LP4E

Gah! Bad writing is bad! Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if people were disappointed with how this chapter turned out, especially since I know a lot of you have been waiting for the next one! Be for real, sorry this took so long...what with school and projects and what not. (Plus i've been busy writting chapters for my other Original story called "The World Beneath" with my friend and we're trying to finish it for out first year anniversary of it's publishing!) So anyway, i'm a little rusty at writing this so I hope you can enjoy it! Whee~! More baby adventures!

Chapter 4: My Cousin, My Friend, a Quartet Has Been Born.

...Hm?...ah! Oh shi-um...hey? So...uhh...I know that it's kind of been a while since I spoke to you guys huh? Ah, well...I have a VERY good reason for this! So, let's me just come out and say that due to...uh...some distractions (mainlyanimevideogamesprocrastination) I haven't had the luxury or time to grace you all with my wonderful stories about how my life was the prime example of the shit that hit the fan. So~ I guess to make up for this (since I am apparently obligated to entertain the masses with my tales of woe and misery), I will just have to make this particular story an engaging one.

So, uh...I guess I can start around like eight years ago when I was around seven...

This was a time in my life (in a corny, nostalgic way of wording) that was very...how should I say...valued? Appreciated? I don't know, something around those lines...It was a time in my life that I look upon fondly...why? Well it was a time in my life where I met two of my closest friends. To this day, they and I have been...well inseparable I guess? It sounds really weird saying it like that, but you get the picture, right? Anyway...let's start when I met my best friend and Cousin...Kurokawa Hisao...

I remember my mom being over the moon when she got the call from my Uncle Jirou (though she didn't look like it), almost to the point of it being annoying. She was humming and singing, flittering all over the place, cleaning and tidying up the house to the point of putting OCD Neat-Freaks to shame. I was just sitting there on the couch, trying to watch "Yu Yu Hakusho", but I kept getting distracted by my mom and her twirling around like a freakin' Ballerina.

"Ugh, Mom..." I sighed, pausing the show and looking towards the older woman who hummed, showing that I had her attention. "Why do you keep movin' around and singin'? What are you, a Disney Princess?" I asked her with an annoyed look. She just turned and looked at me with sparkly green eyes for a moment before she put down her feather duster and rushed over to me. She leaned down gripped me in a tight bear hug that practically broke my spine, looking down at me while squeezing me tighter and tighter.

"Dai-chan...Dai-chan..." She said, sleepy eyes sparkling with joy. "Guess what?...Guess what?...Go on and guess..."

"They managed to invent fire proof houses?" I muttered sarcastically which completely flew over my mom's head.

"Oh, that would be lovely sweetie, but no it's somethin' even better...!" I turned to the one who raised me with a more genuinely, curious look. My mom may have the facial expression of a statue and the tone of voice of Siri, but I've never seen her this happy before...

"What's goin' on?" I asked as I struggled to take in sufficient breaths of air. Any tighter and I was gonna pop like a damn balloon.

"Your uncle Jirou is comin' to visit in three days..." She stated, the happy sparkles around her increasing while I looked at her with a raised brow. "Wah-?"

When I was around seven, my mother's younger brother, or my uncle Kurokawa Jirou, had decided to move from his old place in Tokyo to Namimori to get away from the city life and enjoy the more laid-back atmosphere that my town had. Apparently, my mom and him used to live in Kyoto when they were younger and had been attracted to Namimori's more Suburban way of living. From the stories I heard, my mom and my uncle had been really close when they were younger, so with her having the chance to see her little brother after around eight years really meant a lot to her. I didn't really understand or cared about it at first. After all, I'd had never met the man in my life so I was kind of indifferent to the whole situation. My mom was happy though, so it's not like I was going to complain...

"Oh...Dai-chan you're just goin' to looove~ Seein' your uncle Jirou-chan...you remind me of him so much you could pass off as twins...Oh...! And he has the most cuuutest son who's around your age...his name is Hisao and he is such a smart and polite young man...isn't that excitin' Dai-chan?...you'll have a new friend to play with!"

I just nodded along, pretending to listen to my mother's babbles. I still couldn't help a small drum of annoyance that ran through me when she mentioned this so called "New Friend". I considered my younger self as being a fairly mature boy, not smart of course, but still mature for the average seven-year-old. So, the thought of having to "befriend" some kid I didn't know wasn't very pleasing to me. Most of the boys around my age were much too troublesome to deal with, especially since they've taken it upon themselves to challenge me to stupid duels and crap to defend their "honor" and "pride" that had been crushed after losing to me in fights. Not like those morons had any in the first place, especially since the reason why they got their asses kicked was because they kept messing with Sawada. You'd think they'd learned by now, but no~! Stupidity is thicker than blood when concerning them (must run in the family).

Anyway, the point was that I wasn't looking forward to entertaining some bratty city kid who was probably going to bitch and complain about moving to our "Back Water" community. Nope, non, nein, not gonna deal. But, considering my mother's feelings, she'd obviously want me to get along with the kid, so I'd probably make an effort to greet the guy before leaving to my room or something.

