Hello again! CPL here with the fourth chapter of Troublesome Brats!

Anyway, reviews!

EpicLinkSam: Hm. That idea of yours ain't bad. For starters, I'll have to figure out how and when he'll make his appearance. Thanks for the suggestion!

GameboyNinjaUltimate Icarus: Indeed he did, my fellow reader. Indeed he did. Something tells me that things would go down to shit if the two were to cross paths again in the future chapters, sober or not. Glad to hear that you're enjoying the story so far, and be sure to look forward to the next chapter. Unfortunately, nothing much happens in this one.

Okay! Reviews aside, let us begin.

I do not own RWBY nor BlazBlue.

-IIXII-

Summer winced when she brought a hand up to her reddened cheek. Using her free hand, she picked up the empty plastic mug on the floor and set it down onto the kitchen table, all the while ignoring the broken plates and mugs scattered throughout her entire kitchen.

I'll clean these later, Summer told herself.

"M-Mommy?" Ruby entered the kitchen with tears in her eyes, sniffling every now and again as she took in the sight of her pained mother. "A-Are you okay?" she asked.

Summer turned to her daughter and did her best to smile cheerfully. "I'm fine, sweetie. Mommy's a lot tougher than she looks." That one was a lie, and she knew it. "That man has got nothing on Mommy. If you paid close attention to his eyes, it's obvious that he was aware of the fact that he was the one in actual danger. If he'd chosen to stay a second longer, then Mommy would've given him a good spanking as well as a long lecture, so there is no need for you to worry." Summer walked over to her young daughter with the intention of patting her on the head, but was startled to find her daughter hugging at one of her legs almost immediately. "R-Ruby?" That's when she realised that Ruby was crying. She frowned. "Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

"I hate seeing that man! Why does he keep coming here!?" Ruby cried out with tears streaming down her face. She began wiping at her face with the back of her hands, but it did nothing to stop the tears from spilling out. Nothing did. "I wish he'd just disappear!"

Upon witnessing Ruby's outburst, Summer closed her eyes and lowered herself down. She then pulled the crying girl into a warm and gentle embrace, smiling when the gesture was returned moments later. If only you knew, Ruby, she thought. If only you knew.

"Mommy, why does he keep coming here...?" Ruby repeated, her crying dying down a bit as seconds ticked by. "Why can't he just leave us alone?"

"Well..." Summer tightened her hold around Ruby, the smile on her face faltering slightly. "...it's complicated."

Ruby sniffled. "B-But he's-"

Just then, loud noises could be heard from right outside their door.

Summer narrowed her eyes. Is he back for more? I hope not.

"W-Who's that?" Ruby found herself asking as she looked to the door.

"It could be the mailman," Summer said in a joking manner.

Ruby pouted. "Mom, be serious." She looked up to Summer, revealing the slight concern in her eyes. "But what if it's him?"

Summer grinned. "Nope! I think it's just the mailman. Now, stay here while I go talk to him." She patted Ruby on the head and walked to the door. However, the more closer she got to her front door, the more nervous she was starting to feel.

What if it was really him? What if he was back for more? What then? And to make the situation all the more worse, Ruby was here with her. Her very own daughter.

Summer balled her hands into fists. I swear, if that man so much as-

"Brother no!" a rather familiar voice yelled out from outside.

What on Remnant? Summer quickly threw her previous thoughts aside and raced to the door. Not really knowing what to expect, she grabbed the knob, twisted it, and pulled the door open.

Just in time to see a foot flying straight towards her stomach.

Instincts kicking in, Summer prepared her hands right around her stomach and caught the foot, much to the foot owner's surprise and shock. She quickly tightened her hold on the foot, only to twist it around later on so that the rest of the parts attached to it would lose balance and fall to the ground.

She then placed her hands on her hips, pouting angrily at the person who had the balls to try and take her down.

Serves you right, you...wait a minute, Summer took in the sight of the person, only to quickly realise that it was the very same man she'd met a few hours earlier. So with that realisation, she brought a hand to her mouth, wide-eyed. Oh dear. I can't believe I just did that! But still, Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. what on Remnant was he planning on doing in the first place?

