Empty

Author: Lariat


"It's nice to finally have you back, you know." She said with smile, laying down their respective tea cups, sitting down afterward. "I was getting worried about you."

"Please, as if I'd die off so easily like that." He said sarcastically taking his teacup in his hands.

"Well, I'm just saying, I'm relieved that you're all good and well."

"Mmhm." He concurred as he took a sip of tea.

A moment of silence quickly came. She was truly happy that his friend had come back after so long, alive, but at the same time, she was aware of the cautious atmosphere hanging around them, her being the one being very cautious, wary of her friend. She knew that he would have been to a lot of places in the span of nine years, no doubt. But she was afraid to bring up a topic to talk about, all because she knew all too well that he would drive the conversation all the way to that point. She knew him enough to know that it would come to that conclusion. They did live together in their childhood, after all.

Not standing it any longer, he set the teacup a bit less than gently and in a haste on the table, making a sort of loud tap, disrupting the silence between them. This followed shortly by him informing his friend, "I lived in the Hiwa Sector for a while." She twitched. She thought that maybe it would have been better to have had a conversation to delay that point in it.

"...Oh really? I wonder how you were able to take the heat." She said, trying to act natural. She thought that she could somehow drive the conversation away. Though he could sense the hesitance in her voice. He knows her all too well.

"It was okay. They had a pool."

She looked at him in astonishment, "What kind of place did you live in?"

"The palace, of course." He responded.

She started with disbelief in her voice, "The pa--..." She stopped short, realizing what he was doing. She sighed in her mind, 'I guess I still can't beat you, huh...?' "Oh... I see... Must have been nice."

"It was okay, I guess." He took another sip of tea. "He's doing fine, by the way, if you're asking."

'He's already cut to the chase...'

"...I wasn't." She hissed under her breath.

He ignored her growing temper and pressed on. "He asked how you were doing too." He paused. "...I thought you two were--"

"Well, we're not." She cut off harshly.

He looked at her then took another sip. "Hmph." he scoffed, "So it's finally dawned on you that he should be hated." She didn't respond. Rather, she didn't know how to respond. So another quick moment of silence passed. "...It may sound crazy, especially coming from me," 'Here we go...' "but... I think the only who shouldn't hate him..." 'The 'talk'.' "is you."

Another quick moment of silence. "...You're right. That does sound crazy, especially coming from you."

His tone of voice had changed; the tone he always uses whenever he would lecture someone. He was getting tired of this. "Look, I don't know what happened between the two of you, but--"

"You don't need to know."

"...I'm just saying...you should make up with him."

"And why should I?" She said harshly, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible. He was pissing her off enough as it is.

"Because..." he started, with a hint of concern, "he... actually looked kind of sad when I told him that I haven't seen you for over eight years." He added, "I said that over a year ago." to be more specific.

"Why should I even care if he's sad or not?" She half-yelled, "He was probably just faking it and trying to gain your sympathy."

"You know that he never does anything without reason or merit." He starts off with his lecture tone of voice again, but this time with more...annoyance? "What could he possibly gain from me being sorry for him? Besides, that was the first time I ever saw him even remotely, openly sad." She didn't need to see his face scowling angrily at her. She could already tell what he was thinking. "Seeing him like that was just so foreign to me, I felt like the world was about to end." She knows him all too well. "I can't believe I'm saying this but, I think I'd prefer a happy Cain almost over anything else right now." And she was quite annoyed at how he was saying all of this to her as-a-matter-of-factly, as if she made a huge mistake in her life. "The only way he's going to be happy is if he had fun or..." He paused, trying to calm down, then saying his last words as calmly as possible, "if you were there having fun with him."

Another silence came.

"Think about it, Bean." He said, being the one to break the awkward silence once again, "I think he'd be really happy again... to at least see you one more time."

She still kept her head down low, avoiding eye contact with him. She stayed silent at first, not really sure as to how to respond. "...You say that as if he were dying or something."

He sighed, "Well... I'm not sure about that. But I'm just saying..." He paused once more, taking his last sip of tea, "you should make up with him."

"...No."

He sighed once more, finally giving up and stood up to leave. She didn't stop him. That was the end of that so she didn't care, as long as this conversation was over. He didn't leave immediately, only stopping in the doorway out the room to say just a few more words. "You're the only one who can make him happy, you know." Words that he hoped would make her change her mind. "And if he was happy again... wouldn't that be a nice sight for you? It would sure cheer you up to see that you made someone happy, even if it was Cain."

Another quick moment of silence.

She chuckled at the sight of her friend helping out one of his worst enemies. It was pretty unbelievable and kinda of funny. "Saying all of these stupid things that I would never expect to hear coming out of your mouth... You've really changed, Ryuu."

"Yeah. You have too." Another moment of silence. She knew he still had more to say, since he wasn't leaving completely yet even though he was ready to. Finally, he broke the silence once more, "...You know, I always thought you were so much prettier when your hair was long." This took her by surprise, though she didn't show it. To hear him say that to her...was unexpected. "It's a shame that you had to go and chop it all off." ...Of course, he had to follow up with an insult. "Cain would agree with me too." She twitched.

Another moment of silence came.

With that, Ryuu had left her house. She kept sitting there, staring at her now cold tea that has yet to be drunk. Contemplating the entirety of the conversation and thought back to his last words before leaving.

'I always thought you were so much prettier when your hair was long. It's a shame that you had to go and chop it all off. Cain would agree with me too.'

"...That's the reason why I cut it off in the first place." was her response.

Paper

Author: Nogamo

Haru was in a black mood. He sat at his commander's desk, fuming as he penned a particularly difficult document.

When he had become commander, he knew there would be responsibility attached to the post, but no one told him there would be mountains of paperwork. It was great and all to have negotiated a free trade treaty with the city's merchant guild, but committing this agreement to official papers was a real headache.

"Arrrrgh!" Throwing up his hands, he crumpled up his fourth attempt and tossed it into the hearth opposite his desk.

"Wasting good parchment I see." Haru looked up and turned towards his open doorway. Shion poked in her purple head. "We have firewood, you know," she piped with a teasing grin.

"Not funny, Shishi," Haru sighed. "Come here, help me! I can't write this!"

Shion strode into the room with a laugh. "No way! I can't write that stuff, who do you think I am?" Nimbly, she vaulted herself onto his desk. "Anyway, this is your job, commander."

Haru grumbled unintelligibly in response. He yanked out a new piece of parchment and vehemently began writing again. Shion leaned over with interest, observing the curls of ink. "Your handwriting looks like Sansan's feces," she pointed out.

Haru looked up with a glower. "You're blocking my light."

Shion hopped off the desk and skipped to the fireplace. "Well of course, with such a pathetic fire running. Here, let me."

"Hey wait don't--" Haru scrambled out of his seat, just as Shion tossed a handful of white powder into his hearth. The fire instantly glowed white and swelled to twice its size, filling the room with light. "Useful, aye? Just a little something I've been work--"

BOOM! The hearth exploded behind Shion, sending white sparks zipping through the room and momentarily blinding both soldiers with bright light before extinguishing altogether with a loud "pop". The two stood wordlessly in complete darkness for a few seconds.

"Ahem... It's still in the works," Shion said finally. "...as you can see." She struck a match and lit the oil lamp on Haru's desk.

"My manuscript! What have you done?" Haru exclaimed, gaping at the pile of cinders upon his otherwise empty desk.

"Uh... One of the sparks must've landed on it," Shion said with a strained laugh. "Well, you were just going to throw it into the fire like all the other ones, right?"

Haru gave her a face of exasperation. "Did you come here just to annoy me?"

"No, actually. I came to say I'm proud of you," she replied.

"You...what? OUCH!" he yelped as Shion gave him a hearty clap on the back.

Shion looked away. "I'm proud of you," she repeated, more sheepishly. Before the surprised boy could reply, she grinned once more and headed to the door. "Now I'll leave you to your exciting work. You know, before I do any more damage," she added quickly as she exited.

Haru returned to his desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment. He started to write, but had to stop. He couldn't read what he was writing. The tears were making everything blurry.

Overused

Author: Seth

"Treat your tools right and you can be sure they'll return the favour."

*Wham*

The sound of metal slamming into concrete rebounded throughout Raitou’s room.

Sighing in annoyance, the panthryan lifted his left arm from the wall and absently inspected the row of fresh new pockmarks adorning the grey, uniform stone. Transferring his gaze to his arm he looked at the crude, brutal sawblade that extended from his elbow where he’d once sported a fully functioning, if automated, arm. Sighing again, the silver headed assassin resisted the urge to slam the hunk of metal into the wall again, and instead turned around and dropped down onto his bunk.

Reaching under his bed, the golden eyed man pulled out a plain, well-crafted metal box, and a folded square of well worn leather. Putting the box to the side for the moment, Rai spread out the leather in front of him. Taking a small breath, the panthryan detached his arm with a wince and a small oath and laid it down on the tough animal hide.

Taking another breath, deeper this time, Rai reached forward and placed his left hand on the hunk of lifeless metal.

Sparks flew, the buzz of electricity mixing with the hiss of smouldering leather to form a harsh symphony of industrial sound, and the smell of scorch animal skin filled the air.

With startling speed, the entire arm lit up, bathing the entire room in a dull red glow as it slowly lost its substantiality.

Rai’d found that remaking only a portion of the limb at a time tended to result in a host of minor flaws which took weeks to find and correct, effectively rendering the time saved by doing half-job zero. That and he usually wound up encountering the flaws mid-battle, and so the near death experiences he saved himself were more than worth the extra time spent to ensure that his arm was in perfect working order.

Once he’d melted the limb into a homogenous mass, and was fairly sure he’d incinerated all the impurities he could without tossing practicality completely out the window, Rai started manipulating the superheated metal, slowly, and with meticulous care back into the forms he’d grown to know oh so well.

