Hell is for Children-Chapter 5
~
Ryosuke groaned as he opened his eyes against the bright light pouring into his room from the window on the far wall, and he sat up rubbing his eyes. He kind of didn't want to leave his bed, but he also knew he had to.
"'Niichan!" A tiny voice cried and he smiled as he saw his little brother clamoring up the ladder, still in his cute W-01 pj's that his mother had bought much to his father's dismay, up to the top bunk, where Ryosuke's bed was and then latching onto him.
"Niichan! It's niichan's birthday!" Kotaro cried happily as he grinned up at his brother. "I made 'niichan a card!"
"Great! But, 'taro-kun, are you allowed to climb the ladder by yourself?"
"He's not by himself." He heard another voice say as his mother leaned against the ladder, smiling up at him, already dressed for the day ahead, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail considering that her yongest son loved to pull on her long, blonde locks.
"Mama!" Kotaro cried happily, scampering over to the other end of the bed to be closer to his mother.
"Happy birthday, Ryosuke!" She said, and Ryosuke slid down to the end of the bed and hugged his mother eagerly.
"Mama! Want down!" Kotaro cried, wriggling in between Relena and Ryosuke.
"Okay, okay." Relena said, picking up her youngest son and kissing him on the forehead. She smiled at Ryosuke and kissed him on the cheek, before picking up the little toddler and starting to pull out Kotaro's clothes, with him balanced on her hip.
"Ahem." A deliberate word, spoken clearly from the doorway alerted Ryosuke of his father's presence.
"Papa!" Kotaro cried, kicking his feet happily. Heero Yuy was leaning against the doorframe and watching his wife with one eyebrow raised, an expression that clearly asked what she was doing. Relena sighed before straightening and raising Kotaro, and Heero walked over and took the little boy from her arms.
"Papa! Papa!" Kotaro said, hugging his father around the neck happily, the toddler's messy black hair becoming even more messed. Heero switched Kotaro onto one arm and hugged his wife with the other, kissing her lips softly.
"You know how I feel about you holding the boys now." He said quietly, placing his hand on her swollen stomach.
"Yuck! That's gross, Papa!" Kotaro cried upon seeing his father kiss his mother. Heero rolled his eyes.
"Uh-huh, in about 15 years, you'll be saying different, I guarantee it."
"Will not!"
"Will too." Heero protested, then quickly and suddenly turned the little boy upside down in his arms and started tickling his belly.
Ryosuke giggled over Kotaro's squeals and kicking of the legs, and Relena smiled when she saw Heero mount Kotaro on his shoulders and then reach up and pick up Ryosuke, holding both boys expertly.
"Hang on, Kotaro." Heero reminded his youngest-his middle child in only three months-and rolled his eyes as Kotaro grabbed Heero's spiky bangs in both fists and then grinned down at his father.
"I gotcha, papa!"
Relena smiled happily as she watched her husband with the children, and then rested her hand on her stomach, a warm feeling spreading through her as she felt the little girl moving within her. Heero loved little children, and she had learned from their late-at-night whispered conversations before sleep claimed them both that despite the fact that their third child had yet to be born he was already anticipating their fourth, and also that he was just as anxious and excited for his first girl to be born as she was. She watched Heero set down the children and watched them scamper out of the room, and she smiled as he approached her, gently tilting her chin up and kissing her, his arms slipping around her waist.
"How's my girl doing?" He said quietly, placing his hand once again on her belly, rubbing softly. She smiled.
"Me, or the baby?"
"Both of you." He answered, kissing her forehead. She leaned against him, closing her eyes.
"I'm fine, really."
"You look tired."
"Do I?"
"Yes."
She opened her eyes and looked up at him with an amused expression.
"You would have never talked this much 7 years ago."
"7 years ago, I didn't have three children and a beautiful wife waiting for me at home." He said stroking her hair, watching it glitter in the dusty morning sunlight. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, snuggling up to him as he wrapped his arms securely around her.
"You're not going to work today?"
"No."
She smiled knowingly at this information, at that he always used one of his 14 sick days to be home for his children's birthday. It was important to him, he said, and he wasn't going to miss the occasion.
"Mama! Mama! I found them!" Ryosuke cried excitedly, and Relena giggled.
"Looks like he found his birthday gifts."
Heero smirked. "Looks like."
~
"Boys! Come on, we're leaving!"
