The Begining [1x1]

[Niftyness]

Ok so this rp is between me and Gazimon X. Nothing too fancy but I suppose I should put some chapters up to have some sort of effort in:

Chapters:

1. You're Where Now?! [Takami age 3 and Rei age 8]  

[Niftyness]

Reserved  

[Niftyness]

xxX { T x A x K x A x M x I } Xx x

“…” No matter how many times he opened the fridge; there would be nothing in it. His ‘mother’ had failed to go grocery shopping once again. Not that she ever went. Her version of grocery shopping was stopping at the supermarket and purchasing some snacks along with alcohol or cigarettes for whatever man she was dating at the time. Takami’s diet mostly consisted of pizza, sodas, and a variety of junk food. If she had at least left money, he could have ordered something to eat. Ugh. This place was a mess and he had one point in time attempted to keep the place clean but his mother wasn’t the type to keep a place tidy. Even though he would throw stuff in the trash, there were no cleaning supplies to use or anyone to take out all that trash piled up in the kitchen. The rundown apartment was infested with rodents and critters. It was an embarrassment to even call this place his home.

Most landlords would kick a tenant out for not properly taking care of property that they were merely renting but this place was located in the lower slums of Tokyo. As long as the landlord fancied his mother, she could get away with anything. People kept quiet around these parts. It was more of a ‘I won’t call the cops on you if you don’t call the cops on me’ sort of deal. Already, he could feel his stomach grumbling once again. He hadn’t eaten all day and there was nothing but alcohol in the fridge. Even the cabinets were empty! His mother’s current boyfriend was an absolute pig and apparently had the munchies late last night after drinking so much or he suppose technically it was early this morning around 3 a.m. Drinking water normally helped dull the hunger.

Frowning in discontent, Takami abandoned any hopes of finding food in the kitchen and mounted onto the couch after clearing it of beer cans. The scent of urine immediately stopped him from laying on it. Ew. That drunken pig pissed on the couch again! Scrunching his nose up in disgust, Takami immediately scooted away from the urine spot. He had a feeling his mother’s boyfriend was going to pin the blame on ‘the brat’. If something broke, went missing, or something like this occurred they always pinned the blame on him. Tch. Stupid woman. To think she believed all of those men over her own son. Her morals had really deteriorated over the years as well as the love she use to have for him. No, she never loved him. He was just a tool she had wanted to use to lure a rich man back into her life.

Takami scoffed at the idea of being used but he was doing the same thing. He only planned to put up with her long enough until he was capable of supporting himself. As if he needed a mother’s love; he would have his zodiacs devotion in the future. Lavender orbs shifted towards the window as he felt a familiar tug. He had been having this odd feeling for hours and waved it off as just being hungry but now it just felt like something was standing outside the apartment. Heh. He was letting his imagination get the better of him. His mother had just left for work and wouldn’t be home for hours. There were days where she just didn’t come home and stayed at whoever her boyfriend was at the time.Working at a strip club consisted of her leaving early in the evening and not returning home until around 2 a.m. at the earliest then after that she either partied, went to a boyfriend’s house, or came home dead drunk with a boyfriend in tow. Takami had a feeling that one day that woman was going to walk out of the apartment and never come back. Why did that thought sort of scare him? Maybe it was because he needed her if he ever wanted to reunite with all of his zodiacs.

Feeling that odd tug once again, Takami slid off the couch and slowly moved towards the door. There were times he would bolt lock the door but his mother always got annoyed when he did stating it was an inconvenience for her to be locked out of her own home. This presence he felt. It was just so familiar. But it couldn’t be could it? Over the years, there were few zodiacs he felt transforming but all of them sounded far too young to travel here. This feeling was just his own imagination right? Wishing to know if there was anything out there and also knowing better than to be seen, Takami dragged a nearby chair to the door. Tch. He was still too short to reach the peep hole and even phone books wouldn’t be enough for him to reach that particular height. Why was he being precautious anyways? There was probably no one outside. One of his zodiacs being here was just wishful thinking. Unable to shake off this particular tug, Takami reached for the door knob and opened it just a crack. Standing on the chair gave him a bit of a higher view so it was only natural his orbs shifted left and right before below.

