Avoided

Chapter Four: Explain What You Mean

  The employee carefully handed Leon and Yong Soo their luggage as they entered the busy lobby. The floors were newly waxed and could easily be slipped on if one is not careful enough. The ceiling reached higher than any other air port the boys have every seen back at home. This was a new place for them, and they were eager to explore every inch of it.

  People stood shoulder to shoulder in line, waiting to board. The waiting area was filled with people of different ethnic backgrounds. Leon could easily point out the Americans and Spanish, but that was about it. The darkened red seats stood in about a million rows and columns with people filling them in from either side.

  Yong Soo carefully slid past the crowds with Leon close behind him, trying not to accidentally hit a small child or person for that matter with his luggage. Everyone was so tightly packed together that it was nearly impossibly just to reach the front exit. 

  As soon as Leon was able to feel the cool air on his cheeks his body was able to relax a little. "Finally, fresh air." he gasped as he sat his suit case down beside his feet. "You said it," Yong Soo agreed, also putting down his heavy bag. "Just one question."

"What?"

"How are we going to get to the University?"

  Leon furrowed his brow and exaimed the busy streets before him. Cars and people were going in amazing different patterns of directions. They could walk, but they would probably get lost in the process. This was a whole new kind of place for them.

  Yong Soo elbowed Leon in the rib cage. Leon turned his head. "Hm? What's up?" Yong Soo leaned over and whispered into his brother's ear, "Does that guy look firmilar?" 

"Yong Soo, that's rude. She is a lady not a guy."

"No, no, the man beside her. The one with the choppy hair cut."

  The two stared at the man. He was kinda short with bull cut styled hair cut, except he looked better in it than most. He had on a traditional Japanese kimono with a robe wrapped neatly around his shoulders. He looked expressionless, almost as if he didn't care about what was happening around him.

 He started to look around until his eyes stopped on Leon and his brother. Both boys tensed up and shivered with fear. "Come on, let's go!~" Yong Soo whispered panickly. Leon nodded and right as he was about to grab the handle of his bag, a hand snaked around his wrist. He looked up and saw the same man that had stared back at him. "Leon? Is that you?" the man asked.

  Leon opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. There was no doubt that this man looked firmilar. He even sounded firmilar too. Leon searched for the answer in the man's expressionless face and found it. "Kiku?" he asked.

  Kiku smiled and released his wrist. "Hai, it is Leon. It had been some time hasn't it?" 

"More like forever! What are you doing here, Kiku?"

"What do you mean? This is my home."

"I mean, here."

  "Ah, yes. Yao called me and told me that you and Yong Soo were to attend the University here in Tokyo. He asked me to go meet you two at the airport to take you to the campus. It was very crowded in there, so I decided to wait out here for you instead." Kiku explained.

 Leon nodded his head. "Yeah, I remember how you don't like to be touched." Kiku chuckled light-heartedly and looked around. "Where is your side kick?"

  "Hey! Who are you calling a side kick? Da-ze~"

  Yong Soo burst out from behind the merchant cart he was hiding behind. Kiku waved at him and motioned him over. Yong Soo quickly ran over and hugged Kiku, to the point of nearly killing him. "KKKKKKKKKIIIIIKKKKKKUUUUU!" he yelled happily.

  Kiku began to gasp and wheeze and struggle in Yong Soo's tight grip. Leon patted Yong Soo's arm, warning him to release his brother immediently before he actually killed him. Yong Soo gently set Kiku back down onto the pavement, polietly dusting him off. Kiku shrugged him off and shook his head. "Anyway, are you two ready to go?" He said, changing to a less awkward subject.

  Yong Soo gave Kiku a wide grin as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "Of course we are, da-ze~!" He said cheerfully. Leon casually lifted his bag off the ground and carried it by his side. "Yeah, let's get out of here, I am starting to feel out of place." He mumbled. 

  Their older brother nodded his head in agreement. He motioned for them to follow him as he walked near the edge of the street. He reached into one of his large pockets hidden beneath the folds of the dark robe. He pulled out a pair of car keys and pressed the large red button in the center. Somewhere, a car beeped in response. "This way." he said as he walked ahead of the boys.

  Kiku led them to a sleek black car that looked like a new design. It was the only one in the entire parking lot that looked different than all the rest. Leon and Yong Soo went behind to the trunk. Kiku unlocked it, allowing the boys to slip their luggage in. "Hey Kiku," Leon said as he and Yong Soo shut the trunk and crawled into the back seat, shutting the door behind them. "Is this a new model or something? I've never seen one quite like it." Kiku started the engine. "Hai, I am actually testing it out."

  "Really?" Yong Soo asked excidently. "That's so cool bro!" Kiku chuckled as he pulled out and drove out of the crowded lot. "I guess it is, but it is a pain. I have to make a journal recording about this heap of metal every time I drive it. If I forget, the company won't be pleased with my effort."

  Traffic was heavy the further they got into the city. People, especially high school students, crossed the streets, trying to get home. Leon observed their uniforms. They weren't much different, except at his school, they just wore black and red. "Does the University we are going to have any uniform requirements, Kiku?" Leon asked, still peering out the window at a group of high school girls. Kiku thought for a moment. "Well, they change it every year. The uniform you get this year will be your uniform you must wear for the next future years that you attend." Yong Soo pouted. He hated school uniforms more than anything. Every since grade school, he has become very picky about what he wears to school. Middle school was a little better, but he wasn't too thrilled with tucking his shirt into his trousers.

  Leon sighed and watched the tall buildings as they drove by. Everything seemed so... different. He himself had lived in a city before too, but his house was on the outskirts. He liked cities. They were always filled with brillant colors and light epecially at night. When he was a boy, he lived in London for several years before moving back to China. The transition wasn't so terrible. He just thought of it has having two homes.

  He must've dozed off for a few minutes, because he felt something shake his arm gently. He opened his eyes and peered sleepily up at the person who had awoken him from his slumber. 

  Yong Soo was smiling widely. He was happy about something, but what was it?

  Leon yawned and stretched out his arms in front of him. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, for like, ten minutes."

"Oh man."

  Leon stopped and looked around, realizing that the car had stopped and Kiku was gone. A few feet away from where the car was parked was a large iron gate. "Where are we?" he asked. 

"Dude, we are at the University."