"Aw mom!" A young 5-year-old with sandy blonde hair and emerald green eyes said, clutching to his mom.
"Do we GOTTA leave? Can we swim some more?"
"No, Matt." Midii Barton said sternly, taking her son by the hand. Another little 6-year-old boy stood beside him, and she smiled.
"Ready to go, Duo?"
"Yup!" Duo said, rubbing a towel over his midback-length chestnut brown locks, which he almost always kept in a low ponytail. And sometimes a braid, like his Daddy.. He loved this pool, which was right by his and Matt's house. Matt's mom took them there all the time.
"5 more minutes, mom?"
"Matthew." Midii said, brushing a lock of wavy blonde hair away from her face. "Your father will be home soon and I have to start making-" She stopped short at the sight of her husband leaning against the pool's entrance gate, still in his work attire.
"Daddy!" Matt cried, running towards his father. Trowa easily caught the boy before he could run into his stomach and lifted him onto his shoulders with Matt giggling happily.
"Whacha doin' home so early, Daddy? Huh huh huh??" Matt said, reaching forward and grabbing his father's bangs and pulling them back, giggling insanely. Trowa couldn't help but smile.
"Matthew." He said, trying to make his voice sound stern. Matt let go, giggling as the bangs 'snapped' back into place. Midii and little Duo approached, and Trowa set Matt down as he led Midii a few feet from the boys.
"There's been a problem." He said quietly, taking her hand. "I need you to go home and fill a bag with some of Matt's clothes and your clothes, about 4 days' worth, and then take Duo over to his house and tell him to do the same. Let them bring a few toys." He added, almost as an afterthought. "Duo and Hilde are already gone with the baby, and we're going to meet them at the airport in a half hour."
"What's wrong?" She whispered, her heart pabout ounding.
"Nothing serious. Don't worry. I'll meet you at the airport in about a half an hour." He kissed her softly on the lips and then was gone, and Midii went back over to the boys and took both their hands. Her husband may have said nothing was wrong, but she was finding it increasingly difficult to believe him.
His eyebrow twitched uncomfortably as he lay back on his bed, still in his pajamas. He sighed and turned onto his side, trying to go back to sleep. Which was, of course, to no avail. He hopped out of bed and slowly trekked over to his toybox, ploping down and pulling out his Gundam models and starting to play with them. After a few minutes, he tossed them down, frustrated. The dream he had experienced the night before was still fresh on his mind, and a jumble of names and words were running through his head. He couldn't seem to concentrate on anything else.
He heard the door to his room open and turned to see his mother walk over to him, her pale blonde hair done up into a bun. She smiled, picking him up off the floor and hugging him.
"G'morning, mama." He said, hugging her back.
"I was half expecting you to be asleep, Daniel." She said, brushing his blonde wisps of hair away from his light blue eyes.
"Well.." He began, staring into his mom's face. He had seen pictures of his mom when she was younger, and he kind of couldn't believe that her hair had been so long and that she had actually done her eyebrows like that..
Needless to say now, she looked like a normal person, and in his pause of speech she began to get worried.
"Is it something you need to talk to your father about?" She said quietly, rubbing his back. He nodded, and she smiled, kissing him on the forehead and set him down.
"I'm going to be at the office for about 3 hours. I'll see you then."
He watched as she walked out the door, and then after a few moments stood and walked out of his room himself, winding his way through the mansion's corridors. Finally coming to his father's office, he pushed it open and slowly walked in.
"Yes?" His father said, not looking up from his work. Daniel silently walked over to him and wriggled his way into his father's lap, leaning against him. Quatre paused from his work and stared down at his son, stroking his hair.
"Mama left." Daniel said quietly, and Quatre nodded.
"She'll be back."
They stayed in silence for a moment before Daniel looked up at his father.
"Busy, daddy?"
"Not much. What's bothering you?"
Daniel was silent for a moment, wondering how to ask him about the dream when a particular name drifted by him. Deciding to ask his father straight out, little Daniel Winner stared up at his father with his innocent blue eyes and said,
"Daddy? Who's Heero Yuy?"
That was the moment the phone rang.
Aki sighed softly as she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It felt like she had been asleep forever, but she knew that it had only been a few hours since she had fallen into unconsciousness. Slowly climbing out of her father's bed, she walked into her room and fished out her slippers from under the bed before slipping into them and padding down the stairs, turning the corner and coming face-to-face with her brother. She blinked. If she had known better, she would have thought she saw tears in his eyes the moment their gazes locked before he bolted up the narrow stairway into his bedroom.
