The Bakeneko Brothers

Chapter 6

With our wonderful luck, we were caught in a down-pour. It wasn't difficult to bear on a full stomach. Still, that didn't stop Hiro from shaking like a leaf. His arms were wrapped tightly around himself as his teeth clattered together. At this rate, we'd both catch our death of a cold. It didn't help that Hiro was still recovering from his injury. He had barely gotten over his fever.

Both of us were soaked to the skin. The rain brought a dull susurrus drone with it. The grey sky poured unforgivingly. Normally on days like these, Hiro and I would stay indoors and practice new fighting techniques. But the situation at hand prevented us from staying in one place longer than one night. We had been lucky the police hadn't found us yesterday.

In the distance, I could see that we were approaching the docks. On a regular day the dock was audible from at least a kilometre away. Seagulls, the drone of waves, the mechanical buzz of ships sauntering in and out of the harbour. But the pounding rain kept me from hearing anything but the sound my feet made when they sloshed into puddles.

"Achoo!" Hiro sneeze behind me. He sniffed and wiped his red nose. A cold wouldn't be helpful to him after a fever. I turned around. His clothes clung to his thin body. I was surprised at how frail Hiro appeared. Small meals had taken a toll on the both of us, but I guessed it had been harder on Hiro because he was still growing.

We had to conserve money because there wasn't any way to replenish it without attracting attention to our location. We could attempt a quiet burglary, but I had never attempted it before.

Hiro's hair was regularly a mess, but it clung to his face and fell over his tired eyes. Now his hair was just a cold wet mess. I sighed and bent down to let Hiro climb onto my back. He didn't object and let his head fall onto my shoulder. Hiro shivered less now that we were beginning to share a little body beat. The rain continued to pour relentlessly, but we were almost at the dock now.

I began to ponder the way I was raising Hiro again. Surely this lifestyle was not healthy, especially for someone Hiro's age. Sometimes we didn't eat a whole lot when we had to lay low. This prolonged exposure to the cold couldn't be healthy at all. Was I over-exerting my little brother?

Hiro had so much potential, and room to grow in his knowledge. Even I knew that. Part of the reason why they wanted to split Hiro and I up was to send him to a school for gifted children where learning was accelerated. The learning environment was healthy and Hiro would've excelled in the program. He would have thrived, and had many opportunities. But I was selfish, and wanted to keep my little brother to myself. I couldn't bear the thought of them taking Hiro away from me. He was all I had left. So I took him. That was four years ago, but it felt like so much longer.

I was so deep within my reminiscent thoughts I hadn't realized we had reached the docks. The docks had low levels of maintenance. They were the cheaper option to those with low income jobs. I stepped onto a creaky old boat that looked as though it hadn't been touched for years. The wood groaned under my weight as I stepped on it. Hopefully they wouldn't mind if we spent the night here. The lock on the door was rusted and weak. I dumped our bags on the floor and collapsed on a couch. The stuffing inside was clumpy but I was too tired to care.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth Hiro." I mumbled, slipping into sleep. I felt Hiro place a blanket around me before sleep fully took me.

.

I threw a blanket over Tadashi. He was somewhat hypocritical of me, telling me to brush my teeth while he went straight to sleep. But I didn't blame him. He had a lot on his mind. I brushed my teeth and curled up on the floor. It was easy to fall asleep to the sound of waves outside.

.

My eyes opened slowly. I sat up and rubbed them. There was an itch in my feet, a desire to get up. I rose to my feet, shifting my weight from one leg to the other. I needed to get out, but gangs were rampant and dangerous at this hour. I sighed in frustration and looked out the window. I gave into my restlessness and stepped outside. A short stroll should solve my dilemma.