Everyday Stresses of Kazuki - Sci-Fi Action/Intrigue Webserial

Archius stood cross-eyed, arms crossed at the ongoing situation. Václavos sighed, watching as the room was being filled up to the brim with tears. Pi was resting on Yuki's lap, probably the only thing that hadn't caused her to bawl her eyes out even more than what she'd already been doing.

Give her a few more hours; at this rate, she might fill up the whole living room. Archius looked around... A quarter of a day at most, he jested. He maintained a facade of concern, simply walking over towards her. Nathan was seated beside her, shaking, yes, but trying his best to console her. The coffee table in front of them had a laundry list of boxes that used to contain some of the galaxy's best confectionaries.

"So much for a three Kasté-star desert…" Archius rolled his eyes at how ineffective the carrot had been. Obviously, Archius couldn't use the stick on this rabbit.

The plates were all empty... "Ugh... Archius... She's not stopping," Nathan started. "I tried everything! Yuki likes food so..."

"Did you feed her your brother's work?" asked Archius. He formed the question as if to insult Nate's brother.

"What?! No!" Nate shouted back, before slinking backwards a bit. Of course, Nate fell for it.

Archius wagged his finger. "That's the problem, Nathaniel! The way into anyone's heart is through their stomach!" He had to stop himself from thinking of such a visceral sight as that.

He probably did do something of the kind before… Archius hoped he'd forget that before dinner!

"He must have taught you something, right!? Go bake a cake or something, even if it's half-good, I'm sure Yuki will feel happier knowing you invested time and effort for her happiness."

"Bake a cake?" he asked meekly. He slowly shook his head, as if to say that he couldn't do it. "Sorry but uh... my brother's a… genius. I mean… He's better at music than me… and baking."

Oh yeah, that is true. Shit. Now Nathan's sad!

"You want to know what you have that he doesn't?" asked Archius.

Nathan raised an eyebrow whilst nodding.

"An actual sense of humour," Archius said. "Your brother… does not like jokes!"

Nathan briefly laughed at that. Alright, problem solved. Now back to the main problem… Yuki! This was going to be a mess, like some hundred pointer NATs proof question about how one plus one ISN'T TEN.

Václavos glanced at Archius, side-eyeing him. The two knew exactly why Gabriel was rarely with his brother. Archius had dragged Gabe into a war he had no reason to be a part of...

Though, that was why Nathan got into such a prestigious school, the same as Yuki's. Both got in on recommendations, ah... pure meritocracy at its finest!

"Why's she crying in the first place?"

"Uh..." Nathan seemed hesitant to answer. Václavos looked away for a moment. Archius looked back at him, nodding for him to respond.

"She had a fight with her brother," Václavos said in response. He took a step back. "And Eliza didn't really make things any better."

Oh great. Archius takes his eyes off Kaz for a moment and he goes and has a tantrum! Archius was focussing on Obadiah and Noah for a singular moment! And this happened?! It was, frankly, annoying.

Archius grumbled to himself, glancing and turning around the room for something else to focus on. He shook his head. "Whatever, time will heal her tears." Archius knew that as true - more than most. "I'll cook some dinner up for the three-four... of us, alright?"

Václavos leaned against the wall, shrugging. Archius took that as a 'sure'. Nathan shifted to face Yuki, trying to shake her slightly. Her sobbing had somewhat dried up. In fact... her tears were dropping directly onto Pi. The Phoenix's feathers melted the tears.

"Hey, Yuki?" Nathan asked her calmly. He looked slowly at Archius, as he nodded in return.

Yuki glanced upwards, still sobbing with tears running from her eyes. Nathan froze at the sight... "I... uh... Archius is cooking..." He looked away, somewhat red in the face.

Nathaniel broke immediately, turning into a tomato-faced fool.

Yuki turned her sniffing gaze over at Archius. Her cyan eyes were filled to the brim with colourful tears, the highlights of her blonde her were a constant low dimming blue.

"I'm cooking up something from my home planet, it's an old recipe but it's golden, you fine with that?" Archius asked. "A Yamikoi delicacy from the Hinterlands! We might not have your refined High Table cuisine, but trust me: our spices are to die for!"

