Character Questionares, Ect.

[GGJ5]

How does your character show love? A hug? A gift? A smile when he/she helps someone? Write a scene with your character expressing his/her love for someone else. Include both large and small actions.

Auuugh I think I botched Yukito.... See, this is why I rarely use other characters.... *grumble grumble* Let me know what's botched and how to fix it, Mascii....

...KK, cheesy fluff ahead, you have been warned!

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Can u come ovr? Erin pressed 'send' on the text and waited eagerly for the screen to light up with a response. She didn't have to wait too long-- soon enough the sound of "Hammerhead" by Offspring told her that Yukito had responded, and she eagerly flipped open the phone to read it. Now? I guess if i have to ; ) A thrilled smile lit up her face that no one could see as she hastily replied, Yay!! She clicked 'send' before Erin let herself add that she had something for him, since she wanted it to be a complete surprise.

After one last once-over in the mirror and finding herself still perfectly content with what smiled back at her, Erin sat in the worn, overstuffed armchair to wait for Yukito to come over. Both her parents had headed out-- first her dad for the weekend to some kind of TOPSS conference, and her mom was out for the night with some of her old friends, and Erin had taken advantage of the time alone to set up something especially for Yukito. Not because today was anything particularly special, but because he was always the one planning their dates and complimenting her and giving her things and giving up his time and his money and everything just because he wanted to be with her... so she figured it was about time he got a day just for him, too. Even if he does claim he doesn't wanna be the center of attention... he's the center of my attention.

So she sat waiting-- rather impatiently, especially he wasn't exactly far away-- in the chair, feeling the threads of her worn black jeans beneath her fingers as they moved on her knees like pressing invisible piano keys, an unconscious movement. Erin had actually gotten herself to plan everything, too, and complete everything she wanted to have ready for Yukito, and so now waiting with nothing to do made her feel a little anxious. She started to let herself imagine what his reactions might be... they were never big reactions, like the ones she gave, or especially unique or anything... but that's kind of what she liked about them. About him. He could say volumes without saying anything hardly, in a weird, silent way, and he took everything about her in stride. He didn't make a big to-do about anything she did, no constant reminders for her to calm down all the time if she squealed too loud about something exciting or cried too hard when she was scared, only just enough to let her know he was there, no matter what. Steady. Thoughtful. So much different than her, and she loved every bit of it about him.

A brief knock came before Yukito's hand twisted the doorknob from the other side, though he was interrupted by Erin catching the sight and jumping to finish his task for him, opening the door wide with his hand still holding the knob. "Yuyukun!" She halted his greeting with her own, quickly pulling him into a hug. "How come you took so long?"

"Erin, it's only been a couple of minutes..." He chuckled a little at her exuberance. "I had to take the time to actually walk over here."

"It doesn't take that long," she protested lightheartedly, still hugging him to her.

"I'll try to work harder on teleporting, then, okay?" He leaned into her for a kiss as Erin was still in mid-giggle. Then when she was free to speak again, Erin voiced, "Are we just gonna stand in the doorway, air conditioning New Orleans?"

Yukito, his arms around Erin's waist, only shrugged. "This works for me." He started for another kiss, but not quickly enough-- Erin pulled away and into the living room, nudging the door closed with her elbow. Then she turned back toward him with a smile, hoping he wasn't curious enough to ruin one of her surprises by peeking behind the makeshift curtain she'd rigged to block off the small dining room from sight in the living room.

Well, it was hard not to notice, at least. "That's new," he commented simply, any further reaction cut off by another quick kiss.

"You can't see that, my Jedi mind trick distracts you," Erin said with a giggle, sitting in her favorite corner spot on the sofa.

Yukito followed, unable to resist a smirk as he quipped, "Oh, is that what it is?"

Erin ignored the comment, hopping back to her feet and turning on her heel so she could face him again. "Stay here. I have something for you." Within half a minute Erin raced from the living room into her bedroom and then out again, carrying something-- two somethings-- behind her back and positioning herself so Yukito couldn't see unless he really tried.

