Author's Note: Because there were so many of you who left such wonderful reviews, I decided I would write another chapter before I head home for Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks for being awesome! Please keep leaving your thoughts!

Chapter 8: Decisions

Three Weeks Later

It had been three weeks since Rin had found herself in the HOMRA bar bathroom being bandaged up by Tatara Totsuka, and she had taken his words to heart. Slowly but surely she had begun to relax around the HOMRA boys, allowing herself to tag along and participate with them in their daily activities. Shouhei and Tatara in particular she appeared to feel most comfortable around. Shouhei seemed determined to teach her how to throw a proper pitch for baseball, seeing as Misaki was the only decent pitcher in HOMRA and they needed a second for when they split into teams. Tatara, on the other hand, enjoyed Rin's company for whatever eccentric hobby he was obsessed with that week. His newest attempt was to learn how to play the guitar, even going so far as to try to teach her how to play. She failed miserably, but was content to listen to him practice on the couch every afternoon.

"Just you wait, Tachibana-san. I'll have a whole song written and I'll play it for everyone in the bar," He had grinned.

Misaki still seemed to butt heads with her, however. He continued to struggle with talking to girls, and instead thought arguing with Rin and pissing her off was the next best option. The two of them never failed to go a day without getting into some disagreement, usually ending with Rin thumping him on the head or Misaki storming out of the bar so he wouldn't hit her.

Everyone noticed a change in Rin's demeanor, although nobody said it out loud. She smiled a bit more and smoked a lot less. A few days after Tatara had cleaned her up in the bathroom, she had found a pile of new clothes placed on her cot in her room. No one had said anything when she came to a screeching halt at the railing, staring bright-eyed and open-mouthed down at them all. They had simply raised an eyebrow and shrugged her off, saying they had no idea what she was talking about.

Unable to put her gratitude into words, Rin had stayed up the entire next night scrubbing down Kusanagi's bar as best as she could until in sparkled in the morning sunlight, leaving only an unsigned note that read 'Thank You'.

Perhaps most surprising to everyone was Rin's sudden closeness to Anna. The very next day she had bent low to the little girl, asking her if she wanted to go buy some paints to paint pictures for Kusanagi's bar. Anna's face had lit up immediately and she nodded, grasping Rin's hand in her own.

The two had returned and sat themselves off at a table in the corner of the bar, painting for hours without speaking much. Anna had ended up painting a horse with wings, much to Rin's confusion. However, it seemed to bring a few smiles to the other members' faces, and Kusanagi had pinned it up on the board where Tatara kept his photos. Rin had painted a sunset over open water and had given it to Anna who, delighted, immediately hung it in her room.

The two often sat together on the couch while Rin read a book to her. Anna occasionally dragged Mikoto over and would sit between the two, her legs dangling off the couch as she listened with rapt attention to whichever story she had chosen that day.

It were moments like these that made most of the Homura boys realize Anna was still a girl who liked to do girly things, many of which they had no clue how to provide.

Which was why today Chitose watched in awe as Rin wove Anna's long hair into a French braid. Her hands deftly tugged and intertwined strands of hair, while Chitose bent over her shoulder and struggled to follow the pattern.

Rin cocked an eyebrow at him when his chin practically rested on her shoulder. "Want me to braid your hair next, Chitose-kun?"

Anna covered her mouth with her hand, and Chitose looked down. "Did you just laugh?"

Without looking up at him, Anna shook her head.

The brunette straightened and tossed his head back. "I could do that if I really wanted to," He stated haughtily, but a teasing look twinkled in his eyes.

She merely let out a bark of laughter and went back to braiding Anna's hair. A small smile danced on Rin's lips, and Chitose couldn't help but pat her affectionately on her head before sinking down next to her on the couch and closing his eyes. Rin went back to humming a quiet melody under breath as she finished braiding the last few strands of Anna's hair.

"Anna-chan, can you pass me the hair tie on the table in front of you?"

As Anna passed the hair band and a red ribbon back to Rin, she turned her head to look back at her. "Rin-chan, your song. What was it?"

