Lost and Found [Ki + Naoki]

[Salem]

"Why don't you just head home for the day?" Salem's mother had told him. As much as he wanted to protest, he knew it was a good idea; he had been working straight through the night before as well as the whole day, and his body was starting to slow down from the lack of sleep.

By the time Salem finally left his family's clinic the sun had begun to set, turning District 2 a pleasant shade of orange. People just getting off work had crowded the streets, and perhaps it was Salem's slight drowsiness, but seemed to him like there were more people around than usual. Still, he didn't let it bother him too much even as he pushed through the busy area and back towards his home.

It was when he had turned to apologize for bumping into one person (who ignored him and continued on their way) that he thought he saw someone familiar a short distance ahead. Salem paused and tried to focus on the pair, taking in the rather plain outfits as well as other features... and after a moment he figured that it must have been Hiroshi and Goro, the brothers he had run into on the streets some time ago.

Salem considered going over to chat--it wasn't often that he saw them around--but then the pair started walking off. Part of him wanted to chase them down to talk... they were almost like the friends he never really had, and he felt a bit saddened by the idea that he might not see them again for a while.

Just as he was about to try to forget seeing the two brothers, Salem noticed something fall off one of them and land on the ground. Neither boy seemed to notice since they kept walking away. For a moment he thought about calling out to them, but they probably wouldn't have heard him over the people flocking around. Instead, Salem dodged and nudged and weaved to the item on the other side of the street. Luckily nobody else had thought to take it before Salem got there.

It was a wallet, he noticed, and turned it over in his hands to see which of the brothers it belonged to... only to see that it didn't belong to either. Salem didn't recognize the name or the face on the ID inside of the wallet, and they certainly didn't look like they were related to Goro or Hiroshi. But he knew looks could be deceiving from past experiences with patients, and that perhaps they were actually related somehow... he had clearly seen one of the boys drop it, after all, and what other good reason would they have it for?

Salem looked up just in time to see Hiroshi and Goro walk around a corner a ways ahead. Deciding that returning the wallet was more important than getting back home to relax--his house wasn't that far away, and surely this wouldn't take long--he set off after the two.

It ended up taking a while to catch up with the two of them; between the people gathered the streets and his fatigue taking a bit of a toll on him, he remained just close enough to see them walk down another alley or turn another corner. It took longer than he expected, but finally the crowds began to thin until they almost completely disappeared, and at last Hiroshi and Goro seemed to arrive at their destination.

Salem approached the large warehouse, unsure as to why the brothers had gone inside. It looked a bit run-down, and not like the type of place anyone should really be around. 'Forbidding', he decided might be a good word. Needless to say, he felt a bit nervous as he turned the door handle and took a step inside of the building. He hoped Hiroshi and Goro were still nearby.

"Hello?" he said loud enough that he thought the two boys would hear. There was no response. "Is anyone here?"

When he still didn't get an answer, Salem took another couple of cautious steps forward. But he realized too late that he must have pushed the door open too far as he stepped into the building; it gave him a moment of resistance before the sound of metal clattering to the ground caused him to jump in surprise.

[Naoki Yoshida]

ooc: I hope any god-playing done is okay!!! >_____< I at least approve of it for my Nozomi character! ;P Man how I missed these characters! And great post, Madz!

Naoki's outfit here.


As Naoki stepped into the warehouse he, Ki and the three others in his adopted family called home, he beamed. With one hand out to steady the metal frame they had propped up against the main door to signal for any impending intruders, he used the other to pat his pockets, which were now swelling with the things he'd managed to nab for the day.

There had been better days--it wasn't his best catch, by any means--but it had been a while since there had been the opportunity to bring in any money at all, what with a sudden surge of Peacekeepers out and about and a seemingly growing awareness of thievery in the places they'd been visiting....But today had been nice. No Peacekeepers and not much concern for thieving either. Naoki had had a fairly easy time moving from one place to another, from person to person, snagging things that would serve the family well as they were, or as cash, when they were resold. And best of all, Naoki had limited his thefts to men alone. He'd seen lots of lovely jewels and things on the women in District 2, but he'd held true to his lifelong promise of avoiding the women, if he could help it, and that had only meant further cause for celebration.

"Katsuo, Nozomi, and Yuki are gonna blanch when they see this," Naoki told his brother, winking as he helped the other close the front door and stick the metal frame back into place.

It worked rather simply. The way it was propped against the door, anyone coming through the entrance without knowing about the frame and steadying it right from the get-go would send it toppling over. It created a huge racket that echoed through the entire building. And it served as the runaways' personal alarm system. They knew there was a trespasser around if that frame fell.

The trek through the rest of the abandoned portion of the warehouse took only a mere minute or so before Naoki and Ki reached the part they used. They turned the key in the makeshift front door, stepped inside, and practically hollered their arrival.

