Note: I'm really impatient, so I decided to post up chapter two pretty soon after chapter 1. Still looking for a beta, if anyone would be interested!

Chapter 2

The basket in Aoba's arm was heavy and he was sort of regretting the decision to put off all the shopping until later in the week rather than going a couple of times for some of the items, because it was taking longer than he had hoped and he had more than he expected. Basically it was the worst idea he could conceive and here he was living it. Granny would be upset if he didn't come home with all that she requested from him at the beginning of the week, and yet he wasn't sure how he could bring it all home in one trip without his arms falling off.

He sighed deeply and put back a couple of items he had picked up that weren't necessary and he could go back for tomorrow, heaving his basket towards the cashier to pay. Aoba was a little surprised that he had yet to learn his lesson about waiting until the last minute to shop for groceries but he was certain that he never would. He sighed impatiently as he waited for everything to ring up and to charge it to his card so he could just head home already. "Heya, Aoba!" someone called from behind him and he nearly dropped his basket in surprise, turning around to see a pair of familiar faces grinning at him from the next turnstile over.

Trip and Virus were nearly identical, with bleached blond hair styled in neat, even spikes and parted the opposite direction from the other. Virus had a pair of think, black rimmed glasses that did not obscure his bright blue eyes and Trip's face was slightly longer and more angular, but those were the only differences between the two he could see. It always surprised him to remember that they were not only not twins, but not related either. "Ah, Trip! Virus!" he greeted his old friends, waving to them with his free gloved hand as he inched forward in line. "Strange to see you here, actually."

"True," Virus admitted cheerfully, his hands casually tucked into his pockets as he glanced uninterestedly around the supermarket. It was almost a little surreal to see the two perfectly dressed men in a setting like this, with all of the poor and unwashed masses that Aoba counted himself a part of. Maybe not unwashed, he thought as he wrinkled his nose slightly at the thought, spacing out for a moment before Virus's laugh brought him back to the situation at hand. "Aoba, when you make that expression it certainly makes you look incredibly cute," he offered and Aoba rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh. The two men were always so flattering to him, and he never really knew why but they always seems so insistent that he never denied it.

"What were you thinking of?" Trip asked curiously, but Aoba just chuckled nervously as he began to toss all of his items on the conveyor belt.

He replied offhandedly, "Nothing, nothing. Mostly wondering why you two are here?"

They smiled and glanced to each other before focusing their attention back to Aoba. "We were asked to keep an eye out here for a moment or two, though you're certainly the only interesting thing we've seen all night," Virus replied with a shrug, checking his cell phone absently before shooting a glance at Trip, who was still watching Aoba.

"It must be a very boring night then," Aoba laughed as the two watched him check out and he felt a little self conscious holding his wallet and awaiting the cashier to take his card to pay. They were nice guys, he mused, but they certainly had a strange interest in him that he couldn't quite place. Not that he could really complain; he would rather be in the good graces of the yakuza than in the bad.

Trip answered, "You don't give yourself enough credit." Aoba was unsure of what to say to that as he reached to hand the cashier his card. Though before she took it, he saw Trip press his own into her hand and grinned at Aoba, who was shocked. "That is also a very cute expression."

"Hey, wait a sec, you don't need to do that!" Aoba said, horrified as he watched the girl scan Trip's card instead of his own, his mouth slightly agape as Trip accepted his card back gracefully. "I can pay for my own groceries!"

Trip and Virus laughed as Aoba started to gather up his bags, flustered and confused. "You can pay us back by bringing us some of your grandmother's cooking," Virus said dismissively before garnering Trip's attention. He was very focused on something on his phone's screen, the light illuminating his already otherworldly blue eyes. "I think it's time to wrap this up, the tip we got must have been wrong."

"Seems like it," he replied with a shrug, reaching out to grasp Aoba's shoulder. The two of them must have had business elsewhere though Aoba never asked because he never wanted to know. Despite being good friends with the two, their work certainly never interested him at all. "Bye-bye."

