A New Friend

"After him!" the signal reported in every police car after the teen. The boy skated as fast as he could, but the cars were catching up to him. The sun's glare was no problem for the boy as his sunglasses protected his vision, but he was extremely tired and almost too hot to move. As he skated, he continually pulled at his collar to make sure his hood wouldn't suffocate him. His breathing increased and his legs began to cramp up. His green hair dripped with sweat, but he couldn't give up.

He wouldn't go back to the shelter, they couldn't make him. Every foster home he had gone to was horrible, either too many kids, too little care, or just a love of money to have him. And with each one, he had run away. The cops had always caught him before, but he wouldn't let that happen this time. He was going to be free from the last deathtrap, but as his legs weakened and his side began to cramp up, his dream became less of a reality.

"Have…to…keep…going…" he winced, finding himself trapped. The cars stopped, emptying out the flood of cops, each holding a gun or handcuffs. The boy leaned against the brick wall he was trapped against and slid down, ready to be brought back pitifully. He lost his focus as sweat soaked his hood and his breathing deepened. He heard screaming and a sound like when girls would fix their hair with hairspray. He was suddenly dragged up and shaken, cold liquid splashing in his face, waking him up.

"Get up! Start walking!"

The boy did as he was ordered to, not consciously knowing what he was doing. He felt the coldness of shade relieve him of the heat, and he took a deep breath, opening his eyes. Before him stood another teen, taller than him with auburn hair, but the rest of the features were hidden because of all the gear. The shorter boy looked around the corner of a building from where they were hiding and watched as the few cops that were left were leaving with a rainbow of colors sprayed all over their jackets.

He turned, realizing he was alone. He squinted, seeing that the guy who had saved him wasn't too far off. "Wait up, yo!" he yelled, running after him. Not knowing that the boy was calling him, Beat continued to skate off, but stopped when the other boy ran in front of him, breathing hard. "T-thanks, yo! Wh..why'd you..do it?" he managed to say in between breathes.

Beat glanced at him and continued skating. The other boy blinked and followed, "And how'd you do it, yo? I could never hold off the whole squad that was after me! You came outta nowhere yo! And then with the screaming and the running and…the…" he stopped as Beat looked at him, a warning for him to shut up. This didn't keep the kid quiet though. "So…what's ya name, yo?"

Beat growled and stopped skating, "Look, I did you a favor, now do me one and get lost." He began to skate off again, leaving the kid in an awkward stand. Beat tossed the bottle he had poured out on the kid into a public trashcan and decided he should drop off the things on his back to his place. He turned around to head home, facing the teen again, "I don't got no where to go, yo."

Beat glared at him, "Then why don't you hunt down those cops and ride with them! I'm sure they'll give you a nice cell to sleep in." he finished icily. Unaffected by the tone, the other shook his head, "No, they're trying to stick me into a foster home." Beat stared at the kid, "And you're running away from that?"

The boy nodded, "It's not what it cuts out to be."

Beat began to skate, "Better than the streets."

"No way, yo."

Beat ignored the boy and left him. He made his way to his street, and eyed his alley. His home.

"Wow…"

Beat spun around to find the same kid, but with yellow skates on. "Are you following me!" Beat scowled, thinking of how daring this kid was. "You live here?" asked the other, ignoring the other question. "None of your business, now I said get lost before. Trust me, you don't want to get me angry." Beat said darkly, curling his fingers into fists. The other thought about the warning, but chanced it anyway. "Are you a rudie?" he asked quietly.

Beat stared at him. No one had asked him such a question before. No one had ever asked him anything before, after he was out on the streets, but something so serious and dangerous to a reputation, never. The question wandered around in Beat's head, making him decide what to say. Who was this kid anyway, and could he be trusted? Rudies had connections of information that he could use to get to the police.

Beat watched the teen as he watched Beat. "His wrist…" thought Beat, glancing at a black, square watch. He knew those watches, almost every rudie had one, but this kid didn't look like a rudie. "Are you one?" he asked.

"Just starting out," he admitted, "I'm finally out of the homes…so…" This kid wouldn't know much about anything. Beat sighed, and turned, ready to go into the alley. "Where you goin', yo?" asked the kid, following him again. "I told you before nicely to go away. And now my patience is on the line, buddy!" Beat said warningly. The boy glanced at him with a tired look, sweat dripping down his face.

