The Man Between Us

Chapter 1: Moving to Apartment S

Bankotsu parked their truck in the parking lot of their new building. Their faces were empty, but inside they were passing harsh judgment on their new abode. It was small and looked like exactly what they could afford, barely anything. It was actually a sunny day, but the atmosphere, building and sky were grey. It was almost as if it'd rained prior and washed all the color from the atmosphere. A dingy building, a greyish white sky, there wasn't even any color from the weeds that were breaking from the asphalt. It was almost overkill. Everything was telling them that their new neighborhood wasn't the best area to live in. They didn't have a choice though. 'That's what everyone feels about the inner city. Aren't the most fascinating places the ones that are taboo?' Jakotsu thought to herself. As if she didn't see that they arrived, she went back to sleep.

It wasn't as if she had anywhere else to go. She was forced out of their home, unfortunately another statistic. Her family proved how rural areas could be to women like her. Jakotsu sighed and let all emotions of her home die. She turned to her brother. Maybe she should have left him. She didn't know what he could get into in the city. Despite his nonchalant attitude, he didn't know anything about living in the city. He was only seventeen. Jakotsu shrugged. She wasn't giving him the benefit of the doubt. Bankotsu made the decision himself to leave with her. They'd planned it for a while. It was mostly him. If he was wise enough to make the decision to leave with her, he was mature enough to survive. He was definitely a leader. He was the one who found their apartment, the cheapest apartment Google could find. Plus he was the one that drove them there. Now that they were there, Jakotsu promised from now on she'd take care of him.

"Yo, get up, we're here."

"Aw, I was just starting to dream."

"Dream on your own time. We got shit to unload."

Jakotsu sighed and got out. It seemed like Bankotsu's role as a leader hadn't ended yet. She stretched and turned to see more of their brownstone. The image didn't improve. She laughed at the sign. The letters that showed the title of the place had either been stolen or broken. Only an S remained. She breathed in the city air and coughed. Even the air was different! It smelled of car exhaust, piss, and alcohol. 'What the hell is a nice Southern girl like me doing in the slums?! Oh yeah...' She tried not to feel pain when she answered her own question. Shaking it off again she appealed to Bankotsu. "Help me with the bags, big brother!"

"I got my bags. Your legs ain't broke."

"I'm wearing stilettos!" Jakotsu whined

"That's your fault." That wasn't entirely true. They didn't have time to change or pack well.

"Hmph!" Jakotsu jumped in the bed of the truck and grabbed her four bags. One was for clothes, one was for shoes, and the others were staples and money. After securing them all, she went inside with her brother. "This is it," she said with a forced smile.

"This is temporary. I'm gonna fix this. I always planned for us to live in a big house on the outskirts of the city and do nothing all day."

"I'm older, I should be in charge of you."

"I act older; plus, I wear the pants."

"Hey, I wear pants too."

"Baby Phat doesn't count." Jakotsu rolled her eyes as Bankotsu knocked on the owner's door. Nobody was there. The office was dark and looked like it'd been unoccupied for a while. There was a paper, yellowed and peeling that had a name and a number. "You're shitting me?!" Bankotsu realized that the landlord didn't even live on his own property. There were more signs that this was bad. Jakotsu called, her voice seem to make him move expeditiously. It didn't take more than twenty minutes for their new landlord to arrive. He was a pale man with long curly black hair. He was handsome in his own right, but he smelled of death. Bankotsu ignored it and talked business. "I need a room." The man's red eyes scanned Jakotsu. It started with Jakotsu's frame and stared into her eyes with a look that both scary and possessive. Jakotsu just smiled and glared at him seductively. She wasn't interested in him; but, she liked when people lusted her. It helped her self-esteem. Bankotsu didn't like the attention. "Hey you, eyes here."

"She staying?" He asked.

"No." Bankotsu lied. "Don't worry about her."

"My apologizes; I didn't know she was spoken for."

"Whatever…"

After giving Bankotsu the lease and a key he slinked back into his dark room. "That'll be 60 for this month. Call if you need anything." He said the last part to Jakotsu.

Bankotsu just smirked. "Hot damn! He lowered it. Either I scared him or he wants in your skirt. Maybe both, who gives a fuck. Things are looking up bro!" It was a shady apartment. He didn't ask for ID or do any background search. He didn't check to see if they were armed. Crazy enough he didn't even ask for their age. Jakotsu was a fresh 21; Bankotsu on the other had was a minor.

Jakotsu put the bags down and grabbed Bankotsu's arm. "Well let's look at it."

"Okay damn… Race ya!"

"Hey no fair!"

"607 if you can catch up!" Jakotsu jetted after him. She was fast, but he ended up winning. When she caught up to him she grabbed his neck in a playful strangulation. Bankotsu slipped out of it and grabbed her in a painful headlock. "Give in."

"Okay. Okay. I give. I give."

"Oh yeah, I'm the man." Bankotsu said as he opened the door. For a second he wished he didn't.

The floors were sticky and reeked with the stench of vomit and urine. There was a mattress next to the window. The glass was broken; but the window itself was barred shut. The walls were wallpapered, but it was peeling. There was nothing else minus a bathroom they didn't dare to open and a couple of random beer bottles broken and whole. "This place is great!" Jakotsu said seriously.

"You're just saying that. I wouldn't even shit on these floors."

