Note from the Author:

  Thank you so much for reading the story to this point! Even if you're not rating or commenting, I appreciate any and all support! if you're interested in following me on instagram, please follow me here: TM Silvestris

  Once again, thank you so much! Back to the story <3

  “Sophie, it’s time to go!” Nathan called out. Sophie headed down the stairs, still wearing her signature white boots. Aleshanee had offered her another pair, but Sophie was used to these ones, so she wanted to keep them. Her jacket fred at the waist and bounced as she headed down to see Nathan standing before her. He was now dressed in a pair of dark wash jeans with a white t-shirt. His hair was hidden behind a grey toque, and he had a pair of rge, square gsses on his face obscuring his features a bit. He was also wearing a long, brown wool jacket. He smiled when he saw her.

  “Well, the ponytail helps quite a bit oddly enough.” He said. Sophie smiled back. Aleshanee cleared her throat.

  “Well, now that you’ve hidden all your scruff, you’re barely recognizable,” She scoffed, “No one would expect such a well-dressed gentleman to be a scoundrel.”

  Nathan looked over at her, clearly annoyed, but said nothing. He held out a hand to Sophie.

  “Well then, shall we get something to eat?” He asked. Sophie nodded taking his hand. Aleshanee quickly pced a hand on Nathan’s shoulder.

  “Hold on. Nathan, step out over here for a moment.” Aleshanee ordered, gesturing to another room. Sophie stood in what appeared to be the lobby area for a few moments before Nathan came back out, his face beat red as he looked angry. He grabbed Sophie’s hand tightly before turning back around and heading back towards the door.

  “We need to go now.” He said. Aleshanee also came out of the room, saying nothing but watching them leave silently. Sophie turned to look back at her. Aleshanee smiled at Sophie sadly, giving her a small wave as the couple exited the building.

  “Nathan, wait-“ Sophie began, but Nathan turned behind her and smmed the door shut, yelling out in anger. Sophie’s heart pounded as she backed away from him. He crouched down, holding his head silently. Sophie found herself settling a bit as she stared at him, sitting in the alleyway quietly. When he got upset, it wasn’t like the other boy. He wasn’t violent, he didn’t try to hurt her, or even take his anger out on her. Once she had established that she was safe in this situation she slowly walked over to Nathan.

  “… Nathan…? Are you okay?” She asked. Nathan suddenly stood up facing away from her and rubbed his face with his sleeve.

  “Yeah. I’m fine.” Nathan murmured before turning around, “We just need to get out of here now.”

  He held out his hand quietly, without turning to look at her. It hung in the distance between them.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you, Sophie. I just heard some bad news… If you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to talk about it.” He expined. Sophie hesitated for a moment then took his hand gently before pulling him into a hug. Nathan froze before gently resting his head against her shoulder as she patted his head. They stood there for a moment before Sophie let go slowly.

  “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me…” Sophie murmured. Nathan paused, then smiled softly at her.

  “No, don’t be sorry. I think I needed that.” He replied. His mind wandered a bit as he wondered when the st time, he had a true, honest hug like that was. He couldn’t recall, which made him feel rather sad. What sort of a life was he living when he had to strain to think back to the st time he had a proper hug. His thoughts were disrupted as Sophie took his hand in hers and squeezed it. He looked up to see her smiling at him softly.

  “So! Let’s go eat!” She said happily. Nathan sighed, squeezing her hand back and pulling her along behind him.

  “Yeah. I could use a drink anyways.” Nathan joked as he led her back onto the street. The two of them walked along the streets tilting their heads down to try to avoid any facial recognition. Now that they were on a main road Sophie could see more of the city blocks. This time she felt less overwhelmed and more intrigued. She watched a group of kids walk by, pying with some robotic pets that followed along with them. One girl with what appeared to be a robotic bird was talking about some new feature her pet had with ‘dream security’. Sophie looked up to see two men walking by hand in hand. One suddenly paused before mentioning that his mother had just sent a message asking if they wanted to come for dinner that night. There was so much happening around her it was hard to focus. And yet, everyone seemed to act as though there was nothing different or incredible about their day. As if being able to receive messages through your mind directly was some ordinary, everyday thing. Sophie supposed it was for them and that she truly was the odd one out for being awestruck by this. Suddenly, she was pulled into an alley as Nathan pushed up against her. Sophie froze as he pressed his chest into hers, looking up quickly.

