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11:20 P.M
-Cicero's house-
Cicero slammed his house's front door shut, almost shaking the walls and furniture with the force he used. The green head looked drained out of all emotions until only anger was left. He felt completely incapable. Defeated. His parents missing is one thing and Zen being detained for no actual justification was another. He was angry, but he was also scared.
Where are his parents?
What's going to happen to Zen?
Cicero's tired, emerald eyes scanned his empty house. It was depressing and eerie. It made him feel worn out. All the negative thoughts and possibilities. They didn't help. It was freezing outside, another snowy night has come and yet, the green head did not feel cold. The only barrier is his deranged heart that kept thumping faster than it should. It was faster than the speed that it was supposed to go with, after being dumped in cold waters, making its owner feel lonely and numb.
He made his way upstairs, every step dragging his worn out body with him. Cicero went to his room without sparing his parents' bedroom a glance. He's already cried enough. Taking off his shoes and socks and replacing them with slippers, he opened his bathroom door and walked inside.
'Zen, please be okay,'
Cicero quietly thought to himself. The green head washed his face off the dried salty tears before brushing his teeth.
'I usually shower first, then brush my teeth,' Cicero thought as he put his toothbrush down. Him trying to distract himself from all of this was not working. Looking to the left, he saw the Spiral Turns he used on Zen. The green head threw them over the cabinets and went to shower.
Twisting the warm water's faucet around until the hot water stopped dripping on his bare back. Cicero felt a sudden wave of cold. He didn't even realize he left his bathroom's window open. The green head wrapped his lower body with a white towel, leaving his freezing torso out. He walked over to the window. The sounds of the strong wind were really loud and the biting breeze hit him in the face, synchronized with its sound, making the green head groan quietly.
He reached out to close the window, when, suddenly, a cat came jumping in from the window and landed on its four feet on his bathroom. Cicero gasped and flinched, almost tripping over the bathtub beside his legs. The green head hands shook as he felt his speeding heart. This was bad.
He stared wide eyed at the grey cat, who was looking back at him with deep blue eyes. He feel to his knees, his breathing fast.
"What?!"
He nearly slipped once again, his still not dry foot on the bathroom tiles. Cicero was definitely not scared of a cat, but he was surprised.
"Come forward if you want to obtain the first stage of your power,"
Cicero stared at the cat in shock.
'I KNOW that thing did not just speak,'
"You did not just speak," Cicero looked at the cat's mouth then face, "Did you?"
"Yes, I was speaking to you," The cat moved its head up and down; nodding.
The green head stuttered for a moment before standing up straight. He walked a few steps to wear his slippers, his injured back, filled with scratches, black-and-blue marks, facing the cat. Having no escape of its notice, the cat also saw the other bruises on his body, like the visible cut on his lower hip.
Lots of crazy things were happening, so Cicero wasn't affected by a speaking cat. He couldn't careless.
"Were you in a fight recently?"
Cicero ran a hand through his bangs, the ones on his left side of his forehead were becoming ridiculously long as they covered his left eyes, pushing them backwards to reveal his forehead before turning to face the cat.
"Yeah," Cicero answered absentmindedly, thinking back to how brutal Cesal was. It made the green head want to defeat him whenever he's got the chance.
"Cesal Lixen?" The cat walked behind him as he left the bathroom, catching his attention.
"That's his name...How do know it?" Cicero looked though his closet. He desired to know more about the mysterious blue head. Where he came from, his background, and goals in general. The green head held his towel when it slightly moved, revealing the outline of his skinny lower hip and pelvis.
"You really need to eat," The cat walked around him.
"I said, how do you know that bastard's name?" Cicero repeated after picking out pajamas to wear.
"I will tell you all you need to know," The cat answered. Cicero stared at it for a moment.
"Are you going to watch me change?"
——
Cicero gulped down the last bits of water in his cup after finishing with his meal. It felt good to have something warm in his stomach since the morning. He felt tired and wanted to sleep.
"Done?" The cat asked him. It stood on his dining table after watching the green head eat. While Cicero went to change, he came downstairs to the kitchen and found out the cat had prepared some food for him.
"Yeah. Will you tell me now?" Cicero asked, his eyelids heavy.
"You need to get some good rest first. Tomorrow morning, I will wake you up and after breakfast and will take a walk in the park. I will tell you during that,"
Cicero hesitated for a moment. He was curious, but he also needed to rest. The green head nodded.
"Okay. Go to bed," The cat ordered.
"Who are you to order m'round," Cicero slurred as he yawned. He rubbed his eyes befre getting up. The cat watched with a small smile.
'We are going to succeed no matter what,'
——
Cicero found himself brushing his teeth the next morning and hearing someone knocking on his door whilst doing so. His head was pounding and even though it wasn't that cold, he was freezing, his teeth clattering every time he poured luke warm to rinse his teeth. The green head regretted taking a shower righ after he woke up. He quickly washed his mouth and came out the bathroom. His room was very clean and tidy, not like how he left it yesterday night. It was probably the cat's doing.
After going downstairs, he saw the cat sitting on the couch and watching the television. The air conditioner that was turned on was not doing him good.
