Lucy's arm was draped over the shoulder of the stranger as they crawled along the sidewalk path. Giving half her weight to him, which was making it difficult for them to walk in a straight line, they stumbled to the side every few steps. Thankfully, the inhabitants of the city were still in their homes, leaving it deserted. This spared the two of them a very peculiar explanation as to why Lucy looked like she had just been in a brutal fight, and would no doubt cause them a great deal of trouble. As the pregnant silence between them grew, Lucy now turned her thoughts back to the battle at the beach with Bandoh. Turning it over again and again in her aching mind, she recognized several missed opportunities. Able to think now without the obtrusion of battle, she noticed many times when she had failed to use vectors to exploit an opening that could have ended the battle sooner, and probably with less injury on her part. She inwardly kicked herself. Bandoh was right, she had lost her edge. And however much she hated to admit it, that prospect bothered her strangely enough.

"What was that about back there," he asked cutting through the silence like a blade.

"Beats me," she answered untruthfully. She was afraid this question might come up and decided not to tell him more then he needed to know. The silence resumed itself, Lucy only opening her mouth to speak to guide him with directions. He moved with an odd swiftness, despite the extra strain of carrying Lucy. Almost as if he knew where he was going.

"So what's your name," he broke the silence again as the reached the tall granite steps.

"Lucy," she said dully, "And yours?" In actuality she didn't much care to know what his name was. She had only asked out of convention.

"Tomo."

Lucy's body went limp for a second, falling to her knees and dragging them both down slightly, Tomo using all his strength to keep himself and Lucy level. That name. It hit her with the monumental force of a freight train.

"Are you ok," the stranger asked, looking puzzled. She looked into his face, but it wasn't his face she saw. The ghostly apparition of a dark haired young boy appeared before her eyes, a jeering scowl glaring back at her. A face bound to taunt her for eternity. Shaking her vision free of the image, it was once again possessed by the man who had saved her at the beach, his lips curled in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," was her simple reply.

Kohta was starting to get worried that Lucy had not returned yet. The kitchen was abound with its usual clattering of sounds sound from rattling plates, running water, and the television turned on in the opposite room, currently turned onto the morning news discussing the death of a man found dead of an aneurysm two days earlier. Lucy had gotten up before any of them and left a note telling them she'd gone out for a walk. Normally, this wouldn't be cause for concern to Kohta, but something felt out of place. Lucy was prone to take long walks, but she always stayed close by the house. It was already past breakfast and she still had yet to return. It shouldn't take this long to walk around the block once or twice. The fact that Lucy almost never got up before the others only served to fuel his concern. Kohta tried telling himself he was just being paranoid, that Lucy could have only just left, but was unable to ignore the sinking feeling he had in the pit of his belly.

"Are you ok," Yuka asked, placing a stack of dirty dishes on the counter by the sink. Kohta had been starring dreamily into the plate he was still washing despite its perfect shine.

"I'm fine...it's just," he started, returning back to cleaning the new stack of plates Yuka had just brought him. He was unsure how to voice his concerns. "I'm just worried about Lucy. She hasn't come back yet," he said simply. Yuka's face contorted in what Kohta thought was a grimace before it retorted back to her motherly smile.

"I'm sure she's fine." She walked up beside Kohta and began assisting him by washing the pots and pans. The two stood side by side in silence. Only the scrubbing of the plates and the water from the faucet could be heard. When Yuka spoke again, Kohta could barely hear her as she talked barely above a whisper. Her face was sullen. "Hey Kohta," she paused. Kohta blushed, fearing he had an idea where this question would go.

Wanta began barking happily, signaling that someone was at the door. Kohta's spirits instantly lifted, knowing it had to be Lucy back from her stroll. Forgetting about the dishes and eager to avoid Yuka's question, he briskly walked for the door just as it was sliding open. That dog is better then a doorbell.

"Welcome back. Where'd you go off t-," he stopped mid breath. Before him was the sight of Lucy hanging off the shoulder of some boy he had never seen till this moment, her leg and head trickling steady drips of blood. Both Lucy and this boy looked extremely exhausted. There was a pause as Kohta tried to analyze what he was looking at.

"Um," the boy spoke, "A little help...please."