"Yeah…but…you got-"

The kid swooned back and collapsed. Beat looked back in surprise, and ignored it for a moment, about to head in, but something told him it was wrong. He opened his door, standing there for a minute, his gut feeling telling him to go back. Beat threw the bag on the floor grumpily and skated back to where the unconscious boy was. He dragged him to the smaller couch, which he fit neatly on, and left him there.

&&&

Jumping into reality, the boy opened his eyes and breathed deeply, looking around to see where he was. Apparently he was alone, but in someone's house. They weren't very rich though, as he saw the walls were crumbling and there wasn't that much furniture in the room. He could see a blue bathroom from where he was and a kitchen he could look right into. It was more of a half wall that separated the kitchen from the room he was in.

Rubbing his head, he realized he was missing two things. His hood, which was on the armrest of the couch he was laying on, and his watch, which was no where to be found. He pulled at his thin T-shirt, slowly pulling the sweaty material off his back. He went to the bathroom and washed his face, after looking into the mirror and seeing that his face was red. He had the deepest urge for water, so he stuck his head under the faucet, drinking as much as he could before he would get a nauseous feeling. He dried his face with his shirt and decided to explore the place. The apartment was pretty cool for the heat outside being so unbearable.

He turned on the radio and smiled as DJ K's voice filled the room and turned it back off. Only rudies listened to Jet Set Radio. Maybe this guy could help him out. Teach him the basics and perhaps even get into a gang. He unstrapped his skates and placed them beside the couch he was laying on, removed his socks and felt much better. He could tell whoever lived here skated too, for there were skate scratches against the wood floor. He sat on the couch he had started out on and noticed the pile of magazines to the side. Picking one up, he blushed as the pictures portrayed inappropriate photos of models.

The door clicked, and the boy flung the magazine nervously. "Had a nice nap?" Beat asked sarcastically, knowing what the other had been doing. The boy was about to answer, but saw his watch on Beat's wrist. "That's mine!" he yelled, startling Beat for a second. Beat placed the flat box he had and sodas on the counter, "Calm down, I was just borrowing it. Least you could do for me since I saved your life. Twice."

The kid flustered as he glared at Beat, "But…that-I…Mmmm…what do you need that for! You have a headset and radio, yo! There's nothing special about that watch, just give it back. Are you listening to me!"

Beat sighed and glared back, "You ask WAY too many questions, you know that? And if nothing's special about it, why do you want it back so badly?"

The kid stood quiet, looking at the floor in a grunt. Beat opened the flat box, releasing the smell of pizza in the apartment, making both their stomachs grumble. He tossed a soda at the complainer, "Drink something, you almost had a heat stroke today. Who the hell wears a hood in this heat?"

The other didn't answer, only opened the soda and drank. Beat tore a slice of pizza from the rest and chomped it down, admiring the watch. "Don't touch my watch with your hands all greasy." warned the kid, getting up. Beat glanced at him, "Don't assume things." Beat stopped looking at the watch when the short boy wouldn't stop glaring, "What's your name?"

"Yoshiharu…"

Beat snorted while drinking his soda, receiving acid bubbles in his nose, "And you're gonna be a rudie with a name like that?"

"Well, duh I need a new one. Everyone has a real name." the noob growled, "And who are you oh supreme one?" Beat finished his soda and crushed the can in his hand, "Beat."

The new rudie's eyes widened, "…Beat?"

"Yeah."

"Beat!"

"I said yes already!" answered Beat, getting annoyed. "You're the one who tried to mug my friend!" Yoshi yelled angrily. Beat glanced at him, "Well…don't take it personally, but to make some money, it's either day on and off jobs, or mugging." Seeing that this wasn't making the kid any happier, Beat sighed, "If you wanna be a rudie, I'm sure you're gonna hafta learn to do that and more, and if you hate me already, then there's no way you can live on the streets. Living on the streets requires patience, smarts, and most of all, guts. And right now, you're failing in everything." Beat replied with a smirk.

"You're not a rudie! You're a wannabe! And you're stealing my watch for who knows what and mockin' me in my face. Give me my damn watch, yo!" he growled, stretching his hand out for it. Beat laughed, this kid was entertaining. He hadn't had a good laugh in a while. "You expect me to just…hand it over?" Beat chuckled, shaking his head.

