In the Light of Darkness

[Jesimae Lawson]

"You're being paranoid, Jesimae," she said aloud to herself.

She had paused in the middle of the dark and abandoned lot, looking around in every direction, sure she had
heard movement behind her a second before.

Her building was only a few yards away. She shivered and crossed her arms and headed toward home at a healthy pace.

The second she turned the corner to see her building a few paces away, relief washed over
her. She smiled as she jogged safely ahead, the door mere inches from her hands. And then she felt something behind her.

Nothing touched her.

There was no sound.

She just felt, knew.

No, she thought. There was nothing there but her imagination.
That was all. She grabbed the door and
then after gathering a little extra courage, she turned a little and
looked over her shoulder, sure there would be nothing, ready
to laugh at herself.

Instead, her breath caught, her heart skipped a beat, and a
shiver raced over her body.

The man stood only feet behind her, stone still, his face nothing
but a shadow in the moonlight. The nearest man-made light
too far away to cast anything more than a memory of yellow.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro wasn't aware of any other beings around him. Only the wind, the sounds, and the cold that slipped down his shirt and washed over his chest and shoulders.

He had not been walking long, only a few moments or so, and he hadn't really been paying attention to where he was going. He found himself in an unfamiliar territory.

His senses flared up again, revved to go, at the mere hint that he was somewhere he did not know like the back of his hand. Jiro looked around, turning slightly. He turned all the way around before noticing someone advancing towards a buidling in front of them. It looked like a woman, but it was difficult to tell, for they were hunched in the cold, and the darknees all but swallowed them.

The person paused with thier hand on the door of the building. Jiro wondered why. Slowly, as if afraid, they turned thier head to looked over thier shoulder. It was indeed a woman, for the moonlight caught her hair and danced on her face.

But her face was pale with fright. Was she afraid of him? No, not him. But someone standing in front of him, standing in front of her building and just out from behind the building Jiro had hidden himself behind.

But why did that man frighten her so?

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae watched with horror as the man shrouded by his brown cloak walked towards her, eyes red and beady, evil surrounding him in a way the Jesimae had never seen before.

"I thought you were dead?" She asked softly, afraid that someone would hear her. The man had a deep laugh that rumbled her insides and sent a dagger of fear through her body.

"Apparently not." He replied in a remark that made her feel less and less capable of protecting herself.

"What do you want?" She questioned as she looked around paranoia setting in before the fact that was about to be killed. The man didn't stop advancing towards her and it was easy to see he was armed and ready to kill her.

"To finish what I started." Jesimae was immobile, paralyzed by the eyes that shined brilliantly in the night, his ability to cause someone such fright they couldn't even move was always the best way to kill someone. Jesimae could only shrink against his shadow, pressing her body against the building waiting for that fatal strike when her life would be no more.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro watched with increasing horror as the strange man bore down on the woman. He was quite obviousyl someone the woman was not prepared to fight against.

In a split second Jiro weighed his options:

One, he pull out the knife he used in his thefts to at least attempt to run the man off. Two, he watch to make sure the man had vile intentions. Or, three, he turn tail and run while he still could.

It was doubtful that Jiro would be able to hold his own against the stronger man for long. But he would be able to fend him off long enough for the woman to get to safety and he to use the long legs he'd been given to get out of there.

So, Jiro dug in his shoulder sack, grabbed the ivory handled knife and stepped into the faint moonlight.

"Hey!" he called, knowing he would surely regret this. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size!"

[Jesimae Lawson]

The man's voice shocked her an she swore for a split second that her heart had stopped and she was dead but when she opened her eyes she saw her worst enemy glancing over his shoulder.

His grip eased off her right shoulder and he let his hand down so he could turn around to see the man who willingly stopped the fate Jesimae was sure she deserved.

Sweat beaded on her forehead and for a moment she thought she was safe but he grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of his muscular and tall body. Jesimae looked into the darkness to see something moving towards them.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" He retorted in the deep and frightening voice that would send a chill down anyones spine.

Jesimae felt like a dog who had ran for miles and miles, air not being able to enter her body quick enough as she would have hoped.

"Leave us alone!" Jesimae called out, praying the man would for he had no idea what dangers he faced. "Please!" It made her sound desperate, but she was praying that he wouldn't leave that he'd help her because she knew she wouldn't live another second if he left.

Please, don't leave me to die! That was what she was thinking, please don't leave.

The man who hovered above her was waiting to see the mans face, ready to see his next victim to fall dead under his wrath of fury.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro heard the woman tell him to go away. Yeah, right, THAT'S gonna happen, Jiro thought. He moved forward, but not enough to be seen fully. He didn't know what kind of weapon the man had, and he didn't want to make himself fully seen yet.

"Look man, normally I would mind my own business. But, you don't treat ladies like that, and it gets on my nerves when I see guys acting like animals," Jiro stepped forward again, hiding his knife so as not to get the guy up in arms. "If you just leave her alone, I'll be cool."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae drew in a sharp breath and closed her eyes the man letting out a growl of anger and not liking the fact that a man of such secrecy was trying to tell him what to do.

"Please," he said with a roar of laughter "this little lady has caused me more trouble than God Himself. I'm here on business and I plan to finish what I started with you watching or you dead on the ground, either way works for me."

Jesimae could feel the sharp knife by her throat, he wanted her to know that she could very well die at any given second his hand pushed down and slit her throat. He even made her cringe at the thought by slightly chaffing her skin.

Jesimae felt the object scratch but it wasn't anything hard enough to draw blood but when she felt the sharp point touch her she screamed and moved too fast. A small trickle of blood beginning to fall and she swore her life had just been taken away but the pain was far too great.

The man in the shadows moved at her fright but he didn't let it take his mind off of the mountain of a man behind her, prepared to kill her if he moved one more step.

"Aw, what are you afraid of? Can't a man fight the battles he chooses? Stop hiding! If you want to try and save this rat then by all means, try your best!" His voice echoed throughout the night and Jesimae wondered if in fact a complete stranger would help her live.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro cringed at the man's laughter. If there was anything he hated more, it was being laughed at. He'd spent years being laughed at, and he wasn't about to let some guy cowardly enough to protect himself with a woman laugh at him now.

"I don't think even God would touch you," Jiro said smiling. He stepped forward so that he was easily seen by the man. The woman was obviousyl quite frightened and as Jiro moved a little more forward, he could see a knife pressed to her neck. He did not know if it had broken skin yet or not, but he wasn't going to take any risks. His knife was slid into his belt on his back. He held his hands up to show that at the moment he wasn't armed.

He continued to advance forward, his eyes flicking from the huge man to the smaller woman behind him. She looked mortified.

"I don't want much trouble. Just leave her be, okay?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

The man laughed and Jesimae cringed in his strong hold. He glanced down at her and smiled.

"Are we frightened?" Jesimae turned her head to the right, trying her best to stop the pain in her neck from his large and sharp knife that dug into her flesh at every passing moment. He glanced away, proud that she was shaking and that she was actually scared of what he was trying to do.

He saw the man hold his hands up and he could only give a low chuckle that vibrated on Jesimae's back. She bit her lower lip and opened her eyes after a moment and saw the man glance at her one moment then the enemy the next. What was he trying to do?

"Isn't that sweet," The man leaned his head down to her left ear, speaking in a tone that was laced with a tone of sexual desire and a tone that meant he was going to enjoy murdering the both of them.

"We have a martyr on our hands, a man who will gladly die for a stranger. I'm going to like watching him die and I'm going to love watching you." Gooesbumps formed on her arms his voice so deep and so horrific. She had to hold back the vomit that was crawling up her neck from the stench of his breath.

"Please," Jesimae stated again with fear "go away." Her voice was barely audible but hopefully her lie was so awful the man wouldn't leave, but yet she didn't want him to die.

"Let him go," She was able to say after a moment of silence between the two. The young man closeby continuously looked at them but she wasn't sure if he was at least planning to harm him in some way. "Let him go, Deacallion." Jesimae knew it was wrong to say his name, nobody ever knew of his name.

With furious anger Deacallion clenched his jaw and pushed the knife against her, in a single second he was going to slit her throat and let her young vibrant life spill onto the ground. Jesimae hoped the man would help her, even if it would be in vain.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro could see that talking wasn't going to save the woman. He looked around him with his eyes and then back at the man as Deacallion squirmed with delight at the thought of torturing both Jiro and the woman.

Jiro wasn't much of a fighter, never had been. But he'd never backed out of a fight, or lost one he set his mind to. So he hoped those years with his sharp shooting brother had taught him a little bit.

With one swift motion, Jiro pulled his kife from his belt and flipped it forward, his wrist twisting slightly to give the blade a spin. He'd aimed right for the man's heart, but he knew his knife was slightly heavier in its handle, it would drift slightly upwards, and probably hit the top of his heart. Either way was good for him.

Immediately after throwing the knife, he sprinted forward, blinking and being almost right in the man's face. He grabbed for the hand that held the knife, and got it, but his grip was not tight enough to hold it for long. He had no idea if his blade had hit. All he could see was the woman's terrified eyes.

"Go now!" he yelled, hoping his knife had rung true.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae watched the man grab the object and toss it at Deacallion, but if it had hit him she wouldn't be able to tell due to his unrelenting strength.

The man had helped her this much but if she were to flee as he had asked there would be no hope for him, he'd never see the light of day again. Jesimae was pushed out of the way and she tripped to fall on her knees. She looked over her shoulder to see the two suddenly in a struggle, the passerby looking as if he were the one struggling.

Jesimae watched in fear, immoble for a moment. The young man watched the knife fall to the ground but having diverted his eyes for such a second Deacallion had taken it to his advantage. He laughed and with his free left hand palmed the mans chest his grip on his hand lost as he fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Jesimae felt the stinging on her knees but she was quick to crawl to the injured mans side, grabbing his right arm that held the place where Deacallion had hit him, a slight pain coursing through the strangers body.

"Get up!" Jesimae said to him in a low voice as she glanced away for a moment to see that Deacallion was grabbing the heavy knife sticking out of his chest, the blood trickling slowly towards the end of the handle and dripping to the ground, steam rising from its warmth against the cold wet ground.

She tugged on his arm as he coughed, his left hand enabling him to sit up aside from the womans attempt to pull him up.

Deacallion was laughing as he slowly pulled it out of his chest. He couldn't help but think how good of a shot he was but to his dismay he didn't know that it wouldn't hurt him a bit, only he knew what could truly kill him.

Jesimae knew that the man was wanting her to leave but she couldn't just let him try to fight the ghastly man only to know how it would turn out. She was going to return the favor, she had to return the favor.

As she listened to the man cough and try to breathe she saw the dagger on the ground. She let go of the mans arm and nearly jumped onto it, the cold handle sending a shiver down her spine. Before Deacallion could stop her she picked it up and, with all her might, jabbed the sharp end into his right leg, twisting it with both her hands. He let out a scream of pain and kicked her off, she only being thrown so far. She let out a cry of pain but didn't want to linger on the ground too long, let alone linger around there. Jesimae rolled to her right and saw the stranger slowly standing, the pain from the forceful blow subsiding quickly.

Jesimae watched him peer over at her and she quickly got up off the ground as Deacallion struggled to pull out the dagger. She grabbed her back where she felt a jab of pain from her fall but she didn't let it stop her from getting the man out of Deacallion's sight, hopefully he'd go without any questions, but she knew that if they were to rush away from Deacallion he'd come looking for them but she was eager to have him search rather than to kill them dead at any given moment.

"Come on, we must hurry!" Jesimae jogged to his side and prayed that he'd follow, ask questions later, and save their lives now.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro coughed forcefully from the blow in his chest. The woman was desperately grabbing at his sleeve. Jiro realized that, for the moment at least, Deacallion was imobolized. Jiro grabbed the woman's hand and started running in the direction he'd come. He was sprinting, ignoring the pain in his chest, and had the woman in tow.

They ran for a few moments before Jiro felt air enough to speak. He glanced over his shoulder at the ground behind them. The man was not there, running in the shadows, but Jiro figured it would not take long. He glanced at the woman, as they continued running.

"You okay?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

She hadn't really thought about how long they had ran but at the pace they were going she swore they had made some good distance. She wanted to stop for a moment if only to catch her breath, but she knew it could only end in a way she dared not to think.

Luckily they were slowing down and the man had turned a sharp left into a dark and damp alley where they could at least hide in the shadows for a moment, God knew he had a million questions he needed to ask.

Jesimae heard their footsteps bounce off the walls as they slowly came to a halt, hidden pretty well against anyone who'd walk by, but she knew that would be impossible since people never liked the nightlife for all the crime below the florescent skies.

"Are you okay?" The man asked again, his breathing steadying after a good moment. Jesimae felt the man let go of her hand and allowed her to lean on her knees for a moment. She nodded in reply but she had a question of her own.

"Why did you do that?" The question came as a shock to her savior. What did she mean? He had just risked his life on her and she was looking at him as if her were insane. "Tossing a knife at him will only provoke him to find us more." Jesimae leaned up realizing her choice of words weren't the best way to thank him.

"I'm sorry," She said shaking her head, her legs feeling so shaky she barely could stand. "Deacallion is someone you just don't need to mess with but I guess it is inevitable now."

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro laughed slightly, leaning on one of the walls for support. She had just asked him why he had saved her life. He figured it was a valid question since she didn't know him, he didn't know her and he certainly didn't owe her anything. Jiro shurgged a little taking a deep breath and looking out at the street beyond thier small hideaway.

"Well," he said. "Becasue I've been in places like that and no one ever helped me. Besides, no respectable man ever picks on a woman." Jiro winked at her, then looked at the wall that made the alley a dead end. Jumping up and grabbing the edge he pulled himself up to sit on the edge and look over. Sure enough there was a short alley leading to another street. They'd probably be able to lose Deacallion there. He reached down to her and nodded over his shoulder.

"Come on. There are sure to be places over here where we can regroup. The name's Jiro."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae scratched her head as she watched the agile man jump and offer more asylum, she was positive the moment they stopped he'd say his goodbye's and get the hell out of dodge which sounded like a great idea, as did his name.

Jesimae let out a sigh knowing not to stick around in such a vulnerable place and nodded, hoping he wasn't going to ditch her just yet, at least let her find someplace warm to stay and to get something warm to wear her wet bloody clothes that were torn at the knees didn't let anyone think kindly of her then again she couldn't say anything kind about anyone daring to step into the night, save one, the one who was glaring down at her waiting for her to take his hand, yet again.

She glanced up at him and grinned, something inside of her finding his kindness to be taken for all its worth God knew she hadn't met someone as daring and heroic as this man. She reached her right hand up and took his hand and began to help herself up the wall but when his devilish glance turned to sheer excitement she knew something was wrong.

"Hurry!" He said reaching for her other hand. "Come on!" Jesimae was confused and had to glance over her right shoulder. Her worst fears had been confirmed in that single moment when she watched the man rushing towards the end of the alley.

"No!" Jesimae said lowly as she quickly looked up and used every ounce of energy she had left. He grabbed the waist of her pants when he was in reach and before Deacallion could grab her leg the two fell off the wall onto the hard ground a few feet below. They both grunted in pain but Jiro knew they had to leave as well as Jesimae.

"You okay?" He asked after a moment when they had managed to move and struggle to stand. She nodded and was quick to follow when he burst into a run.

"He can't jump!" Jesimae said to him as they ran faster than they had the first time. "He's too big!" But as Jiro looked behind her he saw the wall shaking where he was trying to bust through.

"But he certainly is strong enough to get to the other side. Pick up your feet!" He didn't want to sound pushy but if they were to stay alive a little longer her limping wasn't going to help and he knew he didn't have to look at her to see the fear in her eyes for her shaking voice told him.

"Where are we going?"

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro could hear the pounding that Deacallion was giving the wall fade behind them as they turned a corner. Now he was in his element. He had picked these streets before, and had found many-a-vulnerable passerby. But now, it was quiet and mostly empty. Thier footsteps were the only ones that were hurried. Everyone was either asleep, or drowning thier sorrows in some bar.

Jiro's mind was racing at all the escape route possibilities. They could duck into a bar he knew. One of his best friends ran it. His hideouts were always good. And there were plenty of them, so they would never be at a loss as to where to go. But they were fairly easy to navigate once anyone found one of them. There was only one place he knew of that would be as secret as you could get.

Taking a sharp turn left down another alley, he glanced over his shoulder at the woman and smiled.

"Care to meet my brother?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae didn't want to reply as a matter of fact she didn't need to meet anyone knew but with her great fortune she knew it meant nothing now, she'd rather be rotting away in a holding cell rather than rotting in Deacallion's favorite dumping spot.

Jesimae followed Jiro as best as she could, trying to remember which sharp corners they were taking where they were going and how to get back out if she needed it. She had no idea who Jiro was but one thing was for certain, if he found out that she is wanted by a group of bounty hunters with a price so large on he forehead she didn't need to be worried about Deacallion anymore, she'd be worried about who she could trust.

"Just some place safe." Jesimae responded trying to catch a breath from all this running, her heart was beating so quickly deep within her chest she swore it was going to fly out if this were to continue any longer.

Deacallion's attempt to kill her twice brought back bad memories and she had hoped all was taken care of but to have him sneal up on her like that seh swore he didn't crush her with his bare hands. Hopefully Jiro wouldn't ask what she had done to him or why he was after her for God knew that if her secret got out she'd be dead with or without Deacallion's help.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro skidded to a stop next to a decrepit wall along the alley. He began running his hands over it, his brow furrowed, in an attempt to find that one seam. His brother had shown it to him long ago, and if he couldn't remember it he was out of luck. But he was pretty sure it was the third one down...to the right...below the big crack...aha! There it was!

Jiro pressed on a small place near the ground that seemed insignificant. But as soon as he pressed, a small crawl space opened. He looked over at the woman and winked.

"Come on. My brother lives here," he said, taking her hand and pulling her to her hands and knees and waving her into the crawl space. She went in, though reluctantly, and Jiro followed closely, glancing around to make sure no one had seen and closing the space behind them.

It was pitch black in the crawl space. Water and grime slipped under his fingers and palms and squished through his pant legs. He talked up to the woman as they continued through the passage.

"Just go straight until you get to a fork and take the left," he said. "That'll take us to his 'apartment'." Jiro was silent for a moment, then added, "My brother's a bit of a womanizer. But don't worry, if he bothers you, just sock him one."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae couldn't see a thing and she had no idea where the hell they were but with Jrio's instructions she was sure she'd have no problem, if only there were a light to guide them.

She licked her bottom lip, the soft and slippery liquid squishing between her fingers the unidentifiable mass causing her knees to sting more and more at every passing moment, which she swore they were on fire. For the first time she was happy there was no light for she didn't want to know what she was crawling on.

She sighed when she felt the fork he had been talking about and just as he had instructed she turned left. "How much farther?" She asked, the sweat on her brow falling by her eye. Before she gave him time to reply she glanced back over her shoulder, despite not seeing his face.

"In case you were wondering, my name is Jesimae." She was sure he was glad to finally know who she was she figured she should let him know who she was that way he wouldn't have to ask in front of his brother.

"I guess this would be an awful time to tell you," Jesimae added with a smile "but I'm claustrophobic."

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro smiled as Jesimae sighed when she found the fork. He always had that reaction. He spoke up to her again.

"Nice to meet you, Jesimae," he said. "And to answer your other question, you should be hitting the door any minute now."

And just as he said this he heard her clunk against door to his brother's home. He watched her puch it open and they both spilled out onto a hard concrete floor. Jiro took several thankful gulps of fresh air before rolling over and surveying the damage.

They were both covered in a grimy, muddy goop that clung to whatever it touched. Jiro sneered and got to his feet, holding out his hand to Jesimae.

"Come on," he said. "We'd better find my brother, and then we can get cleaned up a little."

But before Jesimae could take his hand, a voice rang out from above them somewhere. It sounded like Jiro's, but deeper and more mocking.

"So, baby brother! You've turned back to me after all. And you brought your girlfreind!"

[Taro Lawson]

Taro had had a particularly bad day. It wasn't aiming to get better, either.

He'd been stalking around his apartment all day, not able to get up the strength to go out and do anything constructive. He'd waited all day for his girlfreind to show up, and come to find out, through his freind, she'd dumped him for somebody else. As if that hadn't been enough, two of his younger pick pocket buddies had been caught and were being held.

And furthermore, Jiro, his supposedly loving little brother, had completely abandoned him with all of the rent.

Damn the little runt.

It was when he heard splashing and spluttering sound coming from his pick pocket entryway did his interest grow. He had just been thinking about going and drowning his sorrows, when he heard two distinct voices coughing at the smell of the pipes they had just crawled through.

Taro slipped up to the ladder that went down the wall to the entry way and looked down. Lo and behold, his little brother was offering his hand to a woman who seemed disgusted with the entire ordeal. Chuckling to himself, Taro called out.