[longer than I thought but it kind of gives you an idea of the setting. We could say it’s early evening.]

 

[Gazimon X]

Today was the day! Today he would find that place, or that person, or that magical crystal of amazing superpowerful abilities which had been calling to him for the past few years and driving him half-mad with its mental itch. Today was the day he showed his dad that he wasn’t as crazy as a homing pigeon wanting to fly into a war zone. There was a reason he felt this way, and it was all because of that magical thing… whatever it was.

Raleigh had started the early morning with a very positive attitude, having saved up enough to get himself to the mainland, where it was probably just a journey of manly strength to get to where-ever he needed to go. First it had started with the hour-long trip to the Tokushima supermarket, where he had managed to lose the chauffeur who had been trying to keep an eye and a hand on him. Then it was a simple bus ride to Tokushima station where he had hopped on a bullet train to the mainland. Being stupid, it had been just a coincidence that he had chosen to go to Tokyo. All roads in the world led to Tokyo! For each trip, the bus driver and the man at the train station had given him a hell of a hard time, enquiring where his parents were and what he was doing, where he was going…. They seemed to ignore whatever answers he gave earlier on, repeating the same questions as if expecting him to change his story.

Finally he had the ticket, but when he saw that the train station warden was getting out of the booth and looked ready to apprehend him, he realized that the man had only given him the card so that he would be distracted for a while. Alarms flipped in his brain and Raleigh made the dash through the train station, eventually huddling behind a family as they boarded the train, pretending to be the kid of the family in front, while appearing to be the kid of the family behind. It was a very risky move and he could still feel his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to steer clear of all the girls and the women, moving through the isles of the bullet train and looking for a comfortable place to bunk. He was probably in the wrong cabin, but by the time he was discovered, the train was already whirring down the tracks with a smooth, barely-audible whine.

Six hours later, he was in Tokyo and feeling vaguely disorientated. He wasn’t too hungry. He had eaten some leftover finger food from a group of businessmen next door, who found it both disturbing and fascinating that a kid was on board the train, seemingly lost. They did point him out to the train attendants, who blared his name over the intercom but to no response, so he spent the entire trip with them, trying not to be too much of a pain. When they had arrived, he got off the train willingly… and then bolted, swinging himself over the barrier and then….

POOF! He bumped into another child. He didn’t wait for the smoke to clear as he scrambled frantically for the shadows, utilizing a nearby stairwell to make his getaway, emerging in an unfamiliar world of colourful lights, blaring traffic horns and crowds. It was slightly past lunch time, almost tea time by western standards. The transformation had forced his tail out of his baggy pants, which kept sliding down. Cowering in the dark corner, Raleigh considered dumping his pants and using the rest of his ‘transformed time’ left to make a dash for some sewers. Maybe he would find some nice alien there to guide him in the right direction. Yea that would do. It was easy and simple, he still had his backpack with him and he had chosen this set of clothes because they wouldn’t get torn up if he did turn dino.

Fortunately, the shapeshifted form did not last as long as he thought it would. A few minutes later, he was on the streets, scampering in the direction his heart took him. Most people had retreated back to work so the streets were less crowded. There were so many things to see, so many shops to explore… he got side-tracked and bought himself some skewered meat to munch along the way, then used up a fair portion of his remaining money to buy an ice cream.

A few hours later, Raleigh found himself outside an apartment which smelled… strange. Running a hand through his spiky black hair, the eight-year old glanced around before using the easiest method to knock – kicking the door repeatedly with the heel of his sandle.  

