AN: OK, this is the 4th chapter of this story though I must warn you that the nest chapter or so including this one is a bit domestic. so you've been warned, I love action and thrill as much as the next person but I also think that the slower pace and insight within the domestic domain is also a critical point in life. Bc in truth u'll never know what you might learn during that time especially when you're staying with someone.

Also I would like to thank a certain viewer that have been corresponding with me with this story and that has written delightful reviews which I am glad they are enjoying! So I would like to thank I-Love-Trunks1 and hope that this next chapter is enjoyable as the others and also future chapters as well. So thank you! :3

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT IN THIS STORY! ALL CHARATCERS AND SONGS THAT IS PRESENTED THROUGHOUT THIS FIC BELONG SOULY TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS! (I keep forgetting to put up the disclaimers especially on my other stories.)

So without further ado, enjoy the chapter! Ja!

Chapter 4

The drive was quiet as Eiri drove and Ryū just sitting in the passenger's seat staring out the window with a bored expression. The blond half-Japanese novelist thought now was a good time to lay down the ground rules since the punk was going to be staying with him for an unknown amount of time.

"Here are the rules," Eiri started noticing that it didn't faze Ryū at all but had a feeling he was listening. "Rule one: When I'm working don't bother me unless it's life or death; rule two: Don't bring anyone to my house; Rule three: No parties because I detest noises; Rule Four: Don't touch anything that doesn't belong to you that isn't directly involved with drink or food; Rules Five: If you mess it, you clean it; Rule Six: If you break anything you will replace it; and Rule Seven: Don't annoy me or piss me off because I have enough stress as it is."

Ryū sat back and gazed at his soon to be roommate for an unknown amount of time with a bored look. "Understood, now let me tell you my rules. Rule one: Don't fuck with me in any way to piss me off; Rule Two: If there is anyone that is coming over to your house I need to know so I don't injure them accidentally; Rule three: You will not go anywhere without me because it's my job to protect you; Rule Four: I'm not your maid, I'm your bodyguard; granted there are a few things I don't mind doing for you if you ask nicely depending on what it is that you're asking me to do; Rule Five: Don't touch your mail until I looked at it first and that mostly pertains to packages; Rules Six: No unexpected visitors therefore I need all the names and pictures of those you allow in your house hence rule two, if they are not to whom you presented to me with the information than they will be forcefully removed from the premises so I can't guarantee that they will remain uninjured should they give me any problems; and Rule Seven: Treat me with respect and I'll treat you with respect so if you want something the best way to get my attention is to ask nicely because otherwise I'll just ignore you."

Both Eiri and Ryū could tell that they annoyed the hell out of the other but didn't comment considering that the rules were understandable and logical. Silence fell once again between them as the miles drifted by as Eiri drove; finally Eiri broke the silence once more.

"I haven't been able to go grocery shopping lately so there isn't much to eat in the house, so I was wondering if would like to stop and eat or not?" the novelist said calmly.

Ryū mentally groaned. "Well since we are already out why don't we get groceries for the house and eat out as well. That way you don't have to worry about anything else other than finishing your novel."

Eiri thought about it and decided that what Ryū suggested was a good idea, but he really didn't know how much too actually get. "Not to be rude, but how much do you eat anyways?"

Ryū looked at Eiri with a raised brow. "That all depends on what it is I'm eating," Ryū smirked as he understood exactly what the novelist was worried about. "Just because I'm your bodyguard doesn't automatically make me a moocher, so don't worry I'll pay half the bills since I became an unwelcomed guest within your house."

Eiri started to feel guilty but at the same time relieved that he wouldn't be footing the brunt of the bills anymore, times like when he felt lonely or when there were bills to pay made him miss Shuichi greatly, even if he was whiney and a complete brat but Shuichi was his brat. Eiri turned on his left blinker before switching lanes when he noticed they were getting closer to the super market, turning on the blinker once more he turned from the main road into the super market parking lot.

