I'll say not that I'm not very happy at the travelling aspect of the chapter, I think I skipped over it way to fast- I expect I'll come back to it at a later date and add a bit more content to it. But, it will do for now.
This is where the X-Men reference shows itself. One of the scenes is inspired by the first movie too, and it isn't all that hard to spot. I just put my own twist on it.
Well, enjoy, and please review! Thanks to Ice Wolf and asher tye for their comments, they are most appreciated. :-)
Be warned, there is violence in this chapter.
Chapter 3: Sorry about the MessAmy couldn't sleep.
It wasn't because of the dirty room, or how uncomfortable her position was- no, it was because of the fox lying just a short distance away from her.
After their meeting in the alleyway, and the deal they had struck for him to escort them back to Knothole, the mercenary had been annoyed at the revelation of them having no where to stay. His abrupt attitude spoke volumes.
He'd led them quickly away from the warehouses beneath the darkening sky, going north to an area he called the Old Quarter. The only warning he had given them was to 'watch their step'- apparently, he saw no need in mentioning the attitude of the place. She, as well as Bunnie and Cream were shocked to say the least- the area was foul. She would rather be robotisized than live in a place like this.
The streets were dark due to how the buildings were so close together, and how they were built to be larger from the second floor up- the result was that they made dark, imposing shapes, beneath which in the shadows the cast were shifty looking characters.
Miles had walked between them with ease, having been down here for many years. People appeared to avoid him – as though they were intimidated by him – creating a bubble of safety for which the girls were more than grateful. They were beginning to understand why he was so resentful of them- Knothole was heaven compared to this!
Eventually, their guide turned into a large building and ascended two floors via an old rotting wooden stairwell. The three had followed him up and down a corridor until he stopped before a plain brown door. A key from his jacket pocket was inserted into the lock, presenting them with a dark, dank apartment room. Miles simply walked in as though there was nothing wrong with it, whereas Amy and Bunnie had found themselves holding back tears at his sheer acceptance of it all.
This was his apartment. This was his home. This was his life.
He'd immediately set about gathering a limited number of blankets, throwing them at the girls whilst keeping one for himself.
"Get some sleep, you'll need it in the morning," he had said before dropping unceremoniously onto what looked like an old and damp mattress. Once he had thrown his thin sheet around himself, he'd curled up and simply ignored them, leaving them to their own devices.
For a few moments, they had stood looking at him dumbly. Bunnie made the first move by placing a few of the blankets down on the floor, creating a mostly dry makeshift bed. Cream and Amy had soon joined in, and the three of them had gathered together on them for warmth.
And here she was, waiting to fall into unconsciousness. But she could not- for whenever she closed her eyes, she inevitably found them opening and focusing on the two tailed fox that barely seemed anything like the boy she had known, and had once called her best friend.
"Bunnie," she whispered, "are you awake?"
There was silence for a moment.
"Yeah," came a quiet and accented reply.
"I... I can't believe we found him."
"Me neither sugar... But he isn't how I expected, livin' in a place like this."
"When Princess Sally finds out, I think we can forget about an alliance with Chestnut."
"If she finds out. You know what Tails... Ah mean, Miles said- he doesn't want to see her. Sonic 'neither."
"But... That isn't fair on them. You know how they felt about him... he was like their kid."
"Yeah, but- well, look at this room Amy- he's been livin' here for who knows how long. We can't say that it's unfair to Sally-girl and Sugar-hog, 'cause it's been unfair to Tails to have to even sleep here. He ain't the kid we knew, and we can't take away his choices... If he wants to see them and stay in Knothole, then he'll have to decide that on his own."
Amy nodded, falling silent as she stroked Cream's head fur gently. The little girl seemed to be sleeping with ease. Eventually, she and Bunnie managed to join her.
But because he was lying with his back towards them, none of them noticed how Miles was very much awake. He'd heard the short conversation in its entirety.
Beneath the fur, his knuckles were white as he clawed at his blanket.
----------
"Amy? C'mon, ya need to get up."
