Chapter Three-The Letters

After the incident at the zoo Subaru's freedoms were taken away. He was not allowed to go outside. He was not allowed to go with when the Sakurada's went out. It was a very sad thing that he should be blamed for things that he had no control over.

He sat at Ms. Sango's place petting her cat Kirara. The kind neighbor walked over to him with a plate. "Here you are," she said.

Subaru looked at the delicious looking cake on the plate. "Thank you," he said taking the dish.

Sango was such a lovely and kind woman. She was the only person who treated him so kindly.

She undid her hair from its ponytail letting her black hair fall to her back. "School starts at the end of the summer doesn't it?"

Subaru nodded cutting the cake with his fork.

"Are you excited? You get to live in the school. Getting away from your family will be nice won't it? I'll sure miss you though. Be sure to write me once in a while,"

Subaru glanced at her. Ms. Sango must be lonely if she wanted a ten year old to write her. He felt a bit sorry for her. No one in the neighborhood cared for people who were different. Like himself and Ms. Sango.

Sango had an odd little cat and wore odd clothes and had odd objects in her home. First glance at the house and you would think she was some kind of ninja or something.

Subaru sighed. The world just didn't like people who were different. That's why going to this new school wouldn't be any different then the one he was going to now. People still wouldn't like him. He was just to different and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't change that.

XxXxX

"Go get the mail, Subaru." ordered his uncle, one summer mourning.

Setting his fork down he got up and went to the front door. Three letters lay on the floor. He picked them up glancing at them. One was a bill, another from Jun's sister, Ino. The last letter was for Subaru?!

His brown eyes grew wide. No one wrote to him. Not ever. Yet here it was

Mr. S Fair

Smallest Room. No. 8 Pit-Pitch Ave

TokyoPop

It was hand written in the neatest hand print the had ever seen. But who had sent it to him? The letter had no return address or a stamp. He made his way back to the kitchen, handing the other two items to his uncle. He sat back down flipping his own letter around so he could open it.

There was a wax seal in the back bearing a coat of arms. Four animals on each of the corners; a lion, a snake, a bird, and a badger. A capital H in the middle. Subaru held his breath as he broke the seal. He opened the envelope and pulled out the folded letter inside. It was made from a heavy parchment. He slowly began to unfold the letter.

Blonde curls bounced as his aunt swiped the letter from him. "What is this?" she asked handing the letter to Jun.

"It's mine!"

Jun took the letter from Shinku. "Who'd be writing to you?" he asked.

Subaru sadly looked down at the table. "I don't know."

Jun unfolded the letter and quickly scanned the contents he became paler as his eyes went further down the page. "Shinku!" he said sharply.

She quickly leaned over to read. Her blue eyes winded. "Jun!" she stepped back. "Jun!"

His aunt and uncle's eyes turned to him. Lambo to looked at him. "Can I have my letter back now?" he asked.

"Lambo. Subaru." Jun said calmly. "Get out."

"My letter!" cried the dark haired boy.

"Out!" snapped Shinku.

Obediently the two boys left the kitchen. They sat together on the stairs listening to what the adults were saying.

"Jun, what do we do? Should we write them back?"

"No," said Jun. "I think its best that we ignore it."

"Can we?"

"Yes. He will not become one of those things. We swore that when we took him in that we would not let something like that in our house. We sill stick by that."

Subaru could hear his uncle tearing up his letter.

His cousin sighed behind him. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Subaru didn't answer. Someone was trying to contact him. Maybe they would try again.

However his aunt and uncle had also thought of that. Maylene, was also on their side. She would get all the mail now. No matter how hard he begged her she would not give him his letter.

"Sorry Subaru," she would say. "Those are the orders, Mail goes straight to your uncle no matter who the mail belongs to."

However, what his aunt and uncle hadn't expected, was a very persistent letter sender. Soon three to five letters would come then ten and then twenty. Jun then nailed up the mail slot. But the letters continued to come from under the door. So the solution to that was to nail up the door. Then letters came threw the windows. So Jun nailed up the windows.

"They'll stop sending them eventually," he assured Shinku. She was most displeased with the situation. They could no longer leave their house now that it was all nailed up. She glared at her husband.

Patience was wearing thin in the household. Very thin.

They were all sitting in the family room. It was silent. The television was turned off. Shinku was sipping her tea, Jun reading the paper, Lambo his headphones on listening to his music. Subaru was just sitting on the couch. Wondering and wondering what the contents of those letters might be.

