Break's Day Off ~ Chapter One
The room was filled with an awkward silence, except for the irritating ticking of the grandfather clock. The four sat, awaiting the arrival of the fifth. Vincent Nightray daintily sipped his tea and placed the porcelain cup down with a clink on the saucer beside the chess board. He absently patted Echo's white hair; the girl was seated upon his lap, her pale face void of any emotions. Oscar Vessalius hunched over the chess board and scratched his beard. He squinted through his glasses to examine it closely, plotting his next move. A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. Reim sipped his tea through gritting teeth, the cup and saucer threatening to snap in his death grip. He was beyond annoyed. Of all the days the fifth member could have been late, it was the day he was supposed to be rewarded.
At that moment, the tablecloth rustled in front of Reim. Familiar white hair popped from under the table between his feet. Reim shrieked, the tea cup and saucer slipping from his hands to smash on the floor. The pale brown liquid seeped into the burgundy carpet. Reim's chair tipped backwards, sending him crashing to the floor. He continued to lay there, twitching. Xerxes Break pulled himself out from beneath the table. Brushing off his coat, he exclaimed, "Good evening, gentlemen!"
"Good evening, Break-san," Vincent said cheerfully, his creepy smile crawling onto his face. Oscar's mouth hung open, staring between Break, Reim, and the table from which Break had entered the room. The cigarette dropped from his lip.
As Break opened his mouth to respond, Reim sat up and yelled, "You're late!" He pointed accusingly at Break, eyes narrowed in a death glare. He appeared completely frazzled after Break's surprise entrance.
"Oh, am I?" Break nonchalantly pulled a piece of candy from the pouch at his side. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth, crunching noisily.
Reim's eye twitched. "Yes! By three hours!"
"Three hours ain't late, dumbass!" the small green doll on Break's shoulder chimed in.
"Oh, Emily, you bad girl, you!" Break cooed to the blonde-haired doll. He tugged playfully on the bow on the doll's pink dress. "You only say that 'cos it's your fault!"
Reim pushed his glasses up on his nose, bristling. "Don't shift the blame, Break! And use the door like a normal person for once, will you?"
Oscar moved his chess piece, carefully placing in on the board. "Anyway, Break, Reim, we have some business to take care of." He reached into his pocket for another cigarette.
"Yes," Vincent said. "As for why we called you here, Break-san..." He paused and took a sip of tea. He absently tugged on one of the silver buttons holding Echo's blue dress closed as he leaned to set the cup down. "We've received an assignment for you from
Pandora." He sat back.
"An assignment from Pandora?" Break seated himself on the red couch beside Oscar. He crossed his legs and pulled out another piece of candy. "Whatever could it be?"
Reim stood and steadied himself. "Ahem. This is no laughing matter, Break-san! Do you ever take things seriously?"
Break paused in unwrapping the candy and leaned forward, deadly serious for the first time. "What is the assignment?"
Vincent examined the chess board, a dark looking in his eyes, one red and one gold. "Pandora has given you a very important assignment. You have been with Pandora long enough, Break-san, that they believe you are up to the task." His fingers hovered over one of his chess pieces. Break looked at the blonde-topped black blur he assumed was Vincent with his single red eye, waiting in anticipation. "This assignment they hope you will be able to handle. Tomorrow..." He lifted the chess piece and brought it down with a clack. "...is your day off."
The room fell silent once again. Oscar, staring blankly at the chess board, suddenly stood and tipped the whole table over, sending board, chess pieces, china, and tea flying. As everything crashed to the floor, he shouted, "Gah, I lost! Damn it!" He dropped back down onto the couch, crossing his arms like a sulking child and chomped down on his cigarette.
"Day...off...?" Break said slowly. He did not seem to grasp the concept.
"Yes," Reim said, glaring at Oscar and the mess he had made. "Tomorrow, you are not permitted to work or be involved with any of Pandora's business."
Break's head tilted, his lips curling into a frown. "Day…off…?" he repeated.
"Yes, tomorrow is your day off. You can do whatever you would like all day." Vincent clarified. Reim and Oscar looked away awkwardly as Vincent's hand groped its way up Echo's leg and disappeared beneath her dress.
Reim adjusted his glasses, face flushing slightly. "You'd better not come in to work tomorrow," he added sternly. Break's head tilted further to the side.
"Well then," Vincent said, clapping his hands together. "Now that our work is done, we'll be taking our leave for today." Echo stood from his lap; he got up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Good day, gentlemen. Come, Echo." He beckoned to the girl.
"Yes, Vincent-sama," she replied monotonously. Echo turned to the others and dropped in an automatic bow before following Vincent out of the room.
"See you, Vincent-kun!" Oscar called after him.
The confused look was frozen on Break's face. As the door clicked shut, a devious smile crept across his lips. A mischievous glint appeared in his blood red eye. "Day... off..."
Reim exclaimed, "Don't be making that creepy face, Break-san!"
Oscar laughed. "I don't know what you're planning, Break, but don't get into too much trouble on your day off!"
"Oh, don't you worry about me!" Break waved a hand. He stood, adjusting his long white coat. "I have some business to take care of for Pandora before my day off, so I'll be going now." He headed over to the wooden cupboard stationed in the corner of the room and opened the doors.
"The door is that way!" Reim exclaimed, pointing to the other side of the room. Break ignored him and climbed into the cupboard. He and Emily peered out, the same creepy smile mimicked on both his and the doll's faces. "I bid you all adieu!" Break said. He snapped the cupboard shut.
Reim and Oscar sat in silence, staring at the closed doors. Reim put a hand to his forehead and shook his head. "That man... has a lot wrong with him..."
Oscar laughed again. "Still not used to him yet, eh, Reim-san?" he teased. His expression grew serious. "Though I am worried about what kind of trouble he'll get into."
"What on earth is Pandora thinking?" Reim heaved out a sigh. "We're going to regret this after tomorrow."
"Indeed, we are," Oscar agreed.