A/N: Woo! 50 reviews! Thank you so much everyone! This next chapter skips ahead a bit in time, because writing Aerith's boring (actually, I just don't feel comfortable writing her). Don't forget to review!
Ame ni Matte
Wait in the Rain
Chapter 9: Fear
It was only three nights that Kadaj and Loz stayed at Aerith's. The brothers unwillingly left the home, but yet, with the intention of finding the third brother stronger than ever. Elmyra had insisted on packing the boys' bags with food and clean blankets, and had even washed their clothes. With Loz carrying the bags, the weight of them was no problem. Kadaj struggled to keep in pace with the eldest brother, splashing through puddles as the pair headed down a grim, murky street.
Kadaj and Loz both knew that their hopes of finding Yazoo were limited. Whilst at Elmyra's, Loz had come up with the believable alibi that he and Kadaj were orphans who had escaped from an austere orphanage, only to have lost Yazoo on the way. Elmyra had so sincerely believed that story and was convinced the brothers were to return to the non-existent orphanage, and with that belief firm in mind, it was impossible to ask about the research labs.
In retrospect though, asking Elmyra about the labs regardless of conflicting their alibi had been the logical thing to do, for now, the brothers stood alone in an alleyway, having seen barely anyone all day, tired and their clean clothes sopping wet from a sudden downpour. Loz knew the labs were nearby – he recognised the layout of the city from looking out the barred lab window many times. Yet, in a city that seemed to grow larger by the minute, lost in an area that had no people, and spurred on by a dying hope of finding him, the two were no closer to finding the middle brother either. A whole day wasted, where all they had accomplished was an excessive amount of unnecessary exercise.
"…We're going round in circles, aren't we?" Kadaj muttered bluntly. "I swear I've seen that rubbish skip before."
Loz turned round to find that the youngest brother had succumbed to his exhaustion, sliding his back down against the skip and raking wet hair with a hand. With a shrug, Loz settled down the bags and sat by Kadaj, resting his chin on a hand.
"Pass us the bag, I'm starved."
Loz did so without a word, realising a few moments later that he actually wasn't hungry for once. As Kadaj scoffed on a stale roll ravenously, Loz pulled out the sleeping bag, settling it on the muddy ground beside the skip. He picked up an empty can that was rolling along aimlessly, and tossed it from hand to hand before throwing it up in the air behind him into the skip. He noticed that Kadaj had stopped eating.
"Something wrong, Kadaj?"
"…Are we sleeping here?" Kadaj wrinkled his nose, and eyed his companion expectantly.
"Well, yeah." Loz tried to hide his mutual disgust when he saw the sleeping bag gather a pool of rainwater. "…We've gone round in circles, and I have been looking for somewhere to us to stay, you know, an inn or something, but no luck."
Kadaj was still frowning at him moodily, so Loz added, "It's not like we have any choice brat. We're tired, and we need to use our money carefully."
The two were silent for a few moments, watching drops of rain leave stains on their clothes and roll across the sleeping bag into a growing pool. Then, Kadaj spoke candidly, eyes narrowing so that they were almost slits.
"…Yazoo would've found a place to stay. He wouldn't've just given up."
Loz looked away, affronted by the comparison that intended to hurt. He was sure Kadaj was still looking at him, so hesitantly, gently, as though speaking too loud was forbidden. "…I know he would've."
Kadaj rolled his eyes, crossing skinny arms across his chest and glaring at the sleeping bag. "Course he would've," he muttered. Loz cast him an irritable look.
"Going on about him doesn't help," he snapped back. "Yazoo isn't here, in case you haven't noticed."
Kadaj leapt onto his feet, as though he had just been pricked by something. Loz leaned against the skip, sighing loudly and blinking away tears that threatened to fall. He was the older one here, he was not going to cry…
"I know Yazoo's not here. He's nowhere!" Kadaj's voice had become quite high, and where Loz was expecting a moody tantrum, to his surprise, the youngest flopped down next to him, ignoring the wetness of the bag. He sighed audibly.
"…s'not your fault," Kadaj mumbled into his arm. "We'll find him."
Loz looked over to where Kadaj had tossed his bread roll aside, soaking up the rainwater like a sponge. A question he feared the answer to had lingered in his mind over the last few days sprung in his mind again, and despite being anxious about the answer, something compelled to ask anyway.
"…Hey, Kadaj."
The green orbs moved slightly, the only indication that Kadaj had heard.
"…Do you think that…when we find Yazoo again, he might be…" Loz swallowed. "…Different."
"What's that supposed to mean." Kadaj gave him a careless look. But beneath the mask of aloofness and disregard, Loz could sense some fear in Kadaj's voice. The older brother shrugged lightly, hugging his backpack and resting his head on it. He and Kadaj were both shivering from the cold rain, staring ahead of them down the dark alley.
"Well," Loz started lamely, "it's been about a week, there's a chance Yazoo had some, I don't know, changes done on him…at the labs…"
"Don't talk to me about that place." The spite was clear in his voice, and eyes flashed dangerously. Loz nodded obediently, all too aware that he himself scarcely needed reminding of the labs either.
