YAY! My wonderful editor came back safe and sound (read: MY MOMMY IS BACK! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!) and I am able to post this new chapter without any mistakes (I hope).

Enough of my random babbling on with Chapter 9: The Picture Frame

Enjoy! :)

FWOOSH

"I'm home!" A tall red-haired man sang the entrance code for the Second Ship. He had been quite pleased when Hirato had called with the news about their unexpected guest. He couldn't wait to meet her (naturally, he 'forgot' to tell Jiki and Kiichi; he wanted to be the first to meet her)

"Ooooi! Hirato! Where are you?" The red head fixed his clothes and began marching through the halls happily, "Where aaaare yooou? Hiiiiraaaatooooo!" The man swung his arms back and forth like a child. He was in no hurry so he took his time getting to his friend's office (Hirato could almost always be found there). On his way there he happened to pass by the dining room. He heard voices so he decided to peek in. When he did he chuckled happily.

He wasn't sure of what transpired between the time of Hirato's phone call and now, but he was certainly pleased to see it. Everyone in the room (save Tsukumo who was merely observing with a small smile) was crowded around one black-haired girl sitting peacefully at the table. The red head noted that she really did seem to have cat ears and a tail, just like Hirato had said. That is curious, he thought with a hint of mischief, Hirato was telling the truth when he said she's a cat-girl, huh? I wonder if I can use that to my advantage…hm…sounds like fun! The man grinned, before waltzing in and announcing his presence, "Helloooooo, everyone! Tsukitachi-sama has arrived! Oh, and please try to keep your enthusiasm contained, I've had a long flight and am not really in the mood for craziness…unless it is absolutely unavoidable, that is." Everyone looked at him and blinked.

Yuki had lolled her head over the back of the chair and stared at the red head, an amused smirk set on her face, "Hello there! My name is Yuki."

"Ah! So you are the one Hirato told me about." Tsukitachi bowed gracefully, "My name is-"

"Tsukitachi-sama, yes?" Yuki flipped up and over the back of the chair, landing in front of the man. She mimicked a deep curtsy before grinning cheekily up at him.

Tsukitachi chortled. Everyone was always stiff around him so the cat-girl's banter was definitely appreciated. He stretched out a hand and rubbed her head affectionately. She was a bit startled at first but when Tsukitachi began scratching her behind her ears she started purring happily. Behind the ears was the only spot on her body that could incite such a spontaneous reaction. The red head smirked and lifted his other hand to do the same. He enjoyed the noise and was wondering if she could do it any louder. She could. The utterly silent room filled with the sounds of her bliss. Nai frowned, jealousy clearly written on his face. He crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks angrily. Gareki couldn't help but see the boy in his niji form; he nearly died trying to keep from laughing.

"Hey, Yuki-chan?" The ruby eyed boy walked towards them, "What are you doing?"

"She's purring, Nai-chan," Tsukitachi glanced up at him, "Cats purr when they are happy and apparently Yuki-chan in no exception," he looked back down at the helpless cat-girl and cooed, "Isn't that right, my cute little putty-tat." Yuki nodded dreamily. Uro-sama only patted her when he was very happy (usually due to alcohol or an extraordinarily successful mission) and her brothers were always far too busy getting into trouble (or being punished) to pay special attention to her. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and there was no way she was going to do anything to mess it up.

Finally (much to Nai's relief and Yuki's consternation), Tsukitachi withdrew his hands and folded them behind his head, with another chuckle. Hirato, who had been observing the interaction with more than a little bit glee, stepped lightly over to the red head and said, "Yuki, this is my colleague Tsukitachi. He's captain of Circus' First Ship. I asked him to come over so I could introduce you to him. I meant for him to bring along the rest of his crew but, apparently, he forgot." The dark-haired man cuffed the back of his friend's head.

Tsukitachi laughed, "Ah well! I suppose there's nothing I can do about them now!" He grinned at Hirato, before turning towards the others and giving them all a chipper, "How's it goin' everybody?" He got mixed reactions (Gareki, Iva, Karoku, and Tsukumo either grunted or bowed politely, while Nai and Yogi chirped a happy greeting).

The cat-girl raised an eyebrow, "Did he come to take me away?" Hirato blinked at her, before wincing at the sound of Nai's loud screech.

"WHAT?!" The young albino was furious, "You said she could stay, Hirato-san!" Hirato tried to calm him down but Nai wasn't listening, "She even went on a mission with Iva to prove herself! Were you lying?! Karoku says it's bad to lie! Not even adults should do it! So why are you?!"

Yuki came to Hirato's rescue, "He wasn't lying, Nai-chan. I suppose I should have worded my question better. What I meant to say was: did he come to take me to meet the rest of his crew, seeing as how he didn't bring them with him in the first place? I didn't intend to worry you so much." She smiled softly at Nai as he sighed heavily in relief.

He then, much to her surprise, strode over to her, grabbed her hand and addressed the captains rather forcefully, "If she is going to visit the First Ship, I'm coming too. There is no way she can meet Jiki-kun and Kiichi-chan without them making her fly off the handle," he stomped his foot to emphasize his announcement.

