Arron and Trexx

Chapter 61

Happy Thanksgiving to y'all who celebrate it! I'm going to be updating as many stories as possible today, so if you have a suggestion on what I should update, comment.

What are you guys thankful for? Personally, I'm thankful for all of you, but that may be because I'm a soft, cheesy asshole.

Third person pov

This would make or break Arron, and Ino knew it.

They could have kept shopping. Maybe Arron would have made some more progress in her recovery. Who knows, Arron may have even made a friend. Ino could have run into Sakura while shopping, or Hinata, or Tenten. Maybe Choji would be lingering about. There were more pros than cons if they continued on with their day.

But then again, Ino never did like things put simply. Maybe that's why she brought it up in the first place. Maybe that's why they were going towards the safe house now. Ino only knew about one, though she knew there were a few more. Not enough, Ino felt. The police system in Konoha had shattered the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and law enforcement was now limited to a small group of men and women, none of which were all too dedicated. They didn't respond to cries for help. Only the "serious" stuff.

Ino had volunteered her the summer before she graduated the academy for her project, and had become friends with the old woman running it ever since. But she was getting up in her years, and wouldn't be able to do it alone. Not for long. But Arron... she had such drive when it came to things like this. Such compassion and surety in herself and her beliefs when it came to this particular subject.

She'd given the basic definition of a woman's safe house to Arron. It was a home where female victims of domestic violence could escape to, with their children if they had any. It was somewhere they could stay until they got things sorted legally, went back, or got on their own two feet. Arron seemed to get the gist of it, but Ino knew she'd need to see it to get the whole effect.

"Here it is." Ino said. It was a two story antique home that looked like it was falling apart. The upkeep on it wasn't good, but it's not like they got much funding for staff. Some of the women helped out, but often they were too broken to help out. Some were hurt and refused to go to hospitals, and others had fallen into complete despair. Only the desperate ones came to homes like this. The others waited it out, or bid their time until it got bad enough.

Arron peered up at the home, Trexx flanking her. The energy coming from the building was odd. It drew her in and pushed her out at the same time. It was startling, to say the least, and she had to take a few deep breaths to calm down. She knew Trexx wouldn't let anything happen to her, and she trusted Ino. The blonde seemed so confident that this is what Arron needed.

"Come on." Ino started towards the door. Arron followed.

Ino knocked before opening the door. There was a desk in the small entry room, and a rather elderly woman was situated behind it. She smiled upon seeing Ino, her gaze flickering to Arron as she tentatively stepped in. Trexx squeezed in after  her, gazing around curiously in search of any edibles. Arron's eyes met the woman's deep green ones, and Arron flinched. The woman could see right through her. Right through it all. She, somehow, knew.

"Hello, Ino. It's been a while." The woman smiled. "Who's this?"

"Arron, this is Miss Himiko. She runs the home." Ino said. "Miss Himiko, this is Arron Dusk, and I think... I think this is just what she needs."

The old woman seemed to understand without having to ask any questions. She smiled a soft smile, standing up, not staring curiously at the way Arron flinched. She was used to it, the dark-haired girl deduced immediately, her eyes scanning the woman's face and body language. Trexx put a large hand on the girl's shoulder, grumbling about the sun slightly, and comforting her all at once.

"We got a new resident today. Would you like to meet her, Arron?" The woman addressed her fearlessly. Arron nodded, though it was a small one.

Ino let Arron shuffle past her, taking up the rear as Miss Himiko led them into the main living area. It was populated with couches, a single bookcase holding mostly blankets and towels. The wooden floor had a shaggy carpet covering a vast majority of it, and there were some children's toys scattered about.

Arron's eyes met teary brown ones, and the world stopped.

Sitting on the couch was a woman with long, dark brown hair, and eyes to match. Her ankle was wrapped, and her face, bruised heavily. Her wrists had familiar angry red marks, and Arron could clearly see finger marks around the woman's neck. Familiar marks. She'd seen them in mirrors all the time, and she'd seen that same, fearful gaze.

Miss Himiko and Ino watched the way Arron's entire body coiled, like that of an angry snake. Her eyes set alight, but not with joy. Something deep that made Himiko realize why Ino had brought her here. The timidness faded into a more confident sort of emotion nobody could place. Arron took a few steps forward until she was standing before the shivering woman. She held out her hands.

Arron waited. The woman, though hesitant, brought her own trembling and bruised hands forward and into Arron's small, warm ones. Trexx came up behind the short girl, looking over her and casting a shadow over her. Despite that, the woman didn't feel scared by the creature. Something about it radiated security. 

"You are saff. Safe." Arron's voice was sure. Her eyes glinted, shadows spiraling up around her, coiling through the air. But they were not threatening, giving off a rather soothing vibe. "What's your name?"

"K-Kiki Mitsuo." The woman squeaked out, though her eyes held no fear towards the girl before her, and the beast towering behind her. "Wh...Who are you two?"

Arron's eyes gleamed. "We are here for you now, Miss Mitsuo." Arron assured, not seeming bothered by the stares of Ino and the woman running this home. The looked in her dark eyes changed, and Kiki's breath hitched in her throat, her own eyes going wide. The look was the same as her own, but it was gone in an instant, but it was enough to let the woman know that they were birds of the same feather. Her shaking stopped, and she held Arron's gaze as the girl's eyes began to nearly glow in the shadows Trexx cast. Trexx, who'd grown taller with Arron's confident, gleaming rage. Arron opened her mouth to give an answer, one that somehow assured Miss Kiki Mitsuo that she'd be okay.

"We... are Arron and Trexx."