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At Reno's words, Kairi looked up at him, a look of shock crossing her face. She felt bad now for yelling at him, and she wanted desperately to apologize. "I... I had no idea that had happened. Why didn't you tell me when we last saw each other?" her words were quiet, and they were sad sounding. One hand released its grip from Reno's shirt, reaching up to fiddle with the red feather that rested in her hair. Kairi sighed, and as much as she wanted to still be wrapped up in Reno's arms, she forced herself to struggle against him, trying to get him to let go of her. Although she now knew the reason for his disappearance, she still had no wish to get hurt if he left again, and in her mind, getting too close to him, meant that she would eventually get hurt emotionally. She didn't say anything, keeping silent as she tried to escape from the hug that moments before she had hoped would never end.

It was too late when Renata tried to stop, sliding into Tsuki's claw. The female Nidoran was thankful that she didn't slide into it any faster, as she had no intention in getting anymore scars on her face from sharp claws. She merely looked at the Sneasel, blinking a couple times.

Re released her from his arms, seeing that she was alright now and was struggling free. Reaching to the back of his head, he nervously scratched the back of his head. "I thought everything was okay with you at the time. Didn't seem important for ya ta know that when ya knew I was part a Snagem." His words were matched with a cautious smirk as he nervously messed around with his own blue feather, unsure what to say. She was giving him way too many conflicting signals right now. Love you, Hate you, Want to kill you, Feel sorry for you. Reno just stood there confused, trying to figure how to read this. What the heck did she want from him?

Tsuki looked down at the Nidoran, before she noticed the multitude of scratches on her faces. Feeling a little sorry for her, she began to pet the little Nidoran.

Indeed! The avian onomatopoeia was there! In one hand she had a basket brimming with assorted muffins. "Hey there, Submarine! Brought around some muffins because ya gotta eat while you're cooped up in here. Say.. what ARE you doing in here?" she asked, taking a peak at the room behind him while idly taking a bite into one of the muffins. step one, bring snacks. step two, eat snacks!

"Hm? oh that Beartic we ran into the other day?" She couldn't help but feel curious, even with a muffin bottom sticking out of her mouth. "thee mfffn rr lahk... munchmunchchewchew... Ahem, I think these are just Tropius fruit flavor. Hawk... Well, hawk always eats the other kinds before I can get them in the basket." She lifted the basket so Sub could help himself, all the while trying to scoot passed him into the office!

Kairi's one-eyed gaze stayed on Reno, her expression unreadable now, her mouth back into its customary frown. "Nothing has ever been okay with me Reno, except for when I've been with you," she forced her voice into a more monotonous tone, trying to return herself to her nearly emotionless state. She sighed again, not sure what else she could say to ease the silence, the awkwardness of it all was killing her. She knew that with all that had just happened, there was probably a lot of mixed signals floating around. She wished she could admit to Reno, to herself even, how much she cared for him, but her cold-blooded nature wouldn't allow it. There was no way she would openly admit her feelings, even if it killed her inside.

Renata continued to stare up at the Sneasel, a happy squeak escaping from her from being pet by the larger pokemon. She shifted to stand on her hind legs, her front paws resting against her stomach, her whiskers twitching slightly.

Kairi continued to fiddle with the feather in her hair, looking away from Reno for the moment. "Things have gotten a lot better since I got here. Don't really have to worry about the dangers of the streets anymore, now do I?" she mumbled, no longer playing with the feather as she moved her hand, rolling up one of the sleeves of her jacket, revealing some of her finally healing bruises. The purplish marks on her skin were fading, and they weren't nearly as tender as they had been in the past. Maybe her skin would finally be free of marks. 'No,' she thought, 'I still have all these scars. I will never be free of these marks.' On the same arm that she was looking at was many scars, deep wounds from a long ago battle. She had similar scars to these on her arm all over her body. The majority from a battle that had scarred her for life, physically and mentally. "Things may be better now, but the scars of the past will always remain," Kairi muttered under her breath, hoping that she had said it quietly enough to have been unheard, though she knew that her words had most likely been picked up on, at least by Reno since he was the closest one to her.

The female Nidoran couldn't help but smile back at Tsuki. She was enjoying the Sneasel's company, and she too felt that she had made a new friend. "Nii~" Renata called out, her eyes shut tight. She edged closer to Tsuki and placed her front paws up on the Sneasel's stomach.

"Well," Tsuki said to Reno and his friend ", hasta la vista." Yawning, he quickly waved goodbye and left the kitchen. Before he did he plopped the can in the trash bin. Skarsy soon followed giving a farewell caw. God, was he bored. He needed to fill his newly found spare time. Arthur had dissapeared, staying in Sinnoh for the time being in the search of Maggy. Well, waiting seemed tater pointless so the Snagem walked outside as jumped on Skarsy. Then he took off, back to Sinnoh.

The sudden hug took Kairi by surprise, so much so that she didn't bother trying to fight against it. She hadn't really been wanting comfort, but she felt comfortable in Reno's arms and didn't want to ruin the moment, not just yet anyways. In her shock, she was only barely aware of the spreading warmth of her face, staring up at Reno's face. What he said shocked her back into reality, and as soon as she realized that she was blushing she buried her face into Reno's chest again, trying to hide her face as it reddened even more. She breathed in deeply, trying to compose herself before she uncovered her face. "Let me go. Now," her voice was harsh, but because of her not wanting to actually be let go of, her words were very unconvincing. Her cheeks still had the slightest red tint to them, and she hoped that Reno didn't notice.

"Nii, nido," her voice was joyous, happy to be around her new friend. The scratching sensation behind her ears felt nice, and Renata's ears flared up slightly, allowing easier access to the spot the Sneasel was scratching.