Bit by bit, sections of the molten metal were drawn away from the larger body to become plates, gears, screws, cables, and at least fifty other finicky little pieces that kept the whole ensemble going, all formed under the careful guidance of his surging element.

As the last bit of metal twisted to form the tip of his pinky (he always ended up making the tip of his pinky last; he wasn’t quite sure why), Rai turned around and opened the metal box he’d put aside earlier.

Rooting through the container for a moment, Rai’s hand swiftly withdrew from the rectangular receptacle gripping a coil of insulated wire. A few more trips and the young man had, in addition to the wire, an assortment of wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, and knives (along with a scalpel or two) lying in front of him.

Starting at the shoulder, Rai began the exhausting, and insufferably aggravating process of reassembling his prosthetic arm. While he’d put together the mechanical components of his arm together so many times that he could probably do it in his sleep, rewiring the thing remained, crassly put, a complete and utter bitch.

Grunting with no little relief as he snipped off a bit of excess wire and twisted the final connector onto its open end, Rai placed the newly reconstructed arm onto his bed. Replacing all his tools in their box, he folded up the rectangle of heavily used leather and pushed both back under his bed.

He’d have to give the arm a test run, but he really didn’t feel like doing it at the moment. Transferring the arm to his bedside table, Rai took the limbs place on his bed.

He supposed it was actually a bit of a blessing in disguise, having to remake his arm on a relatively regular basis. It kept the limb from getting worn out, over-used.

Not that it stopped the entire process from being a pain in the ass and a half.

Snorting in wry amusement, the panthryan closed his eyes and drifted off into the deep, dreamless sleep that comes after a hard days work.

Self-Doubt

Author: Seth

"Encouraging your children to succeed is all well and good, but sacrificing their emotional security to do so crosses the line."

The night enshrouding the Jericho compound was silent. Unnaturally so. The usual, never-ending hum that emanated from the surrounding city was still there, but so muted that it may as well have not been.

All in all, the inhabitants of the base found it an enjoyable change. For the soldiers on duty the lack of interfering noise lent them an extra edge during their vigil. The other operatives were able to enjoy a far more restful sleep in the folds of the unexpected silence. In fact, only one member of the Jericho army remained unaffected by the change in noise level.

A tide of synthetic notes and beeps swirled around Bob’s room, accompanied by the uniform click-clack of thumbs on controller buttons.

Sitting in a state of quasi-mediatation – that odd state of half-rest, half-action that was the gate guardian’s replacement for sleep – Bob watched with a casual interest as units marched, battles raged, and experience accumulated. Every now and then the masked teen would save, or re-start the console, depending on whether he’d been RNG blessed or screwed respectively.

A knock on his door – soft, yet firm enough to cut through the mechanical soundscape – brought Bob out of his half-conscious state.

“Door’s open!” The brunette called out by way of invitation.

The door creaked open, allowing Gryff to poke his head in. The fair haired gryphane took a quick look around the room before letting himself in.

“Still on the same chapter?” Gryffin as he took in the T.V. screen. His long-time friendship with the other gryphane had lent him a competent understanding of the games Bob played.

“Nah,” Bob shook his head as he calmly paused and selected ‘Restart’. “Second playthrough. I’d be further along, but Ryuu’s stamina keeps on getting the shaft and Tatane keeps criticalling Haru, so...” The brown eyed game enthusiast gestured vaguely at the screen where the words ‘Chapter 3: Siege of Argenfluo’ were emblazoned in bold, shining, golden letters.

Bob paused as a stray thought drifted through his psyche. Looking out his window he took note of how dark it had gotten since he last checked.

“It’s my shift, isn’t it?” He turned to Gryff.

Gryffin nodded absently, his attention captured by the television screen. Bob had paused the game on Ryuuto’s stat screen, and when the blonde soldier looked closer he noticed that all of the iconic hero’s statistics were perfectly even, with the one exception of his stamina which was lagging behind by two points.

Noticing the direction of Gryff’s gaze, Bob abruptly turned off the console, along with the T.V.

“Thanks for getting me.” The masked soldier mumbled as he walked over to the wall, retrieving the naginata that was leaning there.

Gryff said nothing until the other gryphane moved to walk past him.

“We’re proud of you,” Gryffin placed his hand on Bob’s shoulder. “For who you are.” His hand brushed against the length of red fabric his fellow gryphane used to bind his hair. “Not for who she thinks you should be. Remember that, all right?”

Bob remained silent, but nodded his head before gently pushing past Gryff.

Gryffin remained in the room for a couple more minutes, lost in thought. Finally snapping himself out of his reverie, the blonde gryphane cast one last glance at the now black television screen before exiting the room, locking and closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Carefree

Author: Seth


“You do know you’re supposed to eat that with, well, actual food, right?”

Nyo reached into his pouch of katsuobushi, grabbed a few more of the dried fish shavings and tossed them into his mouth.

“So?” The silver haired thief asked. “They taste good enough on their own as far as I’m concerned.”

“Yeah, but they never fill you up.” Ryuu groused. “I don’t mind stopping once or twice to pick up a snack or two, but we’ve already stopped at seven different fishing stalls today.” The brunette looked about furtively, reassuring himself that none of the proprietors of the aforementioned stalls had somehow caught on and were now hunting them down. “I really don’t feel like having to run away from another six-foot-tall beast of a man wielding a cleaver today, thank you very much.”

“Once!” Niyou gulped down his fish shavings indignantly. “I got caught once, by fluke! And how was I supposed to know that lummox had a licence to use knives?”

“Maybe the fact that he was in the middle of preparing the fugu you stole might have tipped you off?” Ryuu replied dryly. “Really, what possessed you to steal the fish while he was cutting it up?”

“I took two slices! Who notices when two slices go missing!?” Nyo’s hand scrabbled at the bottom of his pouch and he tossed the last of his katsuobushi into his mouth grumpily.

“Says the person who noticed when I traded one of your gold coins for a painted lead fake.” Ryuu raised a thin eyebrow.

“I shower my babies with love each day; of course I noticed!” Nyo huffed. “Are you accusing me of being a poor caretaker, is that it?”

“I rest my case.” Ryuu chuckled. Almost by instinct the young boy’s hand shot out and grabbed Nyo’s sleeve. “Oh no you don’t,” Ryuu muttered as he saw Nyo’s gaze hovering over another fish stall. “You’ve had enough, you stupid addict.”

“Oh c’mon…” Nyo whined. “He’s barely even paying attention. Look!” The silver headed boy gestured pleadingly. “It’d be easier than taking candy from a baby; what could go wrong!?”

“Oh you did not just say that...” Ryuu groaned as he palmed his face.

Unfortunately for the purple eyed boy, habit dictated that he palm his face with his right hand, which also happened to be the hand he was using to grab Nyo’s sleeve. The moment Ryuuto let go of the kurohyou member, Nyo zipped off towards the stall, somehow managing to melt into the crowd despite his haste.

Resigned to his fate, Ryuu followed at a far more sedate pace, keeping a decent distance away from the stall to afford himself a head start if things turned pear shaped. He loved his friend like a brother, but sometimes he wished that the young assassin would take their mutual light-fingered escapades a little more seriously.

If they weren’t careful they really would get caught one of these days.

Pins

Author: Seth

"A bauble, little more, but still it was another stitch in the tapestry of their lives.
A testament to the things they'd been through, and the relationship they shared."

A temperamental flurry of sparkling stars fell through the stratosphere, weaving an enchanting pattern upon the heavens. Truly an even that would remain in one’s soul for the rest of their life.

A pity that it had so few admirers.

“Inferno, what are you doing?” Aurora asked her friend who was staring speculatively into the blue, midday sky.

The tsumejin shook his head. “Recognition.” He replied without further explanation, walking to catch up with the patiently waiting roujin.

Aurora tilted her head quizzically. Glory wasn’t exactly one of Inferno’s top priorities, and so the response made her curious.

She didn’t pry further. Her fiery headed companion knew her well enough to hear her silent question, and he would answer on his own if she let him. That is, if he answered. Sometimes he didn’t, and that was all right too. Everyone had the right to keep their thoughts to themselves if they so desired.

The pair wandered leisurely through the teeming bazaar, wrapped up so far in their own little personal bubble that the bustling crowds about them may as well have not existed. Every now and then one of them would stop at one stall or another and pick up some item that caught their fancy or that their little trio required.

“Suppose no one ever understands what we’ve done?” The grey eyed teen asked lightly after a few minutes. “How would you feel?” He stopped at a small table over which spilled an incredible array of jewellery (literally).

Aurora paused and bit her lower lip as she thought. “I… don’t know. It’s the right thing to do; I’ve never really thought about it.” She smiled wanly as she looked at her companion who was browsing the stall. “I might feel a little… cheated I guess, but not too much.” She admitted.

Inferno gently picked up a burnished bronze hair pin out of the pile, looking at it critically for a moment before paying the vendor for the hair ornament.

“Because at least one person knows what you did?” He asked, smiling softly as he placed the pin in Aurora’s hand.

Aurora looked at the gleaming ornament for a moment before matching her friend’s pleasant expression. “Yeah,” The roujin replied, letting down her aqua hair before pinning it back up once again, two pins to hold it up now, just as it used to be. “As long as someone knows.”

Voices

Author: Malik


She seemed to be floating in the dark. Couldn't see a darned thing, but she could hear voices, calling out one by one. There was no need to see anyways, they were very familiar voices. She didn't need her eyes to know exactly how they'd look.

A shrill, anxious cry, "Naebeeeean!" There was no mistaking that particular variant of her name. Fuu. Brows furrowed, eyes wide, no doubt she wanted something.

"Bean." A smooth, flat tone. Ryuu. An impassive face with a hint of a smirk that only those who knew him well would notice.

"Bean-sama!" A clear, resounding voice. Haru. That stupidly selfless, frustratingly cheerful busybody. Sparkling eyes, contagious grin.

