Serious: Aoi Pirates Chapter 1: What an incredibly stupid idea! (Open only to the Aoi Pirates)

Chris found himself talking to Bliss, who was hiding behind a stack of ten pancakes that lied on his plate. He really shouldn't have eaten before he came down here, his guts will explode if he ate all the pancakes. But he had to, he didn't want to upset Bliss, and he knew that her pancakes were famous around the island, so it will probably be fun until he'll reach half way. He impaled one of the pancakes on his fork and stuffed half of it into his mouth, it was infinite times better than marine food, even more.

"That's absolutely delicious" Chris said while listening to Bliss. Her friends sounded like the complete opposite of her, they reminded him of himself, in his younger days, before he left the island. He remembered how weird he thought Bliss was when she talked to him for the first time, he didn't know you could make friends just like that until then, but Bliss was a complete opposite of that, to her it seemed natural. He envied her because of it for a while, but stopped once more important things reached his thoughts.

"So" Chris said as he swallowed another pancake, "Are they joining your crew?" He asked, and mentally punched himself a moment later. Why would he bring the crew up?! He was doing so well until now, but he had to ruin it with his stupidity. Tactless and silly, like he always was, he hated that.

Yan now knew one new thing about himself, and it was that he was bad at lying. The poke in the forehead from Lucia felt rather sharp as her fingertip was placed firmly on his forehead. He avoided rolling his eyes in front of her. Yan was glad that the conversation was over, but there was another problem that arose after it. The two sat down for a short while with no words coming out of them during that time. Yan looked around for a while and let out an occasional awkward cough. As he was about to get up and say his goodbye, he heard a group of familiar voices gradually getting louder. He checked his mind for a memory match for those voices and it paired it up with the voices of his older sisters, Rena and Ellen. They were wearing different summer dresses and carrying parasols with them to shield out the sun. Both are eighteen years of age Yan wondered how this was going to turn out.

As Yan's sisters walked by, they almost didn't notice him sitting down with a girl that they did not know of. Yan was in relief that they walked past until the sisters walked back and started a little conversation with him and Lucia. "Well would you look here, Ellen. It seems that our dear, oddball brother found a girlfriend. What do you think of her, sister Rena?" Rena moved her face closer towards Lucia before backing off and saying, "Her lips are unusually thin, but pale, which I like. She doesn't have that hourglass figure like we do, those glasses make her look unattractive, and her face is covered with red markings. Final verdict is four out of ten, sister Ellen. You need to do better with finding girlfriends, dear brother. Oh, and why are you two sitting here? Is this your date? Pretty lame date if you ask me!" After bombarding Lucia with hurtful remarks, Rena and Ellen let out a mocking laugh at her before leaving.

Yan couldn't help but roll his eyes as he heard their, "Kyahahahahahaha!", in the distance. He turned to Lucia where he knew that she was going to feel hurt by those words and tried to comfort her before he saw tears. "I deeply and truly apologize for my sisters, they are harpies towards many people they meet. Why don't we try to take our minds off them by doing something distracting? Will that help?" Yan knew his words were weak and had no strength in it to comfort Lucia, but he already spat them out and there's no way of taking them back in.

Lucia had to resist the temptation to stand up and punch them in the face.
Hard.
And maybe even get a pole and beat them up.
She really wanted to do that.
She would probably do that if she met them again.
She hoped it was not in front of Yan again, she wouldn't like to beat his older sisters in front of him. She wasn't strong, but judging from how they were, the air could blow them away quite easily.
"Your sisters are adorable." She groaned "Adorable enough for me to want to beat them up with a pole. Please, I don't want to see them again. Ever. I might just go on berserk mode, and that wouldn't be nice, nuh uh." She then whispered some insulting words, really quietly, careful that Yan wouldn't hear.

She then sighed "Don't worry about it, it's fine." She sighed again. 'After all I've always known I'm not pretty, or nice, or anything alike. But geez those ndfjkhsdjkfhjdg sure went pass the limit...
And what's with me and sighing today?' She groaned and stood up, moved her hair a bit, adjusted her glasses and spoke up "Wanna go for a walk or something? I'm sure that will distract us, or me, or you." She stopped to think for a bit, then scratched her head a bit "Thanks for worrying I guess."

