Please comment and like this chapter - Let me know what you think!

"How was it?" Harper lowered herself, looking Yanpu directly in the eye. A young girl, looking around 15 years old, brought him to their shed. Harper identified her as the assistant Nefuti was talking about.

She explained the reason she was late was because they had a little bit of trouble finding the shed number, but Yanpu guided her back.

After a quick chat, Harper found out that Yanpu kept quiet and reserved the entire time with the other children.

Hearing that was disappointing, but she knew it would be a while before Yanpu made any improvements. She only hoped it would be very soon, and not take many years.

"Did you make any friends, or try something new?"

Yanpu raised his eyes, and Harper saw how irritated they were. His brown pupils were full of fury, rage, and sorrow. He looked at her like she committed an ultimate betrayal.

"Are you just going to stand there and not say anything to me?" Harper tried once more, earning a bitter chortle from Hyde.

"I don't know why you keep trying. If he doesn't wanna answer, don't bother wasting your time with him."

"Hyde!"

"What? I said nothing wrong. Why stress yourself out over his attitude? He'll learn to cope with his circumstances soon."

"He is still a child. This is an emotional experience that I have to help him get through. Telling him to suck it up won't work—"

"It worked for me, and I turned out just fine."

"But he's not you." Harper shot back and Hyde rolled his eyes. "His experience is different from yours! I just need you to understand that. I don't want to argue about it anymore."

Hyde unfolded his arms and brushed against Harper as he sauntered by, almost knocking her over. But he stopped right after doing it.

He wasn't sure why it frustrated him so much that Harper was still trying to baby Yanpu. The kid was very capable of processing logical outcomes.

Yanpu was pretty smart. He formulated a way to manage to fight Hyde and plan to kill him without any training.

Was there something Hyde was missing? Why was she still giving Yanpu the benefit of the doubt?

He grumbled and stormed into the bedroom. Socks, the whilfox, skipped around his feet as he ignored it.

"Are you hungry?" Harper turned her attention back to Yanpu. "Did you eat while you were there?"

Yanpu snatched his arm out of Harper's grasp and stomped over to the couch. He pulled the blanket draped over the edge and spread it over his head and body.

He cuddled into the cushion, ignoring Harper's calls for him. She gave up trying to get him to talk.

She didn't have any doubts that he would probably be like this for the rest of the night.

She wanted to explain her motives for sending him to school, but with the way he was acting, she knew it wouldn't get through to him.

Harper strolled into the bedroom soon after.

Hyde was lying back on the mat with his arms placed behind his head. He opened one eye and watched as she tiptoed over Socks, placing herself on the other side of the mat.

"How'd it go?"

"Please don't mock me." Harper fumed. Hyde sat up quickly with a dastardly grin plastered on his face.

"I don't have to, you're already doing it to yourself."

He tusked. "You hate being proven wrong, don't you?"

Harper exhaled. "I'm at a loss for what to do next. He won't listen to me, he won't even look my way."

"Well isn't that something," Hyde whistled.

"I'm serious, Hyde... if anything, this worries me more."

"You're getting all worked up for nothing."

"I don't want him to despise me, the way you despise Bomb." Harper wiped a stray tear away and leaned against the wall.

Everything she had done up to this point was to protect Yanpu. This was the first time that she saw him showing visible signs of being upset with her. Back in Itaria, she knew he was distressed, but that was because of his bullying.

Every day since the attack on Piccposto, she scared herself into thinking that she was going to turn out like Bomb. The last thing she wanted was to ruin Yanpu's life.

But she kept feeling intense guilt about it. She had the opportunity to give Yanpu a better life, but her lack of awareness and observation caused her to lose it.

"That's not the same..." Hyde spoke up. "My relationship with Bomb is not the same as Yanpu's and yours."

