DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CODENAME: KIDS NEXT DOOR


A/N: Okay, sorry for the delay with this one. Since the last chapter, I've learned how to draw on my computer. And I've been having a lotta fun with it. Naturally, I'm not much good at it, but I don't care. It's fun. lol Anyway, I made an attempt to draw Trent. Check the top of my profile for the link. As for the rest, I post my stuff over at the KND Fan Forum, the link to which is also at the top of my profile. I know I have a DeviantArt account (for some reason), maybe I should figure out the login...

Right. The story.


CHAPTER 7: ...IS ACTUALLY TODAY


Two days had passed since Numbuh 362 ordered Sector V to take some mandatory leisure time at their treehouse. The operatives spent the last couple of days with their feet up the only way they knew how: by sleeping in till lunch and eating copious of sweets. Trent, on the other hand, had spent most of the time in his room.

Speaking of his room, it was now furnished to his liking: the floor was now covered by navy blue carpet, matching his hoodie; a huge screen was mounted on the wall opposite the window wall; a large green sofa facing said screen; bookshelves lined the wall on either side of the door, though they were mostly empty. He had moved his dressers to the same wall as his bed.

As he was only using one of the dressers for his clothes, he had converted the other into a small armory. Each drawer contained various objects to be used as spare parts. Next to it, a table and chair made up his workbench. Numbuh 2 had offered to share his own workbench, but Trent declined; he preferred to work in his own environment. Plus, you can never know when you might need a gun. That was the same reason he slept with a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. under his pillow. It wasn't paranoia, it was preparedness.

Trent wiped his forehead with his sleeve as he admired his work. A job well done, if I do say so myself. I think I'll go celebrate with a soda.


Over the past few days, Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 4 had spent most of their waking moments playing video games in the TV room. Every time Trent raided the kitchen, there they were. Either the others were avoiding them, or Trent simply hadn't seen them. In fact, he hadn't seen any of the others at all. That happens when you shut yourself in your room all day.

Trent's eyes shot between the boys and the kitchen. He could easily grab some food and slip back to his room unnoticed-that had worked for him so far. They did sound like they were having fun, though. Judging from the shouts, Numbuh 2 was winning whatever they were playing. Maybe he could watch for a while. That could be fun.

He strode up to the couch. Next to him, Numbuh 2 bore a determined smile. Numbuh 4, on the other hand, looked positively irate, standing up on the middle cushion as he mashed away on his controller.

"Numbuh 81," Hoagie greeted without breaking his concentration on the TV. "Haven't seen you since we got back. Been working on something in your room?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"That's cool. Ha! No way you'll take me down with just rockets!"

"So... Watcha guys playin'?"

"Modern Warfield: Opposing Force. Wanna jump in after this round?"

"I, uh, I don't wanna intrude on you guys."

"Wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it, Trent. Is it cool if I call you Trent, by the way?"

"Oh, uh, sure! That's totally cool! Well, I'm gonna grab a soda. You want anything, Numbuh 4?"

"Call me 'Wally,' mate. And yeah, I'll take a soda!"

"A-alright. Wally. What about you, Numbuh 2?"

"Hoagie. Save yourself a trip and just grab a pack of 'em."

"Alright, cool. Be right back."

"AW, C'MON! HOW DID THAT NOT DESTROY YOU?! THAT WAS A LOAD OF-"

As he crossed the threshold into the kitchen, a smile spread across Trent's face.

They invited me to play video games! Me! Maybe this will be my chance to make some new friends! That'd be really cool. The only person who's really talked to me since I got here is Kuki. Speaking of, I wonder what she's up to right now...

He stepped back into the room at the right moment to see Wally fall back onto his cushion. Trent heard him grumble something under his breath.

"Aw, c'mon, Wally. You woulda had me if my airstrike hadn't hit when it did. You didn't lose by that much!"

"I know! And you can bet that won't happen again!" He dismounted the couch. "I'll plug up your controller, mate."

Trent claimed the remaining cushion as Wally returned to his. Trent handed Wally a soda, then tossed one to Hoagie over the blonde's head. He grabbed one for himself last. They each popped their cans open, raised them up in a silent toast, and took a large gulp.

"Ahhh... Right!" A sinister grin sprawled Wally's face. "You two ready to get your butts handed to yah?"

Hoagie snickered. "Oh, I'm ready. But it's not my butt that's gonna get kicked around!"

Both boys glanced over at Trent. He glanced back. Then he mimicked their grins. "What? My butt is untouchable." And with the, the match began.

"So. Trent."

Trent didn't look away from the screen. He had to concentrate. "Yeah, Nu-uh, Hoagie?"

