Author's Notes: Hnn...sorry it took so long to get out a chapter. I have a tendency to get distracted from things and this was one of them. But, I did manage to get up another chapter, so yay me. ^_~. If some of the facts are off from the series, could you let me know? I mean, I don't remember them saying exactly how they met Fred...so I made it up. ^__^;; hehe, well, I guess I'll leave it at that. I hope you enjoy...!
"Ooi...come on, Jim...it'll be okay..." Gene patted his back uncomfortably. He had only really dealt with women being upset before, and sleeping with them always seemed to make those problems go away. However, this was completely new to him. Though, he couldn't help but feel compassion for the boy. After all, he had gone through nearly the same thing.
Jim's cries subsided momentarily and he brought his palms up to swipe the droplets away, "I don't know what I'm going to do now. Without Tousan, I have nothing. No place to live...no money...no...Tousan."
The outlaw gave a thoughtful nip to his lower lip before he crouched to his level, "Well, I can't be your Tousan. I'm much too young and handsome. Demo, I'll tell you what...I'll be your aniki. Your older brother and mentor...you could live with me, Jim." Oh, what am I getting myself into?
Jim looked up at him, batting away excess moisture with his lashes, "H-honto ni?"
"Un, of course!" The kid's probably got some relatives anyway. They'll come looking for him.
He nodded slowly, "Sankyuu."
The young hacker glanced back at the building. Firefighters had arrived on the scene and half of the flames were smothered by that point. But despite that, Jim knew deep down in his heart that his father couldn't have survived the explosion. His gaze lowered to the necklace in his hand and he looked over the charm at the end. Fingers covered it and he slowly shoved the item back in his pocket, gathering enough strength to stand.
"Can we go now?" He asked and then added as an after thought. "Aniki?"
"Un, sure...follow me..." Gene briskly led the way.
Jim shuffled along, pausing to look over his shoulder one last time, Tousan...you're a liar. You promised we'd be together for a long time to come. You vowed you wouldn't leave me like Kaasan did. You promised to teach me so much...and now...you lied to me...
Sighing at that point, he turned away...being forced to leave that part of his life behind. Those eyes narrowed bitterly, I'll never forgive you...Tousan...never...
Gene's home seemed even smaller than Jim's old place and much messier as well. Clothes, plates, and dirty magazines lined the floor almost like a carpet, leaving no spot clear. A small television sat on a stand where a few bullet shells remained. The redhead knocked several items away from the couch cushions, which only resulted in an even larger mess on the floor. Jim stood back uncomfortably, watching the outlaw pat the surface in a manner that was meant to invite him onto it, but it merely served to scatter up a thin cloud of dust.
"Here..." Gene managed to choke through a cough. "You can sleep here."
"How can you sleep in a place like this...? Hell, how can you even live here?" Jim made quite a bit of effort to walk around the cluttered floor, but it was useless, so he simply stepped on things in his path.
"Ooi! A guy's got more important things to worry about than cleaning...just relax. I'll get you a beer."
The boy sweatdropped, "I can't drink, aniki. I'm too young."
"Oh...yeah, that's right. Well, uh...I guess I could make you some hot chocolate or something...we have some of that."
"Okay."
Both moved into the kitchen, though Jim had to pause once to peel a paper plate with something sticky off of his shoe, and when he caught up, he saw Gene hunting through the cabinets. The shelves were practically vacant save the cases of beer that lined them. Gene dug a bit further in, a thoughtful expression on his features, but eventually he got what he was searching for. The dust was blown from the top of the can and Jim arched a brow. If it had collected that much dust, it made him wonder just how long it had been in there.
"The girls I had over here sometimes wanted something to drink other than beer, so I got it. Uh...never actually made it myself, but how hard could it be?" He laughed, searching the case for a way to open it.
Jim sweatdropped. He knew he should have stopped Gene, after all, he had no intention of drinking the cocoa now, but something inside of him wanted to be amused. A temporary distraction from the horrible events from earlier was something he more than longed for. With a smirk, Jim sank onto one of the chairs, eyeing his aniki's struggle. Finally, however, the outlaw figured out just how to open that container. It didn't help that the thing seemed to be upside down and brown powder spilled out everywhere until Gene turned it the right way.
"Kuso!" He furrowed his brows before he glanced toward Jim, watching him attempt to muffle his laughs. A small smile curved on his lips. All right, Gene Starwind! It might be a difficult task...you may have no prior experience in doing it. Demo, no matter what, you gotta keep this kid happy until he gets over his oyaji's death!
"How do you survive on your own if you can't even open hot chocolate...?" Jim raised a bushy brow in question.
"Ooi! I get along fine by myself!" Gene snorted, opening the fridge and pulling out a carton of milk.
