CHAPTER TWO: Just for kicks

The children had gone wild in the hour that Allegra was gone; even Annelie couldn't contain the chaos that brewed in her absence. The living room was in the verge of destruction, the makeshift kitchen was completely gone, and there were charcoal everywhere- which most of it ended up on the children's faces.

Allegra felt a little embarrassed at the sight of her home, but it was to be expected since she was gone longer than the children were used to. She took a quick glance at the three boys she came with, Chikusa looked unaffected, Ken just looked like he wanted to join in the chaos-Allegra thought that his expression was cute- and Mukuro looked a little amused as he wore a grin when they walked past the children.

"Big Sis! I'm sorry! Annelie tried her best!" Annelie rushed to her crying. Allegra patted Annelie's head to assure her things are fine and that she's not angry-though getting angry at them will make things worse.

"Don't worry about it Annelie, why don't you take this three in the other room so I can clean up a little, okay?" Annelie nodded her head then let out a sob. She looked at the three with Allegra and was feeling a bit scared, she hesitated at first, but Allegra's warm touch reassured her.

She smile at them and pointed at the entrance to the next room.

"This way please!" she looked at Mukuro. "Why do you have two different colored eyes? Your red eye is really pretty! How did you get it to get that color? Did you poke it with a stick and made it look like the color of blood?" Annelie continues to bombard Mukuro with questions even as they left the living room.

Allegra watched them leave and sighed as soon as they were gone. She looked at the children before her, they were slowly getting exhausted from their rampage; she wouldn't have to wait long until the children gets tired of playing.

She whistled loudly to get their attention, and soon as it reached their ears, they stopped and knew right away that they're in big trouble. As soon as they realized it, Allegra didn't get the chance to say anything at all when they started to cry. They knew that if they were to cry, Allegra can't cold them for what they did.

"Hey! Stop crying!" she cried out, but her voice was completely drowned by the wails of the young children. She stopped to think, but it was too loud for her to think straight, and the more she tries hard, the more she gets irritated.

"Oh mama, I can't do this anymore…" Allegra clenched her fists to avoid the urge to cry. She hasn't cried since her parents died, she's not about to cry again.

"I am strong…" she muttered.

When she was about to let out shout, Mukuro walked into the living room. The children stopped and stared at the boy. They didn't notice him when they came home but for some reason, he managed to silence them just by walking in that room.

"Is there something we can help with?" Mukuro asked. Allegra shrugged then she looked at the mess before her. She'll need all the help she could get; after all, she's just a kid and a kid like her age can only do so much before they break down.

It didn't take long when the children finally calmed down, the living room somewhat clean and the kitchen was back to its former glory; rotten board on top of two crates and a stone stove.

It took a while before the food was cooked but the spaghetti that Allegra made didn't came out the way she wanted it, or how she had seen it in the picture recipe book that her mother left her.

The noodles became too soggy to recognize, the tomato sauce overcooked until it turned almost brown… and the mushroom disintegrated into almost nothing. Allegra sighed at the sight of the monstrosity she had created; no one on the table was saying anything or even touching the food.

Not even the ravenous Ken-which didn't really boost Allegra's confidence.

"Well…let's eat." Allegra attempted to break the silence. She was hesitant at first, but if no one was going to try it first, she will. She took a fork-full and shakily shoved it into her mouth.

The taste immediately spreads in her mouth, her face turned almost green. She couldn't quite describe, it was sour as the tomato sauce she mixed but for some odd reason, it has a bitter taste to it, sweet but too salty. The taste was just too mixed to be explained. The children watched her as she chewed her food, slowly but painfully.

"EW!" Annelie squeaked, followed by the rest of the children. Ken just stared at his plate in plain disgust but it seems like he was still thinking about eating it. He was after all still hungry.

"Ken, you're not really thinking about eating that, are you?" Chikusa asked.

"Shut up! I didn't ask for your opinion, STUPID-Chikusa!" he retorted. Then he angrily devoured the food in front of him, ate nonstop like there was no tomorrow.

"Don't choke…"Chikusa added; this pisses Ken off and shoved the almost empty plate on Chikusa's face.

"There take that!" he laughed; food was flying out of his mouth, showering Chikusa with saliva covered chunks.

Chikusa didn't retaliate, he knew better but it seems like it ticked Ken more when he was ignored. But Ken saw what caught Chikusa's attention; he was staring at Mukuro who was silently eating his share of food.

"I don't get you…why are you eating that?" Allegra asked right after she pushed her plate away from her. The children were already creating havoc around the table.

"Would you rather I threw the food you cook, away; because if you do, then I'd be happy to." He said with a smile, Ken snickered as he wiped the sauce on his face.

