Thanks for review/faves/follows/autor follows and such! I would like some detailed reviews too, since this is not the type of thing I usually write. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Season 2: Light vs. Darkness

Chapter 2: Calm Before the Storm

Asuka raised from her bed. She had a hard time falling asleep this night, but she wasn't sure why. Her eyes were wide awake as, among many idle thoughts, her rival from earlier's words echoed in her mind.

'Sure your life is not perfect, Miss Beautiful, Perfect Grades, All Men Lust For Me!'

Well, she did know people who were worse off, but her life was far from perfect. Only she knew how hard did she study for those perfect grades. And what use was being beautiful and having men lusting for her all over—when the one she wanted, the only one ever, was totally oblivious to her? Did Sui understand that?

That junior hadn't been around the plane crash site, and she didn't bother checking the Duel Arena back. If she wanted to continue the challenge, it was up to her. Asuka would not pursue. She never had any interest in the Queen title, but she still wouldn't just hand it over, especially to such disagreeable character.

She took the glass of water she had on her nightstand, and drank a sip of it. Returning to bed, she hoped she could fall asleep. She never noticed a subtle, weak white light seeping inside her deck…

Asuka was at a luxurious dance hall, full of people. The ambience was that of the early nineteenth century, with heavily ornated columns and large plants that were climbing them. The walls were a light yellow and had plenty of gilded decorations. The floor had diamond-shaped tiles in brown and cream.

Over these tiles threaded a man she knew. Dressed in an opulent black and silver suit, suitable for the place, Jun Manjoume got closer to her.

'Please, tell me. What is this about? Who is living inside me?'

Asuka blinked.

He looked to another side. 'I'm so broken—inside this world. And yet, you laugh.'

'Manjoume-kun, I…' She didn't know what to say.

He looked at her again. 'Remember me… When I'm gone… When I've vanished… Remember me, as vivid as I am now…'

Then he melted into the crowd. Asuka tried following him. There were people by dozens, hundreds even; she looked and looked, but could not find him anymore. All strange people, never paying any attention to her. They looked unapproachable.

Asuka stopped at a large table full of delicacies; but the food looked unappetizing to her, as if it had no life force to give her if she were to eat it. She gave up on it, and turned around. There Manjoume was, again.

He was now talking to a girl in a light hot pink and white dress, a girl with very long coppery hair, pale skin and golden eyes.

'You've changed,' she said. 'Me too—I could not go back to the way I was.' She walked to him. 'As we both get closer to each other, we will both perish away…'

"Ah!" Asuka woke up suddenly. She sat on her bed and shook her head. 'What a horrible dream… I wonder what it meant…' She pondered about it for a while, but unable to reach any conclusion, she went back to sleep, hoping for a better one this time.

He ran. He ran as fast as he could. Faster than he'd ever run.

Furiously, he knocked on the infirmary's door. "Sui! Ayukawa-sensei! Open the door! Come on!"

Some half minute later, the sleepy nurse opened.

"It's you… What is it? Another accident?"

"Is Sui all right?!"

"I don't know… How are you, Sui? Like to be awakened in the middle of the night? No, don't sit up. It's just Manjoume-kun asking if you're all right."

"Well, yeah…" Sui sounded surprised.

Manjoume placed a hand on his chest. "Thank gods…"

"Rest assured, Sui-chan is in good hands. She also feels better after she got your blood."

"No, it's not that… I had a horrible dream, and wanted to know if she was all right…"

"I'm pretty fine, Manjoume-san… Thanks to you…"

"Hmm…" Emi smiled mischievously. "That's the oldest trick in the book. An excuse to see her, right?"

"What? No!" Manjoume startled. "And when I came here, there was something like a ghost at this window, so I hurried to see."

"A very strange excuse," she smiled.

"Actually, I did see something like that, too. So it wasn't a dream," Sui said.

"You did?" both Manjoume and the nurse asked.