He received silence as an answer. "I said I'm just borrowing it, okay? Calm down before you give yourself a heart attack and shut up." Beat said, glancing at the watch once more. He could put it to good use. "So, any idea what you're going to do now?" he asked, staring at the watch.

Yoshiharu remained quiet.

"Hello?"

"You talkin' to me, yo?"

Beat looked up with a smirk, "No, I wanted to talk to a watch." The kid glared, "Well, you're staring at it like it was yours!"

"Just answer the damn question."

"I don't know what I'm gonna do! I told you I just got out from the homes!" he scowled, rolling his hood into a ball for a pillow. "So, who you're gonna trust? You got anybody already in the streets?" asked Beat, leaving the watch alone. The short boy shrugged and sighed, "I dunno…"

Beat snorted, "Why don't you go back with your parents? Behave and all that. You'll die out here."

The kid shot up, "This is all I have left." Beat brought the box to him with a few slices and took the bag he looted from the store with all the goods to the bathroom. As Beat put the things away, he realized that he hadn't talked that much since he was out on his own. He wasn't used to his own voice, and it scared him a little. But he needed this kid out. He had done his good deed, now that was it.

A loud gurgling burp broke his thoughts, and he looked out the doorway to see the kid tossing the box to the corner. "Dude…I left four slices in there…" Beat said in awe. The boy smiled sheepishly, "I haven't eaten in three days…"

"So, it was heat and lack of energy." Beat summed up, knowing why he had passed out before. The young boy shrugged, "Hey, Beat? Why'd you help me out?"

Beat looked at Yoshi and picked up the empty box of pizza ready to be thrown out, "Well, don't take this personally, but when someone's got the cops riled up, there's nothing more I'd rather do than just screw it up even more for them."

"Oh…"

"And I wasn't expecting a shadow to be following me home, either." Beat added, sitting on his couch and poking at the watch once again. He couldn't wait to figure out if his plan would actually work. "Okay, why are you so obsessed with my watch, yo?"

Beat looked up, facing the teen who was staring back. "Why are you so obsessed with saying 'yo' all the time?" Yoshi smiled, embarrassed, "It's a habit…" Beat shook his head, "Back to your question, I'm gonna use this watch to catch police broadcasts so I can find this guy who's up in the ranks there."

Yoshi arched an eyebrow, "Why don't ya just listen to Jet Set Radio, yo?"

"Because I've already tried that, yo."

The redhead smirked as Yoshi glared at him. "Not funny, yo!" Beat snorted, unable to hold his laugh in. The shorter teen fumed as Beat leaned his head back on the couch backrest to support himself. He sighed a breath to relieve himself from the laughing lack of air.

"Yoooooooo!" Beat cracked up, unable to control himself. The kid stood up angrily, "Shut UP!" Beat smirked, "And what if I don't?"

"I'll leave." the kid answered dangerously.

Beat arched an eyebrow, "Whoooo! Scary! Take the trash out with you." Yoshi walked to the door, "Yeah sure, and I'll be sure to let the cops know where their little pinpoint is hangin' out." Beat's face became serious, the way it was always.

The other smiled a magnificent wicked grin that showed all his perfectly straight teeth in a row, "Hmm…"

Beat glared at him.

"Look, all I need is someone to teach me the ropes, and you're sour enough to prove that you've been out here a while-"

"No you don't! I'm no one's stupid babysitter! Get your crap and get out of my house!"

"I'll be taking my watch then!"

Beat glanced at his wrist, "I think I'll be keeping it."

Yoshi shrugged, "Your loss. The police station is only a few blocks away…" Beat stood up angrily, "You do realize that you'll be selling yourself out, don't you?" Yoshi shrugged again, "I can always run away from where I'm sent to, but you'll be the one stuck behind cold bars."

Beat glared at him from behind his blue tinted goggles, almost making them fog up with his heated face, "Shut the door." he said irritably. Yoshi smiled and did as told, sitting on the smaller couch, making it squeak. "So, roomie, what's first on the list?" he smiled.

"We get some things straight." Beat said, walking up to the relaxed kid. "First of all, I'm not your roomie. Second of all, you better not get in my way, third, you shut up when I tell you to, forth, you don't bug me for food, and fifth, you clean up after yourself, cause I can't stand pigs!"

Yoshi stared at the towering teen, wondering if this was how all other rudies started out.