Chapter 67

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Third person pov

Ino is rubbing the back of a crying, yet happy, Miss Himiko when Arron and Trexx descend the stairs. Immediately, she can see something is wrong. Her face is shadowed, her hair fallen from her ponytail. She can feel the rage radiating off of her as she slams the front door open with cracking force. Ino can't help put pale a little.

"That's not good." The Yamanaka mutters as Arron makes her way across the lawn like some sort of specter. The man Skronk had been choking before was gone, and the shadowy being had burrowed back beneath the earth like a mole. For once, Ino can see Trexx isn't looking at the sun. He does, however, look bigger. More ready. Arron is riled up, and it's showing.

"D-Do you need to go after her?" Miss Himiko sniffled, hands shaking. Arron had come into her life only a day or so ago, and yet her life had already changed. The house felt safer than ever, and moreover, it was theirs now. The paperwork was all there. All she had to do was mail in the already-signed certificate that would send the bills right to their doorstep instead of to Mr. Acton.

"Maybe." Ino noted, glancing upstairs. "I'm going to go check first."

Arron knows vaguely where she needs to go, and has a very good description of the man she's looking for as she storms down the street. The wind whips her hair around her, and her shadows teem hungrily, fanning out from her feet like the tentacles of an octopus. People edge away from her, half because of the look twisted onto her face, and half because of Trexx, who seems to be getting bigger somehow.

Shikamaru and Shikaku, coincidentally, are out for lunch today. Not only did Shikamaru master a new technique, but he did it without complaining for once. If that didn't warrant lunch, Shikaku wasn't sure what did. Besides, staying cooped up in the house for a whole month didn't seem healthy. Arron was getting out more than Shikamaru did, and it was Arron. She disliked people about as much as Shikamaru disliked waking up in the morning.

Shikamaru wished he knew where Arron and Ino were. He'd visit the Dusk girl. He missed her more than he'd admit, though he was sure it was pretty obvious. The looks his father kept giving him were a drag, but he'd learned to deal with them. He'd been getting them since the day Arron decided to hug him and never let go, and he was fine with that. If he had to deal with looks just to be close to her, he would.

"Couldn't we have just stayed behind? A nap would have been better than soba." Shikamaru grumbled as they walked down the street. Shikaku snorted a little, shaking his head in an exasperated sort of way at his son. They were too similar, honestly, and Shikaku really didn't think that was a good thing. "Hey, wait a second? Is that Arron?"

Shikaku looks up to see the girl moving across the street. Trexx is behind her, but something was most definitely off. Arron's hair was messy and wild, and her fists were clenched so hard her knuckles were turning white. Not only that, but Ino isn't there with her. That was another thing Shikamaru had stressed. Ino absolutely could not let Arron out of her sight while they were out. If she got lost and scared, there'd be chaos. Arron would never want to leave the house again!

"Arron!" Shikamaru darted after her, and Shikaku started too, mind jumping from possibility to possibility. Why was Arron out alone? How was she walking with such a sure stride? He'd seen glimpsed of Arron. Shikamaru had mentioned that there was a more confident undertone to her. That there was something past that soft and quiet exterior that had been forced over her. He had a feeling he was about to see that.

Arron was too angry. All she could hear was this deafening static sound that jabbed at her eardrums, and she briefly wondered if maybe she was developing an anger issue. She wasn't sure that was the case. She just hated rapists. Shitbags who thought it was okay to take advantage of someone. To force them. It made her want to cry, scream, and vomit all at once. But she did none of those things, because that little boy's own father had violated him in a way nobody should be violated, let alone a child.

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