A Demon of Their Own

[Yuki]

It had not been more than twenty minutes after she had gone to bed before Yuki began to feel an itching sensation across her body. She had been thinking about the implications of the existence of a Hell, but could not continue her thoughts because of the sudden burning her skin eminated. She scratched furiously, wondering how long it had been since the room was occupied or cleaned. Had Aiden let the room become infested with fleas? Disgusted, she got up from the bed and flipped the switch of the lamp on the nightstand. The room now illuminated, she saw that her arms, as well as her legs, were now the site of a rash. Going over to the bed, she stared at it, searching for signs of any tiny insect. Scanning the white sheets, she saw nothing. Yuki was going to berate Aiden for this in the morning. First, a water bucket, now unidentifiable fleas.

With a frustrated sigh, she went to the closet and opened it. There, she found folded sheets, exactly what she was looking for. She spread the sheets on the floor, creating something similiar to a shikibuton that was used in Japan. Unfortunately, the lack of rice mats or the cotton stuffing resulted in a pathetic bed in comparison. Resigned to the spare sheets, she laid down and commenced her attempt at rest once again.

She had hoped to further ponder what she had learned that day, but sleep had consumed her more quickly than she expected. It also ended much more briefly than she hoped, as she had woken up in the middle of the night to a foul smell. Blinking a couple times, Yuki wrinkled her nose at the repulsive odor coming from underneath her. Since she was on the second story, she assumed that below her on the first floor was the storage room, and that Aiden had let something expire or rot. It didn't help that the rash she had received just before going to sleep was as fervent as ever. Yuki sensed that her skin was irritated at the constant scratching. If she had known this would happen, she would have packed some olive oil or aloe leaves to combat the rash. Having none, she was forced to put up with the annoyance. Getting up from the measley sheets, she turned on the light once again and headed to her purse for some perfume. At least it would somewhat cover up the horrible odor. She looked around for the heart shaped bottle that contained sakura perfume and when she found it, she made sure that the room was bathed in the delicate aroma. At first, the smell seemed decent, but then it morphed into an even fouler scent than before.

Amidst the scratching and the rank smell, she wondered if Teagan was having the same problem in her room, while Aiden was sleeping like a king. That was the last straw. The itching she could somewhat deal with, but the smell of the room was too strong to bear. There was a couch downstairs--she would sleep there. Yuki walked over to the door, undid the lock, and tried to open it. It was jammed shut. She checked the lock again, but it was not in place. So why wouldn't the door budge? She pulled the handle harder. Still nothing. Perfect.

Suppressing the urge to gag, Yuki defeatedly laid back down, covering her nose with the sheets. On top of that, the itching did not seem to be lessening at all. Angrily, Yuki determined that Aiden would hear about this in the morning. After struggling for over an hour and trying to block out her senses of smell and touch, Yuki finally fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

[Aiden]

Having had to sleep in some of the most sketchy hotels ever at times, Aiden was accustomed to strange sensations. Not only that, but he lived on top of a bar, so noise was no object to him either. So when he finally went to sleep later than the other two, once he was actually sleeping, he stayed asleep until morning. He didn't awaken in the night with rashes, or scratching, or odors. And if something did expire, or if the sheets were infested, it could hardly be blamed on Aiden; he wasn't in charge of taking care of the place, he only lived there. The employees were in charge of all of that, Aiden didn't keep track of it. He did work down there occasionally, but he didn't check the storeroom or anything like that. And he knew the employees wouldn't let anything like that happen, so whatever Yuki was smelling, it wasn't from the bar.

Aiden awoke in the morning, and when his senses came to him in full, he was overwhelmed by the itching sensation all over his body. All over, his mind wasn't exaggerating, and it was to the point to where it was almost painful. He shot up, flinging himself out of his bed, and looking over his body. He was covered in some red rash, all over the place...and his room....smelled putrid! He immediately decided he was apparently long overdue for a shower, and moved to his door after pulling a shirt on. He turned the handle and pulled, but...no, something was up. His face went blank, hard. This was ridiculous! Something was up, and while it might be supernatural, he didn't get the feeling it was.

