Authors note: Hi all, I hope you enjoy this reading. I haven't decided whether or not to continue this fic, let me know if you think I should! Have a good day, and take care.
It was a calm normal winter day in Sector V. Snow had begun falling just the other day, and it was on and off, but today specifically, it appeared the flakes falling from the sky were going to be relentless. Today the snow was piling up and leaving a white blanket on everything. In one big tree house, there was nothing but a peaceful calm enveloping it. This was the base for Sector V of the Kids Next Door, one of many facilities across the world, that were home to the squad of five assigned to it. In one of the big rooms, there was a boxing ring in the centre. The shelves had various pictures and possessions lining them. A few variously damaged punching bags were dangling off the nearby wall that clearly had been patched up a few times.
At one of the corners of the boxing ring, a young boy lay under his blankets and a pillow. He had short blonde hair and was wearing orange hooded coat. He was Wallabee Beetles, Sector V's combat expert, a young Australian that had a short temper. He was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the door of his room opening.
"Numbuh 4!" a soft voice chimed. Standing in the doorway was a girl in a thick oversized green sweater. She had long black hair that went down her entire back. She was Kuki Sanban, the medical specialist and youngest of Sector V. She was a happy-go-lucky type girl that could brighten anyone's mood. Her voice didn't gain any response. She could hear him snoring in fact, though she came prepared for her hard sleeping friend. She was carrying a small ball of snow in her hand. She pulled back before throwing it. The snowball directly landed on the side of his face.
"Wha...?" a groggy Numbuh 4 groaned, feeling the cold sensation. He brushed it off before he realized it, his teammate had climbed on top of him. He looked at her confusedly.
"Oh… mornin', Numbuh 3," Wally greeted. This was one of the odder wake ups he had gotten in quite some time. The two were very close with one another ever since they both had joined the Kids Next Door. They had become the closest of friends and had been through a lot with each other, with the help of their other friends. They had always come out alright in the end.
"Good morning, Numbuh 4! C'mon and get up," Kuki said, despite the fact that she was on top of him and had him pinned there. He couldn't get up if he tried, but right now he didn't want to wake up anyway.
"I was up late… just lemme sleep" Wally yawned. He had been up late disrupting his own sleep schedule. Nothing unusual thus far. She looked annoyed at his response, aware that he had only stayed awake late into the night was because he wanted to beat up and practice on his training dummies.
"But you promised you'd play outside with me today," Kuki reminded him, putting on her best upset face that always tugged at his heart strings. The young boy had promised yesterday to play with her in the snow the next day.
"No, that's not gonna work on me this time," Wally closed his eyes. The raven haired girl got a more determined look, though she was prepared, getting out of the boxing ring and leaving his room for barely a minute, before he heard the sound of her footsteps against the wooden floor.
"Waaaaallly!" Kuki sung. He reluctantly opened one eye, only to see her standing over him with a bucket in her hand. She immediately tipped it over, watching the contents fall out. It was full of snow that she had quickly gotten from one of the outer areas of the tree fort. The snow buried the young boy's head and upper body, muffling his startled screams. She dropped the bucket and immediately jumped out of the boxing ring.
"Kuki! I'm gonna-!" Wally rose from the snow. He was looking angered, playful or not. He was wide awake now, doing his best to shake off the sudden chill.
"Catch me if you can!" she taunted with her tongue out before running out of his room. He immediately slid under the ropes of the boxing ring. He was determined to catch her now.
"Get back here!" Numbuh 4 called out, hearing his dear friend's laughter and giggling. She was finding this fun, running through various rooms of the tree fort. The blonde boy was amazed by how much energy she had while he was drained already. Before he even realized it, they were nearing the exit of the tree house.
"Come on slowpoke- eek!" Numbuh 3 got tackled by the short boy, both of them fumbling into the snow. Wally was trying to catch his breath tiredly while being on top of her. The black haired girl had made an imprint in the snow from the landing.
"Got you," he smirked. He seemed to have calmed down somewhere during that long run. Seeing her so happy melted the anger that had irritated him.
"Aww!" Kuki hugged him close. There were a lot of kids out enjoying the snowfall. Wally enjoyed her embrace, both of them gaining light blushes across their cheeks. He got off her and offered his hand. She happily took it as he helped her up. He took a quick look around, and though he recognized a lot of the neighborhood kids of various ages, he noticed three people specifically missing.
"Where're the others? I figured they would'a been out here already," Numbuh 4 asked, trying to change the topic now that they had regained their energy from the long run around. She gave him a confused look.
"We talked about this last night. Numbuh 1, 2 and 5 had to go for a special assignment," Kuki reminded him. He nodded, starting to recall it better. Their leader had insisted that they stay behind from this mission, since Numbuh 3 hadn't been feeling too well and Numbuh 1 didn't want to risk bringing a sick operative out. Plus Numbuh 4 was not the best on stealth missions as he tended to lose control. He was thankful that she got to feeling better after a good night's rest. Wally got hit in the side of the head by another random snowball, looking annoyed.
