Strays
Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or anything else referenced.
Warning : This story will contain yaoi later.
Chapter 1: Pack of Strays
stray
no regret cause I've got nothing to loose
ever stray
so I'm gonna live my life as I choose
till I fall
stray
Rude smiled as he listened to his brothers sing the Wolf's Rain theme. When they had come across the CD and manga in a trash bin, Zack and Reno had insisted they keep it. Then Cloud had found a boom box that worked and that was that. Since then the younger boys had claimed their group to be the human version of Kiba's pack: Cloud was Kiba (under protest), Reno was Hige, Zack was Toboe, and he, Rude, was Tsume. Not that any of the four boys were actually related, orphans tended to band together in the slums; safety in numbers.
Rude was 19, tall and muscular with short black hair and hazel eyes hidden behind sunglasses. Zack was 18, almost as tall as Rude, muscular with shoulder length spiky black hair and blue eyes that bordered on violet. Reno was 17, thin and wiry with waist length flame red hair drawn back into a ponytail and aqua blue eyes. Cloud was the youngest at 16, small and quick with short, spiky blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Of the four only Rude had mocha colored skin, the others were pale skinned. They had been together for thirteen years now. Rude was only 6 when he had rescued a 5-year-old Zack from bullies and made a friend for life. Two days later Rude had found Reno huddled in a gutter; the 4-year old had been nursing a black eye and Rude had taken him "home." Zack also brought home a stray: Cloud was 3; he had been abandoned and was frightened.
Things had been fine until Reno and Cloud had caught the Don's eye. Don Corneo had spotted them while they had been running an errand to make some money. He had sneered at them, making unsavory comments about the then 13 and 12 year olds. Comments that had their older brothers in fighting stances in no time. Things like how the blonde and redhead would look under him and how much he thought the two dark haired beauties would make in one of his "establishments." Don Corneo had also found out that you don't mess with ZRC as the local merchants called the boys. Ever since that day they had had to go up to the nicer part of town in hopes of getting a job or a hand out because the Don had issued orders that the boys were to be turned over to him if they sought employment there in the Slums. Every night after that they had slept somewhere different. The Don's goons were always one step behind and Rude and Zack had been forced to fight several times.
Today had no different. They had been dodging mobsters all day and had finally found a place to settle down for the night. Rude had let them sing only because they needed the distraction. They now huddled together, Zack and Rude on the ends with Cloud and Reno in the middle. Hopefully the ally would be ignored if the Don's goons came looking for them after dark. If only there was a way we could escape, Rude thought, if only someone would rescue us. Slowly he fell asleep, keeping an ear tuned for trouble just in case.