Five
"WHAT IS THIS!? HACHIRO!"
Hikari bolted up off of the bed the second Hachiro came running inside. Samara had let out a loud piercing, mess of a scream, which had of course resulted in a commotion that had left Hikari a chance to move during the all of the noise and trouble.
She fell to the ground upon seeing a thick, muscled arm stretch itself out until it was a thin line, with fingers that snapped about, threatening to clasp her ankle, and never let go. She sat, with her hands over her head, body pressed low against the ground, bracing herself for the blow. Much to her relief, Samara's brother did not strike her.
He seemed to be ignoring her in truth. Hikari slowly lifted her gaze from the ground and watched in wonder as the man's ever changing fingers lightly stroked Samara's neck. His fingernails, although they did not look sharp, left little traces up and down whatever skin of her's showed, and thin trickles of blood fell in slow steady streams from tiny wounds.
They weren't large cuts, but there were many, and no matter the tininess of the scratches, Samara whimpered out in pain, and ran out clasping her arms and neck with shaking hands.
Hachiro fell back into his standard form. He was indeed handsome, but no matter how welcoming his eyes, how pleasing his smile, or how wonderful his confidence, Hikari wasn't drawn in. She didn't find herself wanting to hug the man before her, with his marble mint skin, and teasing smirk. She found herself desperately trying not to let tears fall as he stood, almost bored, before her.
He was wearing black pants that flared at the bottom, and clung a little too tightly to his waist. His shirt would have been a baggy mess of beige with ripped sleeves had he not tightened it with what looked to be a red ribbon. His feet were fastened in basic sandals, and he wore his headband loosely around his neck.
Hachiro sighed. "Now what are we gonna do with you?"
Hikari looked up at him, feeling brave. "I'm pretty sure 'we' left the building the second after you scratched her everywhere."
Hachiro moved forwards, in three quick steps he was seated on the cot. The simple excuse for a bed seemed to give under his weight, and in a moment the metal was squeaking, and the cot was on its way to the floor. With a small thud he made contact with the ground. "Samara is happy with life, Hikari. Do you know what that means?"
"I'm sure you're about to tell me."
"It means, although she is a little daft at times, she wants to survive. Do you know how one survives?"
Hikari matched him with a roll of her eyes. "By obeying you?"
"By being useful. Listen to me or not, I don't care. The second one is of no use, they're dead to me. Samara's fighting to be just that. Now let's discuss these scrolls. I'm sure you want to know what made her scream."