Miles moved swiftly around the room whilst Bunnie attempted to wake the pink hedgehog up, collecting bits and pieces that he thought to be too valuable to leave. After all, he didn't plan to return here anytime soon- no, he would go west once this job was over. He'd be able to start again, in a town nicer than this where he would be able to get a decent job and earn a fair living. Plus, it would be away from Knothole.
He hoped, anyway.
A glance towards Bunnie showed that Amy was now awake also. Cream had been up as early as he, and had been doing her best to be helpful as he got his gear together. She hadn't actually been very helpful, but he appreciated the thought.
His supplies were limited, fitting into just one backpack. They consisted of maps (he had a good number of them charting a large chunk of northern Mobius, from his treasure hunting expeditions), some fruit from the pantry, bits of dried meat left over from the last trip out of Chestnut, a raincoat for bad weather (though he needed to get three more for his employers before they set off), a new compass, some flares, gloves, matches, and a first aid kit complete with bandages. He wore his grey jacket, and had stored all of his money securely in one of the pockets. No one would be touching it- not if they valued the use of their hand.
"We just have to stop by Rodney's before we go, you three might be needing some kind of waterproofs," he said gruffly.
"Ah uniforms will keep us dry if it rains, Miles," Bunnie said as Amy got to her feet and checked herself over.
"Do they have hoods?"
"Nah, but-"
"Then we'll get you raincoats. In my experience, when you don't want it to rain, it doesn't- it pours instead. I'm not going to take any risks here. If I'm going to get my pay, then I need to get you to Knothole safely. And that is exactly what I'm going to do, so please, do as I say."
The Freedom Fighter sighed and nodded in resignation.
"Good," he said, then directed his attention to Amy and Cream. "Ready?"
Amy nodded, still moving slowly due to having just awoken. Cream smiled at him.
"Okay. I just need to give the key back to the landlord."
"You aren't coming back?" Amy asked with a yawn.
"No. I'm not staying around to see the New Mobian Republic Formed. I'm not coming back to this hole," he said, looking around his living space with mild disgust. "Come on. Let's get moving. We'll get breakfast once we're out of here."
He gestured for the three to move to the door, going out after them. He didn't bother to lock the door, instead heading downstairs and posting the key through the letterbox on the landlord's rotting door. Then the four walked out into the streets, which were much lighter than they had been the night before. Miles led the girls between the houses quickly and efficiently, making his way towards the New Quarter and Rodney's shop as fast as he could manage without drawing attention to them.
Once they arrived there, he bought three raincoats and stuffed them into his backpack. He also got some dried food and nuts, as well as a canteen filled with drinking water. A brief scan of the contents of the bag was enough for him to decide that they were ready- he wasted no time in leading them away from Chestnut, throwing each of them an apple for breakfast only once they had cleared the area.
----------
They travelled directly north for three days, stopping occasionally for breaks. Yet Miles did not appear to share the girls' occasional exhaustion, causing them to wonder- how could a boy who had lived in the slums for ten years have such a high stamina?
Conversations with the guide were few and far between, as he was reluctant to get involved in such an activity in the wild. But Cream had a curiosity about the strange fox- so on the third day she decided to confront him with one of the things the Freedom Fighters had mentioned.
"Why are you a mercenary?" she asked, doing her best to keep up with Miles' swift pace. The fox looked at her out of the corner of his eye, a small smile briefly gracing his muzzle.
"It's the question of bread and cheese," he replied easily.
"...huh?"
"The outside world is very different from Knothole, kid. Out here, your survival relies on money. You need it to get food, it's that simple."
He uncomfortably adjusted his backpack before continuing.
"It's best to do what you're good at, because then you will make more money than if you were doing something you were bad at. I'm good at fighting and I have no allegiance, so I make a good mercenary. It isn't the prettiest job in the world, but it keeps me alive."
Cream frowned at him.
"But Aunt Bunnie and Miss Rose say that you couldn't be a good mercenary, because you don't have any weapons."