Kohta, Yuka, Nana, and Mayu all listened intently as the boy named Tomo recounted for them what happened while Lucy washed up in the bathroom and bandaged her wounds, having refused assistance from both Mayu and Yuka. Tomo took a sip from his cup of tea, which he willingly accepted, before returning to his story. According to him, he was walking by the shoreline when he heard some kind of commotion. Going down to investigate, he saw a bedeviled looking man attacking a pink haired girl. As he got closer to try and help he found a discarded gun. Assuming that it once belonged to the attacker, and hoping it still had some ammo, he picked it up and ran over to them. Without a thought in his head, he shot the man the moment he was close enough. Appearing to weak to walk home on her own, he offered to escort her and to help carry her. As he finished, they all continued to look at him, a stunned quiet between them and taking in everything he said.

"That's quite a hard story to swallow," Yuka said sounding unconvinced.

"Well that's what happened," Tomo retorted defensively.

"Could you describe the man who attacked her please," Kohta asked. Listening to Tomo describing the man with short brownish blonde hair, Kohta thought he sounded vaguely familiar. After all the details fell into place, comprehension hit Kohta as he slammed his clenched fist on the table. "Dammit, it was that soldier guy again! It has to be!" Kohta's anger dissipated through the atmosphere as the room fell uncomfortably silent.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking," Mayu asked tentatively, finally breaking the silence, "Why did you shot him? Couldn't you have stopped him without killing him?" Tomo lowered his head as though he was ashamed to look at them directly.

"I don't know," he said weakly, "Just instincts I guess. She was in danger so I just...did it."

"Where did you come from," Yuka questioned him, sounding more suspicious then intended. He didn't answer at first, instead continuing to look at the carpet, like he was weighing how much he should tell them. Lucy had strolled into the room unnoticed during the moments hesitation and sat down next to Kohta, a gauze pad taped to her head. After another moments quiet, he raised his gaze to them again.

"I've been on my own for a while now. When I was young my parents just abandoned me for some reason. I'm not sure why, but one day they just dropped me off in the woods and never came back."

"Why would they doing something like that," Mayu asked sympathetically, looking horror struck that someone would do something so cruel to a child.

Tomo shrugged. "I don't know. I had no other family and I wasn't going to stay at an orphanage. So I started walking. I've been traveling from town to town ever since. Staying here for a few days, scrounging up some food and other supplies I need to survive. Then I move on." He finished his story with an unusual calm and apathy.

"Doesn't that bother you," Yuka inquired. Tomo stroked his chin in deep thought, looking like he never even considered this before now.

"Not really. I was upset at first but," he pasued, "You get used to it." There was something tragic in that final statement he made. With a single motion, Kohta stood up, a fierce determination lining his face.

"Can I talk to you guys for a moment," he asked as he held the door handle. One by one the others got to their feet and followed Kohta out onto the landing of the staircase by the old clock, leaving Tomo in the dining room. Kohta waited to speak until they all huddled into a circle, the enclosed space keeping in their whispers.

"I think we should let him stay here."

"WHAT," Yuka yelled, or at least as loud as a whisper would permit to get her shock across. Everyone held equally stunned looks at his suggestion, all but Lucy, whose gaze was still held by the closed door. "Are you crazy," Yuka finished.

"Why not," Kohta whispered, surprised by her reaction.

"Kohta, we can't afford to have another person stay here." She said this apprehensively, as if she were trying to get a ignorant person to understand the situation. "We can barely afford all our expenses as it is." Everything, from the essentials of living to the luxuries of it, had been coming from the money Yuka's parents sent them monthly, and the money Kohta had inherited from his father. And the cost for five people and one pet living together was, needless to say, an expensive arrangement.

"Oh we should have enough," Kohta said hopefully, "And it's not like we don't have enough rooms. We still have that one room left we're not using." Yuka tried to speak, but was unable to find a retort to this. Her eyes looked defiant, but her body swayed in uncertainty. "What do you girls think," he asked looking at the others hoping for some support.

"I think we should let him stay," Mayu chimed in instantly after Kohta finished, "I mean...it's not like he has any place else to go right?" Neither Nana or Lucy looked eager to give their opinion, as Nana looked at the floor and Lucy had still to divert her eyes from the door.

