We're On Our Own

Inu didn't even look at Darien. "Its nothing, don't ask," he muttered, starting to speed up a little to get in front of him. He didn't feel like explaining about his past love life or his lover or friends. He also knew he'd eb stupid to talk about being blamed for Elizabeth's death in front of Nate. I don't even know if Nate thinks about it anymore. For all I know, if I said something, the reaction could range from pouring salt into open wounds to digging into scars long forgotten, he thought bitterly, his shoulders hunched slightly as he stared straight ahead at the exit to the village.

Nate stared at the ground as he listened to what they were talking about, but his focus kept drifting from their talk and back to his mind and thoughts, no matter how hard he tried to keep that from happening. He glanced over his shoulder suddenly, not sure why even, but he noticed Maria and Saneki. He didn't pause in his walking, but he hesitated as he watched them for a moment, then looked at the ground again. What are they doing? Following us? he wondered curiously.

"I'm following," Saneki said simply, glancing back at her. She actually thought she could feel her cheeks get warm, but felt that was impossible and quickly looked away again. "I still want to know where that guy is from...why I know him...." she said, then added, "Plus, its a chance to get out of here. I'll take any chance like that." A grin appeared on her face as she kicked a rock for absolutely no reason apparently. Away from this goddamn village! Finally! she thought, trying to keep herself from shouting it out loud.

Serifina kept running behind him and stopped a few feet away from the tree he was by, hearing him curse repeatedly. She was panting, but she soon caught her breath and walked up to him. She hesitated slightly, after having watched him punch the tree. After a moment, she put her hand gently on his shoulder. "Randu, what happened?" she asked him softly, wanting to comfort him in any way she could.

Darien sighed, slowing a bit to walk in between the two of them. He mumbled to himself, "Wow...cold shoulders much..." He mumbled with a sigh, looking back a bit as he noticed the woman still following them, 'What exactly do they want?' He thought to himself. He figured that it wasn't for him or Inu. He noticed whom they were looking upon and it was Nate, "Hey Nate....." Darien whispered, slowing to walk beside him as he looked at him, glancng occasionally towards the females, "....did those girls ever work at your castle?" He asked quietly, motioning slightly towards the girls as he arched his shoulders back, slightly moving his head back as a motion for Nate to see the girls.

Maria looked back towards the houses which she had lived for many years. She hesitated, walking forward with Saneki, sighing slightly. Just as she did, painful memories of her father returned to her mind. She growled silently and then went back to walking with Saneki, "You're right. It is a chance to get out of this wretched village." She said with a slight growl added to her her voice. She had obviously been deppressed about something, but wasn't going to spill it to her if she asked. She sighed slightly, water falling into her mout as she did so as the little water droplets dripped from the ends of her hair into her mouth. She distantfully shuddered from the taste slightly, closing her mouth again with a mental sigh.

Randu didn't look up. He stopped punching the tree though. His knuckles were bruised badly and had multiple open wounds on them. Visibly there were slight bloodstains on the tree from where he repeatedly punched it. He sighed with a quiver, "My family..." He said very quietly, recongnizing the voice without turning. He didn't want to look at her, he was already traumatized, and didn't want to have that strange feeling come back to him whenever he looked at Serifina. Mixing those two feelings, he thought he'd be sick or pass out from all the different, strange emotions. He hoped this were a nightmare.

Nate looked at Darien when he said something, then looked back to where he was indicating, at the two girls. He hesitated, looking ahead again and thinking for a moment. Inu glanced back at the two of them for a moment as he listened. "I can't recall," Nate said with a sigh, shaking his head slightly as he tried to remember if he recognized the two girl's faces. Some water dripped from his hair and ran down his face, but he ignored it, and didn't seem too bothered by it. After a moment, Nate looked at the two girls again, noticing they were watching him. He quickly looked forward again as he tried to think harder, raising a hand and smoothing his hair back slightly as he let out a slight sigh. Inu, who had looked ahead again, gave a glance back at the two girls and eyed them for a minute, trying to take in as much of their features as he could, then looking ahead again.

