Disclaimer: Bahhh, you all know that nothing's mine.

Author's Note: Okie, this is the second chapter. Think of it as filler material. The next couple of chapters will be rather slow-progressing, but they're all there for a reason. Plus, they provide insight and more depth to both Lolo and Guntz's characters.

So for the second chap. now...

The young priestess-to-be lay in her bed, head pressed into the pillows, wanting to block all the other voices out of her head. Priestesses chattering outside the room; the few ones studying in the room muttering to themselves; and the cruel taunts Lolo had endured yesterday, all revolved around in her head.

Stop it, leave me alone, get out of my head- She thought furiously, but it only served to intensify the thoughts. She was bored and annoyed, and if it wasn't for the thoughts of the hunter she'd met yesterday, she would have gone insane already. But for once she had something apart from the priestesses to dwell on, and she accepted this new subject with ease.

Shinigami Guntz.

Lolo vaguely wondered where he was now. What were the chances of him being in, or near that bike shed today? Pretty slim. He was a bounty hunter after all, and he would move around constantly. Even if he was around the Sky Temple area, he probably wasn't hanging around the bike shed any longer. He would have just used it as a shelter, nothing more.

But still, there was a chance...

The hunter did need to keep low, didn't he? He was a marked man. If he left the bike shed, Lolo could think of only a few places where he could go without revealing his identity. He would move around at night, more likely, but again, she couldn't be sure.

Lolo sighed and flopped back into her bed. She would go back there anyway. Even though it was likely that he wasn't there at all, she still wanted to take a chance.

"He should be there..."

The young girl ran, stepping in puddles and almost slipping on the road, but she hardly noticed. Her eyes were focused on the growing grey speck of a shed on front of her. She kept on running, although she knew it was probably hopeless.

Finally, after a few minutes she arrived outside the bike shed. For a moment she just stood out there, regaining her breath, her mind rapidly contemplating the different options she had. But she went in in the end.

"Anyone here?" She called out softly, not really expecting an answer. There was no reply, no sounds, nothing to indicate anyone was there. Lolo shrugged, turning to leave the shed-

-but then a head suddenly bobbed in front of her, followed by the rest of the person's body. Lolo gasped, staggering backwards.

"Oh, it's you," Shinigami Guntz said, sounding bored, oblivious to the girl's surprise. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see you." Lolo replied, not quite meeting his eyes. It was crazy; she'd gone all this way to see him, and now when she was in front of him, she couldn't even look the hunter in the eyes.

"You do not fear Shinigami Guntz?" He raised an eyebrow. "Last night you appeared to do so."

"You're... not that bad. And I did honestly want to see you." Lolo knew that what she said so far was lame, but she wanted to gain his trust, or at least, to make conversation with him again.

"It's been a long time since anyone wanted to see me." The hunter replied quietly, his arrogant attitude suddenly gone. For a second or so he looked rather lonely, so melancholy and sad; Lolo felt quite sorry for the young man. But with the momentary illusion gone, he looked just as arrogant and pessimistic as always. Even so, he nodded to her to sit down.

"Has it been bad today as well? You look unrested."

"No, no, it was just... I couldn't sleep well." Lolo answered, putting an arm over her eyes. She was tired and drowsy, too, come to think of that. She hadn't eaten for almost a day, but that didn't really concern her. All was good as long as she was in the service of the Goddess Claire - except for the bullying, of course. "The bullying hasn't stopped, though. I just wasn't there to face it." She groaned slightly. "They'll start again tomorrow."

"Tough." The hunter replied indifferently. "It's a part of growing up. Live with it."

"Excuse me?" Lolo sat up lightening-quick, indignant and angry at such a comment. "I personally take that as an insult! What do you mean it's a part of growing up? It's unnatural! I haven't done anything to deserve bullying!"

"What do you know about growing up?" Shinigami Guntz countered swiftly, smirking again. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Is that so." The young hunter smirked once more before leaning fully back against the wall. "What astonishes me is that you're so immature even at that age."

"You call me immature?" Lolo cried. "How old are you, then?"

"Nineteen." The hunter replied in a bored, flat voice. "Trust me, when you've travelled around the whole of this world at least five times while growing up, you become a hell lot more mature than others. Too late for you, though."

