Heart of Melting Blood
The Whistling Gale
Written by: Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO

Author's note: Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. The Whistling Gale, the third instalment of the Heart of Melting Blood saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in Legend of the Moonlight and TWAAW's Machine Arc ended. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

Chapter 9
Reunion

The reunion had been, rather, uneasy.

Henrietta, Triela and Rico stared at their respective handlers. Awed, confused, irked and intrigued, the three of them wondered of what the men they respected so much were doing in Kiev. Triela, especially, was glowering at Hillshire in a cocktail of emotion: she was angry as she was delighted (Hillshire was seated next to her, causing her sensation to stir up). There was not a single word that could help her, or the rest of the girls, expressing their thoughts regarding the reunion.

Simply put, they were happy they got to see their handlers again.

The men, on the other hands, were not so pleased. One of the questions they were asking right now was "what are the girls doing here?" and there without doubt were a lot of questions they needed to answer.

"Anou, Jose-san…"

Their thoughts were suspended. One of them, Giuseppe, glanced at Henrietta. He smiled at the sight of the girl shyly smiling to him, and he certainly smiled to himself by now. "You're happy to see me here, aren't you Henrietta?"

The said girl blushed as she smiled. "Si."

"You know, this is the first time I've ever been in Kiev," Jean said and took a sip of the hot cocoa. "I'm wondering if Chief Lorenzo ever got the information right."

"I know not," Hillshire said and glanced at Triela. She was glowering at him before she turned away from him in disgust. "Look. Just because I'm here doesn't mean I'm happy to see you here."

"So says the man," Triela replied. Hillshire told her to behave. Triela ignored it and started taunting Hillshire. Hillshire snapped in anger and yelled at Triela. Triela insisted him to sit down and behave.

The red-clothed girl arrived, promptly bringing the argument to a halt. "Forgive me for the lack of proper accommodation," Elsa uttered and took seat on one of the couches. "This is the safest place all of us can afford of. If there's anything any of you want to argue, let's keep it aside until we're done with this briefing."

"Briefing? What? We're going to have another dirty work?" Triela asked and was instantaneously signalled by Hillshire to keep quiet. "Oh. I suppose it isn't that dirty after all."

"Triela, please, it might be an important mission briefing," Giuseppe reminded. "Miss Kobayashi, I presume--"

"Please, just call me Elsa," Elsa said. "I find the usage of official suffix unpleasant."

"Oh, I guess it's alright to call you Elsa from now on." Elsa just smiled at the suggestion Giuseppe was saying. "Anyway, we were told by our chief to meet someone in Kiev regarding a top-secret mission. Assuming that person is you, can we proceed with the briefing, Elsa?"

"As you wish, sir." After clearing her throat, Elsa began the briefing. "As you may have briefed on by your superior, the Italian mafia is cooperating with Russian underground movement on drug trafficking and weapon smuggling deal. They're using Ukraine as their business hub to export goods to neighbouring countries, especially the territory in conflict Chechnya, and allegedly have many contacts with local crime lords and foreign warlords."

"What a threat," Triela commented.

"Now, the reason why Social Welfare Agency is assigned with this mission is that some of the names involved with this… illegal transaction include several Italian politicians and top military commanders who seek for absolute power," Elsa continued. "Your task is to identify the names and study the level of threat they may impose to your country."

"Then what must we do once we identify them?" Jean asked.

"Your next objective is to eliminate them and fabricate a case to cover their assassination," Elsa answered. "Of course, since this mission is to be done away from the supervising of your government, and to be done in foreign country, precaution steps must be taken to avoid needless confrontation with local authorities."

"Is there anything we can do about it? What is your suggestion, then, Elsa?" Giuseppe asked.

"I expect the kind of question to be asked." She handed out several documents to the agents and asked them to read thoroughly. "This case is supposed to be taken by you people alone, but I'm informed that the Ukrainian government has agreed to cooperate, since this case may -- or may not -- threaten their national security."

"An international cooperation, I like this idea," Jean said (Rico was staring at him in utter interest, all while eating sponge cakes prepared by mother-to-be Mai). "What do you think, Jose, Hillshire?"

"If I may ask," Hillshire uttered and put down the documents. "Are we going undercover again? I can see that this mission's profile is going to be highly classified."

"Do we really have to?" Triela asked. "Oh, this is going to be one boring job. Why can't we ever have a break for good?"

"Stop complaining. We have a work to do," Hillshire said, not looking at her.

Triela pouted. "You're not even funny…"

"As long as we're fine with them, it's okay, I think," Giuseppe said. "By the way, Elsa, is there anything you can tell us about Ukrainian government's agreement to cooperate? There was nothing we were informed regarding it." Henrietta glared at her handler in jealousy; the fact that he was talking to Elsa was unpleasant, and she growled as a sign of protest.

Elsa nodded. "Yes, it is. Since they, too, have so many internal problems to tackle with, they have assigned their special operation division to help us with the case."

"You mean Bougainvillea Brigade?"

Elsa gaped. So did Henrietta, Rico, Triela, Giuseppe, Hillshire and Jean. All were looking at the anxious, if not troubled Claes. She realized she was being stared at and frowned, clenching her hands very tightly. "I'm sorry, but… I had met them. The rest of us also had. It was… an unpleasant encounter for all of us."