"I'm not sure about either of them," he said, staring straight ahead. "The one with the red hair I've seen around the village, near the castle at least, but never actually in it, I don't think. The other one though...I'm not so sure of her. She seems familar in some way, like I've seen her around somewhere, causing some trouble, but I can't recall what happened," he said, shrugging his shoulders slightly. He didn't seem too cautious about, his mind elsewhere.

Saneki glanced back at Maria curiously for a moment, then looked ahead as she asked, "You okay?" She didn't know why she felt that weird way whenever she even just looked at MAria, but she did. She forced the feeling away as she looked straight ahead, silently pushing several strands of her hair out of her face as she continued walking, focusing her eyes on Nate again. Alright. Focus. What is wrong with you, Saneki? What is your problem? she thought bitterly, still trying to figure out what the feeling even was.

"Your family?" Serifina repeated curiously. "What happened?" she asked in a soft, gentle voice as she rubbed his shoulder still. Her eyes went to the blood marks on the tree for a moment and then to his knuckles as she saw open wounds. She wanted to help him, but hesitated slightly, not sure if Randu would even let her, so she just continued to rub his shoulder as the rain continued to fall on her and her hair stuck to her fac.e

((That was bad, I gotta go though. Be back after a while!))

Darien watched Nate with a strange feeling when he saw him slick his hair back. He shrugged it off, "Really?" He questioned slightly, "I recall the red haired one a bit.....I saw her during my performance. The other...I haven't seen." Darien shrugged slightly, "There's the exit." He said quietly, "No guards either." He grinned, fangs showing as he did so, "This will be easilly done." Darien grinned slightly. The rain calmed a bit, leaving only a few drops to trickle from the sky. The sky remained its dark gloom over the village though.

Maria was quiet for a moment, "Yeah, I'm okay.." She said very quietly, not looking up. She didn't want the same feeling to strike her again. Everytime she looked up at Saneki her mind always thought of her and her eyes remained glued to her most times. She just wished she knew, though, it were obvious she thought, "Where do you think they're going?" She asked quietly, looking up, but trying to avert her gaze past Saneki, though, that was quite hard to do indeed.

Randu nodded weakly, not looking up still. Even without looking at her, his chest tinged with the feeling he kept getting before, when he saw her. He reached up with the same hand he punched the tree with and grasped his shirt. The part mostly near his chest, "Yeah...my family.....they..." He paused, being reminded of the grizzly scene he encountered then the vampire he had seen, basically mauling them, "....they were murdered.." He mumbled quietly, moving his forehead off of the bark, wincing slightly as he did so. He noticed the bark had cut slightly into his forehead. He groaned slightly as he tapped his foot, trying to release the pain as the rain dripped onto his forehead, the fresh blood on his forehead slowly dripping away, washing slightly. He used his sleeve to wipe the blood off, then noticed Serifina was rubbing his shoulder, trying to comfort him, "Why...are you here anyways? I thought you left?" He questioned, staying where he was, but his head raised as he watched the ground silently with a pained expression. He was confused, hurt, and didn't know what he was doing anymore. It was like he saw death and couldn't speak to explain it.

Nate glanced at Darien as he spoke and saw his grin, feeling his heart jump slightly for some reason and he quickly looked away and at the exit. What is it with me? Why do I keep feeling this way? he wondered, feeling his cheeks get slightly warm as he had to force himself not to look at Darien again. It took a minute, but it finally hit him how close they were to being out of the village. A grin appeared on his face as he looked at the entrance, ready to be free of that village once and for all. Almost freel...almost reached freedom...ou t of this prison... he thought excitedly. Inu had been growing quieter and quieter as they approached the exit, the only sound he made was his breathing as his stature slowly became more and more hopeless it seemed. His shoulders were slumped and he was just barely keeping from dragging his feet. He knew that once they were past that area, he'd be okay, but at that point, he didn't care how his gait was.