"That was close..." a rather familiar voice muttered from the side, and with a quick look, Summer discovered that it was the man's little brother, Kazuma Kval.

"You!" Summer called out, grinning, temporarily forgetting all about the downed man near her feet. "You came!"

Kval walked forward and offered the older woman a grin of his own. "I did. And I've brought my brother with me, just like we discussed."

Summer giggled. "I can see that quite clearly, thank you very much." She looked over at Kval's older brother, and immediately she could feel herself sweating because of what she'd done to him just moments prior. All she could do now was hope that he wouldn't explode in a fit of uncontrollable rage upon meeting her. Again. Like last time.

Kval's older brother, who was known to her as Yuuki Terumi, gave a pained groan as he lifted himself off the ground. He staggered a bit once he was finally up, and soon started dusting off his clothes while grumbling something under his breath. From what Summer could tell, the man was definitely tired. The only clue she got from that was that his eyes, despite him trying his best to hide them underneath his hood, were slightly unfocused.

"Um...hello there, Mister Yuuki Terumi," she called out. "It's...good to see you again, I guess. I apologise for...sending you to the ground like that, but my instincts kicked in, so..." She laughed nervously. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

Terumi, who had been busying himself with dusting off his clothes, suddenly went still as well as silent, and that worried her.

Did I do something wrong? she wondered, tilting her head to one side.

-IIXII-

Why does that voice sound so familiar to me? Terumi wondered with narrowed eyes. Like a robot on the verge of powering down, he slowly turned his head to the side, his face revealing nothing but the look of utter blankness.

And that's when he saw her.

Sure he'd registered the fact that he was sent dropping down to the ground by someone when he attempted to kick down the door like a total badass, but it had happened so fast that he was unable to register the face of said person. So seeing her standing right there with a smile on her face was quite shocking.

Though it didn't take long for him to start getting angry.

"Of all the people I could've bumped into, it just had to be you!" Terumi shouted. "And if I recall correctly, you never did pay for the damages caused by that child of yours." Underneath his hood, his serpentine eyes began to glow a bright yellow, which made him appear more intimidating than he ever was. "You better have money on you, woman. Or else I'm gonna lose my shit. Right here. Right now."

Summer grinned nervously.

"What are you grinning about, woman!?" Terumi spat. He took a single step forward with murderous intent, his eyes never leaving Summer's. If he could just go over there and-

"Well," Summer scratched her cheek with a nervous laugh, despite not feeling threatened. "I just thought that...wouldn't it be nice if you were to stop shouting at your employer and act more respectful?"

Terumi froze.

"I mean," Summer added, "I don't think you were told of this, but apparently I was the one who requested you for this particular job, so..."

The entire neighbourhood went silent at that.

It took a while for him to process all this, but in the end he did it. Despite losing thousands of brain cells in the process, he could still say that it was worth it.

I was...requested? Am I hearing this right? Terumi turned to his little brother for confirmation, and upon receiving a small nod, he redirected his gaze back to the woman standing in the doorway.

Right now, the best way to describe the look on his face was 'unreadable'.

Terumi tried opening his mouth to speak, but unfortunately no words came out. He didn't know why, but for some half-assed reason his throat just wouldn't cooperate.

The fact that he was speechless was infuriating.

But even then, he still couldn't believe what he was actually hearing.

Requested? Him? That had to be a joke. Like, when was the last time something like that ever happened to him? Probably around a couple of years ago, so why now? Plus, his record was nowhere near clean. It was in shambles at best.

Back in the day, he was a ruthless asshole as well as a violent individual, and was pretty much well-known for being one at that. And let's not even start with the fact that he had been at war with tons of NOL branches, and at some point, the White Fang, for committing countless of shady work here and there, mainly the ones located in Vale and Kagutsuchi. But let's not get the wrong idea here. The only reason why he even did all those things was because he needed to earn enough money for a living. Nothing more, nothing less.