But, she knew better.
A soft grumbling from her stomach reminded her that she was hungry as she turned into the kitchen and saw her uncle sitting at the table, obviously very deep in thought. She froze for a minute before turning away, deciding to act as if he wasn't there.
She's ignoring me, Zechs thought as he saw the little girl walk over to a cabinent and pull out a plastic package, fumbling with the seal before finally pulling it open. A white square wrapped in the same thin, crinkly plastic emerged in her hand as she set the package on the counter and then pulled out a white ceramic jar before climbing up onto the smooth countertop. Zechs was about to stop her but protested against himself, watching silently as she opened a cabinent, got two small plates and then climbed back down.
She now focused her attention to the plastic around the square and ripped it effortlessly, putting the jiggly square onto a plate and then putting the plate into the microwave. She went to the fridge and stood on her tiptoes, retrieving a bottle of soy sauce and closing the fridge. She opened the ceramic jar and took out a teaspoonful of what looked like sugar and dumped it onto the plate. She then opened the bottle of soy and added a liberal amount to the sugar, stirring it with her finger and seeming slightly pleased with the taste. Zechs cringed. Soy sauce..with sugar?
The microwave binged and she took the plate out before walking over to a jar on the far side of the counter that held chopsticks, and took two small yellow ones before going to the table, sitting across from Zechs and stabbing the square-now with a thin crunchy layer on the outside-and dipped it in the mix before biting into the gooey inside.
She ate in silence and he simply watched, wondering against wondering if he should try to talk to her. After all, this was his neice..
The tension was suddenly broken as Kotaro suddenly walked in, and froze as he saw Aki.
"Nani taberun da ka?" (What're you eating?)
"Mochi." She answered, before taking a huge bite. Kotaro's eyes lit up.
"Mochi!"
He walked further into the kitchen and began the same process Aki did, and soon plopped down on the chair next to her, handing her another mochi since she had eaten hers.
"Now, what's this stuff called?"
"It's Mochi." Kotaro replied. "It's basically compacted rice that gets really soft and yummy when you heat it up."
"Oh.."
"Yeah, I love th' stuff."
"Gochisou sama." Aki mumbled quietly as she set her chopsticks down and left the table, once again walking up the steps.
They were silent at the table for a few minutes until Zechs spoke.
"Aki..doesn't like me, does she?"
"Aki just doesn't like people. She'll get over you in time, don't worry." He took another bite of his mochi. "She's really fun when you get to know her. And sweet." He made a face. "And sometimes annoying."
Zechs chuckled softly, leaning back in his chair. He got a serious expression on his face as he looked at Kotaro.
"What do you mean, Aki 'doesn't like people'?"
Kotaro was silent for a moment, staring at Zechs, and then slowly turned his attention to the mochi.
"Well...kids can be really cruel to other kids sometimes."
He stared at the huge floor-to-celing window behind the desk in his office with anger-filled eyes, silently willing the glass to break and shatter under his glare. At least that would help him release some stress. He sat back, staring distastefully at the bright lights and bustling people moving about on the dark, snow-slushed streets of Rome, Italy. He stole a glance at the clock.
3:45 AM.
Soon, very soon, his brother would be arriving from L2. He would spend time with his wife, he knew, and then he would go off to give another peace-promoting speech.
His older brother was pathetic.
Not only had he stepped up into a position once occupied by Relena Peacecraft, he had also had the nerve to give that annoying organization - The 'Preventers' - an increase in their funding. Yes, Giovanni Marcilio did not like the Preventers. 'Dislike' was hardly strong enough. 'Deep-rooted hatred' was probably better. Yes, much better. He hated them, especially when he thought of their higher-up agents and thought of Heero Yuy...
An evil grin spread across his face. Ah yes, Jared should be back at any moment. And when he arrived...
The smooth 'woosh' of the door opening made his grin spread wider, as if at all possible. Oh yes, this would be sweet..
"Sir! G rank agent 'Jared' reporting, SIR!"
"Spare me the formalities." He growled, spinning smoothly in his chair to face the young man. The soft light revealed that he was a young man himself, barely 28 years old.
"How'd it go?"
