BAHD: Chapter 9: Simple Housework

^^ Sorry that this took so long to put out. I'm back in college so things are becoming priorities and I'm always busy it seems....

_________________________________________

Simple Housework
Chapter 9

"What in the hell is wrong with that guy?!" Kaira yelled once they were out of earshot of the throne room, heading back to their own rooms. "How could he do that to his own grandson?! In front of everyone!"
"What is that guy's problem?!" Dimi yelled, just as angry as Kaira.
Roxanne led them on, looking down in sadness. "Kain's always treated Demon that way, as long as I could remember..."
"Demon? His name's Ryo now...but why? It makes no sense!"
Roxanne turned to them, looking around to see if anyone else was listening. "Haven't you noticed anything about the eye color of everyone born in this house?" Everyone gave her a confused stare.
"All of their eyes are red, or some form of red, except Ryo's," Ken said, matter-of-factly.
"Exactly," Roxanne said. "The Razada House...it's very...superstitious. Every member of this family, as far back as the records tell, every member has been born with red eyes...Ryo was the first to be born with green eyes, the opposite of red."
"But why would that matter?!" Davis asked. "Kaira's eyes are blue, and mine are dark brown! How come we're not treated like that?”
Roxanne shook her head. "You were not born under the Razada House, and your mothers were not especially chosen for breeding purposes, the way Kain had originally intended..."
"But why would it even matter? Ryo's done nothing wrong as far as I can tell..." Kalon said under his breath.
Roxanne lowered her light green eyes. "From what I know, it's from something their mother said a long time ago..."
"Their Mom?" Dimi asked. "Where is she so we can ask her?"
"She died..." Dimi cringed and muttered an apology. "From what they've told me...she was able to tell one's future..."
"Really? That's awesome!" Dimi said.
"Not really..." Roxanne said. "When Leo and Ryo were born, she gave them predictions...she said Leo was going to be a very skilled prodigy, and Kain made him heir to the Razada House. But when she read Ryo's future..." Roxanne hesitated, as though considering how much she should tell them. "...she said Ryo was a Demon, and that his future was shrouded in Darkness...and that he would end the Razada House..."
"He would end the Razada House? That could mean several things," Jim said softly.
"Kain hates Ryo because of his green eyes now, because he sees them as an omen..." Roxanne said quietly. "I was supposed to marry Ryo, because I have green eyes too..."
"Don't worry Roxanne," Kaira said. "You're supposed to come with us!"
"To where?" Roxanne said surprised.
"We don't know, but Steel said he'd tell us eventually..." Taj said. He looked around and saw Kyo had left to their room, and followed.
"Were you really gonna marry my dad?" Kaira asked when it was just her and Roxanne.
"Your...dad?" Roxanne asked slowly, sounding hurt. "Ryo's your father?"
"Yeah, I just have to pretend Uncle Leo's my dad until we leave here,"
"Oh...I see..." Roxanne said, trying to sound happier.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" Kaira said, waving goodbye to Roxanne before leaving to her room to feed Ryo the Dragon.

Ryo knelt as still as he could, breathing hard. The welts and bleeding wounds in his back ached, but he'd have to bear it for now. Leo still stood next to him, giving him the little emotional support he could. Steel had put the cane away in silence, pleasure written across his face. May and Nayota were still against the wall in their places. They looked down on Ryo with no pity, but gave Leo warm smiles occasionally. Leo ignored these. He did not deserve their love if Ryo could not receive any.
Kain sat on his throne still, smiling evilly at Ryo. He leaned his head against his hand, looking laid back and comfortable. Ryo clenched his teeth. He couldn't look directly at Kain, but he knew Kain had enjoyed it.
"It's good to have the family together again, isn't it?" Kain said, ending the silence. "I met your children Lion...Davis and Kaira, am I correct?" Leo just nodded, not looking up. "Neither of their eyes were red...I was quite disappointed." Kain continued, "If you had stayed here with Bella, they would have had red eyes for sure..."
