Taiki climbed out of his window and securely fastened the screen back in place. He tucked his hair into the hood of his sweater and made sure that his sunglasses were in place. He looked ridiculous and he knew it, but looking decent was not worth those wild beasts called teenage girls chasing after him like a pod of dolphins after a fish. He groaned and rubbed the bump on his head he received after being pushed into the hall wall, than knocked on Yatens window. Yaten carefully looked out; saw that it was Taiki, and then opened the window.
"What Taiki?" he asked, irritated. Taiki sighed.
"Yaten don't be like that. We need to try every method possible of helping him, even if it means letting other people back in our lives. Now, I'm leaving and I just want to let you know to leave your room through your window. Don't go out the front door because that might start unnecessary problems," Yaten nodded.
"Fine. When are you going to be back?" he asked.
"I'm not sure. Probably in a few hours," he replied. "Now, I'm going. Make sure you hide the hair and eyes," he said. Yaten chuckled.
"Don't need to," he said, popping open the screen and jumping out…in female form. She was wearing a pair of short shorts, a pink short sleeved polo, and a pair of white wedged sandals. Taiki wanted to smack her. Noticing the look of shock and outrage on her partners face, Yaten laughed and waved her hand. "Relax! Nobody will recognize me! Yaten Kou is a man, I however, am a woman!" she emphasized woman by smoothing her shirt over her breasts and bouncing them.
"And what will you say when someone asks for a name?" Taiki asked.
"Uhhh…I haven't really thought of that yet, but I will when the time comes!" she said. Taiki sighed again. Yaten was impossible sometimes. "Why don't you go out in female form? It will be a lot easier then going out looking like your going to rob some vodka store or whatever the hell these people call it. And no risk of being caught as Taiki Kou! International rock star!" Taiki shook his head. Unlike Yaten, Taiki and Seiya were comfortable in male forms. Taiki preferred being female, but didn't have a problem being male. And where Taiki was considering going, he thought it would be best to be in male form.
"I'll be back in a little bit. You go have fun," Taiki said. Yaten nodded.
"Alrighty," she said, putting on an expensive looking pair of sunglasses and strutting towards the sidewalk. Taiki on the other hand, walked quickly towards the opposite direction towards a phone booth. He quickly opened it and flipped through the residence directory, carefully scanning through the M listing. After finding what he wanted, he quickly set the phone book down and walked towards his destination.
Ami Mizuno.
Ever since the Starlights left Earth, the three of them each had their mind set on a specific person. Seiyas brain was full of thoughts on Usagi, and Yaten, though she refused to admit it, had her mind stuck to Minako. She had denied at first, saying that she deserved better than a barbaric Earth girl. Seiya though, in all of her mischievous glory, had completely proved Yatens lie wrong by catching her putting a framed picture of Minako and a white cat in her drawer, taking the picture, and running through their dormitory screaming like a banshee that she knew Yaten liked Minako until she finally tripped over a pillow and fell, with a furious Yaten jumping on her and repeatedly punching into her back with a surprising amount of strength. Seiya couldn't get out of bed the next day.
Taiki smiled at the memory.
Taiki had grown to like Ami. At first, Taiki found her fascinating because she was the only female he had met since arriving to Earth that could actually think on an intellectual level. In fact, Taiki found himself challenged by her intellect. It was a challenge he fully enjoyed taking up. Everyone had agreed they were even. Instead, however, he believed she came out on top. Unlike Taiki, Ami was able to succeed in both enriching her brain and enriching her life. Taiki, instead, chose solely to enrich his mind, and when he wasn't self-learning, he was busy protecting his princess or standing in the background of his two comrades. Ami, however, was able to keep up and even surpass him school wise, while managing to enjoy the company of her friends and pursue her fairy tale idea on romance and love.
Taiki thought she was naïve and living in a fantasy world. It turned out, it was the exact opposite. Taiki had always been the one off in his own little world. Ami had brought him out of it, showing him reality: everyone who cared about him, a life other than the library, and different ways of looking at things. It was because of Amis influence that he now tried a little bit harder to enjoy the company of his two adopted sisters/brothers. It took him a while to loosen up, but when he was finally able to let things go and enjoy his surroundings, Seiya was taken by the Sirens.
