2073 Tokyo, Japan

The girl's footsteps stopped when her wrist was stopped by the human's hand.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what you are. I don't know what you are doing here, but trying to blend in and go to school like that isn't gonna get you anywhere. I don't even know why you're helping us." his words impacted her strange inhuman, yet human heart directly. She clenched the hem of her bloodied shirt and opened her mouth to say something, but something held her back. Miki looked down and then finally let out her voice.

"Why must you be so nosy.. Mind your own business! ... Is what you thought I would say, right?" she turned around and grinned, "Well, if you really want to know, then I'm actually a model-to-be! And I had to transfer here to get a good rep as one, right? But my good looks can't just blend in, I know, so that's why I need to befriend and help out everyone!" she paused, a lump was choking her in her own throat, and then continued smoothly after a small tear rolled down her cheek. "Haha, it's not like I'm an alien! Unless you actually believe in those..! Just kidding. Seriously, what do you think I am, a fairy? Anyways, enough with the chit-chat, let's get this hu- student to a proper clinic." she wiped the tear away, grabbing the human's wrist in return.

She pulled him along and then paused.

"And don't ask about that tear. Everyone has a secret they want to keep, right?" she quietly said.

"You.... You're hurt too. What happened to you?" he was staring at the spreading blood on her shirt. The pain was going numb, so she didn't notice. She trembled, remembering the fight with Aki, and then let go of his grip.

"Oh this? I just had fake blood packs in my shirt because of a job, it's nothing, don't worry." she cleanly lied, the pain was growing once again. Dammit.. If only I could use my seisui right here and now..!

Yuuka gave the blonde a hard stare before he stood up. This could wait. The first thing he needed to do was to get this idiot to the hospital, before she lost too much blood. The other one was hurt as well, and he didn't buy her "fake blood pack" story for a second but he decided it would be best not to pry right now. Yuuka gently lifted the girl from the ground. "We're gonna head to the hospital. Just hang in there."

Yuuka silently walked behind the blonde beauty with the girl who had just saved his life in his arms. He really needed to get to the bottom of all this. A thought popped into his head at that very moment. 'Crap! What about school! I really can't afford to miss ANOTHER day.' His parents would have his head, but by the time he got finished with this, school probably would have already ended. There was only one option and it wasn't his favorite. Night school really didn't appeal to him but it probably was the only way he could keep his grades in check. Night school it was then. But first, he had to take care of these two, whoever they were.

At another time, Ayumu might have sighed, or bemoaned her misfortune, or otherwise felt miserable, but at the moment, she had simply stopped trying to understand what she was feeling at all. The world around her was nothing but a single, monotonous blur, constantly moving on the edge of the blank gaze that never turned to follow it. What was the point? Why try to comprehend anything if it meant that she would simply fall apart again? If she tried to understand anything, tried to do anything besides continue to exist - an act which took all of her willpower in the first place - she might simply break down and cease to function. All she knew at the moment was that she didn't want that to happen. And so she kept moving, kept on living, even if she didn't really understand or care to understand the significance of such an act. She simply was, but she was not alive.

Stepping out of the shower almost as soon as she had entered it - she had mastered the art of cleaning herself quickly - she dried herself off equally fast and set about changing into her working clothes, ignoring the rumblings in her stomach, which was entirely empty after having been neglected for days. Finishing quickly, she did up the ribbon in the collar of her vest, and tied a second into her hair to keep it out of her eyes, although it was otherwise allowed to flow freely in a straight, waist-length curtain of elegant black tresses. She left the third one, deeming her usual twintailed hairstyle an unnesecary amount of work when she would probably already be late. And so she emerged from the bathroom, her blue eyes as empty and world-weary as when she had entered it.

"Ready," she said simply, her quiet, almost soulless voice seeming barely more than a whisper, even in the silence surrounding them. That single word, even if it carried with it almost no feeling, seemed so sad, for when compared to her lively demeanor just the day before... Yes, it was certain. Even if there were no tears in those eyes of hers, she was still crying, deep down.

(I think my goals changed drastically over the course of this RP. I originally intended her to be a mildly sad Tsunshun character with hidden depths behind the cheerful front she put up, but now she's dropped into full on Broken Bird and Kuudere territory, and probably won't change much from that latter archetype, even when/if she gets better. XD)

Oren was pleased that things were finally moving and she might be able to get her arm treated, but she wasn't so keen on being carried. Not only did she feel enormously awkward about it, it wasn't easy carrying another human being, even if they weren't especially heavy, and it was bound to slow the guy down. She started weighing the facts up, before addressing the guy.

"It'll be faster if I just walk it, which'll be fine unless this bleeding carries on for a long time....if it does..well I'll go down either way.." she stated.
"...er...I do appreciate you helping me though."

She slipped down, held her arm close to her chest and tried to keep it as immobile as possible, before starting to walk, attempting to pick up the pace. At the very least, making sure she maintained her balance was at least providing a welcome distraction from the pain in her arm. It was pretty horrendous...but then despite it having been a while she could still imagine her father reprimanding her for not handling it with more stoicism.

Oren could recall similar exchanges with him when she was a lot younger, coming in from her chores with a broken finger, or a gash on her arm or a split bottom lip, and getting scolded for her apparent weakness in the face of injury. It had changed a lot since then...she'd become determined not to make a fuss about that kind of thing...so she focused on just getting on with these things. It was probably just as well these people were around though...she didn't know how far the nearest clinic was, or how well the bandage and tourniquet were going to hold up.

She paused, leaning against a wall to get her breath back, and glanced over at the blond girl.
"...how far away is this thing?" she asked.

She had no idea what was up with the girl. She seemed to have been talking a load of nonsense about fake blood packs and modeling..she didn't exactly trust much of what she said...but at the same time she seemed to know where they were going..which was more than she did. Oren lamented not properly learning directions in the city, but she didn't really go many places, and she felt like carrying a street map made her look like a tourist...and she already attracted attention due to being european.

Riku's shoulder thudded into another person's as he deliberately stepped into their path. The man grumbled, and Riku offered a shy, cute apology, head ducked with eyes looking up through the messy blonde bangs that hung in his face, though dropped the expression as the man slipped out of veiw. Riku lifted his hand, reveling in his newly-acheived loot. Damn, he was good at that. He could probably have the whole rent at this rate, but that would get a little suspicious if suddenly the number of wallets being stolen climbed up that much. Riku plucked the cash out and tossed the empty wallet behind him. It wasn't like such a crime could be traced back to him, seeing as it was petty theft and he got rid of the wallet as soon as he grabbed the cash and wasn't so stupid as to take the cards or anything, but the less cops, the better, in his oppinion, and it wasn't as if his sudden accumulation of money wasn't suspicious or anything.

He quickly got back on track following the trail of blood he'd been following earlier as he slipped the good sum of cash into his wallet with the rest of it. He wasn't even sure why he was following this dumb trail. Boredom, probably. The coffee he held in one hand woke him up well enough, and he was doing well to drink it sparingly to let the caffine last. Speaking of which, he took another sip of the coffee. But it wasn't as if he didn't realize that following the blood was stupid - of course it was, he was walking straight into trouble! - but he really just sort of needed something to do. No real identity or job or..... Well, it wasn't like he was going to go to school to pass the time! That would be so increadibly stupid. He hated school. He hated the people in schools. And he hated the authority in schools. It was a potent mix. Sure, people could argue that its for education, and you just have to buckle down through it to get anywhere in life. Some could even argue that your high school experience would be what you make of it, and sometimes it could be fun with the right attitude. Yeah, f*ck that. There wasn't a thing in a school that he couldn't learn from a book, and that he hadn't already learned from a book; he always just read manga behind those stupid f*cking text books. Not to mention the well-aged were his natural enemy; probably his father's fault. And he wasn't 'going anywhere' in life anyway. There wasn't anything he found himself particularly good at, nor that he would want to do for the rest of his life. Hello pointless job for the rest of his life. But that was just the way things worked out for people like him. No reason to fight it.

Riku let out a small sigh. He could try to find a job? That would also suck ass. Anything but--

Oh god......

Riku froze in his tracks, his eyes narrowing and the clean, modern building that stood maybe a block away but was in the direct path of this stupid blood trail. School. Mother. F*cking. School. Why? Seriously? Why? It was like the universe was out to torture him or something. No. NO. F*ck that! There was absolutely no way in hell he was going there. It didn't matter how bored he was! And yet..... Damn, there seemed to be a lot of sh*t going on there; he could hear the gunshots even from here. Well, he didn't particularly have to go to class, did he? He could always just..... Y'know.... Check out the gunshots and stuff.... Oh sh*t, was he really making excuses to go over there? Damn, this was pathetic. But he took a sip of coffee, rolled up his cardigan's sleeves and started moving again. This was going to be pointless and stupid, wasn't it? He just had a feeling. But what else was he supposed to do? Ignore the gunshots would be a good plan. But obviously that wasn't going to happen. He tried to convince himself he was just going to leave as soon as he found out what was going on, but there was a high possibility that he was going to get sucked into a situation.

It was less than a few minutes before he was just outside of school grounds, halting again and contemplating whether or not he wanted to jump in and investigate. But people get bored, and it was better to check out a murder rather than make one. Or, at least, he figured it was. He really couldn't have cared either way, but at least this option was a little more publicly accepted. Either option was basically idiotic, of course, but that didn't seem to be crossing his mind enough to get him to turn around.

