InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Zero-G ❯ Garage Squatting ( Chapter 9 )

Author's Notes: I'm honestly trying to think of something profound and meaningful to write here that will inspire anyone who takes the time to read the A/N. But… I got nothing… sorry…

 

 

Zero-G

Chapter Eight

Garage Squatting

 

 

 

Inuyasha looked down at the prostrating girl clinging to the material of his trousers. She gazed up at him with such imploring earnestness that he was at a loss of what to do. He knew that the best thing for everyone was for Kagome to get on that plane and never return to Japan. Honestly, it was a flawless scheme.

Everyone wanted to go to France these days. There was clean air, plenty of sunshine, fashions which included all seven colours of the rainbow and living expenses were very affordable. Inuyasha had foreseen no reason why this girl would rather have stayed in a country where her life was in constant jeopardy than go to a yuppie hotspot like Paris.

“I'm begging you!” She tugged at his trousers again, making him quickly catch hold of his belt before they fell down completely. “Please help me! I will do anything! Just don't make me abandon my world like this!”

He pitied her, he truly did. To be born as a cousin to someone like Kikyo Higurashi was a hard curse. But was she that desperate to stay and die? Was it bravery or just stupidity? Or was it something else…?

Inuyasha tried to tell her that she had no options. That she must get on the plane in order to live as a free person. But the words clotted in his throat, and he could only shake his head. Her pleading stare continued and he had to look away, unable to stand seeing the torment he was inflicting on her.

I should have killed you, he thought, not unkindly.

Then he noticed the patrol car peeling away from the stream of traffic a few hundred metres away. He stiffened and tried to school his expression. “Shit! The police are here.”

Horrible visions flashed before his eyes of the imminent danger they were now in. What if the police recognised Kagome? What if she willingly ran to them and told them who she was? Both of them could be dead by the end of the day…

“Let go-” Inuyasha jostled Kagome. “-get off.”

But Kagome didn't budge. “Promise me!” she hissed, using his anxiety to her advantage. “Promise me you'll help me!”

“I can't!” he hissed back, eyes on the patrol car that had now stopped only a few yards away. Two young officers - one male and the other female - were stepping out of the vehicle and moving towards them. The woman seemed to be a safe bet; she wore a bored expression as if this were a routine event, but the man was a different matter. He carried the swaggering arrogance of a kid who'd let his power go to his head and was only too happy to exert it on the unfortunate.

Inuyasha spat a mental curse at them both, but forced a smile.

“Care to tell us what you're doing?” the male officer asked with a smirk as he eyed them both. With Kagome on her knees, tugging at Inuyasha's pants as insistently as she was, there was only one natural conclusion to jump to.

“She felt sick.” Inuyasha shrugged. “We had to stop or she would puke. My sister isn't a good traveller.”

“Sister, huh?” The cop smirked again. “Incest is illegal, don't you know?”

Kagome hastily released Inuyasha and got to her feet as the female police officer rolled her eyes. Obviously, she was about as fond of her partner as Inuyasha was. “It's also illegal to stop a tunnel,” she said, bringing everyone's attention to the matter at hand. “You'll have to move yourselves and your vehicle.”

“But first I want to see some ID,” the male officer interrupted, giving Inuyasha a dirty look. “I don't buy the sibling crap.”

Inuyasha shrugged and reached into the pocket of his jacket while Kagome gawped like a fish. He nudged her and nodded towards the bike. She quickly caught his drift and went to fetch her fake ID from her bag.

“Kasumi Yoshikawa and Inokku Yoshikawa, huh?” The cop stared at the two laminated cards with scrutiny, undoubtedly checking for signs of forgery. Luckily, there were none. He looked at Kagome. “I guess this makes you a youkai, too.”

Kagome flinched as if she'd been struck. “Excuse me?”

“I'm a hanyou,” Inuyasha cut in with a hard glare at the police officer. “We're half-siblings.”

“Yeah?” The officer lifted an eyebrow. “By which parent?”

“Mother,” said Inuyasha, at precisely the same moment that Kagome said, “Father.”

Inuyasha quickly slipped an arm around her shoulder and a hand over her mouth. “Biologically, we share a mother,” he said casually, as if gagging his sister was an everyday occurrence. Which it was really… “But we both live with her father because our mother died a few years ago, and my father is… somewhere else, I don't know. So it's like we share a father.”

“Uh huh.” The cop sounded unconvinced.

Kagome shook Inuyasha's hand away and folded her arms with a quiet huff.

