The four left the house at 6:30 in the morning and went to the nearest olympic center. Mr. Karasuma was standing outside one of the buildings. The four walked up to him.

"Good morning," he greeted them.

"Mr. Karasuma, what if my AI hacks governments?" Haven asked. Her three housemates deadpanned at her. Seriously?!

"Keep your AI from hacking into sensitive files," Karasuma's face was the impersonation of annoyance.

"But it's an AI, I don't have control over it," Haven protested.

"Your AI is really obedient," Fia muttered.

"Fia," Haven mumbled accusingly.

"Irina will be in charge of your training, Fia," Karasuma said as they walked inside, where Irina was waiting.

"Hello," she greeted them seductively.

"Yo, Ms. Bitch," Karma said as he passed, hands locked behind his head. Irina cracked.

"I've told you a million times NOT to call me that!" she screeched.

Fia laughed lightly. "It's kind of strange seeing you outside the classroom setting, Ms. Jelavic."

"Well, just consider this a different type of classroom," Jelavic smiled. "I'll be teaching you how to defend yourself and accomplish basic attacks when you have certain… obstacles in your midst."

"Huh?" Fia followed Jelavic's gaze down to her chest. "O-oh…" Her cheeks burned in embarrassment.

Jelavic threw her arm around Fia's shoulders. "C'mon, sweetheart. Let's get started." The blonde waved good-bye to the boys. "See you later~."


"Do you know self defense?" Karasuma asked. Haven nodded. They stood in a windowless room with a padded floor.

"Then let's test how good you are," he said, "I'm going to come at you, defend yourself." He lunged for Haven, who gracefully dodged. The next several minutes passed with Karasuma attacking and Haven dodging and blocking.

"Your evasive maneuvers are rather good for an average civilian," Karasuma noted as he lunged at her again. Haven dodged and came back with a side kick. Caught off guard, Karasuma nearly got a foot to the face.

"You can fight offensively as well?" he asked as he motioned for a time-out. Haven relaxed and nodded.

"Alright, this time, I'm going to test your overall fighting skill," Karasuma said as he motioned for Haven to attack him.


Karasuma sighed as he approached Jelavic. "How's it going?" he asked.

Irina scowled. "I CAN'T WORK WITH HER!" she pointed at Fia, who was hanging her head, with an angry expression.

He looked between the women. "What seems to be the problem?"

"SHE COMPLETELY LACKS ANY AMBITION!" Jelavic pulled the plastic knife from her belt and charged Fia.

"EEEEP!" Fia quickly dodged and began running away. "I don't like this!"

Jelavic explained to Karasuma as she lunged and slashed at the retreating girl. "She's fast enough on her feet, but she's a complete klutz when it comes to the offensive!"

"I c-can't imagine attacking you! This doesn't seem real!"

Jelavic looked like she had popped a blood vessel. "Well it's going to get real if you don't stop running with your tail between your legs! Just face me, already!"

"YOU LINEBACKERS NEED TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" Fia cried.

Karasuma sighed as he stopped the two from running, picking them both up by their shirt collars. He set the women down and looked at Fia. "Is there a reason you can't face Irina? We can get you another sparring partner… Like Karma. You seem to have no qualms about confronting him."

Fia shifted uncomfortably. "Th-that's different… I really respect and admire Ms. Jelavic… Why would I want to fight her? I… really don't c-care for fighting," she squeaked timidly.

The tall man thought for a few moments. "You can respect her by showing her that you care to learn from her teachings, her experience," he began. "Show her that you're earnest. Even if you're not confrontational, that doesn't mean other people are the same. What will you do if you get into a sticky situation?"

"I - "

"What if one of us were endanger? Haven? Nagisa or Karma?"

Fia's eyes widened. "I would protect them!" she blurted.

"Would you?" Jelavic asked as she pocketed her knife.

The girl scowled as determination burned in her eyes. "Of course I would! It's not like I don't understand that there are some necessary evils in this world. It's not like I don't understand that you have to fight to protect what you care about! I do! Felix did too! That's why he left and maybe if I'd had the guts to fight then, maybe my brother could've at least died knowing that I supported his decision!"

Karasuma nodded. "If you understand that, then let's begin again from the top." Fia and Jelavic faced each other and nodded. "Match, start!" he bellowed.