"Yes. I heard some scary voices, too—they were speaking something like 'You're no use to me anymore. But I will spare you for now, all will be dead soon anyway'. I thought it was a dream…"

Now both listeners had paled. "You did?"

"Yes. They were coming from the next door, I think—the one with the survivor of the plane crash."

"S-scary…" Manjoume mumbled. But he quickly composed. "M-maybe that was a movie or something… But the ghost is something we both saw…"

"Who is the survivor?" Sui asked.

"I can't say personal data of the patients," Ayukawa-sensei said.

"But what if there's danger… Maybe I should stay here tonight," Manjoume said.

"That is against school regulations, Manjoume-kun," Ayukawa-sensei frowned.

"School regulations won't matter anymore if you're both dead in the morning. If you suspect me of something, I can stand guard outside the door. How about it?"

"I don't think he's that kind of guy, Ayukawa-sensei," Sui said. "I'd feel safer if there's more people here."

The nurse hesitated.

"Just say he got a little weak after he donated blood. We have the technician as witness."

"Very good," she folded arms. "You better behave, you get it?"

"Of course. What do you take me for?"

"I don't know you enough, Manjoume-kun, but you have the fame of a Casanova around the campus."

"Of course I am a Casanova, but only the most horrible guy would take advantage of a sick girl," he smirked. He usually hated rumors, but he liked these ones—he'd rather drop dead before admitting he was a virgin. Especially in front of women.

"I may be anemic, but I am in pretty good shape. I can still kick the shit out of you," Sui said.

Manjoume turned to her. The girl who was all smiles and kindness and sweet like honey towards him was now swearing at him? And she wasn't smiling, or even smirking; her expression was utterly serious.

She had been pretty fierce in her dueling, too… Manjoume had been treating her with kiddy gloves because of her condition—she had been on the verge of death a few hours ago, after all. But it looked like when this girl had some energy, she could be a pretty ferocious character.

He lowered his chin. "I'll be careful, then."

"Hmph!" Her expression suddenly softened. "You were the man that saved my life, after all. Forgive me."

"What? There's nothing to forgive."

"I have pretty violent mood swings as of late, and Ayukawa-sensei said it's because of my disease. That was undeserved."

"It's okay. But if you do it when you're already healed, I'll kick you back," Manjoume smirked.

"Fair enough."

Both women retired to sleep, and Manjoume took position on a chair nearby the window, where he could look at the outside. The night was now quiet and dark. It looked like whatever danger was about had vanished. Still, he didn't let his guard down.

"What do you think?" he quietly muttered.

A cheerful yellow spirit appeared behind him. "You're sharing a room with two pretty women! Lucky!"

Manjoume caught it in his hand and squeezed it. It disappeared it a puff of smoke.

The spirit reappeared. "Sorry, Aniki!"

"Just reply to my question."

"I felt something scary! But it's not here anymore. And I still feel uneasy, uneasy…"

"Why's that?"

"It's as if someone's watching us. I've felt it ever since we entered this room. And I felt it at the duel of that lady and the other lady you like, too."

"Tenjoin-kun and Sui's? Really?"

"But I don't know who is it, Aniki."

"Is it a Duel Spirit?"

"I thought so, but it feels different somehow…" Ojama Yellow looked around. "Um… I think it's coming from the lady's deck."

"Really?"

"Must be some card… Go take a look, Aniki!"

"What?! If I do that, she will think I'm molesting her. I'll wait until she's awake and then ask, you blockhead!"

"She's asleep, she won't know!"

"How stupid your ideas can get?! Get out of here!" Manjoume swatted it away.

The morning found Manjoume deeply asleep at the window's side. He had been standing guard until he saw the first rays of sunlight. The night had been tranquil and uneventful. No noise or activity had come from the mysterious neighbor next door, either.

"Manjoume-san," a hand shook his shoulder.

"Hmm…" he moaned.

"Manjoume-san, you have to go to class."

"Hmm?" he opened one bleary eye.

"Good morning, Manjoume-san," Sui said.