The cop moved to stand beside the bickering `siblings' to examine the bike suspiciously. “You know, this looks an awful lot like a bike that was stolen off an antique collector last week.”

“Wow. Fancy that.” Inuyasha shoved his hands in his pockets and scuffed at the loose gravel beneath his feet. “Because I've had that bike for three years.”

The arrogant cop looked at him in contempt. “Prove it.”

“I have an MOT certificate from when I had the bike tuned and tested three months ago,” Inuyasha told him. “You'll be glad to know that my bike's in perfect health.”

“Really?” The cop unhooked his truncheon from his belt. “Because your tail light seems to be broken.”

The black truncheon jerked forward, aiming to shatter the plastic covering of the tail light. Inuyasha stopped the man's hand just in time with a bone crunching grip on his wrist. “Oh my god…” he said with disgust and disbelief. “Please tell me that you did not just try to pull the most corny move in the book.”

The police officer's face was contorting with pain, no matter how much he tried to hide it. “Release me before I charge you with assault.”

“Funny, seeing as how the only one assaulting anything here is you.” Inuyasha tightened his grip with an audible crunch.

Whatever cool the police officer possessed was lost in that moment. “Get your hands off me, you filthy hanyou-”

Inuyasha released his hand instantly, but only to crack the back of his fist across the officer's face. Blood splattered, a nose broke, and the arrogant young man fell flat on his back.

Kagome gaped in horror. “Inuyasha - you just hit a policeman!”

From the look he gave her, she suddenly realised that she'd given away his real name. But fortunately, the fallen officer didn't seem to have heard as he was too busy looking stunned.

“Tanaka!” His partner rushed over to help him up, but she sounded more exasperated than concerned. “You've really gone too far now.”

Inuyasha tugged at Kagome's sleeve. “Put the helmet on,” he muttered to her.

“What?” Kagome blinked at him.

“Do it!” he hissed more forcefully. Kagome obeyed, but more out of stunned agreeability than anything else. “Now get on the bike.”

The stunned policeman may have been too shocked to stand, but he was sharp enough to realise that his criminals were getting away. “Hey! Wait! Where do you think you're going?!”

“Uh… we have a plane to catch. Later!” Inuyasha mounted the bike in front of Kagome and forcefully dragged her arms around his waist. He saluted once to the two police officers on the floor before revving the engine to life and speeding off.

“You're crazy!” Kagome yelled over the roar of the engine.

“The crazy part hasn't even begun yet!” Inuyasha shouted back, keeping an eye on his wing mirror. He could see that the police were making a dash for their vehicle, and it would only be seconds before-

A siren began shrieking behind them, echoing through the hollow expanse of the tunnel. Inuyasha heard Kagome groan and lean into him. It was unlucky that she was prone to travel sickness… because the ride was about to get a whole lot worse. “Hold on tight!” he warned the girl as he changed gears and streaked towards the middle of the road.

The advantages of being on a bike meant that it was far easier to overtake and slip between moving vehicles. However, the advantage of being in a patrol car with a big wailing siren and flashing lights on top meant that everyone got out of your way. Sharpish.

Inuyasha scowled as he looked in his mirror again, annoyed to see that the traffic was pulling over to make way for the police. Cursing the stupidity of motorists in general, he put on an extra spurt of speed and switched to the opposite side of the road in an attempt to overtake the lorry ahead of him.

Oncoming cars flashed their lights and blared their horns like a line of angry, charging bulls, but Inuyasha was confident of his calculations. He pulled in front of the truck a fraction of a moment before he could collide with the approaching car, which sounded its horn in a long angry complaint. Inuyasha spared a fraction of a moment to flick the driver off before continuing his drastic manoeuvres. He had no time for road rage; the police were still gaining on them.

The tunnel suddenly ended, and Inuyasha was delighted as the road began to grow narrow. It would be hard for the police to catch up when the road was only wide enough for one car, but from the sound of the sirens in the distance, someone had called for backup. Inuyasha realised that there would undoubtedly be a contingent of patrol cars waiting for him at the next crossroad - the usual police trap.

It was time for a U-turn.

“Sorry about this,” he called to Kagome, who still clung to him like a petrified koala.

Then, as a convenient break in the oncoming traffic opened up, Inuyasha veered over to the opposite lane again. The stench of burning rubber assaulted his sensitive nose as he applied the brakes and jerked the steering wildly to the right. Tyres screamed in protest as the bike spun in a clumsy 180 degree turn (although Inuyasha put that down to Kagome's added weight rather than his own inability), and the only thing that prevented them from tumbling over was his foot bracing against the road.

