Guess who's back?


Silence hung heavy between me and the strange man who had seen fit to sit at my table. Mizuki had been gone no less than ten seconds, off to explore the possibilities presented by copious amounts of street food vendors, when the afore mentioned strange man slid into place across from me. I wasn't sure if this was a normal occurrence so I didn't dare say a word. Silence hung heavily between us.

That wasn't to say silence was all that inhabited the street. No, it seemed many people had seen fit to take shelter here, where tables were mostly covered by large umbrellas and awnings, and the smells of various deep fried street foods offered a secondary reason to stick through the cold. The sound of senseless chatter filled the air as well as the constant drip-drip of leftover raindrops hitting shallow puddles but none of it seemed as loud as the utter silence between me and this strange man, who although had taken a seat across from me, seemed content to ignore me.

His allmate was a tiny red sparrow and when he tumbled onto the table in front of me I couldn't help but say, "What a cute bird."

My words seemed to have broken the invisible silence barrier between us. The small bird jumped, as though shocked that I could even speak, and said, "Hey who're you calling cute?"

I had to hold back a laugh at the birds haughty attitude which contrasted with his tiny stature.

"It's a compliment," I said.

"Well keep it to yourself!" the bird said, fluffing himself up in a way that made him seem even cuter.

"Oi Beni, don't be rude."

The man across from me finally spoke, addressing the allmate briefly before going right back to ignoring me. Fortunately it wasn't long before Mizuki returned, sliding into the seat next to me and placing a small plastic plate in front of me. It held several flat, golden brown circles on it and beside that was a tiny tub of shiny golden liquid.

"Sorry that took so long princess," he said, "I wasn't sure what you wanted to eat." Then he said to himself, "Everybody likes pancakes."

I didn't say anything; I just stared across the table uncomfortably and waited for Mizuki to notice. He did notice, but not in the way I had wanted.

He let out a resigned sigh and said, "Why are you here?" almost like this was an everyday occurrence.

"If you don't want me showing up to your dates, you shouldn't invite me," the man said.

"I didn't invite you," Mizuki said.

"What are you talking about? You called me this morning."

"You called me. And I told you not to come over today because I had a guest who isn't interested in meeting you."

I stared between them, trying not to laugh. If all of Mizuki's friends were this interesting I'd definitely want to meet more. But – in smaller doses. And with prior warning.

The man laughed, leaning back in his chair, "Weren't your exact words –"

"Don't come over. How does that translate into follow me in the streets till you get a chance to swoop in?"

"I don't see how it could mean anything else," Beni said.

Mizuki gave another resigned sigh, again acting as though this were something which happened a lot and that it would be easier just to go with it. He turned to me and said, "Sei, this is my sometimes friend Koujaku."

"Sometimes?" Koujaku asked, catching the extra word accompanying his introduction.

"Rude," Beni said.

I hid a smile behind my hand.

Really I thought Koujaku was every bit as cute as his allmate. Like a big fluff-ball – metaphorically in his case. I liked him instantly, after getting past the initial awkwardness he'd dragged with him. There was just something natural about being around him, or maybe it was the fact that Mizuki seemed to trust him, despite their strange relationship.

The two of them fell into conversation. I drowned out their words and just listened to the sound of their voices. It was comforting in a way that should have scared me.

We'd only come to this street because my stomach refused to keep quiet any longer. I hadn't eaten in more than forty-eight hours – though I'd gone longer before – and the small growling from my stomach was accompanied by a lingering possibility of throwing up. Mizuki refused to be the kind of host who would let his guest starve and because he didn't have any food in his apartment, we'd ended up here.

I poked at the small pile with the tiny plastic fork, wondering if it's primary ingredient was poison.

I'd been fed a mix of soup and various foul tasting liquid meals my entire life while recovering from various surgeries. Sometimes they stuffed me full of sesame crackers after detoxing from whatever drug they'd seen fit to addict me to. Obviously I was wary of most things out here but the smell of this food almost convinced me it would be worth it.

"It's not going to bite you!"

I looked up to the middle of the table where Beni had been watching me the entire time, apparently getting annoyed. Koujaku and Mizuki seemed to be in another space with no room for Beni at that time. Mizuki seemed to be actively avoiding watching me eat, suspecting it would make me uncomfortable.

I looked down at Beni and gave a false smile.

"You really are cute," I said. I reached over to pet the top of his head, wondering idly if he'd bite me.

Beni didn't respond this time but fluffed himself up a little more, the aggressive action was quite endearing. Still I couldn't distract my stomach forever. With a little more prompting from Beni I broke off the tiniest piece of the top circle, dipping it lightly into the container beside it and bringing it to my mouth, my nose was scrunched up the entire time. But as soon as that first crumb hit my tongue I knew I'd almost made a big mistake by not trying it.

I tried not to show it, but I'd never tasted anything so good! Flat brown circles – who'd have known? I wasted no time pouring the sauce over the rest of the stack and shovelling it into my mouth. I would have to remember to ask for more of this if they ever forgave me in Oval Tower.

"Told you," Beni said, sounding smug.

I definitely did not pout.

