Fur-al High

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno was lying on his bed continuing to think about the day. He kinda wanted to go back to stay with Schadenfreude but he probably wouldn't get passed the doctors and nurses. He rolled over having grown uncomfortable with the position he was in. Afterward he sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed. He was worried about Schadenfreude, no matter what he thought about he couldn't help but think back to her. After awhile of just sitting there a knock came at the door. He quickly got up to go answer it, hopeful that it was Schadenfreude. But he was met with the owner and his wife, they looked sad. It gave him and uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, maybe Schadenfreude wasn't going to be staying in his room was his first thought. "Reno...May we come in?" asked the owner. "Uhm...Sure. Come in." Reno led them inside and closed the door behind them. "Did you guys want something?" "You may want to sit down for this..." "W-...What is it...?" "It's about your friend in the hospital...We just got a call. She's dead." Reno's knees buckled and he fell to the floor onto all fours. "W-What?! She-....She's what?!" The wife knelt down beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I-...She can't be! It's-...I couldn't-...NO! SHE CAN'T BE! I LOVE HER!" he shouted as he started punching the ground. "Reno..." said the wife trying to console him. "First me parents! Then me best friend! And now HER!? WHY?! Why damnit?!" "Reno try to calm down...I-" "Calm down?! She's DEAD! They're all DEAD! Everyone I care about DIES!!" shouted Reno again. He got to his feet with tears starting to run down his face. He then headed to open the door when the owner grabbed his wrist. Reno jerked his hand away and opened the door. This time the owner grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to stop him. "Reno, calm down, son!" Reno broke free by turning around quickly making him trip out the door running into the wall across the hallway. "You're NOT my father!! AND YOU NEVER WILL BE!!!" he shouted before running off. Reno ran out the front door into the night. He made it to the park after awhile. He saw a bench, which was there very bench Schadenfreude had passed out on. He sat on it recalling that time. Just thinking about her, and then thinking that she's gone. They will never again spend time with each other. It made him bury his face in his hands and just start crying.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

The judge sorted the papers as they were finished, and bowed before he left. Shiori sighed as she got up and stretched, "I know I'm not your mother, and I'm not looking to replace her. I'm only looking to help you out until you get to that age." She walked over to one of the shelf units and looked through a lot of the pictures, paying particular attention to Shinzuu in each picture, progressing from when she first met him as a short, fat boy, up to only a few months ago, when Shinzuu won another trophy for basketball MVP. She picked up one of him and her and his father not long before Shingo's passing. "You know, seeing you like this reminds me of that day. It's not healthy to bottle up everything to make yourself numb. You need to talk about it, and someone to relate to. How about I get you and Shinzuu some time off from school. Ms. Yass wouldn't mind if it's from me. I know that there's some tension between you two, but if you talk to each other, I'm sure it'll help you through this, and possibly even help Shinzuu. He may have been a little more opened up now, but he still needs closure to his father's death. Just don't end up miserable as he did, it's a horrid life."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica sat in the same chair she had been sitting in while she had signed the papers and stared at the floor while Shiori moved about. When Shiori said she wasn't looking to replace her mother, Veronica scoffed in her mind. "Excuse me, but I didn't only lose my mother..." She thought to herself, never looking up as Shiori continued talking. The idea of talking to Shinzuu didn't sound good to her and Shiori talking like she knew what was going on between them irritated her. "Tension? Tension?! You have no idea how stupid he's being over nothing. I apologize to him about one thing but he doesn't even acknowledge it and now he saw something and has made up another thing from it to hold a grudge toward me for. I don't have the time or the patience to talk to him. He doesn't want to be around me anyway..." She looked up at Shiori for a moment before looking at the floor again. "And I don't want anyone around me now."

[Goblin Cat 😸]

They followed the procedures calling the next of kin by looking them up on her file after they informed her current guardians. The first time she'd entered the hospital the paperwork was randomly filled out, and there were no valid numbers, but after doing their homework by contacting the school, the hospital contacted Schad's mother.

