A/N: A miillion THANK YOUS to TOIJIPE, Remy and Julie for reviewing! #LOVE. I was half expecting that no one would still be interested in this story, so you all gave me such a sweet surprise. Enjoy!

Chapter 14

Toboe stared down at his plate of food, and grimaced. Today had been his day to help make dinner, and for some reason he never loved how his food turned out. Still, he took a spoonful of mashed potatoes, and shoved it into his mouth. He'd rather eat it than have to talk. The young boy raised his head to get a good look at everyone sitting at the table. Scary.

Kiba was sitting next to him, drinking from his water cup and at the same time glaring at the stranger sitting across the table from him. Of course, Toboe couldn't blame him...not after what had happened only half an hour ago. Hamona was looking at Hige, who happened to be on the other side of Toboe. She looked apologetic but hadn't said anything. Tsume was next to Hamona, and he was simply glaring at his plate.

The lack of conversation was obvious, and no one seemed willing to speak up. Toboe swallowed slowly, a little too slowly, because suddenly he was coughing, and had to drink water as not to choke. 'Wow, way to get everyone's attention' He mentally scolded himself.

"This is...good" He tried, smiling but quickly frowned when Tsume gave him a look of annoyance- hardly necessary! He could feel the woman next to him, squirming, and before he could try to make conversation again, she spoke up.

"Hige...I..."

By the look on his face, he wasn't willing to talk, he simply shrugged, and slunk down in his chair. His brothers were staring, and as Hige avoided all eye contact with her, Hamona let her sentence die out, and instead looked down at her plate. She was feeling miserable, and guilty, and it was clear to her that she needed to leave.

"You haven't told us what's going on." Tsume finally spoke, with authority, with expectancy. Hige slunk down even further into his chair. Hamona sighed, it didn't feel like her place to fill in the holes, though she had, for a long time, wanted to have this moment to apologize to him. Her mind raced to how he had reacted when he first saw her.

"It's you!"

Hamona's eyes widened in complete surprise; she felt like her knees couldn't hold her up, and she forgot that she planned for this moment for years. It was hard to recall the many speeches she had practiced, after all, she hadn't exactly expected that this moment would ever come.

'It's him' She thought, stepping back, bumping into Tsume, who didn't seem to notice. He was staring at his brother who had the oddest look on his face. Out of the blue, Hige began laughing, almost maniacally. Toboe and Kiba looked at each other, and then Toboe started reaching out to his brother, but before he could, Hige was on his feet, yelling.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"Hige!"

The 14 year old heard Tsume's voice yell out his name, but he seemed unfazed. What was she doing here? Why?

"Hige, I..." It was like all the words in the world had suddenly left her vocabulary, and she was suddenly aware of what a terrible person she really was. What was she doing here? She had been with Darcia that day, she knew Hige had lived in Freeze City, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she had hoped she could find out if everything had turned out all right for him, but not really, because she had a life. Her boyfriend had become violent that day, and she had been stranded. What a coincidence that she had met Tsume...or , maybe this was all fate. She didn't want to think about that.

"I know..." She admitted, wanting to talk, but knowing it wasn't her place to tell them. Hige would hate her all the more, and despite everything, she still hoped he'd forgive her someday.

"I just need to talk to Hige first, alone." Her voice was barely audible, and she knew she sounded small. Vulnerable.

Hige's glare turned all the more violent, and his mouth scrunched up in an awful scowl, before he answered. "I have nothing to say to you. I don't even know why you're still here"

"You do need to talk to her, I've never seen you like this." Kiba piped up, annoyed by the whole situation. It was distressing to see Hige, who was kind to everyone, be so hostile and rude.

"I'm not going to talk to her!" The boy spat out, getting up from his chair so fast, that it fell over with a loud bang. The dramatic scene didn't sit well with anyone, and Tsume was quick to let him know it.

"You're going to stop being rude, and start talking. What is the matter with you?!"

At Hige's hurt eyes, Hamona turned away, putting her hands on top of Tsume's. She shouldn't have come, not like this. The poor boy didn't have to explain anything if he didn't want to.

"No, Tsume. I should go."

"Hamona..."

"No, really, I should go." She said firmly, and quickly rushed to the door. She was getting on the bus tonight and heading home. This was too much, and it was all her fault.

"Hey wait!" She was running down the stairs, as fast as her legs could go, though still grabbing on to the railing, aware that the stair were slippery, due to the recent bad weather. She heard Toboe, but refused to stop, until, of course, she heard the unmistakable sound of someone falling down the stairs.

