Chapter 13
Everyone's got relationship problems
Friday 4:45pm – Hunter Works Lobby
"He told us to wait for him here right?" Nobu tapped his foot impatiently on the ground with his arms crossed. They had decided that three other people should go with Hisoka to check out his new residence. Of course, it hadn't been decided yet – he still had to check it out to see if it was to his liking – but they all knew he was just saying that. The other two nominees were also grumpily lounging around the Hunter Works lobby with him.
Kuroro was seated on the couch, looking non-fussed with a thick book in his hand titled War and Peace>>. Nobu chuckled at the irony – they've had their war, now they were looking forward to some peace, however strained and minimal. The former Mr Perfect was never ruffled and could not work up a hysteria unless he was embroiled in the middle of the battlefield with shells exploding around him. More often than not these days, he found himself exactly in that situation and he decided that he certainly didn't like it. He was supposed to be the melancholic, brooding man who spent most of his private hours lounging in coffee houses with a juicy novel in hand and nothing of the world's troubles in his mind. In his mind, Kuroro envisaged himself as the bohemian artist living the insouciant, free and easy lifestyle without having to sort out other people's relationship problems. Kind of a bit like Salar, he was supposed to be aloof and detached because he lacked a certain commonality with the other actors since he'd been literally forced into social isolation all his life by his demanding parents. But time seemed to have worn him thin of his previous persona, and the more he (was forced to) hang around the actors, the more they rubbed off on him. He was developing the B-class actor, take no crap, don't really give a damn about my career attitude. And he loved and savoured every minute of it.
Hisoka and Illumi's relationship problems – don't go there, he told his wandering mind and trained it back onto the book he was reading.
Machi was mechanically flipping through some gossip magazines as if she was obliged to do so. During lunch after Illumi had left the café, the gourmet hunter had loudly declared that a woman should also go with Hisoka to give him a woman's opinion of the apartment. Senritsu was not here, Shizuku really wanted to go but had other private stuff to do before the last Friday gym session and Neon didn't speak half the time, let alone give an opinion. That left Pakunoda (who didn't really care or want to get involved), Menchi and Machi. They did janken and Machi won. Nobu swore that he saw a look of vile jealousy cross Menchi's face as Machi casually shrugged at her good fortune and agreed to go with the Genei Ryodan leader and the samurai. They spoke more about Hisoka's accommodation throughout lunch, with the magician vainly trying to hide his desperation to know just how magnificently splendid the apartments were.
"So kid, can you tell us what the place is like?" Hisoka hopefully looked to Killua. The white haired boy shook his head with an apologetic look.
"Truth be told, I didn't even know that he had moved out."
"But isn't he playing your aniki even outside acting hours?"
Killua snorted. "Everyone else from aunty Kik…I mean kaa-san's family are acting like they are all Zoldicks – very good at it I must add – but I hear from Milluki that Illumi is working devilish hours. Straight after he leaves Hunter Works, he's running around the city talking to PR people, advertising agencies, a team of lawyers and estate agents to set up this new clothes store that he wants to promote by Autumn. He spends most of his nights working on this other project of his. Remember the time when Zuuchi tried to prank call him on the weekend Gon?" Killua looked to his friend who was aimlessly pushing a few stalks of asparagus on his plate and silently debating in his mind whether to eat it or to torture it with his fork.
The main star of Hunter x Hunter then looked up as he was addressed and nodded blankly, barely recalling the stupid stunt they pulled a few days ago.
"Yeah, Zuuchi rang him up at 3 am to annoy him or whatnot. I was certainly against it – drag me up from my beauty sleep! Urgh…" Gon had settled for mercilessly jabbing his silver fork into those green shoots but saw Kurapika's disapproving frown so he quickly gobbled them up.
"He picked up the phone immediately. There was even some music going on in the background – apparently, he was still designing his toys at that hour." Zuuchi quipped up from behind his mountain of vanilla ice cream that had successfully managed to cover his small and fuzzy head. The child actor always finished lunch faster than anyone else and usually took up dessert whilst they still continued to saw away at their steaks.
"I so didn't expect him to sound awake that I completely forgot what I wanted to say and settled for slamming the phone down."
A few eyebrows were raised at the level of maturity that the children had reached and Hisoka grumbled for the rest of lunch. He left Hunter Works straight afterwards with instruction to the three selected people to wait for him in the lobby at 4:30pm. So here they now were, and the stupid clown was running fifteen minutes late.
In the horizon, a red haired figure was running towards them, hair messy and wild, shirt buttons not in their proper corresponding holes, but at least his fly was done up. Hisoka halted just before them, panting in great mouthfuls of air, the back of his wrist immediately flying to his forehead to flick away the sweat.
"Sorry I'm late." Hisoka continued to wheeze, bending over with hands clasped over his knees to stop his legs from trembling due the exertion.
"The car's nearby – I got here as fast as I could."
"You're dirty and dusty Hisoka – what happened?" Kuroro wrinkled his nose and deliberately retreated a few steps as if he was afraid of catching anything that Hisoka might be carrying. The magician gave an annoyed scowl at Kuroro's prudishness and focused on answering the question instead of imagining unpleasant things he'd like to do to the Genei Ryodan leader.
"Stupid landlady – upped the date I was supposed to vacate the premise when I stupidly let slip that I was going out to inspect new premises. She wants me out of my apartment by midnight tonight!" he paused for a few more deep breaths. "So I spent the rest of the afternoon going through all my valuables and packing everything into my suitcases then jammed them into the boot of my car. Now I wish I'd taken up Phinx's advice and gotten a car with a bigger boot. Whoever sits in the backseat will have to hustle up a bit." He lead the group with a brisk, fast paced walk and was still breathing heavily and audibly, the exhaling sounding very much like the wheezing of a sick child with sever asthma. Then he suddenly stopped and spun around to glare at them all.
"And don't anyone of you tell Illumi that I'm going to be kicked out tonight. He'll sense my urgency and might push up the rent knowing that I have no other options or alternatives. You got that!"
They all smiled wickedly at him and made looked away, deliberately refraining from making eye contact and uttered some half-hearted promise. They weren't going to tell Illumi about Hisoka's dire situation of course, but it just amused them greatly to see Hisoka sweat and squirm. You had to settle for these small victories if you were ever going to survive in Anime City with these bright and hugely shining stars overpowering you with their glamour and presence. And Machi had the sneaking suspicion that Hisoka was lying – that he'd left his problem till last minute, which was one his usual traits – and that he was originally scheduled to be kicked out tonight anyway. She heartlessly snickered at the suspicious and nervous glances that Hisoka sometimes stole now and then as they continued to walk to his car. You could almost hear him grinding his teeth.
