Grace Barnelle's Story

Baghodat nodded in affirmation to what Grace said. I hope this isn't a trap. I may not come out alive, this time. Maybe, those guys smartened up since last time. Then again, if she wanted to ambush me, again, she would have done it, already. Wait. Maybe this is one of her mind games. Baghodat prepared for the night as he thought on it. The more he did, the more bewilderment sank in. He made sure not to waste any water, more so since this was Grace's house. None of this makes sense. None of it does. A single person up against the mafia? Impossible.

If what Grace said was true, and his fighting style nearly matches that of Fire Eyes, then Baghodat could only think of one person. Aodha? No, it can't be! He would not do such a thing! Would he? He was in complete denial as he put on pajamas, which were simply just an extra pair of jeans with boxers underneath. Hold on. It may be a trap. I better check on Grace.

The door was slightly ajar, so he could barely look into the room Grace was at. Baghodat could not even see Grace clearly. From what he could tell, she was asleep. This gave him merely a tiny bit of relief. At least she may not be planning anything, right now. The one thought was enough for him to head back to the room he was staying at and went to sleep on the bed.

His dreams, oddly enough, were filled with moments between him and Grace before the whole situation concerning this "Fire Eyes". Calmer moments, without trouble between them. Then, they became the instances of the ambush, followed by the kiss. %The dream ended there, with Baghodat waking up and noticing the sun was rising. "Weird..."

---

Meanwhile, Aodha was worried sick back home. his cousin never went missing for so long, before, adding to the anxiety. What could possibly have happened? Who could have kidnapped him, and why? This isn't like Baghodat to not return home on time, let alone not come home, at all! What's going on? At last, he had enough, so he decided to go looking for Baghodat. Aodha prepped his pistols and kanto. In case one of those mafia scum have him.

Grace woke up shortly after Baghodat did. Unlike her guest Grace seemed to have forgotten he was there and so she woke up and followed her usual routine for the morning. Opening her door in just a t–shirt and her underwear, Grace yawned scratching her ruffled hair before heading to the bathroom. Grace took a quick shower, got dressed and headed down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. It was a really simple meal consisting of some eggs and bacon. Grabbing a plate for herself, Grace glanced down at the drying rack and realized there was two of everything. Oh right he’s here. an expression of recognition flashed across her face. Setting her plate aside, Grace went back upstairs to grab Baghodat. When she got to his door, she knocked on it lightly before entering, not really caring if he was ready or not. “Hey I made breakfast if you want any” she said before ducking back into the hallway and downstairs to eat.

Baghodat got dressed in a different set of clothes before opening the door and seeing Grace walking down the hall to the side of him. Huh. Guess she is taking a shower. Wait a minute... Lowering his eyes, he noticed panties, going neon because of it. Oh, crap! Oh, crap! Oh, crap! Baghodat bolted back in his temporary room prior to slamming the door shut. If she noticed that, I'm dead! So very, very dead! His train of thought next turned to a mix of confusion and a fuzzy feeling in his chest. What's... going on with me? He looked downwards, then frowned in annoyance. What a good time to be aroused after seeing a girl half naked at the butt... Word of this gets out, and I will not hear the end of it.

Ironically enough, this was the first time Baghodat was ever sexually aroused. Why was it the case? He was in similar incidents, before. Heck, he even saw part of Grace's chest exposed before they fought one on one, and he thought nothing of it. So, why did he have to be aroused after seeing Grace half exposed in the lower section? It made no sense to him. His embarrassment increased further with the knock at the door before he jolted up in a panic attack once Grace opened it to say breakfast was ready. She noticed... She noticed... She noticed...

Finally, Baghodat worked up the courage to go downstairs and pick up some breakfast. "Good... morning..." was all he could muster before sitting down and eating.

What looked to be a smile was on her lips. Grace had already finished eating her breakfast when Baghodat came down. From the look of embarrassment on his face Grace could tell he just wanted to die. “Good morning to you to” a slight smirk on her lips. Grace rested her chin on the palms of her hands and watched with interest as Baghodat ate the food she made for him. There was only silence for a while so Grace finally took the reign and started a conversation, but seeing as it was Grace who had seen it there was no doubt she’d mess with him a bit. “So how is it down there? Were you finally able to calm it down?” a teasing smile curling the tips of her mouth.

