Wakai Kyoushu

Young Assassins

Sutoomu

Well, here's the fifteenth chapter, yay! Sorry it took so long, but I was on vacation. And if that excuse doesn't work for you, then let's say that my real life gets in the way of my fanfic life. This is Trowa's scene. He meets Catherine and Triton, woot!

To my LOVERLY! reviewers. Roxie Faye, anissa32, Lady11Occult, phoenixfirekitsune, Tanya, The Yaoi Mistress, TGP, summersarebright, blackash, PrincessWolfGoddess, Nadina, and Arashi Maxwell! I LOVE YOU! Note, five exclamation marks signifies insanity!

Read on, and enjoy Trowa's wierd way of thinking.

Trowa looked out the window of the small sitting room over the base. He could see the hangar at the far end, and another unknown building to the side. The runway was filled with men in orange jumpsuits going about their daily business. Trowa wondered what it would be like to fly. To control one of those planes or flight suits, and soar in the sky. It wasn't likely to happen.

Trowa turned away from the window and sat down on the couch. It sank, and he adjusted so it would be easier to get out of in case...in case of what? Anything. Trowa couldn't change overnight. He was wary and alert as he moved and breathed. He let his inner thoughts wander as his outer senses kept watch for danger. Oddly enough, they turned to Quatre. Trowa wondered how he was doing, meeting his father. He was slightly comforted in the thought that Iria was with him. Even though the young doctor hadn't thought of everything concerning Quatre and sunlight, she was still very kind and took good care of him. She was good at her job, he had to admit. He couldn't help but miss Quatre, though, even though they were only going to be apart for a small while. He depended too much on his friends.

The door opened, and Trowa looked over. An older girl and boy stepped in, and Trowa looked at them as he stood up.

The girl, obviously Catherine, was smiling as she looked at him. Her hair, a cinnamon brown like Trowa's, was curly to her shoulders. And her eyes were a light blue. The lightest blue Trowa had ever seen. They caught his eyes in their gaze for a moment before he looked at the boy.

Triton looked a lot like him. He was as tall as he was, with the same colored hair but green eyes a few shades darker than Trowa's own eyes. His hair was spiked up with gel, and it looked wild. He had a silver eyebrow piercing and a black necklace on. He was one of those original teens, then. One who wanted to be unique, different. Trowa had a faint suspicion Catherine had perhaps made him ease up on his normal attire for meeting him.

"Hi!" Catherine beamed. "You have to be Trowa. You look exactly like Triton, when he's not all covered up."

"I took it all off for today, Cathy," Triton immediately protested. "Get off my back."

"In case you don't know already," Catherine continued, ignoring Triton. "I'm Catherine, your sister and official gaurdian, and this is Triton, your twin."

"Twin...," Trowa said.

"We may look alike," Triton said. "But I doubt we're anything alike. I'm a very dark person, and I doubt you are."

"Does killing people make you dark?" Trowa asked.

"I...well...how would I know?" Triton said uncertainly. "Anyways, it's nice to meet you. I can barely remember you, but it's nice to finally meet the other half of me."

"Don't mind Triton's blunt way of talking," Catherine said. "He's not that good at conversations."

"Neither am I," Trowa admitted.

"Yes, well, Triton has no tact."

"Tact? Tact?" Triton joked. "What's that?"

Catherine sighed and rolled her eyes. "See? He's a rebel, but at least I still have him with me. Lots of kids run away when they go down that path, but Triton's a good kid."

"I couldn't leave her," Triton grinned. "If I did, she'd be most likely to hunt me down and skin me alive. Or feed me her cooking. Soup's about the best she can do."

"I resent that," Catherine protested in a hearty tone. "But my soup is to die for."

"Truthfully, I couldn't leave her because she already lost mom and dad, and then you," Triton explained. "I was all she had left."

"And now I have you as well," Catherine said, sitting down. Trowa joined her and Triton sat down on the large chair across the room and sighed.

"Thank god for that," Triton laughed. "Now I get to share the joy in having Cathy as a gaurdian. Note the sarcasm in that."

"Oh, c'mon," Catherine said. "I'm not that bad."

"Nah," Triton admitted. "She's pretty cool. It's actually great to have a teenager for a gaurdian. So, you gonna come up to the circus and check it out?" Triton asked. "Cathy'll probably set you up with a job or something. She got me as her knife target."

"You enjoy it, admit it," Catherine said. "Triton has a fascination with knives and guns. He wants to collect them, but I told him he has to wait until he's legally old enough."

"That reminds me," Triton sat up. "Do you have a gun? You are an assassin after all."

