In the confusion of the fire sprinklers and Yuki's fog, Miki and Beki heard the guards calling out to one another.

"We have to get that water off!" One of the guards yelled. From the fog, a figure started to take shape and Miki swore. Someone was heading right for the bar.

"Do you think he'll see us?" Beki asked.

"Of course he will." Miki dropped on her knees in front of Beki. "This is going to sound weird but reach down the back of my top." Beki hesitated, her hand hovering close enough to Miki's skin to feel the heat coming off her. She shook her head and stuck her hand down the back of the corset; they had come too far together for Beki to get weirded out now. At first Beki's fingers met with nothing but the curve of Miki's spine. A few inches down, Beki's hand bumped against a hard cylinder.

"Pull it out," Miki whispered. "Carefully."

Beki wrapped her fingers around the cylinder and felt the familiar sensation of leather wrapped wood. As she pulled on it, she heard a ripping sound. Miki didn't move, so Beki kept pulling until the weapon was fully extracted. It was a long sturdy knife; the duct tape Miki had been using to keep it in place still dangling from the blade.

"You've been running around with this taped to your back all night?!" Beki hissed as she handed Miki the handle. Miki shrugged. "There aren't many problems six inches of steel can't fix."

Her blade now accessible, Miki braced herself against the filthy floor with one hand and put her knife hand behind her back in a modified racer's starting position. "Get ready to fight."

Beki pressed her back against the bar behind her and crouched. The motion sent waves of pain over her entire body. All she could do was grit her teeth and bear the worst of it. Even though her ribs radiated pain at the slightest motion, at least Beki's head was clearing. The pain from her solar plexus had ebbed so Beki only had her injured ribs to worry about. She would let Miki take the lead on the guard and follow up for a finisher. At least Beki knew she could do that right.

The guard leapt over the bar and reached for one of the bottles of whiskey on the shelf. With the striking speed of a snake, Miki lunged and lashed out with the knife. The guard caught her wrist at the last second and he spun her, bodily tossing her right into Beki. He had twisted Miki's wrist, forcing her to drop the knife. He scooped it up as Miki scrambled back to her feet and threw the knife at her. Miki was left with no time to react and the blade cleaved across the inside of her thigh. Her fishnet stockings provided no protection from the attack and parted as readily as her flesh. Blood spurted from the wound as Miki let out a cry of pain. Beki had managed to get back up as Miki collapsed, applying pressure to the sanguine fountain spurting out from between her fingers.

That's arterial blood. As Beki stepped over Miki, an invisible timer began to run down for the Sound kunoichi. The guard saw Beki emerge from behind his attacker and responded by pulling the shelving down on them. Beki threw up her hands and caught it, taking the impact with her shoulders, and absorbing the shock of the blow to her knees as bottles and glasses rained down around her. Shards of glass nicked her skin as the alcohol splashed against the tiny cuts but Beki felt none of it. Digging deep down inside, Beki's adrenaline mixed with the seething anger she'd been carrying around all night in a crucible of self-preservation. With one mighty shove and an otherworldly cry of physical anguish, Beki shoved the shelving back up against the wall. Her skin was smoking and terrifying shapes like tortured souls swirled in shades of crimson and amber in the increasing glow radiating out from under her skin. The guard turned at the sound and stood frozen in disbelief at the sight of the demoness that had replaced the injured girl he had just tried to bury. The bottle of whiskey fell helplessly from his hands and shattered at his feet, covering him in a fine spray of high proof alcohol. The light started in her chest and worked its way outward, slowly engulfing her limbs in blazing tendrils and incinerating what was left of her dress. As Beki stormed towards him the guard pulled a knife but it was too late. The Maiden form had reached her toes, and the moment Beki's feet touched the alcohol pooling around him, the guard went up like a powder keg.

Beki heard the horrible, high pitched scream that only came from people as they burned alive. He raced further into the nightclub, towards the sprinklers and Yuki's fog, but the flames were undeterred. A series of pops caught Beki's attention. She turned and looked at the bar. The pool of alcohol around the guard had connected with the sea of spilled liquor from the fallen shelving just before he went up in flames. The inferno had followed the trail to the bar, swallowing it whole. Beki hadn't noticed the heat as it passed her legs in her Maiden state. She had been too focused on her prey; so focused she forgot her wounded ally behind the bar.

