Disclaimer: I do not own Kekkaishi.

"…." – talking

'….' – thinking

A/N: Sorry for the long update. It's not easy when you are busy with final exam and so on. Anyway, those who have idea on this story are welcomed to share it.

Chapter 2: Meeting The New Kid

"By the way, what's your name?"

Gen was debating whether to answer the boy's question or not. Finally, he decided it was not harmful to answer the question. After all, it was just a name. What harm can fall on him? He was about to answer the question when the boy suddenly fell on his knee. Gen couldn't help but fell panic.

The first thought that rushed to Gen was 'Crap, what I have done?'

Gen can't help but to think like that especially considering how often he accidentally hurt people. He started to consider his options. First option, he can just run away and abandon this boy. Surely his dog will look after him. Besides, Gen didn't know this boy at all except for his name. Well, it's not like he ask the boy's name. The boy just suddenly and randomly gave out his name. But, this boy seemed really needed some helps.

'Okay, let's consider the second option,' Gen thought.

Second option, he can go helping the boy. But, what if he only hurt him more? What if he just makes things get worse? What if…..what if he scares him? There were so many what if scenario that ran in Gen's mind. Unfortunately, all scenarios that he can think were bad ones. His train of thought stopped abruptly heard a grumble escaped from the boy's stomach. Wait a minute. A grumble escaped from the boy's stomach? Gen blinked. It can't be that the boy collapsed because he was too hungry. If he remembered correctly the boy did whine about not getting lunch.

There was an awkward silence between them. Gen studied the boy in front of him carefully. The boy's face was red in embarrassment. Probably because his stomach grumbled loudly. Gen noticed that the boy was staring at him. It kind of made him felt awkward and angry. What he's looking at? Is he trying to judge him like everyone else? It angered Gen. He was not some freak show. However, Gen noticed that the boy didn't look at him with disgust or hate like everyone used to. Instead, he was looking at him with hope. It took a moment for Gen to realize that the boy was staring at his rice ball in his hand.

'Could it be that this guy wants to eat my rice ball?' Gen thought.

Gen looked at the boy and then, at his rice ball. He sighed. So much for a peaceful and quiet lunch. How on earth he gets stuck with this kid? Cautiously, he approached the boy and tried to offer his rice ball to the boy.

"Er…..," Gen didn't really know how to address this boy.

"Yoshimori, you can call me Yoshimori," the boy responded cheerfully. Actually too cheerful for Gen. "And, this is Madarao," Yoshimori introduced his dog. "He's my ayakashi partner."

"O - kay," Gen said hesitantly. "Do you want some rice ball, Yoshimori? Your dog can have it too."

"Really, you mean it," Yoshimori grabbed Gen's hand with sparkling eyes and smiled, "Thanks."

Gen sweat dropped and thought 'O – kay, this guy is weird.'

Yoshimori quickly grabbed a rice ball. Madarao did the same thing too. They stuffed their mouth with rice ball. Sometimes, there was a cat fight between them on who should have the rice ball. Gen only watched from sideline with eyes widened. He never saw anyone gobbling food like that. They must be very hungry. His train of thought broke when Yoshimori suddenly asked a question.

"So, what's ….munch… your…munch ….name?" Yoshimori asked with his mouth full.

"Yoshimori, don't talk with mouth full," Madarao scolded.

"Oh, shut up, Madarao. I'm not talking to you," Yoshimori turned his attention to Gen. This time he swallowed the food first before talking, "So, what's your name?"

Gen contemplated for a moment before answering, "Uummm…my name is….eerr…..Shishio Gen."

"Then, I'll call you Shishio," Yoshimori chirped. "So, Shishio, what do you like to eat? If you want, I can cook anything for you. Well, only simple thing like instant noodle or something like that," Yoshimori shrugged. "Oh, yeah, do you have any hobby? Do you….."

Gen started to become uncomfortable and awkward. He felt as if he was interrogated by Yoshimori. Well, there was nothing wrong with what Yoshimori said or asked. It's just that he never really knew how to deal with this kind of thing. You know, thing where you need to introduce yourself and get to know other people. Fortunately, Madarao sensed Gen's discomfort.

