AUTHOR'S NOTE

ME: Hiya, guys! Guess what? My mom bought me my own computer because of her bribe- a bribe to make me stay at the same school in my first year! Well, I didn't pass in the school I WANTED to go to, but she stayed with the bribe. . . grudgingly, but she loves me!

GOLD: Let go of this, Yellow-san! It's my turn to play Plants VS Zombies!

YELLOW: But Rascal is weak!

GOLD: Just ignore the damn FATE game! Dr. Zomboss is gonna kill my YARD!

ME: BE QUIET! I'M WRITING A STORY HERE! Anyway, it's been long since I submitted a chapter- and last chapter, I got more reviews than usual, so thanks! It took me like, thirty minutes to type that and dinner was already being served, and the day after that, we'll have to leave the house. So yeah, hectic, isn't it?

REPLY TO REVIEWS

SS19: Thanks! Yup, it took me a LOT just to think of something big just to make the chapter look nice, because of its length and how short it was, but it went out pretty well.

Pikachu127: =D I don't know what to say =D

ME: All right, who'll do the disclaimer?

YELLOW: I did it last time.

GOLD: All right!

DISCLAIMER: MsCluelessChild owns nothing and no one but Barty here. So don't accuse her if you think she owns anything. . . Though she owns the idea of the story =P

ME: Here I go!

THE EIGHTH CHAPTER: SEXISTS AND VIRGINS

As soon as Red had closed the sliding door, Yellow could feel the breeze sweep by them violently, and she heard the waves splash at the shore: were they that close to the ocean? Wait. There mustn't be an ocean here, must there? This island was banished from the world seperate from hers. . .

"Curious?" Yellow winced and remembered that Red was behind her. Yellow skidded to a halt between splutters of surprise when he appeared right beside her, pulling on his jacket with a sort of bemused expression on his face, smiling at her- she could have sworn she had melted at the spot and bit her lip, looking down fixedly at her feet.

"About what?" Yellow asked, rubbing her shoulder sheepishly, looking away and turning to the trees just to not make it obvious that she was blushing- it was really cold here.

"About something, that's for sure," said Red slyly- though it was crude, Yellow could still feel as if Gold was smiling down at her. She grimaced as Gold crept inside her thoughts again. She let go of her lower lip and nodded slowly, looking down from Red's face to the ground.

"I. . . just remembered my cousin," she mumbled weakly- truthfully, but was she ashamed of saying it? Even scared? Why should she? She could feel her face warm up as Red bended to her height, facing her with those careful, kind eyes- the eyes that always made Yellow melt at its sight.

"Hey, I don't blame you. But it seems as if missing your cousin isn't the only thing you're feeling right now. Mustn't you be hungry, asleep all those days?" he teased- though Yellow had never heard Red's voice so right: she could feel her stomach growl with anger and it lurched every now and then, roaring with hunger.

"R-right," said Yellow, biting her lower lip, feeling the pain in her stomach grow into a monster so rapidly, sheepishly. "I guess I am hungry."

Of course she was hungry. She felt hungry since she sat on Red's bed. Had she forgotten that too? Yellow's insides were squirming insecurely with guilt and sheepishness somewhat. She could feel cold blood rush through her veins coursing to her brain and felt her head getting heavy by the heavy weight of blood. What she says in this island is all to break the tension, it seems.

. . .

Though most of her times here whenever she talks doesn't have any tense moments, she only thinks that the tension is blooming through paranoia and suspicion. Why not- really? She's stranded on an island (yet again) full of strangers she doesn't know and Red was one of them.

"I am, too," said Red sheepishly, after the both of them heard a faint sound of a growl of his stomach- she wanted to laugh, but was afraid to cope with another giggle; she remained silent, a faint smile on her face- she hopes he doesn't get the wrong idea.

"Shall- shall we get going, then?" she said awkwardly, as she picked up her pace, already a few yards from Red, who was standing beside a small tree, his hands in his pockets, looking at her with a weird expression that sort of expresses fondness: Yellow's insides were roaring and tightening its grip on itself.

"Oh yeah, it's right in the Hall, the door to the left," said Red, his shoulders now raised to their full height- now they were just below his ears, following Yellow, who halted into a stop, shivering. The huge door to the-? Was that the door that she saw that had weird carvings?

