A/N: Well, here's another update! And this is right before the climax! I don't have much to say this time... but please enjoy!

Chapter 5: To Become As One

Len sat in a plush chair next to the window in his chamber, quietly reading. Within his mind, however, it was hardly quiet at all. In fact, he was hardly even reading the text in front of him. His mind dwelt on many things—too many things. Even though his countenance appeared calm and collect, he shook his leg in nervousness rather quickly. Then with a sigh he closed his book and set it on his chair after standing up.

As he stretched, he spotted in the corner of his eye, his nightstand. He stared at it for a moment, then quietly walked over to it and slipped open a drawer to grasp one of the things that had been passing through his mind. He held a small ring between his fingers—a small, silver circlet with a single diamond mounted onto it. He had bought the ring to satisfy his father's constant inquiries about finding a ring. Len knew for a fact that Miku would disapprove of the ring—it was too simple. However the truth of the matter was that the ring was for Rin, which is why Len held off giving it to Miku, going against custom. Len had not found the opportunity to give Rin the ring, though, still being in a caged world of aristocracy. He wondered to himself if he would ever get the chance to give her the ring, if they would be able to live their passion with each other without bonds.

Would they ever be free?

Even though Len had been seeing Rin every single night for the past few weeks since his first visit, he knew he couldn't feel complete unless she was with him every waking moment. They were like two birds in two separate cages longing to fly away together. A simple ring—the tiny, little object he held in his hand—meant so much to him. It represented his hope that one day, they'd be side-by-side.

Len jumped at the sound of a knock and his door opening and quickly clenched his fist around the ring to hide it away. Trying to appear unfazed, he looked toward his chamber door to see who was entering. Under the door frame appeared a servant with a boorish face bowing his head to Len.

"Lady Miku Hatsune has come to visit."

"I'll be right down." Len replied with a wave of his hand, ushering the servant out of the room.

When the servant had left, Len carefully put the ring back in its place and shut the drawer of his nightstand. A sigh passed his lips. Miku had become more of a chore to be with—more so than before he had met Rin. However, she had been coming more often recently which struck him as odd. He knew that she was just as uninterested in him as he was with her, so why would she be coming more now? A little irritated, Len straightened himself, knowing that Miku would want to see the image of a proper nobleman, and was led by his servant waiting outside to the drawing room where she stayed.

She was waiting patiently, picture perfect, sitting like a proper noblewoman. When Len had entered the room, she had only turned her head to smile to acknowledge him. Len smiled awkwardly in return, no words being sp oken between them for a greeting. Len sat across from her and watched as the servants scurried in with their fancy tea, listening to the quiet clinks of fine china and pouring liquid. When his saucer was placed in front of him, he simply stared at it—he honestly had no desire for these things. He watched Miku silently take up her tea cup and take a sip from it.

"So what brings you here, today?" Len asked nonchalantly, bringing up his own tea cup.

With a soft clink, Miku set her cup down on the saucer, "There's nothing wrong with me visiting to chat with my fiance, is there?"

Len blinked at her very sudden and quick response, "No, I suppose there isn't."

Miku's eyes fell on Len and scanned him very mechanically. Her stare was cold and emotionless—nothing like how Rin looked at him. The way she glanced at him seemed almost rehearsed just like everything else in the aristocratic world. Her eyes suddenly stopped as she fixed her gaze on one thing.

"Len, your tie is crooked."

Len sighed and began fiddling with the ribbon around his neck. Just as he thought, she was only interested in having a fiance with a certain image. Perhaps Miku felt that he didn't fit that image and so would nit-pick at every little thing that was slightly off with him. And even though every moment with her felt unnatural and awkward, Len felt that today was far more strained than usual. Miku had been coming more often recently, but she would hardly speak a word and come with the excuse of "visiting her fiance." Today, however had become a little more different when Miku had begun a conversation they had never had before.

"Len, do you look forward to getting married to me?"

