Paint it Another Colour

Chapter 31

They had built up an arsenal of household appliances that in someway or another could be useful. The collection of cheese graters, cooking knives and pans of sorts had multiplied to include nunchucks, chairs, an iron switched on at the wall and Mei's fabric scissors that she had shed tears over parting with. Kiku stood at the end of the table, hands on hips, staring at the cluttered area. It was virtually nothing. Definitely nothing to what he assumed the counterparts had with them, but it was all they could scrape together for the time being, and they couldn't rely on Batukhan coming in time.

"Is this it?" Kiku stared dismally at the pile, trying not to let his disappointment show. "Is this everything in the house?"

"Yeah" Kyung Soo and Yong Soo said at the same time.

"There's nothing left in the house" Leon shook his head as though amplifying his point.

"Unless you want the needles from my box too" Mei said, her voice laced with venom. "And my sewing machine maybe? I mean, that could hurt someone if you threw it hard enough."

 "That won't be necessary" Kiku said quickly, leaning on the table. "You said in the house Leon?"

Leon nodded. "I mean, obviously we haven't checked the cellar, the attic... we could check them now?"

Without being told, Mei turned and fled up the stairs to search the attic and Kyung Soo and Yong Soo ran to the cellar.

"Is that everywhere now" Kiku glanced at Leon.

"There's the shed" Leon suggested. "But that's outside, and I don't think anyone's going to be willing to go outside really seeing as..." he trailed off when he noticed Kiku's expression. "No. No, I'm not going out there. You said yourself they're evil. We've all heard the stories from last time. When you and Yao and the others got attacked and you all died bar three. I don't especially want to go outside ever."

"But how would they get around the back?" Kiku pointed out. "And besides, if they're in the garden, it means they're about to come in anyway. You'd just be meeting them a bit earlier."

"If you're so set on someone checking the shed, why don't you go?" Leon snapped.

"Because I've not searched my room yet for anything" Kiku hissed. "I was busy in the kitchen while you were all going through yours."

"I could search it for you?" Leon suggested.

"You're young" Kiku shook his head. "I don't want to scar you."

Leon took a step back in shock. "What the hell have you got in there?"

Kiku shook his head again and started towards the stairs. "Just go to the shed. You can lock the door from the inside if it makes you feel better."

Leon watched him go, cursed and opened the back door. He shuddered as he got outside, glancing from side to side to make sure no one was there before heading down the long path to the large wooden structure at the end of the garden. The door was already half open, so he peered inside, then stepped in and locked the door. No way was he leaving it open. Anyone could get in. Feeling suddenly a lot more comfortable, he sighed and started sifting through various piles of garden equipment, pulling out forks, shears, slightly too sharp trowels and a chainsaw from the back corner. It was a decent haul. Happy with it, he bundled it all up into a rusty wheelbarrow, kicked open the door and set across the garden again.

He was halfway towards the house when he felt a shattering pain in his face, his head twisted to the side and he stumbled backwards. It took him a second after he hit the ground to realise he'd been punched, and another second to come to his senses again, but by that time, the wheelbarrow had been overturned and he was fighting off a garden fork being pressed into his throat.

"Just go already" the person hissed and for the first time, Leon got a good look at them. He was the one that Kiku had pointed out as Yao's counterpart, Xiao, with the same hair most of which was tucked into a military cap and a look of disgust and hatred covering his face.

"Country economy?" Leon tried. He hadn't really been listening in the meeting when Feliciano told them about the effect the loss of a nation could do to a country. He knew he should have been, but he just sort of hadn't done. All he remembered was hearing the basics.

Xiao snarled aloud into a savage laugh. "You're barely a nation. You don't matter. The smaller ones don't matter. If you go, barely anyone if effected. You're looked after by too many people anyway. Even if your little country drowned, I don't think anyone would miss it."

Leon hesitated as though mulling the thought over. That couldn't be right. In his second of hesitation, Xiao forced the fork down a little further so it pressed lightly into the other's skin. Leon yelped and tried to push him away again, failing and, if anything, bringing the fork deeper into his neck. Xiao's eyes glinted for a moment, then he was tackled to the ground sideways and there was a metallic clunk sound. Leon choked and rolled over, clutching at his neck and the small imprints in it before glancing towards where Xiao had landed. Kiku was slowly getting to his feet, brandishing the wok that Yao always had close by.

He glanced worriedly at him before helping him up.

"Are you alright?" Kiku frowned and inspected the marks.

"I'm fine" Leon shoved his hand away. "Thanks."

Kiku nodded and glanced at Xiao out cold. "So it begins" he muttered darkly.