The Specter

It was midafternoon by the time he made it to the park. It wouldn't be long until his comrades were done with all of their errands for the day—and by errands, he meant the ambiguous tasks each member of their troupe did, whether it be by their leader's command or through their own personal agendas—and his day was no different.

He knew the others needed separate outlets in their lives to make them feel somewhat normal. It was hard for all of them, at first, but they'd finally broken out into their own routines, some even getting in touch with old friends. He didn't really use an outlet as much as the others did, and considering his unique condition, he wouldn't have been able to reestablish the connections he lost long ago like they could. But he didn't mind. In fact, it was rejuvenating, this new lifestyle of his.

Just as he reached the spot on the bench, he saw that his compatriot had already arrived. The young man was slumped back, his elbows resting lazily over the back of the bench and his head leaning so far back it was practically upside down. From calm rhythm of his heaving chest, he realized that the young man was asleep.

"Break!" he cried.

After a lazy minute, the laurel-haired young man finally pulled his head up, groaning as he struggled to wake up and rubbing his neck, which was bringing him discomfort. "What the hell…"

"Serves you right for falling asleep on the bench like that," the dog admonished as he took the spot next to him on the bench. "I didn't think you'd actually leave the apartment. You're as lazy as a rock; I'm shocked you were able to make it out of bed."

The original occupant of the bench ignored his snide remark and finally looked down once he was done massaging his neck. "Nice to see you too, Rei. How was your meeting with Nice?"

"He was… not what I expected. Young—really young. He's only seventeen. He must've left the Academy when he was at least fifteen."

"He was a prodigy—or I should say is a prodigy. Then again, so were we. Yet I didn't see him or his Hamatora gang facing the needle for showing such prowess."

Though he didn't sound it, Rei knew he resented Nice for their unfortunate lot in life. "No need to be so bitter, Break. He and his friends don't even know about the experiments, so don't be so hard on him. You should've seen his face when I first told him about Cap..."

"What the hell happened to Cap?!"

The dog bowed its head and closed its eyes, just sitting there for what seemed like an eternity. The silence made it seem even longer, increasing Nice's annoyance. But then its head came back up, its eyes the most human he'd ever seen. "It's a long story…"

"Holy shit!" The young man backed up into the bar and quickly caught himself when he almost slipped. "Y-You're… You can talk!"

The mutt gave him a disbelieving look. "You're surprised?"

"I didn't expect you to actually say anything! How many dog Minimum Holders are there, anyway!"

"So you expected me to sit here like a dumb animal and let you yell at me? Or did you miss the part when your friends just explained that I'm a Minimum Holder!" The mutt sent a glare that normally wouldn't have fazed Nice until he saw the mutt's red eye when he turned his head. In contrast to his regular brown eye, his right eye glowed ominously, as if it were looking into his soul. It made him reconsider his answer and he decided to say nothing instead.

"Is he always this blunt?" the dog asked the owners behind the bar.

Master nodded his head while Koneko laughed nervously. "Nice has never been able to control what comes out of his mouth, but he means well," she assured him.

"Hey, I'm right here!"

"For a genius, he can sure be…"

"A total dumbass?"

Rei wouldn't have used that word specifically, but he wasn't going to correct Break when he was right. "A prodigy in his own right, but yes, he was a little much to take in."

Break chuckled. "Not much can surprise Nice, but it's not every day you run into a talking dog."

"I can think of plenty of things that are more unusual than me..." Rei mumbled grudgingly. The young man's snickering only irritated him more, so Rei quickly focused the conversation back to its original topic. "As I was saying, Nice was unexpected, to say the least. There was a lot that he didn't know, more than I originally thought…"

"You still haven't told me about Cap." Nice's visage once again turned somber and he crossed his arms impatiently as he waited for the answer he'd been looking for all day. "Why isn't he here, and why did he send some guy and a dog to deliver this message instead of doing it himself?"

"First of all, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop talking to me like I'm a dumb mongrel. Second, in regards to your earlier question, there are no dog Minimum Holders; it's been proven that animals do not possess the Minimum central nerve. I am merely borrowing this vessel so I can get around without arousing suspicion. I may be a dog on the outside, but inside I am one hundred percent human. It's a part of my Possession Minimum."

Everything the mutt said just brought more questions to the surface, but Nice wasn't about to get off track again. "I just want to know about Cap and why the hell he's hiding."

