Chapter Thirteen

Hello there all. I'm having a grand time with this story. Keeps those gears in my head moving –smiles- I hope you're liking it too. Memory loss sure is touchy business though, I must say….O.o

"What the hell do you want!?"

"I don't want anything."

"Then let go, you bastard!" she snarled, causing him to inwardly wince at the fowl language. Once again she had managed to pick up more swear words even with a fresh start.

"What did I do to deserve this!?"

"Nothing."

"Then what the heck are you doing!?"

"Thinking…"

She slammed the back of her head against the bars, frustrated and infuriated. In truth even he wasn't sure what it was that he wanted from her.

"This is by far the worst day of my life…" she hissed.

Asch adjusted his grip on her carefully but tightly. They had been sitting, intertwined with the gate for nearly four hours. It was well past sundown and he didn't see himself letting go any time soon, unless she for some reason promised she wouldn't run away.

She hadn't done that yet though, and he didn't see her doing it anytime soon because she was once again struggling in his grip.

"Why don't you tell me a little about your life," he urged quietly, though in his own way he knew the suggestion was cruel.

"It's none of your damn business!" she snarled. "What, you think you can just show up out of nowhere and get me to spill my guts!? I don't even know you!"

Finding the statement to be cruelly ironic, he let out a chuckle. She whipped the familiar orange eyes his way, seemingly in surprise.

"Something funny!?"

"It's you."

Her hand reached through the bars then, grabbing a fistful of the ends of his hair and pulling his face to the gate. She leaned in closer too.

"I'm screaming bloody murder at you, and you think it's funny?" she murmured threateningly.

He felt a smirk edge onto his face. "I used to be called 'Sunshine' by someone just like you not too long ago."

"You must have delusional friends then, huh? Go get some new ones!" she growled icily.

He let out another short chuckle, causing her fist to tighten around his hair.

"It's true," he agreed, his eyes falling to the ground.

"Alright I've had enough of your stupid life's story…let go….now."

He was silent for a moment, resisting the request once again for unknown reasons. There was a feeling swirling with his clouded mind though. She was alive and healthy, this was the result he had worked so long to achieve and although he wanted to detach himself from the final outcome all together…holding onto it gave him nearly as much comfort.

'Why…' he wondered, his eyes narrowing unconsciously.

She very obviously wasn't the person she was before. Not remembering him was enough proof of that fact.

His heart sank a little, finding its way back to its previous sorrow. He didn't want this girl…he wanted Sin. His Sin. The Sin he knew. Perhaps that was why he couldn't let her go, he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle any harm that could come to the special result he had given so much up for.

That would make it worthless. Sin dying, would be worthless.

And somehow, his instincts began to make sense to him.

"I have no reason to let go…" he finally murmured, lifting his head.

"You have no reason not to, you fool hearted—!"

They both paused in their tangled wrestling match then, when a menacing growl cut in over the night.

She turned her gaze forward, towards the growls, and he urged his gaze to wander down the alley where he noticed two snarling dogs stood, their heads dropped and their teeth dripping viscously.

"Street mutts…" she muttered lowly, her teeth clenching.

Asch's common sense finally took its time kicking in, but when it finally did, he found himself hissing demandingly at her. The dogs meanwhile, were inching closer.

"Climb back over the gate!"

The new Sin turned her gaze back over her shoulder to observe him analytically, even more so when he finally released her from his grasp. However, her resulting expression turned into a reluctant one.

"I'd rather take my chances with the dogs," she replied shrewdly, turning back to face them.

The former God-General reached through the bars again and grabbed her arm firmly. His heartbeat was pumping in his head.

"Get over here!"

The dogs began to sprint towards her, their ferocity magnifying. It seemed to catch her attention better, because she took a step back in what he hoped was reconsideration.

"Listen," he snapped firmly, causing her eyes to lock with his for a moment.

He continued. "You don't know anything about me, but trust me when I say I'd never hurt you!"

Her black brows furrowed then, while her eyes swept back towards the viscous charging dogs. For a moment he could see it in her face…indecision …fright…vulnerability.

"I promise…!" he stated.

That seemed to be enough for her then because she turned, kicked off the ground and began to do her best to get as high up on the iron gate as she could.

