Samurai Souls,     by Kajite Gray               
YoroidenGi@aol.com
Chapter 6     Kodoku

     By the next morning, Kento had forgotten all about the
uneasy night he'd had. There were more important things
commanding his attention right now. Rowen had apparently said
SOMETHING to Cye after class that pissed him off. (Kento could
only guess what it might have been) One thing had led to another,
and now the two of them were doing their dead-level best to kill
each other out in the hallway. 
     The combatants slugged it out in accompaniement to the hoots
and jeers of the students crowding around them. Neither boy gave
an inch. Kento winced as Cye took a shot in the nose. Blood
spurted. Instead of backing off, Cye gave an enraged howl and
leapt on Rowen. They both went down, swearing and kicking.
Disgusted, Kento waded into the scuffle and jerked Cye back by
his hair. Cye growled, made a fight at HIM and got slapped for
his efforts. The world tilted crazily for a moment; getting
slapped by Kento was like getting hit with a side of beef.
Blinking stars out of his vision, he found himself held firmly by
several big boys.
     "Hang on to that idiot," ordered Kento. He turned to a
seething Rowen. His shirt was torn, his blue hair in wild
disarray. His turquoise eyes burned sullenly.
     "You stay the Hell out of this!!" Rowen snarled. He made a
move towards Cye, but Kento grabbed him by what was left of his
collar and yanked him back.
     "What's the MATTER with you?!" yelled Kento. "Don't you get
enough abuse at home?!!"
     The hall went completely silent.
     Rowen stared at him for a stunned moment before turning and
running out of the building.
     "Shit!!" hissed Kento, slapping a hand over his own fat
mouth, too late to do any good. 
     There they go, he thought desperately, wishing he could
snatch back the damning words. He cursed himself for his
carelessness. Intending to go after Rowen, he was arrested by a
small, pained voice behind him.
     "Kento....?"
     He turned to Cye, who was standing there with blood running
down his face. He raised his head and gave Kento a look that was
enough to cut his soul.
     "You..... HIT me....." he managed to whimper. 
     Aw, shit. Kento wanted to kick himself. He'd hit Cye a lot
harder than he'd meant to. The whole side of his face was swollen
from the blow. Cye's hurt blue eyes demanded an apology. His
expression was that of a kicked dog. 
     "I.... " Kento began. He glanced towards the door, torn
between who needed him most. He looked back at Cye, and wished he
hadn't. Tears were mingled with the blood now.
     "Cye....  I.....  aw, shit." He turned and ran after Rowen,
leaving Cye and his betrayed looks behind. No matter how badly he
felt about Cye, Rowen needed him more. 
     Cye was better off then he knew. He didn't know what it was
like to REALLY get hit. 
     Further up the hall, Sage Date was leaning against a row of
dark green lockers. His grey eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He had
witnessed the entire confrontation with his usual cool aloofness.
No fan of petty brawls, he had nonetheless been drawn to the high
levels of energy thrown off by all the activity. Just like he
always was - like a moth to a flame. The air was alive with
chaotic vibrations. Mostly the usual shit. Between the anger of
the combatants and the bloodlust of the audience, the hall fairly
glowed with random psychic energy. The fight had been a nasty
one. Not so much on a physical level - he'd seen far worse in
that respect. But the air reeked with tangled emotions so strong
they almost made him ill. There was so much raw anger left in the
wake of the fight that Sage could only wonder what kind of
homelife that blue-haired kid had. Most of the fury had been from
HIM. Sage stretched his senses tentatively in the direction that
boy had gone, seeking answers. Almost immediately he drew back.
Pain stabbed between his eyes like a knife, making him flinch.
There was so much raw hurt there ---- Sage shook his head to
clear it, feeling like someone had punched him in the gut. There
was no way he could get close. The pain was right on the surface,
screaming like an open wound. Sage had barely brushed the edges
of his soul and it had all but knocked him down. 
     Being an Empath has its drawbacks he thought, swallowing a
wave of queasiness. There was no way he could have gotten close,
even if he had wanted to help. Usually he steered clear of these
things, just to keep his sanity. He was somewhat reassured that
it was Kento Fung who had followed him out of the building. If
anyone could calm the kid down, it was him. That two such
different people should be friends did not surprise Sage.