He yawned. "Morning…" He looked at her. She looked just as asleep as he felt, and didn't look healthy, but she was far from the corpse-like aspect of last day. "You look much better today."

She smiled. "I'm glad. I feel better, too. Your blood was like an elixir of life for me."

"Happy I could help."

"I'll never get tired of thanking you, Manjoume-san. But hurry, you need to go to class. From the looks of it, it was quiet enough last night that you managed to get some rest."

He yawned again. "Yeah… Well, no creepy-crawlies to report."

She nodded. "I slept much at ease with you here, Manjoume-san."

"Well, the sleeping beauties have awakened. So, was it all okay last night?" Ayukawa-sensei said, entering the room.

"Thankfully so."

"Thank you for caring for us, Manjoume-kun. Now, hurry to class. Sui-chan, a hematologist will see you when you're ready."

The raven haired rushed outside. He was without his ever-present backpack stuffed with all sorts of things, and that made him uneasy. But he had his PDA on him, and that would be enough for today's class.

"Manjoume!" Oh, great. It was Judai.

"Yeah, hi dropout, and bye dropout."

"What's the matter? And where were you last night?"

Great. Couldn't the slacker have slept like a log, like he usually did?

"None of your business."

"You're behaving pretty strangely lately. What are you hiding?"

"Cut it out!"

"Must be something bad if you can't tell me."

"Who cares!" he hurried away. But Judai followed him to class.

"Speaking of bad, I wonder when will that duel between the two girls continue. It was being pretty badass, don't you think?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe? I thought you'd cheer for Asuka like there was no tomorrow."

Manjoume thought for a while. If he told Asuka about Sui's condition… But no, he couldn't do that. He would have done that before having talked to Sui—and before he had shed his blood to save her. But now…

He shook his head. He was a little confused. Drop the topic.

"Aniki! There it goes again! Someone's watching us! But I'm scared this time!"

"But she's not here," he said.

"Who's not here? Asuka is here! Hey, Asuka!" Judai waved—and blushed furiously, remembering last night.

"Good morning," she sat down, and discreetly looked at Manjoume. What did that dream mean? She never dreamed about him. Heck, she never even thought about him unless he was right in front of her eyes.

'Why is she looking at Manjoume? She likes him now?' "We were just talking—when are you going to duel the freshman again? It sure was an interesting duel!"

"I don't know—she hasn't called me again, and I don't have the slightest interest in that duel. She's just an uppity newcomer, looking for trouble."

Class passed just as slowly as the day before. For some reason, Manjoume couldn't wait to see Sui again. It was strange… Maybe because a part of that girl used to belong to him… Maybe because he was afraid she would suddenly take a turn for the worse… Who knew. He kind of felt good protecting such a frail girl—and he kind of felt good when he saw the gratefulness in her shineless eyes. He couldn't remember when was the last time he felt appreciated like that…

"Oh! Manjoume-kun!" Ayukawa-sensei smiled as he returned to the infirmary after class. "If you're looking for Sui-chan, she left for her dorm."

"Ah—oh, okay then…" For a boy to enter the girls' dorm was very troublesome. Maybe he wouldn't be able to see her until she recovered?

"Don't worry," she smiled. "She said she left some authorization for you to visit her."

"Great," he said, and she waved him goodbye, grinning ironically. Manjoume blushed. He didn't like Sui, not that way. She felt more like a little sister to him, the sister he never had. He'd have gladly traded his brothers for a sister like that.

"Manjoume-kun," the secretary at Obelisk Blue's Girls' Dorm confirmed. "Yes, miss Sui said you can visit whenever you like."

That was nice… So, she hadn't just taken his blood and ran away. The raven-haired climbed the stairs to the second floor, and looked for her room.

But it wasn't Sui who opened the door. A middle aged, fat woman smiled at him.

"Manjoume-san? Oh, this is nice. Sui-chan! Manjoume-san is here!"

"Tell him I'll see him in five minutes!" came her voice from inside.

