A/N: Annnnd chapter one~ I want to say some things before we begin with the fanfic:
1: Some lines from the anime or manga will be used
2: With this story, you're going to see a lot of how Miharu acclimates into his new environment and how Yoite helps him with it. Yoite lived in the city (not this one but another) much longer than Miharu did, so the story is going to focus a lot on how Miharu is with all of this alien stuff around him. Don't worry, there will be their yaoi moments too. XD I'm just saying that so you know. ^^ The next chapter will be particularly hard for him. XD Also, the Shinrabansou is going to be more of an annoying bug in Miharu's head. She's going to talk a lot more. For those of you who have seen The Host, you know the girl Melanie is constantly talking in The Wanderer's head. That's kind of going to be how the Shinrabansou is.
3: As of right now I don't know how long this fanfic is going to be. Chapter wise I'm not sure of. Sorry. ^^'
4: If you follow me, you'll notice that I upload other fanfics at any point in the week. To let you know, I'm going to stop doing that. I'll say this on the other fanfics too, but just so YOU people know, all fanfics I have will be uploaded at the end of every week.
Alright, that's it. ^_^ Now enjoy this epic song~
Warrior by BAP
-Misty
Potent: Chapter 1
Potent
Chapter 1
Banten District
The streets are so busy and the crowd of people has me dizzy. I pull the scarf over my face to cover up more, afraid someone will see me and so I don't have to smell the scents of cigarette smoke and despair. That's all there is and it's making me nauseous.
I look to my right to see Yoite. He's pulling on the hood over his head to pull it over his face more. I do the same with my own and look away. Despite the cover I can still see his infected head injury. I can still see his limp, but he hasn't let me get that close to him. He won't let me look at the wound on his leg. For all I know it could be as infected as my own leg had been.
I had gotten lucky; the wounds around my wrists from the wires, the wound on my eye and the bruises and internal damage had healed on its own. It took a month to do so, but after that I was fine. Meanwhile, Yoite's got infected. He taught me how to make snares and traps of my own so I could set them and hunt. I had made myself a makeshift bow plus arrows from bones of animals I hunted. It wasn't as good as my old one, but it helped.
But it wasn't enough. We were too far away from any trading routes to steal medicine. Neither of us knew about herbal remedies. All I knew was there was a fresh water spring six miles away. It was a long trip but I did it so we had clean water. I used that to clean his wounds every day, but it didn't help. It probably made it worse too, but it was all I knew.
'And if it wasn't for Yoite I wouldn't be stepping back in this hell hole.' I think to myself.
I don't blame Yoite. I never would either. I did this for him. I would gladly give my life if it meant he would be healthy. That's why we came back here. It was part of the deal between Kouichi, Shijima and I.
They told us exactly where to go and when. We were in the Banten district and I never did get the chance to ask why it was this district that wasn't monitored securely. I already knew what happened here though: murder, rape, theft, drug dealing, and slave trading; the list is endless. It's, by far, the most dangerous district here, but that's because people come here for freedom, or rather a place to breathe.
As instructed (though I would've done it without the instruction) I stuck to Yoite's side like glue. Unlike him; tall, thin, his sharp facial features giving him that impression that he'll kill anyone who messes with him, I'm small, weak, and unfortunately I look like a girl. I'm a perfect target for any old pervert with a fetish for little boys. That's another reason for the disguises we're wearing; these heavy coats with deep hoods and scarfs to cover the lower half of our faces will keep anyone from recognizing our faces. Yoite must be sweating because he's wearing his own coat under the ones Kouichi gave us, but at the same time I hope for that to be true. Winter had brought on its cold, and with its cold was snow, two feet of it to be exact.
I look back to him for a moment to watch his movements. I can see the fever making him go stiff. His body is getting harder to move and anyone who could see could see his terrible posture. He's got a limp from the wound in his leg and I can see under his hood that he has bags under his eyes. I can hear his wheezing from under the scarf; I didn't care for the disguises, they should have just gotten us a car so we didn't have to walk thirty miles to get here.
"Are you okay?" I whisper from under the scarf. He looks at me and nods his head a little. There's a bad aura being admitted from him though. Something is really off. I reach for his hand in his pocket and touch his hand with trepidation. I can feel how cold and clammy it is.
"I'll be okay." He whispers back. I nod and look ahead. I find it weird how all of these people are looking at us as if we're big bugs, but they're the ones with the disgusting looks to them. At least we're fed.