Machi and Nobu squished into the back seats of Hisoka's car whilst the immaculate Kuroro took the roomy front seat and smirked at their misfortune. Machi in particular, was being pressed against a large paper box that exuded a stuffy, moldy smell and an assortment of other foul odours that reminded her of day old socks. Perhaps there were day old socks in there, but she tried hard not to think about them otherwise she might just add the smell of vomit and puke, and she was sure that no one else in the car would appreciate that.
They all grunted at the uncomfortable bouncing of the car and the rattling of whatever objects in the old cardboard box and hitting their head on the side panels of the windows from the abrupt swerves as Hisoka sped down Endless parade towards the heart of Anime City. Hisoka dodged and sped through yellow lights and cursed the cars parked on the sides of the road. The 200 floor sky scrapper that was Elysian was like a painfully bright spire of gold and silver in the conception of dusk when the sun bled a dark crimson and hung like a ball of fire in the sky. At the large roundabout on the foot of the building, Hisoka made a sharp left turn into Glamour Isle and let loose another vivid string of curses that had Kuroro coughing to hide his embarrassment – he was running late.
Thankfully, they managed to arrive there in one piece without crashing. Kuroro thought he might have seen a speed camera, but shrugged – it wasn't his problem. He was here just to enjoy the show and the view.
Andelain Towers left their jaws hanging wide open. It was built using the classical neo-Grecian architecture and made use of columns and aesthetic symmetries with statutes of semi naked nymphs holding pitchers at the entrance – beautiful, seductive and alluring – the perfect words to describe the building. It was consisted of three towers which stood in a semi circle leaving a roundabout in the centre that the gardener had studded with colourful flowers of the season. Hisoka cautiously drove in and traced around the stone edge and saw the slim figure of Illumi standing in front of the middle tower, angrily scowling.
Hisoka quickly unwound the window and Illumi leaned in to give him a clearly dissatisfied look mingled with barely restrained fury.
"You're late." He snapped. "And every minute's costing me money. My estate agent is already here. Drive into the underground car park and park in the spot with B6 painted on it then get back up here."
Hisoka returned the scowl and thoughtfully kept his mouth clenched shut. He settled for giving Illumi yet another nasty look and drove down into the car park only too aware that Illumi didn't give him the usual pained eyes at his unfriendliness. Next to him, Kuroro was mildly entertaining the idea that Hisoka was definitely experiencing difficulties with being 'companionable' – and he had seemed so delighted this afternoon after finding this place and promised everything under the sun to be able to live here.
I really ought to remind him about the collateral contract, Kuroro smiled lightly and watched Hisoka pull up the parking break that creaked painfully. He undid the clasp on his seatbelt and gave an unnoticeable shake of the head, all meant for himself.
No, he's old enough to handle this. His cynicism was laughing truly loudly in his mind indeed.
Illumi was impatiently tapping his foot in the lobby, the irritated look still on his face as the four of them stepped into the luxurious lobby, feeling very out of place in their clothes that suddenly looked very shabby. Not unlike stepping into the ballrooms of Elysian without a full suit of tuxedo on in fact. The air condition was turned on full blast to give a refreshing, soul cleansing breeze. The tiled floors were so polished that they could see the reflection of the bottom of their soles and were painfully conscious of how dirty they all seemed compared to the pristine and spotless paradise they had just entered. It pained them just to tread this unsoiled ground with the muck of the mortal world.
In the lift, Illumi visibly shied away from Hisoka and had wrinkled his nose. The look he gave Hisoka was not his usual hurt and self-pitying one coupled with the injured and fading hope, but one of utter disdain and disgust. All right, so Hisoka didn't look his best, but he wasn't that dirty – it's just that in contrast and comparison to the luxurious apartment building they had just entered into, Hisoka…well, he seemed to have a lot in common with the sewer rats right now.
The elevators dinged at level six and the metallic doors soundlessly slid open to reveal the doors of just the four apartments occupying each level. The delicate and stylish vines of ivy along the edges of the doors were carved with enviable skill and plated with a smattering of gold leaf to give the semi antique rendition. There was a short but energetic woman standing outside the door of apartment B in a dark blue suit jacket and matching skirt, supporting a folder holding a dozen sheet of papers with her left arm. They all noticed a glimmering silver dragon embroidered on the left lapel of her suit. The symbol of Vallanor.
She smiled widely at Illumi as he approached the door and even bowed slightly. The same exuberant and lively smile was also bequeathed to Illumi's colleagues and she professionally introduced herself with a well rehearsed speech that she never got tired of repeating.
"My name is Mina Jenkins. I'm Illumi's estate agent and I specifically handle all the property issues of Andelain Towers. I'm here to answer any questions you might have concerning the duration of the lease, negotiate an option to renew, explain some clauses that you might not understand, and of course, to provide the owner of the apartment block with an honest opinion about the new tenant." Then her tone hardened and lost some of its warmth as it took on a more authoritative edge.
"Andelain Towers prides itself in being one of the most sought-after, high flying and respectable apartments in Anime City. So that means for tenants or landlords who are of shady character or background, have a history or track record of drug use, violence, vandalism and a taste for bringing prostitutes into their home, Andelain Towers has reserved a right to deny such people a proprietary interest." Her brown eyes flickered calmly to Illumi's unresponsive back as he pushed the door open and stepped in.
"These were the terms of sale that all other residents must agree to. So," she broke back into her former friendliness, "lets inspect the apartment shall we?"
Hisoka swore that his jaw had somehow managed to hit the ground and his eyes widened larger than tennis balls. He'd been lying if he said he was impressed – heck, impressed would be at the bottom of the list if he had to find a word to describe the sensations of stepping into the apartment. He had entered a room that you only saw in good movies – whether it be the black marble tiles or large sheets of blemish -free glass overlooking the more attractive and eye pleasing parts of the city, or the tasteful modernist style that Illumi had set up – it was better than anything he'd even dream of.
Kuroro drifted to the left side of the room towards the CD racks and the entertainment system. He had become very fascinated with Illumi's stereo system.
"Surround sound?" his eyes glittered with appreciation. The black orbs looked lovingly at the speakers firmly embedded into the four corners of the lounge area and wondered how his latest CD would sound.
Illumi gave him a tired nod and threw the keys on the kitchen bench adjoining the lounge area that also acted as the separation between the kitchen and the living room. He scratched the back of his head without much feeling and blanched when he saw the clock.
"I'm going to get some sleep – I have an appointment tonight. Got questions – ask Mina and –"
The melodic chime of the doorbell caused Illumi to frown with irritation again. Not expecting any other guests, he opened the door a crack to see who it could be then quickly flung the door wide open. Everyone tried hard not to shiver when Salar gave them all a chilling smile and neatly stepped in with fluid and controlled grace – uninvited. He was dressed in yet another suit, but this time, the top buttons of his shirt were undone and revealed the sickly pale white skin beneath. Around his neck glinted a white gold chain. Illumi see the pendant – it looked like a pair of crossed swords set on top of a shield, and most captivating of all was the dragon that was entwined in those swords. It was the mark of Vallanor. A laptop was slung on one shoulder but judging by the size of the black bag, you could tell that he owned one of the latest models that were astonishingly lightweight.