"So, baby brother! You've turned back to me after all. And you brought your girlfreind!" he said. He smiled jumping down and splashing in the gook. "How quaint."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae heared the voice echo throughout the place and glanced around until she was taken aback with fright when she saw an object fall nearby in her peripheral vision. When she had embarassed herself by the action she tried to put it in the back of her mind, her fears getting the best of her.

She couldn't help but wonder what his brother had meant by that welcome but she knew it was none of her concern, she was just glad to be as far away from Deacallion as possible. Hopefully she'd be able to cleanse her wounds and rest her tired eyes but she knew it wasn't her place to simply come right out and say 'Hey, I'm cold, wet, and hungry. Show me the way and I'll leave you be.'

Jesimae glanced at Jiro and then to his brother, the only resemblence she being able to find was how they nearly sounded the same in voice, she had mentally grinned remembering her sibling even though she was sure her last memory of Jabari was distorted since it had been so long ago. She was slightly envious of Jiro and his older brother, they didn't know how lucky they were to still speak and see one another.

"I'm not his girlfriend." Jesimae bit her tongue the moment it came out of her mouth, she didn't want to give Jiro's brother the wrong impression but she didn't mean to make Jiro feel as if she were repulsed by the thought, even though it was far from it. Hopefully she'd just stop making herself look like a fool and just go with the flow.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro looked from his brother to the woman that had just spoken. Quickly, he looked her over. She was young, and far from unattractive, though at the moment she looked very annoyed, very frightened, and very soaked. He winked.

"Take it easy, kanojyo," he said, smiling and reaching out his hands to help the two out of the water. He looked at his brother. "You look like something that cat dragged in and the dog wouldn't eat." Taro then seemed to notice the slight cut on the woman's neck and his brow furrowed.

"Kanojyo? What did my little brother get you into?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae immediately reached for the slit on her neck that, after his noticing it, began to hurt. She covered it and rubbed it, ignoring the pain that was shooting throughout her body. It had felt like Deacallion had nearly stabbed her but she knew it couldn't have been that bad by Jiro never noticing, then again he was rather worried about saving his own neck rather than paying attention to hers which was perfectly understandable.

"It's just a scratch." Jesimae said with a smile, the more she rubbed the more she felt like needles were being pumped through her veins. The dried blood was suddenly being rubbed away and she could feel the warm liquid beginning to seep to the surface and onto her hands. She mentally cursed at herself for rubbing so hard, she knew it was going to be nearly impossible to keep tonights events secret from Jiro's brother but she didn't think coming right out and recapping what had gotten them there in the first place a good way to show appreciation for hospitality, if he were going to give them a welcome.

Trying to not seem too jumpy Jesimae thought it'd be best to introduce herself and let the man know Jiro had nothing to do with how ragged and warn out she looked, well almost nothing.

"My name is Jesimae," She stated with confidence even though she felt far from confident standing in front of a stranger looking like she had just been drug through hell and high water. "my condition has nothing to do with Jiro, but I will take full responsibility for any injuries your brother sustained during our first meeting."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro laughed out loud and winked at Jesimae. He shook his head and turned, beginning up the ladder to his apartment.

"I couldn't care less about whether anybody's responsible. Jiro, you know where the back room is. You can clean up in there and there should be some extra clothes."

Taro got up to his large apartment and beckoned for Jesimae to follow. His apartment had few furnishings. A table in the corner had two chairs pushed under it, and two small chairs were around a table in what appeared to be a living room. There were three doors into other rooms, and Taro walked towards one straight ahead of him.

"If you come with me, I'll show you somewhere you can clean up and I'll get you some clothes. After, we can get that cut cleaned up."

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro watched as his brother climbed up and disappeared over the top of the wall seaprating the muddy water pipe from his apartment. He glanced over and could see Jesimae was slightly apprehensive about being here. He reached over and squeezed her arm slightly.

"Hey, don't worry about him. He's harmless...I think," he said, winking. "I'm going to clean up down here in the back room," he said nodding to a doorway over his shoulder. "If you need anything, Taro'll get it for you. Just chill, okay? You're safe here."

[Jesimae Lawson]

His words were comforting to a point but the thought of his being far away tended to make her a little nervous, especially after the warning he had been glad to give prior to their meeting. Jesimae felt him give her a gentle squeeze before turning and heading towards the door he had been instructed to go into and where he told her he'd be changing and cleaning off.

Jesimae swallowed and glanced up at the ladder, wondering of its safety after all another injury wouldn't be the best thing for her right now. She sighed and looked at Jiro as if it held an uncertain fate for her, she knew she over dramatizing the whole situation, it was his brother for crying out loud, again Jiro's words crept into the back of her mind.

"Don't worry about him. He's harmless...I think."

"Okay." Jesimae said with a grin after a moment of silence. Jiro began to walk off but before she ascended to where she had heard his brother's voice she turned and called for him.

"Jiro," He turned on his heel with his eyebrows raised. "if I'm not back in fifteen minutes..." She paused for a second and then grinned, "wait longer." With a wink she grabbed onto the rung and climbed up.

She reached the top safely to find Jiro's brother no place in sight but a door straight ahead was open and gave her an indication that is probably where he was. She didn't know whether to wait or to just peek in not wanting to show bad hospitality even if she was welcome. She bit her lower lip and glanced over her right shoulder to peek down at where Jiro had stood moments before only to find he had already disappeared to the room his older brother had been talking about.

Jesime let out a silent sigh and walked ahead cautiously as to not disturb her surroundings, she knew she was acting like a complete fool by trying not to get kicked out by any chance. It gave her a sudden chill to think of what Deacallion was doing, what he was planning for she knew it wouldn't be something to let her see the light of day again. Jesimae knew that if she ever got out of this, away from either one of their company whether it be Jiro or his brother, she knew she'd be easy prey for Deacallion's wrath.

Aside from that, she thought, if Jiro's words rang true she hoped she wouldn't be susceptible to all his charms, including the winking.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was in the room searching through drawers for any clothing that the woman would want to wear. He finally decided on a pair of his brown pants and one of Jiro's old white t-shirts. He came back out with the clothing folded in his hand and saw Jesimae looking around her anxieously. He smiled and laughed a little.

"No one's going to pop out from some undisclosed location, Kanojyo," he said walking over to her and looking at her. Being of the Japanese race, he wasn't much taller than she, but just enough to have to tilt his head slightly downwards to look at her. He jabbed his thumb to his left, and held out the clothes.

"There are towels in there for you and here are some clothes. Sorry if they're a little big. Once you get that blood cleaned up off your neck, we got some bandages," he said. He noticed that she didn't seem to be feeling any more at ease. "Look, if it makes you feel better, that door locks really tight."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Relief washed over her and she suddenly felt like she could breathe. Smiling she took the clothes and thanked him before turning and going into the small room that had a sink and some towels, she also found he was correct about the lock. She bit her lower lip and glanced away from the clothes she held in her hand up to the mirror to see her appearance was nothing but heinous. Disgusted, she found some towels and quickly cleaned herself off, shredding the clothes that were wet and dirty and clung to every part of her body.

She felt strange and out of place she was getting all this nice hospitality and she had no way to thank Jiro for saving her life and thanking his brother for giving her the clean clothes. She hoped she would at least make it up somehow but at that moment she had no idea how. Money was a thought but then again anything she did have was at the apartment complex where she was sure Deacallion was ransacking the place at that exact moment.

Not wanting to put a damper on her slightly better and eased mood she dunked the dirty cloth into the collected water in the sink and continued to clean her arms and body. She hissed once she had made her way to her knees finding a nice bloody mess. She could handle cuts and painful gashes but she somehow couldn't take the stinging pain of minor wounds especially scratched knees.

Jesimae was quick to dry off and put the clothes on knowing she didn't need to take too long. She pulled the shirt on that was slightly big but comfortable none the less but when she tried the pants they nearly fell off.

She held onto the belt loop of the brown pants and glanced around the floor and grabbed her filthy black cargo pants folding them up as well as her white tank top and leather jacket. She cleaned up her mess and placed the towel and cloth on top of her clothes and opened the door and walked out, quickly grabbing the band of the pants with her right hand while trying to balance the clothes on her left. Now, she thought, where were those bandages?

JESIMAE'S APARTMENT

Deacallion cursed the apartment as he ripped things off the wall and out of drawers trying to find any indication as to who he could contact to find out where she had gone but it was hopeless. The pain had subsided but he was glad to have gotten a new knife that was long over due. He stopped gashing holes into everything he possibly could and glared at the apartment. He remembered their faces and could follow their footsteps, which he had done only to find that they had disappeared without a trace.

He knew what Jesimae Phoenix was capable and walking through walls wasn't one of them. He knew something wasn't right about how they suddenly disappeared but he was determined to find them, kill them both, and be happy as one man could be. The only problem he had was figuring out a way to get into their happy humble home. He sighed with a low chuckle, he was going to let them enjoy the peace and quiet for tonight, but by daybreak tomorow he was going to find them and give them what they deserved, a long and painful death.

[Taro Lawson]

"Hajemimashite?" Taro said to his brother as Jiro climbed up the ladder and walked over to him. Jiro smiled nodding and looking back as Jesimae came out of the door. Taro glanced back as well, then handed Jiro a bag full of something.

"Arigatou," he said looking inside. Taro looked back over his shoulder at Jesimae, then leaned in to his brother whispering something hostile in Japanese before turning to the woman.

"If you'll get over here, Kanojyo, we'll get that cut bandaged and get some food in you two. I hope you like Japanese noodles. We live on 'em here. Well, noodles and rice."

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro took the bag from his brother as he was aware of Jesimae standing in the doorway watching them.

"Arigatou," he said, glancing inside. Just as his brother had promised, it was full of money. Jiro sighed, closing the bag as his brother looked hastily over his shoulder at the woman, then leaned towards him, and spoke to him in their language.

"It took eight months to steal that much money, you little punk. Don't waste it this time, Jiro, or I swear to God...," he muttered, then looked back at Jesimae and spoke to her. Jiro rolled his brother's words around a minute before coming back to reality. He looked at Jesimae.

"Yeah, noodles and rice is all we ever have. Grew up on 'em. If you don't want that, I think we have some shrimp wraps or fish and dough balls you can have," he said, dumping the bag in a corner and taking the dirty clothes from her and throwing them in thier laundry room. "I'll do those later. Come over," Jiro said, taking her hand and drawing her over to where Taro was stirring a pot of noodles. "Sit. I'll get the bandages."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae held onto the pants as she scuffed her feet across the floor the bottom of the pants nearly covering them up. She did as Jiro had instructed and took a seat, but when he was about to turn to go get the bandages her grip on his hand tightened. She saw him glance at her hand and then up to her face, she smiled.

"You know if it weren't for you I'd be dead. I owe you my life, Jiro, and I don't care how long it takes to repay you for what you did, but I will. You've shown me the extent of your kindness and I am truly grateful." She let his hand go and glanced away, feeling awkward for having shown her true feelings so freely considering it wasn't everyday she did that.

He turned and walked off and for a moment she wondered if perhaps she had said a bit too much but she let it pass, happy that she was even getting this much.

Jesimae watched him walk out of sight for a moment and she quickly diverted her attention to the bag that she had seen his brother hand to him knowing she had walked into something personal, she knew that much by the look Jiro's brother had tossed her way and by the serious tone in his voice. She had no clue what they had said to one another but she was dying to know even worse she wanted to know what he had been handed.

Curiosity killed the cat, she remembered that old saying her brother used to tell her when she was young and tried to figure out where he had gotten all his money from, she knew the truth when she turned fourteen when she was introduced into the life of killing people for money but before she knew it she made it a profession at fifteen but that had been more than four years ago and less than a year since she stopped all together. She felt many questions race into her mind about who he was and how he had learned to fight so well, especially when he knew he could die.

Before her mind could wander on she saw Jiro walking towards her and she quickly looked away from the bag in the corner that he had lazily tossed aside as if it were nothing but she knew it had to have been something.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro walked back into the room, holding bandages and he looked at Jesimae. She had quickly looked away from something and Jiro knew she had been looking at the bag he had thrown aside. He smiled as he dumped the supplies on the table and looked at his brother.

"Get a couple bowls for those noodles. And grab the chop sticks while you're at it," he said. Then he looked back at Jesimae as he sat down next to her and opened a bottle of alcohol. He reached over and turned down her collar. "Tilt your head a little so I can see what I'm doing."

He gently rubbed the alcohol on the wound as he eyes moved to his brother again who came in holding three bowls, two pairs of chop sticks, and a spoon.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro set the bowls down on the table. One in front of Jesimae, one in front of Jiro, and the third at his spot on the table. He placed one pair of chop sticks beside Jiro's bowl and one next to his. He laid the spoon down next to Jesimae's bowl, then dished some of the noodles into her bowl, then Jiro's, then his. He looked at Jesimae.

"You can use the spoon to eat noodles, can't you? If you want chop sticks you can have some. I think we have a couple extra pairs in the kitchen."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae hissed as soon as the alcohol hit her she wanted to jerk away but bit down on her lip and bore the pain like a man even though her eyes were watering.

"Spoon is fine, I don't think I'm quite content on trying to hold two sticks and pick up noodles." She looked at the steaming bowl and felt her mouth water to a point where she could nearly drool on herself. She hadn't eaten anything since that morning and she had been through enough for one day and she was in dire need of something to eat and the scent of the noodles let her know it was the perfect thing to fix that craving.

"I was just telling your brother how thankful I was that you are helping me out at this moment without even questioning why, I really appreciate it."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro smiled as he sat down and picked up his chop sticks, getting some noodles and eating them. He smiled at her and he chewed.

"It's not a big deal. Don't ask, don't tell," he said, then glanced at his brother. "Right Jiro?"

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro laughed a little, and nodded as he gently rubbed a pain relieving creme on the wound.

"Hai, hai, hai," he chuckled, then picked up the bandages and bandaging tape. He carefully placed a square over the cut and taped it gently down. Touching it a little, he made sure it was secure then sat back and turned to face his noodles, picking up the sticks and putting some noodles into his mouth. He looked at Jesimae again.

"That should heal fine. Eat up, my brother makes the best Japanese noodles. Not even cooks make 'em this good." He and his brother both laughed, then winked at her in unison.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae cupped her right hand over the small patch and looked at Jiro then to his brother and grinned, quickly looking down and picking up the spoon and dunking it into the pool of noodles gently lifting a full and overflowing spoon to her mouth before she engulfed the whole bowl in minutes, barely stopping to take a breath.

"You are right," Jesimae stated glaring down at the bowl "this is some delicious noodles." She ate in silence continuously thinking of the bag. She had a pretty good guess as to what the contents were but she knew it wasn't any of her business. What on earth would he be handing Jiro a bag like that for and being so secret about it?

Jesimae wondered what she had walked in on, she was sure it wasn't anything awful but then again it could've been money to murder someone. She knew it was stupid to think like that but she remembered thats how it was when she used to run all over the galaxy for money. It wasn't her business but she still couldn't help but think of ways to make the situation come to a head.

"Don't ask, don't tell...I guess I need to remember that one."

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro ate for a few moments in silence carefully dipping his chop sticks into the broth and bringing the noodles out between them. He looked up at Taro who was looking down at his bowl and eating quietly. He looked over at Jesimae who seemed to be starving. He couldn't blame her after what they had just gone through. She also seemed distracted. Probably by the bag of money his brother had given him earlier. Jiro reached for the spoon to dip out more noodles without looking and instead tipped his bowl, spilling most of the broth onto the table. Taro choked and stood.

"Ah! Baka!" he yelled, then pulled Jesimae out from the table as the broth dripped over into what would have been her lap.

"Sumimasen!" Jiro exclaimed grabbing a towel as his brother laughed at him. "Sumimasen!" Then he remembered Jesimae. "Sorry! It was an accident!" He smiled as he finished cleaning up the broth then tossed the towel to Taro.

"You get hit, Jesimae?" Jiro asked as his brother yelled something in Japanese that he wasn't paying attention to but knew it must've been foul. "Sorry."

[Jesimae Lawson]

She smiled widely as she glanced at the two speaking in a different tongue and trying to clean up the mess. She wasn't sure if she would make it out alive when it came to Deacallion but one thing she did know she hadn't had anything quite as unusual yet enjoyable happen in a long time.

Laughing she looked at the pants and brushed away a few small drops of broth and watched Jiro pick up a few noodles off the table that happened to escape.

"I really wish I knew what you were saying by the look on your face you seemed horrified." Jesimae's laughing began to calm down and she let out a sigh and touched his shoulder.

"Are you all right?" She titled her head slightly and bit her lower lip trying hard not to laugh directly in his face for an accident that unsurprisingly lifted her spirits.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro glanced over at Jesimae as she laughed and spoke he smacked his forhead.

"Sorry, Kanojyo. I'm not used to being around those who don't understand me when I speak Japanese. I'll keep that in check. You too, baka," Taro said, shooting his brother an annoyed but amused look.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro laughed, then jumped as he felt Jesimae touch him on the shoulder and ask him is he was alright. He stepped back a little and smiled.

"I'm fine. Sorry I nailed you, though...and sorry about the Japanese thing." He looked at his brother who was wiping up the last of the liquid and throwing the towel over a bar near the wall. He picked up his bowl and finished cleaning up the last noodles. He grabbed Taro's bowl as well, then turned to Jesimae.

"Are you finished?" he smiled, then winked. "I've got some Japanese sweets you can try if you want."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae smile again trying to hide it considering she was doing way too much of it here recently. "I'm done, thank you." She looked over at Taro and sighed, replying to what he had said a moment before.

"It's all right. IQuite a convenience if you need to say something personal to someone." Like when handing a black bag to your brother.

"I'm a sucker for things that are sweet." Jesimae looked at Jiro and couldn't help but feel her face turn a bright red. All that winking was beginning to take a toll on her and all that time she was worried about Taro.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro picked up on her meaning almost immediately. She had seen him give the bag of money to his brother and he could tell she wanted to know what was in it. He smiled.

"Yeah, it is convenient knowing Japanese," he said, then smiled and winked as he picked up the pot of noodles to take into the kitchen.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro deposited the bowls into the sink as his brother came in behind him with the pot of noodles. Opening a cabinet, Jiro brought down a box of pocky, a bag of candied chesnuts, and a bag of Four Season Flowers.

Carefully carrying them to the table, he laid them out in front of Jesimae. He smiled.

"If you want, I'll tell you what the Japanese says so you know what your eating, or you can just grab something and eat it."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae glanced at the objects and grinned "Would I enjoy something better being blissfully ignorant or would I enjoy it more when I am throwing it back up?" She joked and shrugged her shoulders.

"Which one would you choose?" Jesimae glanced up at Jiro and smiled, slightly annoyed at herself for not carrying a pack of cigarettes with her at all times because at that moment she was hoping to see one of them smoke.

Jesimae realized that Deacallion was probably making a plan to fingure out how to find her but she was wanting to risk going back to her apartment to get a few things she didn't need to leave behind. If her neighbors heard anything unusual in her apartment they would be nosey and decide that after a few hours of not answering the door or being seen they'd call federals to check it out.

The thought jolted her knowing what they'd find and even worse when her face was plastered everywhere and a credit on her head. But the thing that hurt her the most was knowing that she left something improtant, so important that she was going to find a way to get out of their sight for a while just long enough to get it out of her apartment.

Facing the wrath of Deacallion, and any other late night vermin that hunkered in the darkness waiting for a victim to rob or to murder, would be worth getting out the precious item she held dearly to her heart, her husky dog she had been able to obtain from another galaxy.

How could she escape without their knowing and how could she find her way out without making a rucus?

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro smiled scanning the bags. He picked up the box of pocky and displayed it on his hand.

"This is a favorite Japanese snack. See the line of Japanese down here? It says 'Eat pockey, be happy.' It's a sweet cracker with chocolate or strawberry icing over it in the shape of a stick." Then he picked up the Four Seasons Flowers. "These are just bits of sugar formed to make flower shapes." And the candied chesmuts. "These are sweet chesnuts." He said, popping the bag open. "And my favorite."

Putting one in his mouth he felt someone's eyes on him, and turned to see Taro leaning against the kitchen door frame one hand in his pocket the other resting on his hip. Jiro playfully nudged Jesimae.

"I think my brother is staring at you."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro laughed out loud as he stood straight again and sauntered into the room. He went over to a small table in the corner and poured a glass of something. He glanced over his shoulder as Jiro sat back down and Jesimae scanned the sweets options.

Taro turned back and walked over to the table taking a drink of the amber liquid in his glass. He sat next to Jesimae and opened the bag of Four Seasons Flowers, grabbing a few and putting one in his mouth.

"These are the best," he said as she looked up at him. He immediately saw the spark in her eyes. She wanted to leave. It was written all over her face. Jiro couldn't see it, but he was still a young pick pocket. Taro saw it as if she were screaming it in his face. He sat back and put another flower into his mouth, holding on his tongue until it melted.

"You, uh, need anything from where you live?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae watched Taro pop the treats into his mouth and when he turned and looked at her she swore she couldn't breathe, especially when he seemingly read her mind.

