"Hey, hurry up Kam!" Luca swiftly walked about 15 paces ahead of him, full of life. "Gah, you're so slow!" She ran back to him and energetically tugged at his hand. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" The sun beat down heavily on 41's shoulders. The heat was nearly unbearable, even though he'd left his cloak back at the girl's. This weather was rather unlike the norm at this time of year. How she could run around like this was a freaking' mystery. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Calm yourself." Her ear-to-ear grin still shone brightly, even in the sun. "How can I? You actually agreed to go out on a date with me today!"
"I don't recall saying that this was…" She was already gone. Around the corner and most likely a block away. In spite of his slight irritation, he smirked to himself. Her being excited like this was almost…cute, not that he'd ever admit this openly. This was perhaps the first time that he had seen her actually act her age instead of like someone older with a larger burden on their shoulders. She came back around the corner and started pulling him along again. "Come ON, Kam! It's right around the corner!" In all honesty, he had no idea what he'd agreed to. After spending the morning on the deck, she suddenly jumped up exclaiming that she knew what they could do, shoved his duel disk into his hands, and dragged him out the door. "Luca…Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see, just hurry up!" She grabbed his hand and pulled hard. He decided to play along and picked up his pace to find nothing more than a large mass of people waiting around the corner. "What is this? A bazaar?" She pushed him playfully. "No, silly. It's a tag tournament." Looking around, he saw very little potential among the crowd. "Tournament?" Of course! That's why she handed him his disk. "Why would you bring me here? My participation would hardly be considered fair." She giggled. "No, it's a tag tournament. Participants bring a partner and duels are conducted 2 on 2, you should know that. I just wanted to duel with you. That's not a problem, is it?"
"Duel…with me? No, I suppose it isn't…" He tried not to let his surprise show. She wouldn't know this, but trusting someone as a dueling partner was a sign of complete trust and was considered a great honor where he came from. It seemed to be more of a casual deal around this city, though. "But still…I don't think that this will be much of a competition."
"Oh, don't worry about that. There's nothing major on the line, so it's okay. I just wanna see how well we work together." Perhaps it was that he could not turn down a great honor she offered him, unknowing as it may have been; perhaps he just didn't want to. "Of course, Luca. I'd be honored be your partner." His words were accompanied by a deep bow, as if to royalty. She blushed. "Come on, Kam…If you say it like that, it sounds like you're proposing…But please, don't be so formal. We're friends, not passing faces." He apologized, but his words were swept up in the commotion caused by the start of the tournament. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome one and all to this citizen-sponsored tournament. Unfortunately, we are not authorized to give participants official titles; but the victors today will be known as the best on the streets!"
The opening ceremony for the tournament lasted for ten minutes, most of it running over the rules. "And don't forget ladies and gentlemen, the main focus of this event is to just relax and have fun. There's no pressure to show off. So in closing…" A man who looked as though he might be a proctor came running up to the announcer and whispered into his ear. "Oh, really…? Well, I'll be…Ladies and gentlemen; it has just been brought to my attention that our little tournament has been graced by the presence of a celebrity. Can we please have a round of applause for the child prodigy of New Domino city, young Luca-chan? She has been spotted several times amongst the crowd, accompanied by a man that nobody seems to be able to identify. Boyfriend? Relative? I'm not sure; but the real question isn't who our mysterious stranger is, but how he rates as a duelist. To anyone with the luck to encounter these two, the best of luck. You just may be in for a monster of a match!" The man who had run up earlier now stepped forward and announced the first tag teams to duel. 41 and Luca weren't registered for their first match until later and were almost immediately swarmed by her fans.
"Ohmygod! Luca-chan! I'm a huge fan of yours! Would you…?" Question after question after question, people bombarding them with adoring statements, and still more questions. 41 could feel his anger building. Tch. Look at them. They're like locusts! They see a glimmer of skill and they flock to it, surround and engulf it, hoping to glean something from someone who is clearly better than they!
"Is this your boyfriend, Luca-chan? He's cute…!" He knew that this question was bound to arise, but it still made him uneasy to hear. Any time a man and a woman were seen together, they were always assumed to be romantically involved. These locusts couldn't even read into others' actions. God, how they annoyed him. Still, he was curious as to how the Luca would answer such questions. Would she try to paint them as something they weren't, or would she tell the truth? "My boyfriend…? Well…Maybe. There might be something there someday…But we're just friends." 41 heaved a sigh of relief. That could have been much, much worse.
"Just friends, huh?" The girl stuck her hand out, offering him a handshake. "A friend of Luca-chan's is a friend of mine. I'm Sara, nice to meetcha! If you ever want a real woman, cutie, hit me up." She followed up the offer with a suggestive wink. Black hair, nice figure, fairly well-endowed. Any other man would have taken her up on it in a second. "Hmph. Not interested." Blunt and to-the-point. Best way to handle lecherous pests like this.
