Dude, guess who's awesome?
(Hint: me)
Sena was asleep when they got the call.
Several of Hiruma's phones went off simultaneously spitting out mashed up choruses of odd songs and chimes, so intertwined chaotically, it was sinister. Hiruma didn't bother taking his eyes off the road, swiping the first cell phone in reach. He flipped it open and all the other phones died instantly. In the back of the van Sena only made the slightest murmur.
"'Bout time you contacted us, Boss," Hiruma said, not bothering to lower his voice. If he did, the Boss on the other side of the line would instantly realize something was fucked. Next to him, Agon Kongo's jaw twitched as he listened in the conversation. "We got the crap," Hiruma added, otherwise the Boss would've hung up.
"Good, it's so hard to find such reliable children these days. Leave it in P.O box 333 in Grand street Lima, Ohio by Thursday."
The line went dead. Hiruma threw the phone into the back, grunting with distaste. Children. He only let the pointed jeer affect him for a moment – they had bigger shit at the moment. They were still 13 hours from Ohio; they would have to get rid of the boy as soon as possible. He should have foreseen it; Agon's rash stupidity wasn't to be left to chance.
"We could drop him off right here," Agon pointed out, directing to the lush forest all around them. Hiruma couldn't lie to himself, the idea was tempting. To just correct the problem now, without the Boss ever knowing - however it would only take a matter of minutes for the imbecile to slip somewhere and break his neck. Anyway, it was an inevitable truth that the Boss would learn of Hiruma and Agon's slip up, if he didn't already.
Surely, the knowledge of a boy being kidnapped by jewelry burglars had worked its way into the majority of Maine's papers – if not national news. The Boss would already have been watching to see if the two made even the slightest mistake. Kidnapping a minor probably put Hiruma on the top of his shit list. Again, he should have seen this happen, should have known Agon would manage to screw up his perfect plan. First, refusing disguise, then fucking kidnap –
"Fucking trash, I said -"
"I heard you. Bad idea," Hiruma cut him off and could sense Agon's temper rising. "Well I don't fucking hear any pearls of wisdom from you're end, trash." Hiruma glanced down at the gas meter, 1/4th of a tank left. The next station was coming up in a few minutes, maybe it was time. Time to get rid of the kid – otherwise he might pick up that they were on their way to Ohio.
"Go back there and wake the brat up. There's a gas station ten minutes up the road," Hiruma said. Agon raised an eyebrow, but surprisingly listened without complaint, stepping over the seat into the back of the bus.
The boy was wedged between their seat and one of the hubs, his arms under his head, the long ratty worker shirt pulled over his bent knees. There was a smudge of dried blood on the side of his face and his hands were black from filth, his arms and legs were covered in odd bruises, his hair a shocked and greasy mess.
Agon nudged him with his boot and startled awake, Sena started at him with foggy blankness for a moment before connecting the dots. Agon didn't like it, the way the brat stared at him with void eyes, empty of the expected emotions. Sure, there was fear in there, but not the right brand. He didn't know what Agon was capable of, didn't know that he should be blessing every second he's still breathing.
Sena yawned and tried to wiggle out of his makeshift bed. "How long have I been asleep?" He asked as Agon returned to the front. When Agon decided to ignore him, Sena scooted over and sat on up his knees to see the clock - 7:43, about five hours. Sena surely felt the effects of five hours cramped on the ground.
He winced and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to force the knots out of his body. How much longer were they going to drive? Surely they had to get out at some point. For a moment Sena felt a flicker of a memory, of unbelievably soft comforters that smelled like pine. But it left, and Sena deemed the memory not important enough to share. Anyway, Hiruma looked slight stressed already.
Sena rested his head on the seat and stared blankly at the ground between Hiruma and Agon. The grayish green seats were littered with junk – wrappers, magazines, a tool box, several cell phones, and a duffel bag was stuffed under Agon's seat. Sena resisted the urge to sigh, he was sick of reading the map – sick of sitting around doing nothing.
Sena's self-pity was interrupted as Hiruma swerved, flying into a gas station. Sena perked up, itching to get out of the van. "If you want, I'll go pay for the gas," he said, the words flying out of his mouth. Hiruma cranked his head to give Sena a somewhat suspicious glance and Sena smiled sheepishly. "I just wanna walk around a little bit," he explained and for a moment he thought he saw the shadow of a smile on Agon's face.
