Thank you all for reviewing.
Another part, just because I am so excited to write.
Warning: Maybe language...nothing too bad though.
I think.
The Silent One
Part 03
Rolling snowdrifts as far as the eye could see, whipping past and disappearing, only to be replaced with a dozen more. The snow is free to pile up out here in the country, safe from giddy children eagerly throwing themselves in the banks, making snow angels, building forts, etc.
It is very pure as well; little pollution from passing cars, on the roads not well known or travelled there was no litter tossed out by careless drivers or passengers. Instead of tire tracks crossing all over the landscape, there are innumerous animal tracks marring the untouched splendour.
When nature has marked up the glistening formations, it is fine. There is the sweet innocence of the family of deer that take their long loping strides across the ground. The small rabbits skitter about searching for food to feed themselves and those living in their burrows (1) with them.
The land is as good as untouched, for it is natural to see the animal prints littering the snow, for they do no harm.
When the grease from tires is spread around, staining and discolouring the white snow, the result is dirty, brown snow. Not exactly what encourages kids to throw themselves into whole-heartedly.
Garbage from fast-food restaurants, with its pretty yellow and red and green colours add some character to the pale white snow, but that's only on the surface. In reality, the refuse will slowly sink into the Earth itself, forever killing the purity of that space.
The roots then grow, and expand and reach out to infect more of the Earth; reaching to taint and blacken the surrounding areas.
In a way, the snow is much like a human soul.
While it is white and clean, it shows and holds beauty and is a gift to be treasured. Everybody has a soul, and the way it grows and shapes a person is all about how it is dealt with. What it experiences with the person it resides in help determine what affect is has one its "wielder".
So, in following, a person who has had a positive upbringing would sensibly have a pure, clean soul. They are able to experience love, and joy, and also the negative things: loss, heartache, etc. Even these more trying aspects are dealt with in a healthy way.
What must the soul of one who has had a miserable existence, with minimal positive happenings and more traumatic experiences than a child in a war-torn country look like? Feel like?
Dirty and heavy. Contaminated. That answer the question?
The soul is the very essence of our existence; it makes us feel and live ultimately the best we can. If it is disfigured in any way, then that will show through ourselves to the outside face we present to the world.
Who would want to be the care taker of such a soul? Everybody with their pure, clean souls come together and pair off left, right, and center. What of those whose soul has been besmirched in a way, like the dark snow stained with slick tire marks?
Who wants such an unclean soul?
Who indeed would want a soul such as mine? Kai wondered gloomily to himself as he stared absent mindedly out the van's window. Bryan's warm left leg was pressed against Kai's thigh, and he shuddered inwardly.
What if I'm affecting him even now? In an unseen way, he's probably getting as low as I am. This is what I do, drag others down with me. I have to–
"Stop," Kai said under his breath to himself. He had to stop thinking so morbidly; had to stop taking himself so seriously. He was always reflective like this around this time of year, and he often fell into a depressed inactive slump for a matter of days.
He hated this cycle that he went through every year, yet he never made an attempt to stop it. At least, he didn't know how to. He'd figured that he probably needed some outside support, a helping hand, but he'd never had one, and he certainly wasn't about to depend on someone else.
If there was anything Kai hated with a passion, it was having to be dependant on another. He did things by himself, for himself. That was how it had ben for as long as he could recall, and he had no intentions of changing it now.
A jab to his side snapped Kai from his thoughts, and he turned and saw Bryan and Tala on the other side of him; both staring at him, both seeing through him, to his very core–
Stop! They are not, you psychotic idiot, Kai angrily told himself.
"What?" he finally asked.
"Doing okay there, Spaceman?" Tala asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You were totally blank and ignoring Bryan."
Bryan nodded in agreement. "If I had feelings I'm sure they would have been hurt by now."
Kai rolled his eyes and turned back to the window with a sigh. Bryan and Tala exchanged a look then decided to ignore the issue. Kai was private, and they didn't have to get het up because he didn't answer one question...one question repeated a few times, sure, but so what?
It's not like the response would have been some earth-shattering event.
A loud cry rose from the front of the van, where Tyson had forced himself between Spencer and Rei. Max and Ian were sitting next to Kenny in the second row of the van.
Tyson leaned forward and pressed his hands against the dashboard as the intended destination came into view. It stood alone, in the distance, very ominous and imposing.
Excitement stood clear on the faces of Max, Tyson, and even Ian seemed interested. Spencer drove carefully through the wooded area that had suddenly sprung up and surrounded the road, obscuring their view of the 'house' for some moments.