"He's not hiding." Nice gave him a look. "He's not hiding from you, anyway. He would've come here himself, but there are still people out there looking for us. He knew the only way he'd get your attention was if he offered Hamatora a large cash reward, which, I'm sorry to say, we cannot acquiesce." He looked at the Master and Koneko in particular when he said that, as he truly regretted Cap lying to them. Master didn't seem to mind, but now he was also curious about the motives behind this "Cap's" ruse.

"Who exactly is Cap hiding from?" asked Koneko.

"I'm sorry, but I can't say that, either. We want to keep the least amount of people involved as possible, and Cap strictly wanted to convey his message to Nice. But seeing as you're his friends, it would be discourteous of me not to warn you as well."

"Warn me? Is Cap in trouble?"

"We're in trouble, Nice." Once again, the mutt's red eye glared over at the auburn-haired young man, but this time Nice didn't even flinch. "Look, I know you're upset and disappointed about not seeing Cap, but that letter shouldn't have been delivered in the first place. You weren't even supposed to know Cap was alive. He has new a family to consider, and we can look after each other just fine. Bringing you and your Hamatora gang into our business will only make matters worse, and I know Cap wouldn't be happy if we caused you any trouble."

Suddenly, Nice became quiet. He was too distraught to say anything at the moment, knowing his long-lost friend was out there, but having no clue where Cap was or what sticky situation he had gotten himself into, not to mention this "family" he'd suddenly gained in his absence, which included this russet-coated, wise-cracking mutt. His fists shook at his sides angrily.

"I'm sorry," the dog apologized. Turning to the bar owners, he pushed the bills under his paw closer to them and bowed his head. "Thank you for your service. And if it's no trouble, I'd appreciate it if you passed the word on to your friends. Cap means well, but… sometimes, he doesn't think before he acts."

Koneko smiled at him courteously. "It's no trouble at all. We'll be sure to do just that."

After bowing once more, the mutt jumped off the barstool and, getting on his hind legs and pressing against the door, made his way out of Café Nowhere.

"So the meeting wasn't so good, huh?"

Rei shook his head. "I suspected it wouldn't go well, but…"

Curious by his friend's sudden disquiet, Break prodded. "What? Did something else happen?"

"… Let's just say, I've had to use my Minimum more than once today..."

"Oi, wait up, mutt!"

The dog didn't stop nor did he slow down as the Sonic Minimum Holder ran after him, but Nice didn't have a hard time catching up to him. "Did you not hear a single word—?"

"You expect me to do nothing after what you just told me?!"

"Would you stop yelling? You're drawing attention." Nice didn't really care who saw him yelling at the dog, but he quieted down anyway. Seeing as he was not going to go away anytime soon, the dog sighed. "Look, if you're not going to leave, the least you can do is act casual. There are people out there looking for us right now, and being in contact with anyone related to the Minimum Agency, especially you, will get us into trouble. I thought you were supposed to be smart."

Nice grunted and complied, putting his hands in his pockets. "I don't work for the Minimum Agency," he said calmly, "and I left the Academy years ago. And the fact remains that Cap is alive, and he's been looking for me this whole time. He wouldn't have sent that letter out if he didn't want my help."

"The Cap you knew is very different from the Cap we know now. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me. Who is he to you?"

Suddenly, the dog turned and stopped as soon as he and Nice were hidden beneath the shadow of a building. After making sure no one else had followed them, he turned back to Nice. "You're really desperate, aren't you?"

Nice frowned. "I just want to see my friend and make sure he's okay."

The look on the young man's face was pitiful enough to emit a tired sigh from the mutt. "I understand. Really, I do, but right now it's too dangerous for you two to meet in person. I know you're not going to let this go, so in order for you to understand how dire our situation is I need you to do something for me." His red eye began emanating a haunting glow. "Look into my eye."

"… Why?"

"Just do it!"

After a moment's hesitation, Nice gazed into the ruby eye and suddenly he was enveloped into darkness.

Break stared at him in what he assumed was astonishment—which was a rare treat for Rei because his friend barely showed emotion at all—as he straightened himself up on the bench. "You didn't…"

"I did," the mutt affirmed, scratching his ear casually. "It was the only way to get him to stop asking questions, at least for the time being."

"But still, using your full abilities on him, that's just risky. You could've killed him."

"But I didn't."

"That's not the point."

"Why are you suddenly getting so bent out of shape? It's not like you care about Nice." That shut Break up. "If there was another way, I would've done it. You know I would never intentionally risk our safety."