Opposites tended to attract. Kento's rock steady nature was
exactly what was needed here. The last thing the kid needed now
was another emotional time bomb beside him.
     Speaking of emotional basket-cases, thought Sage turning his
attention to Cye. The level of hurt and betrayal radiating off
the Mori kid was incredible. He stood there, looking like a lost
soul. Little tendrils of his blue aura stretched futilely in the
direction which Kento had gone, as if reaching for a missing part
of his soul. Like he didn't feel complete without him. The kid
looked bereft. He sniveled, wiping his bloody nose on his sleeve
and allowing himself to be led off to the Nurse's office by a
sympathetic Senior. 
     Sage rubbed a pale finger across the bit of honey-colored
hair hanging in his eye. He frowned slightly, not knowing the
havoc this small expression played with the hearts of the girls
who were watching him. He made several small frowns and slight
grimaces as he tried to make sense of what was going on. Each one
drew a collective sigh from the girls gathered a few yards away. 
     Oblivious to their gaze, Sage puzzled over the strangeness
of what had just ocurred. His long-lashed eyes slanted
speculatively. The emotions of hurt and anger swirling around
here were normal....  but their level was astronomical. Their
intensity was way out of line for just a minor hallway scuffle.
It made no sense whatsoever. Sage mused over the event some more, 
before something at the edge of his conciousness caught his
attention. It was a set of entirely different emotions, ones that
gave him the sensation of silver chimes and fragrant flowers. He
knew what THAT was.
     Sage turned suddenly to catch about a dozen bedazzled girls
staring at him with rapt adoration. Amused, he wondered how long
he'd been standing there making faces at himself, to have
attracted a crowd like that. Well, he knew how to get rid of
them. He flashed a brilliant, movie-star smile.
     "Hello, ladies!" he called loudly. Startled at being caught,
the girls blushed and scattered like birds. Sage chuckled to
himself, watching them go. After a hurried glance at his watch,
he realized he had better be on his way as well. He hoped he
wouldn't be late to drama class again. The girls hated it when he
was late. With a final frown behind him, Sage loped off to his
class.


     It didn't take Kento long to find Rowen; he had not gone
far. He was sitting by himself at the edge of the younger kids'
playground. He was slouched in one of the sagging blue swings,
the toe of one shoe twisting dejectedly in the dust.  
     Kento sat in the swing next to him, vaguely wondering when
these swings had gotten so small. He wedged himself into the
narrow seat - it was a tight fit. The chains creaked with his
weight. Rowen's face flickered, but he wouldn't look at him. He
stared silently at the ground, one thin hand clenched around the
chain of his swing.
     "Hey....  I'm sorry if I......" offered Kento gently.
     "Blow me," snarled Rowqen unreceptively.
     "Maybe later, boyfriend," replied Kento evenly, accustomed
to his stinging remarks. He made no move to leave.
     "Are you ok?" he asked, peering at Rowen's puffed lip.
     "Piss off."
     "Fine - have it your way.  But I'll piss off when I'm good
and ready." Kento settled into his seat to wait out  Rowen's
silent fury. He would have left to find Cye, but he was unwilling
to leave Rowen alone when he was like this. Whether he admitted
it or not, Rowen needed company.
     The two sat in silence for a long time. The rest of the
students on the playground milled past the silent pair, the
occassional elementary student peering curiously at these two big
kids who were hogging their swings. They were way out of place
with the gleeful chaos of the K thru 4 crowd. One little girl
proved bolder than the others. She walked up and poked Kento in
the back. 
     "Hey, Mister. If you're not gonna swing, push me!"
Surprised, he turned to the girl.
     "What?" He wasn't used to being called 'Mister'. Considering
how big he must have looked to her, it wasn't so surprising. She
couldn't have been more than six. 
     "Come on," she chided, pushing at him. "You're too big to
play on swings. Push me - please?"
     Her big dark eyes sparkled up at him and Kento couldn't
supress a grin. 
     "Sure, blossom, I'll push ya."
     He let her clamber into the seat and obligingly swung her.
     "Higher!"
     "Ok, but when you bump your head on the moon, remember you
asked for it!"
     The girl laughed, shrieking with delight the higher she
went. Kento glanced over to see what Rowen's reaction was to all
this. He was looking away, ignoring them both. There was no sign
he either noticed or cared what was going on around him. The girl
on the swing laughed, a pure sound of joy, like bells in the
wind. 
