"What happened to Otto..?"
"Don't worry Yinny-boi! It's nothing much. It's a new virus, everything should be fine."
"Oi stupid what do you mean—"
"It's late. You should go to bed. You're in Ireland right? There's no time zone differences so you should sleep.... It's two in the morning after all and you don't want to wake your friend up after letting you stay there right? Geez, it's normally you who screams at me for staying up so late. You need to rest."
"....Fine. Tell Otto I said hi once he recovers."
"Of course!"
Gaela watched in silence as Lait hung up and the small smile on her face immediately faded. After that phone call with the oblivious Yinyu, the Rí an Ghealach, TRAXX, Lait and their groups waited outside the Agency laboratory in silence, listening to the distant shouting of Lydie and Fuze as they tried to save the half dead Otto.
"Miss Lydie is a good person," Threatening started, unable to stand the heavy silence, "even Mr. cannot stop her from saving Lait's friend. She's the only person who Mr. Häyhä doesn't have control over after all. Miss Lydie really did threaten to kill her self huh...." "She is a nice individual," Sakura agreed, "she's really nice." Lait looked down at the silver floor before sighing. "I'm sorry for all this trouble," she mumbled, "I just want Otto to recover..." "No, we're sorry too..! We kidnapped Fuze to find Lyd and I never knew a second party is after him too." Sakura insisted, "right Kami?"
The neon green haired killer's face darkened as she looked away, growling, tightening her fist resting on her bandaged torso. "I have no intention of getting along." She glowered. "A-Anyways enough of all that..! May I ask what brought you all together? I'm curious. Also Lydie said to calm down, relax and socialise so why not?" Folisha asked as soon as she picked up the hostile vibe from Kami. Kami hmphed. "I have no intension of getting along." She repeated before she stood up, "I will take my leave. I have things to do." With that, she left.
"Don't worry. She's always like that around strangers," Shauna smiled softly, "ever since her friend got executed from being accused to be TRAXX and the Angel's Executioner by everyone including her very own friends, she can never trust anyone again just in case she'd loose them too someday. Kami hold a grudge against nearly everyone who knows her friend because they may be the one who pressurised her execution... Her friends and some hackers who used Maria I believe turned her into the police and the Comhairle when she's hiding. O-Oh I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Shauna and this is my sister Lucia. That's Sakura and TRAXX is Kami."
"Well, Winter, Zero and Hvítur knows who I am since I used to work with them when I got lost in London on holidays with my family. Sir took me in and taught me how to become a criminal before he earned enough to send me back home again! He's soooo nice! Hvítur, Zero and Winter knows me as Arctic though so uhm, I'm Lucia! I'm the president of Shauna Fan Club!" Lucia exclaimed as she slung an arm around the shyer and taller lavender haired sister lovingly, "Kami trusts us loads - we are strong after all! We only heard from the media that she's executed. What if she's still alive? So for the past few years we've been tracking down connections and areas she might be in."
"Hm. Interesting." Lait said, "you're right. We're only told that she's killed. She might still be alive! Aahhh it'll be great to see her again! To think she'd be accused of being killer is a bit too much... I always feel bad because we're so close to each other and she died because she was said to be The Angel's Executioner... and TRAXX too."
"Very fascinating." Adrienne commented as she fixed her glasses, "I saw the news on it a few years ago... How about you, Miss Lait? You and your acquaintances seems to be really talented in stealing and killing despite being only young adults. How did you break into my home and kill twenty guards a number of years ago...?" "Well, as you all know, me and Yinyin's parents died in a car crash here in Britain. It may or may not be an assassination attempt - that's what the man took me and my brother in theorised. He's no ordinary man. He's a thief. He's a killer. The world said he's nothing but a rodent but that's not true at all."
Lait's gaze hovered over to Aisuki and Casper. "Me, Aisuki, Casper, Otto and my brother all know he's the kindest man alive. He brought everyone, except my brother since I asked him not to, to steal and kill with him despite being a hassle and possibly an obstacle... That's how he died." The room suddenly fell silent and Aisuki continued. "That man fed us, sheltered us, helped us, loved us and supported us.... We are carrying on his will to erase evil and corrupted aristocrats and be the hope for the poor. At first we were planning to break into the Le Blank manor quietly but Lait suggested we should bomb everything." Lait looked down in guilt. "Hhhhh sorry Adrienne..." She mumbled. "Alright! So, how about you guys?" Lucia asked, "the Rí an Ghealach... How is it formed?"
Gaela, Brian, Adrienne, Rin, Threatening and Folisha all shared a look. "I'm a prodigy from a wealthy family. One day someone wanted to kill me but Rin, Gaela and Brian saved my life. And so I decided to join them," Adrienne answered bluntly.