"Hmm?" Rin replied absentmindedly, tying off the end of the braid. She gently turned Anna's head forward once more so she could tie the ribbon around the end. "It's just a melody my mother used to sing. I always hum it whenever I'm braiding hair."

"Like when you used to do Ayami's hair, right?" Anna asked.

Everyone seemed to freeze in the bar, and Rin's hands paused, the ribbon falling limp in her hand. She could feel Chitose's breathing still beside her, and didn't have to look up to know that all of the Homura members' eyes were on her.

Ayami was the one subject no one in HOMRA ever brought up. Not since Misaki had stumbled on a photo of the little girl and Rin had nearly thrown him from her room. They knew very little of Rin's deceased sister, only that she resembled Anna, and no one was daring enough to ask Rin for more information.

Anna seemed to realize what she had said, forgetting that she had discovered that information when she had read Rin's mind one afternoon. She turned to peek back at her. "Gomen," She said softly, her eyes were downcast.

Her apology seemed to shake Rin from her daze, and she gave Anna a tight smile in return. "It's alright," She murmured. "Yes, just like I used to with Ayami." She finished tying the bow into Anna's hair, and gave her a gentle pat on the head. "There you go, Anna-chan. All finished!"

Anna stood up, carefully smoothing down her Lolita dress before twirling around. She climbed up on the couch between Chitose and Rin to peer into the mirror above their heads, completely disregarding Kusanagi's rule about no shoes on the furniture. Rin smiled to herself as she heard the little girl's intake of breath, and glanced up in time to see her eyes wide with admiration.

As she climbed off the couch and dashed towards the bar where Mikoto was sitting, she turned and called, "Arigato, Rin-chan!"

Rin smiled in response, and then pushed herself to her feet. Her swift movement caused Chitose to crack an eye open. "Where are you off to so fast?"

Pulling her hair over one shoulder so she could quickly braid her own hair, Rin grinned down at him. "I knew it. You really did want me to braid your hair."

Chitose rolled his eyes and gave her leg a gentle nudge with his sneaker. She stumbled, laughing, and quickly finished up her braid before tossing it back over her shoulder. "I'll be back in a bit." She snatched her utility jacket off the arm of the sofa, giving the brunette a nudge back with her own sneaker. "If I'm not home tonight then you are free to hunt me down yourself," She called back sarcastically as she pushed through the front doors of the bar, waving once in farewell.

With a sigh, the brunette pushed himself to his feet and made his way to the bar. Anna sat on a stool next to Mikoto, swinging her legs as she played with the end of her braid. He pulled up a seat on the other side of her, and glanced back at the entrance to the bar with a frown.

"That's the fourth time she's snuck off this week."

Kusanagi looked over their heads at the doors as well. "I noticed that too," He said quietly, sparing a glance at his King.

Mikoto leaned back on his chair, one arm resting across the back. He frowned, and his gaze traveled over to Anna. With one hand, he reached out and gently picked up her braid in his hand. His thumb ran over the intricate design, and he stared at it a moment before placing it back down to rest across her shoulder.

"Follow her."

Rin pulled up the hood on her utility jacket, hoping the dark green color would help her blend with the shadows. For the past two weeks she had been sneaking back to the Niaka's warehouse, hoping to glean some information – any information – regarding Takashi Yamaken. What he was doing, when was he doing it, when he would be visiting the warehouse again, anything that would help her.

Which was why her heart had leapt into her throat when she caught wind of something last week. She had been spying high in the rafters of the warehouse, hidden amongst some old machinery that had been put into storage. Two men who patrolled the perimeters – a new addition since she had been spotted escaping – had snuck off for a cigarette only a few feet from where she had been hiding. She hadn't been able to make out everything they said clearly, but the man's last lines had given her hope.

"Well Takashi-san seems fed up with it. Looks like he'll be bringing him in next week for questioning."

Rin had sat frozen for what seemed like forever after they left, her heart thumping loudly against her rib cage and her hands curling into fists.

This was it. Unforgiving. Cold. Detached. This time she would get what she came for. Because now that she was a member of HOMRA she could take them.

