Author's Note: I hope everyone had a great holiday break. I feel like all I'm doing in my free time is writing. I really do hope to get published one day. My friend Andrea flew in to Philadelphia where I live all the way from Illinois to surprise me! It was one of the greatest moments of my life. So all you out there that don't believe in good people like our four guys, Andrea is proof of that.

Chapter Nine:

Yohji was snoring in half a second, an arm draped around the girl he refused to ever let go of. She was his now, but the fear was still there—the worries he knew he could never let go of. Did he deserve Nami...? Even so, would she return these feelings? For once, she wasn't just another one night stand; she meant something—she was becoming someone as close to his heart as Asuka was, but he was shying away from it. Scars only healed...they never went away. It wasn't just something he could ignore. That pain...he could never go through something like that again and survive through it. His wrecked heart was beating for Nami and he could only pray that it wouldn't shatter again.

Aya sighed and pushed out from his desk, rising from his computer chair. Enough of this. He turned from the open e-mail on his computer and picked up his katana with one swift movement. The redhead pranced out the door and down the hall to the far room. It opened to a long row of tatami matting: the practice room. He unsheathed his sword and tossed the sheath carelessly away. 2,000 subori strikes seemed sufficient to start with. Taking a deep breath, he began, cutting through the air. The silver sung, ringing like a bell and flashing cruelly in the dim lighting.

Ken was dressed! Finally! He was wearing a white dress shirt that was barely buttoned and tight, black jeans with his black boots. It was his new style: casual-dressy. He was very proud, but there was no one around to brag to... Omi had vanished and Aya was obviously in the training room. It was a bit impossible not to hear his sword swipes throughout the silence of their empty abode. Sighing, the brunette turned to the mirror again to check his semi-wavy hair. Damn humidity! It seemed Omi had also set the air conditioning to a higher temperature. How frustrating! He glanced at his watch again to confirm that he still had two hours to sit around and do...nothing!

Hoshi snapped her head up from the work at her desk as she heard her name barked from the editor's office. Scrambling up she tried to hide her nervousness as she went into his office. She sat down and nodded as he began to talk in his usual brusque manner. It took her a moment to realize exactly what he was saying. Before she had time to fully process she was back sitting at her measly desk. She stared at her computer screen. {I can't believe it. If I nail this interview then I'll move away from being a paid-intern. I'll be an actual sports writer. And once I finish college... I could be sports EDITOR.} She grinned and allowed herself a small victory dance before mentally chiding herself. She buckled down to work again, once again going over her questions. She had two hours until the interview; everything had to be perfect.

Shayla sat at a small table outside the cafe La Fleur, tapping her foot. It's not that she was impatient; she was just antsy. She glanced down at her watch and saw that it was a little before 11:30. She frowned as her straightened hair once again blew into her face. With a frustrated sigh she pulled it up into a high ponytail. Apparently her hair was going to be obnoxious today. Oh well! She resumed people-watching, waiting for Omi to appear.

Omi ran up to the beautiful girl sitting at a table outside of La Fleur. Grinning, he came to a halt in front of her. He reached out a hand to help her to stand. His blond hair tossed in the hot wind, rippling his navy blue tank top. She looked anxious. "Sorry to keep you waiting! Did you find the place okay?"

Shayla smiled, taking Omi's hand to stand. "No, it was pretty easy." She tried to banish the anxious feeling; it was a rarity for her. She realized that she was a bit nervous to be speaking Japanese a lot; she didn't want to make a fool of herself around Omi. Ignoring the tense feeling in her stomach, she laughed, throwing an arm around Omi's shoulders. "So, Omi, King of Tokyo, where to?"

Omi blushed instantly when she took his hand, but quickly looked away in shame. Was it bad that this was his first time out with a girl since...Ouka...his sister? The memories flashed before his eyes, the helplessness of humans clawing at his heart. The half-sister he had fallen in love with killed in his arms, fading through his fingertips. It was like Sakura... But that was why Weiss existed. Their job was to try to eradicate that... try.And sometimes...they had to except failure and move on. Shedding tears would only upset them. Omi chose to smile. He felt Shayla assisted him with that. Suddenly, he felt an arm sling around his shoulders and jolted with a bit of surprise. "Why not inside, Queen of Ireland?" He laughed, proving his point with a bright smile. Together, they entered the cafe and sat down in a booth away from the window. "I'll have a caramel latte!" He said as the waiter wrote it down. "Their iced coffee is irresistible here."