"Oh? So you've got eyes for Luca-chan only, huh? How sweet!" Wrong choice of words. "How dare you make an assumption about me, you damned…!" Luca cut him off somewhat sharply. "No, really. It's not like that. Please, don't say anything out-of-line. He's really not too friendly with people he doesn't know." A loud explosion and the announcement of the next match helped to reduce the number of people around them, but there were still too many questions and adoring fans for comfort. Most of the following questions were still about the two of them. The question that got the greatest rise out of the crowd of people was when a blonde girl asked whether or not Luca liked him, to which she naturally responded that she did. As was natural to locusts like these; they immediately flocked from her to him, spouting questions about every which way about how he felt towards her and whatnot. His response came quick, hard, and sharp. "It's none of your damn business; now get the fuck away from me, YOU LOCUSTS!" They backed off, and Luca sighed. "I told you so…" Perhaps out of fear, perhaps realizing that the Q&A session was ended, the group more or less left. There were a few people that remained, asking for autographs and the like, but there was much more room to breathe now.
"Luca…I've been wondering. You're not just an ordinary twelve-year-old girl, are you? Everybody seems to know who you are." She scribbled down a quick message and a signature on a photo that 41 couldn't quite see for one of her fans. "Yeah, I guess so. I did really well in an official tournament a while ago, so everybody just started calling me a prodigy. It's kinda of fun at times, being so well-known; but…I really don't like it. I've gotten a couple of love letters…but I don't really like those boys. They're always stuck up or dumb."
"Dating at your age should just be about having fun. You're too young to know what real love is, anyways." She looked at him, almost sorrowfully. "I don't think that that's true. I don't think that dating should just be for fun. I think that you should save that most romantic part of yourself for someone that you really care about." Damn, that was a rather adult point of view. The more he talked with her, the harder he found it to view her as an ordinary child. "But how would you know if you care about someone if you don't spend the time to do so?"
"Sometimes…You just know, Kam. I know we haven't known each other that long, but…I find myself liking you more and more each day. I know that it seems hard to believe; I can hardly believe so, myself…I don't even know the words to express how I feel about you anymore." Here we go…Here comes the emotional speech in public that I'm supposed to respond positively to… Oddly, though; he wasn't so sure how he felt towards her anymore. He was willing to admit that he found himself enjoying her company, and that she wasn't like everybody else; but whether or not he felt towards her affectionately was still a mystery to him. His body seemed to act of its own accord when he was around her. "So just for today, Kam…Would you at the very least try to not be so cold…?"
"…Fine. But only because it's you asking." Her eyes immediately lit up when he said this. "Do you mean-"
"DON'T get me wrong. I'm doing it because…you're my friend…" He got suspicious looks from everybody who could hear them, especially Luca herself. "If that's what you say, Kam. I believe you."
"Next up, Luca-chan and her mysterious partner Ka…Kam…(How the Hell do you say that?)…The mysterious foreigner!" He could see her look away out of the corner of his eye. "You gave them my 'name?'" She didn't look up at him, but started walking to the makeshift arena. "I had to. We couldn't register otherwise." He didn't have to read her mind to know that she was lying. Well…It wasn't as if it were his real name, at least.
"Hey there, handsome…" It was that girl from before, the black-haired one. She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and placed her head on his shoulder. "Good luck out there." He glared at her out of the corner of his eye and roughly shrugged her off without a word. The duel was insanely quick, however, as 41 was chosen to go second and crushed what little defenses their opponents has set up and proceeded to decimate them. They stood there slack-jawed at their rapid defeat as 41 left the arena with Luca following closely in his footsteps. The crowd was staring.
"Did you just see that?"
"Yeah…I don't believe it, though…"
"I think we're outclassed here…"
Of course they'd start talking. Anybody who was any good wouldn't need to gossip with the people around him if someone displays any skill…None of these people displayed any talent at all. He wished that they'd stop looking at him. It brought back unpleasant memories. Hah. You know that they're now afraid of you, too…Don't you? He knew that it wasn't the case; but… "Hmph…I guess that old habits really do die hard…" He tried to force down his unease; but it didn't feel like cooperating. "Luca…I really think that this thing was a bad idea." Luca waited until most, if not all, eyes were on the next match and took his hand. "I know you're uncomfortable, but trust me. Everything will be fine."
"No, Luca…I'm not kidding. I can't be here. I'm leaving." He began to walk away and that's when he felt a hand hit him sharply upside the head. "What the Hell is wrong with you?" He turned to see Aki standing there looking rather bold while Carly cowered slightly behind her, whether it be nerves or that she was afraid was unclear. "I thought you didn't like people watching you? Why in the world would you draw attention to yourself like that? You know they're going to follow you, now" He said nothing. "Well? Speak up, dammit. I know you can talk." He turned his back to her. "What I do is none of your business, Ms. Izayoi…" She tried to hit him again, but he absent-mindedly knocked her hand aside. "Ms. Izayoi? What happened to 'Aki-san'?" He started to walk off. "So I used a different honorific. Does it really make any difference…?" He continued to walk, ignoring Luca's attempt to hold him back by grabbing his hand. He pulled free and left in spite of her protesting. She glanced back once to see if anybody noticed them ditching and followed him, telling Aki and Carly that she was following him and bidding them a swift farewell.
She managed to catch up to him half a block down, then slowed her pace to match his. "Well, then…If you don't want to participate in the tournament, what do you want to do? There's lots to do. We can go see a movie, or we can go walk through the park, or I can just show you around town if you want." He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't care, really…" She took his hand and tugged on it. "Alright. Let's go explore the city. Maybe it'll help you with your search." He pulled back on her hand, but she refused to let go. "Actually, Luca…I might as well tell you. There's no point in my continuing the investigation. I'm leaving the organization, whether they let me or not." Her face lit up completely. 41 could have sworn that it got brighter outside. "Really? Does that mean that you'll be staying here?" His gaze rose up to the cloudless blue sky. "…Maybe. I might go back to Egypt; I might go back to America. I have an eternity ahead of me to see the world, after all…" The glow to her faded a bit. "So…you're still going to leave?" He shrugged. "Maybe in time, but not for a while. Don't worry about it." She looked a little crestfallen, but perked back up immediately. "So let's go see a movie, Kam! What kind of movies do you like?"
