Triela was drying her hair when she heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?"
She heard a sniffle, "It's me"
The door opened and Henrietta entered the room. She looked like a mess. Eyes red from crying, hair messed by the wind.
"Henrietta!" Triela gasped as she ran to the door, the hair drying forgotten. Henrietta looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment so Triela gave the girl a tight hug.
"Why are you crying?" she asked. Henrietta looked up into Triela's eyes and she immediately understood.
"Well," she started, tugging Henrietta to the table in the middle of the room, "Claes will be back in a few minutes. Let's sit down and have some cake and tea!" The upset little girl just nodded and sat down as Triela set out to the task at hand.
"Rico" Jean started, "Your next mission is in Japan."
Rico looked up at the man curiously. "What'll we be doing?"
"We're not doing anything." Jean said calmly, "You will be protecting the son of a distinguished martial arts family."
A look of shock registered in her eyes as the realization hit her. "Wait...I'm going on a mission all by myself?" she asked, eyes as wide as saucers.
"Yes. But in 3 months from now." he explained, "You will be spending the next 3 months training specifically for this mission. You will be learning to read, write and speak Japanese. These next few months will be dedicated to this mission. Do you understand, Rico? This mission leaves no room for failure."
Rico nodded, eyes alight with determination.
"Good." he nodded, satisfied. "You're dismissed."
"Yes, Jean"
And with that, she stood up and left.
Triela poured herself a cup of tea as she watched Henrietta. Henrietta was scooping spoonful after spoonful of sugar into her tea.
"Wow. You sure do like your tea sweet."
"...it just doesn't taste sweet unless I put a lot in"
Triela examined Henrietta and sighed. Poor girl.
"Claes!"
Claes turned around to see a worried Rico racing to catch up to her.
"CLAES!"
She watched as the small girl caught up to her. Rico then looked up, worry clouding her blue eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Henrietta!" Rico cried, "I can't find her anywhere!"
"Relax," sighed Claes, "Did you check my room?"
Rico shook her head. "Then she's probably with Triela."
"Oh.." She immediately calmed down. She then began trotting along behind Claes.
An awkward silence surrounded them. Claes could feel Rico fidgeting behind her.
"If there's something you want to say, then say it!" she demanded, coming to a halt.
Rico, not realizing Claes had stopped, bumped into her. She rubbed her head and looked up, startled. "Umm, well.. It's about my new mission.."
"You mean the one in Japan?"
Rico gasped, "You know about that?"
"Of course I do! I'm going too!" huffed Claes.
They had arrived at the room. Claes heard a sniffle as she reached out for the doorknob. She sighed and muttered to herself, "And so it begins..."
Triela looked up as the two girls walked in.
"Hey guys!" she grinned.
"Henrietta!" cried Rico as she ran over to her.
"Oh...Rico." Henrietta looked up at Rico and attempted a smile. It wasn't working.
"What's wrong?" asked Rico, concerned, "Your eyes are puffy!"
Henrietta just sat there, looking as if she were about to cry again. Meanwhile, Claes had walked up to Triela.
"Is she crying about the mission?" she asked as she put down her books.
"Yeah," replied Triela, "You should've seen her earlier!" She shook her head and added, "She was a sight."
She stole a glance a Henrietta and sighed, and Claes went to brush her hair mumbling, "You spoil her too much."
Rico looked at the clock. "We have to get going. We have curfew!"
Henrietta sniffled and nodded. As she got up Triela had a total lightbulb moment. "OH! I HAVE AN IDEA!" she shouted.
Everyone jumped, except Claes, of course. She simply continued brushing her hair. She'd been living with Triela for far too long. Her little outbursts had no effect on her anymore.
Triela ran up to the 2 girls and glomped them, squealing, "YOU GUYS COULD SPEND THE NIGHT!"
Claes slammed her brush down with a fierce "NO."
The girls flinched and Triela whined, "Whyyy nnnoooootttt?"
"Well, first of all" she explained, pushing her glasses up, "there isn't enough room." She proceeded to pick up a book (titled 'How to Cope with Stress'), walk over to the table and pull out a chair.
"No problem!" grinned Triela. "We can push the table over to the side of the room and put some blankets and stuff on the floor!"
Rico and Henrietta smiled enthusiastically. Claes grit her teeth. "Well, we have team training tomorrow, Triela. We have to get up early."
"Um," Henrietta spoke up. "So do we! Isn't that right, Rico?" The little blonde nodded and Triela looked triumphant.