'Not fast enough…!' he realized a moment later though, his eyes widening. Before she had had a running start to help her.

"Hurry…" he murmured, more for himself than to her but regardless of that fact, he reached through the bars and grasped the bottom of her slipping foot, using his strength to hoist her up.

It helped, and with her new strength she was able to climb higher and faster.

But still it wasn't fast enough, and his eyes whipped past her to see the dogs almost at the gate, the muscles under their dark fur tensing—ready to spring.

His eyes widened in alarm, but the commotion that followed and his reflexes were both well beyond his control, and his arm shot out to block the snarling teeth from clamping around her leg.

He winced and gritted his teeth together, feeling the beast's razor sharp canines tear into his flesh and pull.

Sin had made it to the top safely, trying to quickly maneuver through the spikes at the top. The second canine however, and to Asch's alarm, threw itself at the gate in a rage, causing the iron mass to shake violently and causing her to lose her grip and slip.

In a frenzy, he threw his other arm out in hope that he could help soften her fall.

Whether it was purely by luck, or whether she had purposely aimed herself in hopes that he could somehow aid her in the confusion, her hand managed to land heavily in his.

He didn't miss how hard she had landed on her feet though, regardless of all his efforts.

The beast in front of him still had his arm in a tight hold though, raking its teeth savagely through his skin and causing his own teeth to clench. He could almost feel the disgusting grime of its mouth burying itself in his flesh…and it certainly didn't help the pain.

The first one tried to drag him closer, and the second one was already attached to the new plan by snapping through the iron bars at his feet.

"Damn it!" he hissed, grabbing the bar in order to pull himself back.

He soon removed his other hand just as quickly though, because the second savage canine took a snap.

But abruptly there was a presence near his leg and he managed to look down fast enough to see the new Sin pulled her arm back and then bringing her fist forward. It slammed hard into the beast's wind pipe.

Whether it meant to or was forced to, it let go and immediately sagged, wheezing heavily and erratically. The second growled and paced in an unsure manner.

Asch stood for a moment, breathing hard and clutching his bloodied arm.

"Ugh…" Sin winced from beside him in her sitting position, her body sagging as she clutched at her leg.

The former God-General closed his eyes and took one last calming breath to wash off the dizziness of the event, and found his voice.

"Are you alright…?" he asked, kneeling down to examine her injury. It appeared to be nearly broken, or heavily sprained.

The replica turned her head away. "I'm fine…"

"You always are," he replied unthinkingly, still observing the injury.

It was then that he felt her orange gaze turn onto him. He lifted his head in response, not missing the confusion that was clearly on her face.

"What?" she responded shortly.

Asch shook his head and hurriedly looked away, cursing himself for mistaking that stupid mistake. She had just met him.

"Nothing," he murmured, reaching down to gently touch her ankle with his good arm. "You saved me you know…"

"No I didn't," she retorted icily. "An eye for an eye…that's…that's all…"

He suppressed a chuckle and wearily closed his eyes for a moment. "Perhaps…"

The remaining canine broke them out of their friendly conversation then, as it began to growl. Its pawing and ramming the gate certainly didn't aid them at all this late at night.

He turned back to her, expression serious.

"We should get out of here before it goes around or more come…"

"That almost sounds like you expect me to go with you..." she growled. "And I won't."

Straightening, he shook his head. He spoke as he pulled off the torn remains of his glove. Her orange eyes narrowed as she looked at the dripping teeth gauges.

"I guess we're at a standoff then…" he stated. "Because you can't run and I can't grab you."

"I can't believe I let a complete stranger talk me into this…" she muttered, clearly irritated at being unfairly forced to take refuge in his room at the inn.

"It's not going to kill you," Asch replied in an even voice. He was able to speak almost normally to this girl now. The shock was finally wearing off.

She rested her cheek in her palm and gave him a purposely skeptical expression. She then proceeded to mutter something incoherent as she turned her head away, to which he could only guess would probably be more swear words.

Silence drifted between them for a moment as his thoughts occupied his mind. He had so many questions that he wanted to ask her, but he knew that the most pressuring ones would lead her to call him a stalker or crazy and probably not enhance the trust that was already hardly there.

