"Yeah," Emma replied.

Leaving on the shirt she wore last night (it wasn't like Fenix was going to need it again, after all, and it was kind of nice to have another reminder of Eld around), Emma grabbed her slacks from the floor and rather hastily pulled them up over her legs--albeit standing up, which in turned call for her to lift one leg, because she, like everyone else in the world, put her pants on one leg at a time, which in turned called for her shirt to rise up and put her undergarments (as girlish as they may be, for that matter) on full display for a moment, and as she had her back turned to Fenix, she didn't know if he was looking or not, or even that she exposed anything at all.

Better off ignorant, she buttoned her slacks up and grabbed her coat. Emma slid her arms through the holes where sleeves would normally be and buttoned this up as well. It was odd. This coat was made sleeveless, but with a black undershirt, it actually looked pretty cool.

If she had a mirror on hand, she would have checked it out.

Stuffing the pillow into the pillow case, she held it out from her to avoid getting her white coat dirty and left the room without further word.

Downstairs, Mayako was waiting rather . . . impatiently, actually. With a bandage still over her nose, she sat in the inn's first floor tavern, saying little, just looking around nervously, anxiously, and shaking her legs every so often, bouncing her knees up in down in untimed rhythm. She wore a heavy sweater and thick pants, both pretty worn but clearly comfortable, and there was a heavy back set behind her chair.

When Emma arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Mayako practically jumped out of her seat, but when Emma regarded her with a flabbergasted stare, she looked away nervously instead. Likewise, Emma decided to take care of a different problem first, and approached the man at the bar--the man that served as both the innkeeper and barkeeper.

Fenix didn't really consciously notice Emma's lack of modesty; between Mayako showing up and Emma's state just a minute ago, he had plenty else on his mind. Though they were more girlie than he would have thought.

He didn't bother changes his own clothes; he'd bought and changed into them just last night, so they weren't dirty yet. Plus he was anxious to see why Mayako showed up. He followed Emma downstairs, hoping she could clear up the misunderstanding so they could see what she wanted.

Unfortunately, Emma went to talk to the innkeeper first, which left Fenix to talk to Mayako alone. Given what Mayako likely thought right now, it was a situation that required a bit of social tact and grace-

"We weren't having sex."

-two qualities that Fenix lacked noticeably.

"Wh-wha--" Mayako nearly jumped out of her chair.

She did, in fact, but it a much milder way. Mayako hastily stood out of her chair. Emma momentarily froze up. What the hell was all that about?

"I-- I didn't say you--" Mayako paused and decided to go no further . . .

Fenix's up front declaration did more than alter Mayako's idea of what was going on up there. The innkeeper's stare was one of the utmost scrutiny. Emma looked a little young to be having sex, and at this point, there was nothing to concretely prove to him that it was not the case. Fenix said it, but he was so open that he incriminated himself instantly.

Then, there was Emma's appearance and what she was holding. There was a bit of blood on pillow she held, and she looked as if she'd just recently been sweating bullets. Her hair was a mess and matted to her face, in her eyes an unkempt in every way. her clothes were just thrown on without any real regard for wrinkles or proper buttoned, as if she'd simply rushed to get dressed. He couldn't see the blood on her cheek, however. Fenix actually did a pretty great job at cleaning that up for her. If she had that, she might have had an excuse.

Not that she'd have used such a thing.

Emma recognized the way the man was looking at her. He was so convinced now that she'd given her virginity to Fenix this morning, so convinced that there was no way to prove him otherwise. Even the most extreme solution would have failed, as Emma lost that portion of youthful innocence months ago. She knew the truth of the matter, but she didn't rightly care if he knew it or not.

"Child . . ." he started, suddenly reminding Emma of someone. Of someones. She was instantly not impressed. "Is this really the truth?"

"What's it matter?" she spat.

"Do you know how dangerous--"

Emma interrupted him sharply. "I said what's it matter? You don't know me. I'm not your daughter. I'm not your daughter's friend from school. I'm just some kid that stopped through your inn--nothing more."

The innkeeper didn't say anything. It was clear that he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. Emma was contented with this, though it wasn't her original intent. Had he not said anything, she'd have just asked him the question she had on her mind, paid up, and moved along.

So, she decided to work to that goal.