"Sending him to school, I don't even know if it's the right decision—"

"It is," Hyde reassured her. "Like you said, it's not plausible to compare Yanpu's experience with mine all the time. You're moving in the right direction for that kid. What Bomb did was worse than anyone can fathom."

"How can you be so sure? He—"

"I'm sure. Absolutely sure." Hyde's tone was firm. He tried his best to get the point across.

"The kid is upset now, but in a few days he'll get over it." Hyde reasoned. "You're doing your best, right?"

"Yeah,"

"Then that's all you can do. Your pushing to do extra won't do any good. It'll only tire you out."

"I'm willing to sacrifice that for him."

"If you can't take care of yourself, how will you take care of someone else?" Hyde poked the side of her head. "Stupid."

"I'm not stupid," Harper growled.

"I'm going to bed." Hyde collapsed back onto the mat and rolled on his side. "If you're just gonna overthink the whole night, can you at least put the torch out?"

Harper sighed, doing what he requested.

~~~

As the days went by, the next two weeks rolled into the next month. Hyde managed to make enough to cover the first month's rent from both of his jobs.

Harper could no longer pretend that she didn't have a job. After the first week, Hyde started growing more suspicious of her.

To prevent him from wanting to investigate exactly where she'd been running off to during the day, she confessed that she did find a job. But she didn't tell him the full details about working for Akamau.

She did show him that she was making some level of income by revealing the different shapes of gold coins she had collected.

It didn't stop him from asking more questions. He wanted to know where the job location was, and who it was for. He also wanted to know how much she would be making, as a way of trying to sort out a budget plan for the next month.

Harper answered the question about income for the sake of financial planning, but she made excuses for the other two.

She told him she didn't know the exact address because she was still new to the route. She also told him that her employer didn't want to be revealed.

But he was starting to see right through those excuses. At some point, he started questioning why her employer didn't want to be revealed if the job was very small and harmless.

So she made another excuse by saying she had a headache, or that she was stressed. Harper was running out of ways to avoid his questions.

Only because Harper had been transparent about the money she was making was he able to let some of her abrupt responses slide.

They formulated and strategized. Hyde made a little over 550 talents in 2 weeks. Harper brought in 150 talents. Hyde used most of his income to pay for the rent and was left over with 30 talents.

Harper agreed to use the rest of the money she made to provide for food and clothing for the next week.

Hyde was a primary source of money to roll in. When Harper did the math, she calculated that he would be bringing in 900 talents over the next month.

She would bring in 400. While it seemed like more than enough for the three to live comfortably, Hyde made a suggestion of setting aside certain income for food.

He noted that Paradiso's food and clothes weren't cheap at all. Food alone would take up 300-400 talents. Why?

Hyde blamed it on the fact that he needed substance. But it made sense to Harper. She lives with two boys, one being a grown man who worked in the field of doing nearly extreme manual labor, and a child who was growing.

Clothes were somewhat cheaper, but there was honestly no telling what could happen in the future. Yanpu's current attire was full of holes. She would probably have to buy new tops for him consistently.

There was also a fee for Yanpu's education. Since Hyde refused to contribute toward that, she was going to have to scrape up the rest of her money to afford that.

"That leaves us with 250 talents after every month." Harper set the rest of her golden coins on the table and slid them on the other end.

"We can leave that for emergencies." Hyde nodded in agreement.

"You've said that before... what kind of emergencies do you think will happen?"

"Who knows? What if the kid falls out of a tree and breaks his arm?"

"Can't his wounds heal as quick as yours?"

"Don't think so." Hyde shrugged. "I'd have to see what's documented on his files, back at the Facility. Or, I could investigate for myself." His eyes twinkled rebelliously.

"Don't you even think about it!" Harper hissed, knowing that Hyde's mind went way into the gutter. His constant bloodthirst creeped her out. But she would have to die before he put his hands on Yanpu intentionally.