"I think I should be worried...." Yukito voiced, another smile nudging the corners of his mouth. "Am I forgetting a date on the calender or something?"

The comment earned a laugh from Erin, who immediately corrected, "No! Can't I just do something for you without it having to be locked down onto a little square box on the calender? Now close your eyes!"

Yukito raised his eyebrows at the command before adding, "Yeah, now I'm definitely worried..." But even before Erin could finish her reiterated and giggled command of "Just do it!", he closed them, apparently resigned to whatever his fate might be. Erin pulled the first object out from behind her back while slipping the other into an obscured area below the cluttered coffee table-- the first being her iPod, and before she placed the buds in his ears, she warned him with a "Shhh, listen!" Even though he hadn't said anything. Another bemused expression crossed his face as Yukito waited for Erin to continue with whatever she was up to-- which now consisted of her pressing the "play" button on the iPod and turning up the volume so he could hear. Satisfied that the music was reaching his ears, Erin nestled next to him on the couch, watching his face eagerly.

She had wanted to write a song for him for months but the words always sounded stupidly lame and cheesy, like a rejected chick flick theme song (which was twice as lame as an accepted chick flick theme song), and so it got to the point that Erin just ditched trying to put words to anything and focused just on the music. That ended up working so much better, and the final result was a three and a half minute instrumental piano piece... Not that three and a half minutes were enough to express what she wanted to say, but it was just impossible to sit and make it longer and better at the same time.... a short piece like it was already proved difficult enough to focus on writing and recording properly... but the sound, thank goodness, was a pretty decent quality... she was definitely getting good use out of Cassie's gift to her in October. But more than that she hoped the music would connect with Yukito, that even though there weren't any words, he could still hear how much she loved him in it, and how he was the cause of every note.

Erin waited out the three and a half minutes earnestly, telling herself not to fidget so much when she was sitting right next to Yukito, but it was so hard to be still and wait for him! The moment he reached up to take the buds from his ears, Erin couldn't resist a little squeal of glee before asking, "So what'd you think? Did you like it? It's my gift to you! Could you tell?"

Slowly, Yukito moved to wrap his arm around Erin's waist once more, and she beamed at him. "It was great, Erin." She had been hoping that that would get a bigger reaction than that, and the manifestation of her thoughts on her face didn't pass over Yukito. "Really," he added emphatically, a soft smile punctuating his words as he gave her forehead a light kiss.

"You can keep it... I can give you the track later, if you want it."

"Sure," was the quiet response. "I think--"

"C'mon, I have something else for you!" Erin interrupted, standing to her feet and pulling on Yukito's hands in hers.

"Something else?" An amused chuckle came from Yukito as he followed Erin's pull to the newly-curtained dining room.

"Ta-da!" Erin announced brightly, revealing a set-up as close to a restaurant style as she could. They didn't own a table cloth, but she'd decorated the small table with tea candles surrounding a little decorative box in the center. The box was a perfect cube with Celtic knots embossed on its silver sides and top, and it had the tiniest mock latch on one side, its shine reflecting the light of the flickering flames. And the scents of the food she'd prepared were now much less trapped by the curtains, the freshly-finished chicken Florentine risotto, the sun-dried tomatoes peppering it with a sweet tint. Set aside was the peanut butter cheesecake she'd made-- not exactly the ideal 'romantic' dessert, but it did look really pretty, and it was hard to go wrong with cheesecake... Erin still had no idea what foods Yukito liked or didn't like, so she'd made the best food she knew how to make and hoped it would be good enough. "Come sit down!"

"Erin..." Yukito started, almost incredulously as he sat down next to Erin. (She'd made sure they were sitting next to each other, and not that awful across-the-table setup... whose idea was that, anyway?) "You didn't have to--"

"I wanted to!" she cut in, briefly downcast from the hesitant response she was getting from him. Then she smiled when he did, relieved, when he took the fork in his hand. "I know. Everything looks amazing, Erin..."