Karma and Nagisa found their way to the shooting range where Karasuma, Jelavic, Fia, and Haven were waiting.

Karma walked up to Fia and placed his empty juice box on her head. "Mind if I use this for target practice?" He closed an eye and made his hand into the shape of a gun.

Fia rubbed the welts beginning to form on her body. "I think I'll pass for today, Karma."

Nagisa approached the girls. "How did it go?"

Fia looked to Jelavic who spoke for her. "Fia excels in running away like a chicken, but she has to work on her close-range offensive and defensive maneuvers. She's agile, which will be helpful to her, but we'll have to see about her tenacity." Fia dejectedly pulled the juicebox off of her head and sighed.

Nagisa turned to Haven. "How about you, Haven?"

"I had fun sparring with Karasuma," Haven shrugged, "I know he was going easy on me though."

Nagisa sweat-dropped. "F-fun?"

Karasuma beckoned the four over to him and distributed the guns. "These are just loaded with BBs, but please refrain from shooting each other - that means you, Akabane. You two will be helping the girls out, alright?"

He grinned and stuck his tongue out. "Hey, Fia. You need me to show you how to-"

The Italian switched the safety off with her thumb and raised the gun to eye level. Fia pulled the trigger a few times. Three of the four bullets found their way to the target, hitting between the 7th and 9th rings. She blew some hair out of her face.

Nagisa and Karma exchanged glances.

Karasuma nodded in approval. "Fia, have you shot a gun before?"

The girl nervously twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "Um…"

He raised an eyebrow. "Only BB?"

"N-no. BB guns, paintball, real guns. My parents firmly believe that it's something that every kid in the Timo family needs to know." She laughed dryly. "I'm no ace like Felix, but I think I'm an okay-shot. Although, I nearly shot myself the last time I tried archery…"

Jelavic hugged Fia from behind. "So you were hiding some talent~!"

"Ms. Jelavic! Please s-stop touching m-my ch-chest! I swear whatever talent you're looking for i-it's NOT THERE!"

"Are you sure?" Jelavic asked as she released Fia. "As a woman, you've got to use every curve you've got - "

"If it's not there, Fia, then where is it? It's not like you have anything up here~" Karma laughed as he knocked on Fia's skull.

"HEY!"

Karasuma furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Haven. "Alright, Haven. It's your turn. If you need any advice, Nagisa and Karma can probably give it. As you know, they've been honing in on their skills since middle school. Karma was ranked third in his class when it came to marksmanship for the boys."

Fia paled. "Why is that not reassuring in the slightest?"

"Aw, c'mon, Fia. I wouldn't shoot you with anything lethal," Karma smirked.

Fia scowled. "Just you wait! I'm going to work hard and, one day, I'll take you down for teasing me all of the time!" Her ears reddened as she chased Karma around the shooting range (don't do this at home, kids!).

Jelavic went to supervise them while Karasuma stayed to oversee Haven and Nagisa.

Haven nodded with determination and looked at the BB gun in her hands. "How do I use this, Gisa?" she asked. Her hands shook a bit.

Nagisa took the gun from her. "This," he pointed to a small lever on the side of the gun, "is the safety. To disengage it, you just turn it to fire." He demonstrated and then re-engaged it. "After that, just shoot and fire. To shoot, just align the front and rear sights, which are these," Nagisa pointed to two sections on the barrel of the gun and handed it back to Haven. "I'll help you," he led her to one of the shooting stalls.

Nagisa stepped behind the short girl with a slight blush. Haven brought the gun up and Nagisa molded her hands into a more stable position. Haven flushed. Nagisa tightened his hands around hers and laughed nervously. She seemed to be shaking slightly.

"Just try to relax. You can't shoot if you're too tense. You can… lean against me," he suggested as he leaned a bit to be at her eye-level. His blue eyes averted but his cheeks were like flares. Haven did so, and both of them turned about three shades redder. After a few moments to calm down, Nagisa began aiming. "See how the front and back sights are aligning?" Haven nodded. "Now, just press the trigger," Nagisa instructed. Haven did so, a shot rang out and a mark appeared on the target

"Now you try by yourself," he gave her an encouraging smile as she walked to another stall.

