Disclaimer: Many characters belong to Square Enix, as well as many of the place names.
Remember: This story is basically a fanfiction of a fanfiction, based on "Ame ni Matte" by Lily Silver. The story design and set-up is based around that story. Also, her original characters used in this are Lorna Relson and Marshal Gray will be mentioned here and there. I recommend reading her story, for it is very good, and mine would make much more sense if you did.
Ok, guys, this is my first shot at a story, and the only way to get better is to practice. Please, stick with me, and I will do my best to make this story entertaining.
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Chapter 4: Home
Hana was just leaving for her 'home'. Kadaj and Loz stood next to the wall, watching her round a corner and disappear from sight. Kadaj looked up and grinned at his oldest brother. "What?" Loz said, and responded to the grin with a stern look. "C'mon." He motioned to the door. "Yazoo's waiting inside."
Kadaj's expression only became more mischievous. In a smug tone, he responded, "He can wait longer, then." Turning sharply on his heel, he ran off in the direction Hana had gone. Being a child of eight, Kadaj was a curious boy, and it had been puzzling him where exactly Hana went off to at night.
"Hey!" yelled Loz, but it was in vain, and his brother was out of his sight. He went inside, mumbling and complaining to Yazoo how Kadaj never cooperates.
Upon hearing the complaints, Yazoo lolled his head to the side, asking tiredly, "Did he say when he would be back?" Loz only shook his head and walked up the stairs. Yazoo sighed and returned to his previous activity of attempting to finish the book in his hand.
Kadaj's shoes splashed through the shallow puddles left from storms the previous night. His thin, silver hair flopped around his neck as he ran, then swung forward when he stopped abruptly, watching Hana crawl into an empty pipeline. Slowly, he approached the rusty opening. He peeked around the edge and grinned again when he saw Hana rummaging through a bag. "So, you're living in a tube?" he asked mockingly.
Hana jumped, not expecting anyone to have followed her. She spun around to see Kadaj staring at her. Her mind started racing. She hadn't told him where she lived, and wasn't sure if he'd think it was disgusting or filthy. Finding her here, in the slums, in a rusty old pipe, what would he think? Her brow furrowed as she tried to make up her mind of whether she was scared at being caught, angry for him following her, or relieved that she didn't have to keep her home a secret anymore. Opening her mouth, all she could manage was the snappy, defensive comment of, "It's not a tube!"
Kadaj laughed. "Sure it is," he said. He used the toe of his shoe to kick a piece of rust off the edge of the pipe. Hunching over, he did his best to walk through the pipe to where Hana was sitting. Kadaj tilted slightly to look at the bag behind Hana. All he could see was a moth-eaten blanket, and a bread roll (which he guessed she was saving for later). "When you said you were a runaway," He began again, moving so he was looking at Hana, "I didn't think you were homeless." Shifting his weight, he accidentally hit his head on the metal. With his left hand, he rubbed the spot that had collided with the pipe. "Let's go back to my house." With his free hand, he grabbed Hana's wrist.
There was barely enough time for Hana to grab her bag as Kadaj yanked her arm, forcing her to follow him. Since Kadaj was a boy, he could run faster than Hana, so she scuffled and stumbled along behind. Casting a look at the darkening sky, Kadaj impatiently told Hana to hurry up. They whipped around the edge of the wall in front of the clones' house and Kadaj pushed the door open. The two made quite a commotion entering the house. Between the stomping of their feet on the wood floor, Hana's asking for her arm to be released, and Kadaj's laughter, they managed to find their way into the living room.
Yazoo looked up from his plate, and Loz took his eyes off the fork in his hand to stare dumbly at the two children. Yazoo stood up and moved gracefully over to Kadaj, ruffling his brother's hair affectionately. "What's your friend doing here so late?" he asked as kindly as he could manage, but it still sounded stern.
Pushing his now tousled hair out of his face, Kadaj gazed up at Yazoo's cold eyes. "She was living in a tube, niichan," he said, his voice coated in a nagging tone. "And, it's really cold out there."
Loz grunted. Raking his hair, he addressed Kadaj rudely, "So, what? You tryin' to ask if she can stay here?"
"I'm not sure..." Yazoo started calmly.
