Ayaka held Sakura in her lap. The four year old had woken up crying, but she didn't try to calm her baby sister down. She was just going through the motions. Sakura continued to cry as the van came to a stop, and the doors opened. There were plenty of people out there waiting for them, and a few rushed over.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"Me.." Rob said. "But I can take care of myself."

Ayaka rested her chin on top of Sakura's head, stroking the child's hair.

"C'mon, lets get out of here.." Watson got out as another person got in, and the boy walked to the door. "We have a spare room you can use..."

Ayaka looked over at her still sleeping brother. "Hiro, wake up." she whispered.

Her brother remained sound asleep, even when she tried rousing him with touch. "Should I carry him?"

"I can get him. Just give me a few minutes." Ayaka said.

Hiro roused slowly from his sleep and looked at Ayaka, looking around him in the van. ".. It wasn't a dream, was it... ?"

Ayaka touched his hair gently. "I'm too tired to think right now. We just need to go. I need to rest. Come on." She climbed slowly out of the van, shifting Sakura so that she was resting on her hip.

".. Ok.." He got out slowly behind her as Sakura clung to her leg. As she watched, the van drove off.. Then disappeared completely from sight.

Watson looked at her bowing his head. "I'm sorry.." he said before leaving.

Rob bowed as well, leading her towards one of the holes in the side of the hill. "I'm.. Sorry for your loss, as well.."

Ayaka's lips hardened into a thin line as she walked, taking her brother's hand. In her mind, she was already making plans. She would collect the insurance on the store and on her mother, empty her savings, and then she would move. Somewhere safe. Maybe Utah, or Colorado. Somewhere very far away.. Preferably away from everything. Maybe even somewhere even her father couldn't locate them.

Rob led her down into the hole, then opened a door about twenty feet down. "Here.. This will be your room, at least for tonight. It's small and you might have to share the bed though.."

"Mm." She walked into the room without looking at him.

***

Ayaka hung up the pay phone and started heading back to her room. The phone was apparently a fetish of some sort...whatever that meant.... Though it hadn't been explained to her exactly how it worked. "That all you needed ?" Rob asked with a smile.

"Yes. The investigation into Momma's death is almost done."

"I see.. I'm sorry about your mother.. But I could only grab one of you... I'll just go back to my room.." He smiled a little bit. "You know where to find me if you need anything."

"Mm." She just kept walking.

As Rob disappeared she found herself with a new companion : the red haired man that had been in her shop. "Hey, how are ya doing lass? I heard what happened, I'm sorry for yer loss."

"Please leave me alone."

"Why? I'm just tryin' to be friendly. I never did nothin' to you."

"I don't want to talk to anyone. Please leave me alone." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She was too tired. She hadn't been sleeping much.

"You were talkin' to the boy some.. Is there something botherin' you with the.. Stuff that had happened? I can be around for you to talk to if ya like.."

"I don't want to talk about it." she said, her voice still low.

"Well it don't do no one no good to keep emotions all bottled up inside, they just dig in deeper or explode later. We should know, you know."

Ayaka made a non-committal noise. She was too tired for this, and she didn't have her gun anymore. He lifted up a hand and placed it on her shoulder. "Listen, if ya ain't going to talk to me, talk to someone, alright?"

"Thank you."

"Huh? Thank you?"

"For not trying to do whatever it is you tried to do when you came into the shop." she took his hand off her shoulder and moved on.

"Well.. Uh, then I couldn't help myself.. I heard about ya and went to see, and well.." He coughed, turning almost as red as his hair. "But really, you need to do somethin'. Emotions run high in us. Ya could always talk to the boy."

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

"Then soon, alright? Take care of yourself.." He patted her shoulder before leaving her be.

Ayaka hurried back to her room. She had no wish to run into any more of them.

***

It was several days before someone decided to interpose themselves into Ayaka's mourning. She heard a quiet knocking on her door. The room was empty, save for herself Hiro was getting some lunch with Sakura. They wanted to give her the chance to sleep, since they had noticed that she had spent her days and nights awake, watching the door, or trying to heal the black wounds in their minds with her meager talents. "Who is it?"

"It's.. Me, can I come in?" It was Rob, and he sounded a bit worried.. Probably for her.

"Yes."

Rob opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him. He walked over to Ayaka and sighed, looking down at her. "You haven't been coming out much.."

"I have no reason to."

"Why not? How are you.. Doing? You don't look too good.."

"I just want to sleep."

He nodded his head a bit. "You've been sleeping all this time?"

"No."

"I could give you something for the pain or for sleep, if you want.."

"What is it?"

"Herbs, all natural. I figured you'd want it that way."

"Sure." Anything to kill the pain.

"Here.." Rob took a pouch out from his belt, and gave it to her. "What are you going to do?"

"As soon as the insurance clears, I'm leaving, and I'm taking Hiro and Sakura with me."

Rob shook his head, sighing then looking to her sadly. "Please don't leave, Ayaka.. I know you're feeling a lot now, but.."

"But I want to get as far from San Fran as I can."