Yeah, that sounded like a plan...

And so time passed, and the golden day had arrived in nothing short of 84 hours.

It was a cool, sunny day so I decided to chill outside on a hammock that was suspended by these two large shady trees in our backyard.

I was taking a light nap (which was surprising considering I could go into a deeper sleep than a bear during hibernation) and could hear birds chirp while listening to the wind jangle these wind chimes in my backyard softly. It was quiet and peaceful for a few minutes until my ears perked up at the sound of our doorbell ringing. I heard my mom call out that she was coming, and the sound of her slipper padded feet before it grew silent once more. It didn't take more than ten seconds for the silence to be shattered by the squeal joy that my mom gave out and I immediately knew our esteemed guest had arrived. The happy babbles and yips coming from my mother bleed through the walls of my house and I groaned before pulling a pillow over my head to block out all the noise, not that it helped. I could still hear her chatting to someone who I presumed to be my uncle. The low-voiced grumble of a male telling her to calm down and control herself seemed to prove my hypothesis. My mom and my Uncle went back and forth, her talking about how happy she was to see him and him grunting and sighing responses to her rapid-fire questions. The duo of voices grew fainter and inaudible as they seemed to move from the hallway to the living room and I found myself relaxing a bit at the returned silence. I idly thought about the cousin my mom talked about and wonder if I still had to meet him or if he was even there. Not that I cared if he was, as it was much less troublesome for me.

With that thought, I completely relaxed and snuggled deeper into the hammock, feeling the warm sun cover me like a blanket and lull me into a cat nap state.

I was determined to get enough sleep that I could before my mom would inevitably come and force me to meet my Uncle, but my agenda was interrupted by the backdoor sliding open roughly.

I twitched at the sound, a feeling of displeasure growing in my stomach as I lazily opened my eyes. Great, so I guess I wasn't gonna get to nap any time soon then.

When my gaze landed on the one who opened the door though, my eyes widened a fraction more as they met the scowling dark gray ones of a boy who looked around my age.

'...Guess he's the Cousin I'm supposed to entertain...' I thought bordely, taking in his short, black, wavy hair, bored yet disgruntled expression, and mature fashion sense. His stance, tall and imposed, made him look like a boy who carried himself with an air of a level-headed adult.

His eyes studied me from head to toe and the grimace on his face grew deeper the more he stared. I returned the look blankly before closing my eyes, continuing to try and get the sleep I so desperately wanted. I felt that there was nothing for me to say, and by the look on the guy's face, he seemed about as enthused to start a conversation as I was.

I could hear his foot-steps on the grass crunch closer as he made his way towards me and I soon felt his presence near my side. I could easily tell that he was still scowling at me.

"Oi, monkey." Hisao said dryly, as if he could think of a million things he'd rather be doing now instead of this. Couldn't blame the kid either, I felt the same way. "I'm guessing you're the Cousin Miyuki Oba-san was talking about?"

I cracked open my left eye and regarded the boy dully. "Indeed I am. Guessin' you're the kid my mom asked me to play with?"

Hisao didn't look amused at my comment and he clenched his jaw, insulted. "Look!" He snapped, crossing his arms while one hand held a familiar looking book. "I'm going to cut to the chase and say that I don't want to be here anymore than you want me here! I'm not here to play nor am I here to listen to your idiotic babble. So, I'm going to sit here and mind my own business until diner is ready and I rather you not talk to me during that time." He stated officially, and I felt a bit of respect towards him by the end of it. Hey, he may have sounded like an asshole, but the man knew the deal. He just made my day a whole lot easier and with the formalities out of the way I could finally get some shut eye.

I stared a bit more at him before yawning into my hand, closing my eyes in the process. "Seems the feelins' mutual then. I'm gonna take a nap so try not to be too loud and wake me up." I stated, turning on my side. I heard Hisao huff before he walked towards the other side of the hammock where the trees were at. I also heard him settle down on the grass as well as the oddly pleasant sound of papers being flipped. Silence filled the air once more and I found myself slowly going into a post-sleep trance. You know the one where you're close to passing out, but random thoughts just bounce around in your head keeping you awake? Yeah, it was like that.

Though subconsciously, I remember thinking about the book that was in Hisao's hand. It looked very familiar, but where had I seen it before? Damn, it was on the tip of my tongue too...I then quickly grew tired of trying to remember the name of the book and I instead decided to actually open my eyes and look at the damn title. I did so and as soon as my vision cleared to the point where the words looked legible, a surprised and interested feeling replaced my drowsiness.

"Shi no Kuro Neko"? I stated, reading the Light Novel's title out loud and attracting Hisao's attention. He looked surprised that I recognized the title, before his face fell back into its natural state of indifference.

