Angelina groaned softly as she slowly opened her eyes, taking in the familiar sight of her small one-roomer seen from her sleeping spot on the sofa. Her head was spinning and she felt positively nauseated. A slight shift next to her head startled her out of her stupor and she swiftly sat up and backed up towards the opposite end, staring at the creature sitting next to her. From his messy black hair, pale skin and black-rimmed eyes, to his white shirt and hunched shoulders all the way down to his awkward sitting position and bare feet, his naked toes wiggling on the edge of the seat. What the hell? Why is he here?

"Did I startle you again, miss Allgood?" he asked in that monotonous voice of his, turning his head to look at her. "Forgive me."

"S-startle me... What the fuck are you doing in my apartment!?" she squealed and stood up abruptly, almost falling over the coffee-table in the clumsy motion. Angelina only stared at the strange man, not really knowing what more to say. Her brain seemed to be at a stand still.

"It appears that you don't remember what happened last night. Let me recap it for you." the man who had introduced himself as Rue Ryuzaki said before he stuffed several of his fingers into his mouth, sucking on them with a loud slurping sound. Once again his words came out in a long string of words, seemingly without spaces or punctuations, droning like some old machine. "You had tripped and scraped your knee at some point previously to our meeting, possibly thanks to the high heeled shoes you were wearing, and I offered to assist you in returning home. You refused. You seemed to have been under a lot of stress that evening and that probably is what caused you to collapse only a few moments later." Angelina followed his hand as he removed it from his mouth and dipped it into something he held clasped between his body and his knees, his hand coming up slimy and reddish pink. What on earth..? Without ceremony he once again shoved the fingers into his mouth and sucked them without looking at her even as he continued to explain, voice slightly garbled thanks to this odd routine. "I couldn't exactly leave you there on the pavement so I checked your bag to figure out your address and then carried you here. And I calculated that your feet would be aching so I took the liberty of removing your shoes." He gave her a quick sideways glance, completely devoid of emotion as far as she could see. That fact alone made her even more apprehensive about the young man than she'd been before. Registering his last sentence later than the rest she glanced down, noting her bare feet and the red blisters on her little toes and for the first time since waking up she could feel how tired and sore they were and in the back of her mind a little voice wondered with a shiver if he'd done anything else to her feet. What kind of person just picked up an unconscious stranger on the street and carried them home and tucked them into bed!?

Her mind was reeling and she couldn't make much more sense of anything today than she had last night, the universe once again playing keep-away with the logic part of her brain. So, instead of trying to dig deeper into what might or might not have happened while she'd been, metaphorically speaking, dead to the world she settled for a heavy and confused sigh, sinking back onto the sofa. He even tucked me in, she thought as she noticed a blanket crumpled up underneath her. She turned halfway towards the young man crouching next to her and asked the only question that came to mind, trying hard not to be distracted by the jar he was vigorously trying to lick the insides of.

"Why are you still here?" the query came out harsher than she'd intended but right now she didn't have much mental strength to really care. Before he had any chance to respond she suddenly noticed for real what the heck he was doing. "I- is that... my breakfast jam?"

Rue Ryuzaki froze and gave her a very quick glance before putting down the now empty jar and instead stared intently at his naked toes with a slightly guilty look on his face.

"More like 'was'." he said in a low voice. "I'm sorry. I was hungry and I didn't want to disturb your, ehrr... sleep, so I helped myself to your fridge." He suddenly looked very young and lost and if this was an act, damn him, it sure as hell worked. She actually felt sorry for the weirdo.

Angelina dragged a hand across her face, willing her brain to start working a little faster although she knew that it would remain just as sluggish as the strawberry jam the young man had just scarfed down until she got some caffeine into her system. She'd just have to imagine, for now, that he was some kind of strange breakfast guest she'd invited over on a whim. That would make it a hell of a lot easier to cope with at the moment. With a groan and a sigh she got up and headed for the small kitchen and switched on the coffee maker. After two or three cups of that surely she would be more ready to deal with her very strange house guest She stood leaning against the kitchen sink, eyes peeled on the caffeine-filled brown liquid as it slowly dripped and spluttered into the coffeepot, waiting almost impatiently for it to be ready.