"Do you remember where we're supposed to meet that person?" I ask. Yoite pulls his hood up a little to look around. He points ahead to a hotel sign barely clinging to its hinges on a hotel a block away from us.
"I'm pretty sure that's it." He says and pulls the hood back down. I nod and walk forward.
Two weeks after Kouichi talked to us, Thobari and Yukimi managed to visit us. They were the ones who gave us these clothes and told us where to go. They also told us we would be meeting someone when we got to the hotel. They didn't say who, but Thobari specifically said only I would know the person when I saw them. I didn't get it, but if I knew them then I guess they were someone I already trusted.
I tightened my grip on Yoite's hand and started walking faster. I didn't want to be in this area anymore. Even though we'd only be in a hotel, it's better than being around these people.
We go down the block and cautiously step into the hotel. It's small, but well decorated for the district we are in. I look around, but the only person I see is behind the front desk.
"Are we early?" I ask. Yoite looks at me and shrugs his shoulders.
Just then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turn my head and look over my shoulder. There's a thin and soft hand on my shoulder. I follow the arm and look up to the face.
There's a lady behind me with a pair of dark sunglasses and a big sun hat on her head that covers part of her shoulder length brown hair. She's wearing an expensive looking black coat that goes down to her knees and there's the thin fabric of a dress under it. She's wearing a pair of white heels, not too large but all the same still pushing her off of the ground. Slung around her shoulder is a small handbag.
She tilts her glasses down the bridge of her nose and looks at me. Quickly I recognize the eyes on her.
"Hana-!" She covers my mouth before I can say anymore and raises a finger to her own mouth, motioning me to be quiet.
"I already got you boys a room. Follow me." She whispers and takes my hand. She motions for Yoite to follow and she begins to guide us away from the lobby. I tighten my grip on Yoite's hand within my own, somewhat petulantly. This way I can stay by both of them closely and so Yoite doesn't feel left out.
I'll admit that Hana's touch right now is more comforting than Yoite's. Her touch is warm and gentle and her hands are so soft. The way her skin feels against mine is making me feel safe and secure.
Yoite has that same effect, but he's so sick that the only thing I feel is concern. So the next words that come out if my mouth earn a hard squeeze of my hand from him.
"Yoite's sick." I say. I look to Hana, but she's keeping quiet.
She walks us forward to a set of elevators and pushes a button. We get in and she pushes another. As soon as the elevator starts moving I cling to both of them. I've never been in an elevator before so it's weird to feel the world moving out from under me. Yoite and Hana don't seem to notice the sensation, but they do notice me shiver with fright. Soon, though, the elevator stops and the door opens. I erratically burst out of the small space as Hana and Yoite step out calmly.
"That's was weird!" I murmur with a panicked tone. Hana smiles and takes my hand again. This time she reaches out for Yoite's hand, but he doesn't take the gesture. I frown as he waits for her to begin walking, and when she does he moves behind me and holds the back of my shirt. I smile under my scarf because it's kind of cute, but at the same time it surprises me that he wouldn't take her hand. Why wouldn't he hold her hand?
Hana walks us to a room five rooms away from emergency stairs. She lets go of my hand and reaches in the handbag slung over her shoulder. She pulls out a small piece of plastic, something that looks like a plastic card, and pushes it in the slot of the door. There is a light that turns green and she opens the door. She nudges the both of us in, mumbling, 'get in, hurry.' We do as told and walk into the room.
Again it's well furbished for such a place in such a district. There's only one bed, but it's huge and then there's a couch a few feet in front of it. Over the couch is a projector in the wall, but this one is bigger and cleaner than the previous one I saw. The walls are a light blue and the floor is wood, so anywhere we walk our footsteps are amplified. There's a throw rug under the bed and nightstands on each side of it, both holding lamps that are off at the moment.
Hana shuts the door behind us and I turn to her. She pulls her glasses and hat off and tosses them away to the floor.
"Okay, now we can talk." She holds out her arms with a big smile and without questioning it I run and hug her. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and nuzzle my face into the crook of her neck, taking in her flowery scent. "Oh, my poor boy!" She whines. "I'm so glad you're okay, Miharu." She says while patting the back of my head.
Having her say my name makes my head spin. I'm so happy I could cry. I didn't realize how much I missed this woman until I got her back. I barely even know her and yet I still feel so close to her.
She pulls away for a moment to look at me. Hana's smiling that wonderful smile and rubs my cheeks with her hands. Her eyes are red like she about to cry too.