From some mysterious location, Hiruma drew out four twenty dollar bills and Sena couldn't help but to be instantly nervous, it was a lot of money after all. "Get me a Pepsi while you're in there – and gum, not any of that sugary shit." Hiruma said causally and Sena nodded.
He sat awkwardly for a moment, not sure how he was supposed to get out. Hiruma opened his door and stepped out – probably to get the pump. Sena slipped after him and his borrowed shirt got caught on the seat.
"Are you sure they're going to let me in?" Sena asked tugging down his shirt, realizing his lack of shoes could also be a problem. Behind him Agon snorted, and Sena gave him a curious look. "You'll be fine," Hiruma said, ushering Sena away.
Sena stumbled across the parking lot, somewhat uneasily. His legs felt weak, from being in the van for so long. However, it still felt good to be up and about, with fresh air in his lungs. Inside the store, Sena winced at how unsanitary the ground felt. Crossing over to the sodas, Sena wondered if he should get Agon something too. He grabbed another Pepsi, figuring it couldn't hurt. At the register, Sena chose the least sugary looking gum he could find, before paying the lady – an elderly woman who was too busy applying makeup to even notice Sena's odd appearance.
After putting the rest of the money towards gas, Sena stepped back outside. His stomach growled and he felt slightly foolish for not getting anything for himself.
"Are you okay Hiruma-san?" Sena asked, surprised at the sour look on the blonde's face. Hiruma blinked, glancing away from the pump he had been giving a death stare to. "Sure, fucking fantastic. Did you get me any cigarettes?" He asked and Sena shook his head.
"I – I don't think that's legal and you didn't ask for any," he explained before holding up the Pepsi and gum. "But, um, I did get what you wanted," he said before glancing into the van. Agon shot him a nasty look and Sena pretended that it didn't make his stomach flip. "I-I got one for you too Agon-san," Sena said. He sneered over a dirty magazine, "I don't drink that shit," he said.
Sena resisted the urge to sigh and started to climb back into the van. He stopped surprised when Hiruma pulled him back by his arm. Sena tilted his head back to get a clear look Hiruma's expression. "You stink," Hiruma announced and Sena hung his head. "We're going to a hotel on the next exit, I wanna breathe something that's not shit," Hiruma said and let Sena go.
He blinked and once in the back, Sena shook his head.
He really didn't understand what was going on half the time.
0000
"Mamori!" Mihae gasped wrapping the young officer as soon as the door opened. "Ms. Kobayakawa," she responded and the woman released her, using a crumpled tissue to dry her eyes. "Oh forgive me Mamori dear, I'm not myself," she said forcing on her brave face. Mamori's heart nearly broke and she couldn't help but to give Mamori's hand a squeeze
Mihae stepped out of the way, ushering Mamori into the apartment. From the hallway, she could see Shuma hunched over the kitchen table. "Oh, hello," Mihae said as Shin followed Mamori into the apartment. "Ms. Kobayakawa, this is my partner, Seijuro Shin," Mamori explained and Mihae offered him a thin smile and a soft handshake.
"I believe Sena spoke of you," she muttered before leading them into the kitchen. Shuma jumped up, his chair crashing to the ground. When he locked eyes with Mamori he relaxed – but only slightly. "Mamori-san it's so nice…of you to stop by," he said his voice heavy with exhaustion. Mihae and Shuma were both from Japan and had moved to Maine when Sena was about five.
She had taken Sena under her wing because he was so shy around the other kids, and seemed to sense that she and Sena were the same. Both a little different.
Shuma slowly picked up his chair and motioned to the two open chairs next to him. "Please, sit down," he said dryly before asking, "do you have any idea where Sena is?" There was so much desperation in his voice that Mamori's heart nearly burst. "I think we have a couple leads, but nothing concrete yet. I'm so terribly sorry, I was wondering though; could we borrow a picture of Sena? A current one would be best," Mamori said.