"How much is it?" Emma asked as she lifted up the somewhat blood stained pillow.

"Four bronze pieces . . ." the man replied with a sigh.

Good, Emma thought. It went down in expected price. Maybe it was always four bronze pieces to begin with; maybe she never gained the upper hand in this thrifty bartering for damaged goods, but she liked to think that she did. She'd go on the rest of her life believing that she'd embarrassed this man into a menial price to get her to leave.

Emma reached into her coat pocket, withdrew a small collection of pocket change, and paid up. She promptly turned to Mayako and Fenix and headed for them.

Mayako's nervousness instantly spiked and she looked away from Emma as soon as the girl was nearer. Until then, she'd been watching the scene between Emma and the innkeeper. Truth be told, she agreed with the innkeeper. Fenix was a nice guy and all, but that didn't mean it was healthy to sleep with him so soon, without thoughts of the repercussions or anything of the like. Not knowing the full details of Emma's sex life with Davis, Mayako also wasn't aware of the fact that Emma wouldn't have bled if she had sex with Fenix.

Not that she was going to say anything about that. The other night, Emma broke Mayako's nose for struggling with her; she hated to think of what might happen if she said something that might outright offend Emma.

Fenix stared blankly at the innkeeper for a time; he couldn't figure out why people were thinking about this. Mayako panicked when she set foot in the room; alright, she only had a glance, it made sense. But the pillow was no evidence, though Emma's attitude was admittedly not helping.

"Why would there be blood on the pillow then?" he asked at the innkeeper, annoyed. If he had really taken Emma's virginity as they seemed to think, the blood would have been on the sheets. Who had sex on a pillow?

Turning to Mayako, he explained further, "I only woke up just before you entered; Emma was having a nightmare, and her scars opened up. And no, we weren't like that when we fell asleep." Or at least when he fell asleep, but he doubted Emma would have chose that position either given a choice.

"There was only one bed and I'd asked for two, remember." Fenix turned and shot a glare at the innkeeper at that; he had no doubt the man remembered, given that he'd given him some money back due to the mix up.

Quietly, the innkeeper excused himself from the room. It all became so tense all of a sudden. He needed a glass of water and a smoke if he was going to deal with this mess any further.

"O-oh," Mayako laughed nervously, "J-just a nightmare?"

"Yeah," Emma agreed once she was standing next to Fenix, bloody pillow still in hand. "I was just having a nightmare. Fenix was . . ."

She trailed off. She didn't know what exactly he was doing, actually. She didn't remember what sort of position they were in when they woke up, only that he eventually cleaned the blood from her face--and that it didn't hurt. He touched her face, but he didn't hurt her.

That was the only thought Emma had on the situation.

Mayako, however, had witnessed the way they were: Emma back against Fenix and Fenix holding her close. Emma was clinging to his arms, even. In that case, Emma was having a nightmare, and Fenix was outwardly attempting to comfort her with the warmth of his own body and the strength of his arms. That was a kind of intimate concept, actually. She was tempted to point this out, but refrained in the interests of her personal health. She didn't want to have her nose broken again, at least not until it healed from the first break.

Emma glanced from Fenix to Mayako, waiting to see if Fenix would ask the inevitable question first, or if it was her go to try and talk to Mayako. Every time she saw the bandage across Mayako's nose, though, she lost the will to look her in the face. It was probably best if Fenix did it.

"...sleeping," he said, finishing Emma's sentence. "You woke me up when you knocked. Barely." He scarcely heard the knocks, but he'd still woken up, fortunately. Though admittedly perhaps Mayako would not have gotten the wrong idea if he'd been sleep at the time--or maybe she would. He didn't know.

At least she seemed to realize she had misunderstood. Fenix was getting a headache; this was almost as bad as being with his mentor again.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject as usual. If just wanted to see Emma one last time before they left, fine, but he was going to be a little annoyed if she was warning them or something and had gotten sidetracked.

"W-well . . ." Mayako trailed off.

Her heart was beating so hard she could hear it in her head. She could feel it in her bones. Every fiber of her being was beating in rhythmic succession. Suddenly, she felt like she was being foolish for coming here--that she should just turn back around and go home. Yes, home. Hillcrest. She had a home in Hillcrest. Maybe it was best if she did that, just turned back and marched to Hillcrest. Marched back home.