How the NOL never succeeded in getting their hands on him was still a mystery to this day. However, some people speculated that he had an acquaintance who, apparently, was a high-ranking officer working for the NOL, which fully explained the reason why no one has ever bothered to hunt him down. But so far, no one has been able to prove this, so it was still a mystery.

Apparently, there were also rumors of him being the leader of a mysterious group, but similar to the case of that unknown NOL officer, it has yet to be proven.

For someone his age at the time, he'd sure been through some extreme shit. All those crazy things he'd done would normally get people thrown in jail, but look at him now! He could just basically walk around in the streets like it's nobody's business and no one would even give a damn!

Someone should pat him on the back for that.

It's been roughly four years, though. He'd changed quite a lot since then.

Besides, he had Kval to look after.

So with that said, why would a person go out of their way to request someone like him for a job? It didn't make sense at all.

I don't get it. Why would-

Just then, something crossed his mind, and he found himself gritting his teeth at the mere thought of it.

Okay, I guess now it's starting to make sense...

So that's what it was. There was no other explanation.

The damn woman. She was toying with him. That had to be it.

"I...I'm guessing that you're shocked?" Summer said, sweating slightly. The silence was starting to get to her, from the looks of it. "Um..."

Terumi brought up a single finger to shut her up. Taking the time to enjoy the silence, he then started to rub his temples with his free hand. "This is a joke, isn't it?" he muttered.

Summer blinked a couple of times, confused. "Pardon?"

"This was a way for you to get back at me, wasn't it? Honestly no one has ever gone that far before. A few, perhaps. But still..."

Any second now...

"Uh-oh..." Kval's face started going pale when he saw the dangerous look in the eyes of his older sibling. "B-Brother, I think you're misunderstanding the situation," he said. Terumi paid him no mind, however. "B-Brother?"

Just give him a second, and he'll...

"Heck, I bet you find my situation to be extremely hilarious!" Terumi removed his hand away from his face, earning gasps from both Summer and Kval upon revealing his pissed off expression. "But...I'd like you to know that I don't. For once I was serious about this, so to see...this, happening? Well now, I guess you've just earned yourself a free premium ticket to the darkest and deepest hole you can ever find in hell. I hope that you're able to keep up with me, woman. I ain't holding back."

...explode.

Summer took a step back. The look in her eyes suggested that she was further confused by all this, and maybe a bit afraid as well if all the sweating was anything to go by. "What are you-"

Pulling out his knives, Terumi went down and immediately lunged forward, cutting her off.

"Kyah!" the woman screamed, her arms moving up to cover her face upon realising that she had nothing on her to protect herself.

Noticing that his target was helpless, Terumi tightened his grip around the knives in his hands and prepared himself. Stay right there you-

But then a long red blade appeared out of nowhere, its blunt side slamming into Terumi's face like a metal bat, which was followed by a pair of devastating punches straight to the side of his abdomen.

"Guha!" Terumi, who had been knocked to the ground with his knives scattered all around him, wasted no time in holding his side as well as his face, groaning painfully as he rolled his body from side to side. "Shit shit shit shit shit..." he cursed and cursed, not really caring how ridiculous he looked to the people around him.

"Huh. I guess that if you're lucky enough, the moment you step out of your house with the intention of throwing out your garbage, you get to see something interesting every now and then," a voice sounded, which belonged to a female. "It's a good thing that I carry my weapon around me."

"And it's a good thing I decided to accompany you," a new voice joined in, this one belonging to a male. "The heck is his problem anyway?"

"Ugh," groaned Terumi. He uncovered his slightly bruised face, which was in the process of healing by the way, and quickly sent a heated glare at the pair of dumb cocksuckers who wanted their death wishes so badly. "I see you, you...bastards! Just...wait until I'm up...then I'll show you..." he muttered.

"Scary," the woman commented, sounding all sarcastic. Her clothes consisted of a black tank top, which matched quite well with her long black hair he noted, and also a pair of grey combat trousers. She was currently using a pair of black slippers, but that little information wasn't really important to him.