Pulling hard on the door, it finally gave way, granting him exit. His bare feet gave off soft thuds as he strode down to the end of the hall, not knowing whose room was who's. His first stop was Yuki's room, and he pounded on the door. "Yuki? Teagan? Is everything alright?" He tried the handle--the door wouldn't open. "Shit," he breathed, his mind jumping to the worst; something got in the bar, and one of them, if not both, could be dead. Maybe that was the cause of the smell. Taking a few steps back, he sped into the door with his shoulder while twisting the knob--he didn't want to ruin the door, of course. It gave on the second time, opening up and revealing a just as red Yuki on the floor. "Yuki?" Aiden called, hanging in the doorway. His hand was scratching his arm, Aiden was not a happy camper.

[Teagan]

Unlike her companions, Teagan woke well-rested and ready for the day...ready to run, that is. The night before she carefully spent her time rigging several different, ah, "annoyances" within the other's rooms. The other beds received the gift of itching powder, which came off of a tree located outside her window back at business camp. Under the fifth floorboard, six planks over, in each room she planted a combination of spices that mirrored the effects of smelling salts. To most, it would look like dust or dry leaves that blew in when someone absent-minded left the window open. The smell though came later, full-blown. It was akin to the scent Teagan would imagine a threatened skunk would give off on a humid day.

From the lack of shouts the night before, Teagan assumed Yuki discovered the bucket of water above her door. Good. She wasn't mad that her trick didn't work out. In fact, she expected it to fail. If the Asian girl had been too thick to notice, Teagan wouldn't have taken anything that came from her mouth with a grain of salt. In the meantime, she had also messed with the gears in the locks of all the doors. Nothing permanent, but enough to frustrate the unsuspecting person.

Instinct told her no one discovered the, ah, odd traits in the sink. Oh well...that would surely come later.

Rolling out of bed, Teagan prepared herself for the chaos she knew would arrive at any moment. No fool would pull something on others without masking their guilt. Stealthily, Teagan mixed the last of the spices under her own floorboard and put it back in place. A pinch of the powder was sprinkled on her arm. Although the effects weren't instantaneous, a little itching on her own accord would speed along the process. As for the door, she had taken the precaution of playing with it the night before. She would be as much as a victim as Yuki and Aiden. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed her prognosis. Her dark locks were in disarray and a red rash ran along her neck.

Someone began to bang on their door, and the thud of it finally opening rang like music to her ears.

"Yuki? Teagan? Everything alright?" So Aiden noticed first. Props to him. Teagan heard him racing to their rooms. "Yuki?"

It was game time.

She rushed to the door and fiddled with the lock. A worried expression painted her face, and she slipped into panic mode. "Aiden? Why won't the door open? Aiden!"

[Yuki]

Sitting on the sheets on the floor, Yuki stared blankly at Aiden, sincerely confused. Why did his skin have a rash as well?

"If this is part of our training, I am not amused," she said with a serious tone. She had been ready to verbally file every complaint she had about her bedroom and pin the blame on Aiden. The fact that he seemed angry revealed that perhaps she was not the only victim. Yuki stood up, scratching her arm in the process. "What's going on? Is this the work of a supernatural being? I thought your tavern was protected against such things." Yuki winced as she fought back the urge to scratch her leg. Anymore scratching near that ankle and she was going to start bleeding, she was sure of it. Remembering that Aiden had not resided in the building for some time, Yuki added, "...Or is this a result of your lack of tending to the tavern? Perhaps you should hire better caretakers when you are away," she said icily.

Suddenly, Yuki remembered Teagan's words from the previous day. Pranks. Of course. The girl was reckless--reckless enough to try and trick two cautious, potentially dangerous people. Teagan could have easily had time to rig the rooms within the time Yuki had remained speaking to Aiden.

And then, as if on cue, she heard a voice calling from the opposite end of the hallway. "Aiden? Why won't the door open? Aiden!"

The two ran over to her door to let her out. ...Why would Teagan trap herself if she was the culprit? Bewildered, Yuki thought about the situation. It had to be a supernatural happening. There was no other explanation, unless Aiden confessed to abandoning the tavern during his leave, which was doubtful. Under normal circumstances, that statement would've been preposterous, but at this point, Yuki felt as if the unrealistic theory would be the correct one from now on.

[Aiden]

His breathing growing more hurried, Aiden moved through the hall, the smell not only coming from his room, but it seemed equally as strong at the end of the hall where the girls' rooms were. He opened Yuki's door, noting her red, scratched skin that mirrored his, only that hers was obviously worse; odds were she woke up during the night, and had been dealing with it, or at least trying to, ever since. The smell, whatever it was, wafted out of the room into the hall. With his hand snaking up under the hem of his shirt and above the waistline of his gym shorts, Aiden couldn't help but to scratch the skin there. "What kind of training would this be?!" Aiden said, slightly exasperated. Whatever the cause of this was, it wasn't in Yuki's room.