Perhaps she should have asked that Rue guy if he wanted a cup, she thought to herself and started back towards the living room where he probably was still perched on her sofa in that awkward position of his. But she only got as far as turning around before she almost walked straight into his white shirt, coming closely face to face with the guy, or more like face to chest. My, he really was tall wasn't he? Afterwards she could have sworn her heart stopped for a few seconds before it noisily started pounding again, loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.

"Don't Do that!" she exclaimed on an exhale, glaring at him. But he didn't seem fazed at all and simply ignored her discomfort, staring first at her and then at the coffeemaker with his almost black eyes.

"I see you're making coffee. May I have a cup?" The obligatory finger hooked over his bottom lip, causing him to lisp out the question.

With a deep breath she finally got her emotions under control and nodded once. "Of course. I'll get you a mug." Despite him being so close to her there was no longer any uncomfortable feeling surrounding her. Perhaps last night had simply been her imagination running wild or perhaps the creepiness actually Had come from the house down on Insist Street. "Do you want sugar?" She asked while rummaging around in her tiny cupboard, trying to find a decent looking and fairly clean mug. She wasn't overly fussed with doing the dishes and most of her coffee mugs were stained brown on the inside from a lack of a proper scrub with a sponge. Usually they only suffered a dip and a rinse in steaming hot water with a little dish-soap She wasn't particularly dirty as a person and neither was her apartment, but more often than not did she have a slightly wobbly tower of dishes in the sink.

"Please." he answered in a low voice.

Finally she found what she was looking for and handed Rue the mug, which he took, holding it gingerly between thumb and forefinger and then there was the longed for click when the coffeemaker was finished with it's brew. Thank God... She filled her first cup to the brim and was prepared to do the same to his but he stopped her halfway by simply putting one of his slender fingers on the rim of his mug. Three teaspoons of sugar later Angelina was sitting on her sofa, slowly sipping her favorite hot beverage. Shortly after she was joined by Rue and she could almost have sworn that his teaspoon stood straight up on it's own.

The following hour passed in an uncomfortable silence. At least it was somewhat uncomfortable to Angelina having a living breathing anomaly in her home. Rue Ryuzaki on the other hand didn't seem bothered by the stillness. Instead he simply fixed his wide eyes on a small crack in the paint in the ceiling, right where it meets the wall, and seemed to loose himself in thoughts. It didn't take long before the silence in the room lulled even Angelina into a calm, false comfort where her thoughts had free reign and almost immediatly turned to the young man sitting next to her. Who was he? What was he? Was he really only some random guy that just Happened to be nearby yesterday and that just Happened to have some kind of strong sense of morality that enabled him to come up to a lone woman late at night and offer her help only because she Happened to have a scraped knee? Taking a gulp of her coffee she mentally scoffed at herself. Seriously. Like anyone would believe that! Could he be some kind of junkie? Visually he could pass as one I suppose. But he doesn't appear to be on any kind of substance, she thought. At least not anything that affects your brain and body functions. What other kind is there? Jam? Sugar? OK, no! No, no, no. Those didn't count. Most likely not a junkie. What was he then? A ghost? At this thought both her left and her right brain kicked each other in the shins. The logic part of her brain clearly and firmly stated that there is no such thing as ghosts. Where as the more spiritual part of her brain tried to explain how there was no way this man could be a ghost since; reason number one; she had shook his hand yesterday, and he had carried her home, that is; he had physically picked her up and carried her, and since you couldn't touch a ghost this was clue number one. Reason number two being that he had scarfed down an entire jar of jam and was currently sipping, or maybe more like lapping, a very sugary cup of coffee whilst staring into space. So, not a ghost either.

Hang on... She had shook his hand. Then what? Then your world went black, darling. What does that tell you? She'd passed out. But WHY?!

Ehum... argh! Thinking didn't do any good. It's like she couldn't tell up from down. She swallowed down a growl and headed over to her computer desk, rummaging around in the bag left by her "savior" on the desk chair She fished out her tarot deck and a little something to keep her guest occupied. His intense staring at her wall made her a bit uncomfortable. He looked at it as if it was some kind of canvas for him to have free reign on, and the gods should know she was not interested in having some oddball splattering weird substances on her walls.

