Sorry this took so long, but my Beta Reader was being very demanding... Just kidding Lain, thank you so much for helping me with this chapter and for all your aid in making Mark a real human. I think I'll dedicate this chapter to you. To Lain! Ad Astra Per Aspera.
Thank-you.
Sorry about that the rest of you, I'll try and update a little quicker next time, but I do want my chapters to be good, so it may be a while.
Assassin's Bible may die... as I am completely out of ideas. I know you told me not to Lain, but really even you must have noticed that they have recently become crap. I will fill the title bit with random stuff, but I'll try and make it humorous. This idea was suggested by Cabeloe, I welcome suggestions as to what I could include in future chapters.
Chapter 15 - Assassin's TV shopping Channel;
Mireille: Come one come all, to the assassin's TV shopping channel, where we have all your assassination needs. The main sale today, the top class, one of a kind assassin's olive fork...
Audience: Oooooh,... ahhhhhhh...
Mireille: Suitable for all assassin's the olive fork is capable of piercing multiple olives, as well as multiple blood vessels!
Audience: ooooohhhhhh.
Mireille: And here's a very satisfied customer!
Kirika: Assassin's Olive Fork helped me kill my childhood friend...
Audience: Ooooohhhhh...
Mireille: Buy now, and you'll even receive this free Platinum Olive fork case! So buy now, for the low, low price of 79.99 Euros!
Kirika sat at a small table in the house they shared, her sketchpad out on the table as she sat with pencil in hand and her head lolling to one side. She hadn't drawn for a long time, three weeks to be exact, judging by the date on her last picture. She was doodling.
It wasn't like there was much of an opportunity to draw anyway, it was bitterly cold outside. Whilst that in itself didn't bother her, her training allowing her to cope in the coldest of situations, the wind would blow her pages around. Making sketching nigh impossible.
She wasn't aware of what she was sketching, the lines simply seeming to form on the paper as her hand scribbled constantly. Inside she was deep in thought. She looked down at the paper and moaned.
It was a rather decent sketch of Mireille. The tall blonde standing there with a wide smile on her face, her eyes happy, even without colour. Not again.
Indeed it was her partner who was occupying her thoughts, and now even her sketchpad it seemed. She let out a sigh.
"Let's have a look." A low voice commented from her side. Kirika calmly turned around, assessing the person she had heard crossing to her, but had ignored. She didn't need nor want a distraction from her thoughts right now. Short dark brown hair, grey eyes and a fey youthful complexion. The mechanic-soldier from the Geese: Mark.
Kirika didn't know what to say. She didn't want him to see her personal sketches, but didn't want to explain why, she didn't feel like talking at all. The man smiled at her, a faintly curious look that was asking for permission. Kirika sighed and handed him the sketchpad, thinking that it would be easier to let him see than to fight him off.
The man gave her another smile as he leafed through the pages, giving each picture a quick glance before moving onto the next, occasionally a small smile would tug at his lips. Kirika felt her embarrassment growing, she knew what he saw.
He handed her back the sketchbook and sat down beside her, making her scoot along the couch to give him more room, obviously he was here to stay.
"So…." He opened, giving her a sly glance, Kirika was unsure what to do. Talking to Mireille was one thing, but she didn't even know this man. Was he …. What was the word?... flirting with her? That had never happened before, seeing as Mireille was by far a more desirable catch.
"You know, you can say whatever is on your mind. I'm not going to snap at you." Mireille said that a lot too. But it was hard. "What are you thinking," No answer, "I'm not going until you tell me." He teased, smiling at her mischievously.
Kirika sighed. Great, this guy was determined to talk with her.
"I'm thinking…" She replied quietly, seeming to startle the mercenary by her actually making a sound. He nodded at her like he was congratulating her.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked.
"I'm confused." She replied, answering quickly and trying to hide her discomfort, it wasn't that bad talking to him. At least he wasn't trying to make small talk, answering his questions was easier than making conversation. A thought came to her, had Mireille asked him to try and socialize with her? To make her better at it? She dismissed it, Mireille had far more important things to worry about…. Perhaps it was that fact that made Kirika melancholy.
