Title: Chapter XVI: Adventures in PuppyLand

Author: Madame aZure

Fandom: Noblesse;

Pairing: None

Genre: Family;

Rating: K;

Warnings: this chapter contains minor coarse language. Read at your own risk.

Disclaimer: I do not own Noblesse or any of the characters. No trademark infringement or profit is meant from the writing of this fanfiction.

Author's Note: The enemy (aka. my thesis) has been slain! Puhraise the suuun, y'all! I am working on some new chapters and the prompts, but things are moving a lil' slow, because my brain is still fried, so for now bear, lion or whatever animal you wish (I know, lame pun) with me. Once upon a time, these were ideas for new chapters that never made it to my personal requirement of 1k words per chapter. So they're bundled here.

Credit to BustedChina for this chapter's title :)

Playground, Battleground

"I'm still waiting for an explanation, little one," Frankenstein said in a calm but firm tone, crossing his arms over his chest, eyes narrowed in a displeased look.

M-21's glower only deepened as he refused to meet his eyes, head bowed to hide his gaze. His lips were set in a thin line, his tiny fists resting on his lap trembling ever so slightly. He chose not to answer, content with just glaring at the floor, his whole demeanor denoting defiance and not even a little bit of regret for his actions.

That left Frankenstein to assume that he must've had a good reason to do so, since M-21 would have never attempted something like this otherwise. He had already heard the other side of the story, with all its embellishments, exaggerations and melodrama, and he was more than certain there was more to it than that. He wanted to hear the child's side of the story too, if only he would tell it, because since the incident, M-21 had refused to say a word, glaring left and right.

"Why did you do it?" The scientist asked and once again, he did not obtain any reaction from the child. He sighed in exasperation and massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to find another way to approach the situation and convince M-21 to cooperate. "Little one, you know I have already been told what happened, but you also must know that I am aware there is more to the story than that. If you refuse to tell me your reasons, I will be forced to assume the worst and make a decision based on that."

After a few moments of heavy silence, the child finally mumbled an answer, his voice so soft it was but a whisper, fists tightening until his knuckles turned white. "Do what you want… I'm not sorry…"

"At least justify yourself and tell me what happened," Frankenstein reasoned calmly.

"You won't believe me." Just like the other adults didn't believe him in the first place. Sure, he shared a part of the blame for what he had done, but he wasn't the only one at fault. He did the right thing…

"I will, trust me." The scientist's tone softened, conveying the fact that he only wanted the truth and nothing else. "Why did you hurt those children at the playground?"

Another few moments of silence followed, Frankenstein waiting patiently for the child to gather his courage to speak. M-21 wasn't the type to quietly comply to being pressured to do something he didn't want to: the more one tried to do so, the more stubbornly he resisted.

"They were mean," the child whispered, unclenching his fists and fidgeting with his fingers.

"Mean?"

"They're always mean." Came the weak reply. "They bully everyone… They've picked on me too, calling me names and making fun of me. I kept ignoring them 'cuz they're idiots and don't deserve attention."

The scientist would've smiled at the mild swear if it weren't for his parental protectiveness flaring up at the fact that M-21 hid being bullied by the other children at the playground. And he wasn't the only one thinking like that, as everybody else in the living room tensed, the atmosphere suddenly heavy and unpleasant.

While it was true that the werewolf wasn't exactly the most social person in existence and one needed a lot of patience in order to gain his trust, that was no reason for being bullied. Frankenstein had noticed that the child seemed to be isolated from all activities at the playground, but when the little one dismissed it as nothing, he assumed that M-21 simply didn't like the other kids and chose not to press this matter further, letting him come to a decision on his own, be it to ask for help from them or deal with it how he saw fit. However, with what he was telling, things were slowly uncovered and placed in another light. They were hurting him and he kept silent.

"But today… one of them pushed another kid off the swing. She fell and got really hurt, and they laughed at her." The werewolf's tone became sharp and cutting. "She was crying and they just… kept laughing like it was so damn amusing," he sneered bitterly, remembering the incident. "So I got angry and broke that bully's nose. That ought to teach him to pick on someone his own size!"