Rin darted towards the familiar machinery parked at the side of the building. She hoisted herself up onto it, following the same path she had used before. While the window had been boarded up, Rin had managed to find a new way in through a skylight near the back of the warehouse. It was a bit riskier, she had to make sure the coast was clear at least three times before entering and exiting, but it worked well enough and wasn't carefully patrolled.

Lowering herself through the skylight, she dropped to the floor with a small thud and prayed no one had heard her. In her anticipation, she was getting reckless.

Get your head in the game, Rin.

She gave herself a slight shake, then slowly began to maneuver her way across the rafters, making sure to place her feet in the exact spots she knew were safe and silent. She could hear raised voices from the spaces below, which grew clearer as she got closer.

"P-Please, I had told you… I'd get you your money. I promised, I-"

"It's been three weeks, Awashi."

The sound a well-placed blow echoed in the room, and the first voice yelped in pain. It sounded panicked and desperate, and Rin edged closer so she could make out what was going on. "I-I know, I just needed a little more time-"

A man was sitting in a straight-back wooden chair in the middle of the warehouse floor. One eye was beginning to swell, and his lip had split and was dripping blood. His dark hair was plastered to his scalp with sweat, and his good eye darted frantically back and forth.

Rin's heart sank in disappointment at the sight of the man standing in front of him. His brown hair was far too light, much lighter than Takashi's, and she sighed in disappointment as she scouted the rest of the room. The dark-haired man was nowhere in sight, so she turned her attention back to the light haired man cleaning his glasses.

After placing them back on his face, the man strode forward, rolling up the sleeves to his crisp, white button-down. "We have contacted you two times before this now, and Takashi is very displeased with your lack of cooperation. It's rather rude to ask to borrow something of our and then never give it back, wouldn't you say?"

The man in the chair stayed silent, shaking in fear. His hands were clenched tightly on the edge of the chair, as if he was ready to dash for the door at any opportune moment.

"Well we have tried to play fair with you, Awashi, but you have given Takashi-san no other choice," The light haired man sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He turned his head and nodded to one of his men, who disappeared for a moment, and Rin could just make out the tattoo etched on the side of his neck. The familiar design caused her hands to clench into fists. When the henchman returned, both Rin and the poor victim in the chair could barely contain their horror.

Bound and gagged, frightened and crying, two people were forced to kneel opposite of the man in the chair. The first, a middle-aged woman who looked to be his wife, had tears streaming from her eyes and was shouting herself hoarse through the gag. Her eyes never left his.

It was the second person that made Rin rise up from where she was hiding in the rafters. The young girl, shaking like a leaf, had her eyes wide with fear. Her whimpering was almost drowned out by her mother's voice, but Rin could just hear it and it made her sick to her stomach. She blanched as the brown haired man placed a gun to the back of the young girl's head.

"As compensation, we will be taking something of yours. Takashi-san has given you the option to choose," The man said simply.

Rin wasn't even sure the father had heard the man's words, he was crying and begging so hard. His eyes pleaded with the man, and all he could say repeatedly was, "No, no, no…"

Rin had had enough. While the man she had come for was not there, these men were sick. She would not turn her back on this family, not on that little girl.

Without hesitation, Rin launched herself over the railing, her jacket flapping in the wind as the ground rushed up to meet her. She landed on her hands and knees in the center of the room, her head tucked low into her chest. Some strands of hair had fallen loose from her braid and hung loose in front of her face.

Sparks crackled around her sneakers and flames slowly began to envelope her as she pushed herself to her feet. The man's gun still hadn't moved from its place against the back of the little girl's head, and Rin's eyes narrowed in anger.

Guns were drawn immediately, and one of the lackeys stepped forward. "Who the fuck is this bitch?"

"Well, you certainly are not ones who I came here for," Rin stated conversationally, her eyes glinting with malice in the dimly lit room. She tossed her head back and the men caught a glimpse of the sadistic smile that crossed her face.

"The fuck? Honda-san, what should-"

Rin's flames flared out, sending a heat wave across the room. She dropped her head so that her bangs fell once more across her face, casting her face in shadow. The little girl's whimper carried across the room, and Rin's fists clenched tighter.

In a low voice, she growled out, "But you're all gonna burn nonetheless."