"Come in," she told him. She led him to a chair at a small table near the window of the luxurious room. Obelisk Blue was always luxurious.

"Good to meet you, I am Sheena the nurse. Sui-chan can't do most things by herself for now, so I'll be helping her in whatever she needs."

"Nice to meet you. Take good care of her; she was very ill."

"I know. You're the boy that gave her blood, right? Are you her boyfriend?"

"No way! We had barely spoken when she fainted on me. But it was that or maybe something terrible would have happened."

"What a good man you are. Oh, where are my manners? You want tea? Coffee?"

"Maybe a glass of water, thanks."

That moment, Sui entered the room. She looked pretty animated, but she was in bedclothes—some pajamas with anime pictures—and slippers. Manjoume blushed a little. It was the first time he had seen a girl in bedclothes personally—even if they were not the sexy type or anything, it still felt a little too intimate.

"Oh, Manjoume-san, so happy to see you!"

"And I'm surprised to see you here. What happened?"

She sighed. "Let me rest for just a minute… I combed my hair when you arrived, and I'm pretty tired… Yes, even this tires me out… Sheena, can you tell him?"

"The hematologist gave her an iron-loaded diet and iron pills every day, and vitamin shots every two days. She has to sunbath fifteen minutes a day and not do any effort until her hemoglobin levels raise. With that, she was allowed to return here."

"I really can only eat, rest and sleep. I watch TV for a little, too."

"I am not tiring you out, am I?"

"Not at all, Manjoume-san. I am very happy you visit."

"But if you get too many visits—"

She sighed. "Only you do, Manjoume-san." She looked to another side. "I am a weirdo without friends. Feel free to get away and never come back."

"Why would I do that?" 'Why don't you have any friends?' was the question in his mind, but he knew he couldn't ask that. He himself knew how easy it was to end up without friends.

"I don't know… I have a complicated relationship with people. I try to be nice to them, but I always end up hurt. I have put my best effort in friendships that abandoned me, or ended up using me. And I had no friends and was always bullied as a kid because I was too nice and sweet and unable to fight. Yes, I used to be that way. So, I don't know… I just don't put energy into having friends anymore."

A super nice kid… Manjoume used to be like that, too, before people soured him. And after that he'd always been mean to people so he would hurt them before they had a chance to do it to him. This girl was like his flip side.

"Well—I like what I've seen of you for now. Unless you have some disturbing double personality, I don't think I would want to run away."

"Is that so…"

"I know what it is to have no friends. In fact, I can tell you a story about what happened to me last year. But it's long…"

She nodded. "Go ahead. If I get tired, I'll tell you."

Manjoume told her—with plenty of details, and a very embroidered version, of his adventures at North Academia. Sui listened to him very intently during the whole of his tale.

"—and that's when I looked around, and the whole North Academia was bowing at me! Not only that, but it was the first time, the very first time the King was a freshman!"

"Wow… That sure was some adventure… I kind of hope something like that happens to me sometime… Just not now, though."

He grimaced. "Why would you want that?"

"Well, my life has always been boring… I live for the battle, but I have nothing else."

"Live for the battle, huh…"

"You find that strange? I have no friends or boyfriend, my family despises me. Fighting is all that keeps me alive."

Manjoume stared at her. He wondered if that was most of the truth in his case.

"Is it so strange?"

He shook his head. "No… Maybe we have more things in common than I would have thought."

She sighed, and leaned back on her seat. "I'm sorry, Manjoume-san. I would like to rest now."

"Sure, of course." He stood up.

"I'm sorry I can't make good company. But I'd love if you could visit again sometime…"

"That's not at all. You're a very agreeable company. I can come tomorrow, if you'll have me."

"Of course. Thanks, Manjoume-san. Will look forward to it."

He bowed and left.

"Thanks for coming, young man," Sheena said.

"Oi oi aniki," Ojama Yellow said as they exited the building, "you forgot to ask her about the card."

"I didn't forget, I just didn't have time. I will ask her tomorrow."

"Don't forget next time."