Is he going to have to get used to this?
"Turn the AC off, please,"
"Someone's at the door," The cat said to him, either ignoring or not hearing what he said.
"Yeah, I know," Cicero replied as he went to open the door. He looked through the peephole and saw Rehan nervously rubbing his arm. He didn't hesitate to open the door.
"Hi," Rehan whispered after his attention was on the green head.
"Hey, Rehan," Cicero greeted back, "Come in," He continued and opened the door wider before coughing in his hand.
"Thanks,"
The green head closed the door after the blond entered. It wasn't long until he heard a small shout of surprise from Rehan.
"I-Is that your pet?" Rehan stood in front of the cat, observing how it was weirdly sitting. He bent down to touch its fur and the cat leaned into his touch, making him smile.
"You're cuter than I thought, Rehan," The cat spoke out of no where and Cicero face palmed.
There was a long pause and the only sound was Cicero plopping ice cubes into the juice and water he prepared.
"C-Cicero..." Rehan murmured, his eyes showing fear.
"Rehan. This cat can talk. Yeah you heard that and no, s'not my pet," Cicero said while coming to set the tray on the table.
The green head walked around it to get to the other side and sat down on the couch.
"Rehan," Cicero called out whilst looking at the shocked boy.
"....."
Rehan silently got up and sat next to Cicero. He was still keeping his eyes on the cat. He tapped his ten fingers on his knees in a tensed way, needing to some sort of movement to ease himself.
"It's really cold outside, isn't it?" Rehan said, glancing his eyes to the cat and the television.
"M'yeah," Cicero blinked slowly. He wanted to lay down and stretch himself as far as possible on the couch, but it would be rude to do so. If Rehan was Zen, he would've had no problem doing it and even telling the red head to kiss his foot like always, and then getting slapped or punched on his face.
'I've got to stop thinking about him,' Cicero reminded himself. He decided to update Rehan on what was happening.
"So, long story short," Cicero turned his head to face Rehan, "Zen got arrested,"
Rehan'a hazel eyes were fixed on the floor, thinking Cicero was going to talk for a while. He looked at the green head with surprise after hearing him.
"R-Really?" Rehan seemed to think for a moment, "But he's o-only fiveteen, right? Why?"
"He still got arrested. Guess why," Cicero raised a brow slightly. Rehan could see the green head was trying to not show how sad he actually was and how much this affected him. Actually, the ash blond knew and felt there was something going on ever since he stepped inside. Cicero didn't have a sugary snack down his throat the whole time and he wasn't acting like his usual sarcastic, hyper, and exuberant self.
Rehan shrugged, "Why?"
"Because of a wrong accusation. You know the school bombing that happened about three weeks ago?" Cicero asked.
"Yeah, don't tell me they linked that with Jiryu's mansion exploding," Rehan revealed.
"I don't know what was going through their mind, but, it for sure was dumb as hell," Cicero said, "There's actually some unusual stuff happening and no one seemed to pay attention to it. Except Zen or Omi," Cicero trailed off.
"And where are your parents?" Rehan looked around.
"They- They were missing since yesterday," Cicero whispered, drawing shapes on the couch.
A long silence stretched between them. Rehan didn't bother to ask any more because he connected the dots by himself. Yesterday, Jiryu told him he met the duo near the police station facing his mansion. He figured Cicero and Zen were there to report about the green head's missing parents.
"Done,"
Cicero and Rehan looked at the cat when it spoke.
"The weather is not so bad now. I'm done evaluating the consequences of leaving the house. None were detected. It's safe," The cat jumped to land on its four legs before it starting walking towards the door.
"Come on, boys. Let's take a walk outside,"
——
"Why are you wearing a jacket? It's not even that cold," Rehan said whilst running his hand through the back of his hair, untangling it from the clumps it formed into after slightly sweating. He watched as Cicero shivered and clamped his teeth, pulling the jacket closer to him by the pockets.
"I think I've caught a cold," Cicero whispered as he turned his head to face Rehan. The blond could see a dark red over his cheeks and all the way down to his neck.
"Or a fever," He concluded after Cicero coughed badly. The green head hummed in response.
The sight around was plain and quiet. The kids that used to play in the park where no where to be seen; most of them used to go to the middle school with a separate building right next to theirs. It also was burnt down to asked with the school that day.
"So, where are we going?" Rehan asked after they went by a long distance.
"Just around this place," The cat replied and the blond seemed slightly taken back even though he was the one that inquired the question. It appears so he still can't over the fact that this cat speaks.
Cicero gasped quietly, but it still caught the consciousness of his two companions.
The green head clutched the clothing placed over where his heart would be located, eyes shut, "I don't think I can walk anymore," He explained, his breathing rapid.
"Your fever looks quite bad," Rehan and the cat stopped walking to observe his condition.
"We can go back," Rehan worriedly said after Cicero had another fist of coughs.
"He can go back alone," If Cicero correctly read the cat's expression, he would say it looked irritated.
"Y-yeah, see you," Cicero gulped down the burning sensation in his throat. Just as he turned around and walked a few steps, a car drove closer to them and swerved to the sideway before stopping.
