Sheesh, this chapter is all dialogue, isn't it? Too much dialogue is one of my faults, ya know.

I love reading reviews so much, I decided to write another chapter! Please leave your reviews! Even if I'm stalking you, please leave a review!
Stalk...?
Oh, no! I'm certainly not stalking you! Whatever makes you think that?
ahahahaha...
er...
........
I wanna mole plushie.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Yugo's mouth opened wide and he yawned silently at first, but then ended with a full, low voice. He scratched his head with one hand rather rapidly, like the way a dog scratches itself, before dropping himself into the sheets. After quite a bit of trouble, they had convinced Uriko to get into some form of night clothes and to go to bed. She would sleep in Kenji's room, while Kenji would share Yugo's futon couch bed in Yugo's room.
Yugo's room was a square room with dark walls. There was a small television set in one corner with various consoles and video games hooked up to it. He had some posters on the walls of various sports icons, bands, and sexy women (he took these down when Uriko came). There was a laundry bin, but most of his clothes were on the floor along with other junk. They also hung out of the drawers of his dresser, on top of which was an old and damaged photograph of himself at the age of six years with his parents, next to which were more pictures of the two brothers at various points in time.

After Kenji took a much needed shower, he got into a pair of boxer shorts and a T-shirt listing the cities in which Silver Noise played on its summer tour the previous year, since Uriko was wearing his nightshirt. That was alright, since the dark-haired boy could not see the designs in the first place. Yugo slept in the usual boxer shorts and a tank top. The lights were out and the house had grown silent.

"So. Kenji."
"Yes, big brother Yugo?"
"I'm happy you can speak now, but you didn't have to change for me to like you more, if that's why you..."
Kenji turned himself towards Yugo's voice. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, well..." Yugo trailed, a little embarrassed, as he sat up in bed, "You know, Kenji, I love you just the way you are and I won't love you more or less if you can speak or see or whatever, and you'd better believe it."

"Yugo...?"
"I mean, it's great you can speak now and you're obviously expressing yourself more, and... heck, you're socializing now, but when disappeared before.... well.... shit, I was heartbroken, Kenji. I nearly killed myself searching the city for you."
"I'm sorry, big brother Yugo," he whispered. Yugo shook his head.
"Nah, I'm the one who has to be sorry. It was my fault you left. When you ran off-"
"'Ran off...?'"
"That... was why you ran away a year ago. Right?"
Kenji now spoke in a quiet, sad voice.
"Yugo, I didn't run away... They took me back."
"Eh? What was that?"
Yugo moved in for the answer. His brother slunk back into a sleeping position, turning to the wall.
"Nothing."
"Kenji, what did you say? Come on!"
"Nothing. I'm tired. Let's sleep now."

Meanwhile, Uriko was in the smaller room. She was wearing Kenji's old nightshirt which was white with red shoulders and sleeves and the words "I Not Sleep Only" on the front. She was still uncertain as to what would take place during the night with these strange people. The younger seemed to have some sort of obsession with her. She curled up under the quilt and examined the doll known as Loopy. Such a strange story, she thought.
Finally, she managed to fall asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hands grabbed him and started to shake him to awaken him.
"Big brother Yugo... wake up..."
The older, still half asleep groaned and grunted, "What... what is it? What is it?"
"You... you said you loved me, right?"
"Yeah, yeah I did. Is that what you woke me up for? I love you even when I'm deprived of sleep and I want to bite your head off, okay? Now go to sleep!"
"But I wanted to ask you... do you love Uriko, too?"
"Ha?"
"Do you also love Uriko?"
"I dunno. I jus' met 'er!"
The blind boy nodded silently and curled back under the covers, whispering "I see..."
"Kenji...." the voice of someone who just realized a juicy little tidbit called. The boxer now had a knowing, mischievous smile on his face. He sat up in bed and decided to get the beef from his little brother.

"I think I know what's going on here, Kenjiiiii...."
"What are you talking about?"
The larger man gave him a big slap on the back and roughly clapped his hand to Kenji's shoulder.