"I was so worried about you. When Thobari told me what was going on I panicked!" She said. "But I'm glad he's letting me help you. Normally he doesn't let me into Nabari business, but for the time being he didn't have a choice." She explained.
I smile and nod my head. It's all I can do or else I'll cry. I don't want to, but I feel the tears burning my eyes. Thobari was right; I can definitely trust Hana.
"I'm glad you're okay, too." I say. My voice wavers and she rubs my head in the same manner I love. I fall against her hand and let her pet me like I'm a child. It's so relaxing though. I haven't felt this relaxed in a while.
Hana looks up to Yoite and motions for him to come forward. He hesitates, but her voice is so soothing that he eventually follows. She takes his bruised hand in her own and rubs it between her hands, warming it up.
"You must be Yoite. Thobari told me you needed medicine, is that right?" She asks. Yoite looks away and nods hesitantly. Hana stands up and points to the couch. "Go ahead and sit down; I'll get the medicine." She instructs.
He listens. I join him on the couch and touch his leg. My touch isn't anywhere near his wound, but he still flinches and I can see the pain ebbing on his face. He's not letting on to whatever is wrong with him. There is something wrong and his pants are covering too much for me to tell. All I can tell, though, is that his leg is swollen and I can feel the heat just from this spot. If I can feel that with his pants covering it, it must be really infected.
Hana lays her jacket on the bed and then her handbag which she goes digging through. After a few moments she pulls out a syringe and a small vile filled with clear liquid. She then pulls out a small bottle with pink stuff inside. On the bottle are more labels I can't and probably never will read.
"Alright, I'll have to give you a shot to start, but every day you need to take this medicine-" She lifts up the pink bottle. "And drink the correct dosage. This will help with the infection and any fevers or aching muscles you've got." She smiles widely to him, but he doesn't respond.
I am right. Something is really off. I nudge my elbow against him, prompting a response, but I don't get one. He only looks away from both of us and nods his head.
"Oh my, well I can't give you the shot with all of this stuffy clothing on you boys. Go ahead and take those jackets off." Hana instructs. I quickly agree, noticing the room is already preheated due to the winter cold.
I yank my scarf off and then pull the hood down. I unzip the jacket and drop it on the floor, not caring at the moment where it lands. I'm now left in the terrible (not to mentioned seriously damaged) outfit I left the city in. The shoes are tattered and muddy, but still holding together, to my surprise.
I look to Yoite who isn't doing the same. In fact, he's taken to pulling his feet onto the couch and bringing his knees to his chest. Why is he suddenly acting so defensive? If I wasn't so worried, I would actually say he's really cute this way.
"Yoite, aren't you dying of a heat stroke like that?" Hana asks.
"No, I'm fine this way." He mumbles; his voice is a little scratchy.
"Yoite, you can't; what if you get sicker?" I ask while touching his side. He shakes his head, but I can feel the shudder pass through his body. He can't possibly be cold, can he?
"At least take them off so you can change into something better." Hana suggests. She reaches forward and touches his knee, and that's when he snaps.
"Stop!" He hollers. I'm so shocked that even I jump back in surprise. Hana retreats quickly, but she doesn't move from her spot in front of us.
I haven't heard him snap like that in a month. Now there's not a doubt in my mind that something is wrong.
"Yoite...?" I ask quietly. He pulls the collar of his jacket up over his chin.
"Is something wrong?" Hana asks. She doesn't try to touch him again.
"... It's embarrassing..." Yoite mumbles. I look at him and blush.
Embarrassed? Is that what this is about? What is there to be embarrassed about?
"Oh..." Hana mumbles. "Could it be... Are you a girl?" She jumps to the conclusion and asks.
"No!" Yoite falls over to the arm of the couch and covers his head with his hands. Well, if he was embarrassed before, it's killing him now. I have to hold back a small snicker, though.
He's so cute all of a sudden. It makes me want to hug him and kiss him, but not now. I won't do it because Hana is here. I did it once in front of Thobari and Yukimi, but that was a special reason. It didn't matter at the moment. Now it does and I'd rather not have Yoite kill himself because I embarrass him too much.
"Yoite, you need the medicine." I say, clearing my mind. I need to keep my composure and I school myself into a bored look.