Shayla couldn't help but laugh at Omi. First blushing and then jesting with her. She turned to the waiter and ordered a mocha latte in seemingly perfect Japanese. She smiled triumphantly at Omi. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of this whole 'language' thing." She settled into her seat, wiggling her toes in her flats she looked around the cafe before settling her gaze back on Omi. Things in Japan truly were different from Ireland and especially from Buncrana. But it was a welcome change. She leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table, looking at Omi expectantly. "Since you've told me loads about yourself already we have to mix things up. Tell me about this city. About school. Something to prepare myself."

Omi smiled, "I think you are too. Sounded perfect to me!" He sat back into the cushion and just watched her. It seemed like she was really thinking about something. When she spoke, it surprised him slightly. He had to think about his response briefly... "Hmm... Tokyo? Well, there's a place called Asakusa, which is considered old Tokyo. Also there's the Meiji shrine, which is one of the biggest shrines, and my personal favorite. Let's see... Harajuku is where all the young people hang out, and the rockers. Shibuya and Shinjuku are huge shopping districts where a lot of people like us go. And Akihabara is the anime zone for all the Otakus out there." Omi placed a hand on his chin in thought. "And school, well...I heard that Japan's school districts are much stricter than in other countries, especially the United States. We also go longer periods of time than other countries, having only small breaks in intervals." He nodded, his cerulean eyes finally turning to focus on her. "Is there anything else I can tell you?" He laughed, knowing full-well that he had told her way too much. Omi had a habit of doing that...

Rani smiled, only struggling a little with the bags she carried. Her shopping trip had been a complete success. She had managed to find a nice black dress, a couple skirts and dressy tops... even some new shoes. Oh, and some bras. The boys hadn't really done a good job of finding her undergarments. She laughed to herself as she imagined the four guys wandering a ladies' lingerie section. Oddly enough, it seemed to her like Yohji would fit best in that area. Shrugging her shoulders she walked into the house, she was initially shocked by how quiet it was. The only thing she could hear was… well, she couldn't quite recognize it. She walked up the stairs and put her bags into her room. She decided to get everything sorted before going to find Aya. She had talked with several of the sales ladies and knew that she had to talk to Aya about something important. She was almost dreading it and therefore tried to push it off.

Someone had come in the house! Ken rushed from the bathroom and was confronted with... a mountain of shopping bags! He gasped and threw himself backwards. The horror! There was no mistaking it... it was a girl! The brunette turned nonchalantly away from the protruding pile and headed back into the confines of his room. Better not to be noisy. There was an 88% chance that it was Rani and to cross with Rani meant to cross with Aya.

Shayla had listened avidly, because you could only learn so much on the internet. She smiled at Omi's enthusiasm. After he had finished speaking and taken a breath, she shook her head after a moment. "No I think you've definitely covered a lot. But I would love to see some of it!" She grinned at him, finishing off her coffee. She had been drinking it the entire time he had been talking.

Omi took note of that and stared down at his own coffee in sorrow. It had been melting the whole time his mouth had been running. Now it would taste a bit watered down. Ah, well... He began finishing it off, his cerulean eyes barely leaving her a moment. It was clear he was entranced with her beauty and finesse. There was just something about her that all the other girls didn't possess. "We can go wherever you want..." He trailed off, thinking a bit. "Oh! Have you been to your school yet? You are going to high school here, right? Which one is it?" Omi liked asking questions; his mind was an encyclopedia on life.

Shayla shook her head, thinking for a moment. "I haven't been to the school yet. I think it's called... Koukou?"

Omi laughed and shook some chestnut hair from his face. "Koukou means...HIGH SCHOOL," Omi said proudly in English, wielding a heavy Japanese accent. He wallowed joyfully in his use of the foreign tongue and then leaned back, reverting to Japanese. "I believe you said it was called Keisai koukou, same school as me, right?"

Shayla laughed, rolling her eyes. "I don't remember all of it... I haven't looked at the paperwork in ages. And your English wasn't half bad." She smiled, "I'm ready to go when you are."

"Ah, alright~" Omi smiled and stood up. "It's a few stops by train."

Shayla stood as well. "I'll follow your lead; I'm still trying to learn the city."

"I'll teach you as much as I can!" Omi left money for the coffee on the table, walking to the glass door, and holding it open for her. The bell on the top rung softly as they exited.

To be continued...