Finally! After all this time I've finally added another chapter. I'm sorry to the people who wanted me to update for so long. Life happens, and now college is happening. But when I'm not staying up till 3 studying, I have nothing to do, so I'll try to keep updating, I promise! Thank you everyone who has read this. Your comments and feedback made writing this worthwhile. So if you do read this and like it, kick my ass until I update. Hope you enjoy. (By the way, I've gone through and revised chapters 1-3. As of yet chapters 4-6 have not been revised. I wanted to go ahead and write a new chapter.)

Warning: This chapter's a bit more graphic than the others.

Chapter 7

"You aren't still afraid are you, yeah?"

"Huh? Oh…um…no. I'm not." Hana replied. She was lying though. Every time she closed her eyes, little men covered in blood wielding spears ran through her head. It was all just a story made up by Tobi to scare her, but it was working. She was afraid to sleep and even more afraid to go into the forest.

"Tobi's a dumbass, yeah. He makes everything into a joke, so don't pay attention to him." Deidara was sitting next to her, molding together a little clay rabbit, the style much different than the ones he made to explode. It was more lifelike. He was using his fingers, not the mouths on his hands, so Hana could actually see how he was doing it. He was very talented with his hands, she noticed, the way he took care in every little detail. As she continued to watch in silence her mind drifted towards the next part of the journey. As much she didn't want to be afraid, she couldn't help herself. It wasn't just the forest and its spear-chucking pigmies and quicksand. It was everything from there and beyond. She didn't know what was out there. She'd heard plenty of stories in her nineteen years but nothing could prepare her for the thing humans find most terrifying: the unknown, not knowing what to expect or what will happen.

Then she looked at Deidara again. This was the man who, out of a hundred other men, stepped up to save her from becoming a piece of property. When she thought about it, he didn't seem the type who would randomly decide to save a damsel in distress. In fact, the thought seemed too cliché for a guy like him. But there was something else she sensed in him, not quite a softer side, but more like a hidden… something. That part she didn't know. She also noticed that while his face was young, his eyes were intense. Even when he wasn't concentrating on his art, his eyes held a certain quality she hadn't seen before. While they held the hardness of a man who'd experienced death, violence and hardship, his eyes also seemed to mock all danger and reason. They laughed in the face of authority and anything that threatened their owner's free existence. They were fearless. For some reason, the more she looked at them, the more the fear left her. Once again, this blonde-haired and blue-eyed man was making her feel safe. Around every turn, the strength of this man was engulfing her in this sense of security that she hadn't felt in… well, never…

"There something on my face?" Deidara turned his head to look at Hana. She was embarrassed; she didn't think he noticed her looking at him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare," she said and turned her gaze away from him. She couldn't look into his eyes anyway. As pretty as they were, they were way too intense for her to bear meeting with her own.

Deidara looked at Hana in wonder as she stared into the campfire in front of her. Never in his life had he ever met a girl so… He didn't know exactly how to put it. Sheltered, perhaps was the word, but there was something else about her, something that intrigued him more than any piece of art could. He couldn't put his finger on it but he was dead set on figuring it out.

It wasn't as bad as Hana had imagined. So far there were no sand pits, pigmy tribes or wild beasts attacking them yet, so all was well for the time being as and Hana, Deidara and Tobi made their way through the forest. It's actually kind of pretty in here, she thought. It's so green and… even more green. She giggled out loud, catching the attention of her two companions. She looked up at the forest canopy, ignoring them. Up there was a whole other sight in its own. She saw squirrels jumping from tree to tree, patches of sunlight peeking through the treetops, and she heard birds singing all around her. Quite the contrary to her previous worries, Hana was starting to love this place. It was beautiful. How could this place possibly be sc-"AAAAAAAH!" Suddenly staring her in the face was a big, hairy spider. Hana fell back onto her butt and screamed, her bag flying over in Deidara's direction.

"Tobi, you asshole!" The spider was knocked out of Tobi's hand and flew into a nearby bush. From a distance, it was far smaller than it first appeared. It was still bigger than any spider Hana had seen before, however.

"I'm just playing with her, senpai!" Tobi said, still laughing. "She's been so quiet all day."

"You're still an asshole, yeah."

Hana stood up and brushed herself off. She was over the fright of the spider by now. She was used to spiders from living in an attic all her life.

