Scars, bodies, and a new arrival. [PRIVATE for Suzuko and Nariko.] [rated M for possible language and/or violence]

Nariko got up and started to walk towards her and the trap door.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you prefer being on your own? That you don't like having anyone around?"

He walked in front of her, getting between her and the trap door. He looked her in the eyes.

"You don't have to be alone anymore."

He got close to the girl, and then kissed her.

Chikiba looked down at the sound of his words. Before she knew it, he was kissing her. Angrily, she smacked him. She pulled away and wiped her lips. She was angered again. "How DARE you!" she hissed. Walking away from him quickly, she started crawling up the Skeleton pile and up into the pipeline that lead up to the closet.
She growled angrily the whole way.

~*~*~*~

Nariko felt somewhat ashamed. He didn't mean to let his emotions control him. He also didn't want to stay in this cellar all alone. He followed the girl back up to the closet.

"I'm sorry... for what happened down there. I never meant to let my emotions get a hold of me like that."

He gave her the most apologetic look he could muster.

"I never asked you your name down there. My name is Nariko. Would you mind telling me your name?"

Chikiba stopped. "Really, that's what you call that?" She gave him a cold look. "The names Chikiba." She walked towards the front of the closet.

For the first time, she noticed all the pretty clothes lined up in the closet. "You mind getting out of my way? I wanna find something suitable to wear now that I know your not going to attack me.. And don't try anything funny while I look around, okay?" she added fiercely. She still didnt trust him completely, but enough to turn her back to him without worrying that he was going to stick her.

~*~*~*~

"Don't worry, I won't do anything."

He then realized that he couldn't do anything if he wanted to. His right shoulder had a huge laceration, and he had left his dagger down in the cellar. He would get it later, he didn't want to get in Chikiba's way, and besides, he wanted to stay up here anyways. If he left now, she would probably leave, and he would probably never see her again.

He walked over to what looked like a chair. Taking the cover off, it looked surprisingly clean and comfy. He sat down, trying to keep quiet and not get in her way.

Chikiba moved to one side of the doorway to let Nariko pass by. She was greatfull that he respected her wishes. As he passed, she looked at his cut. It was a deep one, and you could see a little white of bone showing. Did I really do that?! she thought to herself.
She sort of felt bad for Nariko. No, no she didnt. She shook her head of the feeling. Walking into the closet, she came across a stack of dresses. Pulling one out, she noticed that it was pink with black crinlin. It had black bows circling the bell bottom along with a V neck and slightly puffed sleeves. Bleh, it didnt look that nice. She put it back. Walked deeper into the closet and at the back found a needle and a strong thread material on an old dresser.

~*~*~*~

"So, do you see anything you like in there?"

Nariko looked at Chikiba going through the closet. He didn't like sitting there not saying anything. It was too... quiet. He decided to break the silence by trying to talk with her.

"I could try to help you with stuff. If you need help with anything, just ask."

He felt somewhat awkward talking to her. Although she had sliced him before he had kissed her, he felt he deserved it now.

Chikiba emerged from the closet wearing an army print and black mini dress with dark blue fishnets. "Eh?" She said. "No, I already found something to wear. thanks." She walked over to him. Opening up her holster she removed the string and needle. "I-..uh.. I'm sorry about cutting you so deep.." She looked to the ground. "If you like I can sew it up for you..?" What was she saying..? Why was she being so, nice and considerate..? this-this wasn't like her. She partially hated it.

~*~*~*~

"Oh, uhh, sure, if you want... You don't have to. And you don't have to be sorry. I'm the one that showed up unannounced, and practically locked you in a closet, and afterwards a cellar."

Nariko looked at her. He looked kind of guilty. He felt kind of guilty. The first time he meets a girl in a long time, and she stabs him. Great...

"I shouldn't have snuck up on you the way I did."

Chikiba looked at him. "Yeah your fuckin right you shouldn't have" she made a pouty face at him. "If you don't want me to fix your cut, just say so." she added coolly while walking over to the bed. She removed the veil and placed the thread and needle onto the matress. Glancing back at him with a knowing expression, she walked back into the closet.

~*~*~*~

"Well, uhh, I never said I didn't want you to fix my cut..."

Nariko looked at the thread and needle laying on the bed, then at Chikiba in the closet. His shoulder wasn't bleeding as much anymore, but it was still bleeding. He kept his left hand putting pressure on the wound.

"Could you please stitch my wound?"

He gave her a pleading look. He couldn't be sure, but it seemed she liked teasing him.

Chikiba stopped. She turned to him with a smirk. "I'm having fun with this" she thought to herself. Slowly, she advanced towards him. She stopped when her face was just inches from him. Taking her knife, she put it back in the holster pocket. I'll need you to take your shirt off then she instructed standing up at full length in front of him. She walked towards the other boarded up window then surveyed the room. True, there was some light, but not enough to fully see what all occupied the room's space. Pulling at the boards, they came off just as easy as the first window. "There!" she said with content.

"Now lets see all whats in the room.."

