A frozen gust greeted Eileen as he stepped outside. Despite the late time, there were no signs of light nor orange hues in the sky. The darkness was redundant all evening.

'This woman, really. Where does she think I sleep?'

Eileen leaned on the frontage. He skimmed at the avenue. It was empty, and certainly uncapable of feeding his growing boredom. Although Eileen enjoyed bartering with Ari, it was tiring. As a result, there weren't many options to choose from.

He made a mental promise. Eileen would go to sleep in an hour or two, as his brain wasn't cleared from the herbs yet. In that altered state, resting was a pipe dream. For Eileen, the world appeared brighter and livelier than it truly was. A good enough reason to miss out on hours of sleep, perhaps.

Winter struck Eileen's skin once more. The cold spread onto his bandages, making the wounds numb. For once, he was indebted to it. Underneath his thin clothes, however, Eileen was stuck in a state of constant shivering. While clanging his teeth, he looked ridiculous. Hugging his body helped as well; both in warming Eileen and emphasizing his childish frame.

It was a peaceful night, compared to the eventful morning. Eileen enjoyed the shift in tension. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift away - not before repositioning at a well-hidden spot, however.

Eileen’s vision was all black. His sharp hearing caught drunk customers muttering or attempting to escape the bar. He chuckled, imagining two bears walking out of a saloon door. His stray thoughts presented these people in the most embarrassing of ways, almost as a sadistic pleasure.

Well. Anything to chase boredom out.

Some time passed. Maybe a minute or an hour. Eileen put his final guess on a few seconds. His hopes were low, as though to avoid any disappointment. Anyhow, time had went by.

Another stretch of time arrived. Once again, Eileen played a game of guessing. Was it a second or a minute? Perhaps, had he skipped an entire hour? Eileen's low expectations worked for the better, as the right answer was quite depressing.

One time, however, when Eileen couldn't guess the daytime anymore, he caught onto some noises. Although faint, they were like the distinct crackling of foliage. As though someone had crushed a tree branch; subtle, yet noticeable.

Eileen's eyes cracked open at a snail pace. The appearance of stray noises brought in a level of interest capable of overwhelming his drowsiness. He strode towards the muffled noises with vigor. It was a convoluted path; around the main building, grazing a web of dead trees and vines. There was no light either. Alone, Eileen's senses were his most trustworthy ally. His attention was unnecessarily sharp for the task at hand.

Eileen nodded. The noises were growing louder. More notable, however, was the addition of voices in the blend. It was a pleasant twist for Eileen's curiosity.

"Kid, I hope you realize that we're not your playmates. The slums aren't either."

That masculine voice sounded rough, with a characteristic lack of grace.

'He's drunk.' Or so Eileen mused. Then, layering on top was another, gentler pitch.

"Don't mind that scary older brother, alright? Just give us our due money?"

A second masculine voice. It was soft, barely a whisper, to the point of sounding fake. Like a deranged person trying to lure out a kid.

'At least, that guy's not drunk. What about the kid they're mentioning, though?'

Eileen stopped in his tracks. A stupid thought struck him.

“Is the kid drunk?” He muttered under his breath. The herbs were still strong, even a good hour after the taste. However, Eileen couldn't realize it for obvious reasons.

'No.'

At least, he had some common sense remaining.

Just then, Eileen finished hugging the building's side wall. He ended up behind in a claustrophobic area surrounded by a formation of buildings and trees. A tiny lamp lit up the scene from a nearby lamp post. As expected, two man were in Eileen’s vision. They were short, burly, boring, and had untrimmed beards. One had a flushed nose and, despite the wind’s best efforts, carried the scent of alcohol.

In addition, a kid was facing them.

Rather, a girl. Her gender was obvious. She was short, barely a middle schooler's height.

There was nothing unusual about her. She was dressed in a red shirt, clean by the slums’ standards, and a cropped black skirt, fluttered by the wind.

It wasn't the basic outfit that caught Eileen's attention. Her demeanor did.

"Um, which money are we talking about?"

The girl's words were shaky, yet disinterested, as though she couldn't be bothered. Her cute pitch contrasted this impression. In response, one of the man howled at her.

"Our money! The one that we lent you a month ago, remember, stupid brat? You promised to give it back!"

Despite his partner's best efforts, the drunk man won the physical battle. He stomped forward right to the girl's level. Then, her cheek was slapped, and her body rolled on the ground. She puked out a small puddle at her feet.

Eileen watched the scene with pity but never moved from his spot, half-hidden from the three.

"Hey... Stop. We're gonna get caught at this point..."