"Huh? I honestly have no idea," Saneki said, shrugging her shoulders, trying not to look back still. "I'm wondering if they even do. For all we know, they could just be trying to get out of here first," she said simply, scratching the back of her head, then brushing some of her hair behind her ear. She'd noticed how quiet MAria's voice had been when she answered, and part of her wanted to persist and try and get an answer, but she somehow managed to keep herself from asking any more about it.

"They were murdered?" Serifina asked in surprise, then heard his question. She felt her cheeks get warm and muttered, "Uh..I kinda followed you. I don't know why I did." She was truthful, she'd just followed him because of them talking and hadn't really even thought about it before she did so. "But, they were murdered? What happened?" she asked, going away from why she'd followed him. Serifina had never moved her hand from his shoulder, but had stopped rubbing it.

Darien hadn't noticed Nate, his direction was faced towards Inu. He was wondering why his gruff expression turned down in volumes. He seemed so deppressed and hurt. He wanted to ask why, for he didn't like to see others suffering or any of the above. He crossed his arms, rapping his fingers against his wet sleeves repeatedly as they reached the exit, finally taking their steps out into the brand new world, "Finally...away from the village." Darien grinned widely, his hand grasping his arm now, instead of the rapping of his fingers. He stood up straighter, straightening his posture a bit, then leaning back into his other position, "Now...we need to figure out which direction to go towards." Darien finally said after a few seconds after his other words, pointing towards a forked road and sign that was very, very near to them.

Maria nodded slightly, "Ahh...that's true." She said quietly, walking a bit faster and walking beside Saneki now. She didn't want to keep having to look up and her mind being at a daze. Now if she really wanted to look at her, she'd have to turn to. But then again. she felt that would blow her feelings if she did that. She mentally sighed, "Are you going to keep following them? After they leave the village?" Maria questioned, glancing at her, getting that smae feeling then glancing back towards the men as they left the village.

Randu slowly nodded, "Yeah.....they were murdered.....by a vampire..." He mumbled, keeping his gaze down, his eyes cold slightly, "When I entered my house there was blood stained in every aspect of my living room, then they were dragged like carcusses(sp?) into a different room, torn open while this vampire.....this vampire is sitting there devouring them!" He exclaimed shaking slightly from the scene he witnessed, looking up at her finally, drips of water from the trees falling ontop of them both. He shuddered very slightly as drips of cold, icy water slid down his neck and back. He got goosebumps just at the feeling. He looked at Serifina with a saddened expression, "I should've been there....I could've probablly helped ward off the vampire....or at least died with them!" He frowned, feeling his lip quiver slightly. He cursed silently, pounding his fist sideways onto the bark, feeling more cuts form.

"Uh..." Nate said as he looked at the fork in the road. He started to say something, but Inu quickly stopped him. He seemed to be annoyed as well as still depressed, as he thought the feelings would've past when they exited the village, but they were still there and, if anything, had grown stronger.

"Don't even try to pick, Nate," Inu growled as he glanced at him. "You know nothing about this area," he added as he looked ahead again and didn't even hesitate for a moment as he said, "I think we should to the right." He said it simple and to the point, not bothering to explain why as he started to walk in that direction without asking what the other two thought. His figure was still slumped and his gait hadn't changed at all from how it had been in the village. His eyes now showed anger along with the pain that had already been there, and he was still mad at the memory that kept running through his mind.

Saneki looked at her for the slightest moment again, then quickly forward. "I will until I find out who that guy is. After that, I'm not sure what I'm going to do," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders once more. "I don't really care where I plan on going, so long as I'm out of here," she added after a moment. Saneki was staring straight ahead, appearing to be deep in thought, even though she wasn't really thinking about anything at the moment, except Maria.

Serifina felt a slight shiver run down her back as she felt the water hit her, but said nothing about it as she listened to what Randu said. She wasn't sure what to say to comfort him as she watched him punch the tree. She didn't hesitate, or think, as she moved her hand from Randu's shoulder to the fist he kept using to punch the tree. She didn't want to see him hurt himself more, with how emotionally and physically hurt he was already. She gently started to lower his hand, rubbing his hand gently and trying to avoid touching the cuts on his hand as best she could.