"Kain..." Steel said in a low voice, "I believe Lion had a request to make..." he shot Leo a demanding stare.
"Oh...and what would that be?" Kain asked, sounding amused.
Leo took a deep breath. He remembered everything Steel had told him to say, even though none of it made complete sense to him. "Grandfather..." Leo started, choosing his words carefully. He was most eligible to make a request from Kain, but even he had to be careful. "Me and Steel both request that Roxanne accompany us..."
"Roxanne?" Kain said. "Why would you need that witch to join you to Camaria?"
"We wish to all go to Camaria..." Leo continued slowly, "And make our prayers to the Cathedral in capital city...we are all sinners that wish to make redemptions...Demon and Roxanne still haven't made their prayers, so...I figured she would accompany us and redeem her sins as well...for not getting married at eighteen..."
"Hmm..." Kain thought, massaging his forehead. "Your entire party consists of sinners that wish to make their prayers?"
"Yes..."
"When will you return?"
"Possibly two weeks from when we leave for Camaria." Kain stood up and walked to Leo. Leo stood perfectly still and faced forward. Kain gripped Leo's chin and turned his face to his. Leo's eyes met Kain's. Their eyes were both fire red.
"Your eyes haven't changed at all, Lion..." Kain commented, turning Leo's face to and fro, examining them. "It's like your mother said before she died, Gods bless her soul...the Blood of Angels flow strong in you heart."
"Thank you sir..." Leo said quietly. Kain released his face and turned to leave.
"I'm sure you'll need some time to catch up with your siblings... oh, and Demon." Kain looked back once more at Ryo, still kneeling on the floor. "You'll have to do all of your chores before any of you are permitted to leave. And when you return from Camaria, you'll see it is your place to always remain here."
Kain left, followed by Steel, leaving Ryo, Leo, May, and Nayota alone. Leo sighed deeply, before giving Ryo his hand to help him up. Nayota went to Leo and threw his arm around his little brother's shoulders.
"Where the hell have you been Lion?! You know you had us worried sick for you!" Nayota said playfully.
"What were you thinking?! Just leaving like that, and not coming home for years and years! We were worried for you!" May exclaimed, hands on her hips in front of Leo. All of her brothers were much taller than her, but it never stopped her from scolding them.
"I'm fine, I'm a full grown man...I can take care of myself..." Leo said softly.
"But how could you just leave like that?" May went on. Ryo stood by himself, several feet away, watching Nayota and May fawn over Leo. A part of him had always been slightly jealous of Leo, but he knew it wasn't Leo's fault. They were born this way. He remembered back when Nayota and May had cared for him too, but those days were gone. Since they had left and made their prayers in Camaria when they turned eighteen, they had changed. Nayota went first when he was eighteen and Ryo and Leo were thirteen. When he returned from making those prayers, he became a different person. He treated Ryo the way Steel and Kain did, only caring for Leo, the heir. May had left to make her prayers when she was eighteen, when Leo and Ryo were sixteen. The same thing had happened to her, and she no longer cared for Ryo. As far as Ryo was concerned, making prayers was a bad thing, and it undoubtedly changed people for the worst.
Leo gave Ryo apologetic looks from behind May and Nayota. Ryo shook his head, saying it was fine. He left, being completely ignored by his older siblings. It was late, and he was hungry, but that'd have to wait for tomorrow. Ryo thought about everything he had to do before they left. He looked down at the floor he'd have to clean before anyone was permitted to leave. It would take him several days to clean the whole house, and he couldn't use any Element to help him. In the Razada House, he was Demon, and non-User.
Ryo slowly made his way to the servants’ quarters, his back still bleeding and sore. He wondered if Kaira was doing all right, but figured he'd check on her in the morning. He found his old room he still had to share with Roxanne and went inside. Roxanne was in the room alone, sitting on her bed. She looked up at Ryo and smiled.