"You, uh, need anything from where you live?"

Had she been that easy to read? She felt like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, trapped and walking on egg shells. Jiro had put his life on the line to save her butt and she knew it would be wrong to make them go back out to her apartment and have Deacallion been waiting there was no way that they would make it out alive.

"No, no I'm fine." She felt a world of guilt fall onto her shoulders. She had a good neighbor, a clean neighbor, with a daughter she always told them to watch out for Lycan. She let the pain in her stomach pass, her loneliness taking a hold of her even more than before. She had no family, few friends, and now she had lost the one thing most important to her but she knew Henna would take care of him.

"I think I'll try a bit of them all." Jesimae smiled and grabbed the Pokey deciding to try that first since the name was too great.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro smiled as he watched Jesimae take a bite of the Pocky. He put a chesnut into his mouth and chewed, taking a drink from the glass next to him. He held it out to her.

"You ever had Japanese Sake?" he asked setting it in front of her. "Favorite drink amoung us." He glanced at Jiro then leaned forward towards her. "If you need something, I'd go get it for you. I haven't been our of this God forsaken hell hole in weeks. It'd be more than my pleasure to go."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae glanced away from the Pocky in her hand and lifted her eyes to find Taro leaning forward, giving her a glance that sent a shiver down her spine. It was kind of him to say something like that but she didn’t like the way he insinuated that she desperately needed something, even if it was true. He was very eager to bring it up yet again and tell her in plain words that he wouldn't mind going. His pleasure, ha, Jesimae couldn't laugh at him but she could tell him how niave he was being by not listening to her and not seeing the wounds she received. Which reminded her, had Jiro been injured at all?

“You must be a man who chases adventure, Taro, but I warn you Decallion, the man I so happened to tick off who came after me only to find another participant willing to put his life in danger, I could not risk anything happening. If you want to be stupid so be it, but I’m quite content on keeping my life. But I thank you anyhow.” Jesimae knew her words were bitter and perhaps uncalled for but she didn’t need to have someones life unwillingly in her hands no matter how good a fighter they were. Decallion was a man without a conscience, without guilt, and without feelings but it made Jesimae mad to think she had been the one who done it to him.

She leaned back into her chair and glanced at Jiro. “I’m getting a little tired, all this kindness has enabled me to relax and I want to take that to my full advantage while I still can. Is there a place where I could lay down and rest my eyes for a while?”

Jesimae could feel Taro watching her as he had done a few moments before, she knew he could see right through her and having known she was needing something from her apartment she wondered if there was anything else he could read.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro sneered, severely annoyed. He pushed his chair back and shed his long sleeved shirt in favor of his cooler white undershirt. Tugging on his black cargos that were far too big for him, he turned and answered before Jiro had a chance.

"Come on, Jesimae," he said, using her actual name for the first time the entire evening, and doing his best to sound as bitter as he felt. "Follow me, I'll show you where you can sleep."

He walked across the room to a door that led to a small sitting room. He led her across this to yet another door that went into a small bedroom. It's walls were decorated with posters that declared statements in Japanese, and bits of paper stuck to a note board next to the door with notes written in Japanese, most of them starting with, "Taro, remember this!" There was a calender on the wall, all in Japanese, that was turned to a month with the picture of a shrine on it.

Taro went over to the bed and picked up a magazine that was lying on it. He laid it on the bedside stand and then opened the first drawer, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He nodded to the stand as he put one between his teeth and lit it.

"There are clothes in there if you feel the need to change after you wake up. They are as small as they come around here. This place isn't quite as small-Japanese-man-friendly as I would hope. Some of them are big on me, but most of them should fit you okay," he said, taking a drag from the cigarette, and laying them and the lighter down on the dresser. "Oh, and I'm afraid I'm a bit of a smoker. I haven't had one in a couple hours and I'm craving one. If the smoke bothers you, I can go outside. Anyway, sleep well."

Taro nodded, blowing a puff of smoke through his lips, and turning, going out to join his brother again.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae walked behind him and closed the door and leaned against it letting out a sigh of nervousness. She wasn't going to lie she found the two brothers very attractive and she wasn't honestly expecting such a response from the pit of her stomach when she watched Taro pull of his shirt.

"Pull it together." She said to herself agitated. She had just disrespected him in his own home and all he wanted to do was help her but she couldn't let him do that! Deacallion was as dangerous as they came and when she had scarred him for life she knew that he'd come after her.

He had been a friend to her at one time, tall strong and attractive save his eyes that had been replaced with two bionic eyes when he had been tortured by terrorists, his eyes having been plucked out. When she realized that he was suddenly changing his ways and heading towards a darker part of life their friendship deteriorate and she was suddenly finding herself trying to kill him after his part in her brother's death.

Jesimae walked over to the lamp that sat on the table and turned it off, the smell of cigarette's making her clench her fists and clench her jaw, the craving making her agitated. She glanced at the dresser and let out a sigh of relief when she saw the pack laying beside the lighter. She licked her lips and grabbed one out of the pack and lit it, longingly taking a drag before blowing out the wonderful toxins.

She puffed a few more times before putting the filtered end in the corner of her mouth as she unbuttoned her pants and felt them quickly fall. She bent down and took the cigarette out of her mouth and put it on the edge of the small table blowing out smoke as she stood up, folding the pants and laying them on the dresser. She grabbed the cigarette and lifted her right leg and pulled off her sock, then her other before pulling the blankets down, patting the pillow.

She sat down and bounced finding it slightly firm but comfortable none the less. She heared Taro's voice loud and strong then Jiro's shushing a moment later. They were speaking, yet again, in their native tongue and she found herself standing up and walking over to the door silently cracking it.

Jiro was sitting in the chair and Taro was puffing away on his cigarette as he spoke quickly and pointed at the bag. He seemed angry but she couldn't tell. The light spilled into the room like water in a sinking ship, the light was a vertical thin stripe down her face and body all the way to her tired feet and she tried to remain hidden as she listened at the tone of voice they were using.

Jesimae leaned her head away from the door and took another drag, blowing it out before glancing back at the two. She wondered what they were speaking about and how Taro could have obtained enough money to fill a bag like that. She rolled her eyes knowing she could be completely wrong about the bags contents but she highly doubted it, their secrecy was too easy to see.

Another thing, she thought to herself, Taro looked awfully good while speaking in a low but firm voice.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was puffing on his cigarette, annoyed. His brother was being stubborn and Taro was getting mad.

"Anata no tame ni yoi mono wo Jiro shira nai!" Taro exclaimed, putting his cigarette out in the ash try. Jiro sighed.

"Watashi ha umaku shitte iru doushitemo watashi ni chansu baka wo atae nai," he grumbled, walking over to the bag, and picking it up, going through the money. "Sore ha subete koko ni de aru ka?"

Taro nodded, walking over to his brother and glancing inside the bag. He looked at Jiro.

"Watashi ha Jesimae ga saru okonatte iru koto wo kangaeru mataha kokoromi he no," he said, pointing to the door he had just led come from.

"Huh?" Jiro said. "Iie, machigatta sore ga aru. Okay?"

Taro smiled, shrugging and holding up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Okay," Taro said. Then he remembered he left his cigarettes in Jesimae's room. "Tawagoto. Baka." He turned and began towards her room, hoping she wasn't yet asleep.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro snorted after his brother as Taro walked towards Jesimae's room. What did he know anyway? He was just being the useless brother he'd always been.

"Machigatteru!" he called after his brother. Taro glanced over his shoulder and waved slightly.

"Hai. Gakkarisuruna, okay?" he said, smiling in that annoying way that mad Jiro mad.

"Baka!" Jiro called after him as Taro arrived at Jesimae's door. "Baka, baka, baka!" Taro laughed.

"Watashi wo baka to yon de ha ike nai," he said over his shoulder.

"Yeah, whatever!" Jiro said, smiling a little.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae watched excited at their voices not realizing how much fun it was being able to hear something so different but she was too involved and too interested in the conversation that she wasn't paying attention to their tones anymore.

She frowned and looked at the two surprised that she had heard her name come from someone, she was sure of it. Why in God's name would they be talking about me? She didn't want to be paranoid then again she didn't like hearing her name and not being involved.

Jesimae let it slide continuing her eavesdropping, if you'd want to call it that considering the words were gibberish to her. She heard Jiro call out to his brother and she glanced away, wondering if there was a place she could get rid of the ashes considering a tap was long overdue.

She moved away from the door and glanced around stupid she hadn't looked beforehand but she grinned when she saw a small candleholder and she made that her makeshit ashtray, hopefully Taro wouldn't mind since she couldn't find a trash can in the dark.

She strained to see as she picked up the object , quickly dropping the inch long ash, watching it burn a bright red for only a moment before going out. She took a drag and sat it down on the table and quickly walked back to the door, blowing out the cigarette smoke before she made it to the door, but her attempts to remain hidden were thrown out the window when she glanced up to see Taro slowly walking in the room glancing at her smoking a cigarette, standing in her underwear, and watching their conversation out the door.

Jesimae knew that if the light had been on her face would be bright red horrified that she had been caught doing something she knew she shouldn't have, and without the light she still could see the anger written on Taro's face for finding her watching the two across the room. So much for her sneakin behavior she thought she had been good at.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro jumped slightly at the sight of Jesimae standing in her underwear, in the darkness, listening to their conversation. The initial anger of her eavesdropping was forgotten for a moment, as he was trying to recover from the sight of her in her underwear. He looked down, backing out the door.

"Sumimasen...ah, I mean. I'm sorry," he said. Then sqenched up his nose. "Were you listening to our conversation?" he asked. Not that it really mattered. She couldn't understand a word of it. He pulled the soor to a slit and could see Jesimae hurriedly pulling her pair of pants on through the crack. He pulled his stub of a cigarette out of his mouth and put it out in an ash tray near by. Finally, the woman opened her door, and looked at him. He glanced around her to see his pack of cigarettes and lighter on the stand. He nodded to them.

"I left my cigarettes in here," he said as he walked in past her, still a little to embarrassed to look her in the face. He picked them up, then sniffed the air. She had been smoking in here. Some of the smoke was still floating about in the air. He smiled turning to her. "I'll try not to walk in on you in your um, unmentionables again, if," he leaned forward, pulling out a cigarette and placing it between her lips, lighting it for her, "you try not to listen to our conversations. Okay with you, kawaii Konojyo?" he asked winking then walking back out into the room with Jiro who was bent over a trunk looking through clothes.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro glanced over as Taro came back out, his face slightly pink and he was biting his lip ditractedly.

"You okay?" he asked. Taro nodded, coming back to himself and tossing his cigarettes onto a table.

"Hai," he said. Jiro nodded, standing, stretching and pulling off his shirt and undershirt, leaning over the trunk trying to fish something out from the bottem. He glanced at Taro.

"Watashi ha tsukare te iru. Aru ka?" he asked through a yawn, finally finding a pair of baggy grey exercise pants and smiling. Taro nodded at him.

"Hai. Watashi ha watashi ga ne te iru koto wo kangaeru. Watashi ha koko ni nemuru," he said, leaning over the trunk and pulling out a pair of baggy blue exercise pants. Jiro nodded, quickly changing from his regular wearing pants to his more comfortable exercise pants. Taro followed suit, taking off his undershirt and putting on his exercise pants.

"Jesimae ga jissai ni saru koto wo kokoromiru koto wo kagaeru ka?" Jiro asked. Taro laughed as he put blankets on the couch, glancing at Jesimae's door.

"Hai, watashi ha," Taro said, sitting on the couch. Jiro smiled and waved.

"Oyasuminasai, Kyoudai," he said, walking into another room off of their main living room.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae felt hot all over, her face epsecially, and it took her a moment to move away from the door. She had just suffered the most embarassment that was capable of one human being by having him walk in on her and then see he had the nerve to wink at her before leaving.

Jesimae smacked the bed as she sat down on it after a moment of trying to pick herself up off the floor after he left the room, she had already pulled off the pants and kicked them clear across the room annoyed that she was caught and annoyed that he didn't even look twice! Her face turned red again she knew he was getting to her, that or his gorgeousness she happened to see after taking a peek across the living room to find both shirtless.

What had he said to her before leaving? What did kawaii Konojyo mean? She only knew two words in Japanese and had only heard one tonight. .Konichiwa she was sure meant hello and hai meant yes, she hoped. There were many words she was wanting to know let alone a whole conversation, she couldn't stand hearing her name again then hearing the two laugh.

She sighed out, angered that she wasn't capable of translating anything then again it wasn't any of her business. She picked her feet up off the floor and slid them under the bed and put her head on the comfortable pillow. It smelled good, probably what Taro smells like ibut she hadn't had the opportunity to ever get that close and most likely never would.

"Jesimae ga jissai ni saru koto wo kokoromiru koto wo kagaeru ka?" She heard Jiro's voice and yet again wondered what the hell he said the annoyance overtaking her mind, especially when she heard Taro laughing.

"Hai, watashi ha" Jesimae bit her lower lip straining to hear "Oyasuminasai, Kyoudai" Whatever they spoke about she hoped they were enjoying themselves because she was miserable.

Their talking subsided and all she heard was silence. She turned and looked over her left shoulder to see the lighting under the door disappearing knowing the lights were off and they were going to bed. She sighed softly and looked straight ahead as she laid on her right side, her right hand under her head the left sliding under the pillow.

Now that the talking was over and the embarassment still lingering her mind wandered to a new subject: Deacallion.


OUTSIDE

"I'll find you two," Deacallion growled his low and deep voice sounding like a creature born from hell. "make no mistake Miss Phoenix you and your little friend will suffer greatly that not even God Himself will be able to recognize your desecrated and poisoned bodies. Even Hell wouldn't claim the work I am capable of." Deacallion snarled as he glanced at the wall its secret entrance still being a puzzle.

He turned after a moment of staring at it, the long black cloat hiding his identity flapping in the wind. His breath condensed into the cold night air as he breathed heavily searching for something to contain his hatred.

When he turned the corner a young blonde stood in a short skirt and leather boots that told him of her true reason for standing practically naked in the street.

"Oh hello," She said sweetly as she dropped her cigarette and bringing her attention to the homely creature. "Don't you look like you need someone to keep you warm tonight!" Deacallion's thoughts had come true, if he couldn't have his dream tonight about murdering the two he could at least practice his plan on this sad pitiful woman.

"And you look like the woman who could keep me most warm." The woman laughed and took his arm. Deacallion was going to enjoy hearing her scream, too bad it wasn't going to be the normal way.

"I shall use my new knife on you, princess." Deacallion thought as they turned the corner into a darkened alley where nobody would dare come to her rescue when she let out a blood curling scream for help.

[Taro Lawson]

Morning

Taro yawned widely as he turned over to bury his face in the couch. The sun was peeking in through the boarded up window and was splashing right on his face. He groaned, trying to find a comfortable position on the uncomfortably hard couch. He heard movement from behind him, and cracked an eye open to see his brother working on some food for breakfast. He threw an arm over his face and moaned louder at the severe ache in his back.

"Ah, me ga same te iru," Jiro said and Taro mumbled a little. He nodded, sitting up and letting the blankets fall off of him, the biting cold of the room stinging his chest.

"Oi! Sore ha tsumetai!" he said shivering a little, then standing and running a hand through his hair to get out the tangles. "Me ga same te iru Jesimae ha mada aru ka?" he asked.

"Iie," Jiro answered. Taro got up and stretched, sniffing at the air and smiling.

"Niku yude dango," he said smiling, grabbing a cigarette, putting it between his lips and lighting it, taking a grateful drag and blowing it out into the air. Jiro laughed, then glanced back at Jesimae's door.

"Kanojyo wo konomu sorera wo kangaeru ka?" he asked. Taro looked at her door as well.

"Hontouni, naze nai ka," Taro smiled, taking another drag from his cigarette. "Hurry up, Jiro. I'm sure you're as hungry as I am."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae bit her lower lip as she felt the stinging in her eyes subside when she realized there had been a window to the left of the room, boarded with some kind of material but not well enough to block out the morning light that shined in brilliantly.

"Oh!" Jesimae said lowly as she yawned and stretched feeling herself slide down the comfortable bed the blankets tangled around her legs feeling warm and soft against her skin. She loved mornings like that and she swore she had slept a thousand years but she knew better due to the shreik that had woke her up after she had been sleeping slumberly for almost an hour.

Knowing she shouldn't linger in the bed she quickly tossed the blankets off and stood up, scratching her stomach like a wild animal. She yawned and walked over to the pants she had left on the floor. She pulled them on quickly and pulled her hair down out of the bun she had fixed after heading to bed running her fingers through and feeling the pressure being released from her scalp.

She shivered noticing how cold it was and walked to the dresser and pulled open the drawers searchign for something a bit warmer. She could hear the two speaking again in a language she didn't understand and rolled her eyes trying to tell herself to get over it.

Jesimae smiled when she found a gray fleece jacket and quickly pulled it on over the white undershirt she had been giving last night. She left it unzip and closed the drawers grabbing her socks and putting them on. She hummed trying to entertain herself and not pay any attention to the men outside and made the bed and cleaned up any mess she happened to leave behind, which was the cigarette butt and walked to the door and opened it.

The smell of food hit her like a ton of bricks as she slowly walked out, trying to keep her eyes off of Taro for last nights little run-in still caused her to feel a bit red in the face.

"Morning." She said in a sigh as she crossed her arms and briefly glanced at Taro who stood with one hand on his hip the other holding a cigarette. "Sleep well?"

[Taro Lawson]

Taro smiled at her as he stood, smoking his cigarette. He looked around him a moment before grabbing his undershirt and pulling it over his head. He saw Jiro do the same out of the corner of his eye. Taro nodded at her as he blew smoke into the air.

"Morning," he said, nodding to a seat and putting a hand on his hip as he walked over to the table and leaned on it slightly. "Sorry about last night, by the way," he said, then he motioned to the food Jiro was putting out on a big plate in the middle of the table. "I hope you like Japanese meat dumplings. I'm sorry if all this Japanese stuff is getting to you."

Taro leaned over the table and put his cigarette out, then laid the pack on the table and picked up a pair of chopsticks, picking a dumpling up and taking a bite.

"Good job, Jiro," Taro said. Jiro smiled.

"Thank you, Brother," Jiro said, then he laid a plate with three dumplings on the table in front of Jesimae. "If you don't like them, I can get something else."

"Oh, you need a..." Taro said ditractedly, walking into another room and coming back out with a fork. He held it up. "Found one. Here you go," he handed it to her, then sat back down, and put another cigarette into his mouth, lighting it and taking a drag, blowing the smoke away from the table. "Was the bed comfortable?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae grabbed the fork and began picking at the food before finally picking some up and quickly gulping it down, her appetite finally leveling out since last night. She swallowed and looked up to see the two eating using their chopsticks, how could they eat with two pieces of a tree? Jesimae glanced at his cigarette and tried to keep herself calm knowing it was a nasty habit she needed to break but as she always said I'm not addicted to cigarettes, they're addicted to me.

"The bed was very comfortable, I'm jealous." She retorted to his question she smiled softly and glanced down at the food. She was jealous of the bed all right not because of its comfort but because it got to see him shirtless every night!

"You could've put me on the couch, I didn't mean to steal your bed." She glanced up and watched him blow out a line of smoke that clouded around his head like a mystical fog only enhancing his appearance. "And, don't worry about last night, it was nothing."


OUTSIDE - - Near Alley

Deacallion smirked evilly as he watched amored clad soldiers wander around the new crime scene, his guess being wrong, someone had come across the body her friend! They were disgusted by the scene, some having to walk away and catch their breath due to the hideousness he had created.

"Ah," He said to himself as he walked on by the alley where people were being pushed back or questioned. "I've created a masterpiece." He walked further down the street contemplating on a plan and how he could get to Jesimae, he of course could blast the wall wide open but he wanted to have a sneakier approach, a surprise attack.

Deacallion knew she was probably eating breakfast with her new friend and enjoying her life and tasting things the food he made, he was sure the food was so explosive on her tongue and marvellous to her stomach because she had never tasted a meal like that, not after facing death. He knew she probably wouldn't appreciate the life she barely escaped with but he could care less because when the lights go down he'll let his reign of terror fall over her as he murdered them both in the upmost gruesome manner.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro smiled as he put his cigarette out in the ash tray and took another bite of a dumpling. He noticed that she looked quizzically at the chop sticks in his hand, and seemed puzzled by them. He looked at them then back at her.

"It doesn't take long to learn them. They're fairly easy to comprehend if you just let your instincts do the work," he said, reaching over and replacing her fork with his chop sticks. "See?" he said, fixing her hand around them until the bottom was stationary against her middle finger and the top moved naturally with her first finger. He put her thumb over them both to hold them in place. He smiled at her.

