First impressions are normally what sticks in a person's mind, that's why they're so important. For example, a man throwing a vending machine could be considered a monster while a girl who looks petite and emotionless could be considered a doll. These first impressions are very difficult to over come but sometimes the illusion is shattered.

Shizuo had been running from a group of individuals who claimed they beat up their boss' daughter. Once again he had been framed for something he didn't freaking do because of who he was. Like he'd ever beat up a chick. He scoffed jumping from roof to roof in his attempt to get away from his pursuers. He really wanted to kick their asses but there was no point to senseless violence. He made the mistake of looking back to see if they were still there when he ran into someone. Who the hell was on the roof top? Both he and whatever he ran into toppled off the roof.

Ayame found herself suddenly falling. She hadn't came to the rooftop with jumping on her mind but here she was free falling towards the pavement. Death wasn't really something she feared, she also didn't wish to die either. If only she had gotten her run in before she had fallen then she would probably be content with what was happening.

"Shit!" There was a painful pop in her shoulder as her decent was halted, "sorry about that." She looked up into kind brown eyes and sighed, at least it wasn't Izaya toying with her.

"It's all right, thank you for saving me." She smiled up at her savior as he pulled her into his arms and jumped down onto the ground.

"It was kinda my fault you fell." Shizuo shrugged, the sounds of shouting reminded him that he was being chased, "will you be ok on your own? I think I popped your shoulder out of place when I caught you." He felt bad for hurting her but there wasn't any other way he could heave helped her. Dammit he should have been paying more attention.

She held her arm out strait and hid her grimace with a smile. She lined up the joint with her good arm and then proceeded to ram the injured shoulder into the wall popping it back into place. The man looked at the girl in slight shock. He couldn't tell much from the large hoodie she wore but she looked tiny, fragile even, but she had popped her shoulder in place without so much as a noise of pain. Being someone who was injured often he knew dislocated joints weren't very pleasant.

"This way." She gave him a wicked smile, "Your avoiding them right."

"Yeah." He wasn't sure how to handle the girl who stood before him.

The hood of Ayame's hoodie fell off as she looked up at Shizuo. Bright green eyes hypnotized him for a moment and before he knew what was going on he was be pulled out of the ally by his hand, "Keep up."

Ayame gave Shizuo a wicked grin as she said this, not many people could accomplish the task she gave him. She didn't give him a chance to protest nor did she release his hand as she took off through the streets at a sprint. She lead the confused man across traffic heavy traffic and then down some seemingly random allies. The man's body was able to keep up with the girl while his mind was still trying to catch up with what was going on, and where the hell they were going. Finally Ayame slowed down to a jog and looked back at the man, joy dancing in her eyes. If there was one thing she cherished in this world it was the feeling you got when you ran.

"This way." She pulled his hand once more and led him though a narrow pathway that connected two allies together, from there she led him behind a dumpster and finally let go of his hand. She knelt down and crawled through a hole that was in the wall without giving any more direction. If he wasn't to fallow he would if not he should be far enough away form the people chasing him.

Shizuo couldn't help but feel a small since of loss when the hand that was holding his realeased it. He wasn't sure why this small girl was helping him once again. Most people considered him a monster and tended to avoid him for the most part. Once her feet had vanished into the wall he crouched down and fallowed, his shoulder scraping the edges of the tunnel. On the other side was an abandoned warehouse, there were a lot of these on the outskirts of Ikeburkuro. This one appeared to be sealed from the outside so the entrance they came in from was probably one of the only ways to get inside without breaking their way in. Faint moonlight shone in from the boarded up windows, now enough to see great but it was enough.

Usually he didn't tire easily, then again he didn't usually run that far at a full sprint either. He sat down on the ground with his hands behind him. He would be able to figure out what the hell was going on here without being discovered. His temper was a little sharp, he was hot and nothing was making sense today.

"Sorry for dragging you into this mess." He pulled out his phone thinking about who he should call first.

"Let's just say that makes us even for you saving me earlier." Ayame pulled off her hoodie and sat down with her back against Shizuo's. It had been a warm night, and the running hadn't helped that fact.

Shizuo was a little shocked at first when the girl sat down behind him but after a moment decided he didn't mind. "It was kind of my fault you fell off the roof in the first place." Maybe he should call Shinra.

"That's true but you didn't have to catch me either. You could have just," She paused as her phone started buzzing, "sorry I should take this." It was her brother.

"You rang?" She asked still leaning against Shizuo's back.

"Hey so you might not want to come home for a while. Celty went to go pick up dad a while ago." Shinra sounded a little stressed.

"I really don't feel like getting dissected so I'll take up your offer to stay away." She wasn't sure where she would stay though. The hotel distract could be a little sketchy, hell she couldn't even go out without dressing in over sized clothes to avoid attention.