She let her words sink in for a little bit, basking in his emotional state before continuing her teasing. “Say you weren’t peeking while I showered did you? Grace looked away from him while taking the butter knife in her hands. Grace then glanced back at him furtively, “Although I don’t mind if you had a little peek. You’re more than welcome to later but if I catch you, she paused for affect, “let’s just say you won’t have to worry about little Baghodat anymore.” Grace leaned back in her chair, knife in hand while she twirled it in her fingers. The tip of her tongue peeked out from the corner of her lips. This was a slightly different side to her, possibly the most he’ll ever see to her acting as a normal girl would, what with her constantly glancing at him then away furtively. All the while Grace’s mind worked quickly, assessing Baghodat’s reactions to her “suggestions”.

Baghodat did not say anything for a while, not even bothering to think of anything due to his embarrassment. For some reason, however, it was too quiet for his liking. It was almost as if Grace was reflecting on something, not that he was paying attention. His head perked up as he went neon from hearing the girl ask if he was finally able to down it down. "Huh!?" What Grace asked next left Baghodat with his hands up in protest. "No! That's not true!"

“Although I don’t mind if you had a little peek. You’re more than welcome to later but if I catch you, she paused for affect, “let’s just say you won’t have to worry about little Baghodat anymore.” Grace leaned back in her chair, knife in hand while she twirled it in her fingers. The tip of her tongue peeked out from the corner of her lips. This was a slightly different side to her, possibly the most he’ll ever see to her acting as a normal girl would, what with her constantly glancing at him then away furtively. All the while Grace’s mind worked quickly, assessing Baghodat’s reactions to her “suggestions”.

Baghodat was now agitated at Grace's insinuation, as well as the threat. "Oh, for the love of...! Will you let me explain, already!?" Seeing as Grace was merely looking back and forth, the poor boy figured he might as well just let it out of his system. "Look, I was simply coming out of where I was staying when I noticed you were up and about. I was just standing there in the hallway. When I realized something was not right and looked down, however, that was when it became awkward. I bolted immediately back in my temporary room. That is why I am embarrassed, right now." Looking sideways, he added with an irritated tone, "People often say I am asexual, but that's because I am not easily aroused. In fact, this was the first time. A girl could be trying to seduce me, and I would not even be phased by it. Of course, it was different this morning, but that's just because I was caught off guard."

A devilish grin was plastered on her face, if Baghodat could see the images phasing through her mind he’d certainly be far more embarrassed if not upset. Inwardly Grace was pretending her hand was Baghodat speaking as at that point she was drowning him out. That is until she finally caught the very explanation she was hoping to hear, "People often say I am asexual, but that's because I am not easily aroused. In fact, this was the first time. A girl could be trying to seduce me, and I would not even be phased by it. Of course, it was different this morning, but that's just because I was caught off guard."

Leaning forwards in her chair his last words seemed to deflate her curiosity. Stabbing the knife into the table, Grace actually pouted. “Aw really? I was hoping it was because of my irresistible charm.” she began to play with the tips of her hair. “But how was it any different than before, I’m sure they’ve caught you by surprise countless times. Unless you’ve already been expecting it.” at that point, Grace’s accusation seemed obvious.

Baghodat could see the devilish grin in Grace's eyes, at first, then noticed a shift in her demeanor after his explanation was completed. He kind of figured she would not understand. So, he sighed and told her, "I guess I need to explain myself further, don't I? You see, sex was a frequent topic for a few of my relatives. I learned not to be bothered by that over time. Although, I guess it was the loss of all but one of my relatives that was the primary factor. You could say I no longer thought like a kid after that. Hardly anything phases me, anymore." With that, Baghodat sat back down and ate. He could not think of anything else to say, at first.

As he ate, he pondered on why Grace lived alone. They were both still minors, thus they either needed a parent or guardian living with them. There was also the fact the girl was even involved in mafia, to begin with. Did she lose someone? Then again, he did recall her saying she killed her own father. "You don't have a family, at all, do you?"

