"Nurse, the restraints are making my wrists bleed… is it too much to ask that they be adjusted more comfortably?" This girl was foolish. She was definitely too trusting and the type to be easily tricked. Almost immediately the nurse had responded, sympathy shown deep in her eyes. Her hands rose slowly and a little shakily up to her tightly bound left wrist and started to fiddle with the strap. Once it loosened, before the nurse could even process what happened the patient had harshly yanked her hand out of the restraint and reached over to the bedside stand in order to search for a weapon before grabbing a tray and bringing it down on her head. Pills and syringes that had previously laid on the tray scattered to the floor along with the girl, who had instantly gone limp and fell into a heap on the floor. Undoing the rest of the restraints on her remaining limbs, Roki stood up from the bed with the tray still in her hand. Something was wrong. Something awful was calling out to her and urging her to commit an atrocious act. She could no longer control herself. With a blank expression and empty eyes, she looked down to the unconscious form on the floor. Instead of leaving the nurse be, she got down on her knees, straddling her waist and setting her rump on the girl's stomach. She then proceeded to lift the tray up above her head and bring it down harshly once more. And again. And again. And again….

"Would you like to travel with us?"

That sentence echoed inside that empty head of hers. It lingered there for many long seconds before she scrunched her face up in objection.

"Travel with you? I don't even know you!" She blurted out abruptly after such a long pause. With that, Eeez suddenly latched onto her other arm and looked at her with clear excitement shown in his blue eyes.

"Come with us, Roki! It'll be fun!" He exclaimed eagerly. Before a good strategy had come up to politely decline Eeez without trying to upset him, someone calling out to them had interrupted her train of thought.

"Hey, Tyki! We have the tickets." They all turned to see two young men holding suitcases approaching them quickly. The Shorter of the two was wearing a tan woolen cap along with a brunswick green overcoat, an indigo turtleneck along with a pair of worn jeans and a pair of knee-high boots. The taller man was wearing a baby blue hooded coat and a darker blue shirt with one green and one yellow stripe running horizontally along the fabric. His lower half was almost identical to the former's attire. His brown hair was cut straight in almost a bowl like fashion and there was a scar running from his hairline vertically across his forehead, stopping just above his right brow.

"Ah, Momo. Clark. I'd like you to meet Roki. She'll be traveling with us from now on." Both men's eyes widened in surprise.

"I neve-" Before Roki could finish she was cut off by one of the men.

"Wait… You're a girl?" The one with the hat asked. 'Well, at least I managed to trick someone.' She thought irritated. The other man joined into the conversation quickly.

"More importantly, when was this decided?" He looked questioningly to Tyki, who smiled dumbly.

"Just now. The more the merrier, I say. Besides, Eeez has taken quite a liking to her very quickly." They all looked down to the boy, who was still clinging to Roki's arm. She could feel her brow twitched in annoyance. It was almost as if she had no say in the matter, because before she could even get a word in she would be rudely interrupted.

"I guess that's true. Nice to meet you, Roki. I'm Momo." The shorter man said before pointing to the other, "And this is Clark." Clark smiled and gave a short wave. Tyki quickly stepped forward and grabbed a hold of the girl's upper arm before leading her towards the train.

"We can talk more once we get on the train." He said as everyone followed closely behind. Roki had decided not to argue.

Once they had given the conductor their tickets, they had decided to make themselves comfy in a secluded more empty cart on the train. Roki had sat silently next to the window and refused to look anywhere else but out of it. She could feel Eeez's presence next to her, but didn't protest against it. She quite liked the boy, but couldn't help but be angry at the situation. 'Don't even argue with them about it. I'll just ditch them at the next stop. Easy.' Momo and Clark had tried to spark up a conversation with her, but from the lack of response it had died out quickly. Instead they opted to talk with Tyki, asking questions about her in hushed whispers. Which had in turn made her even angrier. 'Just because you're whispering doesn't mean I can't hear you, idiots.'

