It was a normal occurrence for the small staff of the Funbari Osen, each one of them has their own little "secrets" and odd habits to deal with them. Mari speaks in third person, Macchi is rather hyperactive (and a bit flirty lately) while Kanna Bismark spends quiet nights out in back staring off into the stars. I would find her here when ever I got up, we never really spoke to each other even though I know she knows I am standing here watching her. It's kind of hard to hide when you have three spirits surrounding yourself, but I never tried to bother her too much as I go about my business. Tonight was different, there was no reason for me being up or why I was shuffling around the halls.

She flicked away a cigarette before getting up from her spot just as I was about to walk away. I was on my way back to my room when she caught me in mid step, she didn't looked pleased. It was ether being disturbed while she was in thought or maybe she has some problem with me, truth be told I was rather uncomfortable with her because of the paths we choose. It could be we fought at the gate of Babylon or maybe she was one of Hao's most trusted members. We stood a few feet apart staring at each other, she was grasping the shoulder of my guest kimoto while I looked back at here.

"Is there something you need?" she asked while slowly letting go, she lean against the wall.

"I was just up, didn't want to wake up anyone else," I said. I turn away from here trying to move on from this situation. I shot a glance back at Kanna over my shoulder, she was standing there cross armed expecting something. "Why are you up?"

"Thinking," she reach down and tugged at the gloves she wore. They looked out of place with her kimono, but of course I really doubt she enjoys wearing the piece of clothing. It was Anna's idea, as she is an employee of her's. I notice the slight somber atmosphere between us as she looked caught in deep thought before looking up at me. "Why are you up?"

"Can't sleep," I lean up against the wall next to her. It was awkward a little bit, even after growth spurts here and there in the last two years I still wasn't taller then Kanna. I guess it's the age difference or something, it really didn't matter as I was catching up soon. "What are you thinking about?"

"Geez, aren't you a prying one," she snapped a bit. "What makes you think you got a right to ask that?"

"It's in my nature."

"Well I don't want to talk about it," Kanna placed her hands behind her head. "That's in my nature."

"Fine," I pushed away from the wall. "I'll just leave you with your thoughts of Hao."

"I am not thinking of Hao!" Kanna shouted, she was off the wall and in my face before we heard a door open. Anna was standing there looking to kill.

"You, shut up," Anna threw something at us before going back to bed. Kanna and I shot glances at each other while walking outside, here we could murder each other and no one would care until Anna would make us clean it up.

"I am not thinking of Hao," she was a bit hot under the collar. The only guess was she didn't like being figured out, it fit her type of the group she's in. Mari's mysterious, Macchi's crazy and Kanna was private. "If you must know I was thinking of leaving this place, that's all you need to know."

"So you're leaving, doesn't explain why you nearly took off my head." I watch her eyes flashed while she twitched a bit, maybe hitting the German girl's nerve was a bit of a bad idea.

"You are annoying me, English Twit."

"You're the one that is irritating," I couldn't think of any snappy remarks. But I think I got something of a reaction from the girl as she stepped back. Morphine appeared to one side as a flame ball form of the Spirit Of Fire to the other, Zerel was too massive to even have here and it would be over kill. "Does anyone know how to sing sink the Bismark?"

"At least my name isn't close to LSD, Lyserg."

We stood there agitated from our childish game trying to think up what to say next, she looked about ready to leave but I quickly asked one thing. "Where are you leaving to?"

"Tsk, where else would I go?" She folded her arms over her chest, "these clothes are not suited for a German woman at all."

"The others don't seem to mind them," I said while tugging a little bit at mine. "Of course they feel cheap, I think Anna skipped a bit." my criticism was met with a pillow to the back of the head, how did she hear that?

"It's not that," she fished out a pack while looking for a lighter. After lighting up she looked at me, "they have no pride in their nationality. They both won't even acknowledge their own birth places personally unless forced to," she smoked a bit more.

"Where are you from?"

"Luxemburg. Simple as that, no secrets or nasty things lurking around there, just simple Luxemburg."

I stood there looking her over, she seem to be telling the truth. Although I was curious why she said no secrets or nasty things lurking around there, "if there was nothing wrong then why did you join Hao?"

Her expression consorted into one of pure and furious anger as she threw down the cigarette. She stomp over to me and was practically nose to nose with me as she grabbed my collar, "you're too much like Hao. Why is that?" she pushed me back a little on her way back inside while I was fighting the urge to go argue with her, it was one of my most sensitive nerves. Since I have gained the Spirit Of Fire it was non-stop comparisons, I blew up at some of them for it. I wasn't like him at all, I am not the same as HIM.

I took a few breaths, shivering from being angry I could guess maybe I had hit a extremely sensitive nerve too. Or at least that's what SOF is telling me, I calmed down a little. "I want to talk to Kanna alone, I hope you don't mind."

I went inside as my spirits waited outside, Kanna's room was around the corner in the staff section. Knocking with no reply I open the door to find the German woman sitting in the center of the room with a large bottle and a small shot glass, she shot a glance that could kill off an entire army. "What do you want, English twit?"

"To know why did you join Hao in the first place," I was expecting to have something thrown at me. Not Kanna sighing and offering the shot glass to me, I took it while sitting down. "So, why?"

She took a moment to take a drink from the bottle. "He knew and I never even told him, he read my heart. He read everyone's, or at least I thought so. He knew the one thing that the Hanagumi had common ground on, we all hate them and they hate us."

I sat there thinking as we drank a bit, then I knew the answer. "Family."

"Smart kid," she said before refilling my shot glass. "We all have families that hate us, that fear us or... that place too much prestige on us."

"I see," prestige? I looked at her while she nearly finished off the bottle, I wonder what does she mean. Did her family try to pressure into something she didn't want to do?

"Hao didn't fear us, or hate us. He just used us and we followed him, the Hanagumi was close to his personal groupies and attack dogs as we can get. We all had something of a crush on him, I guess it's another common ground but that came latter for us except for Macchi."

"Macchi?"

"Yeah, she joined willing and gave herself to him totally." I almost choked at the discovery, she laughed while taking another sip. "She went where we only fantasy about, but we were only having crushes while she truly liked him."

"You mean she loved him," she shook her head as she refilled my glass.

"You can't love a god, or a demi-god. Besides, I can't tell if it was a crush or love so." she took another slip, "I really wanted to do that to him, damn Macchi had her claws deep into him. She was his personal Anna, if that was possible."

I sat here as we both empty the bottle, there really wasn't much to talk about and we were tired. I was feeling a bit buzzed as she looked about blitzed, it was around when the bottle was only one shot away from being empty that Kanna passed out. I try to stand up as I looked down at here, she looked like an angel sleeping. My conscious got to me, rolling out the futon for her I gently picked her up with what little dexterity I had left in my alcohol soaked bloodstream. Just as I was about to cover her up she stirred a little, "can you stay here with me? Sleep with me?"

"I don't know, too drunk and tired for sex," I was kicking myself but I was barely able to keep from falling.

"I meant stay in the bed next to me, perv." Kanna try to pull me down, "but I won't stop you."

"I'll settle for just staying by the hot German girl," I crawled into bed next to her. She passed out but I laid here for a moment, I felt her warmth and form against myself and I thought how lucky I am.

()()()

This story combines the elements of the manga (Lyserg gaining the Spirit Of Fire and other things) with the anime (the major fight at the gate of Babylon.)

This is for the people at SKN forums, who endure my constant big mouth going on and on about my favorite crack pairings.