Disclaimer: I do not own Beet the Vandel Buster. That is owned by Riku Sanjo and Koji Inada. Any use of copyrighted material/characters/settings/etc. is being used for entertainment purposes only and has no intention upon infringes upon their copyright. I really hope that they finish the manga someday; it's too good to leave on hiatus forever.
This piece about Frausky, a Vandel who intrigues the heck out of me, is mine, though.
Out-of-Bounds
Frausky sat down on the edge of his dirt bed and checked that the large thorns on his thighs had all been cut off. He nodded to himself upon his finished inspection. He had not missed any, nor had they grown back since he had returned to Grineed's castle after rescuing the bird (and failing to kill his target, Beet). Good. He didn't want to hurt the chick inadvertently.
Humming to himself, Frausky stood up and walked over to the corner of his room, where he had stashed a small metal birdcage. He tsked to himself when he realized that he had not cleaned it after nursing the last baby bird he had encountered back to health. A few minutes later, however, the Vandel's efficient cleaning abilities demonstrated that the birdcage was prepared for temporary occupation, if not for a prolonged stay. Now, where had he stashed the food and water bowls again…?
"Peep! Peep!"
Frausky was overcome with emotion at the sight of the tiny bird hopping cheerfully at his feet. He resisted the urge to cuddle it, instead settling on a more-appropriate gentle scolding. "What are you doing over here, little one? You're supposed to be on the dirt bed!" As hard as he tried, Frausky could never keep the coo-ing tone out of his voice. (It didn't bother him, personally; he was just concerned that Lord Grineed might enter unexpectedly someday and catch him in that state.) "You're too cute to get caught underfoot!" he cried.
The chick cocked its fluffy head to the side. It seemed to smile innocently at Frausky, as though wondering why the Vandel was making such a fuss about coming over to him.
"Ah, never mind," Frausky sighed. He could never win against the overwhelming cuteness of young creatures, anyway. "I'll just take you back myself until your new home is ready." With that, he scooped the tiny bird up carefully in his hands and then deposited it back on his dirt bed. "And don't you jump down to follow me this time!"
"Cheep!"
Frausky had a feeling that this cute, innocently-rebellious chick would follow him as soon as turned his back. As he dusted off the newly-discovered food and water dishes, he groaned internally at the persistent (but ever adorable) sight at his feet. "Hey! What did I just tell you? Get back on the dirt bed!"
"Peep!" The chick stared up innocently at him again with big brown eyes.
Its cuteness tugged at Frausky's heartstrings. Finally, the plant Vandel sighed. "All right, you can watch. Just be careful, ok? I don't want you getting hurt."
"Cheep!"
Frausky chuckled as the chick hopped closer, inspecting the metal birdcage. It looked up at Frausky, as though asking him what it was. "I already answered that, little one," he replied. "This is a birdcage. It's going to be your new home while you heal."
"Peep!" It hopped in front of the cage.
Frausky assumed the chick was happy. His face glowed. "Awwww, you're so cute," he murmured. He wanted to pick the chick up again, but he had to finish his prep work. "Just one more moment, ok, little one? I just need to fill your food and water dishes…"
Finally, Frausky finished preparing the birdcage. He stood up carefully, keeping a watchful eye on the chick to make sure that he wouldn't step on it. Then he picked up the birdcage and hung it beside the dirt bed (while making a mental note for the next time to fill the water bowl after he moved the cage, not before).
"All right. Now, time to enter your new home, little chick," he cooed happily. Turning around, he spotted it still in the corner that he had been cleaning the cage in. It turned to Frausky upon his call, but it didn't move closer. "Aw, don't you want to see your new home? It's right next to the window. You'll love it! You'll be able to see outside! Come here," he cooed. When the chick still didn't move, he said, "You want me to pick you up? All right, I'm coming…"
However, when Frausky bent down to pick up the chick, it hopped out of his reach with a cheerful, "Peep!" Two more attempts to catch the feathered creature yielded the same result for the Vandel. Frausky straightened up, staring at the tiny fluff ball. It hopped a few feet in front of him, chirping happily.
Did that chick just elude him? No. No creature had ever escaped Frausky, the Flashy Scarlet Bullet, and this adorable little bird wasn't about to be the first! Frausky grinned, and he exclaimed, "I'm going to catch you this time, my cute little fluff ball!"
"Cheep!"
The chase commenced. A few minutes later, the chick hopped happily in front of Frausky, noticeably not in its cage.
Frausky sat down on the stone floor, stopping to catch his breath. Catching this tiny bird was more difficult than trying to catch that Buster kid, Beet. (That was an unfair comparison, though, because catching that kid unawares hadn't been difficult at all).
The chick hopped over to him, peering up at him cutely with bright eyes. It almost seemed to ask Frausky if he was tired already from the game.
"Ha!" Frausky exclaimed, swiping out towards the unsuspecting chick suddenly. "Gotcha—no, wait!"
The chick hopped out of Frausky's reach with another happy, "Peep!"
As Frausky resumed catching his breath, watching the chick hop up and down again a few feet away from him, he wondered what it would take to catch this chick. And how the chick had more stamina than him, the feared Vandel assassin.
Some things in life were simply unfathomable.