"Bean-sama~" Same words, vastly different tone. A malicious twist at the end that only Cain could produce. The twinkle in his eyes promised some sort of hidden agenda.

"Oi, Ebi!" Stupid Kitsuno, you're as short as I am. Who are you calling a shrimp?

"Nae-chan..." A lower, controlled voice. Shin. Piercing green eyes and a soft smile.

"Onee-san!" My shy brother, a tentative smile on his face.

"Onee-san, please!" Oh? He's not smiling. His voice was quavering. Kaizu, why are you crying?

"Onee-san, please! Please! Open your eyes!"

Drive

Author: Soul

The chilling air made the boy tremble. He didn’t mind the cold. He didn’t mind the late hour. He was trained for this; a child taken from his family to become a soldier. This was a war. People do not have time to think about trivial things at a time of war. Everyone feels pain, everyone loses someone. Even if one person dies, it is a death that will affect many.

He didn’t doubt entering the almost destroyed construction of stone and leaves, his silver hair shining against the moon before being absorbed by darkness. The air became colder as he entered the shadows, and an unusual wind his the boy’s body.

Quiet as a shadow, the boy made his way through the half falling hallways and passages. His thoughts always got the best of him on these missions, but he knew he had to continue this. The drive kept moving him forward; it was always a kill or be killed situation. Just like in every war. It is a sad feeling, but people tend to get used to it.

Hearing something move inside the biggest chamber in the infernal castle of rock and dirt, Nyo, always the playful person in the Lunar Corps, launched with a war cry towards his enemy, and plunged his spear into his chest, falling on top of the other male as the latter let out a groan.

His heart skipped a beat. His friend, his first friend, was there, right underneath him, simply staring at him; not fighting back, nor talking, just there, an expressionless look in his eyes.

Nyo’s hands trembled for the first time in years as he stared down at Ryuu. He waited. Waited for the boy to react, to defend himself, to attack him. But that moment never came.

“Fight back! Don't make me do this!” yelled the taller male. His voice was full of fear and choked sobs. Full of regret. “Please… don’t make me do this.”

Ryuu simply raised his hand and squeezed his friend’s arm, a sign of forgiveness, of understanding. Of sympathy. Nyo watched in horror as the hand touching him fell limply besides the shorter boy.

The silver-haired teen allowed his tears to fall, as he raised to his feet and threw the spear on the ground with an angry scream; he was angry at the people who ordered him to come here, angry at himself for not being more careful. Now sobbing openly, he leaned down once more to hug the person that had accepted him despite their differences, the person that was to always be in his heart.

This was meant to happen. A friend dying in the hands of a friend. Everything was due to the war. War made people do terrible things, and when two people of opposites sides know each other, it is never to end nicely.

Those were the thoughts rounding Niyou’s head when, for the first time, he allowed himself to be held by Tenrou while he cried in unimaginable pain. In secret, in secret from the authorities, in secret of the whole world. Always in secret. This was his life.

Past

Author: Seth

"Reminisce about the past all you want, there's no going back to the way it once was."

Twirling her knife expertly in idle boredom, Kyuusei sectioned what remained of her tuna casserole with an artistic flair derived from simply having nothing better to do. Popping one of the slices into her mouth, the girl rested her chin on the palm of her hand and read the mission briefing, her amethyst-like eyes lazy and half-lidded.

Every mission it was the same song and dance, only it seemed to get longer each time through – she assured herself – no fault of her own.

Sneak into the city; do not rob half of its occupants blind on the way in (She was still pretty proud of that one; she’d rubbed it in Tatsuen’s face for weeks). Skulk around and gather information. Do not get lured into obvious traps (It was a freaking all you can eat buffet at the Ice Shark sushi bar, and there had been blue-fin tuna on the menu; how was she supposed to have argued with that?!), do not deface public property (That statue was ugly in the first place; the monocle and moustache had been improvements), and do hunt down the local magistrate so you can ‘kick his ass’ (She was of the firm belief that the brass was being way too sensitive on this one. Surely Ravage must understand the need to deliver a righteous butt whooping; anyways, the overweight peacock of a man in question had been a prick.), even if he was a prick (Oh). Extract herself from the city; do not rob the other half of its occupants blind on the way out (In her defence, she’d generously decided to leave that beggar by the gate alone). Report back to base in the most efficient and unobtrusive manner possible (Evidently they’d learned their lesson the last time ‘Straight back to base’ had led her through a couple of nicely padded banks.).

Rules, rules, rules, rules! The things seemed to multiply and grow like a fungus, rapidly suffocating their freedom to live their lives as they wished. But then there weren’t alone anymore, were they now? Now their actions reflected on an organization that was thousands strong.

Sighing, Kyuusei crushed her orders with a lethargic vindictiveness that nevertheless failed to truly reach her heart. Sometimes she wished everything could go back to the way it used to be; just her, Tatsuen, and nobody to answer to but themselves. Two twins and the world as their oyster.

Had it really ever been as ideal as all that?

Spearing another section of tuna casserole on her fork, Kyuusei stared at it intensely.

No, she concluded, as she always did whenever this particular bit of nostalgia snuck up on her, it hadn’t. Before, they didn’t have the guarantee of three square meals per day. Before, they were always on the run; never having their own rooms to come back to, night after night. Before, they’d had no company save their own and that of complete strangers.

Smiling, Kyuusei popped the piece of casserole into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Perhaps, the silvery headed thief mused, under certain circumstances, freedom was overrated.

Wishful

Author: Seth


Well this didn’t bode well.

Rai’s morning hadn’t exactly started peachily. For one he hadn’t bothered to take his arm off the previous night, and waking up to the backlash ensured that he wasn’t the cheeriest camper first thing in the morning. On top of that, he was still tired, but then he was always tired these days; not that that fact did much to lighten his rather black mood. If anything, it made it worse.

And then there was this.

Groggily sliding open his steel door, Rai was about to take a shuffling step forward when he beheld an odd sight. A length of string was running pell-mell down the hall outside of his room. Blearily following the trailing thread, the scarred panthryan’s gaze eventually landed upon his partner’s door, under which the string ran.

Rai rubbed his face and briefly considered leaving the whole untouched; it was too early in the morning for this… Despite these fleeting fancies, Rai soon found himself standing in front of Shadow’s door. The string was clear enough evidence that Shadow was up to something, and leaving the girl to her own devices was remarkably similar to leaving a lit fuse alone and hoping for the best. Doing so almost unfailingly resulted in an intense three way mix of disbelief, horror, and regret, accompanied by a fervent promise of ‘Never again…’

Reaching forward, Rai rapped the door firmly; he’d learned well enough that knocking was always a good idea. No answer came. Frowning, the soldier knocked again. When a reply again failed to come Rai stood beside the door and swiftly slid it open. No sense putting himself deeper into harm’s way than necessary after all.

The ex-rebel’s wariness turned out to be unnecessary as no objects (sharp and pointy or otherwise) came flying ungainly out of Shadow’s room. Not entirely reassured, Rai warily stuck his head around the frame and saw Shadow… sewing? The golden eyed man blinked a few times. The scene didn’t go away. Yes, that was most definitely his partner with a needle in her hand, and it did indeed look like some kind of object was forming under her fingers, though he couldn’t tell what.

“Shadow?” Rai asked hesitantly, still baffled by the sight in front of him.

So engrossed with her task was the blue haired girl that she paid her friend’s inquisition as much heed as she’d paid the insistent knocking on her door.

“Hey, Shadow?” Rai tried again, this time waving his mechanical hand gingerly past her eyes.

Shadow squeaked and reflexively stabbed Rai’s hand with the needle.

“Well that was uncalled for.” He frowned in amusement as he tried his best to suppress a grin. “Whatever did my poor hand ever do to deserve such harsh treatment?” The once-Royal Guard deftly pulled the needle from the wrist of the metallic appendage, holding it out to his partner.

“You surprised me.” Shadow stated the obvious, accepting her needle back, her voice half indignant, half chagrined.

“So what’s so important that you didn’t notice me sneaking up on you?” Rai asked leaning forward.

“This!” Shadow held up the odd bundle of fabric enthusiastically, unmindful of the gentle chastisement in Rai’s voice. “Ain’t it awesome!?”

Rai peered owlishly at the hodgepodge of yellow fabric and stuffing, and quickly gave up trying to match its image with the image of what he knew it was supposed to be.

“But why are you making a banana plushy?” Rai looked up at his friend. “I didn’t even know you could sew.”

“Raine’s teachin’ me!” Shadow chirped, happy that Rai could tell what her stuffy was supposed to be.

“It’s... for a friend.” The blue haired girl admitted, looking oddly crestfallen for a moment. “But I dunno if I’ll ever be able to give it to her…” She played with the pudgy toy wistfully.

“How come?” Rai asked, now slightly concerned. He hoped there was an innocent enough reason that Shadow couldn’t give her friend the gift.

“You wouldn’t believe me.” Shadow replied simply, and refused to say any more on the subject, no matter how much Rai tried.

An offer to help her deliver the small plushy to the intended recipient only netted the silver headed man an amused laugh that sounded oddly alien coming from Shadow’s mouth. She did, however, accept a promise from him to give it to her friend if she ever gave up, though Rai felt as if she were only humouring him; another sentiment that felt strange coming from the grey eyed girl. The amused giggle that followed only cemented the feeling.

Years later, as Rai stood staring at a tall glass cylinder, he found himself laughing that same amused laugh for reasons that were at the same time identical and oh so different.

He supposed he should be grateful that he could fulfil at least one of his closest companion’s wishes, small and sentimental though it was.

Sweets

Author: Seth
 
"I always find it funny that people spend so much time and effort creating something that's bad for your health. Then I take a bite of the cake and I stop caring."

“Why are we doing this, again?”