"Yoshimori, stop asking too much questions. You're making him uncomfortable," Madarao scolded.

Yoshimori rubbed the back of his head and answered sheepishly when he realized Madarao was right, "Sorry, I'm rambling too much. I just get too excited since you're my first friend here."

Gen raised his eyebrows in surprised, 'He considers me as his friend."

Now, this was a new concept to Gen. This kid just met him about 10 minutes and the kid already considered him as his friend. Gen never really had someone who he can call as his friend especially someone at his age. Most kids at his age either tried to bully him or scared of him. They never really wanted to befriend or play with him. Thing didn't really change much too when he joined Night Troop although he admitted his life was better than before he joined them. It was a strange idea for him and he couldn't grasp it. It's kind of scaring him. And so, he did something that he could thing.

He ran away.

Yoshimori blinked for a moment, trying to process what had happened in his mind. Did he do something wrong? Yoshimori tried to think what he had said. He didn't say something hurtful, right? He was tempted to chase Gen. But, a shout halted him.

"Hey, Yoshimori!"

Yoshimori turned around to see his brother, Masamori was waving at him. Maybe he try to find Shishio after this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yoshimori was staring at the foods lined on the long table. Yoshimori knew they'll do a welcome party for newcomer but he didn't really expect it to be this grand. There were many kinds of food such as fried chicken, tempura and grilled meat. Everybody was eating happily. Yoshimori tried to find Gen among the crowd. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.

"….So, what you're going to do?" asked a blond boy, sitting beside him.

Yoshimori blinked for a moment, trying to figure out the question. He didn't really pay attention to what the blond said. If he remembered correctly, the blond boy's name is Kagemiya Sen. Yoshimori swore that Sen looked like a girl, not like he would admit it loudly. Sitting next to Sen was another boy older than them by a year. His name is Shuu Akitsu. He had a broom like hairstyle.

"Ummm… what did you say?" Yoshimori asked.

Sen was irritated by Yoshimori's lack of attention and was about to snap at him when Shuu chose that moment to step in, "Sen-chan is asking what you're going to do about your partner."

Yoshimori blinked again, "My partner?"

"Don't you hear what I said before? Geezzz, you should check your ears," Sen said in irritation.

"Sen-chan, don't be rude to Yoshimori-kun," Shuu said and then turned to Yoshimori, "Sorry about that. Sen-chan doesn't really know how to get along with people he just meets. But, once you get along with him, you'll know he's a good boy."

"Shut up," Sen poked Shuu's forehead with his long, sharp nail.

"See, that's how he shows his friendliness," Shuu said with a grin, earning him another poke from Sen. "That's hurt, Sen-chan."

Yoshimori just stared dumbly at the scene before asking, "So, what you mean by partner?"

"You really didn't pay attention, do you?" Sen sighed, "Like I said before, you need to have a partner before you are allowed to take a mission. It's a precautious step for us. Not many people can single handle ayakashi like our Chief."

"So, I need to find my own partner then?" Yoshimori asked.

"Not necessarily. It depends on Chief. Sometimes, Chief picks for us. Sometimes, he let us pick," Shuu interrupted.

Yoshimori nodded in understanding. Masamori had told him about this and everything he needed to know about Night Troop. It seemed Masamori had allowed him to pick his own partner. Now, the problem was how on earth he was supposed to find one? It's unlikely his partner will pop out of nowhere. Obviously, Sen and Shuu had their own partner. His mind suddenly wondered on Gen. He couldn't put his finger on it but he could sense sadness and loneliness radiated from that boy.

'Maybe I could ask him to be my partner.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gen walked silently and slowly toward his room. It had been an unusual day for him. First, Chief summoned him, telling him to find a new partner within three day. Then, a random boy showed up with his dog, effectively ruining his lunch. Then, the boy said something strange toward him. Until now, he couldn't think the meaning of those words. He just hoped he didn't need to deal with Yoshimori and Madarao again. As he was approaching his room, he heard noise from his room.

"You're messing this room. I'm sure your roommate won't like it."

"Could you give me a break? How am I suppose to arrange my stuffs if I don't get them out from my luggage?"

"You could do it in a less messy way."

Gen's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, God. Please don't let it be who I think."