Grace tilted her head in response to his explanation. “I see” looking away Grace shifted in her chair, leaning back in it she slid one leg over the other. "You don't have a family, at all, do you?" She had been looking down at the table when he asked her. Amber eyes snapped upwards with a completely different light to them, they were almost hostile in fact. “No” she said bluntly leaning forwards Grace propped her chin on the palm of her hand. “I already told you I killed my father but he wasn’t my real father. They abandoned me at an orphanage but I like to imagine they died a gruesome death.” The glint in her eye said it all, it wasn’t that Grace resented them but it was just how she was.

Looking back to Baghodat Grace spoke again, “Why do you hope to pity me and worm your way into my heart? To comfort me?” her tone was on the border of being threatening but she already had enough of people pitying her.

The tone in Grace's voice left Baghodat on the edge. He was not looking for another fight, yet if he was left with no other option, he wondered if he would show any mercy, this time. At this point, he was becoming sick of being hostilely targeted for no good reason. From people treating him horribly purely based on his partial Iranian blood to being ambushed by Grace's gang because of a perceived connection to the fabled Fire Eyes, the boy became agitated at it all, his rage building up. And now, he was given the cold treatment for things as petty as the accidental peek and what he said to Grace about family? It was beyond irritating. His teeth gritted as he restrained from smacking the girl, both out of principle and his mixed feelings towards her.

"First off, cool it. Second, I was merely curious." His hands balled into fists for her to see, he added, "And, don't bother talking to me about pity." He picked up the glass of orange juice next to him, only to squeeze it firmly out of anger and his attempt to calm down, himself. In the middle of this internal conflict, he unknowingly let out in a somewhat controlled rage, "Are you always so violent?" That was the moment his grip shattered the glass holding the orange juice, bleeding his hand as the pieces scattered. Not that he noticed or cared, at that point. "Jumping the gun... making accusations concerning urban myths..." He held back tears while shouting in a rage, "What kind of person are you?"

---

Aodha was up all night searching for his cousin. In the process, he had killed off mafia members and interrogated the survivors, but in vain. Unlike when he first started, the direct approach to combat would have had him killed, these days. Most remaining mafia had smartened up and stayed in groups while coordinating to make it so lone wolves like him could not just show up and expect to live, especially now that firearms were being used more frequently. He had to wait longer periods of time before making his move on anyone, and waiting until one enemy was separated from the others was time-consuming. Whoever it is that kidnapped Baghodat shall pay for it in blood!

He would have called the police, were it not for the fact if he were revealed as his alter ego, he would be behind bars, too, if not executed. This made the situation more complicated for him. His plot for revenge would have to wait. He had to prioritize which was more important, and right now, Baghodat's safety was just that. Please be alive, little cousin!

She could see it in his eyes, the anger welling up in him. Grace hadn't quite expected Baghodat to react the way he did but she knew she was stepping on a thin line from the start. "First off, cool it. Second, I was merely curious." At that moment Grace closed off any emotion that had managed to leak through her heart. Her face becoming impassive yet she felt some guilt but she didn't know why.

"Are you always so violent? Grace seemed to stiffen at the question and she looked away. Her gaze returned when he shattered the glass. [color="Jumping the gun... making accusations concerning urban myths..."[/color] it felt as if each word was a stinging slap to the face and it was his last question that sealed her fate , "What kind of person are you?"

Grace suddenly stood up in her chair, "I'm the kind of person you shouldn't associate yourself with. The things I've done and said in the past, they won't sit well with you." It almost sounded like she was sad, she stood there in silence before walking over to a draw beneath the sink and looked through it. In her hands was a fist-aid kit which she presented to him while taking some wet clothe from the sink. Kneeling in front of Baghodat she didn't look in his direction as she took his hand to clean up the blood. She then placed a clothe and wrapped it with medical tape. Grace loooked down, holding his hand longer than was needed before standing up.

"I think it'll be best if you left Mr. President. You won't want to be caught seen with me." finally letting go of his hand.