"Kuro, would you PLEASE go out an' play with your cat? I'm busy!" Arkas sat between mountains of letters and bills, he seemed to be obvious stressed. Nervously he shoved up his glasses. "Yeah it's ok... I'm gone!" disappoint the boy with the black-turquoise hair scuttled out. A pitch coloured kitten joined him. One afternoon it just had followed him and not even Arkas managed to chase it away. Kuro liked the little kitten very much and the kitten liked Kuro. For hours it let him fondle the white spot on it's breast or romped around with him about a wool ball. It was Kuro's only friend, Arkas didn't want him to go into the village, so he couldn't find friends. "Wait Noir! Daddy said we're not allowed to go into the forest!" Kuro rushed after the cat, actually he was much faster than her, but it was funny to pretend he couldn't overtake her. No one anyhow was faster than him, so why hurry? Regardless, he must not go into the wood, that flanked the village. "Noir…? Where're you?" He stroked through the underbrush, looking out for his little fellow.
Suddenly someone crashed into him, both plunged onto the earthy ground. "Ouch! Jackass! Watch where I'm runnin'!" The voice sounded very young and female, from behind them a second voice rang out. "Yer're not escaping me! Damn pirate!" Kuro was dragged on his feet roughly and somebody held something cold and hart against his temple. "I got a hostage! If ya come closer… I'll shoot him!" Kuro started shivering, in front of them, now a boy with short brown hair and green eyes appeared behind a bush. "Hey! That's unfair! We said: No hostages!" As answer he got a childish sinister laughter. "Wuahahahahaha! In war, everything' s permitted!" The little black cat stroked round her masters feet, he appraised the situation as extremely dangerous. "Ok! If everything's permitted… one life counts less to save thousands!" Cold sweat arose on Kuro's forehead, he didn't mean him, did he? "P…Please listen! … I dun even know you guys!… Please, DO NOT shoot me! Please dun!" Sympathetic the boy looked at him from his green eyes. "Sorry pal, we all got to bring some sacrifices! I'd say you better cover your ears!" Kuro slapped his hands over his ears and pinched his eyes shut. He heard something blasting and felt his hijacker twitch. Kuro still lived! The brunette boy hollered. "Got y'! I shot y'! An y' bloody know I did!" Kuro took his hands down, beside him the girl coughed, than hollered back. "Fine! But if I conk, I take him wi me!" She pressed the cold thing harder to his temple and loudly shouted BANG!´´ than towed him down on the grass. He hardly twigged something now. "We're dead! But you know that if you cross your fingers and if you count from one to ten, you can get up of the ground again! It doesn't matter, the whole thing's just a game!" She started counting and invited him to join in. Still confused he followed her example, than they got up.
The boy dashed towards them. "Haha! I won! I won!" The girl tapped the dirt from her pants, her grey-blue eyes sparkling aggressive. "Sure, but just 'cause I popped into him! You'd never overtaken me without that!" She turned to Kuro, but first had to fish some leaves from her black-brown hair. "He, you've by the way been a great hostage! Nearly believed ya' re really scared!" She grinned at him, Kuro blushed. After all he really had had fear, with still shaky hands he took Noir on his arms. "Oh by the way, I'm Kira. This' Kagami. What's yer name?" For a moment he truly couldn't remember his own name. "Well… Kuro…but… do you really have to play such silly games!" Smiling the both of them nodded and reached him their hands. "Hi Kuro! How old are ya?" Prying they looked at him, he lived at Arkas' since three years now, but never had came across other children yet. He wondered about them, being smaller than him. "I'm five." Kira's jaw flapped down. THAT one was supposed to be five? "Stop talking crap! You're bigger than Kagami an he's six! Besides, I'm two years older than you and taller than him, but still ya're bigger than me!" Kuro scratched the back of his head, where the hell should he know from, why he was taller than them. "Erm… my dad's really pretty big, too. An he always wants me to eat my vegetable… 'Cause it makes me big an strong, he says. But usually I feed it to Noir!"