"Now this should teach you a lesson, Hana-chan," Tobi said, pointing a playful finger at the sandy brunette. "Talk! Scream! Use your vocal cords!"

"Lesson learned, Tobi-san," Hana said, giving Tobi a little bow. All the while she was smiling. "Shall we move on?"

Deidara didn't hide his confusion. Was she just… playing around? It wasn't that Hana was a boring girl. She was just shy, that was all. He liked it, the playfulness that was. She has a nice smile, even if it is still timid. Shrugging the thought off, he reached down to pick up the bag that landed in front of him. Damn! It was much heavier than he'd expected. He felt the weight and then looked over at Hana. She wasn't malnourished or sickly; she had some meat to her, but it didn't seem like she'd be able to lift something so heavy. That's kind of hot… He smacked himself mentally.

"I'm sorry, Deidara," Hana said, lifting her bag with ease, "I didn't hit you, did I?"

He didn't really hear the question. He was still staring at her.

"Is… everything okay?"

"Yeah. Let's keep moving, yeah."

They moved on. Hana gave in and engaged in conversation with Tobi. She didn't say much, but Deidara and Tobi both noted that it was more than she had spoken in the past few days. It was a healthy change. Even Deidara joined in eventually. He and his partner went all day without a single argument. Hana was enjoying this. She couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed talking to people, even if it was about little things like the weather, things she should know about the forest (legitimate things), or even just listening to whatever they had to say, mainly Tobi.

"That sounds a little paranoid, honestly," Tobi had just told Hana he wore a mask to protect himself from identity theft.

"It's hard not to be paranoid when everybody's out to get you, Hana-chan!" Tobi said. He started looking over his shoulders then jumped into a bush to hide.

Then Hana laughed. It caught Deidara by surprise. It was a sweet, genuine laugh from a girl who probably hadn't laughed in years. He saw that smile again, and that look in her eyes. It was a look that made him forget that she'd ever been hurt before, or even that he had been. It was a pure light that he thought didn't even exist anymore. From that moment, he was determined to make that sparkle stay for good.

Grrrrrllllllllll…

Hana held her stomach, embarrassed. She didn't realize she had gotten so hungry. "Sorry…"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry too, senpai," Tobi said, climb out of the bush. He patted his stomach and asked what was for lunch.

Deidara looked up, turned away from Hana and Tobi and approached a tree. With a single leap, he disappeared into the thick leaves.

"Senpai! Where'd you go?"

As if answering his question, a large red apple flew out of the tree and at Tobi, hitting him in the head. Tobi caught it as it rolled off and then the next one that Deidara tossed. The blonde then landed on his feet in front of Hana, already munching on his own apple and extending two more Hana's way. She thanked him and took them, too hungry to be too shy to bite into it. They walked as they ate, Tobi with his mask to the side facing the other two, making it difficult to see his face without making it obvious that they were trying.

Hana was a lot fonder of the forest when the sun was out. Night was a whole different story. Now the tree limbs looked like lanky fingers reaching out for her, and every noise she heard made her uneasy. She was trying to hide it though. No need to give Tobi any ammunition. Even though the sun had been down for some time, they kept moving on. Tobi and Deidara were used to days without sleep, so it's understandable why they would forget that Hana wasn't. A few hours into the night, Deidara noticed Hana moving slower and subtly yawning every now and then.

"Let's stop for the night, yeah."

Hana had no objection. She dropped her bag almost immediately. At least I won't have trouble sleeping tonight. Her muscles were near the brink of refusing to function. Deidara had good timing. While she got out something for dinner, Deidara and Tobi got some wood for a fire. By the time she was done, so were they, so she didn't notice that she was alone for a few minutes.

After dinner, Tobi soon fell asleep. Deidara and Hana were still awake, staring into the fire in silence. That was until Deidara couldn't take it anymore.

"Should I get a spider too, yeah?" he joked, finally getting Hana to snap out of her trance.

"No. Please don't," she said, giving a weak smile.

"Just trying to get something out of you, yeah," Deidara said. It was going to be a while before he would be able to sleep and from the looks of it, same for Hana. Although Deidara didn't want to spend the rest of the night in silence, he couldn't come up with anything else to talk about beside what he'd been curious about since he'd met Hana.

"So what happened to your parents?"