"You're no fun." Hyde wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I was just kidding. If I could find the trading post, I'd try to find a way to contact someone to get me that information."

"You know someone who could access Yanpu's files easily? And don't say it's me. I'm sure my access to their system was terminated already."

"I know plenty of Kragites who could tap into the Facility's system. Honestly, it's not that difficult. Bomb uses similar passwords for everything."

"So back then, you could've asked your friends to access his information, but you decided to torture me instead?"

"We should let bargoyles be bargoyles," Hyde relaxed his shoulders and kicked back on the couch.

"You dope. The phrase is "let bygones be bygones."

"Not in my book."

"Ugh,"

"I'm just suggesting that we have something in case something goes wrong. Most plans can always be ruined. Take it from me, who's been in plenty of battles."

Harper took his words a little too literally. What was he expecting to go wrong? They were on an uncharted island with limited technology. He wasn't implying that they could still be found, right?

"Oi," Hyde flicked Harper's nose, bringing her out of her thoughts. "You look so terrified."

"I just want to make sure that Westonian Officials don't find us. I can't let them take Yanpu away from me."

"You're jumping to conclusions. There are other emergencies. We also have to keep in mind that the shed could collapse, or maybe we might be robbed."

"But who's to say they won't find us?"

"I'm not saying that they won't. But that's a good reason why we want to have emergency money to fund our escape. Thinking ahead is useful."

Harper exhaled a breath she had been holding. Her heart was pounding at the thought of Alkapoltua being attacked.

This place was so peaceful. The last thing she wanted was for this nice quaint island to end up like Piccposto. Covered in rubble and tainted with the blood of innocent bystanders.

"You might wanna work on being less tense, Harper." Hyde scrambled the rest of the talents on the table and stacked them in his hands. "I'm sure the villagers will notice that. If you keep calm and mind your business, there's a lesser chance of being found."

Hyde placed the talents in a brown leather pouch that he found at his work. It was scattered with a bunch of other junk they saw in the lumber farm. He picked it up and was told he could keep it.

He turned his attention to Harper. Her lips were slightly ajar like she just gasped softly. He felt uncomfortable and tossed the pouch on the coffee table.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Hyde,"

"What?"

"You just said my name." Her lips slowly turned upward. "You didn't just say it like you're using my name when referencing me, but you actually called me by my name."

"Did I?" Hyde voiced, not caring about her observation. There were too many other things on his mind. He needed to find a way to keep his condition in the stable state it was currently. 10 months was a long agreement to be here.

He knew he had to get in contact with Harald. Harald would send news about his setback to Valheyna. He was supposed to bring organic Puron to Krahagh, in hopes that he could be cured.

But with that lost somewhere under the fallen homes of Piccposto, he had to start planning to bring Yanpu, who could form organic Puron with his abilities.

He didn't think a simple acknowledgment of him calling her by her name was anything special.

"You did." Harper inched closer unknowingly. "That makes us officially comrades, right?"

"Not at all." Hyde sneered. "It was a slip of the tongue. I wasn't thinking about it."

"Don't be shy."

"I'm far from shy. We're not comrades until you start being transparent with me."

"I don't understand?" Harper frowned. Since when wasn't she honest with him? She was doing everything she could to keep up her side of the bargain.

"I don't have to remind you how much I hate your responses about your new job, do I?"

"Not this again,"

"They're bullshite, your way of answering." It was taking all his efforts to hold back his rage. He knew she was hiding the truth from him, but he was allowing her a short period to tell him the truth.

Normally, he would never do that. He had given enough chances to too many Westonians. His view of Westona's views, culture and traditions were permanently damaged.

If he wanted, he could quickly eliminate Harper. And he could easily get rid of Yanpu next. But Yanpu may have been the key to his survival. Things were now more complicated than before.

"I already told you that I can't tell you who my employer is."

"And that's a load of Bullshite."