“Because it’s Shin’s birthday,” Naebi replied swiftly.

“I know that,” Ryuu grumbled, peering blearily around the Militia’s large cooking facility, “I mean why are we doing this?” The teen poked a whisk mistrustfully. “I’m not a baker.”

“We’re doing this,” The short mage punctuated her words by rapping her knuckles on her lazy friend’s wrist, “because we’re his friends. It’s his birthday, he deserves a birthday cake.”

With those words, the Bean started puttering around the kitchen with industrial zeal, reclaiming various ingredients from their ground level cubbies.

“Kitsuno,” The tiny girl called as she struggled to pull a sack of flour from its resting place next to an equally large sack of potatoes, “could you grab me a couple of mixing bowls and a cake tin? They should be in the cupboard above the icebox. And get that lazy butt who calls himself our Captain to give me a hand here while you’re at it.” She grunted as the sack adamantly refused to budge an inch.

“I’m still here you know.” Ryuu grumbled, slightly irked at his friend’s (intentional) lack of tact.

“So?” Naebi quirked an eyebrow, trying not to laugh at Ryuu’s ensuing pout.

“Better do what she wants,” Kitsuno chuckled, shoving his Captain towards the Bean, “or she’ll take you to a salad bar the next time she wants to go shopping.” The Hiwa prince walked off to get the required utensils.

“Well maybe I could get Fuu…” Naebi turned around and just gave the brunette a look, before turning back to the bag of finely ground grain.

Ryuu shuddered. He knew that look. Sighing in resignation, the teenager shuffled over and helped Naebi tug the bag of flour free from its claustrophobic prison. After hauling the bag of flour onto the table, Naebi strode over to one of the many drawers that lined the kitchen and rolled it out. Reaching in, she pulled out a fresh whisk and a spatula.

“Ok,” The young water mage said as she walked over and popped open the icebox. “Since you’re so keen on sitting on your rear,” she pulled out a glass bottle of milk and two eggs. “You can be in charge of keeping an eye on the cake while it bakes.”

Ryuu shrugged. It was probably the best he could hope for, all things said.

The kitchen was soon filled with the sound of cracking eggs, stirring whisks, and the soft pop of a fire as Kitsuno melted chocolate in a skillet. Within minutes the cake mix was settling in its tin, which in turn was lying in the cheerily glowing oven, lit earlier by the orange haired hiwajin.

“Make sure you check it in about thirty-five minutes, got it?” Naebi warned as she and Kitsuno set up another bowl and started to mix up a batch of icing.

Ryuu nodded vaguely, waving the two of them off as he pulled up a seat next to the oven, mitts at the ready on counter beside him.

The icing was slow going at first as Naebi kept on shooting hesitant glances at Ryuu, but the job soon consumed her full attention when the batch of all-purpose frosting was done and they set their sights on crafting sugar snowflakes with which to litter the cake.

Perhaps it would have been best if she had kept an eye n the brunette.

“Hey Kitsuno, do you smell that?” The Hiwa prince narrowed his eyes and nodded. “It smells like…” The short girl’s eyes widened and she whirled around. “Ryuu, have you checked-“

Unfortunately her words never reached the young Captain. Lulled by a comfortable chair and the warm oven, Ryuu had drifted off to sleep quite some time before.

Growling at the smoke that was now leaking from the oven, Naebi stomped over to Ryuu, summoning a whirl of water to her finger tips. Standing over her slumbering friend, the redhead let a single drop of water from the giant sphere she’d created drip onto Ryuu’s face.

Slowly, Ryuu cracked open his eyes before freezing, stiff as a board.

“Ummm, I think the cake’s burning…” The brunette mumbled weakly.

“I’m aware of that.” Naebi replied frostily.

“Shouldn’t you, y’know, go save it?” Ryuu offered desperately.

“In a moment~” Naebi lilted oddly. “You take priority~” The giant sphere of water seemed to just… drop.

Unsure

Author: Seth

"Make your choices, choose wisely and make them quickly, because uncertainty can cost you everything if you let it fester for too long."

Thousands of leaves fell in a slow dance, tossed about by the fickle winds curling about the forest. They weren’t the first. A think bed of the rotting vegetation already lay upon the ground, a constant reminder that fall was almost through, and that winter was fast approaching.

Leaning against the frame of a door leading into the courtyard of the Ginsenkei compound, a young boy scuffed his foot against the ground in uncharacteristic agitation, the multiple bracelets on his arms jingling with his nervous movements.

“Something on your mind, Gin?” Haru asked as he came up behind the brawler, mirroring his friend as he leaned against the opposite frame of the door.

Gin looked over at Haru, but didn’t answer immediately, instead choosing to look back at the falling leaves that papered the entire compound. Haru didn’t press his comrade; the nomad would answer in his own time.

“Just… thinking about my family…” The young boy touched a rough ring strung around his neck.

“I’m… unused to this.” He gestured vaguely at their surroundings. “My people rarely linger in one place during this time of year. We usually travel down to Pyros, where the frost doesn’t reach.” The rattling of the boy’s jewellery intensified as he shivered, even though the day was relatively temperate. Rubbing his shoulders, Gin shook his head and scuffed the floor slightly more agitatedly. “It’s probably something in the blood…” He mumbled.

Haru’s face softened as realization dawned upon him. “You want to go south,” the blonde juggler said, “just the same as your family already has.”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” Gin stroked the crude ring. “My mind tells me that I should be here, that I should honour the agreement. My heart says otherwise, and my legs itch to follow the path that’s been ingrained into them after so many generations…”

“So which one are you going to listen to?” Haru asked as he joined Gin in gazing at the falling leaves.

“What, no words to try and keep me here?” The young nomad answered his companion’s question with one of his own.

Haru shook his head. “I already know you’ll make the right choice.”

“And how do you know that?” Gin lilted curiously.

“I know because it’ll be your choice. Not mine, not Souji’s, yours.” The purple eyed boy replied. “I’d be a poor friend if I didn’t respect whatever conclusion you came to.”

“But since you asked~” Haru continued in a playful voice, completely at odds with the weight of his words. “Even though you’re family’s probably in Pyros right now, you’ve also got one right here. You’re my brother, just as much as Ryuu is; remember that, ‘kay~?”

With those words, Haru gave his honorary brother a warm hug before patting him on the shoulder and walking back into the compound, a nameless tune on his lips.

Gin watched his friend disappear back into the depths of the base, and then returned to his original position, watching as the vestiges of fall tumbled to the ground, revealing the bony claws of an oncoming winter.

‘It’s odd, the itch is gone…’ He mused. ‘I’m afraid we’re going to have to wait a while before seeing each other again, Tsuyu.’ The brawler gently fingered the ring strung around his neck.

Lost

Author: Seth


Cold. It was so unbearably cold. Why had they come this way? Any other direction would have been better, any one but this.

Shivering uncontrollably, Naebi poured every ounce of her concentration on doggedly pushing one foot past the other through the freezing drifts of snow. Weakly, the red haired girl held onto her brother as best she could, simultaneously pulling him through the knee deep flakes and drawing what little strength she could from their shared body heat.

Lowering her head instinctively as the scything gust of the blizzard cut into her face, the half-Talon’s mind immediately skittered into the refuge of past memories; anything to drown out the hopeless despair of the present.

It had happened so fast… One moment she was fishing Ryuu and Manari out of the Ginsei after their little glider had (predictably) malfunctioned, and then the screaming started.

Chaos erupted.

Panic had spread through the city faster than a virus the moment the rebels had made their move, and of course the commoners had reacted in the worst way possible. They had stampeded.

She could still remember the suffocating crush of bodies on every side of her. It was the most she could do to keep hold of Kaizu, much less fight her way to the rest of the crew. The mindless terror infected her, had infected both of them as the two of them were swept along with the tide of human bodies, and they had kept running, and running, and running, even when they burst from the northern gate and the bodies pressing in on them from every angle had dispersed.

“Hey, onee-san, are we gonna die?”

Shaking the cobwebs of memory from her mind Naebi hugged Kaizu tightly, never letting up their pace for even a moment.

“Don’t say that, otouto.” She whispered back to him. “We’re going to live through this, just like we lived through those slave traders. We’ll go back and see Manari, and Ryuu, and Haru; just you see.”

Why couldn’t she have been braver? Why couldn’t she have seen past that blind fear to the warning signs that had blared at them as night started to fall, bringing with it the first downy flakes of snow?

And now they were lost, irreversibly lost and so far past the point of no return that they could do nothing but go forward. Go forward and never stop, not even for a second because the moment they listened to that little, deceiving whisper in their ears promising peace, they would fall into a slumber. A permanent one.

“Don’t worry Kaizu,” Naebi shivered, her use of his name betraying her own fear, “someone will find us. Someone will save us.”

Grasping the smaller boy tightly, the orange eyed girl plodded on, even as darkness started picking away at the edges of her vision.

“Someone will save us.”

Static

Author:  Seth

"If brute force doesn't work, you're not using enough of it."

“For the love of-“

Bob fumed as his television has overcome by static, the ear gouging, monotone buzz bouncing around in his temple.

This was ridiculous, the stupid thing was brand new! How could it have broken so quickly?

Whipping out his remote, the gryphane rapidly pressed a couple of buttons before hitting the power button on his console to ensure that, yes, he was on the right setting, and, yes, the console was on.

Still nothing. The swirling expanse of grey pixels mocked him from the safety of they glass prison.

Grumbling, the masked boy got up and trudged over to a folder, rifling through it until he found the warranty for the malfunctioning piece of equipment. His eyes scanned the document until…

“Figures.”

The warranty had expired last week.

Ripping up the sheaf of papers in disgust, Bob stormed out of his room in high bad humour. It was as close to legal crime as it got.

“What’s got you so worked up?” A cheerily curious voice asked the moment the Gate Guardian entered the hall. Bob resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, which was a wise choice as his mask made the movement look rather awkward.

