Chapter 9: Let slip

"Hurry up!" yells the boy's friend as they run through the streets of the city. "The park stops letting in people in fifteen minutes!" The boy sprints as fast as his little legs could carry him, running after the flashes of purple and pink hair ahead of him. The ice cream man was back and rumor was that he was going around the park giving out free samples of everyone's favorite flavors. This is not an opportunity to miss.

The kids skid to a halt as the crosswalk light turns red. The purple haired boy stomps his foot impatiently. "Lame!" He yells and spins around, looking for a quicker way to reach their destination. He points towards a staircase descending below the street and runs towards it, sneaking between the legs of unwitting adults. The other two chase after him, down the stairs and wind up in an underground train station. The boy halts, his eyes spreading wide, but his friend grabs him, pulling him into the train.

They only remember once the doors close. They stare at him with horror, as if expecting him to break into a million pieces. He does not. He just smiles at them and holds onto the pole as the car shakes and screeches down the tracks. He doesn't cry out. He doesn't tense up. He doesn't say a word.

But the inside of him is curling in terror, sobbing in grief, howling in anger.

No sound.

Shivering, crying, screaming,

Screaming.

Kaito sits bolt upright in his bed, his head spinning in the direction of the hallway. The room is pitch black, the only light coming from his digital clock which reads around five in the morning. He blinks his unseeing eyes, ears pricked for the sound that had awoken him. After a few seconds of ringing silence he hears it again; a whimper, muffled but definitely a sound of someone in distress.

He tears the covers off of himself and, after a thought, pulls on a shirt, before slipping out into the hallway and knocking on the study door lightly. There's a small sound from inside and he slowly opens the door, stepping inside.

The interior of this room is black as well and Kaito feels around through the obscurity. His foot reaches forward and taps the edge of something plastic that gives under his force. The bed.

"Miku?" he whispers unbelievably quietly "Are you awake?" He feels the weight shift on the inflated plastic.

"Yes." The voice is shaky but very alert. He hadn't woken her.

Slowly he lowers himself down onto the bed, feeling around to make sure he doesn't sit on her. Once seated, he reaches out slowly, groping through the darkness for the form of the girl. His hand rubs something loft and soft; her hair, let loose and down around her shoulders. He senses her tense, and then feels her hand reach up and touch his own. She moves towards him, clasping his hand, his arm, until her breathing is right next to his. Her head rests on his shoulder and he reaches his other arm around to hold her.

"I woke you…" she whispers. Her eyebrows furrow against his shoulder and wetness begins to leak into his shirt.

"You were supposed to," he argued "That was the whole point of moving." There's silence and she sighs, releasing his arm to simply lean against him. After a moment he rests his head on her own, feeling her heartbeat calm the longer he's there, and stares forward into the black, watching as the sky slowly lightens outside the window.


Miku sits quietly on the white couches, gazing out the large windows into the house's small backyard. Grass has begun to spring up across the lawn, violets and dandelions dotting the green every few feet. Above the wooden fence surrounding the lawn the sky is a pale yellow-blue, alight with the color of a newly risen sun.

Her dreams had been different. There was no pain, just an odd emptiness, a sadness and confusion she couldn't have explained. She had woken chocking on tears and let a cry escape before covering her mouth. She lay there, alone in dark, wondering, debating on whether or not to take the action she so needed. But she hadn't had to decide, a few moments later the door had opened and a soft voice called out to her. He had heard her.

Footsteps alert her and she turns her gaze, falling on Kaito striding out of the kitchen, a steaming cup of coffee in both hands. He sits down with a small smile and holds out the mug to her. The warmth of the liquid seeps into her hands through the ceramic, her eyelids perking upward considerably as the caffeine works its way through her system. Kaito reclines next to her, not saying a word, his eyes strangely far away. Miku feels something stir inside her at the sight. Basked in the morning light, his profile looked principled and levelheaded, a tenseness lying just underneath the calm expression he always wore.

His head turns to her, sensing once again an unasked question. She looks away, trying to figure out how to put into words the odd intuition she was beginning to feel about him. His gaze stays on her, unrelenting; he never would let her keep quiet, would he?

She bites her lip, taking a breath. Words bubble to the surface, disorganized and confused. Her mouth opens and she feels his gaze on her, intense, somehow aware that something serious was about to be said.

"Kai-" her words are cut off as a click and creak sounds from the front room. Both spins their heads around, staring in shock as a figure breezes into the room, observing the two of them and moving her hands to her hips.

"What is this?" Meiko exclaims, eyeing Kaito suspiciously. "What's going on here?" The boy quickly jumps up, hands waving frantically. Miku shies back further into the cushions.