"About Mireille?" He asked, giving her a victorious grin, Kirika hid her embarrassment. It hadn't been difficult for him to figure it out, at least half of the pictures in her sketch pad were of Mireille. Drawings sketched when the blonde wasn't looking, for she refused to pose for her.
Instead Kirika would draw pictures of Mireille looking purposefully into the distance, laying asleep at night, checking her e-mails on the computer. Though in truth she felt like she was prying when she did that. She cherished her drawings of Mireille. The ones where Mireille was asleep were the best, where her usually cold visage was softened and her face relaxed. It was a sight that Kirika rarely saw when the blonde was awake. Relaxation being a luxury that they could not afford.
"How do you feel about her?" He asked, his voice curious, and perhaps intrigued. Kirika sighed and looked around, Mireille was nowhere to be seen. She had never considered talking to anyone else, but maybe it would help her to have someone else's opinion on this matter. Even if that someone was as annoying as this man seemed to be.
"I think... I... Know I..." Kirika couldn't continue, too embarrassed. Mark seemed to understand and gave her a sympathetic look.
"Do you like being around her?" She nodded. "Do you always want to be with her?" Another nod. "What do you feel like when she leaves you alone?" Kirika answered instantly.
"Lost. Abandoned. Like I'm all alone again." She almost blushed, she had never spoken to Mireille about these things, why then was she telling them to a stranger? He was smiling, a kind smile that suggested he too knew what it was like to have such feelings.
"I see... I think. So now tell me... how do you feel now?"
"Angry, frustrated. Nervous, sad." She was in full flow now, the truth pouring from her lips like water from a broken dam. "I don't know what she sees me as, I don't know what I am to her. Even if she turns me away, at least I'll know and not have this... this..."
"-confusion?" He offered, his voice now serious, she nodded, her mouth shut firmly, she wasn't going to break again. She was surprised that Mireille hadn't heard her, wherever she was.
"Have you ever told her how you feel?" Kirika paused, had she?
"I wrote her a letter once..." Yes a letter, right before she left for the manor, right before that horrific time she had tried to kill Mireille.
"But did you say it clearly?" Kirika shook her head, she had wanted to, wanted to so badly. She remembered the last words she had written.
My heart was filled with joy. And do you know why Mireille? Because I found you, and I knew you were there for me. And I was so happy. So happy that I wanted to sing. Because I...oh my dear Mireille...I...I'm sorry, but I just can't express how I feel in writing. Thank you Mireille. Thank you.
She had failed to say it there, failed to say it in writing, and had since then still failed to say it in person.
"No, I didn't."
"Then how do you expect her to tell you how she feels? She may be just as unsure as you...just as insecure." He was right, he was so damned right. She felt a tear leak from her eye.
"But I can't... I don't know how.."
"Heh, I can see that the two of you are off nowhere fast." Kirika's eyes hardened, was he insulting Mireille? "Therefore you need a boost in the right direction!" He cried out, his fist punching the air dramatically as he leapt to his feet.
This tone Kirika did know. It was the kind of thing Mireille would say when she was trying to make Kirika be sociable, right before she would drag her out shopping. Uh-oh, he's not going to...
"Come on, we're off out!" Kirika groaned loudly and Mark laughed, but continued to drag her up by her arm. It was funny she thought to herself, that she had not even tried to converse with him and yet she already trusted him enough to allow him to touch her... And she had talked to him... Mireille would have a heart attack.
Mireille logged off the internet and shut down her laptop, closing it with a sigh. No information about Millennium it seemed. None of her informants even knew they existed, it was like they had just appeared in the country out of nowhere.
She had been desperate to get their own leads on Millennium, so that they wouldn't have to rely on Soldats, but it seemed that Breffort was their only chance. If they really had a man in Millennium as they claimed... No. Breffort was arrogant, but he wasn't so foolish as to lie to them.
