"Ow! Ow, that ing hurts!" Ryu snapped, trying to pull his hand away. I ignored him and held it tightly, pouring more rubbing alcohol over the cuts on his knuckles. 
    "It wouldn't hurt if you stopped squirming!" I scolded, setting the plastic bottle down and dabbing some of the blood away from his skin. 
    "Bull." Ryu muttered sullenly through gritted teeth, but he stopped trying to jerk away.   Luhan, Yixing, and I had decided to forego our shopping trip until tomorrow and they went home, leaving me to patch up Ryu's hand. 
    "I need to teach you how to punch before you screw up your hand for real." I said, inspecting the torn skin. 
    "You know how to punch?" Ryu scoffed, his eyebrows raised. I started wrapping his hand carefully with gauze, nodding. 
    "You're looking at a wushu champion!" I smiled, clipping the end of the wrap in place and patting his hand gently. 
    "Pfft, wushu. Wushu's not real fighting; it's a flashy, showy, girly knock-off of kungfu." Ryu said. "Wushu's no use to me."
    "Watch yourself, Ryu. That's the face Tao makes before he hits someone." Kris cut in from the doorway, and I whirled. 
    "I was not going to hit him!" I snapped. Kris trailed his eyes meaningfully to my hands and I realized my fingers were curled into tight fists, prompting a laugh from Ryu. I rolled my eyes, standing up and grumbling as I walked away from them. 
    The rest of the day passed slowly, all of us lounging around and eating junk food. Ryu was busy on his phone all day, texting someone—he wouldn't tell us who. After dinner, we all climbed into bed and I snuggled up against Kris.
    He was asleep too early to talk and I soon followed his lead. Sometime during the night, I got up to get a drink of water and then hurried back into bed. I was almost asleep when the floor squeaked and I frowned, lifting my head up slightly to peer through the darkness. The moonlight seeped in from the window across from me and more silvery light spilled through the open doorway, leaking in from the bathroom window across the hall. There was another squeak and a shadow flitted in front of the doorway, quickly vanishing. 
    I considered briefly whether to wake Kris—busy snoring directly into my left ear—but decided against it. I slowly got out of bed, pausing briefly when the mattress gave a low groan, and tugged on a pair of jeans I found on the floor. I realized too late the jeans belonged to Kris and they fell way past my feet, but I was already down the hall after Ryu. 
    I crept down the stairs, grabbing my wallet and keys as quietly as possible from the kitchen counter and then ducking down behind it when Ryu walked by. It was dark except for the moonlight through the windows, and I peeked up over the marble. 
    Ryu cast one long look behind him and then stooped to lace up his shoes, the sound of canvas sliding against cloth filling the room and sounding much too loud. Ryu finally stood, pulling his black backpack up higher on his shoulders and raking his hand through his hair. 
    Ryu walked into the short hallway leading to the foyer and I heard him disarming the alarm, surprised he had learned the code. The door shut softly behind him and I walked forward quickly, pulling on my own shoes over Kris' jeans and grabbing a sweatshirt from the coat closet.
    I walked into the darkness, taking care not to make much noise when I shut the door. The porch light was still on from Ryu activating it, and I was grateful for the small amount of light when I walked down the steps. I could hear the front gate creaking open and I hurried, knowing I still had to get across the lawn and the driveway. 
    When I finally made it through the gate I was panting slightly, my hair falling into my eyes. I tossed my fringe back and pulled my hood up over my head, watching Ryu jog past one of the streetlights. He was lit up briefly in golden light, his torn black jeans dripping chains that jingled slightly when he moved. There was a strange clanking coming from his backpack and his hood was also up, shielding his face. 
    A second later and Ryu was gone, becoming a shadow bobbing along in the night. I stayed several meters behind him and was careful not to scuff my feet, wondering where he was going. He couldn't have been running away, his guitar was still at the house, but he moved with a purpose. 
    We passed by the dark shops and I checked my watch, surprised it was only three in the morning. Ryu soon moved through the small town, heading for the close county of Gold River. Gold River was full of houses and large shopping complexes, only adding to my confusion. What could be there?
    I was jerked out of my thoughts when I realized Ryu had stopped, standing in front of a brick wall at the back of a large grocery store. He slid his backpack from his shoulders and I ducked around the corner, trying to keep my breath from panting too loudly in the night. A group of clouds scudded across the moon, throwing everything into darkness, and I could hear Ryu rummaging around in his backpack. 
    There was a faint clink of metal and the muffled pop of a cap, and when I could see again Ryu was holding a can of spray paint. Before he could begin spraying the wall in front of him, another boy ambled up from the other direction. Ryu turned and saw him, lifting his arm in a wave. 
    "Snake!" Ryu whispered, and even though I couldn't see his face, I knew he was smiling. The boy reached Ryu and embraced him tightly, ruffling his hair gently and smiling. 
    "Ryu. Where've you been?" Snake asked, and his voice was deep. Moonlight glittered off the viper bite piercing in his lower lip and when he pulled up the sleeves of his sweatshirt to grab a can of spray paint, he revealed matching tattoos of snakes coiling around his arms. 
    "Picked up a new pair of parents." Ryu drawled, turning back to the wall and beginning to paint. Snake joined him, using his longer arms to paint above Ryu's head. 
    "How are they?" Snake asked, looking down briefly at the bandage around Ryu's knuckles. 
    "I don't know. Not bad. Haven't known them long enough to tell." Ryu shrugged. Snake nudged his shoulder, leaning into him slightly. 
