Well, here's the next chapter. Hopefully, I'll get a few more reviews (good for the muse) before the next one is up. I always like to know where I stand. If you spot anything that seems out of place, or something that you don't like, tell me why you don't like it. At the very least, it will help other readers with discerning tastes in literature avoid a story they might not like...or read one that they feel they would.However, I do feel compelled to let potential reviewers and advice givers know that any creative advice ( i.e. about where I could possibly take the story, and how to write the characters) will be ignored. Unless by some freakish coincidence the suggestion happens to follow my exact outline for the story. Wow, that would be bizarre. Anyway, on with the story.

So I packed my shit, and I left. Didn't even say goodbye to anyone. Just put the few changes of clothes I had in my backpack and walked out the front door. Now, three hours later, I'm still sitting in fucking Nerima. I'm in the middle of the park, sitting on a bench, wondering what I'm going to do now. I called Sato, and he should be here soon, But Takai is who I really wanted to talk to. For some reason, the shithead isn't answering his cell phone or his home phone. That fucks things up. I don't know why, but I really need to talk to him. Unfortunately, that's not an option right now. He was right though, this bitch was too good for me. I know I'll never hear the end of it once I tell him about this shit, but I'll tell him anyway. Shit, it might give me an excuse to slap him around a little if he takes it too far. I sigh, and then shake my head and laugh a little.

My pistol is tucked safely into the back waistband of my pants, covered by the bottom of my white hoody, giving me the illusion of security. If there's one thing I've learned about this neighborhood, it's that it is just like North Juuban in one special respect; a total shitstorm can blow in out of nowhere at any given time. But the shit that happens here on a day-to-day basis blows even my weirdest dreams way out of the water. If not for the fact that everyone else was seeing the same shit, I'd think I was fucking nuts. Still, I suppose that if worse came to worse, having a gun is a whole lot better than tangling with one of these whacko martial artists hand to hand. I mean, ki blasts? Still, no one dies here. That's where the two places differ greatly. People die in North Juuban all the time. That's why I had to get away from Nabiki. She ain't meant for someone like me; not meant for that place, or that life. And that's all I'm meant for.

"Look at you, lookin' all sad n' shit. What the fuck's the matter with you? You got rid of the baggage, didn't you?" I turn and face Sato, only to shake my head and grimace. I should have just bit the bullet and called Aiko. I really don't need his shit right now.

"Man, shut the fuck up. Let's just get out of here." I mutter. I stand up and grab my backpack, and say, "You know, you was my second choice anyway."

"Oh was I?" he replies. "Who'd you have in mind? Your sister? Man, she'd rip you up one side and down the other homeboy. You know that. She's more like your fuckin' mama than your sister, you know that?"

"Actually, I was trying to get a hold of Takai." I snap at him. I'm feeling irritable as hell, and I ask, "Hey, you got a smoke?" A cigarette always helps calm my nerves.

Sato quirks his lips in a lop-sided frown, then shakes his head resignedly. "If it wasn't for your moochin' ass, I'd be a rich man."

"Fuck you homie, gimme a smoke." I reply, my lips curling into a small smile.

Sato pulls his pack from his pocket and hands me a cigarette. "Here...make it last, cause I ain't givin' you no more. You gonna have to go to the corner store and get your own after this."

"Whatever man. Where you parked?" I ask.

Sato laughs, and says, "Last one man, I'm tellin' you. This way though." He leads me out of the park and to his mother's car. Once I'm settled in the passenger seat, he asks, "So where we goin'? I think Northside is still a little too hot for you."

I shake my head, and say, "Did you pay my rent?"

Sato nods warily, and says, "Yeah...you gonna pay me back from that safe I grabbed for you, right?"

"You know I'm good for it." I mutter, lighting my smoke and taking a drag. "Take me to my place."

"Are you fuckin' crazy? Someone's gonna see you man!" Sato yells at me. He gets worked up a little too easily.

"I don't give a fuck." I say softly, and Sato has no response for that. The rest of the ride passes in tense silence, but he takes me to Northeast Juuban, to the Katsuhara Projects, and drops me off in front of my building.