"Ryo! I'm so happy you--oh God, let me fix your back!" she said quickly. Ryo said nothing and sat on his bed, slowly peeling off his torn shirt. Roxanne quickly got bandaged and helped Ryo wrap his back and chest. When she was finished, Ryo lied on his stomach and closed his eyes. He didn't feel like dealing with Roxanne yet. Roxanne saw that he was tired and remained silent, watching him drift into a deep sleep.

Kaira sat alone in her room, watching Ryo the baby Dragon play with the bed sheets. He made soft noises and rolled around in a cute manner that made her smile. Kaira couldn't sleep. She stood up and went to the door, deciding to go see if Kyo or Taj were still awake. She closed the door carefully to make sure the baby dragon would not escape while she was gone. As she entered the hallway she saw the top of Kyo's head descending the stairs. She moved to go after him but stopped in front of their room. She quietly opened the door and looked in to check on Taj.
Taj was sprawled out on his bed, unconscious with a small welt growing in the side of his head. Kaira smiled, thinking Taj was sleeping. She closed the door and quietly went down the stairs after Kyo.
Kyo walked into the garden, looking around at the plants idly. He walked next to a large tree and placed his hand on the trunk. It was late, and the sky was dark with few scattered clouds. The full moon hung in the sky, suspended in its fall to the earth. Kyo looked up at the moon, his face serious.
"Midnight tonight..." he said quietly to himself. He recalled a dream he once had, where on his eighteenth birthday, he received an unusual mark. He wasn't sure what would happen to him, but it didn't bother him either.
"You can't sleep either?" Kyo spun around to see Kaira walking towards him in the garden. "I couldn't sleep...I thought I'd visit you, but I found you out here."
"Oh...yeah..." Kyo said, looking back up at the sky.
"It's really nice out tonight..." Kaira said, looking up at the moon. "It's so sad that places like this exists in this world, ruining the natural beauty..." Kyo didn't say anything. Somewhere in the Razada House, a clock rang, signaling midnight. Kyo became alert, waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen. Kaira looked at Kyo, confused at his sudden alertness. Suddenly, Kyo's hair changed, and silver streaks appeared randomly in his hair
"Your hair!" Kaira gasped. "What happened to it?"
"What?" Kyo said, reaching up to feel his hair. He strode over to the pond and gazed at his reflection. The new silver streaks in his hair glowed in the moonlight. He had to admit it was a nice addition.
Kaira reached out and gently took one of Kyo's silver locks in her hand. "What happened?" she asked.
"It's nothing..." Kyo said softly. "It's after midnight...I'm eighteen today."
"Really?" Kaira said surprised. "I think this silver looks nice on you, kinda like highlights, only these look good."
Kyo smirked, heading back inside with Kaira. It was too late for a lady like her to be outside. While walking to through the hallway that led to their rooms, Kyo and Kaira passed Nayota, walking the opposite direction. Nayota took notice of Kyo's two-colored hair as he passed and stopped.
"Hey..." Nayota called back to Kyo. Kyo stopped and turned to Nayota. Kaira stared up at her uncle, not saying a word.
"Huh?...what?" Kyo asked, trying to sound polite.
"Hey...nice hair." Nayota commented. Kyo's eyes widened in slight amusement.
"Yeah...thanks...you have pretty profound hair yourself..." Kyo said, mentioning Nayota's white and black spiked hair. An awkward silence followed.
"Well...nice meeting you," Nayota finished before walking away again.
"Yeah, you too," Kyo said, leaving with Kaira giving them confused looks.

Ryo was up at dawn. Roxanne slept peacefully on the bed opposite of him, and he didn't wake her. He pulled on a gray shirt before leaving the room to start on his many chores. He wasn't thrilled to be back to his old life, but he knew he had to do it if they wished to keep their cover from Kain. He went to the supply closet and got his bucket of water and washrags. He could hear other servants whispering about him behind his back as they got ready for their day, but he ignored them.
