"Where the flapjack have you been?!"

On the other side of town, wedged between the dangers of Kaipen's (literally) underground district, 'the Slats', and Kaipen's lavish 'historical district', there was a pizza slice shaped block that was full of tall militant looking brownstone apartment complexes that swarmed with skinny homeschooled kids and fat long-tailed rats. Most thought of this black as the lowest income housing to buffer the rich people from being direct neighbors with the Meth-heads. This is where Koharu Ramda lived, and where he was currently being scolded by his twin brother. Koharu had jumped into the shower as soon as he let himself into the tiny apartment that they shared. This did nothing to stop Kaito though. 

Kaito looked identical to Koharu in almost every way, they often went out in each other's clothes too. But almost no one mistook them for each other. Where Koharu liked to be witty or teasing, Kaito was critical or sullen. Koharu was always keeping it light and perhaps timid in his insecurity, Kaito spat his words out as if grumpy or blisteringly angry. All the time. No matter what his actual mood. He was studying to be a chemical engineer at KNU, the finest university for 100 miles in every direction. On scholarship, mostly as a result of Koharu obtaining his Kaipen citizenship and expediting Kaito's student visa. As a result of being in his 2nd year, he had practically permanent bags under his eyes and reading glasses tangled in his hair or hanging off his shirt.

Kaito walked into the bathroom and sat on the toilet seat cover and glared at Koharu through the plastic SaveMart shower curtains.

"No, Seriously, Where have you been?"

"I got invited to a party, I ended up staying over." Koharu intoned calmly as he massaged conditioner into his hair. Hair that was possibly hopelessly damaged.

"Whose party??" Koharu wondered if he had imagined the sound of his brother, clicking a pen. Was he gonna take notes on this?

"No one you would know."

"You know, Mom called this morning? I had to lie about where you were. You made me lie to the woman who gave us life." Koharu rolled his eyes, Kaito's voice was beginning to sound like their mother's. 

"Well, if I had been home, we would still end up lying to 'the woman who gave us life'." After all, Koharu was the current breadwinner of the twins by working his shifts topless down in a sometimes EDM club/ sometimes gastropub called The Gentle Void. Whats more, The Gentle Void was located in the most historically violent part of town, the Catacombs. 

The Slats might be the poorest section of Kaipen Nung, where the earth had naturally eroded strips of earth away until there were over twenty thin land bridges that could be wide as streets or narrow as a footpath. Desperate communities were built on top of these bridges out of tin boards and ladders laid flat to connect them. The Catacombs or 'the underneath' is what people called the caverns under The Slats. All the rain water in the city drained through the Slats into underground rivers that connected to the ocean, as it had for hundreds of years. Mobsters used to take advantage of this fact and dump bodies into the Slats. But sometimes the bodies would float back up. In the last two decades, property in Kaipen Nung was so high in demand that people set up homes and businesses in 'The Underneath'. These days the natrual catacombs had been gentrified, it was a well-paved grid of wide walkways with pipe handrails, businesses kept busy by locals and tourists 24/7. The Underneath was the trendiest place in the entire city-state... outside of 'Nungara', but it was still a natural gutter and flooding was constant during spring and fall. Sometimes an unlucky traveler would slip, and the water would come back red. Thus why the billing address for the Gentle Void was '101 Blood Street.

Yeah. So. The Ramda boys didn't share all that unique history with their mom.

Mom thought both brothers were pulling shifts in a cozy family restaurant.

You'd think he'd be just a little more grateful, thought Koharu as he let the water pour over him. I'm the one who's waiting tables in a deathtrap while he gets to study and debate with the rich kids. I really shouldn't have to cover all the rent when he's home more often than I am. No, no... be nce, Koha. He's your brother...

Kaito perhaps caught the shift in his brother's mood. There was a pause, and when he spoke again his nagging voice dropped away, genuine worry coming through over the roar of the shower head. "Koha, you didn't even text me. Whenever you get invited somewhere, you always at least text me."

Koharu poked his head out to make eye contact with Kaito, finding a serious taught expression. He sighed. Kaito had his 'sleepless due to anxiety' face on, not the one produced by midterms.

aw my baby brother looks like a raccoon.

"I'm sorry, Kits. It wasn't planned at all, I got caught up the moment with this... guy. He seemed like he needed help getting home and I... I thought I would make it back. I didn't think to call you before things happened and by the time I woke up it was, like, noon."

Kaito seemed to accept this answer, shoulders dropping, relaxing against the toilet's backing, crossing one leg as he thought. He wouldn't actually leave the bathroom though. There was no such thing as privacy in this 'house' anyway, so Koharu retreated into the warmth of the falling water. He would freeze at Kaito's next words.

"To be honest I wouldn't have worried- I know you can take care of yourself... but I got so worried last night because I heard from Marjorie that Shep was back in town."

Pause.

Koharu turned off the water and looked at his brother, eyes just a touch too wide, not breathing. "Could you repeat that please?"

Kaito's voice was matter of fact yet remorseful to be the bearer of bad news. "Marjorie. The chick with the rubber tits who used to 'walk' with you on sundays? She dropped in late last night, she saw Shep in a tent city on the northern end of the slats. He's sleeping with the meth-heads. She wouldn't have recognized him at all if he hadn't recognized her and started swearing at her. She ran away from him... then came straight here to warn you. She had to get back to her husband though or she would have waited until your shift ended. It's best she didn't wait for you, seeing as you didn't come home."

Koharu swallowed, nodded, his eyes distant. He was looking into the past for a long moment, reliving pain that Kaito had never witnessed, only seen the after effects of. Koharu had moved to Kaipen 3 years before Kaito had joined him here. He was a recognized citizen of Kaipen now but at first he had been... mistreated. Mislead. He had never been the same. Koharu snapped out of it and ruffled his brothers hair, beaming his sincerest smile, "I'm sorry that I made you worry about me, Kits."

Kaito accepted the ruffle, just watching Koharu. He knew well the subtle ticks of Koharu's stress building. It wasn't his strongest suit but Kaito tried to lighten the mood, "Maybe we could get him thrown out of the city again!"

Koharu gasped as he smiled, changing the sound of his incoming breath. "That is a brilliant Idea. I bet we could."

Kaito's brain skipped and stalled, "Wait, really?"

"Yeah! the woman who helped me before might help us again! I bet you she'll remember me." Excited, Koharu lept out of the shower, striding into the living room.

"Oi!" Kaito called after him, grabbing a towel and tossing it at Koharu's retreating backside. "Koha! Don't drip all over the floor!"

Koharu toweled off as he raced through the apartment, hopping around as he dried his feet, bumping into furniture. He was already climbing into a Caraphernelia T-shirt when something nagged at him.

"Kits? Kits!"

"Whaaat?"

Koharu poked his head out of the bedroom to see that Kaito had gotten comfortable on the toilet seat cover and was reading a book with his lets crossed. the weirdo.

"Did you seriously let Marjorie in here and not give her anything to eat?"

Kaito didn't even look up from his book, "What kind of monster do you think I am? I sent her off with a bag of chocolates."

"Oh thank god", It was silly really. Neither brother was going to tell their mother about any of this. But somehow it would have been so wrong, it would be letting down his mother in the worst of ways... if a friend had come all this way to give him a warning that might save his life, and then let her leave without any food.