"There you go. If you practice, you'll get the hang of it," he said, taking another pair of sticks and beginning to eat again. He watched her as he ate. She was beautiful, he couldn't deny that. And watching her try to eat with his native utensils and eat his native food made her that much more appealing. He didn't know why. "Kanojyo ha amarini kawaii!" he laughed, and Jiro chuckled as well.

[Jesimae Lawson]

The second he was touching her she swore she was in a different world but the moment he sat back down her fantastic voyage came tumbling down. Now she had to focus on what he had helped her do and she wasn't sure what exactly that was since she had been too intoxicated with what he was doing.

The moment she realized he had put the chopsticks in her hand she was trying to figure out how to work with them. Swallowing she glanced up briefly to see him watching her which put more pressure to do her best.

She lowered them to a dumpling and tried to grasp it only to fail miserably, more than just once as well. The more she thought he was watching the more she tried to make it work, tried to show him how quick of a learner she was, and how she could be just as elegant as he was when eating. She watched the dumpling fall to the bowl yet again and she was wondering why she was even trying.

"Ha!" Jesimae yelled when she had picked one up after failed attempts. The joy she felt when she put it in her mouth and chewed made her chest fill with pride and happiness, then again she was happy to finally get another bite of food!

She swallowed and looked over at Jiro to find he was off in his own little world eating and thinking. She mentally growled that he hadn't been paying attention but she was taken aback when she glanced to find Taro smiling and suddenly an odd feeling washed over her.

Was he staring at her? And what the heck had he just said? It was on the tip of her tongue to ask but she let it slide, as she always did. Jesimae grabbed the last dumpling on the plate and ate it happily, setting the chopsticks down.

"Took me a while but I finally got it." She said lowly, proud beyond words and relieved she didn't make a fool of herself in front of Taro after his trying to show her how to eat!

[Taro Lawson]

Taro chuckled and looked at his brother who wasn't even looking. He leaned over and smacked his brother across the head. Jir looked up and made a surprised noise.

"Pay attention, Jiro! She's learning to eat like us, and you didn't even watch," he looked at Jesimae and winked. "Kawaiku miso rewo , amari nisuru ." Jiro smiled, then chuckled.

Taro leaned back in his chair and took a sip of a drink he had next to him. He pulled out another cigarette as he watched her. She was very attractive to him this morning. Even more so than the night before. He lit the cigarette and took a drag, blowing the smoke out above him so if floated over all three of them. Cute as she was, though, he doubted she was interested. She didn't seem the type of girl to go for a Japanese guy.

"You're doing well for a first timer," he said, putting his own chop sticks down and pulling his plate forward to tap the ashes into. "Most people give up after two tries. Yoi shigoto. And don't worry if Jiro missed it. He's too boneheaded to know he's alive."

Jiro snorted, standing and grabbing his plate. He pushed his chair in.

"Watashi hakorewo toru hitsuyou ganaitameni kiru," he said, smiling and going into the kitchen. Taro shook his head, calling over his shoulder.

"kanojyo no kurasshu wo yuusu rukotowo shitte iru . Kanojyo ha kawaii," Taro laughed as Jiro disappeared into the kitchen. He looked back at Jesimae. "Don't mind us speaking Japanese. If you want to know how to say something, you can ask. I like to teach my language."

[Jesimae Lawson]

And I'd love for you to teach me! Jesimae tried to contain her smile but found it hard with his staring and then his enthusiasm at her actually doing it correctly. She bit the inside of her lip trying to remain calm and not too prideful of her accomplishment. The more he smiled and talked in his native tongue the more she wanted to know him, the more she wanted to hear him speak again, and the closer she wanted to get to him.

"It's quite all right." She said with a smile, her heart beating so fast inside of her she could barely breathe normally. Something wasn't right, she was feeling very different and not herself. The one thing she was certain of was that the longer she stared at Taro the more beautiful he became.

"I'd love to know a few words." She said happily leaning on the table in a gesture that was flirtatious and not her own. The only thing was she didn't know what she wanted to learn, she was sure that if he taught her she wouldn't care if he was telling her how to say curse words!

Since their brief meeting the night before she hadn't been the same not since she laid down on his bed and smelled his scent he left behind, the scent that was now on her skin. She was acting silly, well thinking silly, and she knew she needed to stop otherwise she'd make a fool of herself when she realized Taro could care less about her.

Jesimae glanced over at Jiro, he hadn't been talking much this morning, she was wondering what was on his mind. Knowing it was probably none of her business she allowed her thougths to go back to where she liked them most, thinking how beautiful Taro was and how stupid she had been to not even notice his Japanese beauty beforehand.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro smiled at her, taking his cigarette from his mouth and blowing the smoke away from them. He was glad she wanted to learn, because he was very glad to teach her. He thought for a moment.

"Okay," he said. "Well...konnichiwa is 'hello' in the informal manner. Ohayo is 'hello' in the formal manner. Sayonara is 'goodbye'. Um..." he paused trying to think of phrases he could teach her. But having her leaned so close to him, and look at him that way was inching him towards the edge.

He didn't know what it was about her that was so intoxicating. His brother didn't seem to be having the same problem controlling himself. Then again, Jiro usually went for the Chinese girls. He wasn't much for American, or Japanese girls. Taro tried to look like he was thinking, but he could barely let his eyes roam from Jesimae's. She seemed intent not to move from her current position, and he was intent for her to stay as well. He took another drag from his cigarette, turning his head away from her to blow the smoke away from the table. He turned back to Jesimae.

"Any phrases you'd like to learn? I'll teach you anything," he said, smiling and winking.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae knew her face turned red when he winked and she knew she had to lean back for she was dangerously close to him. Jesimae loved how he looked when he smoked, almost as if he were too cool and it added to his appearance of being a rebellious kind of guy.

There were many things she wanted to learn how to say many of those revolving around her sudden infatuation with Taro, she could've said he was the most beautiful person she had ever seen or he had the sexiest smile but she knew she couldn't ask him to teach her how to say those, even if he would she knew it'd let him know what she thought about him.

Jesimae knew a few things he had said and wanted to know what they meant but she was afraid it was personal, plus it was all derived from the conversation he and Jiro had last night, before she was caught peeking in.

"Kanojyo...I've heard you say a few times, what does that mean?" At least she made an effort to remember something she had heard him say many times and nothing that he had most recently said to Jiro.

So beautiful and you have no idea, Jesimae glanced at every part of his face, mainly his eyes considering she couldn't look away, she found he had a bit of mystery to him and she liked that but one thing she knew wasn't a mystery, if he kept looking at her like he was she was gonna jump onto the table and devour him without any hesitation!


OUTSIDE

Deacallion was going to find a way in! He knew they couldn't stay inside forever! He had walked around the building almost all morning, studying the building as if he were thinking of the design and all the hard work that was put into building it. He hadn't found anything that would allow him access and he was about to get some expplosive and just blow a hole through it all, but he found a way in, or at least let him know there was a way inside.

He grinned as he looked up at the tall brick building seeing that there were windows. He laughed in a rough and deep growl, the window looked boarded up but he knew he couldeasily get in without their knowing, he just hoped it led to where the two were housed.

"Tonight." He said lowly glancing away and walking down the street quickly thinking of a way to reach the window high in the air, even better he thought of how he could sneak in on them and kill them with pleasure!

[Taro Lawson]

Taro smiled, putting the cigarette into his mouth and letting it hang there. Ah, so she wanted to know what her pet name meant. That was alright.

"Kanojyo...it really means 'she', but you can use it as 'girl'. Simple really," he said, taking the cigarette from his mouth because he had to have something to worry at to keep his mind off of the beautiful woman sitting right in front of him. So close he could wrap his arms around her and show her how people from the far east had a good time.

Catching himself in that thought, he did not allow his mind to wander any farther in that idea. Jesimae was sitting there, almost glowing. Or at least she was to him. He could have sat there and looked into her eyes all day. He glanced away from her a moment trying to collect himself. Then he looked back.

"Anything else, Kawaii Kanojyo?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Hmm, so he has said something about me. Jesimae grinned and nodded. He was so hot! She was trying her best to keep her mind on the right track but it was becoming harder and harder for her to concentrate, the air in the room was slowly going away, her body heat was rising, and she swore that she was about to fall to the floor.

All these feelings over a complete stranger! Jesimae glanced away and was grateful for it otherwise she literally would've eaten him alive. She ran a hand through her hair trying to give her something to do plus her sudden craving for cigarette's hit her like a ton of bricks. She had to take slow deep breaths and remain calm after all it was just a little nicotine, nothing she desperately needed.

I know, she thought to herself, feeling slightly like a crazy person having to argue with her mind, the thing I desperately need is sitting right across from me. Not wanting to take too long in reply to his question she looked back at him and smiled, maybe a bit too much.

"All right, what did you just say to me, Kawaii Konojyo?" Hopefully it was something good, something she could be happy with, something that let her know what he truly thought about her.

She watched him blow out smoke yet again, the gray fog whirling in gentle circles in the middle of the table, Jesimae had to bite her lower lip when she saw him slightly slit his eyes to avoid smoke to get into them. All his actions were doing was making Jesimae crazy, how attractive he was for one man and how crazy he was making her! Sheesh, she didn't want to know Japanese this bad!

[Taro Lawson]

Taro smiled. He thought that one might come up sometime. He wondered when, and he supposed this was the right time sicne he had just said it. He put his cigarette out in the ash tray, and blew the remaining smoke away from him. He looked her up and down a moment, trying to calm himself.

"That, well...kawaii means cute. So, it means, 'cute girl'. But I suppose it should be, utsukushii kanojyo," he said, winking and leaning a little closer. "Utsukushii being beautiful. Because you aren't cute. You're beautiful."

Taro hoped she wouldn't think that forward, because it had been what he was thinking ever since the night before. He hadn't been able to think of much else but her. He reached over and grabbed his pack of cigarettes, putting one in his lips and lighting it, taking a quick puff, then taking it out and placing it between her slightly open lips.

"I smelled the smoke in the room last night. You're a smoker too," he smiled. "I thought you might be wanting one about now." He paused, then looked back at her. He wanted to know if she was single at present. However, he didn't want to outright ask her if she had someone. But he had to know. Thinking quickly, he came up with a smooth way to find out, without being blunt. "If you want, I can teach you, I love you or other romantic terms for the boyfriend I'm sure is awaiting your return."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae had to fight back the laugh but simply grinned taking the cigarette out of her mouth and blowing the smoke away, feeling a slight shiver of delight knowing his lips had just touched the same cigarette she was now puffing on. She knew it sounded silly and she was acting like a little child but she couldn't help it, Taro had no idea what an effect he was having on her.

She leaned forward and and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'd love that," She pasued and leaned back in her chair and shrugged her shoulders "but what use do I have for romantic sayings when all I have is myself."

Jesimae stood up and walked to Taro's side and bent over his right shoulder, her mouth by his ear, she took the cigarette out of her mouth and pushed the tip into the ashes. "I best like my cigarette's after a nice hot shower."


Jesimae wlked out of the steaming bathroom feeling refreshed and replinished since she needed a full shower rather than a brisk wash off. When she walked out of the bathroom she found that the living room was empty as well as the kitchen. She walked across the room to where she had slept the night before and opened the door. Jesimae gasped and closed the door quickly. She bit her lower lip and hugged the bundle of clothes she held in her arms. She was forgetting her manners and she knew better than to open a closed bedroom door, especially when it wasn't her own.

The door swung open a moment later and Taro stood with a grin while putting a cigarette in his mouth. Jesimae lifted her eyes and looked into his own she held her breath as he stared at her, her heart beating so fast she knew he could hear. He pulled the unlit cigarette out of his mouth and grinned. Jesimae had to find someplace else to look, she realized the mistake when she found herself glancing at his full pink lips and finding the thought of somehow touching them all too desiring. Before seh stared too long she looked up at his eyes and finally let out her breath.

Knowing something bad was going to happen if she didn't get the nerve to saying anything she clutched the clothes and spoke the only thing she could think of.

"Payback." She gave a quick grin and pointed to the room. "M...may, I?" He looked down at her and when a beat passed Jesimae wondered if he had even heard her. Tinally he nodded and Jesimae felt relieved. He moved slightly allowing her to pass but he had only moved, purposely, and inch. She swallowed and held her breath as she slid into the room, her arms brushing against his chest that felt undeniably firm.

When she was in she put the bundle of clothes on the bed only to find her clothes from last night cleaned and folded. Jesimae grabbed her pants and watched them unfold she smiled when she saw the holse in the knees had been sewn together."Thank-" She turned around hoping to Taro still standing but he had gone, closing the door behind him. SHe smiled and looked at the pants and quickly put them on. How was she going to repay him for all his kindness?

She sighed and folded the bundle of clothes and put them on the dresser. She saw Taro had left one cigarette with a match and ash tray. She smiled as she lit it only to feel it fade as she looked to the boarded up window. She had been lost in Taro, his kindness and beauty leaving an everlasting impression but thinking of him was quickly gone when she was brought back to reality, her thoughts and feelings of safety being torn down.

The cigarette feel out of her mouth and quickly burned out and she felt the ashtray feeling so heavy until she couldn't hold it anymore. It slipped out of her grip and fell towards the floor and instantly shattered, pieces of glass sliding across the floor.

Jesimae turned and practically jumped over the bed and opened the door with a hard force. She ran into the living to find Taro and Jiro talking, the black plastic bag open and a few of its contents spilling out. She was shocked to find money but knew it wasn't of any concern. She looked at Jiro and then to Taro, her eyes wide and fear on her face.

"He's out there, he knows we are in here."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro looked from Jesimae to Jiro and back again. He could tell by the look on thier faces that whoever He was, was not someone he wanted around Jiro, Jesimae, or himself. Kicking aside the bag and spittting the unlit cigarette out, he strode towards Jesimae, grabbing her shoulders and moving her behind him. He looked over at Jiro.

"Kan wo tenken shi nasai age to wo shime nasai," he said pointing to the pipe where only the day before Taro had seen Jesimae for the first time. He looked down at her now. She looked frightened, and he knew whatever had happened before they had stumbled in here was not something good. He leaned down slightly so that he was eye level with her.

"Jesimae," he said firmly, forcing her attention to him. "I want you to walk slowly and quietly into the kitchen. There are no windows in there, nothing he can see into. I want you to stand and wait for one of us to come in and get you. If it's both of us, so be it, but if one of us doesn't come in, stay with the one that gets you. Don't say anything, don't make any noise, do this all as quietly as possible."

Taro was watching her. He glanced over his shoulder at the bedroom from where she had come running. Jiro climbed back up from the pip where they had appeared the day before and nodded to Taro. Taro sighed and looked back at Jesimae.

"Alright. Jiro and I are going to make sure all the windows are boarded up completely and we'll get you as soon as we know it's all safe. If something bad happens, scream as loudly as you can," he leaned down farther and put his face next to hers, letting his lips brush her ear. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Standing straight again, he beckoned for Jiro and nodded to Jesimae.

"Go."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae's heart was beating so fast she didn't know what to do. The night he had found her, two yeares after the incident, she had been scared as one human could have been but now it was different, she wasn't scared for her life but for the two brothers. She didn't want anything to happen to them either and she didn't want to feel like the woman who gets pushed aside due to the men wanting to protect, it was a role she had been put into before and never liked the feeling.

Jesimae was a fighter, a good one at that too. Having her older brother to teach her how to practically be an outlaw at a simple age she tended to take jobs that meant using weapons sometimes simple murder. She was cold hearted when it came down to it but at this moment she felt like a leaf on a tree, all because of Taro and Jiro.

She did as he said and went into the kitchen, pacing back and forth as she listened to a hammer and an electronic drill. It made her feel safe to know that Taro and Jiro were there and trying to protect themselves, including Jesimae, but it made her nervous to have them barracade themselves in.

She swore it had been hours since they left her but she was sure in reality only a little while, maybe thirty or forty minutes. She was anxious and realized she needed to use the bathroom, knowing that nervousness tended to do that to her. She bit her lower lip and glance into the bedroom seeing they had already boarded the windows up. She walked to the bathroom and shut the door, quickly relieving herself after a moment. She walked out and tip toed over to a small boarded window that hadn't been touched. She peeked through the small slit to find nothing but an empty street.

Jesimae felt a bit safer but nothing she'd feel comfortable with. She didn't like being left alone, especially without her weapon which unfortunately was at her apartment with the rest of her favorite toys to cause severe injury. She walked back to the kitchen and waited.

At least an hour had passed when she saw Taro walk into view from where she sat on the floor leaning her back against the wall hugging her legs out of boredom. She looked up and saw him grabbing a cigarette his shirt gone revealing a sweaty undershirt. She stood and walked over to him and held her hand out. He had one sticking out of his mouth, the lighter in his right hand while the pack was in the other. He glanced at her and quickly lit it and handed it to her, wasting no time to get him one.

"Did you see him?" Jesimae asked, her gut feeling as though it were being twisted by a sharp blade. Taro was taking in a long puff and took the opportunity to ask another question. "It might be wise to have a few, well enough, weapons handy, got any?"

OUTSIDE

Deacallion grumbled a curse as he stepped into an alley, bemused that Jesimae had seen him and aggravated the people inside were boarding the windows up. His plan was thrown out the window and he had no idea how to gain entrance. But it gave him happiness to know his little meeting with a complete stranger had an effect to where he'd want to board things up.

He had seen Jesimae once and that was all he needed to confirm she was there. Stupid girl, had to go and look out the window when he was sure wasn't supposed to. It didn't matter what she did, all that mattered at that moment was figuring out a way to get in, the windows weren't excluded from his plans yet, it would be a little harder to enter without stirring the awake.

Deacallion clenched his jaw and squeezed his fists together tightly. He was going to get in there, he was going to slaughter them, he was going to be pleased. He turned and knew his prescense was too much, he was going to go and rest, get his weapons of choice, come back and do what needed to be done. He grinned as he walked away, he had seen another man inside, one who looked older if not more stronger than the one he had faced last night, needless to say he was going to enjoy the challenge and the unexpected guest.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro nodded a little. He still wasn't completely sure of thier situation. He didn't know who it was they were dealing with, but by the way Jesimae was acting he knew that whomever they were dealing with, he was sure it wasn't going to be pretty when a strong girl, and two tough pick pockets went up against him. He couldn't stand the heat anymore, and pealed off his undershirt, his modesty going out the window.

"Um, we have some in a compartment in our kitchen, behind a cupboard. There are blasters, knives, and a couple of lightsabers," Taro said, knowing full well that those lightsabers were hot as firecrackers. Taro blew smoke through his nose, and looked down at Jesimae. "While we have minute, tell me who we're looking at here, because I don't want to get up against him and be surprised."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment, Taro was making her warmer than she already was, even more so with his shirt off. Knowing it wasn't the right time she gathered her thoughts and tried to tell him about Deacallion.

"We used to be best friends until he was beckoned by the dark side. He became involved in some dark underworld of violence and corruption, the cities worst criminals even the cities best government officials were a part of this society. My brother was killed due to his knowing of this secret world. Deacallion had killed him and I was quick to seek revenge.

Two years ago I tried to kill him, I fought till I could fight no more. I had injured him in many ways the one that did the most damage being when I set him on fire. He is burned for life, injured for life, and needless to say he really doesn't like me. He is strong, stronger than most. He has taken enhancements that make him bigger and stronger, something unusual. He has the ability to kill anyone with a single blow to the face with his fist." Jesimae became bold, maybe too bold but it was the only way Taro could see some of the force he had.

She put the cigarette in the ashtray and grabbed the tail of her shirt and pulled it up an inch above her belly button, she turned left, allowing Taro to see her right side. She held the shirt with her left hand and took her index finger and taced a small thin line that was barely visible. In a long arch it curved from under her shoulder blade to the side where her kidneys were.

"A shiv. He jammed it into my side and jerked up, but it didn't compare to what he did..." She looked at Taro and took his left hand and pushed his fingertips against her skin, her hands forcing his own to push down. Something was there under her skin, something hard and long. "He broke three of my ribs, broke my wrist, almost choked me to death, amongst other things. A piece of his shiv still is under my skin. It hurts pretty bad sometimes." She stopped moving his fingers and looked into his eyes.

"You don't want to mess with him. He can kill a whole army if he has to. Something in our favor though, he's afraid of fire." She moved his hand off of her side and pulled her shirt down. She let her right hand gently let go of his own and she looked away, a knot of tears crawling up her throat and stinging her eyes.

"I lost my brother to Deacallion, Taro, do everything in your power to save yours."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro listened to the story she told, and could relate to it on some points. However, at the part about losing her brother, Taro had never been without his brother. They'd been together since they were very small, ever since their parents had died. As much as Taro pushed Jiro around, he never wanted to lose him. They were all but joined at the hip, and relied on each other. Taro growled through his teeth as he looked around the apartment.

So this Deacallion was a fraid of fire, eh? It was just thier luck that Taro's old man had left them a couple of flame throwers. Taro wasn;t sure how well they worked, but he figured the get a little juice out of them. He wouldn't stand by and watch some freak bring down his and Jiro's entire existence. He would not do it. He looked down at Jiro and then at Jesimae.