“My T.V.’s broken, Shadow.” The brown haired gryphane replied patiently, turning to the panthryan.

“Oh, your T.V.’s broken? I know how to fix those!” The girl chirped excitedly.

Bob raised an invisible brow behind his mask.

“Shadow, I really don’t think you-“ The Jericho soldier broke off as his comrade skipped into his room. “Hey, hey wait a second Shadow. What are you-?”

*Wham*

Bob flinched visibly.

“Shadow, don’t-”

*Wham* *Wham*

“Rai told me it can take a few tries.” Shadow grinned, retracting her foot from the television.

“Shadow, please stop kicking my-“

*Wham*

And in other news, the annual Jericho canal race has been postponed due to stormy weather.

Bob stared dumbly at the now functioning T.V. set, his mouth hanging slightly open.

“See? I told you I could I could fix it!” Shadow smiled earnestly.

Real

Author: Seth


"Sometimes there is nothing flimsier and more misleading than the truth."

Drifting feathers, falling out of a clear blue sky. Holding out her cupped hands, Naebi let a few of the biggest pinions float gently into her palms. Looking mournfully at the black plumes in her hands, the short redhead gently blew on the and watched then swirl softly to the ground.

“You didn’t need to do that.” She said reproachfully, turning around to meet the person she knew would be behind her.

“Neither did you.” Cain replied easily.

The Bean deflated visibly. The hiwajin wasn’t talking about her little display with the feathers and she knew it. Shivering, she hugged her arms closely around her, as if to somehow ward off the reality of what she’d done.

“That… that was different.” The girl mumbled, looking down and to the side.

Cain chuckled sardonically.

“Really now?” The golden eyed sociopath asked with a smirk. “The only difference I can see is that the animal you killed could talk.”

“I had to!” Naebi shot back, tears in her eyes. “If I didn’t he’d have… he’d have…”

“He’d have what?” Cain asked, a faint note of mockery tainting his voice. “He’d have killed someone; that’s what you want to say, isn’t it? He’d have attacked that brown haired boy you seem to care so much for? Or maybe your dear brother?” The prince shook his head, smiling condescendingly. “But you don’t know that. He might have been running away. I guess we’ll never know since you punched a whole through his chest the moment he turned his back to you.”

Cain watched on as tears ran down Naebi’s face, her body convulsing with silent sobs.

“It’s still different.” The tiny water manipulator choked out. “I didn’t know. I was scared.” Her head shot up to meet his gaze, the tears dripping from her chin now of anger. “You didn’t have any reason to kill that innocent crow!”

“No reason?” Cain quirked an eyebrow. “Of course I had a reason. I felt like killing it.” The young man let loose a long, suffering sigh. “I killed that bird because I wanted to, just the same way you killed that boy because you wanted to.”

Naebi opened her mouth to violently deny any such thing, but Cain cut her off before she could get any words out.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Cain waggled his finger before quickly touching it to the girl’s lips. “You know it’s true. You killed him because it made you feel safer, knowing that he couldn’t harm any of those close to you.”

Reaching forward, the renegade pyromaniac enveloped Naebi in a hug.

“We both killed for our own selfish reasons, just like everyone else.” The golden eyed prince kissed the top of her head. An onlooker might have called his voice tender if they hadn’t an inkling of the person he was. “We all look out for number one. That’s how this world works. You’re going to have to admit that eventually if you want to live with yourself.”

Hair

Author: Seth


“Where has she gotten herself to this time?”

Naebi was not in the best of moods as she stalked through the halls of the Militia, her aura of frustration fashioning for her a very wide personal bubble.

This happened every week. The Bean had taken it upon herself to ensure that Fuu took at least one bath a week, so whenever the start of the new week came around, the small blue haired girl would suddenly disappear from the Militia grounds. Often, the Naebi would find the unruly girl sequestered in an abandoned, idiotically hard to reach, and above all filthy corner of the compound. For the most part, the orange haired girl would have to resort to lassoing Fuu and dragging her, kicking and screaming, to the bathhouses.

Naebi’s countenance darkened even more as she turned one final bend. So it was going to be one of these weeks, was it?

Every now and then, Fuu would abandon her twisted little game of hide-and-seek for a straight up escape from the Militia compound. Whenever this happened it was useless to chase after the simple-minded girl, and Naebi would have to jump her infuriating charge when the crimson eyed girl wandered back in search of bananas.

Naebi was just about to leave the Militia headquarters in her token gesture of pursuit when a flash of yellow caught her eye. Backtracking quickly, the red haired girl inspected the small copse of deciduous trees that populated the Militia’s courtyard.

“I know you’re here, Fuu.” Naebi called out as she stared snipping out a rope of water around the arms. “It’ll be a lot easier for the both of us if you just come down quietly.”

Nothing. Not that she really expected much.

“There’s five bananas in it for you if you come down now~” The water mage’s voice took on a darkly songlike quality. “The longer to take, the less you get~”

Still nothing. Naebi raised an eyebrow. Usually she’d get some kind of reaction, even if it was just a small one.

“Five.” A gentle, silent breeze blew through the courtyard.

“Four.” A small russle. Naebi grinned. Just a little more…

“Three.” Fuuya quickly scurried out of her hiding place, though she stayed in the tree.

“Bananas?” Asked the blue haired girl. “Where?”

Naebi smiled. This round was as good as hers.

“I won’t even let you see ‘em unless you come down~”

Fuu looked mistrustfully at Naebi, but the Bean might as well have been able to see the cogs working in the banana fanatic’s mind. Even the possibility of…

Fuu suddenly grinned and launched herself from the tree.

Naebi, on the other hand, was no longer smiling. In fact, the orange eyed girl now wore a shocked expression of dawning realization as Fuu hurtled toward her.

A resounding crack echoed throughout the Militia compound, causing several passers-by to wince. Both the girls hit the ground.

“Crazy girl…” Naebi groaned as she sat up, tenderly rubbing the point of contact on her skull. “Why’d you-“ The Bean suddenly stopped dead and pulled her hand away from her head. Slowly, she rubbed them together, her face falling as she registered the faintly oily sensation.

As if to add one final nail to the coffin, Fuu bound onto the short redhead, rubbing her own head of unkempt hair against Naebi’s in much the same fashion as would an overfriendly dog.

“Where bananas?”

Invention

Author: Seth


"I guess not all of his inventions are junk. Just most of them."


The metallic clicking of a bolt being tightened by a ratchet bounced around the small wooded clearing, the small sounds mingling with the dusty rays of sunlight poking their way through the canopy.

Grumbling darkly to herself as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, Aurora glanced over at the noise blearily and saw Blitz surrounded by a veritable pile of odds and ends; tinkering with a small metallic object and looking far too chipper for the time of morning. A small spark of curiosity sparked within the young roujin, tempered with a fair amount of irritation and foreboding. While most of the stuff her friend made was useless, useless didn’t necessarily equal safe. That previous contraption fabricated entirely out of rat traps had taught her that much.

“Whatcha making?” Aurora asked, her speech a little slurred due to the fatigue that still floated around her head like a cloud.

“Grappling hook.” Blitz mumbled distractedly, tightening the bolt once more and looking at the small machine critically.

Aurora raised an eyebrow. “That seems a bit… ordinary for you.” She commented.

“Need one.” Blitz grunted. Clearly the panthryan’s work was not a labour of love.

Evidently finding nothing wrong with the small machine, Blitz levelled the handheld device at a nearby tree. A spark of electricity and the claw at the end of the gadget shot out of its nest. Another spark of electricity, this one traveling down along the metal chord that attached the claw to the rest of the device, and the claw contracted just as it hit the tree, biting into the wood.

“Now for the moment of truth.” The blonde muttered as electricity sparked around his hand.

Apparently Blitz might have used a bit too strong a charged, as the device began rewinding the chord with a diabolic vigour, sending Blitz flying into the tree he had shot just moments ago.

Aurora blinked. Despite the display of her comrade’s characteristic lack of foresight that seemed to plague him whenever it came to his little projects, the green eyed girl could easily tell the tool seemed not only perfectly practical, but functional as well. You learn something new every day it seemed.

“Should we be expecting the devil to appear and collect your soul in the near future?” Aurora joked, watching Blitz pick himself unsteadily up off the ground.

“Shut it, you.” Blitz shot back, pointing a wavering finger at Aurora’s general direction. “This is nothing. Just because you can’t understand the genius of my other inventions doesn’t give you the right to dismiss them.”

“The genius of an automated tumbleweed spinner. Uh huh.” Aurora nodded blithely, turning back to her impromptu bed.

“You just have no appreciation for true art.” Blitz huffed, yanking the claw out of the wood and letting the rest of the wire retract; slowly.

“Well, art does about as much as your inventions do, so I guess you could be right about them being art.” The blue haired girl chuckled.

“They do things; you just don’t-” Blitz started indignantly before cutting himself off. “Nevermind, you’ll never understand the true essence of my creations.”

Aurora grinned. “And for that, I’m thankful.”

Unfaithful

Author: Seth


"Oh sure, she'll listen to the plan. Just don't expect her to stay faithful to it."


The gentle tinkle of running water washed over Shadow as she lazily drifted her feet in the small, pristine creek. Closing her eyes, the blue haired girl lay back and basked her face in the midday sun.

Bliss.

In fact, the only thing that could make it any better was…

“Hey Shadow, wanna banana~?”

Shadow’s eyes immediately snapped open. A banana was hovering right above her face. Quick as the cats her clan was named after, she snatched at the yellow fruit, but the banana jerked out of her reach at the last second.

Tilting her head even farther back, Shadow glared at Kyuusei balefully.

“Gimme the banana, Kyuu.” Shadow ordered in a dangerously even voice.