"Good afternoon Illumi," Salar patted the man on the shoulder in friendly greeting whilst the other actors took the chance to bolt down a small corridor towards the bedrooms so that Salar couldn't get a proper look at them. "Mina informed me that there were prospective tenants coming to inspect the apartment this afternoon, so I thought I'd come and look around as well. And I'm also checking to see that you're fitting in nice and comfortably too." His ice blue gaze swept broadly across the lavish living room taking note of any differences to the last time he was here and made a sound of appreciation when he studied the black leather sofa.
"I'm fine thanks Salar." The Hunter actors hid in the spacious bathroom and pressed their ear to the door to eavesdrop on the conversation outside, shivering at the cold stings of the tiled floor running up their bare feet. "This place is great – it's at a convenient location and enough room to do my work." Illumi confessed with genuine frankness. The grouch and irritation he had for Hisoka down at the lobby had vanished and he spoke to Salar with politeness and respect, if not also a touch of warmth and perhaps just a dash of amicability as well. Salar nodded.
"Glad to hear that Illumi-san. I was terribly amused by your gift, and Ku-chan had been horrified when he first saw it." Salar chuckled. "But now – he's all over it. Plays with it more than I do and probably thinks it's his. Oh well," Salar openly laughed out loud with real pleasure, a sound that was old and tentative as if the tone and its emission were foreign to him. "who knew that I possessed the ability to giggle?"
Salar drifted over and bent down to examine the blinking lights on the entertainment system that took up half wall, his keen eye for electronics alighting with interest at the CD collection. Illumi just watched the enigmatic and unidentifiable man examining his belongings but concealed his worries from his face. Salar might be nice and kind and even friendly to him right now, but the first time he saw the man with his cold eyes and those biting words and he knew that nothing could be taken for granted when it came to dealing with Salar. To make deals with the man was to walk the skinniest and longest tightrope and it required your full and utter concentration for each and every moment. To be distracted for one mere second was to allow the wolf into the sheep's pen and there'd be hell to pay afterwards. He had to be careful.
"Ku-chan says he's coming over – he's also got something for you as well. I haven't seen him laugh like that for a long time." Salar stood up straight with a CD in his hand with a more formal expression on his face. Small talk was over – time to get to the serious business.
"So, where is your tenant? Is it someone I know?"
Illumi left the living room by the small corridor and testily knocked on the bathroom door. Then, speaking as a parent would to a disobedient child, he ordered the four actors to come out from hiding and back in the open so that they could finish the inspection. With heads hanging like sulking children, Illumi mercilessly marched them back under the gaze of Salar. Machi instantly wandered over to the far corner of the living room and pretended to be interested in the magnificent view through the window that stretched from roof to floor. Nobu decided that he was thirsty so he hurried into the cozy kitchen to fetch a glass of water whilst Hisoka and Kuroro gave fake smiles of greeting and tried to make a stand.
Salar studied them all for only the briefest of moments, his eyes flickering over their forms, so that he could connect their faces to their names in his mind and then gave a mirthless laugh.
"Ah Kuroro – I was wondering when you'd upgrade from the apartment that I hear you've living at. Congratulations, you'll love it here."
Kuroro gave a small cough and his eyes darted nervously as he tried to think of a gentler way of conveying the news to Salar.
"I'm…not the new tenant. I'm just here to give opinion and moral support."
The tall man with Karasu's face daintily raised and eyebrow and turned to Nobu, who was still fiddling with the tap and pouring and refilling his glass for the third time already.
"Nobunaga-san then? You're one of Illumi's colleagues – well, moving to Andelain Towers is a step in the right direction – "
The chink of the glass on the marble bench as Nobu bought the cup down interrupted Salar's words. "I'm not the new tenant either." He declared and fought to control the spasming of his cheek and jaw muscles. Then after some strange exercises with his eyebrows, Salar caught on and looked…
Horrified.
"Jesus No!" he said, voice strained by a rare display of emotion. He grabbed hold of Illumi's wrist and yanked him over to a more private corner to speak.
"HISOKA?! Do you know that man's reputation?! I thought you made your stipulations clear in the ad – you want a responsible, clean tenant who abides by the rules. Hisoka might fulfil those requirements – but I think I can genetically alter pigs to fly first before he can change! Haven't I advised you to do history checks." Salar fervently shook his head in denial. "Have you rung his previous landlord?"
The magician, although offended and not as amused as his other co-actors, was quick to interfere whilst Illumi innocently shook his head to Salar's last question. "Er…Salar, you shouldn't believe everything that people say."
Hisoka instantly knew that the cover up had sounded terribly unconvincing, and by the way that Salar was looking at him, more like glaring at him with utter disapproval, he knew his chances of living here were rapidly diminishing.
"Do you want the cd?" Illumi asked in a hesitant voice, wrist still in Salar's iron grip but his gaze unwaveringly fixed on the object still clutched in Salar's other hand. With such an abrupt and unrelated question, a lesser man would have gone insane and screamed the rest of his rationality away, but being the living ice block, Salar merely frowned and shook his head and dropped the young man's hand.
"No – I just wanted to play it. I was about to comment on your choice of music and pulled out this one. Mind if I stick it in?"
But Salar had already stalked over to the machine, switched the power on and inserted the shiny disc before Illumi got to answer him. Perhaps he needed the music to calm down. And whilst he continued to fiddle with the adjustments, he told Illumi which piece it was.
"You've got the Elgar cello concerto – lovely piece – I could play that when I was five." He touched the 'play' button and music washed away their thoughts to replace it with the composer's own, captured in timelessness in the music to be recreated at will.** A solo cello mournfully pulled out the first doublestop in a deathly still atmosphere and its lone voice continued to sing the melancholic tune.
"The last time I played it was at Lola's wedding." Salar whispered wistfully to himself as one would whisper a private message to a dead love one over their grave, then adjusted the knob and turned down the volume by a fraction. When he straightened his back, and the look of nostalgic reminiscence on his face replaced by an uncompromising resolve, he almost became another person.
"Mina – set up my laptop – I'm going to dictate some extra clauses to go into the lease."
"Hey, what right do you have to do that?" Hisoka demanded, but the introduction of the lilting melody by the violas nullified his outrage. "Illumi's the landlord here." He tried to add but was cut off. The full force of Salar's menace was upon him.
"Didn't Miss Jenkins inform you already? The owner of Andelain Towers reserves all rights to expel unfit residents by the opinion that he forms." Salar said sharply, compellation and authority surging into his voice like a tidal wave, completely erasing the mild friendly tone he shared with Illumi only short minutes ago. Even the full force of the orchestra couldn't wear away the sharp, deadly and cutting edges in his resolve. He alone seemed unaffected.