A sudden pulse of pain ran through her head as she gritted her teeth in pain before clutching her head desperately. The realization quickly dawned on her what was about to happen and she quickly rose from her seat.

"I need to use the bathroom." She stated as if nothing were wrong. She could sense that all eyes were on her, but dared not look up from the ground as she quickly made her way out of the cart. Stepping into the next cart, panic quickly set in. There were too many people in this cart. Too many people to witness one of her episodes. Too many people to hurt. The thought made her want to puke. She quickly stumbled forward towards the direction of the bathroom, bumping into a man along the way. This caused him to fall onto the lap of a older woman, who didn't seem to very much appreciate the unexpected "gift". Roki knew she had caused a commotion when she heard the husband of the woman started angrily yelling at the poor man, but she couldn't stop now.

Finally making it to her destination, she gripped the handle tightly before flinging the door open and swinging it back shut once she had made it inside. Leaning her sweaty forehead against the door, she sighed in relief. Though didn't dare turn around to face the mirror until she knew she was prepared. 'Turn around~' It demanded in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"No. Not until I'm ready." She raised her voice at it. As if to punish her, a strong wave of pain overcame her quickly. It felt as if her head was about to split open. Submitting to the otherworldly being, Roki whipped her head towards the mirror in hopes to ease the pain. What she saw made her stomach drop in utter terror. Standing there was the blank figure, void of any distinguishable characteristics other than its wide cheshire smile, staring her down intently. But that was not what made her heart race. Her reflection. Or what looked to be her, at least. Except that her usual pale skin was instead a greyish umber color. Her hair had turned almost black, along with her fingernails and her eyes had changed into an enticing amber like yellow. 'That can't possibly be me though.' These thoughts were quickly dashed at the sight of her actual skin. Oh god. This couldn't be happening.

"Wh… What have you done to me?" a small shaky voice broke the silence, as her hands slowly reached out to touch the cool reflective surface. The only response received was a disembodied laugh. Panic set in as the pain worsened and she slowly slumped to the floor, out of view from the mirror. Her stomach was doing flips. It wasn't long before she scurried to the toilet to vomit up whatever she had recently eaten.

"Just calm down…" She said to herself while deeply inhaling, wiping off the drizzle of spit from her chin. After a few minutes on the floor trying to calm herself the pain slowly started to subside. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Hey. Are you in there?" Shit. It was Tyki. There was a pregnant pause before he spoke again, "If you don't answer, I'm coming in."

"Yes!" She yelled quickly, "Yes. I'm in here. Give me a second." She demanded, standing up from her spot on the floor. Looking in the mirror once more, she was surprised to find that her appearance had changed back to normal once more. Not even the monster was there anymore. It was as if it had never happened. Very reluctantly, the door opened to reveal Tyki standing outside with an impatient expression on his face. He looked suspiciously at her.

"...You bled through your bandages." He spoke softly before reaching up towards them. She quickly swatted his hand away, which earned a look of annoyance.

"It doesn't matter, just don't touch it. What do you want?" She snapped back.

"You took a while in the bathroom. So I came to check up on you."

"Tch. More like you were trying to get a peek, you pervert." She tried to quickly change the subject. This man clearly had some ulterior motives for dragging her along with him like this, and she wouldn't be surprised if this was it. Tyki feigned a look of hurt before smirking mischievously.

"I would never. Who are you calling a pervert? You are the one who is insinuating such a thing." She ignored his comment and pushed past him, off towards the direction of their cart. The short trip wasn't the most pleasant though, considering the stares and dirty looks she had gotten from the people in the cart she had caused a disruption in earlier. Then, she felt a strong arm drape protectively around her shoulders. She looked up flustered, only to see Tyki's face inches away from her own before quickly looking down to the ground again.

"What are you doing?" She whispered in a harsh tone as he continued to walk while holding her close.

"Making sure no one else touches you." He cooed softly back without a care in the world as people's glares turned into stares of bafflement. Seeing as how it looked like two young men being a little too affectionate with each other. Reaching the end of the cart, she shrugged his arm off and stepped outside onto the metal platform connector between the two carts.