"Here. Entertain yourself." she said as she sat down and dumped a newly scrambled Rubik's cube in his surprised lap before she turned to her coffee-table Surely the cards could tell her a bit more. Please, let the cards tell her a bit more!

But, nothing. The cards were vague and two-faced and made Angelina more irritated by the second and when five minutes had passed she growled angrily at them where they lay, noticing from the corner of her eye that the cube she had presented Rue with sat neatly solved in front of him on the table. Only another thing piling on top of her frustration, the guy was smart. Intelligent but obviously socially impaired and... well, weird. There was definitely an aura of weirdness around him that most likely put people off but a fairly large part of her no longer really cared. If she stopped being a hypocrite she would admit to herself that they were strangely alike, aside from the odd seating position and his fondness for jam, which he ate with his fingers. Couldn't he at least have used a spoon? Perhaps he'd been raised on the streets. It seemed as likely an explanation as any. He looked dirty enough... She could handle him being weird. She was OK with that. She could handle him being socially awkward, she wasn't very good with people herself. But what if there was something more hiding under the surface. He could be a psychopath He could be a psychotic crazy killer and here he was sitting on her sofa starring at her as she scraped together her cards, trying to avoid eye contact with him. She needed a good look at him. Needed to figure him out, get behind the mask he had on cause she was sure he was acting. Something about his way, something about Him, was off.

Her brain finally kicked up some speed thanks to the caffeine and within 30 seconds she had an idea as how to approach the situation. Step one; diffuse any kind of danger and get a proper look at the guy. Step two; finish step one...

Still ignoring his bulging eyes looking at her intently Angelina got up and headed for the kitchen where she pulled out the bottom drawer, retrieved a paper bag and started collecting every sharp and possibly weapon-like object and placing them in said bag. Everything from knives to forks to her small hammer and screwdriver-set. Leaving the kitchen murder-tool free she proceeded into the living-/bedroom and did the same thing. Pens. Pencils. Her two large, heavy candlesticks. It all went in the bag. Finally she faced her guest with a stern look that he met with a seemingly emotionless one, although she was almost certain she could see a twinkle of entertainment in his black orbs.

"Empty your pockets and put anything on your person that isn't clothes, on the table," she said, trying to sound stern and full of authority but ended up latching on a small "please" in the end, much to Rue's amusement. He didn't move. He simply stared at her as a small smile crept over his lips sending a chill of dread down her spine.

"Why?" he tried to sound innocent but couldn't quite hide his delight. The bug-eyed bastard was laughing at her.

"This is My apartment and if you wish to stay a while longer you will do as I say. I will not risk having a potential murderer roaming around free in my house." It was definitely an odd thing to say, she knew that, but she wasn't sure what else To say. The whole situation was too bizarre she didn't care if she came off as some dumb paranoid woman right now, she needed him to empty his pockets and in the process she would get a better look at him. There was something she needed to confirm.

"It's quite generous to call this a house, don't you think?" he flat out ignored her order and instead went ahead and picked it apart, belittling her completely. "Technically it's too small for any person being able to actually roam it. I believe you would need at least 800 square feet to wander around for it to be considered roaming and on top of it all this is most likely a rental apartment which means you do not in fact own this Or the house." There was no malice in his voice, it was all merely a statement of facts and she recognized it all too well. She had a tendency to do the exact same thing which had rewarded her with absolutely no real friends during her kids and teenage years. Now she had one or two shallow friends that she would rather label as acquaintances seeing as she didn't actually know them. No, that wasn't quite right. She knew most about them, she could read them all like they were open books, but they knew nothing about her that she didn't choose to share. Which was nothing, by the way. But this man she had not yet been able to read and she started to feel more and more desperate to do so. Not knowing what she was dealing with was very uncomfortable and frankly speaking quite scary. So she took a deep breath and tried again.

"I intend to step into the shower and I am not in the mood to get attacked and killed in the process." Let's try a bit of honesty, shall we? "I have no idea who you are or where you're from or what you Do, so I'm not taking any chances." Add a pinch of vulnerability and sympathy... "I'm sorry. I don't really mean to make you feel awkward or attacked in any way, but it would make me a whole lot calmer if you would just please indulge me in this and do as I asked." Hopefully this would work.