He shook his head, shooting down Yuki's next theory. "I don't know of any supernatural being that makes people itch to death, and seeing as both of you are alive," he said, hearing Teagan move about in the room across from them, "I highly doubt anything got through. And someone is always here, the rooms are cleaned daily, in case they're used at night. It can't be because they weren't cleaned..." He trailed off, trying to make sense of this in his head. What the hell happened? All he wanted now was to figure it out, and get a nice shower, to soothe his skin. Teagan began yelling--so she was experiencing the same thing as they were. His mind went through various situations, yet none of them seemed believable.

Until he finally arrived at the same conclusion as Yuki, remembering what Teagan said. Pranks. And he knew that the good prankster wouldn't just make it end with the targets, they would make it appear as if they were involved too. But he couldn't pin her, he didn't have proof. The itching sensation continued, distracting him, irritating him. When he threw his weight into Teagan's door, he did it quite brutely. "You alright?" He asked, his eyes on the rash on his arm. "Goddammit, what the hell happened?!"

[Teagan]

Teagan jolted as the door slammed open, revealing her very red companions. If she hadn't spent years mastering a straight face, she would've burst out laughing. But that would've given her away instantly. Still, it was nothing short of hilarious to see both completely stubborn people reduced to the attention span of a five-year old.

Speaking of-her own arm burned, demanding her attention. "God!" she cried, furiously scratching away. Teagan had forgotten why exactly she saved this for her top priority pranks. She gritted her teeth and miserably glared at Aiden. "I'll be fine. But I can't say the same for my sanity." Emerald eyes flashed in anger and confusion. "What's going on?"

Yuki appeared behind Aiden, dark eyes hinting of restless sleep. Ha. That would teach her. For a moment, the teen honestly hoped that Aiden would let Yuki use the restroom to clean up first. Obviously, if they discovered she had orchestrated the entire event, they might punish her by not letting her relieve herself of the ache until both of them were cleansed. Suited her fine enough. The look on Yuki's face alone made the whole thing worth it.

Too bad Teagan didn't have her camera.

[Yuki]

When the door was finally unjammed, Yuki noted that the girl's skin was as equally aflame as hers and Aiden's. If the girl was truly the one who set up the pranks, she sure didn't show any sign of having done so, further supporting her theory that this had been a supernatural happening. Having very little knowledge of the supernatural, Yuki felt at a disadvantage. Aiden was the only one who could provide Teagan and her with answers.

As she stared at the girl, Yuki felt extremely annoyed. Her skin was horribly irritated, her eyes were dry and she felt as if her body mass had exponentially increased overnight, making it almost painful for her to make any kind of movement. In fact, she was in a condition where she desperately wanted a shower. It was as if she had been up all night drinking sake and was now experiencing the after-effects--a hangover, if you will. Her head throbbed at the multiple discomforts that accumulated in her mind.

Whatever this being's intention was, it didn't seem to be attacking any of them directly. If this was the case, Yuki knew she would have to be cautious of her every movement. There would be no way to predict when the being's next strike would be, nor how it would execute the attack. But it didn't seem to want to kill them. If it had wanted to, the being would have done so at some point during the night, when everyone's guard was down. No, this being wanted a slow torture. It probably thought it was fun to see humans in a state of affliction.

Yuki's hazel eyes turned to Aiden in expectance of an explanation. It was his field they were playing on, and he knew it better than the two newcomers.

[Aiden]

It couldn't have been...but...the tavern was protected...right? His mind went over every single monster he'd ever faced, dealt with, heard about, trying to figure which one would get its kicks by pulling pranks on people. Yuki and Teagan apparently chose the wrong time to begin living at the taven as a home, because whatever this thing was...did it follow one of them? That would explain why nothing had ever happened before; one of them was being followed by something, and if that was the case, how had he not noticed? He was usually pretty attuned to those kinds of things. Nevertheless, he was the "faction leader," right? That meant that he needed to take action, even if this situation was...juvenile.

With both of them looking to him for some sort of explanation, he shook his head in defeat. "Really, I don't know. The only thing I can think of is a poltergeist following one of you, since nothing like this has ever happened here. Nothing else would do this, but even then, poltergeists are usually ruthless, not immature. In any case, Yuki, why don't you take the shower on this floor," he said, motioning to the bathroom door, "and Teagan, you take the one upstairs. We keep those rooms and everything locked up when there aren't customers up there, so that one should be safe. I'll get these sheets in the wash, and have someone help me figure out what the smell is while I wait for you two."

