It was almost time for Emil's tenth birthday… Angel kept thinking about what she could get him. He was always giving her little gifts, but she had never really wondered where they had come from…
And then she thought about the perfect way to surprise him.
"Emil, Access, come on, let's go play!" Angel laughed, holding the six-year-old redhead's hand. Access grinned and blushed a bit, walking alongside her as Emil walked on her other side, his hands shoved in his pockets as he looked nonchalantly around. Marron was tucked under Angel's arm.
"Where are we going?" He asked, seeming disinterested.
"The field! The one outside of town! I used to play there when I was younger… the fairies were really nice, and pretty and shiny!"
"Fairies?" Emil gave the younger girl an amused look.
"Yeah, fairies! They do exist you know! Though, mommy used to say only little kids and babies can see them, because babies have a lot more magic than kids our age."
"Magic? You really believe in that stuff?" Emil laughed.
"Yes! Don't you?"
Emil thought about it. Well, he believed in angels, why not fairies and magic? Then again… magic was something akin to witchcraft and sorcery, which were considered evil….
"Well, sure, why not?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Everyone else seems to."
"Emiiil… you don't sound convincing enough! Silly, you can't lie to me! You're not very good at it." Angel pouted playfully.
Actually, I'm very good at it. You just don't know it because it's hard to lie to you… Emil thought, ruffling her hair with one of his hands before sticking it back in his pocket.
"Are the fairies still there, Ange?" Access asked in a small, excited voice.
"I don't know… I haven't been there in a few years. Maybe… Most likely, yes. If not, I know something else we can see!"
Emil glanced at Angel's smiling face. She was hiding something, he knew it immediately. A surprise…?
When they got to the field after a while of walking, Access pretended to complain about his feet hurting and lay down on the grass, rolling around for the fun of it. Angel giggled madly and joined him, trying to crawl on her stomach and catch him. Emil just rolled his eyes and tickled both of them when they weren't looking.
When they were all worn out from their tickle war, they let out a tired breath and lay down in the grass next to each other, gazing up at the sky. A few clouds obscured their view of the sun and gave them ample shade.
"Where are the fairies, sis?"
Angel sat up, looking around. "I don't know… they must be hiding. Or maybe we're too old to see them."
"Aww, but I wanna see!" Access whined.
"Do you want to see something else?" Angel got up, going over to a patch of wild strawberries.
"Oooh… those look good. Can we have some? Maybe we should pick a bunch and bring 'em back to the church…" Access crawled over. He wasn't able to pronounce orphanage yet, so he stuck to just saying 'church'. He looked curiously at the patch and picked a big, ripe strawberry. Then he took a bite of it and scrunched up his face. "Sourrr!"
Angel laughed. "Silly, those are strawberries. They always taste like that." She sat down next to it, letting Marron rest in her lap. Emil came over, but he didn't sit, watching his crimson-eyed little brother blush in embarrassment and his best friend pick a few of the red berries from the bushes and vines.
"Hey With, come on out," She called softly into the patch, causing the two bothers to quiet and become still immediately, "With? Where are you? I brought Marron… Do you want to play with Marron?"
Emil lifted an eyebrow in curiosity, watching carefully. Obviously, she had known this With thing at least four years if it knew Marron. There were a few movements in the vegetation….
"I brought some sugar. You liked the sugar on the strawberries last time, right?" Angel kept speaking as if to no one, pulling a little bag of sweet white grains from her pocket. She tipped it slightly onto the strawberries in her hand, covering them.
Access and Emil watched closely as a small black nose and furry white muzzle poked out of the undergrowth, sniffing Angel's outstretched hand. And then the whole creature emerged. It was something akin to a rabbit, only its ears were fluffier and its tail was longer. It was furry and its big round eyes were a vivid red, not unlike the Niwa brothers.
"Kyuu!"
Access gasped in awe. Emil crossed his arms, simply staring as it approached Angel and took a strawberry from her hand with its small paws, nibbling on it. Angel giggled.