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Once they had finished the dinner, and before Yukito could have the time to think that that was the end of the surprises, Erin piped up, "Okay, one more thing! Close your eyes again, Yuyukun!"

The order was greeted with another laugh. God, she loved his laugh-- she wished she could hear it all the time. "Erin..." As if she was overachieving or something. She laughed at the thought as he conceded to her request, and Erin plucked the silver centerpiece from its position. She tugged on Yukito's hands so they were open and placed the box in the center of his palms, pushing his fingers closed over it.

"Okay, open 'em now." She sat back to watch.

Yukito opened his eyes and stared for a second at the box in his hands. "A centerpiece. Awesome."

Erin laughed at that. "It's not a centerpiece, kareshi! It's a wish box," she explained brightly. "But don't open it," she added quickly. "Or you'll ruin the wish inside. See, there's a tiny little bitty paper that you're supposed to write on your wish, and then roll it into the tiniest scroll you can, and tie it up, and put it in the box and never open it again and your wish'll come true." To add to her explanation, Erin's smile widened with pride as she tacked on, "I made a wish for you. So you get to keep it now."

She'd debated for a while what to wish for... and how to wish it. In the end, Erin had come to the conclusion that since the wish was for Yukito, she should try to write it in his native language-- it would make it more authentic. She'd looked up the right words for it, hoping that out of the thousands of kanji she had chosen the right ones, painstakingly copying each line onto the tiny paper. On it she had written what she hoped was the right words for her wish.... 悠希人 幸福. "Yukito's happiness".

Another smile was playing at Yukito's lips. "Thanks, Erin, but, eh... how am I going to know if the wish comes true if I don't know what you wished for?"

Erin's smile revived itself as she moved to sit on his lap, arms around his neck. Lips close to his ear, she responded quietly, "You'll know."

[hanashyrexchana]

Okay, there is definitely PG-13. Read at your own risk.

Here's part one of Anika's Fear sketch.

New Orleans, House of Blues.
April 28, 2006 11:46 pm

Was it possible for a night to get awkwarder? More awkward? Anika pondered the correct use of grammar as Vikram and his current girlfriend Chelsea made goo-goo eyes at each other. The three of them had been there for about two hours now, with Anika being dateless for one. Leslie was supposed to be there too, which would have made the whole “the love of my life is totally picturing that slut naked” thing a bit more bearable for Anika, but he came down with stomach flu so he had to get his brother to drive him home, leaving Anika alone with her best friend and her current least favorite person.

Oh, it really wasn't Chelsea's fault that Ani hated her. She despised every girl Vikram dated. He didn't know this, he didn't even know how she felt, which was sort of ridiculous seeing how she dropped clues left and right. But Vikram was one of the most clueless boys on the face of the earth, which was really quite annoying (if not endearing). In the end, Anika still felt like it was her own fault they weren't together yet. If only she could figure out how to tell the idiot, without ruining everything they had. She'd rather have him as a best friend than nothing at all.

“Ani?” Vikram had been able to pull his eyes off Chelsea long enough to notice Anika was staring at him. “Something wrong?”

“hm?” Being caught unaware, she had to come up with an excuse fast. “I'm bored.” Hey, it was the truth. “Tell you what... I'll see ya later.” She had wanted to go home early tonight anyways. It had nothing to do with the fact that every kiss was breaking her heart. Standing up, Anika fished out enough money to pay for her drink and slapped it on the table.

“Oh... well, later.” Vikram turned back to his girl, giving her a kiss on the neck that made Ani's blood boil.

