Hilda sprinted as fast as her legs would carry her across the roof, the pounding of her heart in her ears drowning out the sound of the ninjas, but she knew they were back there. She lifted the gun upside down and behind her head, so she could fire and run at the same time. She fired off three shots before jumping from one roof to the next, barely managing not to fall.

"All I wanted to do was relax and do some shopping," she gasped, glancing behind her as she ran. They were closing in, although there number had decreased. She wondered...where had the rest of them gone?

The young man turned at the sound of gunfire and saw a figure running towards him. Her red hair was flying in the breeze from her run, and she was going all out. It was Hilda... the one he had been watching. "Amazing, she's coming to me."

Hilda continued to run, even though her breath came out in wheezes now. She kept her head down, watching the rather unstable rooftop beneath her. The height and tilt of the roof was liable to change at any moment, and she had to concentrate on that. She came to the end of the roof and took a running leap. She landed on the opposite roof, ten feet away, but fell and
rolled. In an instant she was back on her feet, now limping a bit more.

She glanced up and almost stopped in surprise. A young man stood about five yards ahead of her. He was dressed in a slim pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with a brown, western style vest over top. His greenish-blue hair hung at chin length and he had a perplexed look on his face that would have made Hilda laugh...if she hadn't been running for her life.

"What the...?" said the young man, as she neared him.

Hilda hazarded a glance behind her and saw that the ninjas were still on her tail. She knew that they wouldn't hesitate to kill the young man if they felt that he was in the way of their pursuit. Hilda reached out an arm and grabbed him, pulling him into a run. "No questions, just run."

And that he did. Together they ran to the end of that roof and jumped to the next. Hilda found herself thanking whoever had built the buildings. They had made the alleyways narrow and easily jumped. That was definitely a plus.

Yukio watched the entire chase using his magic. He could see through the lifeless eyes of the ninjas, and although the chase had a certain, child-like fun to it, he was growing bored. With a sigh, he blinked his large eyes rapidly and recalled the ninjas. He would get to Hilda when she was weakest.

After all, he always got what he wanted.

When she could no longer hear the ninjas, she stopped running and turned, amazed to see that they were gone. With a small laugh, she allowed herself to collapse, landing on the rooftop with a bit of a grunt. She laid down and sucked in a few deep breaths of fresh air, her lungs burning from all the running she had done.

"What was that all about?" asked the young man, giving her yet another slightly amusing look of perplexity. He was breathing heavily as well, but his violet eyes were trained steadily on Hilda.

"Oh, I am sorry. To be completely honest, I'm not quite sure what that was," she replied, offering the young man a sheepish grin. "They were just kinda chasing me. I'm sorry to have pulled you into it." She extended a hand to him, in an offer of friendship. "I'm Hilda. Hilda Stawind."

The young man blinked a few times, then broke into a wide smile, shaking her hand as he did so. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Harry."

"Got a last name that goes with that?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

He shrugged, as if it didn't matter. Hilda didn't press the issue. "Well, again, I'm really sorry for getting you into that. They should leave you alone, but I really should get going... my... um... my brother will probably be worried about me." She avoided saying the-guy-she-was-living-with. That statement got her into trouble way too often.

"Well, it is getting late," he agreed, then smiled again. "Maybe before you go, we can get dinner or something. I mean, after all that excitement, the least I can offer you is some food, eh?"

Hilda thought for a moment, standing and brushing herself off. Finally, she nodded, a smile crossing her features. "All right. Actually, all that running made me hungry."

She went over to the fire escape and climbed down, being careful not to hurt herself jumping down to the street. She leaned against the wall and waited as Harry McDougall climbed down and escorted her to the nearest restaurant.

Hilda pushed the door to the apartment closed quietly, hoping not to wake anyone who was sleeping. The digits on the alarm clock read 3:41 AM. Chances were that everyone was asleep. She placed her bags down by the door, making as little noise as possible. However, when a hand snaked around her waist from behind, she had to suppress a giggle. "Knock it off," she hissed, smiling at Harry.