"It'll be a cold day hell before he touches my little brother. I'll protect you two with my life. That may not be much, but it's all I have to offer," he said, turning towards the kitchen to retrieve the weapons.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae closed her eyes and felt a sting in her heart, somehow his reply made her feel worse, a pain she hadn't felt in a long time. She knew it was silly of her to want something more out of a complete stranger and she knew that he meant well but it just made her heart feel like it broke in half.

Jesimae knew it wasn't right to feel a little heartbroken at his response. What was she expecting? Someone to wipe away her tears, give her a gentle kiss, a hug? She was beginning to have hopes of things never to come, especially with someone like Taro.

She suddenly felt ashamed to cry and quickly wiped the tears away and turned to see him cowering down and opening a few drawers. Somehow Jesimae remembered the words her brother used to say:

"Remember, Meimei, men are only good for one thing," His electric blue eyes had stared down at her as she glanced up at him with interest.

"What's that?" She had replied with a grin, his angered tone something she did not understand at such a young age of 9.

"Breaking hearts."

His words had cut through her like a knife and she never thought it was true until the day he left her at a tender age, left her all alone to face the world by herself and learn how to live the only thing that kept her going being the thought knowing some day she'd see him again.
I can see him anytime I want, She mentally said to herself keeping her emotions in line. if I close my eyes. Jesimae sniffed wiping her nose and brushing away any drop of tears and walked over to him, busying her mind with what weapons he had hidden away.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro glanced over as Jesimae came over to help him. She looked upset and he was afraid what he'd said had upset her. He watched as she tried to distract herself from whatever had made her upset by reaching for weapons and making sure they had ammo. He looked down at the floor.

What was he trying to do? Get her to feel something for him? He was known by his uncanny ability to draw women to him and then drop them like a smelly boot. Everyone figured he enjoyed it. And at one time, he had. But ever since a girl he had cared for was killed because of his foolishness, he had drawn away from the ways of his youth. Now, he was asking a stranger to love him. Love him when she didn't know anything about him. Love him, when she thought he would just use her. Love him, when in a few hours, they would probably never see each other again.

Taro clenched his jaw against a choke that was climbing up his throat. He grabbed the two flame throwers and handed them to Jesimae.

"You take one, and give one to Jiro. They shoot fire and should keep going as long as we have fuel for them. That'll keep you safer than just a blaster," he said, then sighed through his nose, then looked at her. He reached over, placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face so that she was looking right at him. "As soon as you get a chance, get away from any encounter. Run as fast as you can, me and Jiro ought to be able to hold him off until you're safe. And if we're lucky, we'll get rid of him completely. But I want you safe. Okay?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Her heart skipped a beat and for a moment she wondered if she even breathing. He was touching her in a way she never imagined, not just her face but her heart. What was wrong with her? If she were as bold as she dreamed to be she would've reached over and kissed him, but she didn't have that kind of control over her mind.

She swallowed and tried to contain her thoughts as she looked into his eyes. She didn't think she had the ability to leave him just now, not when she was becoming so attached to him just after a few hours and a few hospitible acts. She had been raised differently, raised to be cautious about anybody she saw because in the end they would only hurt her. But had that been true she wouldn't be able to stand and look into Taro's eyes and feel completely helpless.

"I can't." She said unable to stop the tears from wanting to come. SHe couldn't let her guard down now, she couldn't show something she hadn't shown since her brothers death and even that was hard to let out. The last time she cried was at his funeral, well the small service she gave with a few friends considering they had no idea where the body was.

Deacallion had done something to him, took him somewhere, and she was destined to find it, even if it were just a pile of dust, she wasn't going to let his body lay where he didn't want it to be.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Jiro had gone to continue boarding up windows and she glanced down at the flamethrower in her hands as if she were observing it, but she couldn't think of that now she was trying to figure out if she should do something that she would regret when he rejected her.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro watched her look down at the flame thrower, tears in her eyes. She wasn't allowing herself to cry for personal reasons, he knew. He could hear his brother still boarding up windows. He glanced over and then back down at Jesimae.

"Yes, you can. Yuuki. It means 'courage'. You have that, Jesimae. More than most men I know," he said, leaning towards her a little. "Don't forget what he did to you. It can make you stronger."

Taro put a hand on her cheek and turned her face to his again. He brushed a little of her hair from her eyes and ran his thumb along her jaw.

"And you have me. I won't let him hurt you. I swear to god, if he hurts you, it'll be the last damn thing he does in this life."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Yuuki. The word ran through her head as she looked at him, her heart beating so fast she knew that elongating this moment it would literally fly out of her chest. Some how she got courage and knew that if she didn't do it now her opportunity would pass as well as the strength to be bold and the strength to do something irrational.

Jesimae lifted her hand and cupped it over his own and stared into his eyes. His words filled her chest with such a feeling words couldn't even describe. This was crazy, she knew. She knew nothing of the man who sat in front of her but for some reason she knew that it didn't matter, knew that she could trust her feelings just this once. She had listened to he brothers voice for long enough and decided to try and find out for herself, hopefully the consequences wouldn't be as heartbreaking as she imagined.

She dropped her hand off of his and reached over and cupped his cheek and did it before she could find the strength to stop herself. Without thinking she ran her index finger over his lips somehow finding them while enjoying the softness of his skin. He continued to stare at her and she wasn't able to look away but she knew this was her only chance, the only time to do what she wanted to do since the moment she laid eyes upon him.

Before the courage passed she moved her hand from the plump curves of his mouth and put it behind his neck, quickly leaned over and catching his mouth with her own, the sensation of feeling his lips against hers sending a blast of electric energy through her body.

Yuuki she thought as she kissed him it gets you a long way.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was surprised at first, he wasn't sure why. He'd been kissed before. But not this electrically. His eyes closed as his hand found her waist and he pulled her closer to him. He gently leaned into the kiss, hoping and praying it would never end.

Whatever this girl had done to him, he liked it. She made him feel alive again. Fire crept up his spine as he felt her hand stroke his neck, and he let his other hand drop the blaster to the floor and sit up on his knees to wrap his other hand around her waist as well.

A million thoughts raced through his head all at once. Why am I doing this? I don't even know this girl? What makes you think she's any different from the other hookers you've had? Taro ran his hands through her hair. I just know, he thought. Jesimae is different.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae stood up on her knees the moment she felt him move. The noise of the blaster and flamethrower hitting the floor barely audible to her for the passion of the kiss was too loud. Her blood pounded through her veins like electric fire shooting to every part of her body and urging her to keep going.

She was going to stop at a mere peck but couldn't find the time to realize how long she had held her lips against his until she felt him lean in and make the kiss more real. She opened her mouth slightly to him only to find that in mere seconds she was tasting him in a way she had never imagined.

She felt his arms wrap tightly around her and push her up against his strong chest and she could only succumb to the passion that engulfed her like an angry swell of the sea. She wanted more and wanted it to last for centuries but that was just silly. It was a kiss and sooner or later someone had to break it, someone had to stop it. But not now.

Jesimae felt his hands find her head and she felt his fingers dig into her hair. She moved the objects on the ground with her right knee hearing the heavy objects slide out of her way allowing her to get as close as she could. She felt her head tilt back slightly and their mouths parted allowing them to catch their breath. She still had her eyes closed but she could feel his were too. Their inflamed lips barely grazed as they stood together panting like animals. Slowly she opened her eyes and touched his face.

"I can't." She said with a heavy tone that was full of lust and breathlessness. She was going to finish what she had meant to say a while before this madness. "I can't leave you, I don't think I have the strength." Before she could hear a reply she fell back into the kiss, exploring his mouth as if she had done this before. But she had never kissed someone, she was just doing what she felt was right.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was blown away. Not surprised, not angry, nor most of the other meanings for being blown away. He just was. They were standing now, and Taro barely remembered doing it. All he felt now was Jesimae's body pressed against his own, and he was accutely aware of her taste that filled his mouth. Her passion, that overtook him like a drug.

Thoughts were attempting to race through his mind, trying to tell him what a mistake this was, his pickpocket instinct never shutting up. But for once, Taro didn't listen. He couldn't imagine how his instincts could be right this time. She felt so good to him that there wasn't any way his instincts had judged her correctly.

Taro moved from her mouth to her neck, gently pulling her as close as he could and kissing the soft skin he found beneath her hair. All these feelings were so foreign, and yet seemed perfectly right. He dearly hoped that he wasn't making the biggest mistake of his life.

[Jesimae Lawson]

"Taro..." She said lowly amazed she even had the ability to do much of anything. Jesimae was mindlessly pulling at his shirt as his mouth traveled quickly from her mouth to her neck, his kisses burning her flesh for the heat was too intense, his passionate kisses too intense. She knew she was one step to the edge and all she needed was a slight push to crash and burn in Taro's arms. She loved the way he felt against her, his hardness molding with her softness, his strong and powerful hold complimenting her soft and tender touch, but one thing she knew they had in common was their lust for one another, that was why she was allowing this to continue; for better or for worse.

Jesimae wanted more of Taro, she didn't know what could quench her thirst for him all she could think was that she needed more of him. She slit her eyes the passion engulfing her and not letting go. She felt his grip tighten as he began to travel around her neck, teasing her with his tongue. But when she swore she was going to collapse and allow him to do whatever it was he wanted Jiro's voice clearly knocked her back to reality, and she hated him for it.

Deacallion's Annex
So they had seen him and were waiting for his arrival, so be it. He just needed to get a few things and wait till night fall before he would strike. He grinned as he moved about the old and delapadated warehouse he called his home. Almost an arsenal from all the weapons he had collected throughout the years, his newest being that young man's knife.

He had to prepare, be put in a mindset. It was his own version of meditation despite it being more productive in his rituals and his prayers to lead him out to victory, despite his knowing prayer never worked. He prefered the devil, everyone who saw him could tell.

"Yes, tonight." He said lowly as he shredded his brown cloak, his white pale skin shimmering brightly against the candles and low lighting he prefered in his home. The scars that tattooed his skin a reminder of the vengeance he sought after. He walked slowly to a dark room and closed the door and began to prepare himself for the massacre he would later call his best.

While they tried to find ways to beat him, find ways to harm him, and try to determine when he would come he would be patient and ready to go when they began to wonder if he was even going to come back.

"Make no mistake," he thought evilly as he knelt down and began to discipline himself "I will come, but you won't expect it."

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro was slowly moving away from the windows, his eyes fixated on them. Every once in ahwile he would shift his eyesight to make sure the other windows were safe. Then he remembered the pipe. It was true only he and Taro, and now Jesimae, knew of its existance, but he feared this new enemy would find it sooner or later. And that would hand all three of them on a silver platter. Jiro tilted his head slightly towards the kitchen where he knew Jesimae and Taro were.

"Koko ni hairu beki de aru," he called, hoping that the man outside didn't have good hearing. It would not have been hard for him to put an ear to the wall and hear the calling to each other in Japanese. He turned fully towards the kitchen. "Koko ni hairu beki de aru!" he repeated, this time with more urgency.

[Jesimae Lawson]

They quickly separated as if their lips were poison. Taro quickly rubbed his mouth dry and stepped aside and walked quickly out of Jesimae's sight. Her heart banged loudly in her chest, the passion and yearning for him being replaced with fear by the tone of Jiro's voice and urgency. Jesimae leaned against the kitchen sink and tried to calm herself, stop her hormones from taking advantage of rational thought.

What was going on? She prayed it wasn't anything serious. Jesimae wiped her mouth after a moment, his taste still lingering and driving her mad. She had just kissed him and already she was addicted and wanted more but she couldn't, she had to think of the events unfolding she had to be concerned about her safety rather than her burning desire for Taro.

She knelt down and picked up the two flamethrowers and walked over and placed them on the table and picked one up to study it. She hadn't seen one before but her brother used to prefer flamethrowers to anything. She didn't know why but the way he became excited at the sight she knew they must've packed on powerful punch.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro took one moment of standing still to clear his head, and walked over to his brother who had sounded very upset when he had called for him. Taro looked down at Jiro.

"Sore ha de aru nan Jiro ka?" he asked, taking his little brother's wrist and holding it firmly.

"Kare ha soko ni ari, dai nashi ni naru tame ni watashi tachi wo matte iru. Kare ha watashi tachi ga kanojyo to koko ni aru koto wo shitte iru," Jiro answered him, glancing up and then back at Jesimae. Taro nodded.

"Okay," he said, turning and looking at Jesimae, then back at Jiro. "Kare ha kare ga hairu koto wo okonatte i ta you ni koudou shi ta ka?" Jiro shook his head.

"Iie," he responded. Taro nodded again.

"Okay," he looked over at Jesimae, then walked over, putting a hand on her back. "Um...Jiro just said that this Deacallion is outside and knows we're in here with you. Jiro says he's not trying to get in yet. But I wouldn't hope for that much longer."

Taro glanced over his shoulder and motioned for Jiro to get the other weapons that he and Jesimae had left back in the kitchen. He turned back to Jesimae then and sighed.

"I...I'm sorry about what just happened. I lost control of myself..."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Ah, always a mistake after they realized what had happened. Jesimae had to grin for his excuse angered her to no avail. Was he truly sorry? She hoped not for she knew she surely wasn't. She played with the flamethrower and was pleased to find the mouth where the fuel would be injected. Surprisingly technological advancements made flamethrowers more compact and no longer bulky, much lighter, and a lot more easy to drag around. Luckily these weren't too old.

"Don't worry." She said lowly, opening up the cap to see there wasn't any fuel inside the one she held in her hand. She sighed and sat it down and put a hand on her hip and looked over her right shoulder to see Jiro busying himself with weapons, a small can of fuel beside him. She bit her lower lip and glanced up at Taro wanting to make sure he got what she was about to say.

"I have ridiculous amount of control, Taro, I lost it all just then as well, but I am glad I did." She swallowed trying harder to find something to make him understand how she felt, let him know that she never threw caution to the wind like that. She stepped close to him, perhaps too close for she felt dizzy at feeling his body heat, quickly she spoke the harsh truth.

"I understand if you are that sorry, but I will relive that moment forever in my mind if I never get a chance to feel something that extraordinary again." She was breathless for speaking so low and so fast the thought of what had just happened causing her to lose her breath. She stepped away from him and looked back at the weapons.

Always sorry, never meant it. Guess you were right all along, Jabari.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro smiled wide, amazed that she had just voiced exactly what he was feeling. He raised his hand and placed it on her cheek, smiling down at her, then leaning down and kissing her gently.

"I don't want you to have to replay it in your mind," he whispered. "I want you to be able to feel it whenever you want." He smiled at her, brushing his fingers through her hair and running his hand down her arm to hold her hand. "That is, if you wanna stick around a little after we get through this."

[Jesimae Lawson]

If we get through this. She didn't like thinking that but she had no choice, Deacallion was one tough person who struck whenever the mood hit him and had no ability to feel anything but excitement at death. Jesimae quickly moved that aside and felt nothing but pure joy inside of her. How could one say "no" to a face like that!?

Jesimae grinned and felt her face grow warm, if only she had met him before all of this perhaps things would've been a little less complicated. But she was on cloud nine at that moment and she knew nothing could could bring her down at that moment. She squeezed his hand tightly, giving him a reply that was less obvious to Jiro, she knew that if she kissed him she'd only end up pushing him on the table and tearing his clothes off.

"Perhaps." She replied with a smile, not wanting to give in too easily.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro lifted and eyebrow and then smiled wide. He couldn't let himself lose it right now. It wasn't the time. But, god, did she look beautiful. He took her hand and squeezed it.

"So, you don't know whether you want to hang out a little afterwards," he shrugged, turning away with a smile. "Okay, if that's how you feel." But instead of letting her hand go, he pulled her along with him, over to his brother whom he looked down at.

"So, shitagatte watashi tachi ko no hito de chansu wo mochi nasai ka?" he asked, looking at Jiro who made an unsure noise. He looked back at Jesimae.

"Kanojyo to, tabun," Jiro answered. "Watashi ha bun kanojyo ni hanaso u to omotte iru. Okay?" Taro nodded at him.

"Okay," he looked at Jesimae. "Watashi no kyoudai ha hoshii - -oops...sorry. I meant to say that in English. My brother wants to talk to you a minute. I'm going to go into the kitchen and see if we stached any other weapons in there." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Don't worry, okay?" He winked and turned towards the kitchen, disappearing inside.

[Jesimae Lawson]

She felt her emotions explode like a bursting star. She felt immense joy at that solitary moment and she wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as one possibly could. Taro was the most magnificent creature she had seen. His voice, his smile, his body, his hair, his lips! Everything seemed to feet like a piece of a puzzle, but of course she was jumping ahead of herself considering she hadn't known him long enough to personally know him but it didn't mean she wasn't willing to learn.

Jesimae wanted more of him and she wasn't willing to take him in small doses, but out of respect she forced herself to calm down and forced herself to stay level headed. Taro walked away and she felt a pain in her stomach, she wasn't quite ready to watch him leave the room. She swore he was God's gift to women for his beauty was too striking and his smile too contagious. After a moment she finally moved her thoughts to something else, maybe not as wonderful but to matters perhaps more important at that moment. She turned and glanced at Jiro and soflty smiled. Speak with her? She was a bit surprised she hadn't heard much from him since the last night, but she was sure it'd be important.

Jesimae walked over to him and kneeled beside him and looked at his profile. As odd as it was to think it, Jiro had some good points, too.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro glanced at Jesimae then looked back towards the window his eyes had been fixed on the past few minutes. He could feel the electrically charged air around her, and his own brother was sparking slightly. He knew instinctively what was going on.

"First, I'm just going to give you a quick once over about my brother. He's a player. And that's said in the most caring way. But he lives to break hearts," Jiro said, then looked at her. "Second, this Deacallion. Does he have any other weaknesses that you know of? Because if fire is the only thing we have, we aren't going to get very far. Unlike twinkle-toes in there, I have to be realistic."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae suddenly felt her happy feelings and thoughts slowly winding down, her energy leaving her body and leaving her with a very low sensation. She glance away and suddenly began to think of Jabari and his words about men.

I don't need a heart breaker... She didn't need a lot of things and suddenly she felt that perhaps she didn't need Taro. Jesimae mentally shook her head as if trying to rid herself of that last thought, but why wouldn't she believe the one person that knew him more than anything? It was Jiro, his own brother, if anyone knew Taro it would be him.

She was speechless and didn't know what to say, perhaps she had been too quick to judge him, too quick to judge her own feelings as well. Jesimae glanced up at Jiro and decided to answer his question about Deacallion.

"No, he has impecable patience and a high tolerance for pain. He shrinks in fear at the very sight of fire. Without some kind of head start on trying to kill him I don't think we will be getting rid of him any time soon." Jesimae swallowed the fear and wondered what he was doing? Hopefully it was nothing nearby, she knew he preferred to fight during the night simply because his bionic eyes allow him to see better. At that point Jesimae wondered if perhaps they should even stay there.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro saw the stricken look that appeared on Jesimae's face, and felt slightly guilty. He hadn't want to hurt her in any way, but that was exactly what he was trying to avoid. Taro had never done anything but break hearts. It was all he'd ever known how to do. Pick pockets and dump nice girls. Jiro had thought Taro had learned his lesson with Anna. But now he was after Jeismae. He turned to the kitchen.

"Chotto! Kare ha kutsuu no ookii ryou wo tateru koto ga dekiru," he said, speaking to Taro, who stuck his head outside the kitchen door.

"Oh? Ido... sorekara watashi tachi ha kare ga tateru koto ga deki nai kutsuu wo mitsuke nakere ba nara nai," Taro answered him, going back into the kitchen.

"Okay," Jiro said, then turned back to Jesimae. "I'm going to check around the pipe." He turned to leave then stopped and looked back. "You know, I don't mean to throw a monkey wrench in the plans, as I believe the English saying goes. But...just keep what I said in mind, okay?" He then turned back to the ladder and climbed down, disappearing into the pipe.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae was confused. Jiro was telling her things she really didn't want to hear, speaking in Japanese so quickly she wondered if she was insane, and now he was trying to be nice about what he had said. At that point she didn't know which end was up and she was scared half to death because Deacallion was supposed to be dead.

She slowly stood up and tried to think. What had gone wrong the last time? How did he escape when she swore he had finally been murdered? How were they supposed to get through this?

Jesimae felt a sudden wash of guilt for bringing either one of them into her problems, this was only meant for two people to duke it out and in no way did those plans include Jiro and Taro Lawson.

Quickly she walked to the kitchen and saw Taro standing on the kitchen counter looking on top of the wall cabinets, hoping he had left something up there that would do some serious damage. She was a bit surprised to walk in to see him standing above her but was quick to let her paranoia pass. She leaned against the doorframe and looked up at him, she wondered if he had noticed her or heard her walk in but she didn't really care she just knew she had to tell him what they should do.

"You two should leave." The moment the words escaped her mouth she wondered if she were doing the right thing, well suggesting the right thing. She watched Taro look over his shoulder and quickly frown at her. Before she could hear him say anything she leaned off the doorframe and uncrossed her arms.