And then a question flicked in Yellow's mind like a candle. She raised her head, and saw a group of older students pass by them- older than her, of course, because they looked shorter than Red did. She could ask Red whatever she wanted, couldn't she?

The group of boys greeted Red as they passed him by, smiling. She did nothing but smile weakly, watching as Red muttered a "hi" to them. They appeared to be no more nor less than a clad of senior boys, all wearing the same outfit, though with different styles. But when they were passing by her, she saw that they scowled silently, and murmured to themselves darkly, walking to the other side of the road near the bushes.

"Red. . ." she said, her breathing slow as the temperature lowered as night fell, the sky now dark. She guessed that Red could barely even hear her from the low mutterings of the group of jocks, and was embarrassed to say something more, but went on, trying to ignore their dark murmurs as they passed by: they were decreasing their volume now, anyway, "I. . . I wanna ask you something- let's just walk there while we're at it," she added, seeing Red's apprehensive attempts to skid to a halt while his stomach- though Yellow doubted his was hungrier- growled.

"M'kay," said Red, now catching up with her, his hands still in his pockets, and biting his lips to keep it from the cold. "Sure, Yellow."

Yellow felt a shiver run down her spine and tried to conceal it from Red- she was feeling envious of Red for having a jacket and wished she'd brought hers, but was lucky she didn't, because her bag can't hold any more stuff.

"Well," she began loudly, then lowered her volume sheepishly, remembering that she didn't know anyone well here- she kicked a rock and it rolled forward, stopping abruptly when it reached a patch of grass. She felt Red's body near her and- she had no choice; if she'll edge away, it'll look suspicious- plus, Red's body was pretty warm, and Yellow was afraid that if she won't get close to him- not that she wanted to- she'll get frost bite- leaned a bit closer. "Umm. . . Green said that I'm partly right that there are only guys on this island. . . and I. . . I just wanna ask- if you don't mind- I mean, Green told me already, but I want to know more- if it's true?"

She felt her body quiver in the cold and edged her way from Red finally, sheepish. She dug her hands in the pocket of her pants hastily- that was what her Uncle and Gold do all the time. Yellow wanted to avoid Red's eyes as more as she wanted to get in the warmth of the school- speaking of which, they were closer there right now. She looked at the great wall behind the bushes- this wall was what seemed to seal the school, and the wall that secured the Access.

"That's. . . true," muttered Red, biting his lip- so surprisingly, he spoke- Yellow thought he wouldn't, and half-hoped he won't- she looked up, amazed. She knew it- but why? Does banishing Mirage Island mean that the male population is- by a reverse of a familiar theme- weaker than the female's? Or. . . it wasn't banished. Maybe Mirage Island banished itself. . .

"How so?" she asked suddenly- so suddenly she was surprised herself, but she was glad she did, but she wanted to add more to that question.

Red tapped Yellow's shoulder; they were at the foot of the staircase leading to the gate- Gateway- and Yellow was just about to trip- she felt Red's hand's grip on hers loosen when she leaned to keep her balance slowly, muttering a low mutter of "thanks" but it appeared to have come out as, "thmmks".

Red gestured Yellow to the stairs of the Gateway and she nodded nervously, lifting her foot to the first step quietly, though inside her intenstines were burning with embarrassment.

She wanted to say something back- anything- but Red was already on the second step near the bars of the staircase, sliding his right hand up and down it- she followed sheepishly beside him, listening to him saying, "I don't know much, to tell you the truth- Green knows plenty more- loads- you could ask him- but as he's not here, I'll tell you all I know- The professors said that when the time and space of this island seperated from Hoenn, the people here banished the famele-"

"Female," muttered Yellow quietly, lifting her foot to the fifteenth step- they didn't study about women, did they? If they had, Yellow thought that Red didn't pay much attention in class and almost took this as an insult.

"- yeah, that- female population and once a month every two years, they abduct a girl- preferably a teenager, no older than twenty or so-"

"What?" Yellow spat- she slipped the twenty-third step and was lucky she didn't hit the last step up- what the goddamn hell was he talking about, crap?

Hold it- Abduct, abduct- the person who abducted her was from Mirage Island. . . He was supposed to abduct her? "Why the- why?"