"Wow..." Tyson breathed, allowing his mouth to hang open in awe. It was even more...awesome-er when he was closer like this. The few times he and Grandpa had driven past it had been cool enough for him, but to know that he was about to be within fence-hopping distance of it was an event that caused much excitement to rise up in him.
Rei sighed to himself and leaned forward, placing his hand on Tyson's chest and pulling him back safely into his seat. He had a feeling that Spencer, with his less than safe sense of humour, may be compelled to slam on the brakes, thus earning Tyson a face-plant into the hard window. Spencer shot Rei a grateful look as he continued edging the van closer.
They were all silent now as the vehicle pulled up close to the main gates. Spencer glanced behind him, the reversed the van and turned it around on the wide lane, then backed it up so the trunk was facing the mansion. He then manoeuvered it to the side of the road, then braked and finally stopped completely and turned it off, leaving the keys dangling in the ignition.
"Sure is big," Ian was the first to remark, twisting around in his seat to get a better view.
"I really don't think we should be here," Rei spoke up from the front, copying Ian's position.
"I agree; it doesn't look too abandoned," Spencer said, checking out the building in the rearview mirror. Tyson unbuckled his seatbelt with a loud click and then pushed his way over Rei and clambered out the now-open door. He narrowed his eyes at the mansion in close scrutiny.
"I have proof that it's totally empty, which I have arrived at by using my brilliant powers of destruction!" Tyson declared with a broad smile, turning to the others who had resignedly gotten out of the van.
"Uh, Tyson, don't you mean 'deduction'?" Kenny suggested in an amused tone. After a minute of silence on Tyson's part, in which he decided that Kenny was just trying to confuse him, he brought his attention to the rest of the group.
"Proof 1: No lights! Everyone knows that there is always some kind of outdoor lights around the grounds of a huge ass palace like this. Proof 2: There's no car around here, and since whoever lives here would be super rich, I'd at least expect to see a couple of Ferrari's or something. Proof 3: No lights! There-"
"You already said no lights Tyson," Max pointed out. "That was proof 1, remember?" Tyson stopped and glared over at Max.
"Proof 3: No lights! You'd think we'd be able to see the inside lights a bit now, 'cause it's darker out here and whatnot. Since there's none, I can successfully conclude that this mansion is, indeed, vacant."
"What about those tire tracks?" Bryan asked, motioning to the fresh tracks made earlier that morning that led from inside the gates and past where their van was parked. Tyson frowned at them as though they had personally insulted him.
"Those are...ehh...fake."
"Fake tire marks?"
"Yess..."
"Fake tire marks; as in someone put them there, just...because?"
"Sure."
"Ah."
"It's happened before."
"I bet."
Kai watched this exchange from his stance leaning against the van's closed side door. He figured he could admit to the others that he lived in this house, but he didn't want them to have all kinds of questions for him.
If there was anything Kai hated unconditionally, it was having to answer questions. They led to more questions, more wonders, more awkward, made-up half-truths designed to keep well-meaning busybodies out of one's private business.
He sighed to himself as he went over the pros and cons of telling the others about his living situation for the hundredth time. He didn't think they would object to it, not that it would do any good realistically; they couldn't change it, just accept it, like he had.
Tala turned from the debating match currently going on between Tyson and...well, just about everyone else, all working together to try to dissuade Tyson from climbing over the gate and breaking into the mansion. He saw Kai, again leaning and glaring, sharing the hate at intervals between the snow in front of him and the mansion a matter of meters away from them.
Kai was...interesting, Tala guessed was the best way to describe his fellow Russian. He added an element that just seemed to fit and benefit a group. None of them had known him until the previous Christmas, at a festive gala that had been hosted by Voltaire Hiwatari, the business tycoon and Kai's grandfather.
Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian had all been present of course. The whole party was, in a way, for them. After all, Voltaire had a public image to keep up, and he couldn't very well be accused of neglecting the Russian orphans he had sponsored for the better half of their lives during the holidays, now could he?
Not that these four were the only ones Voltaire had taken from the poor Russian orphanages. He'd been taking some every year back to Japan with him and setting them up in decent residences and securing all the necessities of life they would require for their future: health cards and insurance, social security, etc.
By doing so, he was seen as a charitable man in both Russia and Japan, and his reputation was very high and well-respected. In order to maintain his image, Voltaire would every year host a Christmas party at some five-star hotel or another to show that he "never stopped caring about all the innocent children that I have had the good fortune of meeting."
His words, not Tala's.
FLASHBACK
"Stop playing with your damn tie!" Bryan hissed at an obviously uncomfortable Ian, who at the moment was pulling at his tie that was secured around his neck.
