A/N: ohai thar! alright, only one update today, cause i'm tired and it was a long day. aything that is italicized means that it's not in english, usually chinese or japanese. on with the show!

Chapter 10

"I don't want you to tell him anything, aru," Yao said, a sigh in his voice. This was the tenth time he had to tell Kiku this…

"I hate lying. Why can't we tell him?" Kiku whispered, a pleading look in his eyes. He knew that the door to his room was closed and the other adults were still cleaning up dinner, but Arthur had ears like a hawk…

"We don't know anything about him, aru,"/i Yao said, resisting the urge to palmface.

"He saved us," Kiku said, sighing deeply and sagging his shoulders.

"Because he doesn't really know who you are, aru,"/i Yao hissed, gently gripping one of Kiku's shoulders. "If he knew—"

"He's my friend," Kiku said, feeling close to tears. He couldn't believe that Yao was being like this…

"Your friend?" Yao asked in utter disbelief. He had always taught Kiku not to befriend strangers. Then again, Arthur wasn't exactly a stranger anymore…

"He's the only one I have," Kiku said, his brown eyes wide and filled with sadness. "And I do not want to die with—"

"You're not going to die!" Yao snapped, making Kiku jump. Yao took a deep breath and looked at his brother and said in a more soothing voice, "Don't you ever say that again, aru—ever. Okay, aru?"

"Yes," Kiku said with a sigh.

Arthur sat in the kitchen, polishing his Sais with an expert hand. That assassin's blood was still on one of the blades and he was trying as hard as he could to get every last speck if the red flakes off. He had been at it for a few hours now, worrying both his friends. He knew he got a little OCD when it came to cleaning, but that was only once in a blue moon…

"Arthur?"

Arthur stopped what he was doing and turned around, looking into the open door to the basement and gasped. Arthur's heart nearly stopped when he saw a younger version of him walked up the stairs. The young boy walked over to Arthur and cocked his head to one side.

"What's wrong, Arthur?" the young boy asked in his innocent voice. Then, the voice started to change into one that was more familiar, "They told me to change my appearance, soo…"

Arthur blinked a few times, now seeing a blond Kiku standing in front of him, as defiant as ever. The Asian blinked back, a little confused as to why Arthur looked so mortified.

"That's not funny," Arthur said, glaring at the younger boy. "Take it off."

Kiku sighed and pulled off the blond wig, rolling his eyes all the while. He tossed the wig onto one of the counter tops, his eyes never straying from the blond. Arthur needed to take a few deep breaths before going back to his task. Kiku walked over and sat on the other end of the table, a smirk on his face.

"So, can you show me how to use those things, the, uh, salad tongs?" Kiku asked, fumbling over the name of the knives for a second.

"Sais," Arthur corrected, his green eyes not moving from the blade.

"Sais," Kiku echoed, picking one up slightly before Arthur pressed it back down onto the table.

"They're not for you," Arthur said simply. Kiku let go of the blade and retracted his arm.

"I want to learn how to defend myself," Kiku said, looking down at the blades in admiration.

"They're offensive weapons," Arthur said, taking a deep breath. "They're for killing."

"You use them," Kiku muttered in Japanese. Arthur's head snapped up and looked at the boy in confusion.

"I don't want you to be like me," Arthur replied in the same language, shocking Kiku for a second. The youth just smiled and looked back at the Brit.

"I do," Kiku said, his brown eyes shining with a light that scared Arthur.

Arthur sighed and put his Sai down on the table. He had only seen that look in the eyes of the monster that killed his parents, in the eyes of the people of the hand… in his own eyes. Arthur looked at the young man in front of him. This boy was a genius and here he was, being hunted down. He had his whole life ahead of him, like Arthur had at one point. He couldn't believe he was going to do this, but then again, what was new about that lately?

"You want to learn something really, really difficult?" Arthur asked, getting the boy's ears to perk up.

"Yeah," Kiku said with a smile, putting down the bottle of oil he had in his hands. "What?"

Arthur smiled a little. "Come on," he said, nodding towards the living room. He got up with the boy right on his heels. He stopped and turned to Kiku, who took a few steps back, his eyes bright. "Now sit down." Arthur sat down and Kiku looked at him oddly before also doing the same. They sat with their legs crossed, knees touching the other. Arthur sat with his back perfectly straight while the teen slouched a little. "Now close your eyes."

"What is this, yoga?" Kiku asked in an exasperated voice.

"No, it's called Kimagure," Arthur said, closing his eyes. He heard Kiku gasped lightly and opened one eye to look at the boy.

"Kimagure?" Kiku asked, his voice a little frightened. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Arthur said, arching one eyebrow at the boy. Kiku looked really frightened by just mentioning the name. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kiku said, almost immediately. "It's just that… I often heard my parent's speak of it… but I was little, I never really understood it…"

"It's more valuable than learning to use a weapon," Arthur said calmly. "It allows you to see what's going to happen before it happens."

"I remember something like that…" Kiku said, shrugging. He looked at Arthur, the spark back in his eyes. "So, how do you do it?"

"Concentrate," Arthur said, closing his eyes once again. "Meditate. Let go of yourself and see everything around you. It's not easy."

"Well, how long did it take you to master it?" Kiku asked, making Arthur open his eyes again.

"I… never actually finished my training… I only know enough to keep myself alive," Arthur said, shaking his head to rid himself of the horrid memory. "But there are true masters, like Germania, who can use Kimagure to bring back the dead."

"Wow," Kiku said, shock and awe written clearly on his face.

"Close your eyes and breath," Arthur said, closing his eyes once more.

Arthur took a deep breath, immediately emptying his mind and feeling wrapped in the warm embrace of meditation. Kiku, on the other hand, didn't find it as easy. He pursed his lips and sat hunched over, his leg shaking wildly. He didn't understand the whole 'empty your mind' concept since his own mind was racing with thoughts. He jumped when he felt Arthur's hand gripping his knee tightly, stopping it's shaking.

"Just. Sit. Quietly," Arthur said, his eyes still closed. Kiku sighed and decided to be a bit of a jackass. He inhaled quickly loudly and exhaled obnoxiously, causing Arthur to flinch. He inhaled again and stopped short when Arthur snapped, "Shh!"

Kiku turned his head to the side and exhaled quickly before turning back to Arthur, who was once again in a trance. Kiku watched the Brit in awe, amazed that the blond was really not all there. He leaned forward towards Arthur and mad a light popping noise. Arthur's face didn't move at all, and his body stayed as still as ever. Kiku started to move his fingers in front of Arthur's face, seeing if he could get a reaction. Absolutely nothing. Kiku leaned forward, seeing is being closer to the Brit did anything, stopping only when they were about an inch apart.

Arthur's eyes suddenly flew open and he yelled, making Kiku scream and fall back onto the floor. Arthur started to chuckle and Kiku looked at him like he was crazy before also starting in on the laughing. They both felt like totally goofballs and it wasn't a bad feeling at the moment. Just being able to be there and have a little fun was good enough for them.

Yao walked over to the living room, a little frantic when he heard Kiku scream. But when he saw the two laughing and smiling, he smiled as well. It had been a long time since he saw his brother smile that like. It felt good to have some sense of normalcy again…

one of my shorter chapters.

not much to say, really, other than the fact that the Asians ARE in fact hiding something.

reviews are a wonderful thing.