She was curled up on the couch when her cell phone rang. Adali grabbed it from the table before it vibrated itself right off the edge. Her head hurt. She felt like she had a hangover from hell, and she still had to go to work. She hardly noticed Schad's absence due to her job being a night shift and her bad drinking habit. She never really checked on Schad because they usually argued when they did, and even so, Schad was always out, and it wasn't unusual for her to be gone for days on end. She flipped the phone open, and sluggishly answered it, shocked then the voice responding sounded formal. "We hate to inform you of this ma'am... But you're daughter," there was a pause, the voice on the other end flipping through papers, "Schadenfreude Snide? Passed away today while undergoing a procedure to fix her leg."

Adali almost dropped her phone at this, but she managed to get out an angry, "WHAT?" It took her a moment, but she finally reminded herself to breathe. "What procedure? What happened to her leg?" She was practically shouting into the phone. "This has got to be a joke! And it's not funny!" She wanted to throw the phone, but stopped herself. "Who is this? Where are you at?"

The man was equally thrown off guard by her response, but answered, "I'm Dr. Katsume from Feral Medical Hospital. We please ask that you come soon to make arrangements for the body."

Adali fell silent at his words as tears began to form in her eyes. "Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can." She closed the phone, sitting there on her couch, and suddenly the apartment's usual emptiness seemed to be overbearing and more significant. She wiped her eyes and stood up, about falling back on the couch again and grabbed a drink from the fridge. It was alcohol as usual. She flipped the phone open and made a few more calls. One to her job, and another to an old friend.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno sat on the bench well into the night, that is until a police officer walked over. "Hey, kid. It's late. You should head home." He didn't know it, but it was the officer that normally told Schadenfreude to go home. Reno was still crying a little when he looked up at him. "Why? Why bother? I have nothing anymore. She's dead. They all are!" The officer took out his light and shined it around. "Who's dead? Where?" Reno put his face back into his hands. "Everyone I love...They're all dead...Everyone dies...I can't be happy." he sobbed. "...Are you okay? I think you should head home." "I don't want to...Just leave me alone..."  After saying that he seemed to lose control of his body and just fell over, he was tired from the day alone and mentally exhausted and worn. The officer sighed and scratched the back of his head. The owner and his wife eventually wandered over, it seems they were looking for Reno. "Reno! There you are!" the owner said as the two hurried over to him. "What happened officer?" "Are you his parents...?" "We're his legal guardians...His parents passed this summer...And this week it seems he lost his best friend and girl he was in love with..." "Yikes...Well...He just fell over...Not sure what's wrong with him." "It's been a long day for him...We'll take him from here, officer." "Alright." With that said the owner picked Reno up and carried him to the care and took him home.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shiori sighed, Yep, just like Shinzuu used to be. She pulled on Veronica's arm to go with her, "Come on, let's get out of here. I know you're hungry and tired. Let's grab some food and go back to my place. Your belongings will be there by tomorrow. The funeral's in 2 days, and then the reading of the will that night. Take this time to hopefully find peace." Shiori drove Veronica to the convenient store in town to grab whatever food she was in the mood for, and drove her straight back to the apartment. Shinzuu had closed his door and was sound asleep already when they got back. "When you're done eating, take a bath, you'll feel a little better. Your room is right next to the bathroom. Good night." Shiori downed the rest of her bottled tea and disappeared past the living room, into a door at the end of it.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica wasn't in the mood for any food but when Shiori took her to the convenience store she grabbed a couple of bags of Funyuns and a jug of chocolate milk. When they got to the apartment, she only paid attention to where the bathroom and her room were. She headed to the bathroom after Shiori disappeared into her own room, turning on the light as she stepped through the door. She closed the door behind her and didn't bother to lock it since she figured it would be obvious that someone was in there when the door was closed. She started the water and waited until it was the right temperature before making the drain plug itself. She got out of her clothes, shut off the light, and sunk into the bath in the darkness. Closing her eyes, she tried to relax but her mind was flooded with thoughts. Tears started to run down her face again.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

