Kuzon knew he was supposed to sit with his squad during all three-course meals for the day, but he honestly didn't care
Kuzon knew he was supposed to sit with his squad during all three meals for the day, but he honestly didn't care. He hadn't seen his father since last night, and wanted to know if his sister had any new abilities revealed after the testing. Plus, Naruto was getting on his nerves.
Then again, after walking in circles around the cafeteria with his tray of goop, he felt like just giving up. Then he recalled the bar at the far corner of the room. He hadn't thought of looking too closely there, since his dad wasn't the type to go off drinking, even if the drinks were, though limited, completely free. Despite this, it wasn't long before he spotted Zuko sitting on a bar stool. Mustang was sitting beside him, Arella bouncing on the balls of her feet as she talked to them both excitedly.
"…and then Sakura said that if I come to the lessons, she'd show me how to control my chakra!"
"What's catra?" Kuzon asked as he approached, throwing his tray on the bar and sitting down.
All three turned to Kuzon, mildly surprised. Arella spoke first; "Kuzon, guess what? I'm gunna be a kunoichi!"
"A Kappa-mikey?"
Her shoulders sagged, her bounce gone. "Oh, gosh! It's a female ninja! You don't know anything, do you? Dad, can I punch him? He's been doing this all day."
Ignoring her rude response, Kuzon waved at his father. "Hi, Dad!"
"Hi, Kuzon," Zuko said in a monotone. "How was sch- I mean, how was your first day here?"
The teen shrugged. "Eh, this place isn't too bad. Not half as bad as I thought it would be, even."
Zuko smiled. "I was thinking the same thing."
What a relief that was; if the army had turned out any worse, Kuzon was sure his father would never have let his decision go.
"At least the two of you have it easy," Mustang said. "The frogs were practically forcing us adults to stay with our squad members for our meals today… some sort of get-to-know-each-other custom. It took us hours to talk them out of it."
"They did that to me too," Arella said.
"I don't remember anyone saying anything," Kuzon lied with a shrug.
Arella eyed him suspiciously, and then continued. "A lot of the girls had friends they wanted to meet up with, too, and our sergeant didn't really care, so she let us sneak off."
"Who is your sergeant?" Mustang inquired.
Arella's face lit up brightly. "Oh, she's so awesome! Her name's Haruhara Haruko—isn't that a funny name?—and she's a space alien who uses a guitar for a weapon. She's real strong, too, and-"
"Wait," Kuzon interrupted, "you don't mean that insane alien bitch with the bass, do you?"
"Who are you calling insane, monkey?" a voice spat from behind Kuzon. He turned around, his nose bumping into the furious alien's face. He quickly threw himself back on the bar counter, almost sitting in his goop.
"Dude! Space! Personal!"
The alien raised an eyebrow threateningly. "Don't make me go furi kuri on your ass."
"Well, then," Zuko said slowly, "I'm guessing that's Haruhara Haharahoe."
"Haruhara Haruko," she corrected. She sniffed audibly, and turned to Mustang, looking at the bowl in his hands. "Is that curry?"
Mustang looked at his bowl. "You know…I have no idea what it is. Might be curry, though."
"I call it goop," Kuzon added.
"I call it meatless," said Spike, as he sat down in a chair beside Kuzon.
The teen held back the urge to jump once again. How did they just appear like that? "S-Sergeant? Dude, don't creep up on me like that…"
"Sorry," he replied, though the sorry was obviously an automatic response. He squinted at the teen, as if to get a better look. "Aren't you the Fire-tender?"
"Firebender," Zuko corrected, leaning over the bar to look at him. "You're Kuzon's drill sergeant?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So, I'm his father."
"Oh… I'm sorry," Spike said, meaning it this time.
Zuko shrugged. "You get what you get," he said teasingly.
"Hey, that's mean!" Kuzon whined. "I'm a good son!"
Arella coughed, though it sounded disturbingly like she was saying "Agni Kai" instead.
"I'm a good son now," the boy defended.
Zuko just ruffled the boy's hair absently. "What's your name?" he asked Spike. "And what was your last job?"
"Spike Spiegel. I was a bounty hunter."
Arella leaned next to her father. "Isn't Spiegel a Jewish name?"
There was a short pause.
"Well, I'm not Jewish, but-"
"Mustang!" Kuzon yelled abruptly. "You're gunna genocide Spike!"
Haruko leaped up beside Spike, bass in the air. "Hey, no one's genociding my Spikey-Senpai!"
Mustang was not amused. "Okay, it was funny the first few times, but I've had enough; I'm not that kind offührer, I'm not out to get Jews, and genocide is not a verb!"