He grinned and caressed his kitten, the others laughed, too. "Hey that's a brilliant idea for next time's broccoli! You're quite clever… for a five year old… Ey! You wanna be our friend?" This offer from Kira he had not expected, actually they hardly new him ten minutes. "O yeah! That'll be cool!" We need someone who's clever! Ya know I'm damn strong, just missing someone shrewd, we are!" Kira passed Kagami a head nut and smiled at Kuro. "So what's up? You're gonna join us!" Embarrassed he tickled Noir behind her ear. Kira's glance was roaming from the cat to him, back to the cat and back to him again, then she smiled and tried to pet the kitten. "Don't! Noir hates strangers! She'll gonna scratch you!" Kira wasn't discouraged and stroked the kittens fur, immediately it started to purr. It even allowed the girl to take it onto her arms. Kuro was amazed. "Cats somehow like me…" Kira cuddled with the kitten, meanwhile Kagami seemed to be less elated. "I like dogs more, they're not that stubborn!" Disapproving Kuro stared at him. °How can one fancy dogs instead of cats! That bloke's nuts!° But he had made his choice, if Noir let herself caress from her… "Ok, I'm in…"
o-
Three children sat on the quay wall and let dangle their legs. Kagami was blinking into the sun. "I'd like an apple!" Kira, who actually was placing Noir on her head, considered shortly. "Hey, me too. What 'bout you Kuro?" He twitched his shoulders, apples were sweet but not really his thing. "D' you even got money? Me not!" Kira and Kagami looked at each other, none of them had money. "Nope… but we can get' em, even so." Noir jumped from Kira's head to Kuro's, this one didn't really understand his friends. "How you mean that?" Kira slapped his shoulder on what Noir slipped from his head and desperately tried to hold on to him with her claws. "Well… snitch' em!" Kuro nearly fell over into the water, he obviously was against steeling apples from the market, beside of this, Noir was currently skinning his back. "Oh c'mon Kuro! We wanna have apples! Just have to deal that no one catches us!" Both looked at him with big eyes and shouted Please!´´ until he sighed. "Ok. I'll conceive something…But you gotta be quiet!" They cheered and took place on the ground at his feet. He closed his eyes and wasn't caring about the other two any longer. After some minutes he stood on the port wall. "So, listen and do exactly what I'll say!"
A loud crying made the market women attentive. A little girl with dark hair stood on the marketplace and wept heartbreaking. "Oh tot what happened?" The woman from the fruit booth kneeled down to the girl, which was rubbing her eyes. "Wuuaaee! He took away my kitty!" She pointed to a boy with black hair and big ears, who was holding a cat in his arms. The market women turned round to him and looked angry. "What? Nope! That's not true! It's mine!" Kira ran to him and poked him into the side. "You're daft! It's my puss!" Tears were floating over Kira's cheeks. The market women built a circle around the squabbling children. "Aren't you that naughty urchin of Arkas! Give the cat back to her!" While all focused their attentions on these two, no one noticed a third child sneaking to the fruit booth and lugging away a whole basket of apples. The woman yanked the cat out of Kuro's hand and passed it to Kira. She looked at the kitten and than called out. "Ups… That's not mine!" And both dashed out of the village. First after an hour the women realized that a creel of apples was missing.
