"You look mad today," Sakiko notices, "I mean, you always look like someone is always bullying you, but you look really mad today."

Daryl scoffs, shaking his head as he continues cleaning his arrows, "Ain't nothin'."

"'Ain't nothin'," Sakiko mimics in a low voice, "Men aren't supposed to have feelings, I get it. Sorry for being a wonderful friend who cares about your well being."

"Kiko, 'wonderful friends' don't annoy you so much that you want to jump off that cliff over there," Nanami points to the rocks.

"How would you know? You don't have friends."

"I've had more friends than you," Nanami fires back.

Sakiko sticks her tongue out only for Daryl to steer a skinned rabbit near her. She squeals in disgust, jumping away and tumbling off the log she was sitting on.

"Y'all keep arguing my ears off, I'm gonna leave this in your sleeping bags," Daryl warns, holding the pelt up for them to see.

"That's morbid," Sakiko accuses, standing up and dusting the dirt off her jeans.

"Ooh, smart word coming from you," Nanami awes.

Sakiko doesn't say anything, looking to Daryl expectantly. Daryl looks back to her, setting his arrow on his lap.

"What?" he asks her.

"Oh, so I get thumper's skin in my face but he doesn't get anything?" she asks, placing her hands on her hips as she sneers to both of them, "That's sexist."

"Can you stop pulling the minority card already?" Nanami complains.

"I will not until I get treated the same as you," she argues.

Daryl picks up the pelt again and Sakiko takes hurried backwards steps with her arms in front of her. The two stare each other down, Sakiko glancing to the skin like it would come back to life and attack her.

"Relax, animals aren't the same as the geeks. They don't come back," Nanami assures.

"Geeks?" Daryl repeats.

"Glenn's been calling those 'things' geeks. He said it's like some video game out there on runs and T-Dog called him a 'geek' for knowing it. It's stuck since then," Nanami explains.

"Glenn said it?" Sakiko questions.

"Where'd you hear that one from?" Daryl asks, ignoring Sakiko.

"Overheard them the other night," Nanami shrugs, "I pick up on things like that. Since Kiko started stealing from the teachers, I became her lookout."

"Great. So, I got a thief and a snoop," Daryl huffs.

"Snoop?" Nanami repeats, "That has to be the funniest word I've heard you say."

"He didn't mean it in a nice way, Nana," Sakiko reminds.

"But, it sounded funny," Nanami hums.

Daryl shakes his head, returning to cleaning his arrows. Though, he couldn't help but wonder if Merle's plan would also hurt the kids even though Daryl himself was trying to help them.

"Y'all close to the people here? Like it here?" he asks.

"Kiko has a crush on Glenn," Nanami exposes.

"I do not!" Sakiko hisses, "He's lying."

"She watches him unload the supplies every time he gets back," Nanami whispers as though he were letting Daryl in on a secret, though he spoke loud enough for Sakiko to hear.

"Nanami!"

"He brought her back a bag of chips and she keeps the empty bag in her stuff.

Sakiko huffs out a noise of frustration, picking up the rabbit skin and throwing it on Nanami's lap. Nanami gasps, stumbling to his feet and slapping at his clothes even though the skin had fallen to the ground.

"Sakiko!" he whines.

"I told you to stop lying!" she scowls.

"I wasn't lying and you know it!" Nanami argues.

"Y'all settle down already," Daryl waves to them.

The twins thrown one another a dirty look before returning to their seats.

"That ain't answering my question," he reminds them, moving to clean another bolt.

"I don't know.. The people here are just.." Nanami sighs, "It's like they know we come form where we do and want to stay away from that. I heard Lori tell Carl that he shouldn't be alone with either of us, but I see him with Sophia all the time."

"That's because she thinks we'll rub off on him and taint him or something," Sakiko curls her lip in disgust.

"The world is tainted already," Daryl mutters before setting his arrows all together, "That all? You jus' don't like it here, either?"

"Not really," Nanami admits, "It's always hot, the people don't talk to us, there's nothing to do but sit around and count bugs."

"Mhm!" Sakiko hums, tossing her head around to watch her ponytail swing.

"Why'd you want to know?" Nanami wonders.

Daryl hesitates on telling them the truth. But, he also knows that the last time he'd done that, it nearly ruined them. He couldn't let them know everything, he had to let them know something, though.

"Merle and I are thinking about leaving," Daryl reveals, "With both of you. All four of us go."

When neither of them say anything, he looks between them, "That all right with y'all?"

"What's it like.. out there?" Sakiko carefully wonders, "The things.. The geeks.. What are they like?"

"It ain't easy. But, I'll teach you. I'll show you the knives, guns, my bow.. I'll show you how to use everything so that it ain't hard out there. We'll need y'all to have our backs just as much as we got yours."

"I mean.." Nanami begins with a sigh, "It's what we planned all along, right? But.. Having Merle there, too.."

Daryl bites at his inner lip for a few seconds as Sakiko nods in agreement to Nanami's concern.

"He's gonna have to see it our way. If not.." Daryl exhales, "If not, we just pack up when he's asleep and go."

"Can we do that?" Nanami wonders.

"He's tough. He can handle himself out there. He'll be just fine," Daryl nods, "But, you two.. You two are what I gotta put first. I signed up for it the second I told you to get in the truck."

There's a few seconds of silence until Sakiko shrugs, "So, when do we go?"

"When Merle gets back from this run," Daryl answers, "We'll take.."

The twins look to him and his words falter. How could he say 'robbing the camp blind' nicely so that they didn't freak out and think badly of him? It was for their sake, though, they would understand.. Maybe. Daryl can't risk anymore 'maybe's, they stressed him out.

"Our share of what we provided," he squirms through the bitter truth, "That's why I'm gonna go hunt soon. Get some more food for the road before we're out there."

"I'll go pack," Nanami decides, standing up to make his way to their tent, "Better be ready than hear Merle complain about being lazy."

Daryl and Sakiko watch Nanami go and Daryl feels a bit of relief to have them going along with him.

"What do you need me to do?" Sakiko asks, looking to Daryl.

"Same as your brother. Have your stuff-"

"Daryl," she cuts him off with a serious face, "That's not what I mean."

As Daryl looks deeper into her eyes, a sinking feeling stirs in his gut.

"Kiko-"

"Do I need to steal the cop's keys? He's got extra guns there. You can drive that and Merle can drive the truck. Do I need to get more food? Bullets?" she lists off.

"I told you we were-"

"Leaving that shit in the past," she finishes for him, "But, this wasn't what you meant back then. A candy bar in a gas station doesn't equal ammo to keep us safe."

Daryl couldn't ask this of her. He was supposed to be the one getting her out of that situation and mindset- not the one telling her what to steal this time.

But, she was experienced and they were desperate.

"Just some guns," Daryl sighs, "The guns and ammo that Shane keeps in the RV."

Sakiko nods, rubbing her lips together as she stares at her hands that were so close to committing another crime that she was so familiar with through the years.

"Can you do it?" Daryl asks, hoping she'd say that she doesn't want to and they could forget this entire conversation.

"Course I can," Sakiko forces a smile, attempting to get back to herself, "Don't forget who you're talking to."

𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇 𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈--

the twins are chaotic and daryl is stressed