Libertà - Chaper 1

FINALLY~ I got some writing done! :D

 

 

1

 

            Not even the sound of the nekojin's headphones shielded his ears from the absurd fight downstairs. If Ran turned the damn things up any louder, he was sure he would have gone deaf. He could feel the anger flowing so easily through the thin walls of the little British house.

 

            Ryu peered down at her brother from the top bunk of their beds. Though she tried not to show it, worry clouded her dark ocean-blue eyes. Ran's own ocean-blues turned up to meet his sister's. Both of them already knew what the fight was about, even if they were upstairs. The fight was about them. It had started over something stupid, as usual, and then it had eventually made its way to the real root of the anger. Their grandfather wanted them gone, simple as that.

 

            Okay, it wasn't quite that simple. He was more than angry at the twins. He was also pissed off at their mother. Who knew where the woman even was at the moment. She seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet with her latest boyfriend. Ran and Ryu had only one aunt, whom their mother was often compared to in the worst ways possible. Cassandra was perfect in her parent's eyes. She had graduated her schooling with honors and had participated in more school clubs than either of the twins would even dream of remembering. Not to mention the fact that the woman had put herself through college. Their mother on the other hand had not reached the high bar her sister had set for her. Julie had merely graduated normally. She hadn't had any interest in clubs, other than the school band. She didn't bring home fancy awards or attend ceremonies as Cassandra had done. At least, no important ceremonies, as her father had put it. While the elder girl had gotten herself a well-paying job by the age of 21, Julie had still been working at a fast food place. The instant she too turned 21, the woman sailed her way through bar-tending school and got her own well-paying job.

 

            Even still, her father thought of her as a failure. She left the house to marry her Asian boyfriend, hence where Ran and Ryu had come from. Even the children's names pissed the old man off. Why couldn't they have been normal English names? Needless to say, the old fart looked for anything to pick at.

 

            The fact that he was a drunk didn't help. Nor did his memory being shot from the stroke he'd lived through. As mean as they knew it was, the siblings sometimes wished he hadn't survived. Their grandmother on the other hand was a nit-picky, lazy, self-centered old woman who only stuck up for them when it benefited her. It was true that she could be nice when she wanted to be and that she was getting better, but it didn't feel like enough.

 

            Ryu reached down to pluck the headphones from her brother's ears; the boy wincing as he heard his grandfather's yelling clear up. Before all he had been able to hear was the sound. Yet now each and every word was clear as a bell.

 

            “Want to go get some ice cream?” She asked.

 

            “You know grandma's gonna get pissed off at us if she finds out,” Ran muttered.

 

            “I don't care,” Ryu admitted. “I just want to get out of here. Maybe we can see if we can stay the night at someone's house?”

 

            Her brother gave a shrug. “I guess it's worth a try, right?”

 

            It was better than staying there at that horrid house. The twins packed up their things, trying to shove them all in one bag before sneaking away out the front door. They knew they'd both be in for it later. Their grandfather would rant and rave about having made too much food for dinner and for their “sleep over” having been too last minute. But at the moment, the brunette siblings felt as if they would have exploded had they stayed in that house even a second longer.

 

*   *   *

 

            Ryu sighed softly as she sat back against the bench. The ice cream had eased the worry in her stomach, at least for now. Her eyes fluttered closed as she enjoyed the warmth of the sunlight against her face. It was strange how things in that horrid house could be so dark and dreary when it seemed like everyone else in England was having a good day. One of her sensitive ears perked to listen to the children running around the park, the little group happily playing some sort of game together as they hopped along against the cool grass. The water of the river Avon flowed along against the sandy banks; the wind softly rustling the leaves of the weeping willow tree along the water’s edge. Even without physically seeing everything, the teen could picture it all in her mind. The girl only stirred when she felt the gentle nudge of her brother’s cheek against her shoulder. One eye cracked open to peer down at him, a tiny smile meeting her lips as he looked up at her sleepily.

 

            “Tired?”

 

            “A little,” he admitted. “To tell you the truth, I just feel really relaxed right now.” It felt so much nicer to be somewhere warm and happy then so dingy and unpleasant. “I like the feeling of the space out here better.”

 

            “I don’t blame you,” Ryu admitted. “How can you feel comfortable in a house with that much crap in it.”

 

            After all, their grandmother was an avid “collector.” The woman had so many collections that just thinking about them made the twins’ heads hurt. Carousel horses, perfume bottles, dolls, and more movie than they could even count filled one room. Another room had more movies, blue and white plates, and pictures covering what would have been all of the bare wall space. That was only the den and the living room! Not to mention, the woman had so much furniture! Not much of it was actually used. It just sort of sat there, collecting dust and mouse poop.