Miles' expression darkened, causing the young rabbit to question her choice of words.
"Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it isn't there," he said, eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead.
She thought it best not to ask him anything else, so returned to the two older girls behind him.
A few hours afterwards, they were walking in barren, rocky terrain. Not knowing where they were had Bunnie concerned, so she decided to make her voice heard.
"So what's the plan, Miles?"
"To get to the Great Forest as quickly as possible, what else?"
"Yeah, but the route we took down here didn't go through anyplace like this," she said whilst looking at the dusty ground.
"Well, you have some kind of radio on your uniforms, don't you?"
"Uh huh."
"Well, I'm guessing that you haven't used them to call for a pick-up because they're out of power."
That was partially correct. They were low on power, so they didn't have the range to call home- but even if they did have the ability, they would have hired him anyway in the attempt to bring him home.
"I'm planning on getting them charged so that you can let your friends know that you are on your way, so that if we are attacked they can come looking for us."
"Wha- attacked?" Amy said, jumping into the conversation.
"Well yeah," Miles said over his shoulder. He had not turned to look at them at all. "It's a possibility, I mean, that is why you hired me, isn't it? You aren't just trying to make me go into Knothole with you, you're expecting trouble, correct?"
There was silence. He stopped, and looked back at them.
"Oh bloody hell," he muttered as he realised that they did not expect an attack. "Okay ladies, this is what we're doing.
"We're heading for Oak. It's a small town, about a day south of the Great Forest, and I know a bar there that has a recharge unit that we can use. You can boost up the batteries on those fancy suits of yours, and then you should be able to call your friends and let them know where you are."
"Ah didn't know there was a town there, Mayor Raid never mentioned it," Bunnie interrupted with speculation.
"That's because he doesn't want you to know about it," Miles replied flatly as he began walking again.
"Huh? Now why should he want to do somethin' like that?"
The fox was silent, pondering how he should word it. He knew Oak very well. He didn't want to go there, but to do so would get rid of any chance that someone like, say, Sonic, would come looking for them in worry. He'd have to be careful how he worded it though- too honest, and they would never go there. Too nice, and the Freedom Fighters would let their guard down. Eventually, however, he said,
"If you thought the Old Quarter was bad, then you ain't seen nothing yet."
----------
The next day, they arrived.
"Alright, here we are. Welcome to Oak. Gangs, thugs, prostitutes and drugs a speciality. Watch yourselves- this place is a little rough. Remember, we are only here to charge your batteries. Nothing else. And I mean nothing, okay? No drinking, no shopping, no chatting- just straight in, and then straight back out. You get me?"
The girls nodded, looking at the town just thirty metres away in wonder. The place, by appearance, did not seem quite as bad as the Old Quarter in Chestnut- however, in Chestnut, the inhabitants did not all walk around with weapons in plain view. Also, the females did not wear clothing that was designed to appeal directly to any males in the vicinity.
"This is how things are going to work. I'm going in first. I'll head to the bar, where I will go in like any other patron, order a drink, then sit where there is a good view of the area. Five minutes after I have left you, you're going to follow me into the bar, ask whoever is behind the counter where the charger is, and then go to use it. Don't worry about where it is- I'll be able to see you, and I'll keep you covered. Got it?"
The girls nodded again, watching him carefully. Cream was getting worried at how serious he appeared.
"When going around, do not look at anyone. And I mean that- you do not focus your attention upon anyone except for the guy in the bar. This is not a nice place. If you look at anyone else for more than a moment, and they notice, they will either think that you a), want drugs, b), want a fight, or c), are offering them sex. People work in gangs around here- if you get into a situation, you will never have just one opponent.
"Look confident. Look calm. Look like you know what you are doing. Oh, and keep a hand near your blasters, but don't look like you have an itchy trigger finger. If anyone approaches you, you ignore them regardless of what they say or do. If they are persistent, let them see the Acorn Family Crest on those uniforms of yours. They probably won't come near you though, so don't worry- those suits are known by just about everyone. Only a gang member who is very brave, or very stupid, attacks a Freedom Fighter of Knothole."