"I can't breathe!" Ian spat back, glowering from underneath his mop of hair. "You did it too tight!"
"I did it the exact same way as mine, and I'm having no problems whatsoever," Bryan pointed out, glaring down at Ian. "I guess it's just your fat neck that's the problem."
"I don't have a fat neck! Spencer-" Ian began to whine. Tala cut him off by grabbing the back of his shirt and jerking him back towards him.
"Both of you shut up! We're not here to act like assholes, which is what you two are doing now!" Having said that, Tala spun Ian around so he was facing him, then knelt down and began working on fixing Ian's tie.
"Calm down Tala," Spencer admonished with a frown down at his kneeling friend. "Why are you so on edge tonight?"
"Yeah, is it just me, or is that cumbersome pole shoved farther up your a–"
"Happy holidays, boys," said a familiar voice from the right of them. Turning, they were met with the still tall, still intimidating figure of Voltaire Hiwatari. He smiled down at them in what he clearly thought was a fatherly gesture, but to them it was rather unnerving.
"Good evening, Voltaire sir," Spencer had enough sense to answer. Bryan stood silently but nodded his acknowledgment to the older man. Tala quickly finished with Ian and straightened to his full height.
"We just wanted to let you know how grateful we are to have been invited here again this year," Tala said with a falsely cheerful tone. From the corners of his eyes he could see the others nodding in agreement.
"Well, it just wouldn't be complete without all of you here," Voltaire promised. "It warms my heart to see you all well and content. Enjoy the festivities."
With that, he walked off to greet another group of assorted boys and girls that stood nervously in their stiff evening wear.
Tala allowed the smile to slip off his face as soon as the old man's back was turned. He continued to glare and mutter angrily about the old bastard that had turned him into a charity case. Bryan nudged him in the side and shook his head warningly.
Oh right. There were body guards and security cameras everywhere. Voltaire most likely wouldn't like hearing one of "his boys" talking about him in a not-so praising way.
Sighing Tala leaned back against the cool marble wall next to Spencer. Bryan and Ian continued to argue, trying to keep their voices at a respectable indoor level.
"How much longer do we have to waste away here pretending we still think about this weird old man?" he asked his taller friend. Spencer sighed in exasperation and turned his glance to Tala.
"Same as every year. We get here, thank him, drink, maybe eat a bit, socialize with the other kids Voltaire's helped, then get the hell our of here and away from him for another year."
"So, an hour, tops?"
"Try at least 2."
"Dammit."
"Hey..." Tala and Spencer both turned to Bryan who had spoken. He was staring over near the arching entranceway. Ian had wandered off as he was prone to do. Following his gaze, they saw what had caught his interest.
A boy, looking to be about Tala's age, was leaning just inside the door, arms folded across his chest in what in body language speak loudly declared "Stay away." He wore what seemed to be the most obvious choice for all the males in the room that night: black pants with black dress shoes, a collared white shirt and a plain black tie. Whatever jacket he'd worn in was nowhere to be seen.
Then there was the small matter of his hair...
"Is that his real hair?" Tala wondered, eyes widening slightly at the light grey spikes that fell over the male's forehead, achieving in covering his eyes. They could clearly see from that back that it was darker, a so-blue-it's-black kind of colour.
"Well that's...different," Spencer remarked in a mild tone. Tala and Bryan only nodded in agreement. Ian chose that moment to come back over to them then, his hands full of what looked to be Vienna sausages and crackers. He followed their line of sight until it came to rest on the lone figure by the door.
"Whoa. Whose the freak with the wig?" Ian asked loudly around the food crammed in his mouth, evidently believing that louder he talked, the better chance he had of being understood. Spencer cast a look of disgust at the shorter one of their group.
"Would you mind terribly swallowing before yelling insulting comments about someone you don't even know?"
Ian thought a moment, then shrugged and forced some more morsels into his gaping maw. "What can I say? I was raised with pigs."
"Well it does account for your smell," Bryan was heard to mutter. Ian glared over at him, but before he could answer, Spencer put his hand on Ian's shoulder and led him away.
"Come on, you can make a new friend," Spencer told him. "Tala, you guys coming?"
Tala glanced at Bryan who shrugged, already seeming to have lost interest. He nodded and went after the other two, Bryan following behind.
The four of them stopped a little ways in front of the silent one in front of them. His head was bowed slightly, leading them to know that he probably couldn't see them. Tala moved a bit ahead of the others.
"Hey." A basic greeting.
The one before him slowly raised his head, light violet eyes (2) meeting them. He had a pale complexion, which pleased Tala to know that there was someone whiter than him, and the only thing marring the skin was deep blue markings that resembled, in a way, shark fins, two on each cheek.
