Hajime looked down at his thick black boots. He was fairly certain he could make his way to Handlebars and back, at least. But instead of moving to follow his friend, Hajime paused and had a small thought.

Most of the people the two had seen that night were trained fighters, strong and relentless. In fact... all of them were. Handlebars... should probably have this chance to be at home. Superior in his own domain. And besides... Hajime smiled a small, bemused smile. There was a chance that he could misstep and hurt himself.

As Handlebars approached the car, Hajime watched. This was where his friend had been living for so long... Hajime couldn't imagine it, but that rusty car must have been the boy's home. And, judging from his actions, he must have had some emotional attachment to it as well...

Hajime thought about his flat above the chapel. He looked down a bit, focusing his eyes on a piece of scrap metal only half-submerged in snow. I suppose... he thought, I'm sort of attached to my home, too.

He straightened up as Handlebars returned to him. "Do you have what you need?" he asked. "Is there anything else you want to get while we're here?"

Kyouri's head whipped in the direction of the two men approaching his seat. "See that, brother?" he murmured while they were still out of earshot.

"I see it," Jang murmured back, his eyes trained on the pair and his mind calculating every option. Jang shifted slightly, arching his back against the brick wall. Kyouri's head jerked slightly towards his brother, his nearly shoulder-length hair dancing with his movements. Seeing what the source of the movement was, Kyouri returned his sharp eyes to the men. Likewise, Jang silently watched them come from beneath his black hood.

Handlebars shook his head and looked back at the car. "Any food I had in there is gone. There's nothing left in that car but memories. I won't be returning." The teen looked up at Hajime and shivered violently. "H-Haju..." He began to walk away slowly. "I want to go home..."

"Home"... Did I just say that...?

Jazix and Jakix stopped a few feet from the figures. Jakix gazed up at the man on the fence, while Jazix stared straight at his companion.

"We're here under private orders," Jazix said loudly, making sure he was heard. "Orders that involve the investigation of any suspcious person or thing."

"Basically what he's saying," Jakix cut in, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Is that you two look a tad on the shady side. So..."

"Please state your names and reasons for being out here," Jazix said sternly.

Jakix tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrow. "And if you don't make any trouble, we'll continue on our way. Like nothing ever happened. How's that sound?

"Home..." said Hajime in a low voice, "That sounds nice." His home was Handlebars' home now. They were together. Acting on impulse, Hajime stepped in front of Handlebars, picked the boy up on his back, and continued walking back towards the place where they both now lived.

"Jang," muttered Jang.

"Kyouri," Kyouri said musically. The two spoke in near perfect unison.

"Our reason for being here..." Jang raised his head, his hood no longer obscuring his defiant, yet regal features. He shifted and stood erect, not relying on the wall for support.

At the same time, as if he had known his brother's actions a moment before they had taken place, Kyouri stood tall and graceful atop the fence and jumped lithely to the ground, standing to the left of Jang with his lengthy metal rod conspicuously stretching from his left hand. Next to Jang, it was apparent that he was at least half an inch taller than his older brother. Kyouri smiled, either amiably or maliciously. "We want to be."

Handlebars tightened his arms slightly around Hajime's neck and buried his nose in his friend's jacket. "I wish the cold was gone..." He said quietly, a hint of childlike sadness in his voice. He shut his eyes and listened to the steady sound of Hajime's feet hitting the ground.

"Wrong answer, babe," Jakix replied mockingly, staring at Kyouri over his sungla.sses.

"Jak..." Jazix muttered in an impatient tone. He turned to face Jang. "Just so we're on a first name basis here, my name is Jazix. This is my brother, Jakix."

"You better not get us confused."

"Quiet," Jazix hissed. He was struggling to hold onto whatever was left of his patience. Jazix was usually fairly calm in situations like this. However, it didn't look like Jang and Kyouri were going to cooperate any time soon, and his younger brother's remarks weren't helping matters. "Listen," he continued. "We don't want any trouble. We just want to know what's going on."

Something clicked within Hajime's mind. "Shh," he said quietly. "Winter will end. The snow will melt and all the trees will be green." Hajime looked up at the sky, which was still dropping snow on their heads. "Just think of how beautiful it'll be then."