"Miki?!" Beki ran back over to the bar, the flames licking harmlessly at her ankles and knees. She leaned over the side, her heart sinking, convinced she would see Miki's still burning corpse. Where her friend had been laying was a wall of empty flames. Did she ragdoll in the explosion? Beki ran around to the other side of the bar with a glimmer of hope that although grievously injured and horribly scarred, Miki may still be alive. All she could see was the dazzling glitter of the broken glass all over the floor, reflecting the dancing flames behind her. As she searched, Beki noticed that the steady flow of sprinkler water had ebbed to a drizzle. She held out a hand and felt the last few drops of the sprinkler above her as the suppression system bottomed out.

"Over here,"

Beki turned and saw Miki leaning in front of a door marked "Staff". Other than the leg wound, Miki looked unharmed. "Thank God you're okay," Beki heaved a sigh, letting go of the fear that she may have burned her friend alive.

"Barely," Miki glowered. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I…I wasn't." Beki apologized. "I just went into full adrenaline mode." Miki stared her down, a coldness creeping into her green eyes. Her lips were tightly pressed together, which when combined with the paleness of her anemic flesh gave her the look of a statue.

"Whatever," Miki shook her head. "There isn't time to talk about this now. I need to do something out of my leg or this nightclub is going to be my pyre." She gestured to the injury. She had commandeered someone's purse strap as a makeshift tourniquet but the wound was still weeping. "I've lost a lot of blood. There's normally a good first aid kit around here; it might have wound seal powder in it. I need you to help me find it, then we can find you some clothes."

Beki followed her into the bleak, nondescript locker room. "Shouldn't it be out in the open, on a wall or something?"

"It should, yes," Miki sighed. "But I don't have that good of luck." She settled down on the bench along the wall and laid down. "Phew…you can power through a lot, but blood loss…You can't soldier on when you've lost a pint or two."

Beki felt around on the floor near the shelf Miki had pointed at. The staffroom was as dim as the rest of the nightclub and Beki hoped she wouldn't find anything sharp. Her hand bumped a box that rattled on contact. She fished it out, the sight of the red cross on the lid confirming its contents. "I found the kit."

"Wound seal, ASAP." Miki closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "Lizard skin wouldn't be so bad right now…"

"What?" Beki shot her a strange look as she searched the box.

"Nothing," Miki shook her head. "Just thinking I could use some augmentation right about now."

"Uh, Miki, bad news." Beki closed the first aid kid. "No wound seal."

"Shit." Miki sighed. "That leaves us only one option then. I need you to touch me."

Beki blinked in surprise, a slight flush creeping into her cheeks. "Um, I mean, I've always been the type to fulfill a final request but is that really how you want to go out? I'm not going to know what I'm doing with a girl-"

Miki wrinkled her nose. "No, you idiot! Put your burning hand on my wound and cauterize it!"

"OH." Beki laughed uncomfortably. "I guess I've been hanging around my mom too much. I just assumed-"

Miki took off the tourniquet and grabbed Beki by the hair. "Listen, naked tits. I'm going to die if you don't shut up and save my life!"

"Okay okay!" Beki stepped back and rubbed her hands together. "Come on come on come on- "

"HURRY DAMMIT!" Miki bit down on the leather purse strap tourniquet, completely unfazed by the fact it was covered in her own blood.

"Stop yelling at me!" Beki stormed, the fire inside her coming to life and illuminating the room.

Miki gave her an exasperated look and rolled her eyes as she leaned back on the bench, readying herself for the pain to come. Beki took a deep breath, leaned in, and pressed a searing hot hand to the inside of Miki's thigh. Miki screamed despite the strap and half sat up, gripping the sides of the bench to force herself to remain still. The acrid scent of burning flesh filled the room and her skin sizzled under Beki's fingers, the fishnet curling away from the heat and the dried blood flaking away like cinders. After a few moments, Miki started to slap at Beki's chest.

"Okay, you got it!" She squealed. "Stop!"

Beki pulled away her hand as Miki let out a string of curses. She collapsed back down on the bench, smoke rising from between her thighs.

"Did it work?" Beki asked timidly.

"I'm not bleeding anymore, but between that and the blood loss there's a good chance I'm going to slip into shock." Miki panted.

"How will I know if that happens?" Beki scratched self-consciously.

"Don't worry, the machines will tell you." Miki waved dismissively. "You'll hear an alarm- "

"Miki, what machines?" Beki raised an eyebrow.

Miki blinked, seeming incredibly confused. "What…?"