"See? There's no problem!" she smirked.
Claes floundered a bit before a thought struck her. "Well," she said with a newfound confidence, "Jean wouldn't allow it."
Triela's cocky smile disappeared without a trace. Rico and Henrietta looked crestfallen. Claes simply stared at them, unmoved.
Just then Triela sighed. A nice, deep, dramatic sigh. She twitched.
Triela made a big show about saying goodbye.
"So long, dear Henrietta. Farewell, my darling Rico! Tonight we shall part our separate ways." She placed a hand over her heart, tears filling her eyes. "I hope you make it back safely. I only wish you could stay, so I could assure your safety with my own two eyes."
Claes rolled her eyes and opened to her bookmarked page.
"But alas! A wretched witch denies you!"
She bit her tongue, gripping her book tightly.
"I bid thee farewell" Triela recited as she ushered Henrietta to the door, a confused blonde behind her. Claes slammed her book down with a "FINE!"
"YAAAAY!"
"BUT!" warned Claes, "I'M not talking to Jean." And with that she climbed the ladder to her bunk.
A silence settled around the room.
"No problem! I'll go talk to Jean myself!" Triela said. Turning to Henrietta and Rico, she commanded, "Go get your stuff and meet back here!"
Henrietta was definitely in a better mood and Rico was practically glowing with excitement.
The three left the room, all the while Claes was reciting under her breath, "Please say no, please say no, please say no, please say no..."
All that could be heard was the sound of papers being shuffled around and the scritch-scratch of a pencil as Jean worked at his desk. He was in charge of all the paperwork for the new mission, and it was starting to get to him.
"Damn it" he groaned, leaning back in his chair.
As he was about to retire for the night he heard a knock on his door.
"Who is it?" he called as he stood up, causing the wheelie chair to creak from the sudden shift in weight.
"Triela!"
Jean sighed. What is it now? He went and opened the door with a slightly irritated, "What do you want?"
"A sleepover!"
It just so happened that Hillshire passed by at that exact moment.
"A sleepover?" he asked curiously. He chuckled, "Man, you girls sure are full of surprises!"
Triela grinned up at him then turned to face Jean.
"Jean! Can Rico and Henrietta spend the night with me and Claes?"
"Claes and I" Hillshire corrected, knocking Triela upside the head lightly.
She sighed and repeated, "Can Rico and Henrietta spend the night with Claes and I?"
Jean rubbed his forehead with his index finger and his thumb, "Don't you and Claes have training tomorrow?"
"Yes, but so do they!"
"...there isn't enough room" Jean reasoned.
Triela smirked slightly, having been through this with Claes already, "Oh, don't worry!" she smiled innocently, "Those arrangements can be made easily!"
"..."
Triela smiled at Jean, expectant.
"Oh, just let the girls spend the night Jean." Hillshire insisted.
Jean stifled a sigh. He REALLY wasn't in the mood.
As he was about to say no, Rico and Henrietta scurried up to them.
"Hi Jean! Hillshire!" Rico greeted cheerfully. She was holding an Amati clarinet case and a bag.
"...Hello Rico."
Henrietta tugged the corner of Triela's shirt. "We're gonna head back to your room."
"Sure. See you in a few minutes."
As they were walking away Triela winked at Hillshire and looked at Jean again. Suddenly, Rico came running back.
"TRIELA!"
"WHAT?" She turned to face the blonde, expecting the worst.
"Why don't we invite Ange too?"
"..."
"And Elsa!" Henrietta added as she rejoined them.
"...that's it?"
The two girls looked confused.
"DON'T GO AROUND YELLING IF THERE'S NO PROBLEM!" she scolded.
Hillshire chuckled as Triela continued. "Go ahead and invite Ange, but leave Elsa alone."
Hillshire and Jean exchanged a look.
"She wouldn't come." Rico reasoned.
"At least, not unless her darling Lauro told her too." Triela teased, but then her tone switched. "Honestly, I don't understand what her problem is! She acts like she's too good for us!"
"You shouldn't talk bad about your comrades, Triela" Hillshire scolded, "Besides, it's natural to have affection for your handlers." He winked at Triela and she rolled her eyes and made gagging motions.
Finally Jean had enough. "Fine. Have your sleepover. Just don't be late for practice!"
"YAAAAAAAY!"
He turned and went back into his room, closing the door a little too forcefully.
"Now go before he changes his mind!" Hillshire laughed and patted where he thought Triela's head was.