Len couldn't reply right away. He knew immediately what the answer was, but he could not speak it. Len couldn't read the look Miku had etched onto her face. It was a mix of anxiousness, fear, anticipation, and other emotions that he did not normally find on her. Len decided to dodge the question and not risk revealing his feelings.

"It is my father's wish."

Miku returned to her previous, bored expression taking another sip of her tea, "And mine as well."

The rest of their tea time had passed in silence with the occasional inquiries of the servants. Time had seemed to drag on, but Miku did not stay for long at all. When she had finished her tea and without waiting Len to drink the rest of his, she stood up and dismissed herself. Miku's frequent visits had always seemed to cut short like this and her actions baffled Len. Was she having second thoughts on considering her feelings for him? But then again, her glances and her body language toward him said otherwise—it was obvious she had no affection towards him. Now that Len told himself that he knew what love really was, he knew for certain that he didn't feel an inkling of it from Miku. So she had truly baffled him.

Miku trotted down the steps of the Kagamine estate towards her carriage where the driver waited patiently. She acted as if she was escaping a place filthy and unfit for her standard of nobility. Hastily climbing into the carriage, she waited for the driver to hear her next orders.

"Bring me to the Shion estate, please."

The driver nodded and returned to the top of the carriage where he whipped the horses into motion. Miku smiled to herself. Surely her true intentions were masked. Surely telling her father that she was aiming to be on good terms with her fiance's closest friend was innocent enough, and visiting her boorish fiance now and again would assuredly close any suspicion. It seemed to be like some sort of game to her—exciting, thrilling, and risky.

At first, Kaito's advances left her stunned. Merely the thought of her straying away from her father's wishes and diverging from the path of a proper noblewoman was ghastly. However there was something in his melting voice that seemed to break her guard—collapse her. At first she came to the Shion estate telling herself that she really was trying to create good terms with her fiance's closest friend, but as time passed, and as she more frequently came, she knew that reason had become miniscule. With her back once turned, she now faced him with notice and would take his outstretched hand. Yet she and him still both seemed to pretend not to notice each other's advances, as if they were still playing the game with even each other. However, no matter how hard Miku tried to mask what her heart felt, she couldn't help but deny that she felt so far from herself when gazing into the blue eyes that faced her now.

The carriage had stopped and her surroundings were different. Kaito waited with a small smile on his face, hand outstretched like it usually was.

"Come capture me..." She whispered quietly before stepping out of her carriage and taking Kaito's hand.

Around the same time another carriage had came to a halt from a long journey. It was a black, ominous-looking carriage—at least to Rin it looked that way as she watched outside her window from her chamber. One of the servants hurriedly approached the carriage as the horses that pulled it impatiently shook their heads. The door opened and the servant deeply bowed to the man that stepped out of it. It was Baron Shion that had emerged from the carriage and stepped into the sunlight. From what Rin could see, his face was expressionless and his lips cold and frozen into a frown. It was then that her heart began to pound with unease, watching him grudgingly accept the servant's polite gestures and followed them into the Kagami estate.

When he was out of sight, disappearing into the mansion, Rin had taken in a shaky breath. The presence of Baron Shion never meant good to her and she always found that misfortune always followed him. Rin began to anxiously pace around her chamber, walking in aimless circles, back and forth. Her whole body shivered, suddenly feeling cold as she wondered what had brought him to their mansion today.

Baron Shion was welcomed generously as he entered the entry hall. Before turning to Earl Kagami, he eyed the place with a sort of lustful gaze. Then wearing a smile, he shook the outstretched hand of Earl Kagami who was just now in front of him.

"So good to see you today." Earl Kagami seemed to be reciting a script, "Shall we have some tea?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful." Baron Shion replied, fishing out of his jacket and handing it to a servant along with his hat and gloves.