"This honestly doesn't concern you. Deacallion wanted to fight me in the beginning, Jiro was just unlucky enough to be there. I know if I tell him to forget about you two he would. This is my battle, I can't allow someone to step in and try to fight it for me."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro merely stared at her for a moment or two. She seemed upset by not only Deacallion. He turned fully to look her square in the face.

"Jesimae. That is out of the question. Whether it began your fight or not, I and Jiro are in this now, and I am not going to escape Deacallion's grip unless you are in mine. You aren't going to do this alone. Neither me, nor Jiro will leave your side. If he wants you, he'll have to get through us."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae looked at him for a long moment, staring into his eyes as if she were searching for the answers to why they even existed. She had to break it after she lingered too long doing so by looking down at the ground, as if that helped her considering she was feeling dizzy again from his mere body inches away.

She frowned softly, it was really hurting her to think he was a man who lived for a thrill in the bedroom, she just couldn't see it, nor did she want to. "I appreciate bravery, but this time I just cannot accept your willingness to die." She looked out towards the living area to see Jiro had not returned from checking the pipes. She looked back and sighed, frustrated beyond words.

"Why are you doing this?" She questioned in a low and hard tone, leaning forward and taking one step closer to him. "Why are you acting so brave, so heroic, so willing to risk your life for me? A complete stranger?" She touched her chest as she spoke, frowning heavily and trying to understand if Jiro was right, if Taro was going to try and get a few kicks before tossing her out like garbage.

"I'm not one of those girls who goes out seeking thrills and adventure, I can't do that as easy as some people." She made it sound relevant to the situation, meaning she wasn't one who went searching for battles; deep down she truly was saying she wasn't like Taro, wasn't able to love 'em then leave 'em.

Deacallion's Annex
He pulled the cloak over his back, quickly hiding the fresh bleeding wounds from his thirteen lashes. Discipline kept him focused, discipline kept him strong, discipline get him alive.

The sun had barely been out that morning and the rain was quickly beginning to fall, darkening the happy bright day that many seemed to take for granted, but he just wished he could take people and make them understand the meaning of life; appreciate it.

"There is just one more thing to do." He said to himself as his red eyes moved away from the stained and rusted window in the warehouse. He ran a hand over his shaved head and walked into a dark corner of the warehouse, pulling open a secret door that unveiled an array of weapons ranging from knives, blasters, lightsaber's, and ascension guns. He had anything and everything at his finger tips. He smiled, pleased at what he had obtained over the years and even more pleased with himself for hiding a secret, a powerful one at that. He had overcome his fear of fire.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro looked confused, then angry, then hurt. Where had all that come from? When had he ever said he was going to just leave her after getting thrills? That had never even come up. He drew his eyebrows down, then turned his back on her.

"I'm sorry you think I'm out for adventures and thrills. I'm sorry that you want to do all this alone. But I can't just leave you here. Maybe Jiro could, but I can't," Taro leaned down, opening a cabinet and grabbing three blasters. He turned and walked out the door, dropping a blaster in her hands as he passed. "I'm sorry, Jesimae."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae lookd at the blasters and frowned. She knew she had said something wrong and she was immediately feeling like crap. What else was she expecting by talking like that? Acting so...so stupid.

Jesimae walked into the living room and sat the blasters down next to a few weapons sprawled out on the table. She suddenly felt more guilt, ashamed for even trying to accuse Taro of something he was innocent of, she hoped.

She had lost something vital in her life and she was desperate to replace the lost feelings, whether it be a dog or a human she was just tired of running from her past and was ready to make mistakes that would shape her into a person, not some killer she had been since she was a child. Taro made her feel different, made her feel alive, and gave her a sense of hope that perhaps not all was lost but she had just pushed him away.

She walked into the room she had slept in the night before and sat down on the bed, leaning on her knees and putting her fingers through her hair as she stared at the ground. She needed to think of a way to defeat Deacallion, to find Jabari, and try and understand why Taro acted so hurt.

Slowly she felt this emense pressure fall on her shoulders, running from things had finally caught up with her and she was beginning to drag two innocent people into her world of chaos. Jesimae felt her lip quiver and tears build up in her eyes, Taro's reaction hurt her because she could see that in turn she had hurt him. Was there something he wasn't telling her? A drop of tears fell from her eyes and landed on the floor.

Jesimae was never this emotional but she was weighing her options, she could die all because she was avenging her brother or she could live but she'd have the same life of loneliness and boring routine. She just wished she knew what Taro was thinking.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro tried to ignore the knot in his chest. He had had something speacial in his hands for two seconds and then it had all fallen to peices. He felt as if he were trying to grasp air, or hold onto gravity.

Taro let his hands work on the blaster that he held. But he couldn't seem to concentrate. He pulled out the energy pack, fumbled with it and dropped it next to his feet. He was angry suddenly. He slammed the blaster onto the table.

"Tawagoto!" he yelled. "Oroka na baka!" He grabbed the pack and threw it onto the table, rubbing his temple then looking at the pipe where his brother had gone. "Jiro! Jiro ha koko ni modotte kuru!"

When he didn't get an answer, he walked over to the ladder going down and leaning over to look into the pipe.

"Jiro! Jiro!" he yelled. Taro leaned down further to look into the split in the pipe. From the direction of the door he saw light, and he felt cold in the pit of his stomach. Getting on his hands and knees he cralwed into the pipe, feeling the gook mush between his fingers. He reached the split and turned towards the door. Taro looked down the pipe in horror. The door was opened and Jiro was nowhere in sight.

Scrambling backward, Taro found his way back to his apartment, jumping up the ladder and sprinting to the table where he'd dropped the blaster.

"Deacallion giji! Watashi no kyoudai ga iru koto ga deki nai!" he said, shoving in the energy pack and grabbing the flamethrower that Jiro had left. He looked over his shoulder. "Jesimae! Jesimae, he's got my little brother--" was all he was able to get out before he ran for the pipe again.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae felt her senses rise as she glanced up at the doorway, tears in her eyes. She heard in a distance Taro calling for his brother but in mere seconds she saw him rush across the room and then call out to her.

Jesimae! Jesimae, he's got my little brother...

She jumped to her feet, sheer panic coursing through her body like an electrical shock to her system. Jesimae ran out into the living room and called out.

"Taro!" She glanced all over the room but saw a flamethrower was missing. "Damn it!" She said to herself, grabbing a blaster and stuffing it into the waist of her pants grabbing another and holding it in her hand. She ran to the ladder and turned, placing one foot on a rung. She knew it'd take a while to get to the bottom since she wasn't fond of heights so she did what she hoped was the fastest way.

She stuffed the other blaster in her pocket and grabbed the sides of the rails and let her feet go, she dropped to the bottom quickly, as if she were sliding down a pole. She fell to the ground the moment she hit bottom but quickly jogged it off by rushing into the pipe head first, sliding through the goop and mess. She saw the light at the end of the pipe after crawling for what felt like hours.

"Taro!" She yelled loudly, glancing at the pipe then back up. "Where are you!?" She tried to crawl faster but she only slipped and fell on her stomach. She was scared because he wasn't answering and she was scared because she had no idea what was going on. She squinted as she fell out of the pipe and onto the ground. She sat up and looked around feeling the pain in her knees and neck. She reached up and ripped off the dressing, it annoying her to no avail.

She saw nothing around her except the sun, which was started to set. Had they slept late? Had they been searchign for weapons long? All Jesimae knew was that this was when Deacallion did his worst, or best depending on how you looked at it. She stood up and searched the area around her.

"Taro!" She spun in circles praying to find him. "Taro where are you? Please answer me!" She could helplessness pouring over her in one solid moment where she felt as vulnerable as a kitten. Why wasn't he answering? Where had he gone? And how did Deacallion find the entrance way?

She felt the fear wash over her as quickly as the questions came. She had lost someone important in her life and before she could work up a good cry she felt herself become angered, furious, and vengeful. Jesimae had lost her life, her love, her brother and she wasn't about to loose someone nearly as important now!

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was blindly running. Faster and faster. The tall shadow was ahead of him, his little brother's limp form grasped in one hand as if he didn't weigh anything. He had heard Jesimae calling for him, had desperately wanted to look back at her, but his legs just kept moving. His brother was going to die, he knew it.

"Kyoudai! Jiro! Jiro!" he was yelling, and the air was hurting his lungs. His legs were burning, his chest heaving, trying to get enough air, but he kept speeding up. Feeling the fear and panic that he may never see his brother again rise in his chest, he choked out a sob and growled as he pulled up the flamethrower and moved into range of the shadow. "Kore wo no giji tori nasai!"

And he slammed down the fuel and fire. It burst out from the tip, roaring at the shadow and rolling over his back. Taro was sure he kept the flame slightly to the left so he did not his his brother. For a split second he looked back, over his shoulder and yelled at the disappearing form of his apartment building.

"Jesimae!" he yelled as loudly as he could. "I'm here!"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae frowned as she continued to spin, when she heard Taro call out for her she immediately ran towards his voice. She saw in the distance Taro running and turning a corner sharply. She grabbed a the blaster out of her pants and ran quickly towards him, the small pistol fitting nicely in her hands as she tried her best to not lose them.

"Taro!" She screamed, the blood pounding in her ears as she felt the cold wind lap around her as she forcefully used every bit of energy she had. When she came upon the corner she turned and nearly lost her footing as she was blinded by the bright flame shooting out of the object Taro held in his hands.

Sweat was pouring off of him and she knew why. She squinted and looked ahead to see nothing, had he been shooting blindly at something he did not see? She ran up behind him, calling for him to stop, but he kept firing aiming at oblivion.

"Taro!" She grabbed his shoulder and he let the trigger go, giving her a glance of sheer anger that she was almost shocked to see. "He's gone! You are shooting at the wind!" A loud bright flash painted the sky in a vein like pattern, soon followed by a ground breaking clap of thunder, the humidity suddenly hitting them both. Slowly, raindrops fell heavily hitting the two and engulfing them in seconds.

"We have to get more weapons, there isn't any way we can defeat him and get your brother back with two blaster pistols and a flamethrower low on fuel! Take me to my apartment, I have somethings that could help." She spoke loudly, the sound of rain hitting the ground relentlessly made hearing and vision impossible. "If we can get a few things I can take you to where he lives." She knew he probably wasn't fond of her suggestion but it was the only way, lack of weapons with a lack of ability to inflict harm didn't make things any brighter.

"Please," She said squinting in the dowpour, watching the gun steam from the cold drops hitting the heated barrel. "Trust me."

Deacallion's Annex
As he heard the loud clap of thunder echo throughout the quickly falling night Deacallion walked away from the body laying on a metal table a few feet away, surprised it had been that simple to capture at least one of his victims. He was ignoring the pain in his left shoulder from where the intense heat had penetrated the cloak but it wasn't something he hadn't gotten used to those passed few years.

He heard the shirtless boy on the table cough, slightly coming to after being dragged like a rag doll. Deacallion glanced away from his table of instruments and saw him move his head from side to side, not being able to fully awaken just yet. The blood that had dried on his face let him know who was the better half of this fight.

Deacallion grinned, shredding his cloak and grabbing a long needle off the table and slowly walking over to the table where he had been strapped down tightly by leather straps, laying on his back in the spread eagle position.

"We'll wait till the guests arrive before we start the show, for now fly high." He stuck the needle into his arm, giving him a dose of morphine to surpress his breathing and to let him become more sleepy, if not immobile to his surroundings for a while. Jiro grimaced as the needle pierced the flesh and was injected into his clean veins. Before he could open his eyes to see the man, he was knocked into oblivion.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was looking down at Jesimae, his arms and knees shaking from the fury that had been coursing through his body a moment before. The rain was drenching him, causing his hair to stick to his face and traveling down his face in small rivers that dripped from his jaw onto his chest. Steam was rising from the flamethrower, and the emotion he had been supressing formed a lump in his throat and he choked out another sob, tears slipping down his face, mingling with the rain to slide down his cheeks. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Okay..." he choked out, opening his eyes and looking down at Jesimae. "Okay...Let's go..." He looked back over his shoulder at the place where Deacallion and his little brother had disappeared. He closed his eyes. "Futsu Ha--watashi no chiisai kyoudai wo hogo suru..." he prayed. "Please..."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae squinted, the water falling off of her eyelashes. She watched him stand there and say something lowly in his native tongue. She could see he was worried, perhaps more so than angered but she knew she was his only hope to get Jiro back, alive!

The two ran to her apartment in seconds and the mess that awaited her was almost ghastly. The sofa had been ripped to shreds, food thrown around the kitchen, pictures smashed, her dog was even gone but she made sure not to mention that to Taro for it wasn't important right then.

She watched Taro stare out her window as she tossed knives, blaster pistols, ascension guns, anything and everything that could possibly inflict harm on the brute man. He was smoking a cigarette and possibly relaxing but she knew that was impossible, nobody could relax when their brother was in harms way. But she knew Deacallion, he wouldn't hurt him until there was someone to watch.

She zipped up the black duffel bag and stood up, the only source of light coming into her living room from the lamp outside. The broken light bulbs crunched under her feet as she crossed the room over to Taro. She touched his shoulder and he slightly jumped, being drawn quickly out of his daze.

"Taro..."She stopped speaking due to the sadness in his eyes took her breath away. The soft lamp outside causing his beauty to jump out at her more and how vulnerable he looked at that single moment made her heart break.

"It'll be okay. He'll be okay." She wished that helped but she knew it didn't. Struggling with the loss of her brother was hard and she knew Taro wasn't ready to lose Jiro yet, nor should he ever be. Jesimae put her hands over his face and wiped away some water under his eyes, she hoped they weren't tears but his eyes were red and she wondered if it was fatigue.

She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, knowing nothing else to do for she wanted to avoid the feeling of losing Jabari all over again.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro closed his eyes slightly and let the warmth of her lips against his spread through his body, and he fought back a few more tears that were aching to fall again. When she pulled away he looked down into her face, her eyes searching his, and he brushed his hand against her face.

"Thank you, Jesimae," he said, leaning down and kissing her gently on her ear. "Thank you." He took her hand. "Let's go."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae felt heart broken and helpless. She didn't want him to feel such pain and heart ache for a lost brother, it was the worst feeling God ever gave to man and she knew it was against nature. She smiled and rubbed his cheek and nodded, turning towards the door, grabbing the strap of the duffel bag before exiting.

They walked out into the dirty hall that was low, damp, and an obvious place where slums lived. She turned and told him to wait a moment before walking to a door nearby and kicked it hard several times. When a man answered she titled her head to the side and gave him a fake smile.

"Hello Roger...I need a cruiser." He coughed and rubbed his nose, quickly stepping back at the sight of her with an amused smile on his face.

"Oh yeah? What kind?"

"A fast one." She knew he stole cruisers for a living and she knew he owed her numerous amount of favors, no longer was this little druggy going to take her for a ride anymore without paying his debt. "A very fast one." He laughed and shrugged his shoulders, leaning on the door frame giving her the once over.

"Fine, but it'll cost ya." Jesimae quickly drew out her small blaster and pointed it at him, fright quickly replacing the amused look.

"Okay, how many blasts will it take in the knee cap? One or two?" Before she knew it, Taro was sitting in the drivers seat listening to her directions on how to reach Deacallion a way he would never expect them to enter.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was speeding as fast as the cruiser would carry them, listening as Jesimae called the directions in his ear over the wind and the rain. He took a sharp right at the sped on. A kid ran out into thier path, and Taro swirved over to the side, nearly throwing he and Jesimae off. He turned, shaking his fist at the kid.

"Baka de aru!" he yelled, turning back to look at where he was going. The rain pelted his face mercilessly and he glanced back to make sure Jesimae was still with him. "How much farther?" he called.

[Jesimae Lawson]

"Just up ahead." She watched him nod in reply and suddenly she felt energized, awake, and more alert than she had ever been her adrenaline pumping through her body like an electric wave.

In the distance of the rainy night a large dark building sat alone in an isolated part of the city, fear quickly shooting into her mind as to what Deacallion had done to Jiro. She was positive he wasn't going to harm him until he knew they had gotten there, feeding their fears something he enjoyed very much.

"Turn your lights off." She said lowly to him as if Deacallion could hear as the crept up into an alley where she told him to park behind an object. He did as she directed and quickly she jumped out of the car, grabbing the duffel bag and watching Taro clench his jaw as he put a blaster around his neck, allowing the strap to hold it on his shoulder while he grabbed a few more objects and placed them in designated holsters.

"You ready?" She asked feeling breathless and shaking due to the cold rain and her natrual endorphines. He nodded appearing ready to fight and ready to get Jiro. She nodded and she walked out of the alley and ran across the street towards the side of the building, grabbing a rung on a ladder and ascending to the top of what looked like a four story building despite it only being two floors.

"We'll sneak in by the crawling through the ventalation system. When we get onto the attic we can see waht he is doing and we'll make a better plan." She spoke lowly and waited impatiently for Taro to reach the top despite him being better at climbing ladders than she was. He saw the large metal shaft where they could crawl in and make their way towards the large attic that, fortunately, was boared up and allowed the two to view him without their his knowing.

Jesimae looked around the dark and desolate area as she heard Taro push his blaster around so that the strap crossed his chest. Before he put his legs in first she grabbed his arm and looked at him, her heart going a mile a minute and the blood being pumped through her entire body so quickly she could feel it.

"Taro," She watched him turn his head sharply to see her, water fraying out on the tip of his hair. She swallowed the fear and leaned in. "Whatever you see...you must not make a noise! That is crucial to our getting Jiro out of here."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro felt very, frighteningly confined. He'd never been a small spaces person, and he'd never been forced to cralw through ventilation shafts. And now that he was, he was amazed that he was still breathing properly.

But the only thought going through his mind, keeping him from freaking out in this situation, was Jiro. The thought of his little brother being tortured and killed. The thought that he might not get there fast enough, that Deacallion had already done things to him and that he was enjoying himself so much he'd keep Jiro alive longer just to torment him. If Jiro had to die, Taro wanted it to be quick and painless. Not drawn out to ungodly lengths.

He glanced over his shoulder at Jesimae, who was crawling along military style, as he was. He turned back to look ahead of him. He knew that Deacallion was someone he didn't want to mess with and he knew that if Jesimae said not to make a noise, he would have to stay quiet. But he didn't know if that would be possible should he see his little brother strapped to a table and being tortured in some way.

Taro knew that tormenting Jiro would be the last thing Deacallion ever did.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae watched him crawl up ahead, the space beginning to make her feel breathless and panic stricken. She knew to stay calm for their safety and for Jiro's. She whispered to Taro to go ahead and crawl to his right and slid out of the venting system. He did as she said and in complete silence. She watched him slide out of view and onto the cold hard floor of the attic, the walls that turned it into a room was made out of wooden boards so their being there was hidden quite well.

Jesimae moved and put her feet first and slowly slipped out of the vent, feeling Taro's hands wrap around her waist to help her down. She looked at him when she felt her feet touch the ground, he looked determined and she could see a certain flame in his eyes that let her know that the fuel for it all was Deacallion.

She moved out of his grasp and walked towards the wall to her left, hunkering down lowly just in case Deacallion glared up at the attic. She glanced over her shoulder and waved her hand at Taro, wanting him to follow. When she sat on her knees and peeked through a slit in the boards she knew she shouldn't have.

Shirtless, sweaty, bloody, and slightly coming to she had to take a quick breath. She felt Taro sit next to her and when she saw him look at what she saw his eyes grew wide. Jesimae silently gasped when she saw the tears of fury well in his eyes and his mouth crack and his hand grasp his blaster she wrapped her left arm around his shoulder and put her hand over his mouth, the anger ready to be spat out and their veil of secrecy be lifted.

"Shhh!" She said to him, her lips grazing his ear. She breathed heavily and she glanced through the slats knowing to stay calm, that this was just mere childs play to what Deacallion could have already done. "I know it's hard, but you have to keep quiet!" Tears were welling in her eyes but only for the pain she was feeling for Jiro and Taro, the two that loved one another more than they realized.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was staring fixedly at his brother. Jiro looked so much smaller as he laid there gasping for breath and bleeding. He looked like the five year old that had huddled next to Taro in the rain when they had been left on the streets of Coruscant.

Death was coming to Deacallion, there was no doubt.

Taro reached up and wiped furiously at the tears. They had no place here, how dare they creep up on him like that. He wasn't going to cry, it would not happen. He could not let it happen. He was stronger than that.

But in reality, he was dying to break down and sob.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae held onto Taro as if letting go meant death, she was scared for Deacallion never tied his victims up like that unless he had a brilliant plan behind it. She had to close her eyes and look away for a moment, the fear finally sinking in and the idea of not getting Jiro away alive becoming a possibility.

Jesimae looked through the slits and saw the attic on the other side, they need to figure out how to fight Deacallion, save Jiro, and get out of there...but how?

