Broken Paths

Best friend

Lunch ordered, Nezumi perched onto the countertop. Even more people had come in. He looked around the room. Should he be telling them all about Shion? Would he ever care? Nezumi sighed. What did it matter, really. He doubted he would ever see the handsome boy who had stolen so much from him. He leaned back resting his head against the wall. His hands flat on the counter top behind him.

"Did you go to the bakery?" a man asked. Nezumi smiled.

"Yeah!" He recalled walking inside the store. He had gotten their twenty minutes ago. He had watched from the small park across the street. People coming and going in and out of the store. They all carried either a large pink box or a small pink bag. Everyone had a smile on their face. Nezumi found this the most disturbing thing of all.

He finally got up the courage to head to the store. He had gone home and changed first. He wore a battered leather jacket, light grey tee shirt over top ratty khaki pants and his black boots. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. A knife nestled there. He always had knives on him.

Moving up the steps he opened the door for a man and young boy as they came out together. "Mother will love these. She doesn't have to bake tonight." The boy beamed up at the man.

"I think she will love them just for being from Karan's." the man chuckled. Karan was the name on the store sign. Nezumi assumed it was Shion's mothers name. He inched inside.

As he suspected the place was full. It wasn't a huge shop, but there were tables of baked goods everywhere. People milled around them, a glass case of donuts, cookies, muffins with other smaller treats, sat beside the line of people patiently waiting to cash out. Nezumi didn't see Shion at first. A young female was working the cash register.

"Coming through, fresh out of the oven!" Shion's voice called. It was like Moses parting the red sea. The bodies opened up. There he was, Shion. He wore a white button up and a pink apron that read Karan's on it. His hands were filled with a tray of boxed goods. He sat the tray on a table as he stacked the boxes up neatly. He glanced up.

"Nezumi, you made it!" He beamed up at the sulking teen hiding near the back of the crowd. Shion placed the last box on the stack. Already people were tearing at them. Shion's small hand gripped the sleek leather of Nezumi's jacket. He pulled the boy from his biding spot.

"Oi, Shion, let go!" Nezumi fumed.

"Not in here!" the boy chuckled. He dragged Nezumi into the kitchen. A woman with flour all over her apron looked up. She beamed.

"Ah, Shion, is this your friend?" The woman looked like her son, if her son had, had brown hair and eyes.

"Nah, he's just the guy I stabbed." Shion joked. Nezumi blinked as the woman laughed. Something dinged. Shion slipped protective gloves on and pulled a tray of treats from the oven. Karan changed her apron.

"Finish baking these for me." She told her son. She headed out to help the mass of people. Shion picked up a hot sticky bun. He dripped icing over it and put it on a small plate. He thrust it at Nezumi.

"One treat just as promised. It's even better hot out of the oven." Shion smiled. Nezumi took the treat. He sat in a corner watching the white haired boy. Shion hummed as he worked. He placed trays in the oven to cook, pulled out others when done, iced and boxed up the goodies. Nezumi ate his treat. It was fantastic. Shion had his hands full of frosting and treats when the timer went off for the stove. He gasped. Nezumi smirked.

"Relax, I got it." He got up picked up the gloves in front of the startled teen and opened the oven. It hadn't taken himself long to figure out how Shion did everything. Nezumi pressed the button that shut off the buzzing timers. He sat the tray down to cool as it waited for Shion to attend it. Selecting another tray he put it in, pressing the button for the time limit it needed.