"...Yeah? What about it?" He asked in suspicion and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Nothin'. I just happen to really like that series. That's volume six that just came out right?" I asked, and he gave me a weird look before nodding slowly. "Thought so. I had already finished that one 'bout a week ago. It was good, but I like the third volume better."

My cousin still had that weird, confused look on his face but he did seem to relax after a bit. "I didn't ask..." He mumbled in response to my words and all I could do was shrug my shoulders. He was right of course, but I didn't really care. Just wanted to say it out loud is all. It was silent for a few moments and I began to roll back into my previous position, seeing that he was still going to ignore me. I stopped though, when he continued to speak.

"I'm not usually into Light Novels, but this one had caught my interest...I...I personally like Volume five better. The character development was well-rounded, and the boss fight was very impactful..."

I turned on my side to get a better view of my cousin. "Really?" I asked conversationally, getting more interested in the topic. "Yeah, the fight with the Nezumi was cool and all, but I think Kagano's fight with Hell Hound was way better. Especially when they got into that fist fight with each other."

Hisao raised an incredulous eyebrow at me, putting down his book and giving me his full attention. "Are you serious? The sword fight between Kagano and Nezumi is obviously better! That and the battle between Mikado and Usagi behind that water fall."

"Ho~? And I guess the gun fight between Alfred and Canard didn't suit your taste then?" I drawled and Hisao scoffed, looking at me challengingly.

"Please, that fight was nothing to sneeze at. It was obvious how the fight was going to end before it even started. Alfred was obviously stronger than that monkey Canard and could've dealt with him easily!"

And that's how it went for the next three hours. We would go back and forth, talking about out personal favorite scenes and moments in the Light Novel, while trying to convince the other why they were obviously the superior ones. Then the topic spanned to other stuff that we liked, hated, or had in common. He despised Manga while I practically lived off of Shounen Jump. He was a dog person while I fancied the feline race (there was just something about those ears and paws that enraptured me more than any school lesson could ever hope to achieve). He enjoyed the traditional Miso Soup, Tofu, and Rice while my whole diet plan consisted of Beef, Junk Food, and Soda. Despite these differences, we surprisingly had a lot in common. We weren't good with (nor didn't much care for) human contact, we were introverted, enjoyed peace and quiet, and considered most people, specifically boys around our age, to be moronic monkeys or jackasses.

After a while though, it grew quiet between us. Not the tense, cold quiet that we had unanimously settled into when we first met, but a much more comfortable one.

Hisao had moved from the grass to the hammock alongside me and we just swung back and forth softly, watching the clouds move across the sky lazily.

"...You know..." Hisao started which surprised me, though not by a lot. As I got to know my cousin better, I quickly realized that he wasn't one to just sit back and follow or let things be. He was one to take the initiative and just does or says what he wants. It was...refreshing...in a way..."When my Uncle said that I had to get along with you, I was pissed. I didn't want to waste my precious time with some childish idiot who'd try and make me do bothersome things or play games." He continued bluntly, and I stared at him with curious eyes. What was he getting at? "Then when I saw you, I immediately knew that I was going to hate your guts."

"Geez man, I didn't know I had such a hateful face..." I muttered making him glare a bit.

"I thought that at first." He stressed towards the end before he looked towards the sky with a stone face. It was probably due to the light of the sun, but I could've sworn I saw his face go a little pink for a second. It was such a long time ago that I can't even tell for sure...most likely my imagination..."But...But now...well, you're not as much of a stupid monkey as I thought...I mean, you're still pretty dumb, but not as bad as the others..."

I stared at Hisao for a moment, a little put off at the other's words, but that didn't last as I realized something. Hanging out and talking to Hisao felt like how it was when I would hang out with Sawada. Yeah, it could get tiring and aggravating at times, but all in all it wasn't unpleasant. It was then that I realized that I actually liked talking to my cousin, getting to know him better...it was strange...we had a lot in common and we both had a similar mind-set that made him much more bearable than the other male company I had been forced to interact with...It was...well, fun in a weird way...I don't know, I didn't have any male friends let alone friends. The only friend I did have was Sawada, so I wasn't very experienced in that department...well...whatever it was...It wasn't unpleasant and I'm guessing that I was regarded by Hisao higher than most people he knew so I guess that was a plus.

I nodded slowly at the brunet's words before looking up at the sky again. It was like a canvas panted with oranges, yellows, and reds, giving it a fiery look that reminded me of Sawada for some reason. We both went into silence for another brief period before I broke it this time. "You're not so bad yourself. I mean, you can be a pompous jerk sometimes, but you're less troublesome than others."

Hisao gave me another weird, puzzled look before closing his eyes and sighing. "Hmph...thanks...I guess?"

"Don't mention it."

After that, my mom and my Uncle came out from the house to come and tell us that diner was ready. She was right when she said me and my uncle could be twins, we had the same wavy black hair, wore glasses, and had a stare that could cut through stone. He was also pretty chill once you got to know him and he was apparently just as averse to human contact as Hisao and I. He also won major Daiki points when he cooked for the night instead of my mom and made a meal that could compare positively to Sawada's mom...Yeah...I felt that me and him were going to get along much better than I thought.

