�Ara, you remember who I am, right?�
I�m not sure why I just asked that stupid question, but I suddenly find a gun pointed in my face.
�Oh, I remember you. And how you need to be brought in dead or alive. �Preferably alive,� they say, but,� he shrugs and lets a smirk spread, malicious intent obvious in his eyes, �sometimes it just can�t be helped.�
I remember I�m still right next to the door as that annoying self-preservation voice yells at me again, and raise my hands in a gesture of surrender while backing up.
�Well hey, there�s no need to get drastic. I wasn�t really planning on putting up a fight or anything.� How I manage to say this without stammering, I don�t even know. Somehow, even knowing what happened to him, I still trust him. I feel like I�m in a play and just playing my part. Putting on a show for the company.
�Then, where do you think you�re going, Neko-kun?�
Maybe I�m not too far off?
�Hey, wait just a damn minute,� I say, suddenly freezing, �there�s no way they could have told you-� A bullet goes through my shoulder as a warning, and I decide to cave in to the self-preservation, finally.
�Damnit, Harada,� I yell, pushing the door open with my uninjured left shoulder, as my left hand is pressed tightly over the ten thousandth bullet wound I�ve gotten in the past forty-eight hours, �if I find out you�re just acting, I�m going to kill you for this later!�
A small drizzle of bullets is all that answers me, but since none of them hit, I can�t help but think I was right and he�s missing on purpose. No one but the Arashi I knew two years ago would call me by, or know of, that pet name.
Unlike I expected, they don�t have company security after me, though I duck into a random warehouse anyway. No need to walk out in the open and make myself a target. Standing well away from the door and to the side of it should it decide to suddenly burst open, I slip off my jacket and roll up my shirt sleeve to inspect my shoulder. It�s already starting to close up, so I suppose it�s a good thing that Ara was at close enough range that the bullet went cleanly through.
With a sigh, I lean back against the wall behind me and slide down into a sitting position beside where I let my jacket fall earlier. My head rests against the wall and I look up at the ceiling a moment or so before closing my eyes. So I found him, but how do I get to him?
I just realized I have no idea what the hell I�m doing.
�That�s just fucking great,� I mutter, glancing around the warehouse, �you find him, and you�re totally helpless. I�d hate to depend on myself in a crisis.� The place is stacked nearly to the ceiling with random things packed in crates or cardboard boxes, and one of the aforementioned cardboard boxes to my left falls. The crashing sound echoes and makes me jump; one hand goes to rest on the handle of the gun in my jacket.
And out of all the people either after me or that could have followed me, she was the last one I expected.
At first, all I saw was a pair of black cat ears like my own sticking up from behind the box, and then the rest of her followed. Bright, crimson eyes and short, pale green hair that went a bit below her jaw line, curled up at the ends. She couldn�t have been more than seven or eight, and she was the most adorable kid I�ve ever seen in my life. She radiated cuteness, I tell you.
�Hey,� she said blinking, �you have kitty ears too.� She blinked again, then shook her head slightly. �Oh, I�m sorry! For making so much noise, I mean. I didn�t mean to, but I kind of tripped��
For the love of Leviathan, even her voice is cute.
�It�s okay,� I tell her, �it�s not like I�m in charge here or anything.�
�Yea, well,� she replies quickly, hands on her hips, �I still could have bothered you, or sacred you, or something. And since you probably don�t want to be bossed around by a kid, you are kind of in charge.�
I blink, somewhat taken off-guard by this. I love her already. She tilts her head slightly, as if trying to remember something, then looks to me. �My name is Katarina,� she tells me, �Katarina Raine. I don�t think I�ve said that yet.�
�No, you haven�t,� I assure her, sticking out my right hand, �nice to meet ya, Katarina. My name�s Nicholas Adel.� She giggles and happily shakes my hand, returning the sentiment and seeming thoroughly amused.
�Adel-kun,� she begins, expression suddenly getting more serious, �you came from the company just now, didn�t you? That�s why there were gunshots��
�Yea,� I confirm with a sigh, �they have someone important to me there.�
�I know how that is,� she says with a nod, patting me on the head, �my parents are still there�We all got away, but they chased us and mom said to hide so I didn�t get taken back too�� Katarina smiles a bit through her saddened expression. �They couldn�t find me �cause I�m too good at hiding.�
�Well, �Rina,� I tell her with a slight smile, �when I figure out how to save my friend, we�ll work on saving your parents too.�
�Really,� she asks, eyes widening in surprise, �thank you, Adel-kun!� She throws her arms around my neck in a tight hug, which I gladly return before climbing to my feet. �But first, let�s get out of here. It�s probably not to safe to be here right now.�
�Okay!� Katarina agrees enthusiastically, taking the hand I hold out and squeezing it tightly. After a quick check of making sure the coast is clear, we head out of the industrial district and back toward the small town I came from.