She walked for about a meter and then stopped to think for a while once again "...Actually, can I beat them up next time I see them?" She then blushed a bit, that wasn't supposed to come out. Nope. Not at all. She then laughed a quiet awkward laugh "If that wouldn't trouble you...." And again, she did it. 'Oh well, better if he finds out about my violent nature now...he might get freaked out though...Aww, I wanted to hide it for a while....'

Yan let out a small, short laugh at her final words on his dear older sisters. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "You know Lucia, that is something I would-" Yan stopped talking dead in its tracks. He felt uneasy and a painful headache coming through. He looked around for a bit, looking rather strange to people passing by. But they couldn't see the fear that he saw. He saw the strange, zen-like lady from his past a few paces away from him. Her blood red eyes stared straight at him, piercing Yan with knee-quaking fear. His eyes widened in fear and his mouth stood agape. Suddenly, the nightmarish vision ended and Yan's fears came to a halt. His whole body was broken out in a cold sweat and his heart was racing at a mile a minute. Yan wiped the sweat out of his brows and took a deep breath in.

"Lucia, it's true that they deserve punishment for what they've done in the past, what they did in the present, and what they will do in the future, but please know that they are my elders and I must learn to respect my elders, as should you towards your elders such as an older sibling or older family member. Anyways, I assure you we will not encounter them again." Yan stood up and brushed the dirt and dust off of his flame-patterned pants. His knees were shaking slightly and he swore he heard, "I'm always watching you, Yan, no matter how far you go.....", come and go through the wind like a whisper. "Whew....Yes, let's go for a walk. Do you have any suggestions on where to go? If not, why don't we head over to the forest? I recently discovered I cave which I haven't explored yet. Does that sound good to you?"

This was it, the moment of truth, it was the moment to make his decision. Inside his mind, thoughts surged back and forth, along with every what if scenario. He was raised to see pirates as criminals, savages, but if a good girl such as Bliss wanted to be one than there was no way they were all that bad. The marines turned him down, leaving him with no funds for his research, and staying on the island like this won't benefit his research even in a million years. Even though he missed home, he couldn't imagine staying on the island for the rest of his life, and if he passed on this opportunity, who knows if another will come by.

"I think I did..." Chris said as he lowered his fork. He hoped he was making the right decision, but in all honesty, the best way to find out was making it in the first place. "I will join you Bliss" He said with a smile, as a huge weight was lifted off of him. Even though it was a major decision, and a questionable one, it felt right. "One thing for sure, the food on your ship will be way better than the food on the marine ship" He joked as he stuffed another pancake into his mouth, suddenly not worrying about his stomach exploding.

Chris didn't really know what to do with Bliss' reaction. Sure, he was glad that he made her that happy, but he didn't deal well with the all dancing and hugging. It was weird, but after the decision was made, it was like a whole new room opened in his stomach, he couldn't even believed he doubted his ability to eat all the pancakes as he swallowed another one, leaving only one on his plate. He had so much to do now, so many people to meet, but this decision seemed like the most difficult task of them all, and after he did it, he wasn't even worried about what was about to come.

"Well, I'll have to meet the rest of the crew, wouldn't want to start off as an outsider" Chris explained as he took a huge bite off the last of his pancakes. It was insane, he was going to be a doctor once again! only this time, there will be no one looking over his shoulder, no one to yell at him, no one to criticize him, just medicine and himself, another step towards his master goal. "And by the way, c'est magnifique?"

Chris struggled to keep up with someone as hyperactive as Bliss. It was like she couldn't sit still, and that, combined with her overall optimistic attitude, made her a force to be reckoned with. "I..." Chris started saying, but before he managed a word Bliss was already holding the ship keys, and his hand, dragging him out of the house. "I think it'd be best if I didn't go through my house" Chris answered. He knew that his parents wouldn't stop him, but also knew they'll have a bad time dealing with his departure, whether they saw him again or not, and he decided to skip that sad movie.

"So I get that Lucia's your future navigator, way to think ahead" Chris said. He hoped that not all of Bliss' friends will be as young as she was, but didn't really care at the same time, since even if she was a young girl Bliss seemed to have a pretty good idea on how to run this whole mess.

She stared at him, unsure of what to say. Should she ask about his sudden short trance? Or should she stay silent and just go walk? Maybe answer his questions? She looked down, then up again, everywhere except him. Maybe answering would be better, she would ask some other day.
But for now...
She didn't notice anything. At all. Nope.

