"Hey, Jason, thanks for coming on such short notice." Hiro said as he opened the door. It was Friday and Hiro needed Jason to look after Benny for a while because Aunt Cass practically begged him to help at the Cafe. (Okay, so maybe she didn't beg but she still sounded desperate... sort of.)
"No prob." Jason glanced around at the small apartment, taking note of the television immediately to his left and raised an eyebrow. "You keep your TV in your front room?"
"No... Maybe. Look, there's nowhere else to put it." Hiro said, grabbing his keys. "I'll be back at around four. Benny's-"
"Eating cereal at the counter." Jason rolled his eyes. "Dude, relax. I can see him."
Hiro sighed. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Hiro turned to leave.
"Hey, wait." Jason called back. "Do you have a bathroom? And, if so, where is it?"
Hiro smirked. "Down the hall, second door on your left."
"Thanks."
***888***
Hiro entered the cafe and greeted his and Tadashi's friends who were sitting at their usual table close to the counter (should they need to assist Aunt Cass), and got to work behind the counter.
It wasn't long before someone spoke.
"So, Hiro... been to any bot fights recently?" Tadashi's sudden approach made Hiro jump.
"Tadashi!" Hiro jumped. "Hi! Wait"-He frowned-"bot fights?"
"Fred said you were busy last night. I just thought that maybe you were up to your old tricks." Tadashi said as he crossed his arms.
"No. I wasn't bot fighting. I was..." He hesitated. "I was..."
"EATING SUSHI!" George, a regular at the cafe who didn't know how to keep to himself (many believed him to be drunk), jumped to his feet and almost broke the eardrums of every other person in there.
"Uh.. No." Hiro said, rubbing his ear. "I was just busy. I got caught up in a project."
"What kind of project?" Go Go asked, suspiciously.
"A project-y project." Hiro's voice raised slightly (a sure sign he was hiding something) and his weight shifted under the gaze of his friends. "It's a surprise." His voice turned to normal. Technically, that last part was true. They would certainly be surprised.
"Okay, Hiro, but we're watching you." Go Go threatened.
"But in a non-creepy kind of way." Wasabi was so helpful to input.
Go Go's phone went off before she could threaten Hiro further. She answered it and cursed. "Why can't anyone work without me?" She grumbled before heading off to her work
***888***
Go Go burst through the doors to her business, causing her employees to cower. She was obviously livid and they all knew that one wrong turn could get you a death-stare and a ticket to your grave.
"Where is it!?" She growled, trying to keep her temper under control. "Where's the bike?"
"Over hear." Squeaked a small voice that would've sounded manly were it not for the noticeable fear etched in each syllable.
Go Go sighed. Of course Hank would be the one to mess up something as simple as calibrating an electro-mag wheel to stay in place. Why Go Go hadn't gotten rid of him was beyond her.
"I thought I had it." Hank defended himself. "I did it exactly like you showed me."
Go Go inspected the bike, as well as her notes. Looking over every detail with a critical eye. She didn't miss a thing.
"There." She pointed to the small piece of information her excitable employee had overlooked.
"Oh." Came the small reply.
"Do better next time." Go Go exited. She had no time for this. She was onto something huge. Something that would make her bike faster.
***888***
Lily's interview with Hiro had lead her to believe that Benny's father was found by the bar near Blaker street. She entered the establishment (if it could be called such) with no small amount of disgust.
"Young lady." A bartender called her over, his voice thick with an Irish accent. "What brings a fine woman, such as yourself, to this here place at no later than 1:00?"
"I'm looking for someone." Lily said, glancing around.
"Well, miss, unless who ye be looking for me, there's nobody here." He gestured around the empty bar for emphasis.
"The guy I'm looking for was probably here two nights ago." Lily said to the man. "He may have had a child with him."
"Oh, him. Yeah, 'e was here. Thomas Groyler. We sent him away for bringing his kid in."
Lily wrote the name down and inquired, "Do you know where he lives?"
"No. And if you have any sense you won't go looking for him. That man's possessed with the devil." Lily wasn't listening. She had to find Thomas Groyler. If it was the last thing she did.
***888***
Lily found five Thomas Groylers in the phone book, but one of them had the state prison as his address, so Lily quickly crossed him off her list. After that, she called a taxi to drive her to the first address (which turned out to be a bust). After what seemed like forever, Lily found herself in front of a small house that looked semi-abandoned.
"Well, here goes nothing." She muttered to herself as she knocked on the door. She was somewhat taken aback when the door opened slightly. Lily timidly entered the dark front room and called out, "Hello? Is anybody here?"
"Who's there?" Came a gruff reply.
"My name is Lily Pennel and I'm looking for someone named Thomas Groyler?"