No one could resist laughing at this. Kuzon held his sides as he did, nearly falling off the bar. Even Mustang caved in, smiling and shaking his head. "Okay, it's a little funny."
These laughs died when a new voice snapped sharply, "Get off the bar, you insolent child!"
Another cold chill ran down Kuzon's spine as he watched Brother Blood approach. The teen jumped down to his chair, but the damage was already done.
"Kuzon Prince, isn't it? Why aren't you with your fellow students?" the balding, old grump roared.
Kuzon glanced between Zuko and Spike, but decided that dragging them into any explanation would only spread the punishment around. "None of your business," he snapped back, before adding a dark and foolish, "asshole."
Arella groaned, jumping into the fray quite literally, standing between Kuzon and Blood. "I'm sorry, sir," she said hastily to Blood, whose face was already purple with rage, "but you'll have to excuse my brother. He didn't know that he was supposed to be with his group, so-"
"You stay out of this!" the man snapped, grabbing the girl by the arm and pulling her out of the way brutishly.
Zuko jumped to his feet immediately. Mustang tugged at his gloves as he rose up as well. Even Haruko was on the defensive.
Oh, right, Kuzon thought. I'm getting railed and they just ignore me, but if he's giving Arella any crap then they have to interfere!
"'Leggo o' my student!" Haruko demanded, stepping up towards Blood.
Blood looked up at her, glared, and then released Arella viciously. She backed away, then went up to her father, rubbing her arm and wincing. "That hurt…" she whimpered.
"I'm sorry, Haruko," Blood sneered acidly. "I didn't realize you actually gave a damn about anyone but yourself."
The alien sneered right back, waving her base in his face with one hand. "Shows what you know, you old coot!"
Pushing the guitar aside, Blood turned to Zuko. "You're the father of these two ruffians, aren't you? You shouldn't allow them to break the rules, or I could have them court marshaled."
"My children haven't done anything wrong," Zuko said, his voice seeming to growl as he spoke.
"And it's none of your business anyway," Haruko continued, "because they're not your kids, or even your students, so get out of our faces!"
Blood snorted haughtily. "I don't take orders from a Troq."
It was the last word Kuzon would have expected. Arella let out a gasp of surprise, and Zuko's glower intensified.
Mustang scratched his head. "What's a Troq?"
"It's a slur on Tamaranians, in my world," Zuko explained, "but Haruko isn't Tamaranian…"
Tamaranian or not, Blood had hit a nerve. Haruko's jaw had dropped in an angry snarl, her bass now trembling along with her hands.
"Don't do it," Spike warned, still sitting lazily at his stool.
These words calmed her down. She clamped her jaw shut and smiled toothily, then hissed through her teeth, "Where do you get off callin' me a Troq, monkey face?"
Blood smirked. "We both know your species is similar enough. Besides, you certainly act like a Troq—violent, disgusting… and yet, so fragile."
"Don't do it," Spike said again.
Haruko shrugged. "Don't worry, Spike; I don't care what he says—he obviously has no idea what he's talking about, the babbling baboon. Since when have I been fragile?"
"You can't remember the gateway."
Another nerve, one that made Haruko's eye twitch. "Lots of people can't remember the gateway…"
"And that," Blood replied, "is how you are fragile. Your mind is blocking the memory because it is too painful. I've even heard rumors that your amnesia stretches beyond just the gateway, that you can't even remember three whole months of your life… did the big bully Guy do something mean to poor little Haruko?"
Haruko rolled her eyes. "If I had amnesia I wouldn't know, would I?"
"And that is what makes you weak!"
"Don't do it, Haruko!"
It was too late. Gripping her bass, she swung the instrument at Blood like an axe within seconds of him ending his remarks. As quick as she was, her aim was off, and that was all the man needed. He stepped out of the way very calmly, and struck her down with one simple kick in the shin, mocking her further. She landed on her stomach wincing in pain.
"Thank you," Blood said, "for proving my point. Now then, if you'll excuse me…"
She sat back up with an inhuman growl, ready to lunge at him again. Mustang reached her in time, grasping her shoulders in restraint. "That's just what he wants from you," he reminded her.
Haruko sat there, unwillingly, eyes narrowed like daggers, chest rising and falling as she panted like a wild animal. As Blood stormed off alongside the bar, the hatred on her face slowly turned to pain and shock, a look that made Kuzon himself feel sympathetic.
Blood glanced behind him for one last retort. "Oh, and I'd better not see you out like this again, Kuzon Prince, or I will inform your se-Agh!"
He suddenly fell, flat on his face. With everyone watching. Everyone being Kuzon and his group, everyone at the bar, everyone at nearby tables, and others walking by. Once again, no one could resist, and they all burst into an explosion of laughter. Haruko's cackle rang out as the loudest.
