AN: I'M OFF TODAY, YAY!
MoonStarDutchess: Wow… I shouldn't complain... you sound busier then me. I go to school from 8am to 3pm, get home at like 3:30pm, sit around for like 20 mins then get ready to go to work, work until 9pm, then come home and do 3 hours of homework or so. So yeah… I'm like… always moving from 6:30am to about 1am. I usually get 2 days off from work a week, which is when I write, and I work 8 hours on Saturday (1pm to 9pm) and 6 hours on Sunday (3pm to 9pm) and I have church before that too. So that's like from 9am to 12pm. Yeah, I'm busy. So… you can understand if I can't read your fic, right? I'm on chapter 17 right now, by the way. It's very good.
The Way to a Man's Heart Isn't by Crushing His Ego Chapter 28: Santa's Little Helpers
"That is the last time I try and steal something from the kitchen," Havoc said as he and Hughes sulked down the long hallway and back to the office. On the way Hughes found his precious tape and fixed Gracia, so he was ok now, aside from the fact he was very sore from being poked and prodded.
"Don't worry," Hughes replied as he dragged his feet down the hallway. They looked like they had just run a mile or something. Too tired to stand up straight or pick up their feet. "I steal things from the kitchen all the time at home."
"Does Gracia find out?" Havoc asked; hand on his back like an old man as he rubbed some of his sore muscles. I think that man gave me whiplash.
"I don't think so. She doesn't say anything," he replied.
"Then how do you know how they'll react? They know something was stolen," Havoc replied. The office was now in reach, it sat just down the hall. Armstrong had fixed the bookcase and moved all the furniture out into the hall. The desks sat in a row pressed up against the wall, while the chairs where stacked on top of each other, the bookcase next the desks. All the furniture was scratched, dented, and charred in some spots.
Hughes sighed with relief when he saw the office.
"Hey," Havoc retorted. "Don't think you're going to go in there and sit back and relax. We still have to clean up the office," he said as he watched Hughes' happy 'dreaming of doing nothing' face. An annoyed expression appeared on his face as he turned back to the office, spatula in hand.
"I'll be back in a little while and this place had better be showing some improvement!" a deep booming voice was heard from the room.
"Yes, sir!" Armstrong's voice replied.
"Oh please tell me that's not…" Havoc began, but was quickly cut off as the owner of the loud voice stepped into the hallway.
"Eh!" Havoc and Hughes gasped and shot up straight immediately. They stood firm and straight, arms locked at their sides and pain radiating through their sore bodies, but they showed no hint of it.
"There you are…" the huge figure said as he walked toward them, hands behind his back, the regular heartless expression on his face.
"Yes sir, General Gran!" Havoc replied as he saluted, forgetting the spatula was in his shaking hand.
"Ouch, watch it. I've been beaten enough today," Hughes whined. Once Havoc saluted the end of the spatula hit him in the face.
"Ueh!" Havoc gasped and his eyes widened when he realized what he had just done. He quickly put his arm down.
"Hmmmm…." the angry Brigadier General stepped in closer to him and leaned over a little, towering over and glaring down at Havoc. "Is that from the kitchen?"
"Uh…" Havoc replied, pondering for a moment. What do I do? You idiot! That shouldn't even be a question! The chefs know you stole it! So if you say no and he finds out later that you lied! Then you're dead! "Y-yes…sir... it is from the kitchen."
"Really?" Gran replied as he leaned back so he was standing up straight again. His eyes traced their uniforms. He saw the puncture holes in the navy blue material as well as the bleeding wound that was on Havoc's hand. It was wrapped in toilet paper and stained where the blood had run through. There were also red marks printed vividly on Havoc's face from where he had been slapped. The smell of the dish soap radiated off of them. This evidence gave the General a pretty good idea of what had happened. "Why do you have it?" he asked, just to see what their reaction would be.
"Uh…" both Havoc's and Hughes' eyes glanced at each other in a 'what do we do now?' fashion.
The General saw this and smirked a bit. "You have a lot of work to do. I'll take it back to the mess hall," he said in his normal grumpy tone as he reached over and snatched the spatula out of Havoc's hand.