"Oh if you're still with Shizu-chan can you hand him the phone please?" How did Shinra know she was with Shizuo? Then again he brother seemed to know most of her whereabouts anyway.

With a shrug she held the phone out behind her, "It seems it's for you."

"Hello?" Shizuo was suspicious as he took the phone from the girl.

"Some people were here looking for you earlier. I convinced them that they had the wrong guy since you would never beat up a woman. Also what are you doing running around down hand in hand with my little sister?" There was an unusual malice in his usually happy voice.

"I was being chased by some idiots earlier and ran into her. She helped me escape, thanks for clearing that up by the way." He wasn't sure what to make about Shinra's unusual tone of voice. The only time Shizuo could remember him getting mad was when someone had insulted Celty.

"Ok good I wanted to make sure you weren't doing anything naughty with her." His malice turned into teasing as he resumed to his normal temperament, "she has a habit of getting into trouble. Hey is there anyway I could get you to look out for her the next couple weeks?"

"I don't know." Shizuo didn't want to end up dragging the girl into any of the trouble he usual got into, "I'm not really the best choice for that am I?"

"I think you are. Also do you know any place she can stay for a while?"

"Well...I guess she could stay at my place I've got a spare bedroom. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep an eye on her though." His job kept him busy for most the day when he worked, plus it seemed she was capable of taking care of herself if needed,

"As long as you don't try to take advantage of her that could work. Thank you! I'll have Celty bring over some things later on." There was a click on the other side of the phone as Shinra saved his hear from the yelling that was sure to fallow.

A wave of irritation swept over Shizuo, he was already pissed off. Like hell he'd ever take advantage of a chick! He had to stop himself from snapping the phone in his hand, and instead handed it back to the girl behind him.

"Shinra said you need a place to stay for a while? I told him you could crash at my place but that's up to you honestly." It was the least he could do, after all this girl had saved him some serious trouble on two occasions now.

"You would let a stranger into your home?" Ayame was confused. He knew nothing about her so why should he want to help her. There was a moment of suspicion as well but she dismissed it, Shinra must have asked him and if her brother was willing to trust him then it should be fine.

Shizuo shrugged, "Like I said it's up to you."

"Thank you." Her voice wavered slightly before she cleared her throat a little. She wasn't used to kindness from others, besides her brother and Celty that was.

"Are you hungry?" All the running today has made him work up an appetite.

"A little yea." The girl stood up and stretched, "I've gotta do something before we go though."

The man tilted his head back and looked at the girl. Now that he could see her clearly there was no mistaking it his was the girl who worked at the maid cafe. No wonder her brother was so protective of her. She was someone who would get noticed and that wasn't always a good thing, especially in this city. The girl walked over to her discarded back pack and pulled out a plastic container and a flat dish.

"I'll be right back!" She smiled and jogged over to a far corner of the warehouse and shook out some cat food into the dish. There was the sounds of small mewing as a cat timidly crept into view.

Ayame smiled as the black cat she had been secretly caring for came into view. The cat's stomach had been swollen with pregnancy the last time she had seen it but she must have given birth recently. The timid cat brushed the girls leg in thanks before she began to eat the food that had been given.

Ayame slowly back away so as to not scare the cat and returned to where Shizuo was. He was standing now with a cigarette in his hand. Something about the fact that he wasn't staring at her relieved her. She hardly ever took off her hoodie when she wasn't at home in fear that she would become someone's prey. She wasn't sure about staying with this man but she had no other choice right now. She may be able to stay with Anri if this doesn't work out but she didn't want to bring trouble to anyone she didn't have to. At least this man had the strength and will to defend himself if needed. Anri had strength but she didn't have a desire to use it unless she had no other choice.

Ayame put her hoodie back on and then the backpack, "I'm ready when you are."

"Have you ever been to Russia Sushi?" Shizuo asked as he finished his cigarette.

She shook her head then realized that he wasn't looking at her, "No I haven't eaten there before."

"I'm not sure where we are exactly. Could you get us back to the main part of the city?"

"I think I can manage that." She smiled and she took the lead in going through the hole in the wall.

Without waiting for him to make it back into the ally she took off at a light run towards the main part of town. She wasn't in too much of a hurry so she took the long way back resisting the urge to full out run. It was odd to have someone beside her as she ran, there was a warmth too it that she wasn't sure what to call. Almost similar to what she felt when Steven was around. She shook her head slightly, those were not thoughts to think about. She had brought them to a park before stopping and looking over at Shizuo.

"Oh hey you brought us right to it." He pointed to a large building with a giant out front.

"Hey Simon." Shizuo waved his hand in greeting as he passed, the giant guarding the entrance returned his greeting. His accent was something that Ayame had never heard before.