"...But they are annoying, plus, if they want me to respect them, they should respect me first. Everyone's the same, age doesn't matter. Hope I don't, I wouldn't stand even a second next to them." She frowned "I feel sorry for you having such sisters."

She scratched her head, walking around the forest would be nice, it would help her get that annoying laugh out of her head. 'Why do I remember it so clearly anyway? It's so annoying!' She sighed, her memory worked well just when she didn't need it. And when she needed it she couldn't remember a thing. "Yeah, the forest would be nice...but no caves please, I don't like them. It's dark and there are animals and bugs and...brrrr" She shivered, the idea of a cave didn't sound too inviting. She hated the dark and she didn't like bugs, at all, they were disgusting and creepy and bugish, and..stuff.

Yan clapped his hands together and uttered an almost monotonous, "Good." He began to head in the direction in the forest and made a hand gesture to give Lucia the signal to follow him. The walk to the edge of the forest didn't take too long, but the uphill made it seem like the walk was longer. During the walk, Yan made a delayed conversation that should've been held when Lucia talked about respect and her sisters. "I know you're irked by my sisters and do not wish to respect them like I do, but what you do not understand is that you cannot see what I see. My calm and kind personality was all shaped about a year ago, when I got lost in the forest. I was a rebellious child that time, and my...old habit of wanting to be different took over me. I ran away from home and straight into this forest. I got lost and the sun was setting. I fell asleep under a tree. I recall half-waking up to a pair of hands reaching to pick me up. I remember a sweet scent at that time of half awakening, it smelt like the scent of mixed forest berries and sugar cane. I'm sorry, I got a bit off track and into rambling. Anyways, you do not need to feel sorry for me having sisters like them. My whole family is like that so I got used to their attitudes very quickly, haha."

After Yan's rambling session and his short, awkward laugh at the end, he wondered how the mysterious woman Hijiri was doing. Was her house still there? Is she still alive? Should I tell her about the decision I made? All of those questions passed through his mind and tried to stick into his memory. But the image of the latest waking nightmare lingered in his mind, tearing at his sanity and causing Yan to shiver in fear as he saw Hijiri's lunatic red eyes staring at him. Yan considered himself lucky to not have experienced what would've happened after she had approached him in the nightmare or daydream or whatever that was. Suddenly, Yan had the strangest urge to go visit the woman in the forest and pay some respect to his master, per say, and give a goodbye before departing overseas with his old friend and new friends. "Actually, Lucia...." There was some hesitation in his voice. "I want to pay one last visit to an old "friend" of mine before we leave to sail overseas. Her hut is in the forest, and I still remember the path. I'd like to ask you if you'd like to come along. If you don't want to, I can visit her later today alone and we can continue on with the walk in the forest. How does that sound, Lucia?"

A few hours before.

After having played music in the park Red knew he had to go to his job, since a year he had been working as a cook in the local restaurant, he just worked a few hours a day and they were very happy with him, his cooking skills had increased a lot since he came there and he was a overal good cook, the time spent in the park almost made him come to late at his job, he hurried over to the restaurant taking his lute with him because he didn't have time to bring it home. Well it wouldn't mather He loved to play on his lute. He even might be able to play something in his break.

The day at work wasn't too busy there weren't a lot of people in the restaurant and they didn't order anything too hard too make, he made a few fish dishes and some simple lunch dishes with ommelets. mushrooms, toast and some fresh herbs, they were popular in town, people would come to the town at lunchtime especially for Reds ommelets. It made him happy that he could entertain people by either playing music or cooking, it felt good to make people happy.

Now

After a few hours of working Red changed and was about to leave for his house, swinging the bag where his lute was in over his shoulder, removing the band from his ponytail letting his hair fall on his shoulders and yawning while stretching out ''see you next week'' he said to his boss and waved the people goodbye, it was also a good day since he had recieved his money, He had been saving money lately, he wasn't sure on what he would spend it but well it felt good to earn money and then to spend it later on.

