Disclaimer: I still don't owe anything Metal Gear related, however, Haruna and Ai are my creations.

--

Snake looked up again. His eyes were sore, red, and he'd never been more tired in his entire life before. Sleep...yes, just sleep, and forget. Forget everything, the past, the future...and what was happening now.

"See? You can't protect anyone, not even yourself!"

"Liquid..." Snake uttered, throwing himself fully onto the ground, next to Meryl's body.

--

A pair of beautiful, purple eyes glanced outside of an old window. Restlessly. They moved back and forth from the different persons they spotted outside. And at the same time...they were hiding. She was hiding. She gasped deeply. The air inside that old building...it was so...humid, so hot...unbearable! She slammed her fist into the old wall, made of brown bricks. The skin between her knuckles burst, and blood trickled from her hand. Then, another female approached her. A worried look was in her bright eyes.

"Haruna, Ima demo iroiro aru kedo ne.Kimi ga ite boku ga iru sore dake sa sore ga...subete sa..." ("Haru-chan, a lot of things are still happening. You're alive and I'm alive, that's all...that's everything...")

She did not respond immediately to this. Her eyes were still stuck on looking at her fist, and she licked the blood away, making the other woman turn away.

Then, Haruna got up.

"Demo, doko made ikeba tadoritsuku no, Ai-chan!?" ("But, how far must I go until I arrive, Ai-chan!?")

Ai smiled secretly.

"Watashi wo shinjite ite. Sou bokutachi ga shinjiru nara...Bokutachi wa sou jiyuu de." ("Believe in me. If only we believe...We are free.")

The men outside started gathering. Somehow, they were multiplying by the second, as more and more of them started to. Both of the females realized this, and Ai aquired a worried look, while Haruna swiftly pulled out her katana, and made a dangerous looking pose with it.

"We better start talking english too, if we don't want to get caught."

Ai's beautiful face, now looked like a sheet. She was pale white, and she kept stuttering. "D-doushite??" ("w-why??")

"Because nearly no americans speak japanese, that's why."

"You know I am no the best for this...." Ai said, with a very tiny voice.

Haruna couldn't keep from laughing.

"Don't worry. You're doing ok."

Ai smiled. She relied a lot at Haruna for teaching her this, and getting the two of them safe and sound to America. Escaping from here, was dangerous; there were a price on their heads, and no one in Japan would hesitate to either kill, or turn them in. But, they were at large. For how long, however, time would show. They had different reasons to get away from Japan. As for Ai, she wanted to study abroad, and get an american boyfriend, and settle down in Los Angeles.

Haruna...she just hated it. Japan. It desguted her. Words such as Kunoichi's and ninja's, she wouldn't hear it, no more. She wanted to feel free, to feel like she could do whatever she desired. And maybe...just maybe, she would find...someone. A guy. If so, it would be her first. She'd never been with any man or boy before, and it was starting to bother her, since Ai could get anyone she wanted. She was so beautiful. Of course, Haruna knew that many women would give away half of their fortune to look like her, but yet...it was not quite the same as Ai. She had the beauty of a goddess.

But her heart was also more beautiful, which was something she admired much more, and found trust in.

She knew she could always trust Ai.

--

"Don't be afraid you go on living

because I have you

don't be afraid I'll hold you tightly

because, I won't let your hand slip by."

--

Author's note: The edited version of chapter 2...but let's call it a remake XD I hope you like it better...because I do XD Anyway, here's an early introduction to Haruna and Ai, and maybe it could give you some more hints to how they end up in America, and their relationship to each other.