Standing outside the house of Blues, she wondered how she as getting home. The original plan was to get a ride home with Vikram, but that wasn't happening. Her mom wouldn't be too happy if she called and woke her up, telling her where she was and why she was not in bed sleeping. Another plan would be to call any number of her older friends who had driving licenses, but no doubt they would want to party some more, and truthfully Anika just felt like going to bed. She was rattling her brain for any alternatives when a car horn went off and someone shouted her name. Looking up, she saw it was Mike, her mothers boyfriend. Crap. But he did have a car, so she decided to go up to the window and poke her head in. “Yo, you're out late.” She told him with a grin.

“Hey kiddo, that's my line.” He told her with a chuckle as he unlocked the door. “Get in, I'll give you a ride and your mom will never know.”

Anika thanked him profusely as she jumped in, wondering to herself how she got so lucky. Unlike the last couple of bozos who had dated her mom, Mike was pretty cool. He had his down points, like how he always complemented Ani to a point where it was creepy, but she figured he was just trying to be nice. After all, you can't exactly date a girls mom without winning her heart too. “So Mike, what're you doing round here?”

“I'm secretly stalking you, shhhh.” He said, making the universal 'It's a secret' symbol with his finger. They both laughed. “No, I was just watching a game at one of my buddies house, and I recognized you as I drove by.” The reasoning was good enough for her, so she just shrugged it off. “You're dressed up tonight.” He pointed out. “Beautiful, as usual.”

Smiling, Anika turned her attention to the window. “Thank you. It's a new dress, I got it with my mom last weekend.” She felt the urge to add ' you know, my mom, the lady you're dating?' but didn't. 'Come on, it's just Mike. He's harmless. Just..... awkward, that's all.' She old herself and shook the comment off. They rode in silence, and as Anika watched the road turned unfamiliar. She knew the way home from French Quarter, and this was not it. “um... Mike?” She asked, turning to him.

“Don't worry,” He crooned. “I drive this way all the time.” Shifting in her seat, Anika crossed her arms and continued watching out her window. Silence enveloped them again for a few minutes until Mike suddenly slammed on his brakes. Grabbing her seat so she wouldn't hit the windshield, she turned towards Mike again, looking rather mad and a bit confused. She didn't see any sort of animal or child crossing in front of them, so what was the deal with the quick stop? Breaking her glare away from Mike, who was simply smirking, his hands still on the wheel, Ani looked out the window to see where she was. As soon as she did this, Mike shifted the car into reverse and backed it into an alley, still wearing that stupid smirk on his face. By now, Ani's 'danger!' alarm was going off in the back of her head. This wasn't right, she knew. This wasn't the Mike she knew.

Grabbing the handle, she threw the door open and thrust a foot out. ”Close it.” There was something cold and hard pressed lightly against Ani, right where her long neck met her shoulder. Slowly, very slowly, hating herself the whole while, Anika pulled her leg back in the car and shut the door. The pressure was lifted, the cold was gone, but she found herself shivering uncontrollably.

''Good girl. New Orleans is dangerous at this time of night, wouldn't want something to happen to your pretty face.” Again, with the cold, this time against her face. True, it was only the blunt side that was caressing her paling skin, but a knife is a knife. Anika let out a whimper.”Get in the back seat.” He commanded, undoing his seat belt. “And no running, my sweet. Wouldn't want me after your mother? Or perhaps that handsome little Indian boy you're always playing with?” He had brought her mom into it; she couldn't run. He had brought Vikram into it; she couldn't even fight back.

Sitting in the back, Ani held on to the seat belt, gripping the metal clasp while she waited for Mike to get in the other side and do his work. “You're even prettier when you're crying.” Was the last thing he told her before he began.

New Orleans, The Ross Residence
April 29, 2006 00:56

The two rode in silence, Anika still in the backseat, her forehead against the window. “I wish I was dead.” She told him, her voice monotonous. Mike ignored it, pulling into her driveway. With one final warning that Anika didn't really hear, he unlocked the doors and finally let her out. Slumping up the drive, she wondered if her body would ever stop hurting. She was sore everywhere, and her arms brandished four new cuts, still bleeding, reminding her to keep quiet. Finally, she made it to the front porch, then at last, to the door. Lifting her hand (she dimly noted that it was still shaking) she rang the bell. Ding-dong. Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding.