“Why don’t you come and get it?” The Tamago in question giggled, waving her fishing pole, and the banana attached to it, tantalizingly close to the cyclopic panthryan.

Flinging herself out of the creek with an agility the human race wasn’t really supposed to have, Shadow hurled herself at the silver haired thief. Laughing madly, Kyuusei danced away nimbly, keeping herself just out of the range of Shadow’s grasp.

“Nyah, nyah, you can’t catch me~” Kyuusei sing-songed childishly, twirling around the trunk of an old spruce.

“Come back here and gimme my banana!” Shadow yelled in response, hurtling past the tree, and Kyuusei as well who had been hiding just on the other side of the large evergreen.

“Your banana? Since when was it your banana?” The purple eyed girl teased, running back the way she had come.

The two soldiers continued their boisterous dance for more than an hour, rampaging through the forest, the city, and eventually all the way back to the base, disrupting no fewer than three hedgecats, a boartato, two guards, fifteen shopkeepers, numerous residents of Jericho and one highly amused Bob at the end of their trip.

Laughing and gasping for breath, Kyuusei collapsed in the Jericho parade ground, not five steps from the barracks. Half a second later, Shadow had pounced over her and was savaging the banana.

“Kyuusei, what time is it?”

The female twin opened her eyes in an ironic imitation of Shadow some banana chase before.

“Not a clue.” She grinned happily up at Rai, who was looming over her like a thunderhead.

“It’s three in the afternoon.” The scarred soldier informed her tersely. “When did I ask you to find Shadow for me?”

“Twelvish.” Kyuusei chirped without missing a beat, not a hint of remorse in her voice or on her face.

Raitou palmed his face. He should have known this would happen. Something always happened when you asked Kyuusei to do something, and the less said about her unofficial ‘fees’, the better.

Maybe he didn’t do it on purpose, but Rai liked his forks, dammit.

Ice Cream

Author: Seth


"Sometimes the greatest joy is found, not among piles of gold, or gilded thrones, or even ballroom dinners, but in sharing a small treat with lifelong friends under a clear blue sky."
 
The sweltering noonday sun beat down on the members of Trifecta as they carefully nudged their way through the bustling market crowd.

“I don’t see why we’ve gotta do all our shopping today.” Blitz whined as he dodged a cart full of cabbages hurtling the other way. “Why can’t we sit this one out and come back tomorrow, when it’s cooler? Or even later today.”

“You already know why we’re doing our shopping today.” Aurora sighed tiredly, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow.

“Yeah, yeah, time’s ticking down just like always.” Blitz grumbled. “Doesn’t make this stupid heat any easier to deal with.” The young panthryan made exaggerated gasping motions.

“We could simply buy some refreshments en route.” Inferno pointed out. “We have enough funds to treat ourselves a little.” The stormy eyed boy added when he saw Aurora’s reluctant frown.

“I suppose…” Aurora mumbled, looking around for a suitable vendor.

“How about that one?” Blitz grinned.

Both Aurora and Inferno looked over to see a middle aged man serving cones of ice cream from a small cooler on wheels. The man was understandably doing a roaring trade, but he was still far less busy than any of the other merchants around them.

Inferno’s eyebrows knotted, but he showed no other sign of dissent.

Aurora was torn between whacking Blitz upside the head for being a prat, and taking his suggestion which was, admittedly, the most practical one. Her practical side won out.

“We’ll make this work out.” The tiny roujin assured Inferno as the trio made their way to the small, portable stand.

A few minutes later, when the haggard, yet happy salesman was handing them their orders, Aurora reached out and plucked up Inferno’s ice cream cone, as well as her own.

“See?” She said, holding the cone up to Inferno’s face. “This way you won’t melt it, though the sun seems to be doing a pretty good job of that anyways… ” The blue haired girl frowned up at the glaring orb.

Inferno quirked a brow, but took an obliging lick all the same.

Smiling, Aurora started on her own melting ice cream.

It was an insufferably hot day, they had people hot on their trail, and Blitz was taking altogether too much amusement from the stares and the coos they were receiving, but Aurora simply couldn’t bring herself to care.

She deserved an afternoon on the town with her friends.

Explanation

Author: Seth

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say an experience is worth a thousand explanations."

Much to his simultaneous delight and chagrin, there was much Enya found new and amazing, and he often ended up gazing like a bedazzled tourist at anything and everything when his unit patrolled the city.

“Enya, could you keep your mind in there here and now, please?” Kuroga asked patiently.

The half-elf shook his head and looked at his Unit leader with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, it’s just all so… different from what I’m used to.” He admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

“Better get used to it fast or you’ll be returning to base short half your gear after each patrol.” Masatora chuckled, keeping his eyes peeled, yet remaining relaxed as they strolled the streets of Argenfluo.

“What do you mean by that?” Enya asked curiously.

“I mean,” Tora grinned, “that you should probably keep a closer eye on your stuff, especially while we’re in the city. Doesn’t your hip feel a little light at the moment?”

Enya’s brows furrowed. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t follow-“

“He’s saying someone stole your purse.” Kuro took a left turn towards the bazaar.

Enya’s hand shot to his right hip, and sure enough the small pouch of coins was gone, two neatly severed strings the only testament that it had ever been there in the first place.

“How-? When-? Why didn’t you tell me?” Enya gabbled, mortified that he’d been so oblivious.

“I did. Just now.” Masatora grinned before taking pity on his friend and addressing the green haired boy’s intended query. “The same reason mothers might let their children burn themselves on hot stoves; you learn better from experiencing it first hand.”

Despite the friendly ‘lesson’, Enya still burned with embarrassment and pointedly fixed his gaze on the surrounding crowds, intent on fulfilling his duty to the fullest. It wasn’t long until his sharp eyes picked out two children, a boy and a girl, neither of whom could have been older than six, sneaking a loaf of bread from a cart when the baker was unawares.

Thankful to have something to do, Enya strode forward, intent on stopping the two thieves. He hadn’t gotten more than two paces before a hand closed around his wrist.

“Why are you stopping me? We’re here to arrest criminals, aren’t we?” The red eyed boy asked Kuroga.

“Is it the two kids by the cart?” Enya nodded. “That baker’s got a soft spot for orphans. He’ll turn a blind eye to a missing loaf of bread or a pair of loitering kids every now and again.” The raven haired boy let go of his friend’s wrist.

“But why doesn’t he simply give them some bread?” Enya asked, gazing curiously at the baker whose smile grew just a bit warmer as the two children ran off with their loot.

“Because he’ll draw every beggar within a five mile radius if he does.” Tora replied quietly, watching the kids run off. “He’s a kind old man, but he isn’t a saint.”

“Is this… common?” Enya asked. “This… veiled generosity? For example, is that another act of kindness?” The half-elf pointed out a fruit stand from which three boys were purloining apples.

“No,” Kuroga shook his head, his pace quickening, “no that’s an actual theft.”

Enya shook his head as he sped up to keep pace with his comrades. This city was a completely different world compared to his life at the Guild. Bustling crowds, constant (low-level) paranoia, and disguised intentions surrounded this place and he was having a hard time telling what was what.

Gone

Author: Seth

"Isn't it just typical that you never truly realize how much you cherish something until it's gone?"

Given the amount of time he'd spent around the odd panthryan, it wasn't a big surprise that whenever Shadow was out of his sight, Rai started to worry. One could only spend so much time around the impulsive girl before they too learned that an unsupervised Shadow was a disaster waiting to happen, and that there was a reason everyone at the Jericho Base always referred to the explosives cache in the past tense.

So, when Rai woke up only to find that Shadow was not in her room, he started to feel understandably edgy. The days in which he didn't have to spend half an hour convincing the girl to emerge from her strange tube of blankets could be counted on one hand, and he'd been given good reason to remember two of those days in particular, neither of which could have been termed 'positive'. 'Interesting' fit the bill much better, in a wonderfully euphemistic fashion, and he felt no compulsion whatsoever to label this day as such.

That nervousness increased steadily as he systematically made his way through the base and found that no one else had seen the cheerful dunce either. As his search continued to turn up no sign of Shadow, Rai's apprehension turned bit by bit to genuine worry for his constant companion.

As his fruitless hunt continued, Rai started to hear the distant murmur of Fate caressing the back of his mind, and he began to panic as that damnably relentless voice grew louder and louder with each passing moment. So caught up in his quest was he that Rai didn't notice the effect he was having on the other soldiers around him, his slight hysteria drawing them all into his frenzied wild-goose chase until the entire base was in an uproar.

Back in Shadow's room, away from the hubbub that enveloped the majority of the military garrison, a small spitz slept restlessly under the bed, unremarkable save for the blue that tinged its white coat. Yipping fitfully, it rolled over, oblivious to the world as it was jerked from dream to fractured dream, each one saturated with a lambent green.

The yelps increased in frequency as the clamoring multitude started to draw near, the small pup's reverie growing increasingly hectic until one voice, hidden in the thick of the maelstrom of words and sounds, reached her.

In the midst of the small dog's dreams that were as much hallucination as memory, a phantom hand descended on its head, giving her fur an affectionate ruffle, and the emerald tinged vision melted to soft, velvet black. Moments later a contented rumble permeated the room, drowned out by the ruckus just outside the steel door.

Puzzle

Author: Seth


"Certain puzzles are best left unsolved."

No matter how many years that passed he was still a mystery to them. Sure they knew who he was, or at least who he said he was, but something was always a little… off.

They'd never really ever met them, his parents. Whenever they'd ask too meet them he'd always assure them that his parents were busy, or that they were out of town. They always assumed he kept them away from his family because he'd get in trouble for associating with them, with the immoral orphans who'd steal everything you had just as soon as look at you.

Then the Siege came, and they lost all chance of meeting the couple that had raised their 'Big brother'.

Sometimes Ryuu wondered whether or not the simultaneous death of both of his parents was just a little too convenient. They'd died at the blades of the invading rebels, he'd told them, though they had to take his word for it.