"We have to figure out how to get Deacallion away from Jiro." Jesimae didn't know what to say but the words that were aching to come out were simple and not what one would need to hear.

"I don't think we can defeat him, Taro." If only she knew how to give them both some hope.

[Taro Lawson]

Many ways to get Deacallion away from his brother passed through Taro's head. All of them violent and very destructive. However, he knew if he wanted to get Jiro out alive. He was looking through the slats still, and was searching the darkness for where Deacallion had hidden himself. He glanced at Jesimae.

He was trying to quickly formulate a rough plan so that he and Jesimae could fall back and discuss it before moving forward. But the sight in front of him was making his brain numb.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae felt her bottom lip quiver she closed her eyes not wanting Taro to see what she thought, she didn't want him to see the defeat before even trying to fight. When she opened them Taro's eyes were an unpleasant sight. Tears were falling, blending in with the damp skin from the rain and the sweat that was quickly building up on his soft skin.

Jesimae desperately wanted to wipe them away, kiss him until his pain went away, and hold him in her arms until the world ended. Perhaps she wanted to do all those things for her own selfish need but the pain in her heart she felt from seeing him this way was too great for her to take on.

She slowly moved off of him, her grip around him loosening and dropping her hand from his mouth. She wiped away a strand of hair that had fallen out of the knot she had pulled it up in prior to getting to the warehouse.

"I don't see him." She whispered, glancing away from him for a moment forcing herself to think of Jiro and of the task that lay ahead of them.

"He's got candles burning everywhere..." She wanted to cry at the sight she had been wrong, Deacallion wasn't afraid of fire. "We have to do something to get his attention off of Jiro." The second his name exited her lips there was a loud groan. Taro looked away from Jesimae and through the boards, Jiro was coughing and groaning in pain, his body showing signs of being weak and beaten.

"I see him!" Jesimae grabbed Taro's arm as tight as she could, her heart pumping so fast she didn't think it'd stay inside her chest for very much longer. She touched the board in front of her and Taro bent down to see. Slitting his eyes he could see a lone shadow moving along the side of the room, bending down and opening up a door in the floor, slowly descending into the dark hole until neither of them could see.

"Ahhhh!" The screams of Jiro drew their attention away, his eyes were closed and his back was arched. Deacallion was doing something to him! That room had something to do with the pain being inflicted on him. It looked as if Deacallion were shocking him by the wires attached to his temples and his sides. The electric lights flickered and Jesimae glanced at them wondering if perhaps it was due to the lightening or the charge it was getting.

Taro was struggling, she could feel his pain for what he was seeing. The lights stopped flickering and then there was a disturbing silence. But when she swore Taro was going to give their position away by screaming and shooting his blaster Jiro moved.

She held her breath when she watched his head move to the left and when he opened his eyes and glanced up at the attic there was a sign of hope. Jiro had just spotted them, Jesimae knew it.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro had never felt pain like this before. His legs ached and his arms were on fire. His stomach was lurching and he felt as if he may vomit any moment. However, the only thing that would come out of his dry mouth was sorry groans and weak words that he wasn’t sure were in English or Japanese.

Jiro experimentally began trying his body parts. First he wiggled his toes and then twitched each finger. He lifted his back slightly off the table and moved his knees about. Carefully and slowly he began moving his head to make sure his was actually still alive and not lying in the afterlife somewhere.

Finally, Jiro slowly slid his eyes opened and his world came into focus. He was in a warehouse of some sort and he was pinned down. He remembered then who his host was as well. Deacallion had been talking to him for the entirety of the time. About many things, mostly what he was going to do to his brother when they arrived.

Jiro let his head slowly droop to the left and his eyes slowly travel down the left hand wall. And as they did, his sharp eyes caught a gap in the wall, and from it was peering…

Jiro’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes locked with Jesimae’s. Jiro couldn’t believe he was seeing her. He knew she had to be there with his brother, but he could not see him there. Jiro blinked several times as he tried to make it look as if he were not looking at anything in particular, should Deacallion return suddenly from where he was. And for a split second, Jiro wondered if Deacallion spoke Japanese.

Jiro looked Jesimea straight in the eyes, made sure Deacallion was truly not there, and mouthed a broken question:

Deacallion…Japanese?

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae leaned back and her mouth drop open slight. It looked as if he had said something, something directed at her. She slit her eyes and leaned forward, glancing around the warehouse seeing that Deacallion was still out of sight. She looked at the shabby wood separating her from the ground floor and their position of where they hid. She bit her lower lip and put her hands in the small slit, slighty pulling, feeling the wood bend and slightly crack due to the humidity and its age. In her hands she felt the wood crumble in the smallest of pieces, falling into her lap and onto the attic floor that was wet from the roof leaks and dirty from the dust.

She brushed her hands on her pants and looked once more before leaning into view, the hole a bit bigger revealin a small portion of her eyes and nose. She looked down at him, watching him try to move free.

"Jiro!" She said forcefully in a loud whisper. She looked over at the door in the floor and saw nothing. She looked back at Jiro and saw he had heard her. "Tell us what to do! He won't understand!" She felt Taro pull her out of the way and lean into Jiro's view quickly speaking in Japanese.

CELLAR
Deacallion looked around the dark room, his legs sunk in the water that had filled in from outside. He saw objects floating around in the water, none of what he was searching. He slowly moved his way across the cellar, to his left of the cellar stairs. A few feet away he saw what he was looking for, the breaker box to shut off the lights, blind his rescuers so that when they came all they would see would be darkness. He slid his mouth into a grin as he touched the box, the light door swinging open. He touched the red button and quickly flicked it down, the sound of the electrical system shutting down completely.

His eyes were the advantage, while they stumbled around and tried to rescue the boy, he would watch every move in the shadows, waiting to get what he deserved.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro heard his brother's voice and sighed, a relief like none he'd ever known flood through him.

"Jiro, kare ha rikai shi nai choudo watashi tachi no tame no shiji wo shutsudou sa se nasai," he whispered. Jiro nodded, glancing around him once then beginning to talk in a normal voice so that his brother could hear him. But he made it sound pained as if he were resorting to his native tongue in the face of pain.

"Miru watashi ga koto ga dekiru mono wo kara watashi wo kaihou suru sorera no kaidan no shita ni rebaa ga choudo aru ka," Jiro said. "Ichi tsu ha mata koko ni kara dokoka ni sono no mawari de doa no tame no joushou wo koto ga dekiru watashi tachi wo dasu koko ni seigyo suru. Shikashi kare ha sono wo kanari yoku mamoru."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was so happy to see his brother still alive. But he had to get to business. He listened as his brother spoke and nodded, turning to Jesimae.

"He says there is some sort of lever that controls the holds that keep him there," he whispered, and listened as his brother continued to speak. "He also says there is another lever that controls a door, but that Deacallion protects that one really well."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae frowned, the news not changing the situation. She nodded in response and glanced around the empty attic seeing nothing but old pipes and a low hanging vent opening. Jesimae bit her lower lip as she continued to look at the shabby attic finding nothing useful.

It had been many years since she had been there, a time when they once were friends. She remembered the warehouse having two cellars, one for storage the other for the water that seeped in from the streets and into the sewer underneath the city. If she remembered correctly she was on the correct side to find the cities filthy water. She slit her eyes and crawled on her hands and knees to her right, a hole in the flooring leading to something she hoped would bring them a miracle.

"Taro!" She called out to him once she peered down the dark hole to see water below, happiness and hope filling inside of her. "We can jump down into the water, there is a set of stairs that lead onto the ground floor, we can sneak out to Jiro and try to find that lever." Jesimae turned to look over her shoulder, hoping he'd go along with it, the danger that was waiting for them creeping closer.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro heard thier plan and shook his head wildly. He began yelling it in his own language, knowing he could get it out quicker.

"Iie! Iie! Kare ni shikake bakudan ga soko ni aru! Kare ha soko ni tobu koto wo kokoromi kare ga supaiku waiyaa, shigoto wo oi ta koto wo kangae ta! Soko ni tobu koto ga deki nai!"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae stopped from going ahead and going through with her plan since Jiro's voice stopped her dead in her tracks. She frowned and looked over at Taro to find him crawling over to the openening in the wall.

"Wha-what is he saying?" She could see the strip of light on his face as he peered over to the warehouse, his eyes scanning the room before locking with his brothers. "Taro!?" She called out, wishing he'd say something but he was talking quickly, not once glacing back at her. She bit her lower lip and contemplated on jumping but opted against it and quickly she hunkered down and walked over to him, touching his arm.

"Taro?" Two small lines were formed in between his brow as he spoke with his brother and she had to push his right shoulder back in order to capture his attention. He frowned heavily, giving her the thought that he was annoyed with her actions but she didn't care.

"What is he saying?"

[Taro Lawson]

Taro heard Jesimae say something, but he was too focused on what his brother was saying. And he found as tensions grew that he could not switch between English and Japanese as easily as normal. Her words did not make sense to him and for a split second he was transported back to when he was surrounded by English speaking orphanage keepers and he could not understand the words they were yelling at him.

After a moment of him not paying any attention to her, Jesimae grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to face her. He knew his face must've shown annoyance, but really it was frustration at having two languages going into his head at once, one making perfect sense and the other just a jumble of sounds.

Jiro was still calling out at him and Taro couldn't concentrate on Jesimae's English words while Jiro's Japanese was going on. Taro turned to his brother.

"Jiro! Shhh! Seijaku! Watashi ha kore no you ni tsuduke te itte iru toki kanojyo no iu koto ga wakaru koto ga deki nai!" he stage whispered. Jiro silenced almost immediately and Taro turned back to Jesimae, letting her words sink in, and quickly translating them to Japanese. He nodded.

"Sorry..." he said, reordering his thoughts so he would no longer have to translate her English into Japanese. "He says that...um..." he paused making sure he translated right so that she would understand. "He says there are traps in there. He says Deacallion figured we would go for that and he's got traps in there." Taro nodded, closing his eyes, taking a breath then opening them again. "Okay. Now, please be quiet while I ask my brother something."

Taro turned to his brother and leaned into the crack so that his stage whisper would reach his brother.

"Watashi tachi ga anata ni torikakaru koto ga dekiru ka dore de anata ga kansatsu shi ta hoka no dono houhou mo aru ka?" he asked. Jiro shook his head.

"Iie," he said. Taro turned back to Jesimae.

"He says he hasn't seen another way down, either..." Taro trailed off. Then he looked back at Jesimae. "I just want to storm his castle with all damn guns blazing."

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae frowned as his words sunk in, was he absolutely nuts? Did he not understand the true problem of doing that? Deacallion wasn't someone to mess with and if you knew that for a fact nobody would simply open up the gates of hell and go down in a hail of gunfire.

Jesimae bit back her anger and had to use every part of her body to not smack his face for being so ignorant but she could understand where he was coming from. Jiro was being held prisoner and it was obvious he could endure a much more horrific fate if nobody stopped the craziness that unfolded.

"Taro," Jesimae said slowly trying to not the fear she felt in her stomach show in her words. "This isn't a simple battle, this has to be thought through." She knew he would ask himself why she said that when two seconds ago was ready to jump into oblivion.

Jesimae ran a hand across her forehead and tried to remain calm despite feeling horrified at every passing moment, the longer she thought about it the better his plan began to sound, but she knew it could only lead to death and perhaps not Deacallion's.

She was about to speak but she heard a creaking noise, as if perhaps someone was nearby, the old attic floorboards creaking under the weight of heavy feet. She frowned and couldn't hear anything but her heart and the blood being pounded in her ears. She held her breath as she touched Taro, mindlessly. "Do you hear that?" She questioned as she stared at the ground. Before he could answer Murphy's Law hit with a hard force. If something could go wrong, it would.

Within seconds the floor caved under their weight and amidst the cloud of dust and splinters the noise echoed loudly as they went crashing down onto level floor.

Jesimae felt pain the second her feet hit the hard concrete floor and she laid under a few pieces of wood, coughing violently as she felt pieces of wood enter her mouth along with the dust that now covered the two like a plaster. She felt sick and the pain coursed through her body like nothing she had felt before, but she knew that she had to bite through it.

Jesimae groaned and moved, feeling a heavy slab of wood fall off of her shoulder. Her eyes burned and she slowly scanned the debris ridden area. "Taro!?" She called out, moving to the mound of wooden pieces, seeing them move slightly. "Taro?"

[Taro Lawson]

Taro's head was spinning. He was vaguely aware that he was still alive, but he was wishing right this moment that he wasn't. Wood was piled on top of him and his skull had cracked against the floor, causing a large gash that was bleeding, the hot liquid slipping down his face in a small stream.

"Ouch... Futsu ni... jihi ga... aru..." he whispered, opening his eyes to let them focus. He put his hands against the floor and pushed himself upwards, the wooden peices falling off of him.

"Taro?" he heard Jesimae say, and he was absolutely sure she had screamed it. But when he looked over, she was still several paces from him and looked as of she probably could not achieve more than a whisper.

"Moushibun naku aru ka?" he asked her, shutting one eye against the pain that was throbbing in his temple. "Er...I mean..." Jesimea was spinning in front of him. He tried to sit straight, but everything around him was twirling out of control. Blood was gushing down his face, and he could feel it dribbling onto his shirt. Putting a hand over the wound, he tried to focus on the woman.

"Are you alright?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae heard him and crawled on her hands and knees towards him, the dust trying to settle but to slow for her liking. She gasped and quickly grabbed her right thigh, the pain coursing violently. She glanced down to see a large piece of wood jabbed into her leg. She winced and grabbed the object and jerked it out, it not being but a foot long. She watched the blood flow freely down her pants and the fresh wound sting. She looked around trying to find him amidst the dusty and dirty debris.

She saw her arms were scratched the pieces, bleeding, and burning. She didn't care as long as she could and could walk but when her eyes laid upon Taro she felt sicker than she had before and she nearly flew to his aid.

"Taro!" She wanted to cry but stopped herself and remembered to remain calm. She sat beside him and coughed as she put her left hand on the back of his head, her right over his own, the trail of blood frightening her.

"God! Damn it!" She said to herself lowly as she looked at him. "Can you see? Are you dizzy? Let me see!" She was quick to speak and whether or not he wanted to she moved his hand and saw the gash. She looked around for the duffel bag with the weapons but saw nothing but piles of wood.

"Can't you do anything right?" Jesimae's heart stopped, she couldn't breathe, and she knew that this couldn't be happening but when she felt the large cold hand grab her bloody arm and jerk her away she knew that this wasn't good.

"Ah!" Jesimae winced at the pain when she felt his other hand pull her hair and drag her beside the large slab where Jiro was lying, now gagged.

Jesimae kicked and tried to free herself but he was too strong. He grabbed her right wrist and put it next to Jiro's. He bent over her and opened the thick metal lock and laid her hand next to Jiro's left and quickly slammed the curved lock down over their writst. He let her hair go and she stood on her knees trying her best to free their hands. She looked up at Jiro, the sight being worse than she had seen in the attic.

"Oh god!" She said mindlessly with tears, his face beaten, bloody, bruised, his frail body weak and easily defeated. She grabbed the lock with her free left hand but the lock was too strong, too sturdy. "Jiro? Can you hear me!?" She watched him turn his head and glance at her with red eyes. She wanted to burst into tears but remained strong. She looked over her left shoulder and saw Deacallion walking towards Taro.

"Now, allow me to introduce myself!" Deacallion laughed and stood above Taro, Jesimae could only struggle and pray Taro had the courage to get up and at least fight.

[Taro Lawson]

"Now, allow me to introduce myself!" called a deep throaty voice. Taro could hear Jesimae whimpering. Despite the pain she had inflicted upon him in her desperation to see his wounds, Taro was still very much alert, and could hear the footsteps drawing ever closer. They stopped next to him and he could hear laughter. It was low and frightening and reminded Taro of a man he'd use to know when he was still a pick pocket beginner.

Taro felt a hand touch his back. He wasn't sure if Deacallion was finding out if he was still alive, or just sizing him up. Either way, Taro steeled himself against the shudder that coursed through his body and stopped breathing. The hand traced up from the small of his back to his neck and he felt it tighten around his neck. As he was lifted bodily off the floor, and went limp in the man's grasp, Taro prayed to Buddha for strength and serenity.

Deacallion laughed as he lifted Taro to eye level. Taro heard the man get ready to say something else, and sprung.

With a roar he pulled his leg back and slammed his foot into Deacallion's chin, and was happy to hear his neck crack sickeningly. Whether he broke it, he doubted. From that position, he wasn't as strong as he could have been. But it made Deacallion drop him.

He hit the floor and scrambled back into the wood pile to locate the bag of weapons that had landed somewhere near him. He ran across it under a large board and pulled the zipper open, grabbing a gun from it and leveling it at Deacallion.

"I already know who you are, you sick bastard."

[Jesimae Lawson]

“Come on!” Jesimae said to herself in a whimper trying to think of a way to get out of the lock. When she tried to pull her wrist out she heard Jiro yell, his voice being muffled, the pulling causing his wrist to be caught in between hers and the bar; stupid, she forgot he was stuck in there too. She looked at him and bit her lower lip, not vocally apologizing but stopped pulling.

Jesimae frowned and looked under the table seeing it had been attached by screws, enabling it from going anywhere. She smiled in her mind and focused on beginning to unscrew the long silver object. She fought the aching in her hands and the aching to look over her shoulder and see what Deacallion was doing but she knew he was a man and could fend for himself at that moment. Quickly she began to unscrew the screw.

She bit her lower lip and bent down and looked under the table, happy to find the screw could easily be pushed out. She struggled with the hard piece of metal, her fingers hurting and being cut by the sharp tip and the screw edges but she bi through it, forcing the screw upwards at least enough to where she could pull her hand out.

glanced at the slab when she felt Jiro move his hand more freely. She watched him slide it out with ease and grab at the other lock. She slipped her hand out and stood, limping to the other side to help Jiro get free, forcing herself to stay focused despite hearing Taro speaking in the distance. She bent down and grabbed the gag and pulled it out of Jiro's mouth, watching him struggle with his body and eyes. She nodded and bent down beginning to unscrew the other lock, praying Taro was doing well with Deacallion.

It felt like hours but it was only minutes before Jesimae realized that Jiro was free and sitting up, tearing at the leather straps on his ankles. Jesimae knew he could handle himself and she grabbed a gun on a slab with utensils only there to torture. She saw it had a full clip and quickly looked up to find Taro holding Deacallion at gun point. She wanted to smile and feel happy for the situation but Deacallion was clever, and could have other things in mind.

"You Jap bastard!" Deacallion said angrily as he touched his jaw, blood dripping like a leaking faucet. "You kicked me in my jaw." Deacallion reached behind his cloak and felt the cold handle of his sword and quickly pulled it out, letting Taro know he was in this for the fight.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro laughed as he saw Jesimea and Jiro free themselves from the restraints. He lowered his face as he looked Deacallion in the eyes.

"Jap bastard? Is this the best that you can do?" he asked, chuckling deeply in his throat. "Apparently, this Jap is more clever than you thought."

Taro saw Deacallion pull out the sword and leveled the gun at Deacallion's face. He felt Jesimae walked up next to him and saw her gun leveled at him as well.

"Are you okay?" he asked. When he figured that she had nodded, he turned his head slightly to the side without taking his gaze off Deacallion. Jiro ka. moushibun naku aru ka jigoku no haibu wo tootte soko ni itte i ta."

"Watashi ha umaku aru. Shouten," Jiro answered seriously. Taro nodded turning back to Deacallion.

"Now," he said, his Japanese accent somewhat heavier at this moment. "What are we going to do with you, Deacallion-san?" he glanced at Jesimae. "Jesimae-kun?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae suddenly flet sick, her stomach turning and her breath hard to come by, something about the situation bothered her. Deacallion finally being within reach and she being prepared enough to do something to him brought back old memories and made her feel sick due to the emmense pleasure she was getting at holding a gun to his face.

"What he did to my brother." She said lowly, tears fighting to crawl up her throat, the ball making it hard to swallow. "Burn you alive, you son of a bitch." She had taken note to the many gas cans placed around the room and she knew to use them to her advantage the best she could. She didn't care what Taro thought of her enjoyment at the thought she just wanted him dead.

Deacallion was remarkably grinning, lowering the sword and even tossing it aside as if he had been prepared to give in but something wasn't right with the grin. He began to laugh and Jesimae was confused and angered.

"You first." She frowned at his words but the quick explosion behind them stopped any plans of her revenge. The massive wave of heat and debris made her fall forward, due to the fright and the force it gave off. She grabbed her gun tightly and looked up to find he was running off. Taro was on the ground as well but shooting at him as he ran off, Jiro was running after him a moment later but was soon ducking behind objects when Deacallion had found his own gun.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was shooting at Deacallion from the ground but was not having any luck. He jumped up, shielding his face from the heat and saw Jiro running after Deacallion.