[Niftyness]

xxX { T x A x K x A x M x I } Xx x

It was just as he had thought. There was no one out there. That tug was just his desire wanting to be near them growing stronger by the day. As Takami moved to completely close the ajar door, the door suddenly flung open. Wah! A break in! It was bound to happen one day in these slums, not that they had anything of value worth taking. Or wait….had that idiotic head actually found him? Immediately Takami squatted down and hid behind the chair’s wooden back support before slowly peeking out. The stupid child instinct within him wanted to cower and hide. That wasn’t really befitting of a god now was it? Shaking the initial feelings of fear he had previously felt, Takami’s orbs took a good look at the intruder. He felt some sense of relief wash through him when he realized it was just a child. No wait, it wasn’t just any child. It was one of his zodiacs. Takami could feel his orbs wavering with much emotion as he clearly heard the dragon spirit stirring within this child.

A huge part of him wanted to cling onto the spiky black hair kid and never let go but he had this fear if he did that, it would all prove to be some sick twisted hallucination. There was also the fact this kid couldn’t possibly be alone. It was pure crazy for a kid to travel from Shikoku to Tokyo alone, especially if they were cursed. Was this some sort of trap the head was using to try and find the jade emperor? Had the head finally decided to use his zodiacs to help locate the god? There were so many questions bubbling within Takami’s mind, he soon felt himself surfing through the child’s mind for answers.

“You came here by yourself?!” The young deity suddenly exclaimed. That couldn’t be right, could it?! Well he was touched and flattered but that was dangerous! “Are you ok?!” He asked, concern filling his tone, hopping off the chair just to tug the older child inside before anything bad happened. It was growing dark and a lot of violent stuff happened around these parts at night. Once the dragon was in, Takami quickly shut the door and climbed up on the chair just to bolt lock it shut. He didn’t care if his mother got mad. One of his precious zodiacs was here and he didn’t want anyone breaking into this apartment to steal his zodiac away. Oh right, the apartment was a mess. He had to clean. With the way things were now, it was nearly impossible to see the floor and the trash was reeking up the whole apartment. If he was strong enough, he would have taken the trash out himself but last time he tried, he ended up just tearing the bag and making things worse.

Ah, it was difficult to tell the dragon to make himself at home in such a filthy environment. His room was relatively clean. The only reason he had his own room was because neither his mother nor her boyfriends liked to be disturbed when they were in the bedroom. “Um…my room! We can hang out in my room!” Takami suddenly interjected. His speech was fairly clear for a three year old. His room wasn’t anything to brag about but at least it was the cleanest room in the apartment. It wouldn’t do for him to sleep in filth. The room was practically bare aside from the twin sized mattress that lay on the floor. There were a few worn out toys in a cardboard box just in the corner of the room but those were all hand me downs a neighbor had given his mother cause her child had grown out of them. Takami didn’t play with any of them, it just sat there. His clothes were piled into another box. One box was full of clean clothes and the other dirty. Again, a majority of his clothes were hand me downs because his mother didn’t want to buy him too many clothes since he would just quickly grow out of them. And then there was the mini black and white television that sat on his floor. It was somewhat decent. This was a gift one of his mother’s nicer boyfriends got him because it was just going to be thrown out anyways.

 

[Gazimon X]

The door burst open and Rei blinked in shock. Cooool. He was closer to the source and he was already getting super-powers! There must be some kind of mystic energy gem or artifact here which multiplied his dragon abilities to some extent! He felt some uncertainty about the place though. For one, the stink that just bombarded him like a cloud had suddenly killed any appetite or hunger he might have felt. Secondly, this looked... like the dump site for all the rubbish in the Sohma estate. Did anyone live here? Where there rats? He enjoyed chasing rats but his dad would always whack him and send him to his room at any sign of trying to bait a rat or leaving food out for them.

Letting out a soft growl, he stomped in and... halted. What the hell was he stepping on?! It looked like a box, but it also looked like a herbarium for ants. In fact, some ants and other tiny cockroach nymphs did scurry around, panicking from his footfalls. Heh cool! He grinned and kicked at the box, then regretted instantly when something which looked like a slimy translucent balloon peeked out from underneath a crinkled chips bag. It was even growing stuff on it. Ohhhh gross. Rei narrowed his eyes, struggling not to gag on the plume of odorous ammonia he had just created. Something scurried up his sandle and across his bare skin, making him jump and flinch and hop until he was sure that it wasn't on him.

