[-Chapter Twelve-]

When my eyes landed on the floating pockets of mud, I could literally feel the blood draining out of my face. Pure bewilderment and terror shone in Aiko's eyes. I knew an identical expression radiated from my very being, along with that secondary instinct of protection. It was like a fire. Fire in my veins, heat scorching my bones. Get to Aiko.

"Kari!" she whimpered, looking pleadingly into my eyes. That one word did it for me: I was at her side in an instant, scooping her up into my arms. "Kari, it's not real, is it? It's not me. I'm… I'm not… not a…"

"Don't even say that," I growled resolutely. "And don't you worry, Aiko. I'm going to keep you safe." She gave a half-choked cry and buried her face into my collarbone while wrapping her arms securely around my neck. I could feel a rush of anxiety sweep through me, supercharging my nerves and making it difficult to breathe. How could this be possible? How can this be happening to Aiko? What has she ever done to deserve this?

"Hikari!" A far-away voice was calling to me, strangely familiar, and I attached a name to it: Arisu. Arisu? My head whipped around. I looked for her in the scattered crowd of people but she was nowhere to be found. She's dead, I reminded myself. She's dead and now you're going crazy. You're hearing things. I focused back in on reality, where I was suddenly not alone.

The Chen-Li seemed to have materialized out of the shadows; one moment it was only Aiko and I, and then the next moment we were surrounded by twenty or so men. They were all dark, and tall, and looming. They were all waiting expectantly, as if knowing something was about to happen. And they were all staring at Aiko alone, impassively and without feeling.

"No," I gasped, tightening my hold on her.

"Alas, yes," Aku sighed. There was barely restrained glee in behind his words—so he hates me just as much as ever. "Our wise and powerful Empress did just release the rule about Benders, my little peasant friend. You would be wise to obey it."

"No," I repeated wildly, sizing up every one of the Chen-Li agents. Despair threatened to swallow me. I was badly outnumbered, and I had no idea how to fight. Not really. But I couldn't just give Aiko up. "I won't," I told Aku clearly. I wished more than ever that Arisu was with me. That maybe she could find some help, or that Koto was here with me and he could have done something. Maybe, if I'd had more time, he would have appeared to save the day…

But judging from the expressions on the faces of the men surrounding me, I didn't have much time at all. Maybe, just maybe, I could buy some more.

"You know the punishment for flouting the rules, don't you?" the leader asked, his dark eyes flashing in anticipation.

"I don't care about punishments," I snapped. "You are not going to touch her." With a sadistic grin, Aku stepped towards me. The rest of his men followed suit, though they did not come close enough together to cover all of the gaps between them. A plan sprang into mind: it was wild and crazy, but it was the only plan that I had, and there was a possibility that it could work. I found the road that led to my house, confirming its location and the Chen-Li agent blocking the path. Then, I turned and ran for the opposite direction.

"Get her!" the leader shouted, and suddenly everything was in a blur of motion. The Chen-Li agent directly in front of me charged and I waited until the last possible second before I cut to the left. Another agent popped into my view from nowhere but I cut away again, dodging and bobbing and weaving my way through their various attempts. It took a while for me to feel anything—endless games of tag and keep-away as a child had given my legs some strength. But after dodging a tenth agent—really, the Chen-Li need to look into some stronger runners—I felt the familiar burn in my legs. I pushed on, ignoring the pain. There was no time for hesitations or second-guessing.

I focused on the feel of Aiko's arms around my neck, anchoring me to the ground. The way the wind blew at my hair, ripping stray pieces from their braids. The way my breath came in shorter gasps and my feet dug into the ground, the way the mud squished up between my bare toes. The burning desire to return home, where I could hold them off until a better plan came into mind. Maybe I could even run away, take her with me and just go until I came up with a solution for her problem—

I nearly lost myself in my thoughts; as punishment for my actions I felt a sudden weight near Aiko's foot. It was dragging, slowing me down. My sister screamed, high and shrill in my ear, but I didn't wince. I just ran as fast as I could until the hand slipped away and we were free again, running faster than ever before.

My plan was working: they were all so intent on following me, on hunting me down, that they never noticed how I was manipulating them. Idiots—but that's what became of people who were too accustomed to being the hunters. They stopped thinking like the hunted.

I waited a split second longer, dodging another sidelong shot, before I found an opening. I pushed my legs harder, ignoring their screams for release, and shot through the gap onto open road. I heard scrabbling and swearing behind me, but soon enough that faded to the sound of wind in my ears. I didn't realize the intense feeling of relief that seeing the familiar run-down homes would bring until we were there, back in our neighborhood. Back at our front door, and across the threshold with the Chen-Li several hundred yards behind us. I slid the deadbolt into place and pressed my lips to Aiko's forehead. "We're okay, Aiko," I panted, but I dared not stop.

I moved through my house in a daze, gliding through the kitchen with a grace that I hadn't known I possessed. I searched the sack that served as a pantry in vain; we were too poor to afford spare food. I walked quickly to our bedroom. I set Aiko down but did not protest when she buried her face blindly into my leg. She stood there, trembling, while I removed several changes of clothes for the both of us. We had no sleeping bags or even bags to carry things, but that was the least of my concerns at the moment.

I swept back into the kitchen, Aiko stumbling along at my side. The empty food sack seemed to leap into my outstretched hand—I didn't remember bending down to pick it up. I regretted the lack of food in our house, but the most important thing was to get ourselves out and away from here. Still working furiously, I shoved our clothes into the rough sack and crouched down to look at my sister. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

"What's going on, Kari?" Aiko asked softly.

"Aiko, I—"

"Yes. What is going on, Kari?" a new voice interrupted. I looked up in despair to see my father standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, suspicion plastered all over his face.

A/N: Hello everyone! Once again, one day late... sorry about that x( Uhm, so yeah! New chapter, yay!

Tainted- Your enthusiasm in your reviews always makes me smile x) I hope you enjoyed your anime!

I shall see the rest of you guys next week! Don't forget that you can always write a short little review if you want to; if you have any questions I'll try to answer them! Reviews make me happy ^_^