Chapter 8

"Aya?! What the hell was that?!" Ken's voice was raised well above the level he would usually speak at as he stepped forward, fixing Aya with a piercing glare. "Do you realise what I spent the last two hours actually doing?!"
Aya watched Ken with a level gaze. "Enlighten me."
Ken's eyes widened in surprise at Aya's non-committal response. "Telling him that you really weren't being mean and malicious, and you really did care about him. Maybe you should take that into consideration before anything else!"
Aya blinked mutely at Ken's words. He wasn't being that nasty, was he? Silently Aya sat and pulled his shoes off. "He'll be back."
Yohji, silent so far in the conversation, spoke quietly. "How can you tell?"
"He's just a kid, in a country he knows nothing about. He won't go far."
Ken narrowed his gaze, but had to admit that he agreed with Aya. Omi probably just wanted some time to think. If he needed them, he would call. But still… "Maybe that's his problem Aya."
Aya glanced up. "What is?"
"You still think of him as a kid."

Omi walked. It was something he didn't have to think about. He walked and sloshed through puddles mindlessly, not caring where he was headed. It wasn't a priority. First thing he wanted to do was clear his head. He coaxed a hand out of his pocket to pull the peak of his cap into a position to protect his eyes from the fat drops of water attacking him.
He couldn't remember a time he'd been reprimanded like that. Like he was just a little kid. He wasn't like that. Omi knew for a fact that, although he was the youngest of them, he was also the guy to settle all the arguments between each member of the small family. That justified him a little respect didn't it? It wasn't like he asked for much, just a chance to be accepted. And Aya, whatever was bothering him, was refusing Omi that chance.
So what did this mean?
Omi didn't know.
He heard his foot connect with a can at his feet and kicked at it absently. But instead of being the stereotypical can and skittering right across the pavement, it clunked a little way and then rolled to an abrupt halt. It was half full of water, making it heavier to kick. For a second Omi stopped, looking down at the can, raindrops bouncing of it, him and the pavement relentlessly.
"Doushite?!" [Why?!] he yelled, savagely thrusting his foot into the can with surprising force, sending it skittering heavily into the road. He watched as it slammed into the opposite curb and came skidding back towards him, surprise making him unable to move in time to avoid the sharp, folded and waterlogged can slicing into his sock and through the skin on his ankle. "K'so!" [Damn!] he hissed, standing upright where he was with his teeth gently squeezing his lower lip, momentarily refusing to investigate. Then he slowly kneeled on the rain-soaked pavement nursing his ankle gently. It was a graze, just a slight covering of blood, but it had already stopped bleeding. He rubbed it again for good measure before pulling up his torn sock and standing, a pained expression on his face.
Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he decided to continue walking. All he wanted to do was to think and, strangely he supposed, the boy thought better on his feet. He listened as his footsteps provided a steady backdrop for the rain and he steadily walked and walked.

Yohji glanced at his watch for the third time in ten minutes. "Where is he?" he murmured irritably, tucking his hands behind his head and kicking the chair he was sat on back onto two legs. Omi had left, into the dark, three hours ago.
Ken studied his palms distractedly. He couldn't answer Yohji's question. He looked towards Aya. "You certain he's going to come back?"
Aya, although he did not speak, looked at his own wristwatch and sighed. Five past twelve at night. "We'll give him another hour. Then we'll consider doing something."
"But what if he's in trouble?"
Aya looked to Yohji's gaze. "What if he's not?" Aya allowed Yohji's brief silence before continuing. "We've come to find him. We've treated him like a child again. We'll be worse off than we are now." Aya closed his eyes again, sighing gently. "We'll treat him like the adult he wants to be seen as. For better or for worse. At least for another hour."
Lapsing into silence, the room retrieved the thick blanket of unrest it had been hiding under for the past three hours. Aya, with his eyes still closed, pondered the situation deeply. What was up with Omi? Being the youngest, even when Omi was forty and the others older than that, he would still be the one they looked out for most. Did the youth just have problems understanding that?
Or had Aya's previous bad temper helped? Aya wasn't stupid, he was well aware that he'd been in an awful temper lately. Had that been it then? They'd carted themselves out here a whole week ago, and while Omi had school to go to, the others had had to endure each other's company all day every day. Aya wasn't used to being a people person, and they didn't even have walls between them when they slept at night. Aya valued his privacy above all else except his younger sister and perhaps, only perhaps, his team-mates.
But none of this had been aimed at Omi deliberately. Aya was certain he was only looking after the youngest of them.
Aya sighed again in defeat as he felt someone's gaze scan him warily, gauging whether or not he was truly sleeping. This was going to be one of the longest hours of his life.