He paused to make sure that they understood what he was trying to tell them. In this town, it was very easy to get yourself killed- and no one would care. It was the local law that only the strong survived. Chestnut had, in the past, attempted to take full control of the village but found it to be more trouble than it was worth. They left it alone now- it was safer.
He'd have avoided the place entirely, if he could. However, he couldn't deny the pressing need that he did not want to see Sonic or Sally, and to avoid them safely he had to let them know that their friends were on the way home safely. He didn't want to be caught by a search party.
Why Oak, though? Well, because it was the only town for miles that he knew had a compatible charge unit.
"The bar is called 'The Emerald'. You'll find it by following this street to the end," he said whilst pointing in the right direction, "and then turning left. It will be about fifty metres away on your right. When you see it, go straight there- do not dawdle, understand?"
When they nodded, he steeled himself to go through this town once more.
"Hey, Miles?" Amy said nervously.
He looked at her with a single eyebrow raised.
"Are you going to be okay on your own? If this place is as dangerous as you make it out to be then-"
"Don't worry about me," he said, cutting her off. "If anyone tries anything like they did the last time I was here, I'll be sure to show them why it's best for them to leave me alone."
"A gang attacked you?" Her eyes widened. "Might they attack again?"
Miles cracked his knuckles, as though he were illustrating something.
"Nah. I think I made my point." He paused. "I'll see you in the bar. Five minutes, any longer and I'll be right back out and looking for you. Oh, and one more thing- I don't care what you say in your transmission, but don't mention me.
"Here, take this."
He tossed his backpack to Bunnie.
"Remember, five minutes."
He turned away and headed into the town, keeping his eyes straight ahead of him and not looking back as Amy set up the digital timer on her left gauntlet.
----------
A mug of ale in his hand, Miles dropped down into a darkened booth in the corner of the bar, and waited.
It was not long before the three girls entered, moving as he had instructed. They made their way to the bar, spoke with the barman briefly, who gave them a blocky contraption with a pair of wires sticking out of one end.
It was then that things began to get out of hand, for Cream was becoming a bit too inquisitive, looking around at other patrons. It wasn't long before she caught the eye of a group of five hyenas, all dressed in similar leather jackets.
Miles swore under his breath, and hoped that they would not do anything rash.
Unfortunately, things did not go quite as well as he had hoped.
----------
"Back off laughing boy, or I'll give you a hole to match your mouth," Amy said threateningly whilst pointing her blaster at the large hyena who had moved up to them. The canine smirked at her.
"Aw, come on ma' dear, put down the gun. I ain't gonna hurt ya!"
"Well you're right about one thing. You aren't going to hurt me, nor my friends here, not if you value your life."
The ganger kept his grin, slowly moving away from her and towards four more of his kind. She watched for a moment, then holstered her weapon and looked to Bunnie.
The rabbit had plugged the two wires into the left wrist of her suit, and was adjusting the radio hurriedly whilst the energy was available.
"Hey, Rotor, ya there?" she said, speaking into the small microphone on the gauntlet.
There was static for a few moments, but suddenly a voice exploded from the nearby speaker.
"Bunnie, is that you?"
"Yeah, you betcha sugar!" she replied happily, pleased to hear a familiar voice. "We've just got the chance to call you to let ya know where we are."
"What happened? You should have been back here two days ago at the latest, Sally's worried sick!"
"Don't worry yourself, we're jus' fine. We got into a spot 'o trouble with the hover-car, but it's sorted now- we hired a guide to get us back safe 'n sound."
"Good, I'm glad to hear that you're okay. I'll pass it along so that the folks in charge hear. And a guide, huh? Who is it?"
Bunnie looked at Amy, who just looked right back.
"I don't care what he said, we have to let them know that we found him."
The rabbit nodded.
----------
From within the shadows in one corner of the bar, Miles watched the situation with growing concern.
