Warning: The following content has Takuya somewhere in this chapter. Viewer descretion is advised :)
Takuya: What?! Hey, I don't even do anything stupid! What are you talking about?!
me: Due to its content, no one with all of their sanity should read it.
Takuya: But I don't even do anything wrong! (for once) *to readers* Don't listen to her! She's spreading lies!
me: ...Maybe! Mwahahahahahhaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Red Rose
Chapter 10
"Nana, can you come out here?" Takuya called.
Curious, the girl walked into the kitchen, only to see everyone at the table. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Nope, but Tommy told us that today was your birthday," Kouji said.
"Well, actually, it's not," she told them, embarrassed. "I mean, I don't know when it is."
Tommy smiled. "Which is why we're celebrating it today. I told you that we would do it, so I asked Takuya if he could pick up a cake for you."
Zoe, still in her child-like state, put the birthday cake down on the table. It was decorated with light purple frosting, and white flowers circled the border.
"Zoe picked it out," Takuya said to Nana.
"Oh, I love it!" Nana hugged Zoe. "Thank you, Zoe."
The blond hugged her back. "Nana!"
"Okay, let's eat already. I'm fucking starving," Kouji complained.
"Nope, we have to sing Happy Birthday to her," Kouichi pointed out.
Kouji sulked in his seat. "I don't sing."
"Ah, c'mon. Just do it already," Takuya said with a sigh. "Don't worry about looking like an idiot, 'cause we'll all look like one with you."
"Yeah, especially you," Kouji replied, smirking.
Instead of his usual outburst, Takuya only smiled. "You know what, I'm not gonna yell at you for calling me an idiot. Just because it's Nana's birthday, I'm not going to use this knife to shove into your chest like I normally would."
The long-haired twin rolled his eyes. "Fine I'll sing...but don't expect to hear me."
They sang 'Happy Birthday' to Nana, who looked completely surprised. When they were finished, she chuckled in amusement.
"Why do you sing that?" She asked.
"To make us look like idiots and to make the birthday person want to hide under a table in embarrassment," Takuya told her.
The purple-haired Diclonius sat down in an empty chair, her face slightly red. "It is a little overwhelming, but I enjoyed it."
"Okay, now blow out the candles," Tommy said.
"Blow them out? Why?" She asked.
Tommy shrugged. "To make a wish."
"I get to make a wish?" Nana looked at the candles in amazement. "But, what do I wish for?"
"Whatever you want," he explained. "But you can't tell us what it is. Just think about it and blow out the candles."
"Um, okay." She thought for a minute, then leaned forward to blow the tiny flames out.
Takuya picked up a knife. "Okay, let's eat."
As they ate, Tommy looked at Nana, who was devouring the cake as if she had never eaten before.
"Oh my god, this is so good!" She finished off her piece, wiping the frosting off her mouth with a napkin. "Can I have some more?"
"It's your birthday," he said with a laugh, putting another slice onto her plate. "So....do you ever remember having a birthday?"
Nana shook her head, taking a large bite. "Nope."
"How long were you...uh...never mind." Tommy looked down, ashamed of himself.
"No, it's okay. What were you going to say?" She asked.
Tommy hesitated for a moment. "Well...uh...I was gonna say...how long have you been at the facility?"
Nana paused, thinking as hard as she could. "Um...I honestly don't know. As long as I can remember, I guess."
"So, you've never celebrated your birthday then, huh?" The boy looked at her sympathetically.
"No, but that's okay. I didn't even know what a birthday was really until Papa explained it to me. That was a long time ago," she told him.
Takuya swallowed the last of his cake, then smiled at her. "Well, now you have an official birthday."
He didn't know that there was a tiny glob of frosting on his lip until Zoe leaned over to him. She wiped it off with her finger, then licked her finger clean.
"Mmmm." She smiled then sat back down.
Takuya turned pink and wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin as Kouji and Kouichi snickered.
"Shut up," he mumbled. "You're just jealous...."