"Yeah.. I know.. Because your mother and all the bad memories... Look.. If you leave and don't stay with some Werewolves.." Rob looked down at the floor. "The others. They'll get you, and your kin.."

"What others?"

"You know those wolves that broke into the apartment?"

"Yes."

"They are a fallen tribe of us. They were going to take you, and your kin, and use you to breed until you couldn't any longer.."

"Like your lots plans for us were much different?"

Rob shook his head. "We want more wolves because we *need* them.. We're dying.. But we'd not do what they would." Rob looked up to her. "Unlike us, if you told them no, they *wouldn't* care. No courting. No politeness. Nothing. They'd probably even laugh as they.."

"That. Is. Enough."

Rob blinked. "What? I just thought.. You should know."

"I don't need any more shit piled on me. I've got more than enough to give me nightmares for the rest of my life."

He nodded a little bit and sighed. "I'm sorry. I just know that you don't know things like this.. And if you don't know, it could put you and the kids at risk."

"It's a little late for that."

"... When your father came, they noticed the moon bridge being opened in the area. They don't know where we are.. But they knew something was going to happen nearby.."

"And they found us."

"Yeah.. I saw that you were in danger in my dreams.."

"Do you have visions often?"

"Sometimes.. It depends.. I'd had a little.." he coughed. "Peyote earlier, it helps to see things sometimes.. But I'm not a real big drug user. They weren't real sure it wasn't a 'pipe' dream, but when I said I was going whether alone or not, Watson and a few others were picked out of volunteers to go."

"I come from a part of town where opium is still sold openly in some apothecaries. Peyote does not surprise me."

He shook his head. "That stuff will really kill you. None of us do the opium, save maybe one or two smokers.. Drug use here is pretty much organic, natural stuff. Unrefined."

"Duly noted."

"That's not to say we're a bunch of druggies.. But out here.. There's not a whole lot to do.. You still going?"

"Nothing holding me here, and far too many memories in San Fran."

"We're not in San Fran, and if you go, they'll probably get you unless you just go to another Sept.. I don't like seeing those I take care of get hurt again, please, if your going to leave, at least go somewhere that you can be protected.."

"I don't want to talk about it. I want to go back to sleep."

"I'll leave you sleep if you want.. But you have to think about it.. For your own and the kid's sake.. I hope you sleep well."

"Doubtful."

"I know.. Try the pills. I hope you feel better." He offered a meager smile before getting up and turning to leave the room. Ayaka popped the pills into her mouth and swallowed. He left and closed the door as she felt quite tired, and was soon sound asleep.. For once, she even slept without dreams, blissfully unconscious.

***

Ayaka watched her sister sleep, her head resting on her hand. Sakura and Hiro were very much asleep... though neither slept without flinches or jerks at random moments. They probably had dreams like hers..

She reached out and smoothed some of Sakura's hair back. Three years from now, the child probably wouldn't remember what her mother looked like... but she'd remember how her mother died. Ayaka had no doubt about that. As would Hiro, though he might remember how she looked.. Where would they even be three years from now? Would Hiro change like Shinji had? He might.. Then her father would come again.. and he'd take her brother away from her. Just like he'd taken Shinji. Did the old bastard even care?

Probably not.. She never found any emotion on him that told he did.. At least some of the folks around did. Like Rob. And the red haired guy even did some things for her. Ayaka rolled over and stared at the ceiling. She couldn't stay. But she didn't have anywhere safe to go. That was sort of a conundrum. She'd have to make up her mind sooner or later.. If she stayed, maybe she could get better things.

But was she really any safer here? Was Hiro? Was Sakura?

The defenses around the place did suggest so.. And Rob did say they didn't know where they were.

But she didn't trust them. She couldn't bring herself to. Those old instincts that had kept the money from the shop in the family and out of the hands of the Tongs kept her from trusting them.

She'd just have to wait and see what happened.. Out of them all, Rob was probably the best of them. He hadn't hit on her a single time. He even had a 'vision' that saved her.. Though it could have been coincidence. She closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't need this in her life.

But like it or not, it was here.. And it wasn't going to go away.. This wasn't one of her dreams she could wake up from, as much as she wanted to.

Ayaka looked at Sakura again, then at Hiro. She didn't just have herself to worry about. They were more important. Rob had said at one point that if she did want to move.. they could move them to another Sept.. maybe somewhere else?

Somewhere else..... somewhere far away.

Maybe.. in Asia? Or Europe? There had to be many choices

Not Asia. Life for women in Asia was close to barbaric. She couldn't live like that, and she wouldn't make Sakura live like that. Europe was a bit more progressive though, as was America, and Canada.. But it just had to be a bit away from it all.

Maybe England. She'd always wanted to see England. There had to be something there. Maybe somewhere even in London?

Ayaka put an arm around Sakura and closed her eyes. She could always throw a dart at a globe or map if she wanted to find a place.. But for now... she needed to get what sleep she could between the nightmares.

The pills Rob gave her had helped.. Before she went, she'd definitely have to get more and learn how he made them. Maybe they could work even on Sakura and Hiro..