"Yeah – I got that part." Hisoka quietly mumbled.
"And I'm the owner of Andelain Towers. So now, lets set out some extra conditions on the lease because if Illumi ever finds mold growing in his bathroom, or the other residents begin to complain about the stink of clothes that haven't been washed for a month, I want to make sure that this contingency will be provided for in the contract and will give me full powers to eject you from my building."
The defiance and anger slipped away, eroded by Hisoka's own irrational fear of the new Salar that he was unfamiliar with and the pull of the tragic music that was threatening to sap him of every jovial thought.
"I can be clean." He squeaked. "You just set the conditions, and I'll show you that I can abide by the rules."
"Alright." Salar snapped, his finely narrowed eyes flashed a pale but potent malevolent fire at the challenge.
"I'll give you three chances – if the receptionist at the lobby ever sees you bringing questionable people into the building, that's strike one. If Illumi ever complains about your lack of cleanliness or I hear complaints about how rats are festering in this place because of you, that's strike two. And if you ever exert unnecessary force or violence towards anyone in the building, landlord especially, that's strike three, and I instantly kick you out onto the streets. Got that Mina?"
"Yes sir." She responded immediately, her hands that had previously been flying rapidly over the keys of the keyboard abruptly stopped and she jabbed the 'full stop' key with a flourish.
Salar nodded stiffly. "That's just to reinforce my standing and power over you when you live in this building. He's another clause – possession of illicit drugs in Andelain Towers leads to immediate ejection. You so much as sniff coke or shoot up in here Hisoka, and I'll kill you and dump your body in Northside – no, don't type that last threat in Mina."
Machi knew this was a tense situation, but she couldn't help feeling small bubbles of giggles beginning to fountain inside her like a rush of warmth at the way Salar handled Hisoka. Dictate terms! Not even Dancho could do that to Hisoka at Hunter Works. The magician had a look of complete powerlessness for two reasons. One was that Salar's firm belief that Hisoka would not turn down a chance to live in Andelain Towers given its magnificent luxury and would thus settle for any terms he laid down allowed him to drive home the most intrusive terms of agreement. Second was because they were not in Hunter territory anymore, not even Anime City territory. Andelain Towers was unashamedly Vallan in character with its embodiment of the epitome of beauty and perfection, meaning that they were in Salar's world now and he couldn't give a damn for the actors' code duello.
"And" Salar's words viciously cut through her thoughts "no personal wild parties that last till four in the morning and involves an unhealthy consumption of alcohol and insobriety. If the other residents complain about the noise levels, that's another strike. You want to throw a party – do it in Elysian or rent another small hall and don't tear my apartment down with it. That's it, I'm pretty satisfied with that. What say you Illumi-san"
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Illumi wandered out of his room with a small white plastic bottle of pills in his hand and went to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. "I don't do any of that stuff anyway, so it won't affect me." He looked up from the tap at Hisoka. "And besides, it'll be good if Hisoka can keep his promises about keeping this place clean. I'll work out the finer house rules with him at a later date."
He unscrewed the cap of the bottle and shook out two small white tablets. He grimaced as he popped them into his mouth and took a large draught of water to swallow it down.
The chimes of the doorbell rung again. When the Mina went to open the door, a small brown creature zipped in between her feet and zigzagged along the polished tiled floors, producing a sound that sounded strangely like a 'quack'.
"It's Master Kurei." Mina announced, unable to hide the flush on her face as Kurei gave her a small smile and waltzed past her with a large pot in his hands. He saw the brown furry creature now in Salar's hands and pouted.
"Quacker! Come back here!" he ordered, hastily putting the pot on the stove in the kitchen and hurried to Salar's side and made to take the creature from his mentor.
"Can I have him back please mentor." He whinnied when the latter held the creature up high and out of reach.
He was looking at a sleek and flat animal with a furry brown body, a beaver's tail, a duck's bill and four webbed feet. It was making a small quacking noise and nibbled on Salar's fingers with his bill.
"What is that disgusting creature?!" Kuroro observed with horror. Salar laughed aloud.
"This is an Australian mammal – the platypus – hatches eggs like a bird and can swim like a fish and makes burrows in the mud banks! Isn't he hilarious?" The man held the toy by the tail and hung him upside down. Quacker squawked a bit and bent its body and tried to bite at Salar's fingers. He laughed aloud in amusement before Kurei jumped up and snatched the creature from him then tucked him neatly into his coat pocket with the head sticking out.
"Mina, print out the lease and have Hisoka sign it then."
The young girl nodded and began to order the laptop to print but suddenly froze.
"Oh, password. I'll do it." Kurei offered and sat beside her, his hands meticulously working at the keyboards. Machi pitied the girl who had been so confident and lively before and was now reduced into just another ordinary girl with a fiercely blushing face and shy quivering lips that uttered a thank you.
Kurei fed the white A4 paper in from one end of the laptop, and it emerged out the other with end complete with the letter head and writing.
"I didn't know laptops had in-built printers." Nobu flatly observed.
"They don't. I designed and built this one to suit my needs. Come on Ku – tell Illumi-san what you gave him and let's get moving. Places to be remember."
Illumi had already moved into the kitchen beside Nobu with his sixth refilled glass of water and tilted the lid slightly up to let slip wonderful aromas that assaulted their nostrils. Both inquisitively peered into the black pot and saw speck of whitish substance floating in a sea of murky beige and grey water.
"Poridge." Kurei explained curtly, face beaming with expectation of praise as he packed up the laptop and carefully strapped it back inside its bag. "I cooked it myself!"
"That's a lot for one person." Nobu commented with a spoon in hand. He reached in to dredge some of the rice porridge up and tasted it whilst professionally smacking his lips. He gave a shiver of delight and instantly asked Illumi where the bowls were with irrepressible hunger in his eyes.
"Did you stuff up the proportions again Ku? Then had to add more porridge on top to equalize it?" Kurei shied away from the penetrating gaze of his mentor but had to give a weak nod. Salar took Quacker from his pocket and placed it on his own left shoulder so that you could see his fore flippers. He absentmindedly stroked the animal on the head and made his goodbyes.
"Ok then. Everything is in order then. Ah…one more thing though." His hand reached into the outer compartment of his laptop bag that he now shouldered on the right, a cruel smirk playing on his face.
"You are going to be famous Illumi-san. I managed to get myself the headlines for next Monday's paper. And you are on the front cover."
He retrieved a folded sheet of paper and flicked it open with a smart snap of his wrist so that they could all huddle in and study the image.
There were two groups of people, one group on the left, one on the right and both seemed to be pulling at two very familiar figures. There was a man standing right in the precarious middle whilst the distinct figure of Illumi on the right was in the middle of his punch. Mina Jenkins gasped aloud with fright.
