Arron and Trexx

Chapter 74

"Arron's rich." Shikamaru shrugged vaguely. "Like, crazy rich."

"Richer than my clan, your clan, and the Akimichi clan combined. Her family left her literally everything." Ino shrugged. She could only hope Arron wasn't going to go hunt down that gay man and his little party of queers to decorate another house. Ino shuddered at the thought. God, those guys were weird. Their leader, the coonskin-cap man, gave "queen" a whole new meaning.

"I...I had no idea." Shikaku blinked. Arron tilted her head slightly, and Shikamaru could practically see the light bulb go off above her head. He looked to look on her face when she realized something. Well, he actually tended to like all the looks she gave. Save for the sad, painful ones, that is... Those ones just made him want to hold and protect her in whatever way he could.

"Money." Arron waved Trexx over, and he thrust the bag towards Shikaku. "Biliau." 

Shikaku looked lost, but then it seemed to click. "Bills?" He asked. She nodded simply, and he immediately shook his head. "No, Arron. You don't need to pay rent."

"Yeah, Arron. You're a part of our family now." Shikamaru assured. He felt warm as he said that. "I don't pay rent, so you shouldn't have to either."

"You're broke." Arron accused, narrowing her eyes at him. Shikamaru almost snorted his coffee out of his nose, and Ino turned away to try and hide her snicker. Shikamaru pressed his lips together. Alright, so that's how things were. He saw it, he saw it. He guessed she did have a point. He really didn't get much money from missions yet, so he didn't have much cash to burn.

"I don't want your money, Arron. You keep it to do things you want to do." Shikamaru said, amusement laced in his voice. Shikamaru shot his father a withering glare that had absolutely no effect. Arron frowned but shrugged, holding a hand up toward Trexx. He yawned, lowering the bag slightly. He could really go for some deep-fried s u n right now. One day he'd get some... one day.

"Come on, Arron. Let's go before it gets too hot out!" Ino grabbed the girl's arm, beginning to tug her towards the door. Arron frowned a little. She always looked sad upon leaving Shikamaru, and it made his heart flutter every time. Shikaku watched his son's expression shift with a small, knowing smile on his face. Shikamaru had absolutely no idea just how deep in he was. There was no escaping it at this rate. 

"You guys should just get together already! I'm tired of waiting!" Ino pouted as they walked towards the village. 

"Together?" Arron was pretty sure she and Shikamaru were together. They lived in the same house, didn't they? They were always naturally with one another. Did that mean Ino wanted her to stay behind? Or perhaps she wanted Shikamaru to accompany them on their journey into town. She wasn't sure.

"We went over this. Like, romantically involved. Kissing and stuff!" Ino encouraged. She then faltered. "Hey, what happened with Coldwell, by the way? Are you okay?"

Arron grimaced a little. "Fine." She said. "Waz kidnapped by men in market. Coldwell was gwerthwyd. Sold. I dihangodd, escaped, and got the... ah, oil. Put it everywhere." She recalled vaguely. Ino stared at her. Arron... never talked so openly about what she'd been through. Ever. "Let kids out. I... threw the' lanterni on oil. Burned it down." 

"You burned it all down? Was that when you escaped?" Ino gasped a little. Arron frowned.

"No..." She frowned. "Got... taken again. I got taken again." She cleared her throat a little. She knew she was beginning to lag in the grammatical ways of her sentences, but it was easy to fall into the easier habits of speaking Japanese.

"I see..." Ino frowned, but then brightened. "Well, I'm glad you're out now!"

Arron smiled a small smile, and a nod. Ino grinned too. "So, where are we going, anyway?" The blonde asked.