"Spiffy, well this place looks like it needs more TLC than the owners willing to give it," Ryū commented making Eiri study the building before him as he got out of the car and Eiri silently agreed. "Well I can't take this, or this, or this, can't take that either. Well shit, I suppose I'll have to rely on my hand to hand combat skills."

Eiri paused in closing his door and glanced in, he gawked at everything that Ryū couldn't take into the store with him. "What the hell, you're nearly as bad as K and everyone calls him a walking talking arsenal."

There in the passenger seat of the car was everything Ryū took off his person; there were twin desert eagles with silencers, throwing knives, brass knuckles, a thin cord that Eiri had a suspicious feeling that it was a metal whip and there were extra bullets. Eiri looked from the pile of weapons to the one who had to leave them behind to just go grocery shopping which he noticed the smirk set on Ryū's face.

"Actually K isn't that bad, if you think this is a lot than you should see what in my three suitcases in the trunk," Ryū said bemusedly.

"Three, I thought you had four," Eiri said knowing that he remembered right.

Ryū snorted. "The fourth one has all my clothes in it as well as a few trinkets, so basically those four suitcases are all my worldly possessions."

Eiri sighed as he closed his car door which was followed by Ryū's door, clicking the auto-lock button that would not only lock the car but set the car alarm as well. He than remembered something else that he seen Ryū had retrieved from the trunk of K's car. "What was that long wrapped stick thing you took out from K's car?"

Ryū walked along side Eiri and gave him a side glance. "That would be my soul so to speak, it was my twin katanas. I rarely use them but when and if I do it usually means that I'm either paranoid or extremely pissed off, though the aftermath is extremely messy even if it's a clean-cut the victims bleed like pigs during a slaughter."

"Damn, you're morbid you know that?" Eiri said as they walked through the automatic door of the grocery store.

Ryū shrugged as he watched Eiri get a buggy and muttered sourly. "It comes with the job."

After an hour and a half of grocery shopping and debates on what to get finally they were done and what they had to show for it was two shopping carts filled to the brim of groceries all neatly bagged and paid for. Ryū kept to his promise and paid for half of it so they both paid a little over thirteen thousand and two hundred yen each, Eiri hoped that they could fit all the groceries into his car.

"I still can't believe you bought all the strawberry pocky off the shelf, that right there was like four thousand yen all on its own," Eiri stressed out. "That shit's going to make you fat!"

Ryū snorted in disbelief. "Not likely Eiri, besides I spent more on the pocky in America than here," Ryū countered as he started to load the groceries into the car as he calculated in his head how much it would be in yen that he spent in US Dollars on pocky. "If my calculations are correct… if I spent the same amount of money here on pocky as I did back in America than I think that I could have spent a little more than what I had paid for with my half of the grocery bill."

Eiri's eyes widen in shock. "What! That's at least a hundred and fifty in US Dollars!"

Ryū snorted before waving it off as if it was nothing. "Yeah, yeah so I'm aware. Besides I get the munchies all the time!"

Eiri groaned. "What are you, a fucking druggie?"

Ryū smirked. "Nope, never touched the shit; hell I don't even take meds for my sleeping disorder!"

Groaning once more Eiri started to help in packing the groceries away into the car. "Buddha I swear if you get hyper from all the sugar rushing to your head I'll take your own gun and shoot you with it!"

Ryū laughed with true mirth. "Don't worry, sugar doesn't affect me like it used to, now it's more of an anesthetic than a stimulant."

"My, my, those are big words for someone who is so small," Eiri teased while trying to sound as if he wasn't teasing and acted as if was being serious instead.

Ryū placed the last bag into the care carefully considering it was three cartons two dozen eggs and six loafs of bread, he raised a brow at the novelist but noticed the mischievous glint in Eiri's eyes making him smirk. "Now are you referring to my height or my mental capacity? If it was my height I admit that I'm short for my age and gender but I can get into and out of places just fine where a tall person would have trouble but if you were referring to my mental capacity than you would be surprised in how many big words I know coupled with what each once means."