"That's Darien von Drosgen!" she squealed, terror on her face as she looked to Illumi. "You punched Darien von Drosgen in the middle of the park in broad daylight?"
"Decked him in one go too." Nobu grinned with a note of satisfaction, bowl in hand and slurping spoonfuls of the porridge with enthusiasm. "You should see what we did with him afterwards. Anyone got the small copy of Hanzo's picture on them?"
Machi shook her head, Hisoka muttered something about the glove box in his car but Kuroro immediately reached in his back pocket and took out his wallet, flipped it open and withdrew a small coloured picture then passed it around to Mina and Kurei to see. Both their eyes boggled. With slightly trembling hands, Kurei handed it to Salar for a look.
True to his reputation, Salar's eyes did not ogle nor did he produce any outward signs of surprise at the large group's exultant trophy stance over Darien's fallen body. He chuckled as well and returned the photo.
"And you keep that in your wallet?" he asked softly with lips curled in amusement. Kuroro returned the same look.
"Yep."
Salar shook his head in disbelief but the smile still plastered onto his face. "Lets go Kurei. Leave them to celebrate their victories. Illumi-san, the next time I'll be in here will be under invitation only. Take care."
"Gimme Quacker." Kurei trailed after his mentor who was easily fending off and slapping away those prying and eager hands attempting to appropriate the toy slung on his shoulder.
The first movement of the cello concerto came to an end and Illumi took out the disc and replaced it on the shelf. He wearilystudied Hisoka, chewing on the insides of his cheeks for a few moments before he got back into the main topic.
"All right – your bedroom is the first room on the left in this small corridor. The bathroom you uses is opposite your bedroom. The room further down on the left is my bedroom – I have my own en suite so I won't be using your bathroom…except when I want to use the spa. So you are in charge of keeping it clean – I don't want to see a fungus colony thriving you understand! And the locked room at the end f the corridor is my work room – do NOT try to force it open." Illumi looked around him to see if he had missed anything.
"And as to the kitchen and this living room – you make a mess, you clean
it up. I want it spotless after you are done with your dinner or
whatever. Especially my kitchen – I don't want to see dirty plates
and utensils lying in the sink to rot like they did previously in your
old apartment and on your floor! You not only wash them until it's sparkling
clean, you ALSO put them back into their proper shelves. Good. That's it.
I need sleep. Ms Jenkins, let him sign the lease."
The phone was ringing in one of the larger luxurious mansions in Fame Court. Lola winced in irritation as she peeled off her dish washing gloves that were dripping with detergent water and making a mess all over the bench already. She ran to pick up the phone thinking how she would have to get her hands wet trying to fit them back into the glove again.
"Hello?" she tried not to sound agitated or annoyed.
"Ah, hello there Lola, it's Xelloss here." Stupid purple-haired trickster Lola sniffed inaudibly at his shifty voice. "Could I speak to your husband please?"
"Just hold." She laid the receiver on the kitchen bench and went to the house intercom. She pushed a green button and held it down as she spoke into the machine.
"Karasu! Phone!" she barked. He was conveniently holed up in his study working, pouring over stacks of papers and occasionally throwing a binder out the window in frustration.
Sounds of animated talking emitted from the receiver so she quietly hung it back into its resting position and tackled the task of putting those gloves back on without letting water seep into them. Kaéry poked his head around the corner of the kitchen door.
"Was that Xe mum?" he quietly asked her with large blue and sullen eyes.
"For the sixth time today Kay!" Lola growled. "No – it was for your father. If you want to talk to Xe, use your phone and call him!"
Kaéry sniffed a bit and slinked away, the tiny sounds of his footsteps fading quietly into nothing.
"Eavesdrop on your father," Lola continued without looking up from the mountain of mess in the sink, "and I'm taking away your privileges for a month!"
"Drats." Kay's voice floated back down and the footsteps neared again.
"Kay honey, why don't you help you mum with the dishes since you've
got nothing to do?" Lola called out sweetly. "It's a request, not an order!"
she continued to happily sing as she emptied half a bottle of detergent
and took satisfaction in viciously squirting the clear yellow liquid over
all the plates.
"Karasu! HELP!" Xelloss hissed over the phone.
"Over acting again Xel, what's up and why are you whispering like that?" Karasu attacked his calculator and jabbed some numbers in, comparing them to those on the paper in front of him.
"Because I'm talking to you from the inside of my closet and I don't want my son to hear! Xelan has been driving me up the wall these past three weeks! Snaps at anything I say or do. Did you know that he hasn't invited Kay over for the past three weeks? I don't think they've been speaking to each other!"
Karasu put his pen down and gave real consideration to Xelloss words. Kay had been acting strangely as well and Lola was starting to complain that it 'bugged her'. Why else was he still barricaded in his study and doing work on a Friday night at ten thirty instead of out drinking with his wife or watching a family movie together? He didn't want to admit it, but Prince Kay was on the prowl and everyone beware.
"They might be fighting or something." He began slowly. "And because they're not speaking to each other, then they obviously have to find something to distract their brilliant minds."
"I DON'T FRICKIN' CARE!" Xelloss continued to hiss, hinting at his total desperation. "I want to know why they've been fighting so I can bloody solve it! I'm sneaking a call to you from my freakin closet! This is what I've been reduced to! Oh shit…I hear something…"
The line from Xelloss' side went deathly quite. Then came the muted padding of footsteps and then some loud banging followed.
"Dad?" Xelan's sweet and angelic voice echoed through to Karasu's ear without a trace of ill intent. "Dad? Where are you? Don't you want to take out the Elysian's architectural floor plans so we can study it and calculate an alternative method of using less structure beams to come up with a building that high? Dad?"
The voice floated away again, but Xelloss just waited a little longer before he allowed himself to give a sigh of relief.
"Karasu, you there?" he whispered.
"What was that banging noise?"
He heard Xelloss' trembling breath. "Oh…he just checked in my wife's shoe closet and thank god he didn't open this one. So…got any ideas how we can put an end to this?"
"You rang me – so I presume you've got some suggestions."
"Well…yes, I do, but I don't know if you're willing to help." The purple haired lawyer sounded hesitant. "You see…I was thinking that since your brother was back in town…maybe you could go to him for some advice."
"NO."
"Oh come on Karasu!" Xelloss cried out loud by quickly muffled his voice down to an almost inaudible murmur again, sniffing piteously as he did so. "Like you have any idea how to stop this. Your wife, might I remind you, is going to snap soon if Kay keeps on bugging her like that and I have no clue as to what even started this! Please, please, PLEASE! I'm begging you – for both our sanity's sake. Your brother is the only thing out there smarter than Xe and Kay combined! He can fix this! He's our hope!"
