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Chapter five: Is trapped the right word?

Well what could I do? I didn't really want to spend time with Ryu, because that sounded hazardous. And climbing out my window wasn't looking like a good option. I starred at Simone's outstretched hand and debated trying out a judo throw Snow had taught me. But I soon decided that might not end well and that I should just agree.

"Fine, I'll join you. But keep Ryu away from me."

Simon grinned and Ryu shot me a evil smirk. I glared back at Ryu and stuck out my tongue at him, totally ignoring Simone's hand. There was no way I was shaking it.

"Good, I'll have you moved in immediately."

"Wait what? Moved in!?" I said, horrified at the idea.

"Well yes, I cant have you living out on the streets, now can I? Do you have any belongings you wish for me to have Ryu fetch?"

I thought about my old home in the school, I had loved there for years. The only real possessions I owned were on me, the wallet I had stolen when I first started living on the street, the knife I had taken from a stupid boy why had tried to mug me in an ally, and a green ribbon I had tied around my wrist. I guess there was the old blanket and our cooler, but it wasn't worth telling Ryu were I lived to get them back. I planned to use them again eventually, anyway, there was no way I was living here for the rest of my life.

"No, I don't really own anything to fetch."

"Well then, I'll get you some new cloths tomorrow." Simon replied, then eyed the knife I had, held in place by my ribbon. "But maybe you should give the knife to me for the time being."

I looked at him innocently.

"You don't trust me?" I asked, making my voice as innocent as possible.

"We both know I don't." He replied, seeming amused by how I was acting. "Now give it to me or I'll have Ryu take it."

"No, you can take it." I smiled, keeping my voice innocent as I held my hand out to him. "Go ahead and take it."

Simon eyed me, clearly not amused anymore by how I was acting, and seeming very hesitant to take the knife.

"Why don't you just set it down on the table over there, actually."

I pouted but did as I was told, reluctantly setting down the old knife. It didn't look like much, really. It was dirty, and likely would infect you with something horrible if you were cut by it. That's why Snow had taught me to leave it dirty, that and to keep it from glinting in the sun. I then scowled and set it down, the thought of Snow souring my mood rather quickly.

Then I looked back over at Simon.

"Satisfied?" I said with a soft sigh.

"Yes, yes I am. Now, I would like you to meet someone. Rue, could you come out here please." He called.

A young girl walked out from a room behind Simon. She was very young, younger than me. She looked about seven but I wasn't sure. She had blonde hair and big almost purple eyes. And she held a stuffed cat that looked a bit like Ryu tightly in her arms.

"Cinder, this is Rue. You will be sharing a room with her for a bit until I can get better accommodations for you. Rue, this is Cinder. If Cinder does anything wrong, tell Ryu. And he will act accordingly." Simon said with a bemused smile.

Rue nodded at me.

"Hello, Rue, how did you get wound up in this?" I asked. I noticed Ryu was watching Rue, waiting for her reaction to the news. His cat ears had disappeared and so had his tail. He seemed a bit more relaxed seeing Rue.

Rue looked at me quizzically but said nothing.

"Can you speak?" I asked her.

Her cheeks turned red and she hid behind Simon. Though she still didn't say anything. Simon then spoke up on her behalf.

"She rarely talks to strangers, give her a bit of time and she'll worm up to you."

Rue gave me a small smile before running over and hugging Ryu's leg. Ryu smiled down at her, looking much more pleasant now and patted her on the head.

I looked back over at Simon, who gestured for me to follow him. He led me into the room Rue had come from, where I would be living in until I managed to get sneak out. The fact that Ryu had cat ears and a tail didn't bother me so much, it was strange, sure, but it was something that he seems to only have at certain times. I'm not sure at all if that was scientifically possible. I really didn't go to school much. But did Rue have the same, I wondered.

The room was nice, but was made for Rue. There were a few stuffed animals on her bed, a fox, two cats, and a rabbit. The walls were a grayish blue. There was a bed in the corner that the stuffed animals laid on. A desk where a few books lay, and a big rug on the floor. Though the rug was likely because the building's floors were concrete. And with bare feet, that sounded dreadful. It was cute, but not somewhere I would choose to stay.

"I'll set up a bed for you, make yourself at home... Just don't break anything." Simon told me, walking out.

Like I could break anything, anyway. It was mostly bare. There wasn't even a window to break. Well, there was actually, on the ceiling, which was made of glass. But past that, the only things in the room I could break were stuffed. Not that I would do that anyway, of course.

My eyes darted to the form of something over the skylight. It looked a bit like a shadow against the light of the moon, and was gone in a split second.

I blinked a few times before sighing and sitting down on the edge of the desk. I looked through the books for a moment, mostly just looking at the pictures on the front, before getting tired of that.

I look at the wall, then, and saw a note posted there. Naturally, I investigate. I did, however, manage to trip over a stuffed rabbit while standing up. Don't ask me how, I thought it was on the bed. And I was relatively sure that it was stuffed. I kicked it away and murmured something that I was fairly sure Simon wouldn't approve of me saying under my breath before walking over to the wall and picking up the note.