"I didn't forget!" he growled.

"Hey hey hey, Manjoume!" Judai danced around their small room. The raven haired raised an eyebrow. That could only mean one thing. What strange, bizarre occurrence was this time?

"What?" he was sure he would regret the question.

"You don't have a costume for Halloween yet, do you?"

"No, but I do have an idea—"

"Then you can join us! We are going as the seven dwarves, Sho and I! You can be another dwarf, and we need four more people!"

Sometimes, Manjoume didn't know if to facepalm or bang his head against the wall.

"Sorry, dropout! I got my idea already, and I won't be swayed by your delightful ones!"

"Aww, I knew you'd like it," Judai smiled. This time, Manjoume facepalmed.

That moment, Asuka entered the room.

"Asuka!" Judai smiled. "Do you want to be another dwarf, too?"

"Idiot!" Manjoume punched him. "Tenjoin-kun is going to go in a costume fitting of her beauty." He smiled at her. "Right?"

"I couldn't care less," she replied. "Last year I picked the only thing I found at the store, and I will do the same this year."

"Halloween—is a party of love," a voice said from outside the door.

Asuka facepalmed. 'Oh no…' "What are you doing here?"

Fubuki Tenjoin waltzed into the room. "This is a perfect opportunity for you to find your Prince Charming, o little sister!"

She placed her fist on her waist. "Your point is?"

"You should look your best! Every girl in Academia will look her best, and you shine all over the others!"

'Except that girl from my dreams,' Manjoume thought. And then he rolled eyes. Why was he thinking about that again?

But this was a perfect chance to show himself in all his splendor. He was so looking forward to the party—and he knew he would look irresistible in the vampire costume he'd dreamed himself in.

"Right, Manjoume-kun?"

"Uh—right, Shishou." He smirked. "Not just every girl, but every man, too."

"Manjoume-kun, you are so right. You will look gorgeous, and so will I." He turned to his sister. "Heard that? Manjoume-kun is going to look gorgeous for you."

She sighed. "I remembered I have to do something. See you," she said.

"Why did you come here, anyway?" Judai asked.

"I forgot." Asuka left.

"Oh, Asukaaaaaa! Let me help you choose an outfit to look your best!" Fubuki ran after her.

Manjoume sighed, and smiled lightly. Sure, his friends were a mess—but he didn't feel alone now. Loneliness was something he had forgotten about, and he hadn't even noticed. These people—truly appreciated him. He had been wishing for that all his life…

The next day…

"Manjoume-san! A pleasure to see you again," Sheena opened the door of Sui's room.

"Good afternoon." He looked around the room. Sui was sitting on the bed. For some reason, seeing her in bedclothes always felt a little uncomfortable.

"Manjoume-san! You came to see me again! I'm so glad!" she exited the bed and walked to the table, immediately sitting down on one of the chairs. She looked so slight and frail—like a ghost.

"Hi, Sui. You look better than yesterday." There was a very little bit of more color on her. And it looked like the bright anime pictures of her pajamas suited her complexion better than the cold Obelisk Blue uniform.

"I feel a wee bit more energy, too. Of course, it only meant I needed a little less rest."

"Aniki! Askheraskheraskheraskher—"

"Did you—"

"Askheraskher—"

"—have a—"

"Askheraskheraskheraskher—"

"—good… Arrgh! Shut up! I will! Leave me alone!"

"Ask her, okay?"

"Grr…" Manjoume bumped his head to the table.

"You—feeling all right?" Sui asked.

"You can't see spirits, I can tell."

"Oh, so it's that? Yeah, I have heard something of the like that some duelists can."

"You have no idea how lucky you are. Well, the pest that is my spirit wants to ask you something."

"What is it…"

"This is a strange question I would not ask, but it wants to know. Sui, do you feel strange towards some card in your deck?"

"Eh?"

"Do you have any card you find—strange?"

"Hmm…" Sui lifted her hand to her mouth. "Actually, I think I do."

"Really?"

"Sheena, can you bring me my Duel Disk?"