Darien sighed, following Inu silently for a brief few seconds. He was thinking quietly to himself the smirked slightly, silently and secretly getting towards Inu's side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, "So my darling, what's wrong? You seem so upset, and......emotional." Darien began, trying to get him to speak. He hoped deep down that Inu wasn't going to kill him or anything. If he tried, he would use his powers to get himself out of the dilema though. Well, he hoped he could in time. The rain was lightly falling now, sticking his hair to his face as it slightly fell in front of his eyes.

"Really?" Maria questioned slightly, "I have that same feeling. As long as I'm out of there, and away from my horrible father, I'll be good." Maria said with a slight shrug. She glanced at Saneki, then felt heat rise up in herself. She quickly glanced away, feeling her heart skip a beat nearly, 'What was I just thinking right then? H-h-...I-I can't possibly have those feelings for her....' She thought with slight, silent gulps, 'Then again.....' She thought, glancing back at her, '.....stay focused...' She thought quickly, looking at the ground as her bangs covered her pink tinted cheeks.

Randu looked at her with a confused look, feeling awkward that she had been doing that. He felt his muscles tinge up with pain on the side his busted hand was on. He groaned silently, wincing a bit then looking at her with a sigh, "Why do you try to help me Serifina? Truth is, we just met...and we barely know each other. Yet you are still kind to me. Why is that?" Randu questioned, not taking his hand back from her. He actually liked the feeling he recieved from her. He didn't know why, but it made him more calm and happier, yet, he was still hurt inside.

Inu glanced at Darien when he called him 'darling', his gaze cold, sharp and pained. "I thought I told you not to call me darling again," he said in a flat tone, then added, "And I suggest you remove your arm from my shoulder before I remove it from your body." His voice had a slightly sharp to it, but was for the most part fairly flat and emotionless. Inu was fairly good at keeping his emotions from creeping into his voice, but they always showed in his eyes, no matter how much he tried to keep them from doing so. His hair stuck in his eyes from the rain that had been falling, but he didn't seem to mind much.

Nate was walking behind them and watching in silence, slicking his hair back once more absentmindedly. Along with the strange feeling he already had from just looking at Darien, he felt another feeling as his heart jumped once more. Oh dear God...please tell me I am not jealous... he thought, but he already knew he was and sighed silently to himself. Thats just great, he thought, rubbing his head slightly as if he had a headache.

"I'm just glad to be away from everyone in that village," Saneki said, glancing at Maria. She saw her looking at the ground and almost said something, then fellt the same feeling rise up in her again, a surprisingly warm feeling. Saneki quickly turned her glance ahead again, biting her lip slightly as she tried to force her thoughts to something else, away from Maria, but she couldn't seem to get Maria out of her head, no matter how much she tried to. Come on...focus on something else....anything else... she thought bitterly, and her thoughts drifted to her family. No! Anything but that! she thought quickly and actually let her thoughts go back to Maria, preferring trying to figure out what she was feeling for Maria than thinking of her parents at all.

Serifina shrugged slightly. "I guess I''m like that always, for one thing. And you were kind to me," she said simply. The fact that he'd been kind to her, that alone was enough for her to want to get to know RAndu more, to help him. She had left her hand still on his, not feeling the need to move it. "You were kind to me, and even if you hadn't been, no one should have to be in pain without at least one person being there for them," she said.

Darien laughed slightly nervously, knowing he meant it, "Okay, okay d-Inu." He quickly said as he took his arm back, backing up from Inu slightly as he had his hands up, laughing slightly uneasy then accidently bumping into Nate as he backed, "Sorry Nate." He said quietly, looking back as he turned around, looking towards him now. He felt his heart skip a beat slightly. He took a quick breath, shaking it off. The rain was finally stopping and his hair was drying back up. Most of his hair stuck up in places and was scruffed up from his constant moving his hair back.

