[A/N: This is an excerpt from chapter 6 I believe, that I wanted to include in this Excerpt since it has to do with Yogi's birthday and because Karoku is hilarious to write.]

Yogi yawned. He stretched. He sat up amongst his Nyanperowna plushies. "Eh…?" He blinked looking at his cat alarm clock. "... February...11…" His eyes lit up. Oh! Today is my birthday! He felt nervous and excited but nervous! He threw off his covers and he quickly got dressed in a green ripped long sleeve top, and dark leggings with brown boots. He headed for the kitchen first since he was hungry. He was under house arrest and he wondered if Hirato was going to do something about that rule on his birthday. I can't really blame him, I guess… Yogi smiled to himself though it was a sad empty smile. He slowed in walking. I am...as Dr. Akari put it, A 'human shield' … Yogi touched his patch on his face. Because of his "allergies," he was forced to wear this thing. No one really told him why but it usually involved him blacking out.

Tsukumo was wearing a nice white and pink dress today as she walked around the corner. "Yogi, good morning." Yogi blinked, looking over his shoulder.

"Ah, good morning Tsukumo," he said, breaking out into a charming smile. Tsukumo smiled smally back.

"Happy Birthday," She said awkwardly.

Yogi's face lit up. His heart soared. "T-Thank you," he said flustered. "I'm going to the kitchen to make pancakes, want to join-"

"Nai! Hold on! Don't put your hand on a hot stove!" They both heard the sound of a blue haired boy's yell through the halls. They looked at each for a split second before they both took off down towards the kitchen. Skidding into the doorframe, Yogi's eyes widened with Tsukumo's.

There were some sheep there, holding Nai with their wierd robotic tentacles, while a very cranky Karoku was wrapping Nai's right hand in a cold wet towel. Nai had tears in his eyes and he looked towards Yogi and Tsukumo. "A-Ah...g-good morning," he said politely past the tears of pain.

"Tsk," Karoku huffed. He looked at Yogi and Tsukumo. "Sorry. We'll be out of the way in just a-"

"No!" Nai yanked his hand away from Karoku to Karoku's surprise. "I- I want to make breakfast!"

"Hah? You can't even use that hand! You stuck it in the pan!" Karoku spluttered, grabbing Nai's wrist. "Just sit down okay? I'll get something to wrap your hand in since you have a small burn-"

"Actually, Nai-chan," Yogi said with a smile, "Why don't we all cook together?"

Tsukumo looked to Yogi. Yogi nodded to her. She smiled smally and she walked over to the stove and she began to look at the ingredients on the counter next to it. The sheep, sensing the crisis is averted, wandered off. Karoku picked up Nai and set him on the edge of the table. He kept his back to Yogi. "No. You guys can cook. I'm making sure Nai gets proper care."

Yogi bit his lower lip. He could tell that Karoku was not an easy person to get close to. And his current sour attitude was a little toxic. He didn't verbalize this because he really didn't want a fight on his birthday. Did Karoku even know? Yogi didn't have much of a connection to Karoku so it wasn't a big deal if he didn't know. However, he had tried to be his friend a few times and had been met with cold and downright chilly indifference. He took a deep breath. Nai however was the one to speak. "I want to help," the Niji whimpered.

"Why?" Karoku asked with a huff. "Anyone can make pancakes. Let them take care of it."

"Because, it's for Yogi!" The little Niji sniffled, lowering his head. "I...I wanted to surprise him...I...wanted to make him breakfast...on his birthday...because...because Miss Tsukumo sometimes makes Mr. Hirato his breakfast and it makes him happy…" The sound of a spoon clattering to the counter made everyone look up as Tsukumo tried to pass it off as clumsiness. Her cheeks were pink as she stirred the batter furiously. The others weren't quite sure what the problem was. Karoku could care less about the personal lives of these guys. And Yogi was more focused on Nai's adorable confession. Moved to tears much to Karoku's irritation. Jeez, how is this guy an adult? Karoku couldn't help but think childishly. Mostly he just felt irritated because he was a sitting duck in a hot pot. But today was this guy's birthday and he'd told Nai he'd help him celebrate it since it made Nai happy.