"See you around Aoba. Don't be a stranger." Virus and Trip quickly exited the establishment and left Aoba feeling rather winded by the interaction as he gathered up his groceries. Many of the consumers in the market were staring at him openly, though he chose to ignore their accusatory faces as he hurried out of the store himself. He was sure they knew the line of work Trip and Virus were a part of and while he was relatively sure they would never do anything that would cause Aoba any trouble, he couldn't really say the same for anyone else in the Old Resident's District that he knew of.

The bags hurt his fingers a little as he lugged them the twenty minute walk home, his upper arms straining slightly as he kept his face down against the wind. He'd made this trip so many times that he could do it with his eyes closed, but he was worried about taking too long that his brother and grandmother would worry. Trip and Virus had a tendency to take up a lot of his time unexpectedly and while he usually didn't mind, today was probably one of the worst days to be late home from the store. He hurried along the darkened sidewalk anxiously while continuously checking his watch for the time, hoping that his grandmother didn't scold him too much for being late.

"...the fuck!"

A loud voice interrupted his thoughts and he heard a crashing thud as he reached the edge of an alleyway, his grip tightening on his groceries as he debated whether or not he should go investigate the commotion. His common sense was telling him no, no, no but his curiosity was getting the better of him as he inched towards the mouth of the narrow walkway, trying to peek in to whatever was going on inside. His shoes led him to the very beginning next to a several abandoned cardboard boxes, biting his lip as the darkness obscured whatever had happened only minutes before. "...hello?" he called out warily, trying to blink through the dim lighting to see if the person who cried out was still there.

"It would be a better idea to not go back there, I think." Aoba nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun around quickly, the groceries hanging on the edges of his fingers as he stared into the open, empty street to see who had spoken. For a moment he didn't see anyone nearby and his heart race hiked up, but suddenly a white figure leaned into view from behind a corner, almost acting like he was shy. Aoba stared at him, confused and uncertain, taking in his long white coat and bright yellow scarf, his knee high laced boots and white hair. The look was completed by the gas mask clinging to his face, completely obscuring his features from Aoba, who was terrified of the sight.

"Who are you?" he squeaked, cursing himself for being so easily startled by this man but hoping the expression he was making was at least a little intimidating. He didn't answer at first, just seemed to regard Aoba openly with his hands buried deep in pockets of his white coat and his head tilted very slightly to one side. He clutched the bags in his fists harder, wondering if maybe he was going to be forced to use them to beat down this mysterious gas mask man. He seemed like some sort of crazy person; who wore a gas mask as a fashion statement?

The man replied carefully, clearly, "I am no one important, but you are everything. So please, be very safe the rest of your walk home, Aoba-san." He blanched as his name fell from the man's lips, who behind the mask sounded like he was talking into a plastic cup. Before he could demand answers, the man fled and he was well out of sight before Aoba could register what had happened. He stared in the direction he had run for a moment before he realized he needed to be home fifteen minutes ago and rushed down the street, not interested in another unwanted encounter from anyone else.

"Late! As usual!" He heard his granny huff as he ran through the door and locked it securely behind him. Sei said something in return from the kitchen and Aoba was pleased to hear him out of bed and downstairs for the first time in days, and entered the room with a grin on his face. His brother was wearing a robe and very loose pajama pants that he recognized as his own, a steaming cup of hot cocoa cradled in his hands. Their grandmother was at the stove cooking, as usual, and she glared at him across the kitchen as he began to unload the bags in his arms.

Aoba replied apologetically, "I'm sorry Granny, I ran into Trip and Virus at the store and they held me up for a little while." Sei's ears perked slightly at their names and Aoba shook his head very slightly to show that he wasn't going to say anything more about it in front of their grandmother. She didn't wholly approve of the two of them since they used to get Aoba into some trouble when they were all a few years younger, though Sei was incredibly interested in what they did for a living and begged Aoba to tell them stories about it since he had never gotten out of the house enough to get to know the two.

"Just put the groceries away," she snapped back, giving him a relieved smile when he patted her hand and did as he was told.

"I'm surprised Koujaku isn't here yet," Aoba said conversationally as he emptied the bags, looking to his older brother for some kind of explanation. Sei just shrugged and took a sip of his hot chocolate, his eyes sliding from Aoba's face to the kitchen door that led to the living room. He glanced behind him and saw Ren wagging his tail ferociously and trotting into the room, his little pink tongue hanging out of his mouth. Aoba stooped down to pet him when all of the groceries were put away, though he didn't notice how badly they had indented the skin of his fingers until he reached out to ruffle his dog's fur. He had really gotten sidetracked that night, he thought in annoyance, running his fingers all through Ren's fur and mussing it up into a wild mess.