Maria looked back up, able to keep her feelings at bay as she began talking again, "True. That's the same with me. I rather had left that village years back, but...that wasn't going to happen anytime soon I guess." She shrugged, "Anyways, what path do you think they took?" She asked as she stopped at the fork in the road. She glanced in three possible directions, and due to the rain, her senses were blocked from telling where they had gone. Oddly enough though, her heart beat raised in speed everytime she spoke to her, or had been by Saneki. She knew what these feelings meant, for she had faced it before. She knew she was crushing, and on Saneki for a matter of fact. She closed her eyes a brief second then looked at Saneki, trying to keep her emotions at bay.

Randu blinked slightly, "Oh....that's true..." He said with a sigh, leaning his shoulder against the bark gently, trying to avoid any other wounds. He knew his cuts were still open, and that he had glass shards in his wounds. Almost in all of them. He winced slightly, closing his eyes for a moment then opening them, his black hair drying slightly except for some certain areas where it were still wet and stuck towards his skin, "No one should ever be alone....when they need the help..." He said quietly, "Thanks Serifina...." He said quietly, looking at her with that same feeling. He sighed slightly, looking away, the painful memories seeping back in his mind easilly.

Nate had looked up from gazing at the ground when Darien ran into him and it felt like his heart jump. He said nothing for a moment as he tried to compose himself, looking at the ground, his cheeks feeling warm again. "I-its fine," he stuttered out after a moment of silence. His eyes were averted, focused almost intently on the ground. What...whats wrong with me? A-am I seriously feeling that way for him? he wondered, despite the fact that he already knew the answer. He sighed silently to himself as he thought, Yeah...of course I do...damnit.... His light brown hair was almost completely dry finally and as he smoothed it back a final time, it pretty much stuck up in a messy fashion. Inu had glanced back when he heard Nate stuttering and glanced between him and Darien, then looked ahead again. After he'd looked ahead once more, a slight grin appeared on his face as he tried to keep it hidden from Darien and Nate.

This should be interesting...and something to distract me... he thought, still grinning. Nate was walking in silence behind Inu and Darien, looking at the ground as he continued to try and hide his blush, and his eyes.

Saneki looked at Maria, knowing the feeling she'd get though. "I don't know," she muttered as she looked ahead again and at the three different paths. She had that warm feeling again, but she tried to ignore it, as she still didn't know exactly what it was. She hadn't actually felt that way for anyone before. I'll figure it out later, there's no need to at the moment, she thought, but couldn't push the feeling completely to the side, no matter how hard that she tried to.

"Your welcome," Serifina said, looking him over. "You need help. I can't really do much here with no material for bandaging or anything," she said, using her free hand to rub the back of her neck slightly, then running her fingers through her still-drying hair a few times. "I do know someone who could be helpful with that, though," she said, shrugging slightly. "She's not really a doctor, but she knows a lot about this kind of stuff," she said, shrugging her shoulders again.

Darien turned back around, ruffling the back of his head slightly as he brushed his fingers through his hair, laughing slightly nervously, "Didn't mean to bump into you darlin'. I was trying to back up from mista grumpy here." He groaned slightly, glaring at Inu, which, hadn't lasted long since he couldn't stay mad at anyone. He felt his chest tinge with a different feeling, this time for Nate. He knew what it was most likely, but he didn't want to feel that way. Sure, he knew for a fact that he, himself were bi, but he didn't want to have feelings for Nate. He just liked to flirt around, not really have the real deal for one of his flirtee's. He moaned something out from under him breath, mostly mumbled, "I need to really get my mind off that." He completely whispered to himself, hoping none heard it.

"The rain is finally clearing up, maybe I can sense where they are..." Maria paused, closing her eyes for a moment. She indeed caught the scent of one of the men, but her nose also caught Saneki's scent as well. Something differed from Saneki, which made her heart jump a bit. She gasped slightly, opening her eyes, "That was weird..." She mumbled, "Anyways..." She continued, warding off what she sensed, "They took that one." Maria told her, pointing towards the right path, "I can sense that.....one boys scent from a mile away. Believe me. Whatever he has on is intoxicating to my nose." Maria mumbled, rolling her eyes slightly as she looked towards Saneki, 'But hers.......hers was...very intoxicating...' She thought, her mind warding off from what she was supposed to keep track of, '...Her scent was so......luxuriating....' She kept thinking, wanting to just take a few more breaths of her scent. It was like nothing she ever sensed. She quickly snapped back into reality, before she caused herself to act towards her mind, "Erm...shall we go?" She quickly asked afterwards, her face growing a bit pink as she looked away, scratching the back of her neck with a nervous reaction.

