Finding Home || Kazutora Hanemiya

Chapter 1

Finally.

His sentence was over, and he can go home now. Well, he doesn't have a home, he doesn't even know where his best friend lives. The last time Kazutora saw Baji was at the court, where he was sentenced to 10 years of prison, for a crime he haven't committed. It was his partner who shot the guard in the museum, instantly killing him, but the judge didn't believe him, and worst of all, Baji didn't believe him either.

The only things Kazutora had in his bag as he stepped through the gates, was a pair of jeans and a shirt for change, a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. He imagined this day a thousand times in his head, but none of them were like this. He imagined as Baji was waiting for him, but who he wanted to kid? He haven't heard from him for years. The last letter he got from him was four years ago, when he wrote that he became a father.

Oh yeah, the letters. They were in his bag too. Not much, but it was more than nothing. It pained him, that his best friend didn't believe that he was innocent... Okay, not innocent, he was a thief after all, while his friend stayed on the right side of the law, but he wasn't a murderer, and Baji knew this. But the evidence fooled everyone, and it was enough to ruin his life not just for 10 years, but forever.

Because now he had nowhere to go.

He looked back at the prison and he wondered for a moment if it would've been better if he was sentenced for a lifetime.

He took a deep breath and went for the nearest bus stop. One of the guards who gave him the pack of cigarettes gave him a few dollars too, so he could catch a cab and buy food, but the bus was cheaper, so maybe he could go to a cheap motel for a night too.

That was 6 months ago. Now here he was, sitting on a dirty blanket, in his dirty clothes, reading a dirty newspaper he grabbed from a dirty trashcan with his dirty hands.

Yeah... It would've been better if he was sentenced for a lifetime. Or even better. If he was sentenced to death.

The look people gave him... He knew that look. That was the look he gave homeless people 10 years ago. Disgust with a mix of pity. And these people were his prey. It was hard to get close to them undetected, because who wouldn't be suspicious of a homeless person getting close to them, but he was lucky so far.

A small smile appeared on Kazutora's lips as he successfully stole the asshole's wallet from his pocket. He looked back at his spot... yes he has a spot now. Two spots, to be specific: one in the park, and one in the nearby street, next to a building, where he can hide if it's raining.

Or to be more specific: where they can hide.

Oh yeah, he's not alone, he has a little ball of fur, laying on his blanket, a german shepherd. She was about 3 months old and Kazutora found her in a trashcan. Some heartless asshole just dumped her, and it was luck Kazutora found her, because she almost starved to death. He decided to call her Cassie.

Kazutora made his way over to a hot-dog stand and bought two hot-dogs and a bottle of water. He was glad that he could at least buy food here, because he wasn't allowed in any shop, and this man was nice enough to serve him. He walked back to his blanket and Cassie looked at him with happy eyes as she saw the food in his hand. Kazutora smirked.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he sat down next to her and tore a small amount and gave it to her.

He watched as Cassie ate happily and when he saw that she was full, he started to eat the rest. He poured water in Cassie's bowl - which was a plastic cup, the hot-dog man gave him - then he took a few gulps of the bottle too as he looked around.

It was a sunny and rather hot day, considering it was September, but Kazutora was worried. He was released from the prison in April, and it was warm then too, and he was scared to think about how he and Cassie were going to survive the winter. Where should they go? Should they go to a homeless shelt...