Chapter 3: My Worst Fear (I'dliketoadoptachildplease!)

Steve's POV

Today was the day. I was finally going to do it. My eye's snapped open as I looked at the clock. 3:00 am. Perfect. I sluggishly got out of bed, got some clothes, and slipped into the shower. It was Saturday morning, and I had promised Tsubaki that I would be at her house at 4:00 for tea. Some would say that was far too early, but I was usually up anyway. I took a quick five minute shower, threw on some jeans and red sweatshirt, and rushed out of the house. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I remembered that going to Tsubaki's house meant taking the route that I'd never wanted to take since I moved here. I flinched as I turned onto the road, the road with no name. And when finally, I was in front of the place I had been dreading, I realized that my worst fears were once again in my face. The orphanage. It's not that I was scared of orphans, and I had never grown up in one, just the idea of scared, helpless children was too much for me to handle. All week at the academy, I had been worrying about this moment. I looked at my watch hesitantly. 3:30. I knew I had time. Time to face my fear. The sign on the door that said open was shining in bright green letters, and I saw the owner through the window. I gulped as I slowly made my way inside. When I opened the door, I saw pairs of children playing. Every child had someone else to play with. It was only 3:30, so you could understand my confusion. But that confusion was replaced with a new one when I noticed a little boy in the corner. His hair was completely white like Soul's, and I couldn't see his eyes because of how long his bangs were. His sweatshirt was dark purple, he had white pants on, and no shoes. I saw a chain necklace around his neck that was sliver, with unusual red-ish streaks around it, but it went into his shirt so I could see the rest of it. He held a brown box in his hand, that was covered in red stains. Either the boy was shaking, or the box was. I couldn't tell.

"I'dliketoadoptachildplease!" I exclaimed all at once. In the corner of my eye, I saw the lone child stand up.

"Which one do ya want," the man at the counter said, in monotone. The child was now walking towards me. He hung his arms over the gate as I continued.

"Him," I replied.

"Really?" the man asked. His monotone seemed to be gone completely. He rushed to unlock the gate. "Here!"

"Urrmm…," I mumbled. "Don't I have to sign a form or something? I'm only fifteen too."

"Nope! Here!" the man said. I thanked him, and the two of us left the orphanage.

"Well that was fast," I said to myself. I turned to the boy. "Hi there," I said as sweetly as I could. "I'm Steve!" The boy looked up at me, and brushed his bangs to the side. His eyes were a bright, almost luminous purple, or should I say, eye. His right eye was closed, and I just assumed he had lost it. The boy cleared his throat, stuck out his hand, and softly said,

"Will. My names Will." he smiled as I shook his hand, but I didn't let go of it.

"My weapon's name is Will too! But, we call him Platinum," I replied. "Hey Will, are you new to Death City?" He shook his head.

"I know everybody here," he stated. "I'm no stranger to the city. I also like tea," he added. My mouth opened slightly and my eyes widened. I didn't remember mentioning anything to him. In fact, I'm sure I hadn't said anything. But, I let it go as we kept walking.

"So Will, how old are you?" I asked him.

"Eight," he replied.

"Whats… whats in that box?"

"I'm surprised you can see it," Will replied. "All the other kids thought I was crazy because they couldn't see it. I can't open it right now, but I can show you later." I nodded, as we finally arrived at Black*Star and Tsubaki's house. I knocked on the door, and Tsubaki answered.

"I'm sorry I'm late," I apologized. "I swear I didn't know I was going to be late. I got a bit…side tracked."

"Aww, it's alright!" Tsubaki replied. "Black*Star's still sleeping, so we should go on the porch." She looked at Will. "Hi Will! How are you?"

"I'm doing great now," he said with a smile, as the three of us walked onto the porch. Tsubaki handed us tea, as we sat downing hammock chairs overlooking the pond and rivers. "I never thought I'd be adopted." Tsubaki looked shocked, as she turned to me.

"You adopted him? Oh, that's great news!" she exclaimed. "Congratulations, both of you!" The three of us talked for hours, and before long, it was 12:30. We waved goodbye as we set out for home.

"Steve, where have you been?" a worried Platinum asked when we got back. "You were supposed to make breakfast!"

"I'm sorry guys, I really am!" I apologized to all of them. "I was going to meet up with Tsubaki for tea, and…" I trailed off. "Oh, yes. Will, these are my friends. Simon, Sam, Eric, Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Roger, Sebastian, and my partner Platinum. You guys, this is Will. I adopted him earlier this morning." They all looked as if their eyes were about to pop out of their heads, all except for Platinum.

"Hi Will!" he said happily. "Whats in the box?"

"Oh yeah, the box," Will said. He walked over to the table, and sat it down.

"Are those blood stains?" Roger asked.

"I'm not sure," Will replied. "My mother had left it for me when I was born." he opened the box, and we gasped. A large light grey egg sat in the box. It had an odd snake like vortex around it, that was think and a foggy white color. "It's been four years though, I'm not sure if it'll ever hatch."

"Don't worry," I told him. "You just need to give it a little more time. I'll try and find a book or two at the library to help."

It was around 11:00 pm, when I heard footsteps on the porch outside my room. I cracked an eye open, but it was too dark to hear anything. But when I heard two voices, I immediately recognized them as Platinum and Will.

"Steve seemed so scared at the orphanage," Will began. "Do you know why that is?"

"In a matter of fact I do," Platinum replied. "Steve told me the story once. When we were little, we lived in a city. Steve's mother was using a pay phone on the side of the road, and he wandered off. Apparently we were only five. I don't know what it was. Maybe a smell, thats always what I've assumed. But something had obviously told him to go down the murky alley behind an old diner, and he found me in a dumpster. I was apparently a bloody heap, at least thats what his mother had told me. Steve never told me what I really looked like then. He started screaming until his mother found us, and after a week at the hospital, I lived with them. I think what really scares him are sad and suffering children."

"What happened to you?" Will asked.

"Honestly?…I have absolutely no idea," Platinum confessed, after a moment of silence. "I don't remember anything before waking up in the hospital. The first five years of my life… I just have no idea what they were like."

"When did you two move to Death City?"

"We were your age. Steve woke me up in the middle of the night; I could hear him screaming from downstairs. The house was trashed. The door was broken down. His mother was dead on the floor. Knowing the court system in a city full of regular people, I had a feeling that we would be blamed. So we packed our things and left. After two weeks, we finally found Death City."

"Platinum?"

"Yes, Will?"

"…I'm glad Steve found you," Will replied.

"M-me too!" Platinum agreed, and I was certain I heard heard him stifle a sob.