"It's not what you think," he says and then pauses for a moment. "Probably," he finishes with a frown. Meiko glances at Miku, curled up on the couch in shock and continues on with an appalled tone.

"Then what is it?" she asks. "Having her here at six in the morning, what the heck is this?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Kaito retaliates. "Just because you have a key doesn't mean you should barge into other people's houses at the crack of dawn." Meiko folds her arms and stares at him, a mixture of concern and crossness painting her features.

"I had a hunch," she stated, glancing over at Miku with an unreadable expression. "Your lunches yesterday were identical; why would that be unless the same person made them?" Miku clenches a pillow. That's what she had been staring at during lunch.

Kaito stands, helpless ambivalence written across his posture. There's an explanation, of course there is, but he wouldn't say it. He won't say it. It's not his to tell.

"He's helping me," Miku blurts out in a voice still crackly from sleep. Meiko turns to her, confusion evident in her eyes. Miku swallows, trying to find the courage to say more.

"I was in trouble. I couldn't stay at…my house," she whispers, feeling two pairs of eyes burning into her. Her throat is dry and her hands begin to shake. Why is talking so hard? It feels as if needles are jutting into her throat. "Kaito, he's…he's letting me stay here." She concludes lamely. The room is silent for a moment. After a moment, a chuckle breaks the air. Miku whips her head up to the sight of Meiko suddenly exploding with laughter. She watches in astonishment and glances at Kaito questioningly. The man simply stares with an air of mild exasperation.

"And I thought that he was keeping you penned up in here like some kind of perverted warden!" Her laughter dies down and she sighs. She strides over to Miku and leans over her, completely ignoring the heavy sigh of her cousin. Her red-brown eyes are alight with an odd emotion, yet dark with sincerity and care.

"That's good," she murmurs, surprising Miku with her apparent relief. "You'll be safe here, alright? Kaito is most reliable guy I've ever met." Miku blinks a couple times glancing over at said boy. His expression has returned to carefully controlled neutrality; she can't tell what he thinks of this statement. Meiko leans down further and whispers mutedly so that the sound barely reaches her ears.

"And you don't have to be afraid of him either. I bet even Len has more testosterone than he does." Miku feels her face blush bright red and pushes out a startled 'yes' as Meiko pulls away. The girl chuckles once at her expression and turns back to her cousin.

"Do you want to stay for breakfast?" Kaito sighs, sounding very tired. Meiko shakes her head.

"Nope. Got plans. I really just headed by to make sure my little Kai-Kai wasn't up to anything." Kaito stares blankly at the nickname and nods, glancing nervously at Miku as if to make sure that Meiko hadn't hurt her in some way. Meiko leans into Kaito's ear as she had Miku's and whispers in the same hushed tone. Miku realizes with a start that she could pick up the words in the silence of the room, and her faces flushes redder still.

"Take care of her, you hear?" Meiko murmurs. "If any bit of trouble befalls that girl," her hand reaches forward and clenches menacingly. "I'll snap your frickin head off." Kaito is silent for a moment before slowly nodding. Miku cannot see his face. Considering the conversation sufficient, Meiko spins around with a cheerful wave, completely disregarding the murderousness she exhibited a moment ago and leaves the way she came.

They stare after her for a moment until Kaito slowly turns back to Miku, his gaze measured and his voice soothing. "You alright?" Miku realizes that she is still backed into the corner of the couch, clenching a pillow desperately. She nods vigorously and loosens her grip. The man sits down again with a sigh and sips at his cooled coffee. Miku watches him again, the side of his face, cool and collected, with a hint of something underneath, like a flicker of movement behind a dark window.

His thoughts are further away than when Meiko barged in, off somewhere, hidden behind of mask of calm.

A reliable guy

He could have been messed up

Miku blinked as the face in front of her slowly warped, changing, revealing itself as she thought and reflected and probed. The attitude that had seemed so steady was filled with numb restraint; the unruffled curve of his mouth a deep line of exhaustion; the gaze filled with soft comfort and gentleness suddenly becoming deep oceans filled with unappeasable sadness.

He sat there in front of her, the same yet different, her vision growing clear for just a moment and seeing underneath the politeness, the coolness that he wore like a shield. She reaches out thoughtlessly, her hand grazing his arm. He turns to her surprised and the image vanishes, his being once again composed.

"What is it?" he asks quietly. She stares at him for a second, trying to decipher, to see again, but she can't, the armor is back on. She shakes her head lightly and looks away, and for once Kaito doesn't question her.


A/N: Uhg...I have been so uninspired lately. Keep writing...

Anyway, lots of hints about Kaito in this one too! Keep reading!