"Ah, miss Tsukumo, I think if you mix it any more, it'll turn to soup," Yogi said, walking over to her. But he was smiling. Nai was really a precious child. He had wanted to cook for him. Was this the "present?" Yogi didn't mind. He was so happy. Smiling at Nai and Tsukumo and even the awkwardly grumpy Karoku, Yogi took the mixing bowl from Tsukumo. "Here, I'll start them up…"

Karoku looked to the sniffling Niji boy. His expression was hard to read. But with a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. "Damn it all."

Yogi blinked as a blue mop of hair popped up between him and Tsukumo grabbing the bowl. Yogi let the blue haired young man begin to spoon the batter onto the skillet. Yogi's look was questioning if not surprised. Karoku felt self-conscious and silly. Tsukumo meanwhile had stepped over to Nai as she saw no point in crowding the stove. "Ah, you don't have to," Yogi began but Karoku huffed, shouldering Yogi out of the way.

"I'm doing this for Nai." His response sounded slightly irritated but Nai watched Karoku's back.

"Eh? Karoku?" He asked puzzled. He hopped off the table, and trotted over to Karoku's side. Karoku had a faint embarrassed pink flush on his pale cheeks. Why was everyone staring at him? Seriously? So he was normally a socially constipated hermit, they didn't have to stare at him did they?

"I-I want to be your hands...for you…" Karoku said feeling really lame right now. Man he sounded really uncool. Nai however lit up like fireworks. And the smile that spread across his face made Karoku remind himself that if it made him happy, that's all that mattered. Yogi tried to reach for the spatula to flip the pancakes but Karoku grabbed his wrist, setting the bowl down. "Sit down." It wasn't supposed to come off as intimidating but Yogi was scared of the look in the blue eyes that looked ready to murder him if he opposed. He sat down like a good boy. Pleasantly moved that Karoku was joining them while being at the same time terrified of the boy. Uwah, even Gareki doesn't scare me like this. This blue haired guy is really scary when he wants to be. Gareki is mostly just violent. Yogi shivered. Why did Circus seem to pick up the violent scary types so easily?

Yogi looked over to Tsukumo. She was smiling as she went to prepare some fruit to go with the pancakes. He looked to Nai who was happily hovering near Karoku as Karoku made pancakes. Yogi smiled to himself. This was really nice. He checked his phone for any messages. There were none. His face fell a little but he figured it was because he was busy. He pocketed his phone.

"Don't forget to send him a happy birthday," An irritating voice chided at Gareki. Gareki had to take the call since it was from Hirato. But he was tempted to tell the guy to bite him. Gareki was currently done with school for the morning and was on his lunch break. However, he had received reminder texts from everyone except Nai and Karoku to wish Yogi a happy birthday. He had no idea why it mattered so much. In fact, it was downright irritating. He touched the goggles on his forehead. The closest thing he'd ever gotten to a present was this pair of goggles from Tsubaki's grandfather in order to protect his eyes when Gareki worked on his little gadgets. Gareki never told him they were bombs but you know.

"Is that all? Can I hang up now?" Gareki asked impatiently.

Hirato laughed on the other end. "Don't get so snippy. Just a simple Happy Birthday will do. Oh but remember to put all your feelings -" Gareki cut him off there, hanging up. Hirato could go screw himself. Gareki was already in a poor mood because of his lovely night conversation with the headmaster in regards to promises. He knew the conversation. It had gotten him kicked out of the Circus course. He'd never get to wear one of those bracelets now. I know that I can't get a Circus I.D. anymore… His heart sank. It was alright. I can be a medical physican still. I can prevent death… right? With this…? After all, he could be a medical combat physician still. He'd go into medicine… Gareki tried to picture himself like Dr. Akari and his stomach churned. It wasn't him. Technology and combat...that was his thing. Sure he wasn't really into killing people but he had no problem pulling the trigger on Varuga.

Gareki looked to his texts. He was almost grateful that Nai wasn't nagging him to wish Yogi a happy birthday. It was irritating enough as it was. Gareki didn't wish the guy ill will but the guy was like six years older than him. He could deal without a happy birthday from him. With a sigh, he turned back to Shishi and Ranji who were talking next to him about a new video game.

"Hey Gareki, you played it yet?" Shishi asked eagerly.

