Crime Syndicate

Chapter 7

"A park?" Echizen asked. The park in question seemed relatively normal; grass, a playground, drinking fountain but it was much larger than he would've expected and surrounded by dense trees on three sides. The look of it reminded him of Central Park in the states except it didn't have a lake with ducks in it.

"When was the last time you came to one of these?" Momo asked.

Echizen thought; he never really had gone to a park, even when he was younger. At least not like this, just him and friends. He remembered once when he was really young, he was with his mother and about four people in black. He never really enjoyed it whenever he got the rare moment of going out.

Kikumaru wrapped an arm around his neck. "Let's play hide and seek. Us two against you two."

"I don't see any problem with that." Fuji said with a smile. "It's been a while since we've had any real fun."

"Waa make sure you count to one hundred! And no peeking!" Kikumaru playfully yelled as he dragged Echizen into the trees.

"Is this really a good idea Fuji-sempai?" Momo asked. "I mean I'm all for Echizen getting some much needed fun time but aren't we supposed to stay together just to make sure nothing happens?"

"Eiji is with him so he should be fine." Fuji covered his eyes. The smile was still on his face but his tone seemed darker. "Do you think something might happen?"

"It's just, I don't know. Something doesn't feel right."

"Maybe because you too are used to having someone watch you all the time." He started counting. Although he agreed with Momo, something felt off about them being there and that it probably would've been better for them to stay together.

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"Come on, I'll give you a boost." Kikumaru had his fingers interlocked and was bending over to give Echizen a foot up into a tree. "They'll never be able to find you up there."

"Unless they look up." Echizen sighed. He put his foot into his sempai's hands and boosted himself onto a low branch of the tree. Once he was there he started to climb higher until he was sitting about in the center between the top of the tree and where the branches started.

"You got up there pretty fast. I didn't know you were such a good climber." Kikumaru said as he then tried to get into the same tree.

"I've lived in huge houses all my life." Echizen responded as he sat with his back on the trunk. "I needed a hobby that I could do besides tennis. I also attempted to sneak out of the second and third floors many times so I needed to know how to get up and down."

"So you taught yourself acrobatics?" Kikumaru asked as he got up the tree just as easily. "I've been going things like this since I was little. Seeing as my father's the owner of one of the bigger toy corporations, he usually asks me to test things out to make sure they're safe for kids." He gripped his legs to the branch then swung so he was hanging upside down.

Echizen was enjoying himself. He didn't remember the last time he got to hang out and have fun with everyone and actually act like a teenager. What made it even better was he wasn't going to be leaving that town any time soon. Even if his father had to move somewhere else he wasn't going to leave.

There were a few things that he found strange about sitting in that tree though. Since he had been in the tree or the very park for that matter, he hasn't seen one animal or heard a bird.

He also had the feeling that he was being watched but he chalked that off to being paranoid seeing that he has never really gotten to have a relatively normal time with people around his age. With the other so called family trips or vacations, they all ended up with him needed to act all high and mighty because where ever they went, some powerful person got involved and they ended up having threats against them and they would need to be guarded and had no time for fun. Echizen would usually end up being kidnapped anyway because he would always sneak off and try to have some time to himself.