"Well, I used to be in charge of a bandit gang - when I first lost my eyesight due to some cunts. And then I've been sent to kill Gaela but........" Folisha paused and hovered her gaze over to Gaela and then Brian, blushing, "as you can see, I failed to do so. Instead of getting killed, Brian gave me a chance....! And thanks to Lyd, I have infrared vision. It's not the best but hey - I can see a little again."
"I used to be a Kashmiri Freedom Fighter," Threatening answered, "I was kidnapped by soldiers at a young age in my village and was trained to become a soldier fighting for Allah and our freedom. One day I was assigned to kill an Indian politician however..." He paused before glancing over at Gaela, Brian, Rin and Folisha. "They sabotaged our plan and obliterated the camp. At the time I don't know English but Folisha told me in Urdu to join them to create a paradise for all or die. As a humble soldier fighting for Allah and a world for all, I accepted their invitation and is learning the English language thanks to everyone here. I am still learning even today."
"Everyone here have interesting stories but I on the other hand have a pretty normal one!" Rin grinned. "I ran away from my home because... well, I want to do anything I want to. I'm not just a thing. I have my own mind and body and I don't want to obey my family's orders for the rest of my life. And I was taken in by a new family! One day these b*stards picked on my little brother by the alleyway so I taught them a lesson. Then some Asian dude saw my feat and sent me to Cillian to work for him whilst my family thought I'm in a good private school here in London. And I took those two resting b*tch faces with me and formed the Rí an Ghealach." Rin commented, pointing at Gaela and Brian, "I'm technically the founder of this group!" "You despise us at the beginning Rin," Brian said calmly, "you tried to kill Gaela." Brian's face immediately darkened, "you tried to kill Gaela...." "Aight soz," Rin said, holding up her hands in defeat.
"S-So you all hate each other at some point?!" Shauna squeaked, looking around in horror. The Rí an Ghealach all shared a look. "Yeah." Folisha answered, "we used to be after each other's lives and I guess we contemplate each other a lot and learned each other's strengths and weaknesses. As a result we became one of the best group of assassins in the world so whoops..?" "So Gaela and Brian. How about you two? Oh and didn't you mention to me and Maria you used to have a little brother Gaela? We need to know the whole story." Lait asked, intrigued.
The Rí an Ghealach (except for Brian) shared surprise looks. "Wait Gaela have a younger brother?!" They chorused in disbelief. The impassive duo shared a look. Gaela sighed and stood up. She hate talking about herself. "This is absurd. It's nothing important. Talking about it would be a waste of time. I'll be going." Gaela answered before retreating for the elevator to the café upstairs.
Brian stared after Gaela. "Gaela doesn't want to talk about it and I respect her wishes." Brian said, "we know each other for a long time. I don't think she want to talk about it because we've all been through hardships. It's up to her whether she wishes to dwell on the past or continue moving forward. I'll be going." With that, Brian left the hall too.
***
The breaking dawn never failed to amaze Gaela no matter how many times she saw it on the Tower Bridge. Gaela happily dangled her legs on the tower she's sitting on. Gaela can see for miles - the city of London stretching out and into the distance. The soft flowing sound of water below Gaela smoothens her and the morning breeze kissed her cheeks gently, greeting her welcomingly.
Gaela turned her attention to the clouds above her, enriched with golden light as the sun shone down on it. There's some little pieces breaking off from the rest and floated away. Clouds vary from gray to pink to red to yellow and everything was touched with gold and silver. It's truly beautiful. Gaela smiled.
"Hey."
Gaela doesn't need to turn around to see who the voice belongs to. "Mind if I join you?" The tall handsome blonde behind her asked. Gaela nodded and shuffled a bit, making some room (though there's no point since there's so much space) for Brian to sit next to her on the edge of one of the two towers on the Tower Bridge.
A moment of comfortable silence full of trust and company greeted the duo as they admired the view in silence. Gaela yawned before she leaned her body onto Brian, plopping her head onto his broad shoulders. It's only for less than a second but Gaela felt Brian tense up before loosening. "No matter how many times Folisha showered you with physical contact, you can never get used to it huh." Gaela commented. Brian nodded. "Maybe I shouldn't touch you then since it makes you so uncomfortable." "Don't. I.... like it. It feels nostalgic."
Gaela chuckled before she leaned back on the Tower Bridge. "God how long has it been since mother showered us with her love?" "Too long to count." Brian answered. "Yeah, it's been a long time." A moment of silence. "Gaela, you changed." Brian suddenly said. Gaela sat up slowly and narrowed her eyes at the blonde.