After a short moment of chewing the inside of his lip, he slipped onto school grounds and slunk around as inconspicuously as he could, which was mad unessesarily hard due to the fact that he was wearing the exact opposite of a school uniform. Shadows worked, helped, but it really couldn't make him invisible or anything. Needless to say, the perfect boy hiding his face under thick wavy bangs and a fedora caught a few glances that he certainly didn't want. All this positive attention was making him sick................ and yeah, he almost considered hanging out with Ayumu for a little comfortable hatred. Hate he was used to, looking cute and be-friend-able and pretty wasn't his idea of a good time. Damn, if he ever found the douche that made-slash-designed this stupid body he was going to snap their freaking necks. This was rediculous sometimes. Again, totally not going to get used to that. He made his way around a corner quietly, following a slight tinge in the air that was unmistakable as blood; a scent he knew quite well from years of (fake?) experience, and in fact, recently had gushing out of one side of his nose, so he was pretty sure he knew it well.

He hung into a shadow, crouching and wishing he hadn't worn that stupid cardi of all things. White.... god it stood out in the shadow. The rest of his outfit was fine; dark, shadowy... well, perhaps the white eye on his shirt would stand out, but the white cardigan totally blew his ninja style. Too bad. He caught glimpse of the blood scene as he tried not to look like a creeper crouching beside a bush. Looked like..... Amunition-school-boy from the other day, some euro-girl, and......... Oh come on. Seriously? Miki. Why would he have expected anything else, in hindsight? Suprises, trouble. Maybe he should just keep her locked up in the room all day so she wouldn't end up molested or famous by the end of the week? Keep her on a leash? Whatever, she could do whatever the f*ck she wanted, just as long as she wasn't expecting anyone to save her. And damn, if euro-girl wasn't injured, too. But hell, he was not going to jump in and play hero. What a stupid idea. He stood and turned on his heels, not moving and chewing on his lip in hesitation. Let Amunition-school-boy play hero again, because Riku sure as hell wasn't interested in being the weirdo who showed up randomly and a little too late. Not to mention that good-guy-style wasn't one of his favorites. Good-guys got thanked, and got friends, and were liked.... or something. He was better at playing villain; badass with a smart mouth. That was more his style. Not like he liked it, but he fit the part better, y'know? But with the whole... situation.... damn, he really wasn't sure what was his style anymore. Role with the punches, sure, but jumping in and being all like 'yo, im here to help~!' was not the plan of action. The idea was first of all uncomfortable, and second of all unreasonable. Some people could be quite offended when offered help, and he'd already woken up on the wrong side of the attitude bed with Miki. Not that it had been a seriously awful occurance, but pushing his luck wasn't the smartest idea, seeing as he was rooming with her.

He took another sip of coffee and turned back, jogging over quickly to be sure He wouldn't be wasting any of their time getting to a clinic. Wasting time with a wound like that wasn't a good idea. He promised himself he'd be breif. Just make sure they were handling the situation and he would go off and do, uh, something else. Perhaps one of the things claiming his to-do list. But lord knew he couldn't remember a damn thing he put on there after it was there. He contemplated on several accounts actually wrighting the damn list down But that was just one more thing that was actually on the to-do list in the first place, so it probably wasn't happening anytime soon.

The group was already moving, but he quickly slipping into pace with them and put his arm around Miki's shoulders.

"Now, why aren't I surprised that you're getting yourself into trouble, Miki-san?" He asked rhetorically, giving an empty look with a furrowed brow at ammunition-school-boy and euro-girl; probably a look of half-concern and half-not-wanting-to-seem-concerned. He sighed, sipping his coffee and shaking his head, letting go of Miki and letting his pace catch back with ammo-boy. "You got the situation under control or you want a hand?"

He tucked part of his bangs behind one ear as he examined the injury. Not very clean; she'd been moving. The location; it was probably meant for someone else, but she got hit anyway. A pro shot like that wasn't meant for a damn shoulder. It was a kill wound. But he couldn't deturmine much more than that. Not a ver safe school, now was it? Blood trail, shootings. He was going to have to up his A-game if he wanted to maintain the badass thing... But he couldn't imagine it would be too bad. People seemed to get away with a hell of a lot more.

A small clinic was in sight, right around the corner, yet it seemed so far away. Miki turned around to see the European girl attempting to walk by herself, and then the girl looked at the Ningen no Kami, asking, "...how far away is this thing?" Miki then replied with a brief pointing at the building, hearing someone's footsteps approach, getting louder as they got closer. Ah, we have company. I wonder who it is and how will they react to a bleeding girl~? Let's find out~

"It's right over there, so just hang on a bit longer, okay?" she weakly smiled as an oh-too-familiar arm hung around her shoulders.

"Now, why aren't I surprised that you're getting yourself into trouble, Miki-san?" Riku's familiar voice asked in an annoying way, well, at least it seemed so to Miki. The other NoK took a sip of his coffee and evened his pace with the human boy.

"You got the situation under control or you want a hand?" Riku asked while he tucked his golden bangs behind his ear, having a good look-see at the wound. Miki pulled the back of Riku's cardigan and held him in a half-joking half-serious headlock.

"Now, now, I'm guessing you know what happened by just looking, right, Riku-tan? If you don't I'll explain later, let's just hurry along, 'kay?" she ruffled Riku's gold head, taking notice of the red that was underneath; she didn't really notice since the two were the about same height. She released him and jogged ahead of the odd group.

"I'll go ask for the doctor, you guys should hurry, but be careful too!" she walked into the small clinic, the glass sliding doors silently closing behind her as she made way to the polished marble desk with a realistic nurse android at the desk. The girl stood there for an awkward moment, and then the robot finally spoke up, startling the girl a little.

"Hello madam, how may I help you?" the robot said, the words seemed choppy, but realistic at the same time.

"Erm, my friend has gotten shot in the arm, is there any-"

"We have a brand new product that heal gunshot wounds, please enter the third room on the left for it and then swipe your card to pay, this clinic does not accept cash."

"A-Alrighty. I'll go get her!" Miki nervously turned around and muttered, "Gee, I'll never get used to this time period..."

Ayano observed the notes and scowled. "Agreed.." She nods, not liking the feeling around them. It seems that a bad omen came upon them all or something of the sort. First the girl is broken, and now they have these notes. Who knows what might be happening to Miki? "But...Do you think... ayumu and crow will be alright?" Her question was completly blunt, yet had the tone of hesitance. She didnt want to sound so..obvious or dumb, so she asked quietly, looking at the taller man hopefully.
[Sorry for the awfully short post ^^;;;]

"But...Do you think... ayumu and crow will be alright?"

Shin looked at Ayano, his eyes soft, but his facial structure unmoving. The scene he had just experienced had drawn something deep in him. Was it compassion, was it empathy for their pain, Shin had no idea. He reached over and placed a hand down on Ayano's shoulder before looking over at Crow, transitioning over to look at Ayumu. His brows started furrowing in the middle, giving him a frown.

"...We'll have to wait and see..." he said out of the corner of his mouth to Ayano, then he looked down, clenching his fist, the hand on Ayano's shoulder tightening slightly, careful not to hurt the ivory haired girl. In a soft, quiet voice, he muttered, " ...I'll try and see what I can do...Especially Ayumu...the youngest shouldn't have such a look on her face... "

"It'll be faster if I just walk it, which'll be fine unless this bleeding carries on for a long time....if it does..well I'll go down either way.." The girl slipped out of Yuuka's arms and began to walk, a bit off balance at first but she soon found her footing and started making her way along with them. Yuuka let her have her way but kept a reassuring hand on her shoulder to steady her if she needed it. "Suit yourself.."

"...er...I do appreciate you helping me though." Yuuka nodded slowly at her thanks. "Don't mention it."

As the three approached the nearby clinic down the street, Yuuka noticed someone approach them. Dull, light blonde hair that almost seemed a creme color, brown eyes and a perfect face. The guy who slung his arm around the Ningen no Kami girl, greeted her playfully. By the way the two spoke to each other, it seemed that they were very close. Probably a good friend of hers. But wait..... Perfect. Once again, Yuuka looked over the man who was being put in a headlock by the Ningen no Kami girl. He was just like her. Flawless in every way. One would think that this was just pure coincidence, but Yuuka had seen this guy before.

It was during the first time he opened the i-Cube. A boy by the name of Susumu Riku was at the top of the list of names for the Ningen no Kami project. There were photos of him and Yuuka recognized him instantly. 'ANOTHER one? I need to get out of here, before I do something stupid. I let that girl help us because we needed it, but this guy is just going to make things difficult. But then again, I could ask him for answers that the other girl wouldn't give. Then maybe i could get some leads as to what this project really is.'

Yuuka decided to keep low for now. I wouldn't be wise to strike out when he had no clue as to what these.... "things" were capable of. He would get this girl some treatment and then act. The other Ningen no Kami who had run into the clinic came back out, probably looking for the girl. Yuuka pointed to her and gave the girl a gentle tap on the shoulder.

"There, can you make it by yourself?"

She noticed the roughness his touch was gaining as he looks at the emotionless child. "I-I'll try to help as well.." She replies hesitantly. Would she be able to help? She wasent so sure, but she will try, defiantly. She stood still for a second, before resting her own hand upon his reassuringly. She gave his knuckles a soft sqeeze, and offered a gently smile. "Thank you.." This thanks was completly random, and he might now know why she was thanking him for. It was for all the things he done for her, like being by her side, is one thing.
[gah its supppeerr short @[]@]

It was a meer back-of-the-throat wince of annoyance as the back of his cardigan was tugged, bringing him back over to Miki, but the sound quickly turned to a small grumble as the headlock was initiated and a firm hand knocked his fedora into his hands and continued to ruffling his already unmanaged hair. The action pulled a few strands from the messy pony tail, and bunched up the rest, allowing the hair to kink and friz even more. Thanks, Miki. Thanks a f*cking lot.