The young man on the bench sighed and slumped back into his laidback position. "Yeah, I know, but you took a huge risk."

"And it worked."

Break shook his head, quickly accepting this wasn't an argument he was going to win. "Whatever. So how exactly did Nice react? You didn't scare him, did you?"

The mutt shook his head. "Nice doesn't seem like he gets scared easily. From the look on his face, it was quite obvious he'd never experienced anything like that before, but he reacted so casually to my Minimum he seemed more… intrigued than anything else."

"Well, that was, uh… an experience."

"'An experience'?"

"How else am I supposed to describe it? I've never had another Minimum Holder use their abilities on me before, at least not like that. They usually just try to beat the shit out of me, so this… this was different." He eyed the dog skeptically. "So… do you do that to people all the time?"

The mutt looked scandalized. "Of course not! That would be dangerous."

Nice flared up. "You seemed to have no problem doing it to me!"

"Well, you're one of the exceptinos. People who don't have Minimums or do not possess the Minimum central nerve in their brain wouldn't last as long if I used my Minimum on them. But Minimum Holder or not, I would never intentionally harm someone unless it was necessary."

"You just gave me a literal mindfuck."

The dog rolled his eyes. "Oh please. You're completely unharmed. But now do you see why you need to stop pursuing Cap? He's been through enough, and so have we. You getting involved will just complicate things further for us."

"You don't know that. In fact, from what you've shown me, you seem to have a handle on things. I say you're being a little paranoid."

"It's called taking necessary precautions," the mutt said through gritted teeth. "And seeing as we're still having this conversation, I say they're still necessary. I have to make sure people with your dangerous proclivity to pry stay away."

"Well…" Nice stood up and stretched his arms before folding them behind his head, "until I can see Cap again, I don't plan on going anywhere."

He had his back to the mutt, but he could still feel the piercing gaze of his red eye. "Nice…"

"Don't get your tail in a knot. It's not like I'm going to start following you and your friends. But I will see my friend whether you help me or not. There hasn't been a day I stopped thinking of Cap since he disappeared from my life..."

Nostalgia glazed over his cerulean eyes, and the mutt could sense a motley of conflicting emotions coming from him as he reminisced. "I knew the school had to do with it. I don't know where they took him or what they were planning to do with him, but I just knew they took him. I couldn't stay knowing that, but even after I left I didn't look for him. You'd think I would have, but I didn't even consider it. I mean, he wasn't just my best friend; Cap was my brother, he was family, and I basically turned my back on him. How fucked up is that?" He let out a chilling laugh. "It's funny, though. Even though I didn't find Cap, I had a feeling we'd meet again. But still, I wish I had made a real effort for him instead of just giving Facultas a big 'fuck you' by running away.

"But now everything's changed. Now that I know he's alive and in Yokohama, I don't want to make the same mistake again." When Nice turned around, the mutt saw the biggest smile on his face. "So you can tell me to stay away all you want, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to find Cap, and you can be damn sure I'm not letting the fuckers who broke him get away with it."

"He really is a dumbass."

"Yes, well, there isn't much we can do about that. He promised not to follow me, but I don't see him finding any other means to get to Cap, unless he runs into the others. I'll just have to warn them." The mutt yawned. "I wish there was more I could've done to prevent this…" Rei again yawned and rested his head on his paws. Recalling his exhausting day to his compatriot had made him rather, well… exhausted.

"It's not your fault," Break said. "You didn't write the letter."

"But I can't really blame Cap for what he did. Nice and the others were his first family."

"We're his family now." Rei's ear perked up when Break said this, and he swore he could almost feel the acrimony of his statement. However, before he could comment on it, Break stood from the bench, his hands resting casually in his pockets and his eyes once more covered by the silhouette of his knit cap. "It's getting late. I'm sure the others have been waiting long enough."

"Go ahead without me. There's something I have to take care of first."

With a shrug, Break made his way back to the apartment without him. Rei waited a few minutes after he left before going to do his last errand of the day.

He reached a nice apartment complex. It was nothing like the one they were staying at: It was nice, family-friendly, and close to the shopping district so no one paid any mind when a stray dog wandered inside.

He went up the stairs to the second floor and stopped in front of the third door, apartment #203. He scratched the door a bit and waited five minutes with no reply. With a loud bark and more scratching, the door finally opened, revealing a woman who looked to be no less than thirty. Her brown hair had a few loose grays sticking out of her ponytail. Her brown eyes, which were usually warm and kind, looked tired and downtrodden, but they immediately lit up once she saw the mutt on her doorstep.

