More random babbling. I wouldn't even consider this a chapter, but it fell within the same AU realm.

Pulchrite

Games

"Hey, Uncle Hao."

He opened his eyes very slowly as the sunlight burned against his skin when he heard the boy's voice. The bench he had been lying on was suddenly hard against his back, and he sat up while mumbling something under his breath.

"You were supposed to be watching him."

Hao leaned his back against the wood. He held his hands loosely in his lap with his legs spread out. She was standing over him with a perturbed expression, one that always seemed readily available when in his presence. Her magenta, waist-length hair fluttered with the wind as she clutched the boy by the shoulder with her hand.

"I was watching him, Tamao," he sighed.

"Ow," Hana protested as he attempted in vain to wriggle free.

"You have no idea where he's been the past hour, do you?"

"Well..." He scratched his head and shot her a sarcastic smile. "We're at the park, so he was probably...playing somewhere?"

"Yeah!" Hana bared his teeth with a satisfied smile, but it quickly faded as she tightened her grip on his shirt.

"Where did you come from anyway? Were you spying on us again?"

"Spy! Spy! Spy!" the boy chanted with a giggle.

"I don't understand why they leave him with you," she said with blatant bitterness. "It's insane."

"Uncle Hao's the greatest babysitter in the world!"

"Listen to him," Hao said with a smile. "He knows what he's talking about."

Hana ran toward the bench when Tamao released him and jumped into his arms. She rolled her eyes, but they both ignored the gesture.

"Oh don't be offended, Tamao. I'm sure he likes you too."

"That's not even the point," she mumbled. "You can't just let him wander off like that, Hao. He's too young to be out here all by himself."

"Didn't you know? I have eyes on the back of my head."

"Really?" Hana picked through his hair with his fingers. "Where?"

"I'm serious," she growled.

"Don't you get tired of being the mean one?" he asked.

"What?"

"You're mean. That's why Hana doesn't like you watching him."

"That's...that's not true! I'm not mean!" She shook her fists in the air.

"Hana, is she mean?"

Hana rested his hands on Hao's chest and bit his bottom lip as he pondered the question. He sat on his knee and turned his head around to look at her. For several seconds he turned back and forth to stare at her and then back at Hao.

"Oh good grief," she sighed.

"A little," he said.

"I told you," Hao said. "You're not his mother, Tamao. It's Anna's job to be the mean one. You should relax."

"He needs structure and rules, Hao. Hana's five. You can't just let him do anything he wants. He'll get himself killed."

"And you're a little too paranoid for your own good. Right, Hana?"

"What's...paranoid?" He scratched the mass of blond hair at the top of his head and frowned.

"It's when Tamao says your teeth will fall out when you eat that candy."

"...Oh. Yeah. You're paranoid."

They were staring at her with blank expressions, but after a few moments Hao's lips flashed into a grin.

"I'm not...paranoid," she said with a defensive glare. "And I'm not mean. I'm fun."

Silence fell over them as her breathing elevated.

"I can be fun, Hana. Right?"

He glanced at Hao as if afraid to answer. Hao nodded his head.

"You're really...boring," he said.

Hao couldn't stop himself from laughing. Hana smiled but seemed unsure of what was funny, and Tamao gawked at him with her mouth open.

"Hana! I'm not boring!" she pleaded. "...am I?"

"You should spend the rest of the day with us," Hao offered warmly. "We'll show you how to have fun. Right, Hana?"

"Yep!"

After hours of being dragged all over town, Tamao nearly collapsed when they reached Yoh's and Anna's house. Hana ran inside and shouted back to them that his parents were still gone. Hao locked the door and smiled at her as she sauntered wearily toward the sofa in the living room.

"He has too much energy," she said between breaths.

"Which is why you need to relax."

"So what are we gonna do now?" Hana asked. He was jumping up and down uncontrollably. Hao allowed him to eat more candy than usual and ignored Tamao's pleas for him to stop buying it.

"We'll let you pick," Hao said with amusement. "I'm sure you'll think of something spectacular."

Tamao leaned her head against the arm rest and closed her eyes with a fatigued sigh. She mumbled something under her breath but was ignored.

"Um..." Hana tapped his chin with his finger while hopping on one leg. Hao giggled as he watched him deliberate and sat on the sofa beside Tamao. She didn't move when she felt his warmth.

"Don't go too crazy," Hao sighed. "Tamao may not come back."

"Oh, I know!" He began jumping again. "You should play the animal game!"

Hao's smile slightly faded, but the boy didn't appear to notice. Tamao sat upright and rubbed her eyes.

"What animal game?" she asked.

"Hana," he snapped. "That was between us."

"Yeah but...she's part of the team now."

"She wouldn't want to play that game," he mumbled.

"Yes I would," Tamao interjected with an enthusiastic smile. "I don't know the rules, Hana."

Hao leaned back into the sofa and covered his mouth with his hand as he stared at the ceiling. He had no idea what Hana was going to say but his curiosity kept him from taking action. This was going to be interesting at best and terribly entertaining at worst.

"Well...first you have to pick an animal," Hana said. "You have to pretend to be the animal you pick."

"Um...okay." Tamao rubbed her neck with her hand and glanced at the floor. "How about a bunny?"

"You can't be a bunny," Hao said.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a lion. I'd rip you to shreds."

