A/N: I wanted to update my two most recent fanfics before reigning in the New Year! Enjoy!

The Meeting

"What the hell?!" Birthday cried! "So that big job offer, that wasn't real?!"

Koneko nodded. The next day, she and Master told everyone what happened at the café and the meeting with the dog. After explaining the situation to Hamatora, everyone had various reactions. Needless to say, they were all very unhappy, but none more so than Nice, who had yet to return from chasing after the dog yesterday. However, each one of them was taking the news a little differently from each other:

Murasaki wasn't so much mad at Cap for lying as he was mad at Nice for being the primal cause of this ploy. Ratio seemed to be more interested in the mysterious identity of Cap and why he would make his friends go out of their way to deliver a paltry letter to someone he probably hadn't seen since he was twelve. Birthday was the only one who seemed truly outraged about the whole thing, ranting on and on about finding the stiff, making him pay every dime he had, burning down his house, and then doing background checks for any future customers—unless, of course, they met his standards. Hajime just sat at the counter munching on a burger, more worried about Nice than anything, although she didn't show it.

And while everyone was still taking in this new development, Koneko began to ponder about it as well. The meeting with that strange dog Minimum Holder was unusual albeit very intriguing. She hadn't gone to Facultas Academy like the others, so she assumed they might have a clue as to who this "Cap" is. But it seemed that Nice was the only one who remembered him.

"You said this guy was trying to get Nice's attention?" Ratio asked Koneko. She nodded again and he looked away thoughtfully. "Strange. I don't remember going to school with a boy by that name."

"How are you not mad?!" Birthday exclaimed, still obviously incensed.

"It seemed pretty obvious from the get-go there was no money, considering this guy's sketchy background," Murasaki answered. "Besides, none of our customers have offered us such a hefty payment before."

"Not yet, anyway!"

"Where's Nice now?"

Koneko's mouth was already open to reply, but seeing Master shake his head, she shut up abruptly and frowned. It seemed Nice still needed to be left alone, for the time being.

"He's not with the guy, is he?" Birthday inquired, completely oblivious to the somber atmosphere. His anger quickly dissipated and was replaced by his ravenous smirk. "That's so like him. Leaving the rest of us out of the fun."

"You think he already found the guy?" Ratio asked, suspicious.

"This guy is supposed like a brother to him, and he's in trouble, isn't he? Leave it to our valiant Sonic Minimum Holder to go to his rescue! And sure, he may not be rich, but I doubt he would leave his long-lost buddy empty-handed."

"You're such a leech."

Everyone turned to the voice at the door. Birthday was already out of his seat to welcome them. Well, to welcome her. "It's nice to see you, too, Honey. And you too, girls." His hands were inches aware from her breasts until a guttural growl came from behind the young woman. "And Three. I-I almost forgot about you." He inched away from Honey, facing away from the older man's predatory gaze.

"Why does everyone look so depressed?" Honey asked, ignoring the lecher.

"Someone offered a job, but it turned out to be a trick," Koneko explained.

"More like a lure to get to Nice," Murasaki clarified.

Koneko retold the story to Honey, who seemed to respond better than the others about the whole fiasco.

"Cap, huh? I thought that name sounded familiar."

Everyone turned attentively to the brunette. "You know him?" Koneko asked.

"I don't know the guy personally, but I do know a guy who knows him. They're roommates."

"What?!" everyone cried.

Birthday had Honey by the shoulders. "Someone actually lives with this dick?! Who is he?! Where does he live?!"

"Let go of me!" She punched him and brushed her coat as if to dust his germs off. "That's none of your business. I don't even know where they live, and even if I did, I'm not in any place to tell anyone anything, least of all you," she poked Birthday's chest, "so don't bug me. And anyway, Cap just wanted to see Nice, right? I'm sure Nice can handle himself if anything happens, so there's no reason for the rest of us to get involved."

Birthday rubbed his jaw. Honey was not athletic in any way, shape, or form, but she had one hell of a mean swing. "Why do you care so much?"

Honey took a seat at the bar and crossed her legs casually. "I don't. That's why I'm not getting involved."

"Getting involved in what?"

Standing at the door was Superintendent Art, who looked at the group in question inquisitively.

"Nothing," Honey said nonchalantly.

"We're talking about Nice and this guy he used to know at Facultas, Cap," Birthday said contrarily. Honey kicked him. "Ow! I thought you didn't care!"

