Heirot

"No, he won't come himself, his hired men will. I can get a man to tell me anything if I play my cards right."

Amane thanked Hikari for helping her, put on make up, and walked upstairs. A few of the girls from the bath were already busy. She went to the front and sat down.

"Any tough looking guys lately?" She asked one of the older women there.

"Not yet but if you wait I'm sure there will be someone pretty soon. A rich party was looking for new girls, how about you check out that party?" Amane headed upstairs to see.

Hikari was getting pretty hungry... If she was quiet, maybe she could get some food before Takeshi's men came for her.

Hikari walked up the steps quietly, moving down the hall and trying not to make eye contact with any of the male patrons. She moved quickly, not really knowing where she was going.

Amena went to the top floor, there stood a girl bringing a tray of sake and such in, Amane took over. She opened the door, pardoned herself as she entered and gave a look to the man inside, he stopped her from going out.

He was wildly handsome and he was questioning the girls.

"I'm looking for a girl who escaped her wedding while still in the kimono. We were supposed to be married now but she ran. Have you seen her?"

"No," said one of the girls, "But you can marry me if you wish."

"Now why would I marry a whore?" He asked and laughed, "Get out of here!" He yelled angirly.

Amane seemed to have made the right choice.

"I'll just take the new girl." He grabbed Amane by the arm and held her face to his. She could smell some alcohol on his breath.

Amane looked down, "Sorry but I just serve drinks."

"I'm promoting you." Then he shooed all the other girls out of the room.

Hikari moved down the hall and towards the front of the building, even though she had no idea where she was going.

"Excuse me," she said softly, moving passed a man making out with a woman in the middle of the hall.

She noticed to burly looking men standing beside the door, they looked towards her and began to talk. They still stared at however and it made her feel very uncomfortable. She quickly walked in a room filled with people doing... what they paid to do.

Amane sat there looking helpless as he came towards her again.

"I have one question; What's your betrothed's name?" She asked.

"It was Hikari Ayame. Why? Jealous?"

"No, I was just curious." She said as she put her head down.

"Now then, I'm paying good money for this, don't let me down." He grabbed Amane.

Just then a woman burst through the door, it was one of the new girls who had been sold there and lied to. She was running away from her patron. Amane took this chance to slip out the door.

She ran down the steps and back to the front. She spotted Hikari.

"Get back downstairs or he'll catch you for sure!" She shouted.

Hikari nodded quickly, though she was afraid that she might have already been caught be his men. She ran back down the hall and down the steps into the basement room. She was panting, and shaking... She was so afraid he would find her... If he found her... He might... If he did... She couldn't marry him! No, she couldn't...

Amane watched as Hikari walked past her and back downstairs. A few men were wondering what she was doing and a few recognized her as having been from a wedding.

'Foolish girl.' Amane though quickly.

Takeshi came down the steps in a fury, just barely missing Hikari, he shouted at Amane. The owner heard his screaming above everything that was going on in the building.

Takeshi and his men were thrown out onto the street with all thier clothes.

"You aren't welcome back no matter how rich you are!" The owner shouted.

About 2am the commotion died down and most of everone was asleep. Amane had long since went downstairs, now she was lying on her bed staring at Hikari's wedding kimono.

Hikari was seated at the end of the bed, her hands were clasped in her lap. She couldn't go to sleep. She never thought that running away could be this hard, but it was. If she got caught... her wedding night would be ten times worst than what it would have been if she went a head and married him.

She sighed, looking at her face in the mirror. The make-up was gone. She had removed it. She kept the wedding kimono on, it was her only possession at the moment.

Amane sighed and looked the oppisite way.

"We may have to leave here in the morining, he most likely knows your here and he'll try to get in. We should get as much sleep as possible and get you new clothes in the morining." Amane curled up on the futon and closed her eyes.

Hikari nodded, "Leaving does not bother me, whatever you think is best," she commented tiredly. She moved lied down, curling into a ball, hugging herself with her arms. She had never run away from home, and now she was starting to fear what her father would do if he found her. Would he be so mad, and claimed she dishonored him so much.... Would he ask her to take her own life to regain what honor she had lost?

"Thank you...." she told the woman who had helped her.

Amane grunted a bit and fell asleep.

Amane was awokened by a small bump in the night. By this time, the sun was starting to rise a bit. Amane got up and walked upstairs. She saw a few people moving about, most likely making food.

Amane walked into the kitchen and saw a few people busy making cold meals for themselves. Amane looked outside via the back door then went back downstairs and changed.

Hikari stood in front of the mirror, wrapping her hair into a circle and puting two long sticks through it to hold it up. She moved to go up the steps when she saw Amane coming down.

"Do you know where we will go from here?" she asked hte young woman, moving out of her way so she could pass.

"We'll go to the nearest town and escape through the forest." Amane tol her.

She changed into her normal clothes which had been placed on a shelf while they slept. She straightened her vest and turned around.

"We need to get you something else to wear, pick one of the boxes or we'll buy something in the next town over. In that you're too obvious to your fiance's men."

She nodded and moved to one of the boxes, choosing a purple kimono with white swans swimming on blue water at the bottom.

She changed quickly, and turned around. "Is this better? I'm sorry, I'm not used to running and hiding, unless its in my own house."

'Ah geez.'

Amane took her cloak off the wall and put it on.

"Is that all you own at the moment? Another question, if you had to would you sell it?"