Disclaimer: (How long will I be typing this?) Don't own Shadow Hearts. The only character owned is Persephone.
**
Yuri and Alice had waited for about thirty minutes before the train pulled in. The sun was just beginning to set, casting long shadows.
Yuri yawned and stretched as he stood. "Good. I wanna go eat." His stomach growled to confirm this and he stopped midstretch.
Alice giggled. "Don't worry, they're probably just as hungry as you are."
They watched as some people got off. Usually this was just a stop on the way to other stations; not too many people actually got off. A couple got off that Alice called out to; she explained to Yuri that they were coming back from their honeymoon. A blonde woman with a young baby got off, and then after a minute, Koudelka came, followed by a boy. And another boy. And two girls.
"Uh, Alice, I thought it was just supposed to be Koudelka and Halley," Yuri said.
Alice shook her head, looking a bit concerned. "Apparently not."
Joshua, Sharon, and Chris followed Halley and Koudelka off the train. Yuri cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "Over here!" Alice waved as they looked and Halley started running towards them. He stopped in front of Yuri and demanded, "Time?"
"5:10, and hello to you too," Yuri said a little sarcastically.
Halley looked crestfallen at hearing the time. "That wasn't very far away…"
"Well it would've worked earlier if you'd concentrated more. And for your first time, it was pretty good," his mother told him, standing farther away. "Hello, Yuri, Alice."
"Hello Koudelka," Alice said. She indicated the other children and asked, "Didn't you say you were leaving them with Carl?"
"We changed our minds. They wanted to come with, so…I thought I told you in the last letter," Koudelka said, looking puzzled.
"I don't remember that. When did you send the letter?"
"A week ago."
"Then it should have come by now, but…I don't think I've gotten any since Margarete's."
"It wouldn't be the first time they've lost a letter," Yuri muttered. "But your house isn't that big. Where are they going to sleep?" he asked Alice.
"We can sleep anywhere," Joshua said, not knowing why they were making such a fuss about it.
Chris turned to him and said, "But we have to stay with an adult now. Remember what Halley's mom said?"
"Yeah, yeah…"
"Why don't they sleep in your flat?" Alice suggested to Yuri. "There's room."
The Harmonixer did a double take before exclaiming, "No way! The flat's a mess. There's no room for anything." He was also a little uncomfortable with the idea that one of them might find the stash under the boards. That might cause a few problems.
"Oh, is it?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Guess I'll have to clean it again," she said cheerfully.
Damn. If she found it, then there'd definitely be problems.
Besides that, she also had the reductionist approach to cleaning. Everything that she judged as unnecessary and junk would be thrown out. The last time she'd cleaned out, he'd lost a lot of little trifles he liked. Nothing special, just enough to irk him and, he suspected, make sure he'd keep the flat clean from then on.
Except he hadn't, and it was a mess, and now, three or four kids to add…"Is Halley staying in your house?"
"What do you want Halley?" she redirected the question.
"I'm staying with them," he said firmly.
Four kids in a flat. "I lose the roof over my head and the shirt off my back in the same day, huh?" he said jokingly.
"Who said you're not staying with them? They have to be with an adult," Alice said.
"I have to play babysitter?" he moaned.
She glared at him. "Yuri…"
"Alright, alright! But when we get there, I'll need to clean first. So none of you come in until I say so," he said, looking at all four kids to make sure they understood.
"Sure," Halley said. The others nodded and he sighed.
"Zhuzhen should be done with dinner by now, I suppose," Alice said.
"He's cooking?" Halley asked.
"Yeah, the oven wasn't working," Yuri confirmed. Halley smirked, just thinking of Zhuzhen slaving and muttering over the stove, probably swearing occasionally.
"Is everyone else here?" Koudelka asked.
Yuri nodded and then turned to Halley, giving him a suspicious look. "By the way Halley, what made you test telepathy on me?"
Halley had an innocent smile. At least, it would seem innocent if you didn't know him. That smile was proof he'd tried to get a headache from Yuri. "So what'd the souls do?" he asked.
"Actually…" Yuri started with a frown. It then turned into a smirk as he said triumphantly, "They didn't do a thing. Looks like you can't rouse them."
Halley looked surprised by this and he said, "But Mom does…Why didn't it work for me…?"
"Oh, so you tried to give me a headache on purpose, huh?" Yuri turned and said, "Koudelka, do you know who your son tested his skills on?"
"Uh oh," Halley said.
"He tried it on me." This maneuver had all the maturity of a seven-year-old, so Koudelka didn't pay much mind to it.
In fact, she looked at him and said, "So?"
Yuri was clearly irritated with this answer while Halley just laughed. Behind them, Alice shook her head. Yuri could act like such a little kid. "Let's just go back to eat. By the way, I need to tell you all something…" she began, and then began to explain the rules of what could not be told to Mrs. Elliot.
**
"Looks…interesting…" Yuri said slowly. Zhuzhen looked like he wanted to throw a few fireballs across the table at him, but in truth this was about the most polite (and true) statement to be made. The food was now blackened bits and ashes. Everyone looked at their plates dubiously.
"…" Alice put a bit of her steak (or was it the potatoes? Not even Zhuzhen could tell) on her fork. She cautiously put the fork in her mouth, and everyone could see her wince, but she began chewing. After a minute, she swallowed and started on another bite. Then a third. Everyone began wondering if she was a masochist.
"Well…?" Margarete asked.
"It's…Well, it's very…Excuse me," she said, pushing away from the table and running upstairs. After a few moments, they heard the sounds of someone vomiting and glared at Zhuzhen.
