Chapter 8: Training Day
Disclaimer: Gunslinger Girl is property of Yu Aida
Special thanks go to CrazyIdiot78 for his continued work as my beta, as well as for zarien, Fullmetal Gary, and Alex191 for leaving me review. Thank you all!
Triela was just getting out of the showers when a frantic Henrietta came running into the bathroom.
"Triela! I don't know where Rico is." Henrietta said quickly, "She wasn't in her bed when I woke up this morning."
Wrapping herself in a towel, Triela walked over to Henrietta.
"She's probably playing video games in the recreation room, like always." Triela said, "You know her, give her a new game and she'll stay up all night until she beats it."
Henrietta cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"But Rico hasn't gotten a new game." Henrietta stated before putting a finger to her lips, "Although I think that she said something about looking for her boyfriend."
"WHAT!" Triela yelled in shock before she ran out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel on.
Forgetting her attire, Triela raced out into the hallway only to hear the sounds of the Recreation Room's television.
"In altre notizie oggi, le forze americane in Iraq sono state attaccate da elementi ribelle. ." The reporter on the television stated, (In other news today, American forces in Iraq have been attacked by rebel elements.)
Curious as to who was watching the television, Triela opened the door a crack.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!" Triela yelled as she forced opened the door to the Recreation Room only to find Jay and Rico sleeping on a couch.
"Huh?" Jay stated sleepily as the loud sudden noise startled him awake. "What are you talking about?"
A tiny yawn escaped from a weight on his chest, causing him to look down at the blond haired girl sleeping on his chest.
"EH?" Jay cried out in surprise as tried to sit up before looking over at Triela.
"What are you looking at!" Triela stated angrily.
Jay's face turned a bright red as he quickly looked away while Rico continued to sleep with her head on his chest.
"Um…Can we talk about this later?" Jay asked as he stared at the ceiling, "You know after you've put some clothes on."
"What?" Triela stated before looking down at herself before blushing and screaming, "PERVERT!"
"Five more minutes." Rico said sleepily as she snuggled closer to Jay.
One hour later, Jay and Rico entered the cafeteria.
"Hey Jay, what do you want to eat for breakfast?" Rico asked as she led the taller boy to a table where all of the other girls were seated, "I was going to get your food while I was getting mine."
"Anything will do. But I'll go with you." Jay stated as he started to follow her.
"Just wait here I'll be right back." She said with a smile as she forced Jay to sit down.
Jay looked at the rest of the girls as Rico walked away. Triela refused to look him in the face, while the rest of the girls stared at him with indifference.
The awkward silence continued for several minutes until Rico returned with a tray containing two plates with large stacks of pancakes and some bacon on the side.
"Here you go Jay." Rico said as she handed him a plate and took a seat next to him.
"Thanks Rico." Jay stated before digging into the pancakes. "I'm really starting to feel like I belong here."
Rico smiled before digging into her own pancakes.
A few minutes later, Priscilla entered the cafeteria carrying the bags that he had left in his room in the medical ward.
"Hey Jay, you left these in the medical wing." The brunette stated as she set the bags on a table and walked over to them. As she leaned down to look Jay in the eyes she smiled saying, "So little brother, I see that you are already becoming quite the ladies' man."
Hearing this Jay's face turned red and he started to choke on his pancakes. After coughing and striking his chest, he cleared his throat and stammered.
"You've got that completely wrong, sis." Jay stated with his face a bright red from embarrassment.
Priscilla smiled as she pulled out her camera phone from her pocket.
"Really?" Priscilla asked as she pulled up a picture on her phone and held it up for Jay to see, "So you and Rico weren't sleeping together last night?"
Jay grew silent even though he had no recollection of sleeping with the blond marksman.
"So you don't mind if I sent this picture to everyone in the department?" Priscilla stated before holding the phone to her chest, "I mean you guys were so cute, I didn't want to wake you up."
Jay bolted upright with a horrified expression on his face.
"What!" Jay exclaimed.
"Miss Priscilla, may I see the picture?" Angelica asked with her cherub-like face smiling.
"Sure." Priscilla said as she handed Angelica her cell-phone before turning to Jay, "Oh Jay, meet me at the firing range in a half hour."
"Okay sis." Jay said before taking a bite of his breakfast as Priscilla turned and started to walk away from the table when her phone rang from Angelica's hands.
"Oh I almost forgot my phone." The brunette said as she rushed back to the table to retrieve her phone before looking at Jay with a smile, "And don't be late."
"I won't be late, sis." Jay stated plainly without any hesitation in his voice.
Jay had been standing at the firing range for what seemed like an eternity.
"What is taking sis so long?" Jay muttered as he leaned against the wall before looking up at the clock and sighing, "She told me to meet her here in a half hour and I've been standing here for close to an hour!"
The brown haired teen looked up at the sky and frowned as he wondered, I wonder when sis is actually going to show up?
"Hey kid, what are standing out there for?" A man called out from the door, causing Jay to turn to look at the man.
Standing in the doorway was a brown haired man and a small blond haired girl with her hair in two small braided pigtails draping down her neck. The man was about Jay's height and had short brown hair like the American boy however he was broader than the younger boy. The man was dressed in a sweater, jeans and a brown coat.
The girl was about a little under five feet in height and appeared to be a little younger than Henrietta. She was wearing a long green coat that covered her entire body, in her hand was an Amanti violin case.