As I get out of the car, he asks, "You sure about this shit?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. I'll call you tomorrow." I reply, my tone distant. He just nods his head and drives away after I've shut the door. He's pissed off, I know that; he's worried. At least he's loyal. I'm almost as close to him as I was to Yasuo. He's lived across the street from the Hotatsus his whole live, and I've known him for ten years now. As long as I've known Aiko and Takai. As long as I knew Yasuo; longer now.

I walk up the sidewalk, and a few of the homeboys nearby give me strange looks, as if they're seeing a ghost. One of them, a short, stocky 16 year old named Haku, trots up and says, "Shit, is that you Kiki?"

"What does it look like?" I ask, frowning.

He shakes his head, a little smile forming on his face. "Man, we all heard you was dead."

"Well I ain't." I grate out through grit teeth. I move past him, and he respects my obvious desire for privacy. These guys are 3 Serpents, although from a different set than Sato's. Still, they know who I am. I'm the undisputed king of Katsuhara. I may not amount to jack shit in a place like Nerima, but here I'm King shit. How long that'll last now that I'm alive again, I don't know. I'll just have to wait and see.

I go inside the building, and start up the stairs to my apartment. I'm at the landing on the third floor when I run into Mrs. Ito, carrying her groceries up to her apartment. "Mrs. Ito, let me help you with those."

She turns to me, smiling broadly upon recognition, and says, "Keona, it's been such a long time!" She exclaimed brightly, her age melting away for a moment. I think she's kind of adopted me. Her own grandson was killed in a shootout over a bad deal a few years ago. "How have you been?" She asks.

Good old Mrs. Ito; as uninformed as ever. "I've been good. I've just been away for a while."

"Ah, I see. And how is your girlfriend in Nerima?" She asks slyly. Sweet as she is, she's almost senile, but that's one thing she never forgets to ask me about; my love life.

I shrug my shoulders, and say, "It didn't work out."

Mrs. Ito's face melts into an expression of blatant pity, and she says, "I'm so sorry dear. True love is a hard thing to come by."

"It wasn't that big a deal." I say, downplaying the difficulty I'm having in reconciling myself with not being with Nabiki anymore, and then repeat, "Let me help you with those groceries." I can see that she's about to decline, but I pre-empt her, and say, "I insist."

She smiles, and says, "You're a good boy Keona. It's a wonder you can't find a wife." The last comment stings in a way it never has before, but I shrug it off and take her bags from her.

"How's your health been?" I ask as I follow her up to her apartment. It's not just a pleasantry. I really mean it when I ask her that. She's been very good to me, even if it's only because she can't see what I really am. Either that, or she doesn't want to.

"Oh, it's been good. The old ticker isn't what it used to be, but I'm fine. I can still get around." She says with a smile. We reach her door, and she unlocks it, taking the bags from me. "I can take it from here I think."

"Okay Mrs. Ito. You take care."

"You too Keona. You take care of yourself. You're a good boy." She repeats forcefully, as if trying to tell me something. Her timing is almost eerie, considering recent events.

"I'm a little tired. I think I'm gonna go take a nap." I say, my eyes going to my shoes.

"Sleep well then Keona." She says kindly. A couple seconds later, I hear her front door shut. I look up then, and turn around to open my door. I pull the key out of my pocket and turn it over a couple times, looking at it. After studying it for a few moments, I slip it into the doorknob and unlock the door.

The interior is pretty much as I left it, although the liquor cabinet is open from when Kai grabbed my whiskey. I step inside and shut the door behind me. I drop my backpack on the floor and walk back to my bedroom. I go into my room and turn on the light. Crossing to my bedside table, I open the little drawer, and am pleased to find my weed still sitting inside. It's dry as a bone, but that's fine. The THC is completely crystalized now, which it wasn't the last time I smoked it. I pull the sack out, along with my pipe and lighter, and load a big bowl. I spark it up and take a long hit, filling my lungs with smoke. I sit for almost a minute, holding it in, before blowing it out in a rush. The intense head-high hits me hard, a result of my lowered tolerance. I take another small hit, and then set the pipe aside. I'm already good and stoned, so there's no need to smoke more right now. After releasing the last hit, I walk into the living room and lock the doorknob, the deadbolt, and the chain. Once my place is secure (as secure as it ever gets in Katsuhara), I sit down in my lazy boy recliner and turn on the TV. Shit...nothing but public access. Sighing, I turn the TV back off and get up.