"Honto ni...?" The boy stated sardonically, eyeing the elder's actions.
"Un! An outlaw only needs his beer!" He poured a mug with milk and then commenced sweeping some of the powder in there.
Jim bit his tongue to keep from laughing out loud as Gene tried to stir up the two things, but much to his dismay, the chocolate didn't blend well with the milk. He was such an idiot! Even Jim knew basically how to make a simple cup of cocoa. Yet, his 'aniki' didn't cease to amuse him for a minute. Gene opened the door to the microwave, slipping the cup in there and then setting some random time. The machine sprang to life at the touch of a button, slowly counting down by seconds. Then, the redhead sank into the seat across from him, drumming his fingers and looking about the kitchen as though searching the area for something to say.
"So, uh, Jim? Where are you from?"
"All over the place, actually. We constantly moved around. I don't know what planet I was even born on. Though, I guess you could say I'm from Sentinel III since I'm stuck here."
Gene paled, "You don't have any other relatives? A Kaasan? Or...anyone?"
"Iya...my Kaasan died giving birth. That's what Tousan told me. As for the others, how should I know? Never met them if I do," Jim lowered his gaze. The pain of the day's horrible events suddenly new and fresh in his mind. He never realized until that moment how lonely his life was without his father. That man was the only one he had.
"Hn...maybe we could find some of your relatives. Might be dangerous, demo...a tough outlaw like me can do it!" At that point, the microwave buzzed, and then Gene turned around...withdrawing the mug and sliding it over in Jim's direction. "There ya go."
The younger looked up, stopping the progress of the cocoa with his hand. Yet, he left it there, raising his eyes toward the other, "Do you have a spaceship?"
For a moment, Gene appeared to be elsewhere...off in some distant and sad memory. His voice wavered, hardly holding the same arrogance it normally did, "Ie...I don't."
"Aniki..." Jim studied him thoughtfully. Maybe it really was good we ran into each other. Gene can help me...and chances are I could help him. Look at this place. It's a mess. Though, I can't help but think he's lonely somewhere deep down in that big, baka body of his. So am I. So, maybe we'd be good together. We could team up! Fight the bad guys and call ourselves--
"Hawking and Starwind. Has a nice ring to it, ne?" Jim showed off the layout file for the sign designs. "We fix everything from starships to broken hearts. That could be our motto."
"Should be Starwind and Hawking. Not Hawking and Starwind. That sounds stupid..." Gene speared a fork full of eggs with the prongs and then shoved them into his mouth.
"But, aniki! Hawking comes before Starwind alphabetically!" The paper was lain flat out on the table.
"It sounds stupid still!"
"Ugh! You'll attract more attention with my name in front!"
"And I'm older than you so I should be first!"
Jim sighed, grumbling as he changed the name, "Fine, fine."
About a month had passed since Jim had teamed up with Gene, but in that time, the place was a lot cleaner. It might not have been spotless, but at least it was livable. The two got along rather well in time and even talked about starting up their own business. Jim began planning things out, because naturally he was the smarter one, and then they made it official. It was bound to get them enough money to buy themselves a starship easily, provided the business went well. At least they were saving a fair amount of money by cutting back on eating in restaurants. Jim just made the food since he had the know how and Gene decided to keep him around. Not only did Jim make things easier, but he also brought in some girls who thought it was sweet Gene would take in an orphaned child.
Jim had never lived the kind of life that he was now. Everyday was new and exciting. He learned more about the world through Gene's grotesque habits and eventually became the type of person who could survive the harsh conditions of Sentinel III. It may not necessarily have been a good thing, however, at least no more assassins would be able to take him down without a fight. And even if Jim couldn't do much, they still had his aniki to deal with!
"How about...'we fix everything from tractors to relationships?' That sounds better," Gene began out of context, chugging down the coffee that had been provided with the meal.
Jim bit down on the cap of his pen thoughtfully, before he nodded, "Hai! We'll go with that. This oughta be big, aniki! I can't wait. After we pay the starting fee, we'll be all set to go."
"Starting fee, ne? How much is it?"
"Fifty-thousand wong."
Gene sprayed that coffee suddenly, choking and sputtering, "Nani?!"
"Iya, iya! It's no big deal, aniki!" The young hacker closed his eyes happily.
"Hoh...? So, you have it?"
"Ie..."
"Then how can you say it's not a big deal?!"
"Well...you see. I've been doing up some research," He paused, reaching down and lifting his laptop onto the table. "I found some people who invest in small businesses so long as they get paid back with it's success. This guy seems to be the best choice."