In actuality, Aiden was going to do those things, but he had something else in mind first. He wouldn't just leave the tavern defenseless, and it was fortified against supernatural beings. So how did this poltergeist get in, then? There was still the other possibility--Teagan. And while she showered, he could sneak into her room, and see if she was the culprit. All he needed now was for her to go upstairs, and shower.

[Teagan]

A poltergeist? What the heck was he talking about? Something supernatural, she suspected. Then again, everything for Aiden tended to lean that direction. Teagan succumbed to her temptations and scratched at the rash on her arm, listening to the rest of the boy's theory. Immature? As if. Try "brilliant". Or "awe-inspiring".

Obviously not attune to Teagan's mental protests, Aiden continued, recommending the girls use the showers while he and the staff investigated. How manly; offering to suffer while they relieved themselves of the pain. His loss. Teagan wasn't stupid enough to carry around an inflammatory concoction and not carry the antidote on her person. If Aiden had taken the shower first, Teagan would've just dabbed a bit on her arm to lessen the terror and then taken the liberty of rigging the rest of the house.

Regardless, she'd get around to Teaganizing the joint. Whether it happened in five minutes or five days, there was no doubt it would happen.

"Thanks Aiden," she stumbled. She opened her mouth to say something, but then nearly gagged on the foul scent. Never again in her own room, she swore. "I appreciate that. Um," she bit her lip for a hesitant facade. "Sorry about storming out last night. It probably would've been polite to wait for you guys." She grabbed her backpack, taking it with her not only as a precaution, but because it held her spare clothes and these ones...

...these ones would hit the laundromat. ASAP.

[Yuki]

Before walking to the shower, Yuki went to her room to get a change of clothes. Pinching her nose with two fingers, she quickly looked through her luggage. She hadn't brought much with her and mentally noted that a shopping trip would be needed in the near future, after this fiasco was solved. Clothes in hand, she headed in the direction Aiden had pointed out, resisting the impulse to scratch her skin. If she had been in Okinawa, she could've simply headed outside, harvested some herbs, and then proceeded to create a remedy. Unfortunately, if she headed outside right now, she doubted she would find much other than an infestation of weeds.

With a deep breath, Yuki opened the door to the bathroom and stepped inside. It seemed much like a hotel bathroom, everything was relatively ordinary. She waited for a moment with her back against the door. Nothing happened. Her eyes scanned the room. The only thing out of place was a line of salt next to the tiny window on the wall, but Yuki knew the reasoning behind that. She set her clothes down cautiously, expecting something to happen to them. Still nothing. As she stayed against the door, Yuki bit her lip. Perhaps she was being too paranoid. Smiling to herself, she walked forward.

After showering, Yuki went over to the mirror to apply her makeup. She felt much more relieved of the itchiing, though her skin was still red and her face looked swollen. Nothing a little makeup wouldn't fix. As she opened a tube of eyeliner, some of the liquid spilled on her finger. With a sigh, she turned on the sink to wash it off. The clear water ran against her skin and washed off the eyeliner. But, after a few seconds, Yuki watched as the water turned black. Surprised, she quickly jolted her hands back. When she looked at her finger, it was as if someone had dipped it in ink or colored it with permanent marker. Every part of her left hand that had touched the water was stained black.

Not completely done with her makeup, Yuki quickly packed her belongings and stepped outside to alert the others. "Aiden, Teagan, come quick!"

[Aiden]

It really bothered him that this could be something supernatural, but if it was, how did it get in? He'd practically spent years outfitting the place, it could be a stronghold if suddenly thousands of demons decided to come for him. But if it was something like a poltergeist, or a trickster...how? He glanced at both salt lines in the rooms, noting not much difference. With no evidence, it pointed to Teagan, she had talked about pranks, and the evidence could be found in her bag. He wasn't above snooping through, not if she was going to sabotage his home. He hoped to get into her room when he offered the upstairs shower, but when she went in to grab her clothes, she took her entire backpack. Now what? he thought. There was still a supernatural possibility...and an EMF reading could tell him so.