"You're just being stupid," said Kadaj firmly. "Yazoo wouldn't change in a week. How would he be different anyway, blockhead, you think he'll cut his hair or something? Impossible."
Loz blinked, more lost in the worrying thought that Yazoo could turn into Sephiroth than Yazoo with short hair, when out the corner of his eye, he saw Kadaj grinning at him.
"Yazoo would look weird with short hair, wouldn't he, Loz?" Kadaj sniggered a little. "He'd look like you."
Kadaj laughed a little more to himself, but Loz – who knew that Kadaj's false good moods were a cover up of a nervousness he didn't want to admit – shook his head.
"…Stupid of me to ask, really," he said clearly. "It's only been a week. Just a week. Yazoo's Yazoo."
Kadaj nodded in agreement. Then, without warning, he edged nearer to Loz and kissed his cheek, reaching his hand out so that it wrapped round Loz's burly arm. It was then that Loz realised despite the unfortunate circumstances he and his brothers had gone through, he was lucky not to have been split from both of them. Even it was the selfish, temperamental Kadaj who he struggled to get on with over the rational, cool Yazoo, one brother was better than none. Loz shuddered at the thought of himself being alone in the depths of this dark city, and instinctively, put an arm round his younger brother and held him close.
The rain seemed to be subsiding, and Loz hoped that it would end soon, or else they'd have to sleep whilst risking drowning. Kadaj seemed to be thinking along the same lines, muttering incoherently to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck where rain trickled off silver strands down his back.
As Loz's eyes began to close, and Kadaj shifted beside him, there was a sudden, unwelcoming sound of something metallic being kicked. There was a click, and a long beam of light swayed slightly, scanning the alley before resting on the two brothers huddled together.
"See. I thought I heard something. Bunch of kids. Sweet, eh? Smoking crack and waiting to be killed." A sharp male voice bit through the air, and impulsively, Loz began to panic. Two figures – tall athletic adult ones – approached them. One was swinging the flashlight round carelessly, and the other seemed to be using his hands to unwrap a bit of gum. As they headed nearer, Loz noticed both were wearing matching blue suits. He also realised that the one chewing gum was in fact, a woman. She was lacking the friendly air that Aerith, Elmyra had and (he assumed) his mother would have, and dark hair that was cut as an angular bob only made her fiercer looking.
"They're only kids, leave them alone," she sighed. "We haven't even reached work yet, and already you're picking on people."
Loz chewed his lip hesitantly, aware that the man had taken three long steps towards him, the flashlight now illuminating Kadaj's sleepy face.
"Heck, this kid's only about seven or something!" he exclaimed. "D'you think they're homeless?"
"That doesn't exactly make them unique. I told you to leave them alone, look at the big one, he's crying."
Loz gulped, raging inside since the flashlight was now on him. Kadaj, who had remained quite unmoving, gripped Loz's arm tighter.
"…All right," the man sighed. "You're proper moody tonight."
"Boss'll be even worse when he finds out you're late because you got side tracked into ogling at kids," came the sharp response.
"You know…" The man bent down, shining the light in Kadaj's face and studying him close. "…How often is it that you see a kid with bright green eyes, Lorna? Kinda weird, don't you think?"
Kadaj pouted moodily at being labelled weird, but Loz was more interested in what the woman named Lorna was doing. With one hand pressing the keys of a cell phone expertly, she held it up against her ear. "Boss? It's Lorna. Could you send a message out to Professor Hojo? I think I've just found a couple of his research projects on the street."
In an instant, Kadaj and Loz had jumped to their feet, making for the two adults. Kadaj grabbed the cell phone, throwing it into the ground where it landed in a puddle. Loz used his strength to his advantage, landing a heavy blow in the man's stomach before grabbing the bags and Kadaj's wrist.
"Run, Kadaj," he gasped, breaking into a sprint down the alley. Kadaj was snarling almost in a wolf-like manner, and despite the sound of it as well as the pouring rain, Loz could hear a set of feet pursuing him.
"You telling me to leave them alone, Lorna!" the man shouted. "Look who's chasing them now! Come back here, Lorn, let's get this sorted at the base with boss – we're not even sure if they are Hojo's!"
The man's voice was becoming fainter, and Lorna's footsteps could no longer be heard. After a few minutes of running, dashing through narrow streets, Loz pulled Kadaj into a small gap between two metallic cans, panting. The younger brother was gasping loudly, fury evident in every pant.
"…Still might come after us," Loz breathed, "Still might try and get us…"
He wiped the mixture of rain and sweat from under his nose, placing a hand on Kadaj's head for his reassurance that his brother was there.
"The labs," Kadaj said shakily, trembling against Loz. "Niisan, if the labs are near here, then…"
Loz wasn't entirely sure how Kadaj was going to finish his sentence, either with the agonising thought that they stood more chance of going back there, to the dreaded labs…or the warm, dawning realisation that somewhere very close, Yazoo was waiting for them.
A/N: Yay, getting quite dynamic now – Kadaj and Loz interaction's pretty difficult, but I don't mind writing it now (I didn't really like it before). I hope it was okay. Just as a quick note, those two people were Turks
Please be kind and write a review (also known as author food), I'd really appreciate it
Next chapter: Heh heh, it's Yazoo's turn for action!