"Claes…" Triela could do nothing about it.

"The truth is…" Claes uttered. "The truth is… we were here because we thought we could pay visit to Hikki and his family. We thought…" Then, unknowingly she cried and buried her face in her palms. "We thought we could make friends with him and…"

"Hey! Claes, take it easy," Hillshire told her. "What's the matter with you?"

"But I can't!" Her weeps became more sombre, and her fellows could only stare at her in sympathy. "He suffered a lot just to protect me from the assailants… and yet they told me not to talk about it? How can I ever shut myself up when someone was dying right before my eyes? How can I?"

"What's going on here? Who is this Hikki she's talking of?" Giuseppe demanded.

"Jose-san… it's a complicated story…" Henrietta replied.

Elsa kept staring at the eyeglasses girl. She nodded to herself and closed her eyes. "I understand. Claes, you really are worried of him, are you not?" In watery eyes, Claes stared at Elsa who was calmly smiling to her. "Have no worry. Although they didn't tell you much, Hikki is alright. I'm sure he'll he very happy to see you again."

"Elsa, how did you… know?"

"Oh, yes!" In a sudden, her mood changed as she clasped her hands and cheerfully smiled. "Papa told me you had the invitation card. If that so, why don't we pay them a visit?" The men stared at her strangely in wonder, and realizing she was observed, childishly Elsa giggled and apologized. "I'm so sorry, but Papa isn't here. I thought I could introduce him to all of you."

"And pester him with your spoon-feeding," Triela interjected and got elbowed by Hillshire. "Hey! Watch what you're doing, Hun."

"And stop calling me that," Hillshire demanded.

"I won't. And did I forget to tell you that you didn't bring me any Christmas present?" Triela replied, a tad looking angry at her handler. "You forgot, and I'm so mad at you."

Giuseppe, on the other hand, had a good time laughing. "Papa? I'm sure your handler isn't immune to excessive praises," he uttered.

Henrietta giggled at the comment. "You don't really want to know, Jose-san."

"Well, then, I guess that's all for today's briefing," Elsa said and packed up. "Oh, yes, before I forget, both the Social Welfare Agency and Bougainvillea Brigade are scheduled to meet at Odessa Seaside Café in the next 60 hours. We should move to Odessa as soon as possible to avoid unwanted difficulties. I will take care of the welfares of Mai, Reverie and Chise here, in the meantime."

Triela protested. "What? 60 hours? Why can't we go right now? I don't want to be locked up here any longer."

"Triela, we should first settle our personal matters before proceeding with the main mission," Elsa uttered and closed the luggage. "Like… going out for a dinner, for example?"

Triela and Henrietta blushed. Hillshire growled in disgust, while Giuseppe heartily laughed. Rico said nothing, as so did Jean (although the latter seemed to approve of the 'dinner' idea). Elsa giggled at the operatives' reaction and excused herself to leave. Just when she walked up the stairs, Claes called her and Elsa halted to see the spectacled girl looking up at her. "Yes?"

After a long period of silence, Claes opened her mouth. "What's your role in this mission?"

Claes closed her eyes. "I'm merely a middleman and a negotiator. I'm prohibited from taking further actions without permissions from… the superior council." She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "Claes?"

"Yes, Elsa?"

"Will you… accompany me for tonight?" Here, she shyly giggled and played with strands of her hair. "Papa isn't going to be home for quite a long time, and I don't like being left alone. So… I was thinking…"

This time, Claes smiled. Leaving her colleagues with her handlers (and to Mai, Chise and Reverie whom the planetarium worker was introducing to) she approached Elsa and took her hands, softly clenching it. She smiled to the girl who returned the smile. "Sure. After all, Lone Wolf doesn't want to see you spending time here alone. Right?"

"Yes," Elsa replied, blushing at the same time.

x-x-x-x-x

It was another two hours before midnight. Today, the handlers were accommodating in nearby motels, while the girls stayed at Falken Mansion. It was recommended by Elsa that the handlers and the children assassin were prohibited from living under one roof 'for security reason', despite Triela's insistence to let them stay in Falken Mansion for the night. When Elsa said "so that you can bully and dominate your handler? I suggest that you wait," Triela snapped in anger and chased the girl around the mansion (it was ended only when Mai and Reverie interfered, and Triela demanded them to hand over the pest to be given severe conditioning. "Damn it! Nobody dares mocking me like that!").

Henrietta was seated near the desk. Her fingers were fiddling with the felt-tip pen, trying to figure out what to write inside the diary. She was, of course, overwhelmed by Giuseppe's presence and wanted to write down everything she was feeling inside the pages. Her fellows were indulged in their own activity: Triela was counting the neatly arranged teddy bears inside the room's glass cabinet; Chise was donning her nightgown; Rico was sitting next to the window, staring into the moonless sky. Claes and Elsa were at the kitchen, helping Reverie with the dishes. She looked at them, got an inspiration and began writing inside the diary.