Red raised his eyebrows, surprised, taking his last step up, his right hand had stopped sliding up and down the bars of the stairs. Yellow looked at him incredulously. He took several steps to her, never taking his eyes off her face as his lips curled into either an amused or bemused smile,

"Why?" he repeated, still smiling, escorting her inside: she nodded her head furiously at the door, though she didn't know how rudely she reacted to Red. "I suppose you should know the ugly truth. And-" he added, seeing the glint in Yellow's eyes, moving his finger left and right jeeringly front of Yellow, already inside the school, "- I'll tell you right now, just because you're quiet."

Yellow couldn't feel the need for him to joke, but he was right, she needed to relax. She went in after Red into the school, shielding her eyes from the sudden abundance of light, squinting her eyes and followed Red as he went on, taking off his jacket: she blushed and looked away pointedly, pretending to look interested at the interior: it never changed much, just the change of lighting.

"What ugly truth?" Yellow asked, creasing her eyebrows as she glanced away from a portrait held up near the entrance she didn't notice before; it was a painting of several naked bodies strangled together, and Yellow was made to look away forcefully, blushingly: Red was looking at her fondly for one second then glanced away quickly; or was it just her imagination?

"The fact that the people here are men is in accordance with how we only allow women once a month every two years," murmured Red, sighing when he said the last few words, turning his heel to look at Yellow on the spot with a sort of grimace. Yellow stood her ground this time and didn't look away- he went on ruthlessly, "Let's talk about it while we get there. I'm damn hungry."

At this, Yellow can't control her laughter: she was fortunate she didn't giggle, but stifled a chuckle. Red can't help but smile weakly as well: he gestured Yellow to walk beside him as he continued to talk in the Hall, where it was so quiet that their footsteps alone can make echoes, "You're from Hoenn, right?"

"Nope, Kanto," said Yellow, glancing sideways at a few classrooms they'd passed while walking down the Hall, thinking it best to avoid Red's eyes.

"Okay, then," said Red dismissively, breathlessly. Yellow raised her eyebrows curiously: do all boys do this? She took one look at his face innocently and glanced away hastily, embarrassed. She was being too obvious. He breathed out and continued, "Well, I bet you're wondering when the time in Hoenn seperated from Mirage Island by now at least. Because that was over fifty years ago, when Professor Oak was- believe it or not- only a boy! A-anyway, moving on, the legend and the theories of the professors are at a clash; they are arguing over the truth. 'Specially Professor Oak, he saw it all, but he just can't believe it, he sticks with his theory."

"I've heard from Professor Oak about the legends and theories," muttered Yellow quietly, she didn't want to know more about how they fight about the truths. . . That. . . was unbelievable. They'd already passed the checkpoint of the Hall and were on their way to the left side; Yellow recalled the horrible mutterings of the crowd. . . She shuddered and jogged a few steps to catch up with Red: one step of his is already three to her- he seemed to be talking to himself, apparently thinking that Yellow was still beside him.

". . . couldn't believe what he'd seen, still thinks that all that weather crap is true, I think it is, but that doesn't explain why Mirage Island's been banished from the time and space of Hoenn, can you believe that? Oh, right, women- the answer to that is the other elder guys- about nineteen or so- all abduct a few girls- I already told you the age- to- we can't continue life without increasing population- have reproduction with the abducted girl-"

"SEX?" Yellow gasped- she could feel her heart leap a thousand miles above the atmosphere and her stomach drop fifty universes below sea level, and something from within her crotch began to squirm painfully, unexpectedly- lecherously?

They abduct a girl to make babies to increase population. . . ? Red held a finger to her lips as he cornered her to a wall- her face was burning with embarrassment but her rage for Mirage Island was building, so she'd have to put aside her embarrassment for a while: she glared at Red with a look of disbelief plastered on her face: she felt her woman pride sap away from her and it was replaced by a sexist anger- they should talk, they use women, don't they, those filthy-

"Look, Yellow," said Red quietly, glancing at a group of boys who all seem to be younger than the both of them pass by- Yellow didn't care, she scowled at Red, and frowned angrily: this was just damn unfair, this wasn't justice, it's a crime, it must be- "Don't get mad- I know you love your girlfriend-"

Yellow's stomach did a somersault: she forgot she was supposed to act a boy and her rage became surprise.

"- it must be hard for you, I'm sure- but after they. . . they-"

"Rape, ravish, kidnap, steal, unvirginize, corner in a bed, the poor girls' butt being stuck with their-" whispered Yellow angrily, as another group of boys passed by, looking at them curiously- her woman pride's anger building up yet again, though before she could say anything else, Red interrupted her.