"Hey, With! It's been a long time. Sorry I haven't been to visit." She said to it gently, petting it with her free hand. "Look, I brought friends! This is Emil and Access." She grinned.
"It looks fluffy… can I pet it too?" Access asked, still gaping.
"Of course. Here, he likes strawberries. They're his favorite." She gave him one of the sugar-coated strawberries, and Access held it out, waiting for With to come to him. When he did, Access grinned widely and gave a childish giggle. "Hey, that tickles!" He laughed as With licked his hand. With went back and forth between the younger two of the trio that had come to visit, then looking curiously to the third of the party when Angel had run out of sugar.
With wagged his tail excitedly at the prospect of new friends, looking hopefully up at Emil as if asking if he had more treats.
"What exactly is With?" Emil asked, still simply standing.
"I don't really know… I think he's a rabbit? He's certainly an odd rabbit." Angel giggled, picking With up as she stood. She whispered something into his ear, then walking over to Emil. With happily jumped onto the soon-to-be ten-year-old boy's head. "But I do know one thing. He's yours."
"Eh?" Emil looked genuinely confused, his eyes crossing as he attempted to look up at the small white rabbit. It hung on tightly as he tilted his head so it wouldn't fall off. "Mine? But… he's a wild animal!"
"He was kind of my pet… but mommy and daddy never let me keep him in the house, so I left him here since there were strawberries and fairies to play with." Angel grinned. "Happy birthday, Emil!"
"Oh… um…" Emil was dumbfounded. "Err, are you sure this is okay? I mean, if he's been your pet for all these years…"
"It's okay! He'll be fine. I know you'll take good care of him, just like how you take care of me!" Angel giggled, "Besides, he's very friendly."
With purred, pawing at Emil's red hair. "Kyuu!"
"See? He's happy already!"
"Yay! Big bro, can we keep him? Please?"
"Err… well, yeah, but I'm not sure if Sister Natalia will let us…" Emil chuckled. He reached up, taking With off his head. "Well, I guess he's kind of cute." The young boy petted him fondly.
"Kyuu! Kyuu, kyuu!"
"Okay. We'll sneak him into the orphanage then. Why not?" He chuckled, and With jumped up to lick his face. "Hey, stop that! That tickles!" He laughed.
Angel grinned. "See? He's happy. He's saying happy birthday to you too."
He was a master thief, and he was only thirteen. He was known for appearing in the night and leaving without a trace, the most precious items gone with him. He was fearless, going for the most extravagant of targets.
Stealing little trinkets had gotten boring. He only had eyes for the finest wealth now, aiming to steal all kinds of heirlooms and arts. He had gained a sort of appreciation for the beauty of his targets, seeing them for their worth of effort and not their worth of price. Angel had taught him this, learning from her the secrets of her family "jewels". Of course, he had no use for these items that he stole, and so returned them before long, only to steal them again in the near future. After all, after an item is stolen once, the owners decide to put more protection on them. That only made his game all the more fun.
Access was his partner in crime. He was learning everything from Emil. Together they made the ultimate thieves, unrivaled in their skill. The Niwa brothers took any dare and listened for every rumor of wealth and fine arts. They kept their senses sharp by doing these things.
However, Emil knew that Access had no idea of the real reason they were doing this. It wasn't just for kicks. Access had no real drive but boredom and the will to cause trouble. Emil… he could still vaguely recall the reason he had started to steal.
His mother… She was the reason he kept going. But there was also a little… remorse? Angel had taught him to feel that way, to see things differently in the same innocent way that she would see everything. True, he hated his mother… but… he couldn't help but remember her. He remembered all the times she tucked him in and sung him a lullaby. The bedtime stories, the warm hearty breakfast waiting at the table every morning… She hadn't been a bad mother. She had simply chosen to be a bad person.
Emil was a bad person too, because of her. But still, he recalled her voice. However, her face… it was starting to become distant to him. All he could remember was the gentle curve of luscious red lips.