"How'd you get in?" A large silhouette entered the other end of a long, menacing hallway.
"I'm sorry." Lily unconsciously took a step back. "I—the door was open."
"Get out."
"Can you tell me anything about what happened two nights ago?"
"I said. Get. OUT!" This outburst was followed by a vase being thrown toward Lily, who ducked, and crash into the wall behind her.
And Lily ran.
***888***
Lily did some research on her phone and found an article on Mrs. Groyler published about a year ago.
'Tragedy struck the Groyler household last night when twenty-seven yr old
Samantha Groyler lost control of her car and ran off the road. Her car was
recovered early this morning, but her body was nowhere to be found. Her son,
Benjamin, was playing with his uncle (who also mysteriously disappeared) when
this event took place. The officer in charge of...'
Lily couldn't read any more. She needed to tell Hiro.
***888***
Tadashi looked at his not-so-little brother with a concerned look, wondering what he was up to, as the younger Hamada brother filled another order.
Without turning, Hiro said, "Stop that."
"Stop what?" Tadashi asked innocently as he leaned against the counter.
Hiro looked at his brother with an eyebrow raised. "You know what."
"No, I don't." Tadashi frowned.
"Stop looking at me like I'm dying!" Hiro exclaimed. "It's getting annoying."
"How do you know where I'm looking? You've just been staring into space!"
"Because I know you." Hiro crossed his arms. "I feel your concern from a mile away."
"No, you can't" Tadashi rolled his eyes.
"It's true." Hiro nodded sadly. "It keeps me awake at night."
"Whatever." The elder of the two gently nudged his otouto and smiled.
"Hey, 'Dashi?" Hiro used his childhood nickname for his older brother.
"Yeah?"
"Can you get some more cups from the back?" Hiro held an empty bag up to Tadashi's face. "We're all out."
Tadashi rolled his eyes and muttered "Unbelievable." even as he went to obtain some new cups as per Hiro's request.
He was about to enter the kitchen area of the cafe when he heard Hiro's voice say, "You tried to talk to him? Lily, that man is dangerous!"
Tadashi knew it was impolite to eavesdrop, but at the same time, if his little brother was in trouble, he should know about it.
"I know!" a young female voice (probably Lily) responded "But I needed more information. And I found this." a silence passed and Tadashi guessed Lily was showing something to Hiro.
"Why are you showing me this?" Hiro asked after a pause.
"Because! You need to know where Benny's coming from!"
"No. I need to make sure Benny's okay."
Lily growled (or maybe Hiro growled in a feminine tone) and the next thing Tadashyknew, the cafe door was announcing the departure of the female.
Tadashi frowned. What was that all about? He decided to march right up to his brother and demand an explanation, but once he got close to Hiro, he saw worry in his eyes. "What's wrong, Hiro?" he asked instead.
"Nothing." Hiro said as he put on his jacket. "I need to go somewhere."
"But your shift doesn't end for another two and a half hours!" Tadashi tried to reason with Hiro even as his little brother raced out the back door, calling out, "Cover for me!"
***888***
On his way home, Hiro thought about what Lily had told him. Was it true Benny's mother died a year ago? What happened to her body? Why did Benny's uncle disappear at the same time? Could the uncle be involved with her disappearance?
Hiro pondered these questions until he arrived at his apartment, where he found Jason on one end of his couch with a giggling Benny curled up on the other side. Both were smiling.
Jason's eyes lit up when he saw Hiro and asked, "Hey, Hiro, how tall are you?"
Hiro frowned, not expecting the question, and responded, "Six feet, one inch."
Jason puffed out his chest as he turned to Benny. "See? I told you I was taller!"
"How tall are you?" Hiro wanted to know.
"Six feet, two inches."
Hiro rolled his eyes and entered the kitchen, deciding to get himself a sandwich. "Thanks for watching Benny, Jase." Hiro thanked his store friend. "I really appreciate it."
"Like I said before, Hiro, no problem. This kid is amazing, I'd watch him for free."
"You did watch him for free."
"You mean you're not going to pay me?" Jason tried his hardest to look betrayed, but ultimately failed.
"Nope." Hiro didn't even try to sound sorry. "Not after your admittance about how amazing this kid is."
Jason started to protest when Hiro handed him two twenties.
"What's this for?" Jason asked, confused.
"Your pains."
"What? No, I can't take this." Jason tried to shove the money back in Hiro's hand, but Hiro grabbed Jason's hand and forced it close.
"Yes, you can."
"No! Hiro, I don't need this!"
"Maybe you don't, but if my brother or, heaven forbid, my aunt finds out I didn't pay you, I'll be grounded till I'm fifty."
"They can't ground you. You're an adult."
Hiro smirked. "Try telling them that."
