Oliver felt his stomach drop at the sound of a voice behind him. It took every ounce of control he had for him to turn around in a composed manner and face the individual that had found him sneaking around. When he saw the man that had discovered him, he nearly dropped the pile of clothing he was still holding.

The man was tall; incredibly tall. Oliver couldn't help but feel dwarfed by this giant of a man who was staring down at him with suspicion clear on his face. His harsh brown eyes and slicked back brown hair didn't give Oliver any form of comfort either. As he continued to stare, Oliver tried to will his voice to work, but in the face of the man disapproval, excuses seemed impossible to produce.

"Well? Who exactly are you?" The man repeated in a deep booming voice that seemed to shake Oliver to his very core.

"Who are you talking to over there Al?"

A softer, feminine voice broke the tension as Oliver turned his head to look at this new, and somehow oddly welcome, intruder. He saw a woman with blonde hair that fell in ringlets around her shoulders walking towards them with a puzzled look on her face. As she got closer, Oliver could see that she wore several expensive jewelry pieces that clanked against one another slightly as she walked. Oliver instantly decided that she was far less dangerous looking than the man.

"I'm talking to this kid," The man, who Oliver had learned was named Al, responded as he gestured in Oliver's general direction.

"Oh, how did you get in here?" The woman asked as she approached Oliver. She was smiling, but he wasn't quite ready to trust her yet. When she reached where Oliver was standing, she knelt down so the two of them were at eye level before she continued speaking.

"Are you with the choir? You're wearing one of their uniforms so you must be."

Oliver gave no response. Instead he searched the woman's large blue eyes in the same way he could tell she was searching his golden one's. He couldn't help but wonder what she found within his eyes.

"Do you…not understand me?" She said after, Oliver assumed, she had finished her searching, "Well, my mastery of your language isn't perfect, but let's see…." The woman than proceeded to spew out a string of sounds that only caused Oliver to stare at her blankly in confusion.

"No good?" She said, switching back to a language Oliver could understand, "That's too bad. I thought if we could talk to you we could figure out where you need to go. Oh, I know!" She said as she stood up to her fell height, "We'll just talk with the choir master."

Oliver had no idea who this "choir master" was, but he gathered from the conversation that if he was called, he would be quickly found out.

"Please don't call him!" He blurted out before he really gave himself time to lay out any sort of cohesive plan.

Both the man and woman froze and turned to look at him. Oliver felt his tongue die in his throat as the two of them stared at him. The woman gave a slight frown as she placed her hands on her hips.

"So you could understand me this entire time," She said as her frown deepened slightly, "Why didn't you say so before?"

"I…I was just nervous. I didn't want to mess up your language," Oliver lied easily as he regained his voice. If he was lucky enough, the woman would believe him.

"Well if what you just said is any indication you don't have anything to worry about. I couldn't even sense a hint of an accent; it's almost as good as a native speaker," The woman said as her face once more broke into a gentle smile.

"Thank you very much."

"But now that I know you can understand me, I do have one question. Why exactly are you carrying around a pile of clothing?" She punctuated her question by indicating the clothing Oliver still held tightly to his chest.

Oliver's mind flew into a panic. What was the right answer? What answer would keep him safe so he could get back to Yuki and Ryuto?

"I was just-"

"He was obviously stealing them."

Oliver felt all color rush from his face as he turned once more to look at the tall man who was still staring at him. His exact expression was impossible to read, but Oliver didn't glean any measure of comfort from the impassive, stone like face.

"…Is that true?" The woman asked as she searched Oliver's face, "Did you steal those clothes?"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Oliver instinctively sprang away from the door at the sharp sound of knocking behind his back. He dropped the clothes he was carrying and crouched into a defensive position. He had been saved from answering the accusations that he had been stealing, but Oliver knew he was far from safe at this point.

"Excuse me, Mr. Al, Miss. Ann," A voice called from the other side of the door, "Are you in there? The pastor would like to speak with you about your performance tonight at the Christmas Eve service."

Oliver could feel the eyes of both Al and the woman, who was apparently named Ann, fixated on him. He knew the same thought was running through both of their heads.

What were they to do with the little boy that had stolen from the church?

The silence hung heavy as all three waited for someone else to make the first move. After a few seconds more, Oliver watched as Al caught Ann's eyes and gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head which Ann returned without hesitation.

What are they planning? Oliver thought worriedly as his golden eyes flickered from one person to the other.

Without a word or gesture more from either Al or Ann, Al headed towards the door and Oliver felt himself tense in response. He was going to turn him in; he was going to ruin everything and Ryuto and Yuki would be forced to fend for themselves.

I'm not going to let that happen, Oliver thought as he gritted his teeth and as he crouched down slightly and prepared himself to fight with everything he had.

But to Oliver's surprise, instead of opening the door widely and ushering the person into the room, Al opened the door only the tiniest crack.

"Yes?" He asked of the figure on the other side of the door.

"Oh, you are in here," A young, almost squeaky voice answered from the other side of the door, "Uhm…Well, a-as I said, the pastor would like to speak to you about the program for tonight's Christmas Eve service."