I sat back, not pouting, and eating much slower so as not to give Beni further satisfaction. I listened to Mizuki and Koujaku talking, after a while Beni hopped closer to their side of the table and began chiming in every now and then. This was such a nice side of the world; the opposite of what Virus and Trip had dropped me into yesterday.

Maybe that was there intention; to frighten me by plunging me into a false version of the world. If I felt like the world was full and fast all the time then maybe I would go crawling back to them, willing to pay twice their original price just to go back home. The world they'd thrown me into wasn't a complete lie, but I was learning slowly that there was more than just one side.

It wasn't until Mizuki brought up Rhyme that I was drawn right into the conversation.

"Rhyme? In this weather?" Koujaku asked. He muttered, "Kids these days."

"Careful, you're starting to sound like an old man," Mizuki teased.

"Like you're any better!" Koujaku barked.

Beni, who had settled on top of his owners head, looked at me warily. "Even when they agree they don't agree."

"Like children," I stated.

"It's psychotic!" Koujaku said in reply, "a bunch of brats running around fighting in their heads –"

"Don't bother with Sei," Mizuki said.

Koujaku stopped mid-rant and stared at me for a moment.

"What are you, some kind of Rhyme advocate?" he asked.

Without thinking about it I said, "Why, do you want to play with me?" which is how I knew I was too comfortable. It was the sort of thing I would say to one of the Alpha's and would be brushed off with a laugh and a, "yeah, you wish." But out here those words were just a mistake.

"Sei, you can't say things like that to men like Koujaku," Mizuki stage whispered. I could see how much effort he put into keeping back his laughter.

Beni put no effort in at all, laughing obnoxiously and saying, "Yeah, you might as well just strip."

I felt my face heating up and rushed to cover it with my hands. This wasn't just a matter of me messing up in the real world; it was about the real world being messed up.

Koujaku's face was on fire and he exclaimed, "Hey, quit making me sound like some kind of pervert!"

I laughed behind my hand. Maybe those kids were right about adults.


"Sorry. I guess I haven't been very helpful today."

The streets were mostly empty where we were now. We'd sat at that table for nearly two hours before Mizuki suggested leaving. At that time I wondered idly if Koujaku would follow us home, but so far it didn't seem like he had.

We were in a more residential area where the road was lit mainly by dull moonlight and unevenly placed streetlights. Clouds covered most of the sky and stars, still leftover from the thin storm earlier. It was going to rain again tomorrow. We'd been walking for so long, I was worried we were going to get lost. Though maybe I was too tired to gauge just how long it had been. Mizuki had taken my hand somewhere along the way and I felt uncomfortably comfortable with his touch. I knew I could say no if I was scared and that fact alone scared the hell out of me.

"It's fine," I said absently. "I don't mind going home with you."

"You make it sound like I picked you up at a bar or something."

"We could pretend if you like," I said. I smiled at the embarrassed look on Mizuki's face.

"What's with you?" he finally asked. "You've been acting weird this whole day." As if he would know.

I smiled and leaned against him, letting out a content sigh. "Today's been just the best day," I said.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Rain, near-arrest, sexually-harassing your friend. All I usually do at home is read. Oh, I'll have to remember to ask for pancakes when I go back – that's what they're called, right?"

Mizuki made a disapproving noise and I looked up to see his smile had fallen – never a good sign. It put me on edge for a few seconds.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I was sure the day had gone perfectly.

"It's just – this is the first time you've mentioned home… or going back."

"Of course," I said, "it had to happen sometime." I continued walking but he dragged me back, walking several paces slower than he had been before. I looked back at him and put on my biggest, most reassuring smile. "It'll be okay," I told him and I'm sure he believed me, or maybe he was too tired to think properly. I squeezed his hand and pulled him back into step.

Back at the Black Needle we spent a very small amount of time in the waiting room which was still filled with people – though the number was far less than it had been that morning. Upstairs I was able to experience my first-ever hot shower – also doesn't the concept of a single-stall shower seems a little strange and isolated? – which was great after an entire lifetime of cold water and tears. Mizuki let me borrow some of his clothes since mine were still a little wet from the rain. His clothes were a little big for me but they seemed infinitely warmer and more comfortable, perhaps just because they were his.

I curled up in bed while he poked about in the kitchen, having already showered and dressed. I knew there was no food already as we'd had that conversation earlier and I didn't keep my eyes open so he could apologise again. I was nearly asleep when I felt the covers pull back to my left, and so didn't think much of it when he climbed into bed beside me. It felt natural to have his arms around me, though the cautious nature of his touch was somewhat of a downer – it just served as a reminder that I had broken in front of him too many times.

"I really am sorry about today," he mumbled against the back of my head. This time didn't sound as genuine as before I'd brought up going home. "We can try again tomorrow – hopefully we'll have more luck with… whatever it is."

I hummed to show I was listening, but for a while I was too comfortable to talk. I was sure I'd never been so warm in my life and I'd definitely never felt so safe. I'd been tired for more than twenty years, certainly I deserved a little rest. I was just beginning to slip into that sweet dreamless darkness that had always been sleep for me, when I heard it.

"It's my brother." My voice was betraying me. I felt Mizuki tense slightly with this new titbit of information. "I'm here to find my little brother."