The two men laughed and told him that his coming would be a veritable blessing in disguise if the meeting went the way they expected it to. Nai nodded his head in affirmation and asked when they would leave. Tsukitachi was the one to respond, "Right now, if possible. I didn't tell the bunnies where I was going and I'm sure Jiki and Kiichi are worried," he held out a hand to each of the half-breeds, "Shall we go?" Yuki smiled and took the hand offered to her. Nai did the same and, before they could say good-bye to the others, Tsukitachi had whisked them down the hall, out the entrance and into the big beautiful world around them.

Ω

…I really miss you guys too, and I need new orders. Good-bye.

Uro gazed blankly at the wall. It wasn't often that Yuki sounded so desperate. Then again, she hadn't ever been away from home for longer than a week, without at least being able to speak with her family directly. The brown-haired man frowned as he considered Yuki's pain. He would never tell her directly, but he cared for her more than any other person he had ever met. She was, in his mind, nearly perfect. She obeyed any order, she could be kind or cruel, depending on his mood (an amazing feat in and of itself), she completed every mission he gave her perfectly, and he hardly ever had to discipline her. The one fault he saw in her was her insistence upon only eating when absolutely necessary; hence she was also one of the skinniest creatures he had ever met. Even now, he couldn't get her to tell him why she was so adamant about that.

He was just about to respond to her request for new orders when the two idiots she loved so much came bursting in through the open door. They were both shouting at the top of their lungs about how they wanted to bring their precious snowflake back. Uro pinched the bridge of his nose. If Yuki was here she would do everything in her power to keep those two bumbling bozos away from him when he didn't want to deal with them. He really needed her to come back.

After listening to Kagiri and Kiharu holler for a while, he roared, "QUIET DOWN, YOU TWO!" He was beginning to get a headache, "What do you want?"

When Kagiri had stopped shaking in fear, he responded with a hesitant, "We want to go find Yuki and bring her back. She hasn't sent any word, and Kiharu and I are worried. Can we go?"

Uro thought for a moment. The two post-humans would probably be capable of getting to the Circus ship but they might have more trouble with the crew she was currently staying with. "No, you may not." He stood and walked away from his desk, "She is dealing with a precarious situation and you two may compromise her if you show up out of the blue. I sent a message to her a few days ago and got a response this morning; she said that she is fine, she misses us and she completed her original mission. Now she is working on infiltrating Circus' Second Ship, and I will not, under any circumstances," he glared at the two post-humans, "allow you idiots to mess this up for her."

Kagiri cowered under his master's stare while Kiharu (in a fit of pure bravery) took a short step in Uro's direction, "U-um, Uro-sama? I-if it isn't too much trouble…do you think we could, maybe, listen to Yuki-chan's…message? Would that be all right?" After he had said his piece all the courage he felt from before leaked out of his very pores. He shrunk behind his smarter friend and waited for an answer.

Uro tilted his head and thought for a moment about Kiharu's request. "Hm…well then, Kiharu, Kagiri, come here." He lifted an arm for his Varuga bird to land on. When it did, he stroked the underside of its neck and told it to replay Yuki's message.

Once again the bird opened its mouth and repeated the report. At the end of it all three of the men were either in tears or close to it (for some strange reason Uro was more affected by Yuki's words, and subsequent emotions, than he was the first time; he really was about to cry).

"Yuuuuuukiiiiiii-chaaaan!" The two post-humans bawled their little sister's name pitifully, "Please don't cry! We miss you too! WAAAAAAAAH!" Kiharu and Kagiri clung to each other and sobbed.

Uro rubbed his eyes quickly before growling, "If you two are going to cry, do so outside. I'm very busy and I don't have time to comfort either of you. Go away." He shooed them out and sank heavily back into his desk chair, "Oh, Yuki…I'm so sorry." He ran a hand through his hair tiredly. Then he gave his courier bird a new message, "Yuu-chan…don't worry," he paused, trying to swallow the growing lump in his throat, "You don't have to be afraid, everything is going to be all right." Uro took a deep breath, let it out slowly and continued quietly (just in case the two idiots were listening in on him), "I want you to stay there for the time being. Learn as much about them as you are able. Get them to trust you. However, I want you to remember that we are the only family you need. If you are worried, or scared, or sad, or hurting, remember to rely on us rather than those Circus freaks." His eyes softened as he envisioned Yuki's brilliant smile, "Don't forget how to laugh, my little snowflake. Stay safe and good luck."

Uro sent the bird off with a flick of his wrist. As it flew out into the gloomy sky, the Varuga master picked up a small picture frame. He lightly stroked one of the faces in it. When he set it back down, a tiny beam of sunlight ran a warm tendril over the faces of those inside the photo. It showed a much younger Yuki sitting on Uro's lap, while Kagiri and Kiharu flanked both of them. The two boys were each holding one of their new little sister's hands and Yuki was beaming like the happiest girl in the world.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and I hope to be able to post a new one soon!

Later! XD