"You've become more..... talkative and quite expressive through your straight face. You've clearly loosened up." Brian said, "what has Aka been doing to you?" Gaela simply shrugged. "Really? I didn't notice." Gaela can feel it. She really can. There's a spark of warmth in her heart that was never there in the first place. Gaela can feel herself loosening up around her... well, friends. There's something about that flirtatious and happy chessman she needs to protect that makes Gaela's heart beat at an abnormal rate. Gaela is worried that this spark of life in her heart will kill her someday. Another moment of silence.
"Hey," Brian started, "have you been thinking about the future?" Gaela tilted her head. "No not really." She admitted, "have you?" Brian paused before he nodded. "Well... I know we're technically adults but what will happen to us in ten years time when we mature just a bit more? Will the Rí an Ghealach still be together?" Gaela's mind went blank.
Brian looked up at the morning sky. The bright golden sunlight kissed Brian's flawless face, giving him a faint outline of this majestic heavenly gold colour. "In this world it's either kill or be killed. The strong will forever be the predator. Will any of us die in the future in the hands of the strong?" Brian asked, "....or will we be strong enough to survive and run away from this life and start a new one? We can all start a family and live the ordinary life that I always always want."
"It's not like you to be thinking about all this, Prince Charming." Gaela remarked, "you are the most efficient person in the Rí an Ghealach and I'd say the agency too. It's hard to think you'd be thinking about all this. We signed up for this life. There's no turning back." Brian's lips rugged upwards - just a tiny bit. "You're right. It's trivial to think about all that." Another moment of comforting silence. "Hey Brian. If you did start a family, what would you name your child?" Gaela asked. Brian paused before answering.
"Valerie."
Gaela nodded. "I see. In memory of your dear sister." Gaela said. Brian nodded. "She was a wonderful person. She helped me so many times. She helped me escape from.... that life. As a result, she's killed for helping me run away. It's my fault." Brian paused before his piercing dark blue eyes softened, into an expression of sorrow and remorse.
"I'm sure to this day Aka still won't forgive me but I understand why she hates me so much. In fact, I won't even be mad if I'm killed by Aka someday. I'm living and cherishing the life Valerie helped me with. I also need to thank you for reaching out for me Gaela, under the cherry blossoms." "It's nothing. You're a valuable member of my family after all. Just you, me and mother. Thank you, Braun." Gaela patted Brian on the back awkwardly. "Don't call me that." Brian said. "Well, you should just call me Gaela then. I don't respond to any of those names I left behind me." "Of course, Yuki." Gaela's face dropped. "Is anything wrong Yue Xuemei?" Brian asked, "maybe you prefer Seuno more?"
Suddenly, the two impassive childhood friends who are siblings burst out laughing, just like little kids laughing at an inside joke. For a moment, the two cold and resilient killers' facade dropped, revealing the inner child deep within their hearts. The duo stared at each other, smiling at each other with a spark of immaturity. "We know too much about each other and it's scary." Gaela chuckled. "I agree. To think we're still here with each other's company is a miracle," Brian smiled, "I don't want to be separated from you ever again... I cannot live my life without you." "Agreed." Before the two can continue their talk, they paused. Gaela's spidery senses tingled as she turned her head the other way, at the other tower of the Tower Bridge.
Cillian Häyhä stood there with his hands in his pockets, glaring daggers at Brian before his cold dark gaze softened on Gaela. He then took out his phone and gestured at it before he fled. Curious, Gaela took out her phone, only to be greeted with messages from Lait.
Lait Yi (Procrastinator Roommate)
ʟᴀɪᴛ ʏɪ: ɢᴀᴇʟᴀ??? ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ?
ʟᴀɪᴛ ʏɪ: ʟʏᴅɪᴇ sᴀɪᴅ ᴏᴛᴛᴏ ɪs ʀᴇᴄᴏᴠᴇʀɪɴɢ!
ʟᴀɪᴛ ʏɪ: ɪ ᴊᴜsᴛ ɢᴏᴛ ᴀ ᴍᴇssᴀɢᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴀᴋᴀᴍᴀɪ ᴛᴏ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ᴏɴ ᴍᴀʀɪᴀ. ʟᴇᴛ's ɢᴏ ʙᴀᴄᴋ
ɢᴀᴇʟᴀ: ᴋ
Brian ripped his eyes off of Gaela's messenger screen and narrowed his eyes questioningly. "Apparently the letter 'k' is used for 'okay'." Gaela explained, "Alfred use it often when Akamai texts him." Brian nodded. A moment of silence.
"Well, I gotta go." Gaela said, standing up and stretched. "I need to go back to school, check up on Maria and watch over that chessman." Brian paused before nodding. "Okay. Stay safe okay?" Gaela smiled. "Of course."