One hour later, Frausky sat on his dirt bed and stared at the happy ball of fluff now perching in its new home. He felt something akin to affectionate irritation, but he knew that the irritation wouldn't last long. After all, who would have guessed that all Frausky had to do to catch the chick was to hold his finger out and wait for the chick to hop onto it?
The fluffy chick turned to watch the assassin with its innocent gaze, its bright eyes wide as it cheerily chirped away at him. Frausky wondered if it was laughing at him.
Three seconds later, Frausky's irritation had passed. His annoyance lost once again to the overpowering charm of the little bird. It was simply too cute. Frausky could never win against cuteness.
The assassin's face darkened momentarily at that thought. Unfortunately, that quirk of his had forced the instatement of his "Out-of-Bounds" rule in the first place….
8 years ago...
Frausky found the boy coincidentally. Honestly, he should never have found him. The child was half-buried under rubble, and Frausky had believed that he had killed everyone in the village.
Yet, there he was. A bawling, crying baby boy, lying face down in the concrete. He was bloodied and bruised, but he was alive.
As he knelt beside it with an exclamation of joy, Frausky's first thought was that the baby was adorable. After all, human and animal young were immeasurably cute. There was no resisting them. However, upon examining the baby, Frausky heart broke when he realized that the baby was extremely injured. The human young would probably die before the night ended. His spirit saddened when he considered that it would perhaps be a kindness to kill it before it suffered further (even though it went against his code, and he knew that he would cry about it for a week afterward).
It was for the child's own good. Frausky took a deep breath, steeling his heart. He detached his forearm and aimed the gun with a subtly shaking hand.
Upon the noise, the baby paused its sobbing to stare up at the Vandel with wide, tear-filled eyes. They were so large and bright. Such, warm, bright brown eyes staring at him from such a tiny, bloodied baby…
Frausky paused, his finger frozen on the trigger as he silently berated himself. Who was he kidding? He had never had the steel to kill anything of that age. Even if he had never aided a human young before, was this baby really that different? Wasn't a baby a baby, be it human or animal? Could the quirky Vandel honestly kill a baby, just because it was human? Just because the baby was suffering? Hadn't he caused the baby's injuries during his killing spree? (Frausky's heart nearly broke at the final self-accusation.)
What should Frausky do? Give his quirk a chance and hope that it was possible to save the child? Or should he act before his quirk got the better of him and end its painful suffering?
The baby resumed crying, curling its tiny, bloody arms near its pinched, dirty face as it bawled. The sight caused tears to pool around Frausky's eyes. Frausky shifted in his effort to dry his eyes. His foot shifted some rocks, and the child paused to look up again at the sound.
Their eyes met for a second. Perhaps sensing something shifting in the Vandel, he reached out to Frausky with a tiny hand, the edge of his bloodstained fingers touching the assassin's dirty toe.
The sight both stunned and moved Frausky, causing tears to drip down his cheeks. Didn't this child know that he was the Vandel that had just destroyed the village? That he was the Vandel who had killed the boy's family for the fun of it? That the Vandel could kill the baby just as easily—no, in fact, easier, because the boy was trapped under rubble and couldn't defend himself even if he wanted to—as he had killed the boy's parents, whomever they were?
The child, sensing Frausky's internal conflict, pulled his tiny hand back with a flinch and resumed bawling.
The pitiable nature of the child ripped at Frausky's heartstrings again. How could he even go through with killing it now, after this baby had reached out to him? Could he honestly kill a baby that had done that?
A baby's weakness overpowered his strength every time.
Giving in to the power of its pitiable nature, Frausky reattached his forearm weapon and bent down to remove the rubble pinning the boy down. It took less than a minute with the Vandel's strength. After Frausky had removed the rubble, he grimaced when he took in how serious the child's injuries were. The child needed treatment quickly, but he still had time to save it.
It was time to take the child back to his garden. He had all of the medicinal herbs that he would need in his home.
He carefully lifted the baby off of the ground, cooing quietly as he attempted to soothe it. Even with the bawling child in his arms (why human young was the noisiest, Frausky would never know), Frausky smiled at the tiny life in his hands. He had a strange quirk, but it led to some interesting moments.
Nursing the human baby had been trying, but the boy recovered fully. Thanks to Frausky's herbal poultices, he didn't even scar. In fact, he was soon exhausting Frausky, as the Vandel was forced to run around the garden glen that was his home to chase him down. The child always laughed whenever Frausky picked him up and tossed him gently in the air, though. The boy had been terrified of the monsters at first (he spent one night suffering from a night terror, the poor creature), but after Frausky had comforted him (and told most of the monsters to leave the baby alone), he became accustomed to the creatures.
When the child became a toddler, Frausky realized that he had not named the boy. The child's real name was indeterminable, though, since not only were his parents dead, there had been no identifiable markings on the child's original garments. It left Frausky with only one option. "What do you want to be called, young one?"
The little boy stared at him, his brown eyes wide. "Gah?"
"No, that's not a suitable name, kiddo," Frausky playfully scolded. "You need something better than 'Gah,' of course."
"Buh?" The toddler tilted his head to the side, as though wondering what Frausky was so worked up about.
