A/N: WOOT chapter 8! sorry for the long absence, i was away this weekend with no access to a computer! on with the show!
Chapter 8
The head members of the Hand all stood around the meeting table, muttering to themselves as they waited for Master Beilschimdt to arrive. There was a calm air in the room as the men chatted, unaware the something more sinister was coming down the hall.
The door to the meeting room flew open and all heads turned to see what happened. They all gasped when they saw who came through that door.
The first person was tall and rather large, wearing a long tan coat and a scarf, even though it was boiling outside. He had a childish face about him and a disarming smile, but his violet eyes showed with a spark that only Gilbert could place.
The next to walk in was an Asian man with an irremovable smirk on his face. His brown eyes glinted with the same spark as the Russian's, only this was more mischievous. He was only wearing half of the upper part of his kimono, revealing large tattoos all over his chest and down his arms and back. There was one tattoo on his shoulder of an eagle. The eagle blinked and watched what was going on.
After him, another young man walked in. He had on a blue military uniform, obviously Italian. The Italian had short, light brown hair with a small curl coming off his left side. Even though he too had a childish appearance, there was a seductive look in his eyes and a certain way he walked that made even the straightest man swoon.
And then in walked Ludwig, the smirk on his face threatening to tear his face in half. The men around the table were all frightened, expect for Gilbert. Ludwig knew that this was going to be more than easy for him.
Master Beilschimdt walked in from his private door and looked at his youngest son. Ludwig fought to keep his expression neutral as his father looked over him and his subordinates. His father merely muttered a few words in German and the men around him sat down, along with himself. He looked around the table briefly before speaking.
"I believe that Ludwig wishes to address the Council of the Hand," the Master said, not breaking eye contact with his son.
"Venerable master," Ludwig began, his tone respectful. "Despite your delicacy and subtly, you have failed to solve the problem of the Treasure." Gilbert snorted and all eyes turned to him.
"Master Beilschimdt gave that task to me," Gilbert said, his little bird chirping slightly from its perch on his shoulder.
"Yes, exactly," Ludwig said with a smirk.
"And my men are taking care of it," Gilbert snapped, making the other men flinch. Ludwig stood his ground.
"Your men are dead!" Ludwig retorted.
"Killed by the assassin Kirkland, the ausländer," their father said calmly.
Gilbert's eyes went wide at the statement, as did the entire room. They all believed that man to be dead, killed a long time ago. But now that the leader of the Hand has stated that the assassin in alive… this just became a whole new ball game…
Gilbert began to sputter incoherently, trying to say something about how it was impossible for that man to be alive. He was not heard, however, as everyone was too busy trying to process what was going on. Gilbert looked to his father for support, who merely looked away. Gilbert sighed, knowing that he was defeated at his own game. He turned and began his walk out of the room. He stopped right in front of his little brother, his crimson orbs staring right into the calm blue of his brother.
"Your forces are an abomination," Gilbert spat out. He grabbed the front of Ludwig's shirt and pulled the blond closer so that all he could see were Gilbert's red eyes. "You and your men will die a most horrible death. I'll see you in Hell, Bruder." Gilbert let Ludwig go and stormed out of the room, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.
"Master," Ludwig said, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room. "The Hand cannot afford to lose the Treasure for another generation. So I humbly request that you allow me this task. Perhaps with a little less delicacy… my forces will not be defeated by a mere Brittan."
"The task is yours," His father said almost immediately. "Complete it, and you will have proven yourself worthy of leading this Council." All the men gasped at the statement, wondering how their leader could have given up so easily. "I will step aside."
Ludwig nodded and left the room, a triumphant smirk on his face. Master Beilschimdt stood and so did the other men, all but one. One man on the very end of the table turned his head to look at the Italian boy. The brunette smiled at the council man and blew him a soft kiss before leaving with his comrades. The man's face quickly became a sickly yellow color and started to crack. He coughed loudly, causing the men in the room to stop and look at him. Master Beilschimdt looked at the man and then at the retreating form of the Italian and narrowed his eyes.
