One usually learns some time during their life that history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Lieutenant Len Kagamine learned this lesson much earlier than others as he numbly watched his comrades bleed out on the rain-soaked pavement of a Tokyo backstreet, once again the sole survivor.

He'd cheated death again.

And she'd helped him do it – the wispy, robed figure at the end of the alley.

If not for the splatters of blood on the pure white of her furisode, she may have resembled a ghost. Perhaps even a wayfaring angel. But the unbridled insanity, and the clearly unquenched bloodlust in the mystery girl could have raised goosebumps on the devil's arms.

The only comfort Len could take was in the appearance of a seemingly unarmed opponent.

It's meant to be, Len thought, pulling his saber from its sheath at his hip. "I'll destroy you," he whispered to keep himself from losing heart. "Karakuri."

Over the years, Len decided that he couldn't go on calling Hatsune's killer her or she until he killed her. He had to give her some kind of name. He nearly shot himself when "Rin" crossed his mind. He could never defile a person as beautiful, loving, and situationally violent as Rin, in flesh or in memory by giving a notorious killer her name. Though Len had come to admit that their resemblance was striking, only his Rin could be Rin.

Eventually, he'd decided to name her Karakuri – machine, or device, since that's all she was – a killing machine.

Len crept toward Karakuri through the drizzle of rain, his steps rivaling butterfly wings in the sound they made. The entire time, Karakuri never moved a muscle.

Suddenly, she gave a shrill, short-lived squeal of a giggle, sending chills racing up and down Len's spine and the hair on his arms stood on end.

"Look at you, sneaking up on me like you're a cat or something," she simpered, turning just enough to glance over her shoulder at him. Her single red eye flashed with grim amusement while her usual crazed grin turned up one corner of her mouth. Her furisode slipped from her shoulders, revealing the creamy, pale skin from Len's dreams. "Even after all these years…you're still as cute as ever."

Don't I remind you of someone?

All at once, Len's dream, his erotic nightmare, came flashing through his mind before he could do anything to stop it. His attempt to ward away the thought came far too late.

The way she ensnared him in his own mind should have been terrifying, but after he'd managed to fall back asleep that night, Karakuri-Rin took his breath away. She found arousing new ways to rid them both of their clothes, piece by piece. Each of her teasing, pleasurable, antagonizing touches sent pulses of electricity racing throughout his body, leaving them to pool insistently in his groin. Every curve of her body drew his eyes, his hands, his lips. Every moan they set free into the hot dreamscape air, every labored breath released into a room filled with the erotic aroma of sweat and fruity perfume brought tremors through Len's body at just the thought.

The pleasure was real.

But so was the horror.

"Damnit, SHUT UP!" Len roared, restraining the urge to charge her like a bull. Karakuri laughed.

"Do I anger you?" she asked in an innocent, condescending voice. She turned to face Len, letting her furisode fall open, revealing the same kimono-style dress and white silken thigh-highs she wore four years before. She looked down at all the fallen soldiers. "I was only having a little fun," she murmured, grinning.

"Human life is precious!" Len snapped. "Why can't you understand that?"

Karakuri giggled. "I'm expendable, so why isn't everyone else, too?"

Len snarled. "Because not everyone is pure evil!" He shouted. "My allies were not evil!" He stepped closer, raising his sword to her. With another giggle, Karakuri pulled the same revolver from her furisode and held it barrel down at her side, her crazed smirk taking root.

"Are you sure of that?"

"More than anything else," Len growled. "You are the daughter of evil itself. Evil destroyed my life. Evil took the life of the only woman I ever loved!" Tears threatened to build. "I've done everything in my power to destroy all evil…and you're next!"

The fact that Karakuri had a gun while Len had a sword was completely lost in the lieutenant's ensuing anger. He hurtled toward her, going to great lengths to keep his balance as he read headlong toward her. Karakuri snickered and stood ready, her gun still barrel down. The confidence on her face kept Len on edge despite her lack of defensiveness. She knew she wasn't going down.

Strange girl. She'd never fought Len before.