Frausky laughed. "No, you can't have that name, either." He sat down on a stump as he watched the boy crawl around on the soft grass in front of him. The child had learned how to walk already (and had Frausky chasing him whenever he chose to run), but he still crawled a lot, especially when he was tired. "What should I call you…?" Frausky murmured to himself. He needed a name, but he wanted a good name. A suitable name.
"How about Delone?" a voice asked from the tree line.
Frausky jumped up, pulling his gun from the elbow socket and standing in front of the child protectively. "Who's there?"
A looming figure emerged from the trees, a large green Vandel with a vested Samnyoul in tow. "Please, do not be alarmed. I do not mean you or the human child any harm," he murmured. He even raised his hands slightly before him in a gesture of peace.
Frausky's eyes narrowed, his gaze flitting briefly to the Vandel's left forearm. A five-star Vandel. Frausky's heart beat slightly faster. He was only a three-star; a five-star Vandel would not be easy to defeat, if it would be even possible. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously. "What are you doing here?" He didn't lower his guard or his gun.
"My name is Grineed. I am the Clever Honcho of Deep Green," the Vandel replied courteously, before gesturing to the Samyoul at his side, "and this is my minion Ugo." Turning back to Frausky, he continued, "I came to offer a proposition to you, Frausky, the Flashy Scarlet Bullet. Will you hear me out?"
Frausky paused for a moment, not sure how to respond. Then he reasoned that, if Grineed had come truly with the intention to fight, he would have done so already. There was no point endangering the child needlessly. He lowered the gun, but he did not put it away. Pulled out a plant stem, he lit the end of it, smoking it to break the tension. "All right," he replied. "Let's hear what you have to say."
As it turned out, Grineed offered Frausky a chance to become his subordinate. His plan was to gain the entirety of the Black Horizon as his domain, but Grineed knew that he couldn't manage it effectively on his own. He decided to seek out promising subordinate candidates, and Frausky's recent daring exploits has caught his attention. He was offering Frausky the chance to use his skills more efficiently as an assassin. Of course, it would mean gaining Stars slower, but he promised Frausky a nice room in his castle, as well as his freedom to travel wherever he wished, as long as he fulfilled the duties that Grineed assigned him. He even promised to allow Frausky the night to think it over and giving his answer in the morning. If Frausky accepted, Grineed said that he could even bring the child with him, although he couldn't understand why the Vandel was keeping it.
Frausky thanked Grineed for the invitation and promised to think it over. Grineed left.
It was only after Grineed's aura faded away from the clearing that Frausky allowed himself to take a deep breath. It had been a polite invitation, but Frausky could tell from the first glance that one did not simply tell this Vandel no. There was an implicit demand in Grineed's request that promised wrath if he was denied.
Frausky inhaled again, allowing his muscles to relax. He felt a tug at his leg. The boy had crawled over to Frausky and was looked up him with large, concerned brown eyes. "Goo?" he murmured sadly.
Frausky smiled down at the boy and then reached down to pick him up. The child laughed as Frausky bounced him. "I'm feeling better, thank you," he murmured.
For the safety of the child that had been sitting behind him, Frausky was glad that he had listened to Grineed's invitation. The baby was way too cute to die yet.
When Grineed returned the following morning for Frausky's response, Frausky told him that he agreed to become his subordinate. The stronger Vandel was quite pleased, and he invited Frausky over to his castle to "finalize the details," as Grineed put it.
As it turned out, "finalizing the details" meant sacrificing his Stars with a poison bracelet, but Frausky wasn't too put out by it. It wasn't a chain for him so much as an opportunity to continue the killing that he indulged in. It didn't matter if it was done under Grineed or on his own. He was still fulfilling his Vandel instincts.
The only thing he was glad about was that the boy didn't receive a bracelet. He was only a tiny tyke, after all, and he wasn't even suited for battle. He was too young. Grineed expressed interest in using the boy as a scout, since he was young enough to be accepted inside the gates of human villages without suspicion. Frausky actually liked the idea, but only after the boy was old enough. He needed a few more years of growing (and training).
For now, the boy needed a name. Frausky still hadn't decided on one.
"What is on your mind, Frausky?" Lord Grineed asked upon finding Frausky leaning against the wall. Upon seeing the root that Frausky was smoking, however, he glared at the offensive object until Frausky put it out with a smile and a shrug of apology. Frausky forgot whenever he was lost in thought that his new lord did not approve of his smoking habits inside the castle.
Frausky rubbed his chin. "I was thinking how the little tyke still doesn't have a name."
Lord Grineed raised an eyebrow. "Is the choice of name for the human boy so important?" he asked. He paused for a second, and then said, "You will recall that I did suggest Delone."
"I remember, my lord." Frausky nodded. "I just don't feel that he's a Delone kind of boy. No offense meant, my lord."
Lord Grineed laughed. "No offense is taken, Frausky. What kind of name were you considering, then?"
Frausky sighed. "That's just it, my lord. Nothing good has come to me. I'm worried that it will be too late if I wait much longer to name him, though."
"Too late for what?" Lord Grineed asked as his eyebrows furrowed together.
"I don't know. That's just it," Frausky huffed as he pushed himself off the wall. "It's just…" He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry, my lord. It's just a weird feeling..."
Grineed waved off the apology. "Don't worry about it, Frausky. Besides, the human boy is your charge, after all. I wish you the best of luck in choosing a suitable name for him."