"Oh, guess what," Kouichi said excitedly.
"Don't care," Kouji replied monotonely.
The older twin rolled his eyes. "Well, who asked you?"
"You did," Kouji said, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't direct the question to anyone in particular, therefore giving me the option of replying."
"Fuck you," his brother muttered. "But anyway, I met a girl today."
Kouji snorted. "Was she on the cover of a video game?"
Kouichi shot him an annoyed look. "No, asswipe. She's real."
"That's cool," Takuya said, not in the mood to hear them bicker. "What's she like?"
"Well, I didn't get to talk to her for very long 'cause I had to get back. But she seemed really nice. Pretty too," Kouichi said.
Kouji didn't look very impressed. "Oh, yeah? What's her name?"
"Kanae." He took a sip of of his drink. "I met her in the game shop. She was looking for her cousin and we talked for a minute."
"Wow, a whole minute," Kouji said sarcastically. "You're a real ladies man."
Kouichi glared at him. "Screw you. At least I met someone, unlike you."
Kouji shrugged. "What can I say? I'm playing 'hard-to-get'."
"More like 'emo-and-depressing'," Kouichi shot back.
Takuya stood up and groaned. "Would you two shut up already? Damn, you're friggen annoying."
"He started it," the twins said unanimously, pointing at each other.
"Yeah, whatever." Takuya picked up everyone's disposable plates and threw them into the trash bin. "I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm babysitting when I'm around you guys."
"You're one to talk," Kouji replied in a dry voice.
Tommy laughed nervously. "Uh, Nana, can you come with me?"
"Sure." The girl rose, then followed him outside.
As they sat on the front steps, Wanta came over, barking happily. The dog jumped onto Tommy's lap, excitedly wagging his tail.
"Hey, boy." Tommy gently pet the dog's head, causing Wanta to lazily lie down.
"Thanks for everything, Tommy." Nana looked down shyly. "I can't believe you would go through all this trouble for me."
"It was no trouble," he replied. "All we needed was a cake and candles. Besides, you deserve it. That, and so much more."
Nana glanced up at him, then stared at the sunset on the horizon. "Wow, look at the sky.....it's so pretty...."
"Yeah, it is," Tommy replied, barely paying attention to the sunset. "Well, just three hundred and sixty-five more days until your next birthday."
"That's a long time," she speculated. "But worth the wait."
A chilly breeze swept by, and Nana shivered. The puppy, who had been lounging in his owner's lap, jumped off and headed into his small doghouse. Tommy stood up, then pulled Nana up a moment later.
"We should go in," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's getting a bit cold. Sorry for dragging you out in the first place. I figured that it would be a bit warmer than this..."
"Yeah, but it was nice to go somewhere quiet for a few minutes," she pointed out. "Come on."
Tommy took hold of her arm, stopping her. "Um, wait."
Nana blinked, puzzled. "Is everything okay, Tommy?"
He didn't respond, and his heart was pounding as he debated what to do. After what seemed like an eternity, he leaned in and softly kissed her lips. Nana was surprised by the gesture, as she had never experienced it before. However, she found herself enjoying the gentle, innocent kiss.
A moment later, Tommy pulled away, his face red. "Uh....I um...."
Nana smiled, a dreamy look on her face. She lost concentration for a brief second, causing her prostetic legs to fall off. Before she could fall, Tommy caught her.
"Hehe, lost concentration for a minute," she said, embarrased.
"Hey, I understand," he replied, setting her down so that she could put her limbs back in place. "I..um...I'm sorry I did that..."
Nana looked at him, confused. "You're sorry that you caught me? That doesn't make sense, because I would've fallen."
"No, it's not that...I shouldn't have kissed you like that." Tommy shuffled his foot nervously, unable to look at her. "I'm sorry."
"Well....I liked it." Nana stood up and stared at him. "It was a bit weird for me...but I still enjoyed it."
Tommy finally looked up at her with a smile. "Well...I liked it, too."
