AN: I've been discussing this fic with my muse, and we've come to the decision that any notions of a serious fic should be thrown out the window right this moment. I've got some serious ideas, and the basic plot will be pretty straightforward, but as always, the need to laugh outweighs all else. I hope you guys are enjoying this.
Chapter Two – "The Conference"
"Well class, today will be our last time meeting until after the holidays." Michiyo said with a smile. "I've already handed out the new books, and given back all of your work so far, so feel free to consider today a Study Day. However, if you have nothing to study, feel free to talk quietly amongst yourselves."
Nagi sighed, watching his teacher nervously. 'Today's the day.' He thought. 'We carry out the mission as soon as class is over.' He knew that a mission was a mission, but this still wasn't an idea he was fond of. He sighed again, pulling out a book, he tried to read, but kept looking around instead. All around him, students were quietly discussing their plans for Christmas. At the front of the room, Sakamoto-Sensei was working on what appeared to be lesson plans.
A few minutes before the end of class, there was a knock at the classroom door. Michiyo went to answer it, not recognizing the man on the other side.
"Sakamoto-san?" the man asked.
Nagi looked up. 'Schuldig?'
"Yes…can I help you?" Michiyo replied.
"I was hoping to talk with you, concerning Nagi Naoe." Schuldig's face showed concern, but he spoke a little too loud, enjoying the looks Prodigy was receiving from the other students.
"I usually save such matters for after school." She replied.
As if on cue, the last bell of the day rang.
"Oh, well, class dismissed." She fumbled for a moment. "Happy Holidays, everyone."
The class left in a large mass, Nagi trying to sneak away with the rest. Schuldig, who had moved to one side to let everyone by, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him aside. "Not so fast, Chibi. You need to be here too."
Nagi grumbled, but allowed himself to be held back. Once everyone left, Schuldig pushed the door closed. Michiyo looked at her desktop colander.
"I don't see any conferences scheduled for today." She commented.
"Oh silly me, I suppose I forgot to call." Schuldig said, shaking his head. "That is alright, isn't it? I was just so concerned about Nagikins."
Nagi shot the German a rather evil glare.
"There's nothing really out of the ordinary." Michiyo commented. "Naoe-san turns in all off his work on time, takes part in class discussions and group projects, never speaks out of turn, and is always very polite. He's one of the best students I've had this semester."
Nagi blushed slightly. Schuldig smirked.
'She is cute, Chibi…too bad you're not a few years older, ne?'
'Shut up!'
"I must admit, I am surprised." Michiyo continued, unaware of their mental conversation. "I would've thought Nagi was full Japanese."
"What do you mean?" Nagi asked.
"Well, it's just I didn't know your father was foreign. Especially given your last name."
Schuldig blinked. "I'm not the Chibi's father. I'm more of an…older brother figure."
Nagi gave a small laugh. If that was what siblings were like, he was glad he didn't have any.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Michiyo asked. She had wanted to visit Ranji's grave before it got dark.
"What subject is this?" Schuldig asked, looking around the room with interest.
"Health Education."
"Ah…isn't this where we send innocent young minds to learn about the birds and the bees?"
Michiyo blushed a bit. "If you mean Sex Education, then yes. We'll be starting on that after the break."
"If you ever need…a research partner…just let me know." Schuldig smiled, slowly approaching the teacher. He could tell she felt increasingly nervous.
"That…won't be necessary…" She stammered, now leaning against her desk, trapped if he got any closer.
"Well tell me…do you offer tutoring for non-students?" He advanced a little more, leaning over her ever so slightly.
Michiyo was nervous. 'Please back off…' She begged silently. 'When I get nervous…'
Just then, a small pile of papers on the desk caught fire. Schuldig stepped back, proud of his work. Michiyo spun around, knocking the papers into a small trashcan with one quick motion. Schuldig suppressed a laugh when the trashcan blazed up, apparently full of paper as well. Michiyo began to panic, forgetting that Nagi and Schuldig were even there.
"There's no water." She grumbled, eyes scanning the room.
