REVIEWS:
PrincessKittyKatz: *breathes heavily*
Reply: *holds breath*
ZZ960107: Sad sad ssssad I like it I read the first chapter and I helplessly liked the lemon ehm, don't fantasies so much Wifey XD I will tell u, that I... I love u but...
Reply: Zizi, darling…who says I'm fantasizing? XD
I-Love-Trunks1: I'm so glad Senshi is ok. It's sad how he was treated by Luciano, and it's sad how his sister was as well. I'm glad his little brother sees what sort of person his father is. Poor Lelouch. I hope she and her three children will all be ok. I hope Senshi can find his father and Suzaku can help free his siblings and Lelouch. Could you please continue writing this story? I love it so much!
Reply: of course, though….with my schedule…*looks through calendar with phone on ear* it should clear up towards the end of the school year so maybe updates will come sooner in twenty something days? Unless I mess around and MY favorite stories become updated or I'm watching Generator Rex….*throws random documents into the air* don't worry, I will try to at least post one story or chapter towards the end of the week during summer break!
Guest: it is really interesting... please update :)
Reply: can you put on a name? Like "Guest 001" or something? I want to be able to tell two different guests apart if they are different people! And thanks, it doesn't seem very popular so I'm glad that you liked it.
A/N: And we meet more familiar people!
Disclaimer: the plot is mine so shut the *bleep* up.
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Bearing a Consequence
To say that the breakfast that Rivalz made was heavenly would be the understatement of the century.
"I'm in love with your food, Mr. Cardemonde!" Rivalz smiled as Senshi shoveled another fork full of pancakes into his mouth. After making sure that the kid could take a five minute shower with warm water, the blue haired man decided to use some of the food he had managed to…acquire in order to create a meal fit for the starving boy. There went his food for the next week. Yet it was all worth the look of happiness on a face that was obviously unused to it.
"Slow down kid!" Rivalz said as he ruffled Senshi's now clean black hair. "And I thought I told you that you could call me 'Rivalz'. I don't really like it when I'm called 'Mr. Cardemonde' or anything." Senshi blushed lightly as he tried to eat at a moderate pace and tried not to think about the mistake he made in calling the elder man "Mr."
"I-I'm sorry….Rivalz. I…I just thought that it was more respectful to call you by 'Mr.' than by your first name." Senshi then brought another bite to his mouth and had to hold in an embarrassing moan of happiness as he once again tasted the greatest food on earth; nearly rivaling his mother's cooking. Rivalz knew exactly what the boy wanted to do so he decided to be polite and pretend like he didn't notice. Instead, the grey eyed man went over to the barely working stove and flipped the pancakes before lifting off the hot pan and bringing it to the ten year old.
"Here you go!"
"I don't think I should eat more," Senshi said as he began to cut it and pour a generous amount of syrup onto the fluffy, golden colored circles. This time, Senshi did let out a moan. "So good!"
Rivalz smiled once more before beginning to bite into his own breakfast. "I was actually planning to own my own restaurant. Thinking about making a chain of them." This caught the purple eyed boy's attention.
"What do you mean 'was'?"
Rivalz nodded. "Yup! Had the name and menu figured out too!"
Senshi raised an eyebrow before bringing it back down quickly, remembering how Luciano had the tendency to do that. "So why are you…?" Senshi didn't continue. Instead, he waved a hand and gestured to the run down looking room that had several holes in its walls. Rivalz didn't seem the slightest bit offended. He simply shrugged, raising a shoulder before dropping it.
"It takes money to get into a college that helps give you the tools of the trade, kid. It takes even more money to start a business and keep it running. Do you know that eighty something percent of businesses fail in their first five years just because the owners couldn't manage it?" Senshi shook his head, trying to ignore the rush of information that came to him as he remembered the lessons his instructors gave him on such things.
"No I do not, sir—I mean Rivalz."
The older man smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Anyways, my point is that I didn't have the money to do…well, anything in my life." Senshi tilted his head in a confused manner while putting in another slice of pancake.
"Wehl, why noh geht a hob?" Senshi asked, trying to get the words 'why not get a job' through the pancake he greedily stuck in his mouth.