I'm about to get up and go to my room, when my cell phone rings. I pull it out and look at the number. It's not one I recognize, but the area code is Nerima's. "What the hell?" I mutter, before flipping it open. "Yeah?"

"Keona?" Fuck...Naomi. "It's Naomi."

"What do you want? And how'd you get my number?" I ask, my tone steely. I really don't want to talk to any of Nabiki's friends right now.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She asks, completely ignoring my previous questions. "That girl is heartbroken right now, and all because of you! I told her you were no good, and this proves it! I mean, what were you thinking saying those things to her?" She's obviously upset with me, but I don't know what she thinks she's going to accomplish with this.

"Look, it ain't none of your fucking business." I reply, and though I know that I could just hang up and turn off my cell, for some reason I don't.

"I beg to differ. Nabiki is my friend and I hate to see her hurt, and you hurt her you dick." She snaps. "You fucked up. You as good as told her that you don't trust her." Naomi takes a deep breath, her voice calming a bit, and she says, "She never cries like that."

I hang my head, my chin touching my chest, and I mutter, "It's better for her this way." before hanging up and turning my phone off. I don't know why I just said that; it was pretty stupid even if it is the truth. I shake my head slowly, as if trying to dislodge the thoughts, and set my phone down on the table next to my chair. I stand up slowly and walk into the bedroom, my legs feeling leaden and heavy. I make sure the light is off, and then sit down on my bed. After undressing, I lie down and pull the covers up. In my head, I can hear Naomi's voice repeating, "You fucked up." over and over and over. It follows me into my dreams.

Naomi looked over at Nabiki, who was still crying softly in the middle of her bed. Naomi moved over to her, and sat down next to her. She wrapped her arms around her and said, "I'm sorry he was such an asshole Nabiki."

Nabiki buried her face in Naomi's shoulder, and asked, "What's wrong with me?" in a liquidy voice.

"Oh, sweety, nothing's wrong with you. He's just a stupid, pigheaded, inconsiderate shithead. All men are assholes Nabiki." It truly was painful for Naomi to see Nabiki like this. Nabiki had always had boyfriends in the past, but only on her terms. She was always completely in control, and never really felt anything for them. It was more about the size of their wallets than anything else. But this time, she'd well and truly fallen for the guy. And she'd gotten burned.

"I just don't get it. I was just worried about him." Nabiki said weakly, her throat constricting as she tried to talk. "I know he was lying when he said he was going to Shibuya. What did he have to do in Shibuya?"

Naomi sighed, and said, "I don't know. Maybe he really was going to Shibuya."

Nabiki raised her face, her eyes red and puffy from crying, and said, "Do you really think that anyone can lie to me? I know when someone's lying. I can read people like books. It's what I do."

"You're right...I know." Naomi really couldn't fault her best friend's logic. She'd never met anybody who could lie to Nabiki, no matter what anyone might think. "What do you think he was doing then?" she asked.

"I don't know. And he wouldn't tell me. He got so...so...I don't know. He scared the hell out of me!" Nabiki almost dissolved into tears again, but she managed to hold herself firm. "But I'm going to find out." She wiped her eyes and stood up, her face quickly changing into a mask of analytical detachment. "What did he say to you?"

Naomi tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling, as if imploring the Kami to help her. Then she looked at Nabiki, and said, "He told me it was none of my business. When I pressed him on it, he said it was better for you this way, and then he hung up on me."

Nabiki frowned thoughtfully, and Naomi could see that she was finally pulling herself back together. For now, at least. "We need to find out where he is." She said finally, in a manner that suggested it was non-negotiable.

Naomi raised her eyebrows. "And how exactly do you think you're going to accomplish that?"

"Aiko." Nabiki replied, the beginnings of a smile spreading across her tear-stained face.