There were a few other customers in the shop but most of them were in booths off to the side. Shizuo seemed to know the black man who was sitting upfront at the bar so they proceeded to go sit by him. Tom stared at the girl that was walking next to Shizuo. Those eyes, she had to be the woman from the maid cafe! How did this guy manage to get all the girls and not even realize it! He sighed as they struck up conversation.

"I'm going to use the restroom real quick." Ayame stood up and picked a random direction to go in, she didn't feel like asking.

"Other way miss. Down that hall and to the left." The shop owner pointed down and aisle on the opposite side of the bar.

"Thank you!" She smiled at the shop keeper and bowed her head before heading off in the direction he indicated.

"So how did you manage to get a beauty like her?" Tom was curious if Shizuo was hiding any secrets he didn't wanna share with his boss.

"Her and her brother kinda saved my ass earlier so I'm doing them a favor and letting her crash at my place for a while." Shizuo rubbed his eyes it was getting pretty late.

"Some guys have all the luck!" Tom sighed and leaned back in his chair in mock defeat.

Shizuo shrugged at this statement. He wasn't sure what Tom was going on about if he was being honest with him self. He became more alert when there was a loud crashing sound from the direction of the bathroom. Ayame had what looked like a broom handle in her hands and was backing up with it blocking someone's hits. Once they were in view Shizuo noticed that her attacker was non other than their new hire Verona. He wasn't sure if he should step in or not, Ayame seemed to be holding her own against the Russian female. Which surprised him, Verona was both strong and really quick.

Ayame wasn't much of a fighter but she was fast. Unfortunately it seemed that her attacker was also fast and knew how to fight. The blond woman had came out of nowhere saying she had dibs on killing Shizuo and began assaulting her. Ayame wasn't sure what that man had done to make this crazy woman want to kill him but she also didn't know why she was being attacked.

Ayame used her make shift weapon to block the woman's hits and kicks, occasionally having to duck or jump back to avoid one. It took a lot but she was starting to get pissed off at this strange woman. Once there was an opening she struck out and hit the woman in the ribs and brought it back into defensive position. She had hit her target but had been stabbed in the process. Her arm stung slightly and she adverted her gaze. Suddenly her feet left the ground and she was flying!

The giant from outside had grabbed the back of her hoodie and the back of the other females shirt and lifted them into the air. "Violence is bad. Scares customers. Should be happy have sushi!" He smiled at the two.

"Verona it's rude to attack customers and bad for business don't do it again." The shop keep had a scary vibe to him as he spoke. This was not a man to mess with.

"Yes sir." Verona was frustrated as she glared at Ayame. Her ribs and her pride stung.

Ayame let out a small squeak as she slipped out of her hoodie and fell on her ass. Verona found herself a little shocked. That tiny frail looking thing was able to match her? Wait there was something wrong, her eyes looked at the girls arms and couldn't find the place the knife had connected. Was that girl not human?

Ayame gave her assailant a smile and then looked up at the giant who handed her back her hoodie. Before she could get it back on a girl with a newspaper boy hat approached her.

"You really are her!" Suddenly Ayame felt arms around her that were way to friends. "I'm sorry I'm Erika Karisawa. Would you come cosplay with us someday! You look amazing in your maid outfit by the way. Hey Walker it's really her!"

"WHOA! This is the first time we've seen her outside the maid cafe! Are you here to take us to another universe! Oh oh oh..." The two went on as Ayame looked at Shizuo for the first time without a smile. She was looking for help and didn't know how to ask for it.

Shizuo couldn't help himself and started laughing. The girl who had just matched Verona in a fight had been defeated by Erika and Walker. He couldn't help but think that the look of confusion on her face was better than the smile she usual wore. It was a real expression.

"I'm going to head home for the night. I'll see you tomorrow Tom." He stood up to go save Ayame but the shop owner stopped him.

"Bring girl sometime. She would be good for Verona maybe good for girl too." He looked over at the odd girl who had wondered into his shop. Those green eyes weren't natural nor was her healing ability, but she was undeniably human.

"Sure." Shizuo was a little confused as the why the shop keep was making such a request. He wasn't in much of a position to tell him no but it would be up to Ayame if she went though. He assessed the situation Ayame was in and smiled a little. He reached in between the Erika and Walker and picked up the small girl and slung her over his shoulder, "let's get going."

Ayame was confused as to why once again she was being picked up again. She looked back as everyone who was left in the shop seemed equally shocked by what was going on.

It seemed that the man who always got in trouble was someone who trouble found. He was called a monster by most of the people in the city but he might just have the kindest heart of all of them. The girl that seemed like a doll seemed to be less fragile than she appeared. It would take more to shatter her than what was first thought. Sometime people don't like up to their first impressions and sometimes that manage to rise above it.