A loud exclamation made the boy looked around, finally located the puff of white hair amongst the chaos of the trashy apartment. "Duh!" Rei replied, beaming and looking down at the smaller kid with mixed confusion and smugness. Could other kids this 'small' talk so well? This must be the guide who was waiting for him all these years to take him to the well-guarded ancient weapon! Rei felt strangely uneased when the toddler moved to bolt the door shut. He almost admitted that he was impressed at how the boy used the chair to help him reach the lock.

Wait ... his room? Did it have cool things in it? A sword perhaps? Rei canted his head to one side and shrugged. "Yea?"

Following the toddler in, he was pleasantly ... disappointed. It didn't have cool stuff, but it was cleaner and it didn't smell as much. Wandering over to the boxes, he looked in expecting some glowing gem or a wooden carving or... nope just muggy clothes. Clean clothes. Frowning a little, Rei made a beeline the other box in the corner. The toys didn't seem to be of any use. He could tell that they were meant for dumber kids. "Hey does this make you a baby?" he picked one up and regretted it. It was covered in dust and his fingers felt sticky now.

"What is that?" Rei questioned, finally noticing the television. He had mistaken it for furniture but now that he had given it a second look, it didn't look much like a stepping stool. "Is there anything in it?" Man... if this was the kids room, what was keeping him here in this dumpster? Oh! Maybe there was a scary warlord or something who was holding this gnome hostage! Wait... but the gnome bolted himself in... whaaaaa???  

[Niftyness]

xxX { T x A x K x A x M x I } Xx x

Having perched himself on the mattress, Takami silently watched the dragon explore the room. It appeared as if the older child was searching for something or maybe he was just being curious. Mind reading, especially when it came towards those with a short attention span was a bit challenging with the way his powers were limited. He wouldn’t use his ability on such a trivial matter. The young god had noticed the disappointment in the dragon’s expression but such a thing was expected. This was poverty. No, more so neglect than anything else. Things seemed to get worse by the day. The dragon probably wasn’t use to such a lifestyle. Takami’s orbs dulled at the baby comment. He didn’t particularly like that term. Such a comment caused him not to warn the dragon those toys hadn’t been cleaned. No, the previous owner hadn’t bothered to clean them before tossing the junk to his mother. As much as Takami tried to keep things clean, they lacked the cleaning supplies. Well he suppose he could have used hydrogen peroxide or vinegar but those were save for things he actually touched. Well at least the dragon’s attention was back on him. Having one of his zodiacs present made him feel content. A huge part of him wanted to force the dragon to stay with him here but he couldn’t possibly protect his dragon the way things were now. Besides, he seemed oddly well taken care of.

“Baby? Is that any way to address your….” Takami held his tongue before he could finish his sentence. Was it really wise to tell his zodiac who he was? Right now his dragon was simply a child and children did tend to be incapable of holding a secret. What if the Sohma head got word of this? Things would be a mess that’s for sure. “Your…host.” Ah….that was a bit close. It was enough just to see his dragon was well. No…he had this strong urge to embrace his zodiac but the child might find that a bit weird. “I’m Takami. You may address me as Takami-sama or Kami-sama.” Takami interjected, thinking now was the best time as any to introduce himself. Well it was best to get that out of the way while the child’s attention was still on him. And once again, the dragon’s attention had drifted onto something else. “oh that? It’s a television. It’s in black in white so you might not like it.” Takami responded as he plopped on the floor just so he could turn it on. They were showing Baka Rangers right now. Before the young god could turn the volume up, his orbs suddenly widened when the dragon asked if there was anything inside it. “O-of course not!” Takami quickly stated, his body instantly coming in between the tv and Rei so the dragon wouldn’t even try to pry the electric box apart. The shock would be powerful to kill any normal human. Children were curious creatures and he wasn’t about to let his dragon die such a stupid death. This was why he wished his human body wasn’t so weak.

