Special Thanks to Chiby Angel-Chan, who gave me the idea to pair Aya up with Katase. She is a Reiya fan, and I'm so delighted that she would grace my story with reading it, even though it's primarily a Rein T.T Oh how lovely! You have become quite an inspiration for change in my story thus far! So thank you, thank you.

Stubbornheroine - Oh you liked that part too?! At first it was some stupid line. Then after reading it a thousand times, and rewriting it half that, I suddenly came up with the idea. I'm glad you could like it. And I hope that this rushed change of a chapter two isn't to your disliking T.T Let me know what you think.

Author Promo: Do I have to have these in every chapter? Yes, yesyes. To let you know of an amazing manga and mangaka. Hmmh...

How about Cherry Juice this time? By Haruka Fukushima Also the wonderful author of Kedamono Damono, and Instant Teen. I hope I got that right.. forgive me all, if I got this horribly wrong! OH! and forgive me for the mistake of having Ran call Yuya 'yuya' at the end of the first chapter.

Cherry Juice is about a brother and a sister, related by marriage. The sister is older by two days. Her younger brother is super hot and super popular... and well, he has feelings for her. But what happens when he can no longer lie, or hide it? Will it be the ruin of their relationship and the people around them? Pick it up and your local bookstore, and find out who's heart gets broken winkwink

I don't think I have anything else important to say... if you haven't noticed, all the bold parts are things to catch your eyes to let you know if they're important or not. Sometimes it is. So be sure to skim, if you're interested.

ENOUGH OF MY RAMBLING! ONWARD!

Arianna: "Do I get a part in this story? Heh?! Don't ignore me!"

Oh you poor soul you T.T I won't include you in this story.

Beginning to Bleaker Skies

"Well... are you going to tell me?" came his voice, his hands making their way to Aya's tear-stained face.

She shook her head, and sunk into his hand, letting him support her. The emotions coursing through her were conflicted, all jumbled up into what she had deemed as a 'confused' emotion. Secretly, she was only happy that her sadness brought her closer to him. Even if it brought her farther apart from Rei.

"Katase..." she mumbled, her eyes gently closing. It wasn't an invitation. More like a cry for comfort, which he gladly gave. Katase pulled her towards him, closing the gap between them on his sofa. In the blink of an eye she was curled up in his lap like a child, and he was running his fingers through her hair.

"Please tell me you're not upset over... him," he inquired distastefully. Not once had he ever liked Rei, and not once did he ever think about liking him.

Aya answered with a whimper, and he pulled her up next to him as he lied down. Katase wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He buried his face into the back of her head, snuggling against the black strands.

"I'll never let you go..." he whispered, sending a warmth down Aya's neck and into the rest of her body.

"K-katase..."

"Shhh..." he muttered into her ear, tugging at it with his teeth, "I'll make you all better."

- - -

Ran looked out across the lake. The setting-sun danced across it in short bursts of glitter and love. The small waves hugged each sparkle, each fragment of light. Yet each time the waves hugged the glistening reflection, it sped away, and the light and water were together no more. It was a rhythmic motion that kept repeating itself.

This didn't help her mood at all, but it gave her a sense of peace. Instead of crying or being angry, she just sat and dissolved into the wind. She didn't know why Aya was upset, but she figured it was the lecture she had given her, "I shouldn't have done that..." she mumbled with a sigh, now fully regretting how harsh she was. She didn't actually think she was being harsh, but she couldn't be too sure. There were times when she wasn't sensitive to another person's feelings, perhaps even all the time...

"Shouldn't have done what?" a voice broke her from her thoughts, she could hear it speak hesitantly, almost as though it were going to cry, "Y-you're ch-ch-cheating on me Ran-pyon?!" the voice wailed.

Ran sighed with exasperation. Leave it all up to him to piss her off at a time like this. As she lifted her head, her eye twitched dangerously. The monkey look-alike confirmed the voice, and she shot it a glare before calming herself down enough to speak smoothly.

"What the hell are you rambling about?" came her voice, cold and uncaring. So much for not venting her emotions out on something or someone. She tended to do that. It's not that she didn't care about the things around her, but that she cared too much. Expressing her emotions in a healthy way wasn't her style. Besides... if she were gentle, she figured it would hurt her much more in the long run.

"R-Ran baby..." he pitifully groped the air in front of him, tears making waterfalls of his face. Despite his carefree attitude, he too had a monstrous emotional side. It aggravated her sometimes, but she always dismissed it, trying to get around his moods as best as she could.