Ryo went to his first section of hallway and diligently started to wash the floor, the way he had done all those years ago. When he was nearly done, he stopped to look at his work. It was then May entered the hallway. She walked down the hallway slowly, deliberately. In her wake she left footprints on the floor Ryo had just finished cleaning. As she turned out of the hallway, she looked back and gave Ryo a satisfied look. Ryo sighed in frustration, looking at the floor he had to clean again.
"Good morning Ryo!" Dimi yelled loudly walking into the hallway.
"Don't!" Ryo yelled, putting his hands up to signal Dimi to stop walking. Dimi froze, standing on one foot.
"What? What did I do?! I haven't done anything yet!"
"Yet...." Ryo said, sounding annoyed.
"Why are you cleaning the floor?"
"It's what I have to do here...I have to clean the whole damn house once before we can even leave with Roxanne..."
Dimi stopped, and watched Ryo clean up and down the hallway once. He smiled his trademark smile and grabbed a washrag. "I'll help you! It'll be faster with the two of us!"
"You shouldn't be helping me..." Ryo said, but he didn't stop Dimi. They both ran up and down the hall together cleaning it. Ryo thought Dimi was having too much fun to be a normal person. It didn't take long to finish the hallway.
Ryo and Dimi moved onto the next section of hallway and encountered Kalon. "Kalon! Awesome timing!" Dimi said, getting another washrag and throwing it at Kalon. "You can help us finish faster!"
"What?! What makes you think I'm gonna do that for you two?!" Kalon said, catching the washrag.
"Sorry Ryo, I guess Kalon's too much of a 'man' to help us," Dimi said, winking at Ryo and talking mockingly. "He's just jealous that I have superior cleaning powers and can clean faster than him!"
Kalon's face turned red. "Move!" Kalon said, shoving Dimi and Ryo over to make room for himself on the floor between them. "I'll show you how a man cleans!" The three of them together side by side was enough to clean the hallway with one run. Ryo went at his normal pace while Kalon and Dimi fought verbally over who finished faster.
"You guys can stop if you want..." Ryo said getting up. "I have to go do something else first..."
"We'll keep it up!" Dimi said flashing Ryo a grin before moving to the next smaller hallway in the enormous house. Ryo left them heading towards the laundry room where he figured clothes needed to be hung out to dry. To his surprise Caza was already there. Caza had the clothes in a vacuum of warm air he was circulating in front of himself, looking bored.
"Caza, what are you doing?" Ryo asked. Caza looked at Ryo, then turned back to his laundry.
"I call this Spin Dry," Caza replied, answering a different question. Jim walked in, looking around for his father. "Jim, good timing...catch," said Caza. A pair of pants flew out of Caza's Spin Dry, flying towards Jim.
"Yes Father!" Jim yelled, reaching to catch the clothes Caza threw at him. Dimi looked into the room just in time to see a pair of underwear land across Jim's face.
"Ryo!" Dimi yelled, and Ryo poked his head in. "Isn't that Kain's underpants?" Ryo confirmed it before leaving, and Dimi bursted into hysterical laughter.
"Shut up!" Jim said hopelessly, putting all of the clothes on a table to be folded.
"Your mouth was open and everything!! Were you inhaling?!" Dimi said while laughing. Caza had his back turned to Jim and Dimi, but they could hear even him laughing softly under his breath.
"Old, wrinkly, hairy, gray, shriveled!" Dimi yelled back as he left, making Jim convulse horribly.
Taj slowly became aware of his surroundings, rubbing his head where a small lump was. He looked around angrily for Kyo, but he was alone in their room. "Son of a bitch..." Taj muttered, getting his shirt on and leaving the room to find him. He walked down the stairs and was almost run over by Dimi and Kalon scrubbing the floor.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Taj said, stumbling back into the doorway to avoid being run over.