Six gunshots later, the group looked at the target. It didn't have a single mark on it. Haven engaged the safety, lowered the gun, and let her hair hang in front of her face.

Fia patted Haven's back reassuringly when she jogged over. "Hey, don't let missing get to you! We can only improve from here!" she encouraged her friend with a cheerful smile.

Karma suppressed a snicker and placed his gun on Haven's head. He covered his eyes with one hand and pulled the trigger, but somehow still managed to shoot within the two most-centric rings of the target. Karma grinned at her. "You sure you don't want some help from me, Haven? I'm quite the teacher~."

"I doubt it would help," Haven replied softly. A bitter smile found its way to her face as she brought up her right hand.

Fia shoved Karma in an attempt to drive him off. "Angel, are you alright? Your hand is shaking…" She smiled with concern.

"It usually is," Haven replied, "used to be a lot worse when I was younger. I had to put a lot of work into improving it."

"Why didn't you tell us you had a tremor?" Karasuma asked.

"I asked for a hacking position. The tremor doesn't affect my typing," Haven replied, almost angrily. She had never wanted to do any of this marksmanship, she had always known she would be bad at it.

"I suppose it can't be helped. Haven, you'll just focus your training on sparring and other forms of close-range combat. Nodding to the girls together, Karasuma smiled slightly. "That's it for your first day of training. You need to practice the exercises we assigned you every day for at least a half-hour - "

Karma threw his arm around Nagisa's shoulders. "Feel free to use Nagisa as a punching bag - "

"Karma, you're one to talk. If there's anyone those two will be going after, it would be you," Nagisa retorted.

Karasuma cleared his throat. "As I was saying, Fia, we'll continue your marksmanship the next time that we meet. I hope you never have to, but I do need to know that you'll be ready and willing to pull the trigger if need be."

"I won't unless I absolutely, definitely have to… But don't think I won't pull that trigger. I have before, and I will again." Olive eyes shined but fixed their gaze on Karasuma.


After saying their goodbyes to Karasuma and Jelavic, the housemates returned to the familiar apartment unit 1-11. Fia and Karma immediately moved to monopolize the couches, one because she was exhausted, the other because he was lazy. Haven bolted to her room and devolved into a bed lump. Nagisa and Fia exchanged glances. She nodded at him, and Nagisa moved to follow Haven.

Nagisa took a seat beside Haven's bed. "Haven…?" he called out to her softly.

"Yes, Gisa?" she replied from beneath the covers.

"Are you doing alright?" he asked with concern.

"Sure."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really. I just need some space right now," Haven's muffled voice said softly.

"Okay," Nagisa got up and left the room.

As he began to closed the door, he heard Haven call out, "Wally, call Earnest." Nagisa stopped before completely shutting the door.

"Hey Earnest, it's good to hear your voice… They found out about the tremor… it IS a big deal… I hate it… Why did I have to get it from him? As if the hair wasn't enough..." Haven gave a weak laugh, "This is cruel and unusual 'pun'-ishment… Thanks, Earnest… Is that thing over spring break still on?... Oh yeah, there's that. See you then… Just stop… Bye, Earnest." Nagisa waited to see if the conversation would continue. When the room fell silent, he closed the door and went to the living room.


Karma sat up slowly and walked over to where Fia was lying on the couch. She saw him approach and sat up to give him room. He plopped down beside her and stretched his arms out over the back of the couch.

"You got a minute?" he asked.

"Well, I'm already here," she laughed dryly.

"Earlier, you said you had pulled the trigger before," Karma said.

Fia's gaze hit the floor. "I'm not really in the mood to get teased right now."

"Who said I was going to tease you?"

Fia shot him a look, but he looked at her with a serious expression. "Really?"

"That kind of stuff can be hard on a person, even I know that. So, you want to talk about it? We already know about your family, so you don't have to worry about that."

She thought quietly for a few moments. "It… was when I was really little. My dad tells me that the Barone family decided that cutting out the boss of my family would allow them to assume control. The thing is… My dad wasn't the boss, and he was mistakenly targeted. Because of that, a whole lot happened and a lot of fighting broke out." Fia shifted so that she could face Karma. "In any case, my older siblings and I ended up being targetted to get my parents. Fratello was oldest, so he tried to have sorella and I hide and fight them off himself but a eleven-year-old really doesn't hold a candle to scary soldiers, does he? I was terrified but… They were beating him, and…" Fia trailed off. "I think you know how that story ends…"

Karma tilted his head to get a better angle on her face. "Do you regret it?"