Sato looked up and down the stairwell, and then glanced over at Kai. "Well?"

Kai rolled his eyes, and then knocked on Keona's door. The response was almost a minute in coming, but when it did come, it wasn't a verbal response. They both heard the distinctive click-click of a pistol being cocked. Kai's eyes popped, and he pressed his face close to the door and said, "Man, it's us...Kai and Sato." They waited breathlessly for a few seconds, both of them edging to the side of the door.

Finally, they heard the sounds of the door being unlocked, and then the door swung open. A shirtless Keona peeked his head out, his hair mussed and tangled from sleep. "What the fuck? It's goddamn eleven at night."

"Hey man, we brought you something." Sato said. He held up two unopened bottles of Jim Beam bourbon whiskey.

Keona's eyebrows raised minutely, and then he shook his head and stepped aside. "Yeah, yeah, alright." As his two friends passed him by, Keona asked, "Ya'll down for a little puff?"

Kai grinned as he shut the door behind the three of them and re-locked it, saying, "Shit, you know me dawg. I'm always down."

Sato set the whiskey bottles on the small folding table outside the kitchen, pulled a couple packs of Peace cigarettes from his pocket and tossed them down next to the booze. He yawned loudly, and then said, "Why not? Ain't got shit else to do."

Keona nodded his head, and said, "I'll be back." He disappeared into his bedroom for about a minute, and returned holding his weed and a couple blunt wraps. He glanced over at the table, and said, "Those smokes mine too?"

Sato chuckled and nodded. "Coming home present."

Keona grabbed a pack off the table, and then sat down in his recliner. Kai and Sato each took a seat on the couch, and Sato pulled out his own pack of cigarettes. Keona opened his smokes, pulled one out, placed it in the corner of his mouth and lit it. He took a deep drag off the cigarette, and then went to work rolling a blunt. It took him less than two minutes to accomplish, and when he was done, he had a fat, tight roll. He handed the cigar-sized joint to Kai, and said, "Spark it up homie."

Kai was only too happy to comply, holding his lighter to the end of the blunt and drawing in. Once it was properly lit, he took a long hit, and then passed the blunt to Sato. "Here." he said in a choked voice, trying to keep his hit in.

Sato took the blunt from Kai and held it to his own lips, taking an even larger hit than Kai had. He nodded his head in approval, and passed it over to Keona. While Keona was taking his hit, Sato blew his out and lit up a smoke. "So, I been doin' some thinkin' Kiki."

Keona nodded slowly, and handed the blunt back over to Kai, thus completing the first rotation. "Yeah? 'Bout what?" He squeezed out, trying to lose as little smoke as possible.

"This whole situation, man. We only got two more motherfuckers to finish off, and we know at least one of em'll be at the champagne room in the Four Rooms in two nights. I say we don't worry about the other motherfucker-"

"Takahoshi Akira." Kai supplied helpfully.

Keona looked over at him slowly, having just taken a drag off his cigarette, and said, "How the fuck are you finding these fucking names out?" As he spoke, curls of bluish smoke rolled from his mouth and nose.

Kai merely grinned, and said, "Ancient Chinese secret." before taking a hit off the blunt.

"Whatever homeboy. As long as we get em' all, I'm cool." Said Sato, as the blunt was passed his way. He took a hit, and then said in a choked voice, "Anyway, I think we should just hit Ichiro this Saturday...worry about this Akira bitch later."

Keona shook his head, and said, "No. I want him to know that I'm coming for him. I want him scared first." Taking the blunt from Sato, he took a small hit, handed it to Kai, and muttered, "Ya'll finish it. I'm fuckin' blazed."

Sato snorted loudly, and said, "Shit homie...you done turned into a fuckin' lightweight on me. Have to get that tolerance back up to snuff."

"Whatever man. Let's just focus on the business at hand."

Kai tamped the blunt out in the ashtray, intending to save it for later, got up and walked to the table and returned moments later with a bottle of whiskey. He opened it and took several swigs, making a slight face at the burning sensation coursing down his esophagus, before saying in a mildly hoarse voice, "I got the tip-off on Akira from a cousin of mine that's Red Oni. Apparently, all's not well in Oni-ville." Kai said with a chuckle. "Any way, this Akira cat's real tight with Ichiro, but he's a little loose-lipped. He was going around after the drive-by, talkin' all sorts of shit about you and Yasuo, sayin' he popped your brother right in the dome."