"Taj! Good thing you're here, now you can help us!" Dimi said happily. "We're helping Ryo so we can leave faster!"
"I'm just looking for Kyo, I didn't come down to help!" Taj said.
"What? Why not? Even Kyo's helping Ryo at the other side of the house!" Taj started grumbling under his breath, leaving his father alone with Kalon. Taj slowly navigated his way through the corridors until he figured he was somewhere on the other side of the House. He found Davis on the floor working alone.
"Where's Kyo?" Taj asked. Davis pointed to the room at the end off the hall. Taj went to the door, but couldn't find the doorknob. He saw the door was made from paper, and stormed his way through. Kyo and Ryo were on the other side, Ryo glared at Taj.
"You do realize that was a paper sliding door, didn't you?" Kyo said, his eyes flashing green. Ryo sighed, standing up, figuring he'd have to fix the door next.
"Shut up Highlights! Gimmie that rag!" Taj took the washrag from Ryo and began furiously scrubbing the floor, mumbling under his breath. Ryo watched Taj for a moment before looking back at Kyo. He noticed Kyo's eyes were green like his.
"You shouldn't let Kain or anyone see you with green eyes..." Ryo said.
"I'm not worried about it," Kyo said. "Even if they do see that my eyes are green, they'll just change color again before anyone can do anything about it."
Kyo then knelt down to join Taj. They both ran down the room and back. Taj strained to get ahead of Kyo, but Kyo didn't pay much attention. Near the end, Taj suddenly tripped.
"What was that for?" Taj yelled at Kyo, getting up.
"I didn't do anything."
"You tripped me!"
"We're cleaning the floor with wet rags, you just slipped," Kyo said, hiding his smirk. Ryo slipped out of the room through the torn sliding door and left to the supply closet. He got the paper and wooden sticks he'd need and slowly started walking back. He was surprised so many of them were helping him, but he felt worried that Kain might do something to them to stop them.
"Ryo!" Ryo turned and saw Leo running towards him with a small plastic bag. "Here..." Leo said, holding the bag out to Ryo. Ryo took the bag and looked inside to find wrapped sandwiches. "Sorry I can't help...Kain's got those tutors watching me still..." he said apologetically.
"It's all right..." Ryo said, opening a sandwich and putting it in his mouth. Leo left without another word and Ryo went back to the hallway with Davis to fix the door.
"This is from your dad," Ryo said, handing Davis one of the sandwiches from the bag.
"Oh, thanks..." Davis said, leaning against the wall for a break, taking his food. Ryo threw two of the sandwiches through the hole in the door for Taj and Kyo.
"Are you doing all right?" Ryo asked casually as he started to replace the broken wooden poles of the sliding door.
"Yeah, I'm fine mister Ryo..." Davis said shyly. Ryo looked up surprised that Davis called him by such a formal title.
"You don't have to be so polite, you can just call me 'Uncle' or 'Ryo' or 'Uncle Ryo' or whatever...I don't care."
"But shouldn't I call you something like that while we're here?"
"No," Ryo scoffed. "I'm not important around here or anything. You just gotta keep pretending Kaira's your sister until we leave."
"That's easy, she's already like my sister..." Davis quickly finished his sandwich and went back to scrubbing the floor by hand. Ken walked around the corner towards then, his face looking mad.
"Put me to work," Ken said, standing behind Ryo, his arms crossed.
"What?"
"Kalon said if he has to work, then I have to. Put me to work." Ryo reached into the bag and pulled out a sandwich.
"You could eat first, you don't have to start off right now." Ryo said, holding the sandwich up to Ken. Ken closed his eyes and sat down against the wall next to Ryo, taking his sandwich. He looked angry.
"What's wrong with you and Kalon?" Ryo asked, starting to replace the torn paper of the door.
"You mean what's wrong with Kalon?" Ken corrected him.
"How come you don't like him?" Ryo said more specifically.