He smiled back, then pulled her close, kissing her again. The kissing had started almost right after dinner. The groping hadn't begun until about half an hour ago. "No. I like it too much."

Hilda raised an eyebrow and pushed herself up against him. "Oh, do you really? I can think of something you might like a bit more."

Harry chuckled softly to himself and kissed her again, this time snaking a hand beneath her shirt. One-handed, he removed her bra, and when it fell, she pulled away. But she still held his hand. She pulled him into her room and closed the door behind them. Never noticing the figure who sat in the he shadows, sipping softly from her cup of tea. With a small sigh, Suzuka stood and climbed the stairs, making her way to her room.

"Hilda?"

Hilda reached over to the other side of the bed to see that the space where Harry had been that night was vacant. She sat up halfway and noticed that the windows were wide open, their curtains billowing in the gentle breeze. He must have left she thought. Good thing, Jim would have blown a fit if he'd found a man in my room. With a sigh, she rolled over in her tangle of quilts and sheets, sleepily pushing a clump of hair away from her face. She opened one eyes just enough to read the digits on the bedside clock, which read 12:37 pm. It was still early. She sighed and closed her eyes, intent on getting back to sleep and back to the dreams made of
memories of the previous night's lovemaking.

"Hilda!"

I'm ignoring you, she thought to herself, sliding her head beneath her pillow. She really did not feel like getting up for anything less than a life threatening occurrence.

"Hilda, get up!"

Hilda pushed herself up on one elbow as the door to her room flew open. She blinked a few times as the light from outside flooded her room. "Whadisit?" she slurred, sleep making her mouth dry. "Whaddya wan?"

Jim stalked across the room and flung open the shades, letting the day's natural light illuminate the room. Hilda let out a small shriek and dove beneath her pillow, her eyes stinging from the sudden light. "Bastard!" came a muffled curse from beneath the pillow.

Jim snatched the pillow off of her head and threw it across the room. "Get up, now."

Hilda once again pushed herself up, only this time she watched Jim as he exited her room. He seemed tense and upset, and Hilda's late night escapade would not be enough to get him that upset. Something else had happened.

Hilda stood and grabbed a pair of jeans, pulling them on quickly. She ran a brush through her hair and pulled it back in a bandanna. When she got out of her room, she saw Suzuka sitting calmly at the table, once again sipping tea. Jim was staring out the window, his back to the table and his arms crossed over his chest. There was a definite air of tension in the room.

"Someone tried to break into the Outlaw Star last night," announced Jim, shattering the silence with his terse words. He turned and faced Suzuka and Hilda, anger flashing in his blue eyes. "It was McDougall."

"How did they follow us here?"

"I'm not sure." Jim grabbed his jacket and pulled it on, running a hand through his hair. "But I need to go out. I should be back later on today." Without saying another word, he left, slamming the door behind him.

"Repairs on the Outlaw Star are almost completed. I would advise leaving this planet as soon as possible," murmured Suzuka, staring at something in her tea cup. She took a few more sips, then finished the tea and set the cup down on the table, climbing to her feet. "Oh, and I hope you enjoyed yourself last night. Your...escapades...certainly kept me up for an hour or so. Did much else happen after that?"

Hilda turned bright red, but said nothing.

"I am not going to judge you, but I will give you one warning. Tread carefully in matters of the heart. Love has no place in an outlaw's life."

Suzuka stood and was out the door before Hilda could say anything. "Sure, I'll stay here. No problem. Good bye!" She glared at the door, then went back into her room to repack what she had unpacked only thirty-six hours before.

An hour went by with Hilda trying to keep herself entertained. She was bored out of her mind, but she didn't want to leave the apartment for fear of insiting Jim's anger. She really did not feel like dealing with that.

