Hana: New chapter for y'all ready to be read!
Neah: I suppose so.
Hana: Why're you here?
Neah: Because I can be? -clears his throat- Hanashi o suru and XavierForest don't own D. Gray-man. Enjoy.
Hana: Jeez, you're acting like Tyki right now...so dull.
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+ - Chapter 44 - +
Lero was...bored. He still didn't trust Neah...but knowing Tyki and the twins were alive was nice to know...even Wisely was with them. It was...pleasant.
At least he wasn't alone anymore.
Obviously still very, very bored...Neah had nothing fun to his name. He dually noted looking around the apartment. The TV had nothing noteworthy to watch on it, nor did he have any games he could play.
"Keep glowering all you want, but glaring isn't going to magically make things appear for you."
"Shuddup." Lero pouted.
"I didn't buy anything here with kids in mind."
The orange-haired boy scowled. "Leave me alone."
"You're not making life any easier, Lero." Neah sighed. "At least eat something."
"I'm not hungry." The child pouted. Though his stomach said otherwise to his recent response.
"Convincing." The adult grumbled. "I won't hurt you, Lero."
"You probably poisoned the food," Lero spat, eyes narrowing mistrustfully at the man.
"For starters, I'm a decent cook. My nephew, however...I have no idea how he survived for as long as he had..."
"You mean Allen Walker."
"Yes, yes, Allen Walker, yey high, huge appetite, fun kid to tease." Neah listed off as though he rehearsed it times over. "Eat." He placed a plate before Lero, macaroni and cheese meeting his eyes, and the delicious smell of what he could only assume was four different cheeses making the ooey-gooey sauce.
Lero gulped, eying the food. He looked to Neah, before back to the plate, and poked it with his fork. "If I die, I'm going to haunt you until your final days."
"Do what you will, kiddo." Neah said with a shrug.
Lero took a forkful and slowly brought it closer to his face, before reluctantly allowing the possibly-poisoned food to enter his mouth.
It tasted like heaven.
Fork full after fork full of mac 'n' cheese was shoveled down the young boy's gullet. Neah didn't miss the crying from sheer joy of the food touching his tongue. "Lero...when was the last time you ate?"
Lero ceased his eating his next mini-mountain just barely to his mouth before heh placed the fork down slowly. "...I...don't know...maybe a week or two ago...?"
"The hell?! Lero! Why'd you go so long without eating?!"
"My family was gone. I was homeless. What else do you think would've happened to a kid? Go to a stupid orphanage? No thank you!" Lero growled.
"Then you should have stolen something!" Okay, so Neah knew that this wasn't exactly the best advice to give a child, but he came from a family of criminals, so it was the best he could come up with on the spot.
"You think I didn't try that?" Lero huffed, leaning back in his chair. "I'm usually good at sneaking things away from the others and the AKUMA servants...should've known those idiots only pretended to not notice."
"You're a child. I'm sure you could've used that face of yours to get food from people."
"I tried that once..." The heavy blush was hard to miss, and the discomfort in Lero's body didn't get by Neah. He realized that didn't need the little boy to continue that thought to realize what must've happened when he tried that approach.
"Oh my god..." Neah breathed. The kid had met with one of those people...one with a sick fetish for very underage...Neah shook his head feeling sick at the very notion. "I'll take responsibility."
"Huh?"
"I'll look after you," Neah said. "If you want."
"Why would I ever want you to look after me?"
"Do you know of anyone else who'll do it?" The adult asked.
To this, Lero was silent. Tyki often did his own thing, and wasn't always around. The twins honestly frightened the boy...and Wisely...was kinda like a brother to him for the most part...but he didn't know the first thing of dealing with kids. There was, and he wasn't fond on this idea either, Allen Walker...but if he was going to be honest, he was usually told to stay away from him...
"Well?" Neah prompted.
"No." Lero said in defeat.
"Then would you like to stay with me, Lero?"
Once more, the young child was silent. This time seeming to contemplate his options. He sighed, before looking back to Neah, "Fine. I'll stay here, only until I'm older!"
"I can live with that. By then you'll have a job, and a place to stay...how old are you, Lero?"
"You got a while before I go off to college." Lero smugly stated. "Good luck."
"That's fine. A brat like you shouldn't be too hard to deal with," Neah said with a shrug.
"Famous last words." Lero cackled. Neah felt as though he may have a bad time...
. . - * - . .
