[-Chapter Four-]

I trudged home down a dusty road, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of being followed. My mind was buzzing over what I had overheard in Koto's room. What was I supposed to be able to handle? And who was Koto going to see, specifically? I randomly remembered one other tidbit of information, when Risu had cut Koto off the first time. He had said, "Maybe someday there'll be a..." What did that mean? What was coming? It sounded like Arisu had to protect it, or maybe stop it… I wasn't sure and all of this puzzling hurt my head. I focused on the one truth I knew:

My friends sounded like they were in trouble. Well, I was going to help them in any way that I could.

I turned absentmindedly off the road: if I followed it, it would take me somewhere far away. I had to loop back towards town, jump a fence designed to keep people out, and then get out of the alleyway before turning left and finishing the route towards my shack. It seemed complicated in my mind, but I knew it was the fastest way there. Much faster than getting caught in the traffic of traders and others who dared brave the elements. Ever since The Big Event, nearly one thousand years ago—not that anyone knew what it was anymore, since the Empress had made us burn all of our records—storms raged upon our little planet constantly. When it wasn't storming, it was brightly sunny: complete opposites within two hours of each other. It was mind boggling and strange. I was pretty sure that our ancestors hadn't had to deal with any of that, but, as I said before, I couldn't be sure.

The sun was fading fast, and the wind tasted like it was going to rain tomorrow. I sighed to myself: my strength was fading with the dying rays of the sun. Tomorrow was not going to be a great day—I could only hope that the sun would be out in full force on my birthday, that the storm would have passed by then. Perhaps, I decided optimistically, it would only be a week long storm. Maybe it wouldn't be a month-long storm, like the last one we'd had. Or, if I was really lucky, it would last exactly five days. No one had ever seen a storm shorter than a week in nearly one hundred years. But this year, people said, the weather was looking up. It was something in the air, in the water, in the people's hearts…

I just wanted the sun, no explanations please.

I hopped over the fence easily, staring at the ground. My feet were moving automatically towards their destination; I didn't hear the raspy voice until it was practically upon me.

"Well hello there."

My head snapped up. Unfamiliar voice—a shot of energy raced through my system. I took a cautionary step back, two, three, until I could see the opponent clearly. He was a guy about my age: soft brown hair, darkly tanned skin, and sculpted muscles. A wild gleam lurked in his brown eyes, however, and that threw my mind into a panic. This guy was one of the undesirables in our town, not that I was desirable, but I had some money and stature, and my clothes were in better shape than his. My shirt wasn't ripped and tattered, just patched over several times. I wore pants, which was one of the many reasons I was an outcast among females, but they were all that I had: hand-me-downs from my father because my mother was too small for me. At least my pants had the air of some care for them; his were ripped and practically reaching above his knee.

"You look like you're pretty well off, babe." I shot him a dark look, my father's words reverberating in my ears: Don't trust strangers. Keeping my eyes on him, I took a step back. He took two forward. My pulse leapt and spiked. I backed up again, and he advanced further. I was too afraid to turn my back on him and run, but he could definitely outrun me in our current positions. "Aw come on, you got nothin' to be afraid of. You can trust me."

I nearly gagged—his voice was sickeningly reassuring. His mouth curved into a predator's smile and he took a step closer. I scrambled backwards again, keeping my face in a controlled calm instead of showing what I really felt: fear. He was crooning incoherent things now; with two more steps towards me I'd have nowhere to go.

"Hikari?" A voice sharp with surprise and painfully familiar, painfully quiet and innocent. No, my mind said. Arisu couldn't be here. That would put her in danger because of me. I remembered feeling followed on the way home—so that had been her all along…

Like something out of a nightmare, that guy moved past me and continued shuffling on towards my best friend, who waited just behind me in the alley. In that moment, it didn't matter that she'd taken Makoto from me. It didn't matter that she was prettier than me or anything else. She was in trouble, and I reacted without thinking.

My legs were incredibly strong for my size, toughened from years of work and playing tag in my pathetic excuse for a front yard. I leapt towards him and knocked him in the back of the knees; he got up faster than I'd expected and hit me in the stomach. My fear was dissipating as the fight intensified: I punched him back. Like Koto said, I wasn't exceptionally strong when compared to others. But this guy had been living on the streets for months, probably, and he was weak from hunger as well.

I glanced at Arisu—she was still standing in the back of the alley. Her expression was a strange mixture of horror and exasperation. Like she was terrified for her and me and yet annoyed that I had tried to help her. "Arisu, go!" I shouted, but she didn't move. Then something connected solidly with my knees and I tumbled to the ground. Everything started to blur together; I thought I felt a kick or two to my stomach, and I knew there would be some bruises on my legs. One well-placed kick flung me backwards. The length of my body scrabbled on the dirt, curled with my head close to my knees. Then there was a blow to my forehead, and my vision exploded. I saw stars for a split-second before the back of my head cracked against something hard. The world went dark.

It might have been hours, minutes, seconds later when I finally opened my eyes. My head hurt every time I blinked, and couldn't someone have explained to me how bright everything was going to be? I tried to uncurl my legs, which screamed in protest. My lip was cracked open and I could feel the dirt all over myself. I stretched my back—another groan of pain—and then sat up. The alleyway started spinning; I fell back against the wall of a house and breathed calmly. The air that I was getting made me dizzy.

A pair of gentle hands braced me. "Are you okay?"

"Arisu?" I moaned, swinging my aching head around to look at her. She looked back at me and relief pounded in my heart. She was okay… but how? I gave her a mental-once over. There was a cut on her cheek and dirt smudged on her forehead. Her breathing was slightly uneven, as if she'd been running. A spectacular bruise bloomed on her right shoulder, and I was pretty sure that her right knee had a scratch on it somewhere. "But… how?"

"You saved my life," she whispered back. The gratitude in her voice seemed real enough, and I found no trace of a lie in her eyes, but it didn't match my memories.

"No," I protested, sitting back up. The world didn't spin once. "I didn't do anything. I got knocked out when you were in the alleyway."

Her mouth thinned ever so slightly, something only a best friend would notice. "Don't be silly, Kari. You stopped that person from hurting us. From hurting me. Thank you."

I didn't say anything, just let my best friend help me up and limp slowly home. I didn't mention that I saw no sign of the guy in that alleyway, and that he had definitely been there when I collapsed. I didn't bring up how she'd gotten her numerous scratches, or that she was far too wounded to be a mere bystander. I let the knowledge settle in my heart: my best friend was lying to me. Where did she learn self-defense? That guy was at least twice her size; I couldn't even take him. What was Risu doing with her free time? I didn't know. I found that I was looking at her like a stranger. My best friend… was a stranger. The thought was rather disconcerting.

A/N: Hah, so Arisu isn't as fluffy and gentle as we thought! Anyone surprised? I just find people like her to be fascinating :D

Thanks for your review, Tainted! It makes me smile to know that you like this story so much! I'm looking into a virtual cookie jar for all of your cookies ;) They smell delicious though hahaha

See you guys for next week's installment!