"Toboe!" She called out, as he landed by her feet, on his arm, screaming. It was a rush of emotions, and fear, and wanting to help but being so horrified by the sight; thankfully the scream soon brought forth Toboe's 3 older brothers, who were a bit more apt than her.

When she finally calmed down, she realized she was on a familiar gray couch. Kiba was by her side, giving her space, but also, quietly judging her, or that's what she felt anyway. She was aware that she had panicked. Tsume and Hige had taken Toboe to get his arm looked at, though it had very clearly been broken; Kiba had stayed behind with her, as she had hyperventilated.

"Do you want water?" The dark haired boy asked her, somewhat gently, and she nodded; She didn't really want water, she wanted all of this to be a nightmare she could wake up from, but when she closed and reopened her eyes, she was still on the gray couch.

"Thanks" Was her soft response to Kiba giving her a blue glass, filled with water. She sipped slowly, and her brain managed to realize he'd put a lemon slice in it. That was considerate...

"Do you...think he'll be okay?" She asked, tears in her eyes, and then slowly falling down her cheeks. Kiba fought the urge to yell at her, or roll his eyes. Why had he gotten stuck babysitting the emotional blond?

"He's had a broken arm before, it's not that big of a deal. It sucks that we'll be stuck with another bill to pay, but you... are. dramatic." He sentenced, giving her a quirk of his brow, as she looked at him with total surprise. He could tell she was used to getting her way, she was absolutely beautiful.

"You're scream is what really scared us, damn."

"Oh, I'm really sorry! I... I've never really... broken anything, or even seen anyone break a bone. I guess I am kind of pathetic."

"Yeah." Her head shot up, as he agreed, but she could see the smile hiding behind his eyes. He was definitely Tsume's brother.

" I'm fine now, If you wanted to go meet with them..."

"How about, instead, you tell me how you know Hige."

Silence. She knew it wasn't her place, but Kiba...looked so calm, and genuine. He looked like a good listener, and while she was aware that her ability to read people wasn't the best, she was also tired of this thing crushing her heart.

"It was over two years ago...right? That's when you guys got split up." Kiba immediately stiffened, he hadn't really been expecting that she'd talk, and now she was talking about one of the worst times in his life. He didn't know how to respond, so he just gave her a half-hearted nod.

"I was in college, just living the dream..." She placed the drink down and twiddled her thumbs, she was aware that he didn't care about her college experience, but to his credit, he didn't interrupt.

"Except I was failing classes, and I missed my family, so I did what any reasonable adult would do. I gave up, and went home for the rest of the semester." Another deep breath. 'You can do this'

"My parents and sister were happy to see me, I think, but there was a little 12 year old boy who didn't seem thrilled."

Oh? Kiba continued to say nothing, though he was giving her his full attention now.

"Mom and Dad had wanted to foster for a while, and so while I was in college, they finally did. He was a sweet, shy boy...Hige."

She struggled to find the words, but knew it was right that she finally speak up. "I think, at first, he was unhappy that I was home. He avoided me, and I made it my life goal to get him to like me. I mean, I have a great personality." She joked, laughing, but now more tears accumulated in her eyes. " It took a while, but we came to really enjoy each other's company. He said I was really different, from my twin sister, Jaguara..."

She stopped then, crying, and he awkwardly tried to comfort her by patting her shoulder. It made sense, how the blond and her brother knew each other, but still, why all the animosity? Why the tears?

"...Why does he hate you?"He finally managed to ask, aware that he might end up hating her too.

"My home... was not a safe place, Kiba!" She cried harder now, struggling to get the words out, but knowing she had to. "Jaguara, she is such an awful woman. Cruel and abusive, and-" The sobs threatened to consume her now. She had grown up with Jaguara by her side, they had loved each other. How could her sister have been so...so deranged?

"He made me promise not to tell anyone, the darkness that she introduced him to" She was not giving a complete story, but Kiba could guess enough, he didn't want to know details.

"...I didn't keep that promise. I couldn't! He was a child and a victim. So my parents sent Jaguara away, and they sent Hige back to Foster Care, and I...I wish..I"

Kiba was looking at her, with a hatred that she couldn't look into. She hadn't abused his brother...but a woman with her face had. He was shaking in anger, and breathing heavy. This woman was not at fault, no, but his hatred wasn't being reasonable.

"You need to leave."

She nodded, and went for her purse, she was not going to make anything more difficult than it already was.

"Okay." Hamona agreed, though she stopped at the door, looking at Kiba, who had not moved.

"I...I'm so sorry" She managed to whisper, as she felt guilt and sadness consume her heart.

To Be Continued...