HOMRA
- PROLOGUE –
It was raining.
The streets were completely vacant, just as always in this part of the city around this time.
The narrow passages were drenched in rain and the shallow light of the setting sun.
With the pavement completely covered with water which wouldn't stop pouring down, it didn't look as if it was June, way past the rainy season already.
The clouds weren't making way for any clear rays of sunlight, no matter how hard the sun kept on struggling.
Barely any shops were opened at this time of the day, only some pubs and shady restaurants that were calling out to their regulars with, by dust almost buried, lanterns, which weren't even able to light as far as two feet out into the street.
Just like it had always been there, the center of attention, so it looked from the outside, the, in red light glowing bar, was situated right in the corner between those darkened passageways.
With its bright shining headlights with the 5 simple letters HOMRA, the bar almost seemed familiar and warm to about anyone passing by.
-Almost-!
Most of the citizen walking past everyday wouldn't even notice the fact, that you barely ever saw anyone entering their door.
No one really cared about it, so they just kept ignoring it.
Anyway-
To stop giving explanations as to how it looked that day in the streets, we get back to a more important matter.
09.49 pm:
The doorbell rang as the door almost slammed open and caused the open sign on the outer side of the glass to jolt and swing on the doorknob back and forth like crazy.
There had only been about 2 cm that separated the door from the counter.
The blonde man behind the desk turned his head slightly to the left to see the person enter while bringing a bit of the storm that went on outside into the warm room.
"What a weather we got there…" The young man in his early twenties stated as he smiled while wiping another glass with a dust cloth.
From outside the windows, you could hear the wind going pretty loudly against the glass panes.
With eyes set on the sign on the door, the person started a reply to what the blonde man had just directed at the one still standing in the entrance.
"…Why are you still open anyways?"
The blonde man watched as the customer let his gaze wander around the spacious room.
You couldn't really tell, whether the person was a man or a woman, with a hood pulled deep into the face, you couldn't even say anything about his or her age.
At least you could tell by the slim shoulders, that the customer couldn't be any older than 30 or rather 25 years.
"Don't you want to take off that jacket to get a bit warmer?" the "bartender" asked not as politely as you'd ask a customer, while wiping off the counter.
The person shrugged and started moving a few steps into the center of the room.
"I didn't plan on staying for too long anyway."
The figure answered and nodded at the young man who slightly smiled after the rather cold reply.
"Well-"the man behind the bar started.
"You don't look like an adult to me, what business do you have with me?"
He leant over the counter with a smirk.
"Won't you drop this formal act, Kusanagi-san?"The person raised an eyebrow before bending colder to the man with one hand supported by a bar stool.
The so-called Kusanagi-san showed a wide smile, shortly closed his eyes while letting out a sigh and patted the persons head.
Surprisingly, the customer, who appeared to be quite a lot shorter than the young man, lifted his (…or her O.o?) head and showed a small, but honest smile to the bartender.
"So…" The customer began with Kusanagis hand still one the hood of the soaking wet jacket.
"Where did Totsuka run off to again?"
"I'm not sure, but let's save this for later-"
The man walked around the counter over to his -not so poorly known- customer.
"Let's get you out of this jacket, you're drenched."
He didn't even wait for a reply and pulled the hood off his head and helped him free himself from the sopping wet cloth.
"Just put it one heater, I'll be leaving soon." The person said as Kusanagi already went as far as to bend down and loosen the knot of the left shoe of his customer.
"Take off those boots and take a seat, I'll go and prepare something hot to drink for you."
The blonde man spoke while rushing over to the counter to boil some water.
It seemed like the person wasn't really sure as to where it should be suited for a stranger to sit down.
The figure slightly flinched and hesitantly made his was over to the couch in the left corner of the room.
"Just make yourself at home!" The bartender called to him from over his shoulders.
"A-ah, okay."
Now, all nervousness seemed to have worn off of the person and he pulled both legs close to his chest as he sat down on the quite comfortable cushions.
"It got quite cold outside today, didn't it?"
The person lifted his head to watch the bartender come over to the couch with a cup from which a sweet scent emerged.
"It's okay like that." The other said while nodding in his direction.
"It was my fault to run around outside with that hurricane going on."
Both of them slightly smirked at that.
"What surprised me more was that no one except for you was here."
Kusanagi first looked at the person right in front of him, then let his eyes wander off to the door in the back of the room.
"I hope you didn't think Mikoto would show up here."
Again, both smiled and the customer made a snapping sound with his tongue.
"Is that ever the case?"