     Kento could not remember the last time he had heard Rowen
laugh this way. Could not remember when his luaghter had been
undistorted by pain and cynisism. Rowen looked very small,
hunched and silent in his motionless swing.
     Kento wondered, if he pushed him, if he could make him laugh
like this. He didn't know if Rowen could anymore.
     It had been a very long time since he had had any reason to
laugh.
     Kento didn't try. He just wondered about it, and went on
swinging the girl until recess was over.

     Rowen's father glared sullenly at the empty beer cans
littering the floor of the apartment. His crooked hand scrabbled
about in the cardboard box beside his chair, fingernails scraping
the empty sides. There was nothing left of his carton of beer. He
swore, flinging the box aside, into a pile of rubbish. Roaches
scattered in a panicked wave from the disturbance. Hashiba hacked
and spit in their direction without much interest in hitting
them. He was outnumbered anyway. He slumped in his chair in the
same reeking clothes he'd been wearing for weeks scratching 
himself  with his dirty nails. He should have had more beer. But
he didn't and that wasn't fair. His money was gone, disappeared
from his wallet. Mind wasted from so much drink, he could not
remember that he had blown it all on himself. But of course, it
was the damn kid's fault he was out of beer again. He had
obviously stolen his beer money, the little theif. 
     Damned shitty kid.... if he could stay awake til he got
home, he was gonna beat the piss outta him.
     What was left of Hashiba's mind swirled in an amber haze of
hate. His fingers worked at the edge of the belt he wore. His
favorite belt - a good solid leather one that made the best sound
when he used it. The metal buckle was nice too - had an edge on
it that drew blood very easily. A corrupt smile creased his
unshaven jaw. He liked the sound a good beating made, liked the
feeling of power it gave him. He could not wait for the kid to
get home.
     He tried to get up, wanting to make some practice whacks on
the back of the chair. But his legs would not support him. Shit.
He needed a drink. He had not had enough, only the half case that
had been left from the night before. That wasn't so much. It was
only beer. What he needed was something with more punch to it. He
fished around for the paper bag hidden under his chair. He had
been going to save this....  but it was past noon and he needed a
real belt to get himself started. A drink would help. 
     He took a shot of Jack Daniels, straight from the bottle.
Raw amber fire rushed to his head. He felt envigorated. That was
better. It was so MUCH better that he had to have another one.   
And another... and another... and another.  
     CTLINK. The empty bottle dropped from his fingers to lie in
the trash on the floor. Hashiba slumped, unconcious in his
moldering brown chair. He never stirred as the roaches ran races
across his body. He made no more movement than the rest of the
trash in the filthy apartment. Just another crumpled container
with nothing useful left inside.


     Locker doors slammed and the hall echoed with chatter as
students departed for the day. Jostled by the crowd, Kento
wrestled with his uncooperative locker. It stubbornly refused to
open. He growled crossly, pounding on the warped metal.  Damned
thing was stuck AGAIN.
     "Crap!!" He bashed his fist into the metal plate, barely
feeling the pain. The abused door creaked open with a reluctant
groan, and a small piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Someone
had left him a note. Kento picked it up and turned it over. There
was a telephone number  and a drawing of a sad little fish on it. 
     Cye.
     Kento shook his head, pocketing the paper. He had some major 
apologizing to do, but at least Cye was willing to talk to him.
Unlike SOME people he knew. It seemed to Kento like he was
apologizing for a lot of things lately.
     Swinging his bookbag over his shoulder, he kicked his locker
shut and ran out to catch the bus home.
     Cool autumn wind chased leaves across the walkways. They
made a dry, scraping sound against the grey stone. Threading his
way through the public park beyond the school, Rowen slowly
trudged towards home. The leaf-stripped trees cast lengthening
shadows as the sun dropped below the horizon. Twilight formed
weird, shifting shadows over the ground.  Rowen pulled his collar
up against the wind. He had used his bus fare for lunch again,
and he had to walk home. He didn't mind the long time it took -
he 
was not eager to return to what was waiting for him there.  He
paused for a moment on the stone bridge that arched over a
rushing creek, feeling the cool autumn breeze run fingers through
his hair. He rested his elbows on the stone ledge, gazing down
into the dark, leaf-strewn waters. The leaves swirled in confused
patterns, like his thoughts. All he could think about was the
pain waiting for him at home - the cursing, the endless angry
words, the beatings that left him barely able to stand.