Madarao watched the kids all laugh and play around the playground behind the orphanage. Away from the others, he could see Lala and Timothy talking about something, though he could hear nothing from his vantage point. Although he and his sister were keeping an eye out on the orphanage today, his main priority was keeping watch over the kiddos Kanda and Allen had planned to adopt. By now, most everyone had heard about the breakup, and really, he felt for them. Kanda and Allen were great people, and he firmly believed they were practically meant for each other. Perhaps that what the duo were talking about?
The day they had found out from Link as to what had happened that day, Tewaku had taken this news in sheer surprise. Not expecting them-for Allen, really-to just end things. Even Madarao himself hadn't see that outcome coming. It was a great shock to all of them, even to Kiredori, who seldom showed much emotion. He vaguely wondered if Lenalee had roped her into the whole 'Yullen' thing...such a silly name to call any couple. Granted, celebrities were given ship names all the time, but that didn't make it any less...disturbing? He couldn't bother to think of the word in question.
Still, what was going to happen to the children if Kanda and Allen didn't get back together? Would one of the adults come back to adopt them, or... would the kids remain here?
For their sake, he hoped not. Those kids had been through what Allen and Kanda had perhaps at their ages...and the once engaged duo were more than qualified enough...he trailed off when he took notice of their portly friend with a smug look on his face. This didn't bode well with Madarao. What as that son of a bitch ex-AKUMA up to?
He'd have to keep a closer eye on that one.
(* - *)
"What do you want?" Timothy sneered, keeping himself between the Orphanage's head, and Lala. "Here to make her cry again? I'll punch your nose in!" And he knew he could. He and Lala had been practicing self-defense. Lala teaching him what she knew, of course.
"Kids should be respectful of their elders." The man stated, grinning from ear to ear. "You two have been quite the thorns in my side as of late."
Timothy found he didn't like where this was going. "Yeah? What's your point? Gonna cry about it?"
"Timothy...something doesn't feel right..." Lala whispered, having clutched the back of her big brother figure's shirt. "I think we should go see Emilia..."
"Ah, Emilia...yes, you see, the funny thing is? I let her go."
"What?!" Both children exclaimed. Alone, Timothy frantically asked, "What do you mean you let her go?!"
"We didn't see eye-to-eye, so I thought it would be best if she left," he explained, smirking cruelly at the expressions on the children's faces.
"You bastard!" Timothy shouted. Other children had all stopped what they were doing, and looked over at the commotion. "Why would you fire Emilia?!"
"As I said, we never—"
"You fired Emilia?" Another child's voice sounded, the shock present in his question. "Why the hell would you do that for?"
"Bring Miss Emilia back you big fat dummy!" One of the youngest children there scolded.
"Stupid head! Bring her back now!"
"Bring back Emilia!"
"Bwing back Miss Emma!"
"Emmly! Emmly!" More and more childish voices began sounding in anger.
"SHUT UP YOU MANGY BRATS!" He glared at the group of kids, making most of them cower. But some still stood before him, their anger never wavering. "Now, from here on out, things are going to be different. DO what you're told, and you won't get punished."
"Like hell we're doing shit for you." Timothy snarled. "Just you wait, you shit head, Mama Allen and Pops are gonna take us away from here!"
"Last I heard they were split."
"So what? They're grown-ups!" Lala argued. "They'll make up!"
Or make out... Timothy thought. "Yeah! They'll make up, and you'll rot behind bars!"
"Rot behind bars, will I? Whatever gives you such an idea?"
"Because you're horrible homophobe and most of us want you to go to hell anyway!"
"And what can a couple of snot-nosed brats possibly prove? You lot can't prove anything about me." Johnson sneered. "Now, I have some wonderful people who have shown interest in you."
All the color faded from the duo's faces. "What?" Lala asked.
"We don't want to meet them," Timothy quickly said, pulling Lala back a little by her sleeve.
"Oh, no, you're not going to be meeting them, Mr. Timothy Hearst."
"YOU'RE NOT TAKING MY LITTLE SISTER!" Timothy outright snarled. "You can go fuck yourself!"
"And I'm not gonna be leaving my brother here!" Lala said with equal ferocity of her self-proclaimed brother.
"You two aren't siblings," the man told them. "Those faggots didn't adopt you."
"Don't call them faggots, you faggot!" Timothy hissed.