As Baron Shion followed Earl Kagami to tea, he eagerly observed the mansion, though was careful to mask his hunger and greed with the frown that usually was held on his face. He told himself that he was very lucky to have a man of a higher class than him marry off his daughter to his son. True, she was a bit unkempt and crude in his eyes, but she was the daughter of an earl, and surely with his son's and her marriage, greater riches would await him. If it meant having the Shion family rise to a higher class, then he was willing to take any offer.

Entering a much smaller, but still equally elegant room, Earl Kagami motioned for Baron Shion to sit. The lustful man eagerly sat down in one of the fine plush chairs and watched as his entertainer seated himself from across the table. The servants scurried around like mad chickens trying to put the best tea together they could.

"Oh, will you simpletons act more refined?" Earl Kagami suddenly snapped, "If you do not behave more calmly in front of our guest, I'll have you all a good lashing!"

An eerie silence filled the room for a moment until the servants continued their work. When tea had finally been set in front of the two men, the quiet was finally broken.

"I'll have to apologize for that," Earl Kagami pardoned.

"I understand completely." Baron Shion waved a hand, taking up his tea and sipping from it, "Well then... shall we discuss the marriage?"

Meanwhile, Rin had found that the space in her room was not enough for her anymore. She made her way out of the chamber, practically stumbling out and making her way down the hall not even bothering shutting the door behind her. She could not calm herself, not with Baron Shion here. The last time he had come to visit with her father was the day that she found out about her arranged marriage with Kaito. Ever since then, she dreaded seeing those two people together, whether it be at private affairs like these or even at parties. Rin wandered farther and farther throughout the mansion and down the way to the lower level.

"I believe the marriage should take place in six months time." Baron Shion suggested to the rather indifferent Earl Kagami sipping his tea.

Earl Kagami set his saucer down on the table in front of him and crossed his fingers, thinking for a moment, "I have no objections. The sooner I can be rid of that daughter, the better."

"Shall we make the wedding day sooner, then?"

"No," Earl Kagami casually took up his cup again, "We need plenty of time to make preparations for the wedding. And I don't want to strain myself over that girl."

"I see. Very well, then." Baron Shion nonchalantly replied.

Truth be told, he couldn't care less that his son was getting married or that he was getting married to a girl rumored to be crude and unladylike. He knew very well that Earl Kagami was just desperately trying to marry her off to get her out of his skin. However Baron Shion thought that they could just lock Rin up in a dungeon after she and Kaito wed if she became too much trouble for their reputation. What he was most interested in was the class that awaited him, the riches that were in his path.

"So about the dowry..." Baron Shion began.

Rin froze when she heard the subtle sound of voices echoing down the hallway she paced along. After a moment of trying to distinguish who they belonged to, she slowly crept closer as she learned that they were of Baron Shion and her father. She slowly came closer and closer to the room with the door that was left open and held her back to the wall to remain unseen, but to still hear what was being said.

"I don't know why I should even pay anything for a girl like that." Earl Kagami scoffed.

"Well, tradition is tradition," Baron Shion answered.

Rin suddenly furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't sure what angered her more—the fact that her father expressed such distaste for her, or the fact that they were discussing such a thing as dowry.

"Well, we haven't gathered much for her dowry considering how ill-bred she is. It's embarrassing to even admit that she's come from my line, that girl. But you will have your wedding and your dowry."

"Any amount will be fine as long as it is reasonable," Baron Shion began, "and Kaito will marry your daughter if I order him to, no matter the—"

At that point, Rin could not take it any more. That very moment, Rin whirled herself around, revealing herself underneath the door frame, silencing the conversation between the two nobleman. She glowered down at them, mustering the most hate she could to be reflected in her gaze. Her sight fell on her father, whose expression was a mid of both shock and outrage. Breathing heavily, her mouth trembled as Rin stepped forward.

"How dare you!" She bellowed, "We're your children, for Pete's sake, and you barter us off like things!"

"Silence, girl!" Earl Kagami shouted, now standing up.