While the girls showered, he returned to his room, dug through his things, and pulled out the EMF meter. Sliding the switch into the 'ON' position, the needle didn't move. His room had been messed with too, but nothing. He walked through the hall, the device quiet, the needle still. Into Yuki's room, nothing. Into Teagan's. Nothing. If there had been anything supernatural here, the EMF would have picked it up. There was only one logical explanation for it, and that was Teagan. With a frown on his face, he stowed the device back in his room, and tried his best to ignore the itching feeling all over his body. It'd be over soon, the showers should have been opening at any time, and then he too would be free.

However, Yuki's voice seemed to strike that notion down. Aiden knew that there couldn't be anything else wrong with the bathroom aside from another prank, so with the frown still on his face, he moved through the hall, the balls of his feet still giving off light thuds on the wood, and to the bathroom where Yuki emerged, hand blackened. At first he thought it was burned, but upon closer inspection it looked like ink, or maybe dye. "That came out of the shower?" he asked, now slightly irritated that the normal, non-sabotaged bathroom had gone to Teagan. "Great...Well, seeing as you're dressed now...no, those are probably ruined too." He kept quiet about his finding; he'd get Teagan back in subtle ways, and not ruin the day by calling her on it...yet. "Finish in the upstairs bathroom before I shower, and I'll fix the water line on this one." At least breakfast would be fine...he hoped.

[[So they're going to move from breakfast into training, so be prepared XD breakfast would be downstairs in the kitchen, thats the next destination when they're all dressed/groomed.]]

[Teagan]

Teagan finished her business quickly in the upstairs bathroom, savoring the rush that always followed a successful job. Her only regret was the lack of a camera. Oh well, she'd pick one up eventually. Until then, her journal would have to suffice as a record of her achievements. Leaning against the wall, she removed the weathered book from her backpack and opened it to the latest entry. Scanning the hurried scrawls, a grin spread across her face and she wondered what Deacon was up to. If only he could see her now. Oh well, the best Teagan could do at the moment was record her happenings and let him scan over it next time they returned to Keystone.

As her pen scrawled across the next available page, she carefully planned out her next moves. Everything depended on whether or not anyone figured out the cause of the panic had nothing to do with the supernatural. Psh. Yeah right. Everything could be explained, on some level. Except for Aiden and Yuki's insanity. That would take a miracle to resolve. Or a quiet call to the guys in white. But...she wouldn't do that unless things got out of hand. No need to alert the authorities to her absent status at summer camp.

A shout from below signaled another job well done. It seemed Yuki had discovered the poor water quality in the area. Ha. Served her right.

Teagan returned her journal to its resting place and glanced at the shower. Spotless. Good, but out of precaution she double checked all of the screws looked normal. No need to make the same mistake she did with Deacon and assume no one would look closely. Nah, flawless work on her part this time. Until someone with as much knowledge as she had on plumbing came along, any person to use the shower would quickly grow annoyed and the inconsistency of the labeled knobs.

With that, she grabbed her pack and headed to the kitchen, smoothing her blue shirt over her tattered jeans. Perfect. Initiating stage two.

[Yuki]

Although Aiden seemed concerned about the condition of her hand, he didn't seem nearly as worried about the cause as he was earlier. In fact, Yuki noted, he just seemed annoyed. Had he figured out what was trying to attack them? Either way, even if the smell was no longer present and the rash had faded considerably, it did not help that now, her left index finger, as well as the tip of her middle finger and part of her thumb, were now stained. It was as if she had some form of the bubonic plague.

Aiden questioned if the liquid had come out of the shower and made a comment about her clothes probably being affected as well. "Actually, it came out of the sink, so only my hand made contact with the substance," Yuki replied. He seemed lost in thought with his next words as he told her to finish up in the upstairs bathroom while he fixed the water lines. Nodding, she began to walk, but then turned around. "I cannot help but notice that your concern for the matter seems to have dwindled, or trailed off. Seeing as I most certainly do not wish for my hand to remain in this ghastly state, your lack of immediate action had better mean that you know how to solve the problem," she concluded, the problem being both her hand and the being that was wreaking havoc in the tavern.

With that remark, she continued up the stairs. Teagan hadn't come down with Aiden. Perhaps she was still in the shower? Or what if something had happened to her? Yuki went up the last couple steps at a quicker pace, alarmed by the thought. However, the sentiment was short-lived when she saw Teagan in the hallway. Without a stained hand. Yuki made no comment, slightly irritated that she had been the only victim of the misfortune, but relieved that nothing bad had happened, and proceeded into the bathroom without acknowledging the girl.