  “I’m sorry, please don’t scream” He whispered. Sophie opened her mouth to say something, but Nathan reached up to her face, his face concealing hers. His face was just centimetres from hers as they stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Nathan’s face reddened slightly and he turned to gnce to their left. Sophie looked over and followed his gaze down the street past where they were standing to see the backs of two LDPD enforcers walking. She let out a sigh. It had been a diversion. Though she found herself wondering why she felt a little disappointed at that fact. Nathan turned to her and smiled weakly, not making eye contact.

  “Sorry. I couldn’t think of anything else. I promise to ask next time” he said. Sophie shook her head.

  “It’s okay, I understand.” She replied softly. Nathan nodded quickly before turning back around and leading her back onto the street. He stayed silent for a while, which Sophie didn’t mind as her mind whirled with thoughts about what had just happened. After that Sophie couldn’t concentrate much on what was going around her until Nathan pulled her into yet another back alley. Sophie let out a small gasp, but found Nathan continued leading her down the alley, turning down another alleyway as he did so. He looked back and smiled.

  “Don’t worry, we’re on track now. I promise that won’t happen again.” He swore, before turning back around. Sophie nodded yet again as she followed Nathan through the winding back alleys. Finally, he stopped at a door. Above the door was a bright, glowing sign with something written in another nguage. Nathan gnced up, then looked back up at her.

  “Can you read Japanese?” He asked. Sophie shook her head. Nathan smirked a bit.

  “Have you ever had tonkotsu ramen?” He asked. Sophie smiled back at him.

  “I don’t even know what that is.” She said happily. Nathan paused for a moment, thinking.

  “It’s like… a bunch of noodles and stuff in a good broth.” He expined. Sophie nodded.

  “Okay, so like a chicken noodle soup?” She asked. Nathan shook his head, ughing a bit.

  “No like… it’s a thicker broth than that… Probably the best way for you to understand is if we go have some. Honestly, nothing seems to make me feel as good and grounded again as ramen does,” He said wistfully, opening the door and beginning to pass through, “And this pce does it the best. Though you do need to know where to look.”

  Sophie took the door from him and entered behind him, closing the door behind her. In front of them were some dimly lit winding stairs leading down to a still dimly lit room. Sophie couldn’t see much of it from this angle. But from the moment she entered, the most amazing aroma entered her nose, and she could here lots of chatting downstairs. Nathan was already past the midway point before he looked back up at her.

  “Come on, Sophie!” He called back before heading further down the stairs. Sophie cautiously headed down after him, each step revealing the shop below. It was decorated almost as if they were outside at night. The ceiling seemed to be an entire screen that dispyed a changing night sky, and the ground below was carefully pced stonework. The walls reached up part way and seemed to be made of pster to represent rge stone walls. Surrounding the base of the walls was a small garden that surrounded the seating area made up of wooden tables and stools, and a small river ran through the dining room with a bridge going over top. Sophie looked over to the counter to see it had been set up like a stall, with a cloth awning and a bar, with stools along that area for sitting. Nathan led Sophie over the bridge, and she could see some small fish swimming through the little river. She felt as though she had entered yet another world. She heard a voice call out from behind the counter. The voice sounded male, and as if they were speaking a different nguage. Sophie couldn’t understand a word he was saying. Nathan smirked, saying something back to the person behind the counter. All Sophie could make out was “Kaito”. Suddenly, a head popped up from behind the counter. A middle-aged man with long dark hair tied up and facial hair stared at Nathan wide eyed. He was tall with a muscur build. He looked Nathan up and down before shouting something in the nguage. Suddenly another middle-aged man came skidding out. He had dark skin and short hair and although he was a bit leaner, he was still very fit. The new man smiled, embracing Nathan tightly.

  “Nathan! It’s been too long; you don’t come by as much anymore!” He chirped, nuzzling his head. He paused, gncing over at Sophie, then looked back at Nathan. Suddenly he began muttering something in the same nguage Sophie didn’t understand. The only words she could somewhat make out sounded strangely like “Sugar Mommy”. Nathan’s face reddened.

  “No!” He excimed, pushing the man away. He sucked his cheeks in before speaking again. He said something in the nguage, then replied in English, “I’m just helping her get on her feet and wanted to treat her to the best ramen in town.”

  Turning to Sophie, he motioned at the man standing in front of them.

  “Sophie, this is Logan. And the one behind the counter is Kaito. They took me in when I first came here, after I met Aleshanee.” He expined. Kaito had since walked closer to the counter and was leaning over it, smirking.