 

            Oh yes, the mice. Thinking about that made Ran give a little shudder. There were mice in the house, and rats out in the shed where quite a lot of their grandmother’s other things were. She had so much stuff that she didn’t even use. It just sat outside, giving the rats things to chew on and places to nest. There had been one time the woman had made the siblings help her clean the shed out. Rat piss was everywhere, and who had to clean it up? Ran was to scrub the containers clean while Ryu was to vacuum the little brown pellets from the floor and shelves. It was worse when the found a tiny nest of rat babies. None of the pet shops they took them to would take them, and it took them three tries at animal shelters to find one that would humanely put the poor little things to sleep. The boy still felt guilty about that at times.

 

            “The sooner we graduate and get jobs, the better,” he said softly. “I want to be out of this house ASAP.”

 

            “I couldn’t agree more, but we can’t really focus on it.” The girl gave a tiny shrug, leaning her head against her brother’s own. “The more we do, the longer it will feel like it takes.”

 

            To which her brother just stuck his tongue out at her. “Come on. Let’s go find out who we’ll be staying with for the night,” he said, standing and moving to pull his sister up with him.

 

            “Michelle’s out of the question.”

 

            “Why?”

 

            “Her mom wont let both of us stay there, since you’re a boy. I’m not going to make you find somewhere else.” Not to mention, though Ryu didn’t really want to admit it, at the moment she wanted her brother to stay at her side. Hearing her grandparents fighting over them or even yelling at the two of them often made her feel a little more clingy than she liked. To her, being clingy was a bad thing.

 

            Ran offered his sister another soft smile, reaching to take her hand in his own. “Well, what about Mario, then?” He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her, his ears perking up. Ryu had to stifle a laugh. Whenever he did that head motion, she couldn’t help but picture him as a normal little kitten, looking up cutely and waiting for some sort of fishy treat. One of the boy’s blue tipped cat ears twitched as he gave a pout. “What’s so funny?”

 

            “Nothing. But that is a good idea,” she said, brushing off his pout and pulling him along. Come on. First off, let’s see if he’s even home, and we’ve got to ask Cyn.”

 

*   *   *

 

            Lazy pink lemonade clouds drifted in the sky against the purple-blue sky, the last rays of the orange marmalade sun reflecting against them as the sun set. The shadow of the apartment complex stretched out longer than usual against the street. The lights along the side walk began to flicker on as the Kokoro twins made their way in through the opened gate. The North star began to peek through the last bits of light, shining brightly in its place. Ran paused in the middle of the stairs, looking up at the growing firefly light.

 

            “Hey~ First star of the night! Maybe we should make a wish?”

 

            “Don’t start the fairytale bullshit,” Ryu said, rolling her eyes. “You know it won’t work.”

 

            “Never hurts to try, does it?” After all, what did they have to lose? The boy focused on the star for a moment to make his wish, or at least most of it before he felt a choking grasp on the collar of his shirt.

 

            “Come on, dum-dum,” Ryu muttered affectionately. Yet just as the girl was about to reach out and knock on the door, the dark green disappeared from under hand as it swung open.

 

            Cyn jumped in surprise when her sight fell upon the twins, her single good eye going a little wider than usual. “What are you two doing here?”

 

            “Uh…” Ran smiled sheepishly. “Well, we were wondering if maybe we could spend the night here?”

 

            “Did you already ask your grandparents?” The woman asked. Ryu felt her chest tighten a little. They couldn’t lie to Cyn, but the girl was afraid the older woman would turn them away if she knew.

 

            “No,” Ran admitted, shaking his head. “But we can’t stay there right now.” Rather than wait for her to ask why, he assumed it better to just explain it. “They’re fighting again. We couldn’t take it anymore.”

 

            The nurse felt her shoulders drop in disappointment. Really? What was wrong with people now a days? They couldn’t put their fighting aside even for a day for the good of the children they were raising? Cyn looked over the twins carefully, Ran’s ears laying back against his head as he gave her those pleading puppy-dog eyes while Ryu herself just looked nervous and worried. Could she really say no? After all, if she did the woman knew they were still going to stay out of the house they had basically run away from for the night. Cyn was too kind hearted to let them stay out on their own.

 

            “Alright. Go ahead,” She said, stepping out of the doorway to allow them entry. “I got stuck with the night shift tonight, so I won’t be here. But go ahead and eat whatever you want in the kitchen if you get hungry.” In other words, she wanted them to make themselves comfortable.

 

            Ran perked up once more, a bright grin making its way onto his face as he pounced the nurse. His arms found their way around her in a tight grasp. “Oh thank you so much!” He purred.

 

            His sister thanked Cyn as well, though she didn’t go so far as to pounce the poor woman. Rather she tried to pry her brother off of her. Cyn merely chuckled, shaking her head.

 

            “Mario’s in his room. Don’t scare the s**t out of him.”

 

            “I wont~,” Ran chimed, rushing right off to the younger one’s door.

 

            “Have a good night at work,” Ryu said, waiting by the door for Cyn to leave. That way, the woman wouldn’t have to lock the door herself.

 

            “Thanks.” Cyn reached for her purse, and with that she was out the door. It was closed behind her and locked before Ryu too headed off to find the other teens.

Author's Note

If you see any grammar problems or typos, please let me know. And yes, that is the end of this specific story. Though there will be more. ^^