Long time no update (I think)! I've been kinda busy with real life stuffs including revision and whatnot. Got (mock) exams the week after next... fun times~ That probably means that I won't be updating any time soon until they're all over, but you never know. Writing is so much better than exams.

Anyways... I don't remember what I was going to say. I even had it in my head until two seconds ago. Ah well.

Thank you very much for reviews and everything~ It's nice to know people like this story! I think it may have become a part of my life (if that makes any sense at all).

So yup. Here's a new chapter! Perhaps it's a bit strange and the ending is different to how I had planned it at first. I'm pathetic at planning things. Let's just go with the flow!

Vocaloid (c) Yamaha etc.

Playing Fair

Riiing riiing…

Len fumbled with anxious fingers as he picked up his phone. Situated on top of an old, abandoned building, not unlike the one he had been on when he'd killed the bald man, he listened intently over the strong wind which had picked up. His hair swayed and his face was growing colder by the minute as the temperature began to drop. The weather forecast had lied. Again.

"Hello? Rin? Where are you?" he kept his voice low but stern so his sister could tell that this was important. When there was no reply, he asked again, but there was only silence on the other end. Suddenly scared, the young blond's heart started to pound, louder and quicker until he could bear it no more. There were small sounds coming through, quiet and hard to make out.

Biting his lip, Len stared at the rifle in front of him which was only half out of the bag. "Rin? Are you there? What's wrong?" He hated being ignored. He hated it when people didn't answer him when he wanted them to. "Rin? This isn't funny. Seriously now, where –"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your voice." That was the sharp reply. Len's blue eyes widened in surprise. That was… unexpected. But something about her voice sounded off.

"Then why did you ring me up in the first place?" he countered back.

"Because this is the closest thing to talking to you in person. And I wanted to tell you that you're a lying, good-for-nothing idiot. You can go back to your old house and live with your imaginary dogs and cats for all I care. Just don't come back!"

"R-Rin, what are you saying? We… We're siblings, right? Twins… how could I just –"

"I don't care! Just shut up and leave me alone, got it? I called to say goodbye. That's all."

Confused and frustrated, Len continued to listen carefully. Strange. He thought he could hear muffled crying through the speaker. Rin wasn't the one crying. Someone else in the background was. Before he could utter another word, she hung up on him.

The boy sat down on the rooftop overlooking the Dark Alley in a different perspective. Drawing his knees up to his chin, he hugged his arms around his legs, brooding over the sudden turn of events. He had no idea what was going on. He had no idea where his sister was. He had no idea what she wanted him to do. Leave? Disappear?

I don't have to care if she doesn't want me to. I can disappear if she wants me to. Len was overwhelmed by a torrent of emotions. His head hurt from all that thinking. His hands hurt from making such tight fists. But most of all, his heart hurt. He had forgotten how much it hurt to be rejected like that. Once upon a time, he was used to being bullied and teased and hit and kicked about. Now, it came as a shock back into reality.

As the winds blew and howled, a broken and lonely boy sat on an abandoned rooftop, crying ceaselessly to himself.

...

"That should do it."

With a sly grin, the bright-green haired girl slipped the mobile phone back into Rin's messenger bag and sat down on a nearby chair. Stretching her arms, she yawned, listening to the blonde girl's sniffing. They had tied her up onto a wooden chair with thick ropes and tight knots, making sure that she couldn't move.

They were in a small, abandoned warehouse situated somewhere close to the Dark Alley. Water leaked from the roof and fell with a forlorn plink plink onto the hard ground. The walls were bare and the room was cold. High windows lined one wall, near the roof, allowing some light to filter through. The roof was made from corrugated metal which was rusted in some places and dented in others.

This was such a typical situation. Gumi sighed with boredom, watching Gakupo's emotionlessly calm face as he closed his eyes for some rest. Whether he was sleeping or not, Gumi couldn't tell, but what she did know was that this was such a boring game. By sticking to (what she called) the rules of this game and playing fair, there would be less trouble later on if anything were to go wrong. Hopefully, things wouldn't go wrong, of course, but you can never be too careful.

