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Child Raising Arc Intermission

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Intermission 1

"Kiku? Kiku? You alive?" I awoke to the sound of Henri's voice and his knuckles knocking against my door.

"Coming!" I got off my bed and quickly walked over to the door. Sure enough, there he was, dressed in full military uniform, wearing those black shades over his eyes as usual.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come so early." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Mari was the one who sent me for you."

I shook my head. "It's alright. Wanna come in?"

He nodded and took my invitation. I was about to close the door until Henri shook his head and closed it for me, locking it too. I smiled and thanked him before heading back to my bedroom to get fully dressed (I had slept in my black uniform pants and a white undershirt.) I heard the chair scrape against the wooden floor as Henri took a seat at the small table in the kitchenette.

"So, why does Mari want us over this early in the morning?" I asked as I buttoned up my black naval jacket.

"I honestly don't know," he sighed, "I tried to object, but then she went off like a bomb on me."

"Doesn't she always go off like a bomb on anyone who disagrees with her?" I laughed, doing the last button.

"Trust me, if you had been there, you wouldn't be laughing."

I still laughed, shaking my head as I put on my black low-heeled shoes. Once I was ready, I went to where Henri was sitting. He adjusted his black military beret before standing up and walking out the door with me. I found a jeep parked in front of the house, with Louis sitting in the driver's seat. He waved at me.

"Morning, Kiku."

"Morning, Louis."

Henri and I climbed into the back seat and as soon as we were comfortable, Henri took out a pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket. He took one, lit it with a lighter he took from his pants pocket, and gave it a long drag. Louis started the engine, driving us off in the direction of downtown Moscow. The city had been very lucky, for it was one of the few cities that was spared from the aerial bombings that took place during the last years of the war. For that reason, many civilians fled to the capital. From the jeep I could see people lining up at the soup kitchens for food, and at the red cross centers for any news on missing loved ones. Speaking of missing loved ones…

"Will Zhu be there too?" I asked.

Henri looked at me through his black shades, holding the cigarette with his teeth. "No, he's gone to that place*."

I made an 'O' with my mouth and things went silent again, save for the sound of the jeep's engine and the rushing wind. I didn't like this quietness, so I searched for another question to ask.

"How are your sisters? I haven't seen them in months."

"Jeanne and Elizabeth are in Scotland with our uncle," Louis answered, "Dad wants them to stay there until things in London calm down."

Just as I was about to inquiry on what the situation in London was, the cries of children reached my ears, but it was in Russian so I could not understand them. Henri and I turned in our seats to see a group of Russian street children chasing after our jeep. Though I couldn't translate their words, I knew what they wanted from us: food. Henri turned his head away to hide his look of pity.

"It's the same every time we come down here." he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What should we do?" Louis asked.

Henri reached into his pants pocket again, "The only thing we can do."

When he withdrew his hand, he was holding a wrapped chocolate bar. He turned in his seat and threw the candy bar into the group of children. One of the kids jumped in the air to catch it, but he was soon dog-piled on by the others. Henri saw this and took more bars out of both his pockets.

"What were you doing with all of those?" I asked him, smirking a bit despite the situation.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Kiku," he looked at me over his shades this time, "I got these for the kids back at the orphanage, not for me."

"Do you want me to throw some too?" Louis asked.

"You just concentrate on driving. If those kids want more food, then they should go to the orphanage. Mari will be more than happy to give them some."

With that, Henri threw the chocolate bars into the group of kids and they ceased chasing our jeep.

Within the next fifteen minutes, the three of us were just shooting the gun* when Louis pulled up and parked in front of a red-brick building. Before the war, it served as a school, now, it served as an orphanage with Mari working and living there. One by one, Henri, Louis, and I got out of the vehicle and we entered the building single file. As soon as Henri closed the door behind us, I heard the clicking of heels on the hard tile floor and Mari's figure appeared from around the corner. She was also wearing a military uniform (which had a red cross on one of the sleeves), along with black high-heeled boots, and her auburn hair was tied back in a bun. She sent a glare at us.

"What took you so damn long?" she hissed, "The children have been waiting for you!"

Henri took a step towards Mari, still holding the cigarette in his mouth. "We got distracted."

Mari continued to glare at him. She even yanked the cigarette out of his mouth. "How many times have I told you not to smoke here?" she waved the object in front of Henri's face, "I don't want the children breathing in this crap!"

Mari threw the cigarette to the tile floor and crushed it with the sole of her boot. She then swiftly turned her back on us to go back the way she came. When we heard her voice again, it sounded much happier and gentler. Within minutes, the sound of stampeding feet echoed the hallways and several kids appeared from the corner where Mari had first come from. Henri, Louis, and I were greeted with hugs, kisses from some of the girls, and we even received some flowers the kids had picked themselves. Henri handed out whatever chocolate bars he had left while Louis still had plenty to go around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mari playing a hand game with one of the younger boys. She looked so much more relaxed, then again, she always is whenever the kids are around her*.

See... Most of the children in this orphanage are five to fourteen years old, all of them Russian citizens, or immigrants from other countries. They like us not only because we give them sweets and other goods, but also because back during the war, we (as in Mari, Giovanna, Henri, Louis, Wolfgang, Caterina, Zhu, and myself) rescued them and offered care.

I heard a lot of giggling coming from Henri's direction and sure enough, when I looked, most of the girls were crowding around him. He was like a magnet to women, even Mari used to be infatuated with him once. I could not blame them, though, since he really was good-looking. He had green eyes, golden locks that fell to his shoulders (he usually keeps it in a small ponytail), three piercings on both ears, and a clean-shaven face. His full name is Henri Phillip Bonnefoy-Kirkland.