There was a slight twitch in the muscles around his eyes, he knew she was BS-ing, at least a bit, but it seemed to work. Bingo! He stood up and dug deep into his jeans pockets, pulling out a pocket knife... See, I knew it!... a couple of dollars in notes and a scruffy old looking cellphone. A couple of cards, most likely business cards was also retrieved. He gingerly placed it all on the coffee-table, one thing at a time, holding them with his thumb and index finger as he did which made the process about three times longer than it had to be but it gave her a nice opportunity to study him in secret. The clues started to rain down on her as she watched him move and when he suddenly met her scrutinizing gaze she thought he'd caught her in the act and knew exactly what she was up to. But his stare felt more like a challenge as he reached behind his back and hitched up his white shirt slightly, enough for her to get a glimpse of a thin but taut stomach, it was over as soon as it had began and he put down a slightly larger knife on the table, forcing her eyes to snap away from him to the sharp object, the light from the ceiling lamp reflecting in the shiny blade. What the hell, she thought. This was not something a person just wandered around with. OK, it was no hunters knife, it wasn't That big, but it was big enough to be uncomfortable to carry around without a sheath.

"What's that for?" she asked, eyes narrowed at him. Rue Ryuzaki had once again applied a mask of innocence and he answered rather calmly.

"Self defense of course. Luckily I have never had to use any of them." he answered, indicating to both the small swiss-made pocket knife and the larger blade on the table.

"Why do you have two?" she didn't buy the whole self defense thing.

"If one would get attacked and one's weapon of defense is taken from you, it's good to have a spare. A backup." Did he seriously expect her to believe that? She kept her eyes locked on his hunched over figure as she slowly picked up the knife and examined it more closely. It was spotless. It looked brand new actually if it wasn't for the slight wear and tear on the hilt, but at least she could confirm that there was no sign of blood or anything else stuck in any seams between the blade and the hilt or anywhere on the hilt itself. The blades edge looked crisp and unused which seemed to confirm his claim to the knife not being used. If it only wasn't for the wear on the hilt... it could simply mean that he often held it, familiarizing himself with the blade in case he Would be required to use it, but having actually never been forced to do so. Only about 70% convinced, Angelina took the two knives and put them into her paper bag of "goodies" before she stepped closer to the young man.

"Nothing else on you?" she asked harshly, gluing him to the spot with her eyes.

"No."

Only to be on the safe side, she tried to convince herself, she stepped close enough to feel his breath on the top of her head. It put her in a very vulnerable position, being this close to him and having him hunched over her, literally Thanks to his arched back his head ended up hovering straight above her own, every one of his breaths slightly ruffled her pale hair. Pinching his shirt between her fingers she gingerly lifted it to reveal the waistband of his faded jeans and about four inches worth of stomach, just to be sure he wasn't hiding anything else. She hadn't quite counted on her own emotions at this stage. She wasn't used to being around people. Least of all guys and definitely not this close. It felt too intrusive but at the same time exciting to actually get to pull up a guys shirt, no matter how weird and creepy he was. His stomach looked nice enough she thought with an embarrassed kind of humor and she felt the blush creep up her pale cheeks. Damn. Her complexion made it impossible to hide a blush!

"Enjoying yourself?" his voice caught her completely off guard and with an almost audible squeak she dropped his shirt and stepped away, turning quickly to hide her red cheeks from him. She heard the ruffle of his clothes behind her and she quickly picked up the paper bag, turning half way back towards him to make sure he wouldn't pounce on her. But all he'd done was climb back up on the sofa, not even bothering to put his money back into his pocket.

"I need a shower" she mumbled and put the paper bag in the bathroom before she went to collect some fresh clothes for herself. Rue's voice startled her again just as she was about to close the door on him.

"How long has it been?" his thumb was again pressed against his lips, making his question to come out slightly distorted.

"What?" his question puzzled her and she felt apprehension creep up on her. "How long has what been?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Since you tried to kill yourself."


Please note that I am not the fastest uploader (seriously!) but I will try my very best! Feel free to review and if there is any concern with grammar or DN-universe faults, please let me know and I will fixto the best of my abilities. :) Thank you!