Kouji, looking extremely perplexed, gazed at the mark on the other man's wrist. It was the same as his, only on the opposite hand. He attempted to dismiss the thought, but he kept glancing over at the strange birthmark. He felt familiarly close to the man he was up for the job against, and he didn't know why. Tasuki was sure of it now. He was positive that this man was the reincarnation of his best friend. He found himself not listening to anything the manager was saying. Finally he snapped out of it when he heard Kouji say, "So we'll be working together for a day?" The manager nodded. "Yes. You and Mr. Ko will be working together for one day, then I will chose which one of you I want to hire." Tasuki looked at the manager, then at Kouji. His friend stuck out his hand. "Hey, I'm Kouji" he said, in his calm, cool way. Tasuki smirked. "Call me Genrou." The two men shook hands. It was the new beginning of an extremely fucked up friendship.

Baiyano walked into the photo store, pushing a loose hair behind her ear. She was picking up some pictures she had gotten developed. Nuriko had gotten a sudden spurt of inspiration, and had been writing since late in the night. Baiyano gave the clerk some money, and then walked outside. She laughed when she saw the first picture, in which Miaka was chasing Tasuki around trying to take his sake away from him. The second picture was of Tasuki and Taka fighting over the sake. She almost fell into a gutter. "Oops" she said to herself, making sure she was balanced. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a short bark and looked around.

"What in the world was that?" she said, gazing into the parking lot. She heard another "Woof!" and looked into the gutter, in which she saw a small, black puppy covered in trash. The pictures were automatically set on the curb as she lifted the small dog out of the gutter. "Oh, you poor little thing!" she exclaimed, brushing a cigarette butt off of the little dog's ear. She grabbed her pictures and walked out to the car. "I bet you have people looking all over the place for you! Well, lets take you home and get cleaned up." And with that the two drove off.

Nuriko sat quietly at his desk, tapping his foot on the floor. The laptop in front of him was humming softly, and the screen saver went on. It was a picture of the whole group in front of an ice-cream store. He moved the mouse and then clicked on his email. Five new messages appeared. The first one was from his publisher, informing him of his deadline, the second was from Chiriko, telling him about his latest test score, the third one was junk mail, as well as the forth, and the fifth was from Baiyano. He clicked on it, and a small message box appeared. "I'm on my way home with the pictures. You want something to eat? " He typed back, "Sure, you pick for me… something salty. Love, me" He clicked back onto his document, which was already 120 pages, and began to write again.

Chichiri awoke at five in the morning, as usual. As he got out of bed, he remembered that he had a guest…. his former fiancé. The night before had been rather hectic. It played through his head like a dream….

**Start memory**

She awoke slowly, her eyelids fluttered open. Chichiri gently touched her hand. "Kouran… are you all right?" He didn't know if she would have any knowledge of what had happened in the dream as he saw her look to him. Her facial expression changed to that of a look of surprise. "I remember… I remember it all…" Chichiri smiled earnestly. "How… how are you feeling no da?" "I feel fine… but… but how is this possible? I remember everything about my life in Konan, as well as my life here." He nodded. "As do all the Suzaku warriors and I" Her eyes filled with tears, and she sat up. "I'm so sorry, Houjun..." "Sorry for what no da?" "I'm sorry… that it had to end like it did" He stood up and offered her his hand. "Are you able to walk?" She took the hand and stood. "Yes, I believe so."

**End memory**

The monk had insisted that she stay at his house instead of the homeless shelter… for obvious reasons. Chichiri had a guest room, so he just let her stay there (just so all you dirty-minded people out there don't get the wrong impression). He walked into the kitchen and put some water on for tea. His mind and heart were racing. Seeing Kouran had awoken feelings in him that he hadn't experienced since… since he last saw her. He smiled, and said to himself, "The magic of Suzaku works in mysterious and wonderful ways no da." And unbeknownst to him, the young woman he had fallen in love with so long ago was standing behind him, and thinking the exact same thing.

Tasuki quickly mixed the drink in his hand and placed it on the bar in front of the man who had ordered it. He knew he was good at mixing drinks… it was expected of him. Kouji was equally skilled, and the two men worked nicely together. They had been working at the bar all morning, and were to help at the club that night. The manager was having a fit tying to choose. They both seemed perfect for the job. He decided that he would have to wait until that night to see, and went to tell the boys that they could take a lunch break.

Authors note: Gosh, I really didn't think this chapter would take so long! I am so very sorry! I've just been writing on some other stories, which I would love for you to check out, and haven't had time. No big cliffhangers this chapter, but I will definitely have some next time. Also, Miaka and Taka will be back sometime… they were just boring me. Until next time—

Tamahome no miko