Beki went to run back out in the nightclub to grab her mother but remembered her nakedness. She fished through the lockers until she found a spare shirt one of the men had left there. He was much larger than Beki, so the button up shirt was long enough to be a dress on her. Beki ran out into the nightclub as she rolled up the sleeves on the shirt. "Mom?!" She cried out.

A moment later, a shape came barreling towards Beki out of the smoke. Yuki flew through the air and crashed into the table beside Beki. Her hair was fading from white back to black. She was covered in sweat, grime, and bruises. Yuki's clothes were torn and she was bleeding from a few cuts on her arms and legs. Yuki rolled her head to the side and looked at Beki. "What is it, sweetheart?" She said through ragged breaths.

"What happened?! You were winning a minute ago!" Beki looked into the smoke for possible attackers.

Yuki forced herself back up onto her feet. Somehow, she was still stable in the high heels. "Someone shut off the water and started a fire. There's no moisture in here, Beki. I'm running off my own steam and I've been fighting multiple enemies. I'm an assassin, not a tank. I can't handle this much sustain."

"Miki's in really bad shape." Beki looked towards the staff room. "I just closed a wound on her leg. She lost a lot of blood."

Yuki heaved a sigh. "Great. So I've got to hold out a while longer." She rolled her shoulders, which popped several times in protest. "Go grab your invalid Sound kunoichi and get the hell out of here. I'll catch up once its clear."

"Can you go on by yourself?" Beki surveyed her mother. She had never seen Yuki in such bad shape. Gone was Yuki's composure and cocky attitude. The woman looked like a wrung-out towel. "This isn't your way of sacrificing yourself, is it?"

Yuki looked at her daughter and shook her head with a small smile. "I'll be just fine. I can't play offense and defense at the same time, though. You and Miki are a liability to me. Grab her and get to safety so I can concentrate on finishing these bastards." Beki was uncertain, but as Yuki spoke a small spark of her usual confidence crept into her eyes. "It'll take much better men than this to defeat the Yukionna."

"Alright." Beki sighed. "If you say so." She watched her mother bound back into the smoke. I really hope you aren't lying, mom. I'm not ready to be an orphan again. Beki slipped into the staff room to find Miki sliding in and out of consciousness. "Okay, Miki, time to go." Beki gingerly picked her up and carried her bridal style out into the nightclub. The sounds of battle were still raging in the smoke, although it sounded like only a few shinobi were left. Beki slipped out the door without incident and headed for the stairwell.

"Wait," Miki grabbed her collar. "Down…we have to go down." Beki looked around the room. There was another stairwell in the corner, half concealed behind some crates. "Smuggling tunnel Nakano uses…"

Beki followed Miki's directions and cautiously descended the stairs. She found herself in a long cold tunnel hewed from the stone. A small dock with a lone row boat were at the end of the stairs, rocking gently in the water. Several crates and casks littered the space; the only organized area was a desk with a logbook at the end of the dock. Beki shrugged and walked towards the row boat. "I guess this is our ride."

Miki didn't protest as she was set in the small craft. There was a far off look in her eyes and she was shaking slightly. Beki went to unbutton her shirt to cover Miki with it but spotted a heavy coat slung over the desk chair. She grabbed the jacket and laid it over Miki gingerly. Her shaking didn't cease. "Hey, Miki?" Beki carefully climbed in the boat and sat on the bench looking down on her. "If we get out of this, could you teach me some medical ninjutsu? I really suck at it and somehow I always seem to need it."

"Sure…" Miki shuddered, her voice dreamy. "You have to start on body disposal, though. That's where everyone starts. You can't heal someone if the sight of their insides makes you puke…" Her voice trailed off and Beki heard her muttering something about a morgue and practicing on failed experiments. Miki's voice faded away. Beki's eyes turned to the stairs as she prayed that the next person to come down would be her mother.

…

The last ronin Yuki had to kill with a broken bottle. He had lost his weapon and his balance enough that he left an opening large enough for Yuki to exploit. The moment he fell and was no longer a threat, Yuki forgot about him. There was a bigger prize in the smoke.

Yasahiro emerged from the mire, spinning the short sword that was responsible for most of Yuki's cuts. She held out her hand and willed an ice spike to form. The air around her hand cooled, a small wispy strand of ice danced listlessly for a moment, then evaporated.

"Look at that," Yasahiro chuckled. "All out of ice, my sweet. After such a big show of power, too. If you had actually gone to the academy like a real shinobi, you would have learned not to burn through everything at the start."