Hana was a little surprised he'd asked, but the subject didn't tear her apart to talk about, so she answered him.

"They died when I was little," she said. "I don't know how they really died. All I know is what my uncle told me, and I don't believe him."

"Why would they trust someone like him to take care of you, yeah?"

"He told me that my father was a drunk and my mother was a whore. He said they had me accidently and didn't want me, so they gave me to him. I know that's not true. I remember my parents. Well, I have one memory of them. It was my fourth birthday. My father was holding me on his shoulders and my mother was putting her necklace on me. They were smiling, telling me that they loved me and that the necklace will be a piece of them to hold on to when they weren't around…"

As Deidara listened, he noticed that Hana was telling this story with the calmest expression, as if she were reading it from a book.

"Then a man came to the door. I don't remember what he said, but it was urgent. My father put me down and my parents held me one last time before they left… The next thing I remember is being taken to my uncle's house. I know they're dead because they would have come back for me. I wouldn't have been sent to live with someone else if they weren't alive. They loved me too much…"

That bastard made her numb on the inside...

"I'm sorry if I spoke too much, Deidara." Hana's gaze was focused on the smoldering embers in front of her. "We need more firewood," she observed. She stood up and headed for the trees. Deidara stood up and followed her. Obviously she was done talking. Plus the fire did need more wood.

Looking up from the ground, Hana saw a glistening through the trees. She made her way through and stopped abruptly. In front of her was a lake, illuminated by the moon. Hana looked up and saw that it was full, the stars around it dotting the sky. Hana had never seen anything like it in her whole life, or at least not that she could remember. The lights of the city prevented her from seeing the stars like she was seeing them now. She thought they were beautiful before. Now her breath was taken away.

"I've never seen something so perfect," she whispered when Deidara stood beside her. He looked at the scene in front of them. At first he didn't understand what she saw that was so special, but then he realized. She'd never been able to take something like this for granted. Taking another look, he saw what she did. The lake looked like a sea of blue diamonds, the surrounding trees glowing silver from the moonlight. He turned his head to see Hana still in amazement. The starry sky reflected in her eyes, and he found himself admiring them more than he did the stars themselves. He turned his gaze away when Hana felt him staring and looked at him. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hana grimace after running her fingers through her hair.

I need a bath, she thought. It'd been quite a while since she'd last bathed and she felt disgusting as a result. At this point, she wasn't too wary to try her luck with lake water. However, there was the fact that she had company, and she wasn't too keen on being alone either.

Deidara knew what she was thinking; she was a woman after all. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't feeling all too fresh either…

"I won't look if you really want to, yeah."

Hana blushed. "Umm… I'll be okay," she said shyly. "It… It's dark and I don't know what's in there."

"It'll be fine. You'd probably feel more concealed at night then in the daylight anyway, yeah." When she still didn't agree, he added "I need to too, so we'll stand back-to-back and I promise you'll have nothing to worry about, yeah." Then he extended his arm and held out his pinky. Hana just looked at it, confused.

"It's a way of making a promise. You can't break them, yeah… Lock yours with mine."

Hesitating at first, Hana set down the stack of wood she'd collected and extended her own pinky and wrapped it around Deidara's. Either this is something they do where he comes from or I'm that sheltered. I honestly think it's the second one…

"You swear?"

"I swear."

"Okay… I'll be right back." Hana headed back toward the campfire, picking up the stack of firewood on her way. It wasn't a long distance away; Deidara could see her placing branches onto the fire from where he stood. When she returned, she brought with her the two towels she had packed and a bar of soap. She broke that in half and handed one half and a towel to Deidara. She then turned without a word and started down the edge of the lake.

Like he promised, Deidara turned away from her. By nature, he wasn't a very shy person to begin with. On top of that, he wanted a bath, so there were no foul intentions here. His mind shifted to the promise he made as he undid his yellow hair. You're an idiot, yeah… As strong as he was physically, he was still a man, a man who happened to be interested in a certain girl who was about to undress just yards from him. Knowing how shy of a girl she was, it shocked him that she actually would. The exhaustion probably went to her head… Okay. Keep your eyes to yourself, Deidara. She's had bad experiences with men as it is, yeah. Just keep it together and clean yourself up. Setting his cloak on the ground, he noticed that Hana had moved quite a distance away from him.