Taiki blamed himself. Had he not been goofing around and instead watching the planets surroundings, he would have known about the Sirens before they got as far as they did. It was because of his foolishness that his leader, best friend, sister, and brother was now gone, lost in the cage of insanity.
He stopped and lifted his sunglasses and looked at the building. This was where Ami was apparently living. Apartment number 9044. Taiki quickly walked in, found her apartment floor, and power-walked his way to the door. He knocked and waited. No answer. He knocked again, and no answer. Taiki swore to himself. The one day since they've been back on Earth he left the apartment, Ami wasn't there. He sighed, and looked at the giant window two doors down. This would have to do for now. He needed someone to talk to before he lost his mind and by god he was going to talk to her. He slid open the window and climbed out onto the fire escape. He quickly ran three doors down to Amis apartment, threw back the screen, and tugged on the window. Much to his surprise, it slid open easy.
Not as smart as I thought eh? He thought to himself as he climbed in and shut the window, making sure it was securely fastened before looking around the room. It was pretty much bare, save for a comfortable white sofa, a low wooden table, and a large bookcase in the corner. A few little knickknacks rested on the built in shelves on the wall and underneath, a small television. A shelf full of DVDs sat next to the T.V. On the top of that shelf was a picture of Ami and her friends, another one had Ami, a light blue-haired man, and brunette woman in glasses who he assumed to be her parents. Next to that sat…a picture of the Three Lights. Taiki smiled to himself. At least I know we weren't forgotten.
Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of fatigue conquered Taikis body. He found himself dragging his body through the room and to a door. He managed to open it and slump down onto a very soft, comfortable surface. That was the last thing Taiki remembered.
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Yaten hummed to herself as she sipped her iced tea and leafed through a rack of tops at the mall. This was the fourth time she had been out since arriving to Earth. The first time, she snuck out two days after Seiya tried to strangle her and found that little, peaceful spot in the park. She visited that spot another two times, the last time resulting in nearly being knocked over by that blonde ditz Usagi. Yaten pulled out a golden halter top and held it against herself as she looked in the mirror. Perfect.
Shopping had always been a stress relief for her back on Kinmoku while she was a female. Hell, when Yaten was upset, she was known for spending hundreds of dollars at shopping outlets and coming back with assistants trailing after her. Now that she was on Earth, she had been damned to that stupid male form. Not only that, she was busy taking care of Seiya, and couldn't take time to herself. The few times she did try to, she felt immensely guilty. Yaten threw the gold shirt on her growing pile of clothes and went to look at pants.
The guilt was coming in. Yaten shouldn't be out shopping. She should be back at home, helping her sister recover.
Seiya and Taiki were everything to Yaten. In fact, she had stopped thinking of them as comrades and instead began thinking of them as her sisters, her family. After all, none of them had any living family left. The three of them were connected, always in tune and touch with each other. After Seiyas incident, there was this empty gap left in both Taiki and Yatens hearts. It was depressing and sickening. Yaten wanted Seiya back. She took the pile of clothes, and dumped them on the counter to pay for them. After forking over a chunk of money that would put that blond headed terror in a red bow to shame, she took the bags and walked out.
Ahhh. Minako. The blond headed terror. Her own personal stalker. The 'Goddess of Love'. The reason why her male body constantly had a small, hand shaped bruise on the upper arm from when she clung onto her like a dying person to a water well. The sole reason why she found herself looking forward to coming back to Earth when they first planned their visit before the Sirens invasion. The reason why, when in male form, she found herself looking at her arm wondering why the bruise wasn't there. The only person she could tolerate hanging off of her like clothing to a person. And why? Yaten would never know.
Yaten could never understand what made her fall for that clingy, annoying idol chaser. It just happened, and after going back to Kinmoku, she found herself missing her, and was grateful that she had decided to, in fact, bring the picture Minako had given her of herself and that white cat. Yaten wasn't proud of her little crush on her, and was not pleased when Seiya had figured it out and announced it to Taiki. In fact, both Seiya, and surprisingly Taiki, have poked fun at her for it.