He narrowed his eyes at her as she released him from the grip. She still seemed aggrivated at him, but to take it out on his already horrid hair? She was just asking for him to return the agrivated behaivior. Oh well. Riku lifted up the hat and held it by the rim with his teeth as he fumbled to hold his large coffee in one and tear out the ponytail holder with the other. He raked his hands through the mess of hair a few times before being satafied with the new restriction of hair. He quickly fasted it with the alastic and placed the ferdora back on his head, letting his thick bang fall back into his face, too short to stay back with the restriction. The less of his face showing, the better, in his oppinion.

Riku sighed, sipping his coffee again. The group was close enough to the hospital. It would be fine.

"Y'know, I think i'm just gonna-" He started quietly, turning his torso slightly as if just begining the action of turning.

He gave a quick glance at ammo-boy and euro-girl. Ammo-boy gave a question at the girl as if he were departing, and perhaps that was initiative to take over over-seeing the event? No, he doubted it. It was more like departure from giving services that were no longer required. Sticking around would be stupid, and the more he hung out with other people, the more he worried he was going to start being insulting or rude out of habit. Distance would be a good thing to keep. Even from Miki. And if she was going to continue being sour, well, keeping his composure would be much more difficult. He could cut the his curiosity about the situation here, and depart for more important purposes. Straightener. Catbox (which he now realized he forgot). Cell phone (though he doubted he would be capable of understanding how to use it). Paper and pen to write down all the other sh*t on that list that he was forgetting. It was a really damn long list, and he couldn't remember most of it. Not to mention the fact that it kept getting bigger. And bigger. And bigger....

Riku gave a look at the direction they'd been heading and chewed on his lower lip for a moment. Miki was just stepping out, scanning the light croud for the group and the girl she was leading in. The situation was increadibly neutral, really. And getting even more neutral by the second. Why stick around when it was under control? Not to mention that he was not only unneeded, but unwanted as company. Perhaps committing a crime would have been a betting option than checking one out in the first place? Well, technically, he had done that earlier when he 'bumped' into that other guy. Gosh, pickpocketing was easy. But wrong... ... ... ... ... yeah, wrong... ... ... oh who the f*ck was he kidding? He didn't care. Right or wrong didn't bother him so much either way. It really just depended on what would be a logical choice. What would give a better result, or a more favorable result. Not that all the time he was looking for a good result. Sometimes it was just self-punishment. But that was simply his self-destructive personality coming out. Not out of the ordinary at all.

Currently, the issue was merely a passing thought. He had bigger sh*t to deal with. Well, not really. This was none of his concern, and despite what a distraction from his stunning lack of things to do, it was useless to proceed. Even ammo-boy was probably seeing that fact. Why stick around when the situation is under control and no longer your problem?

He walked along with them for just a few more strides, enough to get close enough that Miki was in earshot and he could adress his departure thoroughly. No need for a sudden ditch, that would just bring up the situation in future conversations. No need for that. But now he was feeling antsy. Perhaps he could find someone new to aggrivate. A fight once in a while wouldn't hurt too bad... would it? It would just be his second one. In... y'know, two days... but still. He tried to convince himself he wouldn't make a terrible habit of it, but knew that was entirely a lie. He would have no choice in the matter; emotion had to be taken out, and he simply was not going to reveal such a weak and emotional side of himself by sobbing or whining or releasing the common behaivior in a way common to normal people. Punching the crap out of someone just because he could was good enough for him. Letting himself get beat down was good enough. But it would be rather difficult to find an adversary at this early hour, and especially one who would be any good. But he wasn't desperate quite yet. Perhaps some time in the afternoon. Or after that thing with Kaoru and Aimi. He had too much to deal with today to bother with making plans to beat people up. That was just lame.

"Yeah, this seems under control," He intercepted, retreating his eyes from the situation and holding his coffee up in front of his face with both hands, almost as if he were about to take a sip, but almost more like he was hiding his face a bit more. It was kind of cute. "I've got stuff i need to take care of, so I guess I'll be off." He turned half-away, letting his eyes return to the others. "Hope they patch you up good, Euro-girl. Feel better soon." He gave a small hand wave and turned the rest of the way on his heels. Of all the people in the group, he had to be needed the least. They could stop him if they wanted, but they probably weren't going to. "Tschüs."

Oi. Shouldn't you just leave the two alone? It's none of your business anyways. Plus, the little gunner-boy is already suspicious of you! Miki's inner Ningen no Kami thoughts began colliding with her humane thoughts. As if it wasn't great enough that Riku was just flaking out. Oh well, he was probably just stopping by to say hi. Tch. As if. Knowing him, he was probably trying to separate from the group and trying to skip out on school. Hey idiotic Kiki! You hear me?! God, this Ningen no Kami voice or whatever is getting annoying.

"Yeah, loud and clearrr. And the name's Miki. You should know that, I thought you were supposed to be amazingly smart, am I correct, or am I really correct?" Miki spoke under her breath, with irritation and arrogance mixed in her tone of voice. The girl noticed the two, the European girl trudging as she shrugged off the other human, probably trying to show that she doesn't need help. Ha, she's probably one of those 'I'm perfectly fine, even if I'm a girl types.' The NoK voice scoffed.

"Ugh, can you please shut up, your voice annoys me, even though it's my own. Ah-ha, I'll call you Mei, coming from Meiwaku, because you're so annoying!" Miki clenched her jaws together. Oi! You can't just give someone as great as me such a stupid name, I should be called something like Kamiko! The superior child, that's what I am to you!

"Sure, you might be superior, but you're still a little child brat who doesn't know their place!" Miki retorted, and then stopped, realizing the stares she got from talking to herself. She scurried over to the two, slightly embarrassed, and patted the human boy's back as she passed by.

"I leave her to you, see ya!" she slipped away and dashed away. A sudden pain reminded her of what she had needed to take care of, and she ran into the nearest alley. She gasped as she slammed her back against the titanium wall and held the wound with both hands. A bead of sweat formed on her temple and slid down silently as she breathed in and out heavily in pain.

With one bloody hand, she shakily grasped the vial and spilled out a good amount of seisui on her wound, exhaling as it healed and disappeared from her waist. She pulled back the silky locks of golden hair that were hanging in her face, staining it with crimson redness. She stood up and brushed off her clothes, as if it actually mattered, her shirt had a huge blob of blood on it, and her shorts were pretty screwed up from the little fight earlier. She scuffled off, and then a hand surprised her, grabbing her shoulder.

"Hey, you seem like you want to have some fun don't y-" Miki smacked the hand away and then gave a threatening smile before clearing her throat.

"Sorry, did you mistake me for a girl? As you can see, I'm a boy, wearing the Seisei Hofuna male uniform. Sorry if I have a girly face!" she said in the best guy voice she could pull off. The human rubbed his eyes, confused, and then pointed at her chest.

"Then what about that pair of breasts you got there?!" he stuttered. Ha! What are you gonna say now, Miki?

"Oh, these? They're just to fool stupid idiots like you!" she replied brightly. Things just got better and better by the second, didn't it?

"Then if you're a guy, then it's okay to punch you- in the face!" he swung a punch to Miki's face, sending her against the wall. She grabbed her chain whip and jabbed him in the stomach with the handle.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth a tooth. Ever heard of that saying?" she punched him right back and then booked it before he could swing another punch. Her cheek began to swell as she dashed to the apartment, and she coughed some blood while she was at it. She stopped at the front door, and unreeled her chain.

"Screw doors, I'm going through the hard way!" she slung the chain around the balcony railing of her apartment, or at least she hoped it was, and then clicked the button that would rewind it back up, sending her flying up. The sakura-smelling air whipped her swelling face as she passed the seventh story, and she jumped onto the balcony, unfastening the chain. She flung the glass sliding for open, and collapsed into the floor below, finally noticing that she had lost the glasses earlier way before she even left the school. She hazily looked around the room and noticed that she was off by one room. She was in Aoi's and Shin's living room.

Good job, Miki. Good job.

"Thank you.."

Shin was surprised when he felt Ayano give his hand a faint squeeze of reassurance and even more so when she thanked him. His eyes softened even further and he smiled at her. At the same time, a faint flush formed around his cheeks. He nodded to show he understood and that she didn't need to thank him.

"Alright...ready for work Ayumu? " he asked the young Ningen no Kami, walking over and placed a hand on her head, gently ruffling it.

It's going to be alright.

A message he tried to convey via just that small gesture he did. Shin glanced over at the Crow that was still on the couch before sticking out a hand.

"Up you get. "

...Shin was pretty sure he heard a thump somewhere nearby...somewhere... Shin looked up and his eyes started wandering around as if he was thinking. That somewhere...couldn't be his and Ayano's room...could it?

As Shin raised his hand, Ayumu drew back, shutting her eyes tightly as though to brace for some non-existent impact. As her fellow Ningen no Kami's hand reached her ever-so-slightly damp raven hair, he would be able to feel her twitching beneath his gentle touch. Despite these clear signs that she did not want to be in physical contact with others, however, she did not move away, as though she had simply lost the will to flinch in such a manner. She simply stood, pale, before him, her eyes shut as though in a silent prayer that he would move away.

