She was a brat. An insolent, brazen, rude, foolish little brat.

Never had I met such an insufferable woman in my life. Even my partner's moronic views of art scarcely compared to the ire that girl brought out in me. Her crass words and temperamental attitude were like battling a wildfire with a glass of water. Part of the reason I was so infuriated was because the girl was even capable of getting under my skin at all. It had been years since anyone could rouse such anger, such passion within me, to the point where she'd tempted my hand. It was disgraceful. It was exciting.

The woman had been in my life for a few months, yet she made it feel like it had been ages. I couldn't remember a day without remembering her vibrant, fierce green eyes looking at me, challenging me. She thought she was invincible, as if she were made of steel instead of glass that I could crush beneath my fist.

Oh, I could shatter her, but I was going to cut myself in the process.

She was too proud, too strong for her own good. I was sure Amaya was someone who would rather die than to admit defeat, looking back on how much it had seemed to pain her. She wanted to shove back twice as hard, even with someone who had already demonstrated total control of her…twice.

I was determined to teach the wretch some respect. If she didn't learn to curb her temper and sharp tongue, she was going to end up getting herself hurt. Had I not taken her in that day, had Deidara not noticed them, that girl would have gotten herself (and perhaps her brother) killed by someone with far less mercy than I'd exercised with her. She would get herself hurt…worse than she already was.

She would have been killed had I not taken her off the streets, had we not stopped them from going any farther. They were only kids, kids with no idea how bad the world could truly be. On the route they'd been taking, they would have run into some very dangerous, ruthless people who would see a pretty face and long to break it. Amaya believed she was tough, that she could protect her brother, but she had no understanding of how things functioned in the big villages. She was a runaway, a nomad—she had no idea how to take of herself. I had done her a favor by saving her life, regardless if she was too blind to see that. Amaya thought she could take on the entire world on her own, but she was still just a girl, just one girl. Just a fire raging out of control.

When I'd first met her, I had predicted her to be quiet and meek, she was much softer than her brother had been. Now, I could see what a mistake that had been, underestimating her. I'd been left reeling in shock the first time she'd had the audacity to mouth off to me. Her vociferous personality proved not to be a momentary issue born of brief courage; it was all her. She could evoke more emotion, more raw feeling in me than any other person had ever been capable of. Not since…

I shook my head. I wouldn't allow her to dredge up old memories, I wouldn't give that simple girl that much control.

I grit my teeth, recalling the moments she had dared to try and attack me. It was sheer stupidity, but it was impressive. I could only look at those actions and see a powerful determination, a refusal to bend and break. It was the same resilience that every ninja had to gain if they wanted to survive in a world like this—it was the power of someone indomitable, and that wasn't someone I could tolerate. I was too used to having the control, to my partners stepping down and acknowledging me as their superior. How could I allow a girl to attempt usurping that?

How could I allow her to make me empathize?

I had never meant to lose my temper, that was a foolish, mortal mistake that had lead me to strike her. I had hoped it would mellow her, and I had gotten what I'd wanted; that deference, that fear in her eyes. It had not granted me the victory or satisfaction I had so wanted. Her eyes had been so filled with distress, but there was also a crackling rage, a promise that that night was far from the end of things. A part of me felt relieved that I had yet to break her. She would be too boring, if she weren't fighting me every step of the way. I'd come to expect the resistance, I'd come to crave it.

Fear didn't suit Amaya. Not someone so dynamic, all teeth and claws. My eyes narrowed with contempt upon realizing I was regretting the actions I'd taken against her. I felt too pushed, like with each step back that she took she pulled me forward, tempting me to push her over the edge, even if it meant she'd drag me over the side along with her.

That day I had kissed her…it had been to prove a point. I'd needed to show her what she was doing that was tempting Hidan to bother her, I'd been trying to protect her—a need that baffled me still—but it had gone too far. I wanted to kiss her again, to earn that pretty reaction again. Kissing her never failed to shut her up, to make her flush cerise and stumble over her voice. Kissing her never failed to make me want more, and greed wasn't something I could afford. I had not wanted for something in years, I'd always been capable of taking care of my wants, I'd never relied on someone else. Not like this.

I hated so many things about the girl; her stubbornness, her disrespect, her pride…

I couldn't hate her, I couldn't get rid of her.

I did not want to.

That boy was something else. One hell of a something else.

When I had first spotted him, I knew I couldn't leave him, not with the fate I knew he was headed for. He and his sister were both doomed to run into gang territory, rogue nin that Leader-sama used to patrol Ame. It kept the peace, it kept dangerous outsiders out, and even if two teenagers weren't exactly a threat, they would still be treated like outsiders. I shuddered to think of what would befall a young face if they fell into the hands of bored, territorial men.

Alex thought too highly of himself, he would have tried to take on anyone who stood in his way. That was a good way to get yourself killed. The world didn't function that way, they didn't show mercy to someone even if they were young and pretty. In fact, it took people like that, chewed them up, and spit them out. Alex had a few teeth-marks. That didn't appear to mean he'd learned his lesson. I had wanted to save him from a life like that, a life I'd once led. I knew what it was like to wander on your own, hungry and lost. Alex hadn't been alone, at least, but that only meant he had something to lose.

It had been a long time since someone had been bold enough to cross me. I tended to blow those "someones" up, but with Alex…I found myself laughing. It was the way he held himself, all bristled and hissing like a cat, that was impossible not to find charming. He was only a year or two younger than me, but he reminded me of someone older, when he wasn't throwing a temper tantrum. Of course, I had no idea how long he had been living on the streets, but they tended to harden a person and make them mature faster than they should.

I was dying to ask Alex about his life, about how the hell I'd found him and his sister wandering the woods close to Ame territory. Were they like me, or did they have their own stories to tell? I doubted Alex would be too willing to share with me even if I were to ask. We had spent a night together, but instead of building a bridge it was as if it'd torn a rift. Alex had distanced himself, placing a barrier there that even I couldn't blow up. I didn't understand, I hadn't hurt him, I'd taken care of him just like I'd promised. Just like I'd intended when I'd picked him up off the street.

Yeah, he'd shot his mouth off and gotten himself in trouble in the beginning, but had we not moved past that? Was I not done apologizing? What could I do to prove to Alex that I was on his side and I intended to keep him safe? Alex belonged to me, now. I wasn't going to let him back away after that, I was going to get to the bottom of it.

Don't get attached, huh, Danna?