She sat down again by the water fountain, debating what to do. She was only gone for about an hour, and she had another hour or two to kill. She was tired from her bout of power shopping, and had nothing to do. She took out the stupid cell phone Taiki had insisted that they get, and found the precious number Usagi had given him almost four days ago.
Here goes nothing.
God, she missed that bruise.
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Usagi stood against Seiya, waiting patiently for him to finally release her. They had stood against the hallway for about fifteen minutes, and Seiya didn't move a muscle. She had given up on the idea of struggling against him, hoping that if she were to stay, calm and loving, with him, he would realize he wasn't alone.
He buried his face into her hair and inhaled. He remembered Usagi very well. He remembered her love, shine, and beauty. He remembered how safe and warm he always felt when he was around her. Having her in his arms was a reminder that she was there, and as long as she stayed securely within his grip, nothing would happen to her.
He had seen her being tortured. He had seen everything that she didn't deserve happen to her. Seiya knew he wasn't strong enough to keep her safe, so he was just going to keep her there. Usagi sighed against him, and he felt himself relax a little bit. Something about her had always soothed him. In fact, at this moment, he felt more peace than he had in a long time. He felt just a little bit different.
"I will never leave you Seiya," she whispered into his chest. She made that mistake once, and she was not going to do it again. After a few more moments, Seiyas grip on her finally loosened, and she found herself slipping her arms around his waist for a hug. Seiya stiffened at her grip and cried out in fear, pushing her away. Usagi stumbled away from him, and he backed away with a look of fear. Usagi took deep breaths and held out her hands.
"I'm not going to hurt you Seiya. I just want a hug," she held out her arms. "I've missed you and I want to show you I care. I won't hurt you, I promise," Seiya slumped down against the wall, looking at her with empty eyes. Usagi walked into the kitchen and grabbed the burgers, which were, surprisingly, still edible and warm. She walked back and sat across the hall from him. She took out a box with two burgers and a box with two containers of cooled French fries. She then separated the two meals and pushed a box of food towards Seiya.
"Remember burgers? You loved them," Usagi took a bite out of her own burger. As soon as she swallowed, she felt her stomach growl for more. For once, Usagi resisted her urge to devour the delicious food. Instead, she carefully watched Seiya, who slowly picked up a French fry and inspected it. Usagi smiled at him, reached over, and took a fry from his container. "It won't kill you," she said, putting the fry in her mouth. Seiya slowly took a bite. His eyes sparked in excitement and to Usagis amazement, he grabbed the burger and ate it at a speed that could very well rival her own. He wiped sauce off of his mouth with his arm and gave her a small, intimidated smile. Usagi found herself laughing, and soon inhaled her food. At her laughter, Seiyas tentative smile grew, just a little bit. He then stood up and stretched. Usagi picked up the left over boxes and stood up. When she turned around, she felt the heat of Seiyas body almost pressed up against her. When she walked to the kitchen, he followed, so close he was stepping on the backs of her heels. Why he was acting like this all of a sudden, she didn't know.
She looked at him, and he turned to go back into the hall. At the entrance, he looked around sharply and stared. She understood this hint and followed him. He then opened the door to his room and she stepped inside.
The blinds were shut and the closet door was shut. He had three lamps in the corners of the room, each turned to shine brightly. The room was a pure disaster, and his bedspread and blanket looked like a giant knot. Other than that, everything was bare. He kneeled down next to the bed, looked at her, and pointed to the bed. She frowned, walked to the bed, and sat on it. Seiya untangled the blankets, and laid them over her, pushing down slightly so she would lie down. When she did, he tucked her in. She frowned at him, curious as to why he was acting like this. Seiya returned her frown with a look of pure pain.
"I saw you last night," he whispered in the softest voice. "You never came back,"
Her mouth dropped open, and she asked him to explain. He never did. Eventually, he fell asleep, slumped over with his head lying next to hers. She watched him sleeping for a while before drifting off into her own slumber.
A/N: Because of the request made by some reviews, I made this chapter a little longer =] I will update as soon as I can, as long as you keep reviewing! Reviews are what encourages me to get off my ass and type out the next chapter. I love you all!
-VoldemortsNipple