He didn't answer, just allowed his gaze to flick back and forth over the four boys that had invaded his personal space in silence. The one standing directly in front of him had hair that was like a slap in the face; bright red, standing out more so because of his creamy skin. Piercing blue eyes met his own, and they were slightly discomforting.
To his left was a tall boy with light brown hair, with deep brown eyes. Beside him, another in similar stature stood, his pale grey hair matching cold dull eyes. The one beside them was a short little troll, with a nose generous in size and his odd purple hair flaming bright.
All four were dressed in a suit much like his own, except they all still wore their jackets. At the moment they were all watching him, waiting for an answer.
He, of course, had no interest in answering, and so he continued to stare blankly at the redhead in front of him.
Tala was getting nervous and a bit frustrated. Why was this kid just looking at him, with those creepy eyes, and the weird blue paint (it had to be paint) just there?
"So...are you one of the new orphans that Voltaire sponsored?" Tala pushed, hoping for any kind of sound from this guy.
"Hey...wait a minute...I've seen you before!" Ian announced proudly. "You've been here every year that we have! You just never stay for long..."
"Do you have a point?" The deep voice spoke up abruptly, startling them. The boy had finally spoken up, and he gave no indiction of talking besides the fact he was watching Ian.
"Um...well, I've seen you...before is all..." Ian trailed off, unsure of how to answer.
"Hn," he replied, already turning away from them, clearly no longer interested.
Geez, this guy has the attention span of a...penguin, or whatever has a really short attention span, Tala thought to himself.
"I'm Tala, by the way," he said, refraining from attempting to shake his hand, figuring that he wouldn't be up for contact, what with the way he seemed to press himself against the wall.
"Spencer, Bryan, and Ian is the one with the bird nose," Tala pointed out each teen as he said their names, and they all acknowledged the introduction in some way. They all looked back at him expectantly.
"...Kai," he said finally.
Tala nodded. "All right, Kai; so what, you another of Voltaire's charity cases?"
"Tala!" Spencer warned, unsure of how this Kai viewed Voltaire. Kai thought it over for a minute, then smirked.
"Yeah, you could say that I guess." Kai nodded slowly, his eyes travelling over to where Voltaire was posing for some media people with a ragtag of children.
"He brought the four of us here from Russia, about...how long ago Spence?" Tala asked over his shoulder.
"Four or five years ago, I think," Spencer answered. He didn't bother keeping an exact count of when they were taken from the Russian orphanage; all he cared about was they weren't there any longer.
"Yeah, so a while back," Tala decided. "What about you, Kai? Where did you come from and when?"
Kai was silent for a moment, as though debating on whether or not he should tell them. He figured it didn't matter, it's not like he would ever see these four again.
"I live with Voltaire, have ever since I remember," he said. Tala frowned and thought on that.
"Were your parents friends or something with him?" Bryan asked, pushing Tala out of the way so he could see Kai clearly.
"Friends? No, they just had the expected relationship of family: distant respect," Kai replied.
"Family?" Bryan was the one to ask. "You mean you're related to him?"
"That's usually what 'family' entails, Bryan," Tala pointed out. "So how are you related? If you don't mind me asking."
Kai shrugged, why should he care? "He's my grandfather, my dad's father."
"So you're Kai Hiwatari then," Ian said, adding Voltaire's last name to Kai's first. Kai merely nodded.
"Wait...Kai Hiwatari? You were in the news a couple times last year..." Spencer spoke up suddenly. "Just before Christmas last year, didn't you–"
"Run away from Voltaire's care for about a month?" Kai finished, his tone flat and uncaring. "Yeah, and since I'm the only chance for survival of the Hiwatari name, he sent out that world-wide manhunt."
"Why did you run away?" Ian wanted to know. Spencer delivered a jab to his smaller companion's back in warning. They didn't know Kai well at all, so he wasn't sure if that would be a touchy subject for him to talk about. Especially with complete strangers.
"I..." Kai paused, frowning slightly as though trying to recall. "I don't...remember." He'd lied of course; he did remember quite vividly the exact reason why. He wasn't about to share with these people. It was nobody's business but his anyways.
"Hmm." Was the response from the four orphans. It was obvious they didn't believe him, but they weren't about to pry. Kai glanced over to Voltaire who was watching him in silent disapproval.
He had come to recognize the slight changes in his grandfather's expression when he was feeling some emotion. Kai only knew the angry, disapproving, and the too famous blank face. He'd never seen Voltaire smile, or laugh, or even look remotely pleased about anything. Right now he was giving Kai the what-are-you-doing-I-raised-you-better-than-this look.
