Luka didn't really remember her parents. Not a lot of the kids at the orphanage did, and the lucky few who possessed such memories kept those secrets close to heart. Words such as 'mama' or 'daddy' were considered taboo, but nobody really minded. Luka certainly didn't.
Luka imagined parents like the social workers who supposedly 'ran' the orphanage; annoying, foolish, almost never present. So, it was no big deal not knowing her parents; things ran smoothly without them. If she had made it from age two to sixteen without them, she was fine.
In all honesty, the state didn't run the Crypton Home for Parentless and Abandoned Children. Luka did. She was the big sister/mother figure of her entire 'household', even being called 'Luka-nee' by the oldest resident of the orphanage, eighteen year old Kaito. Luka liked the work. She was fond of household chores and children, always being there to make a snack or hold a little one after a nightmare.
Luka didn't need parents, her fellow orphans were her family, and that's all she needed to get by. The state sent enough money every month to keep the place running, though it got tight sometimes with thirteen people living off of it. The social worker who kept an eye on the place let Luka have free reign, and so she was happy, the kids were happy, and everything was all well and good.
Until a certain new boy came along…
The ear piercing cry of an alarm clock shook through the air, demanding listeners to get up and start the day. The bright red lit numbers on the dial proudly proclaimed it to be seven a.m. A thin, pale arm flashed out from beneath a tangle of a pink comforter and eventually succeeded in smacking the snooze button, cutting off the obnoxious beeps.
A sigh of relief came from beneath the comforter, the being beneath causing the bedding to crumble and tangle further as they curled into a ball, obviously planning on more sleep. The respite would be quite brief, of course. The comfortable, sleepy morning silence was shattered by the bedroom door being slammed open with a loud 'bang!'
"Luka-nee! It's morning! Wake up!" a little girl with messy brown pigtails and the eyes of a fawn chirped as she hopped up onto the bed, effectively landing on top of the person attempting to resist the morning beneath the blankets. A loud groan came said person, as the little girl jumped up and down excitedly.
More voices joined the little girl's crowing to get up as a few more silhouettes filled the doorway. Three more small children hopped onto the bed to lend a hand in forcing the lump awake, including a young boy with soft orange hair, and two young toddlers who seemed to be sisters from their similar bright blue eyes. Eventually the lump gave in and forced its head up from beneath the blankets, revealing a girl of about sixteen with sky blue eyes still glazed from sleep. Her rose pink hair was tangled into a textbook definition of a rat's nest, sticking out every which way. "I'm up! I'm up! Stop squishing my internal organs!" She yawned and rubbed the sleep sand from her eyes.
For whatever reason, everybody in the room burst into laughter. Luka glared at them. "What's so funny?!" she asked the older children standing in the doorway.
A girl with short green hair and bright red goggles resting on her head giggled. "Luka, I suggest a mirror."
Luka wrinkled her eyebrows and managed to untangle herself from small children and her comforter to pad across the room to the mirror. When her reflection greeted her, she screamed. "RIN! LEN! GET READY TO DIE!" she screeched, seeing the unibrow and mustache drawn on her face in silver Sharpie. She tackled said blond twins, who had been giggling hysterically in the doorway.
"We didn't do it!" Rin sputtered, trying to avoid Luka's tickles behind her brother. Len choked through laughter, "We didn't, honest!" The rest of the children laughed hysterically at Rin and Len's punishment, and eventually joined in themselves in a giant dog pile.
The laughter of the children echoed off the walls, a soundtrack to this pure, happy moment.
Luka hummed to herself as she scrubbed oatmeal out of one of the brightly colored plastic bowls left over from breakfast. The morning meal had gone relatively smoothly, at least for the hectic household of the Crypton Home.
After she had managed to scrub all the Sharpie off her face and change into a clean pair of jeans and a shirt, Luka'd gone downstairs and served up oatmeal and fruit salad for breakfast. The daily chaos was a lot less chaotic than usual. The nine year olds Yuki and Lui hadn't gotten into an oatmeal flinging contest. Thirteen year old Rin and Len had only gotten into a small shouting match about oranges and bananas (both of which had been included in the fruit salad). Miku, who was fifteen, didn't trip and break anything, which was quite rare for the clumsy teen. Kaito hadn't whined too much about not being allowed ice cream for breakfast ("But Lukaaaa!"), and Neru and Haku hadn't started making out at the table again.
Normally, Luka wouldn't mind, but when they did it right in front of three year old Aria and four year old Yukari, she was not a happy camper.
Now, as the pink haired teen cleaned up, the other children were hanging out in the den, watching TV and playing games. She could hear Miku and Rin arguing about what move to watch. (Rin wanted Star Wars. Miku wanted Legally Blonde.) Gumi's voice was frantically trying to keep the peace between the two, as was her nature. Luka knew that no matter what, Rin was going win the argument. The blonde girl may be small, but she was scarily strong. The genes came from her and Len's father, who had worked for a construction company before being killed in an accident.
This argument was a daily one, the only thing changing was the movies. Not that Luka minded, of course. Routine was the structure of her life, and she preferred knowing what was going to happen next. Luka wasn't much of a daredevil.
"Just be friends…All we gotta do is just be friends…It's time to say goodbye…just be friends. All we gotta do is just be friends, just be friends, just be friends…" Luka hummed to herself, a song she made up herself. Luka had always liked writing songs, but it was more a hobby than anything else. Career wise, she would like to continue running the orphanage. She enjoyed the job, and the kids loved her.