"…ok…" Hughes replied in somewhat of a whiny voice. He wanted to cry, but held the tears in. The only hint of sadness was in his voice.
"Now…" Gran began as he walked a few feet then stopped, their backs facing each other, "GET BACK TO WORK!" his bear like voice boomed and echoed so loud in the halls Havoc swore he could feel the building shake.
"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison, gave a quick salute, and dashed back to the office.
Once they reached the office they lunged in and slammed the door behind them. Havoc leaned against the door and Hughes dropped to his knees, his yellow eyes staring at the green tile floor. He looked around a bit. Roy missed a spot. It's still green over here.
"Is something wrong?" Armstrong asked as he stopped mopping and looked over at them.
Havoc's blue eyes traveled up to the ceiling and he gave a small sigh. "We just went to hell, and we still haven't come back. It was all for nothing."
"Hm?" Armstrong looked at them questionably. The room was a little cleaner then before. He had taken the broken light, along with all the sparking wires, out of the middle of the floor. He also cleaned up all the crumpled papers, glass, and whatever else had littered the floor previously.
"Hey," Hughes cut in, "Don't think about it so awfully," he said as he looked up at Havoc with a smile. "We had one heck at an adventure!"
"Yeah… right…" Havoc replied as he glared down at Hughes.
"Hm…" Armstrong said again, pondering what they were talking about. He quickly gave up and got back to work.
The scene switches back to Roy and Riza.
Riza was standing over Roy's hole, still pondering how to get him out. They had tried some other things, but nothing worked. She gave a small sigh as she closed her amber eyes and folded her arms over her chest. Jazz stood next to her, petting Kiari, who was purring loudly.
"Have you thought of anything yet, sir?" Riza asked as she opened her eyes again, and laid one hand on her hip, the other at her side, staring down at Roy.
"No…" Roy replied as he sat on the dirty floor. One elbow resting on his leg, his chin resting in his hand as he thought. It was getting late; the sun was setting, making it even darker in the building and harder and harder to see.
"What do we do now?" Jazz asked as she walked to Riza's side, still holding Kiari in her arms.
"Get us out, that's what!" they heard Dino shout from the other hole.
"I'm tying," Riza replied in her calm voice. She looked down at Roy, pondering what move to make next. She wasn't panicking, she never panicked, but she was getting a little concerned. How am I supposed to get him out? We've tried everything, and nothing has come even close to working.
They all thought for a little while longer. The sun had just set, leaving the building dark and cold. It was dark, darker then what could be called comfortable, but wasn't pitch black, more like an 8 o 'clock on a summer night dark. They were all grateful for this. They could still see some things without too much difficulty.
Big Red sighed loudly, getting very impatient. Now he and Dino were sitting on the ground, along with Roy. Roy glanced over at them. He could see the outline of their bodies in the dark. He could have gone and sat with them, it was an open basement after all, but he didn't feel like it. They weren't the most compatible people, and they didn't exactly smell like roses either.
"I'm getting tired, Miss Riza," Jazz said as she gave a big yawn and rubbed one of her eyes with her hand, she held Kiari in the other.
"Nya!" Kiari whined as she struggled to stay in Jazz's warm arms. She had lost a great deal of her bed when Jazz pulled her arm away, leaving the small light gray and black cat clinging to the other arm, falling through the space between Jazz's arm and her chest. "Nya…."
"Hey!" a loud childlike voice shouted from outside. "Kiro! Kiro, where are you?" the voice asked as it got closer. It was the voice of a young girl.
"Nya…" Kiari said again as she cocked her head to the left.
"Kiro, is that you?" the girl asked as she stepped into the building. Riza, Jazz, and Kiari stared at her. Roy looked up curiously, but couldn't see anything due to the dark and the fact he was stuck in the basement.
"Reina!" Jazz squealed as she dashed over to her friend. Kiari's short cat body was slinging back and forth in Jazz's one arm.
"N-N-NY-A-A!" the poor creature cried as she clung to Jazz for dear life.
"Jazz!" the girl replied as Jazz ran up to her and gave her a big hug with her free arm.
"Do you know her?" Riza asked as she stared at the girl, her arms folded over her stomach in a relaxed yet somewhat curious fashion.
