with this guy).

"You made a good choice. Welcome to the business. I'm Kaito."

"You already know my name, stalker."

"Len! You took forever!"

"Sorry Rin, let's go now, before Miss Lily comes and we have to go through all the complicated farewells."

"Oh, a new house, I wonder what it will be like~" Despite their hopeless situation, Len found himself smiling. Rin would always light up his day.

A petite girl lay lazily on a leather sofa, her teal hair sprawled in all directions. Wearing nothing more than a denim skirt and a white tank top, a plate of rice long gone cold suggests she has fallen asleep in the middle of a late dinner. Amidst her soft snores, the latest news announcement blares from an LCD television:

"…the apartment was burned down, with thirty-two dead, and no survivors. A woman identified as Miss Matsuda Lily has been found with seventeen stab wounds. Police are still investigating the alleged arson. In other news, the National Museum of Tokyo has also been a victim of a fire mere hours ago. Detectives suspect the fuel tanks in the Aviation section have been blown up. Thievery is suspected as the latest jewel on display has gone missing. Investigators are still searching for the missing gem, imported from the Pacific Islands. The manager of the museum, Mr Kiyoteru, expresses his worries…"

Thank you for reading.