"I don't."

"Then stop hitting me whenever I bring it up!"

"Cap?" Art repeated.

"You know him?" Birthday pried, almost too excited for his own good.

Art put a fist under his chin reflectively before shaking his head. "No, sorry. I don't believe I know anyone by that name."

Murasaki narrowed his gaze at him. Something passed through those heliotrope eyes before he answered, and the young detective had a feeling Art and Honey were hiding something from the rest of them, although he did agree with Honey about putting this to rest; even the dog Minimum Holder warned them not to get involved. Everything about this "Cap" was just too suspicious, and it didn't seem like it was worth the risk of looking into.

Of course, knowing Nice, he was out there doing the exact opposite. For a genius, he could be really stupid sometimes.

"Where is Nice?" Art asked curiously.

"Looking for the bastard," Birthday grumbled.

"Would you stop moping?" Honey said irately. "There are other people out there who need your help and are willing to give you the cash up front. Why don't you gripe to them?"

"When do you think Nice will be back?" Art inquired.

"I'm not sure," Koneko answered honestly. "He went after the client's friend and he hasn't been back since. He could return at any moment."

"So we shouldn't waste any more time waiting for him," Murasaki said.

"I agree," Ratio added. Grabbing Birthday by the collar, the doctor began dragging his deviant cohort out of Café Nowhere, earning punitive whining from the carrot top.

"Good riddance," Honey murmured. But Murasaki didn't miss the relieved sigh that came after that muttered response.

Something wasn't right this morning, Scarlet could feel it. As soon as she woke up feeling refreshed and well-rested, she thought the worst had happened.

For a normal human being, waking up fully recharged was not something to get panicky about. But when you lived with the most vexing roommate in Yokohama, you never woke up like a normal human being, especially if that roommate was Beta.

But Scarlet only had herself to blame. She wanted her own room with her own bathroom and a kitchen she didn't have to share with five other people. Unfortunately, five people was too many for the apartment downstairs, and there was one spare bedroom in hers. Break shared a room with Rei, and Yan and Yuzuki were completely inseparable, so of course they'd share a room, too. That only left two options for Beta, and he would absolutely not sleep on the couch knowing that Rei's other body was in the bathroom (she really couldn't blame him for that, though). She was completely fine with it… until she found out Beta was the only person who woke up at six in the morning without a purpose for doing so.

But instead of being woken up by jazz, scatting, and the occasional rigged alarm on her phone, today she was woken up by a blissful morning of glorious sunshine and harmonious chirping. Something was definitely wrong.

Her panic quelled slightly once she caught the whiff of pancakes—chocolate chip pancakes topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, to be precise. Though the scent was weak, she could still smell the scrumptious breakfast food from the hallway. Entering the kitchen, Scarlet saw a plate of the fluffy delicacies, but they looked untouched, not a single bite taken. And no Beta in sight, either. Strange…

"The pancakes got cold."

She jumped, completely unaware of his presence until he spoke. Walking around the corner she saw a head of light brown hair lying against the back of the couch in the den.

Like a hunter approaching a chary deer, Scarlet slowly made her way over to the couch. That impish grin on his face was gone. His hands chilled behind his head in a blasé manner and he seemed to be thinking really hard about something. He finally looked over at her, repeating, "The pancakes got cold." She raised a brow. Beta was a giant, obnoxious ball of energy; to see him this calm was giant red flag.

"I heard you the first time. Why didn't you wake me like you usually do?" He shrugged. "What? No, 'Rise and shine, princess!'? No rigged alarms? No threatening to tell the others about my 'jobs'." Another shrug. She frowned. "What the hell's with you today? You're acting… normal, which is… abnormal."

The brunette adjusted his hat onto his head. "Come on. We're gonna be late."

"Late for what?" Beta said nothing more as he went to the door.

Outside waiting for them, an annoyed-looking mutt glared at the two lollygaggers. It looked like a Shiba Inu, except it had longer ears, a straighter tail, and the build of a beagle. Its frustration resonated from the glowing red eye. "What took you two so long?"

"Sorry. It took a while to wake her up."

"You didn't wake me at all!" The brunette ignored her and walked past the two to the stairs.

Scarlet turned to the four-legged Minimum Holder, confused as hell. "Am I missing something?"

"Didn't he tell you?" She answered his stupid question with a glare. "We have a meeting today."

Time seemed to freeze the moment right after Rei said those words to her.