A quick, hurried knocking interrupted Luka's train of thought. "Wonder who that is?" Luka asked herself, throwing down her dishrag and half-jogging to the door. She lifted up on her tiptoes and peered through the peephole, with the other kids stampeding behind her to see the visitor. Luka grimaced, seeing who it was.
Lily, all big boobs and too tight business suits and blindingly bright bleach blonde hair. Safe to say that Luka did not like Lily, not in the slightest, but she had to live with her, for she was the social worker. Either way, Luka plastered on a winning smile and pulled the door open, with the twins and Kaito peeking over her shoulders.
"Hello Miss Lily. How may I help you today?" Luka chirped in a sugary sweet tone.
The social worker looked up from her perfectly manicured nails with a small scowl, obviously annoyed about the wait. She quickly shook it off though, plastering on a smile as fake as her boobs. "Luka dear, I've told you a million times to just call me Lily," she said in her uncomfortably shrill voice. "How are you?"
Luka bit back a grimace. "I'm fine Miss Lily. Is there any reason you've come to visit today?"
'Miss Lily' smiled a smile that reminded Luka of a rose, pretty but hiding painful thorns. "I've come to drop off a new kid." Luka's brow furrowed, a new kid? Lily stepped sideways, revealing not a small child as Luka expected, but a tall boy with long purple hair about her age. He was staring down at his sneakers, wearing a ragged hoodie and dirty jeans, a backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked up at her, revealing expressionless eyes the color of amethysts. The boy met Luka's gaze for a fraction of a second before looking down again.
"Luka, this is Gakupo Kamui," Lily chirped, holding her hand out in the boy's direction. "Gakupo, this is Luka Megurine. She's pretty much in charge of this orphanage." Lily quickly stalked off towards her cherry red convertible, "I would love to see you comfortable Gakupo, but I've got work to do. See you around!"
With the slam of a car door and the screech of brakes in need of realignment, Lily sped away.
Luka watched Lily leave with a visible scowl and turned to Gakupo, a motherly smile instantly lighting her features. "Hello Gakupo, I'm Luka. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, holding out her hand for him. The purple haired youth stared at her smooth palm for a minute or two before hesitantly taking it. Luka was surprised at how firm his grip was. "Nice to meet you," Gakupo said in a resounding tenor, surprisingly deep for somebody his age.
With this affirming action, the orphans started flooding Gakupo with questions as Luka led him inside.
"Gakupo! How old are you?"
"What's your favorite food?"
"Do you like Barbies or video games?"
"Why's your hair so long? Are you a girl?"
"Do you like bunnies?"
"What's your favorite color?"
"Guys! Guys!" Luka laughed at them. "Don't bombard the kid! Give him some breathing room, please." She turned to Gakupo with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, we don't get new arrivals very often. Come on, I'll take you to your room." She turned back to the other kids. "Kaito, Len, Lui, hurry and make your floor visible, Gakupo will be rooming with you. Rin, Miku, Gumi, finish the kitchen for me please. Neru and Yuki, go straighten up the den. Haku, can you help Aria and Yukari get dressed?"
The children all saluted her and ran off to go take care of their various duties. Luka chuckled at them and turned to Gakupo, "'Kay! Let's go, shall we?" She offered a big smile and led the boy upstairs, taking his hand and guiding him as if he were one of the littler ones.
She stopped right in front of the boy's room, where she could hear Len, Lui, and Kaito hurrying to make the place somewhat presentable. "Well, you'll be bunking with these three. If you have any troubles, come to me, 'kay? My room's just down the hall, with Haku and Gumi." She pointed to the door painted with three vertical stripes; pink, green, and white.
Gakupo nodded and turned to open the door to his new room, before hesitating and turning back to her. "Seventeen, eggplant, neither because I like to read, I like it long, I'm a guy, bunnies are cute, white." Luka raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"I was answering the questions. I'm seventeen, I like eggplant, I don't prefer Barbies or video games because I like to read best, I like my hair long, I'm a guy, I think bunnies are cute, and my favorite color is white."
"White's a shade though," Luka said with a smirk, inwardly surprised that he actually was able to sort through and remember all those questions. Gakupo shrugged, "I still like it."
With that, he opened the door and shut it behind him, leaving behind a somewhat stunned Luka in the hallway.
Kaito smiled at Gakupo as he entered the room. "Hey Gak. We got you a place good and ready." He pointed to the bottom bunk on the right side of the room, made with plain grey sheets. Kaito grinned and climbed up onto the top. "This one's mine. Len and Lui share the other one."
The two other boys quietly waved and smiled before leaving the room. Gakupo didn't respond, just setting his bag down on the bunk that was now his. Kaito looked down at him, "We'll give you a bit of time alone. Feel free to come down to the den and meet the others. Lunch is at noon; I'll come and get you if you're not down by then. Later man."
With that the bluette hopped off his bunk, clapped Gakupo on the shoulder, and left, leaving the purple haired boy alone with his thoughts.
Gakupo walked over to the window and stared out at the road. These people seemed nice; they surely had given him a warm welcome. "Sorry about this…" he murmured, a small tear sliding down his cheek. He pulled a black cell phone from his pocket and pressed the speed dial.
"Hey. Yeah, I'm in the place, infiltration complete. Round up at midnight, tonight."