He, however, found a gun, and quickly began returning fire. Taro found himself the main target and danced about to avoid the fire. He turned, grabbing Jesimae and pulling her down behind a charred half of the table Jiro had been lying on earlier. He looked at Jesimae and handed her the gun and his extra clips.

"Here," he said, looking up at her, and blinking a few times in the heat. "Take this. The bag of guns is over near Jiro. I'm going to get him to bring it back behind with him so we can avoid it getting shot."

Taro turned and peeked around their table. Flames engulfed everything that was even remotely flammable. Taro's eyes were squinted against the heat and smoke. He suddenly realized that he desperately wanted a cigarette. Ignoring the craving, Taro called to his brother.

"Jiro! Danyaku no fukuro wo anzen tamochi, ichi subera se na sa i!" He called. Jiro turned and looked at him, then spotted the bag and pulled it in with him he opened it and dug through it a moment. He pulled a gun out for himself, then pulled another out. He looked at Taro.

"Katei shi te yobun kurippu ga ka hoshii to omoi nasai!" he called back. Taro nodded, dodging a bullet.

"Ee! Kyuusoku!" Taro answered. Jiro began digging through the bag again. Taro patted the floor. "Hayaku!"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Explosions were occuring all around them, the heat was burning her skin despite the flames being far away, at least fifteen feet behind them. It appeared that Deacallion had placed gas tanks around ticking bombs that soon set off a chain reaction of more bombs. She watched with wide eyes, shocked that the flames were suddenly growing taller, crawling across the ceiling and causing things to fall. She had watched a rafter above fall to the ground nearly a few feet away, shocked that it was so near, panic was suddenly taking over her body and she couldn't do anything but stare in marvel.

She heard Taro yelling to Jiro, above the noise of explosions, gun shots, and the flames in general. The power had been kicked off and the only light they had was the orange glow that seemed to be everywhere. She coughed when she felt smoke creep into her lungs.

"Hayaku!" Taro yelled loudly drawing Jesimae's attention back to him. She knew that word, she didn't know how but she knew it, somehow it seemed her brother had said that to her once. She leaned forward to look across the large warehouse to see Jiro staring over a crate before he ran towards them and fell beside him, breathing heavily.

"We have to go!" Jesimae screamed, knowing that if they were to stay any longer they'd all be buried in the massive fire. Jesimae didn't care if they wanted to stay and fight she wasn't going to die.

They both looked at her as if her demand was ridiculous but she knew that it was just a matter of time before it all came crashing down onto them. "Now!" She said grabbing Jiro's hand and pulling him towards her.

She took a moment to glance around and found a window surrounded by flames, but that didn't matter she wanted to go for it, wanted to jump through it, and wanted to smell the sweet fresh air again before things were too late.

Deacallion had been wounded, she saw, and he had gone behind a crate for his own protection only to now be trapped by flames, but she could care less all she wanted to do was get the hell out of dodge.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro was sure that he could not have agreed more with Jesimae. He saw that she was staring wild eyed at a window engulfed in a raging flame that was threatening to get higher if they did not go for it right then. He looked at it, then to Jesimae then to Jiro. Then, without a thought, he grabbed Jesimae's hand, knowing she had a hold of Jiro, and sprinted for the window.

The next two seconds were a blur, that afterword he knew he would not be able to recall properly. However, He got them to the window, and, with his gun, fired off several shots at the side of it, breaking and cracking the already unstable wall next to it, and making a larger way for them to get out.

Without thinking, he pushed his brother towards it and watched as Jiro jumped with the last ounce of his strength and barely made it onto the ledge that was now there. His legs disappeared through the window, and Taro turned his attention to Jesimae.

Taro glanced over his shoulder at Deacallion who was struggling to get out from his cage of flames. Smiling slightly, Taro turned back to Jesimae and looked into her face. He reached down and took her around her waist, just then realizing how small she was, and lifting her bodily to be in a sitting position on the window sill. She swung her legs over and jumped forward, disappearing from view.

It was only that moment that Taro felt peace. Jiro was safe, and so was Jesimae. And if now was the time for Taro to die, he could do it happily.

An explosion erupted almost directly behind him, the heat scalding his back, and making him cry out in pain. He reached up, blinking away the tears in his eyes and grabbed the window sill, Pulling himself up and halfway through. Using a sudden burst of energy he must have recieved from Buddha himself, he pushed himself through the window completely and onto the ground beyond.

He felt a pair of hands grab his arm and he was pulled to his feet by Jesimae. Taro grabbed her hand and Jiro's hand and he took off running in the general direction of the taxi platform. It did not take them long to get there, and when they did, they were lucky enough to be arriving just as a taxi pulled up. Taro pushed Jiro into the back seat, then Jesimae. He leaned into the front window and gave him thier destination. Then, slowly, he crawled in next to Jesimae, and was relieved to see that the dark window was up so the driver could neither see, nor hear them.

As they pulled off, Taro was sure he heard a faint explosion, almost sounding like the popping of his ears. He leaned down and put his head on his knees and wrapped his arms over his head, the pain of the blast that had occured behind him suddenly exploding in him. He gasped and screwed his eyes shut. But he sat up and looked at Jesimae.

"Kanojyo..." he whispered, reaching over and putting a hand on her neck. He glanced around her, to look at his brother, who was lying against the seat, his eyes squeezed shut and his hands clenched together in his lap. "Is anyone injured badly enough that we have to go to a hospital?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae looked at Taro and shook her head in response before turning to see Jiro shaking his head no as well, leaning against the door with such tire. Jesimae could only look at him and feel nothing but guilt.


The rain clouds still hovered and the night was still suffocating due to the humidity, the events still fresh in their minds. By the time they reached the apartment it had began to pour outside, nobody could honestly speak after such events and it felt as if the whole hour had been consumed by silence, save the thunder and rain. Jesimae and Taro had helped Jiro into his bed, his weak body finally catching up with his brain and shutting down due to tire Jesimae had been surprised that Taro didn’t help him shower due to his lack of strength and energy.

She laid on he couch with her eyes closed, her body still stinging and feeling as if it were all one open wound now that she had a moment to think about plucking out the splinters and feeling the hot water clean her, the blood having made the thin and slight scratches visually horrifying rather than physically. She heard the bathroom door being rattled and soon it swung open. Before she could feel the hot steam roll into the living room she could smell the sweet intoxicating scent of the soap and deodorant Taro had used. Jesimae forced herself to keep her eyes closed as she heard his naked feet walk along the floor she knew the moment Taro would see her sleeping on the couch he’d be annoyed, but hopefully he was too tired to wake her. She could feel him stand beside the couch and glare at her, her left arm being draped over her stomach while her right was off the couch and her knuckles almost touching the floor. She kept her right cheek against the pillow and eyes shut, praying he’d go away only because she didn’t think she’d have the strength to act like she was asleep for very much longer, his prescence tempting beyond all words.

Jesimae’s heart raced when she heard him gently laugh, the urge to open her eyes and see him smile almost causing her to give up on acting. When she felt his warm hand touch her right arm she thought she was going to burst, his soft moist skin touching her cold hand sending a shiver down her spine and flaring up the urge to feel his lips against hers again. Taro slowly lifted her right arm up and put it onto her stomach, near her left, Jesimae was waiting for him to let go but he didn’t. She felt him cup his hand over her own and gently squeeze, any moment, she knew, she’d be trying to pull him on top of her simply because the need for him to be closer was taking over her.

"Good night." She heard him say lowly, letting go of her hand after a moment. Jesimae began to doubt her decision of acting as if she were asleep but it was too late. He was quick to walk away and close the door to his bedroom, a place she wished she was at. Her face grew red and she quickly opened her eyes and crawled out from under the blanket, having thought about what she wanted to do while Taro showered off.

Jesimae walked into the dark room, gently cracking the door behind her. She softly walked across the room over to where she saw Jiro’s body take form under the heavy blankets, his breathing the only noise in the room. Jesimae knelt down beside his bed and glanced at him, his face now clean yet slightly swollen and different colors due to the bruising. He looked peaceful, out of pain, and so young and frail. She bit her lower lip and reached to grab his warm hand that was limp beside his leg.

“I’m so sorry.” Jesimae said gently as she picked up his hand and kissed it, watching his angelic features unfold in such a way that he appeared younger and youthful than before. “I’m so sorry, Jiro.” She stated again holding his hand up to her lips as she closed her eyes for a moment, the pain washing over her like a cold shower. When she opened her eyes again she saw his head had shifted and he was positioned to look at her. She smiled gently and sat his hand down and rubbed his face brushing a piece of hair out of his eyes and then running her hand kindly over his head.

“I owe you so much...you were a complete stranger trying to help someone. You saved my life and this is how I repay you, God, I almost got you killed.” She felt tears crawl up her throat and sting her eyes. When she had to squeeze them to stop the burn they were quick to fall down her cheek and land on the bed.

“There are so many things you don’t know, Jiro, so many things that if I were to tell them to you I’d...I’d lose the only two people that matter in my life. It’s been three days since I first met you and Taro, yet I feel so attached. Perhaps I feel guilty and perhaps I am selfish but to be honest I just don’t want to leave you.” She leaned over him and gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“As short as the time has been with you,” She said as she leaned over him her lips touching his warm skin. “I feel the void in my heart has been filled. I will repay you for all that you have done for me, all that I have put you through, and all that I have caused you and your brother to endure. I lost my family at a young age and I could’ve made you lose yours tonight, I can’t live with myself without knowing I haven’t repaid you in some way.” Jesimae leaned back and wiped her eyes and stood up.

“I guess I can tell you this because you are asleep, hopefully dreaming peaceful things. Sleep well, Jiro.” Slowly she crossed the room after sitting in silence, watching his chest rise and fall steadily and deeply. Jesimae needed to tell him, even if he couldn’t hear it, what her feelings were and how much they had grown on her. If she were to be kicked out tomorrow and told never to be seen again she would at least have been glad to know that she had allowed her feelings to be let out.

She grabbed the cold door handle, pulled it open, and stepped out, closing it as soft as she could behind her. She turned and walked into the hall and past Taro’s closed door and into the living room where she was quick to stop dead in her tracks once she looked up to find Taro sitting in the chair next to the couch, leaning back with his arms on the couch's his right leg crossed over his left, obviously he had heard her speaking to Jiro and knew she wasn’t asleep.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro had one hand on his chin, his head slightly leaned to the side as he watched Jesimae stop in front of him, her face showing that she was embarrassed. Taro shifted slightly in his seat. All his senses told him to be exhausted, but his body was tensed, as if he would have to spring at any moment.

Taro stood, rather stifly, and walked over to Jesimae, putting his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck, a feeling of overwhelming fear, guilt, and pain overtaking him at once. He wanted to hold her forever, though he didn't know why. He took a deep breath and savoring her subtle scent.

"Jesimae..." he breathed out. He lifted his face slightly and kissed the soft skin below and behind her ear. He wanted so badly to feel the heat rise in him again as it had when he had first kissed her. But he didn't want to push her, not yet. He wanted to let her make the move he'd always taken the initiative to before. So, just as quickly as he had held her, he pulled away, and turned his back to her, rubbing his face with his hands, and walking back to his seat, but not sitting down.

"I'm sorry, Jesimae. That we couldn't dispatch of Deacallion as we had originally hoped to. I'm sorry I couldn't put you out of danger," he said. "Maybe you would actually be safer on your own."

Taro turned and began to walk towards Jiro's room to appear as if her were going to check on his brother. But he knew Jiro was alright. He just desperately wanted Jesimae's gaze to stop burning into him as if she knew every inch of him without touching him once.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae felt a sting in her heart as she had before, a day before when they had been in the kitchen and she had said the same to him. Perhaps it was the way he had said it, or perhaps it was because he had agreed with her afterall but she hated it, hated the thought.

Jesimae opened her mouth as if to speak but the words were unable to come. Had he meant what he said, that she would be better off alone? It was going against everything she felt, everything she had just said to Jiro, she had no true desire to leave but the longer she stood there in the dark thinking about it perhaps it would be the best. Why was she still staying there? Deacallion was dead, Jiro and Taro were now together and safe, maybe she needed to go and finish the task she had before her, finish what she had started: Find Jabari.

"Is that what you want?" She didn't realize she asked such a question until it was too late, until it had already escaped her mouth and reached his ears. Jesimae didn't want him to respond and she didn't want to hear him agree to her leaving. Before she could stop herself and before all logical thought could make her rethink her actions she walked over to him and grabbed his left arm by the wrist before he could reach Jiro's door and enter.

She watched him turn and for a moment she felt as if the world had disappeared and all she saw was Taro. Jesimae pulled on his arm and she stepped towards him and quickly let his hand fall. Jesimae looked into his eyes and felt her world and her body burst into flames before he could answer, in her mind she replied herself, she put her hands on his face and kissed him, knowing for a fact that he was the only thing she wanted.

[Taro Lawson]

The heat in Taro's body rose, and every nerve he owned reacted to her. It did not take long for his instinct to take over. He put a hand on her neck and the other around her waist, drawing her as close to him as was possible. Her lips had set his on fire and he wanted more.

He was acutely aware of how close she was to him, and how amazing her body felt so close to his own. He wanted her more than he had ever before. He didn't want to push her, but god, it was killing him.

Taro's mouth strayed from Jesimae's lips and down her jaw to her collarbone. His hand on her back was slowly slipping under her shirt to touch the warm, creamy skin he found there. He was losing control of himself, and he knew that any moment Jesimae was likely to push him away and tell him that they were going to far and that she wasn't ready for this yet.

But Taro was so hot, all reason had gone away from him. He wanted Jesimae so badly, that he could no longer see the invisible line he was sure that he had crossed some time ago.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae wasn't expecting such a reaction to the soft supple kiss she had planted but, she was welcome to the thrill of his lips traveling down her neck finding a place on her collarbone. She was suddenly in a haze of sexual urges and pleasing thoughts that were no longer controllable. The last time she had experienced such a rush was when Jiro had interrupted but, this time, there wasn't going to be anyone stopping such a wave of blazen heat.

His fingers were crawling across the skin on her back and it felt like an electrical shock. Her cold skin being instantly heated by his slender warm fingers, it was all too alluring for one to say no to. Jesimae wanted more this time and she wasn't going to be so easy to stop, she only hoped that Taro wouldn't push her away in repulsion to such ridiculous and mindless acts.

She barely whispered his name, the heat becoming so intesnse she could barely breathe, her heart beating so quickly it was going to explode inside, her mouth craving for more addictive kisses. She could feel his tongue against her skin as he kissed and she could feel her body suddenly becoming weak and her surroundings blurred, she let her hands find his shirt and quickly pull at, her hands quickly making their way to his stomach, barely above the waist of his pants. Her fingers were like ice, she knew, and his slight jerk explained it but it didn't cause any space, she made sure that he knew how bad she wanted him, needed him even if that meant pushing him against the wall and leaning in to him.

She had no control anymore and any rational thought that had dared crossed her mind was simply erased, Jesimae wanted Taro and that was all her mind needed to know.

Please, Taro! was all she was able to say in her mind amidst the carnal thoughts. Don't ever stop...

[Taro Lawson]

Taro felt Jesimae's eager fingers pulling at his shirt, and a slight half moan, half laugh escaped his lips against her skin. He pulled away from her only momentarily so that he could fully pull himself from his shirt. Jesimae's hands were dangerously close to the top of his pants, and he could feel the tingles from her touch traveling down his hip, to his groin. He groaned against her shoulder again, and lifted his face to kiss her on her soft, warm mouth.

This time, he let his kiss be more forceful. His tongue explored her mouth, and her taste was overwhelming him, making his whole body want more and more. He pressed himself against her, her heat feeding his own. One hand was tangled in her hair, the other exploring her back, pulling slightly at her shirt.

"Jesimae..." he barely got out as he changed positions on her mouth. "Please..." was all he could get out before speech was suddenly, and he was sure momentarily, dead to him.

[Taro Lawson]

EDIT

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae felt her knees becoming weak and when she heard him say her name against her breath she knew that was all she could hear. His voice had been laced with eagerness and sexual desire and it gave her the satisfaction of being in control, if only for a moment. She grinned slightly as his mouth touched her own, her eyes wide open, looking at his face that was tinged red from all the blood pumping through their bodies, along with the heat.

She quickly kissed him, his tongue tasting of cigarettes and filling her mouth quickly. Jesimae closed her eyes when she felt him deepen the kiss, his tongue moving against her own like a soft rippled in the ocean, the massaging sending her mind into a sea of carnal desires.

She moaned gently when she felt his fingers crawl around her skin and his hand massage her head. She fell back slightly and felt him move with her, their bodies too eager to be separated. Jesimae felt his hands cradle her back and she quickly let go of him to pull her hands up behind her back she quickly found his hands but continued to move up their mouths not moving once. Mindlessly she found what she was looking for and quickly unclasped her bra.

Hopefully, she thought, Taro would know exactly what Jesimae's mind, and body, wanted him to do.

[Taro Lawson]

Taro felt Jesimae unclasp her bra, and he was vaguely aware of it falling to the floor. He felt her body move against him again, and he felt her warm breasts press against his chest. Taro's mind was swimming through a sea of fantasies that had gone through his mind before, but never this vividly.

Taro's entire being was telling him to move as quickly as possible. But he wouldn't. He wanted to move slowly, however, when that time arrived that they reached the point of no return in which speed was the only way to achieve the maximum amount of pleasure, he would move quickly.

Now, he was enjoying going slower than he normally would. Now, he liked the feeling of the heat growing to new levels in both of them. Right now, he wanted the agony of going slow. He wanted to know that by the time they got there, they were both dying to have it.

Right now, he wanted to build the tension.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae felt a pain in her stomach and even more forcefully in between her legs. She felt hot all over, her legs so weak that they were barely keeping her standing, and her mouth wanting to feel more of Taro. It felt like the world was no longer there, nobody else was near and it gave Jesimae a feeling of freedom. Taro was going too slow, he wasn't doing what she eagerly wanted, despite the sheer torture her mind and body was going through she was enjoying the pain of it all. She breathed heavily when she actually had a chance to inhale, tasting his breath as she did so.

Jesimae ran her hands down his stomach, feeling him suck in due to either cold or the tingle of her hands, she knew she was pushing the boundries and going farther than she had ever invisioned but there was no turning back, her mind and body were no longer capable of rational thought, the line between right and wrong having been lost somewhere between the kissing and the moaning.

She enjoyed the bright flashes of lightening that spread throughout the sky quickly followed by a loud clap of thunder that shook the windows. The rain was beginning to pick up and land hard on the roof, echoing the solemn sound in the dark and empty living room, the sound of it slapping against the windows every so often sending a chill down her spine; the sound of their hearts beating quickly, their panting in offbeat rhythm all added to the moment of painful bliss.

Somehow Jesimae was able to find the ability to move her mouth off of his own and kiss his face and then his jaw, moving as he had done before. She could hear him breathe out, taking in a well deserved breath and swallow. Jesimae moved to his neck, kissing the nape and curve, slightly biting for her own enjoyment. She made her way under his chin and to his Adam's apple where she kissed and rolled her tongue over the hump, a moan tickling her ear. Jesimae didn't know where she got the strength or urge to continue but she did.

As her mouth made its way all around his neck, biting and licking every so often, she ran her hands to a territory that would allow Taro know of her true desires. She slid her fingers in the waist of his pants, her thumb finding the button that was barely keeping them together for his eagerness to move quicky easily showing. Jesimae kissed up his neck and behind his ear, slitting her eyes open for only a second as she moved her mouth over his ear while her eager fingers unbuttoned his pants, whether or not he wanted to go that far yet.

"Subete ageyoo." "I'll give you everything."
The words that escaped her mouth were not her own and she honestly didn't know how she knew them, but as long as Taro understood that was all she needed.

[Taro Lawson]

OOC: Moved to www.voy.com/195079/



The breathed out words of the woman into his ear were not of her language. They were his.

"I'll give you everything." She groaned quietly and Taro's head dropped back slightly as he felt her hands creep around him to find the button of his pants. He was panting for breath as her hands undid the button on his pants and he felt their tightness loosen slightly. Taro squeezed his eyes shut, as words escaped his lips.

"Jesimae... watashi ha... hoshii to omou..." he muttered, turning to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He picked her up and felt her legs wrap around him. Without any further hesitation he carried her to his room, being sure to shut the door behind him. He walked through the dark cool room to the bed and gently laid Jesimae down on it.

Taro slowly climbed onto the bed and positioned himself over her, straddling her hips. He put one hand on either side of her head and lowered himself down to kiss her. Her kissed her mouth, then her chin and neck. Slowly, he made his way dow her chest, to each breast and the trailed kisses down her flat stomach. Desire coursed through him as his lips made thier way to her pants. Glancing up at her slightly, Taro gently undid the button of her pants with his teeth, and placed his fingers under the band of her pants.

Sliding her pants down only a little, Taro looked back up at Jesimae as he kissed her hip. He looked into her eyes. This was where he would lose control, and if she didn't want this, he had to know now.

"Jesimae...?" he moaned out between barely parted lips.