Eiri watched the raven before him start to place all his weapons that he had to leave behind in the car back where he had them before on his person, a small smile appeared on his face as he thought that on the present companionship that he and Ryū shared no matter how brief it was to last. Now he just wished that it would be this way all the time from here on out which would equal less annoyance for him. The smile disappeared as a frown took its place when he started to remember times with Shuichi that were similar to this situation, there were times when the pink-haired brat would surprise him with something smart that he had said making him realize that the pop singer had potential to be intelligent if he only worked harder at achieving said potential but in the end he wouldn't have changed his brat for anything.

"Yo, earth to Eiri do you copy?" Ryū's voice broke into Eiri's thoughts making him look at his raven haired companion and what he saw made his eye twitch out of bordering annoyance. Ryū had somehow gotten one of his many upon many of boxes of strawberry pocky and now had a candy coated bread stick poking out of his mouth. "If you don't mind but I would like to get dinner now, my treat!"

Eiri really started to regret ever thinking of anything nice about this punk as they both slid into the car, it wasn't the fact of what Ryū had said to him but the fact on how he said it which was in an annoying whiny tone. "Quit your belly aching, we're going."

At that exact moment Ryū's stomach growled loudly making both Eiri and Ryū look down at it before looking at each other breaking the tense moment as Ryū burst out laughing while Eiri just smirked shaking his head in wonder. It seemed that this gothic dressing power-house will constantly remind him of his heart's desire Shuichi in some things that he does, starting the car and putting it in reverse Eiri drove out of the parking space so they could go to a fast food restaurant with a drive-threw keeping in mind of the perishable groceries with in the car.

Eiri glanced at his silent companion out the corner of his eye noticing that Ryū was eating his last pocky stick with that box, the sad mutter coming from said companion confirmed his observations. "They really need to put more in the packaging, oh well."

Eiri kept driving knowing exactly where they could pick up a quick pick up dinner to go, he suddenly heard a sound that sounded just like flimsy cardboard being ripped open causing him to glance back at Ryū who had now a completely full and brand new pack of pocky open.

"Where the hell did that damn box come from? Damn, if I didn't know any better I would have thought they placed some kind addicting drug in those damned cavity makers," Eiri groaned calmly.

Ryū grinned. "I snatched three packs of pocky before packing them into the car and no your correct so know they don't put drugs in them because they are addicting and a drug all on their own! In a way pocky and one other thing are the only addicting things that I do though the second is much less healthy."

Raising a brow at Ryū in question. "Oh, so there is a second thing that your addicted to other than pocky?"

Ryū gazed out the window as he munched on a pocky stick. "Yeah, I don't do it all the time only when I'm really stressed out. K, have tried to break me of the nasty habit but he couldn't."

Eiri raised a brow at his dark-haired companion when he gave him a side glance. "What is it?"

Ryū shifted as he reached his hand into his pocket while Eiri slowed the car to a stop at the stop light, Ryū held up the object that he retrieved from his pocket making the novelist look at it. What he saw made him raise both brows, there in Ryū's hand was a pack of cigarettes; to Eiri they looked like an off brand from what he smoked daily.

"Cigarette's, these are the off brand of what I usually smoke. They're ok but I still prefer my usual brand but there is only one place that sells what I smoke and they closed down not too long ago so I had to start buying these." Ryū mumbled sourly as he glared at the pack he held.

"I have to agree with K, that is a very nasty bad habit to pick up. What about your singing?" Eiri said ignoring the small fact that he too smoked.

Ryū mock glared at the novelist as he shoved the pack back into his pants pocket. "That's the pot calling the kettle black right there, and for your info it doesn't affect my voice because I know a few tricks to remedy that little hiccup."