Even with the sunglasses on, Terumi could practically feel the woman rolling her eyes at the sight of his current condition, despite him giving out his threat just moments ago.

And that thing she was holding, besides the large black bag filled with garbage?

It was the very same blade which his face encountered.

Yeah. This woman was on his shit list alright.

"Did I...hit him too hard?" the man, whose hair was blond, questioned to no one in particular. He had a plain brown shirt on, accompanied by a pair of grey shorts and sandals. And unlike the woman, however, the guy seemed to show a bit of concern for his health. Not that he was feeling grateful for that or anything. But still, it was nice. "Honestly, he looks like a bag of rotten potatoes..."

"R-Raven! Tai! What are you guys doing out here?" Summer stammered with a nervous smile, placing her hands behind her back soon after.

Raven. So that was her name. He'll be sure to remember it.

The little sarcastic bitch.

"Well I was planning on throwing away our garbage, but then this happened..." Raven answered. She spared Terumi a brief glance, and only a brief glance. Nothing more, nothing less.

Tai, the man with the sandals, let out a small chuckle. "And I'm just following her around. Like usual."

"I-I see..." Summer moved one of her hands to the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. "I honestly thought you two were out shopping for tonight's dinner. Guess I was wrong."

"You were," Raven bluntly stated. Then, her eyes wandered over to Terumi, who was now in the middle of pushing himself off the ground, though she could see that he was struggling. She pointed her blade at him and questioned, "Anyway, what's the deal with this guy?"

Summer laughed, a bit nervously if one may call it. "W-Well, he's...um...he's no one important! Yeah!" she exclaimed with a forced grin. "No one important! A-Anyway, I'll be seeing you two later!"

So with that said, Summer quickly went over to Terumi and, taking advantage of his current condition, started dragging him into her house.

"W-Whoa hey! Hey!" Terumi shouted, "What the hell!? Release me this instant you freakin' madwoman!"

Once inside, Summer slammed the door shut, much to everyone's confusion.

-IIXII-

Kval, who'd been silently observing the chain of events that kept transpiring, released a somewhat relieved sigh. He was glad that all the violence had finally came to a stop, so all that he needed to do now was hope that Terumi wouldn't do anything foolish while he was in another person's home.

He'll be fine, he thought.

Despite that, he could only hope...

Smirking, Kval brought a fist to his chest and muttered, "Knock her dead, Brother. I'm sure you can do it."

"Hey kid!" the woman, the one who assaulted Terumi's face seconds earlier, called out.

Kval went rigid.

"You seem to know a bit about what that was about, so would you mind explaining to me?"

-IIXII-

"If I wasn't so exhausted, then I'd probably be busy tearing you a new one right now," Terumi muttered from his spot on the carpeted floor. He winced and clutched at his side, pained. "Ah shit..."

Summer sighed. "I'm going to ignore the fact that you just said that." She walked over to Terumi and offered him a hand, only for her to quickly pull it back when a sour look was given to her. "Yikes. Someone's in a bad mood."

"Your fault," Terumi growled.

Summer slapped a hand onto her forehead and groaned. She was really not in the mood to deal with all this. "Will you start cursing if I said that you keep misunderstanding the situation and assume things?"

"Of fucking course!" Terumi replied almost instantly with a deep scowl, but his expression quickly turned to one of confusion upon realising what she was saying. He narrowed his eyes. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

Summer pulled her hand away from her face and locked eyes with Terumi. "Do I really look like the type of person who would go so far as to pull a childish prank on others just to get back at them?"

Terumi just stared.

When no answer was given to her, Summer stomped her foot like an angered child. "Well for your information, I don't!"

Terumi squinted his eyes. "How do I know for sure?"

Summer folded her arms, seemingly annoyed. "What does it take for me to prove myself?"

Terumi opened his mouth to speak, but unfortunately for him, someone managed to beat him to it.

And that someone was none other than Ruby Rose.

