Karneval: Pyromancy

Pyromancy

Author's Note: Started on this Chapter as soon as I could. DemonCry, DeathBringer13, and Ice cream13, thank you for your comments. ChaelRi Reika, thank you for your artistic enthusiasm, I look forward to seeing the finished products. SnowshoeBombay, The Real JosephineSilver, Liuzheng, kaminokoe, and perce-neige thank you for the faves and follows. Anonymous guest readers on AO3, thanks for the Kudos. Hope you guys enjoy Gareki's brief but adorable moment of Out-Of-Characterness, also, some more HirAkari action. Oh, I'm also working on the side with a friend on another Karneval story, any fellow D&Ders or BESM players out there might enjoy it. She's pretty much decided she wants it to take place during the course of this story, so it'll be another side story set later in Gareki's school year. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Chapter 12: Family Ties

"What? Already?" Akari exclaimed.

"Ha! I knew he'd figure it out before the end of the year, you loose the bet, Akari-Chan!" Tsukitachi laughed.

Hirato and Tokitatsu both raised an eyebrow. "HOW does he he know?" Tokitatsu inquired.

"He pulled up his Classified Records in Hacking Class," Hirato sighed, "What I want to know is who's bright idea it was to update them?"

"Nobody's supposed to have access to those!" Tokitatsu exclaimed.

"That's why it's Hacking Class," Hirato replied.

"Even so, they're not taught how to access our computers," Tokitatsu said.

"This IS Gareki we're talking about," Akari said, "Knowing him, if he's anything like his Uncle Hirato, he got bored with being taught the easy stuff he already knew how to handle and challenged his teacher that he could access something bigger in exchange for extra credit or some arbitrary amount of time out of class, or something."

Tokitatsu fell silent. Hirato put a fist to his mouth and attempted to hide a laugh as though he were clearing his throat. Tsukitachi didn't bother to hide his amusement as he leaned back in his chair and chuckled. The two Ship Captains had no trouble believing this was exactly what happened. Like Akari said, this WAS Gareki they were talking about.

"I hadn't wanted him to learn about it," Hirato said, "He already knows Tokitatsu and I pulled a few strings to get him into Kuronomie, both times now. I didn't want him to go through his classes thinking we were both pulling strings to get him through out of nepotism," he cast an accusing eye toward his older sibling, "Plus, it's a burden to have to keep something like that a secret when working in Circus, it would have been better for him to continue thinking he was an orphan with no blood connections than to know he's related to some of the biggest names in the entire organization."

"I don't know about that," Tsukitachi said.

"Huh?" the others replied.

Tsukitachi leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk, his hands folded together. "WE all would think that way, because we've had the burden of having to hide our families from the public eye to keep them safe," Toktiatsu said, "Gareki on the other hand, has spent the last fifteen years of his life thinking he didn't have anyone. While he was free of the burden of having to hide his relations, I can only imagine what he must be feeling to suddenly realize he's not as alone as he always thought he was. Since he knows, I'm also not sure it's a good idea to keep the news hidden from Nai and Karoku, either. It would allow Nai to understand why he's so attached to Gareki in the first place. It would also put Karoku's mind at ease, knowing that while his parents have been MIA in the last fifteen years, he DOES have a younger brother, and that he and Nai can count on Circus protetion as Civilians, due to their blood ties."

"I agree that we should tell Karoku and Nai," Hirato nodded, "But, Karoku may think we're trying to trick him into being more cooperative with us."

"Let me know when you're ready to break the news, I'll come up the day before with the results from the blood work," Akari said, "Perhaps if Karoku sees the official proof on paper, it'll be easier. If Gareki knows, it's only fair for Karoku and Nai to know as well, for their own safety."

Tokitatsu sighed and nodded. "Very well, if you're all going to vote that way, I suppose I can't say No. Knowing the three of you, you'd go behind my back and do it anyway." The others all gave Tokitatsu a smug smirk in reply, only proving his point.

