a/n: not entirely sure where this will go from here, so the genre, rating, and characters may change a bit. It's mostly just a writing exercise for me since I'm very much out of practice, as well as an outlet for remedying my disappointment in episode 24. If anyone actually reads this, I hope you enjoy! :3

A deep rumble shook the entire building, down to the subterranean cell where Slaine was sleeping in his cot. His eyes opened and he sat up, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. Was that a kat firing? No, the practice range was nowhere near here. As if they'd keep prisoners and operational kataphrakts in the same vicinity.

He laid back down and closed his eyes.

BOOM!

What in -? This time he got up out of bed and stumbled to the narrow cell window to look for the source. He couldn't see much even if there had been something there. The window was above his head and at ground level, affording a lovely view of the sky but not of anything on the land. There was no moon tonight, no stars either. Just pitch black, and deathly calm.

Then suddenly, straight down from the sky, a jagged beam of light accompanied by an earsplitting crack vanished nearly as soon as it had materialized. Ah, so it was lightning. Earth's weather was no joke.

"You should close your window, it's going to rain soon," a calm, familiar voice said behind him.

Inaho Kaizuka stood in the doorway, arms loosely at his sides, his single eye looking evenly at the half-asleep prisoner. He must have opened the door when that last thunderclap rolled in. So much for privacy.

Slaine ignored the intruder and went back to his bed. Somehow the 19-year-old officer had gained enough clearance over the past several months to waltz in whenever he liked, much to Slaine's annoyance. But only with guard supervision, of course. As if he needed help if it came to a fight. Inaho was skilled enough to take out the guard on his own, it wouldn't be too hard for him to handle Slaine in his current state of health. Procedure… everything in this place was obnoxiously rigid when it came to procedure.

A few minutes passed and he realized Inaho was not leaving. He rolled over and heaved a sigh. "What are you doing here? It's late, I was sleeping."

He slept a lot these days. There wasn't much else to do, and being unconscious was much more pleasant than being aware of his circumstances.

"I'm glad you're awake, actually. I need to talk to you about something that came up just now, concerning your sentence."

Silence.

Inaho continued, "You've been granted permission for a trial house-arrest situation, due to your consistent cooperation and good behavior over the past eighteen months."

This time the blanket shifted slightly and a cerulean eye peered out, but he still gave no reply.

"You have nothing to say about it?"

Slaine pulled the blanket over his head. "It makes no difference. I have no house to go to."

"About that…" Inaho closed the window as the wind began to pick up outside, "It's small, but I have a spare room at my place if you're interested."

"I'm not living with you," Slaine muttered, his face still obscured.

Rain began to hit the windowpane and another loud clap of thunder shook the building.

"Well, that's up to you," Inaho walked towards the door, "but I'll be here at dawn to get you. Give it some thought."

Despite his disinterest the night before, Slaine was awake and had his few belongings gathered by the time Inaho arrived the next morning.

"Is your sister ok with this?" he asked as he climbed into the vehicle, "I thought you said she hated me."

"Yuki-nee doesn't know yet. But she'll get used to it."

A rather daring assumption, Slaine thought to himself. Well, whatever. It's not like being hated was anything new. He didn't particularly care what other people thought of him, he had never had that luxury.

The thunderstorm that raged for most of the night had cleared away, leaving a fresh, pink dawn. A soft sea breeze rustled their clothes and hair pleasantly.

"Roll up your trousers," Inaho instructed before closing the door, "Doesn't matter which leg."

"Huh?" What kind of request was that?

"I need to put this on you before we leave." He held up a tracking anklet. "It's part of the condition of your trial release. Your radius is my property, though I'd suggest staying indoors. You're not really supposed to be alive, so try to lay low."

"Then why am I alive..." Slaine sighed inwardly and rolled up the hem around his left ankle. He may have been cooperative over the past year and a half, but his difficult attitude had remained much the same around Inaho. Something about the boy brought out the worst in him.

When the anklet was fastened in place, Inaho stood up and reached in his pocket.

"I doubt you'll try to run, but if you do – " he waved his cell phone, "I'll know exactly where you are. There's also an emergency button – if you're ever in serious danger, press it. I can usually be home within five minutes."

What kind of danger, exactly...?

He climbed in the driver's side and started the engine.

The ride home was completely silent. Neither had anything to say, and Slaine was occupied with trying not to seem too fascinated by the scenery passing them by. Birds circled the sky above a calm ocean. It hurt just looking at them.

About an hour later, they pulled into a driveway in front of a small house. Slaine wondered if it was really big enough for three people. Well, it was bigger than a jail cell.

Inaho unlocked the front door and entered. The smell of some sort of food wafted out and for the first time in weeks Slaine suddenly felt hungry. He ignored the feeling and followed his new housemate inside.

"Ah… I forgot to mention," said Inaho, "we've been using that room as storage until now, and I haven't had time to clean it out. For now you'll have to use my room or the couch. Whichever," he added indifferently while hanging his keys on a hook by the door.

Mention that earlier! "I'll take the couch."

Slaine scanned the room with his eyes. It had been a very long time since he last set foot in a Terran home, and the ones he remembered were much different than this.

"Hey, take off your shoes!"

Slaine halted in his tracks and glanced back. He had never heard Inaho use that tone before. Was that annoyance just now? Interesting…

"… sorry," He took a pair of offered slippers.

"If you make a mess here I'm sending you back. I don't have time to clean up after you."

Well… he was setting things straight at the beginning, apparently. In any case, that should be easy enough. He was a rather orderly person himself.

"Breakfast is at seven, dinner is at six. I'll leave your lunch in the fridge."

Inaho crossed the kitchen and began ascending the stairs. Slaine followed him, looking side to side to take in everything as he passed through. When they reached the second floor, Inaho paused in front of a door and knocked twice.

"Yuki-nee you're late."

"EHH?!" a panicked cry came from within.

Continuing on, Inaho opened the door at the end of the hall.

"This will be your room. I'll clean it out this weekend, so for now you can sleep wherever you want. My room's here –" he opened the door across from Yuki's, "you can put your stuff down there."

"Nao-kun, is someone here?"

Before Slaine could process the situation, he found himself being shoved into a room and the door closed in his face.

"No, I was just on the phone," he heard Inaho on the other side.

Apparently he was waiting for a better time to break the news.

"Oh. Did you leave me any breakfast?"

"It's on the stove. You're really late, you know."

Slaine looked around the bedroom. It was spotless, of course. A picture of the siblings was on a wooden bedside table. It was the only photo in the room. They looked happy.

Aside from a bed, a dresser, and a desk, there was not much else in the room. Even so, it felt comfortable. The sunlight on blue walls gave it a fresh atmosphere.

Just as he was setting his things down in a corner, the door opened again. Inaho entered and closed it behind him.

"Sorry about that. She'd be in a bad mood all day if I told her about you right now. Anyway, I have to go. Make yourself comfortable – there's a bath down the hall and food in the kitchen. I'll be home at 5:30. Oh, and this should be obvious, but stay out of my sister's room."

The door shut again and Slaine collapsed onto the bed. This whole situation was ridiculous, but for some reason he couldn't refuse it. Well, he could always change his mind later. Either way, he had nothing to lose.