The diary was snatched. Henrietta was startled and tried retrieving the book from Triela. "Say, is this your new pastime?" she asked and lifted the book, only to encourage Henrietta to reach higher. "Ow, come on! Let me read it for you, okay?"

"Triela, give it back to me!" Henrietta begged.

Triela ignored the red-haired girl and began reading one of the entries. "Dear diary. Today, we are reunited with our handlers, and I'm so happy to finally meet Jose-san again. How surprised I am when I saw him entering this mansion with Jean-san and Hillshire-san. I…"

"Triela!" Finally Henrietta reclaimed the diary she prized so much and ran away from Triela. "Mou… you're not supposed to read somebody else's diary," she mumbled and held the book tightly between her arms.

A sinister grin carved upon her face, as Triela prepared to pounce at Henrietta. "Oh, you're not going to hide it from me, are you?" she uttered and made a 'crouching tiger' pose. Henrietta squealed when Triela leapt at her and dodged the tackle. Triela chased Henrietta around the room and accidentally collided with Chise. The 'super weapon' girl squealed in surprise and threw the pillow she was holding; it missed and found its way into Rico's face.

"Aw, I missed!" Chise mumbled and got hit by another pillow thrown by Rico. She snapped at Rico, who was laughing at her, and charged -- only to find herself stumbling across Henrietta. Both the girls collided and rolled on the floor; Triela seized the opportunity from the confusion and grabbed Henrietta. The red-haired girl cried in distress and tried fleeing Triela's questionable embrace. Rico took the chance and bombarded the girls with more pillows. At first angry with the interference, Triela laughed as she took the pillow and tossed it back at Rico. Before long they were engaged in an exciting game of pillow war, trying to outdo each other with pillow and cushions.

"Well, well, well. You people are having fun without waiting for us, eh?"

The mayhem stopped. Henrietta, Triela, Rico and Chise looked at the door and saw Claes and Elsa walking into the room. The twos looked awfully identical in the lavender nightgowns, save that Claes was wearing her trustworthy eyeglasses whereas Elsa had her hair tied with purple ribbon.

"Elsa-chan! Let's play!" Henrietta said and got buried in pillows tossed by Chise and Rico. "WAAA! Somebody please help!"

Claes giggled at the invitation. Putting her hands on Elsa's shoulders, she told the girls Elsa could not accompany them for the night. "I made a promise to read a bedtime story to her, so the pillow-fight? Elsa can wait until tomorrow." Henrietta and Chise protested and insisted that Elsa stay. Triela gave Claes an "O RLY" look before Claes replied with the 'opaque eyeglasses' glare. "Don't start it."

"Can I join them, Claes?" Elsa asked.

"Well, I suppose you can," Claes said and corrected her eyeglasses. "But remember to go to bed early. You did promise to wake up early and go shopping with me, didn't you?"

"Aw, lookie. Our Claes has become a nanny already," Triela teased. This was replied by a sharp glare by Elsa as she possessively wrapped her arms about Claes (the spectacled girl was surprised by the sudden action Elsa took, although she had nothing to complain). "HEY! What do you think you're doing, Elsa?"

"Nobody can tease Claes," Elsa said and clung onto Claes like a little girl holding onto her 'big sister'. "Not even you, not even your friends, not even Papa. Claes belongs to me."

Henrietta and Chise suddenly blushed at the declaration. Rico stared at Elsa in a very deep sense of intrigue (or was it of envy? Nobody exactky knew). Claes laughingly sighed in surrender at the possessiveness of the girl.

As predicted, Triela snapped in fury. "What the-- HEY! First you act like you're from the Interpol or something. Now you're acting like some spoiled girl who doesn't want to let her oneechan go!" she exclaimed. "Are you trying to provoke me, Elsa?"

"No," Elsa said and emphasized it by sticking out her tongue. "Why would I want to provoke you, Triela? Oh, that's right." Again, she tightened her arms and held closer onto Claes. "Because I can."

Triela lost her temper and shook her fist at the girl. "Damn it! Elsa, don't try me!"

Claes laughed and let loose of Elsa's arms. "Now, now, Elsa. Be a good girl and don't do anything bad, okay?" she reminded with a smile. "I'll be at Mai's room if you need anything."

"Okay, Claes!" Elsa gave her a big hug and joined the pillow fight. She stopped near Triela and inexplicably tickled her on the waist, before taking cover from the infuriated girl behind the amused Rico. Claes laughed at the cheerful atmosphere Elsa was creating and proceeded to leave the room.

Just as she was headed to Mai's room, she halted and leaned against the wall. She sighed in relief; to know that Hikki was alright was enough for her. She could only hope to meet him in person -- and personally thank him for saving her life. She could only wonder of how he was doing at the moment.

"KYAA! Elsa-chan, yamete!"

Claes giggled. "What is she up to, I wonder…" Deciding to join in the mess, Claes reentered the room. "Alright, girls. We need to stop playing. Elsa needs to take early nap, and so will the rest of you."

"Aw! But we want to play with Elsa-chan a bit longer!" Henrietta and Claes objected.

Note:Bougainvillea Arc will be temporarily on hold to allow Feathers Arc to commence. Oh, Sheo. Oops?