"Hey, you!" The woman knelt down to pet Rei, and as she ran her fingers through his fur, he relished the softness of her hands, her tender touch, and the sweet, citrusy scent he'd never grow tired of. "You're such a clever little guy for not getting caught by the landlady as often as you visit me. She doesn't allow pets." She smiled sadly and her eyes seemed to glaze over with memories. "You would've liked my son. He loved animals and he's always wanted a dog, but his father…" She bit her lip. The downcast look from earlier returned before feigned contentment pushed it aside once more. "Anyway, you would've been perfect for him. You're so sweet and loyal. If only he were here..."

The mutt barked, breaking her out of his slightly depressive state. He pawed at his kerchief, which held a hidden envelope, something he made damn sure stayed hidden while he was with his comrade. If Break knew what he was doing, he'd skin him alive.

She gingerly took the envelope out from his kerchief and frowned. "Is this…?" She opened the envelope to see several crisp bills inside. She quickly put the envelop back before any obtrusive eyes could bear witness to this shady-looking transaction. "Thank you, but I can't take this money. Whoever your owner is, I appreciate his help, but it's not really appropriate of me to take money from a complete stranger."

The woman went back inside and returned shortly afterwards with an envelope of her own. It looked plumper than his. "Take this to him for me, will ya? It's a little thank-you present for everything he's done for me, and there's a little something for you, too." She winked at that last part. He barked happily in reply. "I knew I could count on you! You're such a good boy!" she cooed. "You're welcome back any time, but make sure the landlady doesn't see you, not that that's been much of a problem for you." Ruffling his shaggy head one more time, the woman smiled and shut the door, leaving Rei feeling as dejected as the look in her beautiful brown eyes.

You need to stop coming here. You're only setting yourself back.

With a heavy-hearted sigh, Rei went on his way home with his gift in his mouth, clinging to the one last connection in his outlet.

"Kaa-san, look what I found! Mori-sensei let me keep him!"

The little boy ran into his grandfather's compound with his find, sporting a proud smile. However, as he reached the kitchen, he sensed something was horribly, horribly wrong. Whenever he called his mother, she would usually reply, but upon entering the kitchen, not only was his mother missing, but the pot on the stove was unattended.

Oh, no. His eyes widened in horror.

He was back.

Suddenly, he heard angry shouts coming from the front of the house. It was his mother, and it sounded like she was arguing with somebody. Swallowing the anxious lump in his throat, he crept closer to the threshold between the kitchen and the living room. Once beside the door, he listened closely to the dispute. The other voice, thankfully, did not belong to him.

"How the hell did you people find us? And how many times do I have to tell you to leave us alone!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but according to what your husband told us—"

"Ex-husband. And whatever that two-timing son-of-a-bitch told you is a lie! I would never harm my son!"

"You can take this up in court, ma'am. Now where is your son?"

"He's not home. School just got out, but he has after school clubs—"

The creature in his hands croaked and the voices in the other room suddenly went silent. In fear of being caught, the little boy slowly and quietly backed away from the door. He was usually good at being silent; he had plenty of practice whenever his father came home with half a bottle of liquor. However, he was having a hard time making the frog cooperate. It finally managed to slip its way out of the little boy's uncomfortably warm grasp and, unfortunately, hopped its way into the living room. Without thinking, he ran into the living room after his pet. All eyes focused on him.

And then all hell broke loose.

"Rei-kun, run!"

"Kaa-san!"

Mother and son reached out to each other. Strong hands restrained him while strong arms held his mother back from him. They called out to each other desperately, but it was useless.

As they dragged him out of the door, he saw one of them hit her. "KAA-SAN!"

The next thing he knew, he was throwing those people off of him and his mother. She looked up at him, terrified. He looked at his hands, stained red. But they weren't his hands. He felt sick. He didn't feel like himself, and it scared him because he wasn't himself. He was someone else.

All of sudden, he felt pain in the back of his head, and then nothing.

A/N: This is the last member of the L.A.B. Rats. I feel like the outlet metaphor related to Beta more than Rei at first, but then I just went with. What do you guys think?

A/N: I know Rei is a girl's name, but loosely translated it means "ghost" or "specter" which made it sound more boyish, and as soon as I put a name to the face I couldn't think of anything else that would fit him.

More of Hamatora will be in the next chapter! Until next time… R&R!