An adult would have no trouble restraining the dragon if he did try and get into something he wasn’t suppose to. He'll just distract the dragon with something else. It was probably best for the dragon to call home now. They were a long way from the Shikoku region anyways so it would be hours before anyone arrived. He wished he had proper snacks and drinks to offer. Maybe when his mother got home but no, his mother couldn’t see his dragon. She’ll immediately toss him out or one thing might lead to another and the dragon might transform. “Do you have your home number? You should let your guardian know you’re here.” Takami spoke as his orbs scanned the dragon for any signs of ID adults made younger children wear incase they were to get lost. He wasn’t sure if the boy even knew his number. “Oh, are you thirsty? We have water.” Takami stated. Yeah, he could bring the cordless phone while he got some water. The only thing that worried him was leaving the dragon along with the tv. Would if he did try and pry it apart?! Maybe he was just being too paranoid. Surely someone his age wasn’t that stupid.

 

[Gazimon X]

"Host?" Rei cocked his head to one side, apparently having no clue what Takami was talking about. Sama? SAMA?! As in God-sama? Rei seemed deep in thought in as Takami explained what the dark-coloured box was. A television which was black and white? Why? Was it for color-blind people? The boy's eyes widened in surprise after the toddler turned the device on. The moving monotone images were a little fuzzy, but it... it just wasn't Baka Rangers without all the spazzy colors and magical glows.

"I din know there is a rubbish god." The boy murmured, half in awe and half disgusted. So it was true! There were spirits of many things, including refuse.

"Yea! I know my home number! Its Z-5!" He was 'of course' refering to his home number. The dragon was the fifth in the zodiac, so the head had decided to give their white dome home the code of Z-5 in the registry list. "Oh. My what? I don't have a guardian. I have Dad though!"

Now that the boy had pointed out one of the basic needs of life, he was rather thirsty. That meat on a skewer had been quite salty and the sweet ice cream hadn't hydrated him by much. However, a stench lingered in the air and he wasn't sure h could stomach any water from this place. What if it was green or actually wriggling with worms? "Uh.... no thanks." The boy was obviously lying though, with the way he licked his lips and tried to swallow his own saliva. "You have a black and white phone?"  

[Niftyness]

xxX { T x A x K x A x M x I } Xx x

“….” Silence filled the air as Takami flashed the taller boy with a hardened stare. Did his dragon just call him some sort of garbage god?! Ugh. Even though he hadn’t meant for the term God to slip it still had. Maybe subconsciously he wanted his zodiac to know who he was despite the risks involved. “I’M NOT A RUBBISH GOD!” Takami growled out in a defensive manner, his cheeks puffed out in annoyance and anger. Oh how it had been awhile since he felt this insulted. Not only had this brat called him a trash god but didn’t even bother revealing his name. Takami just felt like face palming. Ugh. He forgot how less educated children were. His dragon didn’t even seem to know what the term host meant. Still, just because he had trash everywhere didn’t mean he was some type of rubbish god. If anyone was a rubbish god it was his own mother. Having one of his zodiacs see all that was embarrassing enough and Takami felt his cheeks flushing once more. This kid really lacked a lot of manners. Was he raised by wolves or something?!

Maybe he had hoped the kid was dumb enough not to notice all that trash. Well at least the dragon knew his own home number. It would have been troublesome if he didn’t. Maybe he should give the kid an education lesson while they waited. Well at least his guardian was smart enough to give the kid a special number to dial in case of emergencies. Takami wasn’t sure if the kid would remember anything more than three digits. It was still worth the investment since normally special numbers were reserved for Emergency services. Takami knew his dragon was lying and he really didn’t blame the boy. He absently scratched his head while the dragon asked about his phone. “No…just black.” Takami responded. “Wait here, I’ll be right back!” The young god suddenly chided, leaving the room as he scurried in search of the phone. Well he had that and he was still going to get the dragon some water. Bleh. Who had the phone last? His orbs wildly searched for the cordless thing in frustration. Again, Takami absently scratched at his head. Maybe all of this growing trash was beginning to make him itch.

