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Written by The anonymous elephant

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the stuff that is my own.

Warnings: Not that bad really, there may be a few mature themes in here, but on the whole it's alright. There are a few pretty fucked up situations with some pretty fucked up people. Oh, and did I mention there will be swearing? But don't worry too much.

Author's Note: I know that Gou is in fact Kai's son, I'm not an idiot, but in this case he's not. Cry a river, build a bridge, get over it.

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Chapter 1: Take me home

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"Go on Daichi!"

"But Hilary… I shouldn't leave you to clean up all by yourself…" argued the lanky sixteen-year-old half heartedly.

Hilary couldn't stop a sigh of exasperation escaping her lips as she said, "As proprietor and also your boss I order you off her property to go get ready for your date."

Daichi's face amusingly turned as red as his hair and he scuffed his feet on the floor that he should've technically still been mopping. He muttered something under his breath and Hilary was pretty sure it was rude, but she decided to let it go. This was, after all, a rather special occasion. So instead she yanked the mop out of his hand and replaced it with an envelope and informed him rather smugly, "And there's your pay check early plus a little bonus."

Daichi's big green eyes glanced at Hilary in surprise and she could just tell he was going to protest. The silly thing didn't like anyone helping him out. Men. However her practised glare prevented any objections and finally he nodded and started getting his things together.

Hilary watched him out of the corner of her eye as she finished cleaning the floor. He was an amazing 6"4 nowadays. His hair was as wild and red as it ever was, and his eyes still retained a slightly feral look, like staring into an untamed jungle. He was tanned and toned but still as skinny as a stick. She could remember when he was little he used to be an unruly, unpredictable hellion. Nowadays he was much quieter, probably because… well, let's just say now he spent a lot of his time alone, walking the city streets. Sometimes she got the feeling he wanted to escape, go back to the wilderness he came from. Sometimes she felt like she might loose him as well…

It was hard to believe this was the same boy who she first met hanging from a hook in the girls' changing room. It would be nice to say that the people in this country were open and unprejudiced, but that would be a lie. When he had arrived at Hilary's school he had been labelled a newbie and a foreigner within minutes and consequently had been bullied pretty badly during his first few days.

The kid had guts; he had given as good as he got and the bullies had sported their fair share of bruises. But Daichi, for some unknown reason, had been born uncannily small and stayed that way up until last year. Sadly that had put him at somewhat of a disadvantage in the fighting arena. Hilary, of course, had felt it her moral duty to step in and yell some common sense into those jackasses. They had listened alright and the bullying had stopped immediately, but she still gets the impression that Daichi resented a girl standing up for him.

Once again: men!

Despite whatever feelings he may have held towards her actions, they maintained some form of a relationship. In their early years it mainly involved Hilary yelling at him and him yelling back. But since then it had evolved into something that could probably be classified as friendship. Although there was still a lot of yelling.

And it wasn't just two. They had formed a sort of group of misfits. Hilary: the overachieving workaholic, Daichi: the wild not-so-small-anymore midget, Kenny: the guy who could fix anything, Rei: the cat boy, Max: the fatally optimistic optimist, Hiro: Tyson's big brother and… Tyson.

They were all really close, despite their age differences. It had been that little group of outcasts that had managed to squeeze the truth out of Daichi about his current date during a substantially premeditated game of truth or dare. Hilary always guessed what his feelings were about Ming Ming, and she was right, of course. Once her thoughts had been confirmed, hooking them up had become the focus of her last two years at school. Well that and getting good grades (which, for the record, she did).

She had gotten so close as well. Just before Christmas, she had organised a get together and invited Ming Ming. Everything had been perfect: the lights, the decorations, the music, the food. She would've sworn Daichi would've told her how he felt if only… oh God.

Why did she still get that cold, nauseating feeling in her stomach? The scene replayed in her mind over and over. It couldn't be right that three years later she still imagined him, still pictured him there in perfect detail. She was over him. She'd moved on.

