Hey! Id any of you read Summer of Dragons, I'm posting up a track you can listen to while you read each chapter. I'm starting with this story too. All the tracks can probably be found on YouTube easily.

Today's track: Sunrise, from the album Solace, by Doug Hammer


As he crossed the street the next morning, one earbud dangling loose at his side across his pocket, he zipped his jacket up tighter around him and watched his breath fog before his face. It was cold today.

He'd been out early this morning, so early that Les was not at the street corner when he left. He must've surrendered his sleeplessness and gone back to his apartment. Perhaps it had grown too chilly for him.

He was walking back to the apartment from the WBBA offices; Ryo had forgotten to come to work today and the whole building was under shutdown. It annoyed him to no end that his boss was so forgetful - oftentimes his rent was long overdue before Ryo remembered to pay him. His boss lacked respect for his employees and organisational skills. Tsubasa narrowed his eyes in distaste and pressed the shuffle button on his MP3, trying to swallow his annoyance.

Suddenly a bad chord cut through the song and he ripped the earbud out of his ear, wincing at the unpleasant sound, before realising it was Les on the corner with his guitar.

Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home,

Home to the place where I wish I'd have gone,

And if you see my darling, tell her I miss her..."Uhh...OHH! Ah cain't remember tha words no more!...Hey, son. Whatcha doin comin' this-away? Ah never saw ya leave. And Ah sees about ever'one what leaves this here buildin'."

"I left really early this morning. You weren't here."

"Wadn't here? You sure? Ah been here since 'bout 5:30."

"Huh. I didn't see you."

"Oh, well. Yer here now. Where ya been to already? Work'n back so early? Ah thought it was gonna be a busy day fer you today."

"I guess not, Les. Building's on shutdown because my BOSS forgot to come to work, so nobody could unlock the doors!"

"Easy, son. Ever'one forgets sometimes."

"Not just sometimes. He never pays me on time and disappears or sleeps during a workday! He's supposed to be the boss, for goodness' sake!"

"Getcher act together and quit makin' a scene, boy. Siddown and tell me what's happenin' without gittin' in the world's face."

Tsubasa took a few deep breaths and sat down, his hair falling around his shoulders. He'd not noticed that the clip'd fallen out.

"I'm just having a lot of trouble at work right now. I shouldn't lay my burdens on you. You've got enough of your own to worry about."

Les clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Son, ah've moved past the age wher ah worry 'bout mahself. I've got nothin' ta worry 'bout. Ah'm on a fixed retirement income so ah get mah bills paid all right. Ah don't eat much so ah don't buy much. And ah'm layin' up a future fer mah granddaughter. Ah've got all ah need, so what else do ah have left in tha world but ta help other people? That's the way ah sees it anyway."

"Well...okay. I just don't feel like my boss appreciates me very much. He has no idea how much cleaning up I have to do after him to keep the WBBA up and running; it's like I run the whole place myself."

"Hmm. Well, do ya run it well?"

"I...I think so."

"Does anybody help ya?"

"There's Hikaru. She's the secretary."

"That's good. Why do ya go cleanin' up after 'im all tha time? If he's tha boss, why don't he shape 'imself up?"

"Because I...I don't want to see the WBBA fall down."

"Huh, so it ain't that ya just want ta get noticed?"

"N-no. I don't anyhow."

"Then whatcha complainin' fer, boy? Yer doin' somethin fer a good cause because ya care. It's yer choice. If ya don't want ta do it, ya wouldn't be doin' it. So quitcher gripin. Do ya see mah point, son?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Things gettin' any better with yer friends?"

"No, not really."

"Well ya got me."

"In that sense, I guess things have improved."

Les made a satisfied noise and told Tsubasa to get chairs again. The sidewalk was freezing them through their clothes.

The sun rose a little higher as Les sang and Tsubasa listened, the MP3 player forgotten and slowly draining battery in his pocket. Through song after song they sat side by side at the curb; however, the rising sun did almost nothing for the cold. It was very, very cold.

A small figure appeared a few blocks down, half-running and half skipping, flame-yellow hair bobbing along above him. As it got closer, Tsubasa could see out of the corner of his eye that it was Yuu, but did not really register it until the little boy was gazing up at him urgently as he tugged on the sleeve of his jacket.

"Tsubasa! TSUBASA! HEY! WAKE UP!" Tsubasa blinked several times and looked down at him. "Sorry. I was thinking about something else."

"Obviously. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL DAY?"

"What do you mean, where have I been all day?"

"Ryuusei's at work and he sent Gingky to come find you because you weren't there, and Gingky and Kenchi and me teamed up to find you because you weren't at your apartment - " he paused for a breath. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"I got to work early this morning and Ryo wasn't there. He's the one who went AWOL."

"He was there, right at seven."

"We're supposed to be there by 6:30! What is he talking about?"

"I don't know, Tsubasa. The schedule on the wall says you have to be there at 7."

"As of when?"

"As of midnight last night! You should have been paying attention!"

"I left work at 5, little boy! How was I supposed to know?"

"In any case, get back or Ryo says he won't pay you this month."

"Like he would", Tsubasa muttered. "Okay, okay, I'm going."

"Good luck, son", Les said softly. "Ah hope ya have a better day today."

"That isn't likely to happen."

With thins, Tsubasa stormed off down the street, not bothering to pick up his hair clip off the concrete, and definitely not anticipating the day ahead.