Agh!!! Where was it?! He never kept track of the phone cause he never used it. It would probably be better to supply his dragon with water before searching even further. With that in mind, Takami scrambled to the kitchen and rinsed out a cup with hot water before filling the cup up with cold water. It was such a pain being so short. He had to use a chair for everything. With the cup in hand, Takami sauntered his way back to his room, pausing in midstep when he noticed the phone on the kitchen table. Snatching the phone, he swiftly dialed the three digits and patiently waited for someone to pick up. “Here.” Takami spoke as he gave the dragon the cup of water. Oh, he nearly forgot to put the phone on speaker.

 

[Gazimon X]

Rei waited… for three seconds. Then he was testing the mattresses to see if anything would scurry out of it. The room was cleaner, but the smell permeated the place and just wafted in from outside. Besides, he could still see the little buggers moving about, legs moving feverishly as they played in the shadowed edges of the trash heaps.

Accepting the cup of water, Rei sniffed it suspiciously, trying to avoid the kid’s stare. Wait, why did he even bother about a kid’s opinion? ”Who are you calling?” He asked, hesitating as he brought the liquid near his lips. What if it was poisoned?

”AHH!” Rei gasped, pointing at the door with one hand and quickly tilting the glass with the other so that the water slopped into the box of smelly clothes.
 

[Niftyness]

xxX { T x A x K x A x M x I } Xx x

“Your otousan” Takami responded, his attention focusing too much on the phone to notice Rei sniffing the cup of water. A small frown formed on his lips when the operator on the other line repeatedly said incomplete number and to please hang up and try again. This was going to be problematic. “…” Just before he could accuse Rei of giving him the wrong number, the dragon’s sudden outburst cause the young god to immediately drop the phone and took shelter behind the tv. His instant thoughts was that a burglar had broken in.

“What?! What is it?!” Takami bewilderly asked, his orbs quickly scanning in the direction Rei was pointing in but there was nothing. Maybe rats and critters freaked him out since he wasn’t use to this sort of environment. Or maybe, even worse, Rei saw a ghost! Wait…he was doing it again. He was letting those child instincts get the better of him.

“There’s nothing there!” Takami stated though he wasn’t stupid enough to peek out the doorway when he had yet to know what spooked the dragon. He was quite oblivious towards the fact Rei had distracted him just to pour the water out. Wait! They had the phone with them. Picking up the phone, Takami handed Rei the phone. Yeah, maybe it was Rei's overactive imagination at work.

 

[Gazimon X]

Calling his father?! Now?! Rei handed Takami the emptied glass, a worried frown on his face as he accepted the phone.

"Wha...? How do you know his number?" Rei murmured with a small scowl before he brought the phone to his ear. Ewww... the phone had a dank smell on it and the surface felt sticky and weird too. All he heard on the other end was a monotonous hum. This prompted him to turn off the phone and dial in the correct number.

"What should I tell him?" Rei questioned while waiting for the line to be connected.
 

[Niftyness]

xxX { T x A x K x A x M x I } Xx x

“Tell him you need him to come pick you up. You don’t belong in this sort of place. I can give him the address if you want.” Takami informed as he took the empty glass from Rei. If the father came immediately, then he would arrive a little before his mother. Takami dreaded his mother or one of her boyfriends coming in contact with his zodiac. Even if he hated returning his zodiac back, it was for the best. This wasn’t the type of environment his dragon should be in.