A gentle voice and a hand on Hilary's arm pulled her from her memory. "Hils, what's wrong? You thinking 'bout Ty again?"

"Aren't I always," she said before she could stop herself, and she was surprised at how soft and watery her voice was. She needed to get a grip. She found herself pulled into a hug, and at that very moment she loved Daichi for completely understanding her. She breathed in and savoured the familiar pine forest scent that hung about him. It was calming and soothing and she repressed the dark melancholy that had taken hold.

Pushing back, she gripped his wiry arms lightly and gave him an up-and-down, taking in the casual jeans and Greenday t-shirt. He watched her with emerald orbs, waiting for a sign that she really was okay. Painting her best smile on her face she said, "Handsome as ever. Now go sweep her off her feet Romeo."

His face went red again and if he hadn't been aware of her inner chaos at that moment, her comment would've started a shouting match. But instead he just nodded his head and let go of her. He picked up his bag and headed for the door of the café, turning briefly to wave and say, "Thanks. See ya later Hilary."

Hilary waved back and watched him disappear.

In the end it had been Ming Ming that asked him out. Hilary was sure this must have been another blow to his masculine pride, but it would've have also been kind of a relief, and not only for him. After the… the… after that Christmas, he changed, withdrew into himself. They all did to a degree. But it was a complete 180 with Daichi. Gone was the excitable, tenacious boy and in his place a quiet, introverted person. It was scary. When Ming Ming asked him out it was like a light had been switched back on. Finally something was going on inside of him; he was starting to process, starting to live again.

Hilary finished the floors and returned the mop to the cupboard. She surveyed her little café once more to check if anything else needed to be done before she went home.

She loved her café; it had been her life for the last few years, it had kept her going. It had started out as nothing more than a bare brick room with a small kitchen and toilet attached. Now the wooden boards and polished and covered with everything from Persian carpets to shag rugs. To Hilary it felt like the walls were decorated with a bit of her soul because she pinned everything up there including pictures of her favourite bands, movie tickets and newspaper clippings that had caught her eye. The random assortment of couches and chairs were handpicked from second hand stores and she had personally re-covered every single one. The lights were funky and modern and the place had atmosphere, it had life.

She glanced at the antique grandfather clock that stood in the corner, unfailingly chiming every hour. It was already quarter to seven, Daichi had left over twenty five minutes ago. Had she really been standing there that long? It was winter and darkness came early. Through the windows it was already hard to see anything and the stars were beginning to shine. Her hand was at the light switch when she saw something outside the door. It moved slightly.

Hilary's brow creased, that was odd. Warily, she approached the door to get a closer look, brandishing… her handbag? Of all the weapons she had to pick up off the counter it would be her handbag, wouldn't it? Typical. Not that it really mattered; it was probably just a cat anyway. Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity she sharply pulled the door open and jumped back in surprise when the figure fell backwards into the café with a loud 'Ouch!'

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Three minutes later she had the intruder sitting on the zebra print, faux suede couch with a mug of home-brewed hot chocolate. Slightly larger than a cat, the shadow had turned out to be a young boy who had identified himself as Gou and then gone on to insist that he had to wait for his brother Kai to come back, but yes he would like some hot chocolate.

"It's hot, didn't burn yourself," she warned him. He looked ready to scull the whole thing in one go. He was too skinny by her reckoning, and those innocent auburn eyes seemed too big for his face. She searched behind the counter for something to feed him.

Hilary found one of the apple scrolls she had made that morning that she had forgotten to throw away. Damn health regulations ere so strict that you could barely keep anything beyond the day it was made, such a waste of food.

She fished out a plate and placed it in front of him and he promptly picked it up and took a large bite. He perched on the couch; mug in one hand, scroll in the other and his feet didn't even touch the ground. Hilary placed him at about seven or eight years old. His clothes were dirty and frayed, his slate hair was greasy and he needed a bath. She wondered angrily who the hell would leave a child that young on the doorstep of a café with nobody to look after them.