"Oh my god, shut up Tatsukichi. I'm not cheating," she narrowed her eyes and leered at the ground, attempting to burn a hole through it. She should have chosen a more... private place, so that no one would approach her and face her wrath. Her eyes glanced back to the waters, I must have overestimated your serenity...

As if the Gods were out to spite her, Tatsukichi became reanimated, "Hey, Hey Ran Baby! Let's go dance! I know of this really hot night club a few blocks from here!"

It was true, the Gods were spiting her. Mocking her, even. Or maybe it was just a sign that she needed to stop moping and go back to being the condor. She preferred the former, but acted on the latter. Her mind made up, she jumped up with her fist pounding into the air with a scream, "Let's go Tatsukichi!"

"Just a little kiss Ran baby..." he whined, puckering his lips. What he received was a punch in the face.

"In your dreams!" she cried, and raced down the road. It was almost like her own private adventure. The wind was at her side, always moving, constantly in her way, and constantly out of her way. The only thing missing in this picture was... Tatsukichi... Tatsukichi?!

Ran jerked to a halt using her hands to steady her body, "Oh no! I forgot about Tatsukichi!" she wailed. A bobbing of blonde spikes in the distance calmed her as they became more and more visible. Almost as happy as she was on her way to the nightclub, she skipped up to Tatsukichi.

"What are you doing Tatsu-" Ran blinked at him, "Why is your nose bleeding? So not cool Tatsukichi, you gotta clean that up before you walk beside the Great Ran Kotobuki!" she put her hand on her hips, "Someone might think that you're totally weak, and can't handle yourself!"

- - -

"Katase!" a middle-aged woman shouted. She wore her black hair in a tight bun. A smile rose into her face at the scene of Aya and Katase cuddled together on the couch.

Aya's eyes flew open, having been boldly awakened from her slumber. The woman registered in her mind, and in moments she was out of Katase's grasp with her face planted in the floor. Her head emerged from the floor to face a woman who was now laughing at how nervous she was. Aya touched her face, O-oh no! I'm blushing!

"You are a funny dear, wash up! Dinner time... hayaku, hayaku," the woman's voice changed from soft to hard when she shifted her attention to Katase, "Katase! Are you going to introduce me?"

Katase sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep off of his eyes. He wondered how long they had been there, and even though he expected to fall asleep, he wasn't planning on it. With a yawn, he stood up and stretched, "Mother... this is Aya... Hoshino Aya, and she..." he glanced at Aya, who had now stood up to stand beside him, and confirmed with her that now was not the best time to solidify their relationship, "she's Aya Hoshino. Aya... this is my mother."

Aya bowed formally, "It's nice to meet you."

- - -

As they approached the nightclub, Ran forgot all about her worries, or rather, she set them to the back of her mind. Tatsukichi talked with the man at the door who nodded and allowed them both into the club. Upon entering, eyes were drawn to the monkey couple. Ran shaded her eyes from invisible light, and scoped the crowds for anyone familiar.

It didn't matter, she realized, it shouldn't matter who was or who wasn't there. All that mattered was the dance. Jumping into the crowd, she began to do just that. Each movement her body made bore her heart and soul. There were people in the corners selling drugs, and taking drugs, but in her world, everything was beautiful without the drugs. She didn't want such things to tarnish her prideful body.

Each song that played touched her heart, so she closed her eyes, shutting out the flashing lights that once filled her vision. Eventually she was all by herself, the crowd had dispersed, and people had made a slight ring around the dancer so that they wouldn't get hit by her wild movements. One woman was daring, however.

She sauntered up to Ran. Her eyes were the color of ocean, standing out against her fair skin and unnatural indigo hair. She seemed to walk with a deathly elegance, almost pompously but not quite. Her layered hair gave a slight childish look to her face, but the careful walk she had... it gave away that she was more than a child. A slender hand decorated with faux nails came in contact with Ran's shoulder in an effort to catch her attention.

Ran opened her eyes, and raised an eyebrow at the female before her. She stood slightly taller than Ran, her body also a little more developed. The girl attempted to scream over the blaring music, but admist the eccentric lights, and loud music, all Ran gathered was the mouth motion of, 'join'.

She nodded in agreement, and as the music intensified, so did their dance. It seemed almost as though they had practiced the dance with each other before hand, and soon there were onlookers. Tatsukichi had been long forgotten, and the rest of the world was shut out. All Ran was aware of was the strange girl that asked to dance, the music, and her own body.

A thud caught her attention, and she opened her eyes to see her dance partner being dragged away by a big burley looking man. Upon further inspection, she saw that the girl was being dragged by her hair. Going into 'justice' mode, Ran followed them out of the club.

"What the hell were you doing?!" she heard the man's gruff voice.