Red walked trough the door of the restaurant and set a few steps feelings the fresh breeze trough his hair, it had cooled down a bit, it was ready for him to go home, time to rest he thought after a long day of work and fun. He then heard someone running, and knew it was bliss, she stopped right before him She was pulling a guy with him, holding her hands, he smiled it was good to see Bliss again, he hadn't seen this guy before but knowing bliss it would be a good person. Red smiled and waved at bliss and her friend ''hey Bliss good to see you here, your doing alright?'' he asked wondering how one of his best friends was doing, then he headed to the guy with bliss he walked towards him and offered to shake his hand ''hello there my name is Red, Haven't met you before have I?'' he asked while going trough if he knew this guy or not in his head. then he asked '' so what are you guys up too''

Roku had left the place where they had been meeting in a complete rush. He was running without knowing where to go... he was nervous. He could feel as if red ants had invaded his whole body and were stinging him from the inside. The most affected part was his stomach... he felt like throwing up. He had a very serious problem with this new idea. He wanted to go with his friends, but he didn´t want to have problems with his family.

Roku went to his grandmother's house. She was doing the usual that she did at this time of the morning, she was starting to cook for the lunch time. Hibiki was really sad to have to leave her... but he also saw this as a way to continue the studies he had started with his beloved grandmother. The study of the human body, animals and plants... how everything worked and how it started was what he really was interested in. He didn't think his parents would understand it... but most probably his grandmother would.

Roku walked up to her and sat down in the small wooden table that they had in their kitchen, right now it was full of things. There were some vegetables, the meat that she was going to cook was stil hard... obviously she had recently taken it out from the fridge. Roku looked at her and she stopped what she was doing, cutting up some onions, and stared at him.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" -she asked. Roku looked at her and took a deep breath before starting.

Roku's heart was pounding heavily, he could feel it in his chest, it almost seemed as if it was out of control. He couldn't do it... he knew that his grandma would tell his parents after all. She was an adult and she wanted the best for him. But she had already noticed that there was something going on... she had already given him the look. Which look? The one she always gave Roku when she knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" -She asked Roku. She sat down and left what she was doing halfway done.- "I know there's something wrong. Don't try to lie to me"

Roku looked at her... she knew him extremely well. Oh where to start, he had no idea where to start. Roku shivered a little bit because he didn't know how to answer that question. He really didn't know how his grandma would react. He just hoped that she would keep the secret.

"Well... grandma, you see.. I got this offer from one of my friends" -Roku started. His grandmother gave him an inquiring look, she wanted to know what everything was about. -"Well... we are going to go and travel the world... like, adventures"

Roku looked at her. A tear left his eye and rolled down his cheek, he didn't want to leave his grandma either.

Chris was impressed, Bliss undoubtedly had it all planned out, which was probably why she cared so much about him joining, otherwise her planning would have been defected. "So, where are we going?" Chris asked, wondering what Bliss had in plan, It seemed like she was heading for a small restaurant, but that was weird, considering they just ate more than a dozen pancakes combined. 'Hungry girls?' Chris wondered, raising an eyebrow, but soon enough, Bliss' purpose arrived.

They stopped in front of a guy leaving the restaurant. He looked around Chris' age. He was carrying some beli notes, making Chris understand he probably worked in the restaurant he just left. 'That sure makes more sense' Chris thought. The guy then spoke, revealing that he knew Bliss. He was probably the reason Bliss headed for the restaurant, to recruit another friend of hers. That was a relief, since Chris was starting to fear he'll be the oldest among Bliss' friends, but the guy seemed older. Chris extended his arm for a handshake as the guy introduced himself as Red.

"Ah, no I don't think we have" Chris answered, "But I wasn't around for a pretty long time, so it might have just slipped our minds as easily" Chris joked. Being back at the island felt weird, very weird. He wasn't used to the freedom in civilian life, nor the happy-go-lucky attitude of Bliss, making everything quite new to him. The cold breeze was fogging up his glasses, so he removed them and cleaned them with the sleeve of his shirt, letting Bliss answer Red's question, since he wasn't so certain what the answer actually was.

Red stared at Chris for a bit, and smiled when they shook hands ''Nice to meet you Chris'' he said, he thinked for a bit and knew he hadn't seen him before, red was bad with names, and even with faces at times. ''enjoying your time back at home'' he asked then headed to bliss who was about to tell him a whole big story. he could see that in her eyes, she was energetical and happy and had a plan. there were plans before, some that worked and some that worked a bit less. Red couldn't hear much because Bliss was talking very fast, but he heard something about becoming pirates, with friends and that she wanted red to be a pirate too.