Yuki muffled her sniffing. She nodded slowly. Good, finally, some sort of dialogue between her! "Tank yyuu," she said with a muffled voice. Archius nodded, and walked over towards the kitchen, keeping a singular eye on the conversation.

'Look, just keep her company, alright?' Archius requested. 'She cares about you more than most, trust me on that.' Sure, Archius was toying with Nathan's teenage emotions - but… it was for everyone's good!

Nathan paused entirely, raising his eyebrows at Archius. Huh? Did he do something wrong? OH, he just contacted him without speaking.

'Ah, just close your lips and think with your head what you want to say to me, try it!' Archius said. He grabbed a knife and started to do that thing that the celebrity chefs do, sharpening it on that metal rod. Drones were getting the ingredients, mainly spices, vegetables and lots of rice!

Looking up, Archius saw that Nathan was trying his best. No... he was trying a bit too hard. He had his lips sealed shut, as he tried to concentrate. Archius chuckled silently.

'Relax, Nate, it won't work if you try too hard,' Archius said whilst chuckling.

Nathan finally got it to work. 'Sorry... Pardon me! I don't... think she wants me to... sorry... sorry… sorry… uhh…'

First time for everything. Everyone seems to stumble the first time they uplink or use hiccups silently. Even Archius… Though he hated to admit it.

'Enough with the apologies,' Archius said whilst cutting up a bunch of kryimstone onions, letting a pungent and delectable smell fester in the kitchen. 'You matter to her, Nate, she and you don't realise it, yet.'

Nate slowly nodded, acknowledging something. He turned back to Yuki, somewhat shaky. "Yuki... cry as much as you want now... I uh... I will..." Nathan awkwardly glanced at Archius, expecting him to come up with something.

Archius linked his uplink to the drones around him. All at once, both he and the drones gave Nathan two thumbs up. He smirked, finding this to be entertaining. Nathan nodded. 'Thanks.'

He turned back to Yuki, "I'm here for you, Yuki, so don't worry, alright?""

Well, at least Nathan's honest with his mind, Archius thought, better honesty in love and war than others he knows. Archius moved on to chopping up some other ingredients, as Yuki slowly cheered up slightly.

A solution was required, however… Archius paused. A knock came to the door, at the right time as well.

Václavos glanced at Archius, almost readying for combat. "Go answer it, why not?" Archius mused.

He took out a rice cooker, dumping some rice into it before chopping up lentils and chickpeas. Václavos paused, glanced over to the door, then nodded. He walked over to it and opened it carefully.

Footsteps entered the suite. Archius glanced to the side, whilst filling everything he chopped up into a cooking pot.

Kazuki stepped into view, glancing over at Archius. Right on time, Kazuki… It totally wasn't like Archius had a tracker on him, why would Archius ever do that?

"Come. We're leaving. Martinez and Sato called us up for something. Seems important," Kazuki stated. "Let's go." He kept his voice quiet so Nate nor Yuki could hear.

Archius stopped Kazuki from leaving, placing a hand around his shoulder and dragging him closer. "What about Noah? Hmm? Don't tell me you're just as naïve as Eliza at this?"

"He'll say nothing," Kazuki said. "He knows we can find him. People see too much in pens, all when it takes one sword to cut down a thousand pens."

Archius smirked. "Maybe," he admitted. "But it only takes one good pen to kill the sword, how many pens will you have to kill to find that good one?"

"All if I must." Such a cold reply, but one Archius would have expected from Kazuki. "Noah won't say anything. Trust me. He won't. Now, let's go."

"Nuh-uh, you still have a few things to do, don't you?" Archius mused, nodding towards the food he was preparing. "Plus, I'm making dinner for four, might as well make it five, then?"

Kazuki shook his head. "I don't have a strong appetite. Something's boiling on Anagora."

Oh, then it must be a nuisance, but nothing that AGENCY can't handle without them.

"Eating only gala-ration bars and vitamin supplements is not a healthy diet, Kaz!" Archius raised his voice so both Yuki and Nathan could hear.

The two looked over, frozen by the sight of the Contract-Breaker. Archius turned his concerned gaze into a small smirk for Kazuki to see.