The drunkard couldn't care less about his partner's warning. Once again, he began walking to the girl, whose body was gathering dirt on the ground. She tried using her thin arm to push to ground. It didn't work out for the better.

"Huh? Wait, she called the army!" Again, the sober man interfered. Hearing his tone, Eileen couldn’t confirm nor deny his words. Curious, he peered at girl and did notice a white glint near her hand.

"Shut up!" As the drunkard yelled, he spun his body on itself and barely avoided kissing the ground.

In an instant, the sober man rushed to the girl and raised her wrist upward. Her palm displayed a shiny smartphone with pride. A flickering white light left its location. Due to his bad angle, Eileen couldn't catch a glimpse of the screen.

As his friend shoved the phone at his face, the drunkard's expression grew pale.

"Wait, you're right..."

"I don't care anymore! Just run!"

With a lack of coordination, the men bolted at Eileen's location, searching an exit while shouting nonsense. Eileen changed his position to dodge the two. In the distance, deafening sirens rung out in between the buildings.

'It's a long night for them, I guess.'

After checking his back a couple of times, Eileen turned his attention to the motionless girl. He thought of the proper words to say. Before that, however, she gained the upper hand.

"Why..." Her voice was chocked. "...Didn't you help me?"

"..." Holding her stomach with both hands, the girl used momentum to straighten her back. Then, she started brushing the dirt off her skin.

"...Did you see me?"

The possibility was null, but Eileen asked anyway. He took a few steps forward.

"No." The girl stated with spite. "But, I highly doubt that you would walk in on me and these men out of coincidence."

Eileen widened his eyes. His cheeks were bloated, as though he was trying to contain a laugh. In the end, however, he lost out to the absurdity of these words.

The girl flinched. She raised her tiny brows and pouted her lips. "W-What?"

"Nothing, it's just...don't mind me."

In Eileen's mind, everything worked out. He had gotten his share of enjoyment, and drowsiness had begun getting to him. However -

"You didn't answer me. Why didn't you help me?"

- the girl had no intention of letting him go. With her arms crossed, she asked again. Eileen sighed and walked up to the girl, before crossing his legs on the ground. At first, the girl raised a defensive posture.

Stolen story; please report.

Eileen glanced at her left arm. A dark bruise ran from hand to elbow.

"You know, kid." Eileen raised his index upward, like a know-it-all.

"I'm not a 'kid'." The girl corrected while flashing an ugly smile.

"Yes, I was about to get to it. If we're going to talk, we may as well learn about our names, right? Mine is Eileen."

While the girl appeared disgusted by Eileen's attitude, she nodded, as though to acknowledge his point.

"...That's fair."

"See? So, your name?"

With a thoughtful expression, the girl spelled out her name with unnecessary emphasis.

"Lee." She said with pride.

"...Nice to meet you."

"..."

Eileen grimaced. "See, that's the part where you're supposed to return the gesture. 'Nice to meet you too, sir'. Something like that."

Lee tilted her head, displaying genuine confusion. "Does it work like that?"

"It depends. In my case, yes."

"I see. Nice to meet you, then."

Then, Lee extended her bruised wrist to Eileen. Her pupils burned with expectations.

"What? Adults do that, right? Although you don't seem like one at all."

Eileen scoffed, before dismissing dark thoughts from his head. It wasn't like Ari, where throwing a punch often cause more damage for Eileen than the receiver.

"You're right, but your arm is injured. If I did shake your hand, it would be painful. I'm guessing you don't like pain, right?"

Lee nodded, before regaining her pouting expression. "I don't care about pain. I want you to answer my question!" Although she shouted, her voice didn't carry in the distance.

Eileen stood up, then nudged Lee's back upward as help. Her disgruntled face hadn't changed at all.

"I will answer. After you get yourself treated, alright?"

However, it wasn’t soon until Eileen returned on his words.

'We don't actually have much healing supply left.'

He furrowed his brows.

'And there's no way I'm giving her the healing herbs.'

However, in one sentence, Lee dispelled the impending issue.

"Let's go to my base, then."

Eileen sneered. "...Your what?"

"My flat."

Thus, Lee resolved two of Eileen issues.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Striding the Hitobayashi avenue on early morning was an experience that Eileen fancied. Well, he could handle the bother. In-between the sewer scents, some drunk people clogging the streets or the sounds of curtains opening, Eileen's patience was strained thin.

While accompanied by a girl, however, this viewpoint was sure to change. Of course, it didn't apply to kids, and Eileen felt more like a babysitter than anything in his position. He was a wanted criminal, yet leaving this child in the wild felt like a much bigger offense.