"Mommy?" the child called out, sounding unsure. "Who are you talking to?"

Summer perked up at that. She turned to where her daughter's voice originated from and called back, "I'm talking to a guest, sweetie! Would you be so kind as to prepare him a glass of water from the kitchen? Oh, and be sure to watch out for...y'know, the kitchen!"

Terumi raised an eyebrow.

"Okay Mommy!" the child answered, her voice sounding much more eager and cheerful this time. The sound of her little footsteps resonated throughout the whole house, and Terumi was willing to admit that it actually sounded a bit...cute.

Wait what?

"Just go and play in the living room when you're done, you got that sweetie?" Summer added.

"Okay!" came Ruby's cute reply.

Huh. Terumi grunted as he successfully pushed himself off the carpeted floor, staggering a bit once he was on his feet. "Was that..." He winced, still clutching at his side. "...really necessary? I can handle myself just fine."

"Oh you! Stop being so stubborn and unreasonable!" Summer scolded with a stern glare. She then turned around and walked off. "Now come on. I'll lead you to the living room so that we can finally discuss about...well, you. Also, my name is Summer Rose, and that voice you heard just now belongs to my daughter, Ruby."

"Me?" Terumi questioned, taking note of the woman's name as well as her daughter's. He was reluctant at first, but in the end he decided to follow her. "What about?"

"Have you forgotten the fact that I requested you?" Summer reminded.

"So you weren't joking after all..." Terumi mumbled. He set his hands inside his pockets and looked to the side, taking in the sight of the beautiful paintings which were hanging on the walls of the woman's house. "Why me though? I'm curious. I mean, it could've been that asshat with the red blade out there, or that blond guy with the sandals. Hell, it could've been anyone! So...why me?"

"You're lucky that I won't be telling my neighbour that you just called her that," Summer said with an amused smirk, but it was then later replaced with a small smile. "As for why, well...I guess you could say that I'm just trying to help you out. Plus, you working for me would seriously make my life more easier. Like," She turned around to meet his eyes. "a whole lot."

Terumi returned the stare with his own, but the only difference between his and hers was that his was filled with suspicion. "Why do I feel like I'm missing something here...?"

Summer closed her eyes, but that little smile of hers was still present. Seeing absolutely no reason to hide it from him any longer, she decided to just spill it out. "Your little brother, Kazuma, told me all about your little situation," she said. She took note of the cautious look in his eyes, but despite that she continued, "That time when we first bumped into each other, when you were busy beating up your neighbour, your little brother approached me, apologised, and explained everything. He said that I didn't need to pay for the damages caused by my daughter, seeing that it was-"

"He's always been nice and polite like that, the little squirt," Terumi interrupted, but Summer didn't seem to mind, since that smile of hers was still plastered across her face. "I know that it was his money, but you still haven't answered my question. Why pick me?"

"I was getting to that." Summer rolled her eyes, and yet her smile remained. "So anyway, after the whole explanation thing, I started thinking...about the situation you're in, as well as mine. I just thought that...maybe I could try to work something out, y'know? I mean, from what I've been told by your little brother, you sound pretty reliable."

Terumi held up a finger at that. "Okay, now stop right there! Before you go any further with the details and all, I need the full picture here. What kind of shit do you have on your plate right now?"

The smile on her face finally fell.

"I'm a busy woman, y'know. Because of work, I'm not home very often, so my daughter..." Summer paused, as if making sure that Ruby was nowhere near to hear what she was going to say. "...she tends to get pretty lonely without me. My neighbours are the same case, so their kids usually ends up crashing over at my house to keep her company."

Terumi raised an eyebrow, slightly puzzled. "So what's the problem? She's not alone now, that's good isn't it?"

Summer gazed to the side. "I get really worried when it comes down to their safety while at work, and I rarely get a chance to call to make sure that they're doing okay, so I need an adult to watch over them. Just...to make sure that they don't end up burning anything..." She scratched the back of her head and chuckled. "Last time, they somehow managed to break my oven by heating up a large watermelon for...'scientific research', as they put it. I am honestly clueless as to where they got that idea..."