Red was very suprised, she asked him, he did have enought trouble physically with just doing the daily life, but it was something nice too, beign asked to join Bliss was nice, but it seemed strange, he had a good life over here why should he leave he had a job an own appartement. and a good life. Ofcourse when he sailed to sea he could maybe meet his parrents again who just went abroad last year. Red didn't know how to react and was still thinking of what to do ''Ah I see, Bliss and her good ideas'' he said on a somwhat sarcastic tone ''but I can see the fun part of it too, we could have a great time''

Red wasn't sure what to do, he would be the oldest of the group, and probably the cook, and he could make music too, that seemed good, ''well bliss you already have quite alot of troubles with your parents we could buy our ship too, I have saved a lot last years, we might manage'' he said, he was against stealing things, why was he becoming a pirate then, he didn't want to become a pirate but he wanted to be with his friends and have a good time, to be hones he was actually bored of the daily slum doing the same things day in and day out it seemed like a good and refreshing idea. He had no parents who would worry about him since they didn't live on this island so that was a problem less, there was his job but they would understand his boss had been a pirate once, not a succesfull one but it been a great time Red always admired his story's could he experience those for himself. he got excited too maybe red did want to be a pirate ''but Bliss. you know I can't do a lot physically and I can't fight a lot, but I can be your cook and musician'' he said his body was a problem at times. ''Oh I remember I still got my bow from practice at home from when I started archery two years ago, maybe I can fight'' he said didn't know what was going to happen, Bliss probably didn't expect him to say yes right at the start. and it was worth it just to see Bliss her exciting look, if his friends was happy he was

Chris raised an eyebrow at what Bliss said. 'Bliss? a Fighter? What?' He thought. She grew since the last time he saw her, but she didn't seem like she was exceptionally stronger. Why did she decide to be the crew's fighter? Was she training or something? either way, having a 15 years old fighter is not the way to survive as a pirate, that's for sure. It was just straight up odd. He was about to comment on that, but then Bliss grabbed his hand for some reason, making him think once more. 'Why is she doing that?' He wondered. He wasn't a fan of holding hands, hugging, or any type of physical touch that lasted longer than a handshake, but he already made Bliss cry once today, and that was usually a sign to keep embarrassing questions like the ones he had in mind away, at least for the time being.

On the other hand, Red seemed like a perfectly rational guy, leaving the fact that he just joined a pirate crew aside. He was well aware of his limits and drawbacks, an admirable feat. "Comfort yourself in the fact that all I have to protect myself with are a scalpel and three days of marine basic training..." Chris joked. He wasn't weak, but he didn't have any drops of knowledge about anything regarding fighting, probably making him one of the weaker members of the crew.

She followed, listening to his rambling. When he finished, she just nodded. "I see" she muttered quietly. "And of course I won't be able to see what you see, you're you, you're older, I'm a girl. We're different." She scratched her head, it itched a bit. 'That was not supposed to come out. Why did I say it?' She sighed, she had to stop that bad habit. She nodded. "...I can't help but feel sorry, if it's not only your sisters, but your whole family, then it's worse. Families should be nice, right?"

She stopped in front of him and sighed. "You. I just met you but I can see you're acting weird...or do act like this all the time?" She sighed, then thought for a bit, then shook her head. "No more strangers today" 'Specially not ones that live inside huts in the forest, that's just creepy.' She stopped to think for a bit before being hit with a sudden realization "I think...we should go back to Bliss, don't you think so too? Maybe she wants to tell us something..." 'Or present more strangers that are to join this weird crew. Sheesh, hope she doesn't want to return after the first week.'

Red was suprised of Bliss her serious answer, before she would have laughed if red said something like that, she should know that red didn't meant it in any bad way and just said it to let bliss get a tad irritated, but still that reaction went far. ''ofcourse they are good'' he said nodding his head, it felt strange to take her dads ship, it would be like stealing, he knew Bliss wouldn't mind but it felt a bit strange for him, well no need to cry about stuff what was going to happen, Red started thinking his hand put beneath his chin.

So bliss are their cooking equipments on board, I think its best to go home to my appartment first and pack some stuff, I might have some knives and stuff we can use, we should be armed before we leave, '' he said wanting to be prepared as well as possible, he also wanted to get some clothes and his instruments/ he would also need to buy some stuff for the first days they would be on sea, it be a smart plan to get stuff ready before setting sail, ''could any of you two join me to get some stuff and groceries from my appartemant and the local shop so we can set sail in a good way, we dont wanna starve first night will we? ,and criss do you got your doctors stuff, I might got some basic things you could need at my home too.'' Red was always worried if he had enough stuff with him to places.