After that, my mom begged my Uncle Jirou to stay before she passed out from all the joy and excitement she had for the whole day and with a resigned sigh, my Uncle declared that they were going to spend the night.

I was oddly pleased and from what I could tell, so was Hisao. We decided to camp out in the living room that night and began to watch a bunch of detective movies where Hisao would find clues and come to conclusions before the actual actors themselves and I would mock him for being a nerd to which he'd reply back with a pillow to the face.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.

*FRIENDSHIP ACHIEVED~!*

Hisao and I always hung out after that. When he transferred to our school and to my class, him, Sawada, and I would always be paired together. She was obviously a nervous wreck around him and his blunt personality did not help with that at all, but after a while she mellowed out to the point where she didn't think he'd attack her at any moment.

It was nice, the three of us just being together and I didn't really think that it'd get any bigger than that. But of course, life is unpredictable and shit happened with no warning, for no reason.

You know, now that I think of it, I guess it's not surprising how I met my other friend Kyohei Sasagawa under unique circumstances...

This encounter happened a few months after my uncle's visit and Hisao, Sawada, and I were just taking a stroll around the neighborhood. It was one of those lazy Autumn mornings on a Sunday and we were bored, having nothing to do.

Hisao was walking besides me on my left while Sawada was on my right. She was holding onto my jacket corner loosely with faintly flushed cheeks while my cousin regarded me with a look of judgment.

"How can you let those...strays just climb over you like that? Don't you realize the diseases and parasites they most likely have?" He stated as I continued to walk with a blank face, not really paying attention. Especially since I was too preoccupied with the bundle of perfection meowing softly in my arms. I had five cats on my person at that moment, one on my head, two on my shoulders, one in my arm, and one sleeping in my hoodie. While we were walking, we passed them sleeping in the alley way and I immediately stopped all conversation just to bask in their existence. Long short, the cats all seemed to grow attached to me and hadn't left my side since then.

Sawada lifted her head a bit to look at me, blushed a bright red for a moment, then looked down to the ground again, fidgeting. "I-I think they look c-cute..." She mumbled as Hisao rolled his eyes while crossing his arms, giving the both of us an unimpressed look.

"Honestly Sawada, stop justifying his spur of the moment actions. He'll only keep doing them."

I turned towards my cousin, not even phased by his words. It may have been only a few months since I met him, but I had already gotten used to him to the point where I could take his blunt judgement in stride without batting an eye.

"This wasn't spur of the moment, this was fate." I countered while holding the kitten in my arms closer to his face, the little guy meowing happily at the attention it was getting. "How could you be so cold hearted and ignore these cute faces? You're a demon. The Devil himself. They have a special place in Hell for people like you."

Hisao glared at my words and looked like he was going to give me his sharp opinion on my statement, before a cry of pain suddenly caught our attention. All three of us perked up and looked at each other with different degrees of confusion before following where we thought we heard the sound. We had made our way to an alley, only to see a shocking sight.

There looked to be seven high school boys in total surrounding a boy and a girl who looked around our age. The boy had short, bright orange hair and amber colored eyes. He was on the ground looking frightened and worried while staring at the girl who was taller than him with shoulder length spiky white hair put in a pony tail and gray eyes. Both of them looked pretty banged up (the girl more so than the boy) and I would have been even more worried if I didn't see four of the seven boys looking just as bad, maybe even worse than her, on the ground and knocked-out. Even the still conscious boys looked like they just been run through the wringer as they glared at the girl with as much hatred as they could.

"D-Dammit!" One of them (who I presumed to be the leader) grounded out, blood running down the corner of his mouth. "How the hell can she still be standing after all this?!"

One of the guys with a nasty black eye nodded, though he looked more freaked out than the other two. "W-We've hit her with bats and pipes and she just keeps getting up!"

I felt my eyes widen at admission and I traded equally shocked looks with Hisao, Sawada gasping from behind me, her small hands gripping my jacket in nervous fear. What the Hell is going on?! Did this chick really take down a group of high schoolers armed with weapons with her bare hands?! I mean yeah, I could take down my fair share of idiots, but even I don't know how'd I fair against seven high school guys!

One of the guys seemed to lose it completely and with a battle cry, he rushed towards the gray eyed girl, raising a bat in the air. "Big sis!" The orange haired boy cried out fearfully while the girl clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. She expertly dodged the wild swings from the guy, weaving in and out before giving him three quick jabs to the gut. The dude gasped from the hit and crouched down in pain, holding on to his stomach. The girl didn't miss a beat and hit the guy with a right hook to the chin making him cry out and fall to the ground, down for the count.