Slowly Yoite leaves the arm of the couch and sits up. His cheeks are red, but he undoes the buttons on the outer jacket and shakes it off. He does the same with his own jacket, getting caught for a moment with the scarf still around his neck, and then takes that off. He's still in the same outfit the Global Edifice gave us, just like me. His has more caked-on blood on it then mine, but he went through more than I did before we broke out.
"Alright, can I see your arm?" Hana asks calmly. She's slowing her voice and speaking quieter, which shows me she's already read Yoite like he's an open book. I'm glad she does that, but somehow I'm jealous. I thought I had known Yoite well through being through so much with him for so long, yet here Hana is conquering him.
Despite it, though, Yoite holds out his arm slowly. Hana's nimble fingers slowly touch his arm and stops. She waits and when he doesn't move away she begins kneading her fingers against his skin, looking for his veins. When she finds it, she makes quick work of injecting the medicine in his arm. He winces, but he doesn't object. Then it's done and she drops the syringe in a nearby trash can.
"There, all done!" She chirps. Yoite rubs his arm, keeping the blood from leaving the new opening in his body. Hana grabs something else from her handbag; a small band aid. She holds it up for Yoite to see, to make sure he's okay with it. He nods, giving her permission to continue.
Hana pulls the band aid out of its package and slowly puts it over the tiny opening in Yoite's arm. It sticks on quickly and before Yoite can prepare himself, Hana places a small, simple kiss over the band aid. To my surprise, he doesn't react.
Okay, now I'm jealous.
"Next order of business," Hana stands up from the couch and heads to the bathroom. We watch her disappear and then reappear from the bathroom with two bags, one in each hand. My curiosity is peaked, but Yoite seems as calm as ever, maybe even a little tired. "Miharu, Thobari told me your size, so I hope these clothes fit you. I wanted to know what you'd like wearing more, but I also thought you wouldn't care about the clothes, so long as they were warm." Hana speaks calmly as she hands me a bag. I look into it to see a multitude of clothes hidden away in the bag.
"Yoite, Yukimi gave me some clothes he had for you already. I got you a couple of sweaters and some shoes, but everything else is old." Hana handed Yoite his bag of clothes. He looks into it quietly and I peak in to see the clothes. Unlike mine, which are rather bright colors, his are darker and more subtle. I'm sure this is due to my height and weight. Only kid's clothes can fit me.
Wee...
"Thank you..." He mumbles. While we looked through the clothes and while I try to decide what to wear next, Hana starts looking through the jackets and sweaters we were previously wearing. She barely wants to look at them let alone touch them. She's using her thumb and index finger to pick through them. While I pull out a light blue shirt, the cuffs being white with a white hood hanging from the back, she looks up to the stuff we're wearing.
"Oh good lord..." I hear her mumble. If she feels sick from seeing us look like this now, she should try being in our position. She'd be a lot sicker then.
She then pulls on the scarfs we had around our necks. They somehow got tangled, I don't know how, but it's even more sickening to her.
"These things are falling apart..." She grumbles to herself. "I'm going to make you boy's actual scarves. These are disgraceful." She huffs.
While she complains, I pull out a pair of heavy sweat pants. I don't think we're going anywhere so I figure I might as well he comfortable here. I pull out some underwear and socks and look at them. It has been way too long since I've seen a pair of such white and clean socks... Okay, let me rephrase that; it's been a long time since I've seen socks in general. The last time I saw socks was...
I think I used them to wrap my arm up. I had a wound and nothing to cover it, so I used them for that. How old was I when that happened? I don't even remember.
"Do you two have any questions for me?" Hana rests her boney elbows on her knees and then sets her chin into her palms while she talks to us.
I shake my head and look over to Yoite, but he doesn't seem to have any either. He's ignoring her again, though. I don't know why he's being so rude today. Hana is someone we can completely trust.
"Alright then..." Hana stands up and pats my head. "I'm going to have to go then." She says sadly.
"Why now?" I ask.
"I still have work. I can't be here long anyway. We have to keep suspicions of you two being here to either none or as low as possible." Hana says. I frown when her hand leaves my head. "Someone else is supposed to be coming by later, but Thobari didn't say who."
Is this going to be another person I can trust? Will it be someone I can trust but don't want to or won't?
"Why are they coming here?" I ask.
"I think it was just to bring you boy's food and to talk to you." Hana says. "I would have brought you boy's food myself, but Yukimi said walking around with so much suspecting stuff is going to get me in trouble." She walks back to where she dropped her sun glasses and hat and puts them on.