"Looks like your brother won't help you now," Gumi said bluntly.

"Len… Len isn't like th-that," Rin managed to mumble in between sobs.

With a scathing laugh, Gumi suddenly stood up, knocking her chair over and shouted, "How would you know? A person who hasn't been loved doesn't know how to love. You think he loves you? You think he cares? You think he gives a shit about what happens to anyone except himself?"

"And how would you know what Len's like?" Rin fired back in defence. "He's my brother, and–"

"And what? I've known him for much longer than you have, missy."

"I grew up with him!"

"Really? How long did your childhood together last before he was booted off to go live in an orphanage instead?" Gumi didn't give Rin a chance to reply and carried on talking in a rage. "Have you any idea what has happened because of him? Has he ever told you what he did in the years that you've been apart? Do you know what rules he lives by? He's only loyal to two people: his Master and himself. He doesn't care about anyone else. You've seen for yourself how convincing his little acts are. How do you know he truly cares about you? You mean nothing to him. Nothing means anything to that cold bastard."

By the end of all that Rin was rendered completely speechless. Worst of all, she doubted. She began to doubt whether Len cared for her or not. Surely he must? Why else would he put up with her for so long? They had lived happily together for some time now and he had shown no sign of hatred. But then, what Gumi had said was right: Len hadn't said anything about his past after the orphanage and before he had met with Rin again. It was true that he could remember very little of their childhood together but he definitely knew what had happened during his time with the Organisation. Why didn't he tell her?

Is he still lying to me? Rin frowned as tears stung her eyes. Why doesn't he ever tell me anything? What is there to hide from me?

Slightly calmer now, Gumi went over to Gakupo and stood beside him, lying her head on his shoulder. The samurai opened his eyes slowly, took in the scene before him, and closed them again. He wasn't interested in things like this. The path he was taking may be a long and arduous one, but at the end of it, sweet revenge awaited him. Both he and the green-haired girl wanted revenge. They would stop at nothing to get what they wanted and they would do no matter what. Even so, Gumi had insisted on playing 'fair' and using… simpler and more tedious methods which weren't imaginative in the slightest.

Although they had to change their original plan slightly due to an interesting turn in events, the ending would still be the same. They had both spent a long time preparing their revenge strike. Nothing will go wrong. Mistakes could not be allowed. Things that could be perfected had been, and the rest had to go according to luck and fortune. Gakupo didn't like having elements out of his immediate control, but there was no other option.

Time trickled by. The outside sky began to darken and darken until it was pitch-black. Stars shone in the night and the moon glowed, but they were nothing more than distant lights, small gears in the making of the giant universe. In the same way, humans are insignificant, and the strong come out on top. It's the survival of the fittest where the weak are treated as pawns in the rulers' games.

After much debating with herself, Rin finally managed to pluck up the courage to say, "Please… could you untie me?"

Gumi glanced at her sharply and snapped, "Of course not. What do you take us for?"

"What do you want with me anyway?" the blonde girl asked, exasperated.

"It would be better if you didn't ask, stupid girl," grumbled the green-haired girl.

Gakupo simply stood there and sighed. He laid his hand on the hilt of his katana, as if to give a warning. After that, Rin stayed quiet.

Gumi turned to her male accomplice and commented, "I'm bored."

"Patience is the key," came the answer. "There's not long left. Just be –"

Suddenly, there was an almighty CRASH as the unctuous windows all smashed simultaneously and a figure clad in black swung in, landing gracefully on the ground. It stood up carefully and threw its hood back.

Rin gave a cry of joy and sighed with relief as she recognised the face before them. Gumi gave an irritated tch as Gakupo stepped in front, unsheathing his weapon. His face was as impassive as usual.

"Fancy seeing you here, dog," spat Gumi, her voice dripping with hatred. She glared at Len with emerald eyes and the boy in question glowered back just as fiercely with an icy expression, pointing a handgun at her and holding it steadily in his left hand.