Once she was done with her makeup, Yuki headed downstairs. She couldn't stop looking at the blotch on her left hand, as it strikingly stood out against her light complexion. She had tried washing it off with the upstairs sink, but to no avail. The stain would not come off. Some honeysuckle or forsytha would've worked great for cleansing the skin. But again, without the fruits of her homeland, she was at a disadvantage.

As she made her way into the kitchen, Yuki imagined that the hand would be quite distracting during gun training, and then she wondered if that would have to be postponed due to the current dilemma--a question that she would have to ask Aiden, once he finished fixing the sink.

[Aiden]

What was really bothering Aiden now was the idea of Teagan having done all of this so quickly in the span that he and Yuki continued the conversation for a few moments longer the night before. She was fast, efficient, and Aiden knew...but he didn't want to say anything, not yet. But when he did, oh, she would get a piece of his mind, all right, and he was sure that Yuki would join in. Yuki, speaking of, didn't seem to pleased with his lack of action, but he was just trying to figure out what to do now. "I'm working on it," he said simply, glancing at her hand. "I'll ask one of the girls downstairs if she knows anything that'll remove that stain, once I get down there. Just go finish up for now," he stated, moving into the bathroom, and inspecting the sink and its immediate area.

A short while later, the sink was fixed, clean water ran free once again, with both the hot and cold handles working just fine. Aiden's skin had grown a vibrant red, but a shower later, his skin was soothed, and he could concentrate much better. He dressed himself, his usual being jeans, a tee shirt and some sneakers, and then moved into his room. The next item of business would be locating the source of the smell. It took a few minutes, but once he found the loosened floorboard, the spices were quickly thrown out, and he repeated the process in both rooms. By now, both of the girls were downstairs eating, or waiting for him at least, so he needed to hurry.

He entered the kitchen, his hair still slightly wet and water marks trailing down his face. He caught the attention of one of the employees, and quickly explained that the sheets needed to be washed multiple times. He didn't bother asking if anyone strange came in, because he knew what was up, he just wished that Yuki or Teagan wouldn't notice. Walking over to the cupboards that lined the walls, he pulled out three bowls, a couple of boxes of cereal, then pulled out some milk and utensils, and set them on the table. "Eat, because the gun training might take a while," he said simply. "I fixed the sink, and found these spices or something underneath our floors, that was the smell. The sheets will be washed today," he explained.

Pulling out the chair to sit with them, he moved around and sat down. Creeeeeeeak. One moment he was sitting, another moment his chair had collapsed, sending him forward towards the edge of the table...when milk began to drip down onto his head, through his hair, and down his face. He blinked a few times before standing up and glaring at Teagan. "Ow," he said, more so for the effect. The milk, upon inspection, had a hole in it, and was now leaking all over the table. "Teagan, grab a towel and clean that up will you?"

[Teagan]

Teagan returned to her chair a full minute before any staff member walked in. She leaned back in her chair, pretending to be catching up on some much needed sleep. When Yuki entered awhile later, Teagan opened her eyes and let out a yawn. Ha, the girl's hand held the tell-tale signs of the synthetic chemicals normally used in spray paint. A common spray paint remover would fix the problem though.

Aiden followed soon after, not looking pleased. Teagan eyed him thoughtfully, wondering what his search of the rooms had unveiled. Instead of filling them in, he first went to the cupboard and returned with breakfast. Here we go, she thought.

With a stern look, he ordered them to eat. Gun training? Wait a sec-Teagan knew for sure that only Yuki probably had the legal clearance to fire a gun...what if- She accepted her cereal and turned her thoughts back to the training idea. Science camp didn't offer that on their list of "thrilling activities". Maybe she could allow a little underground training to broaden her horizons.

And then Aiden began to move toward his chair. Come on, she thought, ignoring his discovery of the spices and fixing of the bathroom sink. A little closer...

A loud crash interrupted whatever Aiden had been about to say. Teagan paused to observe the damage, her spoon halfway to her mouth. "Woah, you okay there?" The teen was sprawled among the collapsed chair, looking slightly miffed. To everyone's surprise (including Teagan, who couldn't have timed it better herself), leaking milk started dripping on his head.

"Ow." Was it her imagination, or did Aiden look pointedly in her direction?

Aiden immediately inspected the milk can. A hole appeared on the bottom, allowing a small stream of liquid to run out. His dark eyes skipped over Yuki and shot directly to her."Teagan, grab a towel and clean that up will you?"

"No problem." Concerned, she quickly rose.

He knew.