A few opening words: Alright, I can't really offer up an excuse for keeping you waiting so long. I guess it was a mix of relatives and writer's block. I have all these action scenes in my head, but it's the parts in between that get me, which also somewhat explains the shorter chapter this time. At least it's over 2000 words, which is the lower limit I set for myself.

I rented the movie Déjà Vu and loved it. I like that kind of thing, the story was full of mysteries, and even after watching it, it makes you think. I can now get into a conversation with someone and thoroughly confuse them more than twice as fast as normal. Score! Anyway, enjoy…

Sakaki hefted two large duffel bags on each shoulder, and a large backpack on her back. Chiyo carried only a smaller duffel bag. She had offered to take more, but Sakaki had refused. Chiyo held open the front door, and locked it after Sakaki was through. The two had come to a decision to hide out in the empty home not far away. They packed what they would need, though Sakaki would have to go out shopping for some clothes. They had non-perishable food, a pair of sleeping bags, a few large jugs of water, some toiletries, some magazines and books, and various other items, some essential, others for other reasons. Tadakichi, Chiyo's dog, followed beside them, Maya sitting contently on his back. They reached the front gate, and after hitting the button it slid open, closing again after they had passed through. Sakaki began to walk down the street, but stopped as Chiyo stared back at her home for a moment. Realizing Sakaki was waiting; she quickly turned and jogged to catch up.

As the pair passed by a black sedan, Sakaki stopped, and looked it over. Peering through the tinted windows, she nodded, as if coming to a conclusion.

"What's up, Sakaki-san?" Sakaki set the bags aside and pulled on the driver's side door handle. Glad that it was unlocked.

"This was that man's car. We can use it." She reached inside and pulled the trunk release. Chiyo shuffled over behind the car to put her bag in the trunk, but stopped short upon seeing into it.

"Whoa…"

"Chiyo-chan? What's wrong?" Sakaki slid out of the car and strode over to the rear of the car. Following Chiyo's gaze, she saw that the trunk was already full. Inside, in a very organized fashion, was a tremendous amount of guns and ammunition, most supported by foam or metal supports. Sakaki noticed and empty slot in the foam, and pulled the pistol out of the back of her pants. She put it back in its place. "Whoa is right." She looked over the arsenal, and pulled out a longer gun with a wide barrel. It was completely black. She looked it over, and brought it up to her shoulder, pointing it away from Chiyo. On the right side of the butt stock, there were 8 red cylinders in plastic slots, extra cartridges for the weapon. Sakaki knew it was a shotgun, she had seen them on the television before. She also knew it was devastating in close range. Sakaki returned the shotgun to its slot, and closed the trunk. "I guess we load the backseat then?"

The two girls were in high spirits as they unloaded the BMW's contents into the vacant house, which had a garage too. Sakaki had to vault the wall and break open the gate to get in, and Chiyo had to teach Sakaki how to use drive a car with manual transmission, but the two were otherwise unimpeded. Since they had a vehicle, they were able to pack nearly twice as much as they had originally planned. They now had somewhat comfortable bed mats, enough food to almost fill the house's cupboards, plates, cups, and cutlery, plus tons of clothes and other essentials. They also managed to fit in a few board games and books, and various items to occupy their free time.

Once they had all the stuff inside, Chiyo began organizing it all. The two girls weren't sure how long they'd have to live there, so Chiyo thought it would be nice to make the place as homey as possible. While the small girl was inside, Sakaki took the time to park the car in the garage. She took a look around, and found the garage had a sort of storage locker, though it was more of a shed, but inside. It was roughly 4 feet by 6. Sakaki opened the trunk and decided to look over her new found armory, unloading the guns into the storage room, which luckily had two rows of shelves too. There was the one shotgun, a pair of silenced pistols, one of which she had already used, a pair of SMGs, which read MP5 on the side in small font followed by a string of numbers, and lastly there was a larger rifle. It was fairly complex looking, and was about 2 feet long, with the handle and clip sticking out the bottom. There was a small scope on top, with a laser pointer built in, and the magazine was slightly curved forward, and had a second one attached to it, upside down, which she thought was for a quick reload. Upon further inspection, she found the butt stock could be folded in to store easier.