"Thank you, my lord," Frausky replied with a small smile. Grineed nodded and walked away.
Frausky looked away. What was he worried about?
A year later still had not brought an answer to Frausky. Frausky knew that he was in trouble, though, because the kid was now three years old and had starting talking six months previously. There was only so long that he could call the boy "kiddo," "kid," "little one," "young one," "boy," and "hey, you," until the little boy began asking what his name was. After all, the boy addressed everyone else by a name. How long would it take for him to wonder what his name was?
Frausky watched the tyke walk around the room, talking about his day in Frausky's quarters and exploits around the castle. So far, he was only allowed on the floor that Frausky lived on, but there were still rooms for him to explore. He had also run into Rozzgoat for the first time, the newest member of Grineed's underlings (Frausky had been the first). The moth Vandel had been curious to see if it was true that Frausky had adopted a human boy as his charge, and he did not fail in his search for the answer. The boy didn't mind meeting Rozzgoat. Besides claiming that Rozzgoat looked funny (which Frausky chuckled at, before gently reprimanded that it wasn't nice to make fun of his Vandel colleagues), he seemed to have enjoyed the meeting. He did say that Rozzgoat was really tall (but not as tall as Frausky, because as far as the boy was concerned, nobody was as tall or awesome as Frausky. Frausky was quite pleased by this, and did not attempt to dissuade him from his point of view).
The Vandel thought that it was amazing to watch the boy grow. He grew so fast, yet the light hadn't changed in his eyes. The boy's eyes were still so wide, so innocent. He did not remember the destruction of the village nor nearly dying in the rubble, so the boy had not yet learned fear, anger, or hatred. It was innocence that Frausky enjoyed watching in human and animal young. It was so refreshing, so pure, in comparison to the bloodthirsty nature of Vandels and what he had seen of adult humans.
He wished that the boy would stay that way forever. Or at least that he would name his child before he lost that innocent light in his eyes.
Frausky paused for a moment, staring at the wall opposite him as the rest of the world faded away. When had he begun calling the boy "his child"…?
By the time that the boy reached five years old, Frausky knew that he was in trouble. He did not know why, but he was having so much trouble determining a name. (He wanted to blame it on being busy with missions, but Frausky knew that that was a cop-out answer.) He wondered if that was because he had never named a little one before. Regardless, his personal shame had gained infamy in the castle. Even Lord Grineed was teasing him about it (and not just Rozzgoat and his lord's new minion, the Protector Bug Dangowl).
He really had no excuse. If he didn't pick one soon, he would be in bigger trouble.
"Frausky?"
Frausky looked down at the small child clinging to the side of his leg. "Yeah, kiddo? What is it?"
The boy looked away for a moment, deciding whether or not he should ask the question. Frausky wondered why the boy got his attention and then debated whether or not he would ask something. The sight of his cute face scrunched in thought made him want to hug the kid, but he hadn't trimmed his thorns, and he was afraid of hurting the boy without thinking (like he had done with the last kitten he had brought home. Frausky had cried for three nights straight, and not even the boy had been able to cheer him up).
Finally, the boy looked back up. "I was wondering… What's my name?"
"Your name?" Frausky stalled. Shoot, that time had arrived already. "Why are you asking a question like that?" Time to stall for more time while he thought desperately—
"My name," the boy nodded. "I know that you're Frausky, and then there's Lord Grineed, and Rozzgoat, and Dangowl (after Ugo died), but there is nothing to call me."
Frausky attempted stalling the conversation longer. "What made you wonder this all of a sudden?"
"Rozzgoat."
Rozzgoat. Of course, it had to have been the moth Vandel who opened his big mouth.
"I was talking to him today, and when I called Lord Grineed 'Grineed,' he said that I said his name wrong. I needed to say 'Lord Grineed,' so that I call him by his 'proper title'. But when I asked him what that means, Rozzgoat said that it gives him 'distinction,' or something. That it says that he's important. So I asked him if he had a title. Rozzgoat said no, but he said that he had a name. When I asked what a name was, he said that it was a title that everyone gets, a common but important title. His is Rozzgoat, Lord Grineed's is Grineed," he looked up at Frausky, "and yours is Frausky." He looked down sadly, his brown eyes bright. "But I don't have one…"
Frausky wanted to cry at the sight of the sad little face. "Don't worry, kiddo," he soothed, thinking quickly. "You don't have a name yet because... because everyone gets their title when they come of age," he finished slowly. "Yeah, that's it! You just haven't reached that time yet!"
"Really?" The boy looked up hopefully. "When will I reach that time?" Now he was grinning up at Frausky.
Frausky bent down so that their eyes were level. "Soon, ok? When you reach your sixth birthday, you get your name. It happens to everyone that way!" He grinned at the boy.
"Oh, all right!" The boy nodded his head excitedly as he grinned in return. The he paused for a second, his little face scrunching up. "Why didn't Rozzgoat tell me that? He said that I needed to ask you for my name…" He pouted.
Rozzgoat was so going to get it for this, Frausky silently swore. Instead, he ruffled the boy's dark brown hair affectionately and said, "That's because Rozzgoat doesn't remember anything about his coming of age ceremony. He, uh, forced himself to forget. He doesn't like remembering his because he doesn't like his name." Take that, Rozzgoat.