He hoped that one day his mother would return and see what kind of a man he had become. Would she look for them? And if she didn't… he hoped she would look at the night sky, like she would when he was a child, staring at the moon before she closed the drapes, and see the dark shape of the phantom thief who seemed to fly through the air.
That was him.
"So… there's thief, and then there's phantom thief in Japanese, huh? Kaitou sounds cooler than dorobou." Access snickered.
Emil rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Kaitou definitely sounds cooler. It's more mysterious." He smirked.
"Kyuu!" With agreed, purring as Access pet him.
Angel peeked in, clutching Marron under her arm. It was night, so she was coming over like usual. "Are you guys awake?"
"Of course." Emil smiled, waving her in. She came in, sitting down on the bed.
The young blue-haired girl looked between the two boys. "What were you talking about?"
"Oh, just teaching Access some Japanese." Emil shrugged. He did remember the basics, after all, and he liked to practice so that he would always remember.
"Wow, really? Can I learn too? Please?" Angel asked excitedly.
Emil chuckled. "Sure." He ruffled her hair, which had grown out since they had first met. "Hey, aren't you a little too old to be sleeping with Marron?"
Angel pouted. "No. I'm only twelve!" She stuck her tongue out, holding her rabbit doll closer.
"You're almost thirteen. You're definitely too old to be sneaking over here. Really, Ange, you're still afraid of the dark?" Emil teased.
"No! I just like sleeping over with you guys." Angel gave an innocent grin, but it caused the Niwa boys to blush for an unknown reason. Luckily it was dark, so she couldn't see too well, whereas their eyes were trained and used to it.
"Right. Then go to sleep already." Emil petted her head again. "I'll teach you Japanese later."
"Okay. Good night, Emil. Good night, Access." Angel yawned, laying down and curling up. "…Um… thank you, guys… for everything." She whispered in a small voice before her eyes closed and she drifted off.
The Niwa brothers were quiet for a long time, waiting until they heard Angel's breathing even out, soft and quiet.
"Ready?" Access gave a mischievous grin.
Emil frowned a bit, looking back at Angel. "…I think… tonight… we should stay."
"Aw, what? Why?" Access pouted.
"…Do you remember what day it is?"
It was odd that Angel would just say "thank you" like that… there were plenty of reasons why she could have, but Emil knew the real reason. There were three days that were important to Angel, and every year, even if she tried to forget it, or even if she acted like it wasn't "that day", it haunted her dreams and changed her a little bit, just for one day. Her heart always knew when "that day" was, even if her mind didn't. Emil… he always remembered.
The first, obviously, was her birthday. It wasn't that special, really, but it was one of the few "holidays" that the orphans tried to celebrate on their own, since the church didn't seem to acknowledge it. Usually it was something small, like a cake or a collective gift for the birthday girl or boy, but for Angel, she always got something special from the Niwa boys.
The second, Emil always pretended he didn't know about. Angel was always happier that day than any other day of the year. She would give him a little gift, and he would ask her what it was for, playing dumb. She would give him that big huge, innocently cute grin and say, "Silly, this is the day we met!" They would laugh for the rest of the day.
The third… this was the one she had pushed to the back of her mind, but every year, on the same day, she would tell them "thank you". Even if it seemed like it was for something small and unimportant, she always had a sincerely grateful and far-off tone. She had done this for over five years.
It was the day her parents died… the day she became an orphan.
Emil looked softly upon Angel's sleeping form, absently picking up her half-melted necklace and caressing it with his fingers. "She's going to have a nightmare."
Access seemed confused. "Huh?"
"And if she wakes up, we have to be here… or she'll cry." His elder brother said gently.
"Oh…" The youngest of the trio realized what he was talking about. He blushed in embarrassment. "Guess we're turning in then?"
"Yup." Emil smiled a bit, ruffling his brother's dark red hair, lying down and wrapping his arms around Angel, like always, cuddling with her. "Night, squirt."