"Trying to poison us, huh," Margarete said, propping her head on her hand.
"I can provide the fire, but I can't cook," he groaned. "I give up. Meiyuan was the cook when we traveled together."
"Who's Meiyuan?" Joshua asked from across the room. The younger ones were sitting on the floor for dinner, seeing as there was no room for them at the table.
Halley shuddered and said, "Someone you'll only meet in your nightmares."
"Now, that doesn't seem very nice. Yuri, didn't you say you knew him? What's he like?" Mrs. Elliot asked.
Both Yuri and Zhuzhen said, "Someone he'll only meet in his nightmares," in chorus.
"He is a very unique fellow," Keith said, which could be construed either positively or negatively.
"You're a very unique fellow," Yuri said in a tone that was aggravated. "Why didn't he ever bother you?" An idea suddenly occurred to him and he buried his face in his hands. "Don't answer that! Don't answer that!"
Keith could only raise an eyebrow at Yuri's action. "Now who is the unique fellow?"
Margarete seemed surprised. "Wait, wait. Are you serious? Keith are you really…" she trailed off, realizing that both Sharon and Joshua had moved closer to the table. It was not an appropriate conversation for little children.
"Am I what?" the vampire asked, confused, but Margarete just shook her head, glancing surreptitiously at the two children. Keith was still puzzled but decided not to pursue the subject.
Alice came back down at that moment, looking pale. "Are you alright?" Yuri asked, looking up at her and seeing her face.
She covered her face with one hand and waved away the concern with the other. "I feel fine. Just…I don't think I'm going to eat anymore."
It was obvious to everyone that she wasn't feeling fine and Koudelka said, "Maybe you should rest?"
"Yes…I think I'll go to bed…I've already set out my place on the floor…" her voice faded into vague mumblings as she back upstairs.
Yuri shook his head and said, "Good job Zhuzhen."
"Shut up." The Adapt laid his head down on the table and muttered again, "Just shut up."
"Well, there's the food in the pantry," Mrs. Elliot offered, being a polite hostess.
"Yeah, and after that, me and the kids'll get out of your way," Yuri said.
"Hey! Kids?!"
"Yeah, kids, or would you prefer 'babies'?"
"What?"
Koudelka sighed inwardly, listening to the insult contest that ensued. You really had to pity Mrs. Elliot. She probably had expected something totally different when her daughter suggested a nice week-long reunion for her friends.
**
"Are you done yet?"
"No."
Five minutes later. "Are you done yet?"
"No."
Five more minutes of walking around the hallway. "Now?"
"No," Yuri replied, his voice sounding a little strained.
This time Joshua waited only a minute before asking again.
"Are you done-"
"Darn it, no! Shut up Joshua, I'll tell you when I'm done!"
Yuri knew he was being a little harsh to yell at the kid. But please, he was going to go berserk if he heard the question 'Are you done yet' one more time.
He dragged his mattress across the floor so that it covered the loose board and set it down. Then he laid out blankets for each kid.
Okay. Stash hidden. Check. Bedding. Check. Clean room? He'd stuffed everything in the closet. Check.
He opened the door. Sharon was playing with a doll. Joshua was running up and down the hallway. Halley and Chris were talking, although Chris seemed to be doing more of the talking. Their bags lay next to each other next to the door.
"You can come in now," he said.
"Yay!" Joshua ran into the flat and, as might be expected, jumped onto Yuri's bed. Yuri could feel his eyebrow twitching. "I get the mattress!"
"I don't think so," Yuri corrected. "The boys are on this side," he said, pointing to his left. "The girls are next to the door. The mattress is mine, so no more jumping on it, okay?"
Joshua responded to this with more jumping on the bed. Yuri was starting to think that there'd be one less London Rat very soon.
Luckily, Halley dropped his backs, grabbed Joshua and wrestled him to his bed before Yuri snapped. Joshua complained a bit, but then fell asleep quite quickly.
"What the…Forget this. I'm going to sleep," Yuri said.
"Um, where can we change?" Chris asked.
"You could change in the bathroom…but I doubt you'd want to. Is the door locked?"
"Yeah."
"Halley, turn away," Yuri instructed, doing the same. "Alright."
"Um, right now?" Chris sounded a bit flustered and embarrassed.
"Sure. We're not going to look."
"I doubt that," Halley muttered.
"I'm not! Just hurry up and change."
"O-okay…" After a few minutes she announced, "Done."
Yuri didn't bother to look around but just collapsed into his bed. "Alright. Now turn off the lamp, it's time to go to sleep. Have fun with the clock."
"What clock?" Halley asked.
"You'll see."
**
The Graveyard? I stopped and looked around, wondering why I was here again. I noticed one of the graves, its symbol for fire shining with a light. I walked up to it and examined it, puzzled.
"I suppose it must be reacting to me," a feminine voice said from behind. He turned and saw the same red-haired woman as before. She smiled at me before walking up to the grave and touching it. It flared even more brightly and, in pain, I shut my eyes against the heat and light. When it cooled and I opened his eyes, I saw the Flare Brooch floating in the air in front of me. "Do you still have my brooch?" she asked. "It was a very important gift…"
"I have it," I said uncertainly. I did have it, or at least they looked the same. But they'd gotten that from Dalian. "You didn't give this to me…"
"Yes, I did," she said, "But you don't remember. She hid that from you."
"Who are you, and who are you talking apart?"
Her smile became sad and she said gently, "I have another gift for you."
"What…?"
"A very precious gift, Hyuga. The truth."
**
Dun Dun DUH!
Next chapter is just an Author's Note for this chapter, so you can skip that.