Slowly, Sakiko sat up as well, listening to Alpha’s breathing. She was concerned that he had used too much magic in one day, with all the running and all. Sakiko wanted to put her hand on his forehead to wipe away any perspiration, but she didn’t dare try it. Besides, her cold hand might be more of a bother than an aid. The mage waited for Alpha to regain his energy, wishing that she knew any magic to help the process.

“Yes.”

Sakiko tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, her eyes cast downward. Do you really, Alpha? Or are you just saying that? What if you find out that you can never love me? What happens then? She inhaled deeply, feeling as if the silence between them was creating a thick curtain over her head. She couldn’t think straight, her heart pounding madly, every nerve in her body trembling like the strings of a violin…

She put a cool hand on Alpha’s chest, feeling his warmth slowly warm her skin. She said softly,

“Love is when…love is when…your heart beats so fast, your mind knows you need to rest, but your heart wants to burst with joy. It’s when your heart’s so bruised and tormented by the littlest things that love brings you, but you’re ready to give it away to your tormentor. It’s when your heart bleeds until you think there’s no blood left, no feelings left…and when that person approaches you warmly, it cries with another fountain of lifeblood. It’s when your mind tells you that you’re crazy, but you don’t care at all. And when…”

Sakiko trailed off, lowering her hand. She let it drop on the bed, sadness washing over her like frosty wind. It had been a long time since she really told herself what loving someone really meant, and she regretted it. It made her look deeper into her scars than she would have liked – it was like really looking and examining a festering wound that she had tried to hide for years, one which she knew existed but tried to ignore.

If Aureliano came back for me, if he had any feelings for me…if no one is there to stop me…will I go back? I might say no now, but who can know how it will be in the future? She wanted Alpha to be the one to stop her if that time ever came– he was the only one who could be like a pillar of strength and trust for her. But it wasn’t right. It wasn’t right that she would lean against him like that. He deserved someone so much better than her; someone who was pure of any past wounds, someone who could support him with innocence.

***

Zeze slid across the slick, wooden floor, surprise twisting her face into a gape. OMYGODDESSES WHERE IN HYRULE IS SAKIKO?!?!?! Paranoia gripped the bard, knowing for certain that the wolf of a man had kidnapped the innocent Sakiko and now the mage was probably….!!! Zeze grabbed Shada’s arms, screaming,

“SHADA I THINK WE NEED TO RESCUE SAKIKO I MEAN C’MON WHERE CAN SHE BE BUT IN THESE ROOMS O MY GODDESSES WHAT DO WE ABOUT OUR SWEET LIL’ SAKI I MEAN HOLY SHMOLY I BET THE GUY IS A FREAKIN’ WOLF AND ...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

"Love is when...love is when...your heart beats so fast, your mind knows you need to rest, but your heart wants to burst with joy. It's when your heart's so bruised and tormented by the littlest things that love brings you, but you're ready to give it away to your tormentor. It's when your heart bleeds until you think there's no blood left, no feelings left...and when that person approaches you warmly, it cries with another fountain of lifeblood. It's when your mind tells you that you're crazy, but you don't care at all. And when..."

The Sheikah let his head hang as Sakiko spoke . . . honestly more because he was still recovering than because of the topic at hand, but that did play some role in his reaction too. For a few more moments he sat there silently, relishing in the peaceful quiet, but eventually he had to break it.

"I see."

That was all he said; it was really all he could say at the moment. It sounded like . . . a wondrous state of being. He couldn't say he had ever felt that way, about anyone. Sakiko included, he realized with a mental sigh, knowing that she was probably hoping he felt that exact way about her.

* * *

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

Shada's scream managed to compete with Zeze's "NOOO" in volume; which one won was questionable. Horror filled her mind at the thought, and she quickly began trying to fight back against the suggestion. "N-no way! S-Saki's too smart to fall for that! A-and she's a mage and no one would ever risk getting on her bad side so a wolf would -- he would know to stay away or else she would blast him away and he'd probably die and-and-and-AHHHHHHHH!!!!"

For some reason, it appeared her attempts at reasoning things out was doing the exact opposite of its intended effect.

"WEHAVETOFINDHERNOWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Without any hesitation, Shada's leg lifted into a quickly executed punting motion, nailing the nearest door. Its hinges couldn't come apart fast enough; the wall opposite it suddenly had a rather impressive crater.

She dashed inside, finding a horrified young couple in bed -- both brunettes. "SHE'S NOT HERE!!!" Shada screamed, moving to the next door and repeating the motion with the same terrifying ease. 'NOT 401 -- NOT 403 -- NOT 405 -- SA-KI-KOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!'

* * *

The sudden commotion could be heard even in room 455. Alpha's head shot up, a look of horror coming over his features. "That'd be Shada."

'Farore's Wind, did she recognize me after all?'

He bolted to his feet, then leapt over Sakiko and onto the bed, looking out the window. Okay, they had to get out of here NOW. Could they jump out the window? He . . . might be able to survive a drop from this high; no knowing if Sakiko could as well. There might also be another rooftop they could jump to . . .

Of course, that was assuming that the window would even open high enough for them to leap out it, something that he hadn't thought to check until now.

OOC: Since you've designed most of the room already, I'll leave it to you to say what all Alpha sees out there and whether or not the window can open.

Sakiko scrambled to her feet, the welcoming softness of the bed completely forgotten. She wondered if Shada and Zeze were having an opera or something, screaming together in complete cacophony. Nonetheless, their voices – especially that of Shada’s – sounded extremely urgent. She wondered if Shada had found out… most likely. Then, she would most likely be killed in the most brutal ways, especially at the way that the Sheikah girl was screaming out her name. And by other sounds too, she was ripping down doors.

Her eyes followed where Alpha had gone; the windows?! Her face blanched, seeing that they were already two stories up. She went and looked into the window anyway, to see her chances of survival; nope. The window did open – all the way up, enough for a lean person to squeeze through. The problem, though, was how to get down. Sakiko was sure that someone agile enough – like oh, I don’t know, ALPHA – could jump to the next roof down. There were three problems on getting there, though: 1) it was about twelve feet down, vertically 2) it was about six to seven feet away horizontally 3) the roof was on a somewhat steep slant, and made of slippery looking pieces of wood that had been fit together like pieces of a puzzle, leaving no friction-causing surfaces.

The mage backed away from the window, knowing that she wasn’t going to fare well whatever she did. If she jumped out of the window, she would probably be lame for the rest of her life; if she stayed, she’d be eaten alive.

“What…should we do…?”

***

Zeze ogled at Shada’s maniac transformation, and the devastation she was wreaking upon the inn. As soon as she thought of the last part, the innkeeper had bounded up the stairs with his trusty broomstick and came running after the two women.

“WHY Y’ALL MANLY WOMEN, WHAT ARE YA DOING TO MAH INN??!!!!!!”

Having roared his battle cry, which erupted from his protruding stomach and traveled through his scratchy throat, the man commenced to swapping the broom at Shada and Zeze. The bard dodged this way and that, but Shada seemed rather too occupied tearing down doors…

Alpha grimaced at the sight below him -- like he'd thought, he could probably survive a drop that distance, but Sakiko . . . He shook his head, trying to clear it. They couldn't leave through the window, they couldn't leave through the hall, and they couldn't leave through the Void. Well . . . no, wait . . . He paused for a moment.

Sakiko couldn't leave through the window or the Void -- she would likely be gravely injured by either attempt. And it was he who couldn't leave through the hall, not if he didn't want Shada going on an even greater rampage than she already was.

It was somewhat surprising that he hadn't thought of it earlier. They simply needed to split up. He could depart through the Void, she the hall, and there she could stop the madness being caused by Zeze and Sha--wait, no, judging by the sounds of rampage from the hall, Shada wouldn't listen to anyone right now. Except . . . crap.

Except for him. Din's Fire, that witch . . . !

