Chapter III

Toa Caine

"Mmmmmphh."

I gingerly grasp the knife and fork meant for the more delicate Matoran or Agori hand, taking infinite care not to add to the small pile of snapped silverware beside me.

"Finish chewing before speaking, Kaixin," I gently chide. Tsukumi sets down her spoon, crosses her arms, and decisively nods twice in full agreement. "Only maggots make that sort of noise. And no one wants to be a maggot like Xaedan. It's repugnant."

That brings a round of chuckles around our table.

At both "Mary"'s and Kaixin urging, we all had decided to sate our midday appetite at our usual restaurant, located across the Haven Town Hall. Renowned for its wicked Fader Bull steaks, it took little effort for those two to convince the rest of us.

Personally, I have a penchant for the grilled Gafna ribs. Those things just never seem to fill my stomach.

Kaixin swallows noisily and nearly chokes on a large mouthful of water. Tsukumi, being the kind person she is, viciously thumps the Toa of Ice on the back. Xaedan frowns at the Water Toa, and gets a good thumping of his own.

Whatever works, I guess.

With one last splutter, Kaixin beings to speak. "What I was trying to say was that we need some sort of housewarming party for the new kid."

"Oh! For me? No, no, it's fine, really..."

With a loud scrape of her chair, Kaixin rises, plants her hands on her hips, and announces, "We are going to throw a party and that is final. There is nothing you can do about it, "Mary"! And, of course, it'll be at Xaedan's place."

There seems to be a lot of choking being done during this meal. Xaedan nearly inhales a wad of leafy greens. Luckily, Tsukumi, with an odd smile on her face, is there to give him a solid whack. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's enjoying having an excuse to hit people.

"Why mine? Caine trashed the window already, the townspeople will need time to make repairs." Kaixin lets loose a hearty laugh. "Trivial matters, brother. A window is the last thing we need to worry about if it's the new team member we're talking about."

I steal a glance at "Mary", who looks more than just a bit overwhelmed. "And since you're providing the space, I'll provide the food!"

Silence.

Dead silence.

She... Kaixin... Kaixin is bringing food?

"What? Did I do something stupid again?" the Toa of Ice said, completely mystified. "Mary" wasn't much better off. First overwhelmed by Kaixin's antics, and now thoroughly left in the dark about this disastrous turn of events.

Xaedan's eyes meet mine.

My eyes meet Tsukumi.

And Tsukumi's meet Xaedan's.

A flash of mutual understanding passes through all of our minds. We knew what we had to do.

"We could always just kill her and bury her outside of town. Nobody would ever find her remains."

"Hm. Good idea Tsukumi, but not subtle enough. I say we quietly sabotage her kitchen by planting a small explosive there," Xaedan replies. At that, Tsukumi grudgingly gives a nod.

I clear my throat, bringing the duo's attention to me. "Why don't we just tell Kaixin that her food has murderous properties?" The Toa of Water points a shaky finger at me. "You monster! You must enjoy making girls cry." Xaedan seconds her. "There's no way we can tell Kaixin that her cooking is actually a bio-weapon without either bringing her wrath upon us or crushing her feelings into smithereens."

Huh. Since when did those two becomes so chummy? "Wouldn't killing her be worse?" I point out tentatively.

Tsukumi laughs. "You fool. Do you make someone cry when you stab them in the back? I think not."

The three of us sat huddled together around a too-small table. Chairs were out of the question after I shattered two of them at once trying to sit. A lonely lightstone suspended on a metal wire hung above us, the light it shed slightly dangling along with the stone itself. I can't help but notice that this scene could easily exist in some sort of novel, book, story or the like. It's probably just me, though.

Xaedan leans forwards, elbows making the wooden table creak ominously. Shadows danced across his mask, making it much more angular than usual, giving his eyes an evil sort of glint.

"Why don't we just bring our own food?"

So much for "an evil sort of glint"...

I release a pent-up breath. "Finally, someone who's talking some sense. I was worried that you two had some sort of mental disorder."

"Then it's settled." Tsukumi rose and flicked the room's lights on, revealing a slightly dusty back room we had all clamored into under the pretense of taking a collective number two. "Come on, Kaixin and "Mary" will suspect that we had the runs or something," Tsukumi grumbled, as she plucked the still slightly swinging lightstone from the ceiling. With a bit of scuffling and a lot of shoving, Xaedan managed to get his face wedged in the doorframe as Tsukumi and I piled out of the storage room.

"Mary", leaning against the wall nearby, was chatting animatedly with the Toa of Ice.

"No way, Kaixin!"

"Yep, I saw it with my own eyes! Tsukumi, our Tsukumi, our very own hardcase, preparing a lunch for Xaedan while he was out cold in the hospital!"

"Aw, that's so sweet! You don't think that Tsukumi..."

"I don't think. I know that Tsukumi has it for Xaedan. Oh, hey guys! You sure took a while in the washrooms."

I slowly turn my gaze to the Toa of Water. And I did not like what I saw. At that very moment, I made a solemn vow to myself to never let word of Tsukumi's facial expression to spread, lest it cause a small-scale Armageddon.

After taking a deep, shuddering breath, Tsukumi spoke in a low, quavering voice. "You know what, Xaedan?"

The aforementioned Toa of Fire had finally gotten himself disentangled from the wall. "What, Tsukumi?"

"I have a solution to our problem."

"Oh? Do tell." A slight pause.

All eyes were on the Water Toa and no one dared to make even the slightest sound, in case they incurred the terrible vengeance of Toa Tsukumi.

"I'll just make you eat all of the food, you repugnant maggot!