We have a meeting today.

Nothing good ever came out of a congregation between all the fellow "Lost and Begotten". Only two had ever taken place, both called upon by Break, and when they had these meetings, it meant someone was in trouble, which meant they were all in trouble. After two years in this complex, Scarlet had finally had her own routine, and she was sure if she asked the others, they would've felt the same. The only reason she could think Break would call them all together was because he finally figured out she was working with the police, or rather, just the superintendent, but the only reason he would know that was if either Beta told him or if Rei somehow found out on his own, as he was the stoic's eyes and ears. From the way that mongrel was looking at her, he didn't seem to suspect her of anything. Hopefully it'd stay that way.

"Did Break say why we're having a meeting?"

"Break will explain once we all get there." Knowing that was the closest she'd get for an answer, Scarlet begrudgingly nodded and followed him to the apartment below.

The pair descended the stairs in silence, and by the time they got to the room, Beta was already inside, looking as placid and un-Beta-y as ever. She could only assume he also had something to hide seeing as he refused to speak to anyone. The only people who were acting completely normal were Yan and Yuzuki, the alabaster little girl sitting on the equally pale boy's lap while they were both reading the same manga, completely phlegmatic. But it wasn't like they had any secrets.

Before they all escaped the labs, each one of them was just a clueless kid stuck in a hellish situation. Yan and Yuzuki were the only ones who were originally from the labs, having no clue of their origins and little to no human contact with people from the outside. If any of them had nothing to hide, it was those two.

Break was nowhere to be seen, but Scarlet knew he would show sooner or later so she didn't bother to find a place to sit. Honestly, she thought this was all a big waste of time. If he knew she was working with Art, there was no need to have a meeting about it. Whatever he had to say he should just say it to her face instead of calling her out in front of everyone.

As if he could sense her acrid thoughts toward him, Break entered the den with a bottle of sake and a couple of shot glasses, which meant he was pissed; he wouldn't have brought out the alcohol while Yuzuki was in the room, otherwise. Yan, not very appreciative of the action, took Yuzuki into their bedroom before coming back out and taking one of the shot glasses, not hesitating to pour himself a drink. Most of them were underage, but shots were the only tradition during a meeting that got everyone on board. The buzz made the process less painful, but no one was allowed to drink so much that their senses were completely numbed.

However, no one else was willing to grab a glass. Beta held his phone tightly in his grasp, and Rei, who would normally switch back to his original body to partake in the tradition, sat obediently next to Break. Scarlet crossed her arms, glaring daggers at the laurel-haired stoic.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Break addressed her, "Don't you want to sit, Scarlet?"

"Why bother? We all know what this meeting is about."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She clenched her fists and used every ounce of self-restraint from snatching up the sake bottle and throwing it at him. God, he was as frustratingly ambiguous as Art! "Can we just cut the crap and get to it already? Why don't you just tell us why you called us all here for a meeting—!"

"You can cut the dramatic banter, Scarlet. That's my department." Beta, who interrupted her, stood from the couch, a small smirk worming its way onto his face. He almost looked like himself again. With a flippant wave of the hand, he gestured to Break, saying, "Go ahead, boss," before slumping back onto the couch.

But Scarlet wasn't done. "Shouldn't Cap be here? He's the leader, not you."

"Cap is the reason why we're having this meeting in the first place." Break drew something out of his pocket and handed it to Yan, who began to unfold what looked like a crummy piece of paper. For a split second, the noirette's eyes widened, showing some contriteness, but then it quickly faded. No one else seemed to have noticed, except for Scarlet. Perhaps he wasn't completely guiltless after all.

"What is that?" she probed.

"A letter Cap wrote to one of the private investigators of Hamatora, Nice. Unfortunately, Rei wasn't able to intercept the message in time and now Nice is looking for Cap, so we have a dilemma on our hands. As of now, Cap is temporarily relieved of duty, which means," he glared pointedly at Yan, who met his glare with a completely passive look, before addressing everyone else, "I'm in charge, and as of now, no one leaves until I know it's safe."

"Safe from what, exactly? Who could still possibly be after us?" Break's hands folded in front of his mouth as he leaned his elbows onto his knees. "Are you going to answer any of my questions?"

"I didn't think I'd have to explain to you why we're hiding."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. She was wrong; Break was more of an asshole than Art. "Of course I know why we're hiding! But house arrest?! Are you serious?! We can't keep living like this!"