Jared relaxed, taking on the posture of an old friend talking to someone he hadn't seen in a long time - which was pretty much the truth.
"Yuy's dead. His brats are obviously now under Zechs' care."
"Heh..ah yes, the old Lt. Zechs. I remember him well. He's grown soft...just like Yuy. And it'll be his downfall..just like Yuy." Giovanni chuckled in remembrance before staring at Jared again. "And? Where's the girl?"
Jared froze, and a small spark ran through Giovanni's spine. He straightened.
"Jared. Where. Is. That. Brat!"
"They lost her, boss. In Sapporo."
"WHAT!"
"Sorry, sir.."
"I don't believe this." Giovanni said slowly, glaring. "Jared...wasn't it also your fault that the girl is alive?"
"Excuse me, sir?"
"I sent one of your agents to poison Yuy's woman. To kill her, and that little brat inside her. But he didn't succeed. And that's why the girl's alive, and that's why I WANT HER."
Jared shivered, obviously expecting to be shot at any minute, when Giovanni laughed.
"Ah Jared, perhaps it is because of you I am recieving this benefit. A child who's immune system could - at birth - withstand the results of CLC. I'm impressed with her straight off."
"Ah, but...the oldest knows."
Giovanni's merry exterior disappeared in an instant as he leaned forward, his voice low and taunting.
"What..did you say..?"
"The oldest...Ryosuke, I think, knows. I think he saw Ichiro putting the stuff into her food -"
"DAMN IT. Ichiro won't keep his mouth shut long enough. Have him killed before the day's over." He leaned forward, his eyes dark. "I shall repeat this only once, Jared. Kill the oldest, kill Zechs and his wife, and get the little one to me." He sat back, giving a dismissing wave of his hand. "Do what you will with the middle child - perhaps donate him to the labs so he can be closer to his sister. After all, I'll turn her into a little lab rat just like her Daddy..a fitting end, wouldn't you say?"
Without waiting for the answer, he chuckled and turned away from the window. Oh yes, this was going to be a very very interesting year.
Ok, I'm sorry this is so short. you try being a sophomore, plus grade tracking and overseas programs and homework...it's not pretty. bye bye.
~Little Dylan, the stressed-out Sophomore
~
Ryosuke groaned as he opened his eyes against the bright light pouring into his room from the window on the far wall, and he sat up rubbing his eyes. He kind of didn't want to leave his bed, but he also knew he had to.
"'Niichan!" A tiny voice cried and he smiled as he saw his little brother clamoring up the ladder, still in his cute W-01 pj's that his mother had bought much to his father's dismay, up to the top bunk, where Ryosuke's bed was and then latching onto him.
"Niichan! It's niichan's birthday!" Kotaro cried happily as he grinned up at his brother. "I made 'niichan a card!"
"Great! But, 'taro-kun, are you allowed to climb the ladder by yourself?"
"He's not by himself." He heard another voice say as his mother leaned against the ladder, smiling up at him, already dressed for the day ahead, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail considering that her yongest son loved to pull on her long, blonde locks.
"Mama!" Kotaro cried happily, scampering over to the other end of the bed to be closer to his mother.
"Happy birthday, Ryosuke!" She said, and Ryosuke slid down to the end of the bed and hugged his mother eagerly.
"Mama! Want down!" Kotaro cried, wriggling in between Relena and Ryosuke.
"Okay, okay." Relena said, picking up her youngest son and kissing him on the forehead. She smiled at Ryosuke and kissed him on the cheek, before picking up the little toddler and starting to pull out Kotaro's clothes, with him balanced on her hip.
"Ahem." A deliberate word, spoken clearly from the doorway alerted Ryosuke of his father's presence.
"Papa!" Kotaro cried, kicking his feet happily. Heero Yuy was leaning against the doorframe and watching his wife with one eyebrow raised, an expression that clearly asked what she was doing. Relena sighed before straightening and raising Kotaro, and Heero walked over and took the little boy from her arms.
"Papa! Papa!" Kotaro said, hugging his father around the neck happily, the toddler's messy black hair becoming even more messed. Heero switched Kotaro onto one arm and hugged his wife with the other, kissing her lips softly.
"You know how I feel about you holding the boys now." He said quietly, placing his hand on her swollen stomach.
"Yuck! That's gross, Papa!" Kotaro cried upon seeing his father kiss his mother. Heero rolled his eyes.