Eiri snorted. "Wow, your intelligence is astounding. Not only can you use big words but metaphors too, I'm surprised that you have any room left up in that thick skull of yours."

"Hey, I'll have you know that my IQ is off the charts thank you very much!" Ryū growled. The young gothic contradiction sighed and let slip a slightly sad look. "Besides there wasn't anything else for me to do after I lost my memories of my past, so instead of drowning in depression I buried myself in knowledge," Ryū chuckled sadly when he paused. "When that became not enough I guess K felt sorry for me, he taught me about weapons and hired different discipline instructors to tutor me in their art."

Eiri glanced at his sad companion before pressing the gas to move his car forward when the light turned green. "I see, which 'disciplinary' instructors did he hire?"

Ryū had a small smile form on his face as he remembered everything. "Well K got it inside his head to hire different martial art masters, when I started it I thought that K was trying to murder me. The idiot got the idea from watching an anime that I caught him watching one time," Ryū shook his head. "I remember one day I was extremely pissed off after getting my ass handed to me once again by my master for that day and walked in on him watching it. I started yelling at him that he was a sick asshole and asked what in the fuck he was thinking."

Eiri listened to the story carefully. "Really, what did he say?"

Ryū laughed lightly before turning his head to face Eiri. "He jumped up from where he was sitting and started to yell back. He said 'What? Is it too much for you, are you going to quit and be a loser for the rest of your life?' I stood there glaring at him and I couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth," Ryū shifted a little in his seat. "I remember that we glared at each other before he cheekily grinned at me and pointed to his anime he was watching that he pause when I started to yell at him. He said, I quote, 'Look at this kid, if he can do it and handle it than so can you! I know you can do it because I believe in you and not only that you're not as pathetic as he is!' after he said that I glanced at the TV and went to the box that the entire series came in I read the summary for what the series was about and I understood where he got the hair-brained idea from."

Eiri pulled into the parking lot of the fast food place he decided on, pulling behind the waiting car in the drive thru lane he turned his head to Ryū to give his full attention while keeping an eye on the drive thru line. "He got the idea from an anime?"

Ryū snorted with amusement. "Yeah, the idiot thought that it was a good idea. After I read the summary I placed the box back down and turned to face him quickly. I tell you I couldn't ever remember being so pissed off in my life so I started talking but in a calm even tone, I said if I remember it right, 'an anime show gave you this idea? You're more than an idiot than I thought!' I remember K blinking at me before smirking and calmly stood there, mind you this was like a year later from when he hired my masters. Well anyways I kept calmly chewing him out, I said 'It's a bloody anime you asshole and that it isn't real, there wasn't any possibilities that it could ever happen in reality,' or something along those lines," Eiri noticed that the car in front moved forward making him move his car forward as well.

"I have to agree with you on that one, I figured K to be an idiot but not stupid." Eiri said calmly.

Ryū snorted with irony. "Yeah well, I hate to burst your bubble but I ended up proven wrong."

Blinking in disbelief Eiri turned his head to gaze at Ryū with a surprised questioning look. "What?"

Ryū crossed his arms and smirked humorlessly. "Exactly what I said, after I stopped chewing him out my masters came through the front door because they wanted to speak to K and that's when all my masters started attacking me without warning. Without thinking I started to defend myself against their attacks, each attacked using their art that they were masters of and I defended myself against them using the same art as the person I was fighting against without realizing that I was unconsciously switching between the different arts as if it was second nature."

"Well isn't that something, I would never thought it would be possible." Eiri said as he took a cigarette out and lit it.

"You and me both," Ryū said softly as he eyed the cigarette noticing that the novelist smoked his brand of cigarettes. "Anyways after the fight I was completely exhausted and fell on my ass but I have to say that I wasn't pissed anymore considering that I had fought out all my frustrations. They left me there on the floor and went into K's office to discuss whatever the hell it was they wanted to talk to him about, I remembered thinking at that time while I sat on the floor of the living room. I remembered groaning thinking what the fuck I did to deserve a crazy morbid caretaker such as K but I figured it could have been worse than K turning my life into a live action anime for his own amusement."