Karasu clenched his teeth and glared at his pen, thinking about his brother who hadn't even bothered to ring them and tell them that he had arrived back in Anime City for the past three weeks. Hadn't even visited them or bought Kaéry a souvenir. But Xelloss was undeniably right. Karasu was lucky in that he could hide from the walking menace with his mountain of work, but Xelloss' wife had moved out of house just recently, leaving the poor guy to tackle his son alone. Time to put both fathers out of their misery.
"I'll call him." He said shortly and heard another relieved sigh from the other end. "I'll do it now then. And get out of the house Xelloss, even if it means you have to jump from the window – I don't want to have to visit you in a mental institution the next time I see you."
Karasu almost felt the man's emphatic nods as he hung up and dialed another set of numbers.
"Hello Karasu." The phone was picked up immediately from the other side. The voice that spoke to him was filled with calm confidence and imagined contempt. "What do you want?"
"It's – "
"It can't be because of Lola – she solves her problems by herself. You wouldn't ask me for help even if you had to wade through half a mile of shit to find your answer, so it must be Kay."
"Yeah – "
"Wouldn't be business problems – he's smart enough not to give himself problems. So I assume it's personal."
"Er – "
"Oh, I get it – he's on bad terms with Xelan?"
"Um – "
"I've got five minutes to spare tomorrow morning. Tell Kay to meet me at Ambrosia House at nine forty- five. I'll just give him a few words."
"Are – "
"Good. Anything else you want? No? – goodbye then."
The line went dead and Karasu stared at the receiver 'dooting' the tone
of a dead line with mixed emotions of incredulity and sickened disbelief.
Could Salar read minds now or something?
Saturday, 9:00am – Yomi's Residence
Mistress floated up the stairs giving the clock on the wall a glance to note down the time. Her son's room was locked shut and she had just retrieved the spare from underneath the store room planks. Whatever her son was up to, it had to stop now.
"Shura dear," she inserted the key and gave it a savage twist. "It's nine o'clock already – don't you need to get ready for school?"
"No, please don't make me go outside!" her son wailed from insider the cocoon of his doona. Mistress gave an affectionate sigh and sat down on the edge of his bed, gently prying those strong fingers off the bed covers that Shura had flung over his head.
"Honey pie," she tuned her voice to sound worried and concerned, "you've been cooping yourself up in the house for the past three days. Now you don't want to go to school? Are you sick?" her slim hand reached out to feel his forehead but Shura violently jerked away.
"No mum! You don't understand!" he howled like an injured animal and fought to regain the control of the covers so he could just hide from the world beneath his doona.
Mistress frowned slightly. "Then make me understand, or if mother can't understand, why don't you find Kaéry and Xelan to help you with your problems then. You three are all kids around the same age."
With the mention of their names, Shura's eyes widened with real fear and he rolled his head from side to side on his well fluffed pillow, constantly worming himself into the far corner of the bed away from his mother.
"Please mum, please mum, they're crazy! I don't want to go anywhere near them!" he sobbed and managed to pull the covers above his head again. Mistress snatched the blanket away from him and looked at him crossly.
"What have I told you about saying nasty things, especially about your friends!" her luscious lips pressed into a grim line. "Now try your best to tell your mother what's wrong this instant or I tell your father!"
Shura tried a few tricks that Xelan had taught him about manipulating the emotions of grown ups but wasn't very successful. He didn't have the purple haired boy's large and innocent eyes or those thick and smothering lashes, nor did he have Kaéry's oratory abilities to reach a compromise with his parents. So he just sighed and fixed his mangled pyjamas and sat on the edge of the bed next to his mum and tried to explain the situation to the best of his abilities with wild accompanying gestures.
"There's like this…cold war they're waging against each other. Kaéry pulls out Karuto every time I arrange to meet together and Xelan is like this vicious viper who hisses and snaps at anything that we say! You think he's all cute and angelic, see-no-evil hear-no-evil type of kid but he's not! I've shivered under the harsh and beating summer sun at those cold, cold blue eyes that he uses to look at Kay and his new girlfriend. Do you have any idea how afraid I am to stand near Kaéry when he frowns and bares his teeth? He's seriously like this mad dog who's slipped its leash and is looking for any excuse to rip out my precious throat! I can't stand it mother! I can't go out there anymore knowing that the two are lurking and stalking the streets, falling on hapless victims."
Shura looked into his mother's blank and uncomprehending eyes for a long moment then gave a defeated, forlorn sigh.
"I knew you wouldn't understand. All right – I'll get dressed and go out onto the streets. If you don't hear from me by nightfall, then go to the beach and retrieve my dead and lifeless body entangled in seaweed and drifted onto the desolate sandy shores by the tide underneath the mourning moonlight."
Mistress ran her fingers through Shura's hair and gave him a big kiss on both cheeks.
"Why Shura, that was just gothically romantic! See, I knew Kay and Xelan were good company."
She left the room and politely closed his door whilst Shura changed
out of his pyjamas and into his casual clothes, mutely sobbing all the
way.
9:45 am – Ambrosia House
Kaéry was walking many brightly lit store windows, curiosity the only thing gnawing at his mind by the appointment that his dad had made for him and he tried to come up with all the possible reasons and came up with nothing. He was going to see his uncle – and you could never predict anything with that man. Kaéry prided himself in being able to read people, gleaning vital information from the body language alone, then picking up even more just from the language and paying notice to the particular choice of words.
His uncle was a good man, but at times, Kay wondered whether he was truly human or not for there was nothing on the surface to see. Uncle Salar had two smiles – a friendly one, and one that made your skin crawl and made you wish that you were very far away. And he smiled in a way that made it look slightly reluctant and partly obligatory, even those rare friendly ones. His father did not get along with his uncle, and according to rumors, they never had, even when they were children. Only recently, Kaéry understood a little of why. A lot of his dad's friends have said that he would grow up to be a humanized, and infinitely more amiable version of his uncle and stressed that it was something to be very proud of.
That part he didn't understand – to be proud to be human or to be smart like Uncle Salar?
His uncle liked him because he was one of the few recipients of those rare friendly smiles. Still, it said nothing about his person. The friendly smile was just a movement of the lips upwards, that was all. Half the time, those ice blue eyes would be boring holes into your skull to see what makes your mind tick even when those self same lips lifted up into a friendly smile. Sometimes, the gaze was so cold-blooded that Kay shied away from his uncle, left to ponder if he was only friendly with him because he was Lola's son.
His legs carried him further into the heart of Elysian's shopping mall, and because the day was still early, there were only a few customers, spread out thinly in the massive complex. Ambrosia House was a famous coffee and tea house that served any coffee or tea under the sun. Kay's hand trailed along the bronze railing and through the glass panel, he saw the open store two levels beneath him. He worked out from here, you could get the best view on all the customers drinking away and saw that his uncle was already there, gently blowing steam off a cup of tea presented in those fine china cups that came with a lid but had no handle.
