Please don't hurt me, minna-san! I know I'm late with this. Here's the deal – this story is going to be going slower than I like to post, but I'm going to try to get a chapter up every other weak or so. This chappie is late because a muse – not this muse – attacked and put me in a headlock. I was forced to write that fic and couldn't get to this one. By the way, never write a depression fic when you're depressed, it really is counterproductive. Anyway, because of all that, this chap is shorter than normal, but at least it's here, right? So, know that I don't own it and enjoy the story ^_^

**

Zazie woke up early the next day as sunlight flooded across the floor he was sleeping on. Blinking rapidly, he sat up and cast a glance around the room. He couldn't wait until his turn on the bed again. The three boys that weren't suffering from depression took the second bed in shifts. Right now, Midvalley was in there sleeping soundly while the other two boys were forced to battle over the couch. Zazie wished they had a larger place, they all did, but until they got some money saved up . . .

Well, there was no sense sitting around sulking about lousy living conditions. Zazie struggled to his feet, stretching out the kinks in his back as he stumbled into the kitchen. He started to brew something to put in a soup while he thought about the past few days. It certainly had been interesting, coming back to life, moving to LR, meeting Vash. And then that confusion last night. A yawn stretched his mouth and Zazie silently cursed Legato for keeping him up so late.

Speak of the devil. No sooner had the name crossed Zazie's mind than the blue hair sixteen-year-old came out of the bedroom. "Hello, Zazie." Zazie grunted a greeting and went back to his cooking. "I'll be leaving in a few minutes, any chance that'll be done soon?"

Zazie looked over to the other boy, surprised. "You're leaving?" Legato was leaning against the wall, a gun gripped gingerly in each hand. "Hang on a sec, where are you going to?"

"Relax. I'm headed out to look for a job and I'm going to sell these. Nicholas has his cross again and I certainly don't need one of these." He looked at the soup and frowned, knowing it wouldn't be ready for awhile. "Just get the others up. I guess I'll see you all later, all right?"

Zazie stared for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, see you later. Do you have any money to buy yourself something to eat?"

Legato shook his head mutely as he strode to the door and out of it. Zazie worried about the older boy for a while, but seeing as there was nothing he could do about it, Legato slipped away from his mind. By the time the suns were setting, Zazie was only just beginning to worry about where he'd gone.

However, when he voiced these fears, the response did not settle his mind. "I don't see why you're worried." Wolfwood stretched after dinner and yawned. "He's probably over at Vash's. I say let him have his night out. After all, it means I don't have to sleep on the couch." With that, he strode into the bedroom for a much needed night's sleep. Still not comfortable, Zazie settled onto the couch and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

When he awoke the next morning and there was still no sign of Legato, he decided to take matters into his own hands. When the others staggered out of the bedroom, Zazie jumped to his feet. "He's still not back. I want to go find him."

"Zazie, how do you expect to find him in a city of this size?"

"I don't know, but I can't just forget about him."

Midvalley sighed, "Look, you want I should take the day off and help you?"

Zazie's eyes brightened, but Wolfwood was almost eager to cut him down. "You can't. Neither can I. We're not even making enough to live on now, we can't afford to take a day off."

Midvalley frowned at the older boy. "But Zazie's right, we can't just forget about him. What if he's gotten into some sort of trouble?"

"Then he's in trouble. That doesn't mean I'm willing to starve so I can save him. Besides, I'm telling you, he's probably at Vash's."

"Then we can go there first. If you're right, you can head off to work and if you're wrong, we can try and find him!" Zazie was getting desperate now. He watched as Wolfwood shook his head and calmly walked out the door. "What are you doing! How can he be so uncarring?"

Midvalley shook his head. "You don't know much about their relationship before, do you?" Zazie shook his head and Midvalley let out a sigh of his own. "Let's just go find him, all right?"

"But, aren't you going to tell me what's going on between them?"

Midvalley was already headed to the door. "It's not my place to tell. Come on."

**

"He's nissing? Again?" Vash burried his face in his hands before dragging them through his hair. "I don't think I can handle this. What is wrong with him?"

"He's not here, then?" Zazie groaned loudly and crouched down on the porch. "Where could he be?"

Vash popped back into the house for a moment only to reappear a moment later wearing a loose cotton shirt and slacks in place of his pajamas. "I'll help you guys. We should split up or something, until one of us finds him." With that, the blonde dashed off down the street.

Zazie hurried around the buildings, running from street to street with no idea where he was going. He was just rushing past another of the endless building fronts when someone called out to him. "Hey! Young man! Are you looking for a blue-haired fellow?"

Zazie stopped so suddenly that he fell to the ground. "Legato?"

"He asked me to keep an eye out for his friends. You one of them?" Zazie nodded and hurried to the man. "He's inside."

Zazie stared around the room, eyes wide. It was a hospitol. The whitewashed walls were starting to yellow with age and disrepair. The tiny folding chairs were mostly rusted and several looked as if they couldn't hold a person's weight. As he was led to the receptionist – no more than a folding table with a plump woman behind it – Zazie grew more and more concerned. Legato was here? Was he sick? Did he get hurt?

The receptioninst jumped up to stop them and she and the man exchanged hurried, hushed words during which both of them pointed at Zazie repeatedly. The blonde worried his lower lip as he waited. After several minutes, the recaptionist stepped aside with a huff and Zazie was led through to the back room. This clinic was divided into two rooms, the waiting room, and the larger room here where the patients were.

Why wasn't Legato at the main hospitol? Why was he here? Zazie was scanning the room quickly when he spotted a patch of blue. Breaking from his escort, who apparently had no interest in going any further, Zazie ran to his friend. Legato looked up from his position beside one of the beds and smiled. "Zazie! I'm fine, I promise." He muttered quickly, noticing the worried look on his friend's face.

A lady in a white coat walked over to them. "Your friend here brought us a charge and stayed here all night. He may have saved her life."

For the first time, Zazie took in the figure laying on the bed, her hand wrapped tightly around one of Legato's. Her hair was dark and wrapped in a clumsy braid, her skin was pale and caked in dirt. "What's wrong with her?"

"Poisoning," Legato answered. "Family abuse, actually. I found her on the street and she refused to let me bring her anywhere else. The main hospitol would call her parents. But, anyway, once I brought her in, I couldn't leave. I knew you'd worry, I appologize."

Zazie didn't hesitate as he flung himself forward and wrapped Legato in a hug. "Worry? You scared me! I'm just glad you're all right."

He could feel more than hear Legato chuckle beneath him. "I didn't think any of you would be that concerned over me." He pushed the smaller boy away and held up his hand to reveal a bright red band around his wrist. "I didn't think to check it until this morning, but I guess it's good that I helped her." He stared at Zazie a moment before pointing to the boy's own wrist. "And it looks like you worrying about me has earned you a color of your own."

Zazie glanced at his wrist to see his own band a sparkling white. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. "Shit! I have to find the others, they must still be looking for you!" With that, Zazie scrambled back out the door, past the pudgy receptionist, through the rusted chairs, and out the main door. He ran down the street, wind screaming in his ears, until he found the others and filled them in on what had happened to their friend.

**

Review! Tell me hat you think! And keep the ideas coming. If you want to see a deed done, write in in and I'll try and get it in for you. By the way, Zazie's first deed was inspired by Riina and in answer to lyerial I will tell you what Wolfwood's first deed is, just not yet. And I promise to get the next chapter out sooner and it should be longer too.