***888***
Max Stoker shifted his weight as he went down another aisle of the store. He didn't really care for this part of the job. Why they couldn't just give him enough money to buy everything they needed was beyond him, but Jason's dad said he needed some new chemical ingredients for his drugs and Max wasn't going to let Jason run anymore anymore of his father's errands. Especially when it required some "liberating".
He was almost to the correct chemicals when a tall, brightly colored tree walked into him.
"Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see-" A tall woman with long honey-blond hair and green eyes stopped herself in mid-sentence as she gazed at Max's bright blue hair.
"I don't see how you could not see me." Max grumbled, gesturing to his head. He was really upset, but the woman either didn't notice or didn't care because she laughed, a good-natured laugh, and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm not sure how I missed you." Her voice was smooth.
Max found he couldn't stay angry and joined in her laughter, though not as heartily. "I dyed my hair to avoid being run into by pretty woman." He joked, then frowned at her wardrobe. "Where'd you get the outfit?"
"I made it myself. I'm Honey Lemon." She held out her hand.
"Names Max Stoker." They shook. "What kind of parents' do you have?"
"Excuse me?" Honey Lemon's smile faltered.
"What kind of parent names their kid 'Honey Lemon'?"
Honey's smile returned and she explained, "Honey Lemon is my nickname. My friend couldn't pronounce my name so he gave me a nickname."
"What's your real name?"
"Aiko Miyazaki."
"Aeko Mikaziki?"
Honey Lemon laughed again. "That's why Fred-my friend-decided to nickname me."
"Okay. Well, maybe I'll see you around, Honey Lemon." Max said as the two parted ways.
***888***
Lily entered her office and came face-to-face with Rachel, a rather plump woman who also worked for child service's. Rachel's brown eyes were narrowed at Lily and her short brown hair was dripping wet, which meant she had been taking a shower before coming.
"Hey, Rache, what's wrong?" Lily attempted to break the ice with her best friend.
"What's wrong?" Rachel threw her arms out. "What's wrong! Why did you tell that boy to take care of the smaller boy!?"
"Rache," Lily began.
"You don't do that! It's unethical!"
"Ra-"
"He doesn't have a right to keep that kid!"
"Rachel!" Lily grabbed her friend by the shoulders and shook her. "Please, before you judge, just listen."
Rachel took a few deep breaths and sat in a chair to listen.
"Rache, when that man, Hiro, first called me, he sounded... upset. Like he didn't know what to do. And when he brought the kid, Benny, in here, Benny looked scared. I know it wasn't the correct thing to do, but I'm sure it was the right one."
Rachel said nothing as she sat, and Lily could swear she saw the gears turning in her head.
"He can't keep him." Rachel said at last.
"Oh, but-"
"Unless he has permission."
Lily looked at Rachel, whose eyes gleamed with mischief. "What are you talking about?"
"We can do a One Month Trial." Rachel's excitement grew with each word she uttered.
"What's that?" Lily asked, confused.
"It's for aspiring adoptive parents who aren't sure if they want to adopt or not. They sign a paper and get to take care of a kid for a month. If the kid or the parent doesn't like the arrangement, the parent doesn't adopt the kid."
"Is it really that simple?" Lily asked.
"No. Since Benny's dad is still around, we'll need his permission too."
"Can't we just make it so he's not around any more?"
"No. That's illegle."
"Yeah, but I don't think jail would be that bad." Lily muttered under her breath.
"We're going to get permission." Rachel said in her 'My word is law' voice.
"What kind of permission?"
"He'll need to sign something."
"Leave it to me." Lily's eyes twinkled with a fire she hadn't had in a while.
"I'll get the paperwork." Rachel exited Lily's office. It took a moment, but she soon returned with the necessary document and handed it to Lily. "Make sure his dad signs here." She pointed to a place on the paper. "And your hero needs to sign here."
"He's not my hero!" Lily denied as her cheeks grew bright red.
"Sure he's not." Rachel smiled, knowingly. "These will need to be signed before you come into work tomorrow."
Lily nodded. This should be easy.
A/N: I'm just making this up as I go. I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a "One Month Trial" for aspiring parents.
Also, it has come to my attention that Hiro probably wouldn't bring a kid home, but I think when Hiro first met Benny, he was tired, confused, and hungry (I don't know about you guys, but if I was like that, I wouldn't be thinking straight). That's why he brought Benny home.
Reviews and Constructive Criticism are always welcome.
This month I'm really busy (I'm in a play and practices are becoming more frequent) so I might not be able to write as much as I would like, but I'll try to update as frequently as possible!
I'm also pretty sure my computer is possessed (anyone know how to do an exorcism?), so that will dampen my speedy updates as well. *sigh*
Lots of Love,
Queen
