CHAPTER 5.
The day was almost over and he was out of the house once more. His destination? Unknown, and his reason for leaving? Well, not even he knew that.
One thing was certain, though, he just wanted to get as far away from there as he could. He ended up strolling away from his restricted perimeters and into the central area of the clan.
The central area was where most of the Clan's business went on, quite different from the main estate where the main family lived, also the same place where he was just coming from.
The central area housed the main estate along with the house of the clan elders and whatever corrupted meetings they would hold every once in a while.
" It smells like corruption around here." He thought, continuing forward.
As he continued onward, he caught glimpses of many who were passing by — mostly teens and younger, all dressed in yukatas and kimonos adorned with the most extensive jewelry.
He could easily depict the disdain in their gazes at him as they walked past each other. His information wasn't accessible to them, but nonetheless, everyone already knew him right from the day of his birth.
Most of them had a parent with them, mostly mothers for very obvious reasons. Their fathers were mostly very important members of the clan and found whatever it was they were doing more important than their family.
The cruel knowledge they impacted in kids his age was the reason for the state the clan was in — their barbaric belief that strength was everything.
But as long as it wasn't bothering him, he couldn't care less what the people were doing or what they believed.
Still strolling through the street with no destination in mind, he ended up in the clan market.
It wasn't as huge as most markets would be as most of them were people who came by to sell their goods or people who weren't part of the clan — just given a place to stay.
They lived far out to the side of the clan and were pushed around by the branch families since the main family hardly had any business with them. With their strength came an immeasurable amount of pride.
" Maybe I should get something to eat." He thought, dipping his hand into his pocket, " I didn't have lunch, and I think I might be starting to regret it."
Now in hold of a reason for being there, he continued forward through the huge gate that stood before him. There were guards there but they didn't bother to question him.
There were countless stalls placed by the street and many vendors calling out to people to come and buy from them. He knew from his past experience that it was best to ignore everything around him until he got what he wanted.
He got some cake for himself and sat in solitude on a bench a few meters away from the market. The noise being generated was quite disturbing but it was the only thing keeping him from drifting away in thought once more.
" Out and alone again Nexus. It's past five thirty and you should start going home." A familiar voice approached him from the side, " I was on my way home... before you say anything."
It was that of the same boy who had given him the umbrella and he was carrying a brown bag. There was a look of concern in his eyes as he looked towards Nexus, stretching out his hand towards the unfortunate boy.
" Come on, let's both go home together."
Nexus instantly looked up at him with his eyes slightly widened. It was no coincidence that they both had met three times that day, but why was he so desperate to help him?
Even if he was to accept the offer then the boy's parents would most likely scold him for associating with someone like him — destined for weakness.
" I'll go home later if you're so worried. You should go now before your mother starts looking for you; you don't want her worried now, do you?" He inquired, turning away his gaze.
A smile slowly appeared on the boy's face on seeing his shy expression.
" Why don't we walk home together then? My mother isn't home and so is my dad and younger sister. They left this afternoon and won't be home until six. So you see, I actually feel better having you as my company." He said, taking a seat next to him.
" What are you doing?"
" I'm waiting for you to get ready, so we can go together."
" Good luck then."
They stayed on the bench for ten more minutes without saying a word to each other. They didn't even gaze at each other for once throughout the long stay and it wasn't like anyone among them was planning to break the ice yet.
" Alright, I'm leaving," Nexus said, standing up and quickly walking away.
The boy sitting beside him did the same, following behind him as they made their way to his house.
Nexus didn't try to object to any of his offers again — it was clear to him that the boy would only keep trying until he would be persuaded to allow it anyway; at least he wasn't the physically disturbing type of person.
" Thank you for having for having me." He said with a huge smile on his face, slowly walking into the house, " So, as I mentioned earlier about my parents, well, it turns out they won't be back until tomorrow morning."
He was looking around the house and was surprised by how plain it was, and it wasn't even part of his main family's house.
" Is he really an outcast?"
Those were his very thoughts as he continued to look around the house even more but there wasn't anything grand he caught a glimpse.
Not even some finishing touches of art to make it seem fit of someone his worth.
" It must be really terrible for him."
*******
" Hopefully he'll leave after being left alone for long. Why is everyone just so annoying?"
Nexus had just returned to his room and was seated on his bed with his mind dwelling on what tomorrow could possibly hold for him.
There had been a lot of omens lately, and he was almost on the brink of losing hope.
He felt incredibly fatigued as well and tried getting some shut-eye. Turning around on the bed, he drew up the blanket on himself but that was when he promptly paused.
His eyes began to tremble, his gaze intently fixed on the closed window. Looking through the window and returning his intent gaze, a pair of red glowing eyes.