"Because he doesn't like me."
"How do you know?"
"It's been this way my whole life," Ken explained. "My mother abandoned us when I was just a little kid, and dumped me on my father. He didn't want me, he left me with Professor Bob and he got to go on with his life. If he isn't gonna care about me, I'm not gonna care about him.
To Ryo, his logic sounded harsh. Kalon was an arrogant bastard at times, but he thought even Kalon had to care for his own son. At least a little.

"He's finished..." Steel said dully to Kain. Kain sat on his throne, his red eyes closed. "He got help from his friends..."
"So he did..." Kain looked up at the ceiling, at the fan slowly turning. "Are you really taking them to Camaria by yourself?"
Steel glanced at his father, but his face gave away nothing. "Of course."
"Hmm..." Kain said, thinking. "Keep an eye on our Demon, and Roxanne...he's unpredictable when he feels cornered...but you know all about that, don't you?"
Steel lowered his eyes to his metal arm. It was because of Ryo that he had lost his arm, and got this metal replacement.
"Stay one more night...you can leave in the morning."

"That was fun!" Dimi said happily lying back on Caza's bed. Him and Kalon were both sitting around in Caza and Jim's room, taking up space. Kalon sat in a corner by himself, smoking.
"How come Ryo doesn't stay with us?" Dimi whined. "I miss having him around."
"I told you, he has his own room, now shut up!" Kalon hissed, exhaling cigarette smoke.
Ryo was washing dinner dishes with Roxanne and Kaira. Roxanne washed them, Kaira rinsed, and Ryo slowly put them away.
"None of you needed to help me...I could have done it alone..." Ryo muttered.
"But we wanted to!" Kaira said. Ryo the Dragon was playing in a mixing bowl filled with water on the counter. Kaira and Roxanne both adored the tiny dragon.
"We're gonna leave tomorrow, you should go get some sleep..." Ryo said, picking the dragon up out of its bowl. The tiny dragon purred, then hiccupped. Kaira and Roxanne's squeals followed. Kaira carefully took the dragon and left Ryo and Roxanne alone. They finished in silence, Roxanne giving Ryo confused and concerned looks.
"I'm sorry..." Roxanne said quietly when they were walking back to their room.
"What are you sorry for?"
"The night you left...I'm sorry I got caught, and couldn't come with you..."
"Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault.
"But it wasn't yours either!" Roxanne said quickly.
"I didn't say that..." Ryo said simply, opening their bedroom door for her. Roxanne smiled, and hugged Ryo.
"I missed you!" she said. Ryo flinched. He'd never gotten used to Roxanne's closeness.
"I know...I missed you too..." Ryo said awkwardly. Ryo walked to his bed and took off his shirt before collapsing on his stomach. Roxanne saw that his bandages were slightly bled through.
"Here, let me replace them for you..." Roxanne said softly, getting her bandages again. Ryo let her bandage her back without saying anything. Then he remembered.
"I have something for you," Ryo said. He reached for his bag and started digging around for the pouch Professor Bob had said was for the Lightning User.
"For me?" Roxanne said in amazement.
"It's not from me, I'm just supposed to give it to you..." he handed her the pouch. Roxanne unzipped it and pulled out a long, five-inch needle. It was made from dark metal with a small symbol of Lightning in the middle. In the bag were many more, all identical. Roxanne found a note and read it.
" 'Congratulations Lightning User,' " Roxanne read the note out loud. " 'These are your weapons that I believe you will find suitable for your fighting style. Flying Needles of Lightning. Use them to your advantage. P.S. They can explode, kinda like The Fire User's daggers, only with Lightning....yeah' " Roxanne looked up from the note confused.
"We all got weapons..." Ryo said, laying on his stomach. "Leo got daggers, Caza got chakrams, Dimi got two short swords, and Kalon wears gloves..." Roxanne held multiple needles between her fingers, admiring them.
"They feel right somehow..." she said.