Kazuki is the cause of it all, and he will be the one to resolve this issue. Pi immediately sprouted up from Yuki's lap, slicing through the air before landing on Kazuki's hand as if by second nature.

It was excited by Kazuki's return, brushing its warm head against Kazuki's cheek.

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Kazuki turned back to Archius. "It's adequate."

'Maybe for your gloomy ass, but you see, I like to live a little!" Archius snapped at Kazuki, before shrugging. He walked towards Kazuki, hiding himself behind a pillar as he spoke to Kazuki true and proper, "Now, apologise to your sister… It's a problem for all of us."

Kazuki looked back at Yuki. Judging by his eyes, she must have slinked back in his presence. "No. I have nothing to say to her," he said. "Nothing I say will matter anyway."

He was turning to leave, but Archius grabbed onto Kazuki's arm, holding up a large, but not comical, spoon. "Hey. She's your sister."

"She's adopted," Kazuki remarked.

"Still, you are siblings by law," Archius continued. "Trust me, I read the whole codex whilst being trained by the CRIS, they made us do fucking written exams on them..."

"Is that the outdated version or the up-to-date one?" Kazuki asked.

Archius shook his head. Ugh, that did not matter in the slightest to the point he was making. The most people would ever do when making new laws would be to benefit their cronies and do the bare minimum to get re-elected.

"If you don't makeup with your damn sister, I'll hide your Halolazil stache."

Instantly, Kazuki's eyes widened and glared at Archius. "You wouldn't fucking dare."

Archius sniggered. "Who knows, maybe seeing you start cranking from withdrawals will be interesting. I wonder what type of lecture Claire would give you… after you start immediately overdosing, of course."

"No… first of all, fuck you. I'm not a junkie." Kazuki's offended tone was enough to answer that question. Kazuki grabbed a toothpick and flicked it at Archius.

Archius caught it between two fingers. "I'm getting better at catching things you throw at me, you know?"

Kazuki flicked another one, which bounced off of Archius' forehead. "Ugh… Sure, sure, uh huh, you're not a junkie, fine," he remarked. "Could have taken out my eyes… fuck you."

"I made sure not to aim for them."

"Sure you did…"

"Second, Why do you care?" Kazuki asked, with his emotionless expression filling in any holes left unmarked by his apathetic voice. "It's my sister. Not yours."

What Kazuki said just irked Archius the wrong way. He let a stare convey the thoughts. He then grabbed hold of Kazuki's shirt collar and headbutted him. Kazuki staggered back two steps, glancing up, confused, at Archius.

Archius, meanwhile, was hiding the evident pain of whacking his head against what was probably the equivalent of steel. It fucking hurts! "Ugh, do you have steel for your bones?"

"The fuck was that for?" Kazuki snapped, before taking a step forward. He didn't seem all that pissed, more annoyed at Archius' attempt to straighten him out.

"I had two sisters, two brothers... One brother was killed by falling debris. The other was killed in a stampede. My mother, carrying my baby sister, was squished by a flying piece of rock. My dad was trapped under rubble—"

Archius bit off the words as he felt some personal connection to the topic at hand. He kept a malice-filled face within his arsenal - yet mixed in with honesty and truth. It was a totally lethal combination that Kazuki was weak too. Everyone has their weak points. Archius rarely did this, but when he did: Kazuki listened intently.

"—and begged me to take my last sister and run. We got into an underground metro just as the virus bombs fell... Rescue services couldn't find her remains… Stop being a hard-ass, Kaz, stop it before everyone you might ever love dies. You don't need to be the Contract-Breaker on a twenty-four-seven rotation."

Kazuki shot back, "If I let them think otherwise, they'll see me as weak. They'll come for me and those around me."

"Has that stopped Svenn's Loyalists or the Gunrunners from going after you?" asked Archius.

A lull in the conversation allowed both to think for a moment. Whatever Kazuki was thinking, Archius can only speculate on. He can speculate with precision, but that isn't enough accuracy - especially when it comes to someone as... historically 'vibrant' as Kazuki. Kazuki slowly nodded, surprising Archius.

"I'm sorry," Kazuki stated. Oh, are we practising?! He glanced up. "That was to you. Not her. You rarely talk about your family, to begin with. If you did, this must mean something to you."

