[b][i]Ashton Andrews and Flame Brooks[/i][/b]

Ashton said to Flame, "Maybe we should..."

The latter shook his head as he took Kimura's strawberry chew anyway. "Ashton, no. We are not going to apologize. She [I]did[/i] give us mean looks; haven't you been looking?"

Then Mono and Captain Crunch refused them; it turned out the two boys had overplayed their hand, or wrongfully thought they had one in the first place. This left them back at square one, only they risked death from starvation instead of death from being ran through. That, and Kimura was still going to be locked up in a secure cell, if the two guessed right.

This was bad, but Ashton surprisingly rebounded first and said to Flame, "[i]Now[/i], will you apologize to the young lady? We can't afford to piss off everyone we meet, especially in these circumstances."

To avoid having to apologize to Chieko, Flame offered an alternative, saying, "I have another idea; let's go to those Warrior Monks and beg for forgiveness and help -" He froze as Ashton gave him a death glare, one that he had only very rarely seen. "Yeah, that's hypocritical advice. But I am not kneeling or grovelling, okay? Just a short bow and a plea for forgiveness."

Ashton nodded. "All right, and if she refuses, I am on your side and we'll follow your advice."

Flame then turned to Chieko, swallowing a gulp of air, before giving a low bow and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please forgive me for calling you mean! Now let's work together in order to survive, okay?"

Ashton, meanwhile, has turned to Kimura again, saying, "What [i]exactly[/i] does your backpack contain, Yuuki? If it has food, water, and if possible, jewelry, we may have what we need to survive. And of course, we'll pay you back once we have something of value!"