They never saw the bodies.

He still visits their graves on the anniversary of the Siege, each and every year. Graves that might be empty for all they know. Not that it really mattered. Even if they were empty, and as the years passed Ryuu grew increasingly certain the those graves were occupied, all they would find is a pair of historyless corpses.

And his unknown parents were the least of his secrets. His hats changed daily, sometimes seemingly randomly, and other times a certain cap would appear on a certain day each year without fail. And it wasn't just his headgear. More than once Ryuu caught him staring at Kuroga's zipper bandana with a small smile on his face and dead eyes.

But off all the 1st Unit's Leader's quirks, Ryuu found they way the elder boy acted around him the most unnerving. He made the oddest remarks on 'protecting that which mattered most' without any hint on what it might be that he was supposed to protect. Sometimes the other words seemed to be useless baggage, always being overshadowed my his insistence that Ryuu protect, protect, protect!

And the boy Ryuu had once looked up to as his aniki didn't limit himself to Ryuu's actions, oh no. Everything seemed to come under the elder boy's scrutiny, even his morals. What did Ryuu care about civility and chivalry, he was a thief.

And then there was the way Ryuu fought. The ginsenkei soldier didn't realize it at first, but he'd been influencing Ryuu's fighting style since the very beginning. A small word here, and offhand comment there, every single one designed to make Ryuu question, to lead him straight to an answer that he didn't know had been prepared for him.

He was a puzzle. One that they would never solve, because for every question they answered, three more would pop up, and it would only be years afterward that they would discover that the answer they had discovered wasn't an answer at all, just another question veiled in the garb of a response.

Soft

Author: Seth

"Oh come one, it's a perfect name! I mean with your pet, his eyes, and his-"
"You can stop right there."
"Spoilsport."

Another night, another watch. Kuroga sighed as he resigned himself to his dark vigil. It was a habit that was now engrained in his bones, more so than any of his other training.

'Not that I don't have options…' He smiled softly as he absently rubbed his bandana, his finger drifting over the comical eyes drawn on the fabric.

Still, old habits die hard and going cold turkey wasn't an option for everybody.

Kuroga grew sleepier as the hours passed, and his desire for rest battled with his need to ensure the safety of his comrades while they slept. His head dipped once, twice, and almost three times before something soft and fluffy bumped against his left arm.

"Hmmm? Ahh, thanks." The illusion adept gratefully acknowledged his catmeleon as he returned his gaze to his surroundings, gently petting the colour changing feline.

Comforted by the contented purrs that ensued, Kuro calmly sank back into the routine of lookout, if only for a few moments before something niggled at he back of his mind.

'He seems larger than before… A lot larger.' The ebony haired boy thought silently.

"Growing up rather quickly aren't you?" He asked his catmeleon cheerfully. "What are you eating to grow so qui- Huh?" His hand jerked away as he finally looked down to find that he hadn't in fact been petting his unobtrusive familiar, but his orange haired teammate Masatora.

"Is that normal human behaviour?" An innocently curious voice asked.

Kuroga looked up to see his final teammate, Enya, lying on his side with a questioning gaze.

"No… not really." Kuroga answered, distantly noting that the purring had stopped. "I didn't even know it was possible for us to create that sound." The green eyed boy gave the fiery mane an experimental stroke, chuckling lightly when the purring started up again.

Of course the stormy eyed fighter chose that moment to start coming around. Kuroga swiftly withdrew his hand as Masatora started to shift about.

"What?" The orange haired soldier asked as he woke up, only to see both his teammates looking at him with decidedly odd expressions on their faces.

"Nothing." Kuroga muttered, trying and failing to hold back a smile. "Go back to sleep." He leaned back against his tree and slipped his bandana over his eyes, trying to lead by example.

"What's with him?" Tora asked Enya, nodding his head towards their black haired teammate.

"I think… he thinks that you're his pet…" Enya replied after some deliberation.

Masatora just stared at the part-elf for a long while before looking back at Kuroga.

"I'm going to hope that that's the fatigue speaking, and that this'll all make sense in the morning." The grey eyed citizen mumbled as he settled his head back down on the forest floor, leaving Enya to ponder the oddities of the human race alone.

---

Morning didn't bring any answers though, as Tora seemed determined to put the past nights conversation down to an odd dream brought on by the funny batbit he had eaten the night previous, and neither of his companions brought the topic up.

He found out what happened of course, if only because their Unit returned to their rooms one day to find identical cat ears placed on their beds with the kanji for 'Nekotai' emblazoned on each ear.

Kuroga probably should have explained to Enya why it wasn't exactly normal behaviour, but that probably wouldn't have kept the part-elf quiet, and Iroki got a good laugh out of it. Well, the whole Ginsenkei got a laugh out of it eventually, but he wasn't really complaining. The ears were a gift from his family. A joke gift to be sure, but a gift nonetheless.

That and they were fuzzy, and went surprisingly well with his bandana.

Iron

Author: Seth


"Keep it near your heart, always, for your heart is the one thing you must never let them steal."

Aurora sighed in relaxation as she sat down, resting her back against the gnarly trunk of a solid pine. Sometimes, after a long day of traveling, simply resting was as satisfying a pleasure as one would find anywhere else.

Looking about her in mild curiosity the young roujin took in their camping spot for the night. Not much to satisfy her wandering curiosity there; it was a small forest clearing, identical to all the others they had spent nights in many times before. Quickly growing bored with the bland scenery she instead turned her gaze to her companions. Blitz was already asleep – He'd been falling asleep the moment they set up camp ever since their encounter back in Genesis; it was starting to get very worrying – but Inferno…

"Hmmm? I've never seen that dagger before. Is it a new one?" Aurora asked as she watched him meticulously polish the plain, iron blade.

Inferno shook his head. "It isn't new." He eyed the oddly unexceptional knife critically before running his cloth around its hilt. "I've had it for… a long time."

"So why haven't I seen it before now?" Aurora tilted her head.

"I don't use it." Inferno answered simply.

Aurora blinked. That was odd. It wasn't like Inferno to carry a weapon (And painstakingly maintain, if the care he was showing it right now was any indicator) and yet never use it. The tsumejin was practical if nothing else.

"… And why don't use it?" The blue haired girl asked the obvious question.

"I've never had cause to use it." Inferno shrugged, giving the dagger a final once over before stowing away his cleaning cloth.

Aurora's eyebrows knit together in confusion. Never had cause to use it? There'd been plenty of times when her younger friend had been forced to fight with the pair of steel daggers that lay against his waist even now, so why did he never use this blade? She said as much.

"This dagger isn't for killing humans, or animals." Inferno said, returning the knife to a shoulder strap holster he kept under his shirt, one Aurora hadn't known he'd had. "Well, possibly that creature we encountered back in Genesis, but that was a special case."

'Not for killing humans, and not for killing animals…' Aurora thought, adding the tidbit about the 'Special case' to the mental mix. 'Well that cat… dragon… gerbil… whatever it was certainly wasn't an ordinary creature, so… things that are out of the ordinary?' The blue haired girl's gaze transferred over to Inferno's primary daggers. 'It's made of iron, but his other ones are made of steel… Iron… Iron for strange creatures, for unnatural creatures…' A recent memory floated to the fore of the girl's thoughts, an image of a horseshoe hung above a door. 'For… supernatural creatures…?'

Aurora looked back up at Inferno's face, a bemused expression on her own.

"I didn't know you believed in those stories." Aurora said.

"I grew up with them." Inferno said by way of explanation.

Aurora nodded in understanding. She herself retained certain eccentricities from her childhood. To this day she wouldn't go within ten feet of a banatopus if she could help it.

Closing her eyes Aurora sought out the peaceful land of dreams, idly thinking about how much she continued to learn about her two closest friends each and every day.

Drown

Author: Seth


"The argument of whether it was better to drown oneself in water or in alcohol was, amusingly enough, a highly debatable subject."

Giving up is never an appealing solution to any problem, but sometimes there isn't really any other choice because if you don't, the results can be…

"What do you mean you spent the last of our coin in a game of dice?!"

… Unpleasant.

Aurora looked at her two companions incredulously before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Please tell me that's not the only thing you spent your, our, money on." She sighed in resignation at the foregone conclusion that was forming in her mind.

"Course not," Blitz grinned sunnily. "There's also the beer. Can't forget the beer."

Sorely tempted as she was to knock the blonde panthryan into next week, Aurora didn't have the energy to go through with it, and so decided that the time honoured tradition of idiocy induced self-abuse was a much less taxing alternative as she started banging her head against a fortuitously placed wall (Or unfortuitously placed wall if you asked her skull).

"Dare I ask," Wham. "why the both of you were buying beer," Wham. "especially when," Wham. "neither of you are drunk?" Wham.

"Well there was this lonely old soldier who looked like he could really use a drink." Blitz started with a carefully calculated cheery obliviousness even as Inferno reached forward to stop Aurora from knocking herself out. "And me'n Inferno, being the infinitely kind souls we are, thought we'd treat him. Thing is he really was a personable fellow, and we somehow we kept buying him drinks, and he started offering us a couple rounds of dice, and one thing led to another…" The blue-eyed teen rubbed the back of his head guiltily, though the tone of his voice held no such chagrin.

"Really?" Aurora quirked an eyebrow, the effect of which was rather hindered by the fact that she was rubbing at the bruise forming on her forehead rather irritably. "And would you mind explaining to me why exactly to both of you had the sudden urge to be so uncharacteristically generous?"

"Well like I said, he was a very personable fellow." Blitz grinned again.

"Very talkative." Inferno agreed.

"It would have bee rude of us to leave him without an attentive audience." Blitz nodded his head sagely. "I mean, who are we to judge if a soldier of an army as illustrious as Jericho's decides he wants to drown his sorrows and lighten the load of highly confidential information he's carrying about? We were doing him a favour, easing his burden!" The panthryan's serious façade broke into a wicked grin.