"I'm waiting for my sister to show up." Jay stated sourly, "She told me not to be late and I've been standing out here for close to an hour."
The man chuckled at the boy's statement.
"Well, you'd better come inside." The man said as he held the door for the boy, "What's your sister's name?"
"Priscilla Meleori." Jay answered earning a hearty laugh from the man.
"That figures. She's late to everything." The man said as he stuck his hand out towards the boy, "The name's Lauro."
"Jay Valentine." Jay said as he shook the man's hand blissfully unaware of the blond adolescent glaring daggers at him.
"And this is Elsa." Lauro said as he lead the boy into the firing range. "So is Priscilla your half sister?"
"Actually, she's my handler, but she asked me to call her 'sis' and gave me this pistol." Jay remarked as he drew his Beretta machine pistol from his holster.
"Wait a second, you're a cyborg?" Lauro asked with a surprised look upon his face.
Jay frowned as he stepped inside the indoor firing range.
"Personally, I prefer the term cybernetically enhanced teenager, thank you." Jay muttered as he walked past Lauro
Meanwhile back at the Social Welfare Agency, Priscilla Meleori was filing paperwork away in her office.
"God, this is taking a long time." Priscilla said as she went for her cellphone to call someone to go check on Jay before realizing that it wasn't in her pocket, "Where is my cellphone?" She said before frantically searching for her cell phone when she heard a buzzing sound came from a stack of paper on her desk.
"There you are." Priscilla said to herself as she found her phone beneath the stack of papers. She casually flipped the phone opened and spoke into it, "Priscilla Meleori."
"Hey Priscilla, its Lauro." The voice on the other end of the line said, "I'm at the firing range and your 'Jay' is getting into an argument with Elsa."
"What!" Priscilla exclaimed before looking at the box that she had ordered sitting in the corner of her office. "I'm on my way." The brunette stated as she grabbed the large box and ran out of the office with it in her arms.
Meanwhile at the indoor firing range...
"Didn't your handler teach you how to fire that pistol?" Elsa stated coldly, "I've never seen such atrocious shooting before."
Lauro hung his head as he put his phone away.
"Sis hasn't had the chance to train me yet." Jay stammered out as he set his Beretta machine pistol on the counter.
"That's obvious since you've fired emptied an entire magazine onto a paper target and not had a single shot even hit the target." Elsa said conceitedly as she pulled out her Sig-Sauer P229 from its holster and casually emptied the magazine into a paper target down the range. Jay's eyes widened when he saw that all of the rounds were tightly grouped in the kill zone.
"Wow." Jay stammered as he stared at the tiny girl's target in awe.
"That is how you shoot." Elsa stated plainly as Lauro walked over to Jay.
"Priscilla is on her way." Lauro said as he tried to rein in Elsa.
"Good, so the pathetic excuse of a boy will finally learn something useful." Elsa said sarcastically as she took out her Sig's empty magazine and replaced it with a full one before sliding it back into its holster.
"I'm not pathetic!" Jay said defensively.
"Says the guy who can't even hit an immobile target at ten meters away." Elsa replied sarcastically.
Jay went to open his mouth to voice a retort only to realize that he had no defense.
"At a loss for a response?" Elsa asked dismissively, "Idiotic Americans, you don't know when to admit defeat."
"Have no fear Priscilla the Fallen Angel of Love, is here!" A voice called out from the doorway of the range. Everyone turned to look at the newest arrival.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Jay called out as he pointed at Priscilla, "I've been waiting for you for over an hour and a half."
Priscilla frowned as she handed Jay the long box.
"I know that it won't make up for me being late, but I brought you a present." Priscilla said as she gave the her taller 'little brother' a hug, causing Elsa to glare at Jay.
After the abnormal fratello broke off their hug, Jay set the long box on the bench, carefully unwrapping it. Jay's eyes grew large as he pulled the contents of the box out to reveal a cherry Hechler and Koch MG36 light machine-gun.
"Wow." Jay said as he unfolded the rifle's stock and shouldered the rifle, "Thanks sis."
"I'm glad that you like it." Priscilla said while she mentally sighed in relief. Now that his distance weapon is selected we can start the actual training, so that Ferro and Jean will stop harassing me.
Meanwhile, Elsa was beginning to develop feelings of jealousy towards the odd fratello.
Why is it that your handler shows you affection even though you can't hit the broadside of a building with a shotgun? Elsa wondered before looking at Lauro.
"Can we leave now?" the blond haired 'Swiss Miss' asked Lauro with doting eyes at which he did not return.
As they started to leave, Jay called out to Elsa.
"Hey Elsa!" The teenage boy stated causing the blond to turn around, "Hold up...I was wondering if you could help me with my pistol marksmanship, since you're really good."
Elsa blushed slightly at the comment before turning away and crossing her arms in defiance.
It's not fair, who does this boy think he is asking me for help and being nice to me when Lauro won't even give me the time of day. Elsa thought as she heard Lauro answer for her.
"That would be a great idea." Lauro said before turning to Priscilla, "Priscilla, why don't you take Elsa with you when you go into town with Jay. I'm sure that the outside air would do wonders for her."
Elsa looked up at her beloved handler with hurt-filled eyes as she mentally complained: But Lauro my love, you're the only one I want to spend time with.