"Uh-huh, in about 15 years, you'll be saying different, I guarantee it."
"Will not!"
"Will too." Heero protested, then quickly and suddenly turned the little boy upside down in his arms and started tickling his belly.
Ryosuke giggled over Kotaro's squeals and kicking of the legs, and Relena smiled when she saw Heero mount Kotaro on his shoulders and then reach up and pick up Ryosuke, holding both boys expertly.
"Hang on, Kotaro." Heero reminded his youngest-his middle child in only three months-and rolled his eyes as Kotaro grabbed Heero's spiky bangs in both fists and then grinned down at his father.
"I gotcha, papa!"
Relena smiled happily as she watched her husband with the children, and then rested her hand on her stomach, a warm feeling spreading through her as she felt the little girl moving within her. Heero loved little children, and she had learned from their late-at-night whispered conversations before sleep claimed them both that despite the fact that their third child had yet to be born he was already anticipating their fourth, and also that he was just as anxious and excited for his first girl to be born as she was. She watched Heero set down the children and watched them scamper out of the room, and she smiled as he approached her, gently tilting her chin up and kissing her, his arms slipping around her waist.
"How's my girl doing?" He said quietly, placing his hand once again on her belly, rubbing softly. She smiled.
"Me, or the baby?"
"Both of you." He answered, kissing her forehead. She leaned against him, closing her eyes.
"I'm fine, really."
"You look tired."
"Do I?"
"Yes."
She opened her eyes and looked up at him with an amused expression.
"You would have never talked this much 7 years ago."
"7 years ago, I didn't have three children and a beautiful wife waiting for me at home." He said stroking her hair, watching it glitter in the dusty morning sunlight. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, snuggling up to him as he wrapped his arms securely around her.
"You're not going to work today?"
"No."
She smiled knowingly at this information, at that he always used one of his 14 sick days to be home for his children's birthday. It was important to him, he said, and he wasn't going to miss the occasion.
"Mama! Mama! I found them!" Ryosuke cried excitedly, and Relena giggled.
"Looks like he found his birthday gifts."
Heero smirked. "Looks like."
~
"Boys! Come on, we're leaving!"
"Aw mom!" A young 5-year-old with sandy blonde hair and emerald green eyes said, clutching to his mom.
"Do we GOTTA leave? Can we swim some more?"
"No, Matt." Midii Barton said sternly, taking her son by the hand. Another little 6-year-old boy stood beside him, and she smiled.
"Ready to go, Duo?"
"Yup!" Duo said, rubbing a towel over his midback-length chestnut brown locks, which he almost always kept in a low ponytail. And sometimes a braid, like his Daddy.. He loved this pool, which was right by his and Matt's house. Matt's mom took them there all the time.
"5 more minutes, mom?"
"Matthew." Midii said, brushing a lock of wavy blonde hair away from her face. "Your father will be home soon and I have to start making-" She stopped short at the sight of her husband leaning against the pool's entrance gate, still in his work attire.
"Daddy!" Matt cried, running towards his father. Trowa easily caught the boy before he could run into his stomach and lifted him onto his shoulders with Matt giggling happily.
"Whacha doin' home so early, Daddy? Huh huh huh??" Matt said, reaching forward and grabbing his father's bangs and pulling them back, giggling insanely. Trowa couldn't help but smile.
"Matthew." He said, trying to make his voice sound stern. Matt let go, giggling as the bangs 'snapped' back into place. Midii and little Duo approached, and Trowa set Matt down as he led Midii a few feet from the boys.
"There's been a problem." He said quietly, taking her hand. "I need you to go home and fill a bag with some of Matt's clothes and your clothes, about 4 days' worth, and then take Duo over to his house and tell him to do the same. Let them bring a few toys." He added, almost as an afterthought. "Duo and Hilde are already gone with the baby, and we're going to meet them at the airport in a half hour."
"What's wrong?" She whispered, her heart pabout ounding.
"Nothing serious. Don't worry. I'll meet you at the airport in about a half an hour." He kissed her softly on the lips and then was gone, and Midii went back over to the boys and took both their hands. Her husband may have said nothing was wrong, but she was finding it increasingly difficult to believe him.