Gareki blinked. He never really did do video games. "Ah...no. I don't play videogames," he admitted.

Shishi made a death motion over his heart. "What are you? A cave man? Wow, that's so sad."

Gareki punched him in the face. Shishi yelped and flailed as Ranji kicked Gareki in the shin in response. Gareki yelped keeling over. "NO fighting in front of the rep, green nose!" Ranji huffed, crossing his arms. Gareki groaned. Oh right. There were rules and shit here. Ugh. His time at the academy in the Circus course hadn't lasted past a month, maybe a little longer. And now he was back to square one sort of. And without Tsubame, Gareki felt more antsy and out of place here amongst all these kids who clearly came from normal-ish family backgrounds. None of them knew the level of suffering he'd endured. With a sigh, Gareki just got up and he walked off, ignoring the both of them.

Shishi got to his feet, "What's with him?"

"Who knows. Let's leave him be," Ranji sighed.

Gareki stopped inside of the library. He'd read. Reading calmed him down. He walked over to the technology section and he pulled out a book on mechanical engineering. Sitting down, he began to pour over the math. Gareki was visual when it came to things. He didn't really understand the complex equations, but he understood the basics of physics and the grandfather had homeschooled him and the twins as children. He naturally was very dexterious with his hands. It served him well when it came to self teaching himself how to make bombs. Gareki's stomach sank. Would doing this path, really allow him to be closer to Circus? He hated the way everyone had tabs on him.

He didn't realize that he missed being able to slip into the cracks. He was used to there being three kinds of people in the world. Though now, he learned there were four kinds of people. There were scum, prey, enemy, and friends. But Gareki didn't know what to make of all these kids of various teenage years around him. Most were older than him though a few his age were there. This was a school for gifted children after all. It wasn't like they trained just anybody. Gareki couldn't shake this feeling in his gut. Something didn't feel right but he didn't know what. Damn it all...Gareki held his head in his hands. He rested his head in the pages of the book, and turned to look out of the window at the pretty campus grounds. A year here...huh?

Yogi was nervous. He'd waited all day for that happy birthday text. He was honestly a little disappointed. If not very depressed. Nai and Karoku were busy getting his cake ready with Tsukumo. Iva and Jiki were currently getting his presents arranged, and Kiichi and Tsukitachi were with Hirato getting things for dinner all finished and set up. Birthday boy had been told to stay out of the way so Yogi had naturally wandered towards Gareki and Nai's shared room as his thoughts passed to the dark haired, moody eyed boy. It was now close to dinner time. Yogi tried to not cry. He knew he was made fun of it by the others, except Tsukumo and Nai. He didn't know what Karoku thought of him but didn't really care.

To be honest, Yogi had his doubts about Gareki sometimes. Gareki was hard to read. It was hard to tell if Gareki saw him as a "friend" ...or if he just saw him as someone who could take care of Nai. Yogi leaned his head against the wall by the door, closing his eyes. It wouldn't do. This negativity in his gut. It was his birthday. If Gareki was too busy...he was just busy. School was stressful for kids these days. Yogi began to pick at his patch. His eyes watered. But he silently turned away from the door. Yogi wanted to clear his head. It wouldn't do for him to be negative during his birthday celebration. He went up to the upper deck to catch some fresh air. Some sheep followed him, to make sure he didn't do anything he mused. He knew he was still grounded. He rested his arms on the rails, and put his head in his arms, staring down at the sea. They'd set off that morning to return to Satanika. They would be passing over Karasuna soon. Gareki's old home… Yogi closed his eyes. "I'm kinda pathetic...aren't I?" He spoke to no one in particular.

However his words didn't go unheard. Nai overheard. He had gone to find Yogi since preparations were complete. Karoku had followed him naturally out of a concern for the boy's safety. The both of them heard Yogi talking to himself and Nai looked sad. They both stood in the doorframe to the ship's entrance on the roof deck. Karoku felt irritated. He knew that Gareki had yet to wish this blonde idiot happy birthday. He didn't understand why he didn't just do it already. Karoku didn't really care to get involved, but he hated how it was hurting Nai. Think a little about how this affects others, idiot. He was tempted to get Nai's phone and call Gareki. Actually. That wasn't a bad idea. "Nai, can I see your phone?" he whispered to Nai. Nai blinked in puzzlement but he went ahead and he handed Karoku the phone. "You, get the blonde moper back to the kitchen okay? You guys go ahead and start eating. I'm not hungry."