Allegra was caught off guard. Mukuro was nice to her earlier, but what changed? Allegra was starting to feel the hostility coming from him. She took a deep breath.

"Eh? You don't have to be mean about it…just tell me if you don't like it than calling my food garbage." Allegra stood up and grabbed the plates from the table. The little children saw her crowded around her.

"Big sis! We're hungry! We're hungry! Make something else than that piece of garbage." The little children laughed around her. She sighed and took a glance at Mukuro who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Look what you did!" Allegra groaned.

She left the room and went to the kitchen to see if she could make something else. She really thought that she was ready to make the spaghetti. Though in fact, it took her almost three weeks just to learn the simple recipe for stew.

As she was about to chop up potatoes, she noticed that the next room was quiet. Did the children calmed down? She wondered, and decided to check on them.

Allegra was surprised at what she saw, all the little kids were sitting in front of Mukuro, silently watching him as he smiles at them, and when he noticed Allegra, he smiled at her. The hair on the back of her neck stood on its ends. She felt cold air pass through her.

She was feeling scared. Maybe bringing him home was a very bad idea. She has no clue who they were, yet she took them home anyway. They were like little lost puppies and she wanted to keep them; that was what she truly felt when she saw them.

"Is there something wrong?" Chikusa suddenly appeared in front of her, Allegra jumped a good distance away from where she was standing.

"Y-You scared me!" she cried out. "Don't sneak up on people like that." she said with tears in the corner of her eyes. Chikusa walked by her and to the kitchen carrying some of the plates that were left. Just right behind him was Ken, who was snickering to himself then switched his attention to Allegra.

"Scaredy-cat!" he guffawed. Allegra didn't appreciate the tease, but it took her mind away from the feeling she got from Mukuro.

"I am not! I was just caught off guard…" she retorted, as she followed them into the kitchen.

"Scaredy-cat…" Ken teased again.

Allegra just ignored him the second time; Ken stuck his tongue out to her and she did the same as to retaliate.

"Hey…" she approached Chikusa who was piling dirty plates. "…what is up with your friend? Mukuro."

"Mukuro is Mukuro…there's nothing else you need to know about him." Chikusa answered without looking away from the plates. Allegra sighed, the children were still quiet in the living room, but there was still a nagging feeling inside dying to be heard. She shook it off; if Mukuro has friends then it must mean that he was not bad of a person.

"Okay…if you say so." Allegra continues to chop potatoes, she noticed Ken chowing down on some carrots but she just lets him considering he ate the horrible food she made; the least she could do was just let him.

The stew was finally made, and they had a quiet dinner; it was surprising since the children never sat down quietly during dinner time; especially when dinner is stew. The noise that was heard was occasional burps and the spoons.

Allegra only thought that it was a good thing, and maybe it was because they have new arrival; though she doesn't really know.

It was midnight when the children fell asleep; Allegra was exhausted so she decided to climb up the roof where she could have a little time for herself before she retires to dreamland. The night sky was filled with stars; it was one of the nights when the sky was clear enough, that she could clearly see the dusty Milky Way.

And with the occasional whisper of the wind, she heard faint noises coming from behind her. Like the roof shingles were being disturbed. She looked behind her to see that Mukuro was walking towards her. She took a deep breath, she hasn't felt comfortable around him since dinner and she still feels the same.

"Ah, Mukuro…is there something that you need?" she asked calmly.

"No…I just want to feel the night air."

He approached her and sat a couple inches away from her.

"Pretty isn't it?" Allegra started, the words just came out her lips. Mukuro didn't reply; he merely stared at the sky calmly.

"Is there something you wish for, Allegra?" he suddenly asked after being quiet for a while. The question caught her off guard. She never really thought of what she wanted before, it was always what the other kids wanted.

"I don't know…I guess I want a better life for myself and the others. A family…with a mama and a papa. And not just me, they need someone who can take care of them better than what I can do." Allegra replied earnestly to Mukuro; he smiled but still not satisfied with her answer.

"Is that so? I think you need to think more about what you want…the answer you gave me is something you want for them and not for yourself."

"Eh? You're making it too complicated Mukuro…I don't understand what exactly you want to hear. What they want and I what they want is the same." She smiled back.

Mukuro was silent, the breeze whistled against their ears as it also rustles the surrounding trees. The question still bothered Allegra, what is it that she wants?

Something for herself?

But she can only think what she wanted for the children. She wants a family for them and for her; isn't that enough? Mukuro didn't think so, but why? All this questions ran amok in her mind and with no answer they were left suspended with Mukuro's voice guiding it.

Allegra looked beside her but Mukuro was gone, without a word or sigh, he was gone.

"What I want…huh?"

A/N: I called the chapter Just for Kicks because I really had no idea where this chapter was going. So I just titled it that.