They approach the most dilapidated house, on the very outskirts of the village. A young girl peaks out of the doorway of a home across from theirs. She looks at the young men curiously, she's never seen hair other than the deep black or grey of the Muhabaa'a before. She looks down at her tangled short black hair, her face ripe with jealousy. The young girl marches confidently towards the boys. "Hey! Who are you?" the rest of her words are in a language the young men cannot understand. She starts shouting louder, in the language, and an older woman comes darting out of the house. "Jana!" she shouts at her, she fumes at her in the Muhabaa'a language so that the boys cannot understand.
Christopher hides behind the group as best as he can with his tall stature, trying to hide his white hair and red eyes. Xiao bows to the woman, making it clear that they weren't a threat. "Hello," the woman speaks timidly. The Muhabaa'a woman wears a white apron, with her long, silky, black hair tied half-up neatly. She remains quite beautiful and youthful despite having a daughter Jana's age.
The Muhabaa'a woman doesn't speak, and it becomes apparent that she cannot speak their language, but she takes it upon herself to assist the boys. She hands them towels and a fresh set of clothes. The woman enters the dilapidated house, coughing as the swinging of the door displaces some of the dust. She runs her finger over some of the furniture, only to lift it and show a thorough look of disgust. She runs back to her house, returning with an old rag which she hands to Xiao. The woman leaves, and they settle in their new home. It isn't big, definitely not big enough for the five of them. It has a circular shape with a tall roof that meets in the middle. The floors are dirt, and several hammocks made of a fiber material line the walls. A kitchen, or what was supposed to be a kitchen, with storage for wooden and clay dishes, and a table for preparing food. Next to that, was a fireplace, with a holder to hang a pot upon. Homemade wooden chairs are placed sporadically around the room. A single blanket was left on a bench facing the fireplace.
Nel pales, after learning he must learn to cook instead of ordering takeout or receiving rations. The group begins to place their stuff on the ground. Nobody speaks, the tense air is almost suffocating. "I don't want to fight," Xiao says. The boys look at her. Nel starts, "Christopher, I know it wasn't your fault, you were trying to help." He stops, "I have a question though, why did you need to ask them to teach me?"
"It wasn't just about healing me Nel, they wouldn't have let us enter. This is the only thing I could think of where they would let us live."
Yuto starts, "They're after you, not us. You used Nel because you knew this was the only way. We could have separated and we would have been safe in another city."
"Enough!" nel yells, "I've had enough! What the hell are you saying Yuto? That we were supposed to separate and leave him to die? Yes, he made this decision, but his intention wasn't to endanger me, I expect better from you Yuto!" He pauses to compose himself. "Listen, we are going to get out of this together. None of us can fight on our own, and all of you seem to have forgotten one thing, Captain Dunder."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you really think it was a coincidence that the Captain was gone for this? Do you think the government didn't know that these people weren't thieves, this entire mission has been full of false intel and who knows what is happening to the Captain right now."
"You think this was a plot?" Xiao asks. "I know it was, Heinze has been wanting to make a move on Christopher for a while, who knows who else wants him gone! But you all are too involved with attacking each other that you haven't realized." Nel storms off, out of the building, heading to nowhere in particular.
"I'm sorry Christopher, I've been awful," Yuto says. Christopher shakes his head, "It's alright." Xiao steels herself, "I was out of line, but I'm still going to need to know what you meant earlier." Christopher tenses, "we'll talk in private." Xiao stares at him out of anger, until something changes in her eyes and she says, "alright."