Home Sweet Home [Ki, Naoki, Yuki, + Others]

[Katsuo Suzuki]

^ Their Warehouse Home's Kitchen ^

Outfit here.

Katsuo was used to getting up very early. Even since he was very little, he used to have to be up by the crack of dawn to get ready for a day of working at the training center to prepare to be a Tribute. He'd never kicked the habit, even once he'd left home and become a Runaway. And in many ways, that was good, because his getting up early meant that he got a lot of things done during the day.

And the night as well.

Katsuo stepped into the kitchen of the abandoned warehouse that he and four other young people had made their home. It still had the look of something you might find in a warehouse, but Katsuo and the others had worked hard to make the kitchen appear a bit more homey. As he set to work putting a Western-style teapot of boiling water over the stove, Katsuo glanced around.

Even if it wasn't a traditional kitchen...well, he thought they'd done a nice job. All the clutter and random things were theirs, either bought or stolen, and that was enough.

Katsuo took a seat at the nearby rickety old table, picking up yesterday's paper, which Naoki had nabbed for him earlier in the day. He hadn't finished reading it. He'd saved the Sports Section for last, since it was his favorite, and he figured he would enjoy that now, before some breakfast. It wouldn't be long before either Nozomi or Yuki were up as well, most likely. Naoki and Ki....they might sleep a little longer. But they were both still quite young, so Katsuo felt no need to disturb the sleep they probably needed.

Though.....Katsuo looked at a three-year-late dog calendar on the wall. He'd gone through the entire thing and corrected the dates so that they matched with the current year's (he'd had to remove the 29th of February, since this year was a leap year), and judging by what he'd scribbled a few nights ago, today was the day he and the other boys in the house went to one of the most famous Gay areas in District 1 to do some mock-whoring.

The boys aren't gonna be looking forward to that, he thought, chuckling slighty as he opened the paper to the Sports Section. With the exception of maybe Yuki, of course...

Going to the Gay district to do their night business meant they could go as themselves, at least. Usually when they went to the normal prostitution sections, they dressed up as girls to fool the customers. And no......nothing bad ever happened. They didn't sleep with their customers--Katsuo was very stern about this.

All of a sudden, there came a pattering noise from nearby. Katsuo looked up from his reading. Someone must have woken up.

"I was just making some tea, if you wanted some," he said to the person who walked into the kitchen.

[Yuki Yamaguchi]

ooc: Yaaay! First time writing as Yuki! Here's his outfit: i30.tinypic.com/34rzwcm.jpg

ic:

Generally, Yuki was very good about getting up early. It was always between him and Katsuo to be the first one up. Today seemed to be Katsuo's day.

Yuki knew the story behind Katsuo's always getting up so early, but it hadn't fazed him all that much. No matter where Katsuo originally came from, they were friends, and what had happened in the past had little to do with anything. As for Yuki, he only got up early because he wanted to. No matter how routine his life could be, he never wanted to miss a moment of the day. That mindset had become so ingrained in his personality that he was always up early.

Today, after getting up, he hadn't gotten dressed for the day right away. This was because he already knew Katsuo was in the kitchen. He'd heard the sound of the kettle on the stove from his room. Katsuo would probably appreciate the company at this hour.

As he entered the room, Yuki smiled. Katsuo was at the table, reading his favorite section of the newspaper--the Sport section. When he looked up at Yuki, Yuki gave him a big smile and a wave. "Morning," he said happily, his voice still a little groggy as he pattered his way over to the fridge.

"I was just making some tea, if you wanted some," came Katsuo's voice from behind him.

"That would be great," Yuki responded, opening the fridge to peer in at the ingredients they had left. They were pretty stocked-up for now. All five of them had done well sneaking different foods from different markets. Yuki had especially taken a lot of stuff from a nearby Whole Foods market. Since he was generally the cook in the house, he preferred they ate healthy, home-grown things.

"Hope you don't mind if I start up with breakfast," Yuki said absentmindedly to Katsuo, balancing a carton of eggs and the butter tray in one arm and a pot of rice he had prepared the night before in the other. Today's breakfast was going to be omu raisu. He gently kicked the fridge closed, then moved to the nearest counter top to set down the pot of rice and eggs.