Terumi winced.

"Yeah. I'm guessing that you're able to picture how that all went down in the end," Summer said. She turned around and started walking again, and Terumi had no other choice but to follow her. "It was a good oven too. A shame I had to throw it out."

"I get where you're going with this, but where do I fit in all this?" Terumi asked with genuine curiosity. "From the looks of it, you're making it sound like you need me to-"

"Bingo." Summer snapped her fingers, just as they entered the living room to see Ruby drawing something on a large piece of paper with her large collection of crayons. "Mister Yuuki Terumi, the job I'm offering you is quite simple." She folded her arms and grinned. "Take care of Ruby and the other kids, so that means..." She paused for dramatic effect. "...you'll be working for me as the kids' caretaker!"

"What!?" Terumi bellowed.

Right at the same time, the front door was busted open, and soon entered Raven, who seemed to be holding a sheepish-looking Kval by the cape. "Hell no!" she exclaimed.

Summer gasped. "R-Raven!?"

Raven stomped her way over to the living room, gave a small wave to a confused Ruby with the same hand which held Kval, and later pointed her long blade at Terumi's throat. "There is no way in hell am I going to let this...thing, watch over my kid! Just look at him! He practically reeks of bad news!"

"Hey!" Terumi shouted, feeling extremely offended. "I'm right over here, you damn woman! And put my brother down!"

Raven gently set Kval down onto one of the nearby sofas, surprisingly, and immediately turned to Terumi. She moved a hand over to her face and lowered her sunglasses, revealing her crimson orbs for the entire world to see. "Watch your tongue, asshole," she warned.

Terumi loosened his tie and pulled out a knife from his sleeve. "Or what?" he challenged.

"Why are you all fighting?" Ruby asked innocently, clueless. Her eyes then wandered over to the cloak-wearing man, and almost instantly a large grin broke out. "Hey! It's the suspicious person!" she exclaimed.

Terumi blinked a couple of times. He turned away from Raven and focused his eyes on a cheerful-looking Ruby, who then seemed to be staring at the knife he was holding. "Would you mind explaining to me the reason why you decided to call me that?"

"Well..." Ruby scratched the back of her head with her face flushed, but her grin remained in place, however. "...I don't know your name, so I guess I'll be calling you Suspicious Person from now on! Oh, and can I take a look at your knife?" she asked.

"Uh..." Terumi tilted his head to one side. "What?"

Summer sighed. "Ruby, that's quite rude. He has a name, y'know. And please don't ask about his weapon right off the bat. That's...also rude."

"Sorry..." Ruby meekly apologised.

"It's fine, and Raven!" Summer turned to the woman, who seemed to be standing right behind Terumi while holding a small black plastic bag right above his head. "Don't even think about it," she warned.

"Tch..." Raven grumbled something under her breath as she moved away.

"Wha...?" Terumi turned around, and his eyes immediately widened at the sight of Raven being all up-close and personal. He stepped back in instinct, sweating profusely. "Holy shit! What the hell were you plotting you wench!?"

"Your demise," Raven answered with a raised brow, making it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What else?"

Summer facepalmed. She could already feel a headache making its way to her head. "Raven. Please."

Terumi narrowed his eyes. "I really don't like you," he stated with a dangerous edge to his voice.

Raven smirked. "Same here."

"Okay, that's enough. Raven," Summer glared at her friend. She then pointed a finger to her front door, which was heavily damaged at this point all thanks to Raven. "time for you to go. We'll discuss this later. With Tai."

"You're going to hire this guy no matter what, aren't you? I can see that look in your eyes, Summer," Raven said. She clicked her tongue and looked away. "Know what? Fine. I doubt I'll be able to change your mind anyway. The little kid over there explained everything." She gestured to Kval, who was currently sitting on the sofa, later joined by a cheerful Ruby. "Tai was reluctant at first, but in the end he allowed it. I, for one, am against the idea. But seeing that this is you who I'm up against..." Raven sighed. "I think it's better if I were to just admit defeat right away."