"Don't you think I tried, kid?" Rivalz said while his eyes held amusement. He took his time sipping the coffee from the broken mug. After he set it down, he gave a tired sigh. "I spent so many nights pouring over my laptop and newspapers looking for a job but, everywhere I called, the moment they received my résumé, they turned me down." The twenty something year old man looked down at his plate with a gloomy look on his face. "I had actually been planning on proposing on proposing to my girlfriend," as he said this, Rivalz brought out something from his pocket.
Senshi, sensing the mood, stopped eating and lightly pushed away his plate. "Was it because you didn't have a job?" he asked in a soft voice, afraid that the man would snap at him to mind his own business. Rivalz surprised the boy by nodding.
"Yeah, she had managed to get a job as an assistant at a news station but it wouldn't have been enough to support the both of us." Rivalz smiled ruefully. "The day I broke up with her, it had been raining and she started crying and asking me if this was about her position at work."
"Was it?"
Rivalz shrugged again. "Kind of. But it was mostly because I felt that I should be the one supporting her. I didn't want to drag her down. It was always her dream to be a reporter and I would have just gotten in the way." Rivalz shook his head before putting the beautiful ring away. "I didn't tell her that, though. Instead, I told her that I was seeing someone else." Rivalz laughed. "Milly always did have a strong arm," Rivalz said as he smiled and lightly touched his right cheek.
Senshi, though he understood that this subject was a rather delicate one, could not help but open his mouth to try and ask more questions. Unfortunately, Rivalz cut him off before he even begun.
"Now your turn kid. What's your name and why did I find you unconscious in the river? And don't say you fell in on accident. Those bruises and scrapes look too much like those of a fight."
Without visibly expressing it, the purple eyed boy quickly brought up his guard. Thankfully, he was a great actor; a trait he got from his mother.
"I…I'm not sure." Senshi brought an expression of pained confusion to his face. Knowing that he had the man wrapped around his finger since the moment they met, he made sure to seem pitiful without making it too obvious that he was doing it on purpose.
"All I really know is that my name is….Senshi. I can't remember my last name." the mischievous little actor then brought a hand to his head and held it as if in slight pain. "It—it's all kind of fuzzy."
Rivalz, the same kind hearted fool he was in high school, quickly stood up and put a hand on the ten year old's shoulder. "Hey, no it's fine. You don't hafta tell me." Senshi put on a smile as he slowly drew away his hand. His first lie to a kind man passed by undetected, making the boy feel slightly guilty. Yet, he knew that he was his family's only chance at escape from Luciano, the evil bastard. He couldn't sacrifice their happiness just because he felt guilty for lying to this kind and hurt man. It was simply the way it worked.
"Hey, I know!"
Senshi visibly flinched as he was dragged away from that line of thought and to the man in front of him.
"Hurry up and finish. I'm going to take you to see a friend of mine."
"'Friend'?" Senshi said as he began to wonder what he got himself into.
"Yeah!" Rivalz smiled as he began to put the remaining pancakes in a baggy and stuff them into a large pocket in his torn up coat so he could eat them later. "He works with the police. I guess you can say he's a detective. He mostly works on cases with kids and…well," Rivalz scratched his head as he handed Senshi another coat and walked out of the door less house. "He was given some of the lower cases, doesn't get much money out of it, and is long overdue for a promotion." Rivalz then looked up as he walked down the hidden path and towards the city. "Now that I think about it, he is also way overdue for promotion. Hell, he deserves it more than Gino…"
…
Lelouch watched with blank eyes as Himawari's instructor knocked her daughter to the floor once more. Though he was getting beaten, it often took the instructor longer to knock the girl down than the last spar. Even though she was too sad to express it, Lelouch felt a part of her swell with pride for her daughter. She was glad that she could trust Himawari to hold her own in a fight. Especially since Senshi…
The black haired mother pushed back her tears and stubbornly swallowed the large lump in her throat. She could not show weakness. Her children needed her to be strong. If she broke down, then they would too. Even Urajimiru was proof of that.
The red haired four year old kneeled beside her and watched as his sister sparred with his future instructor. His face was strangely blank and he didn't even fidget. The boy knew that his brother was no longer with them and, even though they had been extremely close, the boy hadn't shed a single tear since last night. Instead, he copied his mother's silence. Actually, he copied everything she did or told him to do. It made her both sigh in relief yet feel like another weight had been added onto her shoulders.
At the sound of the sliding doors being opened, Lelouch tensed up and noticed how Urajimiru did as well.