I'm sad that she's leaving, but I know that she's right. Walking around in this district is enough to get her in trouble. I don't want her getting hurt because of us.
"Will you be okay by yourself?" I ask.
"I'll be just fine, but thank you for worrying about me." Hana comes back over to us and gives me a nice hug. I smile and hug back, happy to get the attention... But I'd rather have her pat my head again.
She goes to Yoite and does the same. She does it so fast that he can't stop her. I can see the discomfort go across his face, along with shock, surprise, even a little fear. He looks at me, as if begging for my help, but I look away like I see nothing and try to whistle. I can't whistle so all that comes out is sputtering, but I'm acting... Terribly yes, but I'm doing it anyway.
"Alright boys, I'll see you two later. Make sure you both get a good night's sleep and whatever food you get you better eat it." She goes right into mother mode by wagging her finger at us and using a stern tone on us. "I don't know when I can come back, but I better see some chubby faces the next time I do!" I smile at her words, but I frown when she picks up her over-the-shoulder handbag. I don't want her to go, but it's not like we have a choice.
I scoot closer to Yoite for comfort as Hana opens the door to the room. She looks back and forth a couple of times before stepping out of the room and looking back at us.
"Behave now, both of you." She whispers. She waves her hand and the door shuts.
We're now the only two in the quiet room. I look over to Yoite who is looking down at the clothes he's chosen in his hands. He doesn't seem too happy, but I think I know why. In the bag, none of the shirts or sweaters had any high neck collars. I'm assuming that he's upset because he can't cover up the scar on his neck. I frown, knowing I can't really help him here.
I'm okay with whatever I'm given so long as I can hide behind it and it doesn't attract attention. Yoite, however, isn't okay with it like I am. It looks like we both have some new things to get used to.
I pick my clothes up and hold them up in the air to look at them. It's been so long since I've had proper clothes, years to be more precise, so I honestly don't know what to think.
"Do you want to use the bathroom to change first?" Yoite asks me. His words are quick and abrupt so it startles me, but I act as cool as I can and shake my head.
"No, you go ahead. I can change out here while you go to the bathroom." I say. Yoite looks down at his clothes, cringes and nods his head. He stands up and takes his clothes with him to the bathroom where he disappears behind the door. I'm left in the warm room by myself and I don't waste time to sightsee.
I shed the worn out and bloody attire I'm wearing and trade it for the clothes Hana gave me. They are ten times warmer, comfortable, and more fitting than the last pair I had. As a matter of fact, these pants don't go to my calf; they go right down to my ankles. It's obvious that I got a little taller over the years, but I didn't know how much until I realized that the pants I was wearing were about four sizes too small. Glad to see I'm not as small as I thought.
When I'm in my new clothes, socks, underwear, even my new shoes, I step around the room, looking around curiously while testing out my new shows.
Damn... The shoes are comfortable too.
Yoite walks out of the bathroom after I waltz around for a few minutes. He's wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt with a pair of black and baggy sweats. I see him purposely turning his head to the side, trying to hide the scar on his neck. I can quickly see the discomfort on his face. I can safely assume now that the clothing he was wearing when I first met him wasn't for fashion, but rather for comfort.
"How are they?" I ask. I already know that his answer is going to be a lie, that he's going to say something about the clothes being comfortable or just "fine," but I'm trying to make conversation.
"They're fine." He mumbles.
One point for me.
"What about yours?" He asks.
"They're really warm." I say. It's true. They are unbelievable warm and comfortable.
"That's good..." He walks over to sit on the plush bed and I follow. It's really quiet in the room, and thinking about it now, I wonder if Yoite is at all tired. We've been traveling for two days now. It wouldn't have taken so long if we didn't stop so constantly, but I understood that Yoite would get winded easily. I didn't mind; it just meant more time for us to be alone before the work starts.
"Are you tired?" I ask. Yoite blinks his eyes a few times and I can see the haze over them.
"A little..." He mumbles again. I cautiously wrap my arm around him and pull, but he doesn't hesitate and collapses against me. His head rests on top of mine and I smile when his breath tickles the skin of my nose. I rub his back with one hand and the other finds one of his and tangles with it. His boney fingers are cold, but deftly reassuring.
"We should rest, Yoite." I say. He nods his head and sinks against me. I help him so he can lay his head in my lap and he takes to curling his hands into my pant legs. I smile as I rub his head, coaxing him into a deep sleep.
A/N: Now review~ XD
