A Smile for You

Chapter 3

"Barty will you stop messing around! Where are you?"

Having caught up with the near-frantic young girl, Millia and Zato met the end of the alleyway that served as a back entrance for a restaurant and jewelry shop. Near the stores were a set of dumpsters and stools for the workers during breaks, Millia assumed.

"Down here, Lily."

Barty, the owner of the small voice echoed from the dumpsters causing the sister to immediately drop towards the floor on her hands and knees. From Lily's view, her younger brother was trapped with his upper body facing the opening of the dumpster and his lower body near the wall.

"I see you! How the heck did you end up there, Barty?"

"There was a kitty that I wanted to help."

"Was it in that much trouble that you had to crawl down here?"

"The kitty had a box on its head, Lily. I crawled here to remove it and I did but the kitty ran away. My foot is stuck so I'm stuck, Lily."

Lily made a noise out of mild annoyance and tried to get lower to the ground. "Hold on, I'll- "

"If you do not mind," Zato spoke up while tapping the newly named Lily on her back, "I have better reach."

Lily looked up in surprise. "Oh, I don't want to bother you. I can get him, really."

"We've gotten this far together. It's no trouble to lend a hand." Zato allowed the girl to stand up before getting on one knee to address the seemingly sentient dumpster. "I'm going to pull you out now. Are you ready?"

The voice or rather Barty hesitated before answering, "… Yes, sir."

Zato made a show of extending his arm towards the boy, yet Millia knew better. Zato reached with his physical arm and sent his shadow, Eddie, to free the boy's leg from a crevice in the restaurant's wall. Having freed Barty, Zato grabbed the back of his coat and slowly pulling the boy from underneath the dumpster.

"Um, thank you kindly for freeing me, sir." The small boy nodded at Zato as he dangled in his savior's grasp.

Having finally freed Barty, both Millia and Zato took a good look at the missing younger brother. The boy could not have been older than a toddler with the frame and face to match. His coat and sneakers were like his sister's and sported more dirt caking his attire because of his excursion. Barty's hair was sandy in color and had short curly hair that stopped at his ears. Upon a second look, his sister Lily had shorter, wavier yellow hair that spread out wildly with bangs resting on her forehead. Finally, Millia noticed that Barty also inherited the same red color eyes as his sibling that were duller in comparison. However, his eyes still held a certain depth to Millia. She could sense a welling impression of bravery coming from the small boy.

Millia crossed her arms and questioned, "How long do you plan to hold that poor boy up in the air, Zato?"

"Ah, it appears I was taking too much time to look you over. My apologies." Zato lowered Barty from eye level to the ground and dusted him off for good measure.

"Thank yo – "

"Barty!" Lily exclaimed with worry before gripping her younger brother's cheeks to get a better look. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm okay."

"Good. You always run off when I'm not looking."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. You'll do it again though." Lily readjusted her hands from Barty's face and embraced him in a tight hug. "And I'll just have to come find you!"

Millia, having silently watched the two, could not help but feel a sense of warmth. She had already imagined a multitude of scenarios with Lily either scornfully chastising the younger sibling or crying over his retrieval. This was the better outcome that even had Zato slip a small grin at the touching scene.

"Alright, time to go."

Shattering the tender moment like a broken window, Lily grabbed Barty's hand and started to walk past Millia and Zato.

"Lily," the younger brother said as he desperately tried to stop his sister, "manners."

"Huh?" Lily turned her head to her brother and then upwards to Millia and Zato to catch his meaning. "Oh, right! Thank you very much!"

"Thank you," Barty said with a blush.

Zato offered a bow and answered, "it was a pleasure to help."

"We better get going then. When the streetlights are on, we have to get home before we get in trouble. So, goodbye!" Abruptly as they once appeared, the pair of siblings make their way down the alley with Lily waving before the two disappear behind the corner.

"Children are always so energetic," Zato stated as he stared at the opening.

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Millia jabbed.

"If children can smile like that in our time, then I welcome it with open arms. It is certainly a better outcome than our upbringing."

Millia nodded in agreement. Wandering the streets as an orphan lost to the cruelty of the world made for a life of bitter survival and forced cunning. However, moments with the two siblings left Millia relaxed. She would even say that it outweighed the work she did at P.W.A.B.

Having dwelled long enough on the matter, Millia turned to face Zato to issue her departure. However, just as she began to open her mouth, Millia spotted a glint of light on the ground next to the dumpsters.