"Really? That would be helpful....I guess.....Thanks, Serifina." Randu had said quietly, not moving his hand really. He actually liked being able to have her hand on his. To him that was comforting enough. He felt much pain though inside from his parents misfortune, but thought of something else, to try and ward his mind away, "....Can you take me?" He asked quietly, looking towards her.

Ooc// Gawd...Randu's sucked. I loved everyone elses though. XD

Inu had heard what Darien muttered and grinned slightly. "You say something?" he asked, deciding not to say that he actually heard him. Man, this is going to get really interesting soon... he thought, still grinning as he gave a slight glance back at Darien and Nate. Wait...Mista grumpy? he thought, then rolled his eyes. Just hope he sticks to Nate. I swear I'll kill him the next time he calls me darling, he thought bitterly, looking ahead again. His shoulders weren't as slumped, though, while he continued walking, but his hands were still stuffed in his pockets. Inu's hair had finally dried, but was a complete mess, though he didn't seem to mind at all.

Nate hadn't heard what Darien muttered and was still staring at the ground, the hint of a blush still on his cheeks. His hands were still stuffed in his pockets as he thought, Come on, Nate...get over it...don't think about it... He tried to stop thinking of Darien, but he found it quite difficult since whenever he looked up, he was looking right at him. Okay....that didn't work... he thought and sighed slightly. "Strike that idea," he muttered to himself, hoping neither Inu or Darien had heard him, especially the latter. He removed one hand from his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck slightly, in a somewhat nervous, somewhat annoyed way. Why can't he just stay off my mind? he thought bitterly.

"Yeah, lets," Saneki agreed, nodding slightly as she looked at Maria, then forward again in an instant. Damnit! I have to get over this, she thought, but she glanced at Maria again out of the corner of her eye. A slight smile appeared on her face as the same feeling rose in her again, but the smile quickly disappeared and she looked away instantly. "Anyways, lets go," she muttered as she started to walk towards the path on the right, letting her hair hang in her face as she looked at the ground, her eyes hidden by her black hair, an occasional blood red strand falling into the black. But get over what? Thats the damn problem...what is this feeling? she thought curiously. Saneki gave a slight sigh and thought, Oh well. At least its not a particularly bad feeling....I do kinda enjoy it...

"Of course, I'll take you there," Serifina said, smiling warmly and softly at him. She started to walk, not taking her hand off his. "She's not that far from here, actually," she said, glancing over her shoulder at Randu for a moment, then looking ahead again. "Oh, just a little warning, she's a little...." Serifina began, then paused, trying to think of a nice way to say it, "'out there.'"

"Me? Not at all d-.....Inu." Darien said slightly quick, looking up at him then back towards the path, "So.....do you know where we're going? Anyone? Personally, I haven't been down this area in such a long time I forget..." He shrugged, glancing back at Nate, that smae tinge strinking his chest. He bit his lower lip forcing himself to look back towards the path, 'Darien....you have completely lost it...' He thought, mostly bashing on himself, 'There's no way, any royal would be of my sexuality, or gay for a matter of fact......' He thought, wanting to look back at Nate and just blurt out with that question, but resisted, 'Anyways, why am I so god darn curious if he is or not?.......' He thought once again, then absentmindedly reached up into his hair, slightly fixing it since it was very messy indeed. He fixed it to where his blonde showed more than the brown then went back to thinking quietly.