Nai blinked as Karoku began to walk down the stairs. Nai leaned on the railing calling after him. The wind was loud on the top deck so it wasn't like Yogi could hear them. "Where are you going? Karoku?"

"I'm gonna take care of some business!" Karoku kept walking away. Nai frowned. But he didn't want to disobey Karoku's wishes. He walked over to Yogi, patting his arm. Yogi jumped.

"Ah! Nai-chan." He blinked, looking to Nai. Nai smiled at him nervously. He had no idea what Karoku was planning but he wanted Yogi to cheer up. He held out his hand.

"Everyone is waiting," Nai said gently. Yogi's face smiled though Nai could tell that his emotions were still a little sad. But they had perked up a bit. He took Nai's hand and let the Niji lead him to the kitchen. Everyone was seated in the kitchen around the big table. There were some balloons tied up. Some NyanPerowna decor and the table was set with some really nice dishes that were Yogi's favorite.

"Hey Nai, where is Karoku?" Hirato blinked, sitting at the left of Yogi's seat at the head of the table. Jiki and Kiichi sat across from him. Dr. Akari sat next to Tsukitachi further down. Tsukumo sat next to Iva on the left. There were two seats towards the end of the right. They were for Karoku and Nai.

Nai let go of Yogi's hand as Yogi moved over to his seat, admiring the layout of the feast. Nai smiled nervously. "Oh-um he said he had to go take care of business." The others stared at him. Nai's smile looked nervous. "U-Um...yes?" He asked tentatively. Hirato looked to Akari and Tsukitachi. Tsukumo got up to pull out Nai's chair. Nai shook his head. "W-what's wrong? Why is everyone staring?"

Yogi didn't sit yet. He was piqued by the interest everyone had in Nai's statemet. "How long did he say this business would take?" Hirato asked, a tone of amusement in his voice. Though his eyes beckoned to Tsukitachi to get up and find the blue haired boy. Tsukitachi gave him a quiet subtle gesture of understanding. Meanwhile, Nai just nervously fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"Um...well...that's…" he began, but he honestly had no idea. "He asked for my phone and then left." He said this brightly, hoping it would help. Hirato's amusement shifted to disbelief and then he held his head in his hands.

"Nai…" he couldn't believe he didn't think of this sooner. If Karoku was in league with Kafka after all, Nai had just handed him the perfect means to contact them. He got to his feet. " Iva, Tsukumo, stay here with Yo-"

"Actually, I'll help." Yogi pushed his chair back in with a smile. "Besides… I think if we all corner him, he can't get out of eating with us," he joked, trying to keep the suddenly serious mood light. Hirato blinked. He could tell Yogi was depressed. He knew why too. With a sigh he nodded.

"Alright, everyone. Let's split up. We'll find Karoku and drag him back here kicking and screaming. Feel free to break his legs-just kidding," Hirato beamed at everyone with a sparkling smile but everyone sweat dropped even Akari. Because that smile was clearly mad. Nai swallowed.

"Did I do something wrong?" He nervously asked everyone as they all got up from the table. Dr. Akari was the one who answered before anyone else. If anyone was good at ripping off the bandaid- it was Akari. Tsukitachi was ready to slap a hand over his mouth but the death glare made even him pause as he spoke to Nai levelly.

"You gave a potential spy of Kafka a means to talk to them while we are otherwise occupied in this celebration," Akari said calmly. Nai's face fell.

"Karoku isn't like that!" his eyes welled with tears. He ran from the room. Silence hung in the air. Akari sighed. Tsukitachi smacked him upside the head. Akari yelped.

"The hell!" Akari started but he had a lot of glaring eyes on him. He just looked away with a huff, crossing his arms. "Someone had to tell him," he muttered.

"Nevermind that. Tsukumo...Iva, you go find Nai. Tsukitachi, Jiiki, you come with me. Kiichi and Yogi, you two check out the east wing, Everyone. Break!" Hirato said, striding towards the hall. Everyone followed suit.