Hilda sighed softly as she sat alone. She had two hours to kill before Jim and Suzuka would be back. How am I going to keep busy?

One hour, three magazine articles, two apples, and a shower later, Hilda was lounging on the couch with her eyes closed, blissfully enjoying the natural sunlight that poured through the window. She was now dressed in a pair of white shorts and a loose gray t-shirt, complemented by an old pair of sneakers that had seen better days. Her hair was wet and pulled up in a rather messy bun, made only to keep her hair out of her face.

With a small sigh, she turned over, letting the sunlight warm her face. This is great she thought, smiling. I really should do this more often.

When the doorbell rang, Hilda emitted a small groan and sat up, glancing at her watch. Jim and Suzuka wouldn't be back for another half an hour. Who could that be?

She stood and walked to the door, flipping the switch just below a wall monitor. An image appeared and Hilda was surprised to see Harry standing there, looking rather nervous. Hilda suppressed a small laugh as she opened the door. A bouquet of roses was pushed in her face.

"Here," murmured Harry, blushing slightly. "I picked these up for you."

She smiled widely. "Thank you. Let me go put them in water. Just make yourself comfortable and I'll be right back."

Harry watched her vanish into the kitchen. He slid his hand behind his back and locked all the locks on the door. The last thing he wanted was someone barging in unexpectedly. With a mischievous grin on his handsome face, he made his way to the couch, dropping down on it lazily.

Seconds later, Hilda reappeared carrying a vase, now filled with the roses. She set it down on the coffee table and sat down next to Harry. "So what brings you to my humble abode?"

Harry shrugged. "I just wanted to see you again. I had fun last night."

"Yeah, it was great," replied Hilda, smiling. "I think we should do it again. Soon. Like maybe tonight."

Harry leaned closer to her, his violet eyes sparkling eyes sparkling excitedly. "I'm sure I can make tonight much more fun."

Hilda raised an eyebrow at the implied meaning of his words. Then a slow grin lifted the corners of his lips. She smiled and snaked her arms around his neck, leaning in for a kiss...

...KNOCK...KNOCK...KNOCK...

Hilda jumped back, laughing outwardly and cursing the interruption silently."Who is it?" she called, glaring at the door.

"Why is the door locked?" asked Jim, from the other side of the door.

"It's not," replied Hilda, as she climbed to her feet. Leave it to Jim to screw up the doorknob. "Just turn the door knob and push the door in!"

The doorknob jiggled slightly, then went still. "I'm telling you, the door is locked!" Hilda rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh as she went to the door. She stopped when she saw that not only was the lock on the knob locked, but the dead-bolt and the electronic locked had been engaged as well. She couldn't remember locking them... She unlocked the door and opened it wide, allowing Jim some extra room to navigate with all the packages he had. "Hey Jim," she said, a smile on her face. "I want you to meet someone." She turned to glance at Harry...

He was gone.

Hilda did a double-take, her eyes darting over the room. Where had he gone? she wondered, as she went back into the living room. Then she noticed that her door was ajar. She went to it and stepped inside her room, a cool breeze hitting her face almost immediately. The window, which she had been sure she had closed, was now standing open, it's gauzy curtains billowing softly in the breeze.

"Is something wrong?" asked Jim, standing in the doorway to her room. "You look a little pale."

Hilda opened her mouth to explain all about Harry, then shut it. She didn't want Jim to start play the 'protective big-brother' card and start following her around. That was the last thing she would need on a date. She forced a grin. "I thought I heard something. Must have been a cat or something."

"Oh, all right," replied Jim, studying her for just a moment longer. "You shouldn't leave the window open like that. Since we're on the ground floor, someone could just come in and steal anything from your room." He laughed slightly. "Come and help me unpack all the groceries I bought."

Hilda slid the window shut and nodded, following him out. Vaguely, she wondered where Harry went when he disappeared from her window. hen the thought was gone, and she had resigned herself to the physical labor that grocery shopping entailed.