When he finally did remove his hand, Ayumu opened her eyes, glancing about. She felt too numb to answer his question - why should she, anyway? She had already said she was ready to leave, after all. Instead, she simply glanced about, as though searching for something she could not see. In truth, she was looking for some means of buying herself breakfast. Having not eaten since she had awakened, that was most certainly her first order of business. Yes, if she could just focus on the things that needed to be done, maybe she could distract herself. If she didn't think, she couldn't feel, and if she couldn't feel, she could keep on living. If she just kept going in a thoughtless shroud of monotonous objectives, she might just be able to forget how she felt, even if it would only be for a little while...

"Up you get." Shin said, and Crow groaned in annoyance. Who the hell even made the couch so comfortable...? Crow took Shin's hand, even though he mostly pulled himself up anyway. He blinked and looked around suspiciously. He'd had this thought for a while, since he was on the couch anyway, but would those incredibly clever scientists who can create a perfect human being really lose track of them so quickly? It had been all to easy to get a home, IDs, jobs. He wasn't sure, but surely they were being tracked.

Of course, he said nothing. He just stared around the room, maybe checking for something he was sure wasn't there anyways. He'd have to find it later. He wouldn't tell the others. He'd caused a great deal of trouble with his big mouth the night before, even though he should have just shut up. Sighing, Crow ran his hand though his hair. "Let's go then." he said quietly to the three, almost a whisper. Things would be easier if he just stopped speaking or at least spoke as little as possible. Then, hopefully, he wouldn't say anything which would upset anyone. Crow nodded to himself in determination, swearing that when he spoke, it would only be to answer. The boy could easily render himself partially mute; he'd done it before. This was just a big game, after all. The Ningen no Kami would just have to use what he knew and carry on with life as it is. He just had to protect others now, like the small girl standing in the room. Crow didn't need to protect himself, since he didn't care what happened to him now. The boy just had to make sure Ayumu was okay.

Ah, I'm getting too tied down. he thought, staring blankly at the wall. He picked up his phone and stuffed it in his pocket. I'd better do what I said, protect Ayumu, before I feel like we get too close. He knew how his mind worked. If he got even remotely close to anyone, his mind would force him to break away and blank out all the emotions like they were dust. He had to be careful of himself.

(Yay~! I'm back~~~)

The smell of paint was faint, almost not there, but it was in the room, that was for sure. She sluggishly stood up and trudged over to her room, pulling off her clothes as she went. Miki stared at the male's uniform that was all ruined and crumpled in her hands and threw on a long pastel orange hoodie. Orange was her favorite and most hated color. As Kaigai Miki, walking home was the worst part of the day, just with every step, she got closer to home, yet the color of the sunset slowly changed from a chrome orange and blossomed into a faint pink as twilight took over. Though the orange was bright and pretty as it blended into the azure blue sky, just by seeing that meant that she would have to return home and away from her friends. The girl stood there, gazing at her sleeve with far-away eyes, and then blinked before returning to reality. What, are you gonna cry now? I thought you were gonna be little Miss Sunshine, weren't you? But either way, you're just in this body so I can blend into society as a 'human.' Plus, I'm your real personality, give up on petty things like emotions and memory! Miki angrily turned the faucet of the sink and tossed the clothes in there, grabbing a bottle of detergent from the bag of household items purchased the night before and poured a good amount of detergent into there.

"Well, if I'm such an important asset to blending in, then you should treat me more importantly!" she scoffed as she violently washed the uniform. Ha, once I've learned everything about humanity and such, then you will be removed from this body and put into something like a dog..! Oh god, there's no scientists to do this... But I don't want to return to that place! That's why I awoke you so early! Miki's hand involuntarily flew up to her forehand.

"Hey! Don't start controlling my body for no reason!" she wiped the suds off of her forehead, only to have her hand fly back up to it again. You know.. Eventually if you aren't removed, we will become one... Miki dropped the towel in her hand into the sudsy sink and stared at what looks like a chibi version of her male self.

"Wait, what?! I'm just gonna guess that little thing is you, Mai, but first, that sounds so wrong in so many ways, and second, I don't wanna!" Miki grabbed the tiny body and shook it in her sudsy hands. O-Oi! Let go of me! I just created a hallucination for an avatar! Well, it can't be helped, the other Ningen no Kami have already merged with their human selves probably, and it will happen eventually, I am just an emotionless existence who has a programmed personality and tons of intelligence.

"So are you female or male? Your voice is mine, yet you look like me, as Takashi..." Miki absorbed in the information slowly and nodded, releasing Mai. Mai settled into a cup, hiding herself/himself and then continued. I don't have a gender, so then I can avoid feelings like love. Anyways, you don't need school! Just quit it altogether. Miki wrung out the clothing and hung them on a towel rack to dry. So was this whole effort to be free pointless? Knowing how most novels like this went, they had some kind of tracking device, did they not? She sat down on the couch and ate a few macaroons before the videophone rang. She picked it up and swallowed the macaroon.

"Hwello?"
"Good evening, there are s-some people here for you- EEK!"
"What?! Hello?! Miss?! What's going on?!" Miki watched the screen as the woman fell, blood splattering across the wall and the sounds of many people stampeding into the elevator. Miki dropped the device, letting it clatter to the floor, and hurried into Crow and Ayumu's condo, opening the door with a sudden slam.

"Guys! We need to leave! NOW!" she froze as violent knocking rung throughout the rooms, followed by the sound of an explosion.

By the time the door had been flung open, Ayumu had heard the noise as well. A loud bang from several stories down, followed by the roaring crash of an explosion. All her worries forgotten for an instant as adrenaline pulsed through her system, the empty-eyed girl reached down to a nearby table and snatched up her weapon, the by-now familiar pole blade she had found back in the laboratory, from where it lay. In a split second, a fire had returned to her sapphire gaze, that blue flame burning like a beacon that cried for vengeance. Although she was once more alive, however, it was clear she lived only for one purpose: to get back at the ones who had caused her the pain she still felt, aching each moment at her very core and threatening to burst forth and shatter her very heart.

"There's a small room just outside with a teleporter in it that can take us to the other floors. It sounds like they're taking the elevators. They probably expect us to try to escape that way, since we're new in this world. They'll also have probably left some of their men down in the lobby to cut us off in case we get past the first wave. If we use the teleporter to get down to one of the lower floors, we should be able to break a corridor window and drop into one of the alleyways leading off the side of the building. There's no more time, so come on!" As Ayumu hastily gave out her commands, she spoke calmly and rationally, but something was noticeably off about her. That quiet hiss in her voice... it was the sound of anger, threatening to boil up from beneath the surface and overwhelm her very being. As she rushed for the door, gesturing for the others to follow, the light in her eyes was one that demanded to bring death and pain upon those that had brought the same upon her. Even if her existence had caused everything, the ones who had actually done the deed were within her reach.

I'll cut them all down... no, I'll kill every last one of them for what they've done! With these thoughts, she dashed across the outside hallway over to the teleporter, turning about to the others she assumed would follow her.

"Stand on this platform one by one and push the button for floor two! When you reach that level, break a window and escape! It's close quarters in here, and unless these bastards are wearing body armor, I doubt they'll be able to stand up to my sword. Even if they shoot me up, I have plenty of this healing stuff left, and I doubt they'll risk hitting my vitals and killing their precious little experiment, anyhow. I'll buy you some time and catch up to you later, so go!" One again, she hastily barked out directions, clasping both the hilt and sheath of her nagamaki and drawing it slowly forth, that burning, hateful malice in her eyes glinting like the blade of her terrible sword as it shimmered in the light. The sounds of the elevator were growing closer now, which meant their enemies would be arriving at any second.

But while Ayumu should have been afraid, all she felt was that burning desire for revenge. No matter what pain she was about to suffer, it paled in comparison both to the agony in her heart, and the living hell she would wreak upon her enemies. Even if it meant stooping to their level, she would make they pay for what they had done, for her father, for her mother, and for Hitori Ayumu!

(This should be pretty epic. =D)

Oren was concentrating on maintaining her balance and following the blonde girl's direction, when she caught sight of another of the devices like her father had had, in the hands of the boy stood next to her.

She cast her glance over at the device, and was more than a little surprised at what she saw. Exactly the same list that she'd been looking at the night before. She wanted to hurry over and ask him where he he got it from, but time was a bit of a factor at the time. She had to follow it up though....if that guy knew something about this weird science project.

Oren looked over at the young man, asking her if she'd be alright, and nodded a little in response.
"Hopefully I can get it patched up. One thing though. I need to talk to you about something when this is over. Regarding the Ningen no Kami. It looks like you might be aware of the project too, and I think we could probably do with sharing some information. We can talk about this later." she stated, before making her way inside the clinic.

She stepped up to the assigned room and reluctantly offered her arm out, having shakily swiped a card in the receiver on the door. She wasn't all that keen on the automated systems that Japan seemed to prefer, but it was better than nothing. She turned her head and looked away as the system began to work away on the arm by itself, cutting away the mangled fabric, scanning the wounds, injecting a local anesthetic, before beginning to treat the wound, quickly suturing the hemorrhaging artery. Oren sat and watched the data flicker across the machine's screen as it calculated the potential diagnosis, treatment, and cost. She frowned as she tried to read the japanese text. It was a complicated fracture, and at best it would mean her arm was going to be in a cast for a while...at worst it meant she was going to end up getting metal screws drilled into it to make sure she'd be able to use her elbow in the future.

It was true, no good deed goes unpunished.

She made her way outside one it was done, her uniform ruined, her arm fastened in a sling and a considerable amount of money taken out of her account for her trouble. She had been given some painkillers and a print-out with instructions as to when to return, and not to use her hand or arm for a couple of weeks, until the muscles had begun to heal.

