"So… You seem to have taken a shining to that new kid on the block," a boy with short black hair started conversationally as he and Simon worked on the foundation of a snow fort. It was about midafternoon, and the skies were overcast.
"Well… Kay isn't exactly going to be… permanent here." Simon answered hesitantly. He vigorously patted a corner of the fort and further added, "Her dad's here in the area because of his job. She'll only be here for a few more days, and then she won't come around here anymore."
The other boy scoffed at his friend.
"Well no duh! Anybody with eyes could see she's like some rich kid, what with her nice, clean clothes and whatnot. She's obviously not from around here." He rolled his eyes, but then eyed his friend strangely. "I can't help but wonder, though… Why does she hang out with you so much? There're plenty of other kids here, too!"
"I… don't really know." Simon averted his eyes. At least according to her, it was because he looked lonely, but… Simon was never one to take things at face value. Especially good things.
"Tch. Well, it's none of my business who she hangs out with, I guess. I just thought it was one of those things where you were like the first person she saw, and she didn't bother branching out or whatever." He stroked his chin as a thought occurred to him. "Say… Since she's a rich kid, do you think she'd spread the wealth a little? It'd be nice to get some nicer threads, y'know? Anything's better than the dirty rags they give out here."
Simon's eyes widened at the suggestion, and he froze up. In the next moment, he grabbed ahold of his friend's collar with both hands and mustered his fiercest scowl.
"I won't let you use Kay like that, Horace! She's… She's just a little kid! How could you even…!"
"Whoa, there! I was just joking around, pal. No need to get all self-righteous about it." Horace sarcastically remarked. When Simon sourly released him and returned to their task, Horace dusted himself off a little before joining back in. "… You really like that kid, don't you? Only been around here the past couple days, and you're already treating her like she's your new best friend."
Simon was quiet for a while after that, but eventually he gave an answer.
"… You should know why that is, Horace. After all we've been through…"
"Maybe." Horace grunted. "But you know she won't be around forever. She'll be gone soon enough, and then things will be back to 'normal'. Why get so hung up on a kid you'll know for like a week? Seems like a waste of time to me."
Simon remained reticent after that. Horace did have a point, and wasn't it his own belief that such good things never came so easily? And yet… as pessimistic as he was, Simon couldn't help but get his hopes up a little. Even if Kay's dad did turn out to be that one guy that was also visiting him on a semi-regular basis that week, Simon was beginning to wonder if getting adopted by him wouldn't be so much of a bad thing anymore.
He'd be getting adopted into Kay's family, after all.
"Hey, Simon! Sorry I'm late…! Hey, who's your friend?"
… Speak of the devil.
"O-Oh… Um… Kay, this is Horace Knightley. Horace, this is Kay." Simon tentatively introduced them to one another, eyes darting back and forth between the two.
He needn't have worried about how they would react to each other.
"Nice to meetcha!" Kay, being the bubbling ball of energy she always was, stuck out her hand without hesitation. Horace smirked slightly at the girl's naiveté, but indulged her all the same by returning the handshake.
"Hmph. I've seen you around recently, so I guess it's about time I properly met you. Been keeping Simon company lately, have you?"
"Simon's awesome!" Kay gave a closed-eyes grin. "A little quiet and not too big on games, but he's fun!"
Horace smirked at that.
"Well, I love games! Have you learned about chess yet? If not, I bet I can make your day…"
Simon frowned at the thought of Horace stealing Kay for the day, but he needn't have worried about that either. Kay crossed her arms and made an overexaggerated grumpy face.
"Chess is a game for adults! It's really boring; usually my dad won't play, but when he does, it takes sooo long to make one move! Why would I wanna play a game like that?
Horace recoiled slightly at the instant dismissal of a game he'd only recently discovered and fell in love with. For whatever reason, Simon had to suppress a smile that was threatening to appear on his face. But Kay wasn't done.
"I like checkers, though! Or Connect Four! Or…" She began rattling off a number of games that progressively became less related to chess and even strategy in general. When she reached "Hungry, Hungry Hippos", that was about all Horace could take if the scowl on his face was any indication. Irritated, he stormed off, grumbling about little girls too hyped up on sugar. When Horace was gone, she breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew. I thought he'd never leave! So waddaya wanna do today, Simon?"