    "You haven't split yet. That's gotta be good. Maybe you've got a chance at having a real family this time." Snake said, his voice soft. I knew instinctively that if I said that kind of thing to Ryu, I would be lucky to avoid getting punched in the face. Instead, Ryu's shoulders slouched slightly and he silent for a few minutes. 
    "You're the only family I've got, Snake." Ryu finally said, his voice trembling slightly. Snake looked over, and I frowned slightly. There was no way these two could be related by blood; Snake's eyes were a glittering blue and his features weren't Asian. 
    "Don't talk like that, kid. Give these people a chance." Snake urged quietly, stepping back from their work. The hissing of paint finally silenced when Ryu stepped back also, and my eyes widened when I realized they had drawn a large and detailed dragon on the side of the building.
    "I don't know. They're nice. Real nice. But I don't want to take a chance." Ryu murmured, bending to put his empty cans back into his backpack. Snake slid his own into the backpack, zipping it up and handing it to Ryu. When he flexed his forearms the snakes moved like they were alive, trapped just under his skin. 
    "Listen to me." Snake said, putting his hand on Ryu's shoulder and squeezing it once. "You're running out of options. Get smart. Give them a chance." 
    "Alright." Ryu said, his back to me. He nodded, putting his backpack on, and Snake ruffled his hair once more. 
    "Are you okay?" Snake asked. Ryu nodded.
    "Yeah." 
    "Bye, bro. Take care of yourself. Text me the next location." Snake called cheerfully, turning and beginning to walk back the way he had come. Ryu turned and I quickly pulled back, hiding behind one of the trash cans outside the market when Ryu walked by. 
    I followed Ryu and noted with a small thrum of satisfaction that he was walking back towards the house. I had just crossed a road after him when I found myself roughly grabbed from behind and against a wall.
    There was a cold metal kiss on my throat and I tilted my head back instinctively, my eyes widening when I saw Snake was the one holding me. 
    "You have three seconds to explain why you're following my little brother." Snake growled, tightening his hand on my throat. The knife in his hand pressed into my skin and I raised my hands placatingly. 
     "Snake?" Ryu called, turning. His hands were stuffed deeply into his pockets and I looked over, watching his eyes widen when he saw me. "Easy, Snake!"
    "You know this guy?" Snake asked, still glaring at me. I could hear the blade sliding against my skin and tilted my head back further, my heart pounding in my ears. 
    "Yeah, yeah, he's fine. He's one of the guys who adopted me." Ryu said, jogging back to us. Snake gave me one final look and then stepped back, releasing me abruptly and flipping the knife closed. The knife went into his back pocket and I took a gulp of air, my hand splayed over my thundering heart. 
    "You ing followed me?" Ryu snapped at me, a scowl twisting his face. I shrugged, pulling my hood down.  
    "Yeah. I was worried about you." I said honestly. If anything, this only seemed to make Ryu angrier. 
    "I don't need you to worry about me! I can take care of myself!" Ryu spat, crossing his arms. I sighed, feeling the weight of Snake's gaze on me, judging me. 
    "I know; you've had to! But I'm here now and it's my job to take care of you. I'm sorry I followed you, but you can't go sneaking out at night to make street art!" I scolded. Ryu scoffed and rolled his eyes, looking over at Snake. 
    "Ryu. Go home." Snake said quietly. Ryu hesitated for a moment, his mouth open, but he soon closed it and turned. I started to follow him but Snake stopped me with an arm across my chest. "You stay."
    Ryu started walking along the concrete, his head tilted back, looking up at the stars. Snake soon dropped his arm, crossing his arms to look at me. I leaned back against the wall, remembering the knife in his back pocket, and did my best to look confident. 
    "Yes?" I asked. Snake was silent for a few minutes, his piercing eyes resembling two shards of blue glass. 
    "What do you want with Ryu?" Snake finally asked. His deep voice was low and deadly, and moonlight glittered off his piercing. 
    "To make a home for him." I said evenly. Snake inspected me for a few more silent seconds, then slowly nodded. 
    "Fine. But I'm warning you; you make one move to hurt him, I will kill you." Snake was serious and I nodded, watching him relax. 
    "Okay." I said quietly. Snake backed up a few steps and nodded again, slipping his hands into his pockets. 
    "See you around." Snake said it like a threat and I nodded, watching him slowly saunter away. 
    I walked quickly away from the store, breaking into a jog and then a run when I realized just how much I wanted to be home. I met up with Ryu at the gate and he didn't look at me, swinging over the gate instead of entering the code. 
    "Ryu?" I said. He didn't answer, landing lightly on the other side and walking quickly to the house. I opened the gate and ran after him, barely making it through the door before he slammed it on me. "Ryu."
    "What?!" Ryu hissed, spinning on his heel and dropping his backpack with a clank. His eyes were snapping fury and he pushed his hair back again, his hands trembling. 
    "Will you just talk to me? Come on," I started, reaching out to grab his wrist. Ryu hit me so fast I didn't see it, only felt the explosion of pain across my cheekbone. 
    "Get away from me!" Ryu yelled, kicking off his shoes roughly and running up the stairs in his socks. I was clutching my throbbing cheek, staring with wide eyes at the empty staircase. 
    I decided to give him time to cool off, pulling off my shoes slowly and walking to the bathroom by the entryway. There was a purplish mark under my left eye and I sighed, walking to th