"There's one more thing, Toktiatsu," Hirato said, resting his cheek on his knuckles.

"What is that, Hirato?" Tokitatsu asked.

"From what I've learned from Yogi, Gareki didn't get his name until he was eight years old, when Tsubaki saved him after the ship was sunk. I can't wrap my mind around someone raising a child for eight years and not giving them a name, but he WAS sold onto that ship by his foster parents," Hirato said.

Tokitatsu nodded, "I remember reading in Yogi's report how Gareki had mentioned the people who sold him weren't really his parents, but were LIKE his parents. It doesn't make much sense to me, either."

"How did he end up in the hands of these people? Did Arumerita Nie and Nisu know them; further more, did they TRUST them to take better care of the boy than they had?" Hirato inquired.

"You want permission to ask Gareki to tell you how to locate them so you can get some answers, right?" Tokitatsu asked. Hirato raised an annoyed eyebrow. If there was anything the Second Ship Captain hated more than admitting Tokitatsu was his older brother, it was how well Tokitatsu could read him. "NOW who's guilty of nepotism," Tokitatsu chuckled. "Very well, I must admit I'm rather curious myself. Maybe these people know more about the circumstances behind his birth, at the very most; why he has the Incure Cells embedded directly into his DNA, at the least."

"I want to know why they chose to sell him," Akari stated, "Perhaps they knew about the Incure Cells, and who they were selling him to."

Hirato didn't have to voice his next thought. Everyone could tell by the look on his face that if it had been simply, 'because they needed the money', he would be one very irate individual.

"Kafka has still been mostly quiet since the Raid. There's been no Varuga activity since Merumerai, except for a few random stragglers, the one that downed your ship in Karasuna, the lesser one that attacked Karasuna, and the ones Gareki and Yogi encountered after their crash on the way to Kuronomie. Under those circumstances, we have the time and resources for me to allow this line of investigation. It may lead to uncovering more of Karoku's memories. It may lead to clues as to what happened to two of our top bio-scientists. It might even give us an idea what to look for in our next move against Kafka, IF these people know anything at all once we find them," Tokitatsu said. "However, Hirato, no matter their reasons, I expect you to remember you're a member of Circus, conduct yourself professionally, maintain your composure, and restrain your temper."

"Is that an order, or a request?" Hirato asked, crossing his arms and legs, a scowl sweeping across his face.

"Both," Toktitatsu replied.

"I shouldn't have to remind you, that when it comes to the safety and happiness of the children aboard my ship, I do easily become annoyed to see that threatened," Hirato said, "But I ALWAYS maintain my composure."

*~Back At Kuronomei~*

Gareki rolled over on his back and pulled his phone from his pocket. He'd tried to change the 'Nyanperowna' ring tone, but found there was only one other option and he liked it even less. He sighed when he saw the name of the caller and flipped the phone open. "Yogi, I have a headache the size of a mountain at the moment," he grumbled into the phone, using a pillow to cover his forehead and eyes. The lights were off, the door was locked, he wasn't sure if Shishi had his room key to get in or not, but he didn't care, he wanted to be alone and hidden for the moment. "What do you want?"

"Ne, Garekiiii-Kuuun!" Yogi's voice wailed over the phone, "Is it true!? Is Hirato-San REALLY your uncle!?"

Gareki froze, eyes widened. "Yeah, I suppose so," he reluctantly admitted, "But how did you...?"

"I overhear..." Yogi started.

"You've REALLY got to stop doing that," Gareki sighed, "You're worse than I am about eavesdropping."

Yogi pouted. "At least I don't do it on purpose like you and Nai-Chan," he grumbled, feeling like a scolded child.