“What do you think-” Mrs. Ross began angrily before she noticed her daughters condition. Lifting her hands to cover her face, she gasped. “Oh my god, Anika!”

[More than Music]

OMG Hanachana that was absolutely amazing. I cried. D:

[hanashyrexchana]

Okay, here's part two of Anika's fear sketch. Once again, read at own risk, as there is swearing and violence. It's not really current day, but Ifelt this was a part of her story people need to know....

Anika Ross

It really was pretty weird. Weird, yet beautiful. And in the same way that it was beautiful, Anika hated it with her very being, the love she felt for this bastard growing within her. Only three months along, she would lay in bed and stare at the ceiling, wondering about this child. Would it be a boy or a girl? She knew what she wanted, a little girl to play with and dress up, to hold close to her and keep away from the entire masculine half of the human race. Not that she would mind a boy. Either way, it was hers. The thought blew her mind. Somehow, it made her incredibly happy, so long as she forgot whose else it was.

Not that this was very possible.

Despite Ani's therapist's warnings, Mrs. Ross was still seeing Mike. Ani had kept true to her word, not saying a thing against Mike. In fact, she never really said much of anything anymore. She just sat in bed, staring at her ceiling, and wondering about who her child would be. Except tonight. For god knows why, Mrs. Ross had demanded she ate dinner with her and Mike that night; probably another suggestion from Anika's therapist.

She wasn't exactly sure if the word for this would be 'awkward' or 'terrifying'. Mrs. Ross chatted away at the end of the table as Mike sent winks at Anika, who was pressing her back against her chair the best she could, hardly able to breathe. Yep, 'terrifying'. Ever silent, she dug into her steak, taking small bites as she tried to tune out her surroundings.

“Anika, sweet?” Looking up, she met her mother's eye, ignoring the fact that she was holding Mike's hand. “We have an announcement.” She grinned and planted a kiss on Mike's cheek. “We decided that if we keep this baby, I can claim to be the mother. Now, I don't want another child growing up without a father, so....”

“We're getting married.” Mike smirked as he held up Mrs. Ross's hand, showing off the large rock that perched on her index finger. “Isn't that great? Don't worry. I think I'd make a wonderful father. Don't you agree?”

What a feeling. A lost, hopeless feeling, filled with despair. 'Married'. It echoed through her head, and she resisted regurgitating. 'Father'. Maternal instinct kicked in. No way in hell would he get near the baby. Not over her dead body. Focusing on her hand, she realized something. Oh, irony of ironies. A steak knife.

Her mother screamed as Anika leaped across the table, knocking over Mike (and several dishes) onto the floor. She felt his familiar hands push against her chest as she pressed the blunt side of the blade against his cheek, for once not caring how close she was to him. “Not my baby.” She whispered, her voice hoarse. For a few seconds, she relished the look on his face, the fear in his eyes, until her mother, still screaming link her arms around Ani and pulled her off. For a moment, all three were silent, until Anika broke it. “You marry her and I swear to god I'll ruin you.”

[More than Music]

This was suppose to be part of a Fear sketch for Raiu, but the future part didn't turn out so good... so I'll just post this part since sensei wanted it. xD

Caution: References to violence and altogether sadness. Possible lame phrase sightings.

~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Raiu and Alex trekked down the road, shifting their backpacks as they parted from the school bus. Raiu sent his friend a slight smile, seeing an upset look on Alex's face. But he said nothing. They didn't talk much, that was just the way it worked. Their relationship was a quiet one, formed by the comforting silence and someone to be next to them that wouldn't ask them to talk. It was what was best for them. For Raiu, it wasn't that he had anything to hide. He had nothing to hide. He didn't get into trouble, not ever. He did what he should and what he was told and then enjoyed the peace following.