Her answer came storming through the door in the form of a tall youth. It took her a moment to recover in the face of the adolescent's flashing auburn eyes, eerily similar to Gou's.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" growled the teenager.

"What the hell do you think you're doing," she snapped back.

"Kai! Look what I got!" exclaimed Gou from the couch, waving the hand that clutched the remains of the apple scroll. Geeze, thought Hilary, kids sure do eat fast these days, although I guess he must've been hungry. Wait a second did he say…

"You're Kai?" she asked suddenly, trying to gather her thoughts.

He barely looked at her when he strode past to where Gou was sitting. He knelt in front of the kid and seemed to be checking him for any sign of harm. Hilary felt anger bubbling up inside at the nerve of the guy. Coming in here like he owns the place. Hello? Her shop, thank you very much.

"So you're the guy who left his little brother on the side of the street all by himself?" she snapped, "Care to explain why?"

Dark eyes flared dangerously and she felt slightly nervous under his almost solid gaze. It was like a physical force pressing her down.

"Let's go," he quietly ordered Gou and the little boy complied, gulping down the last of his drink and hopping off the couch. The pair began walking to the door and as soon as his gaze left her she felt as if she could move again. Barely stopping to think, she rushed to the door, blocking it with her body and the words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Wait! How do I know you're going to take care of him? You left him all alone at night in the cold in the middle of winter!"

Kai stared down at her, obviously unimpressed. Hilary actually felt like she was physically shaking, his look was so intense, but she stood her ground. Finally he appeared to give in and said simply, "I had to get some stuff from the store."

He started to push past her, and she couldn't help but notice that he was as dirty and smelly as Gou. Again she refused to move, but this time it felt like the only thing stopping her from melting into a puddle and letting him walk all over her was the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

"Where are you going?"

Again, that blank yet powerful gaze, but this time silence. She received no answer. Eventually, however, Gou piped up with, "We ain't got nowhere to go."

"Nowhere to go?" she repeated in query, not fully understanding what the child meant.

"We didn't have a home," clarified the little boy in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kai's eyes didn't leave hers, even as her mouth dropped in shock. He didn't say a word. He radiated pride and dignity and silently commanded respect despite his obviously less-than-fortunate position. It was strange, this boy who managed to appear a king when he was no more than a pauper.

"Let us pass," he finally said in a low, unreadable voice.

She was on the verge of doing what he said when she caught herself. Was she about to let a tiny boy and his brother walk out onto the dark streets to spend another night in the cold? Never; she would do no such thing.

"No, you're coming with me," she said resolutely in a spur of the moment decision. She brushed past them, picked up her bag, switched off the lights and purposefully strode through the door. She was quite proud of her uncharacteristically spontaneous behaviour; usually people accused her of being too predictable. She held the door open to let them out and then with a quick flick of the wrist locked up.

When she turned round Kai and Gou were already twenty metres down the street and heading the wrong way. Hilary took a deep breath. Now she had to follow through on her spontaneous decision. She rushed to catch up and grabbed Gou by the hand and started leading him back up the street. She decided that Kai would follow his little brother and was right. Unfortunately she didn't count on the strong grip that descended on her wrist and practically broke it. A small whimper escaped her lips and she turned to face the angry features of the older sibling.

"Let go of my brother," he said with a warning tone in his voice, it was full of promises of pain should she harm the little boy.

He scared her. The look in his eyes was so serious; she didn't doubt for a second the resolve behind his intent. She half wanted to do as he said just to save her skin. But she had no intention of doing Gou any harm, and the feeling of the small hand in hers revived her desire to help and she wouldn't be intimidated or swayed from her decision. Ignoring the pain as best she could, she uttered, "No."

The grip on her wrist tightened and her fingers started to tingle. Her hold on Gou's hand lessened but not of her own accord.

"Let go of her brother," he repeated unbendingly.

"No!" she hissed and suddenly the words were pouring from her mouth in an indignant rant, "The last thing this little boy needs is another night on the streets. He deserves a warm bed, a proper meal and most definitely a wash. So you will release my hand and you will come with me and you will let me take care of him."