"Uhh, I need a break." She moaned to herself, stretching her arms over her head and working her cramped muscles. No information had come from the Soldats either, so they had no idea where Carlos was staying or what he was planning. Nothing they could do except wait.
"And whilst we wait they are probably straining their own sources to find us and then kill us. So we just wait and hope we can kill them before they do us in." It was one vicious cycle, but she had to keep going, fighting the cycle and winning. Keep staying alive...
She checked her watch. 11:24 am. Still plenty of time for what she had planned later. Mireille couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Kirika always forgot.
The fact was that Mireille had last year made Kirika choose a birthday. They treated the date of birth on her ID card as an indicator of the year, but she chose her own date. She had chosen the twenty-second of November, without even having to think about it. Mireille smiled, she knew the significance of this date to the girl. It was the day that Mireille went to Japan alone, and returned to Paris with a partner.
It was really sweet in her thoughts, though she hadn't let Kirika know that she knew what the date signified.
Still Kirika never remembered that it was her birthday, and never expected anything for it. Last year Mireille had taken her out to a concert followed by a meal at the girl's favourite Italian restaurant. She had seemed most pleased. But this year... Mireille knew just what she was buying the girl, and she was very sure that Kirika would be ecstatic.
Curbing her excitement Mireille walked into the shared area of the house they shared with the Hellsing troops. It was early, so only Pip and Luke were there, Ricardo had gone out earlier and Seras and Alucard were asleep. Mireille looked around but couldn't see Kirika anywhere.
"Pip." She called out, getting the mercenary's attention, and for once he seemed sober. "Where's Kirika?" He smiled as he answered.
"Mark dragged her out earlier, said something about her needing something." Mireille shrugged, fighting down a surprisingly strong surge of jealousy. Why did it bother her? Now was the perfect time for herself to go out and get what she planned, and besides, it was not like Kirika and Mark were on a date or anything.
"If they come back tell them I went out for a bit, I'll be back around four." He nodded and went back to his talk with Luke. It seemed today was shaping up to be a national holiday for all of them.
She wondered what Kirika and Mark were shopping for as she headed into the city proper. Had Mark found out it was her birthday? Not from Kirika that would be for sure, the girl was so quiet it would be hard enough to get her name out of her.
Does it matter? As long as she's happy and out of my way whilst I grab her present, it's all good. She giggled lightly to herself, she could hardly wait until Kirika opened it, but first she had to buy one.
It was but the work of a few minutes to find a promising looking store, the clear windows fully surrounded by young children staring and exclaiming over the cute bundles of fluff within. Mireille smiled, in truth she had always wanted a pet, but had never gotten around to getting one...
The inside of the shop was musty, and filled with the odour that all pet shops manage to simulate, the smell of far too many animals kept close together and not washed enough. Birds chattered noisily from cages aligning one wall of the small shop, and fish swam lazily on another. It was the wall connected to the windows which held what Mireille was looking for however.
The woman behind the counter came and approached her, seeing as there was no one else in the store.
"Can I help you?" Mireille smiled easily.
"Yes, I'm looking for a kitten for my friend, it's her birthday." The woman clapped her hands together.
"How sweet! Anything in mind?"
"Small, cute, and a breed that isn't going to turn into a nightmare when it's older. I don't know much about cats." The woman smiled and steered her over to the partitions where cats and dogs frolicked happily in some sawdust.
"Any cat will be nice if it's treated with love and care, so I think you could easily choose from any of these." She indicated a few different litters.
"Aww, they're so cute." She couldn't help but exclaim, looking at the tiny bundles of fluff crawling over one another, one of the smaller ones sneezed adorably on some sawdust and Mireille giggled.
She ended up playing with them for almost a full hour, the woman who owned the store was more of an animal lover than a business woman, so was pleased to let Mireille take her time. After all it showed the animal was going to a caring home. After the hour one in particular caught Mireille's eye.
A tiny black fluffy ball with what looked to be dark green eyes which was sitting alone and forgotten in the corner, staring it seemed, in sadness at the merriment around it. It was too cute, soft jet black fur and those imploring eyes, that and the fact it seemed to be alone reminded Mireille so much of Kirika.