"I don't know. I've never seen one."
"WHAT! How could you have never seen a movie!" She grabbed him by the arm and literally dragged him down the street to a large Cineplex, and practically threw him into the listings. "Do you see anything in particular that you might like?" Nothing looked even remotely interesting to him, but he felt that it would be a bad idea to say this. He felt himself pushed aside as Aki dropped enough money on the counter for the four of them with a small smirk, asking for tickets to the most recent thriller film. The tickets were handed to them with a thanking, and the four of them entered together. "…Why did you follow us, Ms. Izayoi?" She shrugged. "Carly and I had a feeling that we should probably tail you two. Besides, a simple street tournament was more a means of burning time. It'd be much more fun to make this a double-date, wouldn't you say?" She winked at him teasingly. He didn't react at all how she'd hoped. Rather, he barely reacted at all. "Hmph. You've got the wrong idea about this." Again teasingly, she nudged him. "C'mon…I can tell that you feel something towards her." He shoved her arm away. "Not in the way you're hoping I do." He would have said more, but Luca cut him off when she practically threw him into a seat. She sat in the seat next to him, wrapped her arm around his, and laid her head on it. "What the-?" With her free hand, she pressed a finger against his lips, effectively silencing him. "You just sit there quietly and watch." Where the Hell did she get off acting so bossy? And why was she using his arm as a damn pillow again! Oh well…he didn't really mind…It's not like resisting was going to be of any use…
Wait. He didn't mind? Those thoughts were definitely unlike him. Damn…This girl was definitely a strong influence. He couldn't help but wonder how many other people she'd affected before him.
Aki and Carly giggled as they sat on his other side. "You say you're not attached to her, but she's definitely attached to you. Y'know…I've noticed that if it were anybody else, you'd've already thrown them across the room. So why haven't you thrown her?" He avoided making eye contact. "She's still a child. I would gain nothing from removing her forcibly." He rested his head on his curled fist, leaning towards Luca in a lax manner. Carly, on the other hand, fidgeted rather nervously. She seemed to be avoiding looking in 41's generally direction. Honestly, it was starting to irritate him. "What, girl? If you have something to say, then spit it out, already. Don't just sit there, fidgeting like a child." Carly flinched as he spoke to her, shrinking back behind Aki. "N-no…It's nothing…" Aki leaned over to her and they had a short whispered conversation before Aki turned back to 41. "Sorry. She's just a bit scared of you. You are a bit intimidating, and you really didn't make the best of first impressions." He held up his hand, cutting her off. "I know. I can tell. It's fine." It very much wasn't fine. He felt all-too familiar feelings of resentment resurfacing as he spoke. As if she could feel it, Luca squeezed his arm tighter. "You don't have to be afraid of him, Carly-san. Once he trusts you, he's really a nice guy." She leaned up and tried to kiss him reassuringly on the cheek, but he absentmindedly stopped her with his free hand. "Don't push it."
Carly leaned forward so that she could talk to Luca, though she still eyed 41 nervously. "Hey, Luca-chan…I haven't seen Lua-kun around lately. Where is he?" 41 felt Luca's grip on his arm tighten slightly and her face seemed to darken a bit. "We…We had a fight, so I told him to go back to the academy…" There was a slight tone of bitter sorrow in her voice.
"But aren't you supposed to be there as well? Aren't you missing classes by being here?" Luca shook her head no. "No, I was far enough ahead in my classes that I was allowed a leave of absence so that I could spend a few days and my birthday here with you guys. Lua was barely scraping by, so he's only allowed our birthday off. I have to go back after tomorrow." Aki nearly threw a fit at learning about this so little in advance and declared that she would buy the cake for the celebration when Luca said that they didn't have one. "No, it's okay Aki-san. I'm fine just being with my friends." 41 could tell without reading her mind that Aki was going to buy a cake regardless.
The movie started shortly, and the group fell silent. 41 found himself thoroughly bored as the film progressed, having already figured the whole thing out ten minutes in. Regardless, he sat there and bore through the boredom for the sake of the people with him. Unfortunately, his subconscious mindset decided to badger him. This is such a waste of time…There are so many other things you could be doing right now…You're turning into one of them, you realize. Look at yourself, enjoying the company of simple humans. You know full-well that you don't belong here. No matter how much he tried to suppress it, his subconscious kept trying to force its way up. He mumbled silently to himself. "Hmph…Whatever you say. I'll do as I please. And…I'm happy here. These people are my…friends…" Friends. That word sounded almost foreign to him.
Keep deluding yourself. You know that they'll turn their backs to you eventually. People like them always do.
41 waved his hand dismissively, ignoring his subconscious. Of course, he still felt the stirrings of discomfort around these people. Feelings of a thousand years would hardly crumble in a few days. However, he did consider them as friends. They were clearly going out of their way to reach out to him. What did he have to lose by giving them a chance? At worst, he'd go from nothing, to nothing. No big loss.
