Silver and Gold "Your value is measured by your genes."

Ace sat down on the grassy ground, staring at the bark of a tree a ways away from the DWMA. He wasn't sure what it was about this particular tree that had possessed him to deliver so much of his attention, but he felt it was as good a place as any to spend his free time. The total 2 hours of recreation that he'd allotted himself was typically spent performing some menial task that never truly brought him any sense of joy, though it was always some generic way of passing the time that got the job done. The purpose of these 2 hours was not to entertain him, but to prevent an unnecessary build up of stress that could lead to inefficiency. Regardless, he was unprepared the fissure that his brief free time would soon experience.

"Back in Death City and you haven't even came to see your cuz? What, is your life is a damn soap opera!?" The golden-haired boy yelled at the former, and planted his fist into his head. "I came all the way out here 6 months ago, and you couldn't care less!" Chris had been looking for Ace since the last they met, about 6 ,months ago, in which the Toromaki took his leave.

Ace growled at being domineered by his recognizably obnoxious younger cousin, quickly grabbed him by the wrist, and rose to meet his stare. "And just what the hell does it matter to you how my life is going? Six months or six years, who cares. Not like we're friends or anything." He let Chris go and crossed his arms, glaring at the other boy. "What do you want, anyways?"

"What are you talking about Ace? We'll always be friends." Chris sat down across from him, criss-cross style. "And one of your only family members." Chris took out an old, dusty document from his pocket. "I found out I was a weapon, just like you, so I came to find you. I thought we could be a team."

Ace considered it for a few moments, then raised a hand. "Not a chance in hell." He said, turning his back. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'm gonna go home and take a nap. Don't strain yourself being my friend and all that."

"Hey, what the hell did to you?" Chris yelled, throwing his hands up in the air, running after Ace. He grabbed his shoulder, and turned him around to face Chris. "Think of all the good things we could do. We would make your dad proud."

Ace slapped the hand away from him and stood his ground. "Don't you talk about him like you know him!" He gave Chris a solid slug to the jaw. Although Ace wasn't particularly strong, he still knew how to throw a punch. "Please. What good could you and I do? In our family, your value is determined by your genes, and you didn't even inherit the family hair!" His eyes were cold and unforgiving as he snapped at his cousin. "Besides. I don't care about making Father proud. All I want is revenge!"

Chris took the punch, and turned his eyes back to his cousin. "So what if I don't have silver hair? Gold is even more valuable!" Chris retaliated with a firm kick placed in Ace's stomach. He wiped the blood from his lip. "Why won't you ever acknowledge me? You used to tell me that it didn't matter that I didn't have silver hair! You said I was still a Toromaki! What changed?"

Ace stumbled backwards with the kick, and breathed in deeply to make sure he wasn't winded. "What changed?" He charged with full force, striking back with an uppercut. "My parents were killed by the man I thought was my friend!" Another strike went for Chris' ribs. "I opened up my eyes!" He gave a spin and threw his heel straight for his cousin's skull. "I grew up!"

Chris's head flew back with the uppercut, and managed to catch Ace's fist, and twist it. "I've changed too you know! But unlike you, I'm dwindling on the past!" Chris dodged Ace's heel, and proceeded to sweep Ace's feet. "If we just worked together, we could kill Krimlin. You know we could."

"This isn't some family game for us to bond over!" Ace caught himself in a handstand after being sweep kicked, and launched himself into a tree. "I'm going to kill him myself. I don't need Dante's help!" His arm turned into a chain and he sent it flying at Chris repeatedly. "I don't need Rin's help! And I most certainly don't need yours!"

Chris flipped backwards, extending his arm, now a sword. "Then what are you waiting for? It's been years! If you could do it by yourself, you would of already, you're just scared! You've always been!" Chris rushed at Ace, parrying his chains, and extended his hand, aiming at Ace's throat.

Ace's eyes widened at the blade nearing his neck. He didn't expect Chris to so readily fight with full force. This fight wasn't a stupid argument anymore. Ace fell backwards off the branch and wrapped his legs around Chris' shoulder, pulling him along, and grabbed onto the tree limb. They spun around the branch and Ace let Chris go, sending him straight for another tree. "You don't know anything about me, so don't act like you do!"

"That's where you're wrong! I'm one of the only one's that understands you!" Chris lodged his blade into the tree to stop himself, and then fell to the ground. Chris ran pass the tree Ace was in, slicing it almost all the way through the base. He run up the side, grabbing and slashing branches as he climbed.

"How could you understand anything?!" Ace dropped from the tree, kicking off of it, and then again kicking off of another tree to send himself flying back towards Chris, attempting to wrap his chain around his neck. "Your parents weren't murdered by your closest friend! You weren't left all alone in a haunted house! Have you ever even truly suffered? Do you even know what pain is? Your parents are still alive, and a Toromaki lives nothing but a pampered life! So just how the hell do you expect me to believe that you know anything about the way I feel?"

Chris was caught by Ace's chain, and the two plummeted to the ground, his chain tight around his neck. "I know what's its like." Chris managed to choke out. "I know what it's like because you left me. You were my only friend Ace."

"That's not the same!" Ace shouted, pulling Chris into another punch. "You still have a family!" He continued his onslaught. "You still have a house! You still have your sanity! Your pride! Your WILL TO LIVE." His final punch released Chris from the snare to send him backwards towards the edge of the miniature forest that overlooked the city. There were pretty good chances that if this kept up, the two would go barreling over that ledge.

"YOU STILL HAVE A FAMILY TOO!" Chris jumped up, running at the Toromaki across the the forest. "YOU STILL HAVE ME, DANTE, AND RIN, BUT YOU REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT! THE ONE THAT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND TRUE PAIN.." Chris winded his arm back, changing his arm back from a blade to a clenched fist, which was firmed slammed across Ace's face, sending his spinning into a nearby oak tree. "Is you!"

Ace pulled himself off of the tree and leered forward at Chris. His chain reverted to an arm and he removed some of the blood from his lips. "You're wrong." He charged. "Dante's gone, Rin doesn't care, and you're not even a real Toromaki! Stop trying to be heroic and shut the hell up!"

From the treeline, a pair of bright purple eyes snapped open, a jolt of their owner being awoken causing the branch to waiver. Looking over at them, the girl paled, her eyes turning black as her soul protect dropped and she stared over at them, sweating profusely.

Chris lunged upward towards Ace, eyes full of rage.He was irate. How could he think he could achieve his goals on his own. "Don't you know the value of teamwork!?" As the Toromakis neared each other, Chris let out a wail, pulling his head back for a headbutt.

Ace's expression was fire. As he neared Chris he too leaned backwards. "Why don't you just grow up and stop being such a whiny brat!" Their heads collided with a tremendous force, sending a burst of air past the treeline. The two were not playing games.

The impact messed with Chris's vision, but he still felt the same. "What makes just so much better than me anyway, huh? If I'm that bad, just kill me, right here, right now,!" Chris re-reared his head, and knocked it back into Ace's, both flying from each other.

Ace rose shakily, dabbing at his forehead to check for blood. "You're right, maybe I should." He said grimly. He knew that deep down, he didn't really mean it. Even if he didn't like Chris, he couldn't just kill him like that. Chris was just an innocent person, and Ace wasn't a murderer.