"So...did you have any good dreams last night, Kat?" Yuki asked curiously, moving to a cupboard to take out a frying pan. As he closed the cupboard, he saw his favorite mouse statue on the shelf beside it. It was just a little figurine of a cute mouse in a dress, holding a purse, but Yuki had been the one to find that statue lying on the ground one day when they'd first moved in here, and he'd always loved it since. It reminded him of how much he and his friends had gone through to be there. They'd worked hard for their living.

Winking at her, he continued on making breakfast.

ooc: Here is the mouse figurine, by the way!
antiques2jewelry.com/images/china/5mice.jpg

[Katsuo Suzuki]

Katsuo wasn't all that surprised when Yuki walked in. In fact, if he'd had to guess who the arrival would have been, the other boy would have been his first choice. And Yuki sounded pleased about the tea....It was typically cheaper than coffee and--for some strange reason--easier to nab, as well. As far as Katsuo knew, they were actually out of coffee anyway. Ki, and sometimes Nozomi as well, had a liking for the stuff, so Katsuo figured maybe he could get some for them later. He'd abandoned coffee the day he'd left home. It was his father's favorite drink and his choice liquid for his son's athletic performance. Katsuo had always found his dad somewhat thick for not knowing that the stuff caused a serious stunt in growth--he knew it was probably partly to do with why he was currently so short and unlikely to grow any more.

"It'll give you any extra boost of energy," the harsh old man used to say.

Katsuo turned the page of his newspaper, subconsciously saying to himself, "Yeah right."

Yuki was looking pretty adorable still in his pajamas, and he came into the room smiling and waving. "Morning..." Yuki sounded pretty content, but groggy as hell. That was quite uncharacteristic and Katsuo thought it might be a good idea to ask if anything had gone wrong the night before, but first he offered his own good-natured smile and wave.

"No surprise to see you." Katsuo looked up to his his good friend and adopted family member, then calmly returned his gaze back to his newspaper. "What would I do with my life if Yuki wasn't the one coming into the kitchen first?" He finished the sentence he'd last left off at in the newspaper, then--without looking up--asked, "You get enough sleep last night? You look pretty tired, Yuki..."

"Hope you don't mind if I start up with breakfast."

Katsuo watched Yuki set to work with a bunch of breakfast items and immediately knew what his good friend was going to be making when he caught sight of the rice.

He laughed. "You know I'm not complaining." He folded up the newspaper, thinking he'd finish it later on, while waiting for all the guys to get back from their night ventures--in the event they split up--and leaned back in his chair, yawning.

"So...did you have any good dreams last night, Kat?"

Katsuo watched Yuki set to work making the breakfast and shrugged. "A few nightmares...the roof leaking, Naoki growing up and moving out, some sea monster coming after our warehouse from the ocean...then a decent dream where we won a lottery for a month's worth of pizza--come on, Yuki!" Katsuo smirked. "You know my dreams are a bunch of garbage. How about you?"

[Yuki Yamaguchi]

"No surprise to see you." Katsuo looked up to his his good friend and adopted family member, then calmly returned his gaze back to his newspaper. "What would I do with my life if Yuki wasn't the one coming into the kitchen first?"

Yuki just smiled as he continued with his work. Katsuo would be the type to say that. They were really close, that was for sure. In fact, though Katsuo generally had an "I'm the oldest and have to look out for you all and ignore my own needs" type of guy, it was with Yuki that he could really open up. Yuki sort of felt like Katsuo was the father of the family. And himself? Well, he was the doting mother.

"You get enough sleep last night? You look pretty tired, Yuki..."

Yuki had already turned on the back burner and placed the frying pan down, now scooping out some butter into the pan and preparing to start the omelette portion of the omu raisu. "Do I really?" He shrugged in response to Katsuo's question, perhaps not really feeling as tired as he looked. At that moment, he decided to ask Katsuo about his own dreams.

At Yuki's question, the other boy also shrugged.

"A few nightmares...the roof leaking, Naoki growing up and moving out, some sea monster coming after our warehouse from the ocean...then a decent dream where we won a lottery for a month's worth of pizza--come on, Yuki!" Katsuo smirked. "You know my dreams are a bunch of garbage. How about you?"

Back to this? Yuki thought about the question, even if it didn't require much thinking.