There was a pause every time a new person spoke. The game took priority; their conversation was secondary. "Numbuh 5 told me a little bit about you; what you did before the KND."

"Uh-huuuh?"

"I gotta be honest, you don't really strike me as much of a fighter."

"None taken."

"I... What?"

"What? What'd you say?"

"I said, I gotta be honest-"

"Oh. Sorry."

"So, you started your own organization?"

"It's... more of a club, really. I don't like telling others what to do."

"Do they ever follow your orders?"

"I never have much to say."

"But do they listen to you?"

"I... I guess they do. Or did."

"Is bullying really that big of a problem where you're from? I mean, if there's a faction of kids that exists just to stand up to bullies..."

"That's just how it started. Anyway, it's gotten better. I think."

"Isn't there a sector near there?"

"Eh, it's kinda close. Kinda far. But they're always out of the area on missions, or fighting adults. At any rate, none of its members attend school near mine."

"Oh. So... you guys didn't get much help from the Kids Next Door, then?"

"No. But we knew you guys had bigger battles to fight."

"That's not the point. The Kids Next Door isn't here to help the kids we decide are in enough trouble; it's here to help all kids in any trouble. Unfortunately, some people forget that."

"Maybe some people just aren't suited for the job."

"Ha! Maybe not! That's why you're here now, isn't it?"

"Oi! Enough yappin'! All this talkin' is throwin' me off!"

"Actually, I'm the one throwin' you off. The roof, that is."

Hoagie snorted. "Atta boy, Trent!"


Soda cans, candy wrappers, and empty chip bags covered the vicinity of the couch. By this point, all of the boys' faces were sore from laughing. Wally was particularly pink from his venting. They had no idea how long they had been playing for, nor did they care.

"Dude!" Trent cried, wiping a tear from his eye, "Hoagie! What was that? You came outta nowhere! That was awesome!"

"Oh, you noticed, did you? Dear boy, it shouldn't surprise you what I can do. After all, I am the best."

"Really now?" Trent took a swig of his soda. Mocking Hoagie's suave tone, he added, "So you getting your butt kicked all those other games was just for show?"

"It gets lonely at the top. I like to give the less-fortunate a chance to know what it feels like being awesome."

"How gracious of you." The two boys cackled.

"Come on, Wally! You take forever to set up this game!"

"Hey! It takes a minute to get everything just right! I'll have it ready before you can count to Q!"

"Only you can count to Q, Wally."

Trent downed the last of his soda, smirking as his companions bickered. He crushed the empty can in his grip and tossed it at the small pile accumulating underneath the TV. How much of that pile was his doing? It was at least... uh... well, he couldn't be sure. Though he was positive most of the empty chip bags were from him. An odd sense of pride in the sheer amount of junk food he'd consumed welled up inside him. Or maybe that was indigestion.

A yawn took Trent by surprise. He glanced around for a wall clock. When he found one, his eyes widened. "Well, uh, I think I'm done for the night."

"What? Now I gotta set this up for just two players! Argh!"

Hoagie chuckled. "Alright. Thanks for gaming with us! It was a blast!"

"Thank you for letting me join in. See yah tomorrow, guys."


There was a lot of empty hallway between the TV room and Trent's. The sounds of jets and explosions and Australian-accented bellowing were now quite distant. By the time he passed Numbuh 5's room, his own footsteps had become the loudest noise. It was relaxing, in a way. He could feel his eyelids were beginning to droop.

The large "81" painted across the door marked his destination. He stopped to admire it. For some reason, it brought a smile to his lips. His smile gave way to a yawn, and he entered his room.

Since he hadn't expected to spend the entire afternoon playing video games, he had left his lights on. This proved convenient, as the daylight he left behind was nowhere to be found. Stumbling through the dark was never fun, even if there wasn't much in the room for him to trip on. He liked it that way, though. It felt homely to him. The carpet, the book shelves, the person out on the balcony, the sofa. The TV was pretty fancy, but-

Wait.

Trent stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet. There was a person outside on his balcony. Why was there a person on his balcony? They were leaning on the railing, facing away from him. All he could see was long black hair, black leggings, green socks-

"Oh..."

He looked around. No one else was around. What should he do? Should he walk up and make casual conversation? Pretend her being there wasn't strange at all? Maybe he should get defensive about being in his room without permission. Nah, that wouldn't lead anywhere good. What if he just went to bed without acknowledging her at all? Would she still be there in the morning? What, was she some kind of weirdo?!

He took a deep breath, and took steps forward. He would do what he always did when he was unsure about a situation: he'd wing it.

The glass door slid open without so much as a squeak. His guest didn't even notice.

"It's, uh... it's pretty nice out here tonight, isn't it?"