Secretly, Inuyasha despaired at how much the new tyres would cost to replace the ones he'd just wrecked. Life never seemed to play him a fair hand…

They set off back towards the tunnel, clocking at speeds that were well over the limit. As they passed the patrol car that had been pursuing them, Inuyasha grinned and gave them a wicked little wave, knowing full well that they couldn't even dream of doubling back for another half mile. He was rewarded with a glimpse of a dirty glare from the male officer with tissue stuffed up his nose.

The bike and its passengers shot back into the orange glow of the tunnel, and for the first time, Kagome shifted against Inuyasha. “What's your plan?” she asked hesitantly, almost as if she was dreading the answer.

“We'll zigzag through back roads and alleys until we lose them,” he told her, swerving around a slow moving Honda. “Hopefully, if I know this district better than they do, we'll lose them in no time.”

“I don't know, I've watched those police chases on TV, and they never end happily - for the bad guy, I mean.” Kagome trembled against his back.

“Do you think we're the bad guys?” Inuyasha checked his mirrors with a paranoid glance.

“I'm honestly not sure anymore,” Kagome said. “But we'll never get away, will we?”

“Of course we will,” he told her with such bald-faced confidence that Kagome groaned again.

The tunnel seemed much shorter than before, and it wasn't long before they were out onto open roads again, heading back into the cosy suburbia that Inuyasha knew so well. Another cross junction was approaching, and Inuyasha winced as he saw the lights turn red.

Stopping wasn't an option.

A screech of tyres made him glance left, and Inuyasha spotted the patrol car that was racing towards the cross junction from the adjacent road. Already he knew the police's plan of action. They were aiming to ram the bike as it crossed paths with the car and send himself and Kagome flying - straight into hospital judging from the speed the patrol car was moving.

Idiots, Inuyasha thought, and quickly began scanning the area ahead of him for a quick escape.

Rather than take the risk of crossing a busy junction on a red light, Inuyasha mounted the sidewalk beside him and turned sharply down a set of steps. Kagome yelped in alarm as the bike tilted at a precarious angle, but there was no helping it. Inuyasha had to make it as difficult as possible for the police to follow him.

The steps led down into an avenue lined with cheap, terraced houses. Not entirely sure if he was driving into a dead end, Inuyasha carried on through the avenue at a steadier speed than before. The sirens in the distance seemed to be multiplying, growing louder with each passing second, and Inuyasha was beginning to take random turns and corners in an attempt to find what he was looking for.

Kagome looked around anxiously. “Where are we going now?”

“Shh!” Inuyasha glanced in the direction of the intensifying sirens. He probably had less than three minutes to get off the road and find a place to hide.

Salvation came in a row of old, rusted garages.

He quickly pulled up alongside them and made in impatient signal at Kagome. “Get off the bike,” he ordered, and the girl quickly scrambled off and watched him let the bike drop on the pavement as if he didn't care about the scratches it would cause.

Kagome tugged the helmet from her head and continued to watch Inuyasha in befuddlement as he walked alongside the garage doors, knocking on each one with a deliberate, hard tap. He suddenly stopped beside a grey door with peeling paint and knocked it again for good measure, listening to the echo inside. “Good,” he said and quickly bent down to yank the door up.

Whatever lock had been holding it down snapped like a twig under Inuyasha's strength, and the door surged upwards to reveal a dusty, but very empty garage. Crooking a finger at Kagome, the hanyou said, “Get inside, quick.”

Kagome didn't need to be told twice, and she hastily scurried into the murky shelter and peered around the gloomy interior. Inuyasha joined her a few moments later, wheeling the silent motorbike with him. Once the two fugitives and the bike were safely inside the garage, Inuyasha tugged the door down - effectively plunging them all into darkness.

A beat of silence passed as no one moved, breathed or said a word, and they listened to the approaching sirens that could only be a few streets away.

Kagome swallowed hard. “Inuyasha, I-”

“Shh.” Out of the pitch darkness, a warm hand closed around her wrist and tugged her towards the back of the garage. There, she was sat down on the cold concrete ground with her back to the wall as Inuyasha settled down beside her.

“Can't we turn on the light?” Kagome whispered.

“No,” he responded, shaking his head. “Someone might see it.”

They both turned towards the garage door and the thin line of street light that shone beneath it. When the roar of an engine rove into hearing range, Kagome flinched and hunkered down to press her fingers against her mouth while Inuyasha waited with baited breath. The siren's wail grew nearer until the flashing lights of the patrol car could be seen beneath the garage door.