She didn't think it was going to be this hard when she started making the trek from Hillcrest to Galaens. She walked all the way here, working to steel her courage to say these words to Fenix and Emma when she finally had the chance. Mayako was all prepared to say it when she opened the door to Fenix and Emma's room, but seeing them like that took her breath away, and she had to shut the door and leave them be.

Mayako took a deep breath and held it in for a long moment, shutting her eyes and tensing up her hands into tight fists.

"I'm coming with you!" Mayako blurted out with the utmost courage.

. . . Before feeling immediately light headed. She could've sworn that the blood was all rushing to her head at once. It made her dizzy. It was no wonder she collapsed after defeating Emma the other day. This whole courage thing could really make a person feel weak at the knees.

Fenix stared at her for several moments with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. He had assumed that Mayako had a message of some kind, most likely for Emma, or maybe even was bringing something they'd forgotten. At worst, she might have been warning them that someone from Hillcrest was already on their tail. This was...unexpected.

"Why?" was all Fenix asked in response. She'd seemed intent on staying when they parted, so he wondered what could have possibly changed her mind. Was it worry for Emma? He doubted it had anything to do with him, or she would have made up her mind when she decided to help him escape the hospital.

He spared a brief glance to Emma; the girl seemed to want to get away from anyone and anything she knew. Would she object, or would she welcome having a friend on the road with her?

"Wh-why?" Mayako replied nervously. She averted her eyes from Fenix and didn't even try to look at Emma. She didn't want to begin to imagine what must be going through Emma's mind right now. How much she hated Mayako, probably. How much she wanted her to go away and let her be happy.

"I-I want to help Emma. A-and you," she said. "I-I can be a good nurse and cook a-and I can take care of you all wh-when you're on the road, and if something happens, I--"

"No," Emma declared outright.

Mayako shrunk back. "What . . .?"

"Absolutely not."

"Wh-why . . .?"

"'Cause."

"B-but I-- I'd be able to help you! If you both got hurt . . ."

Emma sneered. She folded her arms over her chest. She didn't really want Mayako to treat her wounds anymore. She'd deal with them herself.

"I'm a better nurse than you," Emma stabbed.

Mayako bit her lower lip. "B-but if . . . if s-something bad happened . . ."

"You'd be the first to go down," Emma stated, her voice cold--mean, almost. "When Theleaus first hit the village, you just stood around while everyone ran. Just stood thee, staring. Confused. That's why he found you. That's why he-- . . . You're a sitting duck, Mayako. You'd just get in the way if we got into trouble."

Mayako said nothing for what felt like hours. She held her arms tightly to her chest and tried to recount her resolve. Ultimately, she succeeded--but it was not a stable, independent thing. It was shaky, hesitant, and weak, but from the heart and soul. It was something she believed in.

"You're not the only person afraid to lose people, Emma . . ." Mayako stated without further hesitation--an ultimate and heartfelt truth, honestly delivered without stutter or stammer.

Emma's eyes softened. "What?"

With a hollow and weak whisper, Mayako replied with her true motives: "Yyou're the only other thing I have left, too. I can't just watch you leave, too . . ."

It was fortunate that neither girl was probably paying much attention to Fenix, because if they were they'd see a small, satisfied smile on his face. Despite Emma's best effort, Mayako saw right through her. And Mayako finally worked up the courage to say how she felt.

"With the luck that place is having, she might be safer with us," he said wryly. This was meant half-jokingly, but there was still some truth to it.

Of course, there was a chance Emma was still opposed to this, but he hoped she'd finally get over her fear, at least as far as Mayako was concerned. But again it was something they needed to work out; he had little doubt that if Emma was totally opposed to her going with, she'd slip off on her own despite not knowing how to take care of herself. It wasn't an issue he could force a resolution to.

For a second there, Emma wanted to hit Mayako again. For calling her out. For being right about something when Emma didn't want to hear right or wrong or much anything at all. She felt the urge to clip Mayako in the jaw this time, maybe try and bust out one or two of the girl's teeth. She must have been expecting that, as when she looked away from Emma and Fenix, she dipped her head down in a defensive looking way.