Aurora sighed ruefully, shaking her head. She should have expected something like this.

"That was still the last of our cash." She tried to admonish, though she grinned despite herself. "That had better be some darn good info."

She didn't actually worry though, it always was.

Through the Fire

Author: Seth

"We're brothers, family. We'd go to the gates of hell and back as long as we did it together."

Crisp air in the morning. Nothing like it.

Not that he ever got to enjoy it all that often, too busy trying to bury back under his sheets. Early mornings were for the zealous, which he most definitely was not.

Still, he savoured the pristine mornings when they came to him, freely given. Got to enjoy the small pleasures in life after all, especially when they required no effort in the least.

Stretching languidly, Ryuu reached to the side of his futon and picked up a small, blue ribbon. Pulling his hair back in a practiced motion, he tied the brown mane in a ponytail. Fuu was still asleep, he noticed, looking to his left. Best leave her alone; take advantage of the silence and peace while he could.

Slipping out from under the sheets, the Ginsenkei soldier retrieved his uniform and padded into a side room to change.

Emerging, now in his regular fatigues, Ryuu made extra certain to grab his glaive from the wall it rested against before he left the sleeping chamber. Important things tended to happen on days when he woke up early, not always good things.

A good thing he was expecting something to happen, it probably kept him from murdering his brother outright when Haru grabbed him and pulled him into a storage room as he was walking down the hall from the barracks.

"Haru, what are you- When did you-?" The brunette stuttered as he was dragged into the cramped cache. Unit 3 had been on a mission to eliminate a contingent of rebel troops that were getting far too cocky the last he'd heard. There had been no sign that they would soon be returning.

"Shhh!" The elder brother hissed, closing the door. "Don't speak, just listen." The blonde turned his back to his younger sibling, tending to the oil lantern he'd set up on a crate.

Ryuu raised an eyebrow but complied.

"You know how I feel about what they've been asking us to do lately." Haru mumbled, his eyes downcast.

Ryuu knew. He agreed too. There was collateral damage, there was sending a message, and then there was this. The last to face capital punishment had been children, hadn't even been soldiers. Had been simple thieves, just as they used to be, only they'd been given a chance.

"I think-" Haru's shoulders shook, and a tear dripped down his chin, but his voice remained steady. "I think it's time we did something about it."

Dire happenings indeed. Ryuu'd been ready for something big, but not this big.

"Why now?" The polearm specialist asked.

"Because now, nobody's safe." Haru replied, his voice cold and flat as he turned to face his younger brother. "Gin's dead." His voice shook slightly. "Souji and I were supposed to be. It was a trap. That was a suicide mission and intel knew it, but they sent us anyway. We've been getting more expendable ever since-" The blonde cut off bitterly.

Ryuu nodded. The Ginsenkei was an established force now, no longer held together by a few key people. One key person more like.

"So, are you with me?" Haru stared intensely at his brown haired sibling.

Ryuu sighed before letting a small smile creep across his face. "Do you even have to ask?"
 

Hunger

Author: Seth

"Spoiled food's still food. Whatever the risks, it's better than starving."

"Eugh, what are you doing?"

Kyuusei gave the meat in her mouth an extra vigorous chew before swallowing it noisily.

"I'm eating." She grinned. "What's it look like?" The silver haired twin bit off another piece of meat from the skewer in her hand.

Aurora frowned irritably. "I can see that." She tilted her head, peering at the skewer of yakitori with a faint look of disgust. "You dropped that barely five seconds ago and you're eating it…"

"Ten second rule." Kyuusei shrugged, taking another bite with obvious relish.

"We're outside. On a dirt road." The blue haired roujin deadpanned.

The young drake raised an eyebrow. "So?"

Aurora palmed her face in frustration. "You're eating a stick of yakitori that you just dropped on a dirt road and you see nothing wrong with that?" She peeked through her fingers at Kyuusei.

"Not really." The thief finished off the last bit of meat, licked her fingers and stuck the wooden skewer back in her mouth, chewing it thoughtfully. "Food's food, and a little dirt never hurt anyone." The skewer started weaving about in a simple figure eight pattern.

Aurora shuddered slightly at the thought, rubbing her shoulders as if to ward off a chill. "You should take better care of yourself. What if you got sick?" She huffed.

Kyuusei stretched upwards, interlacing her fingers before swinging them back to cushion her head. "Then I get sick." The drake replied evenly. "Them's the breaks. It's a good reminder." She tilted her body, peering lazily at the roujin beside her as the walked down the bustling street.

"That you're not invincible?" Aurora asked.

"Nah, that I should be grateful." The twin closed her eyes for a moment, a small smile spreading across her face.

"What for?" The small water mage raised an eyebrow.

"That I even had this chance to get sick in the first place" Kyuusei chuckled, cracking open one of her eyes and gazing amusedly at the confused expression on Aurora's face.

Seeing Red

Author: Seth


"Just becasue she's pissed off beyond all rationality doesn't necessarily mean she'll show it."

Take all of your emotions, all of them, and lock them in a box. They have no place in your existence while on a job.

This was the precept that she had been taught, had adhered to from the moment she could walk and talk.

Perhaps a little too well.

Deploying her on so many deep cover missions had probably been a mistake, but that was her family's loss. Her loss too, but what's past is past. Dwelling on it will amount to nothing.

Day after day, pretending to be someone she wasn't, keeping a perpetual eye out for the missing prince and she found that it was far more practical to stop bothering with that little box in the back of her mind, period. By the time she returned home the box wasn't so much locked as welded shut.

There was a reason she was ordered to keep her emotions in a box, and not obliterate them completely. A completely emotionless operative is like a blade without a hilt, as dangerous to its wielder as it is to the wielder's enemies. Her family had learned this the hard way. They had no inclination to learn that particular lesson again.

Her parents had not been happy, to say the least.

Not that they could do anything about it. Refusing orders from the Royal family was tantamount to suicide, and they'd rather take a chance than go with the sure thing.

Her teammates had no idea what they were up against when they decided to get her to open up a bit. They did succeed, after a fashion, though their success was more of a re-classification than anything. That box is still there, but she can open it again, if only a crack.

She can still close it too, and that has led to… complications.

Complications like the time she spent a night listening to Ayalla talking about her childhood. She disappeared the next day. A week later, the Cerberus king was found dead in his room, half of his face simply melted off like so much overheated butter. No connection was ever proven, but Ayalla gave her a big hug when she returned and watched her words far more carefully from that moment onwards.

People such as her were never meant for deep cover missions, but of all those who had either gone native or gone mad her case was unique. She had access to (some of) her emotions and all the compulsions that came with them, and she also had the ability to follow those compulsions without a single qualm.

The irony of it would have killed her parents if she hadn't gotten there first.

Sick

Author: Seth

"What'll you do if I'm not here to take care of you?"

Haru smiled lightly to himself as he trudged carefully down a small side-hall in the Ginsenkei compound. Small puffs of steam rose from the large bowl of congee he carried on a silvery tray. Reaching his destination the blonde boy nudged a small screen door open with his shoulder, slipping through the opening when it was large enough to allow passage to his warm cargo.

"You really should take better care of yourself." Haru admonished lightly as he slid the screen closed with the back of his foot. "Taking a dip in the Ginsei at this time of the year… Honestly, what am I going to do with you, Ryuu?" He shuffled over to his brother's futon, kneeling down and offering Ryuu the laden platter. "For someone who doesn't know how to swim, you end up in that river worryingly often." Finding Ryuu's reaction time too slow, the juggler placed the tray carefully but firmly across his little brother's lap, watching intently until Ryuu withered slightly and obediently dug his spoon into the rice porridge.

"It wasn't my fault." Ryuu mumbled, blowing on a spoonful of congee before placing it in his mouth and chewing softly. "I kinda just… fell in…" He looked uncomfortably away from his brother's face. "It was… windy. And I got bumped."

Haru raised a thin eyebrow.

"Bumped hard enough to knock you over a shoulder high railing?" The blonde grinned wryly. "Really brother, you need to come up with a couple of new excuses. You tried that one on me last winter, and it didn't work then either." He waved off Ryuu's minorly affronted look. "It was that friend of yours again, wasn't it? What was it this time, a dare, a bet, or did he offer you something else?"

Silence reigned for five tense minutes, broken only by the sound of Ryuu eating his porridge.

"A… dare." Ryuu spoke up finally after swallowing a mouthful of congee. "You know the way he has with words. And I guess he offered me something too." The brunette stirred his porridge half-heartedly.

"Something valuable enough that you'd risk your life for it?" Haru asked.

"Not… really." Ryuu admitted bashfully. "He said he'd leave Manari's bandana alone for a whole month if I did it."

"So, basically, you just wanted to save yourself some effort." Haru pinched the bridge of his nose. "You do realize that you're probably spending as much energy being sick as you would have chasing him around? He hasn't been coming down our way all that much recently."

"Yeah," Ryuu mumbled surreptitiously. "but this way I've got a legitimate reason to stay in bed all day, and you take such good care of me, making me meals and everything."

Haru glared at his brother in annoyance.

"Evidently I'm sending you the wrong message here." He snatched the platter and the (Now empty) bowl of congee from Ryuu. "Next time you get sick I'm not taking care of you, just see if I don't!" The blonde fumed as he stomped to the screen door.

"Haru?" Ryuu called out, and the elder brother stopped halfway out the door. "Thanks for taking care of me."

Haru, his back turned to Ryuu, allowed himself a small smile.

"You're welcome. Just don't get any ideas." The juggler slid the screen closed. "And get better soon, alright?"

"Don't I always?" Ryuu chuckled through the screen.

'Yeah, yeah you always do.' Haru chuckled ironically to himself. 'I just wish I didn't know that particular fact so well.'