Archius pushed his face up into a smirk.

"Any drama between you two might cause some trouble down the line. I'd prefer to keep all our doors open... Just make sure not to botch the apology. I know that's kind of a thing you do... For someone trained by the legendary arms dealing inventor and the high-jiriking-admiral you sure lack the politics they had."

"Fuck you, Archius."

"Hey, you're the one acting like a damn coward here," said Archius. "You've held back before… You once held back for pride. Don't hold your mind back out of fear."

"Fine."

Damn. Archius was expecting a much longer argument between the two of them. Archius sighed, picking back up his large spoon. Though, Kazuki takes after his father a lot more than he seems to realise... "Yeah, you have a tendency to be very mean to the wrong people. I don't want to know what happened between the two of you, but just… fix it, alright?"

Kazuki looked past Archius, pointing into the kitchen. "You should probably... let the heat settle."

Hmm? Archius twisted around, and he saw the cooking pot he was boiling bubbles to high heat. FUCK! He rushed over, turning the heat off. Kazuki... dammit. If the argument got longer, was he just gonna not tell him!?

Still, Kazuki is not on the right track. So what if a little water was spilt? That guy might say he sacrificed everything, but he still holds onto other things...

Archius guessed that was why he liked Kaz to begin with. Both were ninety seconds from midnight in their minds… They have crossed the midnight point, but that doesn't stop the clock from going all the loooong way around again, does it?

Memories of the past dripped in, mainly about Jasyme and their high school years… before they transferred to Sarimba High.

However, Archius did regret bringing up his family. Despite how much time has passed, it still aches him somewhat. Closing his eyes, Archius could see all the people that have died around him...

Archius thought about saying 'do your best', in Kazuki's native tongue, the Lautrasian Dialect... But he hasn't spoken about it in years.

But to hell with that, Kaz loves simple and easy. "Happy shooting."

Approaching Yuki, Kazuki sought to remedy the situation. However, his strides did not many that very evident.

He stopped before Yuki and Nate.

Nathan stood up. Oh? He was quivering, but he stepped in between Kazuki and Yuki. "You're not gonna harm her again..." he quietly murmured.

Kazuki leant in closer, grumbling. Nathan was being far too confident, but Archius was digging this! Even if he was quivering in all his limbs, Nathan remained steadfast, his green eyes staring into lifeless gold.

"Clench your fists..." Kazuki muttered back. "Quivering whilst clenched makes you look angry. Far better to show anger than fear. I won't harm her." With that, Nathan slowly sat back down.

Pi wasn't gawking, merely sitting peacefully on Kazuki's shoulder.

"Yuki... I'm sorry," Kazuki started. "I don't know how to… start this."

What a sorry apology, Archius thought.

He sighed, putting up a neutral face as Yuki shimmied across the sofa, squishing Nathan into the armrest. Scared of Kaz? Probably? Maybe? Dunno. The unapologetically seemingly sarcastic apologist didn't help whatsoever.

"There was nothing wrong you did... You just looked out for me," Kazuki remarked. "There's no point in explaining my side of things. No point for that. I'm here to tell you I take it back."

Oh? He was making progress, though in an emotionally stunted way - as expected of the self-proclaimed emotionless killer. Self-proclaimed… Archius can see behind that.

There are emotions in those eyes, Archius might have found the jackpot of Kazuki's secrets, but Kaz always seems to be such an endearingly generator of mysteries.

"Huh?" Yuki muttered out, sniffing. Her eyes were still watery. Kazuki shot out his hand, as Pi fluttered close to her, wiping and vaporising the water off her.

Kazuki repeated himself, "I take it back."

Without even looking at him, Archius could tell that Kazuki had the same deadpan expression he'd had for so long on his face.

"I saw you as an extension of our parents," Kazuki said. Well, so much for not explaining his side, Archius thought. "But you did nothing. I offer an apology to you to reconcile our differences. You don't need to accept it. It's there. I have said it."

As far as 'Kazuki' apologies go, this wasn't the worst.

Yuki, meanwhile, kept peering up at Kazuki. Pi started to lick Kazuki's face. Archius had to stop himself from laughing and ruining the moment.

Kazuki placed his hands in his pockets.