Salar was calmly sipping his tea with his eyes focused inward into the workings of his mind. He drank the tea with perfect manners, set the cup back down onto the saucer without making the slightest noise and merely sat there. He didn't appear tense or relaxed, his face betrayed no emotions – no signs of deep and troubling thoughts nor fond remembrance of happy memories. Damn – the man just sat there – bent the joints of his leg in the right places so that he sat in the chair and that was it.
At least look at the clock! Kaéry silently fumed. Then I'd know you have plans today. But no, his uncle was as unexpressive as an android and his posture or actions gave nothing away.
All of a sudden, Salar's piercing eyes caught Kaéry's and the child gulped, waving back with a small smile on his face whilst he silently cursed himself.
Damn – he knew I was watching him!
His uncle didn't smile when Kaéry took a seat beside him but he didn't look unfriendly either. He placed a hand over the menu Kay was going to order from to signal (at last!) that this was only going to be a brief encounter.
"We are different from everyone Kay – you must have realized this by now. We pride ourselves in who and what we are – and value what we have that everyone else lacks above everything else there is. I'm glad we had this chat, now go fix your problems."
Salar took a large draught out of the china cup and left a small bill
on the saucer, snapping his fingers to inform to one of the groggy waiters
that he was leaving. Only after Salar had left did Kaéry groan aloud
and tried to discern just exactly what in nine hells his uncle had
been talking about.
10:00 am, Zoldick Mansion
Shura skipped Saturday School. He couldn't care less if Principal Gaav later rang home and told his parents about his misbehaviour. His mother might get cross with him and his dad might even yell at him, but at least he'd have his sanity safely secured. This happy thought earned a merry tune that Shura whistled aloud but quickly suppressed it as his eyes darted from side to side like a prey who had just caught whiff of a predator. It would be unwise to give away your position, especially with two demons from hell stalking the streets. If his mum didn't let him stay home, then he could easily find a sanctuary or haven in another person's home.
He had been on good terms with Alluka since day one of Saturday school so the best place to head to would be Zoldick Mansion. He had visited the house a couple of times already to show Alluka some professional karate moves and knew exactly which way to go to avoid mainstream society even if it meant adding a few sticks and twigs in his hair.
Reaching Zoldick Mansion proved too easy and he pressed on the intercom outside the impassive black iron gates and patiently waited for the butler to respond.
"Another of Master Killua and Master Alluka's friends?" came a tiredly bored and exasperated voice from the other side.
"Yes?" Shura hesitantly replied and wondered what the butler had meant by those words. Did this mean that other people had come to Zoldick mansion to seek shelter?
The black iron gates swung open without a sound and Shura raced up the gravel path towards the massive double doors of the main entrance. The butler pulled the doors open and looked down on him through fine rimmed glasses.
"Oh, hello Goto – Killua and Alluka skipping Saturday school today?" he stepped in and made some small talk.
"Yes young sir. Our two young masters managed to persuade Master Silva that there some was unholy terror out on the streets and that home was safest. Other children from Saturday school have been coming in with similar lines. Master Silva believes that this is just some English group assignment on role playing, yes?"
Shura took his cue and immediately nodded his head. Lying did not come easy to him like a rabbit attacking a carrot as it did with Kaéry and Xelan, but he was so fine tuned and alert right now that nothing could put him off balance.
Until he saw all the class, minus the girls, despondently laying around in Killua's living room and staring listlessly at the ceiling. They murmured the solitary word now and then, not making much sense and generally exhibited the symptoms of one whose life essence and soul had been sucked dry.
"Goodness! You're all acting like pathetic girls!" Shura cried out. "Have you all been approached by Xelan?"
They all nodded in unison, fifteen dull pairs of eyes like dead fish fixed on him. Alluka rolled to one side and with weak and shaking hands clawed himself up onto the couch.
"He came up to us when we were practicing our soccer shots." He whispered like a broken and borderline delirious man. He swallowed audibly and raggedly continued.
"Wanted to play as well, so we let him. But he got tired easily and wanted us all to sit down and work out the trajectory and velocity behind the curve balls and calculate the amount of force necessary to imitate a Zidan goal. He spent four hours explaining to us the marvels of gravity, friction and something about hang time…but thank god he had to go home for dinner….thank god."
"And then," Sasuke added "he wanted us to make witty and sarcastic comments whilst he read…Flaubert's Madame Bovary – in French!"
The next hour was dominated by the other boys all revealing their dreadful and horrifying experiences with either Xelan or Kaéry, none of them pretty, most of which involved the painful abuse of their neurons and resulting migraines.
"He looked like he wanted to murder me after I rejected his offer to brush his hair." Shura recalled, the last to speak. "Brush hair! Come on – we're men! I even suggested that he should cut his hair off if he couldn't handle it and he held the brush like a cleaver I swear! I quickly found out that I was needed elsewhere and made a fast exit.
But we've got to make a stand. We can't sulk and mope about like this!"
"You do something hotshot!" Hiei glared at him.
The doorbell resounded around them. They tensely awaited to see who else it could be and almost died when Goto led Xelan into the room. The frail boy was dressed very casually today, wearing a pair of black shorts revealing lolly-pop skinny pale legs and a rough faded brown t-shirt displaying slender arms. His long glossy purple hair was tied in its usual way, with one black velvet ribbon halfway down his back, and he curiously twiddled with the tips in his fingers as he studied them all lying on Killua's living room floor.
"I've got two tennis balls and an invitation for you all to Luigi's Woodstove. Anyone up for a game of brandy in the park and then lunch at Luigi's afterwards?"
Everyone perked up at the mention of Luigi's – it was the best
Italian pizza store in town and offered at least fifteen generous toppings.
They jumped to their feet with new life and vitality and rigorously nodded.
Brandy was the best game around after all.
2:00pm – Luigi's Woodstove
They managed three games, each lasting an average of one hour. Killua and Naruto emerged as the victors as with all three rounds, they were the last to be caught. They trusted no one, hid well, dodged nimbly and were fast enough to outrun their empty handed chasers to find a new hiding spot.
Gang up Brandy was a great game – two people were labelled 'it' at the beginning (matter of random choice) and gave a sixty second head start for people to hide in the bushes and forest of trees in the park. Then each took a ball and separated, tracking down the people 'not it' and touching them with the tennis ball to make them 'it' just like themselves. The number of people who became 'it' therefore multiplied whilst the people 'not it' became the diminishing hunted prey and were 'ganged up' upon. Some actors liked to stick together, safety in numbers. The most exciting part would be when another child actor would approach them like they had just been chased, only to produce a tennis ball from out of nowhere to chase them down. Yoh had a good arm and could get people with the tennis ball over a medium distance – unless you were smart enough not to run in a straight line. Sasuke, when 'it', was good at holding the 'not it' people down whilst he waited for someone with a tennis ball to arrive. The two 'it' people in the beginning of the next game would be the first two people caught in the previous game.
