Losing Hope (Ended)

The plane landed with a bump, well several bumps. The boy squeaked with each one, his seat companions smiling or laughing at his distress. He squeezed his eyelids together and chewed on the nuts he'd been given by an attendant. He was very glad that he had his seatbelt on, since he didn't want to go tumbling into the seat in front of him, just within kicking distance. He hadn't kicked it at all - okay only five or six times, but only because the adult was stinky. The light over head clicked off, meaning belts could be unbuckled. There was another couple bumps, and a man's voice cam over the speakers telling them it was okay to get off the plane. The child and his duffel bag were ignored in the mass rush to debark.

He was left behind, balancing on the arm of his chair to reach the overhead storage. People were so nice when you got on the plane, but so mean when you had to get off. Eventually, he was able to work the bag down; both boy and duffel tumbled to the floor of the aisle. Bright red hair, ears, and tail marked Aodan O'Neill as a foreigner in this land, and his dark amber eyes were wide as he left the plane. His ragged blue jean shorts, blue T-shirt, and worn out sneakers made a high contrast compared to the clothing of the crowd around him.

He didn't know where to go after stepping out of the gate, and the sea of people were confusing to him. No one was being friendly and helpful at this airport like they had been back in Ireland. He was already unhappy about having to come to Japan to stay with a cousin he'd never met, and this was just the icing on the cake. He didn't have a cellphone and didn't know Kukai's number, so payphones were out too. Mrs. McFarley had said she called his cousin and told him the day and time to pick Ao up. So far, the boy had managed to wander until he was truly lost, with his heavy duffel clutched close to his body in as tight a grip as his small hands could manage; all he had in the world aside from his parents was in the bag, and he wasn't going to give it up easily. The small child, of only ten years in appearance, sat down on a padded bench with a frustrated huff to wait for this "Kukai" to come find him.

Kukai grounded his teeth as he tried to push through the traffic. Why did he have to do go through all this trouble again? Oh yea cause he agreed to take care of his cousin. He sighed and tapped his long slender fingers against the leather covered steering wheel. He gave a shout of happiness when the lane started moving again. After about an hour of driving he was finally at the airport! He grinned and slid on his sun glasses. Time to pick up the little tyke he had taken under his wing. He managed to find a parking spot before walking swiftly to the airport. He looked around for the gate the child was supposed to be by. When he saw no one by the description he had been given he grit his teeth. The little devil had wandered off hadn’t he. That wasn’t good. He groaned and began searching for the child. When he finally spotted him, the young man raced to the boy and grabbed his arm. Not particularly caring that he had been rough doing it.

”You were supposed to stay by the god damn gate kid. Not wander around like a dumb ass. Now lets go. I don’t want to be here any longer then necessary. Someone might recognize me and I don’t need that.” He said as he began to practically drag the poor kid along with him.

He must have fallen asleep because he didn't even sense the other grab him. The child let out a squeak of surprise, then one of pain as his arm started to throb from the grip of this stranger. His Japanese had never been particularly good, but he knew the grown-up was lecturing him. That tone of voice made him want to cry, and tears welled up. They spilled over as the man began to drag him and his duffel, and Ao began to howl. Loudly. He was scared and hurting, and he had no clue who this person was; he didn't act like family, but the little bit of the speech he'd understood told him this stranger was supposed to pick him up. He didn't want to go with this rough person. The boy's howling grew louder, his ears flattened against his head, his Siberian Husky tail was fluffed out to its largest, and he was digging in his heels and using the duffel as extra dead weight. Aodan O'Neill was not going anywhere without a fight of some sort.

Kukai groaned as the other started wailing. Just great. ”Good fucking god. Shut the hell up. You’re creating a scene.” He growled then realized that the kid might not know who he was. He sighed before slapping his hand to his face as a security guard came up. He gave his kindest smile. Sorry about this. He probably doesn’t realize I am his cousin. He is from a different country and I am here to pick him up. You know how kids are. Plus I doubt he even knows Japanese. I will calm him down.” He said in a polite voice. The guard opened his mouth to say something but Kukai had already let go of the kid and crouched down in front of him. He completely ignored the guard as he looked at the child. ”Hey. It’s me Kukai. There isn’t any reason to be afraid. Come on. Calm down.” He said ruffling the child’s hair like the kind relative he would never really be. He peeked up at the security guard who watched with a suspicious eyes. He looked ready to call for back up and report that Kukai was attempting to kidnap the other.

The howling continued until a uniformed man came up and the stranger released him. He was frightened by them both, and his watery eyes showed it, as did the tear tracks on his face. The child cradled the hurting arm as the stranger crouched down in front of him. His words were halting and trembling as he spoke, "K-Kukai? Cousin Kukai?" His large amber eyes looked out tearfully from under his bright red hair. Now that he looked, the male resembled Ao's father, as well as the picture of his aunt. The red hair he hadn't noticed calmed him greatly. He wimpered low in his throat and hugged the male. He couldn't be sure which man was the act, but he somehow knew he had to keep the uniformed man from taking the male away. When the boy figured it was convincing, he smiled. He sniffled and backed away a step to pick up his duffel. The child grabbed Kukai's hand and beamed up at him, "Scared me. Go home now?" He waited until the security officer was gone before he dropped the man's hand; he felt uncomfortable, but he still followed him. "Sorry I got lost," he whispered so only the adult could hear. Aodan really did feel bad, but he wasn't going to do more to apologize than that.