The three of us continued to watch, feeling in awe at what we just saw. It's not every day that you see someone get knocked the fuck out like that! I was honestly impressed. I didn't know who the hell this girl was, but she could kick some ass.

"Shit!" The leader growled, before turning towards his friend. "Get the brat! She can't do shit if we got her brother as a hostage again!" He snapped at the guy. He still looked fearful, but he eventually nodded with a gulp and began to reach for the ginger haired boy. Said kid yelped at the approaching teen and the girl turned towards her supposed brother in panic.

"KYOHEI!" She screamed, making a move towards him, but she was blocked by the leader who gave her a nasty smirk.

"Hey, hey! Hold on now! I wouldn't move if I was you~! Wouldn't want you little brother getting hurt now, do we?" He warned making the girl clench her teeth. I frowned in disgust, staring at the so-called older boy in anger. How pathetic was he to use a hostage to win a fight against a nine-year old girl?

Her brother was back peddling on his hands away from the approaching teen, whimpering for his sister to help. I felt my fist clench at the sight, being irritably reminded of the time with Sawada and those three boys who were messing with her all those months ago. What was with people, messing around with others who were obviously weaker than them? Did it think it made them look stronger, tougher? Or did they just get some sick kick out of it? I didn't know, nor did I care. Normally, I didn't involve myself in other people's fights and crap, but this time was an exception. Maybe it had something to do with Sawada, but I've found myself not being able to leave well enough alone and to mind my own business, especially if it involves those who couldn't defend themselves. Damn, she'd gone and made me stupid...though I can't decide if that was a good thing or a bad one.

I quickly handed Sawada that cats on my head, shoulders, hoodie, and arms, earring a confused look from her and Hisao. "Hold these right quick." I stated hurriedly and Hisao seemed to realize what I was going to do as he began to open his mouth to stop me.

"Wait you idi-" But I didn't hear him finish as I began to run into the alley way as fast as I could. I saw that the older boy had grabbed onto Kyohei's arm, roughly trying to drag him up from the ground. The younger boy wasn't making it easy for him either as he was frantically trying to break out of his grasp, frustrated, yet determine tears brimming at his eyes. They didn't seem to notice me which was good. Time to use the element of surprise!

"L-let go of me! LET ME GO!" He demanded, and the stupid monkey seemed to grow tired of his cries and raised his hand, looking like he was going to smack him.

"Tch! Dammit kid, would you just-!" I could vaguely hear the white-haired girl scream her brother's name as I made a running jump towards the teen. He seemed to notice me at the very last second as his gaze moved from Kyohei's form to mine. His eye's widened in shock, probably at the fact that I was literally flying towards him from out of nowhere. I didn't have time to entertain the thought as I slammed into guys torso, bowling him down like a torpedo. We both fell to the ground with pained grunts, though my fall was cushioned by the monkey's.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" The leader yelled as I picked myself up, dusting the dirt off of my clothes. I looked towards Kyohei's sister and the guy, the two looking at me like I was some kind of alien. I raised my hand, and pointed my finger at the Leader Monkey, annoyance marring my face. "You're next, you ass-hole."

"What the hell? Who the hell are you?!" He demanded as I stared him down. If he was trying to look intimidating, it wasn't working. He looked more constipated than anything.

"The guy who's gonna kick your ass. You feel all tough pickin' on a little girl and her brother? You must be weaker than I thought." The guy looked confused and then pissed at my words, actually taking a step towards me.

"Ha?! What the hell did you just say to me you little shi-" But his next words were cut off as Hisao ran up and tossed one of the cats at the guys face. The little guy did not look amused at this and to vent its frustration, it began to claw at the guys face like mad, making him scream out in pain.

Hisao then turned an angry glare towards me before stomping my way. "You idiot! What on Earth do you think you're doing?! Were you trying to get killed?!" He shouted as I stared down at him blankly. What was his problem? Not like I got hurt or anything. I remember telling him just as much and his stare turned even more scalding as he began to poke me in the chest to emphasize his words. "It doesn't matter if you didn't! The fact remains that you could've been hurt! You need to starting thinking things through with that thick head of yours!" He then launched into this long scolding session while I tuned him out, putting my finger in my ears to block him out. Blah, blah, blah! Tell me something I don't know...

Kyohei and his sister stared at the two of us, still looking like they weren't caught up with the situation. She was helping her brother up when he finally said something. "U-Um!" He stuttered out, gaining our attention. He looked like he would've said something else, but a pained growled interrupted him. The four of us quickly turned our heads to the source of the sound and saw that the Monkey Leader had gotten the cat off his face and was glaring fiercely at us.

"You damn brats." He snarled before quickly pulling something out of his pocket and flicking it open. I felt myself tense as the blade of the pocket knife glinted dangerously in the dim alley. Hisao and Kyohei's sister tensed as well, glaring at the teen warily while Kyohei held onto her tightly. Did this guy really bring a knife to a fight against some grade schoolers? What the Hell would he have done with it if we didn't stumble upon this alley way?! The thought alone was enough to chill me...