The little girl, Cream, was getting into quite a spot. And it wasn't her fault either- the Freedom Fighters had obviously not noticed that the hyena was just one member of a group- the group which was watching the three girls with hungry eyes.
When they got up and began to walk towards Cream, he decided to make his move. Carefully he made his way towards them, idly brushing his knuckles as he did so.
----------
"C'mere girlie," the gang leader said as he grabbed Cream. She stumbled as he pulled her forward, and cowered at the manic gleam in his eyes and the tobacco stench of his breath.
Amy and Bunnie whipped away from the radio, looking up to see the gang bearing down on them. Both reached for their hand blasters, resting in their holsters on the right hip of the Knothole uniform. But they didn't quite make it in time, as two hyenas from the gang stepped before them, their own blasters already drawn and aimed. The girls froze.
A voice came from the radio,
"Bunnie? You there? Bun-"
but was cut off abruptly when one of the gangers pulled the plugs.
Cream began to panic when she saw the weapons pointed at her two friends. She felt utterly useless, until she remembered about their guide- he had said that he could fight, perhaps he would help!
It became clear that he had already answered her unspoken plea, however, as a new and quickly becoming familiar voice came from behind the hyena who had grabbed her.
----------
"Excuse me, sir, but can I ask why you are so desperate that you need to mug a child?"
Miles glared at the back of the hyena who all but ignored him, simply saying,
"Get lost boy, this ain't none of your business."
He could see Amy and Bunnie out of the corner of his eye, standing utterly still due to the blaster muzzles pointing at their faces. Making a mental note of where two of the gang members were, he ground his teeth together in frustration- this was not going to be pretty.
"I'm making it my business," he said.
The hyena looked to one of the members of his gang, nodding once, then pulled out and opened a flick-knife. Amy cried out despite the gun in front of her as the canine spun towards their guide. But he was ready.
Miles' left hand shot out past the hyena, grabbing his right arm and pulling, effectively forcing him to continue to spin. Caught off-balance, the gang leader could only stumble back at the quick and sharp push that the fox added, throwing his back up against the wall.
The hyena had murder in his eyes, until an orange furry fist moved up to a horizontal position near his face. With simply a pulse of thought, pair of blades – easily a foot long apiece – shot through Miles' fur from the spots between the far left and right knuckles with a explosive metallic hiss, fanning out very slightly to touch either side the hyena's neck. Then, from between the two centre knuckles, a third deadly sharp blade slowly advanced, only stopping when the tip touched his throat.
The girls watched the scene in shock, momentarily thinking that Miles had been injured- but they quickly realised that the blades, only very slightly curved, were a physical part of his body- he had absolute control over them. What was just as frightening though, was how his fist bled profusely from where they had emerged, as if they had torn clean through his skin to be revealed.
As bad a spot as this was, things quickly became a lot worse. The gang member who had been aiming at Amy stepped away from her and redirected his blaster to be touching Miles' temple.
"Step the hell away from him, freak!" the hyena ganger said in a nervous voice.
Miles resisted the urge to simply cut the bastard up right now, knowing that if he did he'd be gunned down before he could get out of the way. Besides, there was still another gang member with a gun pointed at Bunnie and Amy, his aim switching every few seconds. He'd have to be careful.
'C'mon Miles, you've got out of worse situations than this!' he thought. 'Even if you did lose part of your ear in the process...'
Slowly, ever so slowly, he moved his right arm away, though the centre blade moved to its full length as he did so. Then he turned to look at the ganger holding him at gunpoint, who gestured to the floor with his blaster. He complied, slowly kneeling down before him, then making to lie down on his front.
That was when he acted.
With incredible speed Miles' left arm positioned itself vertically over the hyena's foot, activating all three blades on that limb in the blink of an eye. They punched down through the foot and into the floor, causing his opponent to scream out in pain. But he didn't give him the opportunity to remain like that for long, as he leapt up, withdrawing the blades from the ground, and plunging his left set into the canine's belly. The right set, still extended, came up through the chin and into the brain, killing the ganger instantly.