Yuki licked her lips and his smile broadened. "Always so stubborn. Why don't you admit defeat and let me give you a hero's death? I'll make it quick and clean, just like I did for my brother. You'll be together again in hell, thick as thieves. Isn't that what you want, Yukihana?"

"I want you to shut that pretty little mouth of yours," Yuki scoffed. "You've always been in love with the sound of your own voice."

Yasahiro lunged, his sword at the ready. He was exhausted and that fact was reflected in his sloppy form. He swung wide as if it were a club. Yasahiro knew that his form was poor, but he was up against an unarmed opponent. Yuki was nothing without her ice powers.

As the attack approached, Yuki slipped back to her muscle memory from so many years of training with Seiichiro, dropping low beneath the swing. As soon as the blade passed over her head, Yuki pivoted and grabbed the side of his head and his sword arm. Before Yasahiro could react, Yuki opened her mouth. With the last of the moisture in her mouth, Yuki formed a set of sharp ice fangs and bit down into the soft flesh of his neck. He let out a cry of surprise as she tore the flesh away with her teeth. Blood spurted from the wound and he stumbled, feebly pressing his hand against his neck. Yasahiro looked at her as she spat out blood and meat, his eyes wide in surprise. He opened his mouth and his lips quivered. Before he could complete his thought, Yasahiro collapsed onto his knees and then crumpled into a lifeless heap on the floor.

It's over now, Seiichiro. Your death is avenged and our daughter is safe. Yuki reached down and fished in Yasahiro's pocket for the handkerchief he always kept on him. She wiped his blood from her chin and dropped it beside his body. Every cell of Yukihana's body felt like it had been squeezed dry. The fire was still burning merrily, which brightened the red vault considerably. She sloshed across the floor, her stilettos creating complicated ripples in the water as they bounced against bodies and debris. Yuki knew she should have been more alert, that enemies may still be in the wings. She was absolutely spent, however. A genin right out of the academy would be enough to finish her off but it didn't matter. Yuki's goal had been accomplished; everything else was icing on the cake.

The smoke floated out the door of the vault and up the ceiling of the stairwell. Yuki's vision cleared and breathing grew easier, but the tang of ash and blood still hung in her mouth. Too weak to search, Yuki closed her eyes and felt the world around her. She listened to the soft crackling of the fire, the dripping of the spent sprinklers, and through it all she heard running water. The sound echoed, as if in a cavern, and it sloshed against plinking metal. Then, so softly Yuki thought she had imagined it, she heard the mumble of her daughter's voice. Dragging her heels through the flood, Yuki headed for the sound. She found the hidden stairs in short order and descended them.

Beki let out a sigh of relief as Yuki came into view. "Thank God you're okay. I thought you took the hero's way out."

Yuki shook her head as she descended the steep metal stairs, rail in hand. Her heels caught from time to time in the grating, forcing her to pause and negotiate them out.

"Just leave them," Beki arched an eyebrow. "You're out of the club."

"I might have to walk into town," Yuki puffed as she finally reached the floor. "It'll look suspicious if I'm barefoot."

Beki gestured at Yuki's war-torn club attire. "Being barefoot is the least of your worries. You look like you just escaped a domestic assault." She reached up, carefully standing with one foot on the dock and one in the boat as Beki helped her mother into the craft. Yuki lost her balance and plopped down hard, Beki's quick seizing ahold of the dock railing the only thing keeping them from capsizing. A small amount of chilly water sloshed into the boat and stirred Miki. She moved aside in the bottom of the boat enough for Yuki to find a place to put her feet, then promptly lost consciousness. Beki looked expectantly at her mother whose tight face only responded with a small frown. "What?"

Beki gestured at the boat. "Well, you know…let's get going."

"Sweetheart," Yuki leaned back against the back wall of the craft. "I haven't had to fight like that since long before I went into the ice. I…I'm spent. And your friend here- "Yuki nudged Miki with her foot, accidentally catching her breast. "No way." She leaned forward and squeezed Miki's breast.

"What the hell, mom?!" Beki swatted her away, rocking the boat dangerously. "She's unconscious!"

"I know, but come on! They're real!" Yuki gestured to Miki's form. "Feel them! I am so unbelievably jealous right now!"

Beki rolled her eyes and took up the oars. "I guess we can't expect Miki to pitch in considering how many pints of blood she's lost. Just…try not to molest her, please."