After getting dressed, she brushed her teeth and did the best she could to mask the smell of alcohol. She grabbed some pills to help with the headache and chewed them in her mouth, dry, cringing at the taste, but swallowing all the same. She wasn't dressed very nice. She had an old faded Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie and a pair of jeans. She looked more like Schad's older sister than her mother by the way she dressed. She tucked her hands in her pockets, along with her keys and cellphone, closing the door behind her, and heading to the hospital. She passed the park on the way, taking notice of people carrying a rabbit out. It almost reminded her of Schad because sometimes she'd catch her asleep in the park. Tears welled again, but didn't spill over onto her already wet cheeks.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno was taken to his room and set in his bed. The owners wife pulled his covers over him and they both told him good night as they left. Reno wasn't asleep, he couldn't sleep. He would just stare blankly at the ceiling. He was thinking about Schadenfreude. "She's...Gone...I can't believe it...I didn't even tell her how I-...How I felt about her...It's all my fault...I should have known something bad would happen...Bad things always happen to me...Why did I ignore the obvious? Is love really so blinding? Or so powerful as they say? I would give anything...To just hold her one more time. I wish I told her the truth that day...I wish I could have done more for her...I wish...She was here..." Reno turned his head and looked at the seemingly empty space on his bed next to him. "She was going to be in this bed...I know it would have been awkward...But I don't know...I kinda wanted it. I want to be with her...I would give anything to just be beside you, Schad. To walk to school with you...Play games with you...I...Love you..." His hand was held out across the bed with the palm up as if he were reaching for something. He slowly began to drift to sleep.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu awoke the next morning and groaned as he stretched. Dammit, the shit's hit the bucket when I can't even get a good night's sleep anymore. He yawned as he opened the door and went over to the bathroom. Dammit, mom. I told you to always close the windows at night or else it gets blown shut. Shinzuu walked in and looked down, noticing the floor a bit wet before he opened the door, "What the hell?" He looked up at the tub and saw a naked Veronica sleeping in the tub. Shinzuu quickly left, closing the door behind him. "Holy shit. Guess I'm not brushing this morning." He went into his room to get dressed into his school uniform. Shiori opened his room door while he was buttoning the jacket, "Don't bother, honey. You're off of school for the next couple days. You're going to be spending some time talking with Veronica, and no buts about it. You're doing it, and that's that."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica had cried herself to sleep. She awoke coughing and spluttering, having sunk into the water to just below her nose after hearing the click of metal while half awake. After she was done coughing, the temperature of the water finally hit her and she quickly got out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her. After a couple minutes of shivering, she started to dry herself off. When she was finished drying, she redressed since she didn't think her belongings were there yet. She raked her fingers through her hair as she looked in the mirror. She looked horrible. It wasn't exactly in a physical sense. She just looked like an empty shell. Her eyes looked dull and lifeless. She didn't bother to tie up her hair and left the bathroom as she was. She went to the bedroom next door and stepped inside to look around it. Walking over to the bed, she sat down on the edge of it, facing the wall that the door was a part of. It looked like she just didn't know what to do as she sat there and maybe she didn't, but at that point, she was sitting there because she was so numb that she didn't have anything to do.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Marlowe's father, Mordecai, was done throwing his clothes into his several suitcases, and had them loaded. Yet his daughter was still not done. "Marlowe!" he shouted, tapping his foot irritably. "What is taking so long?" The white bull terrier stood at his black Subaru Outback, cursing his daughter under his breath. "Just grab some clothes and your electronics. We can leave everything else." After no response, he stepped inside and went upstairs. The place looked as if someone still lived there, not much was missing. There was still food in the cabinets and the fridge.