The last game was the most exciting – Naruto had just been captured and pulled to ground by Tao Ren and Phibrizzo as he tried to make an escape. Hiei and Amanuma then joined the foray and threw themselves on top just to make sure Naruto couldn't try to throw the other two off. He stopped struggling immediately after Alluka ground the ball in his cheek to relish in him becoming 'it' just like them all. Only his devious and cunning brother remained. They split up again, the tennis balls no longer hidden because everyone was Killua's enemy.
"THERE HE IS!" Rinku hollered seeing Killua sprinting across an open field, taking the chance to make it to the thick foliage of bushes were they could never get him and a new game would be declared. "WHO'S GOT THE BALL?" Rinku continued to shout, immediately giving chase and trying to sprint up to Killua so he could pull the boy down. From other directions, Shura and Shinta were also closing in on Killua and trying to reach the bushes first before Killua could disappear into them.
Killua was fast, but Rinku was not all that slow either. He was gaining on him and was about six meters behind when someone shouted his name.
Xelan didn't do so well with gang up brandy – he wasn't fast enough and couldn't be trusted to throw straight. In fact, he was a fragile and delicate boy and scored himself a few small cuts and scratches in the bushes and a small bruise on the cheek where a ball had hit him. There was the neon green ball in his hand and he threw it out across the grassy open.
Yes! He had thrown straight and true! Rinku caught the ball then lobbed it to Shura who was already in front of the bushes, chest heaving and panting heavily but a victorious grin on his face. He grinned in triumph as Killua's eyes widened in fear at the ball in his hand and he made a sharp turn, deciding to give up on the bushes. But Shinta, and not far behind him, Yoh, were there to block his path and Killua sharply turned to run in the opposite direction, only to be tackled to the ground when Shinta had launched himself onto him behind and Rinku closed in on him from the side and caught him in a bear hug. The three boys instantly fell crashing to the ground and all Shura had to do was smartly tap the tennis ball on Killua's exposed forehead beneath the press of bodies
"WE GOT HIM THIS TIME!" Rinku beamed as they all got off the flattened Killua and dusted themselves off, laughing after the spectacular chase and the cornering – the teamwork involved.
So laughing loudly and joyously, all of them barged into Luigi's and asked for tall glasses of ice cold drinks and family sized pizzas with extra cheese. They were happily whooping away and recounting tales of conquest and triumph, how they managed to capture so-and-so, how they had managed to out run whoever or that they found a great place to hide and so on.
Xelan's shirt had become a mangled wreck, but that was expected in a game of brandy. Your desperation to get away from those 'it' and especially those with the tennis ball was very real, so real that your feet continued to run despite the pull on your shirt. He'd been thrown to the ground once and caught in a headlock as well. The third time he got it was when he was careless and allowed himself to panic as an actor in their midst suddenly grinned wickedly and withdrew the tennis ball and ran around them all with an outstretched hand. A small trickle of blood ran down his shins where he had fallen over in a (successful) attempt to run away, but the other kids said that it happens all the time and there'll only be one harmless scab. He dusted some more at the dirt marks in his shorts that wouldn't go away.
"You have to put that in the washer." Naruto said beside him. "Good idea to wear rough shorts – gang up brandy can be a dirty game."
"I'll say." Xelan gave him a big smile and took an equally large bite out of his pizza.
The bells tinkled as another customer entered. Kaéry was dressed in another one of his black suits and he walked straight up to Xelan in amazement, ignoring the other boisterous actors sitting at the long table and happily bragging away.
"Xe?! What happened to you?!" Kaéry intently studied the scruffy Xelan with incredulous violet eyes. "Your cheek…did someone hurt you?!"
Xelan lost all his gaiety and gave Kay an indifferent response. "I was playing gang up brandy."
The black haired boy looked puzzled and worried. "No-holding-back full-on-tackle gang up brandy?"
"YUP!" everyone shouted and laughed again. Kaéry spoke to Xelan as if the people were still not there.
"Xelan," he began in all seriousness "I'm here to say that I'm sorry."
His best friend finally looked him in the eye. "Sorry for what Kay?" he asked quietly, small voice wavering with pent-up emotions. Kaéry took a deep breath but he spoke with determined steadiness.
"I'm sorry about finding a girl and ditching you. I now realize that should have never happened. I am supposed to be a creature of reason and cold logic – I should have calculated that your friendship is infinitely more valuable than a short-lived, meaningless fling with a girl who I don't really like. I should have understood that nothing can come between us but became deluded by my emotions." Kay reached a hand into his shoulder bag and withdrew a finely wrapped box, about the size of a small alarm clock and presented it to the other child.
"Could you please forgive me Xe?"
Xelan's eager hands almost snatched the gift from Kaéry's hand and he recklessly worked at the ribbons. He carelessly dropped the ribbon on the ground, more concerned with the contents inside, and after he lifted the box cover, he instantly beamed up with delight. It was a crystal figurine of a squirrel twinkling a radiance of colours on the palm of his hand as he held it up to the sun. Xelan didn't care for the creature – he just liked shiny, pretty things.
"All forgiven Kay," he shyly said and hustled closer to Naruto so as to make room for his buddy. "Why don't you join us for lunch? Luigi's gonna make us HUGE pizzas today. Make room guys!" Xelan called down to the other end of the table and everyone immediately began to shuffle down. Kay cautiously sat down and took a sip from Xelan's drink, tentatively returning the demure smile Xelan was still showering him with. A terrible and oppressive weight that had been chained to his heart was suddenly lifted, and he could breathe and smile more easily again.
"Same thing next weekend everyone?" Hiei suggested.
He received a chorus of unanimous agreement.
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Author's notes – Part II
Wow – I just finished an exam today and had to get this up before I studied my next one (Corporations….urgh…). Small things to note:
"Gang up brandy" is a real game – I used to play it all the time when I was in primary school and would have gladly continued playing it if all the girls in my all girls high school weren't so prim and proper. It's the best game ever especially with the 'gang up' aspect, and the fact that you only need two tennis balls or one to play. You can include a large number of people (we used to play with about 20) and by gods it was so fun pulling the biggest and toughest guys in our year level down by sheer numbers alone. They kicked and fought like a bull, but instantly changed when they became 'it' like everyone else.
To better understand the meaning of Salar's words when he played the Elgar cello concerto, you can do some research into why Elgar wrote the piece. The Naxos CD jacket says: Even then the excitement and joy of other principal theme are broken by references to earlier themes in the concerto and the mood of autumnal introspective melancholy that make this one of Elgar's greatest works. At the end of the score, whereas Haydn might have written Deo Gratias, Elgar wrote the words Finis. R.I.P, intentionally or not signally the concerto as the end of his creative life, the end of the war (WWI) but also the end of an age. I'll let you guys ponder on that before I reveal some more.
And to all the authors reading – PLEASE review and tell me the things you didn't like and why. I would also appreciate opinions about my OCs as well.