What's happened to you, Zuberi? You used to be cold and efficient. Now look at you. Flirting around with these worthless girls…
He glanced to his right, catching a glimpse of Aki invading Carly's mouth before he turned his eyes blankly back to the screen in front of him. He wouldn't show it, but seeing them left an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. It felt akin to being nervous, though he could scarcely recall what that felt like. Was it…envy? It really didn't matter what it was. Like everything else, this would also fade in time. He didn't even bother looking to his left. Luca had fallen limp some time ago, presumably asleep.
He did nothing through the remainder of the movie. He sat there quietly in perfect stillness, as if he were in a trance. No matter what he did, however, he could not drown out the noises coming from his right. He could hear Carly's quiet protesting as Aki apparently attempted to reach second base, worrying that he would see. Aki pointed out the he'd not moved once. Not even a twitch. And so he had to sit there as Aki proceeded to slide her hands into Carly's pants with total disregard towards the other two. Carly's soft moaning grew rather irritating rather quickly, but he was glad that Luca was asleep. Even he didn't think that children should be exposed to such behavior.
See? They're nothing but primitive sex-craved beasts. Wherever the feel the urge, they rush to do it. Total lack of control, completely shameless. Do you truly want to be associated with these animals?
He could feel his anger spiking towards himself. "No. They're not all like that. Some of these people are rather decent."
Oh? Like who? That girl that's continually clinging to you? Do you really believe that once some random guy's taken her for a ride for the first time that she'll not continually want it? It's in their nature. You know as well as I that humans have no purpose other than reproduction.
41 knew that this was true; but even though he'd spent so many years despising them, he too was only human. He didn't know why, but he felt some strange kind of connection with these people; and he knew that he wasn't going to sit here and listen to them being badmouthed in such an offensive manner. Especially by his own subconscious. "Don't you dare mock her! I-"
Love her?
"Of course not. Don't be absurd. She's just a child."
Who are you trying to convince? Me, or you? You sure do spend a lot of time with this girl. You even went out of your way to go to that pathetic tournament with her. Now why would you do that, hmm? Methinks you've become so soft that you've fallen for this girl.
41 scoffed silently. "You clearly have a poor perception of what I feel for being my subconscious." You say this, and yet I recall you feeling rather elated when this girl told you that she cares about you. Own up to it! You are in love with that Luca girl.
Before 41 could continue his internal argument, he was shaken roughly. "Hey, Kam. Snap out of it." Aki was jostling him with her foot on his shoulder, giving him a decent view up her skirt. Ignoring this, he pushed himself from his seat. The movie had apparently ended. "You alright? You were pretty out of it." He set his foot on the back of the seat in front of him and tightened his boot. "I'm fine. It's nothing to concern yourself with." He stepped over the seats and began to walk off. "That was an incredible waste of my time." Luca cut him off in the aisle and took his hand. "So what do you want to do now?" The rest of them shrugged.
"Hey, Aki…I've got an idea." Carly whispered into Aki's ear, and a wide grin spread across Aki's face. "That's a great idea, Carly!" She turned to 41 and grabbed his hand. "You're coming with us." Carly came around him and grabbed his other wrist and together they dragged him out of the theatre, apologizing to Luca for kidnapping him.
"What are you doing? Lemme go, dammit!" Everybody on the streets turned their passing heads to watch what seemed to be a kidnapping and quickly debated whether or not they should call the authorities. Ultimately, every one of them went about their way, convinced that a man of this one's stature could easily beat his "abductors" if he so chose. He looked like he belonged to the military. They: no more than two overly-excited women. They felt more pity for the guy than actual concern. "Come on! It'll be fun! You say you've been trying to integrate into modern society, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm not going to a club with you two!" 41 was struggling against the black-haired girl and the redhead as they both used everything they had to drag him down the street, the steel soles of his boots literally chipping up parts of the cement sidewalk. "Aki-san, Carly-san…LET…ME…GO!" He sharply pulled his hand free from Carly's grip, but she quickly maneuvered behind him and began pushing him along while Aki took up his other hand. "Don't be such a crab, Kam! If you need any incentive, Crow frequents the club trying to pick up chicks. I know he hasn't apologized, so at least just walk in to punch his lights out and stay for the fun! Seriously, what do you have to lose?" He seemed to struggle a little less at the new prospect, so the two women practically carried him down the street, him swearing profusely at them the entire way, which constituted three blocks of humiliation. They only let him go once they had actually entered the club and there were too many people between them and the ext for him to slip out. He stood there, dusting himself off while the two laughed. "If you two weren't women, so help me…" Aki pushed him playfully.
"Don't be such a joyless hardass all the time, Kam. This is good for you. You need to interact with people; find out that the world isn't a total shithole anymore." She gently tugged his hand, gently luring him out onto the dance floor. "Let's dance." Kam could barley hear what she'd said over the music blaring loudly. Add that in with the dim red lighting pierced by successive, measured pulses of strobe lights; he could barely even tell it was Aki who had hold of him. He yanked his hand from hers quickly. "I don't dance, Aki. It's as simple as that." He sidled into the corner and plopped down in a chair. She curtly followed him and resumed tugging his hand. "Come on. You'd dance if Luca-chan were here!" He yanked his hand from hers and claimed that he wouldn't. Aki stood there, arms crossed, trying to give him one of those "She's pissed, you'd better listen" looks that she'd seen other women use to control a man. Apparently she couldn't pull it off right because he just stared right back; unflinching in his emotionless expression. Aki sighed, then jumped in surprise as Carly wrapped her arms around the redhead's neck and nearly leaping onto her back.