  “We knew Nathan back before he became this cute little boy you know today” He teased. Nathan shot him a gnce as he ughed. Logan smirked.

  “When we first met him, he had cropped hair and just wore baggy clothes the whole time. He had nowhere to go, so we took him in like a little lost puppy” He cooed, ruffling Nathan’s hair. Nathan grimaced and shoved Logan’s hand off.

  “Come on, stop it! I’m not that person anymore.” He grumbled. Logan sighed.

  “I know, I know.” He said gently. Kaito waved a dle at him.

  “You’ve become more trouble since then.” He grumbled before turning around, “So, two bowls then?”

  Nathan took Sophie’s hand and nodded, leading her to the counter.

  “Please, if it’s not too much trouble” he said, a slight plea in his voice. Logan raised an eyebrow, gncing around the room.

  “I don’t know, Nate. It’s a little busy at the moment.” He remarked sarcastically. He was of course referring to the fact that they were the only two in the entire restaurant. Nathan rolled his eyes.

  “Well maybe if you guys were able to move to a busier street, you’d get more business. Besides, it still gets busy on the weekends, doesn’t it?” Nathan asked.

  “You know why we can’t move to a main street.” Kaito stated, scooping some items up into a bowl. Logan smiled at him then turned to Nathan.

  “Besides. I like it here. I’ve just got the pce the way I like it. And you’re right it does still get busy on the weekends.” He stated. Suddenly two bowls were pced in front of them.

  “Eat up before it gets cold.” Kaito ordered, before grabbing two more bowls and handing one to Logan. Sophie looked down at the food before her. In the beautiful bck and red bowl were some noodles sitting in a brown broth that smelled heavenly. Sitting with the noodles were a few pieces of meat, 2 egg halves, and other assorted greens. She watched as everyone else picked up the two sticks next to them and began eating. Nathan paused and looked at her with noodles still hanging out of his mouth. He quickly slurped them up and swallowed.

  “Sophie, do you not know how to use chopsticks?” He asked. Sophie frowned.

  “No, I didn’t ever have to use them back in Marigold…” She muttered. Nathan gnced over at Logan who was already pulling out a fork and spoon. He handed them to her.

  “Don’t worry, sweetie. I still use a fork and spoon from time to time.” He sympathized, rubbing her back. Sophie’s face reddened a bit as she took the cutlery and began to eat as well. They sat in silence for a few moments before Kaito spoke up.

  “So. Nathan. It’s been a while since you’ve come by. Is everything okay?” He asked, “Has he been leaving you alone?”

  Nathan sputtered and choked a bit on his ramen and Logan shot Kaito a look.

  “Kai. You know not to bring that up.” He muttered. Kaito frowned.

  “I’m just worried, I don’t want him sniffing about.” Kaito grumbled. This time both Nathan and Logan shot him a look. After a moment Nathan finally spoke while Logan looked like he just wanted to deck Kaito.

  “Well, Kai. You don’t have to worry about that. I lost him a few months back. Recently the LDPD caught up with me, but I’ve lost them too now.” He expined. Logan turned his attention to Nathan.

  “Nate, the LDPD are back on your case? Are you okay?” He asked. Nathan sighed, running a hand through his hair.

  “I’ve gotta take a piss. I’ll be back.” He growled, heading towards the back. There was a moment of silence before Logan spoke up.

  “I’m so sorry, he’s not usually like this,” He muttered, then looked over at Sophie, “Please don’t let this alter your opinion of him, he really is a sweet boy. He just gets a little… sensitive when we mention his past.” Logan expined. Kaito scowled.

  “Well, of course. I would be too. What that man did to him… If he was still alive, I would punch his lights out.” Kaito snarled. Logan sighed.

  “Yeah, I don’t think there’s any of us that would’ve let him off lightly.” Logan scoffed.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, who was this man?” She asked. Logan and Kaito exchanged a gnce.

  “Well, he was a very well-known person… in the underground. Nathan used to take odd jobs from Aleshanee and then he was scouted by this man… and then he was betrayed.” Logan expined, “I really can’t get into details though. It’s not my story to tell and it’s not proper for me to go around talking about it. Besides. It’s not a good dinner story.”

  “I’ll tell you what’s a good dinner story. That time Nathan came home from a job completely soaked!” Kaito stated, then began to ugh, “Mind you, he was just a young thing then. He came home and was dripping from head to toe!”

