The Rise of Poison

Chapter 8: A Long Walk Home: Part 1

   Once the boys stepped outside, Yuuto shivered. 

"The day I don't wear a shirt to gym, is the day I have to walk home in the cold."

"Well you should've changed back your kimono before you decided to fight me."

"Ok, ok smartie."

            They started to walk towards the front of the school. To get home, both boys had to walk north to Central. The distance from the academy to Central is about two miles on a not-so-busy road. Goosebumps rose on Yuuto's arms. 

"Hey Yuuto, do you want my jacket?"

 Through chattering teeth, "Yea, that would be nice."  

Kenta slid off his jacket and handed it to him.

"T-thank you."

 He zipped up the jacket and pulled on the drawstrings."Wow, Kenta! What is this jacket made of?"

"Wool."

"Haha, a wolf in sheep's clothing. "

Kenta rolled his eyes at Yuuto's pun. "Wow, I'm offended by that. Rude." 

"Well, I thought it was pretty funny," he said with a smirk on his face.

The boys approached the front of the school and continued walking through the parking lot. Their shoes shuffled across the gravel packed ground and the wind soon picked up again.

"Ugh... This is going to be a long trip to Central," said Yuuto.

 Kenta nodded his head as the wind kicked up his curly hair.

"This walk is going to take more than twenty minutes at the rate we're going," said Kenta.

"Yeah, and the sun is going to set soon. It will be dark when we get home. Hey Kenta, do you want to spend the night at my house?"

He thought for a moment. 

Should I? It would be safer just to go to his house and spend the night. But, I need to do something later. Plus, my parents wouldn't know where I am. Whatever, they can deal with it. I'm too cold to walk all the way home.

"Um, yeah I'll spend the night. It wouldn't be safe to let you walk home alone."

            Yuuto smiled at him and they continued walking along the edge of the road. Tall trees covered the road and allowed very little sun light to shine through. Although it may have been almost five in the afternoon, the path felt eerie with its limited light and shadows watching the boys from afar.

            Only the sound of gravel under the boys' shoes and the wind gently brushing up against the leaves echoed along the path, but there seemed to be another faint sound in the air. It was a strange sound, like a sound of another being following them. He stopped. 

  Yuuto, who was in front leading the way, turned around once he heard the gravel from beneath Kenta's feet shuffle to a stop.

"Kenta?"

He continued to stare into the trees. 

"It's nothing, let's just keep going."

  They continued to walk until the trees started to disperse. Finally, The clock tower and a few other tall buildings came into view. 

" Kenta, we're almost ther-"

Overhead, the Clock Tower chimed.

"Damn, almost curfew," said Yuuto. 

"Why do you have a curfew?"

"Well, I don't know. Laws I guess. It's stupid that Reborns have to be inside at seven. But also, my mom wants me home by five thirty."

This is unbelievable, only teenagers in the kingdom have curfews. Yuuto and I are adults now. He shouldn't have to worry about the military police coming after him. But I guess it would be better and safer for him to get home on time. 

He shook his head as he thought about how ridiculous it was for all Reborns to have a curfew. 

"Ok, Yuuto. We should be able to get home by then." 

Within a few feet later, they finally arrived in Central. The city looked empty as the sun started to set.

"I'm Hungry."