"Oh, forget about him, Aki. Come dance with me!" The killjoy wasn't going to move, so Aki smiled lightly and followed Carly out onto the dance floor just as the song changed. The sexy red head wrapped her arms around Carly's waist from behind began whispering in her ear. Kam sat and watched them dance together sexily, grinding their bodies together and breathing heavily on each other, before he huffed and climbing out of his chair. He sneered in disgust. Did they really call this "dancing?" That was just dry-humping your partner. And this music…Terrible! It was just noise! He started to weasel his way between teens and young adults trying to get out when he spotted a semi-familiar hairdo peeking out just slightly over the heads of the people to his right. It couldn't be! Out of every possible person that could've been there, the one guy he was looking for more than the traitorous bastard Shinji. What luck! Surely the gods were on his side! He forced his way through the people until he stood behind the lad who was poorly flirting with four girls at once, making all sort of claims that were clearly lies. 41 placed a hand on his shoulder and savored the moment of realization that dawned on Crow's face as he recognized 41 only moments before his right fist made contact with Crow's face. The bones in his jaw could be heard shattering crystal clear over the sound of the music. Everybody turned in time to see Crow stumble backwards a few steps before collapsing.
The music faded out quickly as people gathered around the two men, Crow on the ground screaming in pain and cradling his broken jaw and screaming profanities. "Mother fucker! What the hell was that for? What the fuck did I do to you?" 41 stood there in a rage, staring furiously at him. "Did you forget! YOU HIT ME WITH A ROCK, YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU SPLIT MY DAMN SKULL OPEN!" 41 lifted his foot and stomped down hard on Crow's chest and shifted all of his weight onto him. His ribcage could be heard snapping, but just barely over the sound of Crow's yelp. "Don't you forget, maggot…" 41 growled at him through bared teeth, "I will not hesitate to kick your ass through this wall and back again! I was unconscious for hours because you were too stupid to think about your actions and the consequences for both parties. Unfortunately for you…" 41 ground his foot into Crow's chest even harder and twisted it. "…I can hold a grudge for a long, long time. If you ever try to pull that shit again, you had better hope that your God holds you in high favor." He pulled his foot off of Crow's chest and kicked him hard in the side, sending his skidding and tumbling across the floor. He came to an ironic halt at the feet of the whores he had been trying to impress just a minute prior, who had front-row seats to his demasculinization. The bystanders just stared on, terrified and appalled at the sudden violence, as 41 stormed out of the club with people in his path giving him a wide berth.
Carly ran over to help Crow to his feet while Aki went chasing after 41. "Jesus, Kam…That was both amazing and terrifying at the same time. Was that really necessary? I mean, I know you wanted to kick his ass; but that might've been going a little overboard." 41 didn't break pace, didn't turn, didn't speak. "Hey! Come on, Kam! You don't have to ignore me." She could feel the malicious aura emanating from him. "Begone, girl. I've no desire to speak to you now." His rage towards Crow had spiraled out of his control, and he was starting to lapse back to his old self. "I'm your friend, Kam. There's no need-"
"Stop calling me that." He barked the command. "What do you mean? I thought you said that it didn't matter what we called you?" He scoffed, his attitude rapidly becoming more and more condescending. "You say that you're my friend, yet you never bothered to ask me if I have a name of my own in spite of what I said? Pitiful. You're just as worthless as the rest of them." Aki grabbed his arm and whirled him around, slapping him harshly and leaving a bright red mark on his cheek. "You knock that off, Kam! You're so full of shit that it's pathetic. What if Luca-chan heard you talking like that?" He cast her a gaze of death just moments before grabbing her wrist tightly and squeezing, almost to the point of crushing it. She winced and cried out in pain as the dark intent seeped from him. "I don't give a damn what that child thinks, nor do I care about anybody else. You humans are nothing more than self-serving scum, ready to abandon anybody else at the drop of a hat." Aki was clawing at his hand, trying to get him to release his grip, with tears of pain welling up in the corners of her eyes as he slowly tightened his grip even more. "Kam…Please stop…It hurts!" A shadow seemed to fall over his face as a mad grin parted at his lips. Fear gripped her as she realized that he intended to crush her wrist and she continued begging him to stop. Then, just as suddenly as this dark spell had come, his eyes widened with realization and he instantly released her wrist. "I…I'm sorry…" It would seem that old habits really do die hard.