"Don't continue that," he snapped quietly, though there was a note of panic in his voice- he glanced behind them and was smiling nervously at the group and, after they continued humming to the refectory, he glared menacingly at Yellow. "Don't get mad at me again- don't look at me like that!- because they wipe their memories clean after that and return her back- if the girl is pregnant with a girl baby, we'd just raise the baby anyway and throw her off back to Hoenn when she's old enough and wipe her memory as well-"

"It takes a woman nine months to be pregnant with a baby!" said Yellow through gritted teeth- the sexist pride the bastards have in this island here was huge- she bets anyone anything of hers that they even cheat on the girls here and go off to another girl and stick their damn-

"Do you remember what I've told you?" said Red, shaking Yellow by the shoulders violently, pulling her closer.

Yellow considered this for a moment. She racked her brains: nothing.

"I told you that the time here on Mirage Island shifts every now and then, and whenever the time here increases its speed-"

". . . the time of pregnancy becomes rapid along with it," Yellow finished quietly. "But-"

"They have a kind of pok'emon here that time travels, which means that it can fast forward the night the parents fucked each other to the date of birth of the child, get it? Which means that every millisecond that pok'emon speeds up the girl's stomach enlarges by two percent until the baby is born- and if the baby is female, they fuck again until they get a boy- after that, they reverse something using that pok'emon and the girl's virginity has never changed and they return her at the same second they left her somewhere in Hoenn-"

"That's a sick way of fucking a girl then leaving her, it's a win-win for the guy all the same- if they get a girl of a baby all the time, he can fuck the girl all night every few minutes till they get a boy- Red, if I should know better, you can't even wait to get the chance to do it as well- you're not only not against it but you're actually defending the idea," Yellow went on shakily, angrily, unabashed, seeing the horrid look on Red's face: she remembered that she had been abducted and feared that she had been raped: but she was lucky she had her hat on- but the thought crept inside her mind like a spider crawling on your skin.

They stared at each other for a long time in silence. Yellow could already feel Red's breath hit her face every second, and she guessed that he could hers as well. Their eyes were locked to each other the whole while, and yet Yellow couldn't feel any more sympathy as she had the last time: Red's eyes reflected Yellow's and she could see right there that she looked both frightened and threatening.

Red's eyes were striking with terror and rage; he looked as frightened as Yellow was, and Yellow didn't want to say anything further. She didn't want to cause Red any more pain: he must be born of a mother he didn't even know. She, of course, felt the same- almost.

She could feel Red trembling, and she didn't know whether she was the one to let themselves go right now when Red's arms raised themselves from Yellow and leaned backward: she slid herself up and stood to her full height, looking fixedly at the floor, not daring to look up at Red from anger.

Then the both of them heard footsteps toward them, but neither of them looked around to find out who, then a shadow had appeared inside Yellow's sight as she looked down: the figure, judging from his or her shadow- no, his- had spiky hair, his hands dug in his pockets. . .

"Red!" said Green, as Yellow looked up, seeing in time Green shaking Red's shoulder by the hand- his other had already been lifted from his pocket- but Red didn't give the slightest that he'd heard Green at all. "What are you doing here? You should be-"

"I'm not eating," Red said quietly, grudgingly: he took on glance at Yellow then darted his eys back at the ground, almost afraid to look at her. Green, however, looked as if he wanted to insist Red on doing so when he caught sight of Yellow: she was glaring at the both of them.

"What- you're rooming with him?" he said suddenly. Yellow scowled and didn't say anything, staying quiet. Her breathing was slow and she felt her mouth go dry; she can't say anything to him. She's never felt so angry in her life, and in front of a stranger who very well was the person she most knows in this island compared to the other sexist jerks out here.

"I'm not hungry either," she said unexpectedly, still not looking at any of them- but she should've thought that one through: if the both of them weren't hungry, then they'd be back in the dorm without looking at each other, let alone talk at all.

"Then go back to your dorms then, you can't do anything round here anymore."

The second those words escaped from Green's mouth, Red looked at her with complete horror and hatred. Yellow couldn't agree with him more; Green was the most idiotic bastard in the world, the ignorant jerk. Didn't he notice that they were glaring at each other?