"Do you know what I could have done with breasts like that? You wouldn't be the daughter of an ambassador. Your daddy would have been the king!" Yuki scoffed. "I mean, I guess it wouldn't have been fair for me to be tall, gorgeous, and have an out of this world rack."

Beki puffed. "Can you not break my concentration? I'm tired too."

"Look at those shoulders. All that kanabo practice-this is what you were made for, Beks." Yuki reached into the pocket of her skirt and fished out a pack of soldier pills. She popped open the container, held it above her head, and rained them down into her mouth like candy.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Beki's eyes widened.

Yuki gave her a confused look. "What do you think? I'm running on fumes here. If anyone tries to attack us I've got to have enough in the tank to respond."

"You can't just guzzle those!" Beki shook her head. "You hog down too many of those and your heart will leap right out of your chest!"

Yuki paused and considered the container. "They used to tell us to pop one of these whenever we needed to." She shrugged. "They haven't killed me yet," She chuckled as she downed a few more.

"They'll make you fat." Beki looked away as she said it, her voice in a mocking sing song.

Yuki let out a small gasp and clamped the container shut. "They didn't tell us that either!"

Beki sighed. "Where are we going?"

Yuki considered the cavern. "This probably leads to the outskirts of town. We'll need to sneak back in to get some supplies," Yuki ticked off the items on her shaking fingers. "Clothes for you, medicine for Tits here, and rations for the return trip home."

"You'll go into town and I'll watch Miki?" Beki cocked her head and Yuki nodded.

"I'm not too worried about her kidnapping you or anything with that leg wound." Yuki wrinkled her nose. "What is that smell?"

"Burning flesh," Beki laughed uncomfortably. "I uh…I cauterized the wound."

Yuki blinked. "Good thinking."

"It was her idea," Beki shrugged. "I was too busy losing it because I had almost burned her to death."

Yuki scratched her chin thoughtfully, black hair clinging to her sweaty face. "When the Maidens come out, there's collateral damage. Always has been."

Silence fell over the group as they exited the cavern into the night. Smoke from the burning nightclub cast the sky in a gray haze, fogging out the moon and stars. The night had a yellow hue to it from the glow of the blaze reflecting off the low hanging smoke. Yuki closed her eyes and tried to recover some of her strength for the task ahead to the sound of Beki's rhythmic rowing. After a while, Beki found a copse of tall rushes to park the rowboat in. The soft thud of the boat grinding onto solid ground roused Yukihana. She opened her eyes, shook her head, and let out a sigh. "Okay. I'm going to head into town and see what I can get us at…." She squinted out at the horizon. "Five in the morning?"

Beki shrugged. "Good luck. What's the backup plan?"

Yuki climbed out of the boat, carefully avoiding getting her shoes covered in mud. "If I'm not back here in the next two hours, take Tits and get out of town. Find her some medical attention and send a hawk to Ishida to charter an escort for you back to Konoha." She grinned weakly. "Not that I'm going to fail."

"Never." Beki smiled back as she watched her mother disappear into the reeds. As her footsteps faded, Beki was left alone with the soft sloshing of the water and the whispering of the reeds for company. It was unsettling despite the soothing sounds and rocking of the boat. She was in a strange town, physically spent, and probably being pursued by ronin. One of which was lying unconscious in her boat. A tiny voice in the back of Beki's mind told her to follow her mother, her source of safety. Her hiding place was not good enough, any moment burly guards bloody from the fight would come exploding through the grass with murderous intent. Beki bounced a knee to release some of her nervous energy, unconsciously stirring Miki back to reality.

Miki rose slowly, a fuzzy half-asleep expression on her face. She considered Beki, then their surroundings, and the light slowly came back into her eyes. "We made it."

Beki nodded. "Mom's in town getting us supplies."

Miki nodded, wincing as she adjusted. "I'll need them." She looked around. "This is our best hiding spot?"

"There's no cover or higher ground. The reeds are our best bet to stay concealed till she gets back." Beki puffed up her cheeks and exhaled. "I don't like it either, but it's what we've got."

Miki shrugged. "I've had worse." She adjusted in the boat so her injured leg was elevated up on the side. The coat Beki had covered her with became her blanket as Miki shivered in the early morning, a chilly breeze coming off the water. Miki ventured a hand out from under the jacket to take out her hair claw and shake out her long wine-colored locks. She ran her fingers through the tangles as Beki watched. Beki raised a hand to her own hair, which had collapsed during the chaos of the night's events. The strands crinkled in her hands like foil, the layers of hairspray giving it the texture of dry straw. "Do you think this water is super gross?"