So instead, he attempted to start…something…

"Is the water warm enough?"

For a moment her orange eyes glanced at him, before drifting down to examine the bucket of warm water her foot was swallowed in.

"Fine."

Asch winced inside. She really didn't like talking much.

The silence lifted up again as he removed parts of his attire, pondering the next question that could perhaps provide him with more information from the girl, on the girl.

But, surprising him, she was the next to speak.

"Your…your arm…" she began unsurely, her gaze turned away in reluctance, "S'okay, right…?"

He almost smiled.

'So she does have a heart.'

"Fine," he responded almost sarcastically, echoing her previous answer. He was surprised to see her brows furrow angrily, or at least in annoyance. It looked like the silence bothered her too.

"You're really irritating…" the replica stated with what looked like almost a wince.

Asch laughed inside and was willing to admit that perhaps, he, out of anyone, would be the best suited at being able to get under her skin.

"And you're really angry…" he replied nonchalantly. "Why is that…?"

"For the same reason you choose to be irritating…I feel like it…" she turned her head away, looking bored and somewhat tired.

"I don't choose to irritate you."

The edge of her mouth pulled down in a frown, an expression so like the old Sin that for a moment, he was struck completely speechless.

"Could have fooled me…" she muttered in her boyish voice.

He managed to shake off his previous daze. "I could be worse…" he murmured, and his eyes flashed up to lock with hers. "Much worse."

The new Sin glared, bravely holding her ground. "I really doubt that."

Asch smirked and stood up from the long process of removing his boots with one arm. He walked over to stand right in front of her, his heartbeat beginning to pump faster. She looked up with a sense of firm determination.

"Tell me why you ran away from Baticul…Sin'kara."

The determination melted away instantly, into a look of complete shock and confusion. The room went silent again, and as the seconds ticked by he wasn't even sure she was still breathing, or if she remembered how to blink.

But before he could consider the fact any further, her eyes suddenly went wide and she reached up with lightning speed and grabbed the front of his shirt. She then yanked roughly and pulled him down so that his face was once again impossibly close to hers.

Her other hand proceeded to reach up and rake through his hair and for a moment, his mind was blank and he was at loss, having no clue as to what was going through her head. Regardless of this fact though, he let her, while getting a strange sense of lost comfort from the action.

She was rough at first, with a hard, determined expression painted on her face. But he assumed that once she realized he wasn't rejecting the contact, her hands became gentler, as if she suddenly realized that this was a human being who could feel pain like anyone else.

Finally, the replica pulled her hand from his hair and allowed him to look up, not without a questioning look on his own face though, which was partially covered with the locks of red hair that she had caused to fall in front of his eyes.

Her eyebrows were furrowed. "Luke?"

Asch's own eyes narrowed gently as he stared back.

She leaned back a little. "No…not Luke. But why…" she murmured.

Asch closed his green eyes as he stood up. "What, you're asking me questions now?"

"You look just like him. How…?"

"'It's none of your business,'" he stated sarcastically. It was more to get his point across than anything, but it seemed to work.

The replica clenched her teeth and glared, but there was something in her expression that told him she would finally cooperate to some level.

"Why did you run away from Baticul?" he asked again, his green eyes locking onto hers with more purpose this time. The answers were there, and he wanted to learn more.

"I just don't like it there," she muttered.

It was the second time that his heart thoroughly jumped into his throat. His Sin was scared of Baticul because of the fonic machines.

It was his first real curiosity…did she have memories?

"Why?" he probed, his interest increased tenfold.

She folded her arms in front of her and turned her head away. "It's just...a feeling."

'A feeling…?'

He shifted on his feet. "There has to be a reason."

The new replica lifted her orange gaze back to him. "No there isn't. I just don't like it."

He stared back, wanting to stay unconvinced and believe that there was something deeper…but the expression on her face told him that there wasn't. He had to accept it, there were simply feelings that caused her to not like it. It wasn't impossible.

"Now tell me why you look like Luke!" she demanded, her previous, softer, façade melting back into her hard one.

She immediately shifted away, but he sat down beside her regardless.

"No, he looks like me," he replied bluntly.