"Very well, tell him that once we are done here, we will speak with him."

"B-But! He said that it was very important and that it takes precedent over everything else!"

"Inform him that we have other critically important matters to tend to and we send our apologies that we won't be able to meet with him presently."

"B-B-But!-"

Without waiting to hear the rest of the person's argument, Al quietly closed the door behind him. For a moment, all Oliver could do was stare in disbelief. It was almost as if the two of them had protected him.

CLICK

With sickening realization, Oliver heard the sound of the door locking.

He was trapped.

He watched with growing apprehension as Al leaned against the wall near the door and met Oliver's eyes. With stark clarity, Oliver knew that they hadn't truly saved him; they just wanted to do away with him themselves.

Let them try, Oliver thought darkly as he crouched even closer to the ground and balled his small hands into fists.

"Now then, we need to talk to you a little bit," Ann said as she took a few slow but confident steps toward Oliver. With each step she took towards him, Oliver stepped further back; he knew this couldn't last for long; he was going to run into a wall soon and as a result a dead end.

"No one will disturb us here," Al provided from his place near the door, "These are rooms made specifically to practice music; their practically soundproof."

For the first time, Oliver quickly scanned the room his was in. He discerned instantly that there was no hope of escape for him. There were no windows in the room and the only door was currently being guarded by Al. Oliver had some confidence in his skills, but he could tell just by looking at the mountain of a man that he would have no chance in a fight.

"There's no need to look so frightened, we're not going to hurt you."

Oliver's mind was momentarily pulled from the idea of escape by the sound of the young woman's voice. He had almost forgotten about her; he needed to keep in mind that he was dealing with two assailants here. As he turned himself slightly so he would be in the best position to fight both should they attack at the same time, he felt his eyes go wide in surprise.

The woman was smiling gently and holding the pile of clothing Oliver had dropped. But that wasn't what was so surprising. No, she was doing something far more abnormal than holding a pile of clothing.

She was holding the pile of clothing towards Oliver and waiting for him to take it from her hands.

"Are you just going to sit there all day and stare at me like that?" She asked with a lyrical laugh, "My arms are getting a little bit tired from holding all this clothes; maybe you should keep them for me?"

Not even waiting for his response, she shoved the clothing into Oliver's hands. At first, Oliver was too surprised to react. But surprise quickly gave way to instincts as he snatched up the clothes.

"Ah, now we're a little grabby are we?" Ann said with another laugh.

"…Why are you doing this? What's the catch?" Oliver asked, suddenly suspicious. He gripped the clothes tighter in his hands; now that he had them back, he wasn't going to give them up for anything.

"There's no catch," Ann replied with her smile still plastered on her face, "You look like you need the clothes so I'm giving it to you."

"That…doesn't make sense; you know I stole them." Oliver had no idea why he was arguing this point. Everything was working out to his advantage; if he was smart, he should have counted his blessings and shut his mouth until they let him leave. Yet despite his reasoning for why he should remain silent, it was just too unfathomable for him. No one ever showed this level of charity, especially to a thief.

"Sometimes things adults do doesn't have to make sense," Ann replied.

"They always have a reason for what they do," Oliver replied flatly. He had lived long enough on the street to know that adults didn't just hand out clothes or food.

"Then perhaps you don't know all adults…Mr…"

"Why should I tell you my name?"

"Well if you don't I suppose I'll just have to refer to you as 'thief boy'."

Oliver felt his fury boil within him. She was making fun of him; he just knew she was making fun of him. But instead of snapping at her, he kept his mouth firmly shut; he had said too much already.

"Ann," Al broke in for the first time since the conversation had started. Both Ann and Oliver turned to look at this unexpected and abrupt addition to the conversation. "We have to go talk with the pastor soon; he's not a man who likes to be kept waiting."

"Alright," Ann said as she looked away from Oliver for an instance, "Then we need to work fast and get you out of here. Just follow my lead and try to make it look natural, alright?"

"What are you-"

Before he had a chance to protest or even react, Ann grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the door. After his initial surprise died down, Oliver tried his best to wiggle his way out of her grasp, but the iron grip the woman maintained informed him that he wouldn't be getting free anytime soon.

Without pausing in her strides even the slightest, Ann walked past Al and opened the door, dragging Oliver along with her. Oliver felt his throat constrict; after all that talk of not hurting him and giving him the clothes, she was going to turn him in anyways!

He looked frantically about the room only to find two women staring at both him and Ann. He instantly recognized the women as the ones he had seen in the kitchen the other day.

"O-Oh, Miss. Ann!" The stockier woman said as her eyes took in the scene before her, "The pastor was lookin' for you."

"I heard, thank you for letting me know."

"Miss. Ann…is that one of the choir boys you got with you there?" The other woman asked.

"Why yes he is," Ann said with a light laugh, "I'm just having him help me with a few chores. You don't think the choir master will mind, do you?"

"Well, I…can't rightly say ma'am…"

"Honestly, I really don't want to get in trouble. Do you think that we could keep this little fact between us three ladies?"