Nimble digits typed in something before the computer was turned in the opposite direction. Gene leaned in somewhat, glancing toward the picture there. A young man who seemed his age or so possessed shoulder-length, black hair. This was held at bay with a head band, bangs dripping over the starts of eyes. The only thing that could really be told in the semi-feminine features was that he appeared fairly friendly. Gene's eyes then drifted toward the name and a red brow slinked upward.
"Luo, Fred...?"
"Un. He's the son of the owner of Luo enterprises. And he has lots of money. Fred lives right here on Sentinel III. So, maybe if we're friendly enough, we could get him to back us up."
"Hmph, how about we just threaten him?"
"Because somehow I doubt that would go over well..." Jim's brow twitched slightly.
Gene sighed, "Fine."
"Maybe I could get him to feel real sorry for us if I told him what happened and why we're starting the business! Think that'd work?"
"Why would it?"
"Works to get girls into bed with you, doesn't it?"
"Hn...good point. I bet having a new business would get even more interested...!"
"Aniki...you're such a hentai..." Jim sighed and shook his head. "I'll just call and get an appointment to talk to this Fred guy. It'd probably be better for me to talk to him anyway."
"Okay, have fun," Gene smirked, munching on the rest of his breakfast.
So, I made the phone call and we set up a meeting...needless to say, Fred was more than willing to help, so we started up Starwind and Hawking. And that pretty much leads us to where we are now.
Gilliam, who up until that moment had been silent, spoke up, "The ending of your story seems rather rushed, Jim."
"Oh, well, you know. Lots of useless details in there...heh...heh."
"What did happen in your meeting with Fred Luo?"
"Trust me, Gilliam. You don't really want to hear the answer to that," Jim wore an expression of obvious fear. He was scared enough of Fred now, he didn't need to relive the past with him.
"If you say so, then I must believe you."
The fifteen year old paused for a few moments, before he replied quickly, "He made aniki strip for him."
"I see..." Gilliam remained quiet, but then followed up with. "You were right, Master Jim. I really did not wish to know that."
From behind the basement door there was an indistinct laugh. Jim tensed up, snapping his eyes in that direction. His face drained it's color and fingers pressed into his palms so hard that knuckles turned white. Someone was out there. Someone had been listening! He wasn't sure how much that person heard, but the possibility that his past was exposed to someone other than Gilliam forced the blood to pound in his ears. Finally, when he was able to move again, Jim slipped off the chair, standing quietly to his feet.
After receiving a near silent caution from Gilliam, he inched toward the entrance. His heart still felt as though it were trying to escape it's caged barrier, but he managed to seize the knob and pull it inward. At that point, Aisha tumbled in artfully, landing on her back with a slight twitch. Jim was dumbfounded for a moment, but his expression contorted to rage and he slammed the door shut.
"AISHA! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Nyaa?! Anou...well...I...uh..." Her ears dropped somewhat and she stated innocently. "I was bored?"
"How much did you hear!" One foot stomped to emphasize his demand for that knowledge.
"All of it..." She admitted sheepishly.
Jim sighed heavily, slapping a hand against his forehead, "Why are you even here anyway?!"
"Well, Gene wouldn't take me on the mission either."
"So you decided to come and eavesdrop on me?"
"Nyaa! It's not like I'm gonna tell anyone. Besides..." The Ctarl-Ctarl grinned, latching him in a headlock and ruffling his honey-hued strands. "I think it's kawaii the way you and Gene teamed up like that. Even if Gene Starwind will be a dead man by the time he gets back for not taking me with him!"
Jim struggled against the cat girl's brute strength, "Ooi, ooi, leggo!"
She smirked and then released him, one of her ears flickering in the direction of the doorway, "You oughta get the phone."
"Huh? Oh...hai!"
It was a good thing for Aisha's hearing, otherwise Jim might have missed a job opportunity. Hopefully it would be a really good one so that he could rub it in Gene's face when he went to do it. The lad rushed up the stairs, making a dive for the phone. He wasn't sure how many times they had let it ring, but he didn't want to chance it. The receiver was picked up off the hook and he brought it against his ear for a moment.
"Starwind and Hawking. We fix everything from tractors to relationships! Can I help you?"
There was silence.
Jim arched a brow, "Hello...?"
"Hello...Jim Hawking," The deeply familiar feminine voice responded. "Son of...James Hawking..."
He blinked and took a moment to process it. Just who could it be? He had a feeling he knew, and that feeling was only dread. After all, it was hard to forget the voice of someone who tried to kill you. He swallowed hard and managed to question only with the intention of prodding her to speak again, "C-can I help you...?"
"Hai. You can give me over the key...and let me kill you easily...this time around..."
Her! It's definitely her! The assassin from so long ago...! Aniki didn't kill her...she's still alive! What should I do...?! Aniki...help! The phone nearly slipped from his grasp.