Happy 2 year anniversary to me! Here's an update for you all! Special thanks to ShadisticArchdevil/archangel/whateverhisnameis for helping proofread.

Chapter 4: Interesting Encounter

Void flipped a coin as she sat on a trash can outside the usual burned up diner. Just how long did Richie plan to keep her waiting? Sighing, she decided to head inside. As she hopped off the trash can and turned to head inside, she found herself inches from Aisha's smiling face. "Hi Void!" Void was convinced she jumped at least ten feet in the air from shock. "Jeez, how did you?" Void received a giggle in response. "Dance lessons, I'm very light on my feet!" Void facepalmed. This girl was annoying, and her excuses were almost just as bad. "Anyway, everyone's inside. Let's go." Aisha let out a loud "EH?!" as she took in the sorry state of the building. "D-do you really spend your days in this place?" Void scoffed as she turned towards the building and began walking. "We aren't all able to live in mansions, richie."

Aisha's presence was far from unnoticed, as she drew the eyes of everyone to her. Perhaps her choice to keep wearing her school uniform wasn't the best. A green haired girl sitting in the rafters looked down at her as she walked in. A red haired boy and white haired girl who had been in mid conversation stopped at turned to look at her from behind the counter. A black haired boy sitting at a nearby table eyed her from head to toe. The entire room was dead silent until the creaking of the steel door to the kitchen awoke her from her petrification. A blonde-haired boy looked at her with disinterest. "Void, who is this girl? She seems pretty well-off," he stated., clearly referring to her immaculate clothes.

"I-i'm Aisha. I met Void at the soup kitchen." Aisha said nervously, looking around the gray room. Was this really their base? Everything was burned, and there were brush marks from someone cleaning ash from the floor. A gray haze enveloped the room, making it seem as though there were no entrance or exit, a room separate from the world where these people could live safely, away from the judging eyes of the general populace.

The boy looked at Void, not her, clearly not interested. "Shall we go over the plans?" Void nodded quickly, eager to rid herself of her newly acquired luggage. As the two disappeared behind the door, which swung shut with a loud SLAM!, Aisha found herself standing alone in a room of strangers. The first to move was the tall man with black hair, who reached his hand out to just beyond her reach. "Name's Reck. If Void trusts you, i trust you." Aisha stared for a moment before quickly snapping back to her sense and stepping to forward, shaking his hand, noting his torn orange clothes, tied together with hastily done sewing. "I don't mind if you show up here," he said, before tightening his grip on her hand, "but hurt any of us and you're dead, richie." Aisha barely managed a weak, nervous smile. Was she really welcome here? Reck continued speaking. "That boy in the kitchen is Chase. Sneak's up there, in the rafters, and the two over there are Rune and Emi." Rune waved happily at her, and Emi stared blankly.

As Aisha turned to look at Sneak, she found that not only had the rafters been deserted, but there was no sign of the girl. Almost on cue, Aisha nearly jumped as she felt the back of her skirt being raised. "Mmm, kitty panties. How cute." Aisha whipped around to see Sneak smiling at her. The girl was wearing a torn up dress that was also hastily sewn in several areas. "D-do you mind?" AIsha said as she felt her face turn red. Sneak closed the distance between them, leaning over her. "Don't worry, I'm just admiring how cute you are." Reck sighed at Sneak's lack of taste, pulling her back a few feet. "You idiot, you don't even know if she's legal." Sneak pouted at him. "Aw, come on, she's so cute I could just snuggle with her!" Aisha slowly inched away from the two, moving towards the counter where Rune and Emi were watching. "so uh, Rune and Emi?" Rune nodded. "So, an academy student, huh?" The boy spoke quickly and excitedly. "What's it like? Are there lots of books? Do you learn alot? How's the food?" Aisha found herself wearing that nervous smile again. Rune picked this up, and rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "S-sorry, I'm just really interested in learning." Aisha blinked a few times. Nothing in this place made sense.

Hoping to find a more normal conversation from Emi, she turned to the girl and smiled. "So, how are you?" Emi responded by staring blankly. "Erm...is something bothering you?" Emi continued to stare at her before opening her mouth to respond. "I was appreciating the smell of your shampoo." Yep, she was surrounded by crazy people. At that moment, Void walked out of the kitchen. "Hey, richie, Chase wants to see you." She clearly wasn't focused on her, instead gesturing for the rest of the group to gather around. Aisha stepped into the kitchen, the large steel door closing her in with another loud slam. The haze was even stronger. Chase was leaning against an ash covered stove with various pages scattered about it. "So, you're the richie, eh?" Aisha sighed. Again with that name. "Yes, and my name is Aisha."

"You're richie until you prove yourself trustworthy."

"Erm….okay. So, what did you want me for?"

"I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Chase. Me and Void make up the brains of the group." The boy took off his glasses, wiping the ash off them with a rag. When he put them back on, ash had already begun to reaccumulate on the lenses. Aisha bowed her head politely, remembering her manners for the first time since she entered the building. "Nice to meet you." Chase looked her over, chuckling to himself a little as he looked over his papers. "w-what's so funny?" Aisha inquired. "Kitty panties? You seem far too old." Aisha felt her face turn red as a tomato when she realized he heard this. "B-be quiet!" Chase laughed again, louder this time. "Nah, relax. It's nothing to worry about, Sneak's just likes to memorize the looks of girls she thinks look cute. She won't do anything while you aren't looking." Aisha sighed with relief. So she wouldn't be random assaulted from behind.

As she opened her mouth to inquire about the others, the door swung open, and Reck leaned in. "Yo, Chase, we're heading out. Aisha, it's time for you to head home." Aisha nodded politely. "Okay, I have homework anyway." Everyone filed out, Aisha walking one way, everyone else the other way. Aisha turned her head to look at their retreating backs. For as weird as they were, they were alright. She would love to get to know them better.

And that's all! see you all next time!