Maria wondered slightly why Saneki had hesitated in wanting to set off. She noticed she was thinking, but of what? She shrugged to herself, following behind her. Her hair was mostly dryed except for a few droplets that kept falling every so often. That was slightly frustrating Maria, no matter how much she squeezed the moisture out. She gave up after a minute, then looked ahead feeling a blush rise to her cheeks as her eyes traced up towards Saneki, 'GET A GRIP....' She thought, shaking her head, then avoiding her mind as she looked away from Saneki, walking back up besides her, "I can smell that boys stentch pretty well now. We're pretty close towards them." She informed Saneki, avoiding to look at her though her face was still tinted in pink.

Randu winced slightly as he walked with her, resisting to hold her hand, though, she basically was. Randu heard what she had said and groaned slightly, "You know you could've told me that...." He muttered with a very slight and nervous laugh, "....but I guess I do need the help..." He mumbled, then glanced back thinking he heard something, 'That was weird...' He thought with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He felt something nearby, but couldn't finger-what exactly he heard. It sounded stealthy though to his ears.

Nate looked up again as Darien spoke and felt a blush come over him once more as he watched him fix his hair and quickly looked away, but he already felt his heart beating faster. Dear God, I'm freaking obssesed, he thought bitterly, sighing silently to himself. Thats just great... he thought. Nate had to hold himself back mentally, his mind begging him to either shout out the question to Darien about his sexuality, or just kiss him or something to see his reaction. He blushed furiously as he even thought about the second one and had to keep himself from slapping himself. Wow, what is wrong with me... he wondered with another slight sigh. How can I feel this way for some guy I just met? he thought as he looked at Darien again, but felt his heart beating quickly, his cheeks grow warm and his palms somewhat sweaty.

Inu glanced back at them once more, then ahead as he grinned, trying not to laugh. God, those idiots. One of 'em needs to say or do something... he thought, smirking slightly to himself. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes as he thought, Jeez, Nate..just kiss him already.. It was difficult for Inu to keep from laughing as he thought that and had to look back as he stifled a laugh, disgusing it as several coughs.

Saneki forced herself to not look at Maria, not paticularly(sp?) wanting another dash of whatever that feeling she got was. She liked the feeling, but she didn't like that she was unsure of what it was, and preferred that she figure that out before she tempted bringing it up aagain. "We are? Good. I just wanna figure out who he is already, its starting to drive me crazy," she said, though the last part was a lie. Saneki was feeling like she was crazy from thinking about something, but it wasn't Nate, it was Maria. She still couldn't get her off her mind, even though she tried to force herself to think of anything else.

Serifina glanced back at Randu when she heard him. "She's not that bad....well...she kinda is, but I'm used to it..." she said, laughing slightly. She led him silently and quickly into a pretty torn up part of the town, where no one higher up went, and most of the area's inhabitants were on the street. Serifina didn't seem to mind much and seemed to know her way around well, avoiding certain guys on the street and saying hello to several of them. She finally stopped outside one of the buildings that seemed to be falling down, as if no one could live there. "Aunt Shikaku!" she called, pounding on a broken down door with her free hand. It was a surprise the door hadn't fallen in. After a moment, an older woman opened the door and by first glance it could be told she was a little crazy.

"Who is it?! Stop pounding on my door! And don't yell out my name like that! I don't need 'them' to find me," she growled, then saw Serifina standing there with Randu. "Oh, Serifina, is that you? Its been a while," she said, her voice softing from the sharp tone she'd previously had. "So, why are you here this time? Is it about..." she paused, figuring Serifina would know what she meant without it being said. Serifina glanced at Randu, then back at Shikaku and shook her head quickly. Shikaku raised an eyebrow and glanced at Randu.

"Aunt Shikaku, this is Randu, Randu, this is my Aunt Shikaku," Serifina said. Shikaku said nothing, just eyed Randu for a moment until Serifina said, "He's not one of 'them'." She turned to Randu and gave a slight apologetic grin. "Anyways, he needs some help with some injuries, and I brought him here cause I thought you could help," she said. Serifina gave a sigh of relief as her 'aunt' allowed them inside without any questioning. She turned to Randu and said, "Don't ask her about who 'they' are. Its a long story, like I said, she's a little out there."