Summer pouted. "How should I take that?"

Raven flicked her on the forehead. "A compliment, an insult, however you like. It's just so unbelievable how stubborn you can be sometimes. I'll be the first to admit that it's annoying, but even so...it's better if you stay that way."

Despite what she said, Raven found herself smiling.

"A compliment it is then," Summer decided, giggling soon after.

"Yeah yeah..." Raven chuckled. "Well, seeing that I have no business here anymore, I'll be going now. And I'll be sure to tell Tai about your door later." She scratched her cheek. "Sorry about that..."

Summer giggled. "It's no problem."

"Noted." Raven nodded. And with that, she made her way to the door.

But not before sending one last glare to Terumi, much to the man's displeasure. "Don't even think that I'll start treating you as a friend the next time we meet," she warned. "Keep that in mind."

"Tch," was Terumi's simple reply.

Summer smiled slightly as she gazed at Raven, who was currently in the middle of stepping out the door in order to leave the house. Even after all these years, you're still the same Raven I know, along with Tai. Unlike...

A small frown took over her face at the mere thought.

"She's a piece of work, isn't she?" a certain someone commented with a blank expression.

"She is, but she's honestly not all that bad when you get to know her better," Summer explained.

Terumi scoffed. "Like I'd take the chance when I see one..." he grumbled.

Summer, ignoring the fact that he'd just said that, turned to him and stared. She kept her silver eyes locked onto his serpentine ones, piercing him with her gaze. Believe it or not, seconds later Terumi started feeling uneasy. "I'm going to go straight to the point, Mister Yuuki Terumi. Will you accept my offer?" she asked in a quiet and yet serious voice, before adding, "Keep in mind that it's okay to refuse. I'm not forcing anyone."

Terumi found himself breaking eye contact at the question. He bit down on his lower lip as thousands of thoughts raced through his mind.

Working as a caretaker was not really what he had in mind. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he actually wanted to work as one! It just...wasn't his thing, in his honest opinion. Sure he could handle himself when it came down to working as a cashier, but a caretaker?

No way in hell.

I don't think I can do this. Besides, I'd probably end up killing the kids on my first day...

Right now, he was really starting to consider the idea of rejecting the offer. Honestly, it was for the best. He could see nothing good coming out of it, anyway.

Well...

However, after sparing his younger sibling a brief glance, who's currently chatting with Summer's daughter regarding the picture she drew with her crayons, he started having second thoughts regarding his decision.

For some odd reason.

"So to make a drawing look nicer, I shouldn't put too much pressure on my crayons?" Ruby asked, staring up at a nervous-looking Kval with her large, innocent eyes.

"U-Um..." Kval scratched the back of his head while his cheeks reddened, obviously embarrassed at the fact that a cute girl was sitting right next to him. He was never quite used to conversing with girls of around his age, after all, so one can say that he was somewhat inexperienced. "Y-Yeah. Kind of."

Terumi clicked his tongue.

What the hell am I doing?

"When do I start?"

Not quite expecting that, Summer blinked. Twice. "W-What?"

Terumi widened his eyes upon realising what he'd just said. He then slapped a hand over his mouth, sweating bullets.

Oh fuck! Why did I say that!?

"You'll...do it?" Summer asked, as hope started to fill her silver eyes.

Aw hell...

Terumi didn't know why, but he couldn't really find it in himself to say no to the face Summer was making, especially with the huge amount of hope her eyes were showing. It would've been too cruel, even for his standards.

So he nodded.

From how he saw it, there was no going back now. It was already too late for that.

Damn it.

"Don't make me regret my decision, woman," Terumi muttered, his eyes wandering elsewhere. "I guess I'll be taking that offer of yours after all..."

Summer's smile was so bright and genuine, that Terumi couldn't help but find it to be sickening.

-IIXII-

Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a review if you enjoyed the fourth chapter of Troublesome Brats!

This is CPL, over and out.