He looked back to Sakiko, a wave of disappointment filling him. "I think we're going to have to split up for a bit," he said after a moment. "I don't even want to think of what Shada will do if she finds us in here . . . so I'll leave through the Void." As he said this, he waved his hand towards a shadowy section of the wall. The darkness seemed to suddenly fall away in the violet light of his scar. "You wait a few moments after I've gone, then enter the hall. I'll rejoin you as soon as I can, but until then you're going to have to try and calm Shada down somehow."

* * *

Alpha alone probably understood the enormity of the task he had just handed to Sakiko.

Shada ignored the owner's sudden appearance -- rather, she probably never even noticed him in the first place -- and kept bashing down the doorways. '415, no! 417, no! 419, no!' She felt something bash against her side (in her state of mind, she remained completely unaware of the owner and his broom); annoyed that something would dare to bother her, she sent out a Wind-based spell. She probably didn't intend for it to have the strength of a hurricane, but it didn't exactly disappoint her when the man went sailing back towards the stairwell.

Well, again, that is, she wouldn't have been disappointed if she'd even known he was there . . .

'429, no! 431, no! 433, no!

"SAKIKO, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Sakiko blanched when she heard Alpha’s plan; she pursed her lips together, as if that was going to hide her fear. Do I really have to face Shada alone? Must I…? The mage knew that there was no other way, but still. By Shada’s voice, she sounded really angry. What if she didn’t even try to hear her out? What if she just started ripping her to shreds at the mere sight of her? That wasn’t even on the verge of being impossible – as a matter of fact, it was probably what was going to happen.

But…

The sound of Shada’s footsteps (and door-tearing) was getting very close. Sakiko figured that if she was going to die, then she might as well die without regrets. She nodded, expressing her acquiescence to his plan. Turning her head slightly, she bit her lips and went on her tip-toes. She timidly placed an icy kiss on his cheek, and so she couldn’t see his expression, turned to face the door.

“I’ll wait for five minutes.”

Alpha hesitated on the edge of the portal -- both because he really hated going into the Void, and because Sakiko's obvious hesitation at this plan of his stopped him cold for a moment. Could there be another way? Surely there must be some option that would allow him to appear before Sha--

"SAKIKO!!! WHERE AAAAARE YOU?!"

--okay, scratch that, no other option.

He smiled at Sakiko's warm gesture and show of courage (the kiss did make the grin come easier than it normally would have in this situation). “I’ll wait for five minutes,” she said.

He shook his head. "I'll be back in one." Then he ducked inside and was gone.

* * *

The Sheikah darted out of the alley right next to the inn -- good. As he had hoped, Shada's racket could be heard even from here. It was muffled, but still audible, and that provided him the excuse he needed to suddenly show up on the scene.

Still, had to do this right. Nothing could betray that he'd been here earlier, not even gossip that may or may not erupt in the wake of his return to the scene of the crime. That meant he had to act like he'd never been here before in his life -- and fortunately, he'd had a bit of experience with acting.

The door flew open before him, and he charged back into the lobby of the hotel. He kept his eyes gazing upwards for a second, as though intently studying the noises bleeding through the ceiling. It was still as dimly lit in here as ever, but even so he made sure his expression was one of confusion -- anyone who saw him would, hopefully, believe the farce that he had overheard the commotion and was rushing in to help with . . . with whatever was causing it.

Even as he grabbed his staff, his eyes shot down and let his crimson gaze wander the room. It was a true struggle to keep from instantly bolting towards the stairwell, but he had to pretend he didn't know where it was. After a moment he finally managed to catch sight of it -- not too hard, come to think of it, as a number of waitresses were gathered at its base, wanting to know what was going on but too scared to even spare a peek. He took off at a dead sprint, weaving through the tables -- and the rapidly-departing diners -- until he had reached the base, then vaulting over the waitresses' heads and up the stairwell.

His internal clock informed him: 58 seconds had passed.

Then he was up the stairs, and spotting --

"SHADA!"

She stopped in mid-kick -- he couldn't see the door number from here, but it was very close to the room Sakiko was hiding in. He fought to keep himself from sighing in relief . . . and when that effort proved too great, he injected a note of exasperation into the sigh. It wasn't hard around such an idiot . . .

