Asuka: (reading the 6th +Anima) SQUEE! (Dies)

Husky: You didn't really die, right?

Asuka: Nah. It's just the kind of thing fangirls say.

Husky: You say that you… die?

Asuka: Yes, death of cuteness!

Husky: One: you can't die of cuteness. Two: you've got a weird sense of what's cute.

Asuka: Why?

Husky: You think Senri's cute.

Asuka: Well, duh. Does the word BISHOUNEN mean anything to you?

Husky: No. No it doesn't.

Chapter Four

Fallen Lion, Lonely Angel

"HAYA!" Cooro shouted as loud as he possibly could, in hopes that his newfound friend would answer. When she didn't move, tears came to his eyes and he floated down to land next to his fallen friend. "Haya," he said, and a crystalline tear fell from his eye to land on her arm. "Don't die. You can't!"

"I don't think she can hear you," Husky said from the rim of the ravine.

"Yes she can!" Cooro protested. "She has to be able too! She's not dead, I know it!"

"I wasn't saying she's dead," Husky sighed. "She's unconscious." Nana, Senri, and Rose each appeared next to Husky, looking at the little winged boy. A breeze wound its way through the small valley that Cooro was sitting it, ruffling his hair and gently blowing his limp wings. His hands curled into fists as he willed himself to stop crying and be strong to take care of her. But he hadn't the faintest idea what to do. Haya would know, if only she was awake.

"Should I bring her up here?" he asked.

"Yes, dummy!" Husky snapped. "What do you think we'd do, leave her there!?"

"Well sometimes when someone hurts their head, you're not supposed to move them," Nana said, rationalizing Cooro's question. Rose nodded.

"I've heard that before," she added. A light drop of rain fell from the sky and landed on Cooro's nose.

"It's raining," he said.

"No it's not," Husky protested. He pulled off one of his gloves and held out his hand, but he still could not feel any raindrops.

"Is too, I felt it!" Cooro said. Then, a crash of thunder split the valley, with a downpour following. Nana yelped, and started panicking. Husky grabbed her arm, and she stopped.

"We've got to get out of this rain," she said. "Cooro, do you need me to help you carry Haya?"

Cooro thought about it for a moment, as the rain began to trickle down his forehead and soak through his clothes. He shook his head. "No, I can do it," he said. He put his arms around the limp, sleeping girl and spread his wings with renewed vigor as he flew up, through the torrents of rain to land on the cliff. She wasn't very heavy, but Cooro was still young and not very strong. It took all of his strength to get up there, and he nearly collapsed.

Senri grabbed Cooro's shoulders to steady him and reached out to take Haya from the black-winged +Anima. Cooro shook his head. "I've got her," he said. Senri sighed, hoping Cooro was right. He didn't want his friend to hurt himself. Cooro stood, and kept walking until he saw the faint shadow of the cave, and the silhouetted figure of Rose standing at the mouth of the cavern. She ushered them inside concernedly, and Cooro finally let Senri take Haya. He collapsed onto the floor next to Nana, his ragged breathing the only sound aside from the crackling of a fire Rose had started in a dry patch under a place where the top edge of the cave stuck out.

Exhausted from the flight, Cooro fell asleep. He didn't necessarily want to sleep at the moment, but he was so very tired. His eyelids felt heavy, and his head was swimming with effort to keep them open. He curled and uncurled his fists in hope that the motion would keep him awake. But he was tired, and the warmth from the fire wasn't helping him stay up.

"Cooro, just go to sleep already," Husky snapped, and tossed his cloak over his friend's body. Cooro laughed quietly, and then the cave echoed with tremendous waves of crashing, thunderous silence.

Cooro awoke to the continuous drizzle of the rain falling outside. His ears were filled with the little tapping noise. It was starting to get annoying. He peered over the edge of Husky's cloak to see if his friends remained in the cavern, but it was too dark to see. It must have been night by that point. The fire was extinguished, and all the others were breathing slowly in the darkness lit only by the small remaining embers. Thunder crashed outside, and a rock fell off the rim of the cave into a puddle of water. The liquid splashed onto the thin light from the embers, and pitch-black darkness surrounded Cooro. He sighed, and wiped a drop of the splashed water off his nose. He was dry, but strands of his hair were stuck together with the mud that he must have fallen into at one point. He wasn't exactly sure when he'd done such, but it didn't matter.

He reached out into the darkness, hoping not to touch anything weird. His hand brushed against a string of blue beads in Haya's hair, which clattered on the ground. The noise sounded loud in the silence, and Cooro froze momentarily, hoping that he hadn't woken anyone. A small yawn told him that he had. He sighed. Cooro really hadn't meant to wake anybody, he was just a little clumsy. Now he would have to explain why he'd made so much noise.

"Why's it so dark?" asked Haya's strong voice. Cooro smiled, and then laughed.

"Haya!" he squealed, his heart soaring. "You're okay!" He reached out to where he assumed the other girl was and hugged her. She was surprised at the sudden gesture, having forgotten that she'd fallen off the cliff and been injured. She hugged Cooro in return regardless.

"Who's making all the noise?" Husky muttered sleepily from somewhere else in the cave. "Shut up."

"Husky, Haya's okay!" Cooro said, very loudly. He no longer cared who he woke up, so long as she was alright. "Isn't that great?"

"Yep. Great," Husky groaned, and then he didn't speak any more. Cooro tilted his head to the side and looked in the direction he thought his friend was with an inquisitive expression. Husky must have really not wanted to be woken up. Cooro sat with his back against the cave wall. After about five seconds, he felt bored, and sighed.

"Why aren't they awake?" he asked nobody in particular.

"Maybe it's because it's the middle of the night," said Haya, and Cooro nodded.

"Should we go to sleep then?" he asked. She paused, thinking.

"I suppose," she said. "I don't feel like sleeping though." A rustling sound came from the corner of the cave, and suddenly a hard object bonked Cooro on the head.

"I said shut up!" Husky hissed angrily. How loud could Cooro be in the middle of the night? Husky rolled over and tucked his staff behind him, hoping that he wouldn't have to hit Cooro on the head anymore.

Cooro still sat there, watching the time tick by. He toyed with a fray in his burgundy gloves, and leaned his head against the back of the cave wall. Every so often, he glanced out the window, always waiting in hopes that he would see the light of the sunrise. Haya sat with him, but eventually fell asleep again. He was alone, and not tired at all. In fact, he was perfectly awake.

Cooro's stomach growled, and he sighed heavily. When would everyone wake up and get him some breakfast? He rocked back and forth in a contained effort to be silent, but it was not working out very well. Cooro was once again imbued with the want to shout something into the depths of the cave. Now that Haya was okay, he was back in his usual happy mood.

Because Cooro had been unconscious before, he wasn't very rested. His head began to droop onto his chest, and his eyelids felt so heavy. His eyes closed and he fell fast asleep. Then, in the silence of the cavern, one of the +Anima was stolen away by a mysterious thief with a black cloak around him. Which of them it was will not be told. But whoever was stolen was completely silent.

Asuka: Haha, more suspense!

Cooro: Jeez, Asuka, why do you keep doing that? It's getting on my nerves!

Asuka: Yup. Definitely suspenseful enough. *grins*

Husky: How come you keep tormenting him?

Asuka: Dunno. It's surprisingly entertaining.

Husky: Yeah, y'know, it really is.

Cooro: Aww, stop it you guys! It's not funny!