Kagome didn't know what she was doing, but the moment she saw the lights, she suddenly leant into Inuyasha and buried her face against his shoulder. He made no move to comfort or reassure her… but he didn't turn her away either.

A few breathless moments passed, and the sirens faded again, along with the lights. Kagome relaxed and glanced at the garage door. “I can't believe you did that…” she whispered. “You hit a police officer.”

“He was begging for it.” Inuyasha shrugged and stood up to move to his bike. It was hard to see what he was doing exactly, but he seemed to be taking something out of one of the panniers. It wasn't long before he rejoined her on the floor with something on his lap.

“What's that?” she asked.

“Scanner,” he said bluntly, pressing a button on the device.

It was like a radio - a badly tuned one that gave off a lot of white noise and interference. Kagome frowned as Inuyasha began `tuning' it. “What are you trying to find, Nerima FM?” she asked sarcastically.

Inuyasha sighed loudly. “It's a police scanner, you nit.” He continued fiddling with the device. “It picks up the same frequency as the police's radio transmissions.”

Kagome gawped at him. “And just what are you doing with one of those? They're illegal!”

She was ignored as Inuyasha continued to tune the device to the right frequency. Occasionally she thought she could hear voices through the scanner, but they faded into white noise no sooner had she heard them. Then finally…

“…code nine zero delta… please advise… subject has disappeared…over.” a man's nasal voice said over the static.

“Bingo.” Inuyasha set the scanner on the floor before them.

The man continued. “…suspected GTA, six four seven and two four zero… suggesting a ten-eleven…”

“Negative,” a woman answered. “Stand by, over.”

Kagome was at a loss. “What's going on?” she asked. “What are they saying?”

Inuyasha sighed contemplatively. “They're saying that they want to charge me for Grand Theft Auto, lewd conduct in public areas, and assault on a police officer. The guy with the broken nose wants to get a Chopper out, but base won't spare one.”

The teenage girl blinked at him through the darkness. “You understand police code.” It was a statement, not an inquiry. “Either you watch too many episodes of Law and Order, or you're not telling me something…”

Inuyasha shrugged. “Hobby.”

“No, it's not.” Kagome narrowed her eyes. “You've done all this before, haven't you? You've been chased by the police before and that's why you have a scanner and a fake ID - so you can keep track of their plans.”

“Why do you think so little of me?” Inuyasha said, contriving to sound innocent.

“Because you're a lying, cheating, two-faced bastard who knows too much about illegal stuff to be legal!” she snapped.

“Ok, that's a very good reason.” Inuyasha conceded and went back to listening to the police conversations.

“…Requesting registration identification… two, zero, alpha, foxtrot…” The static overwhelmed the voice of the broken nosed cop for a moment before clearing again. “…echo, four, whisky…over.”

“Acknowledged, Beta team. Stand by, over.” Kagome and Inuyasha waited a beat before the woman's voice returned. “Citizen number identified. Inokku Yoshikawa, male, hanyou, age twenty-six, born in Osaka. Registered owner of KLM motorcycle with registration bravo, two, mike, two, two, four, over.”

The grouchy response of the male cop came through again. “…Roger that.”

Kagome poked Inuyasha in the side. “What does-”

“The prick just ran a check on me and found out that I was telling the truth about the bike,” he told her.

“Base,” the male cop suddenly said. “Please run a database check for the name Inuyasha, either real name or codename, over.”

“Acknowledged. Checking… one citizen found. Died five years ago. Registered member of-”

A new voice cut in. “Oh my god! Code red! There is a cow in the road! I repeat: there is a cow in the road!”

Inuyasha hastily switched the scanner off. “I think we've heard enough of that,” he said firmly.

But Kagome frowned into space. “Did that woman just say that you… died five years ago?”

Inuyasha made a vague sound. “She was probably talking about some other guy.”

“Why don't I believe you?” she pondered with a flat tone.

“Because I'm a lying, cheating, two-faced bastard who knows too much about illegal stuff to be legal?”

“Yeah, that's it.” Kagome gave him a fish eyed glare. “You're not a registered member of something, are you?”

“Other than Paedophiles Anonymous? No.”

Kagome sighed and dropped her face into her hands. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get an honest, serious answer out of him. “I think we've missed the plane, you know,” she said, changing subjects as she rubbed her arms against the growing chill of the evening. “When can we go back to the flat?”

