Oy.......... I am SO sorry for the delay, guys. I started writing the next chap and a lot of it was getting done, but it was going way past my average at 2 or 3 pages per chapter. So I had to split it into 2 chapters. I waited a while for inspiration to hit, but finally when I was playing PS2, I thought "The thing's not gonna write itself...". So here ya go!
Before I forget, I got the idea of Boss being raised in a street gang from some other Hamtaro fic. There was a single mention of the scenario in the fic, but that was all. I forget what the name was of the fic or the author, but if it was your story that inspired me, let me know and I'll credit ya for it. :o)
-----------
Chapter 7: The Society of Street HamBoss blinked as the dark figure came towards them. All this time, he had gathered that Chrissie was the leader of this pack, but by the way the others reacted to this stranger, he was proven wrong.
The group gasped quietly. "R-Raphael!" Victor exclaimed timidly.
Raphael approached the gang. He looked at Boss suspiciously. "Nobody joins the gang without my say-so." Boss's pride seemed to shrink with his size as the dark figure came and loomed over him. The hamster furrowed his brow. "Who are you?"
"Uh…"
"You said you were from Nagoya, right?"
"Um…y-yes."
"Ha-ha…" Screech grinned sheepishly. "M-Must've taken a lot of moxie for him to have come all this way on his own, huh?"
Raphael looked at Boss thoughtfully for a moment as if he was inspecting him, but then he smiled at the young hamster, admittedly impressed. "You've got strength, kid. What's your name?"
"…Boss." the young hamster forced a small, polite smile.
"So you're telling me…you traveled here from Nagoya all by yourself without any help along the way?"
"Y-Yeah…"
"I'm impressed. Going on a journey like that takes a lot of will-power and courage. But don't you have any parents?"
"Yeah, but… I got separated from them and that's how I wound up here. T-There was this big storm, and Daddy was trying to find me cause I was out in the fields. Then there was all this light and loud sound and I tried to find them, but I couldn't!"
Rocky leaned out from behind Victor. "Wh-oaa…. That is a big problem."
"A-And I gotta find them! I-I need your help…! Please?"
"But how would we get there? It's miles away! It would take hours for us to get there!" Screech looked at Victor, who simply shrugged.
Rocky got a smirk on his face. "Oh, would it?"
The gang looked at him. "Uh-oh…" Chrissie said. "I know that look. You only get that look when you're up to something."
"So sue me, Chrissie baby." Rocky said. "But I happen to know that a certain red mini-cooper is taking a day trip down towards Nagoya."
"…You're kidding…" Raphael cocked one of his ears up.
"Kidding I am not. Tomorrow morning it's heading out from the car repair station."
Boss turned towards Raphael. "Mr. Raphael, can we go? Please, can we go?"
"C'mon, Raffi!" called Victor. "The kid needs help!"
"Yeah!" Rocky smiled. "And if I know you, Raffi, you never miss the chance to take a car ride! Besides," he raised his eyebrows and spoke in a singsong voice. "It's a mini-cooper…"
Raphael lowered an eyebrow and looked around at them all. Then he rolled his eyes and smiled slightly. "…Yeah, yeah, we'll go."
"Yeah!!" Boss leaped into the air.
"Alriiiiight!!" Raphael cheered. He began to do a small hip dance. "We gon' be chillin' in da cooper! Ha-ha!"
Screech smiled and the two hamsters slapped each other's paws.
But then Raphael turned serious and glared at Boss. "Under one condition. I can't afford chasing after any little whelp like I'm a nanny. I don't need anybody causing trouble in my gang. So stick with the group and just do as I say. Are we clear?"
Putting on a serious face, Boss nodded.
"Uh...c'mon, guys." Chrissie called. "It's time to start hittin' the hay here."
Boss looked up. Chrissie was right. None of them had noticed how dark it was getting.
Once everybody started bedding down, Boss realized that it was rather hard to find a place to sleep that was not occupied. He went to the first gang member's sleeping place he could find - where Rocky was lying inside an old tin can. Nervously looking around at the dark alley, Boss climbed up into the can and curled up right next to Rocky. He closed his eyes and laid his head down.
Rocky opened one eye in irritation and looked over at him. He frowned and lightly pushed him away. "C'mon, kid. Knock it off already. Go find your own place to siesta." And on that note, the hamster stood, turned and laid back down, his back facing young Boss.
Frowning, Boss turned and took a look around. His ears perked up when he saw Screech walking onto an old, torn rag to sleep. Boss started to approach it, but he was welcomed fairly rudely. "Hey. Hey!" Screech defended his sleeping spot. He pointed to the ground in front of him. "Invisible line, right here, champ! No passy for the kiddy!"
Getting the feeling he was unwelcome, Boss turned and looked up where Chrissie was lying in an old hatbox that lay on its side with one eye open as if she had been awakened Screech's complaining. Irritated, she gave a look at both Boss and Screech. "Good night, you two. It's lights out." She rolled over so her back was facing them.
Boss sighed. He walked over to the fallen yogurt cup where Victor was sleeping. Poking his head in, he spotted the large hamster lying on his back, snoring his head off. As a matter of fact, this guy was loud enough to wake the dead. Boss shut one eye tight and cringed at the sound of the next loud snore. He wasn't that desperate for a place to sleep. He turned and looked over to the one last gang member left to try. Raphael was already asleep, curled up in the corner of an old, tipped wooden crate with a blanket layering its floor. Boss bit his lip, then slowly walked over. He came up to Raphael's side and curled up next to him. He didn't seem to wake up, so Boss laid his head down and closed his eyes to sleep.
Raphael suddenly stirred and opened his eyes. He lifted his head and looked at the young hamster next to him. After a second of staring, Raphael shook his head and rolled his eyes. This kid might have been strong-willed, but he was getting a bad start on Street-Ham-Self-Dependence 101. He stood up and lumbered off. Boss opened his eyes and looked over as Raphael shambled to the other corner of the crate and flopped down onto the ground with his back on him.
Boss looked at him, and then sighed as he put his head back down and tried to sleep. It was a Ham-eat-Ham world out here, and he had learned that something as simple as bedtime could be cruel and unwelcoming. Living in the streets was going to be a lot harder than he thought.
----------
Yeah, it's short, but things will be picking up in the next chapter! Au revoir!!