Eileen covered distance in wide steps, while Lee lagged behind. Sometimes, he decreased his pace a little, allowing the girl to catch up.

"Eileen. Are we in a rush here? Can't you adapt your pace to mine for once?"

Lee's teasing sounded more like a bad scolding, and Eileen was the victim of it all.

"I am already! It's not my fault I have to escort a kid."

After halting his progress, Lee's steps caught up to him. Eileen stole a glance at her. He couldn't find anything remarkable about the girl. Lee had hair blacker than his and round, honey-colored eyes. Her cheeks had a slight layer of baby fat wrapped around them that, combined with a tiny nose, created a fitting childish appearance.

However, at times, it didn't seem to match Lee's behavior at all.

Eileen pointed at the endless avenue extending ahead. "Where are we even going? I hope you're good with directions."

Lee shook her head. "Not really. We're close, though." Her steps were wide and exuded confidence. To Eileen, it seemed more like a kid leading his friends to bully another. Well. He had strange reference images.

"...Is that so?"

"Yes." Lee laughed. "Not that you couldn't figure out the path alone anyway, right?"

‘That's certainly a way to put it.’

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As they continued walking, Eileen's doubts about Lee grew. She was leading them into a maze of alleys and natural tunnels, spiraling around the main avenue like a mole network. A sharp right turn. Left. That process looped forever.

Eventually, as a few traces of dusk manifested in the sky, the two ended their stroll.

"It's here?"

"It's here."

Eileen rubbed his eyes. In front of him was an ordinary apartment building of a few dozen floors. Its frontage was clean and coated in beautiful gray paint. The windows weren't broken nor blurry. Helped by the rising sun, a yellow hue descended onto the entire structure.

If Eileen had to single out an issue, then it would be the location. They were in a dead-end alley, squished in-between the building ahead and a perpendicular alley behind. That same alley was connected to another, denser network of alleys, itself linked to the Hitobayashi avenue. It was a mess.

"...You live here?" Eileen asked, in awe at the building's immaculate state. He wondered if the two hadn't crossed into another world altogether.

Lee ran ahead of Eileen, before spinning on herself. She had a bright and arrogant smile, displaying a complete array of yellowish teeth.

"Is that such a surprise? Eileen, your standards are lower than I expected."

Despite a daring attitude, Lee's clothes and skin, half-bruised and dirty, didn't support her statement with convincing arguments. However, Eileen didn't point it out. He was past arguing with Lee's devilish remarks.

Ignoring the child, Eileen walked past Lee and shot her a glare. On instinct, she bowed her head lightly.

"...Let's go in, right?" Eileen's warm tone helped the atmosphere to lighten. Lee nodded, striding forward in imposing steps, while Eileen lagged a meter behind. The complex's entrance was a modern, glass door. On the inside, nothing shabby was noticeable. Eileen's impression of the area was sky-high.

Better yet, Lee led him to an elevator. For Eileen, used to climbing several hundreds of steps in the slums' untended flats, it was a heaven on Earth.

Of course, Lee's face betrayed some concern at his blissful reaction.

"...What?" Eileen asked, clearing his throat.

Lee averted her eyes with a mocking expression. "Nothing." In the end, she couldn't hold in a chuckle.

"Kid, are my -"

"Lee." Lee corrected.

"...Lee, are my reactions that funny to you?" Eileen glared at Lee's haughty smile.

"No." She paused. A 'click' reverbed inside of the elevator, before its doors opened and a ray of light passed through. "But, now that you're pointing them out, yes. That's a basic mistake."

The two walked out of the elevator; although Eileen had such spite that he almost chose to stay inside. Lee led him across a wide corridor, walking on a carpet decorated in flower patterns. Ceiling LEDs lit up the area. Again, Eileen was impressed.

After some time spent in silence, Lee paused in front of a brown wooden door. There were no handles; only a lock located at the middle-right part. Lee took out her phone, flashing its screen against the lock. Nothing happened. However, when Lee threw her body against the door, it made way for the two.

"We're here." Lee said, entering her flat. She paused and turned around, flinching at Eileen’s actions.

"Your shoes." She stated with extreme emphasis. Eileen titled his head sideways.

"Huh?"

Lee pointed both of her indexes at her clean, wooden floor, then at Eileen's worn spot, dirty sneakers. Eventually, Eileen nodded.

"Sorry." He said in a half-apologetic tone. Despite his best pleas, Lee scoffed.