Red was looking forward to this adventure, honoured he was asked, a bit scared about things that could go wrong, but he knew he had friends with him so it will be alright

Yan listened carefully to Lucia and her short and shy statements. He simply gave off a fake laugh and patted her on the head. "Families don't have to be nice to each other. What makes a family a family is their genetic bonds and their blood relation, and all that wibbly, wobbly stuff. Anyways, I usually act this way. This is how I walk, talk and live my life. What's so strange about that? Or are you referring to my earlier trance? That's a bit personal and I wish to not get into that with an acquaintance such as yourself."

Yan started walking into the forest alone. He hoped that he didn't get mauled by bears or wolves on the way to the hut and back. Before he departed, he told Lucia something. "Listen, if Bliss asks where I've gone, tell her I had to go see someone important. Tell her I've gone into the forest but don't let her come looking for me, I'll get back myself. I'd really hate to see Bliss lost in the forest. Anyways, goodbye and say hello to Bliss for me!"

And so Yan journeyed into the forest, using the path he remembered by heart somehow even though he only took it once. The forest was very serene and quiet, the only sounds that were made was the grass softly cushioning the steps of Yan's shoes and the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees and bushes. Although it was a very serene walk, it was also uneventful and dull. On occasion, he saw a rabbit or a deer but they bounded off too quickly for Yan to get a good focus on them. Maybe he needed new glasses. Finally, he reached the location of the hut of Hijiri. He saw that the door leading into the hut was ajar, so he knocked first before entering. The place was just as how he remembered it; surprising calming and giving off a happy feeling in your stomach. The place was brightly lit by the sun shining through a window and a lamp placed on a table. Strangely enough, it looks like Hijiri was just here but had to quickly abandon her hut, like something or someone was after her. She didn't even finish what she was eating.

He checked the surrounding area for any signs of where the mysterious woman went, but no tracks or signs were left behind. It's like she magically disappeared into thin air! Yan sighed and sat down by the table. He decided to leave when something unusual caught his attention. He went to inspect this mysterious object and found that it was two metal rods. As Yan pulled them apart, he saw dozens, literally hundreds of incantations hidden in that strange scroll! At first, Yan wanted to steal it and keep it for himself but he knew the powers of this woman. If he stole anything from this hut, even a spoon, he'd probably die in one of those nightmares. He put the scroll down and quickly left the hut, fearing what the woman would do if she knew Yan was trespassing.

She rolled her eyes, 'Everyone has a different definition for family, I guess...'. She stood there listening to him, when he finished, she waved her hand, nodded her head, then turned around to walk out of the forest. 'An acquaintance...Ah well, I guess we'll become closer if we do travel together...he seems nice at least.'

She kept walking until she was back in town, and then she was hit with a sudden realization.. "If I go to Bliss now..maybe I won't be able to go back home later..." She thought for a while "I guess I'll go home then, I'll see if I get permission from someone..." She changed her destination from Bliss's house to her own.

When she got home, she found that, just like she predicted, there wasn't anyone home. She sighed, a note would do then. She went inside the study room, grabbed a random paper and wrote on it: 'Bliss decided we should be pirates. There's no way out. I'll miss you, I love you. Take care. Hope to see you soon. Bye.' She shook her head. 'No crying allowed. No. No. Not allowed' She sniffed and left the room quickly, then left the house, she didn't take anything with her, since she supposed Bliss would let her at least go back home to get her things. 'But if she doesn't...I'm doomed...I'll be trapped at sea without my personal possessions...' She walked through the street, once again in direction to Bliss's house. "Hope she's still home..."

Roku's heart was pounding heavily, he could feel it in his chest, it almost seemed as if it was out of control. He couldn't do it... he knew that his Grandma would tell his parents after all. She was an adult and she wanted the best for him. But she had already noticed that there was something going on... She had already given him the look. Which look? The one she always gave Roku when she knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" -she asked Roku. She sat down and left what she was doing halfway done.- "I know there's something. Don't try to lie to me."

Roku looked at her... she knew him extremely well.

(WIP: Note this doesn't affect the thread because it's just a note on Roku's story. He's at home.)