"Now...Now I'm done messing around..." The Monkey Leader panted, getting up on weak legs with a twisted smile on his face and looking demented. "If you don't want to be sliced to ribbons, I suggest you hand over Sasagawa, so she and I could have a little chat~! I'll teach her to disrespect me and my crew." He bit out towards the end, making my stomach churn in distaste. This guy was seriously messed in the head.

Hisao seemed to agree with me as he looked down on the teen with a look of revulsion. "You must be seriously dull-witted if you think that threat would work on us. You know you can go to jail for this right?"

"I don't give a shit!" The teen roared making us flinch back in surprise at the tone. He was panting, and his eyes looked feverish, almost possessed. "That bitch had disrespected and humiliated me! Making me look like a dumb-ass! And I just can't let this slide! I have my pride to salvage dammit!"

Kyohei's sister frowned at this, pushing and shielding her little brother behind her. "You had it coming!" She yelled. "You were trying to mug my little brother! And if you mess with him you have to go through me first!" She finished, making said boy gasp silently behind her.

"Big-sis..."

The Monkey leader seemed greatly amused by this as he barked in laughter, the sound grating on my nerves. Seems this ass-hole just couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he?

"Aw, well isn't that cute?" He asked mockingly before taking a step towards us. "But it's not gonna save you now! I'll just have to gut all of you then!" He threatened, putting us all on edge at his approach. The idiot began to laugh some more, triumphant that he was going to win. He only took three more steps before a loud "BANG!" came from behind him, making him grunt and for his eyes to roll up into his head. The boss Monkey fell to the ground in a crumpled heap and the trembling form of Sawada clutching a broken in half bat in her tiny hands greeted us.

I stared at the foreign scene, not really sure if my eyes were working correctly as she dropped the bat and tears began to drip from her eyes. She then began to wail before launching her small body towards me, similar to how I did when I knocked down that guy from earlier. I grunted in surprise and slight pain from the impact and fell to the ground as she clutched on to me for dear life, bawling her eyes out.

"Gah! Ugh-Sawada?! What the hell-?!" I breathed out, trying to get some air into my lungs that were being constricted in her grasp. She didn't seem to hear me, determined to soak my shirt with her tears.

"Sawada will you calm down?! What the heck is wrong with you?! I can't-gah!-I can't breathe!" I wheezed, and she shook her head rapidly, looking at me in panic.

"B-B-But S-Shinonome-kun! You were in tr-trouble and you were going to be hur-hurt and I didn't know what to do and-and-and!" She babbled, sounding close to hyperventilating and I grimaced at this fact, patting her back in hopes to calm her down.

"Tch! Alright, alright already! As you can see I'm fine so just calm the hell down!" Jesus, why did this girl have to be so troublesome?!

As I continued to yell at the girl for her to calm down, I could hear Hisao sigh in exhaustion from behind me. "Figures, she'd give someone a concussion just to protect him."

Seriously. This girl was going to be the death of me...how troublesome...

After that ordeal, the five of us decided to get out of the alley way before those thugs woke up and we all began to run to a safer place. We managed to make it to a park and stopped to catch our breath. This was the most I've ran in a while and least to say, I remembered why I hated it so much. Fuck using my legs man...

"T-That's it Shinonome...this is the last time I go anywhere with you! You're a damn trouble magnet!" Hisao snapped at me, hands on his knees.

"Hey! Don't make it seem like I enjoy gettin' into crap like this!" I gave a mild glare towards him. Trust me, if I could, I wouldn't get into these kinds of situations!

Kyohei and his sister walked closer to us, both looking warn out, yet grateful.

"U-um! Thank you for helping us!" Kyohei stammered out politely while twiddling his thumbs before bowing in thanks. I remember thinking how the action was very "Sawadaesque" and even entertained the thought of them being they related if it wasn't for the fact that they didn't look alike. The older girl seemed uncaring of her injuries and was screaming her thanks for us at the top of her lungs. "Thanks for helping us to the EXTREME!"

Sawada blushed red at the gratitude while Hisao looked annoyed at the girl's yelling. I myself just stared at the siblings tiredly, waving a dismissive hand. "No need to thank us. All we did was take out two guys. You were the one who did most of the ass-kickin' and I'm pretty sure your brother would've helped you out as well." And it was true. Even if we weren't there, she most likely could've taken the other guys out one way or another. Even Kyohei probably would've helped if he gotten away from that guy in time. Though I guess you could say we made things a lot easier and saved her and Kyohei from getting hurt even more.

Kyohei looked at me in shock for a moment, as if he couldn't believe what I just said to him, before his face melted into a happy smile making me raised an eyebrow in confusion. What the heck? Maybe he was hit in the head or something? I felt Sawada's arms around me tighten and I look back to see the girl staring at Kyohei with a weird look in her eyes. Her too? Seems everyone was acting weird today...