So that was the whole story of what happened: why M-21 had started a fight, transforming the playground into a battleground, and why they had to literally pry four children out of his hands before he sent them all to hospital with more than just a few cuts and bruises.

He defended another child.

Frankenstein had to remind himself that he shouldn't be proud or condone a violent response to a problem, but he just couldn't stop himself from smiling. He came to M-21 and crouched before him. As he placed a hand on the child's head, the werewolf flinched in fear of a punishment, but seeing as nothing bad happened, he slowly relaxed into the touch.

"Little one, what you've done was very noble…" He said, gently stroking the silver locks, and M-21 raised his head to look at him in surprise. "But violence is not the answer…"

Frankenstein's eye twitched as he heard several suppressed chuckles coming from behind him, but worst of all…

"Hmmm," Raizel hummed suggestively, taking a sip from his tea.

"I trust that next time something like this happens, you will come to us for help first, okay?" The scientist continued, trying not to sweat-drop at his Master's allusive tone.

"Okay." M-21 gave a short nod, looking relieved.

"You're still grounded, though. As such, tonight we'll have steamed carrots as side dish." He smirked as the child looked at him with wide eyes, palling instantly.

~Z~

Misunderstanding

Rael had frozen into place, slowly becoming as pale as marble as all colour drained from his face. Crimson eyes were opened wide in shock, finding himself unable to tear his gaze away from the scene unfolding before him and stop staring so blatantly. His lower lip trembled slightly, mouth opening and closing several times as if he was struggling to give voice to his thoughts, his hands, fallen lifelessly by his side, shaking.

"Seira, how could you?" He asked, his tone a bitter mix of betrayal and aghast. "Y-you're a Clan Leader! And yet, you…" His words died in his throat as he just couldn't voice the storm in his head.

Seira holding a child.

Seira's child.

That was what caused his train of thought to derail so violently: Seira and the terrible possibility that the child she was holding in her arms might've been hers. Shocked to the very core, he failed to find a more logical explanation, or at least notice the obvious details that nullified his hasty assumption such as the fact that the child felt awfully like a modified human with a strong hint of werewolf, that he didn't resemble Seira in the least, or that he wasn't even a noble to begin with.

Seira elegantly raised her gaze from the children's book she was currently reading to M-21, the little one snugly nestled in her lap, and looked at him with a serene tranquility. Deciding that Rael was not worth the trouble of an explanation, she chose to ignore him and returned to the book to find out whether or not the baby-rabbit would be able to find his family.

M-21 was wearing a confused frown, but seeing as Seira wasn't even in the least bothered by the obnoxious blonde, he decided not to spare him another thought. He had had his share of unpleasant experiences with strangers…

Rael started trembling now, his head spinning, throwing chaotic thoughts into a troublesome mixture of irrational panic. Seira had a child. Which meant Seira had… she had… preposterous! Absolutely preposterous! Moreover, she hadn't even come forth to the Lord to introduce her partner and ask for the Lord's blessing for their union, which meant the child was… from an illicit relationship. Oh, Lord! She, a Clan Leader, having an illegitimate child?

The noble felt like he could faint any moment now. He was going to murder the one who dared touch Seira in such a perverse way and sully her purity and pride as a Clan Leader. But what about the child? Seira would have to raise the child alone… He couldn't just leave her when she was most in need.

His shoulders sagged in helplessness.

"I… I shall take responsibility!" He breathed out heavily, a closed fist over his heart to signify the vow.

Seira glanced at him and blinked, her tone calm and without inflection. "You're not my type." And returned to the story.

Rael was about to argue, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Turning his head, he met Takeo's patient smile.

"Sir Rael…" Being the gentle soul that he was, the sniper had finally taken mercy on the poor noble and decided to clear the misunderstanding.

Five minutes and an explanation later ~

"Oh…" Rael breathed out, the rather unusual explanation seeming far more plausible than his own assumption now that he was starting to calm down. "He's not Miss Seira's child…" Relief washed over him like a warm summer rain.

"Did you really think the little one was Seira's child?" Regis asked, his tone nothing short of sarcastic and derisive.