'When I said there was more going on there, I didn't think you would go out and join them. I was hoping once you saw Ryu you would have just left. But since you've opted into staying, listen to my warning. The change is painful, and wont go away. You will never be accepted by people. And you could never live a normal life.

Just be careful, Cinder. And by the way, don't let Simon or Ryu see this message. I wouldn't worry about Rue, but you'd best destroy it.

Best of luck, you'll need it now.'

I starred at the note and ripped it up. I put the remains in my pocket and walked out of the room. Whoever had given me that note had brought me here. And it wasn't anyone it seemed I would soon meet. I wasn't sure why he had told me to come in the first place. It seemed he wanted to scare me away. Simon wouldn't have come looking for me would he? I wondered to myself. It didn't even cross my mind at that time that whoever posted the note knew my name. Surely this was directly related to the jerk who lured me here with the promise of something interesting to see.

"And what are you doing, Cinder?"

I jumped and whirled around, glaring and instinctively moving one had to the cloth ribbon that generally held my knife.

"I swear if you do that again I'll kill you." I said impulsively, agitation clear in my voice. Then I realized it was Ryu. And he was grinning at me.

"Now that something I would like to see." He chuckled.

I stared at him in irritation for a moment before pushing past him to look around the large open room outside.

Rue had left Ryu's leg and was following Simon now. I couldn't help smiling at the sight of her. She was adorable in her pale yellow skirt and shirt. I wasn't around kids much, let alone little kids. I always had a soft spot for them though, and had gotten chased away from quite a few in the park. Angry and protective parents didn't much fancy their children talking to a street rat.

Ryu followed my line of sight and saw me looking at Rue. His grin then dropped and he grabbed my hand, showing his teeth in what was clearly a threat.

"And if you do anything to Rue, I'll cut off your hands and shove them down your throat. Simon wont be able to save you then." He said softly, his eyes looking dark.

I stepped back instinctively and pulled my hand away. The look he had just given me scared me. And I didn't scare easily.

"Ryu, are you irritating Cinder?" I heard Simon ask from across the room. Rye gave me one more evil look then walked off, his cat ears pinned flat against his head.

Simon looked at him, then at me. He then raised an eyebrow but shook his head, turning me back around to go to Rue's room.

"Well, it seems you've already managed to irritate Ryu. Good start here." He said as we walked, seeming bemused yet again. Which managed to put me in an even worse mood.

"So, Cinder, I have a bed set up for you. Its nothing too fancy, but it should do. Also, there is a bathroom over there with a working shower." He almost giggled, nudging me. "I would like you to use it. Because you're quite a mess. I'll grab you some clean cloths while you're in there."

I starred at him blankly. The last time I had taken a shower was years ago, unless you could count standing in the rain a shower. It may sound gross, but hey, I had been living on the streets. And it wasn't like I didn't keep myself clean. I bathed in the river from time to time, during the night. So did Snow. Nether of us really wanted the other to smell dreadful. As for new cloths, I got them fairly regularly. They were easy enough to acquire. They were never nice, though. I only ever got cheap clothes and even then I dropped them in mud and let them dry then washed them again before I wore them. I did this to make them look old and dirty and make me look less likely that I stole them.

"Fine." I replied, "But if you even think for a moment I'll wear a skirt or dress of any sort you are sadly mistaken."

"Fair enough." Simon chuckled. "I'll be back in a bit with the clothes. And if I'm not back yet and you're hungry, ask Rue."

I blinked in surprise. "Rue handles the food?"

"She is the most amazing cook I've ever met." He winked at me. "And the last time we had Ryu cook he made our charcoal extra crispy. I didn't much fancy it."

Simon then walked out and Rue's room and took a coat from a stand near the door, then walked out. I groaned. Something told me that Simon was the only one keeping Ryu from doing something horrible to me.

"I'm not going to eat you." Ryu called from the couch. He must have sensed my unease. He looked normal again, it was sort of annoying.

"Why do your ears and tail keep disappearing?" I asked after a short silence. I really couldn't think of anything else to say.

"They'll come out from time to time, mostly when I'm excited or mad or just feeling strong emotions. Don't ask me how it works because I don't know." He replied, seeming oddly hospitable.

"So whats your story? How did you get here?" I asked, sitting beside him. I did it mostly to see how he'd react, more than because I wanted to sit next to him. He looked at me strangely and scooted to the very edge of the couch.

"And why would you want to know that?"

"Err.. Well I just thought that since we're sort of living together now we should get to know each other..." I trailed off.

"No." He said bluntly, then went back to his game.

I watched him running around on the game, par-core style, then stuck a knife in someones back. The man dropped off the building top and landed on a random bystander.

"So whats the point of the game?" I asked trying to make conversation.

Ryu sighed.

"I'm travailing through memories, trying to find the location of a fruit basket so I can save the world."

"And stabbing that guy helped in that goal?" I asked, the whole thing sounding rather silly.

"No, I just kill them for the fun of it." He replied, keeping an oddly straight face while saying it.

I starred at him for a second, curiosity then getting the better of me.

"Can I try?" I asked after a while.