Comprehension dawned on the boy's face, and he nodded vigorously.
Frausky breathed an internal sigh of relief.
"So what is this about 'I failed my coming-of-age ceremony and didn't like my name'?" Rozzgoat asked the following evening in the hallway.
"That's what you get for making the boy question what his name was," Frausky replied flatly. "I had to come up with a reason for why he didn't have one, and that was the one I came up." He huffed. "If you don't like it, don't make him question things next time."
Rozzgoat chuckled lightly. "It's rare to see you in this form. Does not having picked out a name bother you this much, Frausky?"
Frausky sighed. "I guess it does," he replied reluctantly. "I don't normally name the little ones I find, but this time, perhaps because it's a human, I feel that I should. And although I should name him, a name has eluded me all this time." He looked away. "And now I have to have a name by his sixth birthday. What am I going to do?"
"You're going to determine a name for him by his sixth birthday," answered Rozzgoat, "or you will have to find a reason for why he 'failed his coming-of-age ceremony.'" Rozzgoat paused for a moment, and then he threw out as he walked away, "And see that you pick a name this time, Frausky. If you don't, I can assure you that Lord Grineed and I will personally remind you of the subject every chance we get until you finally choose something and name your charge."
Frausky groaned.
Frausky had one week left until the boy's appointed sixth birthday. He was almost tearing his hair out trying to decide on a name. What if the boy didn't like his name? What if Frausky chose a bad name? What if he learned afterward the name meant stupid like "frozen tattered cape without patches" or something—
"Frausky?"
The Vandel turned to address the speaker. "Yes, Lord Grineed?"
"I trust that you are thinking hard about a name for your charge?" Lord Grineed inquired with a small smile.
"Yes, my lord," Frausky sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just can't think of anything suitable for the kiddo."
Lord Grineed chuckled. "Well, you had best think of something soon," he said. "After all, his 'coming-of-age ceremony' is in a week, right?"
Frausky moaned quietly in the back of his throat.
"However," Lord Grineed continued, "I did not find you solely to poke lighthearted fun at your situation. I have already informed Rozzgoat, and now I have come to tell you that we have a new comrade now for our cause."
Frausky turned to face Grineed with interest. "Who is it, my lord?"
"His name is Ventura. He stumbled into the Black Horizon the other evening and couldn't find his way out again. He accepted my bracelet this afternoon," Lord Grineed said. "He is only a one-star Vandel, but I deduced that it was easier to add him to our group rather than kill him for trespassing. After all, I do not delight in brutish behavior, and he may yet prove useful to our cause. He is… reckless and rash enough that it may yet transform into focused power, if he strives hard enough for it. We shall see."
Frausky nodded. He wondered what sort of Vandel this Ventura was.
Ventura was arrogant and boastful. Those were the first things that Frausky noticed about him. Other than that, he appeared quite the coward, not that Frausky felt like telling him that to his face.
"I hear that you're Frausky, the infamous Flashy Scarlet Bullet," Ventura challenged.
Frausky nodded. "That is me. What of it?"
Ventura leaned in, leering. "Well, I also have heard rumors that you're raising a human brat. Why would the infamous assassin of Lord Grineed do something as soft as that? Is the kid special or something?"
"Well, he's definitely cute," Frausky replied with a smile. "Maybe not as cute now as when he was younger, though… Man, why do kids have to grow up so fast…"
"Does this human have a special place in your heart, or what? Does the Flashy Scarlet Bullet have a weakness for humans?" Ventura taunted.
Frausky's face hardened. "The boy is my charge, Ventura. I'm training him for Lord Grineed's service. Lord Grineed has already requested to use him when he grows up. It would be useful to have a human in our team, all right? You'll stay away from the child if you know what's good for you." He glared at Ventura.
Ventura merely leered back at Frausky, a smile of challenge on his face. Frausky never wanted to murder a Vandel so badly, but he held his gun. It wouldn't do to get on Lord Grineed's bad side for killing a fellow comrade (especially one that he recruited the previous day).
Frausky narrowed his eyes as Ventura turned around and walked away, a dark confidence in his step. Frausky had a deep-rooted suspicion that he would have to watch his kiddo's back.
The kiddo who still didn't have a name…
Unbeknownst to Frausky…
Next day around noon
"Hey, kid! You're Frausky's charge, right?"
The boy jumped slightly at the sudden voice. He turned around to face a spider-like Vandel. "Um, I guess so…" he said hesitantly. "Who are you?"
"My name's Ventura," the Vandel replied. "I'm the newest addition to Lord Grineed's underlings."
The boy brightened. "You serve Lord Grineed with Frausky, then?"
Ventura almost gagged at the way the boy glowed upon saying Frausky's name. He'd change that. "Yeah, starting yesterday," he answered, "but that's not the point." He sidled closer to the boy, ignoring the way he stepped back from the approaching Vandel. "The thing I wanted to ask you was—what are you doing here?"
The boy tilted his head to the side, confused. "What am I doing here?" he asked slowly. "Um, I live with Frausky. Frausky's taken care of me since I was a baby." He paused for a moment, and then added in a bright voice, "When I'm old enough, I'm going to get a name! And after I get a name at my 'coming-of-age ceremony,'" he said it slowly, because it was still a mouthful, "then Frausky promised to start training me! Lord Grineed has agreed to take me on when I'm old enough to serve!" He bounced on his feet excitedly.