"It…It's…okay…" Aki stood there, rubbing her throbbing wrist. "So are you going to help me pick a cake for Luca-chan and Lua-kun's birthday tomorrow? I'm sure it would mean a lot to Luca-chan if you did." He looked away, letting what little breeze the city allowed to rustle through his hair and the sun to fall upon his face. "…Why do you continue to bring her up? I've told you that you're imagining things that aren't there." She knew that he was lying through his teeth. "…Fine. I'll go with you." He knew what implications this would leave, but he didn't care. He wasn't even sure if she was wrong. Not since his inner argument, at any rate. He sighed. This is becoming so unnecessarily bothersome…
…
Carly had met up with Aki and 41 about an hour later, after she had to call three times before getting the place right. She finally found them in the bakery about five blocks from the club. "Jeez…About time that I finally found you guys. Whatcha doin'?" 41 glanced over his shoulder briefly as Aki continued to stare intently at the sugary cakes. "We're picking out a birthday cake for Luca-chan and Lua-kun. Do you see anything that might be fitting?" Carly glanced around, observing the contents of the entire shop. "Uhh…no. I don't think I do? All these cakes seem way too fancy. Like wedding cakes or something…" Aki nodded. "That's kinda the idea. Since I managed to talk Kam into helping us plan and celebrate, and considering what Kam means to Luca-chan, I don't think that any old generic cake who be fitting. We don't know how long Kam will be here, so I want it to at least be memorable with the best damn birthday cake she's ever had." Carly leered at Aki. "You know…This isn't just about Luca-chan. It's Lua-kun's birthday as well. I really don't think that he wants to have fond memories of a guy." For the first time since Carly arrived, Aki stood up and looked away from the cakes. She promptly straightened her skirt and leaned over to Carly's ear and whispered to her. "If I know Luca-chan, then she's likely to confess how she feels to this guy. If things go bad, I at least want her to remember something good among the bad. Thing of it more as insurance." That explanation made much more sense. "Ohh…I get it, now. Hmm…" She looked around the store again, taking a closer look at each cake this time around. "Hey…Didn't Lua-kun say once that he hated chocolate?"
"Uhh…Yeah, I think so. Luca-chan also said a while back that she dislikes chocolate. So…How about something with strawberries, maybe?" Carly pointed to a display case at the far end of the shop. "There's one over there, but it looks like it has coconut on it. Lua-kun's allergic to coconut, isn't he?" The girls continued to debate back and forth with each other while 41 sighed, amazed at how much they knew about the twins. I suppose that you learn these things about people if you've known them long enough… He glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing how it was getting late. He figured that the store would probably be closing soon. "If you're so insistent about finding one that's perfect, then why not put in a custom order and just pay for the rush order?" The girls felt stupid for not having thought of that. "That's actually a really good idea, Kam. I dunno why it didn't cross our minds." Aki patted him on the shoulder and placed an order with the clerk, leaving Carly alone with 41. Carly tried her hardest to avoid eye contact with him, still a bit nervous under his overbearing presence. This didn't go unnoticed. "…I'm not going to bite. You needn't be so nervous."
"I-I know that…It's just…" She started to fidget with her sleeves as a means of distracting her from conversing. The seconds ticked by in awkward silence. Carly took a deep breath and decided to try and break it. "Y-You're from Egypt, right?" He nodded his head slowly, not feeling a need to respond vocally. "What's it like there?"
"I don't know. I haven't been back in a while. Last I heard, there was a large civil war occurring. It might be completely destroyed now for all I know." Last time he'd been home was shortly before the turn of the 17th century. "Oh…I understand, I guess. You're a mercenary, right? I suppose it makes sense, then." She fell silent for another second, as if hesitant about her next question. "Hey…Just why are you so friendly with Luca-chan, if you don't mind me asking. You really don't look like the kind of person who gets along with children." For the first time since she started speaking, he made eye contact with her. "Is there a problem with me being friendly towards a girl only three years younger?" Carly's eyes widened slightly. "You're sixteen? But you look so mature! I would have guessed more like thirty." He sighed and broke the eye contact. "I get that a lot." He glanced upwards quickly before noticing Aki finishing up at the counter. "It would appear as though our business here is finished." He made a small sweeping gesture towards the door and escorted the two ladies outside.
The sun was setting now, and the light filtered through the cityscape as the inhabitants began to retreat to their nightly hideouts. Aki and Carly split up from 41 as they went the way of their apartments and he went the way of the twins' house. He waved briefly towards them as a leaf fluttered from a nearby tree and landed on his shoulder. Today was, all things considered, a good day. For reasons unknown, though, the day yet to come had a foreboding feeling about it. Almost as if his world were to change forever. "What have I gotten myself into? Ra help me…" He closed the door behind him silently, so as to not wake the dozing Luca.
Even if 41 had been willing to sleep the following day away in order to stay his growing apprehension, there was no way that he'd have been able to. The noise cause by the celebration was far too loud. It would have even woken a slumbering bear. He was not quite sure how he'd been pulled into the festivities, but he quickly found himself in the company of the Signers and forced into participation. The part that really surprised him was how Lua, in spite of his hostile attitude towards 41, even seemed to start to warm up to him; even if only a little bit. He could still feel that the boy had hostile feelings towards him, but it didn't feel like anything that would need to be taken care of any time soon. 41 could, however, feel the boy's burning gaze whenever Luca decided to cling on to him. He had wondered on more than one occasion whether or not the child had incestuous feelings towards his sister, but had since decided that it was more likely a feeling of jealousy in that he had been his sister's pillar of support and was quickly replaced. The boy would learn in time that such events happen rather frequently in life, and that this was not going to be the last time he experienced it.
Still…As the day progressed, 41's foreboding feeling continued to brew deep within his stomach. It was so bad at one point that it created a feeling of nausea so nasty that he quickly succumbed and collapsed, though he had quickly recovered. He knew that something today would change either his or one of these people's lives forever, and it would not be something trivial such as falling in love. Something big was going to happen today, and he couldn't help but fear that he would be on the causing end of it. He could feel the cold steel of his knife pressed against his ankle. This only added to his discomfort as the day progressed. Currently; he sat in the corner of the living room, staring blankly at the floor.