"O-Of course ma'am, but…what should I tell the pastor if he comes lookin' for you?"

"Just tell him I'm walking around town to look for some inspiration," Ann answered without the slightest pause. As much as Oliver hated giving her any credit, the woman's ability to lie through her teeth was rather impressive.

"I-I believe we can handle that ma'am," The stockier woman replied, followed by a clumsy and hasty curtsey. Oliver tried his best to make his face remain impassive and play along as the little choir boy that couldn't understand their language, but he felt his eyebrows rise slightly at the display he had just witnessed. Who was this woman that people were willing to call her ma'am and curtsey to her?

"Then we'll be on our way. It was pleasant talking with you ladies," Ann said with a carefree wave of her hand as she continued to drag Oliver along with her. Oliver, for his part, kept his eyes fixed firmly on the ground and his one free hand held the clothes tightly to his chest. Each time a person passed, Oliver tried his best to hide away his face, but no one gave the young choir boy a second glance.

Within a matter minutes, the woman dragging him along opened a door and Oliver could tell that compared to the cramped hallways they had been wandering through, the room they had just entered was much larger. He couldn't help himself; as curiosity took hold, Oliver lifted his eyes from the floor.

He felt his breath escape in wonder.

The woman had lead him into a sanctuary that seemed far too large for the small building it was contained in. The ceiling rose high into the air and gracefully arched above Oliver's head. A stained glass window scattered shards of colored light about the room that seemed to dance in the harsh afternoon sun.

But what really caught Oliver's attention was the large instrument at the front of the room.

It was a huge pipe organ. The pipes wove in and out of one another in a dizzying and intricate dance that Oliver quickly lost the steps to. The bright, silver pipes of varying length and width all gleamed dully in the colored light of the stained glass window, but even from this distance, Oliver could see the intricate carvings adorning the pipes.

It was one of the most entrancing things Oliver had ever seen.

A light giggle broke the spell as Oliver re-realized where he was and the fact that an odd woman was currently gripping his wrist. When he turned to look at her, she was smiling with a gleam in her eyes that was already becoming familiar to Oliver.

"I had the exact same reaction when I saw it for the first time. It's no wonder this church is hosting a world famous boys' choir, huh?"

All Oliver could do was nod dumbly in agreement.

"I hate to ruin the moment," He heard Ann say as she gave him a slight tug on his wrist, "But people are going to start getting suspicious if you keep standing there with that pile of clothes in your hand."

Brought back to reality once more, Oliver gave a decisive nod of his head. He had the clothes; now it was time to get out and give it to Ryuto and Yuki.

Without a word further, Ann continued on her journey, dragging Oliver behind her. As he continued his forced march, Oliver mentally chastised himself; he had allowed his guard to drop for one moment when he had been staring at that pipe organ. It was a mistake that could have proved deadly. As he continued to follow Ann, he silently sore to himself that he wouldn't allow himself to be used again.

Just as he reached this resolution, Ann released his wrist and turned to face him.

"Alright, I helped you out that once, but I don't want you going to that church to steal ever again," She said with a serious look in her eyes. Oliver nodded his head the slightest bit in response.

"Now you've gone and stopped talking on me," Ann said with another of her ringing, easy laughs, "I still don't know your name you know."

"You don't need to know," Oliver answered shortly.

"Fine, fine, I won't push for an answer I know I'm never going to get. By the way, I'm guessing that by the way you looked at that organ, you're a fan of music, right? Well as you heard, Al and I are performing for the church's Christmas Eve service tonight, you should come."

Once more Oliver didn't speak, he didn't even nod his head; he just stared at Ann with blank eyes.

"Well…" Ann contended with a slight sigh, "I'm not sure if that's a yes or no, but I'll be on the lookout for you. I hope to see you tonight thief boy."

With a slight wave of her hand and another smile, Ann turned around and headed back in the direction of the church. She had retreat no more than a few steps before Oliver reached out his hand and grabbed the woman's wrist. He felt her stiffen under his touch, but she turned around to face him. She was smiling, but Oliver could tell that her smile was tinted with the slightest bit of doubt and worry.

"Oliver…" He finally said after a moment longer of holding her wrist.

At that word, all the doubts and concerns cleared from Ann's face and her smile was sincere once more.

"Oliver? It's a good name."

This time, Oliver nodded his head in response and gave a slight, awkward smile. This only caused Ann's smile on her face to spread to almost comical lengths as she nodded her head and gently removed her wrist from Oliver's grasp before she headed back towards the church without a look back.

Oliver watched her go until she disappeared into the sanctuary of the church. It was only when she was out of sight did he allow himself to look down at the hand with which he had grabbed her wrist.

The dull gleam of a pearl bracelet greeted him.

It had been so easy to take off her wrist.

"…The church types are always so overly trusting," He said with a grim smile as he quickly stuffed the bracelet into one of the pockets of his newly obtained jacket. As he walked away with his pile of clothes tucked under one arm, he whistled a small tune to himself to celebrate his triumph.

He knew of a few pawn shops that wouldn't ask any questions…