Shinku's fierce blue eyes turned towards him. "It's Sunday. There will be no letters today,"

Subaru turned away from her stare. Even if it wasn't his aunt Shiknu and his uncle Jun would keep destroying his letters.

No sooner were the thoughts from his head when a letter zoomed across the room. Everyone looked up and starred at it. Then another flew into the room. Then another and another.

Subaru looked and saw that they were flying into the room from the fireplace. In fact the fireplace was spitting out the letters at a terribly fast place. He reached out to grab one of the many letters.

His uncle grabbed him around the middle. Pulling his wife and son along with.

"We're leaving!" he informed them, pulling the family to the front door attempting to rip off the wood he had nailed there. "We'll go far away where they can't find us!"

Shinku glanced behind them at her home. There would be such a mess when she got back. She would have to watch and make sure it got cleaned up too. What a bother.

XxX

They drove for a long time. In no particular direction uncle Jun just drove. His aunt was beside herself with anger. She was more terrifying then his crazed uncle at this moment.

For hours they drove. Stopping only once for gas and a quick snack. Subaru was thankful for the food. He was starving. Perhaps when they got home the house would be so full of letters that he could snag one.

At last they stopped at a dingy hotel. "Here we are," informed Jun.

"Here?" asked Shinku.

Jun without answering her got out of the car.

Shinku glared at him. "Lambo you stay here. We are not staying in there,"

So Jun and Shinku argued. The car or the hotel.

Subaru sighed and did his best to get comfortable in the cold car.

XxXxX

Waking in the morning to an angry screech from his aunt was not the best way to wake up. The car was covered in letters.

Sighing Jun started up the car and drove off letters flying off. It seemed like it was going to be another long day of driving.

And it was.

Subaru dozed off during the drive but when he awoke the were parked on a beach. The waves crashed against the shore violently. Dark storm clouds were rolling in. Great.

His Uncle had gone to a shabby looking house a little ways down on the beach.

"Are we staying there now?" asked Lambo.

Shinku shrugged, clearly still furious with the situation.

Finally his uncle came back signaling them all to come out. "Were going to be staying out there." he pointed out to the sea.

"The ocean?" asked Shinku.

"No there's a large rock out there with a house on it. We'll stay there. They'll never find us there."

Shinku looked back at the car.

"Come on," said Jun. "The man in that house is lending us his boat."

Shinku shook her head, furious at the situation. She stomped threw the sand to the dinky little row boat. Jun gestured for the boys to follow. With a sigh the two boys followed the adults.

XxXxX

Shinku's blue eyes scanned the dingy, damp, dank little house. Obviously she was most displeased. The little home had one bed upstairs and a couch downstairs and random mismatched furniture laying about. Clearly the bed was for uncle Jun and aunt Shinku. The couch would be for Lambo. Looked liked he would get the floor.

Lambo hopped on the couch. " I hope we head home tomorrow,"

Subaru nodded in agreement. Maybe then he could get one of the letters the house must be exploding with.

"After all," continued his cousin. "it's your birthday tomorrow,"

Subaru gasped. That's right it was. He would be eleven tomorrow. Aside from Lambo he was sure that no one else would remember.

He laid on the floor listening to the storm that was rumbling above them. The thunder that roared. The lighting that flashed threw the sky. The heavy rain that fell. The waves that crashed against the shabby house.

He glanced at Lambo's watch. Any second now he would be eleven years old.

He watched the hands of the watch slowly move closer to midnight. He heard something else. A crunching sound coming from outside.

The clock pointed to midnight.

A clicking sound came from outside and then shots rang threw the house. Bullets flew threw the door. Subaru pulled his cousin out off the couch. And they crawled behind it. Subaru had his hands over his ears to drown out the gunshots. What in the world is going on?

At last the bullets ceased and what ever was remaining of the door fell to the ground. Subaru could hear the footsteps of someone entering the house.

Taking the smallest peak he looked to see who had entered. It was too dark to make out who it was. All he knew was the person had two glowing red eyes.

"Happy birthday, Subaru," whispered his cousin.

A/N I know it's a bit boring still. I can't wait till we get to the school part so many characters to introduce it'll be so fun. I know I don't have a whole lot of views yet. Maybe it'll pick up. Well for the few of you who are reading please tell me what you think.