Hana kept sneaking peeks over in Deidara's direction to make sure he wasn't looking. The distance she'd put between them made it difficult to see so far away, so that eased her anxiety a bit. Plus, she'd chosen a spot behind a rock that extended over the edge of the lake, blocking her from view. She set her spare clothes on the rock and with her back to the rock and Deidara, she began to undress. She tested the water with her foot to find that it wasn't as cold as she thought it would be. Wading in the water, she washed herself up and used the opportunity to shave as well with the razor she brought along. She needed to get into deeper water to wash her hair. The problem was that the rock didn't extend that far out. She peeked around the edge of the rock to check if the coast was clear for her to move out. What she saw made her linger. Deidara was already to washing his hair, but it wasn't his head she was looking at. Even from where she was standing, she could see the water glistening off of his muscular back and arms. Hey, I didn't have to make any promises… HANA, you PERV! She jerked her head away from the sight and decided it was fine for her to come out. She tried to wash her hair quickly so she could rinse and get dressed again.

Deidara was trying very hard to resist temptation. Although Hana would have a hard time seeing him from this far, little did she know that the same wasn't true for him. He had a nicely trained eye that would be able to see her very easily. But he refused to betray her trust like that. Since when did I become Mr. White Knight? Hmph… He wrung his hair out and headed back for shore. Once he was dried off and dressed, so was Hana. She was probably waiting on me. He walked over to her to return what she'd let him borrow.

"You can keep that," she said, indicating the soap. It took him a second to register why, but he eventually knew it was because it had attended to his… unmentionables. Despite the awkwardness of the ordeal, they both felt ten times better afterward. They made their way back to the fire and fed it some more wood.

"I'm sorry for just getting up earlier," she said once they were seated. "I just… I've never really talked about that before. No one's ever asked… I'm sorry if I was rude."

"It's fine," Deidara replied. "I'm not known for being very unpretentious, yeah." Maybe he shouldn't have asked about a sensitive subject like that, but he couldn't tame his curiosity sometimes.

"If you don't mind me asking, Deidara," Hana said, "what about you? Not necessarily your parents, but where you're from."

Deidara shifted slightly. "I'm from the Earth Country and my job requires me to travel a lot. I'm not very fond of the job but sometimes we don't have a choice."

"You get to move around and see a lot of things. You have a lot of freedom, I think."

Deidara frowned. "You're more free than I could ever be, Hana," he whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, yeah."

Slightly confused, but not one to push things, Hana didn't inquire. Deidara felt her shiver next to him. He looked over and saw her rubbing her hands together. He picked up his cloak from behind him, scooted closer to her and wrapped it around her. Hana looked a little surprised, but she accepted. It was a thin cloak, but it kept him warm when he needed it to. She thanked him and held the cloak closer to her. It smelt of him. The scent was subtle, but enough to make her keep taking it in. It was masculine, musty. She liked it. This is so weird… Before, he couldn't come near me without making me feel nervous. Now I just bathed in the same lake as him and wearing his cloak and… Am I… snuggling up to him? No. I'm just cold. Just…warm. And cozy. And loving the way this man smells. And looks, and talks… STOP IT.

Deidara was watching her. She was swimming in that cloak of his. It was cute, for lack of a better word. Damn it. Why was he thinking this way? He was Deidara! He was an Akatsuki member, a ninja! Why would he save a girl and bring him along on a mission? She was being dropped off on the way, granted, but that wasn't the point. He was a hardened, cool-tempered ninja, for crying out loud. Well, she was already there, nothing he could do about it now. He wouldn't get attached to this girl. He couldn't. It'd just be harder for her in the long run when it was time for her to leave.

A soft weight interrupted his thoughts. Hana had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Damn it, she's making this hard. He sighed. She was making it really hard. He softly set her down on a pillow of the clothes she'd changed out of. He left his cloak on her. He'd put it back on in the morning.

When Hana woke up, Tobi and Deidara had already cleaned up the remains of the campfire. She stood up and said good morning to Tobi.

"Morning, Hana-chan. How'd you sleep?"

"I slept well… Good morning Deidara."

"Hm," Deidara grunted in minute acknowledgement. He didn't look at her either. Hana, slightly hurt, figured he was just cranky from waking up. However, for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon, Deidara still didn't talk to her or even look at her. Did she do something wrong? She didn't ask. She decided to just leave him alone. Tobi also happened to notice that Deidara had been behaving a bit cold that day.

