[h1][center][b][color=black]Rex[/color][/b][/center][/h1]

Rex flinched at the question. "These belonged to my father," he murmured quietly. "He died in a battle, and these were sent home with a letter from him. After that... Mom just gave up the will to live."

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[h2][u]Five years ago...[/u][/h2][/center]


[i]"Hey, bro? How long are we gonna wait?" The funeral had ended hours ago, but Rex and his brother, Ryūji, were still sitting by their mother's grave. Their only other parent had died. They had no family left. "I'm getting hungry."

"The Hunt family next-door invited us over for supper," Rex mumbled. "You go on ahead. I wanna stay here. Figure things out." Ryūji stood, sniffling. At eleven he was coddled a bit, and looked almost like a miniature version of his big brother. Now he was all Rex had left.

The sound of his brother's footsteps disappeared. Hours passed, until the sun went down. The boy shivered against the chilly May air. Rex moved, laying down by his mother's tombstone to block the wind. Soon he was asleep. 

When he woke again the full moon was high in the sky. Someone had placed a blanket over him, and that someone was still sitting on the ground beside him. "S-Sensei?" he murmured. "You know, you should give up smoking."

The man smiled a bit and put out the cigarette butt in the dirt. His golden hair and eyes shone in the moonlight. "I haven't had a reason to quit yet," he chuckled. 

"Mom said girls don't like boys with bad breath."

"Well, girls usually overlook it sometimes when they get older." Sensei tousled Rex's hair. "I'm sorry about your mother. She was sick after your father died." Rex looked down at the oversized gloves on his hands.

"She didn't cough, or bleed, or have a stomachache though." Sensei sighed quietly. 

"Not all sicknesses are physical, Rex. Many illnesses are in the mind." He paused for a moment. "Your mom loved your dad very much. She broke down because she couldn't live life without him. But she didn't think of you and Ryūji.

"You have to be strong now," he continued. Teacher wrapped his arm around Rex's shoulders. "But it's never a bad thing to cry, Rex. Tears aren't a sign of weakness."

"Why are you bringing that up?" Rex sniffled. 

"I haven't seen you cry once since your dad's letter and gloves came. Holding emotions in like this hurts. Sometimes, you just have to let them out."

And Rex did. He wept long and hard, for losing his father, and his mother. They had been the two constants in his life, and now they were gone. Sensei waited until the boy calmed down. "But you have to be strong for your brother's sake, buddy," he said quietly. "You're all he has left. You can't break, Rex. If you do, then odds are we'll be burying you two next to your mom within ten years."

He was answered only by a soft snore. Loosing all of the emotions had tired him out. Rex may not have heard the last part, but Sensei carried him back to the Hunts' house. But whether or not Rex had heard it, he had promised himself to take care of his brother.[/i]

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Rex was silent for a minute. He hadn't meant to talk so long. He just had to let it out, even if it was to a random person like Skye. "So, yeah," he murmured. "Call me Gloomy, Grumpy, whatever you want. Not everyone can be so happy and carefree like you. "