"What…so…he's your replica?"

Asch nodded, then paused, realizing that Luke wasn't quite a replica anymore…no more than he was even.

"Well, he used to be…" Asch tried to correct himself, keeping his eyes straight forward in thought. "He's not anymore…we're the same."

"You can't just not be a replica," she snapped, almost bitter. "That's not funny."

He closed his eyes tiredly. "I can't explain it to a person like you. It would take too long."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught a pained expression pass over her face, although it disappeared a moment later to be replaced with anger.

"You're just like the rest of them…!" she suddenly snarled. "You think you know everything!"

Surprised, he glanced at her. "Is that why you don't like your name?"

She flinched, a shocked sign of her own.

Sure he was on the right track, he continued. "Because everyone knew it before you did?"

Her hands clenched the sheets beneath her, and he was sure had she not been injured she would have probably taken off.

"That's…" she gritted out angrily through her teeth, "I should know my name first! It's mine! They can't just decide it for me! I won't accept that name!"

He proceeded to ask the next question as delicately as he could.

"So you know that you've lost your memory?"

The glare she turned on him was that of pure rage. "I didn't lose anything. I never had anything to start with, understand!?"

He lowered his head right in front of her and closed his eyes.

'So that's it then…' he thought blankly. 'It's all gone…'

He listened to her sigh. "On top of being irritating you're also…really strange…"

"I apologize…" he murmured. "We got off on the wrong foot."

It was the first time he heard her give a decent laugh, though he had to admit it sounded partly mocking, boyish and different all together.

"Literally…" she smirked, nudging the bucket of water to get her point across.

Asch lifted his head finally and gave a sad smile. She pulled her swollen foot from the warm water and pushed it his way with her other.

"I'm fine now. You can use it to wash your wound…" she winced, her orange eyes on his arm. "I don't want to catch a disease from you."

He actually laughed at that, unable to believe the words that turned into incredible irony that slipped from her mouth, without her even batting an eye. It was cruel…funny…but cruel none the less.

'So now I'm the one with the disease…' he mused. 'Small world.'

The former God-General knelt down on the floor and lowered his arm into the warm water, all the while trying to shake off the sting. He used his other hand to wash the water up his arm. The blood that removed itself was unnerving.

"You're doing it wrong…" the replica stated to him while eyeing his work.

"Are you serious…I only have one hand…"

The replica knelt down beside the bucket with him then, hastily rolling up her sleeves and pushing his other hand out of the way all in one movement. He could only stare, bewildered that the girl could show this compassion so quickly with her disdain for him so clearly stated.

She plunged her hands into the water to wet them, appearing to not care whether it splashed on the floor or not and began the steady, correct action of washing his wound. It wasn't exactly less painful, but it was more thorough…and he quickly saw all the smaller bits and pieces of debris that he would have missed now floating around in the water bucket.

"How do you know this?" he murmured, his green eyes drifting closed a little.

"A woman named Tear…she showed me a little…"

He nodded. "Baticul isn't that bad…you shouldn't be afraid."

She looked up suddenly, making him blink out of his comforted daze too in response. His eyes cleared to lock with hers.

"What?" he asked, wondering how he had managed to catch her off-guard with such a simple statement.

She furrowed her eyebrows and abruptly shook her head. "Oh…nothing." Her gaze lowered back down to look at the bucket.

Intrigued, he lowered his head to catch her eye again. "You can tell me."

"I said it's nothing. Forget it."

He managed to force himself to let the subject go, knowing full well that if he pushed her it probably wouldn't do anything besides make her angry again. So he settled back and let her wash his arm.

He took a deep breath to stop from wincing as she opened the wound wider and proceeded to pour more water deeper into it.

"Sorry…" she muttered. "I have to flush it out properly or you'll get an infection."

"Appreciated…"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Do you…do you live in Baticul?"

He leaned his good arm on his knee and looked out the window. "It's not my true home…but I suppose you could say that…"

She patted his arm dry with the end of the bed sheet, making him chuckle. She really was caring and inconsiderate all in one breath.

"So why aren't you there now…?" she asked. "I was there for a while…I didn't see you…"

His emotions dropped from content to saddened, with his thoughts being forced back so close to where it all ended, the whole reason he had left.

