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KHR: Children of the Sky

Target 5: Talks

It had been a week since the mission and everything seemed to be going smoothly for a young genius. Kotaru walked down the path and reached the sushi restaurant. Entering, he waved hello to the owner and took off his shoes. Once he had some slippers, he continued his way to the back part of the building that led to a household. He looked around and finally saw his destination.

In the backyard, a small boy was throwing a baseball in the air and catching it with a baseball glove. He seemed to be healthy and very nimble. His feet barely touched the grass as he jumped around. Staying on his toes, he was able to grab the ball in midair and toss it back up while he was in the air. He reminded him of a bunny.

"How are you feeling?" Koe asked as he walked up to the small boy. "Looks like you're getting stronger."

"Huh?" At the sound of the voice calling him, Arthur looked over and smiled. "Koe-nii!" He smiled as he rushed over to hug the teenager. "Did you come to play?"

"Not exactly. I'm here to talk with your sister." He told the young boy as he picked him up in his arms. Even though the boy was supposed to be seven, he looked more like a five-year-old. "Where is she?"

"Lina-nee is inside," Arthur told the teenager. "Can I still play outside?"

"Sure." Koe put the boy down and waved as he walked towards the house. Inside, he looked around and saw that the inside was clean. He heard humming and walked towards it to see a blonde girl folding some clothes. "Found you."

"Huh?" The girl looked up and smiled as she put the clothes aside. "Miura-sama, welcome."

"Yo, long time no see, Merlina." Koe smiled as he walked over. "I emailed you that I was coming, right?"

"Yes, I saw it. Let me go prepare some tea. Let's go?" Merlina smiled as she got to her feet. She led the way to the kitchen and let Koe sit at the table while she started to prepare the tea. "It'll be a minute."

"It's fine." He leaned on the table and watched her look through the kitchen for a tea set. "It's been a week and you're already adjusted to this home."

"Grandfather and Father are very welcoming." She smiled. "Also, to think I could attend Midori Middle School, it's like I woke up in a fairytale. I'm happy here."

"That's good to hear." He looked at the side door and smiled. "I'm gonna open the door."

"Ah, sure. You can sit on the porch if you want. I'll take the tea there." Merlina smiled as he walked over to the door and opened it. "So what brings you here? You said you were visiting, but is that it?"

"Ah, yeah," Koe spoke as he sat down. "The other kids…" From the corner of his eye, he could see that she stopped moving. "They are now healthy and we're looking for their relatives. If they are suitable to care for the child, we'll return them. If not, we'll send them to an orphanage."

"You can't do that!" Merlina shouted. "They all deserve to go home to their families!"

"What if that family is in debt or under a type of substance?" Koe pointed out. "If the environment isn't safe for childcare, then the child will go somewhere where that can get that care."

"That…" The girl looked at her work and gave up. Bring the tray of tea and snacks, she set them down next to the teen and bowed. "Thank you for taking care of them."

"It was a request you asked from us." Koe smiled as he took a cup of tea. "I also noticed… Those kids have weak flames." He saw her flinch and sipped his tea. "I heard that family got rid of children with weak flames. To make sure their production didn't slow down."

"Y-Yes…" Merlina answered. "There were about fifteen of us at first…"

"You and Arthur are the only ones that have strong enough flames to cover that recommendation that family had." Koe turned to the girl who was now pale. "Merlina… You did enough work for four people. Your flames are crazy powerful. Not only that, but they're rare. Pure lighting flames."

Trembling, the girl looked at the floor. "I… I just didn't want to see any more children dying…" Tears started to form and she gasped when Koe reached over to wipe her tears. "Miura-sama…"

"Don't worry. I'm not blaming you. I'm just amazed." He pulled his hand back and reached into his pocket. Pulling out a photo, he handed it to her. "I have a favor to ask of you. I have to escort this girl this Saturday to a charity ball. You come along as my backup."

"Me?" Merlina reached to grab the photo and looked at the picture. "Who is this?" The picture was of a girl who wasn't looking at the camera. She had long honey-blonde hair and chocolate-brown eyes. She looked like a doll or a princess in Merlina's eyes. "She's beautiful."

"She's my boss," Koe said as he put down the cup and jumped down to the grass. "I'll protect Arthur as I promise. However, I need to protect my boss first, so…" He turned to face her, his clothes changing to a black Kimono and his hair grew so long that it reached his lower back. "Help me. She's my everything, just like Arthur is yours."

Merlina saw the change and blushed at his appearance. "Y-Yes!" She answered, wanting to help. "If I could be of any help to you, I'll do whatever it takes. As long as Arthur is safe."

"Good." He smirked. "I'll send you a dress for this weekend. Later."

"Kya!" A gust of wind made the girl look away and close her eyes. When she opened them, she saw that the boy was gone. She looked at the picture in her hand of the girl and held her chest. "Miura-sama's everything?"

"I can't believe it…" Natsuki sighed. "She just threw me aside… Just for that boy!" She threw her books off her desk and then flopped on her bed, her face buried in her pillow.