"Just a minute." She lowered herself to a squat and lifted a dull yellow wallet along with a small pendant with a silver chain that contrasted the pendant's bronze finish. "Oh dear."

Zato stood over her and got ahold of the situation. "Ah, so the young lady forgot her items. Just a moment." With a motion of his finger, Zato sent Eddie up an adjacent wall and around the corner to look above the thinning evening city. Through Eddie's eyes, Zato was able to pinpoint the siblings running in a straight path.

"Around the corner heading in a straight line. You can catch up with them easily with your speed."

"How courteous of you."

Taking the information with her, Millia left in a sprint to catch up with the two. She found them just as Zato said in less than three seconds and was in front of them in the next two. Reacting to the sudden shock, Lily and Barty fell on their backsides.

"Wow!" Lily started, "You're so fast, Pretty Lady!"

Millia almost let slip, you're slow, but refrained because that was saved for her enemies. "Thank you," she said to acknowledge the compliment and stooped to the children's level. "These are your items, I presume?"

Lily looked down, gasped, and immediately snatch the contents out of Millia's hand. For the first time since their meeting, the older sister sent a defensive glare towards Millia.

"Did you look inside?"

"I had no intention to look inside."

"What does that mean? Stop using big words!"

"… No."

They held each other in a deadlock. Millia's icy blue eyes looking back into Lily's burning red stare. After a beat longer, Millia back down in her gaze and soften her look to convey her honesty. Thankfully, the young girl was able to pick up the meaning and doused her glare as well. Millia offered her both of her hands in the next moment, much to Lily and Barty's surprise. After both sister and brother looked at each, they silently agreed before taking Millia's hands to help them to their feet.

"Lily… apologize," Barty quietly said.

"I was going to get to that! … I'm sorry. This pendant means a lot to my family. I was told to never lose it and I got a little mad when you had it."

Millia gave a nod and said, "I can tell. You did not even ask about the wallet."

Lily's eyes widen in surprise. "I completely forgot! We used all our money to get the locket fixed so I didn't think about any stolen money."

"That's reasonable. However, you should always keep track of your possessions."

"Poss… professions?"

"Your stuff," Barty silently corrected.

Millia had to admit, she did not expect the younger of the two to be so intelligent and well spoken. She was beginning to understand their dynamic. Lily, outspoken and ambitious while Barty was timid and smart. She also noticed something else while her gaze lingered on the younger boy.

"You," Millia said while lowering herself down to Barty's level.

"U-um. Yes, m-ma'am?"

Millia reached into her coat's pocket and produced a tan, silk handkerchief. "Don't move."

"O-o-okay."

Millia slowly applied the handkerchief to the boy's cheeks and forehead to wipe up the black smudge he gathered from the ground. She silently cursed herself for not noticing sooner.

Unconsciously speaking her mind, Millia fussed, "A young man like you should always be presentable. Especially someone as clever as yourself."

Barty was silent but his red stained cheeks could not hide his bashfulness.

"Regardless," Millia continued, "what would your parents say if you returned home in this state?"

Barty's blushed subsided and his eyes went downtrodden. Millia stopped her cleaning to ask a question but Lily answer, "Our parents are gone."

Millia felt like an inane dolt. She should have pieced together their attire and close-knit relationship with one another. Normal siblings carried a degree of protection but a bond between orphans was iron tight. Millia couldn't help but mock her title of Director after such a mistake.

"I am sorry to have think otherwise," Millia said as she finished wiping down Barty and stowing the handkerchief. "It was rude of me."

Lily smiled and assured with a smile, "Nah, its fine. People normally think we're street brats anyway, so it was a nice change for someone to guess wrong. Right, Barty?" Barty followed with a nod before Lily resumed, "We should really get going though, Pretty Lady. Our adult, or… um… caretaker gets angry if we're home too late."

"Right. Then I will accompa-, I will walk you home." Millia raised a hand before Lily began her protest. "I feel guilty for holding you two up after your errands. I will explain the situation to your caretaker and take the blame. Afterall, that's what proper adults do."

Lily's eyes couldn't have shone any brighter if they could. Even Barty could not hide his tiny smile.

"I will join you three as well," Zato said emerging behind the group.

"The Mister from before and the Pretty Lady are gonna walk us home, Barty!" Lily squealed in excitement.