The blond boy didn't reply. That puzzled Rin. Usually, he would counter with defiance, saying that he wasn't a dog. Maybe he was just too angry to talk. However, there was something… strange about him apart from not arguing back. Rin saw Len, but this was not the Len she knew as her brother. This wasn't the same boy from a few days ago; he had changed.

Perhaps it was that he was dressed all in black, just like when he perched on the windowsill that moonlit night as she was about to be taken back by her father. Perhaps it was that his expression reminded her of someone who didn't know how to laugh or smile. Or perhaps it was because his eyes were so awfully cold and emotionless, with not a single scrap of warmth or kindness in them. No matter what, this wasn't the Len she knew.

"What are you doing here, dog?"

"Orders from my Master." Len's voice didn't belong to him. No. It was so emotionless and detached… it couldn't have belonged to a human.

"Heh. Thought as much. Damn that Shion," muttered Gumi. "On another note, Len… do you remember us?"

The boy paused for a moment before answering, "Yes. And I'd very much like to kill you both, though Master Shion wouldn't be very happy if I did."

There and then, Rin butted in, sick of being ignored, "Len! How do you know those people? And how many times have I told you to stop killing? More importantly, what about me? Hey! Don't you dare just ignore me like that!"

Len didn't so much as gift her with a glance. Not taking his eyes off his green-haired target, he threatened, "Shut up or I'll shoot."

"Len… what's gotten into you? You're not normally like this," whispered Rin, confused.

Gumi chewed her lip. This wasn't in the plan, nor was it in the backup plans. What was going on? This wasn't supposed to happen. In that case…

She nudged Gakupo. They exchanged glances and he nodded. In one swift stride, he stood behind Rin, cut her ropes and hoisted her up onto his shoulder, carrying her by the waist. The blonde girl kicked and yelled, but all to no avail. She tried in vain to break loose from the samurai's grip. "Len! Aren't you gonna help me?"

When there was no reply, Gumi at last realised what had happened. A satisfied smirk spread across her face. With a laugh, she teased Len, "Have you had a fall-out? Heh. You're not just a dog any more are you?"

She took a step forwards, knowing the boy wouldn't actually shoot now.

"What are you talking about?" Rin shouted.

Gumi threw her a sidelong glance and carried on frostily, "He's a broken dog. A dog that's been abandoned once again." She smiled at Len: "You are, aren't you?"

Again, the boy didn't reply. With a sigh, he put away his gun in the folds of his clothes.

"Are you giving up, Len?" demanded Rin. What was wrong with him? "Some brother you are! Aren't you gonna help me here? Were you lying when you said you loved me? Were you lying when you said you'd look after your sister?"

For a brief second, something flashed across Len's blue eyes, but all that passed very quickly. He took on a sad air and said quietly, "Master Shion was right. Love only hurts."

Surprised expressions appeared on all of the others' faces.

"What? Len! What are you doing? What the hell's wrong with you?"

Rin's sudden outburst only earned her a knock to the back of her head from Gakupo, causing her to fall unconscious. At the same time, another gun slipped out from underneath her loose top. She had taken it from Len's room this morning after getting changed to go out shopping at the Andales. She wasn't entirely stupid. She had her suspicions. But now… she was completely helpless.

Len went forwards to claim his weapon back. Effortlessly, he kicked the gun vertically up into the air and caught it in his hand. With that, he turned around and glared at Gumi.

"Why did you come here, boy?" challenged the older girl.

"To get my gun back."

"I'm pretty sure there's another reason."

"Not at all." He leaped up back through the window. Before he disappeared, he peered back through the broken glass and sneered, "Oh, and the next time we meet, I don't think I'd be able to resist firing a bullet into your head."

That left Gumi and Gakupo (carrying an unconscious Rin) in the warehouse, bemused. What was wrong with that boy? Seriously. Now that this had happened, would their revenge plan work properly? What if it didn't?

Subconsciously, Gumi lifted her hand to her head. She didn't fancy a bullet in there any time soon. And she was pretty sure Gakupo felt the same way.