Keona settled back into his chair, his face peaceful and calm, belying the emotions that must have been roiling beneath the surface. Kai silently envied him his ability to keep his composure when told such news.

Keona took the proffered whiskey bottle when it came his way, and drained nearly a quarter of it. When he put it down, he smiled thinly, and said, "Where's he chill at?"

Kai ran a hand through his thick black hair, and said, "Mostly around his 'hood. He stays away from 3 Serpent's territory, and I know he don't come to Katsuhara."

Keona shrugged nonchalantly, took another swig and then passed the nearly empty bottle to Kai. "Projects is a hard place." He said, the combined buzzes from the weed and alcohol creating a thin haze in his mind.

Kai nodded his head, and Sato said, "Well if he ain't comin' out of Oni territory, that'll make it hard to get to him."

Kai gave a short reply, before hitting the bottle again. "Drive-by."

Keona shook his head, and said, "Nah man, too much risk of collateral damage. I don't wanna accidentally kill no kids or nothing." The bottle came his way again, and he grabbed it up, taking a quick drink. "I'll just call Takai and have him go with me. We did that first motherfucker proper, we'll do this bitch the same way."

The two gangbangers sitting on his couch both nodded their heads in agreement, and Sato said, "Just make sure you let us in on the shit with Ichiro. You'll need a little extra backup goin' after him."

Keona rubbed a hand over his face, and muttered, "Yeah." He was about to lift the Jim Beam to his mouth for another swallow of the fiery amber liquor, when there was a knock at his door. He exchanged quick glances with his two friends, and knew they were feeling the same tension he was. Almost as one, the three of them reached for their guns. Sato and Kai stood up and aimed their pistols at the door while Keona slowly crossed the room, his own pistol at the ready. He slowly and carefully unlocked each lock on his door, trying to be as quiet about it as possible. He gave a short nod to his companions, before ripping the door open and bringing his pistol to bear on the unexpected "company".

"I really don't know Nabiki. I haven't heard from him today." Aiko said, most unhelpfully.

Nabiki fought off what would have been an uncharacteristic display of frustration, just barely managing to maintain her composure. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" He definitely wasn't in Nerima, of that she was certain. She'd been unable to reach Aiko earlier in the day, and so had sent Ranma out looking for Keona in the hopes that he hadn't gotten far. Ranma had reported no Kiki sightings upon his return, although he'd been quite female at the time, and covered in glittery pink feathers from head to toe. Nabiki would have taken a picture (for posterity's sake) but for the fierce scowl on Ranma-chan's terminally cute face. Finally though, she'd gotten a call back from Aiko, at quarter after ten at night.

Aiko was silent for a moment at Nabiki's question, and then said in a frighteningly soft voice. "I bet I know who does."

"Sato?" Nabiki guessed, thinking it couldn't be that much of a stretch.

"Exactly." Nabiki heard Aiko sigh deeply, and then mutter, "Dammit Kiki." There was some rustling around, and Nabiki heard the tell-tale sounds of someone rifling through a pile of papers. Finally, Aiko found the number and read it off to Nabiki.

Nabiki dialed the number into her cell phone and said, "Thanks Aiko. I appreciate it."

"Thank you, for looking out for him. He needs someone like you." Aiko said back, her tone completely sincere.

Nabiki had a difficult time speaking around the lump in her throat, but she managed anyway. "Thanks Aiko. I'll let you know when I get a hold of him."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye." Nabiki pressed the end call button on her cordless phone that went to her personal line and looked over at Naomi. "Well, she doesn't know where he is, but she thinks that his friend Sato might."

"Who's Sato?"

Nabiki shook her dismissively, and said, "Trust me; you don't like Kiki, you'll absolutely hate Sato."

"Whatever." Naomi replied nonchalantly. "So, like, do you have his number?"