Brilliant. That was her writing hand. What was she going to do now? She had to try and keep up somehow at school, and deal with her plants, and the part-time work she'd been taking on...and this whole Ningen no Kami nonsense...

Oren sighed and leaned back against the wall of the building.
"I hate Tokyo..." she muttered in her native hungarian.

Ayumu quickly gave directions to use the teleportation device that was in a nearby room, which didn't exactly seem to safe, but it was the only thing to try besides to free-fall off of the tenth floor. The duo-personality Ningen no Kami was the first to run, except she took a detour. She quickly ran up to the large window in the hall and slammed her thin body against it at full power, only to be flung back and get a bruised shoulder. She slowly stood up and rubbed her shoulder, surprisingly not feeling as much pain as she thought she would. ITAIIIIII! Miki you idiot! Why'd you do that?! That hurt like hell! Mai screamed in her head.

"Eh? What?" Don't 'Eh? What?' me! The reason why you don't feel so much pain is because I take on 65% of it!

"Ah, I see, so now this makes it a lot more fun." Miki grinned, recklessly roundhouse kicking a suited bodyguard-looking man, her ankle throbbing in pain. OWW! Stop that! Otherwise I'll take over and you'll get the pain instead! She stopped and felt the fuzzy feeling take over again, and then quickly dashed back into the room, securely locking the doors, and deflecting the fuzziness. W-What?! How dare you block me off!

"Oh, shut up~" Miki muttered under her breath, grinning in victory. She turned around, still deviously smiling and looked around. She grabbed a stray uninstalled pipe and held it in battle position confidently, as if she were about to go in battle, but who cares, this is close enough to a battle, right?

"Guys, the windows are all plexi-glass and they don't open, so we're gonna have to jump from here. We need two people to create a long rope from whatever we have, curtains, sheets, whatever, and two others are going to fend them off with me. Ugh, where's Riku-kun when we need him? So, who's gonna fight with me?" she smirked, hoping that her weapons were untouched. Then she finally remembered something. Kumo and Shiro. She ripped off the curtains and tossed them onto the couch.

"Ayumu! You look ready to fight, are you not?" she smirked at Ayumu, pointing the pipe at Ayumu's weapon. Miki headed to the door, which had a lot of people gathered there and smashing at it, and paused as she held the doorknob.

"I'll be going out first." Miki quickly opened the door, sweeping the pipe along their legs and shutting it immediately.

"Quick! At least one is good enough!" A cold sweat rolled down her temple as she counted how many goons there were, and then scoffed,

"Ten against one? Now isn't that a bit low of you?" She jumped up, grabbing one of the ceiling mounted bikes and swung on it, knocking out two men. She twitched at the sound of a yelp and jumped off, flashing her plaid underwear and hopping on their heads as she ran into her and Riku's bedroom, flinging open the closet doors and grabbing Kumo. Get the cat, otherwise that Riku-character will kill you!

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Miki hissed as she stuffed her two weapons into her pocket and then ripped off all of the sheets of the beds and the curtains. The whole situation had seemed like it was right from an action novel of course, except futuristic and real. She cringed at the pain in her shoulder as she ripped off the sheets of the other bed. The girl dumped the pile onto the floor and placed Kumo inside, hiding him in the bundle. She sighed and lifted the load with her good shoulder, then quickly switched it, knowing that she'll need her good side for fending off goons.

"You can take over, Mai. Just make sure to keep Kumo safe and to get Shiro! Shiro is probably in the bathroom!" Got it! Finally, I think if we can have a nice compromise once in a whil-

"Just get on with it!" Fine! The fuzzy feeling quickly took over her body, and before she knew it, she only could watch as her body moved on it's own.

"Ah, it feels nice to move around once in a while. Now, let's get moving." Mai grinned. Now that I think of it, Mai, when you speak with my body, my voice sounds deeper, are you sure you're not a boy?

"Like I said before, I have no specific gender." she said as she kicked the door open. Ouch! My shoulder and ankle!

"Hah, you see how I feel?" she quickly reequipped her chain whip and shoved about 3 goons off, dashing into the bathroom and then looking around for the cat. She noticed a white blob in the shower and threw it open, grabbing Shiro and stuffing him into the sheets, switching him out with Kumo and placing Kumo into her hoodie securely, using her bra as a harness.

"Eat this, you *ssholes!" she charged, holding out the pole in front of her and plowing through a few more men. She opened the door and threw in the blankets and Kumo, Shiro jumping out crankily and hissing at her.

"Sorry Shiro!" Miki took over briefly, of course a price had to be paid, and someone had grabbed her hood. She shut the door and was lifted off the ground. She flailed around, and then stopped.

"Alright, I give up!" she held her hands up with a defeated look.

"Not." she smirked, kicking the one holding her hostage in the ribs. One of the men took out a pocket knife, shining it in the light.

"Ahhh! My worst fear, shiny blades! Just kidding." Mai knocked the blade out of his hand and grabbed it, then headlocking the nearest person. She lifted the knife, then stopped. NO! Mai you can't kill anyone! Please!

"Then how shall I get through with this? Hm?" In that moment, she was grabbed and had her arms and legs tied with rope, and her mouth stuffed with a wad of towel. She coughed and flailed around on the ground. She pushed the towel out and then bit down on one of their arms as they lifted her. She spit at one of their faces with blood dripping from her mouth and then was cut in the torso once again. She staggered and coughed out more blood, removing the knife and then running away, hastily applying seisui, but didn't completely cover it. Mai..! IT HURTS YOU IDIOT! Miki took back over and snapped, climbing onto the counter and whacking their heads with the pole.

"Haha, it's Whack-A-Goon!" she grinned, waiting nervously for someone to show up.

As one of the nearby elevator doors opened, Ayumu was already prepared to fight. Miki, it seemed, had decided to join her and occupy the attackers pouring from the other elevator, which meant she wouldn't have to worry about anyone attacking her from behind. With that confidence-boosting knowledge, she could go all out without worrying!

As the black-suited men rushed around the corner, coming on in rows of three due to the narrow space they were confined in, the raven-haired girl was there to meet them, giving a vengeful howl of rage and swinging the thick wooden sheath of her sword upward, clotheslining two of her opponents in a rather sensitive place and sending them falling to the floor, groaning in pain. That was two down, but somehow, she knew the rest wouldn't be so easy.

She was right. A glint of metal from the corner of her eye alerted her to the very real danger of a .44 revolver being drawn and pointed at her leg. One shot from that, and she'd be down and out. But she had no time to simply contemplate such things. All she could do now was act on instinct! And so, giving another angry roar, she drew back and hurled the wooden scabbard at the man. It collided with his wrist with an audible crack, causing him to cry out in surprise and drop the weapon.

The three fallen bodies of the first group had delayed their comrades - there were about a dozen more, that Ayumu could see, all crammed into the tiny elevator like clowns into a car at the circus - but had by no means stopped them. Shoving aside their wounded allies, two more men leaped forward, followed by a third.

While normally Ayumu was docile and reluctant to hurt another being, today was an exception. For the past 24 hours, she had been dogged by constant revelations of a reality she did not want to accept, and of a grief she could not bear. These men, even if they themselves were not the guilty ones... they had murdered an innocent girl and torn apart her family, all to create a construct who they could torment with that girl's stolen memories! That construct, even if she was not Human, even if everyone she loved had died because of her existence... She could still fight, to redeem the memories of Hitori Ayumu, to protect those who had suffered similar tragedies, and to bring to justice those responsible for her death. And so, she fought. She fought with her heart and soul and all of her being. She spared no measure, pulled no punch, passed up no dirty trick. She used every weapon at her disposal, and gave every ounce of her strength. And so, when in a shower of blood, the first man fell to the floor with a gash in his side as Ayumu's blade moved like a flowing wave to cut her next victim, she did not even realize the magnitude of the act she had just committed. The fallen men screamed, and their comrade drew back, but this only served to corner both him and the rest of his comrades. With a powerful kick, she dug her foot into his genitals, sending his flying off of his feet and collapsing against his comrades, causing the entire group in the elevator to fall like a stack of dominoes.

What am I doing here? Ayumu thought wryly as she slashed her blade downward again, aiming to hack a hopefully mortal wound into the chest of the nearest assailant. To her surprise, however, the man twisted at the last second, kicking his foot upward and blocking the blade with his thick leather boot, deflecting her feeble strike and sending her stumbling backward. Am I actually going to kill someone? Can I actually, honestly hope to fight these people? They've been trained all their lives for this one moment. I'm just a psychotic bitch of a girl with a big sword and a serious grudge. Now she was on the defensive, as the man rose and drew a wicked looking knife, darting forward and bringing it down at her head. She parried, sending him stumbling past her as she locked her own blade against his, pinning his arm as she took a hold on the side of his neck, spinning him about in a basic Aikido technique - a somewhat modified exercise known as Shomenuchi Kokyunage - before flinging him down against a wall. His head snapped back from the whiplash of the impact, and by the look of it, she'd knocked him out. She had no time to celebrate, however, for another man had darted forward while she was occupied, and before she could turn about, he had delivered a crushing kick to her gut, sending her flying backward and rolling across the floor, her sword clattering uselessly to the side. Grinning widely, he raised his foot again, before stomping down on her chest with enough force to knock all the wind out of her lungs. She opened her mouth to scream in agony, but found she could make no sound. Was he going to asphyxiate her until she simply passed out? No, that didn't seem to be the look of it, for his hands were now clenched into fists, and with a triumphant cry, he brought them down upon her face, raining a devastating shower of blows down upon her like falling hail. Agony pulsed through her skull, her head wrenching to and fro as he pummeled her into the ground, the tears rising to her already blurry eyes unbidden as the pain and the lack of oxygen caused her to grow faint. She could hardly see. Everything seemed twisted and warped, with so much fog clouding her sight that she wondered she could make out anything at all.