"I-I was dancing..!" the girl cried, trying to defend herself.

"I know full well what you were doing, wench! Don't lie to me!" the man shouted, letting go of the girl and decking her across the face.

Ran decided she would intervene.

"Touch her again, and you'll regret it," she said, matter-of-factly, pointing a fake nail at him accusingly.

The girl with indigo hair merely furrowed her brows at Ran, "I can fight my own battles, thank you! And if you don't mind," she flicked her hair pompously at Ran, and turned so that her back was to the kogal, "mind your own damn business, Kotobuki."

Was Ran just imagining things, or had this girl made a complete transformation? The girl inside the club had been pleasant and fun, almost like another her, yet the girl she met out here was rude and stupid. Whatever the matter, she decided she'd follow them.

- - -

"Thank you for having me for dinner... the food was delicious," Aya said politely, bowing.

Katase's mother smiled jovially, and waved her hand carelessly, "No need to be so formal. You're allowed here whenever you like. Second thought! Eat as much as you like too. I wouldn't want my future daughter-in-law to be a skeleton by the time you bear Katase's children... how could yo-"

Katase had expected his mother to bring up an inappropriate subject, so he was prepared to kick her discreetly when she brought it up. He watched his mother as her eyes met his, and for a moment he thought that she was about to beat him. It couldn't be possible, however... not with Aya standing right there. He saw it register in her eyes too, the acknowledgment of another person being there to witness a horrific event would be too much trouble for her.

"How about you go inside.. mother? I'll be in shortly," Katase said. He saw the suggestion process itself in her eyes before she gave him the eye. And then he knew he was in for it.

His mother smiled sheepishly, and she nodded her head. She mumbled something incoherent, and disappeared into the shadow of the house.

Katase turned back to Aya. She was beautiful, from head to toe. Her style was so mature for her age, unlike the delinquents she associated herself with. Despite their background, he couldn't bring himself to hate them. They were, after all, Aya's treasured friends. He had to love all of her, or none of her. He chose all of her.

"Aya..." he mumbled, bringing a hand up to tug at her hair, "Don't you look at another guy but me. I won't forgive you if you do."

Aya's eyes grew wide for a moment. She could feel her heart start to quicken and her breath fall short. Was he actually serious? Aya could feel her face start to heat up as he continued to speak. It was almost like magic... and he had her paralyzed to the ground, but he was just playing... he had to be.

"D-don't be silly..." she started, but was cut off as he cupped her chin with his hand and was forced to look him in the eyes. Her heart skipped a beat.

"You're too..." his face drew close to hers, almost as though he were going to kiss her, "special. I won't let anyone have you."

Aya was frozen, and he could feel it. He loved intimidating shy girls like her. The only thing different about Aya and the other girls was that she was actually pure. All of the other ones that he toyed with were sluts. She was by far the most honest one... and his favorite one.

"Y...yeah..." Aya managed to say after much struggling with herself. He had been acting weirdly affectionate all day, but she couldn't figure out why. She always had a suspicion that he liked her, but... But he couldn't ever like me! He just likes attention. That's it, there's no way he could like a... a stupid mole!

Katase pulled his face away from her. He stepped away from her and looked off into the darkening sky. Aya... her hair was just a tad bit deeper than the sky. His eyes found their ways back to the woman standing on his doorstep. She was so patient, so beautiful, so lovely. So lovely she almost seemed to sparkle.

"You're my favorite jewel."

R&R Please!!

A/N: So what did you think? Anywhere I can improve? I know I need to start stepping up my writing style, and make it alot better. x.x I'm so lacking! Meh well. Anyhow. A slight explanation on things that may be questionable.

Ran... I see her as someone in this story who is tough on the outside so that everything, and everyone else are fine. Like only she gets to deal with her problems. Petty problems that she whines about are part of this disguise, if it makes any sense? So I'm trying to portray this though not very well T.T in this story..

Katase... in this story, his Mom is abusive. If you didn't catch that from the context. He's also a playboy, and I'm hoping I'll be skilled enough to delve into that better in the following chapters. I'm not revealing anything else ;3

Why is this chapter called "Beginning to Bleaker Skies"? That has nothing to do with this chapter at all! -super/ultra/eliannora/glare- IF I wanted you to know that. You'd know. 'Til then, sit tight, keep the titles in mind, and pray with me that I do a good job in the end. T.T My first GALS! fic and I feel like a pooty failure. Oh well.

NEXT: Aya-ppe and Otohata! Yum yum's in an alleyway. But what's this? Rei talks to himself? Enter Mami-rin! She knows more than she should, and less than she likes. And the rest is a secret.