  “Yes! That’s right, and we asked him what had happened. Someone had requested him to go fix a reoccurring dream someone had that had turned into a nightmare. That person was afraid of open water.” Logan expined. Kaito began to cackle.

  “But the nightmare they were having was an underwater nightmare! They had just realized too te that they had been floating in water the whole time. They thought there was just no gravity in this dream. So, there was no reverting it at all! But Nathan didn’t realize that right away.” He expined. Logan snickered.

  “No, he didn’t. So, he started trying to grab buckets of water and dumping the water out the dream door before he decided to swim up instead. When he surfaced finally, he realized what had been going on. Had to expin to the client that they needed to stop drinking so much water before bed!” Logan excimed. Kaito roared with ughter as Logan told the story and wiped a tear from his eye.

  “Imagine having to expin to a client they needed to take a piss this whole time. He still got paid though.” Kaito stated. Logan sighed and nodded.

  “And he was able to afford his medication and surgeries with that and the money he earned from helping out at the shop, and the money he saved by living here,” Logan said happily, “I was so happy we were able to help him become the man he is today. I mean he still has lots of growing but it’s so hard in this city to burst out of your shell and make a proper name for yourself.”

  Kaito nodded, reaching down and taking Logan’s hand. He squeezed it thoughtfully and smiled over at Sophie.

  “He’s a great kid. He even tried to pay us back after he disappeared for months on end… that was after the incident. He never verbally apologized… but that was his way of doing so. I think he felt ashamed that he left like that… as if he thought he had taken advantage of us.” Kaito expined. Logan nodded.

  “But we never saw it like that. We helped out because we wanted to, because we saw this boy who just needed someone… and once he was ready, he left the nest” Logan said softly, smiling down at a cup of green tea. He took a sip slowly and sighed as Nathan came back into the room.

  “Oh! Speak of the devil!” Logan excimed. Nathan frowned.

  “What did you tell her?” He asked, then started wolfing down the rest of his food. Logan shrugged.

  “That’s between us and Sophie” He stated, winking at her. Sophie felt a small smile creep on her face as she looked down at her food and finished it. Nathan gnced between him and Sophie, the unease slowly creeping across his face as his mind wandered to what they could have discussed.

  “Sophie? Sophie? What did he tell you?” Nathan asked, sounding a little more panicked. Kaito snickered.

  “Rex, Nate. We were just reminiscing about the old days. We didn’t go into your whole back story” Kaito expined. Nathan let out a relieved sigh.

  “Yet.” Kaito continued, then he and Logan began ughing as Nathan smmed down his chopsticks. His face was beat red as he gred at the two. Sophie let out a ugh too. They were just like a family. She felt her mind wander back as she saw a man and woman holding their arms out to her. She couldn’t make out their faces, but it looked like they were having a picnic in the forest in Marigold. Suddenly, she felt a hand shaking her.

  “Sophie? Sophie?” Nathan called out. Sophie whipped her head up to see everyone staring at her. She bowed her head.

  “I’m so sorry, I must have lost myself a bit.” She said. Nathan smiled softly at her.

  “Don’t worry. We just need to make our way back to my pce now if we want to make sure we don’t get found by the LDPD.” Nathan expined. Sophie looked at him, then at Logan and Kaito and smiled.

  “Thank you so much for the ramen, it was delicious” she said softly. Logan and Kaito smiled back at her.

  “You’re absolutely welcome, Sophie. And you’re welcome back any time!” Logan cooed. Kaito nodded and pointed over at Nathan.

  “And make sure to drag him over here from time to time. We need to make sure he’s growing right.” Kaito said, smirking. Nathan rolled his eyes, but Sophie caught him smiling as he turned away.

  “Well then, Sophie. Let's be off!” He excimed, heading towards the exit. Kaito suddenly cleared his throat.

  “Nathan…” Kaito said, his voice sounding grave, then continued speaking in the other nguage again. Nathan’s smile had vanished as he nodded. Nathan replied in the same nguage again, then waved and exited the building. Sophie followed behind him closely.

  “What did he say?” She asked. Nathan shrugged.

  “He said you’re cute and to take care of you.” He expined, answering her rather quickly. Sophie frowned. Somehow, she didn’t believe that was all he had said. But seeing as how she didn’t understand the nguage that was just spoken, she decided to let it lie for now and not press the matter.