Francis groaned as he listened to Arthur talk on the other end of the phone. He couldn't believe this…
"Oh, that's just great, the Hand! Of all people…" Francis cried, throwing some horse riding gear into the trunk of his car. "Who's going to help you out on this one, A? Germania?"
"Just give me his location," Arthur said as he walked on the deck of the boat.
"Sure, no problem, I got his handled," Francis said before Arthur closed his phone.
Arthur looked out into the lake, wondering how the hell he got himself into this situation. He sighed and shoved his phone back in his pocket, muttering a long string of curses and swears that would make a pirate gasp.
Arthur drove his bright yellow truck into an alley, passing homeless person after homeless person. Yao looked nearly horrified at the place they were in. He didn't like dark alleyways and now he was going into one willingly… He figured there must be something desperately wrong with him and that he must seek medical help. Kiku looked out the window and figured that it was pretty cool.
Arthur drove the car into a parking lot for a billiard parlor and parked the truck. All the walls surrounding them were covered in graffiti and other types of vandalism. So, naturally, when they got out, they didn't notice the eagle that was watching their every move.
Inside the pool hall, Germania stood next to a table as his opponent took his turn.
"You're up, blind man," the opponent said with a smirk. Germania walked up to where the cue ball was and aimed.
"Double combo: triple carom on the four-three-two-one-six with a bank massé," Germania said, confusing his opponent.
"You don't have to call all your shots, old man, just the first one," the opponent said with a small chuckle in his voice.
"That IS the first one," Germania said as he took his shot. He did exactly what he said he would do and got all his balls into the pockets in one shot.
"Whoa, whoa, you gotta be kidding me," the opponent said with a groan as Germania went around the table to the cue ball.
"Eight ball in the corner," Germania said as the elevator came up. He shook his head and took his shot, making the cue ball jump over another ball and then hit the eight ball, making it go into the corner pocket. His opponent just sighed and shook his head.
"Blind my ass," the man said, putting his stick down.
"Leave your money on the table," Germania said as he too put his stick on the table.
The man operating the elevator pulled the gates up, letting the three in it out. Arthur walked out first with Yao and Kiku close behind. Both Asians had a disgusted look on their face, their whole demeanor screaming that they didn't want to be here. Arthur simply walked over to Germania, who was looking out at nothing.
"Arthur Kirkland," Germania said with a smile. "Same walk. Same cologne even. You never change."
"They need your help," Arthur said, gesturing to the two Asians behind him.
"Over here," Germania said, walking back over to the pool table he was just playing at. He turned to Arthur, his green, glossed over eyes looking right at Arthur.
"This is Yao Wang," Arthur started, looking back at Yao and then at Germania. "Yao and his brother Kiku are being chased by the Hand and they need your protection. I'm leaving them with you. The Hand is your business, not mine."
"And yet you saved their lives," Germania said, a hint of confusion in his voice. "Why? What did you think would happen next?"
"I didn't really have time to think about it," Arthur said, looking down at the ground.
"Blind instinct," Germania said, a smirk in his voice but not on his face. "Then you and I are back where we started, Arthur." Arthur just rolled his eyes. "Did you ever ask why the hand was after them?"
"They don't know," Arthur said with a sigh.
"Really?" Germania asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Mr. Wang doesn't know?"
"I do know…" Yao said, looking down, avoiding the piercing gaze of the Brit standing next to him.
"The Hand wanted something he couldn't give," Germania said, looking pointedly at Kiku. Yao's head shot up and he pushed Kiku a little farther behind him, hiding him from the gaze of the German. "He tried to run."
"And what?" Arthur snapped, his green eyes boring holes in Yao's skull.
"They killed our parents," Kiku said timidly. "In cold blood… I'll never forget…"
"There was no drunk driver," Yao said, holding his brother protectively. "I lied."
"You're on your own," Arthur said, giving Yao a look that would have killed a weaker man. He turned and started on his way out before Germania stopped him.
"Why did you really save them, Arthur?" Germania asked, making the Brit stop mid step. "Some kind of penance? A down payment on your sins?" Germania turned towards Yao and stared at him with unseeing eyes. "Has he told you what he actually does for a living, Mr. Wang?"
