Chapter 5

"What are you doing Hige…?"

Hige whimpered not knowing where he was…or even how he got here. It looked slightly familiar and yet…he'd never been here before.

"Hige, are you hiding from me?"

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to answer that, he didn't know why he couldn't move...

"Nobody wants you around, little boy"

That voice…It was a female's voice..but he wasn't a little boy.

"I…"

Why couldn't he move?

Come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be , as a friend...

Hige stirred as his ringtone started playing, and smiled immediately upon hearing Nirvana. He almost wanted to let it keep ringing, just to hear Kurt Cobain, but once he saw "Blue" on his screen, he quickly answered.

"Blue?"

"It's 8:00 a.m" She stated, knowing that he was probably still in bed.

"Oh...so it is."

"School starts in 30 minutes" She added, annoyed that he'd clearly forgotten what he'd told her yesterday. She had taken her car in to the shop for some work that needed to be done, and he'd told her that he and Kiba could pick her up and take her to school. Hige had, in fact, forgotten, but it all came rushing back to him as he heard her annoyed tone.

"Okay, don't worry, I'll just...get ready in like two minutes, and we'll be there in like 15 minutes. Don't worry, girl, I got you!" He added, hoping she knew that he was giving her the broadest smile he could manage. He just heard her groan.

"Just...hurry."


"Toboe, aren't you going to be late for the bus?" Tsume asked, as he noticed Kiba and Toboe both taking their time with breakfast. Toboe usually had to leave half an hour before the older boys, and yet, there he was, taking all the time in the world to eat a piece of toast.

"It's late start Friday...like every other Friday." Toboe muttered, trying not to sound sarcastic, but really, Tsume was the worst at remembering things.

"Oh..."

Kiba shrugged casually, as he finished drinking his orange juice. "I'm taking him to school today." He was tempted to add 'like every other Friday', but knew it was unnecessary, and honestly just mean. The older boy had enough to worry about.

"Hey Toboe , these eggs are disgusting." Kiba commented, having no trouble being 'mean' to his youngest brother.

"Hey! At least I try, you and Hige just eat whatever Tsume and I make..."

As the boy continued on with their conversation, Hige ran into the kitchen with very wet hair, t-shirt half on, and a toothbrush in his mouth.

"Great, and now, I've lost my appetite" Tsume commented, always willing to joke about his brother's weight...though he should probably stop, before a complex was formed.

"Is that a fat joke?" Hige asked, not at all insulted. He had been a chubby child, and even now, ate like the ravenous teenager that he was, but he also didn't like sweets, preferring meat, dairy and yes, even (cheese covered) vegetables, that and growing a few inches meant that he was a perfectly fit 15 year old.

"Not at all, Porky." Really, it was a term of endearment.

Hige laughed, as he took the toothbrush out of his mouth, spit in the kitchen sink, and turned to Kiba.

"Hey...can we go? A friend needs a ride..."

"What friend?" Kiba asked, already annoyed. He wasn't a taxi driver!

"Oh, just...y'know..."

"No, I don't, which is why I just asked you."

Hige rolled his eyes at that, though he tried not to let anyone see. He didn't need to be lectured on 'respect'.

"Blue-She's in my math class, you probably don't know her-"

"I love Blue!" Toboe shouted, getting up and picking up his plate, "It'll be so good to see her again!"

"Oh, Blue. The girl you keep skipping school with." Tsume piped in; It was another sore subject. They had had one too many conversations about it.

Hige frowned, not saying anything. He knew it was best to just keep quiet, and eventually Kiba would give in, it's not like they were gonna leave poor Blue to walk to school alone! It was dangerous!

"Are we leaving?" Toboe, sweet, adorable Toboe asked, grabbing his backpack and trying to get everyone out the door. He really did like Blue. She was fierce and brave, and she was good for Hige.

Kiba looked from Toboe, to Hige, to Tsume, who simply shrugged, and with a not so subtle sigh of annoyance, he turned to the younger boys.