Kyouri smiled a long, toothy smile. "Remove your gla.sses and you might have some idea." His metal staff raised a fraction of an inch.

"Listen," said Jang quickly, taking a step forward. "You are obviously not from this place. We've told you what we know, Jazzy," he addressed the one that appeared to be the leader in an aloof, irritating tone. Jang smirked and raised his arms in a gesture of truce. "I am Jang, and this is my brother, Kyouri. We are doing nothing that requires the attention of two such as yourselves. We have seen nothing all the time we have been here."

Jang lowered his arms and clenched his right fist. "We humbly suggest..." --At the same time, Kyouri murmured the word 'request'-- "...that you look elsewhere."

"Beautiful..." Handlebars murmered tiredly. "It'll be beautiful. I love you, Haju..."

Handlebars' eyes snapped open. The last people he had ever said that to were his parents. It had begun to seem impossible for those words to be able to arrange themselves to form such a sentence. It was like a myth or part of a story he had heard as a child. It was something extremely unfamiliar to him, and yet...

...They came out so easily. Those words arranged in that order. He hadn't even thought about them until a split second after they escaped his mouth.

Too embarra.ssed to say anything else, Handlebars rested his cheek against Hajime's back and stared down at the pavement.

OOC: 8( Don't worry. It's platonic love. It was just kind of a shock to him.

BIC:

Jakix smirked and looked at Jazix. Frowning and extremely unamused, Jazix was thankful that at least Jang seemed decently humane. "Very well," Jazix said quietly, staring at the two men through his sungla.sses. "Thank you for your cooperation, sir. Have a nice night."

As his brother turned and began walking, Jakix snorted and stuck his tongue out at Kyouri. If this guy was going to act like a brat, so was he. Jakix turned and followed Jazix, who was already a good distance away.

"I don't trust those guys," Jakix muttered, catching up with his brother.

"Neither do I," Jazix said calmly. "But we have more important matters to attend to."

OOC: 8( They're like. Heading somewhere. With people. ...One of your people. >8( Go find someone.

((c: Awww.))

Hajime paused for a moment in his walking. He had never heard those words before. Nor had he said them. "I... love you too, Handlebars," he said quietly, taking another step. He hoisted his friend higher on his back as gently as he could.

As he thought about them, he realized the words were true. He loved the kid like they were family. If Hajime had had any family. ...If Handlebars had, besides his unnerving brother.

Hajime stopped in front of the old grey stone chapel where he and Handlebars lived. He looked up at his home. They had left the lights on, and the upper floor of the building shone like a signal. Looking at the light filled Hajime with an unfamiliar warmth. He sighed and a smile spread across his face.

((Also, no. ;c))

Kyouri pouted. "Kyouri only wanted a little fun," he complained to Jang. Jang shook his head and wordlessly resumed his position against the wall. An indignant ex
pression crossed Kyouri's face. Leaning his tall metal pole against the fence, he unzipped his pink jacket and pulled it off, exposing his torso to the cold winter night. Only a black strapped shirt and tight dark purple jeans protected Kyouri from the snow and ice.

Haphazardly tossing his pink zip-up in the direction of his brother, Kyouri picked up his staff and fastened it securely to the back of his black studded belt, so that it extended horizontally on either side of his waist.

Jang, holding Kyouri's jacket, only watched with slight irritation in his eyes. He knew that it was useless to try to stop his brother, like it was useless to try to stop Jang himself. His only decision would be whether to follow Kyouri or remain behind. Although he would rather have been with his brother, Kyouri was, admittedly, slightly faster than Jang. So, as Kyouri dexterously climbed to the nearest rooftop, Jang endeavored to follow behind and in the shadows, Kyouri's jacket hung from a bit of barbed wire on the fence where he had sat.

Handlebars yawned and buried his face in Hajime's jacket. He had never imagined that someone would ever be able to make him feel as safe and warm as Hajime did.

Even though it seemed like Handlebars had slept enough to keep a regular person on their feet for days, it was taking him an enormous amount of willpower to stay awake. "Haju..." Handlebars said, his voice muffled. "I'm tired..."

Jakix glanced over his shoulder. "You don't think those guys are going to follow us, do you?"