"She has a point," Yan said.

Break glowered at the alabaster young man. "You're partly at fault, Yan. I don't think you have any room to talk."

Yan shrugged shamelessly. "I wouldn't have sent that letter if I'd known what was on it, but there's nothing we can do about it now. There's no need to go completely AWOL just because Cap made one mistake."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with them, Break," Rei coincided, much to the stoic's chagrin.

"Rei…"

"We won't last for more than a few days, not to mention we're struggling enough to make ends meet as it is. Scarlet, Beta, and Yan are the only ones with jobs, and it'd be really suspicious if they all suddenly didn't show up for work." Scarlet began wrapping a strand of hair around her finger nervously. Her having a job was half true, but she didn't want to make the situation more detrimental than it already was by correcting Rei on a technicality. She didn't think they'd be too against it since she was getting compensation for her services, which went toward their living expenses, and she already decided to start looking for a real job, so there was no need to bring it up anyway. Problem solved. Kind of.

"We just got groceries the other day, and there's also the rainy day fund."

"That's chump change—nothing we can live on." Scarlet noted how Rei was quick to reject Break's idea, which wasn't too unusually, but when it came to safety of the L.A.B. Rats as a whole, they were always on the same page. For him to suddenly disagree… he must've been hiding something, too.

Break, however, considered this and closed his eyes in contemplation. After a few seconds, he sighed tiredly and leaned back against the couch. "Look, I have no problem with you guys wandering around the city doing your own thing, and I realize that after escaping the labs, you probably want to find your loved ones, if you haven't already. But it's not okay if it jeopardizes our lives. We swore to protect each other, and Cap broke that oath—an oath that he constituted himself—once he sent that letter." Suddenly, a grimly dark look glazed over his eyes as he continued, his hands once again folded in front of him.

"We are the only ones who survived Project L.A.B., and it's already been reaffirmed that the Minimum Agency is still looking for us; wouldn't want to scare the public if it was accidentally let out that their failed science projects got away. So now we have to do whatever we can to look after our own. I have no grievances with your individual schedules as long as it doesn't draw any attention to us. If you guys want to roam free, roam free, but this is my first and final warning: Hamatora and all of its members are off-limits. I don't want the same mistake to happen again, so stay out of trouble. Got it?"

Everyone unanimously agreed, but Scarlet was more reluctant to accede with the others. Sneaking a glance at Beta, who hadn't said a word since the meeting had officially started, he seemed relieved that the meeting was over but not too thrilled about the arrangement, either. Guess she wasn't the only one dealing with Hamatora's demons. Either way, whatever secrets they were all hiding were safe. For now.

"This place looks like shit."

"Well, it's the safest place we could find."

"And it's much better than the last place."

"Still looks like shit. Ow! What was that for, Yan?"

"Language."

"Yuzuki's asleep! It's not like it matters! And anyway, does this place even have plumbing? I mean, if we have to live in a dump, it at least has to have running water."

"If you can find someplace better that will allow runaway teens with no jobs and superpowers—"

"Alright, alright. Point taken."

"So what if there is no water. You're a tech whiz, Beta; can't you do anything about it?"

"Computer engineering and mechanical engineering are not the same thing—ow! Stop hitting me!"

"You woke up Yuzuki."

"Guys, stop worrying!" In a joyous bound, a gray-eyed boy leapt up in front of the group onto a dusty coffee table and put his hands on his hips authoritatively. "This place is paradise! I mean, sure, it's a little rough around the edges, but we can buff it up! And no one will bother to look for us in a place like this!" Jumping off the table, he offered a humble smile to his friends. "I know this situation isn't ideal, but at least we have each other, right? We can worry about food and water and all that other stuff later. Right now, let's just make the best of it, okay?"

The others exchanged looks with each other before nodding. He had never steered them wrong before, and they wouldn't have made it this far without his leadership.

"I promise, everything will be fine. We're a family now, the only L.A.B. Rats that will ever be. We look out for our own, and I swear I will do whatever it takes to make sure you're safe."

"And we'll have your back, too." A sandy-haired boy went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder complacently.

"Yeah, L.A.B. Rats for life." Scarlet punched his arm endearingly. Yan, with a sleepy-eyed but perfectly content little girl in his arms, joined him, offering him a smile and an affirmative nod.

"Can we at least change the group name?"

"Shut up, Beta."

Happy New Year! And don't forget to R&R!