The nurse brought said article.

"Sorry, I had no will to fix this," she said as she extracted the deck she'd used against Asuka. "If there is a card like that—it would be this one. It's totally useless."

Manjoume received in his hand an Effect Monster named "The Bringer of Spring" (1 star/Spellcaster/Light/ATK 0-Def 500) Effect read: "If this card is Normal Summoned, destroy it." The picture had the image of a young beautiful girl with blond hair, dark eyes and thin ankles, wearing a long loose simple white dress, and flower ornaments everywhere, in a sunny flower garden with birds and butterflies.

"Yeah, you can't use this," Manjoume said.

"The strange part, is that I always tell myself I should take it out of this deck. When I think I did, I find it back here. The strangest thing, is that this deck had no monsters to begin with."

"What? No monsters?" Manjoume looked at her, surprised.

"No. The deck is called "No Presence". I think it suits me. I never have people to fight at my side, so that deck represents me well."

"Aniki! That's the one! That girl in the picture is watching us!"

"What?" he looked at it. There was some presence there, all right—but he couldn't sense a spirit in it.

"Is this girl a spirit?"

"Huh?" Sui asked.

"Sorry, I was talking to my spirit. I know it's weird."

"Right…"

"She's not a Duel Spirit—I don't know what to make of this card, aniki."

Manjoume smirked. "If you wish, I will get rid of this card for you. I love doing this."

Sui nodded. "If you could… I have found this card in no list. I don't even know how did I get it."

Manjoume saved it in his pocket. "Don't worry, you won't see it again. But Sui, did you have much success with such a deck? I think you should have some monsters…"

"Oh, that's not my only deck. I have another, a Zombie deck, and a few strange decks I made for fun."

"A Zombie deck! Now that's better," he smiled.

"Yeah. I also feel like that sometimes—as if I've been dead, but I'm still walking around. I think this one is a representation of my fighting spirit."

"Interesting…" Manjoume thought about it. Why did he made a Zombie deck in the first place? He liked the power it had. Oh yes, lots of monsters to obey his bidding, and such terrifying power—

"Manjoume-san likes Zombie decks, too?"

He smirked and told Sui of his own version of the reason he had such a deck—washed down.

When he was finished, there was a knock at the door. "I'm sorry, Manjoume-san—"

"You're tired, right?"

"Oh, no, no," she cutely smiled. "It's time for a meal. I need to eat six times a day. You can join if you like."

"Well, that depends. What do you have?"

"It's all tasty things. An anemic doesn't have much appetite to begin with," she nodded as the kitchen helper set the tea silverware before her. "Three cups, please."

"Well, I think I will." Manjoume gave an appreciative look at the table. Chamomile tea had been served for the two duelists and the nurse. Six plates full of different kinds of food filled the center of the table. The food sure looked good. The Obelisk Blue kitchen had been very efficient in making food that would appeal to someone who needed nourishment but lacked appetite.

"Help yourself as much as you like. There's no way I can eat all this."

"Doesn't this whet your appetite, Sui?" Manjoume asked, taking a hold of a small ham sandwich with white bread and creamy cover.

She shook her head. "My stomach's doing its best to absorb all the iron I take. I often feel it full."

"Iron is very hard to digest," the nurse said.

"I have an iron pill at midday and I eat liver for dinner."

Liver? Manjoume felt his stomach churn.

"Haha, it's not so bad. But you can't eat it alone. You have to "dress" it with something else so it tastes okay."

"Can we let go of the topic altogether?"

"As you wish, Manjoume-san," she smiled, amused. "So, how was your day?"

"Like every other day, I suppose. I awake to the sound of a metal jar my roommate slides against the wooden ladder to my bed, then go to school, and go back to my room to study among what always seems like a party raging on. Better not tell you the details."

"You sound a little bitter."

He looked to the side. "Forget about it."

"Really?"

"I am building a room only for myself. I will sound better when it's done."

"Oh, I heard something about it before. So that building site belongs to you?"