He smiled sheepishly at the girls and rubbed the back of his neck. He was just too nice to tell them that his heart already belonged to another.

I saw that Louis had a couple of girls around him too, except he appeared to be stammering quite a lot, not used to having such attention. His nervousness only made the surrounding girls giggle more. Louis Christophe Bonnefoy-Kirkland, Henri's younger brother and the second out of four children. He had blue eyes, dark blond hair, and a face that was just as handsome as Henri's. Unlike Henri, however, Louis seemed to have some confidence issues with himself and he was shy.

Finally, there's Mari. Actually, that's not her real name! Her name is Mariposa Florencia Carriedo-Vargas. She doesn't like the name Mariposa, though, she thinks it's dumb. That's why we shorten it to Mari. She once told me that her father gave her that name because on the day she was born, as her mother was holding her, a white butterfly flew into the hospital room through an open window and landed on the bed. Her father then grew very excited, saying it must be a sign from God to name her Mariposa*. Her mother, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and said it was only a coincidence. Whatever happened afterwards, Mariposa was written as her first name on her birth certificate in the end. She has green eyes and, though she often keeps her auburn hair in a bun or a ponytail, it's long enough to reach the middle of her back.

Then there is me. My full name is Kiku Nathaniel Jones-Honda. On my dog tags it reads 'Kiku N. Jones.' Reason we didn't add my mother's last name on it was because of the limited space. As for my middle name, it was after a friend that Dad knew during World War II*. Everyone tells me that I'm the spitting image of my mother and when I look at the pictures, they aren't lying. The only difference is that there's this one hair on my head that never goes down, like the one Dad has and my eyes, which are blue*. Also like my father, I was born with great strength. I may not be as muscular as him, but my build was nothing to sneeze at. I'm pretty calm most of the time, not as soft-spoken as Louis and not as aggressive as Mari. As far as food goes, I'll eat almost anything, but my favorite dishes are meat, rice, and vegetables. I also enjoy travelling, to know the other things that lie in the world.

While the others and I are here in Moscow, Russia, our parents are back at the UN headquarters in New York, trying to figure out how the world will run with the war over. It's just us kids at the military base now, save for Mari and Giovanna who live at the orphanage with the children. Everything has been like this for two months now. I am well aware that such things take time and that it might even take a year to settle most of the problems, but the kid in my heart still longed for Dad's company and I'm sure the others felt the same way about their parents.

"Kiku! Kiku! Let's go play outside!" one of the youngest boys said to me in English, tugging on my sleeve eagerly.

"Hey, yeah! Henri, let's go too!" a five year old girl attached herself to his leg.

"Why don't we all go play outside?" Mari said.

There was a chorus of "yay's" and soon we were all being dragged to the back of the building, where the playground was. I got on the merry-go-round with some of the kids while Louis and other children spun us. Mari was on the swings with the smaller boys and girls. Henri stood by the monkey bars as a couple of the boys went across them. To my surprise, a six year old girl with brown hair in two ponytails climbed up the ladder. She seemed frightened because she just stood atop the ladder, staring at the monkey bars, not moving an inch from her spot. Suddenly, Henri walked over and picked her up into his arms, holding her high enough so she could grab the bars. With the assistance, she made it across and right before he set her back down she kissed his cheek.

I saw some other, older girls cover their mouths at the action. They soon went over to the smaller one once her feet were back on the ground, probably to ask her how it felt having Henri's arms wrapped around her. Sure, it was kind of cute, but I don't think I'll ever understand women. Then... if I couldn't understand women, how on earth was I supposed to understand Mari? She was a whole mystery by herself (and I have no doubts she'd hit me over the head if I told her that). She seemed to be angry most of the time, whenever she gets embarrassed (even a little) tears fall from her eyes, and when she's not angry she has mood swings.

Now that I think about it, though, I wouldn't want her any other way. Not her, not Louis, not Henri, not anyone. Then again… the way Zhu was now worried me. Ever since the end of the war, he's been depressed to the point where he doesn't eat or sleep. The others and I have tried our best to cheer him up, but we are reaching the point where we're running out of ideas.
The format of this story is going to be different from what I usually do. Just so no one is confused, this takes place in the future, when Kiku is grown up. Specifically, this is after the war. This story will continue to jump back and forth between Kiku's childhood and the aftermath of the war.

Notes
* "That place" that Henri mentioned, I can't say much now since I don't want go give away any major spoilers, but I will say that it is where Zhu goes to often after the war when he wants to be alone.

*Just to enlighten anyone who may not know: "We were just shooting the gun" is a phrase that basically means "We were just talking."

*Mariposa means "butterfly" in Spanish.

*Kiku's middle name, Nathaniel, comes from a side-character in my America-centric fic: Man's Best Friend.

*I know that originally, in the The Empty Cradle I said baby Kiku's eyes were brown like his mother's, but I've decided to give him some more features from his father. Hence the blue eyes.

*All the unexplained details such as why Mari is so calm around the children, or why everyone is so worried about Zhu, and the war itself will be explained in future chapters. The same goes for the other children's backgrounds. Oh, and I have a fun question for all my readers: Who do you think is the one that has Henri's heart?

Part 4 --> You are here.
Part 3 --> [link]
Part 2 --> [link]
Part 1 --> [link]
Empty Cradle --> [link]
© 2011 - 2024 okami-no-tira
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WholeWheatHoneyOat's avatar
Please continue!!!! *^_^*