Sei said with a laugh, "If you keep doing that to him, his fur will stay that way." Before Aoba could respond someone knocked at the door, though Sei was already out of his seat and heading for the living room when it did. He hurried to the door and Aoba heard the loud, affectionate greeting of Koujaku from the living room, watching him walk in with his brother, an arm draped around Sei's shoulders. "All right, the whole family is here!"

Koujaku laughed and seemed a little embarrassed by that remark and Aoba smiled at him, thinking it was kind of sweet. He had to realize how much of a part of the family he really was, how much Tae and Sei cared about him. How much Aoba cared about him. He pushed the thought from his mind and swallowed hard, feeling a little embarrassed for thinking such a thing.

"You don't have to keep inviting me to these things, you know!" he replied with a pleased grin as he took his customary seat between Sei and and Aoba, both of whom gripped his hands out of habit to keep him from trying to help around the house while he was there. The four of them have gotten together every other Friday night for as long as Aoba could remember to the point where it wasn't even something that Koujaku asked him about any longer. He just showed up, like he did many other times throughout the week admittedly, and the four of them would have a nice homecooked meal together.

He knew it stemmed from when Koujaku returned back from where his parents had taken him on the mainland, but when he returned alone Tae, in her way, demanded that he shared a meal with them at least a few times a month make sure he was eating enough. He, of course, couldn't say no since he loved her cooking and here he was. It was something that Aoba knew none of them would miss; he always had Fridays off work so he could go shopping for food for dinner, Tae never planned anything for that day as she started cooking early in the day, Koujaku closed up shop earlier and Sei even made a point to make sure he was present as much as possible, like today. They really did feel like a family.

Sei was laughing quietly at something Tae was shouting about, and Aoba looked to their hands that were wrapped around Koujaku's, and he noted that while Sei's fingers were resting gently on top of their friend's, Koujaku had linked his and Aoba's hands together tightly, and the sight made his heart twinge happily. He wasn't sure if it were an intentional thing he did and for what purpose he did it, but Aoba would be lying if it didn't make him incredibly happy. Koujaku had a subtle way of making him feel as though he was the most important person in the room, though he knew that Koujaku had a history with much of his clientele from the salon.

"Aoba, bring out the tea," Granny snapped as she began to set out the plates of food before them and he obliged, unlacing his fingers from Koujaku's and giving everyone a cup for their beverage. It felt so domestic with the four of them, and Aoba never felt more at home than during these dinners with his brother, grandmother and Koujaku. Aoba clutched his chopsticks excitedly, waiting for his grandmother to take her seat and pick up her own.

In sync, the four of them called out, "Thank you for the food!" Aoba found himself piling up his plate before anyone else and stuffing it into his mouth, not realizing how hungry he was until he finally started to eat. It was delicious, as usual, and he decided to ignore the humored looks from both Sei and Koujaku as he added more food to his plate. He hadn't been this hungry in a long time, and he wondered if it was because of the scare of the gas mask man. He swallowed hard, wondering if he should talk about it, though decided it would be better not to so he didn't scare his brother and Granny. Maybe with Koujaku though.

The rest of the meal passed with a little smalltalk, but mostly in silence as they ate their food. It was kind of difficult to talk around it, so they allowed themselves to eat and drink themselves into food comas before finally gathering the ability to speak. Sei and Granny stood up from the table and moved to the living room as Koujaku and Aoba began to clean, like they usually did. They wiped the dishes and put the leftover food away in silence, though Aoba had a thousand things he wanted to say to his friend before the night was through.

He glanced at Koujaku out of the corner of his eye and watched him momentarily. His friend was handsome, that much was certainly true. The girls of the salon weren't settling for someone who wasn't. He had dark black hair and disconcertingly red eyes that stood out against his mocha skin. His hands and arms were covered in scars, and he even sported a long thin line across his nose from something that he had never discussed with Aoba before. He wondered if Koujaku had ever wanted to talk about it before, if he were rude for never having asked. Aoba wasn't sure. There was plenty he didn't know about the man, but he never gathered the courage to request more information from him.