"I will not be silent!" Rin screamed, clenching her fists, "I will not be silent until you understand how cruel you cruel you both are! Solely being motivated by your greed, your love of money, your love of your reputation—"

Rin felt a sting strike her cheek as her head flew downward and to the side. Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain and from the sudden shock of being struck. Clasping her cheek, Rin looked up to see her father's face for but a moment before being struck again.

"Don't look at me!" Earl Kagami growled, "And I will silence you... if I have to claw your tongue out, if need be... so help me I will. You will obey me and you will marry Baron Shion's son in six months time!"

"Six... months?"

Rin's knees suddenly collapsed at those words. The time sounded long, but it seemed so short as it suddenly hit her that she was to be married... married to a man she didn't love... married to a man that was not Len. Marriages usually took a long while to be carried out, but the planning for hers was happening so fast... Rin didn't know what to make of it. All she knew is that she didn't want it to happen... she wanted to be able to touch Len's hand, to be warmed by his embrace, to feel his lips...

Before Rin realized it, the tears in her eyes began to stream down her cheeks and she curled as whimpers sounded from her throat.

"Take her away to her room." Earl Kagami spat as the servants scurried in.

Rin felt herself being lifted up, but did nothing to fight it. Through the sniffles and sobs, she moaned,

"I don't want to be married... I don't want to be married... I don't want to be married..."

She did not know how many times she had murmured that phrase, but she felt she could not murmur it enough. The next moment she knew, she was laying face-down on her bed in her chamber with the doors creaking shut. The sheets below her quickly became doused in her tears as she contorted and curled into a pathetic state.

"Len... Len, oh, Len..." Rin softly cried.

Rin did not move from her chamber all that day except to come down for dinner when her father had demanded it. Eventually the tears had stopped and she stared up at the ceiling with a lifeless gaze, constantly thinking in her mind on what to do... how to face the monster that was her father... how to stay with Len... The light that shone on her white ceiling first faded to a deep orange and than a luminescent blue as the evening wore on. The moon rose higher and higher in the sky and the hour grew later, but Rin did not move from her bed. She occasionally turned and shifted, but would not advance anywhere else.

Until...

Rin blinked when she heard the clock in her chamber chime twelve times. At the twelfth chime, she heard subtle movement from outside her open balcony. As the wind blew the curtains inward, she at last sat up and looked toward the moonlit night to find the make-shift rope she kept hidden being put to use.

Len eagerly climbed his way up, anxious to see the one face that could put his heart at ease from the aristocratic world. Finally reaching the balcony, he sat there for a moment, catching his breath before looking into the chamber before him. He smiled when he saw that familiar figure sitting on her bed like she usually did, though he found it strange that she was still in her day clothes. He brushed that aside and approached her anyway, heart fluttering with each step he took after throwing his shoes off his feet.

Len stopped again when he could make out the expression on Rin's face. It was somehow lifeless and very chilling to even look at. Her flaxen hair was messily drooped over her cheeks and forehead, her lips dull and thin, and her eyes clouded and blank. Something in Len's chest tightened a little at the sight.

"Rin...?" His voice trembled.

It was the moment he uttered her name that her eyes finally showed him something—sadness. Tears formed in her eyes and shone in the moonlit light. The shine that came from them shattered Len's heart, but at the same time seemed so beautiful. Rin rose from her bed and slowly reached out toward him, her hands shaking and her steps uneven.

"Len... Len, that really is you..."

Len quickly took her into his arms when she had fallen forward and held her tightly, trying to warm her shaking body.

"Rin, what's wrong?" He could hear his voice cracking.

Rin exhaled sharpy and buried her face onto Len's chest, her tears dripping onto him, "Len, I want you to stay with me..."

"Rin," Len almost wanted to laugh. In the back of his mind, he knew what she was getting at, but he didn't want to admit it and faced denial, "I am staying with you... I'll always stay with you. We'll be together."