Kuki spun around. She stared at him wide-eyed, pressing against the railing and grasping it with both hands. "Heh, sorry. I knocked. You didn't answer. I poked my head in. Saw the balcony. Just wanted to see how the view is from here..." She broke eye contact, opting to stare at the deck.

"Well? How is it?"

Her gaze returned to his. She saw his smile, and her own slowly spread across her lips. "I think it's great. Come and look."

Trent strode up next to her. The realization that he hadn't actually checked out the view from the balcony yet hit him as he gazed out into the night. Below him, rows of empty roads dotted by streetlights spanned the landscape, reaching for the horizon. The sky was black, except for a patch of grey where the moon was doing its best to break through the clouds.

"I watched the sunset from here. It was really pretty."

"I'll take your word for it. Wait, sunset? How long have you been out here?"

Kuki looked away. "Um... I don't know. Hey, what's that?" She stepped over to the corner of the balcony. She was blocking his view, but Trent knew she was referring to a large flower pot. "Are you growing something?"

"I guess we'll find out. I've never grown anything before."

"What is it?"

"It's a... a... uh..."

"You don't know?"

"No, I do! I just can't pronounce it. Really long. Starts with a 'C'-"

"A chrysanthemum!"

"Yeah. That. Chrith... Chrath..."

"Chrysanthemum."

"Chrithan... Criminal...

" Chrysanthemum."

"Corinthian."

"Okay, repeat after me: Chris."

"Chris."

"An."

"An."

"The."

"The."

"Mum."

"Mum."

"Chrysanthemum."

"Coliseum."

Kuki blinked. "Anyway, I love chrysanthemums! What are you growing it for?"

Trent's cheeks began to burn. He turned away from the light, pretending to study the darkened landscape. "It was a gift. From a friend. Who loves flowers. Gave me the seed to plant after I left. This is the first place I've been where it could actually... you know, survive. I know my post here is temporary, but... it seems as good a place as any."

Kuki appeared next to him. "I'll take care of it while you're gone! I mean, if you don't mind."

Trent grinned, though he kept his face in the shadows. "You don't have to."

"Of course I don't! But I would like to!"

"I... I'd appreciate that, Kuki."

"Awesome! I'll find somewhere to keep it so it can still get enough sunlight."

"What's wrong with right there?"

"Well, the only where to get here is to come through your room..."

"It's okay. I trust you won't mess with my stuff or anything."

"You... trust me?"

Trent met her gaze. "Yeah... I do."

Kuki glanced at the flower pot, then back to him. She was beaming. "Good! I trust you, too!"

Was it getting warmer again?

"Sooo... why were you looking for me?"

"Oh, I... I just wanted to thank you again. For saving me yesterday."

Trent furrowed his brow. She waited in his room since the sun was up to say something she had already said? He wasn't the most experienced people person, but that didn't quite add up in his head.

"You're... uh, welcome... Is that really what's on your mind?"

"Weeellllll... No. Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course! I'd have freaked out about you being in my room if not." He smirked, hoping she didn't hate him for that nearly as much as he did.

Her smile did seem to brighten a bit. "Yeah, I guess that's true..."

I'm lucky she's nice enough to laugh at bad jokes... I wonder if she practices that with Numbuh 2...

"Um... did you watch the wrestling match the other day?"

"No. Did you?"

"No..." She was avoiding his gaze. He looked into her eyes, as if they might give him a hint. After a moment, she took a deep breath. "It's... it's Numbuh 4. Wally."

A chilly breeze caught them off guard. Kuki wrapped her arms around herself. Trent didn't mind it, but he wanted to be considerate. "Uh, why don't we talk inside? We can sit on the sofa, if you'd like." She nodded and hurried inside. Trent smirked, taking his time closing the door behind them.

Kuki had stopped to examine the large screen. "You have your own TV?! Lucky!"

"What, you guys aren't allowed to have TVs in your rooms?"

"I mean, I can, but where would I get one?"

"Can't help you there. That one was surplus from the Moonbase. "

"Wow! They just gave it to you? Just to watch cartoons and stuff?"

"Well... um, yeah. Just to watch cartoons. And stuff."

Trent parked himself on the middle cushion. To his surprise, Kuki hopped up onto the very same cushion. He placed his hands in his lap to avoid potentially accidentally touching hers, though they were just barely not rubbing shoulders as it was. She didn't seem to think much of it. She just stared straight ahead at the wall.

"So, I guess you heard our argument the other day. On Moonbase." She spoke just above a whisper, as if trying to not disturb someone sleeping nearby. She began tapping her shoes together. Was she thinking? Gathering her nerves? Maybe just thinking? Maybe waiting for him to say something? Nothing sounded like a question, so he didn't answer.

