Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Scars ❯ Walking and Working ( Chapter 5 )

------Scars-------

-Genrou-

When I woke up the next morning and dragged myself into the kitchen, Houjun was sitting at the table, smiling slightly at a cup of tea. All traces of last night's sorrow had vanished, and to look at him, you'd swear he hadn't a care in the world.

Like he's wearing a fucking mask, I thought, annoyed. I've never been good at hiding how I feel, and when I meet someone who is, I'm never quite comfortable. I know that they have the upper hand.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully.

I grunted a barely intelligible response, the need for coffee making me inarticulate and sluggish.

"There's a pot of coffee on the counter, if that's what you're after."

I blinked in surprise. Houjun didn't drink coffee. I knew that. He'd made coffee for me, then...?

I gave him a smile of thanks as I made my way to the counter and poured a mug of coffee. I drank it black, the way I always do. That's the only way for me to wake myself up.

It took a few minutes for the caffeine to take effect. When I came fully awake, I realized that the spot I'd been staring at was occupied by a rather large spider.

Houjun had seen it, too, and had gone for a wad of paper towel.

"Aw, don' kill it!" I exclaimed. I gulped the rest of my coffee and clapped the mug against the wall, covering the spider.

"D'you have, like...an index card, `r somethin'?" I asked, looking back at Houjun.

--Houjun-

"Aw, don't kill it!"

I looked at him in surprise. It was a spider...it was invading the apartment...it was really big...I don't like spiders.

I watched as he finished his coffee and put the mug against the wall, confining the spider.

"D'you have, like...an index card, `r somethin'?"

I nodded, rummaging in a drawer. He reached over and pulled the three of spades and the ten of hearts off the top of the deck I'd held out. Carefully, he slid them under the mug, trapping the arachnid inside.

He transported it to the window and placed it on the ledge outside. Closing the window, he turned and smiled at me.

"I don' like spiders much, but I don' want anythin' ta die."

In that moment, all of the nervousness I'd felt about him evaporated.

"Holy shit!" He was staring at the clock.

"What's the matter, no da?" I asked, confused.

"I'm gonna be late!" he yelled over his shoulder as he ran for his room.

After Genrou had dashed out of the apartment at a breakneck speed that I worried really might break his neck, I felt strangely bored. Though it seemed odd, in the short time I'd known him, I'd grown to feel so comfortable with Genrou that it was as if he'd always been with me.

I wandered around the apartment, picking up things that were out of place, dusting, and eventually settling in front of the computer.

A check of my email showed a cheerful message from Hikou, which informed me that things were perfect for him and Kouji and asking how things were for Genrou and me.

Things were pretty good for Genrou and me, too. I'd gotten more comfortable with him now that he'd imposed the "no silences" rule. I wrote Hikou an equally cheerful reply, missing Genrou's nearly constant, happy chatter. I've never been one to talk a lot, so his half-thought-out sentences were somewhat comforting.

He was comforting, I realized. Strange... That wasn't a word I thought I'd ever connect with an ex-thief.

Absently, I clicked the mouse and sent the reply to Hikou. Then, without any thought whatsoever, I walked to the closet in the front room and grabbed my jacket. I stepped out the door and walked to the elevator as thought I'd planned to the whole time I'd been writing to Hikou.

And so I left for a walk.

The note I'd left in case Genrou returned (I had no idea what hours he worked,) read simply:

1:10--

Genrou,

Gone for a walk. I'll be back soon.

Houjun.

-Genrou-

On Saturdays, I worked a checkout counter at Shop `n Save from 10 to 4. It's pretty boring. People come up to you with their purchases, one every few minutes, or more, if you work the express lane, and after a while, their faces blend together and you feel like a broken record player, sweeping your arm to check in the items and repeating, over and over, "Have a nice day!"

It's money, though, and I need that.

Still, I can't help being glad when my shift is over.

When I got home, the first thing I did was look to see if Houjun was there. I couldn't find him, and I was a little worried until I found his note on the table.

Then I was really worried.

He'd been gone since one-ten!

I didn't know how long his walks usually lasted, but I knew someone who did.

I rushed to the phone and dialed Kouji's number, praying that Hikou was there.

--Houjun-

It's stupid. I've lived in this city forever, and I've been taking walks here for almost as long.

I don't know what I did. A turn down an unfamiliar street, for variety, and after that a few more turns that I thought would bring me to my destination-the park.

They didn't. I tried to retrace my steps, but I found that all that did was further entangle my usually good sense of direction.

Finally, I admitted defeat.

I was lost.

Neither the cold nor the wind that had just sprung up was helping my situation. I knew my windbreaker wasn't going to be enough.

And to top it all off, some very suspicious-looking people were staring at me...

-Genrou-

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kouji, it's Genrou. I need t' talk ta Hikou fer a minute."

"What's wrong with talkin' t' me?" He sounded offended, but I knew he was joking.

"Now isn' the time, Kouji," I growled. "I need t' talk ta Hikou!"

"A' right, a' right, lemme get `im."

A pause, footsteps, and Kouji's voice in the distance, yelling "Hikou! Phone!"

A click, and then: "Hello?"

"Hey, Hikou, it's Genrou."

"Oh, hi, Genrou. What's the matter?"

"Um, could ya tell me how long Houjun usually walks fer?"

"Not usually much longer than an hour, why?" he asked, worry growing in his voice.

I was in a panic now. Houjun had been gone for about three hours, and it was beginning to get dark.

"He left this note fer me at about one-ten that said he'd gone fer a walk. I just got home an' I saw the note and wondered if he'd ever walked that long before."

"Three hours?! " Hikou cried, sounding about the way I felt.

I didn't say anything.

"Kouji and I will be right over. Wait for us and we'll all look for him together."

"Okay..."

"See you then." There was a second click, and the dial tone returned.

I hung up the phone, hoping that Houjun had just run into an old friend and decided to catch up.

The sinking feeling in my stomach told me something different, though.

--Houjun-

I edged nervously away from the people who were watching me. It was growing dusky. I looked around for a streetlight. Something told me that standing in the light was a good idea, though I didn't know why. There were no other people around.

There weren't any streetlamps around, either.

Footsteps behind me made me whirl around.

A man in dark clothing stood in front of me, holding a knife threateningly. I wondered for a second where the other people I'd seen had gone.

"Give me your wallet." There was no room for questions in that voice.

"I don't have any money..." I said, trying to stay calm.

"We'll see about that," The man said, grinning nastily.

It was only as something hard hit me in the back of the head that I realized that the others I'd seen had made a circle and closed in behind me.

As everything swirled into blackness, I managed to murmur one thing.

"Genrou..."

---To be continued

Bwahahaha...I am evil, aren't I?

~Ambika