Rinslet pouted slightly as she watched the pair sitting across from her inside the private jet.
Lia was leaning back in her seat, mostly ignoring Jenos as the man playfully teased and chatted with her. It was nothing like his usual light flirts with other women that Rinslet had seen so far – there was something sweeter and more genuine in his interactions with Lia that set Rinslet on edge. He treated her… specially.
And Rinslet was pissed off that this bothered her.
"Hey." She finally said, interrupting Jenos as he tried to elicit a grin out of Lia.
Both Jenos and Lia looked over, the former surprised and curious while the latter almost seemed to have looked over carelessly because she had nothing better to do.
Not letting that irritate her – much - Rinslet asked with a slight bite in her tone, "Is dating allowed in the Chronos Numbers?"
"Huh?" Jenos asked, puzzled by the question, and Rinslet sniped, "Well, it's not my business, but it just didn't seem like something Chronos would allow."
"… It's not banned." Lia informed the purple-haired woman, looking a little curious for the first time. And, for some reason, a little wary. "It's just not very common."
"After all, we live dangerous lives as Numbers." Jenos added with a mischievous grin at Rinslet. "Not everyone can handle that danger."
"What he means," Lia cut in, "is that we have enemies, both against Chronos and against us personally due to the nature of our work. I would have thought you'd know this, considering you know Black Cat."
"No, that's not what I meant." Rinslet snapped, annoyed as she glared at Lia.
What was wrong with this girl? Rinslet thought irritably. Would it kill her to look… not so icy sometimes?
Rinslet huffed as she elaborated, "I meant, is dating allowed between the Numbers?"
Both Lia and Jenos frowned, and Jenos shrugged as he answered, "Well, there's no specific rule against it... But, why would we?"
"Numbers having romantic relationships with anyone is very uncommon." Lia added as she looked at Rinslet rather oddly. "It's almost unheard of itself."
Jenos had gone silent, and he glanced at Lia quickly before looking back at Rinslet as Lia continued in the same toneless voice, "Dating between Numbers hasn't happened in over seventy years."
Rinslet blinked, while Jenos took over as he mused, "I guess we don't usually feel romantically about one another? Usually when we form any connections, it's more of a team or partnership than love. You could say there is a mutual respect between certain Numbers, but…"
"So, you're saying you and Lia have a 'mutual respect' for each other?" Rinslet asked waspishly, and Lia frowned while Jenos asked in confusion, "Eh?"
Rinslet just folded her arms irritably across her chest. Jenos continued to look puzzled, while Lia's brow shot up as she suddenly realized what had been bothering Rinslet.
"Rinslet…" She informed the purple-haired woman slowly. "Jenos is my brother."
"Eh?" Rinslet asked blankly, her arms dropping from her chest in her shock.
Jenos blinked as Lia explained, looking Rinslet in the eye, "My full name is Julia L. Hazard."
"EH?!" Rinslet shrieked, and she pointed at Lia and then Jenos as she gaped. "What?! You're siblings?!"
"What's this?" Jenos piped up, brightening. "Were you jealous, Rins?"
"Shut up!" Rinslet yelled, still trying to wrap her head around this shocking piece of news. "How are you siblings? You look nothing like each other!"
And it was true: the pair had no shared feature at all. Jenos – for all that he was rather good-looking – had nothing particularly striking about him. His shoulder-length hair was a common brown-black colour while his eyes – though bright and intelligent when he wanted them to be – were a nondescript light brown. His nose was sharp, like his square jawline, and his lips were a little on the thin side though well-balanced with his angular features.
Lia, on the other hand, already stood out with her long blue hair, and those piercing silvery-grey eyes. And her face had much softer lines than Jenos, with a button nose and oval-shaped jaw that followed the smooth curve of her neck. Her lips were also full and pinker, giving her the general appearance of a true beauty; in fact, the only thing that had probably kept potential suitors away was the cold and almost ruthless look in her eyes.
"Forgive me," Lia replied calmly to Rinslet's loud yell, "I suppose it's more accurate to say I'm Jenos's half-sister."
"Huh?" Rinslet blinked, startled.