Mihae dropped a teapot onto the stove and turned to Mamori, "of course, would you like a couple of tea?" Mamori was about to turn down the offer but Mihae had already produced two cups in front of them.
"You can go get anything you need out of Sena's room Mamori, I'm sure he'd understand," Mihae said with a sigh as she poured the tea into their cups. With one whiff Mamori recognized their favorite tea, oolong.
Mamori turned to Shin and followed his gaze to Mihae's wrist – he was staring quite blankly at her Family tattoo. It was in Japanese, and Mamori had always admired it. "Um," she said sipping her tea, and forcing her brain back on track. "Oh – yes, I'll do that. Shin do you want to stay in –" he had already stood up and was headed down the hall.
Capturing a sigh, Mamori nodded to Mihae and Shuma before following Shin down the hall. "Sena's room is all the way down, to the right," she said. For some reason, her heart was starting to ache. After a moment Mamori decided to stop fooling herself. A small, foolish part of her wanted to walk into Sena's room and find him with a book in his lap, or playing some nonviolent video game.
Instead, the room was empty, a hallow shell without Sena. Mamori forced a warm emotion down her throat as she slipped into the room. Pinned onto the wall next to Sena's bed was the large piece of poster board she had given to him – on it in her handwriting was; GO MAMORI'S LITTLE BROTHER!
That had been the school gag, that the two Asian kids were siblings. In high school Mamori had been moderately popular, and despite the slight bullying Sena refused to talk to her about, Sena wasn't a complete outcast. He had actually won #1 in the state companion for his track team.
He was just a little shy that was all.
Mamori sat down on the bed, and glanced around the room while her heart throbbed. Sena's pajamas were a crumpled mess at her feet. The 4th Harry Potter book laid on its spine at his bedside table, along with half a glass of water and his alarm clock.
Not the digital kind, a real old fashioned alarm clock. His bed sheets had baseballs on them and sitting next to his desk was a large stuffed bear that Mamori had got for him at a carnival. The only reason Mamori didn't lose it right then and there was Shin who was eagle eyeing the room.
She stood up; smiling when Shin's eye caught the article Sena had cut out from the newspaper. In grainy black and white print, Shin stared back at them, his expression a frozen one common on police officers.
"Sena would freak if he knew that you saw that," Mamori said softly, and waved away Shin's curious expression. "Never mind, let's just get a picture and get out of here," she said picking up the first one she found off Sena's desk.
Back in the kitchen, Mihae offered them a weak smile before reaching out for Mamori again. "Please, in you get any information on Sena, call us right away. And thank you so much for stopping in. Oh, you too Mr. Shin," Mihae said and he gave her a curt nod before heading out of the door.
Mamori shared a few warm words before heading back out with Shin. She whipped open the door and slipped behind the wheel. Before putting the key in the ignition she shot Shin a snake eyed look. "That was rude, the least you could've done was say hello, or thank them for the tea," she snapped and Shin simply adjusted his glasses, and his eyes narrowed.
Mamori closed her mouth, despite the several other nasty comments she had been dying to make. "Was Sena adopted?" Shin asked and she gave him a bewildered look.
"What?" She asked completely dumbfounded and Shin crossed his arms, glancing back up at the apartment.
"Shuma and Mihae Kobayakawa are not Japanese – and they are not Sena Kobayakawa's biological parents." Shin explained, and Mamori could only manage the slightest disbelieving gasp.
0000
Agon had to read the message again.
That fucking trash, he thought, flipping open the cell phone.
The text read: "And boys, don't forget to be good host to Sena Kobayakawa."
It wasn't signed, but then again it didn't have to be. Only the boss would have the brass balls to call Agon a fucking boy. Not that it pissed him off any less, Agon grinded his teeth and decided to break the phone.
He whipped it across the room, only the slightly bit less pissed off.
At the same moment, the little trash himself stepped out of the bathroom. His eyes were wide as he stared at the shattered phone a few feet away from him. Agon couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow, somewhat impressed that the trash had managed not to get creamed.
"What was that for?" The trash asked in disbelief, but there was no need to answer, as the idiotic trash was just making noise.
Sena was less effected by almost facing death-by-flying-phone than he would've normally. For what felt like the first time in eons he had been able to take a shower. With shampoo, conditioner, and a bar of soap he felt like he had vacationed in heaven.