"Nai can't help it," Gareki replied, "If he's close enough to overhear something, he simply overhears it. The kid talks to plants for crying out loud! I do it out of habit of necessity. Listening in to conversations for information has been an unfortunate but necessary means of survival for me. This Course I'm going through now won't change that, unfortunately. You, on the other hand, have a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the right time, overhearing a conversation you weren't meant to overhear, and then jumping to conclusions; just like when you heard I was leaving the Ship and thought I was leaving for good." Gareki sighed, "Who'd you over hear him talking with?"

"Everybody," Yogi said, "I could get in trouble if they even knew I'd been outside the door to be honest."

Gareki raised an annoyed eyebrow, "If you're calling about this in hopes I'll get you out of trouble..." he started. "Wait, who's everyone?"

"Tokitatsu-San, Tsukitachi-San, and Akari-Sensei. They all seemed surprised you knew," Yogi answered in a whispered hush, after a swallowed gulp of air.

"Yogi, I can count on you, can't I?" Gareki asked, "Promise me you won't say anything to anyone else?"

Yogi nodded, though he knew Gareki couldn't see him do so over the phone, "I promise, Gareki-Kun. But..."

"But?" Gareki asked.

"They're planning on telling Nai-Chan and Karoku-Kun," Yogi said, "I don't know if they plan to tell anyone else on the ship or not. But, I'm happy for you, Gareki-Kun," Yogi said.

"Huh?" Gareki asked curiously.

"It must be exciting to learn that Hirato-San's your uncle?" Yogi said.

"EXCITING isn't exactly the word I'd use for it," Gareki groaned.

"And that Karoku-Kun and Nai-Chan are your brothers," Yogi finished. Once more Gareki froze. He hadn't thought about how Nai and Karoku factored into everything yet. But wait, Tokitatsu and Hirato were half brothers with the same father, did that mean Nie was Hirato's sister from the same mother? He sat up and put a hand to his head, it had started to throb. Karoku had been just outside of Karasuna, inside the Niji Forest with Nai. But, Karoku was only eighteen, meaning he was only three years old when Gareki was born, there was no way he could have taken care of himself, and besides, Gareki had spent the first eight years of his life far away from Karasuna. Something wasn't adding up right in Gareki's head and it was making it hurt even worse. "Gareki-Kun?" Yogi asked worriedly when the other end of the phone had gone silent for so long.

Gareki closed his eyes and shook his head. "Even my birth parents had abandoned me?" he thought. He had to change the subject before he made himself sick. He glanced outside the window, was it his imagination, or did it look like a storm was coming in? "It's nothing, Yogi," he sighed, leaning back against the headboard of his bed, propping himself up with a pillow. "Speaking of Nai, how's he doing?"

"He's as healthy as ever," Yogi answered, "Tsukumo-Chan says he's making good progress in his studies."

"No, I don't mean that," Gareki said calmly, "He still sends me messages every day to let me know that. I mean, is he lonely? Is he still in our room or has he moved in with Karoku?"

"Oh, that," Yogi sighed. "He refuses to leave your room. When he's not spending his time with Tsukumo-Chan or the Sheep, he's always with Karoku-Kun during the day. But he insists on staying in the room you shared with him. I think he's still lonely without you, though. I suggested to Hirato-San we should get him a real life plant, like a cactus or something to put in the room to help him with that until you get back, since Yukkin stays with me."

Gareki raised an eyebrow. Sometimes, Yogi's brief moments of brilliant insight amazed him. "Don't worry about that," Gareki chuckled, with a knowing smile, "Tell Nai to keep an eye out on the next shipment of Sheep that are delivered to the Ship. There should be one that's going to be just perfect for him to play with." Gareki reached over and scritched a finger over the top of the head of the stuffed Niji, which he now left sitting at the head of the bed. This had been a conscious action, since the little Niji half he cared so much for had become the topic of discussion. What HADN'T been a conscious act was that shortly after answering the phone, Gareki had wrapped his arms around the stuffed Nyanperowna and was still holding it close, tucked under his arm. He blinked as he realized how tightly he was holding the stuffed cat. He sighed and gave a quiet smile. Even over the phone, he was comfortable enough to drop his guard for Yogi. His eyes shifted toward the door and he smiled, knowing it was locked. Leanin back he sat the stuffed doll on his stomach, facing it toward himself, placing a gentle kiss on its forehead.