"U-um...My name is Sasagawa Kyohei...and this is my older sister Ryoko...Once again we're really grateful for you guys helping us." Kyohei stated once more with a more chipper light in his tone than before.

The newly dubbed "Ryoko" pumped her fist in the air, an excited fire burning in her eyes. Man was this chick intense... "Nice to meet cha'! That was an EXTREME tackle by the way!" She continued, looking towards me this time.

"You gotta show me how to...how to..." She trailed off and then suddenly, without warning, she passed out mid-sentence falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes. If you'd have seen us when that happened, you'd think she'd just exploded. The four of us stared wide eyed at her motionless form for a few beats of silence and then promptly began to freak the fuck out.

"BIG SIS!?" Kyohei shouted in fear while Sawada, Hisao, and I yelled in panic.

"HOLY MOTHER RUSSIA, DID SHE JUST DIE!?" I remember him yelling on a possible whim (don't know why he said holy mother Russia though...) and I was staring bug eyed at the white hair girl shouting something about "HER TIME HAS COME! QUICK, BEFORE THE SHINIGAMI ARRIVE" I then back tracked and began to rub my chin thoughtfully "On second thought though, that'd be pretty cool. Maybe Ichigo or Byakuya will appear?"

The orange hair boy and brunette girl looked at us as if we were crazy (which wouldn't be so surprising now that you think about it) before he frantically began waving his hands in the air so fast they were blurs.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT!?" Kyohei shrieked startling the two of us out of our dumb shock. "HELP ME CARRY BIG SIS HOME!" At his plea, Hisao and I gathered our composure and he picked up the fallen sister, holding her bridal style with a grumble before booking it to the red head's house.

When we got to his house, we all began to frantically bang on the door and yell for someone to open it until it did. Soon, a white-haired woman in a yellow dress opened the door with a closed-eye, sunny smile. "Yes~? Who is it?"

Now that I think back to it, it was kinda funny when we made it to the Sasagawa household and greeted a smiling Mrs. Sasagawa with her unconscious and injured daughter, her ruffled and bleeding son, and three unknown kids who were equally dirty and messed up. She stared at us in shock for a few seconds before she screamed in horror, frantically pulling us inside and calling an ambulance and our parents.

All our moms were almost besides themselves with worry, asking us what happened and if we were okay while our dads began to scold us for getting hurt and promising us not to do it again...well...Kyohei's dad that is...Hisao's and my dad rushed in and smacked us upside the head for being reckless and doing stupid shit. God, I still remember the pain to this day...

A few hours passed after that and after talking to the police about what happened, all of us were patched up and ready to go home. Only Kyohei and his family were going to stay at the hospital for the night...

I left from the room that my doctor was in and scratched at the bandage on my cheek that was covering a cut I got when I football tackled that guy from earlier. My parents said they had to talk to the police some more and told me to meet them at Hisao's room as soon as I was done. Great, now they're going to watch over and baby me for God knows how long. I mean, you stumble upon one gang fight and suddenly they treat you like you're going to be assassinated!

I grumbled at the troublesome thought before making my way down the hall, passing a few other patients and nurses, some of who smiled lightly at me. I returned their looks with a polite nod and continued on my way. It wasn't until I saw Kyohei slouched in a chair, that I stopped.

I stared at the boy, noting the troubled, sad look in his eyes and debated if I should do something. I mean yeah, he looked upset, but should I talk to him or no? I already knew the extent of my people skills and as you all probably know, I suck at comforting people. Maybe I should just walk away and leave it to his parents? I was actually going to do just that and go on my way, but as soon as I actually saw tears slip down Kyohei's face, I sighed knowing there was no escape now. I grumpily walked towards the boy and sat in the chair next to him with a huff. He seemed startled at my sudden entrance and even let out a small yelp. I stared forward with my arms crossed in front of my chest and I could feel his golden gaze stare at me in confusion and disbelief. We stayed like that for a moment until I couldn't take the awkward silence anymore and sighed tiredly before snapping my head quickly towards the boy making him yelp louder.

I took in his tear stained face and I could feel my frown deepen some more. I then dug into my pocket and pulled out my blue handkerchief (that my mom insisted I carry around) and handed it to him, looking the other way.

"H-Here..." I mumbled, still not daring to look his way. God this was embarrassing... "Take it...you got snot drippin' down your nose and it's grossin' me out..." I could feel the heat at the top of my ears and I irritably motioned for him to take the stupid handkerchief when he didn't. He seemed to get my hint as he took it a few seconds later. I could hear him blowing his nose and after a few moments, I decided it was good to look and turned to face the front. I gave him a side-eyed look and could see him from the corner of my eye. He was looking down at his lap sullenly, and I frowned once more at the expression. I could hazard a guess as to why he looked so troubled. He must be thinking about Ryoko...

"...It's not your fault." I said after a moment making him snap his gaze from his lap to me, confusion clouding his features.

"W-What?"