The warm water had washed away the worse of his aches, along with a nasty stench, dirt, and dried blood. In no situation did Sena want to know what the dried blood was from. He actually shuttered when Hiruma's face flooded into his mind.
And the nice fluffy hotel towels had been a pleasant plus; almost enough to take his mind off the fact that Agon and Hiruma both seemed to be in foul moods.
Stepping out of the bathroom didn't seem to have been a good idea, Hiruma wasn't back from the store yet – Agon was in a bad mood, and Sena was completely stark naked.
Well, other than the towel tied at his waist of course. Sena couldn't help but to wonder – was he always this, um, exposed? He seriously couldn't remember putting on clothes.
The room they were sharing only had two beds, one for Agon – closest to the front and bathroom doors and what Sena assumed was a bed for him and Hiruma. Sena put aside those thoughts, too excited at the prospect of having a real bed to sleep in for the night.
Between the two beds was a small bedside table, with a lamp on it. On the opposite wall a few feet away from the beds was a small TV on top of a small coffee table, with a mirror behind it. In the corner of that wall and the one to the window sat a chair.
Farther down was a radiator which occasionally grumbled every once and awhile. The remote to the TV was on Agon's side of the table, so instead of risking his life, Sena busied himself with taking inventory of his current physical state.
The bruise on his head was a small lump now, and still throbbed a little bit, but didn't hurt nearly as bad. The cuts on his wrist were now just soft scars, the same for his ankles. There was a large bruise on his ribcage which was a nasty purple shade, but it was the worse he had.
Sena glanced over to Agon, and resisted the urge to scream when he realized that Agon was already staring at him from the corner of his glasses. Sena sighed, it was time, he realized, time he settled whatever bad blood was between him and the hitchhiker.
After all, it was a long way to California.
"Um, Agon," Sena said softly, his voice coming out more high pitch than he would've liked. The man grunted and Sena suddenly wanted to scream at his past self for being so stupid. Agon could probably crush him like a mosquito.
"I was wondering, um, well, yu, er, see, um, wha-what's up?"
Dread washed over Sena when Agon swung his feet off the bed, and he scrambled farther across his own bed when Agon approached him. A hand wrapped his shoulder in an iron tight grip, if Sena hadn't been scared out of his mind, he would've whimpered.
"Listen trash, I think it's time I set down some basic rules," Agon growled and Sena nodded practically eagerly. "Oh-okay," Sena said slithering further back on his bed. "Rule 1: Don't fucking talk to me, no more fucking candy ass shit conversations, I don't want to hear your shitty voice more than I have to," he said and Sena nodded.
"Sorry, I, oh!" Sena cupped his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide with shock. He mouthed, 'sorry' but that only seemed to irritate Agon further.
He snorted and ambled his way back to his own bed. As soon as he sat down, the front door opened and Sena jumped off the bed, landing on the ground with a groan. "What the fuck's wrong with you?" Hiruma asked and Sena only managed a nervous laugh.
He glanced surprised at the several bags that Hiruma had brought in. "Here – put on some fucking clothes," Hiruma said motioning to one of the bags. Momentarily wondering how Hiruma had managed to carry all the bags, Sena opened the bag in question.
Inside was a basic pair of jeans and a non descriptive white shirt, deodorant, along with a hair brush, and underwear; a pack of briefs and boxers. Sena took the boxers and after a moment of consideration, decided to change in the room. He crossed back to the bed and took off his towel, surprised about the lack of embarrassment he expected to feel.
Sena opened the pack of boxers and pulled out a simple pair, surprised how much better he felt, with just the correct size boxers on. He put the shirt on; it fit him nicely, but would surely get dirty soon. The pants were a little snug, but fit well enough that Sena didn't complain.
Sena brushed his crazed hair, which was only halfway dried, making it slightly easier to brush. He used the towel to dry it again when he finished brushing the horrific mess and turned around. "I feel better," he said with a grin before remembering the deodorant.
He tugged his shirt up and applied it, more thankful for the deodorant than he could possibly explain.