Nabiki nodded her head, and began dialing the number. "Yeah. Aiko gave it to me."

The phone was answered after almost eight rings, and a cheery female voice greeted her. "Haruta residence, Mihoshi speaking."

"Hi, I'm looking for Sato." Nabiki said.

"Oh, he's hanging out with a friend of his."

"Do you have any idea where?" Nabiki said. She had a feeling she knew exactly which friend he was hanging out with.

"Umm...I think I heard him and Kai talking about Katushara, or something like that."

Nabiki wanted to bash her head into the wall, but refrained from doing so. "Thank you very much." she said graciously, before ending the call. She turned to Naomi, her face set in a mask of grim determination. "Naomi," she said, "we're going to the projects."

"What?" Naomi screeched, her face betraying her incredulity. "Not a chance in hell!"

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" Naomi pleaded with Nabiki as she parked her car in a visitor's spot outside Building C in the Katsuhara Projects.

"Because I'm your best friend in the world, and you know that I'd do it for you." Nabiki answered.

Naomi raised an eyebrow as she turned her car off and began getting out. "That presumes that I would date a guy who actually lived here."

"How about because I lent you the 10,000 yen you needed to pay the last of your increased car insurance premium after that little 'fender-bender' last fall?" Nabiki asked tartly as she got out of the car and shut the door.

"Works for me." Naomi said. Both girls stood there by the car for a moment, both of them feeling awkward and out of place. That awkward feeling turned to outright fear shortly after they left the relative safety of the well-lit parking lot and stepped onto the path to the building, complete with burnt out lights creating strange shadows that seemed to follow them up the walkway. A group of young men in purple sweatshirts, bandannas and baseball caps stood near the entrance of the building, and both Nabiki and Naomi could feel all eyes turning towards them as they approached. "Don't make eye contact." Naomi muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

Suddenly, almost as if they were one entity, the group of young men began moving towards them. One of them, a tall, lanky young man, who would have been handsome if not for the puckered purple scar on his left cheek, said, "You girls look like you're lost. Ya'll should get on where you came from."

Nabiki pulled herself up to her full five feet, three inch height, and said, "I'm looking for my boyfriend. Keona? Have you seen him around by chance?"

Nabiki was pleasantly surprised to find that the demeanor of the whole gang changed instantly. Scarface, as Nabiki decided to call him, smiled in friendly way, and said, "Kiki's your boyfriend?" Nabiki nodded her head. "No shit huh? Yeah, he's up there."

"He's never actually brought me here before...could you tell me which apartment he's in?" Nabiki batted her eyes at the guy for good measure, figuring he'd melt like every other guy did. He didn't though. He just cocked his head to the side, as if sizing her up, and then slowly nodded.

Normally, he was more cautious, but this girl was way too soft to be a real threat to his boy. Besides, he could see why Kiki wouldn't want to bring a girl like that to a place like this. She looked like a classy girl. Not the kind one usually saw around the projects. He said, "Fourth floor, apartment C42." He stepped aside, and the rest of the gang followed suit.

Walking past the purple-clad gangsters, Nabiki said, "Thanks boys. Ciao."

Naomi followed her inside, and when they'd finally passed the threshold, she turned to Nabiki and said, "Kami, did you see that? They really didn't want us here at all. I figured they'd at least hit on us or something."

"At least Kiki's name seems to have some weight around here. That made them back off pretty quick." Nabiki had been a bit surprised to find out that the mere mention of Keona's name could provoke such a sudden and drastic about-face from the Katsuhara gangsters. He must be a cut above the common thug then. She and Naomi walked cautiously up the stairs, and she was shocked to see three people sitting huddled together on the second floor landing, smoking what was very obviously a crack pipe. This place is no joke. She thought to herself. The place reeked of vomit, stale alcohol, urine, and some other unidentifiable chemical scent that stung the insides of her nose. There was another layer added to the stench at each successive level.