Ventura smiled a dark smile. "Are you so sure about that?"
"Sure about what?" The boy's smile faded slightly as he returned the Ventura's question with confusion.
"How are you so sure that you're going to enter Grineed's service when you're old enough?" Ventura challenged with a leer. "You're nothing but a human. How do you know that Frausky's not waiting until you're old enough to kill you?"
"No, you're lying!" the boy cried, horrified. "That's not true! Frausky takes care of me, and when I turn six, he's going to give me my name—"
"Ah, but Vandels exist solely to kill humans, right?" Ventura reminded. "Surely, you've heard that before."
"Well, yes," the boy answered reluctantly. "But I'm entering Grineed's service. I'm special! He's not going to kill me!"
"Oh, maybe that's what he's told you. But I heard him talking last night with Rozzgoat," Ventura sang. "He's tired of your demands for a name. He said that it would be easier just to kill you. He's planning on killing you tonight—"
"Stop it!" the boy screamed. He shoved the Vandel away, and then he turned around and ran.
Ventura chuckled as the boy disappeared. Lying to kids was so easy and fun.
Resume...
That afternoon…
"Hey, Ventura?"
Ventura turned around just in time to see Frausky turn around the corner behind him.
"Have you seen the kiddo around?" the assassin asked. "It's time for his afternoon snack, but he wasn't in the room. I couldn't find him on the floor. Have you seen him?"
Ventura shrugged. "I have no interest in kids. I teased him earlier, but I don't know where he is now."
"Hm, well, I hope he shows up soon," Frausky muttered worriedly, turning around and walking away.
Unbeknownst to Frausky…
The boy hid under the foliage, ignoring some of the monsters on the tree trunks. They had been instructed by Lord Grineed to leave him alone, anyway.
"I shouldn't cry," he murmured to himself. "Big boys don't cry. Frausky wouldn't be proud of it—" The thought of Frausky reminded him of why he was hiding outside in the first place. The tears fell, and he gave in to sobbing. "Please, no, Frausky…" he murmured.
Branches crunched in the undergrowth. The boy jumped slightly, hurriedly wiping away his tears.
"Hey! There's a little boy in the undergrowth!" a voice shouted.
"Really? What's he doing here? How did he make it this far alive?"
Hands grabbed him and pulled him out as he struggled. They dusted him off and then let him go. He fell to the ground with a soft thump, and then rose hurriedly, staring at the strangers. His eyes widened. Who were they, and what were they doing here? Their clothing was unlike anything he had seen before. He knew that they were humans, and since he didn't know them, that meant that they were strangers. Frausky had said that he shouldn't talk to strangers—
Thinking of Frausky again and how Ventura had said that his Vandel was going to kill him, he started to cry again.
"Aw, there, there, little one. What's wrong?" the man in front of the boy asked. He kneeled down so that he was at eye level with the boy.
Should the boy answer him? The man was a stranger, and a human.
The man smiled kindly at him. The others were standing nearby, hands on swords, like they were preparing to fight. This one seemed nice, though. They didn't act like Frausky claimed that humans did; after all, they hadn't made a move to hurt or kill him. Should the boy answer him?
"Maybe he's just shy, Bluenote," another man said.
"Or too shocked from being here to be able to speak," another inputted.
The man—Bluenote, the boy reasoned—shook his head. "No, he's here. He's just nervous." He waited another beat, and then decided to try, "Let's start with your name. What's your name?"
The boy's eyes went wide, and then he looked down. "I don't have one," he mumbled.
"You don't have one?" the man asked, shocked. "How old are you, son? Surely, you must have a name."
The boy shook his head. "I don't have one, yet. I'm not old enough. But he said that I could have one when I'm old enough. I'm only five right now, but I'll be old enough when I turn six."
Bluenote looked at another man in confusion. The other man shrugged, so Bluenote turned back to the boy. "Who said that you weren't old enough for a name?"
"Frausky said."
"Frausky—?!" the man beside Bluenote exclaimed, but Bluenote silenced him with a sharp look.
Bluenote turned back to the boy. "Frausky said that you weren't old enough to have a name?" he asked slowly.
The boy nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Everyone always says I'm too young. Even Rozzgoat and Lord Grineed."
A shiver passed through the group upon the mention of the final name, and the men behind Bluenote exchanged nervous glances. The boy looked at them in confusion.
Bluenote took a deep breath, and then said, "Let's go back to the beginning. What are you doing out here, boy?"
The boy looked down, ashamed. "I was hiding."
"Why were you hiding? Were you hiding from Frausky?"
The boy blushed, seemingly fighting with himself over something. Then he looked up adamantly, his eyes bright. "But Frausky's always taken care of me. He's taken care of me since I was a baby! Even if I was never allowed off my floor, and I snuck out of the castle when I'm not allowed to leave the floor…" His voice went quiet, and then he mumbled, "I… no, I won't…" He started crying.
"You won't what?" the man patiently asked, his voice tightening.