But the truth was, now that he thought about it, he had had something of a nightmare the night before. Somehow he had forgotten it upon waking up, but at Katsuo's words, he was reminded of the dream that had caused him to shoot awake.

The reason why he hadn't remembered it was because it was one of those recurring nightmares. He'd had the same one so many times before in the past that he no longer remembered it when it happened again. All he got was a sense of deja vu.

The dream itself wasn't anything special. It was always about himself, standing in front of a very dark lake, in the middle of a forest. He didn't understand the meaning of it at all, except that every time he looked down into the water of the lake, he immediately woke up with a horrified feeling.

Dwelling on this at the moment, Yuki realized he had begun frowning in concentration, and quickly cleared his head. He smiled again, turning to Katsuo. "I think it was just the same old nightmare. Nothing special." He shrugged again and continued the breakfast.

At that moment, there was the sound of someone else entering the room. Yuki was fairly surprised. Generally no one else was up this early. But if he had to guess, he'd say it was Nozomi.

"Breaaaaaakfast's not ready," he sang out loud, flipping an egg. He glanced over at Katsuo and winked.

[Naoki Yoshida]

Outfit here.

Naoki couldn't frigging sleep.

That was definitely a first, at least in a long time.

At first, Naoki had tried to remain in bed and see if he could recover some of the lost shut-eye, maybe by just lying there...but after so many minutes of tossing and turning and staring up at the dingy warehouse ceiling, Naoki knew he was hoping for something that wasn't going to come. So with the same kind of depressed spirits as a kid who just discovered that Santa Claus isn't real, Naoki took one look at his brother, sleeping perfectly, sighed, and forced himself up.

Naoki took a quick look in the mirror opposite Ki and his bed. He'd recently gotten his hair cut--courtesy of Nozomi, who'd had some free time--and then proceeded to dye his hair on his own. It had come out pretty good, though like with most of his styles, it made him look much older than he was. Anyway, Naoki wasn't complaining. The older he looked, the less trouble he would seem in the real world, where anyone 18 or younger became Hunger Games bait....
All in all, the styling hadn't come out too bad either. He was looking a bit off because he hadn't gotten enough sleep, but other than that, he thought he looked pretty good.

Naoki looked down at his outfit. He'd fallen asleep in the street clothes he'd been wearing yesterday--a light blue sweatshirt and khaki shorts. Now that he thought about it, all he could remember was coming home and practically passing out. He'd had a long day of thieving, nearly been caught, then had to pretty much run home all the way from the nearby District--which was a quite a run indeed. He and his family lived on the outskirts of District 1, so they were pretty much farthest from most everywhere.

Naoki heard movement in the kitchen and knew instantly that it was either Katsuo or Yuki, possibly both. Nozomi tended to get up around 9 or so, unfailingly, and usually Naoki and his brother would be up around that time too, if there was a job to be done for the day. Sometimes earlier, if there was a super important job. But most days when there wasn't much work that needed to be done, Naoki and Ki could sleep past 12 in the afternoon. Naoki knew he would have done the same today, most likely, had he not suddenly been attacked by the "Sleep Prevention Monster." It had been a long time since he hadn't been able to sleep.....and if he recalled correctly, the last time that had happened had been years before, when he'd lost some of his family.

Naoki brushed the thought aside and headed for the sounds of life.

"Breaaaaaakfast's not ready!"

Naoki arrived in the kitchen about the same time that Yuki decided to sing him a ballad about their unfinished breakfast, complete with a charming wink over at Katsuo, who Naoki noticed was sitting at the table. Naoki offered him a half-hearted, groggy wave.

"Why are you so....awake in the morning?" Naoki ran a hand through his hair and slunk down into one of the kitchen chairs, folding his arms on the table so that he could rest his head in them. He sniffed the air. "Does smell good though...."

[Katsuo Suzuki]

Katsuo frowned. It was very unlike the optimistic, good-natured Yuki to look so frustrated and down. Or to be up in the morning looking as exhausted as he did. Katsuo wondered if maybe the poor guy had had a rough night the night before, maybe at work, but if Katsuo's mind wasn't completely gone, he was almost positive that last night had been the guys' day off from the mock-whoring business.

He waited for Yuki's response, trying to be patient.