When they finally arrived at the fourth floor, Nabiki was pleased to see that they wouldn't have to go any farther down the dimly lit hallway. Apartment C42 was right at the top of the stairs. She took a deep breath, and then raised her hand and knocked. After almost fifteen seconds, she was about to knock again when she thought she heard a click. Naomi was on the verge of sighing with relief, and Nabiki wasn't far behind, when the door suddenly swung open, and they found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun. Naomi shrieked from fright and scrambled to the side, and Nabiki could feel her eyes widening exponentially. She was sure she felt her bladder weakening as well, but luckily for her dignity, the gun was quickly out of her face.

"What the fuck?" Keona uttered, sounding more surprised than upset.

Nabiki was about to reply, when he grabbed her and yanked her inside the apartment. He did likewise with Naomi, and then took a long look down the hall, and down the stairs. Satisfied that the coast was clear, he shut the door behind him and re-locked it. Turning to the two girls, he asked, "What are you two doing here?"

Nabiki took note of the other two gun-toting young men in the room. She very aware of the fact that none of the three had put their guns away. She looked at Keona's pistol meaningfully, and said, "Do you mind? It's going to be hard to talk with that thing where I can see it."

Sato and Kai both tucked their pistols away, and Keona did likewise. Kai licked his lips quickly, then looked down at the nearly empty bottle of booze and the half-smoked blunt in the ashtray. Looking back up at the girls, he said, "Well, me and Sato was just about to take off. Wasn't we?"

"Yeah, right." Sato said. He pulled the cigarette from the corner of his mouth, and put it out. "Later days homie." Sato said as he walked past Keona, doing their handshake. Kai repeated the gesture and nodded his farewell to his friend. Sato unlocked the door and the two of them left.

Keona locked the door behind his departing friends and said, "You can sit down if you want." His voice was distant, quiet, and he didn't maintain eye contact for long. He went into the kitchen, and she heard the sound of running water. He came back with a glass of water and sat down in his lazyboy.

Naomi sat down on the couch, but Nabiki remained standing. "Can I talk to you in private?" She asked Keona.

He nodded slowly and stood up, placing his glass on the small table next to his chair. He led her wordlessly down the short hallway to the unit's single bedroom. Flipping on the light switch, he went over and sat wordlessly on the bed. Nabiki could see him withdrawing, and decided she needed to act fast. She shut the door, and then sat down next to him and took one of his hands. He still didn't say anything, but she was heartened to feel him entwining his fingers with hers, holding her hand tightly. He rested his forehead in the palm of his other hand and closed his eyes.

Nabiki took a deep breath, and said, "What did you mean when you told Naomi that it would be better for me this way?"

He turned his head to regard her through lidded eyes, and said, "I just ain't good for you."

"Don't you think that I should be the judge of that?" She asked.

Keona sat up a little straighter at that, and said, "You really have no idea what I am, do you?"

"Why don't you tell me Kiki? What are you?" He tried to pull his hand away, but Nabiki held on, firmly but gently.

Giving up on extricating his hand from Nabiki's, he said, "Look, there's just some shit going down right now that ain't safe. I don't want you getting involved, accidentally or otherwise."

Nabiki reached out with her free hand and turned his head to face her fully. Leaving her hand on his cheek, she fought down the butterflies in her stomach and said, "Keona, I'm already involved, whether you want me to be or not. I don't know what happened in the furo, but I know that it wasn't me you were angry with."

Keona turned his head away and muttered something unintelligible under his breath. He gave a little shake of his head, and then looked her in the eye again. "I don't wanna see you hurt."

Nabiki's heart began pounding in her chest, and she replied, "I don't want to see you hurt. Kiki, I don't know what's going on, but I'm worried about you. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you." She looked down at their still intertwined hands, and said softly, tentatively, "I love you." She looked back up at Keona, and almost laughed at the expression on his face. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Keona?" she said plaintively, hating how vulnerable she suddenly sounded; and felt.

She waited apprehensively while he sighed deeply, and then hung his head low. She could feel her stomach clenching into knots as he remained silent and still for almost a minute. She could feel her face flushing, and was about to stand up and leave while she still had some dignity left, when she heard him whisper something that was almost inaudible. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she whispered, "What was that?"

He sighed again, and still didn't look up. But this time, she could clearly hear the words that he spoke. "I love you too."