The Broken Ones

Chapter 2: A New Day Dawning

"Ryuu!!"

"Mmmmfff...."

"Come on buddy up and at 'em!"

"...jus five more minutes...."

"Nope! You said five minutes five minutes ago."

"Ren pleeease..."

"No."

"We don't live that far from the store."

"I don't care."

I heard the sounds of my blinds opening and immediately covered my face with my pillow, blotting out the sunlight.

"Up Hakuryuu!"

He said, hitting me over the head with another pillow.

"Ok ok, I'm up."

I grudgingly pulled myself up from my soft pillows and warm sheets, running a hand through my messy black hair. I stretched out my arms, feeling my shoulders pop into place and the crick in my neck disappear.

"We're leaving in 20 minutes, I want you downstairs and eating in 10 got it?"

"Mhm..."

My bedroom door shut with a resounding creak and I pulled myself off my bed, bare feet hitting cold wooden flooring. I sighed, things could be worse I suppose. At least I wasn't starting school until tomorrow. Ren got me up early so we could get groceries and some more dining plates(the majority had broken in the car ride, told him he should have avoided those pot holes)plus I had to get some notebooks for school. Fun right? Like I said, it could be worse. Dressing quickly and raking a comb through my hair, I hurried down the stairs. Over the day, the house had grown strangely familiar to me, as if it was never really a new house to begin with. I had spent the majority of last night curled up in the hammock with a good book, probably the most peaceful thing I've ever experienced in my life. I had always wanted one of those. Unfortunately, it was getting colder outside, so my days in the hammock wouldn't last much longer. Hakuren was sitting on the couch when I arrived downstairs, tv remote in one hand and a bagel in the other, balancing a plate on his knee. I headed for the kitchen and scavenged around in our very limited breakfast options, good thing we were going shopping. Finally settling on a bowl of cereal, I sat myself down next to Ren. "So where's Hakuyuu?" He swallowed his last bite of bagel before answering me. "Out at work. They wanted him to come in a little earlier today for whatever reason. Poor guy is way too stressed out over this damn job." I raised an eyebrow at him. I never noticed Hakuyuu was stressed, and usually I'm the first to notice that stuff. 'Why' didn't seem like such a good question to ask, considering the predicament that we were in, so I just looked at Hakuren with a concerned expression hoping he'd understand what I was asking. "They've got this big meeting happening tomorrow and every time employees have to bring something to eat, it's like a potluck or something. Anyway, he just doesn't want to make a bad impression and you know as well as I do that Yuu can't cook worth anything. I don't know...he just seems worried. It doesn't seem like these people are very considerate..." I swallowed harshly. Leave it up to business companies to be hard on my oldest brother, they always were after all. It must be a 'no parents' and 'living on their own' kinda thing. Stupid. I glared down rather harshly at my half eaten bowl of cereal. Ren seemed to notice. "It's not your fault Ryuu, don't beat yourself up over the fact that we're on our own, or the fact that Hakuyuu is stressing. If we didn't care enough about you to do all this you'd still be home with her." I sighed and leaned back against the couch, deflated. "I know...but I still can't help but wish that I could be of more use..." He laughed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ryuu, the day you start being useless will be the day that politics get interesting." I smiled lightly at him and he beamed back. If there was one thing I was envious of my brother for, it was his ability to turn any bad situation into a positive outcome. That, and his ability to make puns for literally everything. Sometimes I wished I could be that witty. Oh well, can't have them all. "Put your bowl away and we'll get going. I wanna be home by lunch." Nodding, I got up and placed my bowl in the sink, heading for the front door and slipping into my shoes. Hakuren followed shortly after, hands in his pockets, fishing out the keys for the front door.

I can honestly say that I have never been more physically exhausted from a shopping trip before. With the amount of groceries we had to buy and the 2 hour crunch time that Hakuren had set, we were racing around that store. And then there was the fact that we had to walk all the way back home while lugging armfuls of shopping bags and pushing a heavy cart. It was one of those moments you wished you had another car. As much as I wanted to do nothing more that flop down on one of the couches and sleep for an hour, my mind was wandering back to the conversation I had with Ren just over two hours ago. If my brother really needed something to impress people tomorrow, why didn't he just ask me to help him? Well, now that I think about it, the answer to that was rather simple. He didn't want me to worry about doing that for him on top of the fact that I had school starting tomorrow. Like always, he was more considerate about others than himself. Well whatever, I'm gonna help him anyway. The sun was shining through the curtains as I entered the kitchen, and I threw the windows open, gladly welcoming the sunshine. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

2 hours in the kitchen go by in a flash. At least, for me. I could stay in there all day if my brothers would let me, and if I didn't have anything else to do. After about a ten minute debate with myself, I had decided to make two pies. One for us all to eat, since Ren could never keep his hands off my baking, and one for Hakuyuu to take with him tomorrow. One blueberry pie, and one strawberry rhubarb. Why strawberry rhubarb? Cause why not. My blueberry pie was currently in the oven and I was rolling the dough for the next one on the counter top, my hands kneading it rhythmically. There was something about baking or cooking that just seemed to calm my nerves. At least, my nerves were calm until I lifted my eyes to look out the window and locked onto a pair of golden eyes. We both yelled. Me dropping the dough onto the counter and launching myself back, and the boy falling with a crash to the bushes below the window. Cautiously, I approached the window again and peered down a few feet to where the ground was. The boy was wedged between the wall and the twigs of the bushes, his blond hair sticking up and his gold eyes staring back up at me. "Uhhh...hi?" He said awkwardly, waving his hand. In spite of myself, I chuckled. "Hi." He smiled up at me and I raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. My brother wanted me to see who our new neighbours were." Shaking my head, I smirked down at him. "It's alright, I was a little distracted. Need some help?" The boy stopped struggling and flashed me another awkward smile. "If you wouldn't mind." I nodded and wiped my hands on my jeans, clearing them of flour. "Hang on a sec." I walked around to the back door and stepped out into the yard, heading over to the bushes. I extended a hand and he took it, pulling himself upright. He brushed of his clothes and ran a hand through his tangled hair. "Thanks. And again I'm sorry for freaking you out." I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest and looking back up towards the kitchen window.

"Y'know, normal neighbours just knock at the front door."

He laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeaaah...sorry about that..."

I smiled and reached out my hand.

"My name's Ren. Hakuryuu Ren."

He took it.

"Alibaba Saluja. It's nice to meet you Hakuryuu."