Abandoned Driveways

1 - Breathe Me In, I am Your Nicotine

Shit.

There was a soft thump. Kurogane seemed unable to move; it was as if his body wouldn't listen to him. His brain was screaming at him to run, to get inside before his idiotic blond neighbor became unavoidable.

"Hyuu~! Kuro-chan, you should've said something! I didn't know you were out here," Fai sang from right behind him.

Kurogane turned slightly, glaring over his shoulder. "Yeah, and I was hoping to keep it that way," he grumbled. Unfortunately, his tone didn't deter the man.

The fake smile stayed perfectly in place. Kurogane frowned. Most people would at least drop the cheer-factor a little in the face of someone as grumpy as he tried to appear to Fai. If anything, the hollow grin widened.

"Aww, don't be like that Kuro-sama," he cooed.

"Will you stop with those damn nicknames!" Kurogane shouted, turning so he could tower over his new companion.

"Um...Kurogane-san...would you like to join us?" Sakura's voice broke through his anger and indignation. He blinked, surprised. When had the kids joined them?

"Uh...No. I'm going somewhere," he grumbled. He'd make any excuse to get away from the blond, who was now pouting with those big blue eyes of his.

He hurried into the house, trying not to look like he was running away, and all but slammed the front door behind him. Now out of sight of Fai, he stopped to take a deep, shaky breath. Stupid blond; he was too annoying for his own good-or Kurogane's, for that matter.

He shook his head to clear it and decided to follow through on what he'd told Sakura. Now that he thought about it, his fridge was looking sort of empty. He set his mail on the kitchen counter, grabbed his keys, and left, checking before he opened the door to make sure his porch was clear of innocent-yet-accidentally-devious kids and stupid, annoying next-door blonds.

His thoughts chased each other around his mind as he walked to the grocery store, and he tried unsuccessfully to block them out. Most centered around his new neighbor, causing his eye to twitch with irritation. The people he passed on the street scurried out of his way, noticing the furious gleam in his already-intimidating crimson eyes.

"Are you going to stomp around like an angry rhino all day or are you going to do something about your problems?"

The calm, knowing voice broke through his whirlwind of thoughts. His head snapped around to glare at the source, a tall, pale woman with long black hair and a knowing smirk. She stood almost lazily in front of darkened shop, smoke trailing lazily from the end of a long, thin pipe.

"What the hell would you know!" he snapped. It wasn't like him to go off on innocent bystanders, but she was hardly innocent after that comment, was she?

The woman just shrugged, that irritating smirk never leaving her pale lips. "I'm just saying you shouldn't be so quick to judge someone. You could give people a chance, you know? Especially him."

Kurogane whirled to face her, his glare intensifying. "What the hell? What do you mean?" he demanded. He'd never even seen this annoying woman before, so how could she know he was having problems with anyone, let alone a "he"?

"I'm sorry," the woman replied, not sounding even a little sorry, "I can't just give away that information. Like everything else, it has a price."

Kurogane scoffed. "If you can't say anything helpful, you might as well just keep your mouth shut," he told the smirking woman.

She offered a tiny, noncommittal wave as he turned away. "If you change your mind," she called after him without seeming to raise her voice, "just ask around for Ichihara Yuuko."