"That's because you have no vision. A broom, a mop, and some pant would fix this place up. No problem."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... you dream on. Where's our stuff?"

Jakotsu stopped and smiled at Bankotsu. "On the first floor."

"You dumbass! Are you crazy? This isn't the country! You better hope everything's still there."

Bankotsu ran downstairs faster than she thought possible. Her brother was a lot of things. Insane and frugal happened to be some of them. Maybe she shouldn't have left the bags downstairs, but he didn't have to be so mean about it. This was a culture shock!

Bankotsu came back with the bag with their staples and money. He got there just in time. Somebody had opened their stuff and was rummaging through it. That was only sheer luck. If he wasn't atheist he'd say the grace of God. Jakotsu knew he left her stuff downstairs to teach her a lesson. She sighed as she went to retrieve her things.

Jakotsu got there to see her bags opened and rummaged through. She knew some of her clothes were missing and nothing was folded anymore. She put everything in the suitcases and forced it shut. Carrying the ponderous luggage she made it up a flight of stairs. Just two more to go. "Hmm maybe I should've worn different shoes." Climbing up three flights instead of four. She went on the fifth floor. She kicked the door she remembered them living in. No answer. "Oh come on, Bankotsu." Jakotsu pounded at the door. "This isn't funny! Benjamin Andrew Kotsu! Open this door NOW!"

"Will you shut up!" a man growled as he opened the door.

Jakotsu whose face was twisted in a scowl lightened up. "Oh you aren't my brother."

"No shit." he said irritably.

Jakotsu just stared at him for a bit. His gruffness with her didn't register. All she could focus on was the fact that he was beautiful. He had long platinum blonde hair, gorgeous amber eyes, and a great tan. Even though he had long nails and teeth so sharp that they looked like fangs, there was something about him that captured her. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. She was very grateful for that. He was toned and muscular, but not like the movie stars she'd seen or body builders. He was more lean, like a runner. He was perfect. She was sure that she'd never seen better looking man in her life! His unique style matched well with her own. What was he doing in her room? That didn't matter because he was, whatever his name was, that didn't matter to her either. "You're gorgeous!" she blurted out.

He just scoffed her advances off. "Feh, what do you want?"

"Eh, isn't this my room? 607"

"No lady this is 507."

"Oh, well thank you handsome!" Jakotsu gave him a wink and turned back around with his stuff. Trying to turn seductively, she lost balance. She fell on the floor. Inuyasha expected her to play it off or get mad. Instead she laughed it off.

Jakotsu got up and grabbed her bags. She made sure Inuyasha got a full view of her bending over in those tiny shorts. Her baby-tee was black, but in rainbow letters it said "I don't swing without a coat." Inuyasha watched her struggle towards the stairs. "Wait."

"Yes?" she asked seductively.

"Let me help you with those."

Jakotsu was about to decline. It wasn't long passed since her previous folly with leaving the luggage unattended. He could rob her. She looked into Inuyasha's eyes. Something told her he was sincere. She smiled and gave him the bags. In no time they made it upstairs. "607" Jakotsu knocked on the door. Bankotsu opened it and went back to freeing the window. "Thank you so much for helping me. I don't even know your name."

"Inuyasha."

"I go by Jakotsu."

"Alright. I guess I'll be seeing you around then."

"Yeah I guess I will. I mean you will." Jakotsu watched as Inuyasha left. She could hardly contain the excitement as she ran inside her new apartment. That hottie was so nice. "That Inuyasha is so chivalrous." Jakotsu wondered if that would change if Inuyasha knew she was biologically a man.

After a day's worth of cleaning, they got their apartment to be livable. Everything the apartment originally came with was tossed out. This included the wallpaper and mattress. They had to sleep on the floor. Jakotsu put a comforter on the floor and used blankets to cover herself. It wasn't remotely comfortable, but she was strong enough to deal with it. The floor wasn't keeping her awake. They moved to a city without jobs or a real plan. She wasn't sure how long their money was going to last.

Bankotsu's mind was on the same thing. "Rent's due the first."

"It's just 60, we have enough."

"No, it's not. That was just the prorated rent. It's $320."

"For this dump?"

"I don't want you to worry. I can work."

"Bankotsu, you're going to school. You only have a year left."

"I can get my GED. I never liked school much anyway."

"But, prom!"

"Is your thing. Not mine. Didn't you have enough of prom after what happened? I'm going to bed."

Male/Female

Jakotsu was staring at her application wondering which to fill in. If she filled in Male then what would happen when she came in for an application? If she filled in Female her ID wouldn't match. She decided to come back to it later.

Jakotsu made a list of all their expenses. Food, gas, rent, clothes, staples, cleaning material, beds, sheets, toilet paper, shower curtain… She stopped there! This was depressing. They only had about $280 left. This was ridiculous. Jakotsu had to get Bankotsu back in school. Her little brother wasn't about to work at WacDonalds. She'd sooner start turning tricks. Jakotsu wasn't going to start prostituting. She was too much of a Southern Belle, but the thought did cross her mind a couple of times. She had a duty to keep Bankotsu off the streets. Jakotsu went back to the applications.

James Emmanuel Kotsu, preferred name Jamie

Female…

Jakotsu was done lying. They were in this city for her to live life. She'd do every application this way. She just hoped that she wouldn't be on the streets for it.

Next Chapter: Jakotsu finds a job.