"Good. Now let's go inside," the girl said.
Just as they were about to walk in, Takuya, Zoe, Kouichi, and Kouji were waiting at the front door.
"Tommy and Nana sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Takuya and Kouichi sang.
"Oh, shut up!" Tommy exclaimed.
Meanwhile
"What?! You didn't find anything out about Zoe?!" Director Kakuzawa exclaimed.
Kanae looked away, angry at the way he was screaming. Masaki only stared at him with an emotionless expression on his face.
"Did you honestly expect us to find her on the very first day?" Masaki asked dryly.
"Well, there's really no reason why you shouldn't have," Kakuzawa replied.
Kanae snorted. "Seriously, how the hell are we supposed to find her in a crowded city? For all we know, she may not even be in the area anymore. Ever think that she could've hopped on a plane to somewhere?"
"No, I know that she's somewhere around here," the directored inisisted. "I just know it. Trust me, she hasn't gone very far."
"But still, how are we supposed to find her so quickly?" Kanae asked.
Kakuzawa rubbed his throbbing temples and sighed. "I told you. Dicloniuses can sense each other, so therefore, you should've been able to find her."
"Well, I didn't sense her," Masaki told him monotonely.
"Me neither," Kanae added.
"Fine. You'll be sent out again tomorrow to keep looking," Kakuzawa told them.
Kanae huffed and crossed her arms. "Hey, if we're gonna be stuck wandering around for eight damn hours, the least you can do is give us money so that we can eat. I mean, you wouldn't want us to pass out from lack of energy, would you?"
The director groaned in aggravation. "Fine. You will each be given ten dollars a day and no more. If you do it wisely, ten dollars will be more than enough."
"I suppose...." Kanae mumbled.
"But you two didn't find anything about her?" He asked again. "Nothing at all?"
Masaki shrugged. "What do you want us to say? That we did find her just to shut you up?"
"No, I don't want you to tell me that you did if you didn't," the man retorted.
"Then no, we haven't found out anything about her. Haven't seen her, haven't sensed her, nothing. Now how many more times are you going to repeat yourself?" Masaki quipped.
Kakuzawa glared at him. "I grow tired of your attitude pretty quickly, Number Forty-Five. And as for you, Number Fifty-One, I am in no mood for your constant complaints."
"Well, get used to it," Kanae replied.
"Itami, Silverman, get them back into their chambers for the night," Kakuzawa ordered the scientists. "But make sure you get a blood sample from each of them before you do."
The female Diclonius glared at him. "Why do we have to go back in those godforsaken things?! I hate it in there!"
"That's not my problem, Number Fifty-One. And I need you to stay in those to ensure that you don't try to pull anything," he said to her.
"My name is Kanae, you stupid fuck! I'm not just a damn number so stop referring to me as one before I chop your nuts off!" She screamed at him.
Kakuzawa simply ignored her, paying attention to the scientists instead. "Once the samples have been taken, run them to the lab and see if you can find out anymore about these two. Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, release the Dicloniuses. I will be down to give them the money I said I would give them."
With that, he left the Dicloniuses and scientists, making his way to his office. He glanced at Miki, who was looking through a file in the corrider.
"Miki, get me some fresh coffee," he demanded. "And don't burn it this time."
"Yes, Director Kakuzawa, right away." She adjusted her glasses, then rushed off, her long black braid swaying slightly.
The director walked to his office, locking the door behind him. He sat down on his leather seat, an exasperated sigh coming from him.
"I was so sure that Zoe was in this area," he growled. "Why couldn't they sense her?"
He impatiently tapped his pen on his desk, a frown on his face.
"Maybe they lied to me and just didn't bother to tell me that they did sense her," he grumbled. "I'll have to make sure they're not lying to me before I let them leave tomorrow. If they think that they can get away with defying me, then they are horribly wrong...."
Okay, that is the end of the chapter. Yes, Kakuzawa is a paranoid little bastard ^_^ The next chapter is coming soon, so keep a lookout for it.