"Here, Sakamoto-Sensei." Nagi said, levitating a fire extinguisher to her.
"Thank you, Naoe-san." She said, taking it and putting out the small fire, without noticing she'd grabbed it from mid air. She then froze, turning slowly to face the other two.
"You two just saw all of that…didn't you?"
They both nodded. She sat down the fire extinguisher, and sank into her desk chair. 'I've ruined everything…again.' She thought.
"Nothing's been ruined." Schuldig replied, kneeling down to look at her from the other side of the desk. "In fact, things just got a lot better for you."
"How did you…?"
"Know what you were thinking?" Schuldig finished. "Call it a gift. Like you're only…less of a fire hazard."
'This can't be real…' She thought, her eyes going from the foreigner to Nagi.
"It's quite real. I'm a telepath, you're pyrokenetic, and the Chibi can float stuff."
"You could call it levitation." Nagi snapped crossing his arms. "'Float' makes me think of ice cream."
Schuldig laughed again. "Nagikins wants to take you out for ice cream sometime."
"Schuldig! Did you have to tell her that?" Nagi demanded.
"Let's say there's some off chance I do believe you…" Michiyo began, watching the two. "Why are you here?"
"Because we understand how you feel." Schuldig's voice sounded sympathetic. "We know about everything…and everyone you've lost because of your gift, and we want to offer you something stable to hold on to."
She thought of Ranji. How would he handle this? What would he suggest she do?
"We want to offer you something you haven't had since your brother died…" Schuldig continued.
"A place to truly belong." Nagi finished.
Michiyo looked at her hands for a moment, before looking up at Schuldig. "Tell me more."
Michiyo looked at the moderate house before her. It had been a few days since she met Schuldig, and now she was preparing to officially join Schwarz. Readjusting the weight of her overnight bag, she continued up the walk, glancing nervously at Nagi every few minutes.
"Don't worry." Schuldig smiled. "It might seem…unusual…at first, but you'll soon adjust to life here."
He opened the door and lead her into a cozy living room.
"When will I meet the others?" She asked as she looked around the room.
"Oi, Bradley, Farf, all hands on deck!" Schuldig called.
"What have I told you about calling me that?" Crawford asked, entering the room from his office. His glasses had a faint glow, proving he was already annoyed.
A moment later, Farfarello entered and stood silently, staring at Michiyo. Michiyo looked Crawford over, but wasn't very impressed. She stopped when her eyes landed on Farfarello. His hair was the same shade as her own. That was the most her mind could register.
"Ranji?" She asked in a whisper, bolting forward without another thought and throwing her arms around him. A moment later, she looked up, and midnight blue met golden amber.
"Have we met…?" He asked, tilting his head.
Michiyo took a few stumbling steps backwards. "I'm…sorry…" She said weakly. "You remind me o someone."
"Perhaps we should let Sakamoto-Sensei rest." Nagi suggested. "Moving can be tough."
"Follow me." Crawford ordered.
He lead her out of the room, and down a hallway. They passed an office and a kitchen before he began pointing things out to her.
"Along that wall we have Farfarello room, Schuldig's room, and a weaponry storage room." He said, motioning. "Here we have my room, the room you will be staying in, and Nagi's room. The bathroom is at the end of the hall on the right. To the left is a smaller den. Farfarello usually sits in there to polish his knives, but it's also a nice place to read."
Michiyo moved for her room.
"We don't have a specific dinnertime, but I will make sure someone lets you know when it's time to eat." Crawford continued. "The rules are simple. Don't call me by my first name. If you feel the need to address me, it's either Crawford of Oracle. Do not under any circumstances mention religion around Farfarello…unless you enjoy mass homicide. Feel free to use your power if Schuldig gets too…friendly, as long as you do not damage anything." He pushed his glasses up on his nose. "And most importantly, you're the only woman here. Knock before entering any room with a closed door, even if you just left it a moment earlier. Also, seeing as how we only have one bathroom, please make sure no one will need in there before hand if you are preparing for a shower."