He smirked. "Sure. It will be a gorgeous place befitting of me. Better than Obelisk Blue, you'll see. It even has its own onsen."

"Sounds quite amazing…"

"Of course. The builders have told me it will be done in a week or so. Then you can come visit. It has a big living room with a huge plasma TV and best-quality sofas."

She sighed. "Thanks… I don't think I will be able to in such a short time, Manjoume-san, but I will accept your offer when I feel better. Meanwhile, maybe I can do something to make you feel better, too?"

He blushed a little, but kept a straight face. "What?"

"I saw it in a videogame, and thought it would be nice to have it in real life, so maybe you think it'll be nice, too. How about I send you a nice message before going to sleep, every day? In the videogame it was in the morning, but I can't wake up early enough. So it should be at evening."

Interesting… A girl who will send him nice messages? Something inside him rejoiced at the thought. That was the kind of relationship he wished to have with Asuka, always romantic, always thinking of each other.

But no, this one was Sui—his little sister. Nothing romantic, just cute. A girl to warm his heart, not to light his fire.

"Of course, it'd be just stuff like 'Good evening, sweet dreams'. I'm too weak to think up a witty mail every time."

"Thanks. I think I would like that. My PDA mail's nickname is 'Manjoume Thunder'."

"Okay, I'll send you a mail tonight."

"So, Sui—do you feel like rebuilding your deck?"

"I don't feel like doing anything now."

"I know. When you feel stronger."

"I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"You shouldn't be feeling alone anymore, right?"

"Oh?" She thought for an instant. "You're right. First you, then Ayukawa-sensei, then Sheena, they all took care of me. Even the blood technician, the hematologist and the people at the kitchen are doing their best to help me…"

Manjoume nodded.

She ate a small confectionery before speaking again, eyes down. "Yes, I…" She looked to the side. "I think I don't feel so alone now…"

Manjoume looked at her. Her eyes were moist with tears.

"Thanks… I hadn't realized that. I wouldn't have if you hadn't told me, perhaps…" she wiped her eyes with a paper napkin. "My apologies, I don't mean to be rude, but I always get tired after I eat. My body probably doesn't have enough blood to remain awake when it's doing digestion."

"Okay—but I see something good in this."

"What?" Sui was already heading for bed.

"You endured more time sitting and chatting than yesterday."

"That I did. Thanks, Manjoume-san. Stay to eat as much as you like, but I can't join you anymore," she cozied herself under the sheets.

"I don't want to bother you…" Manjoume finished his cup of tea. She didn't reply. "Sui?"

"She goes out like a light after eating. Don't worry," Sheena said.

"I see…" He looked at the nurse in the eye. "Can you tell her I will visit tomorrow?"

"She will be delighted."

On his way out, Manjoume looked at her. She was deeply asleep. He walked closer and looked at her face for a few seconds.

"'Night, Sui. Sweet dreams," he said.

Meanwhile, at the infirmary's next door…

The plane crash survivor slowly awoke.

"Look, doctor! The patient's awake!" the nurse said.

The doctor smiled. It was the first time the patient regained consciousness. "Hello. How are you feeling?"

"U-ugh…" the man grimaced. "K-kill the Light…"

"What…?" the patient had spoken in a voice so faint that he could hardly hear him.

"Kill the vessels of Light… Or else, we're all dead…" He fainted.

"Oh, poor man. His brain seems to be a mess."

This was the last warning before the storm. But nobody was able to comprehend it.

To be continued!

Zephyr: Both boys had romantic/erotic dreams, both girls had nightmares. Isn't life unfair? *sigh* The worst is that it seems to be like that in real life, too. Statistically, men have more erotic dreams, women have more nightmares.

By the way, nothing is told of Jun's childhood in anime, so I just went with the manga story of his childhood, which is very likely for his anime self, too. Sweet kids often make sour adults. It's really sad.

Hmm, this was a pretty tame chapter. Better enjoy peace—while you still can. *evil grin* Review!