Dorobou jyanai (Gene)

[Gene]

His gripped loosened as she started to calm down. Started being the key term. She was still nervous. It was understandable. More than understandable. While Gene wasn't the most intimidating person around, standing at a nice six foot-two, and with that vicious bracer, to a tiny Japanese girl, the big old American had plenty in the way of intimidation. He guided her to a corner, then stopped. He looked left, then right. Back left. He wasn't watching traffic, no...he was trying to figure out which direction to go. Lost? Not entirely... He just wasn't sure which direction he'd come from initially. He looked back right "Ah, right." He remembered seeing the huge sign that had some old guy who looked like an old lady dressed in black. The only text in actual letters said 'Gackt', and it had caught his eye on the way down.

"This way" He said quietly, looking back left and walking on. After a few minutes, a big sign of blue neon lights came into sight. Albeit, it was daylight so they were off, but it still clearly said 'Lost Haven'. "Ha." He pointed to it "See, that's the place." He said to her, looking over. He was on the third floor and he pulled out the only key he had, letting go of her hand for the first time since he grabbed it. He opened the door and stepped back. It was up to her whether she'd go in, or now that he wasn't holding onto her, run.

[Mai Kato]

Mai was able to calm down slightly when he loosened his grip. She never liked having other people touch her. It felt quite uncomfortable, and it always made her feel nervous. Her shoulders were so tense. She really needed a massage to relax her shoulders. However, none of that would stop unless she was out of this area. Mai knew that they weren't heading into Narakuyama, but it was just too close for comfort. Did Gene know how dangerous this place was? Well, he looked strong enough to defend himself, but still...

Now they arrived at a hotel. This was just too suspiscious. What if he was some creep that liked to rape younger girls? He should know that Mai was much smarter than she looked. Gene may have acted nice the last few minutes, but that could just be a way to deceive her. Should she enter the room? It felt so awkard just standing there as he held the door open. Mai glanced at his face and made eye contact with him for the first time. She didn't know what went over her, but she decided to enter.

If he even tried anything to her, he will get a taste of her Lotus Soul abilities. Mai may not be that good of a fighter, but she was able to do some pretty nice things when she was in a lot of danger. The only exception was when Gene had her pinned to the alley wall.

[Gene]

It was a fairly good room, cheap as hell too. It had a living room with a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Hell it even had a couple of closets and just about every accessory any one would need. Couch, two arm chairs, a coffee table, a nice sized TV. The kitchen area had a sit and eat counter with a couple of chairs, that was where Gene told the girl to sit. An awesome bathroom too, full tub with a shower next to it. It was almost as big as the kitchen area. Gene walked into the bathroom and opened the mirror cabinet. It was stocked up as well, he pulled out rubbing alcohol, gauze wrap, cotton pads, some ointment, the works.

He walked back out and put all the stuff down on the counter. It should be pretty obvious at this point that he was only trying to help. Only thing that could hurt her from that bunch was the rubbing alcohol, that shit stung, especially in the neck.... Sitting down in a chair next to her, "Here." He soaked the cotton pads in rubbing alcohol and reached for her neck, pulling the collar away from it. "This is probably going to hurt."

[Mai Kato]

This room may look cheap to someone like Gene, but it looked luxurious to Mai. She had never been in such a big place. It was hard to find an apartment like this in Tokyo since there was little space. Her eyes widened as she moved further into the building. She continued to stare when Gene told her to sit on one of the chairs on the kitchen.

That still didn't mean she was completely comfortable in this place. She was still nervous about entering the apartment of a complete stranger. Mai was afriad that he was going to do something bad to her as soon as he came back from the bathroom. Was there anything she could use with her Lotus Soul abilities? There was no earth or rock nearby which was not so good.

She was surprised when he came back with an assortment of bandages, ointment, and rubbing alcohol. Maybe Gene wasn't so bad after all. She allowed him to pull away the collar of her shirt to expose her neck. Her eyes closed, expecting the stinging of rubbing alcohol.

[Gene]

As gently as he could, which wasn't the easiest thing for Gene, he patted the cuts on her neck. The alcohol bubbled ever so slightly, which meant it was working. On most areas of his body, Gene was entirely accustomed to the stinging sensation of the stuff, but he doubted she would be, especially on the neck. Even he wasn't comfortable with the stuff on the front of the neck, though on the back he barely even felt a tingle. The pain, though, was a good sign that it was working, for the simple fact that if it was already clean and you put the stuff on, you felt nothing.

After he finished cleaning, he pushed her chin side to side gently so he could get a better look at the cuts. He grabbed the tin tube that had the ointment in it. It was generic crap, but they all worked the same. Again, as gently as he could, not saying all that much unfortunately, he dabbed it on. He screwed the cap back on and tossed it onto he counter and grabbed the gauze wrap he'd pulled out and moved closer to her. "I don't have any normal band-aids big enough so you'll have to use these things, let me know if I put it on too tight." He said in a calm voice. She'd learn Gene was a nice enough guy, but like most people he didn't take well to robbery. He was also a very forceful kind of guy, as was clearly indicated.

He put the end on the back of her neck where she was unhurt and pulled it around the side and front and wrapped it around, slightly tight at first, then a bit looser as it went around three times before he clipped it off in the back again. "There." He backed away from her.

[Mai Kato]

Mai whimpered when the alcohol touched her neck. She wasn't used to the stuff, so it stung horribly. It was more painful than getting the cuts. She wanted to pull away and stop the cleaning. That was how painful it was, but she tried her best to sit still. When Gene was gone cleaning, she opened her eyes.

Her eyes widened when he grabbed her chin. Being touched by someone always made her pretty nervous. She closed her eyes, tried to relax, and expected more pain. However, it didn't come. Mai felt a soothing ointment on her skin. It was cool and was definately a nice change from the stinging alcohol.

Now she felt bandages being wrapped around her neck. It didn't hurt, but it felt very weird and uncomfortable. When Gene was done, she lifted her hand and touched her neck. It will probably take a bit of time before she could get used to it.

She almost forgot her manners. She cleared her throat and said, "Thank you." in her accented English. Her eyes were averted the whole time.