His eyebrow twitched uncomfortably as he lay back on his bed, still in his pajamas. He sighed and turned onto his side, trying to go back to sleep. Which was, of course, to no avail. He hopped out of bed and slowly trekked over to his toybox, ploping down and pulling out his Gundam models and starting to play with them. After a few minutes, he tossed them down, frustrated. The dream he had experienced the night before was still fresh on his mind, and a jumble of names and words were running through his head. He couldn't seem to concentrate on anything else.
He heard the door to his room open and turned to see his mother walk over to him, her pale blonde hair done up into a bun. She smiled, picking him up off the floor and hugging him.
"G'morning, mama." He said, hugging her back.
"I was half expecting you to be asleep, Daniel." She said, brushing his blonde wisps of hair away from his light blue eyes.
"Well.." He began, staring into his mom's face. He had seen pictures of his mom when she was younger, and he kind of couldn't believe that her hair had been so long and that she had actually done her eyebrows like that..
Needless to say now, she looked like a normal person, and in his pause of speech she began to get worried.
"Is it something you need to talk to your father about?" She said quietly, rubbing his back. He nodded, and she smiled, kissing him on the forehead and set him down.
"I'm going to be at the office for about 3 hours. I'll see you then."
He watched as she walked out the door, and then after a few moments stood and walked out of his room himself, winding his way through the mansion's corridors. Finally coming to his father's office, he pushed it open and slowly walked in.
"Yes?" His father said, not looking up from his work. Daniel silently walked over to him and wriggled his way into his father's lap, leaning against him. Quatre paused from his work and stared down at his son, stroking his hair.
"Mama left." Daniel said quietly, and Quatre nodded.
"She'll be back."
They stayed in silence for a moment before Daniel looked up at his father.
"Busy, daddy?"
"Not much. What's bothering you?"
Daniel was silent for a moment, wondering how to ask him about the dream when a particular name drifted by him. Deciding to ask his father straight out, little Daniel Winner stared up at his father with his innocent blue eyes and said,
"Daddy? Who's Heero Yuy?"
That was the moment the phone rang.
Aki sighed softly as she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It felt like she had been asleep forever, but she knew that it had only been a few hours since she had fallen into unconsciousness. Slowly climbing out of her father's bed, she walked into her room and fished out her slippers from under the bed before slipping into them and padding down the stairs, turning the corner and coming face-to-face with her brother. She blinked. If she had known better, she would have thought she saw tears in his eyes the moment their gazes locked before he bolted up the narrow stairway into his bedroom.
But, she knew better.
A soft grumbling from her stomach reminded her that she was hungry as she turned into the kitchen and saw her uncle sitting at the table, obviously very deep in thought. She froze for a minute before turning away, deciding to act as if he wasn't there.
She's ignoring me, Zechs thought as he saw the little girl walk over to a cabinent and pull out a plastic package, fumbling with the seal before finally pulling it open. A white square wrapped in the same thin, crinkly plastic emerged in her hand as she set the package on the counter and then pulled out a white ceramic jar before climbing up onto the smooth countertop. Zechs was about to stop her but protested against himself, watching silently as she opened a cabinent, got two small plates and then climbed back down.
She now focused her attention to the plastic around the square and ripped it effortlessly, putting the jiggly square onto a plate and then putting the plate into the microwave. She went to the fridge and stood on her tiptoes, retrieving a bottle of soy sauce and closing the fridge. She opened the ceramic jar and took out a teaspoonful of what looked like sugar and dumped it onto the plate. She then opened the bottle of soy and added a liberal amount to the sugar, stirring it with her finger and seeming slightly pleased with the taste. Zechs cringed. Soy sauce..with sugar?
The microwave binged and she took the plate out before walking over to a jar on the far side of the counter that held chopsticks, and took two small yellow ones before going to the table, sitting across from Zechs and stabbing the square-now with a thin crunchy layer on the outside-and dipped it in the mix before biting into the gooey inside.
She ate in silence and he simply watched, wondering against wondering if he should try to talk to her. After all, this was his neice..
The tension was suddenly broken as Kotaro suddenly walked in, and froze as he saw Aki.
"Nani taberun da ka?" (What're you eating?)
"Mochi." She answered, before taking a huge bite. Kotaro's eyes lit up.
"Mochi!"
He walked further into the kitchen and began the same process Aki did, and soon plopped down on the chair next to her, handing her another mochi since she had eaten hers.
"Now, what's this stuff called?"
