FCL64: Chapter four? When did this happen?

Kiyoshi: Oh my god. Ayaka is a character created by the author, myself, and animegrlsteph.

FCL64: Chapter four? Kiyoshi! When was this written?

Kurama pov

I laughed, that's all. And now this little fox demon stands in front of me. Ayaka, she said her name was. She's young. Inexperienced, bordering on innocent. At least in comparison to the two of us. But like Kuronue said, she's got a quick eye and quick reflexes to go with it. Both important in our line of work.

I can see it in her eyes that she is uncomfortable with my scrutiny. But there's something else. "You're nervous," I say, "Yet you're calm and you feel…safe. Why is that?"

Now she simply looks alarmed. But she doesn't sound as alarmed as she appears, which is odd. "How can you tell?"

Kuronue grins, almost wickedly. "Kurama's a master at identifying and analyzing emotions. Could be one of the reasons he's so good at hiding them himself, when he wants to…" The last bit he says thoughtfully. At least as thoughtfully as Kuronue ever gets when no one is around but me. He already trusts her to some extent. And that could be promising or potentially life-threatening.

"Oh." She actually sounds as if she understands, at least a little bit.

"Are you going to answer my question?" I ask her.

"Nervous because you're criminals and the best of friends. How can I truly trust you at all? Calm because I feel safe. And I feel safe because of…" She stops. She's embarrassed of what she is going to say. "Your laugh," she finishes.

"My laugh?" I admit, not what I was expecting. Kuronue knows it too, if his face is any indication.

"It was truly happy. No trace of cruelty or evil."

Me, not cruel. She has much to learn. "Just because you can't hear a trace doesn't mean the evil and cruelty aren't there." Something glints at her waist.

"But it means it's not there at that moment. Meaning that the person has some good in them."

She has had more experience than I guessed. And she can effectively imitate emotions, if not hide them. She can put on an effective mask of surprise, at the very least. How interesting. First time in a long time I've been so inaccurate. Maybe it's because she's still so optimistic. "Interesting…" It's a solid gold locket with a large diamond set into the front and a sapphire of a similar size on the back.

The conversation begins to die, so Kuronue seizes the opportunity to give me a hard time. "Your laugh is what brought her to us. That makes this your fault."

"On the contrary," I say, "It is you who is to blame, since you are the one who made me laugh." He chuckles, as do I. Perhaps we do laugh to much. It brought this girl to us, but just as easily could have led a bounty hunter into our midst. Why on earth is the locket at her waist rather than around her neck? It would appear that it has more meaning than she wants to admit. She had it hidden even before she found out we are thieves.

"Don't even think about it," she warns me suddenly, "Either of you." Kuronue has noticed it too. What is it, I wonder?

I glance at Kuronue. "Quick to notice, quick to react, yet she doesn't miss the details."

"She'll fit right in." He rubs his thumb over that pendant in the almost religious manner he has. For a moment, Ayaka and I do not exist for him.

She notices the action too. "What is that?" she asks me.

By now Kuronue has returned to his senses. The look on his face says he'll let me answer, but the truth is not an answer I am allowed to give. "A pendant. That is all you need to know. If we can truly trust you, he might tell you. In time." It took him nearly a century to tell me.

She nods. "I won't ask again, and I will let it rest, provided…"

"Provided?" Kuronue asks skeptically. "You don't seem to be in a position to bargain, as you have a similar item you obviously want to keep just as secret."

"Provided I can go with you on your next raid."

Kuronue looks at me, and I see we've immediately reached the same conclusion. But let's let her worry over it for a moment. "I don't know…"

"Six eyes, six ears, six hands," Kuronue points out. "Six is better than four, Kurama."

"But running blindly into the clearing was not very intelligent. Perhaps two of each of those six would be a liability rather than asset." It has always amazed me how little we actually need to speak. That is one thing that makes our partnership work so well; no need to speak helps preserve the silence, which is often necessary.

"Observant eyes without missing details are never a liability."

"You guys are just playing mind games with me now," she mutters. "You've already made your decision; I just can't tell which decision you've made.

Kuronue chuckles. I join in and, soon, she can't resist; she begins laughing right along with us.

Foxgirl Ray: Well, in all technicalities, the entire story is dedicated to you (as well as all my other reviewers) but that won't be mentioned till the end. And that chapter was dedicated to ONLY you, so I guess that's exciting. I am glad you like my story that much (I, too, am hard to impress; very few stories would I ever say that about, which makes me even happier someone feels that way about mine). I hope you liked this flashback as much as the last and I am thrilled you like Ayaka so much. I hope you'll like the OCs I introduce in the next few chapters as well. As for Shiori discovering the truth... I had never even considered that, but it opens up so many more possibilities. Thanks for the idea; I will most definitely be thinking it over.

animegrlsteph: I am glad you like the way I portray her. She's actually one of the more difficult characters to write. If the name 'Aliah' or 'Alanna' ever appears where it appears Ayaka's name should be, let me know, okay? I caught that mistake in a different chapter the other day. Maybe having three main characters in different stories with names starting with A isn't such a good idea. I'm also glad you liked the flashback where they meet. Hope you enjoyed the continuation of that just as much.