On a grassy hill three friends laid on their backs and enjoyed their catch. "Oh boy Kagami! How'd you carry all that apples! They're bloody heavy, I mean!" He fished himself another fruit out of the basket and spoke with full mouth. "I'm simply brawny! Call me Kagami: strongest man on earth! But you really conned 'em Kira, with all that crying an tears an so'n!" She yawned and stretched out on the soft grass. "Without 'lil buddy we'd never done it! Was his idea, that with the eye rubbing for making me cry. Great plan that, Kuro!" This one wasn't eating an apple, he just relished the warm sun on his face and the tender purring of Noir, which was laying on his tummy. "Oh bullshit! That's nothing special! Everyone could invent this." He fondled over Noirs fur, the purring went louder. "Hey! Don't be that self-effacing! When I say it's a great plan, than it does being one!" Kira sat up and looked at him, the sun was dazzling her a bit. "Well… that's right! None's that cunning cerebral as me!" Before he knew the other two fell upon and tickled him. "Sing hymn of praise to Kuro of the thousand plans!" Kira roared, hissing Noir jumped out of the heap coiled up on the grass and dozed on. "Hahahahahahah… no tickling… Please… hahahahahah… stop… it! Get off!" But they showed no mercy with him until all of them laid laughing and out of breath on their backs again.
o-
"Hey Kuro! Y' comin' out?" Kagami and Kira stood in front of the just a split wide opened door, Kuro behind it. Carefully for Arkas not to hear it, he whispered. "I… My dad says I haven't got to play with you." Kagami shook his head and snorted disparaging. " Well, my mum says I haven't got to play with you neither! But take no notice of parents, they're soft!" Kuro looked around, his father was seen nowhere, he really liked to go out. Actually he must learn, but making the village unsafe with these two meant much more fun. He loved his father, but sometimes he was just indeed fairly strict to him. Besides Evelyn moved to the mainland a month before, now even less visitors came and Kuro was terrible bored. The books standing in their house, he almost red all of them. "Well… ok!" He forced himself through the door and the three loped to the beach.
"Kagami is the marine soldier and you'll be the mad scientist that wants to destroy the world. And me… I'm the beautiful, helpless virgin you've kidnapped!" Kuro raised an eyebrow, he copied that from Arkas. "Why d'hell do I always have to be the mad scientist!" Kagami twitched with the shoulders as if this would be pretty obvious. "Well 'cause you know all that cool words!" Kuro sighed and seized a coloured stone on which he chalked up a clock. "If you'd read a book, you'd know such words, too. Besides! Why can't Kira play it? She's just as good!" In this very moment Kira fell about laughing, none understood why. Kuro looked at her, questioning. "My! I just considered…If I'm playing the scientist… you'll be the beautiful, helpless virgin… An then I imagine you in a pink miniskirt!" She snickered, while Kuro's eye twitched, he blushed and yelled. "You're not yet even wearing one! Shut up! Just start playing!" Still giggling she crouched and Kagami hided behind a tree.
Kuro cleared his throat. "Muahahahahaha! Zees thoughtless marines weel never find me! Here, we are safe, me graceful sweet 'eart!" He grabbed Kira on her shoulders and dragged her a few steps with him, she defied to it. "I will never marry you, you psychopathic monster!" He tugged her closer to him and kissed her. "Whew! You bet you weel!" Than they turned aside and spitted disgusted onto the sand. "Bua! Kira you've dribbled!" She hissed at him. "How d' bloody hell should I know ya'd cuddle me?" He rubbed with the back of his hand over his mouth and spited once more. "When I'm playing, I'm doing it professional!" She kicked against his shin and told him to warn her before, next time! In this moment Kagami jumped out from his hiding place, jogged Kuro aside and snapped Kira. "I'm marine's highest officer and you're arrested mady!" Kuro grabbed his coloured stone, showed it to them and maniacally laughed. "My name's professor Howe an' zees bomb I 'old, eet can destroy ze 'emisphere, I've primed it, I've timed it to explode! Unless you let me out of here!" Both simultaneous shouted NO!´´ Kuro twitched with his shoulders and rolled with his eyes. "No? Then I suggest you'd cuver up your eears!" He counted down from three to zero and then yelled BOOM!´´ All three threw themselves on the ground, played dead and crossed their fingers, when suddenly… "KURO!" Arkas snatched his ears and dragged him home. "OW! Daddy! My ears!" Kira and Kagami looked after him, saddened, they really had liked to play with him longer. "Thereby his ears are yet big enough!" Kira shook her head and donated her mate a punch into his side.