"Eh? What do you mean by that, Gareki-Kun?" Yogi asked.

"You'll see," Gareki answered a vague hint of laughter in his voice. "Look, I can't believe I'm going to ask this, but I REALLY need a bit of distraction right now. Why don't you fill me in on what's been going on on the Ships for the past month... And don't freak out if I get too quiet, chances are I might fall asleep while listening to you."

Yogi's eyes darted side to side for a moment. He hadn't expected such a request. He smiled and closed his eyes with a happy sigh. "Alright," he said, settling down on his own bed and tucking a Nyanperowna pillow under himself. "Where should I start?"

"Start with when you got back to the Ship, and go on up until today, but only the big things, alright? I don't need every little detail," Gareki stipulated.

"Ok," Yogi answered. As he began talking, he had no way of fathoming what was going on in Gareki's room. Gareki had already found and hacked every piece of equipment set up in the room by the Informations Students that were meant to keep track of him and Shishi before calling Hirato. Every piece of equipment was getting a false video and audio feed, and yet it was a simple enough fix that he could set it all straight before Shishi finished his classes for the day. Knowing there was no way anyone could get the footage of him doing so, he pulled down the shade and settled down with the stuffed Nyanperowna doll. He'd die if anyone ever caught him doing this, but as Yogi talked, he moved the arms of the doll to try and envision the blonde's reactions to the things that had happened. It was a better distraction than he'd hoped for. "Gareki-Kun...?" Yogi paused after a good time of talking without any sound coming from Gareki's end of the phone. He'd only covered up to the start of last week. He started to worry, but then remembered what Gareki had told him. He smiled. "Sleep well, Gareki-Kun." With that, he hung up the phone and curled up on the bed, deciding to take a short cat nap himself.

*~The Following Week~*

"Gareki is my WHAT?" Karoku exclaimed, with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm afraid it's true," Hirato replied, "I was quite stunned when I heard the news."

"This isn't some kind of trick, is it?" Karoku asked.

"Not at all," Hirato answered sincerely.

"I have the proof right here," Akari said, handing the paperwork over to Karoku.

Tokitatsu had tried to convince Hirato not to reveal anything more than Gareki's relationship to Karoku when approaching the blue haired teenager and his pet Niji-Halfling on the subject, but this was one instance where he had been outvoted by everyone involved. Hirato felt that total honesty was needed, and Akari and Tsukitachi both reluctantly agreed.

"So, that means Gareki is my brother, too?" Nai asked curiously.

"Brother, Uncle, which ever you prefer to call him, Nai," Hirato said with a smile.

"Don't get too excited, Nai," Karoku snipped as he flipped through the test results, "I'm not going to accept that so easily without... Proof..." He blinked as he held the results in his hands. He couldn't argue with the data. His blue eyes turned up toward the Second Ship Captain, "And that makes you our Uncle?"

"Surprisingly, yes," Hirato admitted.

"How?" Karoku asked.

"I'll be honest, I don't remember your mother, she must have been raised by her father, while she and I shared the same mother. I have another brother from my father, I spent the later years of my life with their family after my mother passed on, until I joined Circus," Hirato exposited, "Circus tends to keep family documents sealed from the public, so I had no way of knowing Nie and I were related. There's a chance she wasn't aware of it either."

"She never mentioned a brother," Karoku confirmed, "But she didn't have any other children. I don't see how Gareki... How THIS," he held up the results, "could even be possible!"

Hirato and Akari both raised an eyebrow. "You remember that much about her?" Akari asked.

Karoku nodded. "She's the one who taught me how to read the formula in the book, that I used to save Nai. Gareki's only fifteen, right? That means I was three when he was born, I wouldn't have been old enough to remember him being born, but I think I would have remembered growing up with a brother. Even Nai didn't know anything about Gareki until they met in that witch's tower, right?"

