Title: Prank

Writer: Madame aZure

Fandom: Noblesse;

Pairing: None

Genre: Humor/Family;

Rating: T;

Warnings: this fanfiction contains foul 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.

His muscle ached from the straining they've been put under, protesting with each move he made. His light-headedness and his trembling knees threatened to make him collapse right there on the spot. It took every ounce of willpower he could muster to convince himself to continue to his room and not give into the temptation of sleeping on the floor in the middle of the hallway. It wasn't a good idea to push his own limits in order to find out what was the longest period of time in which he could sustain his transformation. His attempt drained all his energy, leaving him so exhausted he almost fell asleep on the gym floor… again. He didn't know how he managed to drag himself back to his room.

He sighed in relief when he got to his room, glad that he hasn't fainted on the way there. When he opened the door, he noticed a strange floral smell that didn't belong there. He breathed in to better identify it, scrutinizing the room for anything suspicious, yet the sight of his comfortable bed made him forget about it. Sleep now, check smell later. Good plan.

~Z~

"Achoo," M-21 was suddenly woken up by a sneeze. He sniffled pathetically, wiping his teary eyes with a hand. His sight was blurry, his nose was running, and an annoying tickling sensation made him want to sneeze. He tried to clear his throat as it itched uncomfortably, noticing a slight wheezing sound to his breathing. What the hell happened? Has he been poisoned? Drugged? But how? Was it the Union? The surveillance system should have warned them of an enemy approach.

He sneezed again, reaching for the tissue box on the nightstand, when a small glint of purple caught his eye. In the space behind his bed and the nightstand was tucked nicely a little potted plant. It was a bushy, green plant with little purple flowers, put in a small, ceramic pot. Why was it there?

M-21 took it out of its hiding place, but the moment that plant got closer to him, it made him sneeze even harder. Who would –? Tao! Why, that little…ugh! M-21 would have strangled him on the spot! But why hesitate? He got up, going to the door, when a sudden thought stopped him in his tracks: strangling the hacker sounded good, but he had a better plan. Revenge will be sweet… and blue. But first he had to get rid of this evil green thing.

He went to the window and opened it. He scanned the area around the house, making sure there were no possible witnesses. Seeing none, he targeted the garbage bin across the street and threw the plant, which landed perfectly in the bin, its pot crashing with a satisfying sound.

Now, back to making the hacker pay. He had this idea for this prank for a while now, since his dear comrade always seemed to get on his nerves. He was basically asking for it and 21 was about to show him two could play this game.

He went to his desk and after rummaging through one of its drawers, he retrieved a small bottle of non-toxic blue dye. It was a special kind of dye that would only turn blue when exposed to air for a certain period of time. Which meant that he could pour it in the hacker's shower gel and not change its color, making it the ideal tool for revenge. It was petty. It was mean. I was perfect.

He checked the clock and, lucky him, it was around the time when the hacker usually took a shower. He quietly opened the door and checked the hall for anyone who might interfere with his plan, then sneaked out of the room, going stealthily into the bathroom. He opened the shower gel bottle that belonged to Tao and poured in the dye very quickly so it didn't start reacting after coming in contact with the air. Finishing, he swiftly returned to his room, awaiting the results of his plan, with a Cheshire cat grin spread on his face.

~Z~

Half an hour later, a scream was heard from the bathroom, making M-21 snicker in satisfaction. He got up and opened the door, waiting to confront the prankster.

Tao emerged horrified from the bathroom, dressed in a simple t-shirt and sweatpants, his skin getting bluer by the second. When his surprised eyes met M-21's grin, he realized he has just been had.

"Having fun, Tao?" the werewolf smirked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame, though his cool attitude was ruined by his watery eyes and runny nose.

"You," the hacker pointed at him accusingly. "You did this!"

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" M-21 said laughing mischievously, wheezing slightly.

"What's happening here?" Frankenstein's stern voice interrupted them, both looking at him like deer caught in the headlight. Uh-oh, they were in trouble.

Frankenstein's gaze went from Tao, who's skin was bright blue, to M-21, who seemed to have an allergic reaction, and gave a long, tired sigh. He took off his glasses, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Living room. Now," he ordered.

~Z~

"Would you mind explaining to me why one of you has a mild allergic reaction and the other one is blue?" Frankenstein asked calmly, eyes closed, with one hand resting on his hip and the other massaging his temple, as if he was trying to ameliorate a headache. He almost looked like a father scolding his children – exasperated with subtle hints of 'I don't get paid enough for this'.

Both Tao and M-21 were seated on the couch, heads bowed, not looking at the scientist or saying anything. They weren't sure what they should say, knowing that one wrong word could get them killed.

"He put some kind of plant into my room," M-21 began, sniffling lightly, rubbing his watery eyes, which began to tear again. His healing ability was supposed to take care of it by now, but he suspected it was slowed down by his previous attempt at maintaining his transformation for a longer period of time. "It somehow affected me," he continued and since the symptoms were visible, he didn't think he should enumerate them.

"Tao, what kind of plant did you put in his room?" the scientist asked in the same leveled tone, looking at the hacker, who squirmed under his gaze.

"Lavender," Tao admitted pouting, looking apologetically at M-21 who was trying to get rid of the tears. The hacker loved to mess with people, especially with M-21, but even he had limits – his pranks were meant to annoy people, not physically or emotionally hurt them. Seeing his comrade in this miserable state made him feel guilty about what he has done. Or maybe it was the werewolf's tears that impressed him, because a crying M-21 was not a sight he often saw.