The both of them stared at each other, and Yellow's rage was decreasing, though the indignance was still right there, somewhere. . . She could see that Red's was, as well, replaced by sympathy and forgiveness- but Yellow sensed that she must be careful of what she'll say some time in the future.

"We will," said Red firmly, though under his breath; it was pure understanding to know that he, too, still had a small grain of anger within him- Yellow can't blame him. On the contrary, she was feeling guilty herself. Red must have been furious when she said that. Hold on- was she even right? He was defending the idea, after all. . . No, more than that, he even cornered Yellow to a wall just to prove the point. . .

"Yellow, let's go," said Red so suddenly his voice alone made Yellow to snap back to reality. Green looked as if he was about to interrupt, then Yellow's own voice unexpectedly spoke before she could even think of what to say, flatly, but her voice sounded close to tears, "Bye, Green."

Red seized her hand coldly and he left the scene without another word- and Yellow didn't dare speak the whole way back, too upset and guilty to talk, her eyes looking down the ground fixedly.


Red slid the door violently, as Yellow sat down her bed, kicking her boots off her feet, then stood up again, lifting them to where they're going to be put up the whole night. She heard Red's footsteps nearing her position and didn't say anything, hoping Red wouldn't as well, because she had had enough uncomfortable talks this night, and she can't stand any more.

She piled her boots to the nearest corner and sat down the bed again, staring at the wall guiltily, rubbing her shoulder. Yellow pulled off her yellow-orange torso that reached her knees off and folded it neatly: she'd learned how to do this whenever her Uncle Wilton went to the laundry store to pick up some clothes. . . Everything she ever learned how to do was all up to him- she never knew her mother nor father well. . . Gold taught her all she knew to be bad and perverse.

She heard Red stifle a sigh: she wheeled around and froze.

"Don't take that off in front of me!" she said loudly, sheilding her eyes. Red stopped immediately and pulled back his shirt on, embarrassed, muttering, "Right- I knew that, sorry."

As soon as he pulled it back on, Yellow lowered her hands, staring at Red with curiosity: he looked more embarrassed than she did when he- he- he played with her stuff. He strode across the room, his left hand carrying what seemed to be a clean shirt, to the bathroom: was he going to sleep early?

He opened the door of the bathroom, turning the knob, and closed it with a slightly apologetic look on his face without speaking. Yellow sighed and didn't say anything else, but wished she did. . .

Now, all she needed to worry about was how to keep her hat on while they were both sleeping. . . Cutting her hair was too risky, that won't work. She just had to cope with her hat on. . . and she will have to wake up early to get to the bathroom earlier than Red will, because if Red barges in accidentally. . .

Yellow shook her head from the thought, thinking she just needs sleep. She lied down the bed and searched the bedside table for her bag: yep, it was here. She groped within it and didn't find what she was looking for: she had to sleep with what she had worn all week.

She sighed in defeat and thought that there was nothing she could do. She rolled around the bed and plopped down the pillow- hitting the side of the table accidentally.

"Ow, what the-?"

The door of the bathroom opened, as Yellow rubbed her neck sorely.

"Waddappened?" he said, bubbles in his mouth, his hair looking unusually neater. Yellow sat up and didn't think it was the best time to answer yet: her head was feeling so sore. . . Come to think of it, first it was her cheek and now her head.

"Nothing, I just hit my head," she said, rubbing her head, her right eye closed. Wait- was that a toothbrush he was holding? And why was his hair wet? "What're you doing?"

"Oh, just hygiene," he said simply, shrugging: he had now changed his clothing. Red went back inside the bathroom, looking sheepish, humming to himself in a sweet voice. As Yellow watched silently, her sympathy stretched and she had never felt so curious the whole time she had here.

She stood up and plucked her courage to go in the bathroom. Since the door was open, she didn't need to open the door: as she entered, she spotted Red in front of the sink, washing his face with water. Yellow can't help but admire the way he whipped his hair around whenever it was wet. . .

"Red. . ." she said, looking down at her feet: she didn't want Red to see her looking sad, did she? She'll just cause him trouble further. . . he hasn't eaten his dinner and neither has she. . . "I'm sorry."

Red turned on the spot to look at her, wiping his face with the towel he carelessly picked from the corner- Yellow blushed and played with her feet, looking at the floor fixedly. She didn't want to lie to herself or to anyone at all: Red looked cute when his hair was wet.