Miki cocked her head so she could see down into the river. "Doesn't look so bad. You aren't going to wash your hair out here when its so cold out, are you?"

"I've got a built in drying system," Beki grinned sheepishly as she leaned over the side of the boat. Her weighed-down platinum hair fell into the water like a brick. Beki watched as it slowly released from its artificial clumps, the gentle current carrying away the cloudy residue of the leftover glitter and hairspray. She worked her mane with her fingers until it felt like normal hair again, then wrung it out over the water. While it was still soaking wet, Beki weaved it into her usual braid and started the process of heating herself up. Outside of battle, that usually included remembering something embarrassing or infuriating. Beki glanced at Miki, who was casting her a look like Beki had asked to cop a feel. She then remembered how minutes before her mother had done just that, without the asking part. Or the Miki being conscious part. Within seconds, Beki was hot enough to hear her hair sizzling as the flush crept into her cheeks.

"We need to talk." Miki's voice had an unusual authority to it, its friendly tone completely absent.

"About what?" Beki tugged at her braid self-consciously. Was she conscious when mom grabbed her boob? Or is this going to be about the whole almost burned her alive thing?

Miki took a deep breath and held it for a moment as if searching for the right words to say. "You need to be really careful with that firepower, Beki."

It's the almost burned her alive thing. "I am really sorry about that whole bar thing; when the Maiden gets triggered its usually when I'm under a lot of distress and- "

"I don't care," Miki waved away Beki's excuses like flies. "I've had much worse done to me, believe me. That power is new to you and you act like it. You let it consume you, grab ahold of the reigns and drive you wherever it wants to go. Do you know how much of that I see in the Sound Village? How many not so bad people suddenly get incredible power and turn into colossal, selfish assholes? That's at least 30% of the village."

"What about the other 70%?" Beki cocked an eyebrow.

"They were assholes already." Miki shifted under the blankets. "Power like that eats you up inside, so you're left with this hole where something used to be. People don't do well with holes on the inside, Beki. If you suffer a loss, physical or metaphorical, you try to fill it."

Beki thought of her mother. "Like drinking a lot or smoking?"

"If only. My experience is that the hole feels like a vulnerability, which in turn makes people seek more power. They throw more of themselves away trying to stuff something in that hole they made in the first place." Miki explained.

"So, you're worried I'm going to get carried away and really hurt someone," Beki sighed.

"No," Miki let out a small, humorless laugh. "People get hurt all the time on accident, powers or no. I'm worried you're going to hurt people and not care."

It was Beki's turn to shuffle uncomfortably. As much as she wanted to claim that wasn't possible, she remembered not caring at all about Miki. All she wanted was to lash out, kill their assailant at any cost. "But…how do I do that?"

"Don't let it control you. You're using the power, its not using you." Miki shuddered. "I hope your mom brings us coffee or something. I've got nipsickles."

Beki stifled a laugh. They were still technically supposed to be "hiding". "If she thought to get us coffee, she probably drank all but like, three sips."

Miki rolled her eyes. "I hate that. My boyfriend does that all the time. He's such a cocky bastard he'll rip something out of my hand en route to my mouth and scarf it down."

Beki's eyes widened along with Miki's grin. "How do you put up with that?"

"He's Orochimaru's right hand man," Miki blinked. "I haven't mentioned that before, have I?"

"Uh, no?!" Beki balked. "That seems like that should have come up before!"

"I guess half the time we've been together I might have been trying to abduct you, so that's fair."Miki shrugged. "My bad." A strange look came over her face and she let out a sigh of frustration. She looked at the hand shaped mark on the inside of her thigh and swore.

"What, is it opening up again?" Beki leaned in closer to steal a look.

"No," Miki sighed. "I'm just going to have to think of how the hell I'm going to explain this to my boyfriend."

"There was a metal statue that was on fire. You fell on it!" Beki suggested.

Miki threw her an annoyed glance. "With my crotch?"

"Fair point." Beki bit her lip. "I mean, is he the kind of guy that might let it slide if you were fooling around with a girl?"

Miki paused. "Maybe, but we aren't talking about a suspicious bite mark here. It's a damned handprint shaped burn!"

Beki threw up her hands. "My job was to cauterize your wound, not provide an alibi."