"I lost…someone precious to me."

Her orange eyes fell empathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that."

He gave a quick nod to thank her. "But it couldn't be helped."

"You…you say it like you watched it happen," she stated quietly as she stood up and walked over to the table where the bandages were laying in a roll.

He let his green eyes trail along her form as she picked it up. The longing feeling he felt in his gut turned into perhaps, the hardest of all expressions to keep off his face.

"Right in my arms…" he smiled sadly.

She glanced at him again but said no more, seeming to choose to let the silence comfort him.

The next few minutes remained quiet while she began to wrap his arm carefully as he sat on the bed. He watched her do it, impressed in seeing what she had learned in just a month.

"H-here…" she stuttered, extending the bandages towards him. He took them with a nod of thanks but placed the roll on the bed beside himself.

She raised her eyebrows. "You should really wrap that…" she tried to suggest, but he just shook his head. He was fine.

"I run all the way down the hall to get it and you don't even-" she began, but he cut her off with a sarcastic tone of his own.

"You can run it back if it makes you feel better…" he said as he picked up the roll of bandages and pretended to hand it to her. She scowled, but snatched it anyway.

"Fine. I'll do it."

He lifted his head in surprise. That was the last thing he was expecting her to say.

Not knowing what to respond with, he watched her kneel down in front if him, her eyes careful to stay away from his as she began to wrap the bandages around his torso.

He inwardly admitted that he liked it. He liked seeing that blush on her face.

"Does this seem familiar to you?" the former God-General asked the replica absentmindedly.

She leaned back on her heels and wiped a hand across her forehead, indicating that she was done. The edge of his mouth curled up, seeing the unknowingly copied action.

"No. Why?"

"Just a feeling."

"You're really weird…"

"You're going back to Baticul?" she asked the next morning as the cool wind blew around them and refreshed his thoughts.

He nodded and glanced back at the bustling town of Engeve. "I've been here a while."

The new Sin folded her arms behind her, but remained silent. He watched her orange eyes run along the edge of the town analytically, as if she was trying to assess what he thought was wrong with it.

The former God-General leaned against the carriage as he waited for the driver to prepare the beast to pull it.

"You should come back to Baticul as well."

Her somewhat thoughtful expression turned into a frown. "I left that place for a reason."

"What was that…?"

"I don't like it."

"That's not good enough," he stated.

"You seem to be under the impression that I care what you think."

Asch opened the carriage door. "Listen, I don't care what you do once you get there. Just go and let everyone know you're alright."

"You're going. You can tell them."

"It wouldn't stop them from worrying."

"Too bad."

Sighing, but at the same time, amused, he reached over and grabbed her arm. She scowled as he directed her into the carriage but didn't complain anymore about the subject. He climbed in after her and shut the door.

"I'm leaving once they see me…"

Asch sat down on the red seat a short distance away from the replica, not wanting to put her in an angry mood on the road trip.

"And where will you go?"

"Anywhere you can't," she muttered, placing her elbow on the armrest and glaring out the window.

He smirked out his own window. "That's rather impossible."

"Nothing's impossible…"

The former God-General let out a breath through his nose, a knowing expression on his face. "So I've heard."

The journey started quietly as the both of them sat on their sides of the carriage and watched out the window. He assumed she was just as tired as he was from the previous events, and he supposed from the stress of meeting each other. He didn't exactly wander into her life quietly.

But then again, neither did she. Perhaps that was why they clashed.

"Hey," she snapped suddenly. "How did you know I came from Baticul, anyway?"

Asch furrowed his eyebrows and slowly turned his gaze her way, realizing he had managed to run himself into quite a tight corner.

The replica's orange gaze drilled into him.

"I knew you were there…" he stated bluntly. "You said you didn't see me, but I saw you."

"Hmph….hard to believe…" the short haired girl murmured. Her eyebrows came together in thought. "I don't recall seeing you at all."

"It doesn't matter. I'm here now."

Her eye twitched. "Lucky me."

Asch shook his head and leaned back against the seat. "Listen, why don't we try to get along for now."

"You're not doing a very good job."