"Gather one and all! And check. This. Out." Still beaming, Naoki moved for the center of the room, their makeshift living room, and turned out every single pocket and crevice in his clothing as was possible. By this point, Nozomi had emerged from the kitchen, wide-eyed with anticipation of what had been brought. She had an apron on and a half-eaten cupcake in her hands.

"Wow."

Naoki raised an eyebrow. "Wow? That's all you have to say? Come onnnnnn....you know you're impressed."

Nozomi shrugged, smirking as she took another bite from the cupcake in her hand. "It'll get us through the month at least."

"Where's Katsuo?"

"Working," Nozomi replied through a mouthful of cake. She watched as Naoki pulled a string of pearls from under his hat and dropped it onto the couch with the rest of their new belongings. "You know he's working at this hour. I bet he'll bring in more than you and Ki combined!"

Naoki rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we'll see about---"

CCCLLLAAAANNNNNGGGGGG!

Naoki swiveled around on the spot, staring at the entrance to the part of the warehouse they'd made their home, as if it would allow him to see deeper into the depths of the building, where the loud sound had rung from. Then he turned back to the others, wide-eyed.

"Shit, I think we've been followed."

[Kichirou "Ki" Yoshida]

ooc: Outfit here! I hope I'm writing this right. And sorry for the long wait!

ic:

They'd been busy that day, that was for sure. Ki knew he and his brother generally always made a good pair when out thieving, but there was no denying that today had been in their favor. They had truly done very well, at least the way he saw it. He couldn't say if his brother felt the same way. But after the last wallet Ki had nabbed, he had started dreaming once more about buying a cat.

"Katsuo, Nozomi, and Yuki are gonna blanch when they see this," Naoki told his brother, winking as he helped the other close the front door and stick the metal frame back into place.

Ki laughed. "They aren't going to believe it. Maybe since I helped bring in so much money, Katsuo will finally let me get a pet cat." He grunted under the weight of the metal frame, putting it back into place in front of their door. Their safety net in case someone tried to sneak in.

Becoming lost in thought about other ways he could spend their newly-made money, Ki followed his brother through the maze of rooms in the abandoned mansion, until they reached the part that served as their home. Naoki opened the door and was first to announce their bountiful arrival.

"Gather one and all! And check. This. Out." Still beaming, Naoki moved for the center of the room, their makeshift living room, and turned out every single pocket and crevice in his clothing as was possible.

Ki grinned, and followed his brother over to the couch, turning to empty his own stolen goods onto the coffee table. The loud thud of bracelets, watches, wallets, and the occasional mini-purse seemed to distract whoever was in the kitchen.

"Wow."

Ki looked up at the sound of Nozomi's voice. And that was when he saw what was in her hands, nearly forgetting what he and his brother had just scored their family quite a fortune. "Nozomi..." he began, unable to take his eyes off the treat he had spotted. "...Is that a cupcake?"

Naoki raised an eyebrow. "Wow? That's all you have to say? Come onnnnnn....you know you're impressed."

"Wait, what kind is it?" Ki asked, abandoning his loot to scoot closer to Nozomi and examine the half-eaten dessert. Cupcakes were possibly his favorite food in the entire world, and right now Nozomi had to know she was teasing him by eating it in front of him.

Nozomi shrugged, smirking as she took another bite from the cupcake in her hand. "It'll get us through the month at least." She still hadn't answered him. Ki could only watch her like a cat drawn to catnip.

"Where's Katsuo?"

"Working," Nozomi replied through a mouthful of cake. She watched as Naoki pulled a string of pearls from under his hat and dropped it onto the couch with the rest of their new belongings. "You know he's working at this hour. I bet he'll bring in more than you and Ki combined!"

"Nozomiiiii," Ki whined, giving her his cutest pout. "Did Yuki make that? Are there any left?"

Naoki rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we'll see about---"

CCCLLLAAAANNNNNGGGGGG!

Suddenly, Ki froze. It seemed everyone in the room had. That clanging noise...that couldn't mean anything good. It wasn't the first time it had happened by accident, but usually, it meant...trouble. Someone was in their house.

Naoki traded wide-eyed glances with him and Nozomi.

"Shit, I think we've been followed."

There was a moment's pause, as if no one was sure what to do, and then Ki finally perked up. "We should get weapons...knives, from the kitchen. Just in case," he suggested. He didn't wait for Naoki or Nozomi's approval. Katsuo and Yuki would have had to hear that too. There was no way they'd allow a stranger into their home.

Dashing into the kitchen and past a nice, steaming tray of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, Ki grabbed some knives out of the silverware draw, slamming the draw shut and trying to ignore the tantalizing smell of the cupcakes as he headed back to where Naoki and Nozomi were.