"I'll take this one!" She called out to the woman, who walked over smiling to see which one she wanted.
"This one?" Mireille nodded and the woman carefully picked up the small kitten, which made a small and cute meow, as if it were confused with what was happening.
Mireille bought a small basket and some toys for it as well, not being able to resist spoiling it. She was fairly sure she and Kirika would have great fun with it. And she sincerely hoped it would annoy the hell out of Captain Pip Bernadette. She wrote a small message on a piece of card she attached to it's collar. A quick card to Kirika, it was the hardest thing she had ever had to write.
So heady was she, as she walked briskly back to their house, not being able to wait to see Kirika's reaction to her gift, that she wasn't even able to register the force that exploded on the back of her head. Nor the laughs as she was dragged away into the back of a black sedan.
Kirika was waiting in their room, impatiently. It was half past four and Mireille was still not home. Mark had dragged her to a restaurant to reserve a table for Mireille and herself for later, a nice and fancy place that Mark assured Kirika, Mireille would be impressed with. Then to a quick flower seller to buy a beautiful white rose for Mireille.
They had then returned back here, Kirika feeling less than confident about what she was to do, even as Mark continued to reassure her that all would be well. Perhaps it was easy for men, Mark had made it sound like the most simple thing in the world... But how was Kirika going to ask Mireille out to a restaurant? It was impossible... Different speeches had been running through her mind, and they all ended with Mireille giving her an amused look and making Kirika feel stupid. She was certain that Mireille would not cast her aside... but she didn't want to make a fool of herself either, or sound like she was trying to rush things. And yet... where was Mireille? Here Kirika was, her confidence already dwindling at an all time low, and Mireille was nowhere to be found? Did she not care?
Don't be foolish, she doesn't know, so how can she not care. She's probably just having some food somewhere or shopping. She'll just have forgotten to check the time. That calmed her down slightly, bringing her breathing back to a more reasonable level.
"Kirika!" A male voice cried out, she recognised it as Mark as she came running out of the room, leaving the rose carefully on Mireille's pillow. Mark was by the front door, standing next to a small package. "It's for you..." He motioned towards it, his face showing that he had no idea what it was. As well as showing a childish curiosity and an impatient nature.
Kirika knelt down by it, quickly stripping it open, it wasn't heavy enough to be explosives, that was definite, she pulled it open to see a small basket inside. Kirika's mouth opened in a small "oh" of astonishment.
A tiny black kitten looked up at her, beautiful green eyes blinking at the intrusion of light into it's cosy den. It's black fur looked matted slightly but it was quite possibly the cutest thing Kirika had ever seen. She noticed a tag on it's collar. She picked it up and cradled it to her breast as she read the tag.
To Kirika,
Happy Birthday,
Two years ago today you first entered my life,
I Love you,
Mireille.
Kirika's eyes glistened with tears as she read it, a small smile creeping across her features, she ... loved ... her. Mireille... But then, where was she? A small white envelope caught her attention, instantly bringing her down from her high.
She handed the small bundle of fluff to Mark, who accepted it with a huge, foolish grin and started playing with it. Ignoring them Kirika reached down and tore open the blank envelope, a sense of foreboding falling over her. She read the crisp writing.
We have your partner, if you ever want to see her alive again come to the address enclosed... alone.
Yours Expectantly, Carlos.
The scream that escaped her lips was of purest rage. When Mark looked at her he was met with the eyes of a wild beast.
And it was angry.
By the way all, this story has now been changed to "T" rating, nothing will change about it, it's just that I chose "M" to be safe, but I understand the rating system a bit better now... I hope. If I don't update in ages then check my profile, it'll say whether I've been suspended or not, lol. Fingers crossed not.
So the chapter ends, on a cliffy... Kind of. Anyway I will no longer update every Friday, that was more so people would know when I update, but with "story alert" released that's a bit pointless now. So I'll update whenever! Expect chapters to be longer and maybe even better as a result!