"Yes sir!" They all said in unison.

Akari found himself alone at the table. He rolled his eyes. Fantastic.

In the meantime, Karoku was back in his room. He hadn't been allowed to have any electronics which was irritating but he understood the safety reasons. He held Nai's phone now. He smirked to himself. Wow, he wondered what face Hirato was making right now since no doubt Nai told them that he had the phone. He scrolled through the messages. Ah, found it.

Gareki was sitting down at dinner with everyone. As he was about eat some mash, his phone vibrated. He blinked. He was sitting with Shishi and Ranji. They were in the dining hall. He pulled out his phone. It was Nai. Furrowing his brow, he got up. "I got to take this," he said to the boys as he walked away. He exited to the hall and he leaned against the wall outside of the dining hall. "Nai?" He asked, pressing the call button.

"Stop being a heartless prick and tell the blonde fool Happy Birthday already. You're causing trouble for Nai." He heard the phone click. He slowly lowered the phone and stared. That wasn't Nai. What the hell.

"Karoku?" Gareki felt his vein twitch along with his eyebrows. What the hell was that guy doing with Nai's phone? Did he just get yelled at by that blue haired weirdo? About Yogi no less? Like it was his fault Nai was upset. Well, it probably was but still! To have it pointed out like this. Gareki tsked. If Nai was upset he hadn't told Gareki and Gareki felt silly for not realizing that Nai wouldn't willingly tell Gareki if he was upset about him not wishing the blonde weirdo happy birthday. He called back. Karoku rolled his eyes but picked up.

"What? You ready to tell the birthday boy his dues?" He asked coolly.

Gareki bit his tongue but then thought, to hell with this. "Give the phone back to Nai. Is Nai with you?"

"No, he's not. He's sitting at dinner with everyone," Karoku sighed.

"What about you?" Gareki blinked. He would have thought Karoku would be roped into no doubt the festivities. He heard silence and then a heavy sigh. Oh? Was this guy socially awkward too? Probably was. He wondered if the only reason Karoku was calling was because of Nai. Probably. Nai seemed to be the only thing he cared about.

"I don't care much for it," Karoku huffed. "Anyways, just hurry up and call that guy."

"Karoku, I swear, if you use that phone to put Nai in danger," Gareki found himself saying. It dawned on him that he had access to talking to dangerous people. However, the harsh tone of the next line made Gareki quickly realize that this Karoku had no interest in handing Nai over to anyone.

"You idiot! Why would I ever put Nai in danger!" Karoku barked back, getting angry. "Don't you tell me what to do. Just stop making Nai cry!"

Gareki grit his teeth. "Bastard." he hung up on Karoku. Karoku now had his turn to stare at his phone. Rage bottled up inside and threatened to pour out. That little- frustrated, Karoku paced in his room. There had to be a way to get that damn Gareki to say happy birthday. Nai would need proof in order to feel better. Suddenly, Karoku got an idea. This is going to be difficult, but I suppose I can do it. He called Gareki back.

Gareki glared at his phone. He didn't want to answer it but he figured he could always hang up again. "What?" He asked irritably.

"Do you have access to a computer."

Gareki blinked. "What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself. It's irritating," Karoku huffed.

Gareki wanted to punch that bastard so badly. In fact, he was going to punch him. Once for being an asshole and another time for being a dick. The last punch would be for the hell of it. "Yes, I do. Now what do you want?"

Karoku ran a hand through his hair. He sensed someone coming down the hallway towards his room just because he could hear footsteps. The sound of footsteps reached his ears as they got closer. "Look, just get to a computer. I'll tell you once I get there." He hung up. The door opened just then. He blinked as Hirato, Tsukitachi and Jiiki walked in. Oh goody, half the circus was here.

"Good evening," Hirato said calmly, shutting the door. Karoku knew he needed to get to a computer. He tilted his head though sitting on the edge of his bed, the phone in his hand. He could see how they eyed it. They don't trust me. Wonder if they heard me.

"Evening," he replied with an edge of cheek.

"That phone isn't yours," Jiiki said walking over to him. Karoku saw how the boy was prepared to lash out at him at the slightest sign of trouble. With a huff he held out the phone.

