A/N: Alright, chapter 2! Still happening in the same time period as chapter 1. The first couple of chapters are more or less going to just give some background, and help kind of explain things so there's not as much confusion in later chapters. But yeah, probably about two more chapters before we get to Karasumori, and it pretty much picks up around either the end of episode 34, or the beginning of episode 35 of the anime, I will have to go back and double check on that. Oh, and just so you guys know, the majority of my author's notes are going to be before the chapter, like this. That's enough out of me for this chapter! Happy reading!

When Gen woke up, it was morning. The night before seemed like nothing but a bad dream, until the soreness in his head caught up to him. That girl was stronger than he'd originally given her credit for. She was just strong enough, that she probably could have smashed his skull against that tree, but for whatever reason, had chosen not to.

When she'd leaped into that tree and slashed at him, it was easy to assume that she'd had every intention of killing him in order to get away. Her hesitation to do so was somewhat surprising. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her after she'd knocked him out. Had the Chief destroyed her? Or had he brought her back here? Maybe he'd just let her go?

"Morning Gen" Came Atora's voice from the doorway "How'd the mission go last night? Did you get her?"

"…I'm not sure. She knocked me out, so I don't know what happened to her."

"I see. Well, I guess we'll just have to find out. Hurry up and get dressed, before breakfast is gone."

She left, leaving him alone to wonder once again what he'd missed.

Lissette awoke to a slight twinge of pain in the back of her left shoulder, sitting up to see what was causing it. A small picture of a branch of pale violet orchids stared back at her, forever engraved into her skin. Who would put a tattoo on a ten year old, let alone without their consent?

"Sorry, I saw that you seemed to have a good grip on your powers, but this is just a bit of insurance, to make sure they don't get out of control."

She turned to see Kimono Guy sitting on the opposite side of the room she'd awoken in, and instantly covered her shoulder back up and stood, half embarrassed, half pissed beyond belief.

"What concern is it of yours? Either way I could easily slaughter you."

"Oh I don't doubt it. But you'll also have a harder time doing so until you get used to that tattoo." She detected the slightest hint of charity in his tone, pissing her off even more. Blades shot out of her hands.

"You wanna bet?"

He blinked, seeming surprised to see them.

"Odd, you shouldn't be able to do that with the restraint of the tattoo."

"I'm not good at staying restrained."

"I see…as long as you can keep control of yourself though, that shouldn't be a problem. Let's keep that little piece of information to ourselves though, just in case."

"…You already forgot about my threat to slaughter you, didn't you?"

"No, I just don't think you're going to uphold it without good reason."

"You knocked me out and put a tattoo on me. How is that not a good reason?" He laughed. This guy was getting REALLY good at pissing her off.

"I guess you have a point there. But if you were going to, you probably wouldn't have continued the conversation and just did it." He reasoned.

Lissette reluctantly put the blades away, and sat back down. She hated it when people could stump her like this.

"Okay, so if you aren't looking for a fight…then what did you more or less kidnap me for?" She asked, deciding it was useless to try an intimidate answers out of him. He smiled, out of appreciation for her choice to calm down and cooperate.

"Have you heard of the Shadow Organization before? Specifically the Night Troops?"

"I've heard rumors. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Would you like to become a member?"

Lissette shrugged. She didn't really like the idea of working in groups with complete strangers, but the idea of being able to settle somewhere, at least for a while, was appealing.

"Who's asking?"

"Ah yes, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? My name is Masamori Sumimura, and I'm the Chief of the Night Troops." He answered. Of course he was. No wonder he'd been so confident that she wouldn't kill him. He must've created that stupid box thing that had hit her in the head last night too. "And what's your name?"

"Lissette Matsuri"

"Well Lissette, what do you say?"

"….Can I think about it for a bit?"

"Sure. I'll be back in about an hour to see if you've got an answer. Sound good?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Good, I'll see you later then" He then stood up, and walked out of the room, and she was alone with her thoughts.

'Okay Lissette, focus, what would be the best thing to do here?' She thought. On the one hand, she could sense that there was currently no one nearby, so she could easily sneak out and be done with the place. On the other, staying would mean she'd at least be able to take a break from running from town to town, stealing from hikers, and picnickers when she couldn't find anything she could forage.

She started making a mental list of pros and cons. Pros: It would give her a place to stay, no more stealing, no more scaring passerby and getting her eardrums burst with their piercing screams, plus the ever so slight possibility that she might be able to make at least one friend while she was there. Cons: the likelihood that she'd have to work on a team or at the very least with a partner, the need to follow orders, the whole tattoo thing, the possibility of running into that kid who's ass she'd kicked the night before, not to mention that she'd probably have to stop searching for Azza for a while…

So far, cons were outnumbering the pros. She looked out of the small window in the room, contemplating how likely it would be that someone besides that Gen kid would have heightened senses, and would be able to hunt her down again if she left. Would they even come after her? Or would they accept her leaving as a no to their invitation and let her go?

She looked down at the mat she'd woken up on, and the blanket that had been covering her. It had be a while since she'd even slept indoors, let alone with a blanket that wasn't so old it was wearing thin.

Maybe…she'd stay. Just for a while, until she could grab a good amount of supplies and go back to searching. Maybe.