But, for Alex, he was afraid it meant something very different. He didn't know much about Alex's mother, only that she was rarely mentioned. Alex's father, on the other hand, was spoken of. Alex hated him, Raiu knew that. Raiu had never hated anyone... and he didn't understand how anyone could feel so passionately about anything.

After all, he was just a kid. Both of them were.

He knew that Alex and his father got into fights often, sometimes verbal battles with grenades of bottled up anger and sometimes.... sometimes they were physical and Alex would show up to school with horrible blue and black bruises all over his body so horrible that he had to sit out of P.E. And that was Alex's favorite class; he loved to play basketball, and Raiu liked to watch him. So focused, so in his element. But Alex's father was a big, brawny man, and a sporty kid was no match for him. Raiu knew that. He worried sometimes about whether Alex would show up to school at all one day.

That's why he get up extra early for school – even though he didn't like mornings – and he would walk seven blocks to the bad side of town to meet Alex at the bus stop. Even though his bus stopped on the street across from his house. Raiu's adoptive mother knew nothing of this. She wasn't home when he got up. He didn't know about his adoptive father. The two of them didn't associate much.

But he had it pretty good compared to his friend. He knew that. Even having parents who have no time for you is still having parents that care, at least a little. Raiu didn't really see his adoptive parents much, but he knew they worked hard and it wasn't because they wanted to get away from him. They had worked their jobs before he had come along and they worked them afterwards. They had no idea that he isolated himself. He was good that was what was important.

He couldn't imagine having parents that hated him or hurt him.

Raiu swallowed, which was sort of his way of preparing to speak when he wasn't sure what to say but needed to say something. Alex knew it, hazy green eyes peeking up through red curls. “What is it, Rai-chan?” Alex asked, a smirk on his face as he used the word. Raiu smiled his small smile, always thankful for someone who understood that he liked to be called the name his mother had always called him. “You look upset. It's not like you.”

“You're the one who looks upset. Your father, ne? You're gonna get yourself killed, you know.”

Alex laughed. He was used to Raiu's bluntness by now, and it even amused him. He put a hand on Raiu's shoulder and pulled his friend closer to him. “I'm fine, really. I won't get myself killed. I just... don't get along with him and kind of hate coming home to him.”

“Why don't you live with your mom? I get along with my 'mom' better than I do my 'dad'.” Raiu pronounced these names as if they were untrue; he didn't consider them really his parents that much. They had basically bought him and put him in their spare bedroom like he was a doll. If anything they were more like peers than parents. So he called them 'mom' and 'dad' rather satirically.

A frown immediately took over Alex's expression and he looked down. “She don't want me,” was all he said. Raiu didn't press it, his gaze falling too.

“Okay.”

Silence enveloped the rest of the trip, which wasn't much different from the usual. It was fine, to them.

Alex stopped at his door, releasing Raiu's shoulder with a half-smile. “Hey,” he said, and Raiu looked up. Their eyes met softly and Raiu found himself smiling back at Alex. “Don't worry about me, Rai-chan. I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, like you're taking care of yourself now,” Raiu commented, looking around. It was just two guys, so it wasn't exactly a nice looking house – especially since Alex's dad was a drunk most of the time – but that didn't bother Raiu. Surviving was a higher priority for him than a clean house. He had a feeling the cycle with them would start over soon... He did that for people he cared about: he knew them better than they did. It was just a habit of his. Like how he knew when his 'mother' was going to have a meeting, so he could tell her when she was running around the house like a crazy person yelling “When IS that meeting?” over and over again. It calmed her down, it made her smile. It was his job. And the only time he ever really saw his 'mom'.

He sort of wished he hadn't memorized the pattern between Alex and his father, though. Then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. But surprises weren't exactly something he enjoyed. Yeah, he liked to know.