Jazix stopped and looked at his little brother. "There's a chance they will, Jak," He replied softly. "But that doesn't mean we won't be able to stop them. Come on." The older man continued walking. Jakix sighed and followed Jazix, his right hand gently resting on his gun.

"Are you still afraid of the dark?" Jazix asked after a few moments of silence. Jakix's face flushed. He removed his hand from his gun and looked away. "Of course not," he muttered stubbornly. "Only little kids are afraid of stuff like that." The blonde quickened his pace.

Jazix smiled to himself and rolled his eyes under his sungla.sses. "Little kids... and little brothers." He hurried to catch up with Jakix.

Hajime kept his eyes on the flat above the chapel. "It's okay, Handlebars," he said. "We're home." He continued walking up the thin spiraling metal stairs that served as both fire escape and main entrance to the chapel's second floor. The first floor of the chapel, the part that had served as a church, unnerved Hajime. It was too big, open, and empty.

Once inside, Hajime carried Handlebars to the bed and gently set him down, pulling a blanket over the kid. He looked up as a violent gust of wind shook the old stone building. That sounded like a storm. And it was getting late. Hajime had a few things to get before the storm picked up.

Without another sound, Hajime slid Handlebars' mp3 player out of his pocket and into his hand, pulled the blankets tighter over his young friend, and walked out of the room. He only paused for a moment to say, nearly inaudibly, "Sleep well, kid."

((And now Haji's gonna go out and get junk. Like that mattress and a NEW RADIO AHEM.))

Kyouri only slightly regretted leaving his warm clothing behind on the fence. He had already caught up with the two strange men, and was watching the one he had deemed 'interesting' like a kitten watches a string. Perched atop a low roof, Kyouri clearly did not care if he was seen. But, equally clearly, his brother cared less. Jang simply walked in the shadows of the snowy path, following the two strangers at a distance. His dark clothing was, nonetheless, bold against the white snow, and it nearly looked like the Grim Reaper was behind Jazix and Jakix.

Unable to watch and wait any longer, Kyouri slid his metal pole from its place fastened to his waist. He spun the instrument in a quick, neat circle and gracefully leapt down to the ground and into a crouch several meters in front of the two. "Kyouri wasn't done," he said with a placid voice and smile, standing as he did so. "Wasn't done playing." Kyouri spun his staff in another rapid circle.

Jang, still slowly walking behind, drew a mildly curved bronze jambiya from his deep pocket. "The wind's picking up..." he said in something that wasn't quite a purr, nor quite a growl. "Where are you two staying... hm?" Jang began circling around the two men to his right.

Simultaneously, Kyouri began moving to his right, also circling the men. "Too cold this time of year to be out," he said innocently. His smile now looked more sadistic than it had before, although, in reality, it was only Kyouri's curiosity that made his ex
pression change. He didn't expect these two to simply lie down before him. They were stronger than that, and strength drew Kyouri like a bee to honey.

"Too cold to be out with no place to go... once all the leaves on the trees are dead."

((I'm starting to get a little worried that it seems like I'm trying to belittle Jaz and Jak. xD It's not me, I swear. It's them.))

((It was the radio's fault for sitting there. xD And it's okay. x3 Jaz and Jak need some sense knocked into them.))

Jakix growled and stared at Kyouri as the younger man made his way closer to him. "All talk," he snarled through his teeth, "All talk and no action to back it up!"

"Quiet!" Jazix snapped. "For once in your life, shut your mouth, Jak." He pulled his sungla.sses down and looked angrily at Jakix.

Jakix opened his mouth to protest.

"And that's an order," Jazix said in a low voice, a warning glare burning into his little brother's eyes. 

Jakix shut his mouth, pulling off his sungla.sses and returning his brother's glare with his own cold gaze. "Sorry, boss," he hissed under his breath as he reached down and pulled his black handgun into view. His older brother let out a sound of disbelief. Jakix raised his gun and pointed it directly at Kyouri's forehead. "I don't care if Fang, or whatever your friend's name is, attacks me," Jakix muttered, staring into Kyouri's eyes. "Get out of my sight before I blow you out of it."

((He's either gonna get killed here or whooped by Jaz later.))