Nathan nudged Yuki slowly. Then... The dam burst. Yuki got up and winded her right arm up. She slammed her fist into Kazuki's torso with all her might. Evidently, it did no damage whatsoever. "Ha! Take that, Kazu!"

"Itai." Kazuki let off a fake groan of pain, speaking Lautrasian for a moment. It's probably just to satiate Yuki's eccentric tendencies.

Speaking of which, Yuki used her small size and nimbleness to climb onto Kazuki. She forced him to carry her, lest she fall. "Pah, you're too harsh on them!"

Kazuki grunted.

Sitting on top of his shoulders, she played with Pi. "Aha! So you were lying the whole time! We're siblings, Kazu, and there's no way you'll be able to get rid of me anytime soon!"

"Yeah, I guess there isn't." Kazuki had completely accepted this reality as he turned around, before throwing Yuki up into the air as she landed back down on the sofa. "Don't climb me."

"Nuh-uh, you know mother and father always talk about you, right?" Yuki remarked, to Archius and Kazuki's surprise. Archius saw Kazuki's stare meander in disbelief. "Well… they always said how strong and brave you are… Kazu, so I wondered if I could be like you. Brave and strong for other people!"

Kazuki sighed. "Never aspire to hold a torch to what I am," he said. "But… if it's you, I know you'll fuck it up in some way that corrects things."

Yuki snickered as Kazuki started to make his way towards the kitchen again."Just... who are you, Kazu?"

At the question, Kazuki paused and turned around. "I wouldn't know myself," he replied. He gave a two-fingered salute to Yuki, before turning back and walking away.

"Archius. Add in some extra for me. I… have something to deal with."

"Sure." Archius had no reason to object. Now was the time for rest, he supposed. Given recent events, Archius had no doubts that the Board would follow up after this. Right now, Kaz is probably going to deal with the Liz issue.

"Awh?! You'll be back, right?" Yuki asked, playing with Pi whilst happily kicking away at the air. He twirled around and flicked a pen to her head, it clicked and fell onto the floor. "Bleh, you're no fun!"

Yuki immediately turned her attention to Nathan, who she pounced on with Pi in hand. She immediately placed him in a joyful headlock... "You were right after all, Nate!" she shouted.

The two siblings stood firm, with their exaggerated cowlicks dangling forward. Yuki had innocence in her eyes, whilst Kazuki… Archius knew too well what was lurking beneath those golden bulbs…

Walking past the kitchen, Kaz patted Václavos on the shoulder, before standing in front of the door. Yuki jumped up, shifting to the side of the room to see Kazuki walk down to the door. "Kazu!"

Kazuki turned around. "Hmm?" He postured himself for an incredibly dumb question... which, given Yuki's... lack of brains, does make quite a lot of sense.

"If you're free from your job for a bit, you should come home!" Yuki pointed her finger at him, smiling brightly. Archius was somewhat amazed at what she just said. Within ten or so words, Yuki had just undone any and all progress she made with Kazuki!

However, he simply nodded. Turning around, he shrugged and placed his hand on the phase lock for the door. "I'll think about it."

"Mother says she misses you!" Yuki remarked. Her happy-go-lucky face slowly turned down a few notches, showing just a… normal teenage girl beneath the mask. "I... think it'd be best if you talk to mother and father yourself... It's been like two years, Kazuki..."

He turned around again, with the same expression as always and to Archius' surprise, he said, "I'll make time."

Amazing! What a fucking turnaround of events! Archius couldn't help but privately cheer for the fact that the siblings didn't fuck it all up this time!

"OH yeah," Archius quietly murmured, catching Kazuki's attention. "Your suspicions were right. The Marquis is sending Obadiah to Belsara."

"Tch…" Kazuki grunted, knowing full well he couldn't reach Obadiah. "Republic justice escaped him."

Archius shrugged. "He'll be humiliated, that's good enough, even if you want to curb him into a pair of concrete shoes."

Kazuki grunted, annoyed, but satisfied at Archius' social engineering. Then, he phased the door open and left.

For someone like him, covert methods are far more effective than overt. But this time, it wasn't him who moved the chess pieces to this order, it was Kaz, and Archius smiled at that. Well then… best to finish cooking dinner.