"I'm well aware of that," he said calmly, and he let Jiiki take the phone. He was slightly intrigued by the look of surprise that momentarily flashed behind that boy's eyes. Really, everyone did still think of him as the enemy. This is why he only needed Nai. He didn't care what others thought of him.

"Who did you call?" Tsukitachi calmly asked as Hirato's eyes bore into Karoku. Karoku narrowed his eyes to stare levelly at the guys. They were getting on his nerves. He figured it wouldn't hurt to tell them.

"Gareki." He shrugged. "Told him to tell that blonde guy happy birthday because he was making Nai cry."

Hirato shared a look with the others. Karoku wasn't quite sure what else to say. He didn't know how to prove he really had only called Gareki. He inwardly groaned. All this to get a fricken happy birthday greeting to Yogi for Nai's sake. Nai however ran into the room. "Karoku!"

They all looked in Nai's direction as he panted. "I...I don't think you're doing anything bad!" Nai ran over to Karoku and hugged him without warning. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get in trouble. I'm sorry." The little animal began to cry into Karoku's arms. Karoku was surprised. And startled. But he pet Nai's head.

"Shh, it's okay, Nai," he said, his voice gentle. "They're just doing their jobs." He closed his eyes and he nuzzled Nai's head. He could care less who was watching. The trembling creature calmed in his warmth and hugs. Hirato looked to the others. Hirato was the first to speak.

"For the time being, we will hang onto the phone. However, do join us back at the table. We can't start without you," Hirato said, calmly turning on his heel and opening the door. Quite frankly, Karoku thought that they would all do fine without him there. But he kept that to himself. He wasn't going to upset Nai anymore than he already had. Hirato could tell that Karoku wasn't hiding anything. There was just something too honest about the way he was soothing Nai. And what he'd said about getting the phone to merely yell at Gareki. "My apologies for assuming the worst. If what you said is true, then you have nothing to worry about." Honestly, that sounded amusing. He'd get a confirmation from Gareki of course but for now he wanted them all back at the table.

"Ah yes, we got the phone back," Jiiki was saying over the phone to Kiichi. "Alright, we'll meet you back at the table." he hung up and headed out with Tsukitachi and Hirato. Karoku really didn't want to be at the table right away. He thought a moment. He got up from the bed and he followed Nai towards the kitchen. He could feel those guys glancing back at him. He wondered if they thought he was going to make a break for it. Well, they weren't entirely wrong, but he had to time this just right.

"There you all are!" Yogi was seated with the others back in the kitchen. Karoku went ahead and sat down next to Nai. There wasn't much he could do at the moment. Without a phone, he had no way to let Gareki know what was going on. Damn. I need to figure out something. Karoku knew that the guys were keeping an eye on him as the food got passed around. He huffed. They didn't want him here. He knew that. He scraped his chair back suddenly. Everyone looked up. Karoku looked to Nai.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Karoku stated. He saw how the guys continued to look at him. Feeling a bit like he was being scrutinized to a ridiculous amount, he held up his hands. "You're all welcome to join me," he said, feeling a bit cheeky. Mostly because he didn't like the looks in their eyes. Though they were smiling, he really didn't feel like he belonged to this. Nai gripped Karoku's hand though and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Okay," Nai said gently. "Hurry back, okay?"

Karoku nodded. "So you guys coming, or do I get to take this guy here?" He pointed to the sheep that was expectantly at his feet. Hirato quirked a brow.

"The sheep is enough," he said calmly. Karoku nodded. He left the room with the sheep trailing behind him. In the meantime, Tsukitachi turned to the birthday boy. The focus tonight was supposed to go to Yogi after all.

"So, Yogi, how'd you spend today?" he said cheerfully. Everyone ate their food awkwardly but Yogi brightened up.

"Oh, I played with Nai-chan and Tsukumo-Chan. I also got to go outside and play a bit outside of the ship before we took off this morning with them," Yogi said brightly. Hirato had given Yogi a 1 hour time limit to do as he liked off the ship since it was his birthday.

In the meantime, Karoku headed for the bathroom. The sheep followed him. Perfect. Without warning Karoku twisted his body, slamming the sheep face first into the ground.