     For an empty, sick moment, he felt the urge to cast himself
off the bridge and lose himself in the cold waters below. The
rushing current promised oblivion, a release from the madness. An
end to the pain.  All he had to do was swing his tired body over
the ledge and let go.....  
     Rowen tore his eyes from the beckoning current with a
shudder. It was too tempting, too easy to just give up. It
wouldn't have worked anyway - he was too good a swimmer. With his
luck, his instinct to survive would win out and he'd just end up
being wet and miserable intstead of having the decencey to drown
like he should. Chill wind rushed over him, seeming to cut right
through his ragged coat. He shoved his thin hands deep in his
pockets, more depressed than ever. Good thing he was used to the
cold.... this was the only coat he had for the whole winter.
     He shivered, fingers closing on the meteorite around his
neck. The rough rock felt cold, but just touching it brought him
a sense of comfort. Like an old friend. Like everything would be
ok somehow. Rowen shook his head at his own foolishness. He
didn't beleive that. Not for a second. Life was going to continue
to suck for as long as he could tell. 
     At that moment, he almost turned and headed for Kento's
place. It was a long way off. Maybe he could bum a ride....   
But no, he didn't want to bring his troubles into that good warm
house. He hardly deserved the kindness the Fungs heaped on him
already. That sort of trreatment was for better boys than him. He
was no good; what use could he be when even his own family didn't
want him?
     For a long time, he sat on the edge of the stone bridge,
ignoring the chill that seeped into his bones. He watched as the
cold, bright moon rose over the horizon. Silvered tufts of cloud
drifted across its face in ragged bits. Rowen gazed up at the
moon, wondering if he might be holding a part of it. He knew he
couldn't be that lucky.
     At length, he uncurled himself stiffly from his perch. If he
didn't leave now, he might end up spending a night in the park
again. It was too damn cold for that. Even the bums had better
sense than to be out in this. Besides, the last thing he needed
was for the police to pick him up as a derelict again. Carefully
tucking the stone back under his shirt, he slowly turned and
plodded home to hell.
     The black windswept trees lining the path bent over him. As
if reaching to comfort his aching soul. 


     Mama Fung stood at the stove in her resturaunt kitchen,
stirring soup. She tasted, made a face, and added more onion. The
door to the kitchen creaked and she looked up. Her tired face
brightened at Kento's appearance.
     "There's my favorite kid," she said, holding out her free
arm. Kento let himself be folded into a warm hug, leaning his
head wearily on Mama's broad shoulder. The day had really sucked,
but this helped make things better. Peering past her son, Mama
tapped him on the back.
     "Are you here by yourself?"
     "Yeah..."  He nodded unhappily.
     Mama's brows went up.
     "What? No Little Fish today? I thought he was helping you
study tonight."
     Kento looked down, rubbing the back of his neck guiltily.
Mama's smile faded.
     "What...  happened?"
     "We, uh...  we had a disagreement."
     The look of menace in Mama's eye made Kento distinctly
nervous. He swallowed hard.
     "Actually..... , Rowen and Cye had the disagreement and.... 
I kinda got in the middle of it."
     "You mean you got in a fight."
     "Uh.... not really," squirmed Kento. "I was tryin' to break
it up."
     "And....?"
     "I really made a mess of things.... Now they're BOTH mad at
me."
     Mama sighed.
     "My Son, The Diplomat." She ruffled his hair. "At least you
tried." 
     Kento gave her a forlorn look.
     "Shoot, Mama. When am I going to learn to keep my fat mouth
shut?"
     "Sorry - That's hereditary. Having a big mouth runs in this
family." She gave him a tired smile. "So what will you do?"
     "I...  I'll have to talk to Cye. Can't call Rowen.... you
know why...." Mama nodded. She knew very well why the Hashiba
household had no phone. As for Cye, she was content to let Kento
settle his own affairs.
     "Dinner first?" She extended a plate to him, but he shook
his head. For once, he had no appetite.
     "I better not. I got some apologizing to do." He went on
upstairs without even sneaking a bite, leaving Mama to stare
after him in wonderment. HER son was passing up FOOD?? She shook
her head - he must really be upset.
