hey guys! long time no see! next chapter, sooner than last time!

I noticed no one said anything about a schedule. do you guys want it or not? if you don't like suspense, I can fix that.

don't have much to say this chapter. except that I want school to be over =.=

P-Kim: you're so faithful about reviewing! thanks so much! and if you don't like suspense you can fix that. if you give me a day, ill do it just for you ^.^

yuki-san127: thanks for your review! and wonder no longer the next chapter is here!

I say I try to make these longer. what do you think?

me sa no own this...

The next few hours that followed were some of the most stressful Nezumi had ever experienced. Henry worked hard on Sion, doing his upmost to save the white haired teen. Not a word was said for over 3 hours, until Henry laid down a needle.

"I'm going to need help wrapping him up." he said tiredly, lifting a roll of bandages.

Nezumi stood quickly and made his way around the looked at Sion worriedly, taking in every inch of him.

Sion lay sweeting and pail on the table. The wound in his abdomen was sown shut with small tight stiches, but the skin round it was an angry red.

At Henry's direction he lifted Sion into an upright position and held him there as the vet began to tie the strips of cloth tightly around his mid section. Sion groaned slightly at the pressure, but he did not wake. Nezumi cast a worried glance at Dog Keeper, who returned the look.

"Soooo...is he gonna be okay?" Dog Keeper asked, breaking the silence.

Henry didn't answer, only finished tying off the bandage. He sat heavily in a chair, leaning into the warn cushion. After another moment, he spoke.

"I did what I could for him, and the surgery went well. But there's only so much I can do. It's up to him now. He seems like a strong boy, "He added awkwardly. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Nezumi nodded, laying Sion back onto the table. Dog Keeper sent him a look, before standing.

"Come on. Lets get him into a bed. Staying on that hard table's not going to help him any."

Nezumi glared at her, before standing as well. He lifted Sion alone, pointedly ignoring Dog Keepers unspoken offer to help. It didn't stop her from opening the door for him, holding it as he maneuvered Sion and himself out. She then turned to Henry.

"We still need to discus payment. What's this going to cost?" She asked, all business.

Henry tore his gaze from the door, having watched Nezumi cart Sion away. "It wasn't easy, so it's not going to be cheep." he cautioned. Dog keeper nodded. "But I'm not going to rip you off either. It'll be fair. Even if I'm not used to working on people."

"I expected as much." Dog Keeper said, before headed toward the door. "I'll be right back."

Henry watched her go, pondering on the odd trio. wondering what this boy could be like to change the people he knew this much.

Several rooms over, Nezumi was getting Sion comfortable in the only bed available in the huge Inn. The bed seemed to swallow the boy up, despite the fact it was only a single.

Nezumi wasn't quiet sure what he was supposed to do now. He'd brought a doctor, if he could be called that, and Sion was all patched up. They had a comfortable place to spend the night, and for now the city wasn't aware of their whereabouts. At least Nezumi didn't think so. He couldn't risk moving Sion anyway. They wouldn't be able to spend more than a single night here, Nezumi wasn't going to risk getting captured. Or the questions that would uncountable be asked.

Behind him the door creaked open, and Nezumi spun quickly reaching for his dagger. It was only Dog Keeper.

Nezumi sighed running a hand through his hair(1). "What do you want?" He asked curtly.

Dog keeper scowled at him, sitting down loudly in a chair. "This is my inn." she reminded him with a smirk. "I can go wherever I want. Besides, Henry's expecting to get paid."

"Your point?" Nezumi asked annoyed. He turned back to Sion, who hadn't moved.

"So you have to pay him." Dog keeper said leaning the chair back.

"Why don't you pay him?" Nezumi said over his shoulder, not bothering to get up.

Dog keeper let her chair down with a bang. "Cause you have a lot of money, that's why. And Sion is 'your responsibility' right?" she said with a grin.

Nezumi ground his teeth, leveling a glare at the girl, who didn't even blink. After a moment, he reached into a pocket pulling out a small bag which he tossed to her. She caught it deftly, before peering inside.

"This should be more than enough." She said, obviously pleased.

"I want the extra back." Nezumi said sternly as she stood.

"yeah, yeah." she said waving a hand airily. At the door she paused and cast a glance back at Sion, still motionless on the bed. "I hope he get's better soon."

Nezumi turned his gaze back to the bed, not speaking. After a moment the door swung shut.

"Yeah, me too." Nezumi said softly to the empty room.

thought about ending it here, but i'll be nice

Just outside a dark inn, several groups of people hid in the shadows. A kind of suspense hung in the air. The anticipation of fight.

"Remember, we're to bring both boys in. Dead or Alive." One man said quietly to the others. There was no response, not that the man was expecting one. "Don't bother to come back if you fail. this mission is worth more than any of your sorry lives, so don't mess it up."

Again no response.

"Lets move out." the man said, smirking at the tension.

And twenty well armed men set off into the night.

1) I don't know if that's really a 'nezumi' thing to do, but I was tired of making him glare.

I know it wasn't as long as It could be, but really this chapter didn't want to be written.

did any of ya'll know that I don't actually reread these? and that I have no Beta? so if you see any mistakes, please forgive me. I know that there are plenty. though I do try my best to get them all.

Blaugh, i'm not looking forward to writing this confrontation seen. it's just not my thing. even in the original draft it sucked. so please bear with me here.

AGAIN if any o you ant a schedule, please ask. summers coming and im well on my way to getting my own computer. you all know what that means! easier updates!

thank you all again.

-KoiKyuuKitai