Zephaniah was having a normal day. Everything was going right for his routine. He had woken that morning and showered. After showering and getting dressed in a blue kimono, he left his apartment to go to the Dojo. The Dojo wasn’t far from his apartment, about a couple of miles so he would always ride his bike. It made getting there faster than walking, and by using the bike it aided as a warm up for cardio work. As he got to the dojo, he got off his bike and walked it in. Bowing to the woman behind the desk. She was a receptionist. “Good morning Co-Sempai.” Zeph nodded back to her, giving a brief smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

He walked onto the dojo to see his sensei speaking to mean dressed in suits. It was a odd situation and he had no idea what was going on. When his Sensei looked to him, Zeph could see a difference in his expression. “Zephaniah, these men are here to hire your assistance.” His sensei spoke. “They want to learn Kendo?” His sensei shook his head no. “They want you to protect their boss. He’s a young man close to your age..” His sensei spoke as he tried to determine what Zephaniah would say. “They want you to be his protector. Like his Samurai.” It all registered in his brain from that title. He looked to the men and bowed to them. “It would be an honor to serve your master.”

Zephaniah was no excited. He followed the men to a car. They would be taking him to meet the man he would be protecting. He was given a brief, telling a little bit about the man. His name was Kukai Koinu. And he was the head of a food company. His parents were both dead and he seemed to be a party boy. All Zephaniah had to do was protect him. Prevent him from dying the way his father did before him. Zephaniah knew he would be able to do it. Glad that he would be doing something to be worthy off. Hopefully he wouldn’t get Kukai killed.

They pulled into the airport and he was escorted out of the car. Following the men in suit's he approached two boys. One being the red haired Kukai he was informed of.

Kukai smiled kindly as the other seemed to realize it was him. Of course this smile was about as fake as the woman who was currently checking him out breasts were. He ruffled the kid’s hair once more as he kept the security guard’s expression in the corner of his vision. The man seemed to relax more and more with each passing moment. ”There ya go little guy. See no need to be afraid. You can trust me.” He said in a cheerful voice. This voice was also fake. Kukai did nothing in the terms of “cheerful”. Being cheerful was for weaklings. He held back a groan when the kid hugged him. God. He was starting to hate kids. He was never going to have children. Ever. He rolled his eyes subtly as the kid hugged him but brought the kind expression back when Aodan pulled away. He took a deep breath when the child grabbed his hand. He reminded himself that this was temporary. He smiled back at his cousin. ”Of course.” He said with a forced laugh. Once the security guard left the other dropped his hand. Kukai rubbed it subtly on his pants.

”It’s okay. Just don’t wander away. Now lets go. I got things to do peo-” He stopped speaking abruptly when a group of people approached him. He squinted and studied the man. There was something about him. Kukai couldn’t place his finger on it though. He looked so… familiar. As though Kukai knew him but he had never seen the man in his life. The men in suits he recognized. They worked for his family. ”Koinu-sama, this man was hired to act as your bodyguard. Your advisor hired him.” One of them said. Kukai raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t that surprised though. He was the head of a mafia. The position tended to come with risks. He was pretty sure that his advisor told the men to inform the guy that he was simply the head of a food company though. He smirked at the man and held out his hand. ”Kukai Koinu. Your name is?” He said with a somewhat cold voice.

In the background for the most part, Aodan aboserved the people around him, especially the male that was his cousin and temporary guardian. So the kind man had been the act; is was a good thing to know. Decent acting to get one into and out of trouble. He tried to forget that lesson, but it kept getting pushed into his face. The boy merely nodded when his cousin spoke; there wasn't much he could say. A group of adults aproached them, and he was completely ignored. That was all to the good in his opinion. The child watched the men interacting. He caught the words "hired" and "protect" and puzzled out the rest. Why did his cousin need to be protected? Was it so dangerous here, or was it something else? His amber eyes tracked every movement of Kukai; it would tell him best how to react. Another lesson learned that he tried to forget as often as possible.

The males continued speaking, and Ao turned his attention to the one that was going to be protecting his cousin. He didn't bother listening in, since he couldn't understand most of it anyway. He clutched his duffel bag, ready to bolt if neccessary. The bright red hair, ears, and tail would give him away, but he could hide in places no one but another child could find - or fit into! Sometimes it was good to still be ten, but there were times when he wished he were older, so he wouldn't have had to travel to this foreign country to stay with a guardian he'd never met. He did not speak; not only would it have been rude, but it would have drawn attention to him, attention he wasn't sure he wanted. As long as he ws ignored and part of the background, he was safe.

While the attention was off him, he decided to gradually inch away from the group until he looked like a lost passenger rather than part of their group. He didn't like the look of these strangers. They were dangerous - that was easy enough to see, even for someone who hadn't been exposed to danger as he had been. There was also something off about the man hired to protect his cousin - the same kind of off he associated with other Fighters, and he'd never liked being around them too long. No one had noticed his movements - the adults had forgotten him apparently. He wasn't leashed or held; he could run. How far would he make it? Aodan decided not to start out running. He wandered within sight, the over to the bathroom. He hadn't made a plan; the child had just had to use the bathroom. But when Aodan left the restroom, he found himself thoroughly lost and separated from the others. He'd gone out the wrong door, but now was the best time to make his escape from this unwanted place, and his unwanted guardian, too. They wouldn't be looking for him just yet, since he was supposed to be in the bathroom still. His dufflebag held in a death-grasp, Aodan walked very calmly with the flow of people to the outside. Then he bolted, running as if the very ruler of hell was on his heels. The stares didn't matter - only getting away. He dodged the hands grabbing to stop him - ignored the shouts in a language he didn't understand. He ran until he had to stop for breath, but he continued to walk, knowing that to stop at all would mean being caught and taken back. When he could breathe again, he took off at full speed again, not knowing - not caring - where he was headed.

[Aodan has left the Airport and gone to the City Park]