Chapter 10

"How are you feeling today?" Aya-Chan asked, taking Aridan's hand in her own.

"Um, great?" he answered with a weak smile.

"I mean for real. How do you really feel?" Aridan had always been so sweet to her whenever they visited. Normally they just visited for a couple of hours, but he'd always been so full of laughter and so warm and caring. It hurt to see him look so weak.

"Like I want to feel great, but just can't," Aridan admitted. "You know what I mean?" he asked, closing his hand over hers.

"Sort of. Like when you want to wake up but can't, only yours is a lot more painful than mine."

Aya didn't want Aya-Chan to remember her time in a coma, he wanted her to forget about it altogether and just focus on her new life. He knew it wasn't going to happen, though. He knew how hard it was to forget the past. He just hoped that letting her talk about something like that with Aridan might heal her heart a bit, so he'd suggested she go and visit with him when he'd heard the boy had collapsed after the party.

"Aya, are we still going out?" Yohji whispered, creeping up beside him while he listened in on Aya-Chan's and Aridan's conversation.

"Yes, I just wanted to make sure they were alright. Did you let Silver know we'll be leaving Aya-Chan here…"

"And to make sure she doesn't leave without escorts? Yeah, I did. I'm not incompetent," Yohji snorted, leaning in and kissing him.

"No gaying in the hallway," Rem snorted as he walked by. "Well, not unless you want to end up on the internet. Devi's room is next door," Rem pointed to the door to the left. Aya was surprised there was nothing profane on the door, thought it was the outside of the door, who knew what was on the inside.

"God, I feel like I'm twelve again," Yohji laughed.

"You gayed in the hallway when you were twelve? That's so…gross," Rem laughed, slapping him on the back as he continued walking.

"No, I meant because Silver is giving us a ride to our date and paying for it. I feel like I'm being chaperoned by mom." Aya rolled his eyes at him before walking down the hall toward the side exit.

"What the hell took you so long? Double checking your sister?" Silver asked with a roll of her eyes as she climbed into the van.

Aya climbed into the passenger seat, with Yohji in the back seat. Yohji was right, it did feel strange to be driven to a date, but Silver had insisted that she knew the good places and knew which places were safe from which creatures.

Aya hated to admit it, but he would be glad when they got back to their own world and they could start missions again without the worry of demons and gods knew what other creatures attacking them. He'd rather fight a human any day.

"Here we are…yeah, you can't bring that in there!" Silver snorted when Aya moved to grab his sword, which he'd brought just in case.

Aya glared at her but set it back down against the seat and stepped out of the car.

"Thanks for the ride, Silver," Yohji chuckled as he climbed out after him. "You could've at least thanked her," Yohji growled at him once Silver pulled out.

Aya looked around. He felt like he was being watched, but he couldn't see anyone particularly looking at him.

"Not everything is a mission, baby," Yohji snorted, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and walking with him through the front doors.

Aya watched Yohji closely as the hostess led them to their booth, making sure Yohji wasn't checking her out. He would beat him to a pulp if he caught him looking!

"Damn, baby, you're in a mood. I'm guessing you don't want to make out like high school kids," Yohji winked at him.

"You guessed correctly," Aya warned him off with a glare before opening the menu.

He couldn't shake the feeling of being hunted. It was too familiar and he didn't like it one bit. What concerned him even more was that Yohji didn't seem to notice. Why the hell weren't Yohji's senses screaming like his were? Maybe because you're paranoid? Part of his mind offered. Aya shook that thought off. He was NOT paranoid!

"You still hung over? Is that it? Or are you just not able to relax when she's not around?" Yohji lay a sympathetic hand over his. Aya shook his head. That wasn't it at all! He wasn't even thinking of Aya-Chan!

Aya was so distracted by the feeling that he almost missed when the waitress asked what they would like to order. He wished he'd been able to bring his sword with him. His hand closed on the steak knife next to his plate, a small consolation. Yohji's eyes widened comically, and then he started discreetly looking around.

The feeling was suddenly gone, but Aya knew he had to keep his guard up regardless. Someone was out to get him. Had Schwarz found him so easily?

Author's notes: Okay, so this is an uber-late chapter, but at least I posted it.