Third person pov
Arron got up the next morning and got dressed like nothing was wrong. She highly suggested that she wanted to get changed with Shikamaru, like she hadn't had a panic attack the night prior. She hugged Shikamaru and clung to him just like she did every morning, as though she hadn't admitted to being stuck in that retched camp. As though she hadn't saved those poor children and burned it to the ground.
As though she hadn't been taken again afterwards.
"Arron, are you ready to go?" Ino asked as Yoshino quietly let her into the house. Arron, who was snuggled deeply into Shikamaru's side, reluctantly pried herself from the boy's side. Ino winked at him suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows in a teasing manner that made him scowl. Still, his cheeks went red, just as they did every time she did that.
"Ino, please keep a careful eye on Arron today." Shikaku requested. He was still, admittedly, a little shaken from what Arron had told them before. From their encounter with Coldwell. Arron had revealed just a meager fraction of what she'd been through. A small, miniscule portion, and yet... it was something so big. It involved fires, and risking her life, and getting captured. It was... It was just so much.
"What? What happened?" Ino picked up on their distress immediately. Arron looked up from her shoes, which she'd been trying to wrestle on, to tilt her head in question. She understood why maybe the Nara's were taken aback by what she'd revealed. But it wasn't... it really wasn't that big a deal. Far worse had happened. It didn't come close to some of the other events she'd lived through. Other events she'd fought through.
Shikamaru scowled deeply, trying to kick down the sudden urge to grab Arron and keep her here for the day. "Just... keep her away from Coldwell." Shikamaru's voice came out snappier than he'd meant it to, but Ino didn't seem offended. Her teal eyes narrowed considerably, her gaze flickering to Arron. She knew Coldwell had been up to something.
"What happened?" She asked again, her voice lower than before.
"He and Arron knew each other while she was still..." Shikaku trailed off. "They were in the same... place. He was sold too." He grimaced. Ino froze. That... wasn't what she'd immediately assumed. So Coldwell was a victim too?
"I don't want her to get triggered. Seeing him might bring up some memories. Last night... was pretty rough for Arron." Shikamaru said softly as the girl finally got her shoe on, tuning out the conversation. He was a little glad for that. She seemed to understand his need to set guidelines for her, and she seemed to get why he and his father would be such sticklers after what they'd witnessed with her and Coldwell.
"We'll keep it easy today." Ino promised. "If anything happens, I'll bring her home immediately."
"Thanks." Shikamaru let out a breath of air. He knew he could trust and count on Ino. Arron seemed... alright. Normal, almost, which was actually more unsettling than it was comforting. He tried to brush the tightness in his chest off. How could he be missing Arron when she literally slept in his bed with him?
"Well, Arron, you heard the man. Today's an easy day!" Ino turned to the girl happily. Trexx slunk into the room holding Mothball and Noot by their heads. The pair had probably been fighting again. Their scuffles, during which Noot would try and cannibalize Mothball, could get pretty out of hand. To the point that Mothball was actually screaming out muffled welsh curse words as he was being swallowed whole.
"Hire." Arron said, and Trexx nodded, dropping Noot to pull the bag of money out of his... stomach? Ino didn't want to know why that was a thing.
"Hire? Why do you need to hire people?" Shikaku looked lost. "Is that money?"
"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.
"Hire." Arron said with a nod. Ino shrugged.
~~~~~
"Arron, why are we in the red light district again?" Ino sighed heavily. Was she going to go find the gays again? She would admit that the man in the coonskin cap was exceptionally good at interior design. He was just a little... much. Better taken in small doses. She could easily go another month without seeing him.
"Hire." Arron said. It was still relatively early, so the drunks and party-goers who'd passed out in the bars and clubs the night prior were beginning to slink out and make their way home. A lot were still drunk, if not completely hungover. Ino found herself inching closer to Arron and Trexx. The dark-haired girl, while vigilant, wasn't nearly as nervous as Ino was. The Yamanaka was amazed. Just months ago, how would Arron have reacted just walking down a normal street?
"Hey... let go of me..." A female voice squeaked, and Arron stopped, raising a hand to stop Ino. The blonde blanched. In the alley right across from them was a woman. A rather drunk looking man was standing over her, hand clamped around her wrist. Her eyes were wide with flurried panic. Arron's eyes narrowed.
"Arron, we should help." Ino hissed out.