"Shut up, Landegre!" Rael snapped at him, but the evident blush on his cheeks spoke otherwise.

"Making such hasty assumptions… a behavior hardly befitting a noble," Regis tut-tutted, shaking his head.

"Why, you little…"

~Z~

Distraction

Fluffy silver ears dropped, an unhappy, growl-like grumble resounding from the back of his throat. His breath fogged up the window as he watched the clear droplets trickling down the glass, the low, continuous murmur of the rain in the background accompanying the almost hypnotic motion.

He let out a jaw-cracking yawn with a flash of tiny fangs, stretching his paws and his back. He was so bored, but dad said 'no going out to play in the rain' and he had to listen to him.

But he didn't care about the rain! He wanted to go out! He wanted to run, to feel the ground under his paws, the air rushing past him, his lungs burning wonderfully and his heart beating wildly from the thrill of a new adventure. He wanted to climb the tallest building in sight, then find the next tall building and climb that one too, but most importantly, he wanted to go into the forest! The forest that felt so much like home, like freedom, like there was nothing holding him back. A sea of green wherever you glanced, the wind gently blowing through the leaves, a home to creatures of all kinds.

Maybe, if he was lucky enough, he would meet the silver wolf again. He had been so much fun! Taught him how to use his claws and fangs, showed him how to hunt, how to attack and defend himself, how to hide in the forest. He had been a little disheartened when his strikes barely scratched the surface of the trees, but the silver wolf told him not to worry because he was still a pup, and that when he would grow up big and strong, nothing will stand in his way.

He wanted out. He wanted to run.

But dad said 'no'.

So he was stuck inside the house, watching the raindrops trickling down the window.

"Tao, what are you planning?" M-21 lifted an ear at the question, even if it wasn't addressed to him.

"He's sad. I just wanna cheer him up a lil'." The hacker's voice came out with a tinge of amusement.

M-21 was just about to turn his head and see what this fuss was all about when a red dot appeared on the glass. He blinked in surprise, ears perked up, tilting his head as he studied the curious little thing. For a moment it stood still, so he was just about to disregard it and return to gazing or glaring out the window, when the dot moved. Up, down, left, right and all around in a chaotic pattern.

M-21's pupils dilated, gaze sparkling with interest. With a playful growl, he put a paw over it to catch it. Carefully, he lifted his paw off the window, wishing to inspect the little red thing, but… there was nothing there? Where could it have disappeared?

Out the corner of his eyes he saw a flash of red, the dot reappearing a few feet away from him, on the floor. He turned to it, crouched down low into an attack position, then pounced it, claws out to catch his prey.

"Tao, stop teasing him." He heard Takeo say, a hint of exasperation in his words, but he didn't care because he just couldn't catch the dot. Whenever he approached it, it would swiftly move away from him, and if he was lucky enough to catch it under his paws, it would just disappear into thin air. But he wasn't the type to let his prey escape so easily. If the red dot wanted a fight, he was going to give it one.

"C'mon he likes it!" Tao said, his joyful laughter filling the room. "Takeo! Heads up!"

Before the sniper could even manage to ask why, the red dot landed on his chest and in a matter of moments, he had to steady himself not to lose his balance as he suddenly found himself with his arms full of wolf.

"Tao…" The sniper sighed, but smiled nonetheless, ruffling M-21's hair as the little one wagged his tail in excitement, inspecting Takeo for the red dot.

Tao? Was he the source of the dot? M-21 looked at the hacker, seeing something small and silver in his hands, like a pen of some sorts, one end flickering red for a second. The source of the red dot!

Not a moment later, M-21 jumped from Takeo's arms and pounced Tao. With a surprised yelp, the hacker lost his balance, stumbling backwards while trying to get a good hold on the werewolf. M-21 used the opportunity to grab the red dot's source, and with one foot on Tao's chest and the other on his shoulder, he jumped over him and bolted out the door, the hacker falling down on his ass in the process.

"Oh, sh–" Tao gasped, realizing what just happened. "He stole the laser! Get him!"

TO BE CONTINUED… :)