Upon entering the cart she was once again within the sight of Eeez, who perked up considerably at her presence. Momo and Clark were playing cards. Possibly poker, she guessed. Either way they were to occupied in their game to notice that she had returned. Tyki went to rejoin them, picking up a stack of cards that were set down on the floor and eyeing Momo and Clark suspiciously as if her suspected they might have possibly cheated in his absence. Meanwhile, Roki made her way back towards Eeez.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, making way for Roki to sit back down next to the window.

"I'm just peachy." She responded in a slightly cheerful tone with a grin on her face, albeit fake, as she settled into her seat once more. She didn't want him worrying his little head off about her. The boy was too caring for others, especially too much for those he didn't know. 'God, this is going to be a long train ride. Let's just hope I don't have any more problems.'

"Hey Roki, would you like to join us in a game of cards?" Momo called out softly.

"No." She replied flatly.

"Oh, don't be like that. It'll be fun." Clark rolled his eyes.

Frustration set in. She had adamantly refused because she had no idea how to play and she wasn't about to admit that to them. She could feel her cheeks heat up from embarrassment at just the thought of it.

"Maybe some other time." She replied slyly, closing her eyes in hopes of getting some rest.

The high whistle of the train along with the harsh shake of her shoulder awoke Roki from her nap.

"Wake up. We're here." Tyki said, stepping away from her. Her cheek had turned red from being pressed against the glass and there was a small trail of drool running down her chin. She quickly wiped it away before attempting to stand up, only to notice Eeez's head in her lap. He was sound asleep. She almost blushed at the sight. 'Such a cute little boy.' Roki thought before gently placing a hand in his hair.

"Eeez," She cooed softly, "The train has stopped." There was a slight pause before the boy shifted, lazily lifting his head up before tiredly rubbing his eyes. They both slowly stood up before following the three men her were waiting for them out of the train. At this point, Roki hadn't cared where they went, as long as it was far away from Capeford. They were on that train for at least an hour and a half, so she knew she was safe for the time being at least. It had no longer mattered that Tyki had basically forced her to come with them either, because she could easily lose them in this town. However, the thought of staying with them soon crossed her mind. She might have possibly grown attached to the young boy. Looking down to Eeez, who had been leading her around by her hand, had made her smile warmly. 'No. You'll only cause them trouble.' She thought to herself, 'You don't need to get in their way.' This had caused her to sulk, 'I miss mother. I wish none of this had ever happened.'

She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed that they had entered the bustling streets of the town they had arrived at until just now.

The street was lined with merchants and shopkeepers trying to sell their goods to whomever passed by. There were many people walking along the street as well, so business seemed to be good.

"Where are we going?" You asked to no one in particular.

"To work at the mines." Tyki had responded quickly. She was slightly surprised that her previous assumption had hit the nail on it's head. The crowd of people had gotten thicker and her grip on Eeez's hand loosened when someone bumped into her. Something akin to panic had set in when their hands had separated completely and Roki was lost within a sea of people, completely losing sight of everyone. Looking around, Roki had spotted an alleyway and quickly maneuvered through the crowd to safety. "Why am I so panicked? I was planning on losing them from the start anyways." She wondered out loud before reluctantly turning away from the bustling street and heading further into the alleyway. Still upset for some reason, She had failed to notice the large figure quickly approaching her.

"hElLo"

Looking up quickly, the young girl froze at sight of it. What in the hell is that…. Thing…

Ugh, so sorry for such a crappy chapter, but I really wasn't feeling it. Probably because I was more looking forward to a future chapter I wish to write. In case it wasn't clear, there are going to be some more darker themes in this story. Also, I don't plan on any romance until later chapters. As far as Roki is concerned, Eeez is pretty much the only important person in the group right now. At this point she is barely even acknowledging Tyki's existence. Fun fact, Roki's appearance is actually based off of a person I know, and oh boy does that girl have some pretty eyes 3 I know my story is messy and poorly written, but I really enjoy seeing that people are at least reading it :) Thanks, and until next time!