Lia just looked back at her coolly as she elaborated, "I am Jenos's – and incidentally also my own – father's illegitimate child."
Rinslet blinked, while Nizer and Belga glanced over briefly before turning back to looking out the jet window as Lia said with a hint of mocking, "So, don't worry, Rins – my brother's single and definitely looking."
"I wasn't asking!" Rinslet snapped, bristling instantly, but Lia had also turned to stare out the plane windows once more.
Except this time, Jenos left her alone, turning instead to playfully tease Rinslet as Lia fell into deep thought, her eyes staring unseeingly outside as she lost herself in her old memories.
Eight years ago
"Mama!"
"I'm sorry, Julia, I really am-"
"Mama!"
"Thank you for understanding, Charlotte."
"I'm so sorry, Julia, baby; I'm so, so sorry."
"Mama!" Julia cried as she was dragged out of the house where her mother and the strange man who claimed to be her father were. "Mama!"
"Quiet, kid!" One of the strange men in black suits, the one pulling her said irritably. "Jeez, this is why I'll never have kids."
"Yeah, but that guy wasn't looking to have another kid, was he?" Another of the men jeered. "He just had bad luck that his wife found out about his little 'fun'."
"You got that right." Another of the men laughed, while Julia struggled in her captor's grip.
"MAMA!" The twelve-year-old girl cried, and the man holding her finally turned on her as he snapped, "Shut up!"
Julia glared at him before she glanced down.
And she stomped on the man's foot, hard.
"Argh!" He yelled as he accidentally let her go in pain, and Julia darted away from him.
"Hey, hey, stop her!" Another man shouted, while Julia sprinted away from them. "Someone catch her!"
The men chased after her, but Julia knew the neighborhood like the back of her hand – after all, she'd played there from early childhood. It was easy giving the men the slip before sneaking back to her house – to her mother.
"Ma-!" She gasped as she ran back into the house; only to pause as she heard a crash in the living room while voices shouted at each other.
"How could you do this?!" Her mother was shouting, and the man who had introduced himself to be her father answered sharply, "It's nothing personal, Charlotte, I assure you."
"Bullsh*t!" Her mother retorted. "You're letting that woman walk all over you, aren't you?!"
"Now, Charlotte-" The man began warningly, but Julia's mother cut over him sharply, "Don't you 'Charlotte' me! You never had that right! I don't care what your marriage is like, but when it tries to take my daughter from me-!"
"You know it's not just my wife." The man interrupted sternly. "Chronos has decreed it. You know my position – it's too dangerous to let Julia live outside of my protection."
"Yes, that's the argument you used to win me over." Julia's mother cried. "And that's why I'm letting this, this-!"
She broke off, as though unable to speak, before she went on, "That's why I let them take Julia from me. But don't even for a minute think that I believe that's the reason you're taking her from me, James! Your political diplomacy won't work here – I know exactly why you're taking her. Because that wife of yours doesn't believe me when I say I'm not looking to take your money for child support! Even though I've managed twelve years on my own! She's trying to protect her wealth; to keep it for herself! You can continue to try to fool yourself, but don't you dare try to fool me!"
"Charlotte, be reasonable." James pleaded, but the woman was bordering on hysterical as she cried, "And you all called me a whore! Because the only way I could buy food was to pleasure men like you, you all judged me! And look at you now! You're no better than a-!"
"If you know what's good for you, you'll stop right there." James warned. "You know who I am – you know what I could do to your life if I chose."
Charlotte broke down into tears, sobbing, while James finished flatly, "Julia will be safe; I guarantee it."
"But will she be happy?" Charlotte sobbed in despair, and James replied, "That will be her choice."
Charlotte continued to cry as James said curtly, "Good day, Miss Lambert. I wish you a pleasant evening."
Something crashed in the living room again – sounding like a shattered glass – while James quickly ran out into the hallway.
He stopped, raising a brow as he found Julia standing, frozen, in the middle of the hallway, before he tsked.
"Bad girl, Julia." He scolded lightly as he took her arm and started to steer her away towards the door. "You were told to wait outside, in the car."