"It's Mochi." Kotaro replied. "It's basically compacted rice that gets really soft and yummy when you heat it up."
"Oh.."
"Yeah, I love th' stuff."
"Gochisou sama." Aki mumbled quietly as she set her chopsticks down and left the table, once again walking up the steps.
They were silent at the table for a few minutes until Zechs spoke.
"Aki..doesn't like me, does she?"
"Aki just doesn't like people. She'll get over you in time, don't worry." He took another bite of his mochi. "She's really fun when you get to know her. And sweet." He made a face. "And sometimes annoying."
Zechs chuckled softly, leaning back in his chair. He got a serious expression on his face as he looked at Kotaro.
"What do you mean, Aki 'doesn't like people'?"
Kotaro was silent for a moment, staring at Zechs, and then slowly turned his attention to the mochi.
"Well...kids can be really cruel to other kids sometimes."
He stared at the huge floor-to-celing window behind the desk in his office with anger-filled eyes, silently willing the glass to break and shatter under his glare. At least that would help him release some stress. He sat back, staring distastefully at the bright lights and bustling people moving about on the dark, snow-slushed streets of Rome, Italy. He stole a glance at the clock.
3:45 AM.
Soon, very soon, his brother would be arriving from L2. He would spend time with his wife, he knew, and then he would go off to give another peace-promoting speech.
His older brother was pathetic.
Not only had he stepped up into a position once occupied by Relena Peacecraft, he had also had the nerve to give that annoying organization - The 'Preventers' - an increase in their funding. Yes, Giovanni Marcilio did not like the Preventers. 'Dislike' was hardly strong enough. 'Deep-rooted hatred' was probably better. Yes, much better. He hated them, especially when he thought of their higher-up agents and thought of Heero Yuy...
An evil grin spread across his face. Ah yes, Jared should be back at any moment. And when he arrived...
The smooth 'woosh' of the door opening made his grin spread wider, as if at all possible. Oh yes, this would be sweet..
"Sir! G rank agent 'Jared' reporting, SIR!"
"Spare me the formalities." He growled, spinning smoothly in his chair to face the young man. The soft light revealed that he was a young man himself, barely 28 years old.
"How'd it go?"
Jared relaxed, taking on the posture of an old friend talking to someone he hadn't seen in a long time - which was pretty much the truth.
"Yuy's dead. His brats are obviously now under Zechs' care."
"Heh..ah yes, the old Lt. Zechs. I remember him well. He's grown soft...just like Yuy. And it'll be his downfall..just like Yuy." Giovanni chuckled in remembrance before staring at Jared again. "And? Where's the girl?"
Jared froze, and a small spark ran through Giovanni's spine. He straightened.
"Jared. Where. Is. That. Brat!"
"They lost her, boss. In Sapporo."
"WHAT!"
"Sorry, sir.."
"I don't believe this." Giovanni said slowly, glaring. "Jared...wasn't it also your fault that the girl is alive?"
"Excuse me, sir?"
"I sent one of your agents to poison Yuy's woman. To kill her, and that little brat inside her. But he didn't succeed. And that's why the girl's alive, and that's why I WANT HER."
Jared shivered, obviously expecting to be shot at any minute, when Giovanni laughed.
"Ah Jared, perhaps it is because of you I am recieving this benefit. A child who's immune system could - at birth - withstand the results of CLC. I'm impressed with her straight off."
"Ah, but...the oldest knows."
Giovanni's merry exterior disappeared in an instant as he leaned forward, his voice low and taunting.
"What..did you say..?"
"The oldest...Ryosuke, I think, knows. I think he saw Ichiro putting the stuff into her food -"
"DAMN IT. Ichiro won't keep his mouth shut long enough. Have him killed before the day's over." He leaned forward, his eyes dark. "I shall repeat this only once, Jared. Kill the oldest, kill Zechs and his wife, and get the little one to me." He sat back, giving a dismissing wave of his hand. "Do what you will with the middle child - perhaps donate him to the labs so he can be closer to his sister. After all, I'll turn her into a little lab rat just like her Daddy..a fitting end, wouldn't you say?"
Without waiting for the answer, he chuckled and turned away from the window. Oh yes, this was going to be a very very interesting year.
Ok, I'm sorry this is so short. you try being a sophomore, plus grade tracking and overseas programs and homework...it's not pretty. bye bye.
~Little Dylan, the stressed-out Sophomore