"Gareki doesn't know anything about his birth family," Akari stated calmly, "He was raised by a couple who sold him to a slave ship when he was eight. We don't know her reasons, but we believe she may have left him with these people after he was born."

"Your mother may have been running from someone, or something when he was born," Hirato said, "She and your father were both top scientists for Circus at the time that they went missing. Perhaps she thought carrying both a three-year-old and a newborn would slow her down, so she left him with someone she thought she could trust to watch over him, in hopes that he would be safe there."

"The Ship is currently on course to Kuronomei, so we can ask Gareki if he has any idea as to how to locate these people. They may know what happened to her, or why Kafka targeted you at all," Akari added.

"Does that mean we all get to go see Gareki?" Nai asked, hopefully.

The others fell silent for a moment. Nai's enthusiasm about seeing his favorite, human made them all wonder if he even understood any of what had been said in the past few minutes beyond, 'Yes, you and Gareki are related'.

"He's busy with his studies, Nai," Karoku said calmly, "It's possible we'll be allowed to see him, but don't get your hopes up too high, alright?" Nai gave a quiet nod. Akari and Hirato frowned. They had thought that Karoku would be excited to learn that Gareki was his younger brother. Instead, he appeared upset to find he wasn't an only child. "Who else knows about this?" Karoku asked.

"Tokitatsu-San, Tsukitachi-San, Gareki-Kun, and the four of us in this room," Akari said.

"And the Instructor for his hacking class, who happened to be looking over his shoulder when he pulled up the information," Hirato added, "Unless he's volunteered the information himself, no one else knows, as far as I'm aware."

"See that it stays that way," Karoku requested.

"Karoku?" Nai asked blinkingly.

Karoku smiled at the Halfling. "It's a secret, alright, Nai? Even Yogi-Kun and Tsukumo-Chan can't know, OK? If the wrong people know that we're related to Gareki-Kun, it could cause trouble." Nai nodded in quiet understanding. The last thing the little half-Niji wanted was to create trouble for Gareki.

"I doubt any harm would come from Yogi learning the truth," Hirato said, thinking back to the way Gareki and Yogi had acted after learning the truth about the berries they had eaten during the trip to Kuronomei. He was certain the two were trying to keep the obvious results secret. On top of that, he was well aware that Yogi had a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and unintentionally overhearing conversations. He was also well aware that Gareki was more than comfortable with opening up to Yogi, as it was Yogi who's report had filled them in on Gareki's background before he'd met Nai. "But, I agree that we shouldn't bring it up ourselves."

Hirato dismissed Nai and Karoku and adjourned to Hirato's room. They talked about the idea of looking for the people who had sold Gareki, straying as far away from blood ties conversations as possible. Akari walked in front of Hirato, rather than next to or behind him, and he moved in quick stride. Hirato sighed and grabbed Akari's wrist outside the door to his room. Making sure no one saw them, he yanked the doctor into the room and quickly shut the door.

"Hirato, what the hell are you doing?" Akari asked as he heard the lock on the door click.

"We were coming here anyway, weren't we?" Hirato replied.

Akari frowned and crossed his arms. "NOT what I meant," the doctor retorted.

Hirato frowned. Akari had been acting distant lately, even refusing to let Hirato's usual antics upset him. "I can't help but get the feeling you're still annoyed with me for my actions during our last encounter," Hirato observed.

Akari raised an eyebrow. "Quite astute of you," he said, "I told you not to go poking your nose into places it didn't belong. If Tokitatsu hadn't been the one who gave the go ahead to look into this, you and Tsukitachi both could have been compromised."

"Let me ask you something, Akari-San," Hirato sighed, "If you were so adamant that looking into files that concerned the both of us, as well as someone who's been aboard my ship for nearly a year would get us into trouble, then why were Gareki's classified files updated? Granted we have some of the best protection software available, but as Gareki's proven, people can even find ways around that if they try hard enough."