Am I going to die? She thought, her rage simmering down to an eerie calm as her consciousness began to fade. Lack of life brought with it lack of feeling, in an ironic way relieving her of her emotional pain with a physical equivalent. If this was better, she could not judge. But with fading mental faculties, the pain seemed distant, as though it was happening to someone else and she was merely an onlooker. Perhaps it was happening to someone else? Perhaps these thoughts, like all her memories, were simply borrowed from Ayumu, and were not her own? If that was the case, then it was just the construct, the murderer, the one who had killed her beloved family, who was suffering, and that was a punishment she could bear.

No, I can't let that happen, she realized. If I die, then nothing will have changed. They'll keep chasing the others down until they have them, and I won't be able to save anyone. And Ayumu and the others... they'll never rest peacefully until I avenge their deaths, and I don't think I could go on like that either. Then will they take me? No, that would be even worse. Even if I want to go back to those days, I know deep down they're not real. So I can't let them take me. To live a lie would be worse than not living at all. I'd just be a burden to everyone. They might get hurt trying to save me, and they'd never let me live it down regardless. Shin... Miki.... Aoi, and even you, Riku. I don't know you all very well, but I do know one thing: the same thing that happened to me also happened to you. If I were to fail now after I told some of you to count on me, then I would be betraying not only myself, but all of you as well. And... Crow... You were the first person I ever really knew. Even though I'm just a fake, even though I'm a burden... you were kind to me regardless. It was awkward being around you at times, but in the end, you were the first and only one to reach out to me. Even though I tried to push you away at first, like everyone else, you kept trying to make me feel better, even after all the pain I had suffered. I don't know if artificial, created beings like us have guardian angels, or saints sent to watch over us, but even if we don't, I've still found mine. As her assailant rose, his hands stained with blood dribbling from her broken nose, through all the pain, a slight smile appeared on Ayumu's face, and she gave a tired, wry laugh, causing the man to stare at her in bewilderment and confusion.

Heh. I'm so stupid. And to think just last night, I was mocking fictional characters for not realizing how they feel, when this whole time, I've been doing the same thing myself. I really am... an idiot.

"What?! You're still conscious?! The hell kind of monster-" he ground his foot down into her gut for emphasis. "-are you?!" He roared angrily, driven to rage by the defiant smirk that his victim wore even still.

But, even if that's the case, I'm through being stupid now. I've realized it. This whole time, I've been mourning the losses of loved ones I never really knew, feeling sorry for myself because I felt I could never love again... when the one I should have loved and cared for was right beside me. A brutal kick to the face disrupted her thoughts for a moment, but she did not let it distract her. Let the man continue pummeling her, if he wanted to, damn him. If it meant that he wouldn't notice her left hand, reaching slowly, inexorably outward even though the sleepy haze consuming her, then it was just a sacrifice she would have to make to achieve her goal. It does sound so cliche, saying it like that. And it's kind of strange, feeling this way after such a short time. But... there's no mistaking it. This feeling I couldn't understand... it's love, isn't it? I guess I must be pretty easy to get, after all, if a few kind words and a hug could get me feeling all mushy inside. It was a good hug, though, and those were good words, and really, when it comes down to it, I could do worse. I'm sure they would agree, if they were still here. But they're not, which is why... I have to keep on fighting. And because of this feeling, I know I can. After all, she felt the hard wooden handle of the weapon for which her hand sought, and with that same smile on her face, she closed her hand around the last thing that could protect her. If I were to let down the one I love, I'd just be the damsel in distress. And that... would really piss me off! With a final burst of strength, Ayumu raised the gun, slamming it into the side of her assailant's head, causing him to stagger back and collide with his five remaining fellows as they emerged from the elevator, confident in the defeat of the target who, to their surprise, was very much awake and pointing a revolver at all of them. As her finger closed around the trigger, she grinned.

"Sorry, but I can't die just yet. Better luck next time, all of you. Have a nice dream."

BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.

As six bodies and a pale, limp hand still firmly clutching an empty revolver hit the floor, an eerie silence filled the hall, and the perfect human's eyes closed, the serene smile of triumph still spread wide across her face.

Guess I'm not just a burden... after all. I leave the rest... to you.

(I think I got carried away with the whole concept of an "epic last stand." Still, it was awesome, and thanks to this, it looks like she's at least partially recovered and on the path to my "good end." Yaaaaay!)

Crow looked around as he saw the somewhat ambush. He knew something was up. Of course, he wasn't going to take simple orders from Ayumu to flee. He yawned slightly, despite his situation, and went to the bathroom, retrieving his twin guns from yesterday's clothes. He wandered out, seeing Ayumu fighting and decided he should probably not get in he way. She looked like she was having fun anyway, and their bodies were quite a deal tougher than normal humans. Crow saw no one for a while, but as soon as he saw people like a swarm, the sounds of his guns went off. 

Being trained in shooting (no, not through FPS games), Crow's shots practically never missed. The boy set up a little map in his head. If they got within thirty metres, a shot to both legs or arms. Within ten metres, well, he'd have to kill them in one go. No one really got within ten metres as Crow stood, leaning on the wall and shooting nonchalantly, before a strange grin came over his face. "How nostalgic." he said, rather sarcastically. He'd completely done a heel-turn and there was barely anyone around. "Aw. No fun." he said, before going over to the content-looking (though very much unconscious) Ayumu and grinned, picking her up and putting her over one shoulder. He had to put on of his guns away, of course, but that would be no problem. "He really beat the sh*t out of you, huh? ... So I can touch unconscious people without passing out. Well, that's fun to know."

When he, finally, got to the teleporter, he saw some muscle heads making their way over. Crow decided to shoot them all in only slightly vital places; he felt nice after all.

But to no avail. With Ayumu on his shoulder, his aim was thrown off and the guy grabbed Crow, picking him up easily. He also accidentally lost his grip on Ayumu, before she wasn't too far from the ground so she should have been fine. "Ne me touchez pas!" Crow roared (translating to 'Don't touch me!'), taking his gun and shooting the guy right between the eyes. He hit the ground from quite a distance (you have to remember that Crow isn't really incredibly tall) and groaned, standing up awkwardly. He took his guns out his pocket and shot, but these guys were considerably tougher than the others. Crow laughed, slightly manically (Give him a break people. He just killed a random bunch of guys and he'll soon embark on a guilt trip) and generally shot them off, until one of them pinned him down from behind.

His arm was twisted behind his back tightly, making him wince slightly. "Va t'en..." ('Go away...") Crow mumbled listlessly, as if not interested in the conversation at hand. Well, he was, but this guy was touching his arm, something which the Ningen no Kami part of himself didn't allow. He opened his mouth to say something, yet closed it a few seconds later and repeated, like a goldfish. The thug holding him down cheered, twisting Crow's wrist and ankles to show off to his 'friends'. He punched, kicked, and overall just really got a laugh out of it.

Crow looked at him quietly, a bored look in his face. "A bientot." ("See you soon."). That thug received the gift of a bullet in the mouth. The boy stood up and staggered over to Ayumu, coughing violently. His arm shook as he held his wrist up to the light.

It was a vivid red with horrible patches of purple and it was swollen, yet Crow blanked out the pain. The boy didn't even want to check his ankles, which were throbbing in pain. He picked Ayumu up again, not even checking her current status and limped into the teleporter. He made sure every inch of both of them was in there. He didn't want to end up without a butt or anything. The teleporter set off and Crow sighed in relief, his head hurting him like never before. It wasn't too long before he had to sit down. Note to self: nausea and teleporters don't mix...
((Short, but it's 5AM!))

Ayano snapped her head in attention of Miki's screams and warnings. "Guys! We need to leave! NOW!" She grimaced at the news. 'They decided to arrive eh...' She cringed when the explosion gently shook the building. But as the explosion sets off, so does a little emotion, an emotion which was buried deep down. Images of "him" and her old life flashed through her mind, her anger bubbling within her. Because of these people she couldn't have a peaceful life, because of these people she became this perfect being and it was them that hurt them all. Crow, Miki, Shin, Ayumu, everyone. 'For no f*cking reason...!' She thought, surprised at her dirty mind, but she quickly dismissed it. This was not the time to think of such things. This was the time to..To get revenge.

She released Shin's hand, and began to sprint after two. But as she does so, she sweeps low to grab a free gun. Ayano needed something to work with, and with the knowledge she earned, it should be enough. Now all she needed to do was find the other two. And that was an extremely easy task. But maybe she was too late. "Ayumu!" She shouts, her calm voice actually going up a pitch. Ayano quickly made her way over, but she slowed realizing the Crow got her. "Ayumu..." Her voice was soft once again when she called out the girl's name one more time. "You'll be alright.." Ayano watched crow lift her up and on his shoulder. First things first, she had to get rid of these men. Then she would aid Ayumu immediately. "Everything..will be alright..." She murmurs, remembering the face the girl once held. That hollow, lifeless one. "the youngest shouldn't have such a look on her face... "

"Oh lookie here, another one of those monsters.." A man sneered, walking close. "Well don't worry, Ill make sure you die the way you deserve-" But before he can take another breath, a bullet punctured his eye. He fell lifelessly to the floor the next second. "..." Ayano slowly got up and stared down at the man calmly, a look of disgust running through it. "tch.." She walked over the man and towards Miki quietly. "Watch out.." She calls, noticing a man right behind the girl, ready to strike. Taking no chances, she grabbed the nearest thing and slammed it against the man's head. The item was a long pipe, which was used by a goon before. But before she can make any other moves, she froze. What is happening to her...? Has revenge taken over her? She didnt like it...it was all too strange. She just killed a man, no two men.. She remained quiet. "......" One final conclusion came to her mind. 'Protect my new family.' She dropped the pipe, and held only the gun. Crow was here, so he should be able to take care of it along with Miki. She began to sprint back to where Shin supposedly was. Miki said to get material, and she will will. 'What is there to use...' She searched her artifical knowledge and finally got an idea. She looked around and ripped open a door, a janitors closet. She scanned the small space and saw a large roll of extension cords. It was long and thick, perfect for a rope. Hanging it from her arm, she raced out of the room.