"Lelouch, I want to speak to you," Luciano said with a perverted smirk on his lips. The black haired beauty let a quiet sigh go before getting to her feet slowly and gracefully. She motioned Urajimiru to stop when she noticed that he had started to get up as well, trying his best to mimic his mother while doing it.
"You can stay and watch, Vladimir. I'm sure your father won't need me for very long." Luciano then decided to be 'nice'.
"Hey, I have an idea." The older red head thankfully didn't notice the glare his son sent his way. "Why don't we have Jack teach you the basics of combat?" A moment of hesitation passed before little Urajimiru nodded and made his way to his mother. He slightly surprised them all when he gave Lelouch a quick hug before going towards the martial arts instructor.
Lelouch barely saw Jack move into a defensive stance before Luciano grabbed her thin wrist and began to pull her out of the dojo. "Come on." Not even the slightest hint of surprise rippled through her as she was led to the back of the wooden building. Instead, she let her face twist in a bit of pain as Luciano forced her to her knees.
Luciano, a definite horn dog, wasted no time as he pushed down his pants and boxers and brought out his very erect member. "Now be a good girl, and suck it." Lelouch, feeling very defiant, stared back at her husband with a bored look.
"I will, but only if you leave my children alone." Luciano was having none of that. He thrust his hips forward, causing the engorged head to poke her pale and bruised cheek.
"Just shut the fuck up and do it already!"
The mother of three gave a tired sigh and resigned herself to her fate. She opened her mouth and put in as much as she could.
…
They had been walking for nearly three hours and Rivalz was just about to collapse onto a bench and take a nap there. Strangely, or perhaps not (considering his father), Senshi was perfectly fine. Though his breathing was a bit irregular, it was not enough to make him want to fall to the floor like Rivalz. Thankfully, they had finally arrived to their destination.
A very rundown apartment.
Rivalz practically wheezed as he made it the last few steps of the stair case. The sounds of yelling people filled the entire building along with the sound of barking dogs and the traffic building up outside. Rivalz, wanting to get this over with, quickly knocked on the door as if he was trying to break it down. It was a long five minutes before it was opened by a harried looking blonde man with stubble covering the lower area of his face.
"What do you wan-!?"
After he realized who he was yelling at, the blonde's voice died down. "Rivalz? What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Gino. How have you and Kallen been?" The blonde's eyes darkened considerably.
"If you really want to know, she is still pissed off about you and Mill-" Rival shushed him before he could say anything else. While this exchange happened, Senshi was able to take in the sight of this new stranger. He was wearing a pink, frilly apron over what seemed to sweats and a gray t-shirt. In his arm was a baby with red hair and blue eyes. Judging by the clothes, this little one was a girl and probably Gino's. She kind of reminded the ten year old of Urajimiru. Before a lump could form in his throat, Senshi looked at Gino's other hand and noticed a cooking utensil in it. The smell of something burning hit his nose straight on at that moment.
"Hey…mister," Senshi said while tugging on the dirtied apron. Gino turned his sky blue eyes to Senshi who backed away slightly.
"Who the hell are you, kid?" Before, the purple eyed boy could say anything else, Rivalz tilted his head up and sniffed the air.
"Hey, do you smell that?"
Gino had a moment to pause and smell the air before his eyes widened considerably. He quickly yet carefully handed over the little girl to Rivalz before running back inside. "I need to save dinner!"
The moment he touched her, the little girl began to wail loudly in Rivalz's hold. The blue haired man struggled with the struggling baby while walking into the apartment. Before the two could hurt each other, Senshi took her from the man's hold and began to rock her.
"There, there now. If you keep on crying we won't be able to see that beautiful face of yours!" The effect was almost immediate. The little baby stopped crying and chose to giggle instead. This gave the pale skinned boy the time to look around the apartment. It was just barely better than Rivalz's forest home. The kitchen, living room, and dining room were all connected while three other doors led elsewhere. He guessed that on was a bedroom, the other was a restroom, and, if he absolutely had to, he'd say a coat closet was behind the third door.
A string of curses left Gino's mouth was he began to save whatever he possibly could. It wasn't very much. With a tired sigh, Gino dumped what was probably soup into the sink. "Well, there goes our dinner. Please, make yourself at home while I try to not get killed."
Senshi made his way around one of the couches only to find a redheaded woman sleeping on it. He could immediately tell that she was beautiful. Maybe not as much as his mother but still, she would get plenty of stares.