~*~*~*~

The room was very well lighted now. He looked around. there wasn't very much special about this room, it was just a normal room. He took off his shirt. Standing up, he walked over to the bed and put it on the mattress. He walked back over to the chair and sat down. He looked at his shoulder, where the cut was. It was a pretty bad cut. She had gotten a very nice hit on him.

"You look very beautiful."

He was trying to lighten the mood. You couldn't go wrong with a compliment, right? With the light shining through the window on her, she looked even more wonderful then she had before. At least now she didn't seem as angry as she had before. And she wasn't trying to kill him now.

Chikiba looked out the window, it was day now, that was for sure. Not many clouds hovered on the skyline. A breeze filtered through the window. She breathed it in. She felt like dancing. To just twirl around none stop in the room. She shook her head. No way am I letting myself feel such emotions. Never again. Nariko snapped into her thoughts. "You look beautiful," he had said. She looked at him, "Uh, thanks.." she was taken a bit off guard by this remark. She never thought of herself as being "beautiful". No one except her mother had told her this.

Noticing that the room was perfectly illuminated now, she scanned her surroundings. Seeing an old first aid kit attached to the right wall, she walked over to it. Picking it up, she unzipped it and looked inside. Nothing but gause and de-infecting pads. Well that would do the trick! She removed these items and set them on the matres beside the needle and thread. Peering over her shoulder, she looked at Nariko. He seemed to be in pain she thought, I better do this quick. She began preparing the equipment.

~*~*~

Nariko noticed that she was starting to look rather happy. He was glad. He liked seeing people happy. She walked away from the window towards a wall. She picked up a first aid kit, and brought it over to the bed. She was preparing what she would need to sew up his arm. He was very grateful for what she was doing. That she would take the time to care for his wellbeing and try to fix his shoulder made him happy.

"Thank you, for doing this. You don't have to, and you doing it anyways makes me happy."

He smiled at her. She truly was a very beautiful girl. For him to have met such a beautiful lady was a very pleasant turn of events.

Looking at him again, she smiled. "No problem," she said. "But you still shouldnt have snuck up on me you know.. Never do it, unless you want a cut, a second time." The equipment was ready. She looked around the room. Seeing no other chairs present, shed have to stitch him up on the bed. "Youll have to sit with me on the bed." she told him.

~*~*~*

"Don't worry, I won't sneak up on you again."

Nariko got up from the chair, and walked over to the bed. It was a nice bed, very comfortable, and just big enough for two people. He sat down beside her on the bed. He smiled again, trusting her with his shoulder. He wondered if he would end up spending the night here. He wondered if she would end up spending the night here...

Chikiba moved over some so he had room to sit. "You better not" she told him. Moving his arm out length wise, she strung the thread through the eye of the needle. She pressed the two skin halves together and poked the needle through the end of the cut.

~*~*~*

The needle entered his skin. It stung a lot, but he could tolerate it. It would feel much better when she was done. She had soft hands, they were nice. She had a gentle but firm touch.

"Thank you."

"Shit" she muttered. She had forgotten to cleanse the wound first. Removing the needle from his flesh, she grabbed one of the dis-infectant pads and removed the wrapper. Gently, she put the cloth deep down into the cut. Making sure to thoroughly remove all the germs. "I'm sorry if it stings." she said.

~*~*

Her putting the needle into his arm had stung. Her taking the needle out, opening the wound, then sticking a disinfecting pad inside the wound burned like hell. He squirmed a bit at this, but stopped soon. Squirming would only make it take longer and hurt more. He stopped moving, trying not to make any noises from pain.

"Gah, that hurts just slightly more then the needle."

He gritted his teeth and sat still. It would be worth it in the end, his shoulder would stop hurting, and he'd be able to use it again. He tried focusing on something to take his mind off the pain. He looked at her face. She had a beautiful face, with wonderful deep blue eyes. The hint of red was gone now, making her look more peaceful. Admiring her pretty face, he sat still and let her work.

She stopped cleaning the wound. "There" she said removing the tainted cloth. She noticed it was covered in blood. She felt like hurling slightly. The sight of blood like this made her stomach knot up. Taking in a deep breath, she set the cloth down next to her and picked up the needle once again.

Grabbing the two halves of skin, she began weaving the needle through the skin. Within seconds, she knoted the thread off and bit the extra off with her teeth. "All done" she declared. "Try not to move it too much though, You might break the skin open again."

~*~*~*~

"Thank you. I'll try not to move it too much."

He laid down on the bed. His shoulder felt slightly better already, now that the air wasn't getting at it. Feeling grateful to Chikiba for sewing up his arm, he felt slightly more relaxed. The bed was quite comfortable. The sun was starting to go down. He looked at Chikiba, beautiful in the fading light. He was happy.

She disregarded his second thank you. For she already told him it wasn't a problem and she didnt want to appear to be going soft. "So it's getting dark out now," She said all of a sudden. "I think I'm going to spend the night here."

~*~*~*~

"I don't have anywhere to sleep tonight, I think I might stay here too. If you don't mind, that is."

Nariko sat up, looking around the room. It was getting dark now. The sun had gone down, but it had only gone down for a few minutes. He wondered if she would make him leave.