"Really, 'cause I don't know why," said Red playfully, putting up his best smile. Yellow blushed and looked away hastily again: he forgave her? "Whatever happened today was just a huge misunderstanding, 'kay?"

"But your dinner. . ."

"Nah, there's still lasagna left in the fridge here," he said, still smiling. Yellow couldn't believe him. She still wasn't convinced. She's known him less than a day and he forgave her? Red suddenly frowned and walked over to her side.

"Now, what're you gonna do with your head?" he asked: Yellow looked at him stupidly. She forgot-

"O-oh! This is nothing!" she spluttered, massaging her head- she had her other hand support her straw hat to keep it on; it was slipping. "There's nothing you could do about it- I'm used to it- see? It's nothing at all!"

Red shrugged. He threw the towel to the rack like a- like a. . . like an ordinary boy. . . This thought had never occurred to Yellow yet, but he tended to act like an ordinary boy even though he's never lived with a mother, ever. . . She sometimes even wondered why he was a bit different, because he was nicer than some. . . He helps her through a lot, and he seemed to be as frightened as Yellow was right now- did he have a past so horrible she couldn't even imagine of it? But everyone was friendly to him, so he wasn't ever bullied. . . Or was it, maybe, possibly, Green? Nope, couldn't be. To tell herself the truth, Yellow thought to herself as Red walked passed her, singing to himself quietly, Red was the one who seemed to trouble Green, not the other way around.

"You gonna sleep already?" she asked, closing the door behind her, and undressing herself: just because she was gonna sleep with her hat on doesn't mean she was going to sleep with the bandages on and still wearing her- Yellow flinched- her bra.

"Yep, no point watching television if the shows repeat themselves."

Yellow shrugged: he was right. As she stripped her turtle-neck off, she immediately locked the bathroom door: she didn't want Red peeking, not one bit. God, she lost a lot of weight; she didn't eat for a week, did she?

She stretched her hand behind her back and tried to unlock her bra in between the- Click. She got it.

Good, now she just has to stow this away where Red will never find it. Ever. She pulled her turtle-neck on again and adjusted her torso carefully, then walked over to the front of the cabinet, opening it, then pulled a drawer and tossed it there, pushing the drawer back and closed the doors of the cabinet again when she recalled something, snatching her hat from the corner and putting it on.

"Red? Can I ask you something?" she said, opening the door of the bathroom after unlocking it. When she opened the door cautiously- loudly, admittedly, though- Red was lying on his pillow on his bed, his hands reflexed behind his head, looking at her with his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, sure."

Yellow's heart skipped unexpectedly. She walked over to her bed and didn't look at Red once while doing so- she just walked straight forward. She lied down her bed with her arms outstretched and stared at the ceiling, whispering, though she was sure Red heard her, "Who were the ones that were supposed to snatch a girl?"

Red seemed to have been thinking deeply because it took him a while to answer, and before he did, Yellow detected that he was telling her what wasn't supposed to be told: he clicked his tongue before sighing and said, "Some older guys- guys that already graduated."

Yellow braced herself for this question, and closed her eyes to not look; she already knew his reaction before he will even reflex, "What'll happen if a student will do the reproduction cycle?"

There was a pause which Yellow had expected would happen- an uncomfortable one- that made Yellow wish she hadn't asked. When she opened her mouth to apologize, Red replied unblushingly, "Well- I honestly don't know. But if it's done, it's done, I guess. You can't change what's been done- if it's done correctly, I mean. But that means that the person that did it won't be able to do it again for a matter of years, I think."

Yellow was surprised that the answer hadn't left Red blushing. She sat up from her pillow and looked at Red with a sort of confused look on her face: she just doesn't get him, "What do you mean? Do you know who's done it before?"

Red shrugged as his eyes remained closed: he didn't seem to be interested in the subject although he knew much about it, "Nope, not anyone I know. All those kinds of questions are all in our Reproductive Laws book."

Yellow stared at him incredulously. They've been studying woman health? Does that mean that having- having- having it with someone needs profound learnings and practices on this island? "You study this kind of thing- No, wait."

She just realized something she'd missed. She'd known this all along- she just forgot it, and she hopes Red will answer this one, because it includes the fact what happened to her while she was unconscious all the week.