"Let's go, already."


Tsume walked out of "Copy and Party", the Copy Center where he worked. He had stumbled into the job his last year of High School, and they paid him surprisingly well-for a job in Freeze City. It was simple, mundane work, and he'd rather be almost anywhere else, but it paid the bills (barely),so he couldn't afford to lose it. His grandmother had been friends with the previous owner, which is why he'd gotten the job in the first place. The current owner, Jane, was a bit of a flake and very scattered brained, but at least she was nice.

The 19 year old boy sighed, thinking how his parents, and even Granny, who had taken them in after their death, wouldn't have wanted this for him. Still, this is what life had given him, and he often thought he'd just die on this hill, but there were also moments where he actually considered leaving.

Tsume stopped abruptly, pausing his thoughts. He had parked next to an old, run down phone booth, which clearly hadn't worked in years, and yet, there was a young woman inside,hitting the sides with the black phone, and cursing. There was also a dent in his car.

"What the f..." He stormed over to the booth, finding that the girl was holding a phone whose cord didn't connect to anything.

"I gave you a dollar, now work you stupid piece of-"

He pretended to cough, as she was clearly too focused to have noticed his presence. Although when she turned to him, with mock surprise, he wondered about her intentions.

"The phone isn't working, just so you know." She explained, holding up the cord, and laughing awkwardly. He glared.

"I'm not waiting to use the phone...which hasn't worked in years. I was wondering what happened to my car." He asked, aware that he was using his 'You better tell me the truth right now' tone, but she was the only one around, maybe she'd seen something.

She glanced at the car he was pointing at, quietly inspecting the damage he was pointing at.

"Oh, is that yours?" She asked, seemingly concerned.

"Yeah, did you happen to see the car who did it?"

She blushed. "Car? Oh, actually It was some girl with a brick. She obviously had bad aim since I think she was aiming at her stupid boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend now." She rambled on, hoping to get a feel for Tsume's character, maybe make him laugh, but he continued to frown, expecting an explanation.

"...And would you happened to remember what she looked like?" He asked blankly.

The girl was now biting her lower lip and avoiding eye contact, and he wasn't an idiot.

"long hair, blonde—very attractive if I do say so myself" She joked, again, smiling, only to quickly frown when he didn't laugh with her.

He rolled his eyes, a habit that he should probably stop, but he was surrounded by idiots. "Did she go into the phone booth afterward?"

"No! Well...yes. Sorry? Please don't be a serial killer..."

He glared, clearly not seeing the humor in the situation, though he wasn't blind. She was beautiful, clearly used to getting away with things. He wasn't about to let that happen.

"I'm not a serial killer, but I would like to be paid for the damage."

"Oh! Of course, of course...but the phone just ate my quarters. It was my last dollar... my boyfriend, that jerk, just left me here and-"

Tsume groaned, clearly he was not being paid for the damage.

"Okay, well, good luck." He muttered, heading for his car.

"Wait! Please don't go, do you have a cellphone I could borrow?"

"Uh..." Tsume reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone, he wasn't just going to leave. It wasn't a safe neighborhood.

"Oh, it's dead." He noticed, and actually felt bad when he saw her shrug in defeat. No, he was not just gonna leave her there.

"Well, against my better judgement...my house is 5 minutes away, I can charge it there, and you can use my phone. Or I can drop you off somewhere?"

She sighed at that, she didn't trust him, but she didn't feel in danger with him either, and the truth was, she was afraid. Darcia had been so violent when he'd left her there, she had never seen him like that, and she didn't want to be alone when he came back.

"You promise you're not a serial killer?"

"I...no, of course not. You can take your brick along for protection, if you want." He half joked, but she smiled and actually grabbed it before getting in his car, which made him shake his head,though he approved of 'better safe than sorry.'

"My name's Hamona, by the way. I guess I should at least know your name before I get in your car."

"I'm Tsume, and the fact that you're gripping that brick, is making me nervous."

"Oh!...Good."


To Be Continued...