"No…" Julia said shakily, and he chuckled humourlessly as he said, "Come now, Julia, don't make things difficult. Just be a good girl-"
"No!" Julia exclaimed, trying to escape from her father's grip on her arm. "Let me go! Mama! Mama!"
Julia looked up hopefully when she heard a sound behind her, before her face fell in dismay as she saw her mother standing forlornly in the living room doorway. The woman's once beautiful makeup was in streaks down her face from her heavy tears and her blue hair was unruly from where she'd been grasping at it in distress.
"Mama?" Julia whimpered as her mother made no move to come get her.
Charlotte swallowed before she whispered, "I'm so sorry, my darling. But promise me, you'll be happy, okay, Julia? Promise me."
As James dragged a now limp Julia out with him – where the men he'd brought with him called to each other as they spotted Julia with James – Charlotte cried after her daughter desperately, "Promise me, Julia! I love you, my baby!"
"Mama…" Julia whispered as James pulled her to the car.
She was forced inside, and they drove away, leaving her mother forever.
Julia's mother died the following year, apparently from illness but Julia heard some people say it was most likely from a broken heart.
The woman hadn't had the will to take care of herself after her daughter was taken away, and her health had rapidly deteriorated.
Julia, meanwhile, had been moved into a lavishly decorated small apartment that felt cold no matter how many fur blankets and fluffy pillows had been bought for her. Yes, it wasn't the worst life – but Julia could barely breathe in the suffocating new environment she had been placed in.
Suddenly, her lessons were privately tutored, and she was never allowed to see or speak with anyone her father didn't approve of. She knew what was happening – Julia wasn't stupid. Her father was keeping her as hidden as he could, away from as many eyes as possible.
Julia met her stepmother just once – it was the day she'd been dragged into her new life. The tall woman with the beady eyes had looked Julia over once before sniffing.
"She looks exactly like that good-for-nothing whore." The woman had stated dismissively, turning away.
Julia's hands had balled into fists, but before she could cause a scene she was already being basically carried into her new apartment. Where she'd been dumped since.
A small perk to her dreary life, however, came in the most unexpected form of her new half-brother, Jenos Hazard.
At seventeen, Jenos was ironically the most aware of the unfairness of Julia's plight – or, perhaps, he was the most fitting to understand as a similarly neglected child. Regardless, the teen took pity on his new half-sister, and came by every day to keep her company.
At first, Julia didn't understand it – and hadn't appreciated it – but slowly, the unlikely pair grew close, and Jenos helped Julia retain her natural good humour.
Jenos was also the one who taught Julia to fight as he had been taught, and when she showed potential he encouraged her to sneak out with him to join the lessons in person. Neither of his parents knew – for neither had the time to be bothered to know what their child got up to, and certainly had less interest in knowing what Julia got up to – so it was relatively simply that Julia naturally became integrated into Chronos and its soldiers.
It was also around that time that her nickname 'Lia' started to become more popular. Jenos had been the one to start it, calling it cuter and much better suited to her; and it quickly spread amongst those who knew her best, including Jenos's mentor, Nizer.
By the time James Hazard and his wife found out what Jenos had done, three years later, it was too late – Julia had already caught the eyes of the Chronos Numbers Vice Captain, Belze Rochefort, and subsequently the attention of the young Captain, Sephiria Arks.
While her marksmanship had been fairly average for a recruit her age, Julia's potential and her stealth skills were unparalleled in the history of Chronos. It was only natural, therefore that - despite her young age – when she turned fifteen, Julia was promoted into a Chronos eraser, taking a place beside her brother; though she had yet to actually handle any missions.
As she became independent, Julia soon broke off all connections with her father and her stepmother, only retaining her relationship with her brother as she entered into the world.
Through the whole process, Julia stayed positive and true to herself - for there had been something her father had said that had struck home with her. The only truth she ever heard him say, since the moment he came barging into her life and every day after.
It was Julia's choice to be happy or not – and she was determined that she would be. For her mother's sake if not anything else… she would find happiness.
That was when she met Train Heartnet.
*A/N Song of the Day: Dear You - Kind, from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. I like to think of this song and its variations as the theme for Lia and by extension Train. The link is: /CNBhm7ZudNU