What Happened Here?

By SMYGO4EVA

Nearby a café, Mai Valentine agreed to meet a friend of hers there. Last night, she had learned that another female companion, Téa, made a new friend. Turns out he was a white-haired, shy but sweet type whose name was Ryou. Téa said that she met him in an alley while getting home from her job at night, they talked a bit, and Ryou agreed to stay at the apartment building she wad her parents were residing in now, though he hesitated somehow.

Mai walked down the busy sidewalks, wearing her white corset and purple miniskirt that went nearly with purple boots. She also had adorned a cross necklace, so she found it kind of religious on a way (though ironically, she didn't practice a religion). It was the perfect weather to wear it anyway, in autumn, that is. She was eager to see Serenity, Joey's adorable little sister and a good friend, but to her, she seemed more than just a friend, though she wasn't sure how.

"Hey, Mai!!"

She looked up to see Serenity waving her hand with a smile on her face. Mai saw that Serenity was wearing her pink shirt and blue jean shorts that fit nicely around her petite body and her hazel eyes were dazzling in the sunlight, a beam so adorable that anyone would gush in a second.

"Serenity!" Mai ran up to the table that her friend was sitting in, her hand lowered as her blonde acquaintance approached. "I though you wouldn't make it."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, hon! I get to see you, anyway."

Serenity blushed a little, a smile on her face. "You said that something happened last night when you called. What did happen?"

The receiver of memory blinked a couple times before speaking. "Oh…um, yeah…well, um…Téa met a guy."

"And?"

"She brought him over to our apartment last night, his name's Ryou. She doesn't know his last name, though. He looks really sweet, and he's kind of shy, but that' s Ok." Mai continued.

The girl across from her nodded. "Did her parents like him as well?"

The blonde nodded. "Yep. They seemed to understand him as well as I did, so much that I think they'll get along just fine. And Téa seemed really excited to introduce Ryou to them."

Serenity raised an eyebrow. "I see. You know what? I bet she likes Ryou already."

Mai closed her eyes for a moment, as if basking in the new information. "Yeah, it's fairly obvious…after all, he is pretty cute. I'll introduce you to him soon."

"Can't wait. Say, I heard you and Téa are with Nirvana, is that true?"

"Yeah…but, to be honest, we didn't have much of a choice. It was as if the people there just plucked us out from the nearest melon garden they could find. They say it has something to do with the Human Instrumentality Project…that was years ago." Mai explained, a tint of interest in her voice.

It was clear that they made her and Téa join the investigation just because her mother was affiliated with the project and they believed that her offspring had the right to know what happened to her. Like emotional rape, this was the situation they put themselves in without even knowing it would happen.

Serenity blinked once. "I see, but you're also doing humanity a big favor. With you guys figuring out what the Human Instrumentality Project was and how every religion originated, you'd be able to prevent the Third Impact. That's something, right?"

Mai smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, it is something. I've just got a lot on my mind."

Owari