"I still didn't look at him and continued to stare at a crack in the wall. "...I said it's not your fault...your sister choose to fight on her own to protect you...you couldn't stop her if you tried." I didn't know why I was saying this to him, he probably didn't even care about what I had to say. What would I know anyway? My sisters were in a whole other country and I knew for a fact that they were more than capable of taking care of themselves...

Kyohei stared at me a bit more before his expression fell and he looked down again, this time clutching my handkerchief tightly. "...B...But it is my fault..." He whispered softly, tears brimming at his eyes once more. "I...Big sis wouldn't have gotten hurt trying to protect me if I didn't get caught by those guys in the first place...Th-they said they were going to get back at her for punching their leader in the face after they tried to mug me and take my money. Big sis is always helping me and protecting me from bullies. My Grandpa teaches her boxing and she's really great at it! Even though she can be reckless and gets hurt a lot, she's super strong and really brave...and I look up to her because of that... m-maybe if I was stronger...if I wasn't so weak or such a scardey cat...I could've helped protect her this time..." He finished weakly and my head was fully turned to him now, a weird feeling in my chest when he said that.

Though I couldn't really understand that concept of feeling weak (after all, everyone I've ever faced happened to be people I could easily take out with little to no problem) I could wager how frustrating it would be. Wanting to stand on your own two feet, but not being able to because you weren't strong enough...I know I'd go crazy feeling like that almost every day...especially if people who I cared about would get hurt because of it...

When I thought about that, and how much it must hurt to be in his situation, I decided on what I should say. "Then get stronger."

At my words, Kyohei looked up again, meeting my determined stare with a surprised look.

"Wha-?!"

My gaze did not waver for a moment as I continued. "You said you wanted to be stronger right? To not have to rely on your sister all the time and stand on your own two feet? Well then just get stronger. Work harder. Be the man that you want to be. Be as strong as your Big sis."

"B-But! There's no way I can do that!" Kyohei stammered, gesturing wildly to himself. "I mean look at me! I'm small and short and have no muscles! There's no way I can be as strong as Big sis..."

"So what?" I countered back, throwing him for a loop. "So what if you're not big or strong? Did you see how that one girl knocked out the boss Monkey from earlier? She was shorter than you and the biggest pacifist I know, but she managed to break the bat in half over his friggin' head! If you aim to be just strong, you'll be just like those idiot high schoolers! Pickin' on those weaker than them just because they could! You don't have to look like MMA fighter to be stronger! It sounds cheesy as hell, but you have to have inner strength before you start with the outside. There isn't a single fighter worth his salt out there who has a weak-will. Don't be so hard on yourself man...you can't just be strong overnight, you gotta do it in baby steps...trust me, it'll all work out in the long run."

Kyohei continued to stare at me in awe as I leaned back in the chair with a lazy smirk. Boy was that a mouthful, I hope I sounded like I was actually making sense and not blabbering about nonsense. "Besides," I continued. "Like I said earlier, you were puttin' up a good fight against that one monkey when he tried to take you hostage again. If I were you, I'd take that as an accomplishment, call it a night and work off of that." And I meant every word I said. He was already on his way to getting stronger and with his Grandpa and sister to teach him a thing or two, he'll be kicking ass in no time.

At my words, slowly, Kyohei's shocked looked morphed into a happy, yet determined one and he pumped his fist similar to how his sister did. "A-Alright! I...I don't know how, but I'll definitely get stronger! For Big Sis, and for everyone I care about!"

My smirk widened at his words, and I pumped my fist as well, playing along. "That's the spirit! I'll be lookin' forward to it! Maybe you could help me with all the stupid monkeys who keep challengin' me to fights all the time."

Kyohei laughed at my words and I couldn't help but chuckle along with him. Guess I made a new friend.

*SOCIAL LINK ACHEIVED~!*

Later on, when Sawada, Hisao, our families, and I were leaving the hospital, I heard my name being called and looked up to see Kyohei waving at me happily from one of the hospital windows. I waved back lazily and some of the cats surrounding me waved as well (I don't know how, but apparently the little guys managed to follow me all the way here. I wasn't complaining though and my mom wasn't either, cooing out about how cute they were).

Hisao gave me a questioning look. "So, you made friends with him huh?"

I turned to my Cousin and shrugged my shoulders. "Yeah, I guess. Why? You jealous or somethin'?"

"No, you idiot. I'll just be glad to finally have someone with common sense around. Maybe he'll be able to knock some sense into you." He replied curtly, making me roll my eyes. You can just feel the family love, huh?

"I'm going to kill him."

I froze at the dark, quiet voice and whirled around to stare at Sawada, positive that I just heard her say something. "What did you just say?" Sawada gave me an innocent look, face flushed, and her hands clasped behind her back. "E-Eh? I didn't say anything..."

I stared at her for a moment with a suspicious look but shrugged after a few moments. Huh, maybe I should get my ears checked...

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BYE~!