With the body hanging from all six of his 'claws', he swung it round with all the ease of a rag-doll to form a shield against the next hyena, the one who had been until recently pointing his weapon at the Freedom Fighters. Seeing his friend being stabbed nine separate times and promptly killed in less than two seconds had caused the young member to turn and open fire at the fox, blowing holes into the back of his dead team-mate. Miles opted to give him a closer look at the body, dumping his shield by throwing it away from him and directly into the ganger, knocking him off his feet.
The gang leader had by now recovered and attempted to stab Miles in the back with his flick-knife, but the fox had felt the rush of air indicating movement and twisted his body so that the blade just missed him. In an answer to the attack, he made one full revolution by spinning on the ball of his foot, bringing the left set of blades to cut neatly across his opponent's neck. That same set then reversed their direction as he stopped, and punched into the leader's chest as the large hyena grasped at his slit throat.
His left blades still impaling his dying opponent, Miles leapt into the air to deliver a vicious kick to the fourth member's face, flooring him. Pulling the left blades from the now-dead leader allowed him to grab the flick-knife from the leader's limp hand, and the fox tossed it almost casually so that it made a fatal stab on the downed ganger.
The fifth charged at him with all the grace of a freight train, swinging a club wildly. Miles ducked, quickly thrusting both fists up once a swing had passed over. All six blades impaled the large hyena in the chest, and he used the momentum the bruiser had developed to throw him over his head as he rolled back and into the wall.
Miles was on his feet in an instant, his eyes flicking to his last target. The youngest ganger, the one who had been shooting at him, had untangled himself from his dead comrade. With a look of terror, the boy ran from the bar.
The mercenary watched him go, deciding that the fight was now over.
----------
The Freedom Fighters, with Cream now by their side, had watched Miles with a mixture of shock and horror. The two tailed fox stood in the centre of the where the carnage had taken place, looking around the room slowly as though he were using it to make a point. Eventually, his gaze settled upon his three employers, to whom he cocked his head slightly.
Cream was simply terrified. Amy felt sick when she saw the way that blood from the gang stained lines of his fur crimson. Bunnie felt like crying as she finally realised that this fox was not the Tails she had known.
He was a sight indeed- arms at his sides, he looked relaxed and ready to move at a moments notice. Much how, they realised, he appeared back in the alleyway a few days prior. Occasional dots of blood could be seen on his jacket, being more prominent on the pale fur on his face. His eyes were cold and hard, the cobalt blue orbs boring into them, giving the impression that just behind the mask of his indifference was a storm of activity.
Most disturbing of all, however, were the blades protruding from his hands. They were stained with blood, and it was clear that not all of it was from his defeated opponents as more ran freely from the gaps through which they had emerged.
With nothing more than a slight jerk of his arms, the total of six blades withdrew up through his fists and into their housing within his forearms, the only sound to accompany the movement being another metallic hiss. As soon as they had gone, he turned away from the stares of the Freedom Fighters and other bar patrons, making his way to the exit of the bar. Pausing briefly, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out one of the wads of money that Bunnie had handed to him back in Chestnut, throwing it casually to the bar owner at the counter.
"Sorry about the mess," he said, and was gone.
The girls stumbled after him, avoiding the blood on the floor.
----------
An hour later, Miles, Amy, Cream and Bunnie were jogging through the rocky terrain north of Oak. The group had been silent ever since leaving the town, partially due to necessity (Miles had declared that they should be as quiet as possible just in case anyone was following), and partially due to simply not knowing what to say. After all, it isn't an everyday occurrence that one sees someone ejecting blades out of their hands and using them to deadly effect.
After numerous concerned glances behind him at the youngest member of the group, for Cream was lagging behind, Miles broke the silence.
"We can rest here."
He stopped underneath one of the few trees in the area, gesturing for Bunnie to throw him back his backpack. She did so quickly.
"But... What about that gang? You said it yourself earlier, there were only five in the bar, and one of the got away," Amy said whilst neatly avoiding what had happened to the other four. "What if there were more? And what if they're following us?"