     Kento punched in the phone number wirth one hand, scratching
Malachai absently with the other. After two rings the phone was
snatched up. A young female voice responded.
     "Hello?"
     Kento blinked in surprise.
     "Who's this?" 
     "This is Kami, bright-eyes. Who are YOU?" Kento smiled. It
had slipped his mind that Cye had an older sister. He liked the
sparkle her voice held.
     "This is Kento. One of Cye's friends - is he there?"
     "Hang on, I'll check -" She twisted around in her chair.
     "Fiiiiiiissssshhhhh!!!!!" she shrilled, making Kento wince.
     "Yeah? Whaddya want?" came a cross-sounding snarl.
     "Gee - see if I answer the phone for YOU again!"
     The irritated voice softened.
     "Sorry Kami - my day really sucked. Who is it?"
     "Dunno - some guy." Her voice dropped slyly. "Maybe it's
your 
BOYFRIEND!"
     Cye flushed audibly.
     "Oh, shut up!" He snatched the phone from his sister,
glaring acidly.
     ""Hullo?"
     On the other end of the line, Kento chuckled. He'd heard the
whole conversation.
     "Hiya, buddy - are we still friends?"
     "Kento!!"
     "Yeah, it's me." He squirmed a bit. " Listen... I'm sorry
about.... ya know, earlier today -"
     "You called!!" His joy was so obvious, Kento had to grin.
Cye wasn't mad at him at all.
     "Yeah... I'm sorry I hit ya, you know. I didn't mean - "
     "Forget it," said Cye. "I kinda had it coming. You just
sorta... surprised me is all."
     Kento grinned at his friend's uncharacteristic machismo.
Surprised? Hell, he'd been knocked flat, but he wasn't about to
admit it. Kento decided to drop it.
     "Hey, don't forget what we're doin' this weekend."
     "We're still going to the Aquarium?"
     "Shit, yeah - I ain't goin' by myself!!" 
     "I thought you'd be mad at me for fightin' Rowen." Cye
sounded releived.
     "Not me - but how about your MOM? I bet she freaked when she
found out her little boy was fightin'." 
     Cye laughed.
     "She did flip out a little."
     "Man. Saying your mom flipped out a little is like saying it
was only a LITTLE earthquake!!"
     "She wasn't as mad as I thought she'd be - I didn't even get
grounded." Cye grimaced. "But I DID have to go to the Emergency
Room." 
     Kento was taken aback.
     "God damn, Cye! Did I hit you that hard??"
     "Nah - not from you. It was that bloody lip Rowen gave me."
     "THAT little thing? You didn't need stitches for THAT."
     "I know, but this is my mother we're talking about here. She
made a big case out of it."
     "How many did ya get?"
     "Two! The needle was the worst part of it. There was no
gettin' out of that one."
     "I guess not, knowin' yer ma. So she wasn't mad at all that
you were fighting?
     "No. Not after I told her who it was that I was scrappin'
with."
     "Uh - oh. She's mad at Rowen, then."
     Cye scratched his head.
     "I don't think so.... she didn't sound surprised, at least."
He laughed a little. "I think she's madder at YOU than she was at
HIM!"
     "Uh - oh....   You told her how I broke it up?"
     "I don't think she wants me to play with you anymore, man!"
joked Cye. "She was pretty pissed. You should see my eye!!" His
voice held an odd note of pride. The 'I've been hit by Kento and
lived' sort of tone of voice.
     "So what did she say when you told her I hit you?" pressed
Kento.
     "She acted like she was surprised that I still had a HEAD!"
     "Well, I wouldn'ta hit ya if ya weren't bein' such a
dumbfu-"
     "I know, I know. But HE started it!"
     "I don't care if he starts it or not. If he acts like a
jerk, 
just.... just ignore it."
     "Yeah, right," huffed Cye. "It's kinda hard to ignore a kick
in the balls."
     "He kicked you?!"
     "Yeah, he sure did." He paused guiltily. "Well, that was
after I punched him for calling me a Fairy."
     Kento laughed.
     "Ok, Mr. Innocent. Maybe he had it coming, but you guys
still acted freakin' childish back there!"
     "I can't argue with you there," shrugged Cye. "But he is
such a PRICK!!"
     "Cye...." there was  a warning note in Kento's voice.
