Remy breathed a sigh of relief as she watched both Tasuki no Otaku and the other Hotohori no Otaku dissappear. Then, without another thought, she booked it right out of that alley. It wouldn't be in her best interest if the trench coat lady, Nakago no Otaku, or that looney in a fuku, Tamahome no Otaku sensed her aura... thank Kami-sama that their own out of control auras and their fury for each other shielded her aura from notice. But now, the lack of Tasuki to Hotohori no Otaku's auras would definately make Remy more visible.

And then what?

Another fight...?

Not on your life!!

She wasn't doing *that* again. She just barely got away from Tamahome no Otaku the last time, and she still had the bruise on her right shoulder to prove it! If she hadn't have dodged that damn BBBoD™ she would have gotten more than just a purplish bruise.

So, again, for the second time, Remy ran and ran and ran; away from the alley, Tamahome no Otaku, and her new sidekick (Nakago no Otaku) back to the cover of the trees. After deciding that she was at an acceptable distance away from those looneys and that her aura couldn't be easily traced, she leaned up against a great oak and slowly slide her body to the ground. She needed to think...

...about that particular battle. When her aura flared an hour ago, she knew... she absolutely, positively *knew* that she shouldn't get invovled. She wasn't ready to get invovled. But... stupid her... she just had to go see what the whole "light show spectacular" was all about. As it turned out, the "lights" were the blazing auras of four Otaku concentrating solely on the death of each other.

And one particular Otaku just happened to be another Hotohori no Otaku. And because of this, Remy had an uncomfortable feeling that she couldn't just stand by and watch Hotohori no Otaku take more beatings from these two. Maybe it was the fact that they were both fighting for Hotohori-sama (whoever he may be) or maybe it was just that she didn't particularly care for Tamahome no Otaku… whatever the reason, they were pretty much on the same mission:

Make sure Hotohori-sama wins and keep away from/totally obliterate Tamahome no Otaku. Those two things alone made Remy feel bonded to the girl… but… what to do next…? Who knows…

Everything was all so confusing… and she certainly didn't like thinking about this stuff by herself… so… after careful contemplation, she opened her HammerSpace™ (a recent discovery for her) and fished out the iron cage she had put P-kun in. And, as she expected, he still wasn't speaking to her. She opened the cage.

"Still sulking huh?"

A grunt.

"Okay, okay… I'm sorry. Gomen nasai P-kun."

A snort.

"What? You want me to beg?!"

"It's a start." P-kun stated, finally contributing to the conversation. But he knew, just as much as Remy did that she wasn't going to beg. He sighed in defeat, "A little respect might be nice…"

"I respect you!"

A snort.

"Okay… fine. I'll respect you, okay. I'll try to be the most agreeable charge you've ever had… okay?" she looked at him expectantly.

He didn't believe her… how could he make her see that he was a Guardian…

"Ko-chan," he began "I am a *Guardian*. More importantly, I'm *your* Guardian."

"I understand that."

"I am not just some object at your disposal."

"I know that."

"Do you?" he questioned. "I am *not* a weapon you can throw at another Otaku."

Remy hung her head… she really did regret doing that to him.

"I am *not* a toy you can toss around and bounce when you 'have a case of extreme ennui'…"

She winced… she did go a bit too far with that one… obviously he didn't have as much fun as she did…

"…and, I am most definitely *not* some sorted, twisted idea of currency."

She cringed… when did she turn into such a _icth?

"Ko-chan, you can't just trade me for a meal-"

"But I was hungry," she protested weakly. She hadn't eaten anything since the day she had been dropped here. At that time, she was starving!! Another day and she might have just eaten P-kun himself.

"You had food in your HammerSpace™" he gave Remy a fierce look.

"I didn't know about the HammerSpace™ then." She whispered, feeling very very disgusted with herself. She wasn't a very good person. P-kun was her Guardian… he was helping her… and what did she do to show her appreciation? She threw him at her enemy, criticized and belittled every little thing he did, and the most unforgivable betrayal of all, she almost sold him for a hot meal and a warm bed. She was scum. Lower than scum. She was…

"…forgiven" P-kun announced. He had seen the regret on her face… and that was at least something.

"Honto?"

"Yeah…" he smiled. It was the first time he had smiled since he met her. Then the smile twisted into a serious stare. It was time to get back to business. "I sensed a battle before. Are you okay?" he questioned.

"Daijoubu desu. I watched it. I didn't actually participate in it. They were so busy with their fight that they didn't notice me. Thank Kami-sama forthat."

"Who was there?"

"Hmmm… Tamahome no Otaku, Tasuki no Otaku, Nakago no Otaku,… and… another Hotohori no Otaku."

"Hotohori no Otaku?" he looked at her incredulously, "Why didn't you do anything? She's another Hotohori no Otaku. Your *obligated* to help her!"

"I sensed that I was… but she left before I could do anything. And even if they didn't leave, what the hell was I supposed to do to help her?! Tamahome no Otaku had her BBBoD™, some blond chick had a light saber, Hotohori no Otaku had a freaking Silent Glaive and Celly's sidekick, Nakago no Otaku had a gun…" Remy shuddered, "… a *big* gun!!"

"Why so fearful" P-kun questioned, "You know they can't kill you."

"I can still feel pain!!" she turned fierce eyes on P-kun, "But it's not like it matters… everyone knows that I absolutely *Love* experiencing that!" she finished, sarcastically.

P-kun laughed.

"This isn't funny… where the hell is *my* weapon?!" she paused… then whined, "I want a weapon and I want it NOW!"

P-kun laughed again. "I'm not capable of giving you a weapon, only information and guidance."

"Damn! So what now?"

He stopped laughing, his mirth suddenly turning into quiet seriousness. "I haven't a clue."

~TBC