Lolo decided not to say anything. It was so difficult to argue against the young man in front of her.

Shinigami Guntz looked gleeful that she'd shut her mouth. "Do you think I'm a horrible person, Lolo?" He asked while chuckling darkly. The girl looked at him, bewildered.

"Did you just call me Lolo?"

"Well, that's your name, isn't it?"

"Yes..."

"What's the problem, then?"

"Nothing... it's just that... hardly anyone uses my name." Lolo dropped her gaze and sighed, but soon smiled again. "Thank you... um..."

"Guntz. Just call me Guntz." The hunter replied, sensing her awkwardness.

"Very well... Guntz."

"So back to the point," Guntz leaned towards her. "Do you think I'm a horrible person?"

"Well... you're not that bad, to be honest." Lolo answered. Inwardly she knew that this man was a horrible person, but he wasn't really bad from what she'd seen of him so far. She just didn't know enough about him to answer properly.

"...You haven't hurt me yet."

"Well, would you rather if I did?" Guntz's voice suddenly became cutting, sharp and laced with a tone that warned her to shut up and be thankful for the fact she wasn't being killed, raped, or something else. "Shall I tell you a tale or two that'll help you with your decision?"

Lolo was vaguely surprised at his sudden hostility, but quickly regained her composure. "Alright. Fine. It might amuse me, who knows?"

The hunter let out a short laugh. "We'll see about that."

"Once, a few years ago, I made friends with another wolf. He was a nice chap, with good looks and a girlfriend. They had a easy-going relationship and all. What my little innocent friend failed to notice was that his precious girlfriend was nothing more than a whore. That part alone was amusing, certainly enough to keep me interested for a while."

"Now my friend had an enormous fortune headed his way. I thought that it would be nice if he had some notice from the real world for once, so I contacted that whore of his. I gave her a story, of course, that her boyfriend was seeing someone else. Ha! Of course she didn't believe it at first. I charged her money to dig out the details (which I'd made up), and that's exactly what she did. She snuck out bits of his fortune for that money she didn't have - because she rather naively rationalized that it was perfectly all right for her to spend his money if he was cheating on her. It was so easy - within three months that fortune was mine. So I finally fed her a piece of information that told her that her boyfriend had run off to Jugkettle with her best friend! She accused him of things which he'd never done, dumped him, and only a week later did she put the pieces together. Her boyfriend hadn't run off with her best friend, of course, as she found out when said best friend came back from holiday knowing nothing. And that whore started feeling guilty then. She was convinced that her boyfriend had left her for ever, and that she wasn't worth loving. The result was destructive..." Here, the hunter paused for dramatic effect, glancing at the transfixed girl in front of him.

"... And when the people actually realized what was going on and broke down her door, she was in the bath bleeding to death!" Guntz was laughing, wiping away tears of mirth. "That was bloody hilarious, I tell you!"

"But... but..." Lolo stammered, horrified that she had actually enjoyed the black, pessimistic humour element in his tale, and also disbelieving that anyone could do such a thing. "That's awful...!"

"I gathered that." The hunter smirked.

"You're... you're horrible! Despicable!"

"You forgot 'very bad'." Guntz snickered, failing to hide his glee.

"You killed one wolf indirectly, broke another's heart, stole an enormous fortune, and you're laughing about it!" Lolo cried, knowing that further listing of his crimes would rob her of breath. "That goes way beyond 'very bad'!"

"Lolo, Lolo, Lolo..." The hunter laid back, looking at her lazily. "What did you expect from Shinigami Guntz? He murders, loots and goes around shooting people as well, thank you very much."

"What happened to you calling me 'doll'?"

Guntz didn't answer, just looked at her with irritation.

"... You're a very strange person."

"You're having a conversation with the most wanted guy in Lunatea." Guntz's sapphire eyes glinted in the moonlight. "Don't you think that's strange? It's getting light."

"You have things to do." Lolo finished, inwardly disappointed that time had passed so easily and quickly. She stood up nevertheless, and Guntz gave her a careless wave, indicating she had to go. The girl ran off instantly, and she knew that she would return again. Despite the murder and death Guntz had told her about, being with him just seemed right. Plus, she was still alive, and maybe that did count for something. Either way, she would go back.

Yes, she would.

Slow progress so far. Don't worry, more chapters to come!