This story Originated from HateWeasel's Devils Like to Dance. Read some of that to get the gist of this story.

Prologue

He was up and ready to leave long before the shop keeper came to retrieve him. He couldn't sleep. It got harder with every passing day since he'd left Japan. The dreams didn't actually start until he left Japan. Never in his life did Yuki believe… that dreams… could feel so real… so erotic. Everyone would say it's normal for a boy his age. He was a teenager still going through the loops of puberty.

But then why was he dreaming of him? Someone he'd never met and can never see the face of? That fact that it was a boy didn't bother him as much as it should have; no one cared if you were gay or homosexual nowadays. What bothered him was how often that dream came to him. He couldn't recall the last time he'd dreamt of anything else. Did it even matter? It yielded nothing in his search for Ryou. Just a fatigue and weariness that threatened to put him to sleep forever.

There was a knock and a "Are you awake?" in a broken and Chinese accented Japanese.

"I'm up." Yuki answered in Japanese, grabbing his shoulder bag before rising from the futon as the door opened. An elderly male, grayed and wrinkled, with watered brown eyes gestured for him to leave the room. "Thank you for your hospitality." Yuki bowed gratefully.

The keeper nodded and pointed to a black ball of fur sitting in the window. "Hei Mao," He paused remembering that the boy was Japanese and reiterated, "Kuroneko... Kept us safe. Lucky."

Yuki smiled a brow lofting at how devoted some were to Maneki Neko. Good thing the man didn't know the cat's name or he would have been sleeping on the street. No one would bother anyone in possession of a black cat at least not here in Gansu, China. If they believed in Maneki Neko or even Neko-Mata that is, although he was more inclined to believe the kitten as Maneki Neko. At first he was wary of the idea. Those creatures were nothing more than a fashion trend as of late, holding nothing of value to its origins and meaning. But ever since he'd gotten the little guy, harm seemed to have avoided him like the plague. No one bothered him and asking for help was scarily easy. Never mind the name he chose and how utterly bad luck it was to use such a name for a pet or much less a name at all.

He wished he knew who sent Shini-kun, the creature had appeared on the orphanage stoop the day he decided to leave. He came with a tag that said good luck, a compass, a map of china, and a business card for Dr. Richard Nealson.

That name sounded familiar, so he did a little research and was surprised and upset that he didn't recognize the name sooner. Dr. Nealson was the man who'd treated Ryou for his leukemia illness. According to the public the man will be in Gansu, China at the Lanzhou Gouzou Uni Hospital offering free surgery and treatment for those who couldn't afford it, going so far as to take the children with him back to his main site which was unknown for safety reasons.

Yuki had never received news that Ryou was dead and believed wholly and fully that Ryou had gone with Dr. Nealson to get better. Ryou was in the habit of making beaded bracelets, made from stretchy string and magnetic beads. He would send those little bracelets to Yuki every five to six months. He had gotten ten bracelets in Ryu's absence; two on the cat and the remainder on his wrists. But six months had flown by and nothing. After turning sixteen and still no bracelet had Yuki worried. He needed to find Dr. Nealson and insure that Ryou was okay, that perhaps Ryou had forgotten, Yuki would tell Ryou it was okay because he would be there now. He already felt bad for letting Ryou go off alone the first four years. It made him sick to his stomach knowing that his ototo was all alone suffering though an incurable disease.

Sighing, Yuki hoisted the cat onto his shoulders, the kitten curling into a ball just behind his silver white hair. A paper bag of cat food, dried salmon, and wrapped rice balls was pushed into his arms, and as he turned to say his thanks the man was bowing to him. Surprised Yuki bowed as well Kuroneko nearly falling from his shoulder at the sudden movement.

"I hope you find what you are looking for." The man spoke straightening himself.

Yuki nodded once more and made his exit, slipping on his shoes by the front door and strolling out into rising sun. The streets already filled with the bustle of people and children heading to work or school. According to the map Lanzhou Gouzou Hospital was a five mile walk north from where he was now.

He hoped deeply that Ryou would be there or at least Dr. Nealson to guide him to Ryou. He would be there... He would be there... He had to. In a month Ryou would turn ten. What better way to surprise him than to be there?

"I'm coming Ryou... I promise." Yuki whispered to himself as he twirled one of the blue stringed bracelets. "I promise."

And I'm done!

Again to get a feel of what this story may be about, read HateWeasel's Devils Like to Dance. Thanks HateWeasel for permission to use your story I hope you enjoy it as much as I'm going to writing it.