Kadaj piped up again, cutting his brother off, "You two are sour pusses! Didn't you hear me? I said it's COLD out there!" His voice continued to rise until he was yelling. Another mood swing, no doubt.
With a rub to the side of his head, Yazoo turned away. "Alright, Kadaj, she can sleep on the couch." The smug look on Kadaj's face proved that he knew he had won. Yazoo and Loz weren't exactly positive he was really being kind to Hana, or if he just wanted annoy them. Either way, there was a new person in the house, now. The two older brothers decided to keep an eye on her, though, to make sure she didn't do anything suspicious.
Hana's first task was helping the three brothers tidy up the living room. Kadaj mainly sat on the floor, being difficult. Loz spent most of his time arguing with Kadaj, being just as equally difficult. That left Yazoo and Hana to take the dirty dishes into the kitchen. When they reached the sink, Yazoo turned the squeaky faucet so the water streamed into the basin. Hana dragged a chair to the sink and climbed up on it so she was the same height as Yazoo.
Yazoo watched curiously as Hana started washing the dishes that she hadn't even used. When he caught her giving him a smile, he quickly hid his face under his hair. He wondered why a young girl like her would be Kadaj's friend. He didn't know why their silver hair and snake-like eyes didn't seem to faze her at all. "So," Yazoo said at last. "Why are you so kind to us?"
Hana's smile faded. "What do you mean 'Why'?" she asked quietly.
Looking up again, Yazoo made eye contact, studying the grey eyes with his distant gaze. She looked so peaceful, but there was something more. Living with Kadaj had taught Yazoo how to recognize fake innocence. "It's just..."
"Oh, I get it now," Hana said, focusing on the dishes again. "I thinkāI think it's 'cause Kadaj looked lonely. You know, sitting all by himself. Sure, he was rude at first, but...well, there was a weird connection...like we were the same."
"Same?" Yazoo asked.
"Uh-huh," nodded Hana. "He looked like he felt lost, like I was." She finished with the plate in her hand, and set it to the side. "Yazoo?" Yazoo hid his confusion behind his calm expression. His silence gave him away, though. "That's your name, right?" Hana's question was answered with a small nod from Yazoo. "Good," she finished as she hopped off the chair. She pulled it across the room to its original spot, and went back into the living room. When she got there, Loz and Kadaj were arguing again. She figured that she must have had to be there from the beginning to understand it. Kadaj looked over at her and dropped the argument. He bounded over. Grabbing Hana's arm, he spun her around. "C'mon," he said excitedly. "Let's play a game! I'm bored!"
When Kadaj finally let go of Hana's arm, she fell to her knees, light-headed and dizzy. "Well, what do you want to play?" she asked while doing her best to stand up. When she looked over at Kadaj, he was grinning again.
Slapping Hana on the shoulder, Kadaj yelled, "You're it!" and ran to the other side of the room. Hana rubbed her shoulder (that was tingling a bit), laughed, and chased after him. The two ran around the house, laughing and yelling at each other. Hana never caught up to Kadaj because, being the boy that he was, he was much faster than her. It was a good twenty minutes before they fell to the floor at the bottom of the stairs, busting with laughter. "You know, you're really bad at this game," Kadaj managed between giggles.
"It's no fair, you're faster!" Hana huffed in defense. Her laughter slowed, and she yawned wide. "Anyways, I'm really tired right now."
Loz came down the stairs with a folded blanket tucked under his arm. He threw it at the girl. Hana caught it. "Thank," she started, but Loz had already gone back up and into the room he had come from. "You?" she said confused. She looked over at Kadaj, who only shrugged.
"Niichan said you could sleep on the couch, remember?" Kadaj said as he stood up. "Goodnight!" He ran up the stairs and into the room Loz had gone into. Apparently, Yazoo had gone up earlier because Hana could hear all three brothers getting ready for bed.
Yawning again, Hana walked slowly into the living room. She had to stand on her tip-toes to click off the light in the corner. In the darkness, she accidentally stubbed her toe on the coffee table. Muttering and mumbling to herself about being clumsy, she climbed onto the couch. Huddling under the warm blanket, she was quickly asleep.
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End note: I'm slowing down on updating because I'm running out of chapters that I've already written, but I'll do my best to get new stuff up frequently! Please review!
