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Hayato brought up his masked face again, this time without really thinking about it. He trusted them, but this was kind of a habit, bringing his masked face. "I have their track, Akira kindly left me a track to trace." He paused. "So more than likely, it will be a trap." He shook his head. "Stay here, all of you. I will go and bring her back. I don't need all of you to come and get in the fight. Akira..." He sighed. "I need to finish her, and I don't want any of you getting hurt in my fight." He winced feeling the pain in his arm. "If Alcina is still alive, I need to get her. Akira promised to kill her...but I think she might do it in my presence." He growled.

He finally turned to the Hanazoku, eyeing him carefully. He tried to smile, but felt he coudn't. He wasn't really used to this whole show-your-emotion thing, let alone trusting. But he did manage to nod to him in greeting. "I am Hayato, leader of the Wolf Kizoku." He said carefully.

((hmmm...akira, what are you gonna do now, eh? your lover Hayato hates you~ lol. yeah. anyway...school starts tmrw...for me, at least. so moer chances of me getting on peeps! "mom, i need the internet to do a research, really!" hahahahahha twisted ))

((Oh, look. It's time for me to give you guys some clue as to where Alcina has gone!))

Bran hurried back to his rooms after his dear sister departed, leaving the "gift" hidden elsewhere. Not that he didn't have the utmost faith in his locks but...

Thankfully, all the locks had not even been tampered with when he got there. He opened his own door then re-locked everything again, checking all of them twice, before he leaned against the door and sighed heavily. His sister will be the death of him one of these days...

"Something happen?" The mazoku looked up, slightly startled to find Alcina awake. Her hair and clothes were slightly ruffled, and she still had a couple bruises here and there but... She really did look stunning. Such fine red hair, and slightly pointed ears... Sad grey eyes...

A pang of guilt cut through him. He was partially responsible for that... "Just some sibling trouble. But as long as you stay in here, you shouldn't have to worry about her." He smiled charmingly, trying to cover up some of his self doubt.

Alcina looked like she was about to say something, then shook her head, grey eyes clouded over. Bran started to move toward her when she smiled cheerfully at him, using one of his own tricks against him. We really are a lot a like... "Then why not come sit with me for a bit. We can talk about a few things and maybe get some sleep later."

And they did spend most of the night talking. It was surprisingly nice... Bran was surprised to find that he was actually beginning to like Alcina... Not in quite the same way as Akira, but... He put that thought aside to think about later on his own. Instead, he just enjoyed the company.

Bran was the one who had to pull back from the kiss. He didn't want to let her go. Not just for himself, but his sister would surely find out if he did. But...

He was quiet for a few moments after, trying to sort through everything. Alcina waited patiently, sensing his need for quiet. He did need to be alone and sort things out. He couldn't do that with her here. Outside, everyone else was bound to find him, especially his sister.

But he didn't want to be alone again after that... "I can't..."

Alcina silenced him with another kiss, this one shorter though. "Yes, you can. You don't love me, not like that. You know it, and I know it. And... I can't love you back either. I want to be your friend, Bran. But I can't do that as your captive here."

His troubled golden eyes met her sad grey ones... And for once he was at a complete loss of what to do. He was always in control of things and sure of himself... but now...

He nodded slowly in agreement. If he didn't let her go now, she'd never forgive him, and he didn't want that... "Where... where do you want me to drop you off?" he asked when he had better control of his voice. He looked away from her again, wondering what had gotten into him. "Back with the other Strangers?"

Alcina surprised him by hugging Bran tightly. "Thank you..." she whispered in his ear. He closed his eyes, trying to push back all the feelings that were swelling inside him for now. "I... Would actually like to be dropped off about a day's 50 miles to the west of them. I think I can feel another stranger there..."

He nodded again and pulled away. He lead her to a back door, checking to make sure no one was coming first, then found the right tunnel that would lead her to where she wanted to be.

Alcina walked out into the sunlight, shading her eyes. He could tell she had missed it though... "Alcina... I'm sorry." Sorry for a lot of things.

She smiled brightly at him, a smile as bright as the sunlight she had so craved. "Bran, why don't you come with me? You're not bad... I can feel it. Come with me, please..."

It was his turn to give her a sad smile. Akira... and his sister... "Good luck, princess." He said before disappearing back into the tunnel and closing it behind him.

((Okay. I'm opening this up once again to another stranger (I'd like to get at least one more since no one else seems to be awakening lately. rofl ). Oh, and I'm thinking that awakened strangers (well, Sui and Kisuna, I should say for right now) should be able to sense Alcina's presence now that she's technically back on the map. xd That should stop Hayato from going off on his lonesome. twisted I'm thinking that only Alcina should be able to sense non-awakened strangers... but let me know what you guys think about it. xd I'll start pm'ing some of the others to see if they're still interested, if no one else has any other characters they want to add at the moment.))

((Works for me. As long as Alcina thinks that she's moving away from Hayato. xd heart Ah, lover's quarrels...))

((Leri...go read your pm's. ^^))

Aeddan's eyes narrowed at the strangers up ahead. They were all too close. All of them, even if some of their powers were not yet awakened, against him was just unfair.

"It's time to even the odds a bit," Aeddan thought out loud. He outstretched a hand and sent a hefty gust up ahead, aiming to scatter the strangers into a range where he could head off one of them alone. His aim was on the one he sensed who hadn't awakened. Hadn't one of them called him Hayato just a few moments earlier?

He bided his time, standing a short distance away from the man and observing his actions.

He felt his head swirl, urging him to sit, and sleep. "Sui...Kisuna, do you feel...anything?" He asked. "I feel someone watching us." He tried to listen with his ears as well, but all he heard was buzzing, his ears were also damaged. He needed a rest, even if it was couple minutes.

"... There is a bad aura...." Sui mumbled.

It seemed that Hayato was in very bad shape. The two tried to walk back to the wolf kizoku when all of a sudden Sui and Kisuna felt the wind velocity shift, turning more dangerous every second. It was getting hard to stay on the ground. The two kept their feet planted, hoping that they wouldn't fly off in midair and get separated again. The winds blew ferociously and the trees swayed back and forth, their roots clinging to the ground for support.

"We should stand our ground!" Kisuna said, trying to grab a branch.

"Easy for you to say Kisuna!" Sui yelled.

Kisuna had managed to hold onto the tree and looked up when he saw dark long hair, "Kuromi?! What're you doing here?"

... Great. Sui thought.

The winds attacked and a humoungous (sp?) gust was sent. The group was thrown into the air--all in separate directions, farther away from each other. With no contact, no sign, each individual was on their own once more. So much for a reunion.

((kk. I've taken her off. And about the bird stranger, I don't see why not. Since I haven't heard back from Aisu, I need somebody to be chasing after, lol. rofl ))