"You're really asking if you love Uriko, aren't you?"

Kenji became quiet and his mouth hung open as he tried to think of an answer. He hesitated and hung his head downwards. Yugo's large arms clamped around Kenji and one hand reached up to deliver a congratulatory noogie to commemorate his passage into adulthood.
"I knew it! You're in love! It seems like I first found you just yesterday and now you're in love!"
"Y... Yugo, that hurts..."
"You're all grown up, Kenji! I'm so proud of you..."

Yugo then separated himself from him and asked him if he had ever told him about men and women.
"So, Kenji, you see..."
The little brother stumbled out of bed and quickly explained he had to use the toilet and felt his way out of the room. His older brother watched him leave, smiling and knowing he was fibbing.

Kenji pondered the idea. Did he love her? Could he love her? Big brother Yugo took care of him and he loved him. Uriko took care of him... well, she took care of a mole and she did say she loved him when talking to Alice on one occasion. What had Kenji done? Sure, he had rescued Uriko a while back, but that was not the same. He was the vulnerable one under someone else's care, the one being loved. That was love, was it not? Love was something given to him by the words "I love you" from the one who gave it. Why was big brother Yugo acting the way he was about him and Uriko?

He stepped inside his room where Uriko slept and kneeled next to the bed. He leaned on it and over her face. Brushing the hair away from her ear, he began the hypnosis.
"Uriko... I... I want you to know Mister Mole, the Kenji you now know in the waking world, and the Kenji who speaks now are one and the same."
"Kenji... what do you mean?"
"This is our secret. Do you know what a zoanthrope is? A zoanthrope is a human with the ability to change into another creature. I am a mole. If this is shown when you are awake, please do not be alarmed. It is as normal for me as any of your daily tasks is for you. It is nothing special. Please remember this."
"I will," Uriko muttered, taking in the direct hypnotic suggestion.
"When I became lost, I was cursed to be in my mole form in the day and to only be able to take on the human form from midnight to dawn. During those hours I would find my way back. But I don't want to go back. You found me and took care of me and I wanted to stay with you as your pet. Your teacher broke the device which controlled when I was allowed to change and thus I can be human whenever I wish. And now that I've found my big brother Yugo, I can stay with him."
"I can't keep Mister Mole anymore?"
"I'll be big brother Yugo's little brother again. But we could visit each other, couldn't we? I still want to eat strawberries with you."
"Strawberries.... oh, Mom.... I wanna go home."
"Hopefully, Mr. Gado will let you go home soon. Don't worry, big brother Yugo will take good care of you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am. And, now that the situation is right, you know my secret and you may remember our conversations in the waking world. Please remember our conversations, Uriko. I do not like it when you treat me like such a stranger."
"I will." These were the words one expected to hear when using this kind of hypnosis.
"Good night, Uriko."
"Good night, Kenji."

He stroked her face once, stood up, and said plainly, "You heard everything, didn't you?"
Yugo stepped into the room and looked at the two teens. "What were you just doing?" he asked.
"It's a kind of hypnosis done during sleep. I've been talking to Uriko using this method when she was taking care of me."
"Talking to her in her sleep as a human, eh? You weren't... doing anything naughty, were you?"
"Huh?" Kenji sounded plainly with a small tilt of his head. His brother decided to forget it.
"Stuck as a mole..." the light brown-haired man pondered, "and to think my little Kenji is a mole zoanthrope... now what do you know..."
"I take it from your reaction the hypnosis worked perfectly on you."
"Eh? You were doing that to me?"
"I didn't want you to be troubled by something so strange to a non-zoanthrope."
"I still don't like it," Yugo pouted.