A small smile formed on Eiri's face after Ryū finished his tale, he noticed the longing look his dark-haired companion gave the cigarette he lit. He took another one out of the pack and handed it to Ryū with a smirk that replaced the smile. Ryū took the offered cigarette with a look of surprise, he quickly put it between his lips and dug for his liter and lit it once he acquired it. Taking a drag Ryū sighed with contentment exhaling the smoke in the process.

"Don't get ashes everywhere and don't burn anything," Eiri drawled out around the cigarette firmly held between his lips. He heard Ryū snort. "Well damn, with all the snorting you're doing I'm beginning to believe that you're a pig. I wonder if you squeal like one too."

"Since you were nice enough to give me a cigarette when you knew that I had my own I'm going to let that slid and enjoy my brand instead." Replied Ryū before taking another hit off his cancer stick.

Eiri pulled up to the speaker as he rolled down his window so he could order, he noticed Ryū rolling down his window a few inches but ignored it when the person on the other end of the speaker started to talk surprising him at how loud the volume was.

"Good evening, welcome to Fast Burger! May I take your order please?" the voice from the speaker exclaimed with a chirpy tone.

"Holy fuck, I think my eardrum just busted!" Ryū hissed as he had a hand over his left ear.

Eiri sighed as he shook his head before turning his head towards the speaker. "You'll have to excuse my idiotic companion."

"No problem sir!" the person on the other end of the speaker said but this time the volume was set to a more tolerable level. "That was my fault I forgot to turn it down from the last car considering the customer was hard of hearing. Now what would you and your friend like today?"

Ryū had unbuckled his belt and was now leaning over Eiri's lap so he could do the talking instead. "Yes, I would like three double cheese burgers only pickle and cheese please, a large fry, three ten piece chicken nuggets with sweet n sour sauce and a large caramel frappe! Could you please repeat that back to me?"

Eiri ground his teeth as he started to feel ire beginning to rise in his being, he started to count to ten slowly as he listened to the employee list off exactly everything Ryū had ordered. Eiri was about to snap at the walking talking contradiction when he caught Ryū's scent making him pause, strawberries and another scent that eluded him at the moment. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the employee started to speak again.

"Ok, will that be all?" the chirpy employee asked.

"No, I would also like a number six medium, no lettuce, ketchup and defiantly no onions. The drink will be diet Coke with easy ice." Ryū added with a calm and confident tone. "That'll be all."

Eiri blinked as he gazed at Ryū who was still leaning over him with a firm hand on the door to keep himself steady, the novelist couldn't believe this punk knew how he liked his food. Deciding to ignore this and think about it later he hissed at Ryū.

"If you're finished would you sit back down and buckle up you brat!" Eiri was getting a little nervous with Ryū leaning over him.

Ryū huffed in annoyance as he threw himself back into his seat on his side of the car and buckled up. "Sheesh, you're a grumpy one."

There was a giggle from the one that took their order. "That'll be one thousand one hundred sixty-six and sixty-three yen, just pull up to the window!"

Instead of retrieving his wallet as Eiri thought he would Ryū instead lifted his right booted foot and opened up a compartment on the side of his boot. Ryū pulled out some bills that were this country's currency, from what Eiri could see they were all large bills making him wonder how exactly the raven carried so much on him. Ryū pulled one bill loose and handed it to Eiri before placing the rest back into the compartment and closing it before lowering his booted foot back down, the blond novelist took the bill just as he pulled up to the window. When they stopped and waited for the employee to attend to them Eiri gave Ryū an odd look which caused the raven to give Eiri an odd look in return.

"What?" Ryū asked.

"You know what, I don't think I want to know." Eiri replied before turning to the employee who opened the window.

Ryū chuckled. "If you say so sunshine."