“Not until morning,” he replied.

“What?!”

“The police will still be searching the streets for a motorbike,” Inuyasha lectured her. “We can't be sure that they've dropped their guard till tomorrow when the night shift goes home.”

Kagome sighed loudly. “I guess…” Already she could tell that the garage was about to get a whole lot colder before midnight ever came round. “Well, don't be surprised if you have to tie an ice cube to the back of your bike rather than a girl.”

“You cold?”

Kagome couldn't be sure, but she was almost certain that her breath was fogging up into little clouds. “A little,” she admitted.

“Well, you know what they say about body heat.” Inuyasha suddenly shifted beside her and Kagome felt a pair of rough hands clamp around her waist. She didn't even have time to shriek or protest as he dragged her across his lap and enveloped her against him with his jacket. Kagome was as stiff as the pair of old kecks that she'd found under Inuyasha's sofa, though Inuyasha seemed to be oblivious to her awkwardness. “It's good to share it,” he finished.

“I-Inuyasha…” Kagome stuttered. “Are you really twenty-six?”

“That's what it says on my ID.”

“And… you're not actually a paedophile, are you?”

“And if I am?”

“I'd ask you to put me down.”

“Hmmm, better not freeze to death.” He wrapped his arms around her, keeping the jacket closed. “Just try and get some sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens.”

“Thanks… but somehow I doubt that I'll get any sleep tonight.”

But despite her words, Kagome was rather tired. It wasn't every day that she was thrown into such a crazy adrenaline-pumping chase. Her weariness was beginning to catch up to her, and Inuyasha's warmth was very soothing for her frazzled nerves. It was only too easy for her to lay her head down on his shoulder and fall into a light slumber, encased in the relaxing scent of a protective male and the warmth of his body.

…………….

Inuyasha wasn't completely resistant to the drowsiness that had been crawling closer for many hours now. He tried to stave it off, but he hadn't slept for nearly three days now, and the cold was getting to him in the aftermath of the chase. Sighing, he wrapped his arms more tightly around the teenage girl and let his eyes close, feeling confident enough to protect her when she was so close. If anyone tried to attack her while he slept, Inuyasha would be the first to know about it.

His head slumped as he began to doze, but even as he gave himself up to the exhaustion, his ears remained perked and alert. They filtered out the usual sounds of Tokyo nightlife - roosting birds, distant car alarms and the sound of traffic - training instead on anything out of the ordinary, such as voices or sirens.

He mustn't have been asleep for long as it was still dark when the sound of a beer can clattering along the pavement outside woke him up. Still half asleep, he roused enough to listen until the footsteps had faded away before dropping his head again and pulling the girl in his arms more tightly against him.

In his sleep muddled mind, he'd forgotten where he was and who he was with. But the smell of the girl's clothes told his addled brain that it was none other than Kikyo. This was odd, as Kikyo wasn't much of a cuddler, so Inuyasha decided it must have been one of those nights when she was too drunk to know what she was doing.

With a contented sigh, Inuyasha moulded his hands against her curves and half-heartedly found her lips with his. “I love it when you're like this, Kikyo…” he murmured before kissing her slowly. The girl's only response was to groan slightly and turn her head away to continue sleeping unmolested.

Typical Kikyo behaviour.

…………….

The young pair of fugitives were in for a very rude awakening the next morning when the owner of the garage arrived home to park his car. There wasn't much warning other than the electric buzz of the remote controlled pulley system that began winching the broken door open. Inuyasha blinked awake in an instant and reacted with the reflexes possessed only by a trained killer.

It probably saved their lives.

“Look out!” Inuyasha quickly threw himself and Kagome to the side as a tattered old banger suddenly lurched into the garage through the opening door. There was a metallic crash as car collided with bike, and Inuyasha watched with horror as his beloved two-wheeler was smooshed into the wall where he'd just been snoozing.

For a split second, Inuyasha thought that the driver was the owner of the garage they were squatting in… but judging by how fast the car suddenly reversed and sped away down the street, Inuyasha had to rethink that conclusion.

Beside him, Kagome was groaning and clutching her head. “Jeez… what's all the noise…?” she muttered with a sleep thickened voice. She cracked her eyes open to look around, then had a double take when she saw the state of Inuyasha's bike. “What… on earth…?”

Feeling like all the wind had been knocked from his sails, Inuyasha tottered over to the bike and heaved it upright. The license plate fell off away with a clatter, and part of the plating covering the midsection gave an ominous crunch as the bike was set right. Inuyasha gazed on in dismay at the wonky handlebars and the cracked mirrors - even part of the leather seat padding had been ripped away as if attacked by an angry cat.