Trowa looked at Triton. "You don't mind that?"

"Nah," Triton said. "I find it interesting, actually. So, do you have a gun?" Trowa pulled out his gun and took out the bullet clip. He handed it to Triton, who began to look over its components as though he knew it, inside and out. He probably did know a lot about guns, if he wanted to collect them.

"Anything you want to know, Trowa? About your life, I mean," Catherine asked. "You must be curious."

"This is a good weapon," Triton said as he handed it back. "Top quality."

"Thank you," Trowa replied. "I..."

"You might want to know about mom and dad," Cathy interrupted. She paused and Trowa nodded. "Well, they were both performers in the circus. When they died, the ringmaster took us in and taught us all the tricks of the trade. Triton, no matter what he might say, really enjoys the circus. He can do almost every act pretty well. I just throw the knives, and that's all."

"Une said I have an uncle," Trowa said. "Dekim Barton."

"He's a fucking bastard and it's better you forget what you remember," Triton immediately said.

Catherine gave him a look. "We don't talk about our dad's brother. Dekim is out of our life for good reason."

"Why?"

"He tried to obtain gaurdianship over Triton only two years ago," Catherine explained. "It worked half way, and Triton had to go live with Dekim for a few months."

"It was hell," Triton muttered. "The worst time in my entire life."

"Triton won't tell us what happened over there," Catherine sighed. "All he'll say is what he just did. We don't know why, but I know that if Triton says it was hell, it's for good reason. And Triton isn't going to live anywhere he doesn't want to."

"Isn't she nice?" Triton laughed. His face cleared in an instant to one of bored annoyance. "To a point of overprotectiveness, at times."

"So I have some faults," Catherine admonished. "Stop making me out to be such a bad person." She smiled to show she wasn't truly offended.

"Can't you just feel the love in the air?" Triton chuckled. He leaned forward. "So, are you going to come and live with us? We live at the circus, yeah, but it's always got something to do. You're never bored there, I can tell you. You'll probably have to share a room with me, since the trailer isn't that big, but that's okay with me. You'll probably end up meeting my friends. They're extremely wierd, I'm warning you early, but they're harmless enough."

Trowa blinked at Triton, surprised. "You actually want me to come and live with you?"

"Why not?" Triton's brows furrowed in wonder. "You're our brother."

"You've been lost for ten years, Trowa," Catherine added. "We love you. Of course we want you with us."

"But I'm an assassin," Trowa argued. "I've killed people. It's all I know and all I will know. I'll always be an assassin inside."

"I told you, that doesn't matter to me," Triton replied.

"I've slit throats and killed people," Trowa emphasized. "They're dead. They'll never come alive again or see their families again because of me. They are dead, and I was the cause. And I didn't care. I can't live with you. I don't deserve a family." He looked at them with an emotionless face, but his eyes were dark and sad, and lifeless.

"Trowa," Catherine took his hand. "We know that. But we love you. You were taught wrong, but you know that you made mistakes now. You've learned, and you're different. We don't care if you had blood on your hands. It's in the past, now, and we're the future. We want you, our brother, to come and live with us, your family. Family sticks together. We're here for you."

"I just have one thing to say," Triton said. "I don't give a damn as to what you did or do, because you're Trowa Barton, my twin, not an assassin, and I'm not going to let you leave us again because of some stupid self pity party."

Catherine groaned and covered her face with her hand. She looked up at Triton with a defeated look. "I am going to lock you in your room with a million dictionaries, all opened to the word 'tact'. Your mouth is going to get you in serious trouble some day."

"I'm opinionated, so what?" Triton defended. "It's called free speech, sister dear."

"I'm sorry about that, Trowa," Catherine said. "I've tried, I really have, but..."

"He's right," Trowa said.

"Huh?"

"Triton's right," Trowa repeated. "I've been stuck in the past. I'm stuck under a pile of shame and regret. I'm focusing on Nanashi, not Trowa Barton."

"I love it when people get hit by a revelation," Triton grinned. "So you'll come and live with your family then."

"I will," Trowa nodded. "But not yet. I have to stay here for Quatre. He needs me."

"Who's he?" Catherine asked.

"One of the other assassins," Trowa answered. "And my best friend. They all need me. I can't go with you yet."

"That's okay. As long as you will eventually," Triton said.

"I will, but please understand that I can't stop my way of thinking. I am your brother, but I am also an assassin inside."

"I don't care, as long as we have you with us," Catherine said.

"And that goes double for me," Triton agreed.

Did you like it? Review and tell me, for I thrive on reviews! They are my bread and butter, my cookies and milk, my tea and buscuits! I love my reviewers!

Storm