"Why so solemn, senpai?" he asked. "Cheer up! We're not dead, right? No haunted nin!" Deidara didn't respond, even when Tobi upped the ante with more silly comments to try to gain a response.

By the time mid day came around, Hana had also become solemn. She couldn't figure out what she could have said or done to upset Deidara like this. She didn't understand. The night before, everything was fine between them. She didn't want him to be enthusiastic or talk her ears off; she just wanted some… contact… At one point, they were standing side by side as they walked.

"Deidara?"

He continued to look ahead, but grunted in reply.

"Whatever I did… I'm sorry…"

Deidara let out a heavy breath. "Look…"

"SENPAI!"

It happened too fast for Hana to realize what was happening. The next thing she knew, there was a loud clang of metal against metal and Deidara stood holding a kunai, his back to Hana and looking into the trees. After a moment of scanning the treetops, his hands went to the packs at his hips. Remembering what happened last time he did that, Hana hit the deck and covered her ears. Two birds flew from Deidara's hands and obliterated a portion of the surrounding trees. The crackling of collapsing trees and the thud of them hitting the ground made Hana think of breaking bones. What's happening!

The smoke finally subsided, and there stood in front of them a very familiar face. Hana looked up, saw him and her heart sank deep into her stomach. It was the man from the Tiger's Nip, the rich man who had harassed her then auctioned to buy her. He met her gaze, and a sleazy grin spread across his face.

"I finally found you," he said, clasping his hands together behind his back. "It's nice to see my girl in one piece."

"You're that rich pussy from the bar, yeah" Deidara sneered, his hands hovering over his pockets. "How many did you bring?"

The man chuckled. "Such tough words coming from a little punk. You see, I'm very familiar with those in your particular career field. The benefits of having a lot of money means I can afford to have someone else-or rather more than a dozen-retrieve my lost goods for me.

"This girl isn't yours, mister," Tobi said, his voice a far more serious tone than it normally was. "From what I heard, Hana-chan thought you were a creeper and you were too scared of Deidara-san to get her yourself. Looks like you can't afford a pair, Creeper-san."

"I don't know who the hell you are, you weirdo, but this doesn't involve you. As a matter of fact, it'd be wise for the both of you to just stand aside and let the girl come with me."

Hana stood up and backed away a few steps. How the hell… How the hell did he know? How did he find us? Did my uncle… Did he send him? Dear god, please…

"Just go home, yeah. Go home and you won't have to die today." Deidara's deathly tone made the man uneasy, but he didn't back down.

"You're outnumbered," he said. "Besides, think about it. Is she really worth all of this? It's just a girl, a girl who I'd really like to take to a nice home." He looked at her again with those wolfish eyes. She looked away, disgusted and scared. He's right. I'm not worth it… If I just go with him Tobi and Deidara won't be hurt. I'm not worth them getting hurt or killed over.

"She's staying with us, Creeper-san…"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" The rich man made a hand gesture and in the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by masked men wielding swords. Each of them wore the same kind of headband Deidara wore. Hana knew what they were. Ninja!

"Now just give her up," he said. "These men are very deadly and much older and experienced than you two. Be rational. What's more important, your lives or this?"

"She has a name, you piece of shit!" Deidara barked. "Get your ass out of here, yeah. I'm not going to warn you again."

"… Do it…"

Instantly, the dozen and some men leaped for Deidara and Tobi. Hana screamed. There's no way they'd make it! What have I done? I should have just gone with him. Oh my God… Please don't be-

"RUN, HANA!" She couldn't hear where Deidara's voice was coming from, but she wasn't going to run. She wouldn't leave him.

"I'll go with him! Please just stop!"

"RUN OR YOU'LL DIE TOO, DAMN IT!"

She stood frozen stiff, tears brimming in her eyes. Even if she wanted to move, her legs wouldn't allow it. A sudden force took her off her feet and into a thicket between the trees.

"Katsu!"

The earth beneath her trembled as the ground where Deidara, Tobi and the other ninja had just stood was blown apart. Before she could even respond, she was grabbed by the shoulders and looking into a single blue eye.

"Run, Hana. There's still more. Go, yeah."