Barty fiddled with his thumbs while looking down and said, "Thank you for doing this for us."

"You are welcome, Barty," Millia returned.

"Bartholomew."

"Hm?"

Barty looked up towards Millia and repeated, "My name is Bartholomew. Gentleman Genos says to always introduce yourself to be polite. And… well… I forgot to at first but I'm doing it now… I'm sorry."

Millia could not have prepared for this feeling of elation. The two of them together, Lily and Bartholomew, made things feel natural. Disregarding that this was only their first meeting, it was if this is how things normally were. That's why she did not initially feel the corners of her mouth turn upwards. Before Millia had realized it, she felt her face glow from the oncoming warmth between the two siblings. Unbeknownst to Millia, Zato immediately noticed her dainty smile and shifted his head to hide his own grin.

"No need to apologize, Bartholomew." Millia started. "My name is Millia Rage. The man behind you is Zato-ONE. It is a pleasure to meet you properly."

The walk to the orphanage was a light jaunt. A dark, gray-bricked three-story townhome that sat at the end of a four-way crossroads lined with other white or black bricked homes. Compared to the more refine parts of the city, this section was depreciating in quality with wear to the buildings, sidewalk, and the street. Across from the orphanage was a local market and bookstore that had the same diminishing look as the rest of the street. Hardly anyone was out at the late evening save for a few drifters and wandering dogs.

Millia settled outside the orphanage's doors, titled Antonia's Abode, and rang the doorbell. She considered ringing the bell after several moments had passed before the group heard an audible unlocking sound with the door swing open. A tannish man with balding dark gray hair callously looked Millia and Zato open and down. He was fitted with a black undershirt, brown khakis, and gray sandals. The man had some height over Millia yet was shorter than Zato which seemed to irritate him further as his glare continued.

"And what do you want? I ain't interested," the man opened with.

Millia took a deep breath before answering. "I was out this evening and came across your children." On cue, Lily and Bartholomew stepped from behind Millia for the caretaker to see. Millia also happened to notice that Lily was anxiously looking down to the ground and Bartholomew was clutching his sister's hand while looking in the same direction.

The man made an annoyed click of his tongue and said, "I keep telling you brats to come in before the streetlights come on, now you got people showing up here unannounced. Get the hell in here. We'll talk about this later."

Millia saw the back of the children's heads twitch and spoke up. "There will not be any need for that. My companion and I had trouble while we were out, and they both helped. I wanted to stop by to explain their situation before you reprimanded them." From the corner of her eye, she saw both the siblings look up at her in disbelief.

The standoffish man retorted, "Piss off, would you? These kids are my business. Just cause they have an alibi doesn't excuse them from my rules. I said I'll deal with 'em so I'll deal with 'em."

Zato stepped forward before Millia held onto his trench coat from the back. "Regardless, I advise you to blame us and not the children. Disciplining them because of the whims of others would be too much of a headache at this hour. Wouldn't you agree?"

While her tone remained even, Millia's eyes stabbed at the man. The caretaker held her gaze but felt a turbid sense of uneasiness. Almost as if he was the one in danger.

"Whatever. Just get in here, you two," the man said as he finally broke eye contact and scratch his chin."

Both children stepped forward before they turn to look back at their escorts. Lily spoke first with, "Thank you for all your help, Ms. Millia and Mr. Zato!"

Bartholomew followed, "Goodbye, Ms. Millia. Goodbye, Mr. Zato."

Zato bid his farewell and Millia ended with, "Goodnight, Lily and Bartholomew. Be well."

With a nod and a quick slam of the door, the two were gone. Millia and Zato made their way back onto the street. At the end of the block, however, Millia could not but help to turn towards the orphanage once more. Zato stopped ahead of Millia and waited.

There were many thoughts she wanted to explore. An array of questions she wanted answers to. Millia decided to start simple and said without looking towards his direction, "Zato, what makes you happy?"

"You do."

"And you want me to be happy?"

"Of course."

Millia took a moment before turning to Zato, "Then answer me honestly. What do you think I am to those children we met?"

He pondered for a moment and responded, "A wonderful first impression."

She knew they should have left off as strangers. To go their separate ways and carry on with their futures. Even so, she felt herself wanting to be more than that. Millia wanted to be more than an impression to Lily and Bartholomew. And she knew just how to do it.