Once the dishes were clean, dried and put away, Aoba followed Koujaku upstairs to the room he shared with Sei. This was also something they did nearly every week they had dinner together; Sei and Granny would watch television in the living room for a little while as Sei discussed his health and he and Koujaku would go upstairs to the room to talk to each other. He wasn't sure what was going on between them, but he knew that these little heart to hearts they seemed to have was making friendship with Koujaku stronger. They made themselves comfortable on Aoba's bed, a few inches away from each other and leaning against the wall.

Aoba was comfortably full as he rested his elbows on his knees, taking a moment to glance to Koujaku just as the man started to speak. "How is everything here, Aoba?" he asked quietly, glancing out of the corner of his eye to the younger man as he waited for a response. How did he always know that there was something up before Aoba even had a chance to say it?

Frowning slightly, Aoba shook his head. "Everything here is fine, but I wanted to talk to you about something." Koujaku remained silent as he waited for the answer and in his mind Aoba debated with how he was going to put this without sounding like a maniac. The situation with the man in the gas mask was disconcerting, definitely, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if it were troubling enough to bother Koujaku with it either. He sighed deeply and looked at the man's red eyes. "When I was walking home today, I was stopped by this guy. Never seen him before, but he was wearing all white and had some kind of weird gas mask on. Ever seen him around?"

"A gas mask?" Koujaku asked in surprise, a frown on his lips as he brought a hand to his chin. His fingers were long but thick and Aoba watched them for a moment before looking back to catch the man's eyes. "Never seen someone like that around, but I'll keep a look out. Are you all right?"

"Fine, fine," he replied in embarrassment at the intense expression on Koujaku's face. "He actually told me that an alley I was passing was dangerous, so I guess he saved me more than anything." Aoba shrugged in confusion and could tell that the man wanted to discuss it further, but there was nothing more to talk about in regards to it. He wasn't even sure if it were something that had been worth mentioning in the first place, but he just wanted to get it off of his chest. As if not mentioning it to someone would mean it wasn't real.

"Just be safe out there," Koujaku said with a sigh, his fingertips lightly brushing Aoba's hand before he drew his arm back into his lap, his mouth pressed into a tight frown.

"Of course, Koujaku." The rest of the night went quickly and Aoba found himself walking Koujaku home again, his hands in his pockets to protect against the cold and Ren following along behind them obediently. They said little to each other, though Aoba wasn't sure what the issue was but didn't want to make something that he wasn't sure of worse than it already was. When they reached the halfway point, Aoba began to turn away but Koujaku stopped him with a hand on his cheek, startling him. "Kou... jaku?" he said in embarrassment at the intense look in his eyes, feeling the warmth settling into his face at the tender touch.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could come out there was a loud cry and a thud behind him. He felt a strong breeze as if someone had run very quickly past him, and he spun around quickly to see something he was not expecting. The gas mask man was lying spread eagle on the sidewalk behind him, his arms and legs spread out and his scarf covering a large portion of the mask. "You!" Aoba said in shock, kneeling down beside him in earnest and untangling the scarf from around his mask.

"Ow, ow, ow," the man whined pathetically as he sat up from the dirt of the sidewalk, facing Aoba though he wasn't sure if he were looking at him from behind the glass plates of the mask. "Aoba-san!" He was really uncertain about what was going on, but he felt Koujaku shove by him and grab the man by the front of his coat.

"Who are you?" Koujaku demanded, lifting the man to his feet and holding his mask inches away from his own nose. He heard the man in the mask whimper slightly and Aoba hurriedly stood up, forcing Koujaku to release his hand from the man's coat. "Aoba, be careful."

The man took a step back away from them, his hands poised in front of him in a defensive stance, and Aoba frowned. "This is the second time you've shown up tonight, what do you want?" There was a tense silence as Aoba held his arm out in front of Koujaku to keep him from pummeling the masked man without first searching for a good reason to do so. The man in the mask remained quiet, as if he were thinking or carefully debating what he was going to say.

"I'm here to save you."