"Hey…You feeling alright, man?" Without 41's noticing, Yusei had slipped up beside him and crouched down. "You're sweating pretty badly. If you're sick, you don't need to push yourself. Go get some rest if you need it. Luca-chan and Lua-kun will understand." He looked back over his shoulder quickly. "Well…Luca-chan will, anyways." 41 waved his hand dismissively, not lifting his eyes from the carpet. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I just have this feeling that something is going to happen today…" He raised his empty gaze out the window. Without standing, Yusei slugged him hard in the shoulder. "C'mon, man. Do you really think so little of us that you do believe that we can take care of ourselves? If something happens, we deal with it! You don't have to worry yourself sick on our accounts. We're not so fragile." 41 hung his head again. "…I hope you're right…"
Yusei slugged him again, only lighter. It was more like a nudge. "Hey, man. Buck up, why don'tcha? You're gonna drag the party down. You don't wanna do that to Luca-chan, do you?" 41 subconsciously clenched his fist at this. "Why is it…that you all seem to see what is not there?" 41 unballed the fist and he glanced to Yusei from the corner of his eye and watched the man stand. "Well…To be honest, I don't see anything there; but Aki-san said that using Luca-chan was a good way to talk you into things. Like she's your weak spot or something. I may not see what Aki-san sees, but I do understand why your weak point would be Luca-chan. She's the first person in a long time to treat you like a human, right? It makes sense that you'd treasure her. In my mind it does, at least." Yusei held a hand out to help 41 to his feet. "So whaddaya say?" 41 hesitated momentarily before taking Yusei's gloved hand and standing. "…Alright." Outside the windows, however, several dragons emerged slowly from and hid in the shadows of the building. 41 didn't know what was going to happen, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Should Shinji or anybody with any traces of his aura draw close, 41's dragons would detain them quite effectively. For the first time since he could remember, he actually felt as though he genuinely wanted to protect people.
…
The day progressed rather uneventfully, aside from Aki and Carly unintentionally coming out to a mostly unaffected crowd. Lua and Crow were the only two who seemed to care, and in a rather perverse manner. Crow's actions grew offensive to the point the 41 had to help Jack remove him from the premises. Much to the group's amusement, Crow decided to go without a fuss once 41 got involved. Aki doubled over laughing when she saw how fast Crow left when 41 stood over him menacingly, but only because she knew why Crow was so scared of the Egyptian. Luca and Lua, on the other hand, still seemed to have a bit of an awkward distance between the two in spite of them apologizing to each other for their actions. They didn't let this seeming gap detract from the celebration though and put on the façade of normality. 41 watched this with care, continuing to take mental notes on how friends acted with each other. So…even though it puts more strain between them, they force themselves to act normally so that they don't upset their friends? But why would they do that at the toll on themselves? He just could not figure out their reasoning. He could, however, see what an asshole he'd been to them these last few days with how he'd been repeatedly refusing the hand of friendship that they continually extended to him. And yet…they didn't give up on him. Why?
Why have these people been so kind to me? It just doesn't make sense! "Hey, you." 41 was jerked from his train of thought once again, but this time by Jack. "Oh, Mr. Atlas. Is there something you need?" Jack hiked his thumb over his shoulder. "No. Aki asked me to tell you to get your ass in the kitchen for the cake-cutting." 41 was confused for a second and looked around, noticing how everybody else had disappeared while he was lost in thought. "Oh. Yes, I'm on my way." Jack turned to walk away with a look of disinterest on his face. Intrigued by something, 41 called back to him. "What now?" Jack didn't feel like turning around. "There's something I'm curious about. When you address people, you seem to leave off the honorific that everybody else is adamant about tacking on. Why is that?" Jack huffed. "I don't have time for such trivial nonsense. I'll address them as I please. If they don't like how I do things: tough shit." Crude and blunt, this man was. 41 wondered how the other Signers could get along with people such as Jack and himself. He just couldn't wrap his head around the concept of "friends." There were far too many inconsistencies. "Why am I even bothering to try…?" He couldn't help but wonder this to himself as he trudged into the kitchen for the finale of their celebration.
Because of the short-notice nature of the party, the only present for the twins was the cake. Courtesy of Aki, Carly, and 41, of course. Luca was contented with just her friends being there with them; but Lua seemed a little peeved at being "stiffed," as he would have put it. He'd just have to deal with it. The twins blew out the candles together and everybody except 41 (because he didn't know that he was supposed to do so) cheered for and congratulated them. As Carly started to cut the cake, 41 decided to retire to his room for now. He laid alone in the darkness, staring emptily at the ceiling, spread-eagle on the bed. "These people are such a bother. So why am I feeling these things…?" He couldn't explain these new feelings that had been arising in him over these last few days with these people. The closest thing he'd ever felt to this would be camaraderie, but this felt much warmer than that.