"Well," Kohta prompted.

"I think so," Nana said, but didn't elaborate further. Everyone now looked to Lucy like hers was the deciding vote. She only looked back toward the dining room, unknowing or uncaring to everyone's stares. She finally turned her head to face the cramped group. Her face was the usual colorless, expressionless painting it had always been these days.

"Me too," she said unconvincingly. The clock ticked loudly beside them, counting the tension between the group. Yuka still did not look persuaded, her eyes looking skeptically into every ones faces.

"Come on. He did save Lucy after all," Kohta pushed. Yuka's eyes wavered as she breathed in a long breath and let it out slowly.

"Alright, alright," she finally said, raising her hands in consent. Kohta clapped his hands in finality, looking like a coach breaking up a team huddle. Then he lead them all single file back into the room where Tomo sat gazing into the emptiness of his tea cup. He didn't look up until they were all sitting back down. Kohta looked directly at him, a comforting smile starting to emerge.

"We want you to stay here with us," he said bluntly. Tomo starred perplexedly back at him. Kohta was enjoying his surprise reaction to their offer.

"I can't," Tomo said, getting up and trying to head for the door. Kohta got up and walked briskly over to grab his wrist before he could reach the handle, stepping over Yuka and Nana to get there. "I don't want to be any trouble," Tomo said before Kohta could speak.

"Don't worry," he assured him, "We have plenty of room."

"But we do have one condition," Yuka stood up and declared instantly after Kohta finished his sentence. "If you stay here, you have to help out with the house work. That's just the way we do things," she added with a motherly conclusiveness. Tomo was silent for a moment, contemplating this stipulation.

"Ok." Everyone around gave him a welcoming smile, Yuka's looking only half hearted and Lucy's even weaker.

"Alright, it's decided. Now lets get you set up," Kohta said, giving Tomo a friendly pat on the back.

Sitting up in his newly and simply furbished room, with only a small bed and a pile of clothes Kohta had lent him in the far corner, everyone else slept soundly as Tomo sat on the cushion of his bed, feeling immensely proud of himself. Everything was going so well at the moment. Not even a day had passed before he found Lucy and concocted a plan to obtain her. Then the next day he enacted his plan, which worked out perfectly as he had envisioned it. And now he sat here, in her house, everyone completely unaware of who he really was. Again, exactly as he had planned. He was particularly proud of the story he had fed them, all of its details which had been conjured up at that very moment they had asked him.

Such a heartfelt performance, the voice joked at him.

"I know," he joked back, "I should be an actor shouldn't I." Tomo imitated holding an invisible statue, putting own an overly expressive face of someone fraught with both extreme elation and emotion. "I'd like to thank the academy for this award. You like me. You really like me."

Now able to relax for a moment from his role playing, Tomo thought back to Lucy. All her features appeared as perfect and clear as a photo in his head as he worshipped her in every elegant detail that made her radiant. She surpassed everything he had thought she'd be. Even though she held herself back before, he could sense a power withering her. Sleeping. A vicious animal begging to be released from its cage. And she was even more attractive then he could ever have hoped. Her angelic looks made even more so by her tragic demeanor. She was like a mix between both demon and angel. The perfect combination of both power and loveliness. Tomo wished to keep this image in his mind all night, but the voice spoke again, Lucy vanishing into mist as it did so.

What is your plan now, it asked. Tomo hated the voice for interrupting him, but knew the question had its merit.

"I'll just sit back and wait. Observe them until I find someway to break them apart."

What is your meaning?

"It's obvious that they are all close to one another," Tomo explained, "The best way I see to get Lucy to come over to me," he paused to let the power of it sink in, "is to break the bonds that tie them together. Make them hate each other." Tomo loved the sneakiness and deception he would have to implore to achieve such a goal. Two-faced...perhaps. But they were only humans after all. Who cared what they felt or thought. And Number 7 was a factor he neither worried or cared about. Lucy, however, would surely understand him for his use of such methods.

Then she will freely come to you once you tell her what you are, the voice finished.

"Exactly." Crossing his legs comfortably and cupping his hands on his lap, Tomo closed his eyes and fell into a meditative trance.