After getting around the woman quietly, Senshi set down the cute little baby near a bunch of baby toys before making his way across the room and to Gino who was staring into the fridge.
"May I have some water, sir?"
Gino didn't even turn to glance at him. Instead he merely waved him over to the gallon of water. "Help yourself." Just as he was about to turn and get what he wanted, Senshi noticed that there was enough food in the fridge to make a special soup his mom had taught him. It would be able to feed them all and there would still be some left over. Right when he opened his mouth and tell the man, the blonde slammed the door angrily and walked away. "I give up! I'll just order take out." Knowing that he was not a man to be messed with when mad, Senshi merely walked around him and reopened the fridge. Already, he could feel Gino stare at him curiously.
"What are you doing?"
"Making dinner."
…
The room was dark when Suzaku walked in. After a long day at work, he felt like he could finally relax. There once was a time when the brunette would bring work home. It was back when he believed that, if he worked hard enough, the officers above him would recognize his skills and promote him from his crappy job.
After years of back breaking hard work, Suzaku finally accepted the fact that some power, much higher than the police, was at work. If he had to pin it on anyone, he would like to think that Luciano and Lelouch were the ones stopping him from being promoted. At one time, he had spent many days and nights on finding evidence of this. But, like his promotion, it eluded him.
So, instead of opening a folder and a cup of instant ramen, Suzaku cracked open a beer bottle, kicked off his shoes, and parked himself in front of his twenty inch TV. With a quick press, the small screen flickered to life.
And showed Suzaku the image of a smiling Luciano.
The green eyed Japanese man let loose a growl as he realized that they were replaying the press conference that he had gone to the other day. The growl stopped in his throat when the camera panned out to show Luciano with something Suzaku will never have again.
Lelouch stood next to the damned monster with a smile on her face. Their son and heir, Vladimir, stood in between the two. Though he did not admit it outright, Suzaku knew immediately that Lelouch's smile that day had been fake. It also looked pained.
He hated the way Luciano held Lelouch. Like she was just a thing to make himself look better. Even his own son looked like an ornament.
Suzaku ignored the fact that he still had mixed feelings about Lelouch. Instead, he tried to focus his energy on hating Luciano and drinking his beer. He told himself that the tears falling down his cheeks were tears of hatred and not sadness. They were of frustration, not longing.
…
By the time Gino's wife, Kallen, had woken up, they had managed to finish dinner and clean up the apartment. Even little Kristan was happily chewing on some teething toys instead of wailing her head off. Though, just because everything was all good, it didn't stop the beautiful redhead from trying to punch Rivalz's head off.
The blue haired man's only saving grace was the blonde bear known as Gino.
After many shouts and hits directed both towards her husband and her former friend, Kallen finally calmed down enough to let Senshi introduce himself.
"Hello, ma'am. My name is Senshi. It's a pleasure to meet you." After executing a short bow, Senshi looked up to find Kallen staring at him in surprise.
"Oh….hi…I'm Kallen Kozuki."
Senshi, not knowing why she was still looking at him like that, smiled and waved her to the table that was already set up for their dinner. "Please sit. I hope you like tonight's dinner."
…
Hours have passed yet Senshi was still awake. He lay on the couch as the "adults" talked at the table and drank their alcohol. He found what they were saying, surprising.
"He looks so much like Lelouch!" Kallen whispered fiercely. Both Gino and Rivalz told her that it was impossible. About how his mother only had one child called Vladimir and he was only four years old with red hair. Senshi was grateful towards the two men but felt irritation rise towards Kallen. She could simply not let it go! Stubborn woman.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the adults drunkenly went to their proper sleeping places. Gino and Kallen to their room with Kristan and Rivalz to the only couch left. Senshi waited another hour before getting up, folded the blanket they had so kindly laid over him, and began to pad softly to the door. After some quiet manipulation, Senshi managed to open it up without so much as a click. He left a note near the door before closing it behind him and taking out the map he had also stolen from them.
Bigger picture. Take care of mom and Himawari and Urajimiru and then I can say sorry, Senshi thought as he made his way down the stairs, tightening the coat around him as the wind swept through the area.
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Comments:
And there you go. The title more or less refers to Rivalz, Kallen, Gino, and Milly. Next time, Senshi and Suzaku meet!
Please leave a review, will you?