"Yes, Crawford-san." Michiyo replied. "Please excuse me."
Crawford sighed as she went into her room. He hoped his little speech might make things go smoother, but he didn't have to be a Precog to know as long as he was with Schwarz, nothing would go smoothly.
Schuldig had been on his way to his room when he caught an intriguing train of thought. Following it for a moment, he discovered Michiyo was dreaming about her family. He stood just inside her doorway, curious to see how things would play out.
"Those children are evil, both of them!" Tsuuhei Sakamoto exclaimed, motioning to the five-year-old boy and his six-year-old sister.
"They're not evil…they just have special gifts they can't control." Amae replied, resting a hand on her young daughters head.
Tsuuhei growled softly before backhanding his wife. Ranji stumbled back as well.
"Please, Papa…that hurts Ranji too…" Michiyo said, wrapping her arms around her brother who had started crying.
Schuldig shook his head. 'Rough time…'
Michiyo looked from her brother to her mother, both lying on hospital beds. One was dying of cancer, and the other felt the constant pain, without suffering from the actual disease.
"Mama…I'm sorry…"
"Don't blame yourself, Michi." Amae said, smiling weakly. "Just promise me you'll take care of Ranji. He needs you."
"I promise." She said.
She kissed her mother's cheek, quietly checked on her sleeping brother and then left the hospital room, running into her father.
"I hope you're proud of yourself." Tsuuhei said with a sneer. "Your mother's dying, and it's all your fault."
"That's not true!" Michiyo replied.
"As long as you live, you're not going to do anything but cause everyone around you to suffer. Well, I've suffered for sateen years, and that's long enough for me."
"What do you mean?"
"They're releasing that freak of a brother of yours tomorrow morning. You two will move to another apartment in another complex." Tsuuhei glared at his daughter. "Once you get there, you're on your own. I never want to see either of you again."
Michiyo bolted upright, tears streaming down her face. She then noticed Schuldig.
"So what happened?" He asked.
She briefly considered not answering, but decided against it. She needed to tell someone.
"My mother died that night, and my brother never fully recovered, physically or emotionally. We moved out like Papa told us to, and continued going to school. I got a job at a local grocery store in order to pay rent." She sighed. "Everything went fine until Ranji died." Memories of that terrible night fleshed through her mind.
"Say no more." Schuldig assured. "I still don't understand why your brother was sick."
"He was an empath. He felt other people's pain as if it were his own." She explained. "Papa always hated us, and I never knew why…"
"People like that hate what they don't understand. It's easier to ridicule then to try and comprehend." Schuldig replied.
"Speaking from personal experience?"
He laughed. "Come on, I bet you're hungry."
Michiyo stood to follow but stopped. "What about…Farfarello? I hugged him and called him my dead brother's name. Won't he consider that odd?"
Schuldig laughed. "Farfie's bonkers...why'd you think he's Berserker. Don't worry about him, chances are he's already forgotten."
Michiyo smiled and followed him out. When they arrived at the kitchen, they found Nagi doing homework, and Farfarello writing what looked like a letter.
"I'm glad to see you're up, Sakamoto-Sensei." Nagi said with a smile.
"I was thinking." She said as she sat down at the table. "Perhaps…since we're going to be living together now…we should drop the formalities away from school."
"Good idea, Michikins…now Nagikins can call you some cute little pet name." Schuldig said with a smirk
"Shut up, Schuldig." Nagi grumbled before looking at his teacher. "What would you like me to call you?"
"Michiyo-chan is fine." She decided with a smile. "Sound good to you, Nagi-kun?"
"Hai…" He stammered before thinking. 'She called me Nagi-kun…'
Without warning, Nagi broke out in a mild nosebleed.
'Ecchi Chibi.' Schuldig smirked.
AN: For lack of a better term, Nagi went off to a teenage boy happy place. be warned, the poor kid will probably need a transfusion before all is said and done. More will come soon, including further details of her new status in Schwarz, and the return of everyone's favorite florists. Also, I'm going to do a Christmas chapter…even if it's not up by Christmas.