Chapter 1: Brothers

I glanced up at the starry sky, eyes reflecting the countless tiny lights as if it were a mirror. What sort of mysteries were hidden up there, I wondered.

A cool breeze swooped across my face, pushing my azure locks aside and blocking my view. It was a cold night, but I barely felt it with my thick jacket.

I shut my eyes and tried to imagine it, ignoring the itch that was coming from my back. There, far away on a distant planet, was life. At least that's what I hoped. There were people just like me and the humans. Maybe I was from somewhere like that?

I opened my eyes and stood back up, studying my surroundings. The park was mostly empty today, though I could see a dim light in the distance. My stomach rumbled and I considered heading over there to see what the others might have to eat.

Hmm. They'd normally only share food if they could spare any, but I was still technically a kid. If I asked nicely enough they'd give me some. I found that humans were nice like that. Sure, not all of them were so friendly, but I didn't let the bad ones taint my interactions.

It was a case-by-case thing.

I yawned and stretched out my arms. Nah, I'd wait for him. He was the sort of guy to come even if it was pouring out.

A small, amused smile tugged at my lips. It was his greatest strength and weakness. No matter who it was, he'd help them if they only asked. He just couldn't say no.

"I guess I should head for the entrance to make sure no one else bothers him," I said to myself. I could see him giving away some of the food to the other guys if they asked enough. Hell, there was that one time he had to leave and come back because he'd given all my food away.

Again, that kindness of his was a double-edged sword. Thankfully, I'd at least gotten him to let me speak up for him if I was around. It didn't solve the problem, but it was a good start.

I slowly started making my way along the path. My thoughts inevitably drifted to how I'd gotten here.

My blue hair and crimson eyes were always a problem. Even as a kid, I always drew everyone's attention to me. That would have been fine normally, but I wasn't exactly normal. Oh, I looked like any other kid my age now, but that wasn't always the case.

The tiny itch that had been probing at my back continued to grow until I could barely hold it in anymore. Maybe it was the weather, but today had been unbearable. I took a quick look around and let out an annoyed sigh.

A small pair of black wings tore their way out of my back. The thick coat I had on kept them from spilling out for everyone to see, but the trade-off was the annoying pain. It was like pulling my fingers back a bit too far. It wasn't something I couldn't hold, but it was still pretty annoying.

But that was just how things were. If I didn't want to be locked up in some freak show of a circus, then this was what I had to do.

I furrowed my brow and shook my head. The past was the past. Things had changed and I wasn't alone anymore.

I didn't know what I was, but that didn't matter. I had a name. I was a person just like anyone else.

I was Lee and that was all that mattered.

But that hadn't always been the case, had it?

My lips trembled with a bitter smile. Humans didn't like different. They'd done horrible things to their own kind just because of different ideologies, skin colour, and opinions. Someone like me who had wings never stood a chance.

"Oh! Lee!" an excited voice cut through the night, pulling me away from my own thoughts.

"S-Sorry I was late!" the young boy standing in front of me said. He was a tad shorter than I and shared the same kind of messy hair. We even had the same shade, too!

"Don't worry about it," I said with a grin and gave him an affectionate pat on the back.

If anyone were to look at us, they'd probably think we were brothers or something. Well, I certainly thought of him as one, but we weren't actually related by blood.

"Let's head somewhere nice to eat these," I said and started leading him away from the park. If I didn't finish everything he'd brought then maybe I'd go and hand some out to the others.

My "brother" nodded and a brilliant, innocent grin appeared on his face. He was too precious.

"So why were you later?" I asked as we walked. "Some old lady didn't ask you to carry her groceries for you, did she?"

A blush crawled across his cheeks.

"Actually, yeah, but that wasn't why," he said with a quick shake of his head. "Mom and dad wanted my help with something."

My smile froze. Now, I wasn't the kind of person to hate others, but his folks were a different beast. They deserved a real beating. I'd honestly considered killing them at one point, but that was back when I wasn't very fond of people.

I knew that even if offing them would make his life better, he'd probably never forgive himself. Not me but himself. That was just the kind of guy he was.

"Just a few more years," I said with a sigh. "You really should just call the cops or something."

Those people didn't deserve to be parents. They were the kind of people that would have their son work for them just so they could take his money. The number of times he'd nearly died because of one of their stupid ideas was baffling!

And yet…

"T-They're not that bad," he said with a sheepish expression. He wasn't fooling anyone, not even himself. But again, that was just the kind of guy he was.

I sighed.

"Never mind then," I grumbled and opened his lunch box. "These look like some mighty good sandwiches."

"I worked extra hard on them!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "Let me know how they taste. It's a new recipe I've been working on."

I chuckled.

"Sure thing."

As long as he was here, I didn't care what craziness life threw at me.

"Thanks again, Iruma."

He closed his eyes and gave a little smile.

"Yeah!"