A soft knock at her door made her look up to see her father at the doorway. "May I ask why you're causing a lot of noise?" He sighed as he entered the room.

"It's Kiyomi!" Natsuki sat up and glared at the floor. "She completely let that Storm bastard take control of our family!"

"Wow." Kyoya chuckled, angering his daughter even more.

"This isn't funny, Father!" The young girl shouted. "I know I messed up the mission, but to be honest, if he stayed by my side, then I wouldn't have gotten caught! Instead, he left me to fight all those men alone! He was being selfish and didn't even think about the family!"

It was true she took off first. However, if Rin was there, he would have followed her. Giving her support, they could have been a great distraction together. But no. Koe sent Rin elsewhere and didn't support her.

"Did you know?" He started as he walked over to sit next to her on her bed. "I didn't follow the Vongola Family because I was loyal to them. I followed Sawada because he seemed to be a worthy opponent."

Natsuki hugged her pillow and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I followed Sawada, not the Vongola." He looked at her and smirked. "What about you?"

"I follow Kiyomi!" Natsuki announced. "Well, I did…"

"Did you, now?" The man got up. "So if that rabbit wished to destroy the Vongola Family and everything it built, would you help her?"

"What?!" Natsuki's head shot up. "Of course not! That's insane! Why would you even think that?!"

"Because she will if she needs to." Kyoya shrugged. "However, that's not important. What's important is that you would stop her from doing so."

"Is that wrong?!" The girl argued. "The Vongola family has so much history and a lot of followers! If she destroyed it, then where would we all go?!"

"Well, you are correct, but that has nothing to do with that Rabbit. If she wants to get rid of it, the correct answer as her guardian is to help her destroy it." He chuckled. "Not wanting to follow your boss' orders means that you're loyal to the Vongola, not the rabbit."

His words made her go pale. "What…?"

"Think about it." The man smiled. "You always reported what she did. You always made actions that would help the Vongola see you in a good light. You never once tried to impress Kiyomi or show her you were on her side. Sure, you went to school with her, but you never saw her as a friend. She was just your boss' daughter." He leaned against a wall and sighed. "She even told me last year that she wasn't going to give you a ring-half."

Natsuki was shocked at her father's words. "No way…" She looked at her hands. "No, I…"

"Vongola was always before Kiyomi's wishes." Kyoya smiled. "Kotaru always thought about Kiyomi first. Since they were little, he always put her before anything else."

She then remembered his actions. Kiyomi's disappearance? Natsuki reported her to her father while he just escorted her. The meeting with Kotaru? Natsuki reported the meeting to her father while Koe actually began to prepare for the mission. The actual mission? She wanted to prove he was useless, but he finished the job all alone.

"I…" She began but she found herself alone. Her father left her room and closed the door. "What do I do?"

It was already night time when Kotaru arrived at the Sawada household. He heard laughing and talking even from outside. He knew that Iemitsu and Tsunas were drinking. He looked up at a window to see its lights turn on. His modern clothing changed to his kimono and he flew up to the window, knocking on the glass. When it opened, he smiled to see Kiyomi in her pajamas with a sweater over them.

"I came to report." He told her as she opened the window. "Also, may I have the honor of taking you out?"

"Yes." Kiyomi smiled as she took his extended hand and let him pull her out of the window. "Take me to a park."

"Of course. As you wish." He pulled her to a bridal carry and headed towards the nearby park. His feet lightly touched the roof of each house as he leaped through the sky. Once they arrived at the park, he put her down and his modern clothing returned. "We've arrived."

"Yeah, push me on the swing." Kiyomi commanded as she walked over to the swing set. Once she took a seat, Koe went behind her and lightly pushed her. "So? How's it looking?"

"Rinto's training is going well." Kotaru started. "I asked Zach to watch over and be his training partner. He's keeping a close eye on our Rain."

"As for the lighting?" Kiyomi asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"She's taken a bite from the poisoned apple. Living a happy life is her dream come true." He stopped pushing his boss to play with her hair. "Her test is this weekend. I hope she'll be to your liking, Kiyomi."

The young boss got up and turned to look at her Storm. "She'll grow to have feelings for you." She frowned. "If she does, I'll throw her away."

"Now, now." Koe walked over to hug the girl. "You know she's not my type." He kissed her forehead and smiled. "Don't see her as a rival, but as a maid."

Kiyomi stared into Koe's eyes and hid her face in his chest. "You are to only love me. That's an order."

"Of course." Koe chuckled but frowned. "Takumi-nii has taken charge of the Vongola Mansion under the orders of Decimo. His experience is growing."

"I know… I have to get more people on my side." Kiyomi looked up at the boy. "So make sure you help me. I need to be the boss of the Vongola Family. No matter what."

The boy only smirked as he pulled her close. He felt the wind circle around them as he got on one knee, holding her hand. "Of course. As you wish." He told her and then kissed her hand. "No matter what, I shall make you Vongola Undicesimo."

And I'm back! Sorry for the long break! Look forward to next time~!