“Ouch…” Kagome commented as she walked up beside him. “That might need a lick of paint to cover the scratches.”

Inuyasha gave her a stupefied glare. “You cretin.”

“I'm just saying…” she said, shrugging.

Inuyasha gained a deep scowl as he pursed his lips. “She'll still ride,” he said decisively as Kagome mouthed the word `She?' in disbelief. “Just need to align the bars again…”

As the hanyou grunted and twisted at the bike to get it back into working order, Kagome folded her arms and looked through the open door to the sun filled street beyond. “Did the owner return?”

Inuyasha paused a moment before answering. “Yeah.”

“He made off quick…”

“Probably didn't have insurance.” She didn't need to know that another possible attempt on her life had been made. Inuyasha would have to find out later who owned a decrepit, little black Ford like the one that had tried to total his bike.

Stepping back, he surveyed his handiwork. “Perfect. This'll be fine.”

Kagome peeked around him. “I think you might have twisted it too far the other-”

“Shut up.” He pointed to the helmet on the floor. “Put that on.”

“Yes, sir.” She rolled her eyes and picked up the helmet to jam it over her sleep-ruffled hair. It was probably a blessing that the world couldn't see how roughly she'd slept.

Inuyasha pulled her onto the bike with him as he revved up the engine. It coughed and spluttered for a few moments before coming to life completely. But the hiccupping engine had Kagome raising an eyebrow in criticism and Inuyasha pursing his lips with worry. “She's fine,” he reassured her, even though the only one who needed reassuring was himself. “Probably.”

“Alright,” Kagome sighed, “but if this thing starts falling apart halfway, I'm walking.”

…………………….

Mrs Higurashi wrung a handkerchief anxiously between her hands as she gazed at the ancient headmaster sitting across from her. Souta sat on a chair beside her, sullenly keeping to himself and kicking the chair leg to a slow rhythm.

Finally, after a short eternity of silence, the headmaster lowered his spectacles to the desk and gave Mrs Higurashi a look. The look said everything she needed to know, and what he said next was only needless rambling. “I've called you here today, Mrs Higurashi, because several of your son's teachers have been filing complaints.”

Mrs Higurashi nodded stressfully and looked down at her handkerchief.

“Your son, Mrs Higurashi, has been demonstrating extremely bad behaviour over the last few days. He's been using lurid language with the teachers and has been refusing to cooperate in classroom activities.”

“I'm terribly sorry,” Mrs Higurashi whispered.

“I understand that you and Souta have suffered a tragic loss in the family, but I thought it best to warn you of Souta's behavioural problem before it got out of hand,” the headmaster told her. “I have the numbers of several child psychologists, if you're interested.”

Mrs Higurashi flinched. “You think my son needs therapy?”

Souta snorted, earning a reproachful look from his mother.

“It is… an option.” The headmaster jotted something down on a notepad. “I also suggest therapy for yourself, Mrs Higurashi. This can't be an easy trauma for your family to bear alone. Perhaps it would help if you were given the chance to talk about it with a professional?”

He tore off the page he'd written on and handed it to her. Mrs Higurashi glanced down at the names and numbers on the paper before folding it in half and nodding spinelessly. “Yes, thank you for your advice.”

The headmaster was silent, as if waiting for her to say something more - to acknowledge her problem more - but she said nothing. With a sigh he leant back. “You're free to go, Mrs Higurashi. I'm not trying to detain you for punishment.”

She gave a fleetingly nervous smile and stood up. “Thank you. Come on, Souta.” She reached to take her son's hand, but he refused to give it and walked out ahead of her. With one last cordial nod to the headmaster, Mrs Higurashi followed her son out into the corridor. She caught up with him a few metres away from the head's office.

“Is what he said true?” she asked her son searchingly. “Are you misbehaving?”

“Might.” He shrugged apathetically.

Mrs Higurashi winced and knelt down to be level with her son. “You haven't been doing your homework either.”

“No.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, almost pleadingly.

Souta only shrugged again.

Mrs Higurashi tried to dash away the tear that rolled down her cheek before he saw, and quickly pulled him into a one-sided embrace. “I've already lost my little girl, Souta. I don't want to lose my little boy too…”

Souta was silent, his faced pressed against her shoulder as if he didn't have the energy to do anything else. “Why are you always crying…?” he sighed.

……………………