"Say, Kenji..." Yugo then suggested, "why don't you show me your mole form?"
He gave a quick "sure" and then closed his eyes. The energy to transform shone off as light and in a few seconds there was a pile of clothes standing where Kenji was. Yugo got to his knees and looked for any sign of Kenji.
"Squeak!" cried a little moving lump. Yugo fished his little brother out.
His fur was lighter than most moles, for some reason, but Yugo did not know that as he had not seen very many moles in his lifetime. He had big digging paws with large claws and a furry tail. He seemed to be completely covered in fur except for his paws and nose. His eyes were hard to see in all that fur. He was sort of ugly, but then again, kind of cute in his ugliness.
"Aren't you a cute little rodent," he teased, holding Kenji in one hand. He bent down over Uriko and played with his brother like a doll. In a high pitched voice, he squeaked, "I am the mole prince. Kiss me, my princess!" He bounced the mole up and down to simulate walking and then pressed his little muzzle against the princess' lips.
"Mmmmmmmmwah!"

"Hmmm?" Uriko noised. Her eyes fluttered and Yugo froze right in place, figuring he was caught. The girl, only slightly awake, saw the mole and with a little yawn, snatched him, held him against her her body, and shifted her position so it would be hard to pry him out of her hands without her waking up.

"Uhhh... Good night, Kenji.... Don't do anything pornographic, okay?"
With that, he picked up Kenji's clothes went back to the bed he now had all to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was Sunday morning, and Yugo was scrambling eggs mixed with shredded pepper jack cheese in the kitchen. In walked what looked like a zombie, holding a still-sleeping rodent against her breast. She headed towards the door.
"Where are you going, Nonomura?"
"Breakfast."
"I'm making it right here," Yugo told her, pointing to the frying pan with his spatula.
"I gotta dig up breakfast for Mister Mole."
"'Dig up?' What does he eat?"
"Worms. He has to eat his weight in them every day."

He made a face and wondered if the kid was alright after eating nothing but worms for who knows how long a time he spent with this girl.

"Well, there are some piss-filled tree plots out there, but I dunno if you're gonna have much luck finding any worms."
She stopped at the door, with her hand on one its two locks, accompanied by a chain lock and then remembered she was not home.
"Oh, right," she mumbled. Uriko plopped herself in a chair and brought her legs to her chest to curl up with her pet. She cradled him and lightly stroked his tummy.
"So, anyway-"
"Shhhh," interrupted his half-asleep guest, "he's sleeping."
"So anyway," continued her host in a hushed tone, "he can eat different stuff now, can't he?"
"Well, moles eat bugs, too, but I don't know what kind."
"I mean, as a human."

Then Uriko snapped to full consciousness. She pulled her head back and stared wide-eyed at the creature in her arms with a confused expression. How should she feel about his being a human in his true form? She held him a little further away from herself. The mole squeaked a little and squirmed slightly. He then shifted himself closer to her body and became still once more when he was in a comfortable position curled up against her.
"He seems to really like you," Yugo noted, "last night, we were talking and I think he might have a crush on you."
"He-he what?"
"Don't tell him I told you, though. But you can tell me if he does anything you don't like; I'll bash his brains out if he does. I doubt he's that kind of person, though."

Yugo gave her a plate with some scrambled eggs and a piece of toast and sat down in the other chair, pulling it up next to Uriko so he could also see his brother up close.
"I was told kids sometimes can't speak at all after a lot of trauma. Kenji didn't speak for five years. He's probably been through a lot of hell. I think he might have spoken eventually, though. Sometimes he looked like he really wanted to, the poor kid."
He reached down and stroked Kenji's furry head with his finger. His fur was so soft.
"Kenji's a little strange and a tad na•ve, but he's a good person. He just needs a little love, that's all. That's what I told Mr. Gado. With some help, he'll heal eventually."

He stroked the mole a little more before making his request.
"And you'll help me, won't you? I'm not asking you to pretend to be his girlfriend, but If you don't mind... I'd like you to at least be friendly towards him and show him some kindness, you know? He needs it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yugo had gone out for take-out. He would have rather gone to his favorite barbecue restaurant. As a matter of fact, it was this restaurant's secret recipe sauce Kenji had smelt earlier that helped lead him to the boxer's neighborhood. Even so, Kenji did not care for the slabs of cooked muscle Yugo craved. Since it was to celebrate his return, they were going to eat his favorite food. The noodles he desired came from a take-out place with no seating, so they would be eating at home. The two teenagers stayed in the house waiting for their food.