"It's not a big deal anyway. All that matters is that I'm bringing in some cash to help out. That's what you wanted, right?"

While it was true that Hyde kept pestering her to find a job, it was very vital for him to know all the details so he could keep tabs on everyone. There were too many suspicious instances on this island.

And he knew that Harper was giving them way too much leniency.

"It's not like you will reveal his or her identity to the other villagers. But you're keeping it a secret from me, treating me like I'm a stranger." Hyde pointed out.

"I don't mean for it to come across that way."

"Of course you don't." The sarcasm was thick, and Harper frowned.

"Can't we talk about something else?"

"Do whatever you want." Hyde stood and grabbed both of his swords. He needed to sharpen them. By the docks where his spearfishing job was, there was a blacksmith. "I'm leaving."

"But before that, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

Harper pulled herself up. "I received some of Yanpu's school reports."

There was a small scroll on the kitchen counter that Harper pointed to. She unrolled it. "He's doing well in class."

It was a surprise to Harper because he was still mute around them. Yanpu had gone quiet completely after going to class for the next few weeks.

It was starting to scare her, but seeing the report that he had been participating in the activities, reassured her somewhat. It didn't change the fact that she knew he was still upset with her.

"But it says that he's been distant and it's starting to scare off the other children."

"Okay, and?"

"I just wanted to let you know."

Hyde laughed. But the laugh was far from joyful. It was very soft but sinister. "You're still trying so hard to get me to care about him."

"He needs help, but he won't listen to me..." Harper mumbled.

"And you think I can help him?"

"I know you can. You just don't want to."

"Ding Ding Ding! You're correct." Hyde wiggled his index finger around in the air to mock her. "Why would I help a kid who tried to kill me? Who by the way,"

Hyde clicked his tongue and placed his hands on his waist. "Still thinks he's in the right. We both see how that child looks at me. You would have to be foolish to ignore it. My pride is hurt."

"He's just a kid,"

"You'd better make sure you use the right words after that statement if you're trying to convince me. Just because he's little and has a cute face does not excuse him."

"He's your brother."

"I'll give you one more chance, try again,"

"Can't you take a look down from your high horse and see that Yanpu is hurting too? You out of all of us know what it's really like to have everything you know crumble into pieces. You lived through that."

Hyde didn't know how to respond to that.

"We took Yanpu off the airship, not considering how he felt at the time. I'm pretty sure he thought you still posed a threat to me and him! I already did my part trying to tell him everything, but you owe him an explanation too."

Hyde brushed his hair back and turned away. He was trying to hold his tongue. What he wanted to say next was beyond hurtful.

He didn't feel like he owed Yanpu anything.

"Yanpu is having trouble accepting that Bomb is a bad person. He won't listen to me."

"He doesn't listen to me either."

"Maybe he will."

"He won't."

"Why don't you at least try?"

"Children aren't my expertise."

"You already know that Yanpu isn't like other kids. The whole point of this is to try to help him to be one." Harper reasoned. "He can understand so much more than you give him credit for. And maybe he'll understand if you introduce yourself, not as the ex-serviceman turned killer, but as yourself."

"How are you doing that?" Hyde grumbled. "For that kid, you can come up with a whole motivational speech. But for everything else, you're an absolute wreck."

"Yanpu is more important to me than a lot of things right now..." Harper felt her legs stiffen. "I want him to be okay, and right now, I'm desperate for any help I can get with him."

"You're desperate, huh?"

"Very," Harper stated earnestly.

Hyde groaned.

"I'll let you go." Harper stepped back. Her eyes shifted to the door, where he had planned on going.

It was getting very late. She didn't realize that the moon was out. Yanpu probably fell asleep while they were putting together their finances. "Don't stay out too late."

Hyde snatched his belt off the floor. He still had plans to go out and sharpen his weapons. But before he left the shed entirely, he paused.

With a slight turn over his shoulder, his eyes moved to glance at Harper. "I'll consider it."

Hyde shoved the door open and left in a hurry before Harper could say anything to him.