Chapter Four
Lord of Destruction
Come on, shoot faster
Just a little bit of energy
I wanna try something fun right now
I guess some people call it anarchy!
_Get Jinxed, League of Legends
I adapt to my new surroundings pretty quickly, working both as a tour guide of the I.I.I Corporation, and a live-in maid at the Imai Mansion. I'm always busy, but I don't really mind it too much, it's better than being outside in the rain.
I was so shocked when Hotaru offered me the job, it just didn't make any sense, she had never met me in her life, I was just some bum she had picked up off the street, but both she and Subaru told me that they owed a debt to my father. I guess that sort of makes sense, except it totally doesn't, at all.
I sigh over my clipboard, I'm currently leading a tribe of wearisome kindergarteners around the vast expanse of the corporation, which includes a green house full of exotic plants, a small menagerie of mutated animals (mostly frogs and snakes), and a futuristic indoor playground with a mini-rollercoaster. Well, at least they're enthusiastic.
I smile at a little boy in the back, he's quiet and he looks sort of lost, I notice that the other children avoid him, and even the teachers seem wary of him, but I can't see why, he's cute, gray hair and gray eyes and a cherubs mouth. I smile as I notice his eyes widen at the sight of a six legged frog.
"Do you like frogs?" I ask him, he turns and looks at me with sparkling eyes, and nods silently. I smile warmly at him and his mouth quivers, but he doesn't smile back. The rest of the group watches me with expressions ranging from shocked to curious.
I keep a close eye on him, walking close to him as we continue on our tour since he seems so left out.
"I'm Yukihira Mikan, what's your name?" I ask him cheerfully, he blinks up at me and then directs his eyes forwards, curiously cold eyes for such a little boy.
"Hijiri Youichi," he has a slight speech impediment, it makes him even cuter, I kind of want to hug him, put I have a feeling that I'd get some funny looks.
XxXx
I watch as the kids file out, picked up by parents either tired or smiling, then the teachers leave, talking, flirting, and making plans with one another, and every one is gone, every one except Hijiri-kun.
"Where's your Mommy and Daddy, Hijiri-kun?" I ask him, he fixes me again with those cold gray eyes.
"Dead," he says simply, as if it's the most natural thing in the world, I blanch for a moment, the kid sure is blunt.
"Oh, okay, is someone gonna pick you up?" I ask, fighting the urge to bite my lip, it's awkward being around him, but he's still not scary, I can see him clear as day, he's just a sad little boy who doesn't know how to deal with big boy feelings yet. Now I want to hug him even more.
"Yes," he says a name, but due to his slight speech impediment I can't make out what he's said.
"He'll be here in…" he lifted his arm and pulled his sleeve back, revealing a little plastic blue watch with a cartoon character on it.
"What time is it?" he asks,
"6:00," I tell him smiling, his lips quiver again and this time he manages a tiny smile, his cold eyes even light up a little.
"Work is over in one more 30 minutes," he says quietly. I blink, I guess I have little Hijiri for 30 more minutes. I shrug my shoulders, unable to keep my thoughts completely to myself.
"Do you want to go back to the playground while you wait?" I ask, offering him my hand, he takes it gingerly.
"No," he says with a shake of his head,
"Frogs,"
XxXx
We're still looking at the frogs when the intercom sounds overhead.
"Hijiri Youichi? Someone is at the front desk to receive a Hijiri Youichi-kun," the little boy squirms with excitement, and says the name again brightly; something like Nama or maybe it was Nana?
He grabs my hand again and pulls me after him towards the front desk; I chuckle softly as he trots out of the room.
When we arrive at the front desk, the secretary Sumire is fawning over a young man with tousled black hair, but he looks totally disinterested, his hands are thrust into the pockets of his acid-washed blue jeans and his eyes are bored, but they're such a bright shade of crimson that it's distracting.
"Nama!" Hijiri-kun shouts, racing forwards, still gripping my hand tightly in his. The young man looks at him and his eyes soften ever so slightly, when his eyes meet mine they're cold again, he's quite intimidating, even if his is attractive, which I can't deny that he his.
Youichi reaches him with a wide, genuine grin, the first I've seen on his little face. He clasps the red eyed boy's shirt with his free hand.
"Frogs!" he exclaims, "Nama" is still staring at me, and I'm fixated, like a bird staring at a snake.
"Who are you?" he asks, and his tone is far from welcoming.