To the green head's surprise, a familiar figure walked out from the driver's seat and looked at him with a worried face.
"Dad?" Cicero asked, unable to believe his eyes.
"Cicero!" His mom came out from the passenger's seat and ran towards her son before hugging her son tightly.
"You guys-" Cicero pulled away to check if he wasn't dreaming and it was actually his parents infront of him. His wide eyes looked back and forth between them.
Rehan squinted his eyes in confusion before he went to the green head. Cicero's parents payed no attention to his presence as they kept telling their son how much they missed him.
"Where were you guys?" Cicero asked after his mom finally let go of him.
"That doesn't matter! We're here now and we have awesome news," Cicero's dad clasped his hands together as he stared with a wide smile.
The green head gulped in anticipation and edginess. He felt his palms sweat in fear as his parents looked at each other then at him. He didn't feel good about it even thought it was supposed to be 'good news'.
"What is it?" Cicero smiled nervously then it fell from his face when he heard his dad.
"We're going back to California,"
——
Those words were enough to make Cicero stiffen and all functioning in his mind to freeze.
"Why?" Cicero asked, his voice crumbling to the urge to cry. Rehan stood next to him and played with the ends of his sleeves. He couldn't say anything since it was none of his business, but Cicero looked too troubled.
"We have to! Don't you miss your friends over there?" His mom smiled.
Cicero frowned at that. He knew that his mom was well aware of the friends he made here in Japan. Whatever advocated this felt uncanny and improbable.
"Mom, what friends are you taking about? Isn't this too sudden? We're going back to California just because of a bunch of friends that I don't even remember?" Cicero coughed in his hand.
"Yes, but, it's also not safe here," His mom reasoned, "You've seen the explosions happening lately," She continued.
"Since when did you know of them?" Cicero raised a brow. Last week, him and Zen were discussing how the green head's parents did not mention and school bombing after he came home. He realized that none of their parents got a grasp of the situation.
"How would we not know?" His dad stepped closer to his mom.
"No. You didn't know up until before yesterday. Then you went missing, you've got the details, and now you want us to go back to California?!" Cicero scoffed, "Mom. Dad. If this is a 'friend' case then I'm doing perfectly fine here. I've made great friends and I wouldn't want to replace them,"
His mom's face faltered for a split second before it went back to a smiling face, "You can stay in touch through the internet," She nodded as if to convince the green head that he was blabbering nonsense.
Cicero glanced at Rehan in disbelief. These were not his parents. He did not know what was off, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Yeah, and these 'great' friend you speak of ended up in jail. Do you seriously think I would allow you stay friends with a person like that?!" His dad crossed his arms.
"Zen? Are talking about him?" Cicero bobbed his head, "He was wrongly accused. I don't know where on earth you're getting this information from, but you-" He pointed to his mom, "You know what Zen is like, so what's with the change?"
"Don't get an attitude with me," His mom lowered his finger, "Clearly, he's been a bad influence on you," She admitted and it seemed to snap something in the green head.
"Bad influence? You know what—Zen was there for me when you weren't! You both didn't take my panic attacks or anxiety seriously and I had to faint on the way to school for you to even buy me an inhaler! He never made fun of me when I had asthma attacks and would be the first to help! If it wasn't for this bad influence you're taking about, Mom, I would've been dead. He taught me Japanese as it is so I could speak it fluently with the others! I don't know what you're taking about, but he never had a problem with you. So, why are you bad mouthing him?!" Cicero used up all of his gulps of air before he was coughing severely. His parents didn't seem to care as his dad grew furious.
"Look at how you're raising your voice at us. Cicero, you are not going to decide whether you're leaving or not. We do and we've already did. So, get in the car." His dad ordered.
Cicero gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe these were the same people he was longing to see again. They've changed and they still didn't tell him where they were or how they got this information.
"I said get inside," His dad's voice raised as he pointed to the car.
Cicero could've yelled 'no' or he could've walked or even ran away, but these were his parents. Even if they were acting very unpromising right now, they've been good parents to him for the most he can remember. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he ignored them and walked away.
The green head's stomach was turning and he felt dizzy. His fever was becoming worse as he got more stressed and anxious. He wiped his upcoming tears with the back of his hand.
"I'm sorry," He looked up at Rehan. The ash blond didn't try to hide his despair and bewilderment. He didn't speak any words to him as his gaze was fixated on the floor.
He
Cicero looked away in guilt before he glanced at the cat and walked to the car. His parents followed behind with a grin on their faces, leaving Rehan and the cat behind.
Rehan continued to watch them as they drove away and he felt stuck on the place he was in, unable to move or catch up with his leaving friend. They were still close when he was trying to find motivation to run behind or try to stop them—a reason. Why was there a need for it? Right here and then, Cicero was leaving and coming back in—god knows when.
The ash blond looked at the cat that was also staring in the way of the leaving car. It was not moving and Rehan wondered if it knew what was happening because of the angry look on its face.
"Let's go," The cat spoke up and continued to walk, Rehan caught up behind it.
"I'm going to explain all of the weird stuff that happened these days,"
——