All he patted was air because, believe it or not, they were already gone.
"ANGE!"
Angelica was about to turn her doorknob when she heard someone call out. She turned and saw a panting Triela.
"Ange! Would...you like...to...stay...the night...in...my room?" Triela managed to gasp between breaths.
She had an adorable look of shock on her face. Just then Marco came around the corner.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
"Um..I-!" stuttered a worried Ange.
"She's getting her stuff." replied Triela in a cool manner. She had more or less recovered from her sprint.
"Stuff? For what?"
"She's spending the night with Claes, Rico, Henrietta and I" Triela replied politely.
"...I see." Marco seemed to think it over, finding something a little odd. "And who exactly gave you permission for this?"
"Jean. Oh, and Hillshire!"
"Fine. Do what you want. But you better be at the range on time!"
"Range?" Triela asked as Marco walked away.
"Yeah. I'm doing partner field training with Elsa tomorrow."
"WOW!" Triela gasped and grinned, "Seems like EVERYONE'S doing that tomorrow."
"Anyway," she opened Ange's door and shoved her inside with a, "get your clothes and your gun! You're gonna need them!"
Angelica and Triela headed back to the room. When they got there, the little table that always sat in the middle of the rom had been pushed against the wall, along with the chairs. There were a bunch of blankets on the floor and Rico and Henrietta could be seen fluffing some pillows.
"Honey! I'm hooome!" Triela greeted with a playful grin.
"Triela! Oh! Ange!" gasped Henrietta as she noticed the black-haired girl.
"Are you serious?" Claes groaned, "We've got enough people in here already!"
"Oh hush you!" Triela waved her hand dismissively, "Besides, the more the merrier!"
She winked and Ange smiled.
A boy with black hair and glasses was sitting in his room typing away on his laptop. From the looks of it, it didn't seem like he would enjoy being disturbed.
"Kyoya-sama?" called a brave maid from the other side of the door.
The voice broke him out of his trance and he ceased typing immediately. He tapped his fingers against the keys, impatient to get back to work as he replied, "Yes?"
"Your father would like to speak to you about an important matter."
That certainly caught his attention. It wasn't very often that his father wanted to speak to him at all. At least, not about anything but the family business. "I'll be right there."
He got up, closing the top of his laptop halfway. He adjusted his glasses and exited the room. He went down the hall to his father's office and knocked the door.
"Enter."
The boy, Kyoya, nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind him.
"What's the problem father?" Kyoya asked.
A silence settled as his father struggled to piece the words together. This took Kyoya by surprise. His father never struggle with anything. At least, not publicly.
"This matter I'm about to speak to you about...Be sure not to breathe a word of it to anyone, do you understand?"
Not even Tamaki? Kyoya wondered. He was used to keeping Ootori secrets from the boy, but anything else he told him outright. They were best friends, after all. "Yes, father."
"Alright." he stood up and walked over to the window. Placing his hand over the glass he looked out, his eyes distant. "You see, there's an organization beginning to make noise. It seems they have plans to overthrow certain wealthy families."
Kyoya's eyes widened in shock. That's saying something, considering he's a master at disguising emotion.
"They sent a letter around to multiple families of big corporations. Now, I don't think it'll be an urgent matter for some time, but for the time being I've decided to take some precautions." He turned around, facing Kyoya with a serious look on his face.
"I've decided to hire a bodyguard to protect you."
"Only me? What about my older brothers?" he asked, concerned.
"They have been taken care of, you only need to worry about yourself."
Kyoya simply nodded.
"The preparations will take about 3 months, but rest assured, the person I've hired is an expert in this field." He walked over to Kyoya, placing his hand on his shoulder. "So stay safe until then, alright son?"
Kyoya was taken aback, to say the least, by the uncharacteristic gesture of fatherly concern. But in the end, all he could do was nod as his father dismissed him and he left to go back to his room.
And there you go! Fixed chapter 2!
As I was looking back through this story I really got annoyed at myself. WHY ON EARTH WERE THERE 2 CHAPTERS OF FILLER? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLOT?! xD So I basically merged chapters 2 & 3 into one. Next chapter will have some plot advancement~
Protip: I will not be following Gunslinger Girl or Ouran's plot. Like, at all. I might take a few things from each to help the story flow better, but this is completely AU! It sort of has to be, all things considered _ I'll try to keep everyone's general personalities intact, but I'll have to make some changes here and there (especially for Elsa, considering she basically has no personality to begin with :x)