~A few hours later

Hours have passed since Rei made that phone call. There was not much to do but sit and wait. He could have swore the dragon felt a bit relunctant to touch a lot of things but who could blame him? Every now and then, Takami would absently scratch at his head as he listened to Rei talk about himself. He had quite the imagination. It was obvious after their little chat, Rei felt his own yearning to be with all of his zodiacs again. “Are you happy where you are? Do they all treat you well the way you claim your father does?” Takami curiously inquired. There were still several other questions he wanted to ask his zodiac but the sound of someone pounding on the door and demand he open up shattered him from his thoughts. Ugh. They arrived first. “Stay here and don’t make a peep, I’ll be right back.” Takami instructed before he scampered on his feet and scurried out of the room, shutting his room door behind him. He didn’t want them to know Rei was here. They didn’t like visitors. Well uninvited visitors that is.

“Taka, what the f?! I told you not to bolt lock the door while mommys out. Are you trying to lock me out of my own home?!” The older woman growled out in pure annoyance the moment Takami unlocked the door. “It’s because you don’t discipline the shitty brat enough that he rebels like that.” The boyfriend commented though his walks were a bit staggered. Obviously both of them were drunk again. Well his mother was a little bit sobered compared to the boyfriend. Indifference played in the jade emperor’s orbs as he watched the two insult him a bit more before giggling their way into the apartment. Like usual, they didn't even shut the door behind them, rather just leave it up to him to shut it as if he were their personal slave.

 

[Gazimon X]

Rei couldn't figure out where he was. He had glanced at the dirt-covered sign outside the apartments, but he had forgotten its name ten seconds later. All he knew was that he was somewhere in Tokyo, where the buildings met the sky and the air was... slightly horrible. The line was picked up after several rings, a grumpy and cautious voice answered him.

"Da!" The rest of the conversation proceeded in half-mangled Russian.

~~~

Rei looked slightly cowed by the time the short conversation was over. He handed the phone back to Takami and looked around the place. The sound of the familiar voice simply reminded him of home, where everything was almost spotlessly clean thanks to the shadows of the servants that visited every few days to maintain the house in perfect order. Takami soon distracted him with idle chatter and he managed to sit on the floor without feeling sinfully dirty. Rei had rolled in mud and played on moss-covered trees, but this place was just... icky.

"They all?" Rei canted his head to one side, not quite understanding who Takami was referring to. The sound of someone pounding on the main door made him flinch, hugging his knees to his chest as he watched the three-year-old totter to the bedroom door and shut it behind him.

His eyes roamed the room before falling upon the television once more.
 

[Gazimon X]

The foreign number instantly made the man wary, though when he picked up the call, he was surprised to hear a familiar and annoying voice at the other end of the line. His brain jumped ahead to a possible conclusion. Kidnapped?! The damn brat sounded too cheerful and hopeful though. Would he even know if he was kidnapped?

'Hi. Da. Can you come pick me?'

'Yea... where are you?'

'I think I'm in Tokyo.'

'You think...?!'

'Yea. Uh hang on. This kid knows the address! Oh... um... yes we're in Tokyo.'

'Give me the full address. Now!'

Seriously.... Tokyo? Mainland? How the feck did he even cross the bridge and then travel all the way to the middle of Japan? When could dinosaurs fly?! Gritting his teeth, the russian excused himself from the meeting and hurried to the carpark. At least he was also on the mainland for business negotiations, but he was still no where near Tokyo.

After several hours of driving, the sky had turned dark and he was thankful that Tokyo was well-lit compared to the mountain roads. Refuelling was one thing, feeling the cramps of the long car journey was something else entirely. A frown creased on the man's brow when he stopped the car by the road and noted the degraded conditions of the neighborhood. Was it a trap? Regardless, he took precautions and brought his gun along, pausing just long enough to twist a silencer unto the muzzle before he headed into the dark smelly stairwell, up the stone-chipped steps to the apartment.

There was a couple ahead of him, staggering away and leaving a trail of bitter alcoholic stench in the air. Andrei waited, preferring not to be seen until he came to the unnerving realization that they had just stepped into the unit that Raleigh had mentioned to him. Wrong place?

Andrei stepped as quietly as he could, ensuring his shoe was wedged in the gap between the door and the frame before he pushed lightly on the door. He would have preferred to wait for the two to start making out on the couch, but something short and white was moving about. A dog?