The girl was very hard to see in the dark, but Riza could make out her features. She was a girl, not too tall and not too short, an average height for her age. She was ten years old. Her hair was a deep shade of brown, so deep that it appeared to be black and she had eyes to match. Her hair was pulled back into twp pigtails. They sat high on her head, letting her hair fly freely in the wind. Her hair wasn't too long, but was by no means short. The length was down to her shoulders. She wore a faded red shirt that looked to be about three sizes to big, and a pair of faded brown shorts, both articles of clothing were tattered and ripped, dirty as well, she wore no shoes just like Jazz. She wasn't missing any teeth, but her face had dirt smudged on it, you could tell she hadn't had a bath in awhile, and was definitely an orphan.
"Yes!" Jazz replied in a high pitched voice. She grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her over toward Riza. "This is Reina! She may be a lot older then me, five years to be exact, but she's still my best friend!"
"I see," Riza replied with a small smile as she bent down, eyelevel with Reina. "Are you all alone?"
"Oh no!" Reina replied in a happy tone as she turned around to face the door. "I have lotsa friends!" she said as she glanced back at Riza. A proud smile appeared on her face, like she was about to show Riza the greatest thing in the world. "Hey guys! I found Jazz! She's in here!" Reina yelled at the top of her lungs to the outside world.
"Eh!" Riza said in shock. She quickly grabbed Reina and cupped her mouth with her hands.
"Reina, don't yell. My daddy is out looking for us," Jazz said in a whisper like voice. She put her finger to her lips in a 'shhhhhh' motion.
"Oooohhhhhoooooo…." Reina replied, now in a quiet voice as well. "Sorry, I didn't know."
"Reina!" they heard another voice call from outside. Just then a few more small bodies came in, four to be exact.
"Reina, did you find Kiro?" a boy asked as he and the others walked in.
"Shut up, Kenny!" Reina snapped. "We have to be quiet. The gangsters are after Jazz's friends."
"Oh, that's not good, sorry," Kenny whispered back.
Riza stared at these children in wonder. A variety of ages stood in front of her, but Reina appeared to be the oldest. There was one other girl among the group that had just arrived. She was a little older then Jazz, maybe six or seven. She had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, the ponytail hung down to her waist. She had piercing lime green eyes, she was very pretty. She wore a large black t-shirt and black pants, they weren't shorts, but weren't pants either. They hung down a few inches below her knees.
The other three kids were boys. Kenny, the boy Reina had just yelled at appeared to be eight, or very close to nine. He was missing one of his front teeth and had messy light brown hair, sort of a cinnamon color. His eyes were a gold color, a little darker shade then Hughes'. He was clearly a face you didn't see everyday. He wore a dirty white tank top and baggy black pants. The other two boys that stood behind him looked to be brothers. One was a little taller then the other, he looked to be about a year older. They both had blonde hair and brown eyes. The older boy looked to be about six, while his brother was four or five. Both the boys looked very shy, they cowered behind Kenny, the smaller boy clinging to his older brother's shirt, peeking out from behind his back. They both had on large, long sleeved, shirts, blue and brown, and old blue pants. All the children were skinny and had old ripped clothing on.
"Hi, Kenny," Jazz said to the boy with a smile. "Hi, Sayo," she said as she turned her gaze to the girl in black that stood to the right of Kenny. Sayo just gave a small nod in reply. She was now very shy as well. She usually wasn't, Jazz guessed it was because Riza was there. Sayo was afraid of the military. She became quiet and unsure when she saw Riza's navy blue uniform.
"Hm?" Riza pondered as she stared at the little girl. She looks familiar somehow, not her, but her eyes.
"Tommy, Blare," Reina asked the two boys that stood behind Kenny. "Did you find Kiro?"
"Uh… mmm," they both shook their heads no, giving her a reply with actions rather then words.
"Ok," Reina replied with a kind, reassuring smile, "That's ok, we'll find her later."
"K," both the boys replied in unison and gave a small nod.
Roy was listening from in the basement. "Lieutenant, who is that?"
"Just some kids, sir," Riza replied as she glanced back at the hole.