"Excuse me, Mr. Johnson, wasn't it?" From the shadows of the nearby forest, emerged a young woman, who seemed displeased with the situation.
"Y-YOU!?"
"Yes me. I believe last we met, I had Kiredori and Tokusa along...I hope you don't mind I brought my big brother this time?" Jumping from his vantage point, before the portly man, Madarao made his appearance. "I firmly believe Allen and Kanda are the best parents for these two...but thanks to you just now, I've got some wonderful blackmail that could double for evidence against you in court."
"Y-YOU LITTLE—!"
"I would suggest you refrain from calling my sister out, Mr. Gregory Johnson. By blood, she is my only family. If something happened to her, I can't guarantee you would come out...unscathed."
Mama Allen and Kanda really know some awesome people... The kids unknowingly thought at the same time.
"I also suggest that you leave these two children alone," Madarao said, glaring intimidatingly at the other man.
"Wh-who do you two think you are trying to tell me how I run my damn orphanage?!"
"Tewaku and Madarao, that's who." Tewaku said in bored taste. "Now, I do suggest to listen to Madarao...because he was merciless with AKUMA operatives."
"If you don't leave, I'll call the police," Mr. Johnson threatened. "You have no right to be here on the orphanage grounds!"
"I don't think corpses can call anybody," Tewaku drawled.
"Try to remember, Tewaku, we do need him alive, otherwise we have no one to stand for trial."
"A shame." The young female sighed. "Should he be sent…I would say that jail is far more merciful. At least, that's in comparison to what I want to put him through, of course."
"H-how dare you!" The man spluttered.
"Then again," Tewaku said, eyes cold, "if he was gone, there'd be no one to stop the children from being adopted.
"I suggest, if you value your life, do not cross the line." Madarao warned.
And then, in a cold tone, Tewaku added, "Because if you do..." She left the threat hanging, figuring that his imagination would be able to supply him with the answer.
"G-Get out of my orphanage! I-I'll fire a restraining order!"
"Will you now?" The green-haired male mused. "All we were doing was trying to protect these children from you."
"Protecting from me!? If not for me these brats would be on a street somewhere! No one would bat an eye for 'em!"
"Miss Emilia would have," Timothy piped up petulantly. And he knew he was right. Emilia had a heart for the kids at this orphanage, perhaps as big as that of Mother Superior's. Timothy found himself wondering how that lady was now...was she any better than she had been?
And how was Emilia? Was she alright?
"Kids have no say in this, you little—"
"Ah-ah-ah." Tewaku taunted, "Kids have just as much say as we do in this situation. I would watch your step, Mr. Johnson. Or you may find yourself stepping on a mine that should never be triggered."
"They do not have a say! They're children! They don't know what's best for them!"
"And you do?" Lala asked quietly from Timothy's side.
"What was that, you little wench?"
Lala's blue eye hardened as she looked up to the head of the orphanage. "Let me rephrase that. I meant to say, you don't know squat of what's good for us...for any of us!"
Gregory Johnson wanted to hit that irritating little girl, he really did. "I've been looking after all these useless whiney brats for years and this is how you choose to repay me?!"
"Looking after us?!" Timothy scowled, "Like hell you have! Don't think we never heard you talking to some creep on the phone!"
"You little—!"
"No, no...please keep it up." Tewaku gleefully said, "The more you talk, the more evidence we'll have against you."
The portly man gritted his teeth, glaring at the young woman.
"Fine then. I'll turn them away." He said through clenched teeth, turning on his heel as he stormed away.
"That was awesome!" Timothy exclaimed. "You're so bad-ass!"
"I don't know about that." Tewaku mused. "Lala here was quite the bad-ass standing up to that disgusting man."
The Italian girl blushed. "I didn't do much..."
"On the contrary, I'd say you did well. Allen and Kanda would be quite prideful to know their daughter has a backbone like yours." Madarao praised.
Lala giggled, though still felt a little embarrassed. "Then...when they adopt us, we'll make sure to tell them!"
Now we just have to hope that they get back together, Tewaku thought. All four of them deserved this.
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Now you know what's been going on with the Orphanage, yeah? :)
R&R ain't for Rest and Relaxation, despite the fact I really need it. Leave a review and let us know how we're doing~! Show the story some love by favoriting this work, and hey, if you wanna stay up to date with new chapters, then go ahead and follow this work! Go check out my co-author's work if you hadn't already and we'll see you next time...
On Fade to Gray!