"He saved my life and my brother's," Yao snapped, getting really sick of all this mysterious shit. "That's enough for me."
"Then you landed on the lucky side of the street," Germania said, causing Arthur to snap around and glare at him.
"Damn you son of a bitch!" Arthur snapped, storming right over to his former master, ready to shut him up by any means necessary.
However, Germania beat the blonde to the punch. Just as Arthur was about to punch him, Germania grabbed his wrist and spun the blonde around, pinning him to the pool table with a firm grip on his neck. The German let go and gripped his pool stick. Just as Arthur was about to get up, Germania pinned him back down to the table with the stick, keeping him there for a good 30 seconds. Yao stood agape, not really believing that this blind old man just pinned Arthur with little to no effort. He just stared at the Brit as Germania finally let him stand.
"Well, Arthur," Germania started at the blonde walked away. "You haven't changed."
Arthur just stormed over to the elevator and closed the gate, just as Kiku broke free of his brother's grip to follow the blonde. Arthur got out to the parking lot and walked over to his truck, just as Kiku came out of the staircase.
"What are we going to do?" Kiku asked, running after the Brit, Yao right on his heels. "Arthur? What are we going to do?"
"You gotta run," Arthur said, stopping and turning back to face the Japanese boy. "As fast as you can and as far as you can. South America. Africa. Change your name. Change you appearance."
"You're not coming with us?" Kiku asked, stopping a few feet in front of Arthur. He looked at the Brit with his large, chocolate brown eyes that had a hint of something that the Blonde couldn't place.
"No," Arthur said simply, shaking his head. "I can't."
"Why not?" Kiku demanded, now glaring at the blonde with a look that could kill. "Isn't that part of your code or something?"
"I don't have a code, Kiku," Arthur said, glaring back at the boy.
"How are we supposed to defend ourselves?" Kiku snapped, not backing down from the challenge that Arthur so blatantly put up.
"We'll be okay, Kiku," Yao said, putting a hand on Kiku's shoulder and pulling him around.
"No we won't," Kiku said in a voice that was far beyond his years. "Wake up, Yao, we won't! They're going to hunt us down. Just like Mom and Dad."
Yao looked down, knowing that his brother had a very good point. Arthur knew it as well. Those two were not safe anywhere except with Germania. Arthur sighed and looked up at the wall of graffiti, just as the eagle moved his head as looked straight at Arthur. Arthur's eyes widened and he started to breath heavily. Both brothers looked at him oddly.
"Get in the car," Arthur said, making the brothers exchange a look. "I said, get in the car!" Arthur grabbed Kiku's shoulder and pushed him towards the truck, making both jolt.
"What's wrong?" Yao asked, following close behind.
Arthur didn't respond. He just ran for the truck, his hand firmly on Kiku's to make sure the belligerent boy followed. The blonde looked back just in time to see the eagle come off the wall and fly off.
The eagle flew off to the roof of a nearby building where Ludwig and his Asian subordinate were waiting. The eagle went over to the Asian and became smaller and smaller. It flew right onto his shoulder and sunk back into the tattoo, becoming inanimate once again. The Asian took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"She's down the street," the Asian said to Ludwig. "Three blocks over in the parking lot."
"Good job, Yong-Soo," Ludwig said with a smirk. "We need to kill the ausländer assassin first."
"Should we go now?" Yong-Soo asked, looking up at Ludwig for the first time.
"Not here," the German said with a smirk. "Keep track of them."
Ludwig turned and left, going to get everything ready for when they strike. Yong-Soo watched as Ludwig left, his expression unreadable.
well, here we are, chapter 8!
for those who are confused, Ivan is Stone, Yong-Soo is Tattoo, and Feliciano is Typhiod.
yes, i know, making innocent little Feli Typhiod Mary might not have been the BEST call, but i think it will work later on.
and YES Germania IS blind here! Sometime between when Arthur left and now, he lost his eyesight.
well, that's all for now. R&R-ing is a lovely thing to do.