Kai blinked slightly at her tirade, and then to her surprise his hand slipped away from her wrist and hung by his side. He stood quietly on the pavement and watched her.

Gou tugged on Hilary's hand and complained, "Its cold out. Could we go now?"

She nodded absentmindedly, still a bit rattled from her fight with Kai, which if she wasn't mistaken she just won. Another tug at her hand brought her back to reality and she smiled down at the little boy, more to restore her confidence than his, and they headed off towards her apartment.

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"They're a little bit big, aren't they Gou? Sorry about that."

"'S alright," he mumbled as he inspected the Spiderman pyjamas Hilary had provided. They used to be Daichi's when he had been fourteen (yes he was small), although he'd never admit to still liking the superhero at that age. Gou seemed rather fond of the comic book character as well, judging by the smile on his face and the way he thoroughly inspected all the pictures on the material.

Hilary couldn't help smiling at him and ruffled his slightly damp hair. "At least you're all clean now. Are you still hungry?"

The little boy nodded vigorously. Hilary smiled again, she should've guessed, all boys were bottomless pits in her experience. She settled Gou in front of the TV and wandered back into the kitchen to find something for him to eat.

Her walk-in pantry was stocked with all kinds of food. Habit, really. She didn't eat that much, but for some reason she seemed to make friends with people who didn't know the meaning of the word 'full'. The shelves were stacked with everything from cereals to soups to a massive sack of potatoes that she refilled at the market about once a month.

Now what do growing boys like to eat? She selected a can of baked beans and then promptly dropped it on the floor when an irritated voice behind her made her jump.

"Where are my things?"

Recognising the voice as Kai's she ignored him for a second and quickly got down on the floor and set to the task of retrieving the can which had rolled out of sight. Things disappeared in her pantry, and that was the last of the baked beans so she really didn't want to loose them. She groped around for a second then… bingo!

Getting back up she explained, "I put your clothes in the wash while you were in the shower. I left you some spare pyjamas on the bed though, didn't you see…" she trailed off as she turned to face him properly and realised he was standing in the door to the pantry with nothing but a towel hanging dangerously low around his waist. Her face heated up incredibly and she quickly averted her gaze to the safety of the baked beans grasped in her hand. "Obviously not…" she managed to whisper through her curiously constricted throat.

"I want my things back," he said darkly but there was something childishly petulant about his words that made him slightly less intimidating.

Swallowing, she managed to get control of her voice and say, "Well your clothes are already in the wash now, so you might as well let them finish the cycle. And the shopping bag is sitting on the bench, that's all I could find." The grey, plastic bag had been stuffed into the pocket of his jacket. She didn't check what was in it, she didn't want to invade his privacy, but at least it backed up his story about going to the store. Maybe he wasn't so irresponsible.

"Why are you messing with our lives?" he asked suddenly in an angry voice, although Hilary would've sworn there was also a hint of confusion. Staring at him it suddenly hit her how much younger then her he must be. She'd guess at least three of four years which would put him at about sixteen. Her first impression of him had been of an imposing, self-assured figure, but looking at him now he seemed more like any wary teen, simply jaded beyond his years. His auburn eyes burnt into hers as he demanded, "What right do you have to do all this?"

Okay, the whole accusatory thing? That was taking it a bit too far. Ignoring his state of undress Hilary glared furiously and said, "To do all what? Get you off the street? Offer you a place to sleep? Feed you? Clean your clothes? I didn't know. I probably didn't have any right, but you should be a damn bit more grateful."

The tension between them was so great that anyone who tried to interfere would probably have been knocked unconscious by the force of it. Hilary refused to blink or look away. She would not back down. His eyes were a deep auburn colour; although now she was this close she'd swear there were small flecks of gold around the pupil. In fact they were so close that she could feel the heat from the shower radiating off him. His skin was still slightly damp, and one or two drops of condensation were trickling ever so slowly down his nicely defined chest and she was not looking him in the eyes anymore was she?