     "Well, he IS."
     "That may be true, but try not to kill him, ok?"
     There was thoughtful silence on the other end of the line.
     "Cye..."
     "Allright.... I won't start anything with him. But if HE
starts it first, I'm not holding back."
     Kento decided that half a battle won was better than no
victory at all.
     "Ok. Just don't flatten him without good cause. He may have
a bad case of  Jerkitis, but he's still one of my best friends."
     "Ok." Cye was silent for a moment. "Kento....?"
     "Yeah?"
     "Am I.... am I one of your best friends too?"
     "Yes." Kento smiled. "I wouldn't have called you if you
weren't. 
     "Thanks. I...  haven't had much luck in the
friend-department and... I'm glad you're my friend. I really, uh,
didn't have a best friend. Um, so, thanks. Really. I'm so happy
we-"
     "Cye!" Kento cut off his rambling.
     "What?"
     "Stop waggin' your tail like that - it's embarassing for
both of us."
     Cye giggled.
     "Arf. Ok - but not being a social outcast is a new thing for
me."
     "You'll get used to it. See you tomorrow at school, huh?"
     "Sure. And I'll TRY not to kill Rowen."
     Kento grinned.
     "Better not. Goodnight."
     "Nite."
     Kento hung up the phone. Whew! That had to have been the
strangest apology he'd ever made. The guy who was supposed to be
pissed at him was fawning and gushing and thanking him for being
such a pal. That sort of all-committed devotion was a trifle
embarrassing.  Cye must have had NO friends before moving here.
Kento wondered how bad his other school must have been for him to
want to be best friends with someone who'd knocked him into a
wall. He could only guess how he'd been treated before.
     Shrugging, he moved off downstairs to his dinner. He'd have
to figure out Cye's motives another time.

     The Mori household was dark and quiet, with everyone asleep
but Cye. He lay on his bed, wide awake. His head still throbbed
from the punches he'd taken, and he was waiting for the aspirin
to kick in. Knowing that Kento wasn't mad at him made him feel a
little better. He rolled over, picking up the shiney orb from his
nightstand. It was certainly an odd-looking thing, and he had
been trying to figure out what it was for.
     Cye lay on his bed, playing with the little crystal he'd
found several days earlier. He couldn't remember if he'd found it
before or after he first met Kento. In a way, he regarded it as a
lucky piece. It seemed that things had begun to go a little
righter since he'd had it in his posession. Not much had gone
right before then. He rolled over on his back, turning the
silvery-blue globe over in his fingers. What was it anyway? So
far, his attempts at research had yeilded nothing.  Several books
on gems and minerals from the library were stacked on his desk.
None of the stones they mentioned seemed to have any connection
to this one. Like quartz crystal, the ball was cool to the touch
whenever he picked it up. But instead of warming in his hand like
a normal thing, it seemed to grow colder. It was doing that now,
cooling gradually as he played with it. The globe threw the
oddest patterns of light. And it seemed to him (tho this was
probably his imagination) that the stone actually glowed when he
got near it.
     He laughed at himself. That was silly. An unusual flash of
color issued from the thing, bringing an uneasy conclusion to his
amusement. It looked like the sort of flash that water made when
reflecting sunlight. It was a little too bizarre to be laughed
away. The lights in the room were off, the only illumination
coming from the streetlamp outside. But the flash off the thing
had been bright enough to dazzle him. Headache forgotten, Cye set
the ball down on his fish-printed bedspread and stared at it.
That was another thing... the fish. The Koi in the garden pond
had been behaving very strangely towards him as of late. The last
time he'd waded into the pond to clean it, he had to wade through
a wall of fish. They'd flocked to him like a pack of eager dogs,
pressing in close enough to be a hindrance. One had even tried to
wriggle up the leg of his trousers - an incident which resulted
in some frantic gyrations on his part and gales of  laughter from
Kami when she saw what was going on. It was just too bizarre,
they way they'd all mobbed him like that. He'd always been on
good terms with fish, but this was ridiculous.
     Now that he thought about it, he'd had the ball in his
pocket that day. Was it some sort of weird fish- magnet? He
scowled at the thing, trying to figure it out. His sleep had been
disturbed too. It seemed like he'd been having nothing but fish
dreams ever since he got this thing. One morning, he had woken
with a start....  and found himself  with a wad of fresh seaweed
clutched in his hand. It was still wet. He suspected that Kami
had put it there as a joke...  but he wasn't quite sure enough of 
himself to accuse her directly. He sort of WANTED to believe she
had done it. Any other explanation.... was just too strange.