"A dog-repellent plant?" the scientist hummed. Although it was quite the ingenious and mischievous idea, it did not explained why M-21 reacted to it like that – werewolves were known to react to some plants, but lavender wasn't one of them. It seemed that, unfortunately, M-21 must've had a mild allergy to it.

"Yes, but he made me blue!" the hacker defended himself, all his guilt being washed away by sudden remembrance that he was indeed blue.

"It's not permanent," M-21 mumbled, glaring at his comrade. "Next time you try something like this, I'll make it permanent!" he threatened, but his threat dissolved when he sniffled again.

"It was just a silly joke! Can't you just lighten up a little?" the hacker snapped back. "What? No one walked you today?" he taunted, throwing yet another dog-related joke in the conversation, which only pissed M-21 off more.

"That's it!" the werewolf's temper flared up and he abruptly sat up, looking like he was about to rough Tao up a little, the other up and ready to attack back, black cables slithering around his arms.

"M-21! Tao!" the scientist's stern tone made them stop and take their seats again. Well, his tone and the dark aura around him, which was seeping out menacingly. He closed his eyes and sighed, the aura around him dissipating in thin air. "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt," he continued seriously, opening his eyes to look at his troublesome children.

"Our healing abilities would take care of it," the werewolf grumbled.

"I see," the scientist hummed at the answer. "So you believe this reason is good enough to justify harassing and hurting others for fun."

"We haven't hurt –" the werewolf tried to explain but Frankenstein interrupted him.

"There are only so many harmless pranks one can make: what would happen if the situation were to degenerate? Will you injure each other for some mindless entertainment?" the scientist's blue eyes narrowed, figuratively drilling holes into the two modified humans.

Both the hacker and the werewolf were silent, not meeting Frankenstein's eyes. They could almost feel the weight of his scolding gaze. His words made them realize the severity of what they've done. Sure, it seemed like harmless pranks, but under this roof, purposely hurting the others for a couple of laughs was frowned upon. There was a limit to everything. These small conflicts would only accumulate over time, putting the bases for hate and distrust. How could they place their trust in a comrade to aid them in battle, when said comrade found it entertaining to harass them at home?

"We wouldn't go that far…," the hacker whispered.

"Oh? Really?" Frankenstein raised a brow at the statement. "It seemed to me that a second ago you were about to tear each other up over some flower and blue dye." Seeing as his children were silent, he continued, "I am very disappointed in both of you. Getting hurt in battles or in training is one thing, but purposely hurting each other for fun is another."

His word hit them hard. They wouldn't admit it, but when Frankenstein declared them as being his kids it made them feel happy and proud of themselves. Those simple words were a statement that they officially had a family and a home, things they couldn't even fathom having back at the Union. It stung when the scientist told them he was disappointed in them. It's not like they were trying to prove themselves or to impress him, but somehow they… wanted his acceptance.

"Both of you are grounded," Frankenstein's decision made their eyes widen. Wait, was Frankenstein seriously considering himself as their parent? They thought that 'kids' was something like an honorific title, yet the scientist seemed to be taking it literally.

"Tao, you are not allowed to work on any of your projects –"

"What? Nooooo," the hacker whined. He couldn't do this to him! All his glorious projects…

"– and M-21," the said person frowned at the scientist, waiting for his own punishment, wondering what would Frankenstein forbid him as he didn't really have anything he couldn't live without, "you will do Takeo's and Regis' housework, besides your own," of course, more housework.

"For two weeks," Frankenstein concluded, waiting for their replies.

"But it's not fair!" Tao complained.

"Three weeks. Would you like to continue negotiating?" the scientist smiled menacingly.

"No, sir," the hacker bowed his head, admitting his defeat. Three weeks of not being allowed to work on his projects were bad enough, he didn't want to force Frankenstein's hand and unleash whatever other unholy punishments he had in mind.

"Very well then. Now, apologize to each other!" both looked at him like he grew another head. Seeing as neither did as they were told, he repeated his words, letting his aura out to emphasize his demand. "Apologize, now." The dark tentacles of his aura were rather coercive, as both of the modified humans flinched in fear.

"Sorry I put lavender in your room," Tao said, blushing lightly.

"Sorry I made you blue," M answered, looking shyly at his comrade.

God, this had to be the most embarrassing and nerve-wrecking thing they have ever done.

"Good," Frankenstein huffed, pleased with the results. "I'll see you both in the lab to fix this predicament of yours," he told them as he left the room.

"Ok," they answered simultaneously.

Raizel was sitting in his usual spot, silently enjoying his tea, watching them, a small smile curling his lips. Frankenstein attitude was rather amusing. Has he forgotten that even he was once a rebellious young man looking for troubles? Compared to all the problems he's caused with the Clan Leaders, these pranks were more or less harmless. Frankenstein always had a problematic behavior. On one hand, he was protective, caring and loyal, but on the other hand, he was sadistic, mischievous, petty, sly, and sometimes reckless. However, since they took the children under their wing, he's shown a strange new side: although he may not have realized it yet, he started acting like a doting father for them, or rather a mother hen. The comparison humored Raizel as he recalled that the previous lord used to call Frankenstein a 'peacock'. It was pleasing to see his servant fussing over the children, taking care of them, making sure that all their needs were met and protecting them just like a… father.

It would be most surprising if, not time, nor he, the Noblesse, would be the ones to fix Frankenstein's problematic attitude, but a handful of equally troublesome children... although, he seriously doubted it.

THE END :)