Chapter 21

Rae sat with her back against a very large oak tree, grumpily watching Kuro talking to Kentaro. It had been two days since Kuro had come and the others were slowly warming up to her, all of them except Rae.' I don't like her.' Thought Rae to herself. 'We know nothing about her. She could be a spy or worse.' Star came out of the tent just as Kuro finished talking to her sensei. "Hey." Said Kuro quietly. Star looked at her with curiosity. "How come you won't tell us things about yourself?" Asked Starfire. "I have told you about myself." Kuro retorted. "Like my name and favorite color." She finished with a smug smile. Star got an anime-vein and said, with a twitching eye, "More than that, dobe." "Who do you think you're calling dobe!? Dobe!" She shot back.Anime scene. Star glared at Kuro, causing her to shrink in fear. Stars head grew very big. "You, dobe! That's who!" Star growled through very large sharp teeth. End anime scene. Star stopped and took a deep breath. "Sorry. . ." She mumbled. Kuro jumped up and out her hand, smiling. "Truce?" She asked. Star eyed her with suspicion but accepted the hand shake. "Yay! Now we can be friends right?" Star found herself smiling. "Sure." She said quietly. Raven watched this with a hint of jealously. She felt as if her and Star was drifting apart and that she was being replaced by other friends. "Maybe it's for the best. . . She won't be hurt as bad by them." Sasuke walked over and looked downed at Rae. He stared at her for a moment, then looked away blushing. "Kentaro said to tell you we're leaving." He said in his normal monotone. Raven nodded and went to gather her things.

A week later.

They were about a days walk from the hidden cloud village. The group was tired hungry and extremely grumpy. The fact that it was raining didn't help any either. "It's so wet!" Whined Star, madly shaking her head in attempts to dislodge the water from her hair. "Chill loser." Said Sasuke, smacking the back of her head as he walked by. "We know it's wet. It sure isn't dry." "Thin ice Sas. . . Thin ice." Muttered Star, rubbing the large lump on the back of her head. "Is that a threat?" He called over his shoulder. "Damn straight." She said. He stopped and turned to face her, an evil smirk on his face. "I don't take threats lightly." "And I don't give um lightly, Sir. Emo!" Sasuke's eye twitched. "Sir. . .Emo?" He said slowly. "Ha! I love it!" Said Kuro happily. "Sir. Emo!" The cheesy grin on her face became even wider when she saw several anime veins appear on his head. "Sir. Emo! Sir. Emo!!" Chanted Star and Kuro, skipping merrily in a circle around Sasuke. "CUT IT OUT!!!" Screamed Sasuke. The girls ran away with anime tears streaming down their faces and Sasuke in hot pursuit. Kentaro sighed. He was EXTREMELY glad this trip was almost over. Ino and Sakura had become more accustom to Rae and Star. Meaning that they learned not to pick fights with them, mostly in fear of bodily harm. Star and Kuro ran over behind Raven and hid. "Save me Raven!" Pleaded Star as Sasuke drew closer, a grinning evilly. Raven looked down at them with a bored look on her face. "What did you do this time?" She asked. "We called him Sir. Emo." Said Kuro cheerfully. Raven suppressed a laugh and stepped aside. "I'd try to kill you too, if you called me that." "Traitor. . ." Muttered Star with a glare. Raven looked at her for a moment. Pain and sadness flashed through her dark eyes. Then she turned around and started walking towards the front of the group. "She has been acting depressed lately." Commented Sasuke. Star's gaze shifted towards him. "Yeah she has, I'm gonna go talk to her." Sasuke nodded and she left to find Raven. As she walked towards the front of the group Kentaro stopped her. "We're stopping for the night." She nodded and replied, "Ok, I'm going to look for Raven."

//There's so much more about you that you never let them see, You turn away, But not to me, And I know how they tried to take you, Held you up and meant to break you down, But you can't be,//

Star found Rae sitting in a tree over looking a lake. She leaped up into the tree and sat next to her. "What's wrong?" She asked softly. Raven shifted her weight and leaned away from Star. "Nothing." She replied. "Bull shit." Said Star harshly. "I can tell by the way you speak, sit and the way you avert your eyes that you're in pain. Something is wrong." Raven sighed. "Have we really grown that close?" Whispered Raven. "You tell me." Replied Starfire, in the same soft whisper.

//For so long I tried to reach you, I know I'm almost there, I'm close enough for you to see,//

"Fine." Said the dark haired girl. "I don't know if I should stay or not. Staying endangers you and the others. And if I leave I don't know where I'll go, but I think I'll have too." Tears flowed freely down Raven's face now. This scared Star more than anything. Her strong, 'I can kill anyone and show no emotion while doing it', friend had never cried in front of her before.

//You've been hiding in the shadows, Have you forgotten how we used to dream, Let me remind you, The light doesn't blind you at all, It just helps you see, Can you see, Yeah you have become
Yeah you have become beautiful,//

Star pulled her friend into a hug. "You don't have to leave. We are in this together. So no leaving." Raven drew back and looked at her as if she didn't quite believe her. That also scared Star. If Rae set her mind to leaving she would. And even the whole group couldn't stop her. Star looked at Raven with tears in her eyes. "Raven, you just can't leave!" Said Star. "You mean so much to me. Without you I . . . I don't think I could live. I know your going through pain but we can help you, we're your family."

//And I can't be the stranger, That's been sleeping in your bed just, Turn around and come to me
I feel all the pain inside, And everything you been denied you feel, It's all you feel//

Raven looked away from Star, guilty. If she wanted to protect Star it might mean having to hurt her. "Starfire, you don't understand. . ." Began Rae. "I understand that you have pain . . . That you want to protect all of us. . . I want to protect you from me, but going away will hurt everyone. We all have our own demons. And some of those demons need to be slain by more than one person."

//You've been hiding in the shadows, Have you forgotten how we used to dream, Let me remind you, The light doesn't blind you at all, It helps you see, Can you see, Yeah you have become, Yeah you have become beautiful, Yeah you have become, Yeah you have become beautiful,//

Raven sighed as Star's words sunk in. She didn't want to leave. Truth be told it was killing her to be so distant from the wolf vessel, and leaving her and the rest of the team would kill part of her. 'But I have no choice.' She turned to Star and gave her a quick hug. "Ai shiteru, and Arigatou." (Translation 'I love you and thank you.') She said before knocking her out. Rae then took off running. With no idea of where she was headed. Soon she realized she was crying. She quickly wiped her tears and tried to ignore the deep feeling that she betrayed Star. 'I had to knock her out then. She would have told Kentaro and I would have had to fight them when I tried to leave.' She Stopped in a tree and looked back at the camp and spotted Sasuke sitting by the lake. What she didn't know was that a certain snake Sanin was watching her. "Oh yes. . . She will do quite nicely."

//Brush back your hair and look around you, Feeling like the truth has found you here, You're here with me, let love become the mirror, With no fear where you're from, You have become beautiful.//

End of Chapter 21. (Yes i know you hate me now Muahahaha!!!)