Author's Notes:

And the story continues. Shortest chapter so far it seems. I don't think I have anything to really mention about this chapter...

Oh, I do apologize for that little movie ref at the very end. No, I won't name the movie, but I couldn't help it.

Shuu was starting to feel like he'd been stood up. It was the sort of feeling you got after going out to a bar, and the girl wouldn't give you her number no matter how much you asked. Then, when you were drunk enough, you gave her yours instead and actually tried to pretend she'd call you back within a couple days. It was that slow sort of bitter sensation as reality slapped you in the face and said 'wake up moron, you've been had'. Obviously, this wasn't what you'd call a good feeling. Granted… he did have Seiji's number, so it wasn't as if he couldn't just break down and call the former swordsman. But… the point here was that Seiji was supposed to be making the effort to prove they didn't need the armors. So, Shuu was just going to stay stubborn about this. In three months, if Seiji didn't call in all that time, it just meant that Shuu won. Then he'd call Seiji to collect on his prize, claim those phone numbers and get the ball rolling on reclaiming the good ol' days.

'Still… this is sorta strange. This was Seiji's idea, and he's not the sort to back down from a challenge!' For a very brief moment Shuu's mind sort of took a paranoid detour, wondering if Seiji had asked for three months so he could clear out of there… get away from Shuu and totally leave the trail cold. This made him laugh as he relaxed on his easy chair, flipping the TV stations. "Nah… Seiji's not like that." That'd be pretty dishonorable and completely out of character. Shuu knew Seiji had changed, but he hadn't changed that much. So Shuu would just wait it out. It was really grating on his nerves that Seiji hadn't contacted him in two days… but he wasn't going to cave in. Every time he though of calling Seiji instead, he just had to remind himself about winning. Winning was the only option… so he'd play this stupid game of phone sitting for now.

It was his day off from the restaurant, and he hadn't made any plans to do anything. A couple of the waiters had invited him to play football and snag some beers after, but he'd declined. He was feeling pretty stupid about it now. He enjoyed the sport, and it was fun to toss his size around again. But no… here he was waiting on Seiji to call. He was feeling oddly whipped, and it wasn't a sensation he enjoyed from even the girl's he'd dated… and he certainly wasn't dating Seiji! 'Damn… hold it together Shuu… he's just wearing you down. Get on with things like normal… just ignore it.' Maybe he'd call up the guys and see if he could hit up that game, or at least the beers, anyway. Yeah… get out some of this wasted energy.

Of course, that was when his phone started to ring. He jumped a bit and grabbed it, looking at the number that lit up on the display. There it was… the guy he'd been waiting on. It was about damn time. If he'd thought about it, he might have tried to spite the blond a bit by not answering right away. But, Shuu wasn't the sort of person to act all catty and coy like that. So he flipped the cell phone open and answered. "Hey man, I thought you'd chickened out. What took so long?" He heard the sound of Seiji clicking his tongue on the other end of the line.

"You do have a job, don't you? I, at least, have other obligations to take care of during the week."

Shuu shook his head, which of course was a pointless gesture over the phone but he did it anyway. "Of course I work. But you could have called or something." This seemed to get a small laugh from the other end of the line.

"Lonely?"

"No! Damn it… I just mean you could have called to say what you're planning!" 'Ok Shuu… turn this around.' "I mean, hey, I don't care if you fail, but ya know man, three months ain't a lotta time." There we go… power was back on his side now. Seiji needed to remember that. Well ok… maybe he needed to remember that more than Seiji. Still, the blond didn't seem all too concerned when he spoke next which was a bit of a let down.

"It's more than enough time for me to change your mind. Were it the other way around, well, then you'd be in trouble."

"Shut up. Hey, did you have a reason for calling or what? I got things to do with my time." Ok, so that was a lie, but it did occur to him that if Seiji knew he was sitting around waiting for a call, he'd start to look pretty foolish. Unfortunately, this just seemed to perk Seiji up.

"That's good, excellent. I'll let you go then."

"Hey wait a minute!" Ok, this was pissing him off. Now he was starting to just feel like a kid, getting praised by his parents for 'making friends' or joining a sports team. He wasn't going to be belittled like this. "If you don't do anything, then I'm gonna be getting those numbers, ya hear me? I'm not gonna lose."