"There probably are more. But they won't be following us."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm an optimist," he said flatly.
Amy sighed as she watched him sit cross-legged near the tree, rummaging through his bag.
"Miles, that doesn't make me feel any better."
"Really?" he said in mock surprise. "Fair enough."
He produced a roll of bandages, and began to wind them around his left hand. The bleeding from between his knuckles had stopped already- quite a feat, considering what had happened to them. Neither of the Freedom Fighters knew what to make of it all, and Cream was too scared of the mercenary to go anywhere near him.
"Tails, sugar," Bunnie said, making use of his old nick-name in the hope that he would react well to it, "Tell us... What are those things? Why have you got knives in ya hands?"
"You mean these?" he said, balling his right hand into a fist. With a hiss, the three chrome blades punched back out through the skin between his knuckles. He lifted them up, moving them around so that they could be seen clearly.
The girls were silent, looking at them in shock. Abruptly, they snapped back into his arm, and he continued to bandage up his left hand.
"What... How?" Bunnie gasped.
He stopped, sighed, and closed his eyes. He said nothing for a long time, but eventually he summed it all up in one word.
"Robotnik."
Once more, they were at a loss for words. Annoyed by the uncomfortable silence, Miles reached into his backpack and produced four apples.
"Here," he said, throwing one to each member of the group and keeping one for himself. "Don't be scared of me. I've had them for at least nine years now, and I'm not about to lose control of them. Now, eat up. We'll rest here tonight."
The silence fell again, but Miles was too annoyed at life in general to bother to take it on again. And it remained unbroken too, until the sky had darkened to a deep black and the Freedom Fighters had fallen asleep beneath the tree. He had decided to stay awake as a lookout, and it was then that he saw Cream looking at him with a mixture of fear and wonder.
"What's up, kid?" he asked, keeping his voice low as to not wake the two older girls.
"Um... Thank you for protecting me, Mr. Prower," she said. He waved her comment off.
"Think nothing of it. I'm getting paid for it, remember?"
"Yeah, but... You coulda been killed."
"Heh. That's happened many times. Usually by thugs, but sometimes..." he shrugged, casting a casual glance over to the sleeping girls.
"Did... Did Aunt Bunnie and Miss Rose once try?" the girl asked, wide eyed.
"Yeah, kind of. Once. Well, they did there best not to actually kill me, but... sometimes I wish they had."
"Is that why you don't like them?"
"Nah. Not really. The reason that I don't like them is because I was your age when they allowed me to be put on trial for murder."
"So you are a murderer!"
He looked at her sharply at that comment, causing her to move back.
"No. I wasn't at the time. But now, I think I am, if you want to put it that way. I do kill- you saw me do it earlier today. I assure you though, I only do so when I can't see any alternative."
She looked at him warily.
"That gang?" he said. "You know that they would have killed you if given the chance, don't you?"
She nodded.
"Well then. If I'd let them go, then they would have just come after you later. At least this way, anyone else on their side will think twice about chasing after you."
The girl bowed her head.
"Listen kiddo," he said honestly, attempting to put genuine warmth into his tone of voice, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just doing my best to protect you, and do you know why?"
She shook her head, looking up at him.
"Because I want to. Because it's the right thing to do. As much as I dislike your companions, I'm not going to let an innocent little girl be hurt for something she didn't do, okay?"
He held his hand out to her, and smiled. She liked that smile- it was a nice smile.
"So, are you gonna accept me? Can I be your friend?"
Careful of his hand, for she knew that there were blades beneath the skin, she ran forward and hugged him. He chuckled.
"Alright, come on then, sit down."
They sat on the ground near the tree, both now acting as semi-distracted lookouts.
"So, Cream, come on- tell me about yourself. What's school like?"
She happily went on to tell him all about herself, which he found amusing and enjoyable. It was nice to hear about someone with such a nice and straightforward life, so unlike his.
He smiled softly he watched her talk herself off to sleep.