Earlier that day, after a little mess that took place when Kenji transformed back into a human right in the kitchen ("Couldja turn around? This is between us guys."), they had talked about the secrets he had just revealed. Without a doubt, he was starting to regret telling them what he had told them. Kenji had wanted to inform Yugo for years, but he never could. He could never get it out of him for some reason, but now he could. This did not apply towards Inspector Gado. He knew deep down he should probably tell him everything, but it would not come out of him. He was a sealed box towards Inspector Gado. Then again, he had only talked about himself to Yugo and Uriko. He did not talk at all about why he was the way he was or who took him back.

They played Yugo's video games. First they played the old ones Kenji grew up watching Yugo play and then they played his new ones. Yugo was a fighting genre fanatic. Kenji preferred strategy games and role playing games.

Yugo showed Uriko his old pictures of Kenji. He did smile every now and then. Earlier on, he had to catch him off guard, but later on he could stage a smile. The braided girl noted how sick and pale he looked in the earliest pictures. As the pictures became more and more recent, they showed a much healthier looking boy, though he still had airs of illness and emaciation about him. When Uriko looked at Kenji, she could see how he did look rather unhealthy, especially when compared to the pictures taken right before Kenji was "taken back."
Then, Yugo took out a camera and told the two to get together so he could add something to his book. Kenji tried to look forward to where the camera probably was and he staged a smile. Uriko swung one arm around his shoulder and gave a V for victory sign. Then he handed the camera to Uriko to take a picture of the two brothers reunited. He used to opportunity to use his new technique on him just as the picture was taken. It was called The Dreaded Electro Noogie. Ten times more powerful than the average noogie, its secret was placing the knuckles of both hands on either side of the opponent's head and rotating the hands for maximum annoyance.

They proceeded to finish off the roll of film before making up for more lost time.
Then, Uriko asked something.
"It was Tylon, wasn't it?"
Both males stopped and looked at her. The mere mentioning of Tylon completely stopped Kenji's fun and Yugo was reminded of with what he needed to concern himself.
"You told me Tylon was a bad place and that I shouldn't go there."
Kenji wore a straight face. "I don't want to talk about that."
"That's right! And I found you when there was that big explosion at Tylon!
"I don't want to talk about that."
"But Kenji, this is important. I don't want you to leave me again."
"I don't want to talk about that."
"Please Kenji?"
Then, Kenji just became quiet and responded to nothing. The two asked him question after question and he responded in no way. Finally, Yugo decided to exchange the subject for another hoping he would speak. He did not want to go through another five years of silence.

Thankfully, he did and that was the conversation deciding dinner. Yugo went out to buy the noodles they pleased.

The rotten mood still loomed over the room. Uriko paced back and forth impatiently. Kenji slumped over in his seat.
"Yugo's just glad to have you back, but I want to know what's really going on."
"....."
"It's for your own good, you know!"
"....."
"It's really important, isn't it?"
"....."
"You know, I just want to know why you're so glum all the time. You're too young and handsome to be acting that way! It doesn't fit a nice guy like you."
He let out a heavy sigh.
"Uriko, I-"

Suddenly, he stood up to attention. He struck a defensive pose and turned his head to listen in all directions. Uriko started to ask him what was the matter, but he shushed her.
"Someone's here."
The two stood still for a what seemed like forever. Then, Kenji jumped and faced towards his left, shouting "over there!"
There was more silence as he "stared" in that direction, and a rather deep and old sounding voice came from the shadows. When Kenji heard him, his eyes grew wide and his face took on the expression of extreme dread.

"Once more I find you here.... Young Dragon."

Kenji shook in his anxiety and moved back slightly with faltering steps. He managed to stutter something in his fear.

"M...master..."