"At this rate, we won't be!" Rin cried, looking up at Len, who nearly reeled back in shock, "My father wants me to be married in six months time! That's too soon! We won't be able to be together."

"Shhhh..." Len cooed.

He was trying his best to comfort the love of his life, but he couldn't deny that he was beginning to crumble at her words, as well. Six months was too soon... and who knows when his marriage with Miku was to take place? Already he felt as if they were drifting apart even as he held her closely.

The tears would not stop falling from Rin's eyes as she gazed up, and it broke Len's heart to see such bitterness gripping her. He held a little tighter, rubbing his thumbs comfortingly to attempt to soothe her pain. Rin, holding a palm over a balled fist, continued to stare into Len's eyes, tears only falling faster and faster. The skin between Len's eyebrows tightened as he felt tears of his own form in the corners of his eyes. He simply could not bare the sight.

"I don't want to get married, Len..." She then set her soft hands on his chest, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you... only you. The man I love!"

She moved closer to him now, touching her lips against his, clenching a fist full of his shirt. She pulled away just for a moment. "I love you, Len... I love you..."

Rin then returned to him, moving her mouth over his. Len could feel her hands climb his chest and move to the back of his neck. She pulled her body closer to him, pushing her chest against his. Len waited for the moment for her to stop to continue shedding her tears, but when he felt her push her body against his again, he realized that stopping was the last thing she was going to do. To that, Len kissed away the tears on her cheeks and moved his hands to her lower back, rubbing her body, pushing it even closer. Each time they pressed against each other, Len could feel his heart flutter and Rin breathed hard into his mouth. Len then slipped his tongue past her lips and a moan followed from Rin's throat. She moved away, gasping for breath, but did not move her face away from his.

As she lightly bit his lower lip, Rin's hands began to move over the buttons of his shirt, undoing them one-by-one. Len suddenly felt a chill as his shirt was opened and had begun to slip off of his shoulders, Rin's hands tracing his skin shortly afterward. Her mouth was once again on his as Len tenderly pushed her against the bed, fondling her body once again, worries from before seemingly melting away. With Rin's back against the rumpled sheets, Len begun to crawl over her. He could feel Rin's knee brush up against the side of his body as she lifted it while he moved between her legs. Her body was becoming very hot now in contrast to the cold droplets of sweat that had begun to roll down Len's forehead. His mouth traced from her lips to her chin and down her neck as Rin's fingers fumbled with Len's ponytail until it was finally loosened. Len moved lower and lower until he reached just below her collar bone when he finally lifted his lips, panting. As his hot breath caressed and traced her skin while pushing his body against her once more, he slowly had begun to remove the garment that clothed Rin's body...

They had crossed the line. They had tread far beyond the point of no return. There was no turning back now. They had touched—become one—there was no returning. But neither Rin nor Len regretted it. They were each in the arms of the one that they loved. If they were to lose their minds, they'd simply melt together. If they were to be eaten up by the flames of passion, then they'd burn together. Their hearts had crossed and had become one.

Len gazed at the face of the sleeping angel he held in his arms and smiled. His eyes had just rolled awake to the image of Rin's gentle, resting countenance. He felt her soft heart underneath her chest quietly beat against his own and watched as the moonlight illuminated her porcelain skin. Then he had felt her body rise and fall with a deep breath and her eyes slowly opened, revealing the deep blue ocean-like orbs that he so admired. Her plump lips curled into a smile and Len leaned a bit closer, touching his forehead against hers, to whisper,

"I love you, too, Rin..."

A/N: And everything will explode next chapter... I hope... This story is actually approaching its end. But did I build the intensity enough here? Did you guys feel stressed at all? And if you must know, yes I do love leaving my readers in suspense... and yes, I am evil. hahahahahaha But aside from all that, did you like the chapter? Please leave a review with your feedback-I love reading them even if I don't respond. :)