(Awesome, I've been busy in a while, my new school's been pretty mean to me. First day, and 200 pages within 2 hours. Not fun. But, still making time for the RP. )

"Guys! We need to leave! NOW!"

The explosion was sudden, but something that didn't affect Shin. Instead, it assisted Shin. The explosion reminded him of the starting bullet during a run, increasing his adrenaline via the fake information delivered by his senses. Shin had opted to grip Ayano's hand tightly, but decided against it, after hearing footsteps coming closer.

'Run!' was the only thing he could think of, he didn't even have time to yell it to her. He felt several batons and tonfas crush into his back as he blocked the hallway with his own body. Everyone had the chance to get away now. He struggled against the entire group of black suited men behind him, who were pushing to get past him. He felt the batons, tonfas and even knifes being beaten and sliced against every inch of his body they could reach. Shin took deep breathes to steady himself, gradually gaining the upperhand in the power struggle. He stared at the others.

"Go dammit! What are you guys staying here for?! Leave the top to me AND GO DOWN! " he yelled, face haggard from the pain, but his eyes glinting with vigor from who knows where it came from. "Don't you DARE stay! "

He felt a deep stabbing sensation and it took him several seconds to register what had happened. He glanced down at his abdomen and his eyes widened with shock. Someone had managed to bury a katana straight through his abdomen. Soon later, the pain descended upon him and he nearly relinquished his duty of blocking the hallway. Shin was the very image of a man pushed past the limits of exhaustion. Sweating heavily, bleeding profusely, several bones looked like they were bending the wrong way, hazy eyes that looked like they were about to close at any second. Despite this, he still continued his duty as the Ningen no Kami's 'meatshield', taking blow after blow, hit after hit, slash after slash. It wasn't long until a pool of his own blood formed beneath him.

"What the hell does it take to kill this guy!? " he heard one of the men say.

"IDIOT! We're not supposed to kill him, we're supposed to subdue them all and bring 'em back. " he heard another yell at the idiot.

"Oh...But he's not showing any signs of letting up! " came another reply. He felt a whack on the back of his head. Shin could swear he must've cracked his skull right then and there. His vision started becoming hazy... He also felt himself grow limp and felt a hand pull on his long, black hair, now untidy and uneven after receiving those special 'haircuts' from the bladed weapons. He then heard a man breathing into his ear.

"Listen. We're going to pick you all off one by one. Then bring you all back. There's still alot of things that you all have not been subjected to. Now you give up and come back to where you came from, monster. " he could hear the man whisper to him.

What Shin heard enraged him. He reached back and caught of the man's hand, gripping tightly until he heard a delightful, resounding snap and the pained howls. He wasn't feeling tired or hazy anymore. In fact... he didn't feel the pain. He turned back to face what seemed to be almost 8 to 10 men. He smiled at them wryly before flashing an insane looking grin, augmented by the pool of crimson liquid beneath him as well as the blood splattered all over his face. He licked a spot near his lips, tasting the rusty, red water.

"...Come at me- " before he finished, he was rudely interrupted by the men bringing their baton and tonfa down upon Shin's head. Several whacks echoed throughout the entire hallway, and mercy forbid, possibly even heard by several floors above and below them. Blood splattered to the ground, but a very,very,VERY much alive looking Shin stood there, staring at them.

"Allow me to finish... " he narrowed his eyes and pulled on of the men into a hug. At first the man was surprised, until he realized the pain. Shin had pulled him into a hug so that the katana would penetrate the man's abdomen as well. He smiled at the man's pained face and pushed him back to the others.

"I'll show you monster. " he finished, before bringing a boot down upon the nearest man's chest. He could bring them to their deaths. All of these guys. That was the least he could do to vent of some of his frustration...ok, maybe more than just 'some'. Although Shin had come to accept the terms of his predicament, he was still looking out for the rest. And to a larger extent, the youngest of them, Ayumu. He knew the pain she felt, but maybe not as much as she did. And that pain was caused...He punched a man in the face.

"..by you guys. " he completed his thoughts by saying them out loud. He wall jumped above the entire group and landed in front of the elevator, pressing on the button. "Catch me... I dare you to. "

Accepting the challenge, about 4 of the men came forward charging at him. At the exact same moment, the elevator doors slide open and Shin slipped inside with the ease of a monkey. As the men came in, again, he slipped out, gliding through, using his hands to hold onto the frame of the elevator and using the heads of the men as a stepping to to get out. Once out, he side-stepped and tripped a charging man, delivered a textbook elbow strike to another charging man's temple, a blow which sent the man collapsing underneath the force of the blow and his own acceleration, skidding past Shin and eventually coming to a halt, complete still. There was no doubt the man was dead.

Shin was caught in a deadlock with one of the men near their room's door. Eventually Shin won the fist-fight and grabbed hold of the man's head before smashing it against the door frame. As a double tap, Shin slammed the door shut right where the man's head was. He ran further back into the room and grabbed the paint supplies that Ayano won and used the cans as a weapon to fight. He knocked another man into the group in the elevator, totaling 5 men in the elevator. He ripped open the lids of the cans, displaying the paint. He smiled at them sadistically before splashing the paint on them. The men covered their heads in surprise as the rainbow mixture splashed onto them. They stared at themselves, looking like multi-colored canaries, gawking and yelling amongst each other.

"Now now...you guys should get along...after all, you guys still have to roast together in the fires of Hell. " he told them, taking a matchbox near the counter top and struck a match, the fire suddenly looked rather malicious. "You know...some of the paint there are oil paints..." (*)

As a response, the 5 men began to run for the exit, but the paint on the ground made them slip, causing everyone of them to get tangled up in a bright, colorful mess. Shin laughed at them, holding the lighted match stick and stared at it with interest.

"I'm not an artist...but I wonder if lighting colors would produce colorful flames? " he looked over at the men with crazed eyes and a smile that spelled 'insane' right away. "Do you guys want to help me test it out?"

Despite the multitudes of heads shaking and the list of pleas coming from within the elevator, Shin walked closer and closer while giggling wildly. Once he was within throwing range, he gave the halfway burnt matchstick another interesting look.

"Hee~Bye~ " he said happily, tossing the matchstick into the elevator just as the elevator doors shut. Shin closed his eyes as he listened to the screams of agony coming from within the elevator. Before long, the fire alarm began to ring. Shin merely chuckled to himself as the sprinklers went off, the water soaking his clothes as well as his wounds. He felt a bullet fly past him, missing him by an inch, he turned his head slowly to the side to peer at his assailant. He smiled without any humor and hobbled towards the man slowly. The man fired off several rounds, each hitting Shin. During the beginning, Shin had completely numbed his pain, but now that his adrenaline and anger had receded, the pain was beginning to return, and with each bullet that found it's mark, the pain became stronger and stronger.

When the man had seemingly emptied his magazine and was quickly pulling a fresh one out, Shin charged for the man and punched him. The pain and fatigue had made his significantly weaker. But he was far from useless and dealt severely punishing blows to the man. However, the man managed to reload his gun and the click made Shin pause.

"Well now. Even monsters fall before bullets. Don't you think? " the man asked him, before emptying half the entire magazine into Shin's abdomen. Shin staggered backwards and collapsed, swimming in another pool of his own blood. He glanced around, the teleporter was just ahead of him... If he could just make it... He began to crawl towards the teleporter. But the man wasn't going to make it easy for him, and it was already difficult enough with the katana getting in the way, being buried into his abdomen. He fired at both of Shin's legs and fired at Shin's hands whenever Shin used them to pull himself forward. It hurt, but Shin took deep, hard breaths whenever he was shot and continued, but each breath was taken with more difficulty compared to the last and the pain could be heard through his raspy breaths. Finally, he managed to pull almost half of his body into the teleporter.

"I was enjoying seeing you crawl like the monster you were, but I guess the fun ends here. I can't let you run, but I can take you out if I have no choice. " the man raised his gun and aimed for Shin's head. In one last burst of energy, he pulled his entire body into the teleporter, just at the same time the man fired the last round. Shin felt himself go unconscious, or maybe it was just the teleporter's doings...

But the next thing he knew, Shin was clutching his neck, stemming the flow of blood that seemed like it was coming from a tap.

"I can use the Seisui...Where is it... " he used his other bullet-holed hand to search around his neck for the chain. Then the realization struck him.

'The only reason I'm alive from a shot like that...was because the chain of the vial blocked off most of the damage...then that means...' he thought, a sense of dread starting to come over him.

Indeed...this meant that the vial of Shin's seisui was still several floors above him...and he was bleeding from all his wounds, had several knifed embedded on his back, a katana sticking out of his abdomen, bleeding all over his head from all the baton and tonfa hits he took directly to the head, his feet rendered useless after being shot by bullets and his hands deformed with several bullet holes.