There was a small moment of silence on the phone, and Shuu thought that maybe Seiji had hung up on him. But, when he pulled the phone from his ear he saw that the call timer was still going, so it meant that the line was still connected. He put it back to his ear and listened to a few more seconds of silence. "Well, I'll just have to catch you when you have free time. If you're busy you're busy, that's really all there is too it."

"So… if I just fill up my schedule every night, you're just gonna lose, huh?" Ha! Who knew victory would be so easy?

"So it seems." Wait a minute, why didn't Seiji sound even a little worried here? Shuu frowned, trying to work this out real fast. Why would Seiji almost seem happy about him going out every night? Filling up his schedule? He'd work that out in a bit, for now he had to make a move.

"Well, I don't know what's wrong with you, but I want a challenge, ok? So you called, you must be free today. I don't make bets with people and win by default!" 'Wait… maybe I should. No, that'd be cowardly, that's not the way a warrior wins.' True, he'd been pondering doing just that earlier. He'd been considering letting Seiji's inaction be his undoing. But now that he was getting all fired up over it, he realized he'd just be disgruntled for the entire three months. Right now he had to view Seiji like an enemy, and you didn't just sit around and wait for an enemy to die. You took a stand. His brows seemed to narrow as his resolve seemed to firm up. Just like Seiji had three months to sway him, he should also see this as a way to reinforce to the blond that seeking the armors out was the right thing to do. Maybe he'd get an early win. "So get over here and face me."

This actually got a full laugh out of Seiji, but it wasn't a mocking laugh. He wasn't belittling Shuu here or anything, and he could hear it in there. Seiji was going to do exactly what he wanted. They were finally going to get to this. The 'competition' was going to get under way at last.

"Well, give me your address, and I'll head over."

-

He heard the knock on the door and got up, not bothering to turn the television off yet. Shuu's face took on a determined look, and it was almost like he was expecting to have Seiji swing Kourin's blade at him the moment the door was opened. He didn't really have a clue what to expect, but that just added to the moment. You never knew what your enemy would toss out at you, and that was a part of what kept your blood pumping. Shuu looked down at what he was wearing, a beat up pair of jeans and grey t-shirt. It probably couldn't have gotten any more boring, but he didn't dress up unless he was trying to impress someone. He reached his hand out to the knob, giving it a turn and opening it up. Seiji stood out on the landing, one hand in the pocket of his own pair of jeans. Seiji looked a bit nicer than Shuu did though, wearing a short-sleeved button up that was a dark brown color.

"Hey man, come on in," he said, moving his larger frame out of the doorway so the other could get in. Seiji nodded and entered, stopping to take a look around at the room. 'What? It's not that messy? Don't tell me he's become a neat freak?' The blond sort of arched a brow, his face pretty neutral as he looked about the room. It was a little messy, yeah, but it wasn't that bad! It also wasn't as though Shuu had anything strange or exotic in the room that would attract attention either.

"How long have you been living here?" Seiji asked, rather cryptically if you asked Shuu. He looked around the room, attempting to figure out what had prompted the comment then shrugged.

"About a year, why?" Seiji continued to look over the room. Personally, Shuu didn't know what was taking him so long. It wasn't like he really had much stuff in there at all. He had his TV, his easy chair and a table. Other than that there were just a few out of place pieces of trash and such. It was pretty damn plain... so what the heck was he looking at?

"Seems empty," he responded casually, then shook his head. Whatever that was all about, the blond seemed to be over it now. He took a few more steps inside after removing his shoes, and Shuu played the good host and offered him something to drink. Seiji only wanted water, and considering Shuu didn't have a lot of furniture, they sat at the kitchen table to talk. Well, Shuu thought they were going to talk. Seiji seemed to keep inspecting things in his place each time they entered a new room. Honestly, it wasn't going to get any better. Shuu just wasn't the sort of guy to decorate or anything like that. He didn't even get a calendar. His home was plain, he didn't feel any urge to change that.

"So you got a point here Seiji, or did you really just come over to stare at my home?"

"Actually... that's partially why I came."

