Gakupo always told me I had an unforgiving temper, and, when in the right mood, could make a grown man cower with my venomous words alone. Taking his observation to heart, I tried my best to deter the persistent and moronic Len from wanting anything to do with me by shuffling through the archives of my mind for the most curt and sarcastic insults in the repertoire.

"Take off that garish coat. You look like a circus clown's understudy," I said as we wove carefully through the alleys toward my home.

Immediately after I spoke, I turned a wary eye on the boy to see the aghast reaction that never came. Instead, he nodded, gingerly sliding the extravagant gold-thread jacket off his back and throwing it onto the nearest trash heap that lined the streets.

"You didn't have to do that," I mumbled guiltily.

"I have too much clothing anyway," he replied in that same cheerful tone that he first greeted me with. "Do you know these streets well?"

"I could navigate them blindfolded. Do you get lost in that castle of yours?"

"Only when I was a child, and Rin always found me in the end."

"I have someone like that I suppose. You will meet him shortly. Be warned—he does not take to strangers very well."

He seemed to have choked on something when I said "him." An immensely satisfying result. If my lifestyle did not disconcert him, the most disconcerting man on God's green Earth would be my salvation. When we at last found ourselves in front of the gate to my hovel, Len observed it and its surroundings with a not-a- all pitying or distasteful curiosity, but a genuine one like he was perusing the exterior of a lavish apartment building rather than a dilapidated tea garden in the slums of the city.

"The Snake and the Rabbit?" he asked eventually. The noise caused an entity within the walls shift about.

"Yes, that's what people call us around here. I'm the Rabbit, and the Snake…well, you'll see."

I knocked on a bar and, upon receiving no answer, spout curses under my breath as I maneuvered the wooden plank through the gaps with much difficulty. Len offered to help, but I waved him off right before I managed to free the gate from the board's clutches. It screeched like a banshee as it opened.

Ever so cautiously, I crept inside with Len in tow. I heard the bastard moving around, and hiding in our small and plain home was not an option. Nowhere to run, old man. Nowhere.

"Is everything alright?" Len asked from behind me as I threw myself into the open space and scanned the area for a very large, very filthy-looking man, but no one was there.

"Hmm," I calculated. "I suppose it is. My imagination must have conjured up the noise I heard earlier—"

Like a devil's snake, Gakupo slithered out from under the mattress and absorbed me in a hug from behind. I let out surprised scream, and Len was so alarmed I thought he was going to faint where he stood.

Extending my arms and making fierce motions to calm him down, I said, "It's okay. It's just Gakupo. The Snake."

"The Snake? Ah, yes, the Snake," Len squeaked. "Sorry, I was just startled. N-Nice to meet you." He offered his hand, but Gakupo merely tightened his hold on me. "U-Um, what's your relation to Mayu?"

A maniacal smile spread across his face. "Len Kagamine, is it? I thought you would see quite plainly that we're lovers."

A flood of crimson, more from fury than embarrassment, spread across my cheeks. Len was unsurprisingly aghast. In order to erase that statement from the fabric of the universe, I yelled, "YOU WISH, OLD MAN!" and elbowed him hard in the face.

Finally releasing me, he took a step back and sulked. "I was only trying to stir some jealousy in the boy. He hardly seems the passionate type."

"If he wasn't passionate, he would have left me alone a long time ago," I replied.

"Hm, I see." Gakupo sauntered up to Len and observed him quite bluntly from top to bottom. Len shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "You couldn't have liked someone a bit taller?"

"Okay, that's enough of you. Stand in the corner and think about what your next words will be to our guest."

He grumbled, walking over to the corner with a stubborn pout. Taking a deep breath, I started over. "Len, welcome to our home."

He managed a smile. "Thank you."

I gave him the grand tour of the place. The mattress, the table, the two chairs, the moping Gakupo in his natural habitat, the little pile of trinkets we had accumulated over the years, and finally, the jar of savings that would liberate us from our homelessness. My speech was exaggerated and grandiose during the whole short excursion, but inside was a whirlpool of embarrassment and yet defiant pride that made me less pathetic. Being short, I was sure, was not the only thing that bothered Gakupo about him.

"You've saved all this for a flat?" Len was saying. "That's fantastic. How do you two get the money?"

Now was the time my roommate thought was best to emerge from his time-out. "It's a family business!" he exclaimed. "I come from a legacy, and was kind enough to pass on that legacy to my little sister, Mayu, over there. Though not connected by blood, I cannot keep my passion to myself."

"Really? What is it you do?"

"Don't you dare say another word!" I interjected, pointing an accusing finger at that damned snake. "I've been trying to make him quit his passion for years, and I will tell Len about it at a later time."

Gakupo huffed. "Fine. Be on your way, then, but before you go, I need a private word with your little boyfriend over there."

"Not my—whatever, go ahead."

Len was less-than-kindly pulled to the other side of the garden. They faced away from me, Gakupo harshly whispering something I could only imagine in my nightmares into Len's ear. When they separated, a grave expression took over Len's features for only a moment before he forced a cheery smile my direction. For the very first time, I feared this plague decimating this city and the towns around it. I did not want to die now that there was finally something to live for. Though the days felt as dark as night, twilight had yet to come.