"Keyru! HI!" she called out, waving with abrupt cheerfulness. She was bordering on laughter as she continued, "Can you help us find Sakiko? She's in trouble and we need to help her!"

He stared at her mirthful smile, flabbergasted.

The pattern on the door was extremely interesting…not…really… Sakiko stared at the wooden door in front of her with a frown, wondering how she was going to keep track of time. She’ll just count, she supposed. 1 banana, 2 banana, 3 banana…Sakiko’s stomach did cartwheels, her palms pooling with cool perspiration. She imagined in her mind’s eye what Shada would do. First, she would scream her name, then she would lunge at her, then she might start strangling her, pull out her hair…Sakiko swallowed, and cursed silently. She had lost track of the number. Was it fifty? No, it was fifty-four. Okay, so, fifty-five, fifty-six…

"Keyru! HI!"

Sakiko leaned on the door, her ear pressed to the wood closely. That was definitely Shada’s voice. But who was Keyru…?

“Can you help us find Sakiko? She's in trouble and we need to help her!"

Sakiko raised her eyebrows. Sure, she was in trouble – with Shada. For all she knew, Keyru might be a friend of hers who Shada wanted to trick into finding her. Of course that sly woman wouldn’t tell her friend that she wanted to find Sakiko to tear every limb from her body. She shuffled around for a few seconds, wondering if she should go ahead and meet her doom now. Well, maybe this Keyru person will stop Shada from decapitating me. Although that’s dubious.

No more waiting. Sakiko turned the knob slowly, willing her heart to beat softly. She shut the door after her. Not the greatest actor in town, Sakiko spoke loudly to cover for her nervousness.

“Shada? What are you doing?”

…But it should have been, ALPHA WHADDA HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE?! She searched the premises with sweeping gazes, but…no Keyru in sight. There was Zeze. But no Keyru. There was Alpha, but no Keyru. Unless…

Her eyes briefly met Alpha’s for a moment. But only for a moment, because Zeze was suffocating her to death with a death-hug. She was blubbering and sobbing, and Sakiko had to use all her energy to push her away. She said breathlessly,

“Oh, hi, Alpha. Did you come with Shada?”

She turned a shade of pink, just realizing how strange her question was. But, again, she wasn’t a great actor.

Alpha actually did sigh in relief now -- only once Shada and Zeze had both turned to Sakiko and ran up to her. Good, he'd gotten here fast enough after all . . . knowing Shada, there was no telling what she might have done to Sakiko once she found her. Hug her or kill her; either one was plenty possible.

Still, her words when he first showed up were nagging him . . . Shada had thought Sakiko was in trouble? What on earth had given her that idea?

His musing went completely unnoticed by Shada, who charged up to Sakiko with the widest smile possible on her face. "Sakiko!" she cried merrily, trying to get past Zeze so she too could hug the mage in delight. When that failed, she shook her head and went charging into the room from which Sakiko had just emerged. "Alright, where is he?!"

"Where is who?" Alpha immediately asked, striding right up to the door and looking inside. It was taking a considerable amount of effort to keep himself from staring at Sakiko in relief; he couldn't afford to do so as long as these other girls might catch him doing so. But Shada wouldn't respond . . . it looked like she was systematically going over every square inch of the room, searching for something. 'Or someone,' he corrected himself, before pausing. 'But wait, I'm out here . . . who is she--?' If she had recognized him, then his sudden appearance outside should have made her think she was mistaken or something. He had been planning to convince her that her mind had been playing tricks on her, that she'd never seen him at all.

But she was acting like she really hadn't seen him . . . or rather . . . 'She didn't know it was me she was seeing . . .'

“Oh, hi, Alpha. Did you come with Shada?”

He hesitated for a split second before realizing how suspicious that kind of thing would appear. Another moment was taken to school his features into one that would not belie relief, then he turned to face her. It was hard to keep his serious expression . . . but somehow he managed it. "No, I just got here -- you could hear this little rampage from a block away! So I came running."

The Sheikah paused, then glanced down at Zeze. "Um . . . Zapheta, right? Who is Shada looking for? I don't sense anyone else in that room . . ."