After arranging the weapons in the store room, Sakaki took a closer look at the trunk; it seemed almost too shallow for the car. After a quick search she found a small handle, and pulled. The whole bottom of the trunk lifted out, revealing another compartment with three stainless steel suitcases, two roughly one and a half feet by three, the other larger by about half a foot either way. All three were about 4 inches thick. Sakaki pulled all three out, and noticed that there was still more in the trunk. Reaching further in, she pulled out what seemed to be a bullet proof vest, but it had a ton of pouches and Velcro strips, for holding weapons and ammunition. It also had two holsters for the two pistols, one under each arm. With it, there was a pair of empty black duffel bags. She hung them with the vest on a hook in the storage room and brought the three suitcases around to the front of the car. Sakaki set one of the small ones on the hood, using it as a table. She flipped the two latches keeping it shut, and it sprang open. Inside, strapped to both sides, was ammunition. There were at least four boxes of shotgun shells, four full of bullets for the MP5s and four for the pistols. There was another three for the rifle. These were all strapped to the bottom, but the top was lined with magazines for the MP5s, pistols, and the rifle. She checked, and they were all full. Closing the case, she set it aside, grabbing the second smaller one. It flipped open just the same, but instead of being filled with ammunition, it contained various tools and attachments for the weapons. There was a pair of silencers for the NP5s, what looked like laser pointers, two butt stocks for the MP5s, a few different scopes for the rifle, and two 8 inch blades, obviously for use when combat was too close for guns.

Sakaki took out the two knives, which were both in sheaths, and pulled one out. The blade was slightly curved, with a serrated edge near the end, similar to a combat knife used by the military. Without paying attention, she began to spin it in her hand, and between her fingers. Without thinking, she twirled the knife around, the blade almost a blur. It was an odd feeling; her body seemed to just take over, the blade tracing lazy arcs in the air in front of her. Sakaki felt calm, almost at peace as she arced the blade faster and faster, a constant whistling reached her ears as the blade sliced through the air. She moved her body with the blade, as if she were dancing to an unknown beat, her partner the deadly edge of the knife. It seemed as if she could go on like this forever, until she heard a rustling by the door. In one smooth move she spun the blade around and sheathed it, placing it back in the suitcase. Turning to the door, Sakaki saw Chiyo standing there, her eyes wide in awe, clearly speechless. Sakaki looked at her, startled, fumbling for words in her mind. Finally, she gave up and simply shut the case. She set the smaller two in the storage room, closing the door behind her, and took the largest inside with her. Chiyo followed her in, still with the same look on her face.

Inside, Chiyo had set up the small foldable table. Luckily the place was carpeted, so it wasn't entirely uncomfortable to sit on the floor. Sakaki sat down, and Chiyo went into the kitchen, returning with a tray containing tea and some sushi. She set the suitcase aside, intending to look inside after eating. Chiyo sat down as well, and started on her food.

"What's in that case, Sakaki-san?"

"Not sure, probably more weapons or something."

"That man sure had a lot of weapons. What did he need them for I wonder?"

"He was probably one of the Grey Men's top assassins or something, which would explain all the equipment."

After a long silence, Chiyo spoke up again. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Do what?"

"What you were doing earlier, with the knife. I've never seen anything like that. It was amazing."

"I don't know, it was as if my body took over. Maybe I had martial arts training in the past or something. You'd probably know more than I do, I'm the one with the memory loss."

"Yeah. You were always the quiet one. I can't say I'm surprised though, you were always the best at sports and stuff."

Sakaki finished off the last of her food, and wiped her mouth. "That was very tasty, thank you." The small girl smiled, and began to clean up. "By the way, where did the animals go anyway?"

"They're in one of the bedrooms sleeping."

"I see. Well, what do you say we take a look inside this last suitcase?"

"Sure." Chiyo set down the tray, and kneeled beside Sakaki. Sakaki set the case on its side, and flipped the latches. It sprang open like the others, and inside was what looked like pieces to a rifle, but it wasn't put together. There was a long barrel, a large scope, a few magazines and a box of large bullets, and the main section of the gun.

"It looks like you have to put it together. Looks complicated."

"It's probably like this so you can carry it easier. Chiyo-chan, do you think you could put it together? You'd be better at this sort of thing than me, anyway."

"I doubt that, but sure. I always liked puzzles!"

"Great, just be careful with it. It is a weapon after all. I'll go and organize the storage room. I'll be back in a few minutes, and we can go shopping for more supplies." Sakaki wasn't sure whether the little girl heard her or not, as she was already engrossed in the many pieces of the rifle. Sakaki smiled, but she was also sad. Chiyo seemed so cheerful, despite what had happened, and what was probably going to happen. Looking back at the sight, she laughed. A 12 year old assembling a rifle. What an odd sight.

Author's Notes: I could've kept this going, but it would've taken a lot longer, so here you are. There will be more action soon enough. FYI, if you didn't catch it, the rifle I was trying to describe (not the one in the suitcase) was an M4, the tactical one that SWAT guys normally use. That kind of thing. And the suitcase rifle is one of those sniper rifles that can be disassembled, like the ones in James Bond, and other spy movies. That kind of thing. I figured Chiyo would be good at putting things together, so… Oh, on the subject of Chiyo, I couldn't remember what age she would be by now (after graduation), so I put 12. If she's older, let me know.

Also, is it just me or does the word foldable soud really wierd? Lets say it together, foldable. See what I mean? Almost as wierd/funny as periwinkle, but not quite. Anyway, till next time…

It won't be as long a wait, I swear!