Gen could still hear the two voices bickering with each other. Slowly, he opened the door, revealing Yoshimori and Madarao. Gen just stared dumbly. Oh God, what he had done to deserve to be punished like this? He was hoping to rest quietly in his room. Now, he can never do it with those two idiots in his room.

'Wait a minute. Why they're in my room?' Gen pondered and looked around his room. It was in a mess. 'And why my room is in a mess?'

Gen coughed a bit to catch Yoshimori and Madarao's attention. Unfortunately, they were too engrossed with their bickering. Gen coughed again, a little louder this time but was ignored again. Gen's eyes started to twitch. Their bickering becoming louder and louder and were driving him crazy.

"What are you doing in my room?" Gen shouted on top of his lungs.

That effectively stopped Yoshimori and Madarao's bickering. They looked at each other before looking at Gen. Yoshimori was surprised to see Gen. He rubbed at the back of his head when he realized how messy the room was.

"He – he, I'm staying in this room. Since this is your room, this means we're roommate, right?" Yoshimori said sheepishly.

"What? No way." Gen shouted, surprising Yoshimori and Madarao. Gen himself was surprised with his outburst too. He shuttered, "I – I mean, I never have roommate before. Why so sudden?"

"Well, that's because I say so," a new voice said.

Gen turned around to see his chief. For some reasons, it annoyed him to see his Chief giving a foxy grin. It was as if Chief had something in his sleeves which didn't sit well with Gen.

"So, do you like staying in this room?" Masamori asked to Yoshimori, ignoring Gen's alarm look.

"Yup, it's okay," Yoshimori answered.

"That's good. By the way, do both of you have found your own partner?" Masamori asked even though he could predict their answer.

"No, I haven't found one," Gen said slowly.

Yoshimori looked at Gen, "You don't have a partner?"

Gen looked away from Yoshimori, "Nope."

Gen only gave a short answer without explaining why he had no partner. Of course, what kind of morons who will tell everyone that they loss a partner because they can't control of their power and nearly killed their partner?

"I don't have a partner too," Yoshimori said, putting his fingers on chin as if he was thinking deeply. Suddenly, Yoshimori clapped his hand excitedly and looked at Gen, "I know, you can be my partner. This way we can solve the problem. So, want to be my partner, Shishio? I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun."

Gen was stunned and speechless. For the first time in his life, someone actually asked him to be their partner. Usually, people became his partner because Chief asked them to. He couldn't really remember anyone that volunteered himself to be his partner.

"Hey, earth to Shishio, earth to Shishio," Yoshimori waved his hand in front of Gen, "Are you okay?" Unfortunately, he didn't get any response from Gen. Yoshimori looked at Masamori worriedly, "What's wrong with him, Aniki?"

Masamori just shrugged and smiled knowingly, "Nothing. I guess he just shock to have a new partner."

"That's great. Then, it's settled. Shishio are my partner," Yoshimori exclaimed.

"Hey, don't forget about me," Madarao said with irritation.

"Yeah, yeah," Yoshimori waved his hand and added teasingly, "As long as your old body can keep up with us."

"Why you little….."

And so, Madarao and Yoshimori started their new bickering while Masamori was watching them from sideline. As for Gen, he was still trying to gasp what had happened. Did he just get a new partner? Did Yoshimori just ask him to be his partner? Why? Why Yoshimori wanted him to be his partner?

"Oh, that's right. I forget about it," Yoshimori stopped in the middle of his bickering. He started rummaging his backpack, "There's something I want to give you." "I hope you like it….." Yoshimori turned to Gen but his voice trailed off when he cannot spot Gen anywhere in the room. Yoshimori asked Masamori, "Where's Shishio?"

Masamori shrugged again, "Who knows? I guess he runs away."

"Why?" Yoshimori frowned.

"That's for you to found out and for me to know," Masamori grinned knowingly much annoyance to Yoshimori.

Oh, well, guess no one can blame Gen to freak out and run away suddenly. Who wouldn't freak out if some random, strange kid dropped from sky randomly decided to be your partner in less than 24 hours after meeting you just because he thought it was fun thing to do? Anyway, that's how Shishio Gen and Sumimura Yoshimori become partner.