A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.. It's a bit more serious then the others, I thought maybe I could introduce a little bit more plot and adventure. I'm also thinking about changing the genres to romance/adventure. Because, I suck at humor stories.

Thank you to everyone that reviewed, and added me to their favorites and story alerts.

To: NaVi-ChAn12-14XD, here's another chapter!

To: Sissie131, cha24u, and Star-chan16: Thanks for adding my story to your favorites list/story alert. I hope you enjoy reading this new chapter!


"And that's why the rings allow us to Kamika," Kazune said, in the chair beside me, pointing to a passage in an old journal. I nodded, squinting to make out the narrow, loopy handwriting. "Why are the gods linked to the rings?" I asked, fingering my Neptune ring gingerly. "That's one of the questions we need an answer to." He shook his head, "along with so many others. Are the Gods actually contained in the rings? Do they openly acknowledge our presence and help us? Do they even have a choice? Why do only certain people have the ability to Kamika? And-" "KAZUNE-KUN!" I heard Karin's shout, full of alarm, loud enough to cut off Kazune's sentence. He pushed back his chair, quickly, stood up; the same alarm etched in his face, and ran off without another sound.

I stared around the room, glancing through the occasional medical text, while I waited for Kazune to return. I found another journal on one of the shelves, covered in dust, obviously forgotten. This must have been the Professor's. It's got the same handwriting as the other, anyway. I flipped through the pages, enthralled by the pages and pages of tiny handwriting, chronicling the time he spent researching with Kirihiko Karasuma, detail upon detail of his painstaking work, creating the rings. I wonder if Kazune has seen this one? I pocketed it, to show Kazune when he returned. I sat back down at the table, tilting the chair back and putting my feet up on the table. I sat up when I heard quick steps descending the stairs, the legs of the chair hitting the ground, jarring me. Kazune appeared, a crazed look in his eyes. "Michiru, we have another question that needs answering."


We spent the next few hours combing through every piece of research my father ever did, including the journal Michiru discovered, for an answer. My ring… Saved Karin? How? Why? Apollo, did you save her? I was too focused to speak, and any attempt at conversation was answered by silence. Soon, he too became absorbed in his work. If we discovered any sort of clue, we scrawled it in a notebook, for reference later. Finally, Michiru stood and yawned widely, shuffling off upstairs. I kept working, propelled by my desire to understand the force at work behind the rings. Damn it! At this rate, I'll never understand the rings. I threw one of the books at the wall, angry with my 'father'; angry that he died, without leaving me anything to go on, or any answers to these questions. I stood there for a moment, breathing heavily and cursing under my breath. This did nothing for my fury, however. I turned around, no longer facing the direction of the stairs, and stared at the wall. In a sudden burst of frustration, I tore books from their shelves, throwing them to the floor and cursing. Damn it! Damn all these mysteries, and Damn you, 'Father.' Suddenly, I felt someone's arms around me, and I heard a soft voice in my ear. "Kazune-Kun?"

I took a deep breath, all the fury and frustration melting from my stressed and tired mind. Just hearing her voice calmed me down this much? I stood there a moment, allowing her touch to wash the rest of my anger from my body. I turned, slowly, to face her. "What's wrong, Kazune-Kun?" she watched me, her eyes wide, full of fear, and concern. "I'm sorry, Karin, I'm just tired of never having the answers." I glanced around me, embarrassed by the result of my little temper-tantrum. She smiled, and began picking up books. Putting them back in their places. Restoring order to the chaos, just like she's always done. I pulled her to me, full of emotion. She let go of the books she held, they clattered to the floor with soft thumps. I brought my lips to hers, trying to convey how I felt about her in that one moment when our lips met.

We broke apart, but I didn't release her, not yet. I clung to her for a moment, like a drowning man to a life preserver. I breathed in her sweet scent, and felt her warmth. Eventually, she extracted herself from my arms, and picked up the books again. I knelt beside her, grabbing an armful of the scattered texts. Soon, we had each book back in its proper place. I sat down again, preparing to get back to work, and expecting her to leave. Instead, she walked over to stand beside my chair. "Kazune? Let's go to bed." She offered me her hand, and I took it, allowing myself to be led from the library and up the stairs.


~The Next Day~


When I woke up, I was surprised to find Kazune-Kun still asleep beside me. He must be exhausted. He's always awake before me. I hope he hasn't been pushing himself too hard. I laid my head back on the pillows, my mind full. For the first time, I watched him sleep. He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping. All the stress and exhaustion I saw in his eyes last night is just… gone. I smiled as I watched his chest rise and fall. The silence and the utter peacefulness I felt watching Kazune-Kun brought a new wave of drowsiness over me and I felt myself drifting back into a shallow, dreamless sleep. Kazune-Kun, who had sat up abruptly when he awoke, jerked me awake. My eyelids fluttered as I fought to remain asleep. Finally, I resigned myself to the idea of being awake, and opened my eyes, blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the light streaming in the window. "Sorry, Karin, did I wake you?" He seemed concerned by this. I shrugged, still drowsy. "Good thing it's a weekend, or we'd both be late for school," he remarked dryly. He yawned, stretched, and stood, walking across the room to the closet. I watched as he grabbed a change of clothes and wrapped a robe around himself, presumably headed for the shower. It took me several more minutes to muster the energy to get out of bed, and get dressed. I hope that my experience with his ring isn't what caused that burst of anger last night. I guess, I'll just have to be strong for him, so he knows he always has someone to turn to. I stepped out of Kazune's room, sliding the door shut behind me, and headed downstairs to see my family and friends. I remembered suddenly that Jin-Kun was supposed to come visit today. I still have to tell Jin-Kun about this engagement. I hope he doesn't take it too hard. Taking a deep breath, I put my foot on the top step. Here goes nothing.