    With a tired sigh, he put the ball back in its nest of coral and 
flopped down on the bed. There were so many unanswered questions whirling 
around in his head, he didn't think he'd sleep. At least his headache was 
gone. He curled up on his side, listening to the quiet hum of the 
air-conditioner. The night was chilly, but he'd felt too warm and had put 
it on. The cold didn't seem to touch him anymore, and his mother had 
scolded him a number times for not wearing his jacket outside. Cye 
wondered if he was catching a fever, but his skin wasn't hot and he didn't 
feel sick. He rolled over, trying to find a cool spot. Vaugely, he 
wondered if he'd sleep better without having that... THING in the room 
with him. Maybe he should put it someplace else.
    Before he could act on the thought, sleep overtook him. It was as if a 
cool, heavy hand had come down over him and gently closed his eyes. He had 
no time to wonder at the strange feeling before he was deeply asleep.
    In the darkness, the ball on his nighttable glowed softly, pulsing 
rhythmically with his breathing.


     The next day, Kento was worried about Rowen. His friend walked slowly 
from class to class, head down, not looking at the other students. There 
was none of Rowen's usual antics. He didn't make passes at the girls, he 
didn't yell obscenities at the other boys, and he didn't get in trouble 
once all day. It just wasn't natural. Kento peered at his silent friend 
during lunch. Rowen's jaw looked scuffed and he seemed tired. He offered 
no explanations, just sat there picking at his food without much interest. 
After a few tries at normal conversation, Kento gave up. Instead, he 
quietly invited him over to study that afternoon. Rowen agreed without 
much enthusiasm.
    The rest of the scool day passed in silence. Rowen was no more 
talkative at home. The two sat side by side at the kitchen table, 
studying quietly. At a quarter til five, Rowen looked up at the clock and 
closed his book. He picked up his jacket and walked out of the Fungs' 
kitchen. Kento turned to look after him. 
    "Where are you headed?"
    "Train Station. Remember? Mom's day to have me." Rowen looked like 
he'd rather go to the dentist.
    "Oh," said Kento quietly. That explained a lot. "See you later, then."
    "Yah." Rowen shrugged into his jacket. "Prob'ly in an hour." 
    Kento nodded. Rowen's mother rarely remembered to pick up her son for 
visitation. He usually just hung around the train platform awhile, for 
appearances, then headed back to Kento's place. A great many of his 
"visits with mom" turned into "dinner with the Fungs". He never told his 
father about that.
    Rowen plodded off to the platform under bitter grey skies. When they 
divorced, his parents had fought so hard over him - he'd been a frightened 
eleven year old, huddled in his bed listening to them scream. Day and 
night. He had mattered then. But now.....  One abused him and the other 
ignored him. He wasn't sure which hurt worse. Sometimes ANY attention was 
better than none. At least when he was being beaten he wasn't being 
ignored. His mother hadn't remembered to pick him up in about six weeks. 
She was always too busy with her lawfirm. Too many clients and important 
people were waiting to be heard from. She had no time for to waste on a 
skinny, awkward teenager pestering her for attention.
    Rowen leaned against the metal pole, gazing down the tracks. He 
wondered distantly if he'd seen her for the last time. Not that it 
mattered. She hadn't seemed very interested in him during their last 
visit. They had spent an uncomfortable meal at McDonald's, few words 
passing between them. She had pretended not to notice his bruises.
    He stared at the blank grey sidewalk, now dotted with rain. Rowen 
shrugged. It didn't matter. 
    But it did.
    He squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to cry over it. He was certain 
SHE never did. Trains came and went. People milled around him, ignoring 
the slight young man leaning against the lightpole. Rowen huddled in the 
rain, waiting for his mother. Hope surfaced stupidly each time a train 
pulled into the station, and died cruelly when it pulled out again. He 
stood there for nearly an hour, the steady rain soaking him to the skin. 
He waited alone, hoping for a little warmth, one small smile, for just a 
little attention to let him know he mattered.
    She never came.


To be continued..............

Next Chapter: Holes