Of course, Kai had forgotten a major thing that his grandfather hated. He despised it when Kai was social, talkative, normal. He sighed inwardly and closed off his somewhat positive facts about these four he had met, and straightened himself up.
Bryan became aware of Kai's sudden stiff-looking face, and he backed off a bit, standing next to where he had shoved his redheaded companion minutes ago. Spencer raised an eyebrow at Kai's quick movements and furtive glance to his right. Following his line of sight, he saw Voltaire watching the group closely.
Turning back to Kai, he was surprised to see him already walking off to join Voltaire. Tala followed Kai with his eyes.
"See you," he called after the retreating boy. Kai didn't answer or respond in any way. All four watched until Ian broke the silence with a loud snort.
"Hmpf. What a snob," he declared, rolling his eyes, Kai already leaving his mind. He placed his hand on the small of Spencer's back and pushed. "Come get me something to drink. I can't reach the bottles."
Tala and Bryan were left together, each wondering, one perhaps a bit more than the other, if they would see Kai again.
He was...interesting.
END FLASHBACK
Tala still thought Kai was interesting, even after knowing him for nearly a year. In the time that the little group -Tyson, Max, Rei, Kenny, Bryan, Spencer, Ian, and himself- had spent together, they'd learned pretty much the entire life stories of each member. Except Kai.
All they knew was he lived with his grandfather, his parents were "gone", and he was lactose-intolerant.
The day they'd found out about his allergy was a date to be marked on the calendar, for sure. That was about as personal as he was with them.
It was like with Kai, one had to break through two firewalls and crack a few passwords to find out what he'd last read. It proved to be frustrating at times, but that was also the reason they liked having him around.
They all wore their hearts on their sleeves, as it were, while Kai kept everything quiet and private, making it rather enjoyable for them to try to learn about him.
Enough with the dragging on.
Bounding over to Kai, Tala reached up and rapped against his head.
"Hello Kai. I believe you may be suffering from some serious hemorrhaging due to a blow to the head. Unless you can explain the recent spacing out..."
Kai jerked his head away from Tala's hand and stepped away, not answering. He'd decided that he would tell them; the need didn't call for it admittedly, but he was slowly losing his mind debating with himself.
"Tyson," he called softly, deflecting the boy from his now heated argument with Ian and Bryan, "if it means that much to you–"
"Well duh it does, Kai!" Tyson cried. "I've been wanting to go in there forever, and everybody else seems fine with just standing here, wasting my time, and I just want to look, and I'm sure I can convince the owners to let me look inside, and if–"
"So convince me." Kai stated evenly, hoping this wouldn't prove to be a bad idea. He wasn't even sure of when Voltaire would be back; but he decided to take a chance and risk it.
"Huh?" They all turned and looked at him, confused. Tyson the most, judging from the way his mouth hung slack.
"You said you'd be able to convince the owners to let you look inside, so...I'm waiting."
"Wait Kai..."Rei stepped forward, puzzled. "Are you saying you own that mansion?"
"That one...right there? Behind these gates? The big one on the hill?" Ian seemed to think that Kai didn't know what mansion he was talking about. Kai only nodded, then dug into his pocket and produced the dull from use brass key.
Approaching the small black box that stood next to the left side of the gate, Kai flipped open the small cover, revealing a keypad. He entered the code needed, and with a soft whir of mechanism the gate began to swing back and into the land.
He didn't bother turning around as he heard the gasps of awe, of disbelief, as he went through the entrance, the snow that was pushed back by the gates sinking around his boots as he displaced it, chilling him slightly.
"You might want to drive the van up and park it near the house," he called to Spencer over his shoulder.
They watched for a moment as Kai continued up the drive, not pausing once or looking back. Then Tyson grabbed Max's hand and ran after him; in turn the rest of the group began to head up, Spencer and Ian returning to the van to drive it up as Kai suggested.
Interesting indeed, Tala thought as he followed Bryan up the winding drive.
It would be interesting to see how this would all play out.
1) Rabbits live in burrows...right?
2) I don't believe I decided on an eye colour for Kai...so they'll be violet. Don't murder me if at some point I call them red or another colour.
Yes I know this dragged on a bit...keep in mind I was hopped up on T3 and a bunch of other LEGAL drugs as I wrote it, due to my little surgery last week.
Yes, next chapter, they are in Kai's mansion. And what's this? Voltaire comes home early? He gets mad? 8 OC's are introduced?
Who knows? Besides me. One of the above is a lie, and to find out what happens...you must review. I'd like 2 at least, but I won't withold the next chapter if I don't get them.