… It wasn't much, but in that moment, Simon seriously began to consider the merits of getting adopted by that prosecutor. If he hadn't had to put on the act of being Knightley's friend, he would've been howling in laughter. That was honestly an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time; intentional or not, Kay was lowering his defenses bit by bit…
A lighter flickered on and off casually when Patricia entered her office that evening. Once she realized just who was in there, she quickly shut the door and locked it despite her 'open-door policy' with the children.
"Cutting it a bit close there, aren't ya, Patty?" A guttural voice mused. The man continued to finger the lighter.
"Shut it, Blaise… I'm doing what I can." Patricia hissed. "It's not exactly easy to maneuver around your subordinates! The man is fixated on that one kid, so we struck a deal. If he hasn't changed that brat's mind by the end of the week, he isn't allowed here anymore. Either way, he'll be outta here before February 10. I swear."
"Hmm. Even so, what would be the harm in letting Faraday have the brat? The quicker this is resolved, the lesser of a reason he has to hang around here. I don't like cutting it so close to the deadline, and you know that forbidding him to come around will only encourage him to test the boundaries. Faraday is stubborn like that – I should know."
Patricia growled in frustration at that.
"You think I don't know that?! Faraday is already suspicious enough of me; if I were to capitulate now, he might grow more suspicious! Enough to have me investigated and ruin the whole plan!"
"That is true," Blaise hummed agitatedly. "I suppose we have no choice. If Faraday and his little brat are unable to convince that boy by the end of the week, then it will be up to you to… 'encourage' him to leave. Use any means necessary – this is your 'home', so make use of the children if you must. From what little I've seen this Simon is isolated enough as it is, so it shouldn't be hard to manipulate the brats a step further into bullying him. Make him uncomfortable here, and he'll take the only chance he has at 'happiness'."
Patricia considered these suggestions, and then nodded stiffly.
"… I suppose. It's not as if you could do anything at this point, anyway, considering his interest in the brat doesn't interfere with his work ethic..."
"And my interference would have the same effect as you capitulating so quickly," Blaise added. "No, no, this will have to do. I will see to a contingency plan if this falls through, but you need to convince that brat to leave as soon as possible. Not only will it get Faraday out of our hair, but we will also remove one potential witness through this adoption."
Patricia had to admit, it was the ideal solution. February 10 wasn't getting any further away, and they didn't exactly have a backup location for the murder of the President of Zheng Fa. One way or another, Simon Keyes would have to go. That was all there was to it.
Author's Note:
While the children play, the villains will plot and scheme, eh? Not much happened this chapter, in the grand scheme of things, but it gets me thinking of the short-term future. Simon Keyes' absence will pretty much dramatically affect the SS-5 Incident, seeing as how he was a pretty important witness to it. What will that mean for Sirhan Dogen, without Simon there to warn him about his employers' betrayal? What about the investigation into the SS-5 Incident?
I have a vague idea for how I want it to turn out, at least in some respects, but we won't worry about that next chapter. Next chapter, Simon finally comes to a decision about the Faradays, which is probably what y'all have been waiting for. :D After that, who knows how these short one-shots will play out? I certainly don't. … Not yet, anyway. After next chapter I'll probably consider what snapshots you wanna see of Simon's life after his adoption – or I'll go with something I want, and then consider what you wanna see. Either way, I won't mind hearing you guys out, provided the suggestions are within reason and that there aren't OCs; I'd like to try my darnedest to keep significant OCs out of this as much as possible. ^^;
Ah, and I decided to go with the English Fandub names for everybody. Easier for me to remember. :P And don't worry about Knightley too much; he appeared to be kind of a jerk here, but that's just how I envisioned his character to be, even at this point in his life. I know he's not rotten to his core - yet - but Simon doesn't know that. ... Nor does Simon realize he's mixed up their dads. :P I can promise Knightley won't die in the coming incident... probably. lol
Review Reply:
anxious anon: Yeah, I don't mind exploring these characters some more. Especially Simon, but I can see some future one-shots focusing on Byrne, too. He is – or rather was – one of the few 'good' prosecutors prior to Edgey and Franzy having respective changes in heart. And Blackquill. And Klavier. And… Yeah, okay, I guess it's 'harder' to find prosecutors that are truly rotten to their core. Von Karma and Blaise apparently belong to a minority. XD
I was wondering what you and at least one other reviewer were talking about, and then I got a glimpse of the summary. Whoops! My bad. Sorry about that… ^^;
