Arron and Trexx

Chapter 71

Third person pov

Arron is impossibly rich, and honestly, Coldwell is a little scared by her indifference to it.

Francis was already outside his house when they arrived, rifling through a folder. Co tried not to look too effected as they approached, but Arron could see surprise seep into his green eyes upon seeing the extravagant man standing outside his nearly-as-extravagant house. Arron didn't seem too be all that fazed by the silver-haired individual who was- were those heels?!

"Oh, Arron, honey!" Francis snapped the folder shut when she approached. "I've been expecting you, dear! Who's your handsome friend? A boyfriend, maybe?" He hummed. Co and Arron both stared blankly at the man, who was at least five inches taller thanks to the heels he was wearing. He stared back, a pleasant smile on his face. His glasses, the lenses holding a pinkish tint to them, glinted in the sunlight.

"I'll take that as a no, then!" He finally said after about twenty seconds of silence. "Here are all the papers you need. Don't worry; I forged your signature." He assured her, handing the folder to the short girl with flourish. Co's nose scrunched up. Had he known she was coming? "You know the drill, I suppose. Go on."

Trexx tipped the sack he was carrying, and the ryo slipped out, clanking to the ground in a pile. Francis hummed to himself, gazing at the trickle. Trexx was careful not to dump it all out, letting a steady but small stream flow out and onto the sidewalk. Arron gazed around the area like her giant shadow friend wasn't dumping money out onto an oddly-pristine sidewalk. Co could suddenly understand mildly why Ino didn't want this girl out alone. She seemed almost numb to social cues. She didn't seem to realize just how weird this was.

"There!" Francis stopped when they'd gotten through a little less than half the bag. "Perfect! I'll have Cuddles handle this. Have a good day, dearies. Don't talk to strangers." He waved a hand at them, and Arron shrugged, turning around and beginning to walk off. Trexx followed, slinging the bag right back over his back, walking away from the giant pile of cash with a yawn. Coldwell vaguely registered himself following after her, blinking in a dumbfounded fashion.

Arron flipped through the folder, ponytail swaying behind her as walked with a casual grace Co had never really seen in a person before. His eyes caught a scar peeking out from beneath the collar of her shirt on her back, but he didn't mention it. That didn't mean the scars on his back didn't burn, though, and it didn't mean he didn't suddenly feel like crying.

Arron didn't walk the same way they came. Co realized it a few streets too late, and soon, they were in Konoha's well-known red light district. Most crimes, ranging from petty thievery to downright murder, happened here in these parts. Coldwell hated these parts of the town. While not everyone here was bad, this was the one place where you could probably find the scum of the Earth without having to look too far.

Arron stopped in front of an alleyway, peering in. "House." She called into the darkened side street. "Fix."

A man stepped out from the shadows. He was oddly short, with long, black hair. He was wearing a coonskin hat, a bright yellow crop top, hot pink booty-shorts, and what appeared to be foam bunny slippers. He looked Arron up and down before snapping his fingers. Coldwell felt himself begin to sweat as more men stepped out, dressed in similar, draggy clothes.

"Location?" He purred, winking at Co. The boy averted his gaze awkwardly. Why were they here? He supposed it was better with him here. A girl like Arron coming in here alone, even with Trexx, seemed like a bad idea.

"Miss Yuuta's house." Arron shrugged, not really remembering the street. She flapped a hand towards the west. "That way."

"We're on it." The man smiled, and Coldwell shivered a little. Had he been wearing neon-purple lipstick before? "Boys?"

Arron turned around and began to walk off, and Coldwell scrambled to follow as the men all began to cheer and talk excitedly about paint colors and flooring. As if they somehow knew the floors needed to be replaced, and that the paint was old and peeling off. He gritted his teeth together in thought, glancing down at Arron, who once again seemed indifferent. 

"Who th' hell were they?" He found himself asking. Arron thought about it for a moment before shrugging. 

"Gay." She responded as though that were a plausible answer. "Won't bother women." 

Coldwell paused. He really supposed he couldn't argue with that.

~

Miss Yuuta was wailing by the time Arron handed her the folder, and Ino was patting her back the same was she had with Miss Himiko. Coldwell observed the dark-haired girl, a frown etched into his face. He knew her. Well, he didn't, but there was something familiar about her. The scars on his back burned. His marks burned. He couldn't place where he'd seen her, or if he even had. Something about her just... god, he couldn't place it.

"Arron, what's going to happen?" Ino asked, because she hadn't been there. Arron smiled a small smile up at the older woman, as well as the group of them huddled behind her, tearfully offering thank yous and choking out sobs of relief when they realized their sanctuary wouldn't be taken away.

"Roofers are coming." Arron cleared her throat a little. Co was surprised to hear her speak a full sentence, honestly. "And the... gay men from before. They're going to redo the... the..." She waved a hand around, nose scrunched up in thought.

"Inside." Coldwell ventured.

"Ie." Arron nodded. "They will be... taking the floors. Making them new." Arron struggled to find the correct words. "Painters are also coming to redo the outside. They will also be looking at the... the bottom. Support." Arron pointed at the ground.

"The foundation." Ino realized. "Will any plumbers be arriving? One of their bathrooms doesn't work at all."

"Ie." Arron nodded, giving a thumbs up. "People are also coming to... fix the grass. And put flowers and... and... llywni? Shrub?" Arron tried, face twisting at the effort of coming up with all these words all of a sudden. Coldwell nodded, and Ino gave a thumbs up. Miss Yuuta looked like she was going to have a heart attack.

"Anything else?" Ino checked.

"Lights." Arron frowned. She didn't know the word for the women who'd be looking at the lights. "Plugs, switch... ah..."

"An Electrician is comin'." Coldwell told them. He frowned. "Why? Th' lights are fine."

"Sun panels." Arron lit up considerably. "They are going to put them in the yard." 

"You bought solar panels?!" Ino's eyes popped open, and the women all gasped. "Arron, those are extremely expensive! You didn't have to get those!"

"She didn't buy 'em." Coldwell shrugged. "Th' women at the electrical place 'ought she was cute, so they donated some they were gonna install f'r someone else, but who'd baled out at th' last second."

"That's amazing, Arron! I knew that cute face of yours was going to save us one day!" Ino squealed, leaping forward to embrace her friend. Coldwell didn't miss the way the shorter of the two tensed as her blonde friend's arms wrapped around her. Ino let out an ear-piercing squeal, nearly lifting Arron up. The dark-haired girl's shirt rose slightly, and Coldwell caught a glimpse of something that made his blood run cold.

He'd only seen a sliver of it, but he knew what it was. It was a brand. One that had been burned into her skin. He knew what it looked like. He knew... because he had one too.

He suddenly realized where he'd seen her before.