"Ventura said that Frausky's going to kill me," the boy choked out. "He said that he was too tired of trying to pick out a name for me, and now he's just going to kill me instead. But it can't be true! Frausky promised that he would give me a name! That I'd get it at my 'coming-of-age ceremony,'" he still tripped on the words, "when I turned six. I—I can't believe Ventura!"
"And who is Ventura?" Bluenote asked.
"A lying beast who's going to get it for what he said to my charge," a dark voice declared menacingly from behind them.
The group of men exclaimed in horror. The boy's eyes went wide.
"Frausky!"
A few moment's previously…
After Frausky's search of the floor had proved fruitless for the second time in a row, he had presumed that the boy must have snuck outside the castle. Ventura's words about teasing the boy had stuck in his head, but while he would have liked to give the Vandel a bullet for messing with his charge, finding the boy proved more imperative to Frausky. As he walked around the third floor, he happened to glance out the window and see a group of soldiers at the edge of the trunk line. Thinking it would be a good way to release nervous energy, he went down to see how long this group lasted against him. After all, they were probably after his head. Regardless of how long it lasted, it would simply be fun to kill them.
His good mood lasted until he saw that they had his charge. He saw red for a moment, but then he calmed himself. Charging in blindly would give them a hostage. That wasn't the way to do it.
Frausky snuck around the back side of the castle. The soldiers were distracted by what the kiddo was saying, anyway. He hid behind a nearby tree trunk, just outside the group, listening. He heard the kiddo explain how he didn't have a name, and he cursed. If the soldiers hadn't known that the boy was his kiddo, now they knew. However, they didn't move immediately. The boy was still talking.
Then the boy explained how the Ventura had lied to the kid. Some 'teasing'. Frausky didn't know how he was going to convince the kid to go back with him, but the kid was his charge, and he was going to try.
First things first, though. This party of soldiers from Trowana needed to go.
Resume…
"It's Frausky!" one of them cried. "Run!"
"No!" a second one shouted. "Did you forget why we came?!"
The one closest to his kiddo stood and pushed the kid behind him protectively. "What are you doing here, Frausky?" he asked slowly.
Frausky pulled his arm gun out of the socket. "I should be asking you all the same thing." He aimed his gun at the nearest soldier.
"We came to get revenge for what you did to our village!" the second screamed at Frausky.
The second soldier's fervor emboldened a third to say, "We came to kill you, Frausky. Or did you think that, after destroying our village, we wouldn't try to destroy you?"
"What?" the boy exclaimed. Frausky's eyes went to the kiddo. "What do you mean you're here to kill Frausky. You can't—!"
The second soldier screamed, "Today you're getting yours, Frausky!" and aimed his gun.
Frausky was faster. Boom!
Blood flew through the air from the hole through the soldier's head. He fell lifeless to the dirty ground with a thump.
Frausky cocked his grin with a grin. His grin fell slightly at the sight of the boy's wide, terrified eyes peeking out from behind the leg of the leader of the group. He grimaced.
"You monster!" the fourth soldier shouted.
No time to think about the boy. Frausky aimed his gun a second faster as the second and fourth soldiers charged him. Two heartbeats later, they collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Only the leader remained. His face was tight, but he still stood protectively in front of his boy.
"That was it?" Frausky taunted, his eyes gleaming. "What happened to your proclamation that you were going to kill me?" He kicked the nearest dead body.
"Stop it, Frausky!" the boy cried out, running out from behind the soldier. Heedless of the (thankfully cut) thorns, he clung to Frausky's leg. "Please, Frausky, you're scaring me. Just stop it, please…" he begged.
Frausky's face softened. "I can't do that, kid. They found this place, and they came to kill us. Would you prefer to die in place of them?"
The boy's eyes widened in horror. He let go of Frausky and stumbled away, terror written on every inch of his small body. He finally tripped and fell back, landing hardly on his rear, beside the soldier who had first attempted to shoot Frausky.
Frausky cursed as the reaction registered. That was the worst possible thing to tell the kid, after what he had just heard from Ventura. He was such an idiot.
"So you are planning on killing this child?" the leader spoke up bravely. His hand tightened around the sword hilt in his hand.
"No," Frausky bit back firmly. "That was a lie Ventura told him. Do you think that I'd take care of him for this long just to kill him when he turned six?"
"Ventura was… lying?" the boy murmured.
Frausky nodded with a small smile. "Yes, he was lying, kiddo. I'm sorry that I didn't warn you about him earlier."
The boy returned a small, relieved smile. He rose slowly from where he was on the ground.
"I'm afraid that I can't allow the boy to return to you, Frausky," the leader spoke up quietly, causing the boy to pause in his movement. "He doesn't belong here. I know that he has to be from a village you destroyed. His place is with fellow humans."
"And how would you know that?" Frausky challenged. "Maybe I found him in an abandoned city that a different Vandel destroyed." He cocked his gun as the leader raised his sword. "Regardless, do you really think that you'll be able to hit me before I shoot you?"
The leader's face tightened. "I don't know. For the sake of the boy, though, I will try."
This was interesting. Perhaps Frausky wouldn't allow this one to fall as quickly as his companions had. "Well, then," he grinned, "let's see how long you last against me."
Half a minute later, however, Frausky was losing interest. The soldier had remained standing after a shot to the arm, but he fell to the ground with a scream after a shot to the leg. "You can't tell me that that's all the fight you have?" he asked disappointedly. Then he grinned. "Oh well. I guess the game's over, huh?" He raised the gun again, aiming this time for a vital point.
