Author's Note: Nik_pandah, thank you for being the first commenter since I returned to this story, and thanks for your suggestion, I actually wasn't sure how to start this chapter off at first. ^_^ 3 KONCT_Chizza_Picken, thank you for all your comments, too. I'm so glad I could give you all those 'warm fuzzies" in the last chapter. Glad you guys are still enjoying the story.

Synopsis:

Karneval: Pyromancy

Chapter 20: Making Amends

Gareki sighed as he hung up the phone. "I was so quiet, I wonder if he even heard me?" he thought, "Damn! Why is that so hard to say?"" He pressed the button on his laptop to shut off the false audio\video feed.

Shishi waited a moment, and sighed as he opened the door. "Hey, Gareki, you're back early. Did you earn extra credit again?" he greeted him.

Gareki laughed, leaning back against the wall. "No, but I created more work for the mechanics class," he admitted.

Shishi froze, mid reach for his towel. "What did you do, Gareki?" he asked.

"Let's just say, the combat room is about to undergo some renovations," Gareki said, hesitantly.

Shishi turned and faced Gareki, his hands on his hips, eyebrow raised, towel and change of clothes draped off his wrist. "Gareki?"

Gareki shrugged and sighed. "I set some of the training bots on fire, and part of the room. They tried to call Hirato and charge him for the damages. He refused them, telling them to give them to the mechanics class to repair, use the school's funds to replace those we couldn't repair, and to call Tokitatsu should th e funds not be enough, " he explained with a chuckle.

"Well, the bright side is you got us out of P.T. for a while," Shishi joked.

"What about you," Gareki asked, "Did your classes run a little longer than usual, you should have been back here about ten minutes or so ago."

"I was, " Shishi admitted. "I... I heard you on the phone, thought I'd give you some space this time."

"How much did you hear? " Gareki asked.

"Enough to confirm my earlier suspicions; you and Lieutenant Yogi are closer than you care to admit, and you and Tsubame-Chan have known each other for a long time. Enough to deduce that you've had a harder run of life, than I initially thought. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but, who are they to you, Gareki? How do you know the crew of Ship 2, how do you know Tsubame-Chan?"

"What I can tell you is that I met Tsubame-Chan after her older sister pulled me out of the wreckage of a shop when I was little, any further information, you'll have to ask her what she's comfortable divulging," Gareki crossed his arms, "As for Ship 2... Let's just say, I got on the wrong train."

"Fair enough," Shishi relented. "Look, Gareki, I know I've been kind of an ass lately, and I'm sorry. I thought you and the lieutenant were already in a relationship and was teasing you in attempt to coax an admission out you, but it sounds more like you guys are still figuring that kind of stuff out. So, I'll give it a rest," he promised. "And you... You really look like you need a hug, right now."

"No thanks, I'm fine," Gareki denied, "Where were you half an hour ago, when I really did need it?" he thought. Nai's laughter came in over Gareki's laptop speakers. "Crap, I forgot to shut down the monitoring systems," he scolded himself

"What's that, a video from home?" Shishi asked, leaning in to look at Gareki's screen.

"It's a live feed," Gareki admitted.

Nah was playing tag with Naira. "Cute kid, is that your little brother?" Shishi asked.

Gareki smiled. Brother, nephew? No one had really deemed what was the best term for it. Koroku was the one who had conducted the experiment that gave Nai his human body, but Nie had been the one who created the formula in order to do so. "Yeah," he said, fondly.

"Is this the kid you left to help them find?" Shishi asked. Gareki gave a quiet nod. Shishi smiled, and patted Gareki's shoulder, "I think I'm starting to understand you a little better, now, Gareki."

"Geeze, Shishi, " Gareki complained, pushing the older teen's hand off his shoulder, "You reek of engine oil, go get your shower already!"

Shishi laughed. "Alright, alright, I'm going, I'm going."

"Hey, Nai, do you mind if I take a closer look at Naira?" Koroku asked, as the hybrid and his new toy passed him on the hallway.

"Sure, Koroku," Nai agreed.

Koroku knelt down and took the robotic sheep in his hands, she was the same size and color as the others. Koroku ran his hands along the rim of Naira's top hat and felt the power button. "I wonder if all the Sheep have their button there?" he thought out loud, "Naira, did Gareki build you from scratch, or did he refurbish you from spare, discarded parts?"

"My frame, Circus approved software, and wool were all premade. Gareki-San programmed my data banks, secondary system, back up syster, and communications technology all on his own. He even preprogrammed my voice recognition so I would automatically recognize Nai-Chan, Tsukumo-Chan, Hirato and Tsukitachi -San, Lieutenant Yogi, Eva-San, and you. As well as one person not on the ship named Yanari-Kun," she explained, "I am programmed to help keep track of Nai-Chan and to take orders from any one of those prerecorded voices. I am to disregard orders from any others, besides Gareki-San himself. He also programmed me to play games such as tag, hide and seek, tick-tack-toe, and Chess or Checkers. And just as Yukkin has a heating function, my wool can work as a heating pad."

"I didn't ask for all that, but I have to admit, I'm impressed," Koroku said. "And here, I initially thought these were just a vanity addition," the young scientists said, running a finger over the rim of Naira's goggles, "But you can actually communicate with him while wearing these?"

"I can remotely receive text commands and transfer visual and audio data back to his laptop, but voice command requires a speaker phone or for Gareki-San to be here in person," Naira confirmed.

Koroku's phone buzzed. He was surprised to see Gareki's name on the called ID. "Hello?" Koroku answered.

"Yeah, I can see and hear you while she's still wearing the goggles, Jackass," Gareki scoffed, "What's you're deal, anyway? What have you got against me? Surely you're not jealous Nai actually liked me, are you? You honestly think I would add a detail like that out of vanity without giving it a functional use?"

Koroku chuckled, "Not at all, but the way I see it, you and I have got fifteen and a half years of sibling rivalry to catch up on."

Gareki raised an eyebrow, "Sibling rivalry? That's it? I don't need that kind of negativity in my life, right now, thank you. I've already went through all that once with Yotaka."

"I know," Koroku admitted, "If we're being honest here, until I heard Katashi-San's story about our father leaving you with them, I wasn't prepared to accept I even had a brother. I thought it was an elaborate hoax devised by Hirato and Akari-Sensei to convince me to work with them. Yogi had already left the room, but I spoke my mind to her before Tsukumo-Chan escorted Nai and me out. I'm sorry you had to deal with those awful people for eight years, I think I would have liked to have gotten to know you as a little brother."

Gareki sighed, he wasn't sure if he could survive any more emotions today, but now that he had Koroku on the phone, he had to ask, "Say, Koroku, how well do you remember them?"

"Huh?" Koroku blinked, taken aback by the unexpected question.

"There's no way a three year old can survive on his own in the middle of the Neko Forest, no matter how smart we are," Gareki stated, "How long did she stay with you? How well do you remember either of them? I never got the chance to know either of them, are they even still alive, or did they disappear like you did?" Koroku sighed and shook his head, "I don't remember how old I was the last time I saw our father. Mom disappeared just before I found Nai," he reached over and ruffled a hand through the halfling's hair. "I honestly don't know if either of them is really alive or not, but I have a feeling they are."

"Is there anything you can tell me about them?" Gareki asked.

Koroku smiled, "Yeah, maybe you should sit down."