While stepping in barefoot, Eileen observed the flat with wonder. From his point of view, he saw a wide, round room, with an abundance of cream and brown tones. The entrance had a fancy doormat, and, on the exact left, an empty Porte-manteau. Several paintings cluttered the room, all of which Eileen couldn't recognize. Half of them were a mess of colors and contradictory shapes. The other half, however; a set of gorgeous paintings.

Eileen advanced forward. He asked Lee, who was nowhere to be seen. "Lee? Do you even know who painted these?"

A distant, childish voice answered from another room. "Why would I?"

"...Okay."

A low table occupied the center. On its right, a wide sofa extended in a crescent-shape, hugging the room's walls. It seemed made out of leather, with colorful cushions scattered all over it. Right ahead of Eileen, tucked against a wall, a door-way closet rose until to the ceiling.

As Eileen walked forward, another room appeared in his vision. A doorless opening on the left, from which he could see Lee's narrow back. Muffling his steps and breath, Eileen walked up to Lee's frame. He glanced around the room; it was a clean kitchen, albeit, the fridge and dozen drawers left little wiggle room for motions.

Lee was peeling an apple. Using her thumb as support, the knife slid in a seamless arc. Her eyes displayed an unbreakable focus. Naturally, Eileen had to shatter it.

He leaned forward, glancing at her side profile. Then, in a whisper – "Is it for me?"

Lee jolted awake, barely managing the avoid cutting her tongue. After throwing the knife on the cutting board, she hissed without crossing Eileen's gaze.

"Of course not. I'm hungry." Lee explained as though the matter was an evidence. She heard Eileen clicking his tongue in displeasure.

"No, no. That's not proper." He began, unsure whether Lee was listening at all. She had resumed preparing the apple with impressive dexterity.

"What is?" Lee asked. It seemed that she acknowledged Eileen's presence.

"It's rude to let your guest hanging like this. You should've been proactive. Asking me if I needed anything, stuff like this."

Eileen's matter-of-factly tone made Lee halt her peeling for a few seconds, before resuming it at a slower pace. Under her breath, she was muttering some words to herself.

"I guess...you're right?" Lee glanced around the room, her eyes landing on the fridge. Before she could talk, however, Eileen took the initiative.

"A glass of water, please."

"..." Lee, about to reach for the fridge's handle, froze in place. Throwing yet another glare, she eventually complied with an ugly expression.

Eileen’s expression was the perfect opposite.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lee and Eileen stared at each other. They were sitting behind the low table, using cushions as seats - Eileen's idea, not Lee’s. A bowl of apple slices and two glasses filled the table. While Eileen observed his glass of water with care, Lee had already gulped down her apple juice in seconds.

A bandage covered half of Lee's left arm. Despite her reluctance, Eileen had insisted on the matter. Of course, she did it herself. He had no interest in playing nurse.

And then, neither said a word.

"So?" Lee began with an out of place solemn expression. "Why didn't you help me?"

"Well..." Eileen scratched his chin. Faced with multiple options, he mused each of them.

No future existed where admitting being a wanted criminal would be a great idea. Although curiosity had driven a part of his actions, it wasn't the answer that Lee was looking for either.

In the end, Eileen settled on a three-quarter-lie.

"There wasn't anything that I could've done. It's as simple as that."

Lee frowned. "What?"

"Think about it." Eileen began, putting his hand on the table. "They were two. I couldn't beat them in battle, neither did I have a phone or anything. What do you expect me to do in that situation?" He ended his excuse scoffing.

For a while, a festival of expressions appeared on Lee's face. At first, she squinted her eyes and pursued her lips. Then, that look softened. Rather than furrowing her brows, Lee raised them. Her mind seemed to think about dozens of unrelated issues.

Then, she spoke. Using a soft tone.

"Ah..." Lee paused, averting her eyes from Eileen's straight gaze. "I think I understand. Sorry."

Eileen leaned his neck backward. "Don't be. You're making me look like the bad guy."

Lee's voice dropped in strength. "But you're not..."

After snapping his fingers, Eileen retorqued in a haughty 'Of course.' His gesture alleviated some of Lee's guilt. Right - she was facing that kind of person.

"Enough talking about me." Eileen said with a straight back. While it wasn't much of an improvement, he had a concerned expression. "Is your arm alright?"

As she threw her left arm at the air, Lee nodded, and Eileen followed.

"Perfect. Now then." He brought his face closer. "Why were these men after you?"

"..."

Eileen sighed, combing his hair backward. "I'm not forcing you. I'm just concerned and curious. Since you let me in here, that's the least I'll do."

It took some convincing, but Lee opened her lips.

"Do you want the short version, or the full story?" Her voice had slights cracks.

"Whatever will make me understand."