She ran. She wasn't going to argue with a man who had just… Killed those people… to protect me... But… he killed them… Just RUN, Hana! The branches smacked her face as she sprinted through the trees. Her heart was pounding and her breath ragged. She was scared out of her mind. Wait. No. She stopped running. This was wrong. She couldn't just run and abandon her friends like this. She knew there wasn't much she could do, but she couldn't just leave them like this. She turned and headed back using landmarks to find her way like Tobi and Deidara had taught her. It didn't take her long to find them. When she did, she stopped at the edge of the tree line. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw what had made her freeze.

It was just Deidara, Tobi and the rich man left. He was held in place by Tobi while Deidara held a kunai to his throat. Even in his predicament, he was still defiant.

"Do you know who I fucking am? I am Shiruka Takamoto, the owner of more half the city you took that bitch from!"

"I don't give a damn who you are," Deidara said. "All I care about is the fact that you know who we are. It makes this easier knowing you're a piece of dirt womanizer, yeah. Who sent you? That Kaimaru guy?"

"Why would he send me? I don't need anyone's permission to get what I want, and I'm sure as hell not afraid of a little shit like you!"

"Tough words coming from a man who looks like he's about to cry, yeah."

Shiruka's indeed couldn't hide his fear. The look in this blonde man's eyes was terrifying, a mixture of derangement and fury. "Look," he said. "I really don't know who you were. I just hired some guys to track you all down and knowing you were ninja, I thought I'd be able to scare you with numbers."

"Then how'd you know Hana was with us?" Tobi asked.

"I overheard two women in the kitchen of the inn talking about her leaving with a blonde guy after the big one knocked Kaimaru out. I knew it was you so I came to get her... She was mine. I was willing to pay a lot of money for her-ugh!" Tobi had tightened his grip on Shiruka's arms.

"Yeah well you had a reason for paying so much for her, yeah. Why's she still worth that much to you now?"

A cocky grin spread across Shiruka's face. "I also heard that nothing happened between you two that night. Why was that, blondie? Did you just have her blow you or did you not want her to see your baby di-AAAH!"

Two kunai pierced Shiruka's arms. Tobi released him as Deidara retracted them and delivered a heavy punch to his face.

"I'm tired of you, yeah. Tobi… get out of the way."

"You're… You're insane! They'll come looking for me!"

"And they might find an ear or a finger or two. That's all."

Shiruka got up and ran, heading right for Hana. She didn't have to move, couldn't dodge Shiruka or the blood splatter. A kunai had pierced right through his throat, his blood peppering her clothes and face. She stood there, shaking, her eyes wide and no longer holding back tears. Her mind was blank; her face was pale. Then Deidara's gaze met hers. By the time he saw her it was too late.

"Hana…"

She bolted. She didn't even know where she was going. She just had to get away; it didn't matter where she ended up. She didn't get far. Deidara landed in front her and she smacked into his chest. She fell back and frantically backed away until she hit a tree. She was cornered.

"Hana," Deidara said as he walked toward her, "you weren't supposed to-"

"Are you going to kill me too? And Dani and Atsune? They know who you are too! I swear I won't tell anyone and neither will they! Please, just don't-"

"Hana! I'm not going to kill you, yeah. Why would I save you just to bring you out here and kill you and then go all the way back there to kill them too? They don't even know my name. That guy had it coming anyway. He was a piece of shit that deserved to die. I'm sorry but I won't apologize for killing him. I told you to go so you wouldn't have to see it…" He kneeled down to look into Hana's eyes. When he tried to touch her hand she jerked away. "Hana… I promised I would never hurt you. Now come on. We need to go, yeah."

"Hana-chan! Senpai!" Tobi had caught up with them. "Why are you on the ground, Hana-chan? Get up, I have something for you."

Hana wiped her eyes with her sleeve, smearing the blood. When she lowered it, she saw the crimson liquid and began to hyperventilate.

"Shit…" Deidara honestly felt bad for her. She'd never seen death before, and when it did happen, it was him who did the killing. It didn't help that it happened right in front of her face and now she was wearing it. He pulled Hana to her feet, pushed through the trees and brought her to the edge of the river that fed into the lake he and Hana had bathed in. He dipped his hand into the water and wiped the blood from Hana's face. He had to get her breathing right again.

"Hana, calm down, yeah!" He patted her back and told her to steady her breathing, but it wasn't helping. Seconds later, Hana collapsed.

End of chapter 7. Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think!