He closed his green eyes. "Alright, that's it. Stop the carriage," he called over the rumbling of the dirt road.

He watched her eyes go wide out of the corner of his vision. The carriage pulled to a slow stop. He opened the door and stepped down.

"Is something wrong, Sir?" the carriage driver asked nervously, wringing his hands in front of him.

"No," Asch responded. "We've just decided to walk from here."

"What!? You can't do that!" the new Sin snarled from behind him.

The former God-General glanced at her from over his shoulder. "A little fresh air will do you good."

"R-really Sir…it's not a problem to take you the rest of the way—" the driver began, until Asch cut him off by brushing by him with a polite shake of his head.

"Thank you for your offer, but we'll be walking from here. Keep the gald."

He gaped, but Asch kept walking. He knew she would follow. They were in the middle of nowhere.

"You're an absolute bastard…" she growled loudly, but he could hear her footsteps coming behind him. "This was a huge mistake!"

"You can sit there feeling sorry for yourself, or you can come with me. I'll leave it up to you."

He could hear her muttering to herself. "Murder…I'm going to murder him…!"

"Like I said," Asch called over his shoulder. "Let's try to get along, or this walk is going to take ten times as long. I'll make sure of it."

The girl's shoulders slumped, defeated. "You…of all people…you…."

He paused in his walking and waited for her to catch up. In a strange sense she was right. It was ironic the way she had run right into him, when all he was trying to do at that point was get as far away as possible. It was odd that his ambition had changed so suddenly. Suddenly he needed to protect her.

Asch raked a hand through his hair with a sigh, recalling that just the day before he had been desperate to have a new purpose. This wasn't exactly what he had had in mind though.

The replica's tone turned oddly nervous. "I'm scared to ask… but how long will it take to get to Baticul?"

Asch kept his green eyes forward. "Assuming you're going to cooperate, two days."

She didn't say anything, but he could feel the tenseness behind him.

Somewhat questioningly, he turned around to look at her.

Her orange eyes were down onto the forest floor, her black brows pulled together almost worriedly. Her hands were clutched somewhat strangely in front of her chest.

Obviously unaware that he had stopped walking, she bumped into him.

Asch lifted a brow, interested in her demeanor. She blinked and looked up.

"Don't tell me you're scared of me?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement anyway. It was partially sarcasm, but when he saw the shocked look on her face, it became more.

Her mouth pulled down. "I'm not scared of you, Asch."

"Then what's the problem…Sin?" he tacked on daringly at the end.

Outraged, she grabbed him "Stop saying that!"

All his previous anger and irritation started to rise up. Nothing of what had happened to either of them had been by any means fair, but the longer he was with her and the longer she denied what had been, the more frustrated he became. He meant to outrun his memories by covering them up with new experiences…a new purpose…but instead he got the exact opposite. His exact terror.

Denial all together.

"I'm not going to stop saying it!" he shouted, refraining from grabbing her in return although all he wanted to do was shake some sense into the girl. "It's your name!"

"No it's not!" she shouted back, shoving him back a few steps. "They chose it! They chose that damn name!"

"What, you think they pulled it out of thin air! Are you that naïve!?" he snapped.

She shoved him again, as if it was all she could think to do. He let himself continuously step back to match her.

"Who the hell are you to say who I am and who I'm not!? You don't know me!"

The replica shoved one last time, but his patience had finally run out and he grabbed her wrist and dragged her in close. Much closer than he knew she'd feel comfortable with. Her second of struggling ceased immediately, and her body went completely tense.

He bore his eyes into hers. Seconds of silence passed, and he knew she knew that he had something to say.

He whispered it. "I know that you like sweet things, and that you're frightened of fon machines…"

His hand came up then, although he was unsure of his own actions, and brushed the tips of his fingers along the side of her face.

"…And I know how you got this scar…"

Her breathing hitched, and her orange eyes went wide.

He leaned in close to her ear. "So…did you know these things?"

Biggest writers block chapter so far. Not because I had no ideas, I always have ideas…but then again, you have to piece together ideas with smaller ideas in between to get anywhere, and it's those smaller ideas that really irk me. Lmao. But I hope you liked the chapter. They're sure getting frustrated.

Kazink

(Review!)