She could actually feel herself blushing and looked away. Trying to retain what little dignity she could, she said or more accurately, she squeaked, "Now if you would move and let me through I will find those pyjamas for you."

Of course she could've just pushed past him and shown him who was boss in her house, but that would've involved actually touching him and for some reason she didn't think that was be a good idea in her current state, or his. Kai noticed her discomfort as well, and he purposefully towered over her for a few seconds longer than he needed to, just to prove a point. When he stood back from the entrance to the pantry Hilary quickly hurried through into the only bedroom in her little apartment.

Attached to her bedroom was a tiny ensuite bathroom which was unfortunately the only bathroom. On her neatly made, queen-sized bed lay a pair of simple, navy pyjamas. She walked over and picked them up. The cotton was soft and worn between her figures. A testimony to how many times Tyson had come and slept over.

"Don't really know why I still have these…" she murmured, not meaning to speak out loud, but doing so anyway. She realised Kai was watching her, and for about the third time that night her cheeks felt like red hot beacons. "Guess it's a good thing I did though," she managed to say in a brighter tone and forced a smile onto her face. Glancing down at the blue material she suddenly got the urge to just drop it. She didn't want to hold it anymore, it hurt. She shoved the pyjamas into Kai's chest and briskly left the room, calling over her shoulder, "I'll just leave you to change, if you're hungry I'm making baked beans on toast for Gou so you could have some too."

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Beans, beans, the musical fruit,

The more you eat, the more you toot.

Hilary couldn't stop the laughter as she watched Gou do a little dance around the coffee table with his knife and fork whilst belting out the rhyme. A small corner of her mind was glad for the common sense which led to her tucking a large dishcloth under his chin which was now covered in orange stains. On his third lap of the table, as he passed by Kai, the older sibling plucked the cutlery from Gou's hands and stacked it safely on the empty plate.

Gou gave Kai a mock glare and pulled the make-do napkin from under his cheek and put it next to the dirty dish. Still chuckling Hilary gathered the things to take them into the kitchen. Before she went she quickly asked, "Are you sure you didn't want anything to eat Kai?"

The teen just shook his head, his focus purely on his little brother who was inspecting her bookshelves. Hilary sighed mentally and left to stack the plate in the dishwasher. Kai was about as responsive as a stone wall. They were an odd pair really. Gou was energetic, playful, talkative and curious; everything a seven year old boy should be. Kai: the complete opposite.

She added some powder and pressed the start button on the dishwasher, yawning tiredly. Today had been a long day; it was getting late, nearly twenty past ten. She started to clean up the kitchen as she wouldn't have time tomorrow morning. She swept the tiles, cleaned the benches and hand washed the pot she had used to heat up Gou's meal because it hadn't fit in the dishwasher.

Hilary figured it was clean enough. God, she just wanted to go to bed. Rubbing her eyes she grabbed some blankets out of the linen cupboard. She had had the idea that she'd let Kai and Gou take the queen bed as there were two of them and she'd take the couch. Sure, the couch wasn't exactly her favourite place to sleep, but it was more logical.

She stepped into the lounge where she had left the two boys and was surprised by what she saw. Stretched out along the sofa was Kai. Curled up beside him was Gou. They were both asleep, the older with a protective arm around his little brother. A picture book lay on the ground next them.

Quietly, so as not to disturb them, Hilary padded over. She picked up the story and glanced at the title. Barbar's Fair. It had been one of her favourites when she was little. Looking at Kai she found it hard to imagine him reading it aloud to his brother. It was just difficult to visualize the words about a talking elephant coming from his mouth. It seemed too trivial. And although she may have only known him a few hours, Kai did not seem like a person who bothers with trivial things.

Hilary put the book down on the coffee table and then gently arranged the blankets over their sleeping forms. Kai's eyes flickered open as soon as the blanket touched him, but perceiving no threat they slowly closed again. Her own eyes longed to do the same thing and she stumbled back to her room and flunked herself down on her bed. Moments later she was asleep.

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