The two watched her feet until she finally continued. "It's nothing new. Either he's mean, or he starts to be nice, but ends up being mean. Whenever I try to just talk to him... Even if I try to do something nice for him, he always just calls me names or something."

Trent kept waiting for a question to pop up, but it wasn't happening. So, he decided to go out on a limb. "Kuki, stop." She looked up at him, and he could see her eyes were watering. His train of thought totally derailed. She was really upset, wasn't she? Had she said anything about this to anyone before? Was he the first to hear this? Was she aware of how close she was to him? Not that he minded-oh, right, he was about to say something. "I... I really don't think he means anything by it. I mean, everyone in your sector is close, aren't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, they're my best friends, including Wally. But... why does he have to be that way?"

"Well, I haven't been around him all that much yet. He does get pretty defensive, though. And when someone's defensive, they don't usually think about what's coming out of their mouth. I'm sure he doesn't want to hurt you, he just... he doesn't think about it. That's my guess, anyway. I donno. You know him better than I do."

Her gaze dropped away, but Trent kept staring into her eyes. When she spoke, her words came slow. "So... you think he's just... being defensive?"

"I said it's possible."

"But.. he's my friend! Why... why would he feel like he needs to protect himself from me?!" She raised her head. The tears in her eyes were on the verge of escaping. "What can I do to make him stop, Trent?! Or help him stop? Or... something! I don't like it! I don't want him to be mean to me anymore! I just want to be able to talk... and... and..." She sniffed, turning away to wipe her eyes with her sleeve.

Yeah, she was pretty distraught about this. Trent wracked his brain, though he knew he didn't have the answer she was looking for. He opened his mouth, hoping something-anything-would come out. But nothing did. She looked away, her gaze dropping to her feet. That certainly didn't help.

It was time to go out on another limb.

Trent grasped her hand through her sleeve. His palm alone covered the back of hers. The material of her shirt was soft, and he could feel her warmth through it. She raised her head to look at his hand, then up to his eyes. He felt her fingers close around his. Adrenaline shot through his system.

"Look. I don't know why he does what he does. Heck, most of the time, I donno why I do what I do. But I do know that you're my friend. And I hate seeing you sad."

"Why's that?"

"Well... To be honest, you're pretty terrible at it. I've been sad before myself, and it just does not suit you."

Kuki burst out laughing. Probably more than the joke really deserved. But it worked. Trent smirked. "That's better! See? You're a lot better at that."

She smiled up at him, trying to stifle her laughter. "So, I shouldn't be sad because I'm bad at it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"What if... what if I practiced? I bet I could get really good at it."

"Right, and I'll just go ahead and practice my toast for my next tea party with Wally."

The pair broke into a fit of laugher. Kuki squeezed his fingers. He hesitated, then responded in turn. Once he did, she leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder. He tensed, but then felt... relaxed. Comfortable. After a moment, he pressed his cheek against her soft, silky hair. He couldn't rationalize what was happening, but... it felt right.

The laughter subsided. For what seemed like forever, the two simply sat there, basking in each other's company. It was-at least for one of them-the happiest moment in a long, long time.

"Thanks, Trent," Kuki whispered. "I'm glad you're here."

Trent couldn't help but smile. "Maybe there's a good reason after all."

She giggled, straightening up and yawning. "Well, it's getting late..." She lowered herself off the couch. "And I'm getting sleepy. So..."

He got to his feet. She turned to face him, and he saw she her cheeks were as red as his undoubtedly were. "Yeah. Uh, I'm getting pretty sleepy, too."

The two strode over to the exit. The door hissed open. She stepped through over the threshold, then spun around to face him. Trent was just about to wish her goodnight when she leapt forward and embraced him. He froze, startled. By the time he could move again, she had stepped back.

"Good night, Trent." She twisted around, and off she went.

"Uh... Good... G'night. Kuki."

Trent leaned out of the doorway, intent on watching Kuki until she disappeared from view. Instead, his attention was drawn to Numbuh 5, who was standing just outside of her own room. She seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. Still, he couldn't drop the dumbstruck smirk from his face. Numbuh 5 raised an eyebrow, glanced back down the hallway, and then resumed watching him.

"What?"

She just shook her head, turning and disappearing into her room.

What was that all about?


A/N: This was the first chapter I really reworked. The setup's a bit different, the scene with Hoagie & Wally got extended with a lot more dialog, and Kuki's scene was rewritten. The opener is still a bit weak, but that's why I kept it short. I figure anyone who's still with me at this point will get past it without much issue. So, thanks for that. lol

Don't forget to review if you have a moment!

- Marty