"I'm not the one who updated those files," Akari sighed, sitting on the bed, legs and arms crossed. "Azana still hasn't been located since he fled from us during the raid at the Smokey Mansion. The defense protocols on the computers at Research Tower have been updated and the system has been set to alert us if he tries to access our systems remotely. But, that doesn't change the fact that he was once a member of the Tower. He knows how things work there and even though his specialty has always been wildlife, he might know a few tricks to get around those new barriers. Updating Gareki's files from there would have been taking a risk. Which means it was either Tsukitachi..."

"Quite unlikely. He loves his pranks as much as I do, perhaps more so, but even he wouldn't do something he thought would cause a security level of inconvenience," Hirato defended.

Akari raised an eyebrow. Sometimes he wondered if Hirato noticed the jealous rivalry between the doctor and the First Ship Captain that was completely fueled by the Second Ship Captain's very presence. "I should have known you'd defend him," Akari muttered under his breath, looking away from the Captain. "OR it was Tokitatsu who thought Z Table systems were more secure," he said aloud, "and didn't realize just how capable your nephew really is."

"That I'm more inclined to believe," Hirato admitted, approaching the bed. "My brother really gave you a scolding for letting me get a hold of that information before he was ready to let us in on what was going on, didn't he?" Hirato's voice was calm and understanding as he started to realize what it really was that had upset the doctor. He gave a knowing smirk. Akari felt used and betrayed by Hirato's actions, even though he'd known the angle Hirato had been playing. "I'm sorry, Akari-San," he said, gently catching hold of Akari's chin, "You're right. I shouldn't have manipulated you like that."

But that wasn't all. Akari was worried. Tokitatsu may have been Hirato's brother from the same father, but Nie was his sister from the same mother, and while they were both listed as MIA, she and her husband were both under suspicion for abandonment and treason. Such blood ties, now that they all knew, could land Hirato, Karoku, Nai, and Gareki all under close scrutiny if discovered, unless they all stepped forward and admitted it openly of their own will.

"If you find those people, are you really going to be able to control yourself when you learn why they sold Gareki? IF they're even willing to talk to you? You can't use the same 'interrogation' tactics on them that you did with me, and you certainly can't use the same ones that you use on a Power Holder if they're simple civilians," Akari said.

Hirato wrapped his arms around the doctor and smiled. "It takes severe risk or injury to you or one of my children to anger me," he said, "I'm quite certain I can contain myself and still get them to speak with me. Even with simple civilians, I have my ways of getting them to talk, my dear Akari-San. My mother always praised me for having a silver tongue."

"Sure it's silver and not forked?" Akari asked with a playful smirk.

"Hmm... You would know best, wouldn't you?" Hirato chuckled, giving Akari's tie a gentle tug, before pressing his lips to the doctor's. As the tongue in question gently pushed its way inside Akari's mouth, Hirato could feel the change as the doctor dropped all of his defenses, almost melting in his hands. As their tongues intertwined, Hirato picked up on a faint lingering scent and flavor of coffee as they kissed. It was a welcome change to the scent of antiseptics that sometimes accompanied his pink-haired lover. He gently pushed forward, forcing Akari back on the bed. Hirato removed his gloves and gently began unbuttoning Akari's shirt.

Akari shivered as he felt Hirato's fingers glide across his bare chest. He broke the kiss with a soft gasp. "Damn it, Hirato, you always know how to vex me," he protested.

Hirato gave a soft smile. "You enjoy it, or you wouldn't let it happen so often," the Captain pointed. "But that's not what I'm trying to do right now." He'd wronged Akari the last time they were together, and he knew it. "I didn't mean to hurt you," he said quietly, "And I'm sorry to make you worry." He leaned forward and kissed Akari once more. "Let me make it up to you," he whispered.