Blood rose up quickly, his cheeks red from embarrassment and from impact with the floor. "How dare you?" he roared, horrified and enraged as he turned to face his attacker.
Spike pulled back his meticulously placed leg, hands behind his head as he shrugged. "My bad."
After dinner, Kuzon went to his room to find his squad waiting for him, all except for Alphonse; he was helping construct more arenas, and wasn't expected to be back until morning. Kuzon asked Edward when Alphonse actually slept, but Ed just laughed and waved him off, muttering something about newbs.
In spite of the armor's absence, the squad still managed to spend the next few hours bonding… well, in the best way teenage boys could bond, that way being to talk about trivial things, only kept age appropriate for the sake of Ash Ketchum.
"I like 'The Warp Squad,'" Ash said shyly.
"Iiee, 'The Kage No Bunshin Squad' is best!" Naruto replied.
"Isn't that the name of your cloney-jutsu-thing?" Kuzon asked. "That name doesn't work—it doesn't mean anything to the rest of us."
Naruto glared. "Oh yeah? Well, what does 'Warp' mean to all of us?"
"Absolutely nothing, and that makes it fair."
"It's a stupid name," Naruto fussed.
Pazu shrugged. "I don't think so—it has more of a ring to it than Kage No Bunshin. I don't see any reason to change our squad's name…"
There was pounding on the squad's bedroom door as a frog passed by. "Lights out, kids."
Reluctantly, Kuzon bid a short "g'night" to his new comrades, switched off his light, and laid his head on his pillow.
It had been a decent day, considering. He'd had a few laughs, made a new friend… He could get used to this.
But, like all days, it had to end. Kuzon had hoped it wouldn't, that this day could have lasted somehow, but it didn't. He'd dreaded this, because it was when the room was dark and silent, with nothing to distract him, that he was forced to really take the blow of what had happened to him these past few days. The first blow came with one word:
Mom.
Why didn't she come with us? Couldn't she have done something to save herself? Did she have a plan to save herself?
Is she alive? Is she safe? Is Guy…would he keep her alive? What would he do to her if he did?
He could be torturing her…to know where she sent us… She might be being tortured right now.
Kuzon shivered, trying to get the many horrible mental images out of his head, but it was a long time before he could. Even with the change of subject, his thoughts didn't get any better.
I'm never going to see Tamaran again.
That guy Dad mentioned, the Xiborg leader…Zhao… He's probably taken over the place by now. All those Tamaranians, the human refugees… What will he do to them? Will he make them his slaves or something? Will he…expand his army?
If Guy's been controlling us this whole time…did he do anything during the Agni Kai? Did he cause the divorce to see Dad suffer? Was my life just some soap-opera show he enjoyed?
This is so messed up… I've been used my whole life…like some sort of pawn…
The dark ceiling above him began to blur as he held back tears. He rolled over onto his side, eyes shut tightly as he tried to think of better times, but even when he managed to find a good memory, it kept leading to a bad one. A sour taste filled his mouth, growing all the more sour as his thoughts grew worse and worse.
He came to realize that, compared to the hardest of times in his life, he'd never felt as miserable and alone as he did now.
That's when he heard someone sniffle.
He flipped over, looking behind him to find Syaoran lying on his back, arms crossed; he was staring at the ceiling with a fierce demeanor, eyes gleaming with what could become tears.
Ed lay flat on his back, mumbling to himself. His pillow was pulled over his face, his blankets and sheets thrown onto his brother's bed and on the floor.
Naruto was asleep, but in a sitting position, his back against the wall with his head drooping, kunai gripped tightly in his hands.
Pazu was tossing and turning every minute or so, curled up beneath his blanket, shivering in the humid room.
Ash had his back to them all. His shoulders were shaking, audible sniffles and muffled sobs coming from him.
Kuzon still felt miserable—especially now that he had seen this—but he was calmed and lulled to sleep, for he no longer felt alone.
End chapter 2
Full Creditz for Chapter 2: Raven, Gizmo, Brother Blood from Teen Titans; Zhao, Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender; Guts from Berserk; Kamaji, Haku from Spirited Away; Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist; Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop; Syaoran Li from Cardcaptors; Pazu from Castle in the Sky; Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuuga from Naruto; Ash Ketchum from Pokémon; Haruhara Haruko from Fooly Cooly; Light Yagami from Death Note; Sousuke from Fullmetal Panic!
Have I missed anyone? Let me know.
Kuzon is a character I created, based off of Teen Titans and Avatar. Guy is also a character I created, but his origin will not be revealed until the end of the book.