"Oooohooooo," Reina said as she ran over to the hole excitedly then looked down at Roy, "Looks like you got catted!" she said with a laugh.
"Huh?" Roy asked. His face turning up in her direction.
"Nya," Kiari said again, retuning to her comfortable position once Jazz up her arm back up.
Reina glanced back at Jazz, "Sure enough, the Hell Cat has done it again."
"She does this often?" Riza asked, somewhat confused.
"Oh yes, she does it all the time. She tricks people into coming in here by flashing her eyes at them. She loves to see them fall through the floors."
"I told them that already," Jazz replied as she scratched Kiari's head.
"Ok," Reina said and looked back down at Roy. Wow, he's hot, and if he's hot in the dark, I can't wait to see what he looks like in the light. "So why are you still down there?"
"Trying to find a way out," Roy replied a little irritated, but keeping his cool composure. Remember to kill that cat later. She needs to live up to her name, and burn in hell.
"Hm?" both Reina and Kenny had questionable looks on their faces. Sayo, Tommy, and Blare didn't show any emotion. They didn't want to military dogs to kill them over a dirty glance, but they were just as questionable, if not more then Kenny and Reina.
"Why didn't you just climb out?" Kenny asked as he walked over next Reina and stared down at Roy.
"What do you mean?" Roy asked, his face becoming very interested.
"There's a set of stairs right over there," Kenny said as he got down on his knees and pointed at an angle that Roy could see. Sure enough, on the other end of the room, in the same stop the other stairs were, sat a flight of stairs that led up to the first floor.
Roy then glared at Dino and Big Red, Riza looked over at Jazz. "Why didn't you tell us those where there?" they both asked in unison.
"Uh…" the two men replied, Jazz just stared at Riza, trying to come up with something.
"I didn't know those stairs were there," Jazz replied. Which was true, she didn't know they were there. She didn't even know there was a basement. The only reason she faltered for a moment was she didn't want to sound really stupid when she told them she had never thought of that. Oh well, they say telling the truth is the best.
"I see," Riza replied, not too sure if she should believe the small girl or not.
"We didn't know they where there either!" Big Red and Dino yelled.
Roy just sighed a little, got up, dusted himself off, and headed toward the stairs. Dino and Red followed right behind him.
After a few seconds a few noises were heard coming from the end of the room. Riza and the kids glanced over at the other end of the room. A small door opened and Roy's head popped out.
"Oooooooooohhhhhhh…." Jazz said as Roy climbed out. "That's why I didn't know there was a basement. The stairs were under a door in the floor."
Riza just gave a small sigh and walked over to Roy, "Are you alright, sir?" she asked.
"Yeah," Roy replied as he returned her glance with a smile. Then he looked over at the kids. "So who are you?" Roy asked. Damn, more little brats.
"I'm Reina!" the pigtailed girl shouted and laughed happily as she jumped up and down then dashed over to Roy. Her small stick like arms wrapped around Roy's left leg. She hugged and nuzzled him. "You're cute," she said as she stopped nuzzling and look up at the Lieutenant Colonel, a huge smile on her face.
"Uh…" Roy replied, unsure of what to do. Red and Dino snuck out from behind him, and took off running, scrambling out the door and out of anymore possible harm. "Thank God," Roy mumbled to himself when he saw the bumbling idiots were gone.
"No, Reina!" Jazz snapped. "You can't have him! He's the daddy!"
"What?" Roy asked confused.
Riza's body tensed with rage, "I'm….not…" she replied gritting her teeth, but quickly stopped ands swallowed her words, along with her hormones.
Roy stared for a few moments, in front of him stood three girls. One was clinging to his leg, one snapping at her for it, and a bigger one standing to the side trying to hold back some serious daddy issues. What was the worst part? He didn't understand any of it! I'm swimming in the estrogen ocean. He thought as he stared at the three women.
"Mwuuuuuu…." a deep gruff sound was heard.
There was a pause in the room for a moment. Everything that had just been going on stopped.
Roy glanced around for a moment. He could have sworn he heard it, but there was nothing in sight. He continued to look around. "Was that a sick cow?" he asked, more confused then ever. Things just got weirder and weirder.