But when Yuki turned, he was grinning. "I think it was just the same old nightmare. Nothing special." Yuki shrugged, and Katsuo wasn't buying his suddenly nonchalant attitude, but he decided not to press the matter. All of them in the house had their private concerns, Katsuo knew. He knew because he had plenty of his own. But he wouldn't want anyone prying into his, so he was ware of allowing the other kids whatever space they needed in those regards.

"That's not good, though...all of us with these dumb nightmares." The tea kettle started whistling, and Katsuo looked up. "We must not be eating properly."

At that moment, there was a sound from the adjoining room--Katsuo turned, he was putting his money on it being Nozomi--and suddenly, Yuki practically broke out into song.

"Breaaaaaakfast's not ready." Yuki turned and gave Katsuo a wink.

He winked back, then turned his attention back to the arrival, who he was more than surprised to see. It was Naoki, looking even more exhausted than Yuki. He offered Katsuo a tired wave, and Katsuo returned the gesture, then patted one of the chairs next to him for Naoki to sit.

"Why are you so....awake in the morning?"

Naoki's face disappeared as he rested in his head in his arms, and Katsuo chuckled. "I think he could ask you a similar question, Naoki-kun....Sleep badly? And by the way...."

Katsuo felt bad having to talk about a job he knew Naoki disliked, but he figured the sooner he mentioned it, the better. He was really beginning to think the lot of them weren't eating properly--maybe they'd all had too much junk food lately--so they needed the money from their night work more than ever. "Tonight is our favorite D1 Gay district, right? Team work tonight, so we all go. I picked us out costumes too..."

The kettle started whistling even more madly, so Katsuo leaped up from his chair to get it.

"Actually, Naoki....can you get that tea for me? I'll go get the costumes to show you guys..." Now Katsuo was the one to wink, and he rushed from the room for his bedroom. He'd been saving up for these costumes for a long while, and he knew the guys would be.....well, surprised, at the least. Mock-whoring was a rough business, but it did have its perks. It was kind of fun dressing up and tricking sleazebags out of their money. Katsuo had to be honest there.

[sapphire]

((Hey, guys. Mind if I jump in with Looslic?))

[Nozomi Akiyama]

ooc: Sap, hahaha, might not be the best time, but we'll double check to see if Looslic could fit in? Their warehouse is kind of hidden, so it might seem odd if he/she randomly showed up?

Outfit here!

Nozomi woke up to rays of golden light slithering in from the warehouse-style window over her bed and smiled. A quick glance at the alarm clock by her bed confirmed to her that the sun had not mistakenly woken her up. It was definitely time to go out and about! Or, at least, get up and see what was planned for the day. Nozomi was the type of girl who felt like a morning wasted was an entire day wasted. It wasn't that she even got to do half as much as the guys did sometimes, all things considered, but she'd long since learned that life could be far too short, and she'd rather not waste a minute.

As Nozomi wandered from her bedroom through the warehouse-turned-home in the direction of the living area and kitchen, where she heard voices, she couldn't help smiling. For having once been such a cold place of hard labor, this particular abandoned warehouse had become quite the comfy home. The way they'd renovated it (rather simply so, since they definitely didn't have the proper funds to pay for anything they couldn't do on their own), it had become a place that was very bright and sunny during the day, and comfortable and peaceful at night. Their lifestyle was quite difficult and rugged, but there was always something very heart-warming about being able to return to this place which they had made their own.

Nozomi hesitated at the doorway to the kitchen, a big smile on her face, then hopped in in what she hoped was the most surprising way possible.

"O-ha-yo!" Grinning, she spotted Naoki at the table, his head in his hands, then laughed. "He's actually up? That's a first!"

Nozomi moved quickly for their makeshift refrigerator, which was little more than a scientific kind of hatch that had once been used to refrigerator weird liquids and medicines for the warehouse workers. Now it was their personal refrigerator, and Nozomi opened the transparent door to get herself a glass of milk. On her way over to the cupboard, she stopped behind Yuki to give him a big hug.

"Good morning, cutie!" She snuggled the boy quickly, then grabbed her cup and sat down at the table pouring herself her drink. "Ah...now that I think about it, would you like something to drink too, Naoki?" She wondered where Katsuo was off to. Normally he was up at this hour...