When he slung the door open, Marlowe was sitting on her bed, playing her DS. She looked up briefly, but then her orange eyes went back to the screen. Her things were in the floor, packed. It was mainly her 360, Wii, Playstation 2, laptop, and games. She had a smaller bag beside her that contained her DS accessories, her phone charger, camera, and iPod and some of the suitcases had clothes. "Marlowe, COME ON." He gestured as if to ask her to leave.

"You haven't even told me why we're leaving or where to." She had an unamused look on her face.

"It doesn't matter, I'll tell you on the ride there." He scooped up some of her electronics, and a bag of her clothes. "Get it in the car now. Right now, the only thing that matters is that we move."

She closed her DS and let out a heavy sigh, loading herself up with as many bags as possible before heading out to the car. She took a last look at her room and closed the door. There was so much she couldn't take with her, it seemed like a waste. "Are we coming back?" She asked curiously as her dad placed everything in the car.

He seemed caught off guard by the question, as if asking it was the equivalent to a physical blow. He closed the hatch, and pinched the bridge of his long torpedo snout. "No, Marlowe. We're not. I know you don't want to hear it, but..." He shook his head. "We gotta go. Get in." He walked around the car and got inside, starting it. Marlowe just stood there, looking at the house, forlornly. She eventually got in the passenger's seat when her dad opened the door and reminded her to get in. She kept the smaller bag with her, pulling out her iPod and wrapping the large DJ-styled headphones around her head. She decided to listen to some E Nomine on the ride. Before she could get too into her music, her father tapped her on the shoulder. "Oh, and we're not going to the airport. We have to talk to Mr. Rice about taking his jet to Japan." His eyes grew wide as he realized that he had just slipped up in what he said.

"Isn't that where Schad moved?" She asked.

-----

Her mother got home, exhausted. Arranging things wasn't easy... She couldn't believe it until she had actually seen Schad.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno had nightmare after nightmare about Schadenfreude. He tossed and turned in the night, waking up in a cold sweat. Anytime he slept or closed his eyes he thought about her. In his nightmares he would run to her but he could never reach her. When morning finally came he didn't feel like doing anything, especially not going to school. He figured he would just not go today. "I need to shower...I haven't done it in days...I don't feel like getting up though...But I have to..." Reno forced himself up and into the bathroom. He slowly took off his clothes and stepped into the shower. He fumbled with the knobs to turn on the water not being able to get the water going. He eventually just fell backwards, his foot managed to turn the water on. It hurt his toe but he was too depressed to even care about the pain. The warm water just showered over him as he just sat there thinking.

Meanwhile a knock came on Shinzuu's front door. It was Mr. Avery. Reno's weird psychology teacher. The black panther stood there waiting for someone to get the door, reading over a pink sticky note he had stuck to his finger.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu spent the day with Veronica, sitting at home, but he didn't really want to talk. Since his mother is forcing him to stay here to talk to Veronica, he just sat in the living room, playing on his Playstation 3. He had not played Metal Gear Solid 4 for a long time, so he thought he might as well. She didn't seem like she was in the mood to leave her room, anyways, even when her stuff came in, and he knocked on her door, ending up leaving it in front of her door. In the game, Shinzuu's character was spotted while walking down the streets of Berlin and shot down. "******* A, dude."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica stared at the wall for a good part of the day. She didn't understand why Shinzuu knocked on the door when it was open, but she didn't respond to it and didn't take her eyes off the wall. A few minutes later, she finally looked over at the doorway and saw some of her things sitting there. Walking over to the doorway, she picked up the box and brought it into the room. She gently kicked the door shut behind her and set the box on the bed, going through it. She changed into a set of pajamas that were in the box, not seeing the point in dressing in regular clothes when she wasn't doing anything. When she exited her room, she heard a knock on the door of the apartment. "Not even all my stuff. I want ALL my stuff." She muttered as she walked to the door. She looked through the peephole, recognized the man standing there as a teacher, and opened the door, walking away toward the living room right after without saying anything to the man. "Somebody's here..." She mumbled as she entered the living room and plopped down in an empty chair in the living room.