"No, Frausky!" The boy was standing protectively in front of the soldier, the dead soldier's gun in his hand. It was pointed at the ground, though. "You can't! Please!"
Frausky frowned. Not only was the kid interfering, he was covered in blood. He'd have to give him a thorough bath later. "C'mon, kiddo, get out of the way. I need to finish this."
The kiddo was sobbing. It tugged at Frausky's heartstrings. "Please, Frausky," he begged.
"No, kiddo. Not even for you," Frausky added firmly as he stepped forward to push the kid aside. In his continuous misjudgment, he raised the gun, and the kiddo thought that he was being aimed at.
The kid raised the gun, a terrified look in his eyes. "You'd shoot me, too? So Ventura was telling the truth!" His eyes darkened through his tears.
Hey, wait a minute. Frausky hastily lowered the gun. Why did one of his forearms have to be his gun? "No, kiddo—"
"What—what if I shoot you first?" He shakily raised the gun.
The soldier behind the child rose unsteadily to his feet.
Frausky's eyes widened as the soldier stepped forward. He was looking was Frausky, but he was standing too close to the kid. "Why didn't you stay down? What are you doing?" Frausky raised his gun as the soldier raised his sword again.
The boy didn't notice. Believing Frausky to be speaking to him, his hysteria continued, "If you're just going to kill me—"
Frausky sidestepped the kid's bullet as he fired at the soldier. But he sidestepped a second too early.
The boy crumpled with a thud on the ground, the gun falling with a thump beside him. By happenstance, the bullet passed through the child and hit the soldier, shooting them both with one shot.
"Oh, no, kiddo!" Frausky yelled. He rushed over to the boy's side. Frausky's heart skipped a beat. He had been shot through the neck. The kiddo only had a few seconds to live. Frausky felt tears at the corners of his eyes. "No, kiddo…" he whispered. "I'm so sorry…"
The kid's eyes were dark as he glared up at him from the puddle of blood on the ground—the boy's blood. "V-Ventura was… right, t-then…" he choked out, blood dripping down his chin. He coughed a final time, and then collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"Kiddo!" Frausky wailed, his sobs echoing around the forest.
Frausky chuckled mirthlessly. He barely remembered the time immediately afterward. He cried for almost an entire month. Ventura was lucky that he didn't show his spidery face around him after that. In fact, Ventura had continued to avoid Frausky until the present day, perhaps in fear that the assassin would gain retribution for losing his human charge. But as much as Frausky wanted to kill Ventura for the loss of his kiddo, he couldn't. Lord Grineed would probably kill him for killing Ventura, and he greatly desired life.
Stretching his arms above his head, Frausky decided that dwelling on the past was not doing any favors for his mood. It only gave him bad memories of the reason why he made an 'Out-of-Bounds' rule. After all, after that height, kids were capable of attempting murder. At that age, they ceased being cute.
Frausky shook his head to clear the cloud of thoughts. No, he said that he would stop thinking about it. He turned to face the chick. "How are you doing?" he cooed. "Are you holding up all right in your new home?"
"Cheep!"
The Vandel grinned at the fluff ball. Then he paused for a second, realizing what spurred the memories—the chick had large brown eyes. Just like his kiddo had.
Frausky smiled softly to himself. Had his kiddo returned to him? After all, the chick flew to him right in the middle of the fight. Then he shook his head. He had no way of answering that question, so perhaps it was better not to dwell on it.
He turned his gaze out the window. Despite the lack of sunlight, something shone out against the side of the castle. A tombstone.
That's right. Frausky had buried the kid that evening beside the castle wall and left the remaining bodies for the monsters. He had questioned why he was burying the kid at the time, but then he acknowledged that the kid had been nice while he had him. If it hadn't have been for Ventura's "teasing," the kid would have made a nice addition as Lord Grineed's underling. (They added Kissu to the group a couple of years later, and he was a really smart human kid. Still, no one compared to his kiddo.)
Regardless of how the story of his kiddo ended, there was one happy thing that came out of it—Frausky had finally settled on a name for the tyke.
Proudly adorning the headstone, the inscription read, "Here lies Nino."
Author's Note: Wow. This was originally planned to be a short one-shot on why Frausky has an Out-of-Bounds rule; I never intended something this long. His rule fascinated me, and I wondered why he had a specific height associated with that. In this story, at least, the height is the boy's height (now named Nino!) at his time of death.
And for those of you who were (probably not) wondering… I spelled it Nino given the world's name spellings, but I was thinking of "niño," the Spanish word for "boy." Yeah, I was unoriginal. However, given how much Frausky called him kid/boy/etc., a simple name like that seemed to fit him.
Did anyone else feel like Frausky saw Nino in the same way a person might view a pet…? O.o Yeah, that's what I thought, too.
Since I was writing this from Frausky's point of view, I was hesitant to move outside of it. However, I felt that the story would be easier to understand if I added those extra scene's from Nino's point of view. What do you think? Did the extra scenes help or hurt?
This feels a little like a short novel, haha. I hope that you enjoyed this ride into Frausky's subconscious as much as it was interesting for me to write it. Please R&R and share your thoughts!