Fia bit her lip. "That's… I'm not proud of what I did… but some evils are necessary," she smiled remorsefully. "Karma, do you regret anything…?" She was intentionally vague, but he knew that she was referring to his career as an assassin.

"No," he said slowly. After some thought, he added, "Necessary evil, huh…? That seems to suit me." He felt an elbow lightly hit his side. Raising an eyebrow, he looked back to Fia.

"I don't think you're evil," she muttered with pink cheeks. "It's… nice to be able to talk to someone about this…" Fia wrung her hands in her lap. "I… had nightmares… about that for a long time."

Karma put his hand on Fia's head and drew her closer to him. She sighed softly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"We can stay like this for a little bit of Timo," he chuckled.

Fia shook her head slightly but she buried a growing smile in his shirt. "Oh, shut up…"

Karma looked at the clock hanging from the wall. He knew that they'd have to start making dinner soon, lest Haven try to cook and blow up the kitchen again, but Fia seemed to serenely resting. Her eyes were closed and her breathing had slowed. Karma smiled. He had to say, although it was extremely fun to mess with her, the easy feeling that was settling in around them wasn't half-bad at all.


"Haven, it's time for dinner," Nagisa called into the darkened room. He got no response, so he decided to go over and check on her.

He went over to the lump that was Haven and folded the cover off of her face, it wouldn't do to have Haven smother herself. Haven's pure white hair was spread like a halo around her head, her eyes were lightly closed. In her sleep, she turned away from the light, revealing that she was wearing a familiar pair of bluetooth headphones. She looked so peaceful right now. Nagisa just sat on the edge of her bed and watched for a while.

"Oi, Nagisa, is Haven coming to eat or not?" Karma called from the hallway. Nagisa left the room quietly, sneaking one last glance at the pale girl before closing the door to her room and accompanying his friend to the kitchen. Looks like the boys were eating dinner alone tonight.


Fia: (groggily rubbing eyes) Hungwy…

Karma: (smirks) Not my fault you slept through dinner.

Fia: (sleepy whining) What time is it?!

Karma: About 10.

Fia: (looking around) Why am I on the couch - (blushes profusely)

Karma: (laughing) Want me to get you a snack?

Fia: P-please… (covers her head with his jacket, that had apparently been her blanket)

Nagisa: You must be tired. Training really does take its toll.

Fia: I have more bruises in more places than I'd like to admit. Ms. Jelavic really is impressive…

Nagisa: (chuckles) She really is.

Karma: (from the kitchen) Hey, Nagisa! Remember when she showed you her secret technique~?

Nagisa: (blushes red - accusingly) What about you and that one time you skipped -

Karma: THAT WASN'T THE SAME.

Nagisa: WAS TOO!

Fia: Um… What technique…?

Nagisa and Karma: (sweat drops) You'll probably find out soon enough…

Karma: Another day, another victim.

Nagisa: You can say that again. I don't know how Mr. Karasuma can handle her.

Karma: Yeah, especially when Ms. Bitch lives up to her name.

Jelavic: YOU KNOW I'M ALLOWED IN HERE TOO! LET ME STRANGLE YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT!

Karma: (sticks tongue out) Great. I think I'll pass, Ms. Bitch.

Haven: (incoherent mumbling)

Nagisa: Shhh! Someone's trying to sleep.

Fia: (raising hand as if in class) Um… Ms. Jelavic, what do they mean by a secret technique?

Jelavic: (seductively) Should I show you?

Karasuma: Let's not.

Karma: Yeah, that's a bad idea.

Jelavic: (pouting) Why not? She's going to have to know how to - Unless you want to show her instead. I know I gave you that private lesson~.

Nagisa: Can we keep this P.G.? Narrator?

Narrator: I'm also wondering about that technique now… Next time, Fia's gone home for Thanksgiving. How will the rest of the household hold up in her absence? Will they even be able to cope?