Hana nodded his head in agreement and waited for her to respond.

"Are we...fighting?" she asked timidly.

"You have to pick an animal first," Hana said impatiently.

Tamao tapped her finger against her lip as she narrowed her eyes. If this was going to be a matter of strength she had to pick an animal that could match a lion. Hana and Hao were being too vague about the rules, and that worried her.

"What about a tiger?"

"Dad's a tiger," the boy sighed. "You have to pick something else."

"Yoh's played this game before?"

"He's a seasoned veteran," Hao replied with a smirk.

"I guess I'll pick...a panther."

"A panther?" Hana repeated.

"Yes."

Hana glanced at his uncle with a frown and awaited his approval. Hao smiled while softly biting his bottom lip and nodded his head.

"Okay, a panther is fine," he said. "Do you know what a panther sounds like?"

"I'm sure I can figure it out." Tamao was visibly confused, and she frowned when she heard Hao giggling under his breath.

"You have to make really loud panther noises, okay?"

"...Okay?"

"Explain the rules, Hana," Hao said.

"You have to fight. The strongest animal wins."

"That seems unfair, doesn't it?" He lightly raised an eyebrow. "Tamao is smaller."

"It doesn't matter. Mama wins all the time when they fight."

"What?" Tamao's whisper was ignored.

"Do you want to do it here or upstairs?"

"This is fine, Hana. We have more room."

"Okay."

"What are we talking about?" Tamao demanded.

"The game," Hana said with a blank stare.

"Well, what about you? What animal are you going to be?"

Hana shrugged his shoulders. "I can't play. Uncle Hao says I'm not old enough. Only grown ups can play."

Tamao stared at him with her mouth partially agape but didn't respond. She felt there was some kind of inside joke she wasn't privy to, and now she was more confused.

"I'm ready," she said. "Let's play."

"You have to take off your clothes first." Hana pointed at her. "Animals don't wear clothes."

"Wait...what?"

"That's how Dad and Mama fight. You have to fight the same way."

Silence filled the room immediately as Tamao's face completely paled. She stared at the boy with widened eyes as her voice was caught in the back of her throat. Hana's expression was a mixture of calm eagerness and innocent curiosity. He was unaware of her sudden discomfort and appeared confused as to why she was so quiet.

"Have you cleaned your room yet, Hana?" Hao's voice startled her slightly, and she flinched.

"No," he mumbled.

"Go take care of it before they get back. We'll play as soon as you're done."

"Okay!" Hana ran out of the room as fast as his feet would carry him and disappeared around the corner.

"A panther would never win against a lion, by the way," he said randomly.

"What is he...talking about?" she asked. "Is he talking about—"

"Yes."

"Does he know he's talking about...that?"

"No."

Her breathing elevated as she stood from the sofa, and she rapidly paced in front of him.

"It takes Hana two or three hours to clean his room. He'll be up there until they get back."

She sighed with relief but stopped abruptly and stood in front of him. He smiled at her, but she countered the gesture with a frown.

"How far were you willing to go with this?" she demanded. "You knew from the beginning what he was talking about, and you have to know how incredibly inappropriate that conversation is for a child."

"You said you wanted to play. You almost insisted."

"I didn't know about this!" She was whispering like she was afraid Hana would hear them. "You're so terrible!"

"Are you saying I lied to him?"

"I'm saying you're a snake!"

"I specifically said I'm a lion, Tamao."

She gawked at him with widened eyes but didn't speak.

"If you want to explain all of this to him, be my guest. If Yoh and Anna aren't playing the 'Animal game' in their bedroom at night, you'd have to tell him what it's actually called...and why that's something they would do."

She rubbed her face with her hands and heavily exhaled.

"You would also have to explain why only adults do it and why the noises are so loud—"

"Okay, stop it!" she blurted. "I understand. Just...stop talking!"

She sat beside him reluctantly and shifted all of her body weight against the arm rest.

"I don't understand how this happened, Hao. What did you tell him?"

"It's all Yoh's fault. I had nothing to do with it."

"He...saw them or something?"

Hao slowly nodded his head.

"Do they...know he saw them?"

"I doubt it."

"Then we have to tell them."

Hao folded his arms tightly in his lap and heavily exhaled.

"If he told us about it so freely, who else would he tell?" She bit her bottom lip and paused. "...What if they get a call from his school or something? Or what if he starts talking to strangers about it?"

"You're really too paranoid for your own good," he sighed.

"Why did you tell him it was a game of all things?"

"What else was I supposed to say?"

"You should have told him the truth."

"Sure, Tamao. I'd like to see you have that conversation with a five year old kid."

She nervously closed her eyes and leaned forward. He was right, but she didn't want to admit it.

"If you want to tell Yoh and Anna about this, fine. I'm not saying a word."

There were rumbling sounds from upstairs that distracted them for a few moments. Tamao stared at the floor with a stressed frown. Hao's calm demeanor didn't change; the nonchalance was infuriating.

"It doesn't feel right to not say anything," she said. "They should know about this, Hao. It's...uncomfortable."

"We should probably practice."

The random statement forced her to slowly blink her eyes. "...Practice?"

"If Hana finishes cleaning his room before they get back he'll be expecting a fight, and we can't let him down. Don't think for a second I'll go easy on you."

His explanation was nearly interrupted as she slapped him hard across the face with an open palm.