He tossed me the controller.

"You can figure the controls out for yourself." He said, then got up and walked away.

"Were are you off to?" I called after him.

"I'm going to find Rue. I'm hungry and Simon refuses to tell me were he hid the food."

I had to giggle at that. It just sounded so.. Different. And I couldn't help but wonder if this is how normal families acted towards each other. Me and Snow had always gotten along fairly well. We played ill-timed and stupid jokes on each other sometimes, and rarely did or talked about anything serious. Everything seemed like a game to him, and I just kind of followed suit. I couldn't help but look up to him, his confidant smile, messy white hair, brilliant eyes..

I blinked as I felt my cheeks grow warm, suddenly glad no one was around to see, then turned my attention to the game. I messed a bit with the controls and fell of the roof. Red mist clouded the edges of the screen so I assumed I was about to die. I walked by a mean looking guard and hit the wrong button, and suddenly he was dead and I was getting chased by three more of them.

"Son of a..." I muttered crossly, the stupid civilians having gotten in my way and made me fall. And after I fell, the guards proceeded to beat me with sticks. I heard laughing from somewhere behind me and assume Ryu had seen my fail.

I toss away the controller away and stood up, trying to seem like the game didn't hold any interest to me. I turned to see Rue watching me attentively. She had changed into some light blue night cloths.

"Hello Rue, Ryu was looking for you." I said with a smile.

She nodded and beckoned towards Ryu, who was sitting at a table eating something or other. She didn't seem to care what I looked like, with my unkempt hair and tattered clothes. Which, for someone of her age, kind of impressed me.

"You think you could get me something to eat?" I ask her kindly. She nodded and beckoned for me to follow. I tripped on a box of files, because I could par-core on buildings, but I couldn't manage to walk through a building without tripping over everything like an idiot, and made a noise in surprise. Rue turned and jumped in surprise, her cheeks reddening and rabbit ears seeming to have appearing on her head.

I blinked at her in surprise.

"You to?"

She nodded shyly and looked down like she had done something wrong.

"Its not Simone's fault, I was an accident.." She said very softly, almost too quiet to hear.

"So you can talk." I said, though hit by a spark of curiosity by what she had just said.

She nodded again then turned without another word and led me into the kitchen type area. It was all stainless steel, as were most things. I guess to keep things sanitary. Rue had gotten out blueberry bagels and cream cheese, which Ryu seemed to be enjoying. And he had his feet propped up on one of the tables. This seemed counterproductive to me, as the fancy tables were to keep things clean, but I didn't question it.

His feet were odd, seeming almost unsightly and looking more like paws than feet, but still resembling a human foot. I wondered absentmindedly if they'd still fit in normal shoes, and if he had pads on his feet and retractable claws like a cat. I was tempted to go over and look, but the only outcome I could see from that would be a foot in the face, so I left it be.

Rue offered me a bagel and I took it, then started nibbling on it curiously. I'd had bagels before, from street vendors, but never blueberry, and never with cream cheese. It was the most amazing thing I had ever put in my mouth. Well, it wasn't really. I had tried some very good food over the years. But this was lightly sweet and creamy, and had a lovely texture to it.

"Is this what normal people eat every day?" I found myself asking as I leaned back against a counter, having already shoved most of the bagel in my mouth.

Rue just giggled at me and rolled her eyes, as if she was telling me how stupid it was to put them in the same category as with normal people. At least that's what I got from it. She may have just been rolling her eyes at my being a pig. If it was the first, though, she had a fair point. But it seemed just the same, really. It then dawned on me that people who lived in houses, had jobs and money, and didn't live on the condemned floor or a school, actually bought food. And this thought suddenly affected me more than it should have.

I had never much thought of how other people lived. After the orphanage I never wanted to go back to child services. And I knew I was never going to be adopted, despite having the cute and innocent child demeanor when I wanted to. But, looking at Rue and Ryu, now both sitting down at the table and eating together, I saw the appeal. Not that I'd have done anything different if I could go back. I didn't have any regrets, up till Snow left. Things were good, life was simple and interesting. But I found myself wondering if anyone would even notice if I was gone.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. My mind was getting much too sentimental and emotional. That couldn't be healthy. I soon finished the rest of the bagel and told Rue and Ryu I was off to take a shower, to which I got a reply of "That's nice. Unless you're for some reason inviting us along, I really don't care."

I rolled my eyes at this as I made my way to the bathroom, which was much simpler than I thought it would be. It had a nice shower, roomy and with a seat built in. I'm not sure why you'd need to sit, but it seemed nice to have. Everything else was just.. Standard. No fancy steel utilities, motion activated sink or flush. I was almost disappointed. I had pictured in my mind a bathroom like one I'd seen in a nicer restaurant. With power air dryers that literally blew the water off your hands, motion activated everything, soap that foamed when it hit your hand. You'd think that Simon would have invested in a fancy bathroom.

I then shrugged and turned on the hot water. Steam started drifting around the room and I smiled to myself, undressing quickly before stepping in and letting the hot water wash over me. And I again couldn't help the thought that I might like staying here.