“Rai-chan,” Alex began, a sentimental expression on his face. He touched Raiu's shoulder gently, and their eyes met again. They had a connection that Raiu had never felt before, and... he loved Alex. He was the closest thing to a brother he could have. And he took care of his brother as much as he could. Yes, and he wasn't afraid to love Alex, as long as no one knew. And Alex knew he loved him. That was how he knew they were family.

Just then, Mr Groban threw the door open, staring at them with his normally furious expression. He saw them touching and Raiu could see that it bothered him. He swung out, hitting Alex's arm so hard that the boy withdrew it. Alex flinched at every move the man made, and Raiu didn't like it. He looked up at the man with a look of calm anger. Alex, on the other hand, shared a look similar to his father. Raiu reached up and took Alex's hand, knowing that his friend's father wouldn't like it.

“You shouldn't hurt him like that. Alex-san didn't do anything wrong.” Raiu protested quietly. Maybe this could all be solved simply. Maybe Alex's father didn't know he was being hateful...

“I won't have a disgusting rainbow belt for a son! He's enough of a disgrace as it is!”

Raiu took a step back, a bit frightened by this sudden anger and attack. He looked at Alex, not really knowing what to say. Or what that meant. Alex looked down, probably to try and withhold his anger. This attempt didn't last long, because Alex's head snapped up and he threw a punch at his father, who stepped back and deflected it, throwing the boy to the ground. “THAT'S NOT HOW IT IS!” Alex screamed, jumping to his feet, shaking. Raiu took several steps back now, not sure what to do as the fight began. He moved away, hiding behind the porch swing, not watching them fight. He just saw blood, and his vision began to blur. He didn't understand the pounding in his head. He didn't know what to do.

'Don't take him away... Don't take him away from me...'

He closed his eyes and trying to shut out what was happening.

'Please... be safe, Alex-san. Please, God, take care of him!'

Something in his heart, what he could only guess was God, told him that there was nothing to be done. Raiu felt the tears streaming down his face and he didn't understand why he was crying. But he didn't want to lose Alex...

He didn't know how long he crouched there, but it felt like forever before he heard other people yelling. He heard Alex's father calling Alex.

“Alex! Boy, get up!” A few moments of silence passed, and Raiu felt something in his heart again, making him jump up and run over to Alex. “Get out of here, tramp!” Raiu ignored the man, touching Alex's face gently. It was cold, and covered in blood. There was no emotion in his green eyes, only emptiness. His entire body was stiff and cold. Raiu wiped tears off of his face. “Get OUT of here!”

“Alex-san...” he whispered, laying his head against the other boy's still chest. No heartbeat. He looked up slowly at the man that was still yelling at him. “You... you killed him...” These words were laced with heartbreak, and shocked showed on Mr Groban's face. But it disappeared, and he turned away, just walking into the house and slamming the door. Raiu felt numb, confused, and like he was going to die too. Maybe it was because he wanted to stay with Alex, no matter where he went.

'Take me to God with you, Alex-san. Don't leave me behind...'

He got to his feet, shaking. “HELP! HELP PLEASE!”

He wasn't sure how long he stood there screaming, but eventually someone ran to his side. His throat hurt and he could barely speak. It was a woman he had seen on her front porch, across the street, when they had come up to the house. She asked him again if he was okay.

“He's more important, Ma'am,” he croaked.

The woman checked Alex's pulse, feeling his face and a few other things, then looked to Raiu with a sigh. “I'm sorry, young man, but I'm afraid it's too late for him.” She wrapped an arm around him. “How are you?”

“Sad, Ma'am.”

She sighed again. “Let's call the police. Bring that man to justice.”

Raiu shook his head. “No, Ma'am. God'll do that.” Raiu didn't move, staring blankly at Alex's face.

'God, please take good care of Alex-san. I know, that was my job, but now I cant. So please do that for me. I'll do what I can to take care of me.''