Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Cove ❯ A Spotted Cloud ( Chapter 15 )

The sun drowned out everything in the sky. Green and yellow flirted each other all around the crew. The trees and plants grew as if they were all high on powerful drugs. The only sounds that filled the air were the birds flying high above. A shirtless young boy stood before them on a moss-covered cliff. Ryuji blinked at him.

"Who are you and what is this place?" he asked. The boy slid down to the crew.

"You're in Sunshine Town," he said.

"Sunshine wha?" Ryuji asked. The boy looked them all up and down.

"Hum," he said. "Travelers." Ryuji raised an eyebrow at the kid.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. The boy gave them a little shrug.

"That's all we get in this village," he said. Kasumi stepped forward.

"Do you know where we can get supplies here?" she asked. The boy stepped closer.

"Maybe," he replied.

"What do you mean, 'maybe'?" Hisako asked. The boy grinned at her.

"You have to do something in return for me," he replied.

"Why on earth should we?" Ryuji asked as he stepped forward. His sister held him back.

"What are you talking about?" Kasumi asked. "What do you need from us?" The glow died from the boy's face. He lowered his head.

"It's... my sister," he mumbled. He nodded.

"Yeah..." the boy whispered.

"What's wrong with her?" Haruko asked. He clinched his trembling hands into fists as he looked up.

"I can't say it here," he announced.

"And why not?" Ryuji challenged.

"Come with me and I'll show you!" the boy said. He turned and walked down a muddy path next to the cliff. The girls and dog trailed behind him. Ryuji frowned and shrugged to himself.

Whatever. He followed right behind everyone else. The boy led the crew through the gusting water pipes, playing and laughing child running through the water, housewives doing through laundry, farmers haggling on the market, nuns walking the sidewalk, all the way to his house. The trip on the way there looked like an ideal picture for a postcard. He stopped at a sliver, mental fence and paused. He clenched the chain link pattern as tightly as he could.

"I apologize for this in advance," he said in a shaking voice.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ryuji grumbled. "Let's get this over with so we can get the supplies and get out of here!" Haruko nudged sharply him in the ribs.

"Ow," he mumbled.

"Behave," his sister hissed. Her brother cut a sharp glare at her.

"Bossy," he mumbled under his breath. Haruko pretended not to hear him. The younger boy drew in a deep breath.

"Right..." he mumbled. He unlocked the gate and pushed it open. They came up to a shed. The boy paused before opening the heavy wooden doors. The group watched on in horror as an older girl chained up to the back wall lifted her tired head for a better look at the visitors before her.

"Little... brother..." she murmured out. The boy walked forward to her.

"Yes, sis," he said in a low voice. "I am here."

Chapter Fourteen: A Spotted Cloud