Emma didn't do it. She tightened up her fists and struggled against that urge. What would Fenix have done, she wondered? Would he have hit her to stop her, taken back every rapport of meager trust he'd established this morning? And then Mayako would have looked all sad like, and Emma would have to deal with that look for weeks, because until she could get Mayako out of her head, she'd never be able to get that sort of look to go away.

She wanted to tell her no instead, but couldn't. Not on every condition. She had to say the wrong thing, sound like she was just being a selfish brat or a stupid bitch.

"Did you apologize to the Tsukimonos?" Emma asked before coming to any sort of conclusion. To her, this was the most important question of all.

Mayako didn't say anything at first. She must've been taken aback, forced to think about something she didn't want to, but not forced to lie. She looked guilty, but not like she'd been called in a bluff. She looked guilty for all the right reasons. Emma know the end result before Mayako even said a word.

"Yes . . . o-of course," Mayako nodded solemnly.

"Then--fine. Do whatever you want."

Emma looked up to Fenix as if to say, I'm getting my things, before turning away from the two of them in one swing of her body, and started for the stairs.

"Could you grab mine too?" Fenix asked as Emma ascended the stairs. And she'd probably glare back at him, but would nonetheless do it. He might get hit for it later, though, like when she kicked him on the way here.

What is it like to be so attached to something you're terrified of losing it? That was the question he wanted to ask Mayako, but he didn't. Despite the trouble they'd been having, she and Emma had a bond that was still strong--stronger than he suspected Emma wanted to admit.

"She's not very honest with herself, is she?" he asked instead once he was sure Emma was out of earshot. He'd seen the look she had when Mayako gave her reason for wanting to go with them; Emma understood her feelings, even if she wouldn't say so.

Yep, Fenix was totally going to get kicked for that one. Emma glared at him again. Mayako went from relieved that Emma was going to allow this to scared--kind of for Fenix.

Maybe she'd lecture him on the proper ethics of being a gentlemen this time. After all, he was supposed to instead say that he'd go and get both of their stuff, and offer to carry them both for awhile, too. That's what a proper gentlemen would've said. Emma couldn't expect that much from Fenix, though. She didn't, but she knew she couldn't if for some reason or the rather she ever thought it a nice idea.

"W-well, um . . ." Mayako paused.

She waited to see if Emma was really upstairs or not. Emma looked pretty mad earlier. She'd no doubt that the girl might hit her, somehow, if given the reason.

"Yes, um, w-well, sh-she never really was, n-not even before," Mayako admitted at last, "B-but I think-- m-maybe someday she will be . . ."

Fenix nodded. He hoped she would; even if Emma wasn't honest to others, if she didn't at least start being honest to herself then she wasn't going to get any better. And he could tell that while she might not be suicidal or murderous, she was still a long way from over her ordeal.

"If you're ready to go we should leave once Emma comes back." He didn't want to risk someone else from Hillcrest coming to look for him, though he didn't say so out loud for fear of someone overhearing and thinking he was a fugitive.

...Well, they'd technically be right, he supposed.

Emma returned a minute later, her (apparently) new pillow stuffed into her bag. She struggled with her and Fenix's bags, one over each shoulder, experiencing the utmost difficulty carting them both down the stairs. Though she said nothing, the look she gave when she dropped his bag (without regard for breakables) at the bottom of the stairs would be enough: she was going to kick him. Yes. She was going to kick him the hell over and lecture him on the proper ethics of being a gentleman.

It was just a matter of time.

Mayako recalled the few times, back before the incidents, that she actually left the vicinity of Hillcrest, Galaens, and Raigeki. One included a trip down into Cizok. That was back when her father was still alive. Only a scant few times was she ever brought on those Missions. She was always scared then, afraid that she might be abducted by one of those vagrants of whom her father always spoke so lowly. She never was, though. Never even met one of those vagrants! But still, she was always so nervous, and now thinking about the future more than ever, she was shaking. It was subtle, but she could feel it.

She was really going to leave this place. She was really going to go out into the world. On her own, practically! It wasn't like a Mission, when she had guardians with her--she could go anywhere she wanted! Well . . . not safely, but . . .

Still! It was a terrifyingly exciting thought!

Though, come to think of it, she did know a few decent places in Cizok. If they're still around, she could be a somewhat decent guide down there.

"S-so . . ." Mayako spoke first, her voice much more upbeat than before. She'd not have been lying if she said she was kind of excited. "Wh-where to first?"