Broken
...Tenth Part: Dark...
"Okay..."
Krad turned toward me, burying his face in my chest as I held him in protection from his no doubt gruesome memories. He pulled his arms around my waist, and then the strangest phrase came out of his mouth. "I think I love you," he whispered. I could have been mistaken – he was muffled against my shirt.
I didn't have time to respond before I spotted two shoes in front of me. "What's troubling your friend, there?" a gruff voice asked. He seemed nice, even through the gravely tone, but the instant the man uttered the beginning of a sound, his whole body went rigid.
I looked up at the big man hovering over us and gave him a friendly grin, although Krad's actions raised caution. "Oh, he'll be alright – girlfriend troubles," I lied, giving the man an excuse for the blond's crying.
"You his brother or something?" he asked.
"Yeah," I lied again, smoothly. "We're very close," I added, holding Krad tighter. I hoped he would recognize the message.
Krad's shoulders relaxed slightly, but his legs were still tense, pressed together and leaning against mine.
"Are you sure he's alright?" Would this guy never leave? He sounded concerned, but...
"Yes, thanks for asking."
"Sure thing, kid." He turned around and began to walk away. I watched him for a while, until he was out of sight.
"He's gone, Krad," I said.
Krad slowly unwound his arms from my waist. "I want to go home now," he whispered.
Standing up, I grabbed his hand and we began to walk again – toward a payphone. I didn't have a cell phone on hand. Once I found one, I dug in my pockets for change. Luckily, I had some.
I dialed Satoshi's number.
'Commander Hiwatari,' he answered.
"Satoshi!"
'Dark?'
"I met Krad's kidnapper a few minutes ago," I told him pleasantly.
'You have got to be kidding me. I thought you were with Krad.'
"I am. He didn't recognize him. Krad was having another of his break-downs, and the guy came right up to me and asked what was wrong."
'Where are you?'
I looked around, but I didn't see a street sign. "Uhm... I don't exactly know."
'That's helpful,' Satoshi remarked sarcastically. His voice was bitter.
"I may not be able to tell you where he went, but he was wearing a jacket with a name on it: Ogata. I thought maybe that could help." I hung up without waiting for a reply. Krad was gripping my hand with both of his, looking really jittery. "Alright," I told him. "Now we can leave." As we walked back, I continued, "Satoshi has a name, now. That should help narrow down the search."