"Here you go," he told them, handing them each a knife--but not before stealing the last little chunk of cupcake from Nozomi's hands and stuffing it into his mouth. "Let's go," he said, mouth full as he, the youngest of the group took charge. They had to defend their fort. Their home.

[Yuki Yamaguchi]

ooc: Outfit here!

ic:

It had been one of those quiet days. The two youngest had been sent out on jobs today, and Katsuo had gone out earlier for some private affairs, leaving the house all to him and Nozomi. They'd hung around together for a bit, watching some TV shows, talking like they usually did. Then, having gone into the kitchen to prepare them a lunch, Yuki found that their fridge was nearly empty. After making some ham and cheese sandwiches for them, he'd grabbed a light vest and a scarf in case it was cooler out, and told Nozomi he would be heading out for some groceries.

The walk had been a pleasant one. It was a very nice day out, perfect for the boys to do some pickpocketing. Especially considering it would mean far more "customers" on the streets. Yuki had taken his time heading to the nearest market. Though generally he and his family preferred buying produce right from the original source to ensure they received their rightful money, this was the easiest place to pick up a few things quickly. And since he had a fridge to fill, he didn't want to be lugging a ton of bags on the long trek home that would come from going anywhere else to shop.

So, dressed in somewhat colorful clothing like the rest of the people in this area of Panem, he did his shopping. Lots of fruits and vegetables, a few meats to last them at least the next week. He also picked up the necessary ingredients for making desserts from scratch. He and Nozomi were good at that, and it was sort of the treat that the whole house looked forward to once every week. This week he was planning to make strawberry shortcake, if Nozomi didn't want to do the baking herself.

Feeling content with his shopping, he'd relaxed on the way home, enjoying the warm glow of the setting sun on his face, and how very pretty this area always looked at this time of day. They might live in an abandoned old warehouse, but he loved it very much. They had made it comfortable enough inside, and it was their very own place. With a brilliant scenery to boot. It was something he truly enjoyed sharing with the four other people of his household. His family.

Lost in thoughts of nothing but happy things, Yuki had not been expecting to see the stranger slipping inside the front door of their home. A boy, maybe about his age. Not that he would get very far, with the trap they'd set in place. The whole household would be alerted soon enough that a trespasser had entered. The only thing Yuki was concerned about was whether or not Nozomi was still in there alone.

Setting down his bags of food, he slowly and cautiously made his way up the path to the front door. Despite his worry for the only girl in his household, he felt relatively calm. That was one of his strengths, to remain calm, even in the scariest of situations.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

Yuki heard the other boy's voice and waited for the sound of their trap to go off.

Five, four, three, two...

CLAAAAAANNNNNGGGG!!!

Stepping inside the doorway himself, Yuki folded his arms and stared at the stranger with an interested look. "Hello. Are you going somewhere?" he asked calmly, now blocking the only escape route.

[Salem]

ooc: I'm so sorry I took such a long time to reply! I've been really busy lately...

ic:

Salem would've thought that his heart had stopped at the harsh sound of metal against stone if it weren't for his pulse pounding in his ears. If he had been close to falling asleep while walking before, he certainly wasn't anymore; the sudden adrenaline rush had snapped him back to reality.

Salem jerked away from the door and let go of the handle as if it had burned him. The first thing he thought was that he had broken something in the building. But all he had done was open a door... still, just to make sure, he peered around the corner to see what had made such a racket.

A metal frame lay on the ground not too far away, and Salem figured that it was what had fallen, though how and why it had been so close to the door, he wasn't sure. He had just seen Hiroshi and Goro use this same entrance, so was Salem really so clumsy that he would be the one to knock something over? He supposed it was possible. It wasn't like he had never knocked anything over before.

"Hello. Are you going somewhere?"

Salem spun around at the unfamiliar voice. Standing in the doorway he had just gone through was a stranger; the boy had black hair and looked like he was a bit younger than himself, and wore colorful clothes that Salem had often seen around the District. Though he wasn't sure why someone--excluding himself--who looked like they were from a wealthy area would be around some sort of old warehouse.

The expression on the new person's face was difficult for Salem to read. They didn't look upset, but the fact that they had appeared so suddenly, coupled with the fact that Salem found the building unsettling, was enough to make him nervous. But he didn't want to show his own discomfort. Instead he straightened up as best he could and answered honestly, with a friendly smile, "I was just looking for someone, but I think I'm in the wrong place."

There was no doubt he had seen Hiroshi and Goro go into this building. But if those two were anything like his own brothers, they might have just been cutting through the warehouse. Salem remembered multiple occasions where his brothers would walk straight through stores and across yards without regard to property just to get to the next street faster. For all he knew, Hiroshi and his brother could have gone out the back door and already walked half way down the next block.

"Sorry," he continued, "I'll go ahead and leave."

Salem took a step towards to the door to emphasize his point, and waited for the stranger to react.