Shuu stared at the blond, expecting some sort of joke to be in there somewhere. Or, if not a joke, more of an explanation. Seiji, however, seemed to have a decided lack of interest in conversation at the moment. Instead he kept scrutinizing everything about Shuu's apartment, and that was starting to bug him a lot. He shifted where he sat, and for a moment he wanted to just stand in front of Seiji, get in his face. "Uh huh... why?" Fine, he'd bite and ask. Seiji looked at him for a moment and gave a slight shrug as if the question wasn't worth answering. Before Shuu's temper could flare up, however, Seiji did indeed speak up.

"It's a fairly common belief that a person's home is a reflection of their mental state. Of who they are, what they want. Of course this probably doesn't work as well if there are too many people living there but... you don't have a roommate, right?"

"Right, I don't... hey you don't believe that crap do you?" This got another small chuckle from Seiji. Shuu was going to start to get a complex here.

"I don't really know if I do. But... I thought it couldn't hurt to see how you're living... what you have around you."

Shuu sneered a little, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side. "So what, next you wanna check out my work, interview all my friends, maybe ask me if I still talk to my mom?"

Seiji frowned at him and shook his head. "I have no intention of doing so if you're going to act like a child. This may all seem stupid to you Shuu, but it isn't as though this is something I have any real experience with, alright?" The blond looked rather cross with him, and Shuu did feel a little bad. He had to remember that he had the advantage, not Seiji. But... he also had to remember, that in a battle you didn't give up the advantage. Seiji and he were opponents here, decently matched. So he had to keep his guard up at all times. Couldn't give Seiji an opening. "It's no wonder you find your life boring. I'd be going crazy too if this was how I lived."

"I never said I was going crazy! Life just can't compare..."

"I wonder why. Hmm... let me think, an empty boring bland apartment isn't exciting?"

"What the fuck should it be then, huh? What, some stupid posters on the wall? Or what... huh? What? I gotta turn my home into some damn circus?"

"... are you even taking this seriously Shuu?" Though Seiji had managed to keep his voice at a restrained and reasonable volume, he could hear the anger that attempted to seep up there. Shuu, however, was all set and ready for a shouting match. If it came to that.

"Yeah, but if you thought coming in here and insulting my stuff was going to be a good idea, then you're the one who needs to think better here!"

Amethyst-blue glared at him a moment, though eventually Seiji bowed his head. "I apologize, I did not come here with the intent to insult you."

"Fuck... what's with that formal talk? Whatever man, it's not a big deal, ok? It's just walls. Insult my home if ya gotta. Just... come on... is this it? Because Seiji listen to me. I am DEAD SET on getting the armors back. I am going to do whatever it takes to not get over them now... just because I know getting them back is so close. If this... this... psycho mumbo jumbo is all you've got... then just give me the numbers. You're done."

Seiji stared at him for a while, that lone eye gazing out at him as if it could find some sort of imperfection in the stone. Shuu stared back boldly, even though somehow he was feeling guilty here. He had agreed to give Seiji a chance to sway him but... no. That was stupid. 'I'll never find anything else that compares to bearing Kongo. There is nothing else.' Maybe this was a trick. Seiji was trying for pity. No, Seiji wouldn't even stoop so low as to do that. Shuu was starting to think he was working so hard to stay a couple steps ahead of Seiji that he was going to start sweating from the effort! He was feeling tired here and he wasn't even doing anything, just getting looked at.

"Shuu... have I ever been someone deceitful? Relax man, you're going to give yourself a migraine if you keep that up."

"... what??"

Seiji sighed and leaned back a little, bringing his hands up to rub at both of his eyes. Shuu guessed that on some level, Seiji could see a small bit through the side that was normally covered with hair. Not that that was an entirely relevant observation to make at the moment, but sometimes your mind could jump onto tangents like that. But the blond had a smile on his face. Not a particularly happy or amused one, more one of quiet frustration. "Look, I know you're gonna fight me on this, ok? I'm not stupid either Shuu. I made a deal with you that I'll admit I have no idea how to win. But... just do me a favor here... relax. I'm not here to play with your head, ok? You're going to start giving me a headache with the way you're watching me here."

"... sorry man. It's just, ya know. I remember the last time, that night."