"Red. . . when was the last time the older guys kidnapped a. . . a girl?" she asked slowly- it must have been-

"Just last week." Yellow could feel her heart finally breaking free from its chambers and already high in the sky. Her whole body went numb, and her brain seemed to stop working. . . "They also said that they were lacking one girl. First time in history. And guess what? The guy who let her get away was my friend-"

"Who is it?" she asked hurriedly: her heart was thumping wildly out of her chest and she could feel excitement blooming in her whole body- nothing seemed to be next to it. She wanted to know. . . The guy who didn't- no, who rescued her from facing the whole island the truth about her true gender- must be her savior- and he must have refused to have- have- have it with her- she wanted to know why exactly he captured Yellow from Sky Pillar- if he just wanted to check on how good Yellow looks, then Yellow was never more grateful of how fertile she was and will never complain ever again, she didn't even wanted to know if he was shallow or not.

"Bill," said Red, yawning, stretching his arms. Something very large and heavy hit Yellow on the head: this wasn't a precise answer at all, but when she opened her mouth to ask, Red already went on, "I think you know him- he's the guy in the group that passed by us earlier when we were walking to the Refectory. You know him- you saw him, I caught you looking at him."

This, however, was false. She wasn't ogling at Bill at all- she was a bit preoccupied with Red's face she didn't notice.

"I wasn't," Yellow whispered- but she wished she really was looking at him, because she wanted to know if he knew that she was a girl, truly, or whether he made a mistake-

"Hold on," said Red, sitting on his bed with his legs folded, excitement rising in his voice. "How'd you get here?"

"What?"

"How'd you get here?" Red repeated- and Yellow caught a tone of suspicion in it. She couldn't tell him that, not when her biggest secret was about to be unfolded if she did.

"Er, I was searching for this old man on an island my family and I got stranded on, and then I met him at the top of Sky Pillar, and Mirage Island was on top of the both of us, and there was this sandstorm and I felt myself being dragged off by someone," she said, trying not to mention who that exactly was: that was a lie, and had some truths in it. A voice in Yellow's mind whispered something in her ear; ambiguous.

She waited for Red's answer quietly.

"You must be him!" Red said sudddenly, gasping in surprise. Yellow raised her eyebrows.

"Who?" she asked; she really was feeling as if she was missing something here. . .

"The person Bill snatched whom he thought was a girl! That answers everything!"

Yellow could feel a sort of uneasiness in her body that made her wince. She was about to ask "I am?", but thought it tactless, so what came out was, "That answers everything, too. . ."

"Oh, well," said Red, plopping down his pillow again, all the excitement gone. Yellow shrugged and felt that that was a crappy way to end a discussion and lied down her bed and raised the covers to her head so that she won't be able to be overhear what Red was saying about Bill, "he really was sort of a prissy-"- he chuckled then went on- "But the elders say that he knows all what must be learned and thought it necessary for him to do the privilege to do so. But I think he was highly pleased to know that who he captured was a boy, not a girl, because he had an excuse to not do it."

But Yellow was preoccupied with her thoughts. . . Red seemed to be in a pretty good mood now. And he wasn't even mad when Yellow apologized to him. She can't even imagine a boy like that so nice even after she's insulted him.

But when she replayed the words she'd said in her head, she could feel a twinge of jealousy. . . Had she been right? Was he waiting for that oppurtunity? She never did ask how old he was- though he was definitely older than she was: he still acts like a teenager is proof enough . . She had been kidnapped by someone she didn't know. . . A stranger, no doubt- though she knew his name, Bill, that's pretty much all she knew about him. . . But had Red been lying that he was prissy? . . . Or maybe not. Because if he was telling the truth, and Bill was only telling him he didn't rape Yellow, then. . . it might have been possible that he had raped Yellow.

In Mirage Island, you don't know whom to trust or whom to befriend. All you know is what you don't think you know, and that's when suspicion rises.

AUTHOR'S SECOND NOTE

ME: That was nothing but tiring! Seriously! And I had only finished doing my new video in YouTube! But I advise you guys not to watch it, the ending of this chapter is happier than of that video. Anyway, thanks for taking time to read this, guys!

YELLOW: I don't have any WildCoins left.

GOLD: Me neither.

ME: You don't need it, really. HEY! STOP MAKING ME SKIP THE SUBJECT! I can't say "anyway" all the time with you guys! So please tell me what ya think! Have a happy summer!