"Come over here," Hiruma said, slightly gruffly. He was still going through the bags. Sena raised an eyebrow at the backpack Hiruma was holding. "You lost your old one," Hiruma explained quickly before tugging Sena back across the room, back to their bed. He sat down in the chair before directing that Sena sit at the edge of the bed in front of him.
He dropped another bag in between them, and took a bottle of peroxide and a box of Band-Aids out of it, before motioning that Sena move closer. With a cotton pad, he pressed the peroxide against Sena's forehead.
Sena winced and hissed at the stinging sensation. "Oh grow up, it's a fucking scratch," Hiruma snapped and Sena nodded, however his expression stayed the same as Hiruma applied the peroxide to the cuts on his wrist.
"Okay that's all of it," Sena said and Hiruma gave him a dark look. "Let me look at your stomach," he ordered and Sena lifted his shirt with a sigh. With the sting of peroxide still strong, the bruise looked a lot worse than earlier. Hiruma gently touched the worse of the purple and Sena flinched.
"Does that hurt?" Hiruma demanded and Sena shook his head. "Your hands are just really cold," he explained. While the bruise did hurt when Hiruma applied a little more pressure, none of his ribs were broken. Hiruma dropped a few painkillers in Sena's hand, which he swallowed obediently.
"I got you three pairs of pants and five shirts, you should be fine for now," Hiruma said and Sena nodded. "Thank you Hiruma," he said before standing up. A surge of awkwardness hit him, when Sena realized that he was standing in between Hiruma's legs.
He moved quickly, back to the bags, to organize his new things together.
Hiruma seemed to be just as much as an enigma as Agon. At times, he seemed to more like an older brother, telling Sena what to do, buying Sena's clothes – but then he went and said that they did that together.
It was still far too much for Sena to handle.
Agon growled when Sena passed him, to pick up the pack of underwear and deodorant and Sena attempted to smile politely, despite his fear. He made sure not to say anything though. Crouching down with his new stuff, Sena tugged the tags off his new backpack.
Hiruma seemed to have bought everything that Sena could ever possibly need. The other two pairs of pants were slightly darker versions of the ones he was already wearing, but the same size. The shirts were black, red, green, and blue, the same non descriptive cut as he the one he was already wearing.
Hiruma hadn't forgotten shoes; he had bought Sena a pair of white Nike shoes, along with a package of socks.
His new backpack was full of zippers and was completely black – along with the clothes; he put a toothbrush and toothpaste in it, mouthwash, and a pack of socks, a nail clipper, the deodorant, and a handful of travel size shampoo and conditioner bottles.
"Thank you Hiruma," Sena said, once everything was in the bag. Hiruma grunted – he was going through a large yellow book, probably looking for something to eat. Despite all the new things Sena had just gotten, he couldn't help but to feel that he was missing something.
He glanced up at Agon, who was reading another one of his smut magazine; with a title so embarrassing that Sena couldn't eve process it. However, the magazine was a mental bridge for him – books, did Sena like to read? Something in his gut told him rather soundly, yes. It would be nice, to have a book, just something to absorb other than avoiding eye contact with Hiruma and Agon.
However, it wasn't right to ask for one at the moment, as Hiruma had just spent an awfully lot of money on clothes and such.
"Pizza?" Hiruma asked but, flipped the page before anyone could give their input. He apparently settled on something, because he whipped out a phone and shot out an order too fast for Sena to follow. Seeing Sena's curious look, Hiruma explained. "We're having sushi for dinner," he said and Sena smiled weakly. Sushi sounded better than pizza again.
Agon sat up abruptly, flinging his magazine to the side. "Fuck this, I'm going out," he said bending down to stuff on his shoes. Sena was about to ask him something, but remembering the rule, clammed his mouth shut.
Agon stood up and momentarily glared at his own reflection in the mirror over the TV. Noticing Sena's expression he sneered at the boy. "Rule 2, don't fucking look at me like that," Agon snapped and Sena blinked, surprised.
"Huh?" He said stupidly but Agon ignored him, storming out of the room.
Hiruma turned on the TV, and Sena started to pick up the empty bags, before glancing at Hiruma through his eyelashes. A nauseating sensation ran through his stomach. He was alone with Hiruma – now what?