"Well, forget that night. You can't keep reliving it in your head. You can't stay stuck there anymore than you can stay in the past in the battle against Arago. Deal with me here and now. I'm not here to dupe you, trick you, or outwit you." Seiji's voice seemed to trail off, and for all his talk about remaining here in the present, Shuu could tell Seiji's mind was far from it. They'd been through a lot together... but there was something that Seiji had experienced alone. In a way... acting like Seiji was trying to trick and manipulate him... Shuu wondered if he was implying he and Shikaisen were similar. The blond knew first hand what it was like to have someone getting into your head like that. It all sort of started to make some more sense. Yeah... Seiji was going to analyze him... but Shuu realized that Seiji was the last person who'd want to play actual deceitful mind tricks on anyone.

"Hey... I wasn't..."

"I said forget it, really," the two locked eyes, and Shuu nodded his head.

"So, well then... what now? You aren't here to trick me, haha... and... I'm the most stubborn guy in the world. Come on, you admitted you don't know how to win..."

"Funny, then, that I'm still sure I will." Shuu stared at Seiji rather dumbfounded as the blond managed to smirk at him. Of all the things... how could Seiji be smirking and feeling so confident? Shuu didn't immediately say anything, though he sort of wanted to, and just eyeballed the other guy. He shifted on his chair, which was starting to feel sort of uncomfortable (it was a pretty cheap chair), and scratched at his chin.

"Ya know, they were pretty sure the Earth was flat, once, too." It wasn't much of a comeback, but he wasn't going to try and be all witty anymore. It just wasn't him. Seiji shook his head.

"Come on. Let's get outta your house. There's no good energy in here."

"Ha, you are into that crap." Seiji simply took his own cup to the sink and ignored him. Apparently Seiji's own hobbies weren't up for debate here. "Well fine, where are we going?"

"For a drive. Who knows, we'll see where the world takes us."

"That... I'm down with." Shuu left his cup on the table and headed over to his room to grab his wallet and cellphone. He shut off the TV set, looking about and wondering if he was forgetting anything. He didn't bother to grab a coat or anything like that, not really being the sort to over prepare for things. He did give a glance about the room. Bad energy? Yeah right. He felt plenty invigorated when he worked out in his room. The energy in here was just fine. He took a moment to pull his shoes on out at the entryway, Seiji outside already and waiting for him. For a moment Shuu thought he might see Seiji's racing car down there, but no luck. It was that same boring car he'd ignored the other night.

Shuu locked up behind him, and Seiji started to walk. Now that he thought about it, it would have been sort of fun to ride with Seiji in that car. Shuu took a moment to question him. "Hey, where's the other car, eh?"

"What? You think I'm made of money or something? I don't make enough to own this car and take care of one I could actually race in." Seiji glanced at him sidelong as he walked, not to his car, but to Shuu's Jeep. Shuu gave him a look, but Seiji didn't change course. 'Funny, usually when people suggest going out for a drive, they're the ones who do the driving!' Seiji started to talk again, so Shuu didn't catch the chance to argue. "It's not actually my car. The guy, Takeshi, he just asks me to drive it for him. Guy knows how to build a car from the inside out, but he doesn't have the reflexes to drive."

The pair climbed into the car, and Shuu nodded. "Why'd he ask you?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell ya some other time."

"Fine fine," Shuu grumbled, then started up his engine. Seiji seemed to be rather shocked that the old vehicle could even start up, if the look on his face was any indication. When the radio started spewing static, Seiji shook his head.

"Amazing."

"Whatever, where to?"

"I dunno... maybe we should get you a plant... a Japanese Peace Lily perhaps..."

Shuu laughed and shook his head, putting the car in gear and pulling out. The thought of him owning a plant was pretty damn absurd. But at least Seiji hadn't brought up a bonsai. 'I wonder if he still trims those... and plays that shakuhachi...' Eh, he'd ask later. Seiji had closed his eyes, and it seemed like there was only one right thing to do right now. Drive... drive... drive. Fate or luck or whatever you wanted to call it had brought them together the other night through a drive. Somehow, it seemed like the road itself had its own opinion and the direction their lives would take. Shuu grinned. With any luck, they'd stay on the road less traveled.