"Pause." Arron whispered back, so Ino did. There was a moment of silence where the man tugged on the woman's wrist a little, seeming a little woozy, before a loud shout pierced through the stagnant quiet. Arron watched with calculating eyes as a pair of large men, littered with tattoos and piercings, barreled towards the drunk man.
"Oi, let go of her, shitbag!" The taller of the men roared, tackling the drunk to the ground. The shorter one stopped in front of the woman, seeing if she was okay. Arron watched carefully as the man stood a good foot away from her. He didn't touch her. He'd done this before, and he knew his stuff. This was perfect.
"Trexx." She noted, and the beast lumbered forward, ripping the drunk from beneath the seething man covered in tattoos, tossing him further down the street with ease. The two men both snapped their attention to Arron, who's arms were folded across her chest. She watched fearlessly as the tallest man, the one who'd done the tackling, rose to his full height.
"What the hell?" The shorter of the man muttered. The terrified woman took off before anyone could stop her, but the two men were a bit preoccupied with Arron at the moment. She was a short, little girl, but something was terribly off. Not in a necessarily bad way. Shadows seemed to curl towards her, and her dark friend seemed to get taller as she gazed at them with curious eyes. Ino stayed behind Trexx cautiously.
"Rapist." Arron's eyes flickered towards where Trexx had thrown the man.
"Fucking scumbag." The taller snapped immediately. Arron didn't flinch.
"Who are you, kid? What're you doing around here?" The shorter of the two men asked. His hair was dyed neon green. The taller man had his head buzzed military style. It was so short she couldn't tell if it was dark brown or black completely. She guessed it really didn't matter.
"Arron." She shrugged. "Hire?"
"What?" The taller man asked.
"Hire you." Arron said, and Trexx held up the bag, jingling it. The ryo inside drew the men's attention immediately. They both looked dumbstruck. "Rapists?"
"Are we rapists?" The shorter one sputtered. He looked more lost than his tall friend. "No, what the- who are you?!"
"Arron." Arron replied patiently. "Name?"
"I'm Hisakari, and that's Glug. What do you mean hire?" The tall man grumbled, eyebrows knit with confusion. The short one was still stuck gaping at Trexx, and then at Arron, and then at Trexx again. Ino wanted to bash her head in. What was Arron doing now?! Her decisions were always made very carefully, from the gay interior designers, to the female electricians.
"Own... I own two houses for women. Need more... more protection." She waved a hand. Her accent told the two men that her Japanese probably wasn't the best, but they got the gist of it. It dawned on Hisakari. Of course she'd ask them. They were strangers, yeah, but they'd just helped a woman being preyed on by some drunk asshole.
"You want us to be bodyguards?" Glug wasn't going to turn it down. He was broke as hell, and it was hard to find work when you had dyed hair, four piercings in each ear, a lip and nose ring, and a shit-load of tattoos. It wasn't any easier for Hisakari, and his piercing situation really wasn't even that severe. He was just too intimidating for "civilian" jobs.
"Rapists?" Arron asked again. Hisakari and Glug stared. What the fuck kind of job interview was this? Was it a job interview? How old was this girl, anyway? They both knew she was way too young to be slinking around these parts. Then again, her shadowy... friend had just tossed a man halfway down the street.
"No, we're not." Hisakari answered calmly. He showed her the inside of his wrist. "We support the anti-sexual violence committee."
Arron's eyes sparked, and Glug showed his wrist too. Ino groaned. She wished they hadn't just told her about that committee/charity. She'd probably be taking that over next at this rate.
"Hired?" Arron asked.
"I, uh..." Glug blinked a few times. "What?"
"Why don't you show us where we'd work, first." He deadpanned a little bit. This kid knew what she wanted, that was for sure. "How do you know the women will be comfortable with us, anyway? Will they just trust your word?"
"Yes." Arron smiled a little. "We are Arron and Trexx."
"And Ino." Ino sighed, drawing the two men's attention. "I'm here too. Hi."
"Uh... hi?" Glug whispered. Hisakari nudged him slightly, forcing a small smile onto his face. This was the first job interview he hadn't needed to wear a suit for, or give a resume for. Then again, he was sure this kid would probably background check him somehow. He just had a feeling.
"Hi." Ino said glumly. "Welcome to the crew, I guess..."
Arron simply turned around and began to walk towards Miss Himiko's home, Trexx shuffling behind.