Kusanagi looked over to his customer who just took a few sips of the sweet liquid in his hands.
"But I was hoping for at least Totsuka to be around…"
The expression on the slightly older mans face softened as he saw his customers face to be close to sulking.
"Just like a kid…" He stated his thoughts with words.
And just as if it were to suit the,, the person looked into the cup and muttered a reply.
"…Baka o-ni-san!"
A few moments of silence followed in which the blonde man pulled out a cigarette from the pocket of his vest while a pair of curious eyes were watching him from right next to him.
He lit his cigarette without a lighter and took a deep breath.
"What did you want from Tatara-san?"
The person took some time to reply and took another sip of what was inside the cup in his hands.
"Haven't seen him in a while now…Even someone like me might start to his their big brother."
A gentle smile showed up on the blondes face.
"You're pretty talkative today, aren't you?" He let the ashes of his cigarette fall into an ashtray he had brought over from the kitchen along with the cup.
The person next to him still sat with both legs pressed to the chest and arms wrapped tightly around the knees on the couch.
"I…" The person's voice was a lot calmer than it had been before.
"…Don't plan to join you guys."
The young man let his eyes rest on his customer.
"I already know that that's not why you were here."
He let his upper body sink into the soft cushions of the couch at his back and looked at the ceiling.
"I came here with her permission, in case you wondered-"
The man smiled again and closed his eyes.
"I figured…I wouldn't let my child travel across the world just to have a little chat with some guys I don't even know, in a bar I don't know, in a land I've never been to."
"But if it was to meet up with their brother, you would?"
The person raised an eyebrow and looked over to the man.
"Haha-well, I don't have any, I wouldn't know."
The customers face went from a curious look to a slightly annoyed one.
"I always forget you're not that old geezer I'd take you for if I didn't knew any better."
Strangely, the blonde man didn't seem to be offended by any of those words. He just stretched out his hand and ruffled the "kids" head while keeping that warm smile of his.
"Well, I guess it's about time for me to leave-"
The person stated after a short look at the clock.
"Do I look like a man who'd let a minor leave at this time and weather outside, after drinking a hot cup of alcoholic tea?"
What a long explanation around the reason as to why he'd better not let his under aged customer go after giving away high percent alcohol illegally.
"It's not like I've been here for the first time."
The person got up and sent a crooked smile over to the man who looked at him.
He watched her for a bit before letting out a sigh and getting up.
"But is it okay for you to leave just like that without even seeing Totsuka?"
For a second, the person seemed to waver and let show a bitter expression for just a short moment.
"Well, I won't be coming here for the last time today."
The person slid into her still soaking wet boots and pulled his jacket off the heater while starting to move towards the exit.
With the blonde man watching him thoughtfully, the customer turned his back at him and reached out to the doorknob.
Just before the door was pulled open, the person stopped and turned around to face the young man.
"Better not tell anyone I was here, Suoh might not be too happy about that, I'm not one of you HOMRA's after all."
You could see it being a bit hard for the figure to leave, as it showed up in a fierce expression on his face although he managed to hide it in his voice.
"I won't." The tall man replied and looked down to his customer.
"Umm-Kusanagi-san…?" The person seemed to feel uneasy.
"Would you watch over Tatara for me?"
Now, you could finally see the person standing in the entrance could by no means be an adult.
With big, clear eyes as a child's, even Kusanagi was slightly startled.
"Be sure, I will."
The person nodded in relief as she knew that he wasn't telling a lie about it.
Without waiting for another second, the person stepped closer to the door and made his way out.
"It's always a pleasure meeting you…Chibi."
Kusanagi spoke to the figure in the doorframe, who winced noticeably and bent her head down, probably because her face had flushed read of embarrassments.
The last thing the tall man could see where the slim, tiny shoulders of his now leaving customer, before the young person was merging with the storm that still kept on raging.
"Be careful."
His words couldn't be brought out into night far enough as to reach the fading silhouette of the figure that had pulled its hood deep into the face again.
The face and thus brought feelings of this strange customer are still in mind when you'd ask the blonde bartender at HOMRA's about a story he could tell;
As well as the question whether those two siblings ever saw each other after that.
It should have only been a matter of time for Tatara to meet up with the person as the older brother.
That was the story of that rainy day from 3 years ago… No, more than just 3 years, on a Wednesday in June.
- PROLOGUE / END -
authors note:
Is it only because I'm German that it still seems weird to me to call a person "him" instead of "her" ?
It kind of bothers me all the time I had to do that in this text^^
But I didn't want to give further information about that person :)
