A/N: Oh look, the site worked. Yay! Back to your scheduled ridiculousness. Enjoy and please let me know what you think!


9.

"Hmm… do you like him?"

Akari colored. "Nene!"

Her friend laughed. "Well, it's a legitimate question, Akari-kun. The only boy you talk about at length besides my brother is Zenjirou-kun… and we know exactly what's wrong with him."

Akari snorted, taking the girl's proffered soda glass. Hard to believe that Nene's rare weekend off will be spent with her giving me relationship therapy. Oh well, she seemed happy about it. It was good to see Nene happy and not exhausted from endless rehearsals, as she always was during phone calls and chatrooms in late evenings. "How am I supposed to like him? He's nice... but nice guys don't last." She didn't know why she thought that, what with her father being a nice guy but the thought of liking this person seemed painfully unobtainable.

Nene tutted. "Kiriha-kun is doing relatively well for himself."

"Nene, Kiriha-kun is a jerk."

"He's trying, Akari-kun." She didn't even sound like she believed that, which was what made Akari smirk in triumph.

"Yes, but is it working?"

"Well..."

They laughed. Akari sighed. "Have you remembered the end of the fight?" The question came to her in a passing thought, like it was related to their conversation somehow.

Nene brushed at her brown ponytails, shaking her head. "I can't. I dream and dream, but… nothing. Nothing but golden lights and spinning diamonds. It's almost poetic."

"More like obnoxious," Akari muttered. "At least you remember more than me."

Nene chuckled, tugging gently at her hair. "The Xros Loader may have helped with that, but I don't think it's much. In any case…" She placed her head on her palms. "You believe that boy might have something to do with it."

Not a question. Nene, oddly enough, only asked questions when they might as well be statements.

"The one in my dream? Yes. The guy whose name I can't remember every time I see him? I have no idea. A part of me…" She hesitated and Nene gave her a small nudge. "A part of me thinks so, but doesn't want to know."

"Any clues as to why?"

"Not a one." Akari can't help her grin after that. "Want to go ask him?"