"...worth it..." he muttered softly to himself, letting his neck go, allowing the blood to flow freely. There wasn't any chance for him to live now. The adrenaline had taken him this far, but once it goes away... He could already feel his body starting to feel cold...

"...w-worth it...worth it...for them...for the others who suffered like me...worth it..." he kept repeating over and over, a smile on his face and he began to close his eyes, ready to accept his fate.

(*) - Regarding the oil paint...I'm not really sure if it's actually combustible. :P But it makes for something interesting I guess. I mean. It is 2073, why not? xD

(WOAH!!! Intense Ningen No Kami action! Sounds like fun, but best not to interfere yet. How bout lunch, Yuuka?)

"Hopefully I can get it patched up. One thing though. I need to talk to you about something when this is over. Regarding the Ningen no Kami. It looks like you might be aware of the project too, and I think we could probably do with sharing some information. We can talk about this later." Yuuka blinked as the girl disappeared into the sliding doors of the clinic. Jeez, she didn't even leave him with her name. It would be hard to find her later but then again, they did go to the same school so he would have some things cut out for him.

Now it was time to ask those two what was going on. Wait...... Those two? The two Ningen no Kami where nowhere to be seen. Yuuka looked right and left but there was no sign of them. "Damnit! I let them get away again!" At this rate, he was never going to get some answers. But maybe that euro girl knew something he didn't? Well, no use worrying now, his only chance was long gone and he had no idea how long the girl was going to take for her injury. This was just going to have to wait once again. Sticking his hand in his pocket, Yuuka pulled out his mobile phone and glanced at the time displayed on the holographic touch screen. School was almost over. Was he out for THAT long? Shaking his head in frustration, Yuuka began to walk down the sidewalk in the direction of the middle of the city. Might as well kill some time before night school started. He was starving.

But while his thoughts were focused on what and where he was going to eat, Yuuka's ears caught a faint, but an all to familiar sound. Gunshots?...

It wasn't long before everyone was up and out, of course with a few problems, but taken care of with little difficulty. Well who am I kidding, a hell lot of difficulty. Ayumu is pretty much K.O.ed until Crow heals her with the remaining strength he has, unless, of course, he had passed out too, but knowing how stubborn and strong the Ningen no Kami are, he'll make it out with ease. Then Shin... Luckily he escaped too, but hopefully Ayano Aoi, the rather secluded one, can help him, after all, they probably warmed up to each other after living together for about half a day. Wait. Aoi! Miki swiveled around, staring at the silent girl fight off an incoming goon, if she wasn't there to defend Miki, then she'd be a goner. Miki stared hopelessly at Aoi, fighting the large group of endless goons, as she fought off goons herself, just getting grazed by a bullet. She grabbed her right calf in pain and ignored the screams of pain that Mai let out.

"Aoi-chan! Move!" Miki tackled Aoi, pushing her into the teleporter and then once it was done, she smashed it since they would just follow her if she had gone in too.

"That girl..! She must have a death wish.. Haha, seems like you're the cheesy loser hero who sacrifices themselves in the end!" one of them cackled. Miki grinned, flashing an attractive smile despite her bloody, beaten face, and then roundhouse-kicked a goon, snatching his gun in the process.

"Sacrifice? As if. I barely even know them! Why would the great Miki-sama have to sacrifice herself? Hm?!" she smiled, her mind was pretty screwed up at the moment, forgive her for now at least. All the pain in her body magically disappeared, but was still there physically, maybe it's a Ningen no Kami ability, or was it simply just the effects of going literally insane? She stole another gun, this time she simply stabbed the guy in the head with a dagger and stole it. Miki studied the two weapons, a fully-loaded piston and what seemed to be a futuristically tweaked piston, only that it was loaded with bullet-shaped darts with a target-locking function. The girl, too curious, shot an incoming goon, the result being that his body froze and dropped within impact, yet he remained breathing. A fellow teammate shouted and grabbed the man, also falling into the same state within contact. Miki grinned evilly, a bit too evilly, now she seemed like the villain, but who knows, maybe the Ningen no Kami are villains after all. Within seconds, everyone was down, either dead, or unconscious.

"If they had weapons this powerful, why not use it in the first place..? Unless...!" she stopped, running over to the man whom she initially stole the gun from, and looked through his clothes, comparing it to a few others. Miki! Y-You need to run.. I can't take the pain anymore...! I can explain who that man is later, just RUN! The girl returned to normal, all the pain rushed back into her body, making the girl fall of her knees.

"No... My job isn't done yet.." Miki trudged into the condo, scooping up Shiro and Kumo, and then coughed, staining the pure white blanket with her foul, inhuman blood. She stared it at for a second, and then looked away, running away from the truth, like from the start. She held the warm, white cat in her arms and ran her sore hand across it's soft, silky, white fur, collecting some fur in the process. She leaned against the window, staring into the gloomy late-morning sky with a look of longing in her face, that longing was for this nightmare to end, for this distorted opposite personality of hers to die away and for to return to the meek Kaigai Miki, but for some reason, it's as if she completely changed to a different person. She took her calloused cat-fur covered hand and dug around in her pastel orange torn and bloodied hoodie pocket, petting Kumo as if nothing was wrong. Shiro, was Riku's cat, and it was best to not let it ran around so freely. She silently snuck into her bedroom, randomly selecting pieces of clothing, and looked for a bag to stuff them in. Miki grabbed a fairly small, yet big enough dirt-colored knapsack and then put Shiro in there, since he was probably larger, then put Kumo in the smaller outer compartment, only to have him bark in the small cramped darkness while Shiro sat there, as chill as a cucumber. As soon as Miki heard the groan of a goons outside, she immediately silenced the puppy and put him in her pocket, where he lounged, content and happy. She then put the clothing around Shiro and slipped the knapsack around her shoulders, being extra careful of her bruised and swollen one.

Miki silently slipped by each person with trembling steps, and then sighed as she was just about finished with crossing the sea of dead/unconscious drenched bodies, of course because of Shin's violent act of destroying the elevator and all living organisms within. Agh...! Xin lỗi, Miki...! (Sorry, Miki...!) All of a sudden, a horrible feeling overcame her body, it felt like she was being eaten whole, and then she fell to the floor in the pile of goons, and silently clenched her throat, breathing heavily and laying on her side.

"M-Mai..! Nani wa kore..?! (What is this..?!)" she hoarsely let out. Suddenly, she felt her body, her mind, changing. Images flashed through her head in a flurry of pain, and her eyes became blank, empty, lifeless. She stood up shakily and then robbed all of the goons of their guns, then stuffing them in another empty compartment. I am... Miki. If we are separate, we are incomplete, and once together, we become who we are supposed to be, a man-made human who carries the memories, emotions, and personality of another person. But why do I feel so indifferent? Why am I not being like Kaigai Miki, the meek, scorned one? I wonder... But maybe it's our hidden personality, finally free from it's mask? I still can't believe that I am supposed to be Kaigai Miki... But now I'm Ryori Miki, and Mai is also me... Miki thought to herself for once, without Mai to block her off, and searched for a staircase.

"Nowhere to be found.. Agh, stupid futuristic buildings..! Ack!" she lurched over, holding her stomach as it splurted blood, and then grabbed her seisui, finally remembering Shin's seisui. She held in the open wound, dashing into the room and grabbing the blue and pink-speckled vial, then opened the balcony door. She looked down at the ground, ten stories down. She applied some seisui to the wound roughly, covering up most of it, and then rubbing some on her face, fixing her appearance at least. She slipped on some pastel blue shorts, since that was the only pair of comfortable shorts that was in the bag, and then brushed off the cat fur on it, then applying some more seisui to her shoulder, at least making it more bearable so she can lift her arm without screaming in pain. She hopped over the rail of the balcony and carefully slipped down to the next floor beneath, and put on some gloves, just to have the complete look, even though she was wearing a long pastel orange hoodie, and pastel blue shorts underneath, all thats left is a light-up beanie and she has the complete look of an ultra flashy hipster.

Miki took out her dagger, placing it gently on the lock, then smashing it down with powerful inhuman brute force. Alarms went off, no one was at home luckily, if they were, she would have to force them to take a mouthful of her memory-erasing concoction, which was surprisingly still with her, just that it was caught in the chain whip. She watched as all the ways out were closed by platinum walls.

"Now this is a sure-fire challenge... I feel so much more powerful.. Is this the true power of the Ningen no Kami that I have received last..? Seems legit. That's probably why I couldn't fight as well as Riku!" She shouted as she sliced the platinum wall open with her whip in blade mode. She grinned and ran out, and entered the teleporter. In a flash of odd and not-so-refreshing telportation, she was at the planned meeting place, with Crow and Ayumu pretty much knocked out, and then she looked down.

"Shin!" she carefully sat down, careful for Kumo in her pocket, and took out Shin's vial, popping it open and putting a few drops in his mouth, pinching his nose to make sure he swallows. Miki then closed the vial, placing it in his bloody, drenched palm, and hurried to Ayumu and Crow.

"Ahh, what am I, the first aid?" she continued the same process with the two, in hopes that they would react soon, though it was quite hard to find each of their vials, since it's kind of scary to go searching in someone you know's clothes, especially when they're pretty banged up. She then began to work on getting the plexi-glass windows to open, then within at least ten minutes or so, she had a well-cut circle, big enough to fit each of them through, since Miki could almost walk through it standing. She sat down, exhausted, and stared at sky through the hole with a rather sad expression, yet slightly relieved.

"Why must humans want everything they don't have...?"