"Snowball fight!" the girl in green quickly scooped up another handful of the snow, hitting her teammate in the back with it. By the time he turned around, she already had put some distance between them.
"You won't get any more lucky hits in!" Numbuh 4 chuckled as he threw a snowball back. She got hit in the shoulder. She took cover behind a mailbox before throwing another snowball back, hitting him in the leg. The two were just laughing and enjoying their time, though before they knew it, anyone around was beginning to get involved in the snowball fight. It certainly livened up for them. The fun minutes turned into hours fast as they spent time out in the snow, doing everything they could think of.
"Okay, Kuki… I can't feel my fingers," Numbuh 4 panted. He was drained from all that playing, looking over the last four snowmen they had made. They just kept remaking them for the sake for knocking them back over, though he was starting to feel the chilly air affecting him.
"Aw… well I guess we've been playing long enough. Thanks again for spending the time with me," Numbuh 3 nodded, agreeing that they probably should go back inside to warm up. She had enjoyed the time together with him. It was nice to sometimes just relax and not go on a mission. Wally turned around, about to walk off, though his friend stopped him.
"Wait a second," she said, looking to the opposite direction. He wondered what she was focused on. She was looking at a little girl that didn't look more than six years old, but seemed quite upset, sitting on the ground.
"Ah, jeez… Kuki, I'm sure she's fine," Wally argued. His friend often wanted to help out everyone she could. He was freezing out here however and didn't want to waste time, on what probably was nothing more than a little girl upset about falling during that chaotic snowball fight. His words didn't matter, seeing the raven haired girl approach the younger child. He sighed, deciding to follow.
"Hi there," Numbuh 3 greeted the young girl. She had messy blonde hair that was about to her shoulders in length and was wearing a white coat, though how upset she was could be seen as she had tears in her eyes which she tried to rub out.
"Oh, h-hi," the little girl greeted. Wally was staying quiet, not really having much care for them at the moment.
"Why are you so sad?" Kuki attempted to inquire. She seemed surprised that they were even taking time to talk to her, let alone listen to her woes.
"I-I'm Jinxie. I can't find my brother. He's been missing for a week… I re-really need him right now," Jinxie introduced herself, explaining that she had been looking for her older brother. She actually had spent the last two days looking through the neighborhood. No one could help. No one had any means to help, or give clues or advice.
"Really? Do you remember where he was going the last time you saw him?" Kuki asked. Wally mentally hoped she wasn't going to do what he suspected she was going to do. Jinxie had calmed down. Some talking relieved her uneasiness.
"H-he was going to meet wi-with one of his clients, but he never came back… I lo-looked there first, but they said they didn't know where he went," she explained. Numbuh 4 had to quirk an eyebrow at the comment of clients. What exactly did her sibling do, he questioned himself. Though he assumed he was a member of the Kids Next Door like he and Kuki were.
"We'll help you find him!" Numbuh 3 happily stated.
"What?!" Numbuh 4 squawked. He didn't mind her opting in to help, but he didn't want to get dragged along on a time waster of a goose chase.
"Really?! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jinxie hugged them both. Kuki seemed very happy with the hug, glad to help. After the surprise hug ended, the girl pulled out a pen from her pocket, writing an address down on the palm of Wally's hand.
"…I can't read this," Numbuh 4 said. The writing made no sense to him. He did have a problem with his education occasionally, but he got by. His teammate giggled.
"It's upside down, silly," Numbuh 3 corrected him, looking the address over it, reading "839 Pine Brook Apartments." Underneath it also was "B2", Numbuh 3 assuming it was the door number to the correct apartment door.
"You just relax. We'll come back when we find something," Kuki reassured. Her determination was admirable. Jinxie nodded, agreeing. Wally shook his head. It seemed no matter what he said, he was going to get involved in a random situation. The address was only about three miles away from here, which was not that long of a walk.
"Why'd you agree to that, Kuki?" Numbuh 4 questioned. He didn't care to argue right now about going along or not. It was either be bored and alone in the tree house or spend more time with her. All in all, he preferred the latter option. The two continued their walk, each step leaving a footprint in the snow.
"It'd be wrong if we ignored another operative's issue," she claimed. He understood that part, but there was clearly more than she was letting on.
"…Jinxie was wearing a wig, too," Kuki added. That confused him since she was the medical specialist. She could notice symptoms a lot easier to medical conditions.
"What's that mean?" Numbuh 4 wanted her to continue, hoping she could get to her point about what her intention to helping was.
"I think she's been treated for cancer. Wally, she needs support," Kuki explained. Wally thought of it for a second, rolling his eyes. If he didn't agree, she'd give him that upset look that would make him submit. If she was right about the child having cancer, then they needed to find her brother for her. For a lot more than just the morale support.
"Fine. Let's go check out this apartment," Numbuh 4 agreed. Numbuh 3 looked all too happy as they continued their trip through the snow to try and find the missing boy. The two teammates could only hope they actually turned up something. Otherwise they were making the poor girl give blind faith in them.