There was a soft knocking on the bedroom door, followed by a soft voice. "Hey…You there?" He recognized the voice, but had difficulty placing a face to it. 41 rolled over so that his back was to the door. "…The door's open." The door clicked softly as Lua opened it and stepped inside a little bit. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I just want to say I'm sorry for not giving you a chance. I was a real ass to you and I shouldn't have been." There was a moment of silence between the two before 41 waved him away. "…Don't apologize. You had every right to be suspicious of me." Lua hung his head as he began to apologize again, but was cut off sharply by 41's laugh. There was no warmth in that laugh. It was cold and uninviting. A callous, hollow laugh. He sat up in the bed and laid his head against the wall. "What is it with you people? No matter what I do, I am incapable of figuring you out. A few days ago, you hated the very thought of me; yet here you are, desperately apologizing even though I said not to." He stretched his arm out to the side and gently pounded the wall. "You are all so damned confusing." Lua stepped a bit farther into the room. "Well…We're just like all people. You can't just piece us together like a jigsaw puzzle, man. There are some things that just don't make sense, things that can't be explained." He bowed again and held the pose. "My sister…She really cares about you. Be good to her…please…" With that last request, Lua back from the room and closed the door behind him quietly. Alone again in the darkness, the boy's words lingering in the air, 41 placed his palm over his face. "…Can't explain, huh…?"
He sat there for about another hour before he decided to return to the mostly-empty living room. Only Luca was left, cleaning up the mess from the celebration. 41 looked around briefly. "What the Hell happened here? Where'd everybody go?" Luca plucked a golden streamer from the back of the couch. "Jack-san said that he was going for a beer and Yusei went with him. I don't know where Lua went to." She puffed up her cheeks slightly as she said this. "That explains three of them. What about Ms. Izayoi and Ms. Nagisa?" Luca didn't answer that. She just turned a furious shade of red and immediately dropped her eyes to the floor. As if planned, a loud bang resonated through the decoration-littered room from behind the closed door to the master bedroom. It didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together. He walked over to the door and pounded on it roughly. "Whatever limbs are in whichever organs: remove them and take it elsewhere, you animals." Carly's screamed in embarrassment and surprise behind the door and the sound of clothes being put on hastily could be heard very faintly. The door opened not long thereafter. Aki stepped out first with her hair messed and her clothes awry, followed swiftly by Carly in the same condition. The pair quickly mumbled and apology and ran out the door, beet red.
Seeing as how nobody else was willing to help, 41 aiding Luca in the cleaning up of her birthday celebration. There wasn't really that much there to clean, but he felt obligated to do so anyways. When the two of them had finished, he sat on the couch and looked out the window at the cityscape. Lua's words earlier came back to his mind, and he was once again flooded with questions. The most prominent of which was his ever-recurring question. "Luca…" He spoke out as soon as she sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "…Why don't you hate me?" He could feel her turn her head to look at him, but he didn't meet her gaze. "What do you mean?"
"I attacked your city and nearly killed you along with friends; so why are you all trying so hard to befriend me? Why don't you hate me? Why! I just don't get it…" His speech sounded as though it needed tears to complete, but not a single drop appeared to even consider building up. Luca thought hard. "Well…" This was a hard question to answer. "I suppose that it's partly because what happened wasn't your fault. You were being used. And Aki-san knows where you're coming from from personal experience, so I can understand why she wouldn't be mad. And me…I can see right through your act. You don't push us away because you don't want to be our friend. You're afraid of being hurt, aren't you?" She rolled over so that she was sitting on his lap, facing him and obstructing his view of the city. "I can feel it. You desperately want someone that cares about you, but you've been hurt so many times before that you're so afraid of getting hurt that you decide to hurt others first. Isn't that right? You've been betrayed so often that you can't trust others. I could never bring myself to hate you because you're already in such pain. I can't even begin to tell you how much it hurts to see you suffering so much. But…" She started drawing a bit closer to him. "…none of us would ever do that to you. I'd never dream of it. Because with each passing day, I'm realizing more and more that this isn't just some child's crush I have on you. I don't know how it started; but…with every day that passes, I'm falling more and more in love with you." She gently kissed him. To both their surprise, he didn't try to resist or object. Lua's words echoed in 41's mind again. …can't be explained…
There was a clear look of shock in Luca's eyes. "Kam…You…" He had to cut her off. It was time to come completely clean. To her, at least. "Zuberi. My name is Zuberi."
"But you said that you didn't have a name…" She drew closer to him once again, but keeping a bit of a distance instead of kissing him. "I lied. I had no reason to trust you then; but I do now. More than I've ever trusted any human. I think…I might be falling for you, too…" This whole situation felt odd and new to him, yet strangely right. "Kam…No, I mean Zuberi…Will you please share your pain with me?" It took every once of courage in his body that he could muster, but he closed the small gap between them and kissed her himself. Honestly, he didn't feel as if he were making a mistake. When their embrace finally broke, Luca's eyes seemed to be slightly glossed over and she was blushing slightly. He gently touched his forehead to hers. "Very well." Luca, in her daze, slumped forward against Zuberi's chest and laid there. "Zuberi…" She sounded almost sad. "…Did you not want me to?" She lightly shook her head against his chest. "No…I'm really happy." Together, the two sat in blissful silence, simply enjoying each other's company. As the sun finally started to sink below the skyline, Zuberi felt Luca grip onto his shirt. "Hey, Zuberi…?" Her voice was weak and soft, almost impossible to hear. "Hm? What is it?" She lifted her head a bit so he could hear her better. "You know how I have to go back to school tomorrow, right?" He nodded slightly. "I seem to recall you mentioning that. What about it?" She tightened her grip on his shirt and leaned the top of her head against his chest. "Well…"