Retreat into Hell
Part 2C
By Sarah-chan

Notes: I assure you the chocolate bar sequences were NOT
intended to be sexually suggestive. If you do happen to think
that way, though, you're not alone. :P The author is naughty,
she is.

* * * * * *

So tranquil, this area. Through the quite roar of the
river, only the sounds of birds could be heard. No muted sound
of electricity buzzing through his brain, no annoyingly high
pitched shrills of fan girls professing their undying love.
Just Yaten and nature. The quiet, peaceful, tame kind of
nature.

"Yoo-hoo!"

Oh God. Yaten looked around frantically for an escape
as Minako bounded through the trees toward him. It would only
be a few seconds before she would see him in his disarrayed
state, and he had to think fast.

*Think fast think fast think fast. Lesse. River.
River=water, water=wet clothes... oh God. Just do it, Yaten.
Just do it. Do it! Okay... on the count of three. One...
two... three... four... five... NOW!*

Kicking himself, he jumped off the bank into the water,
a large splash cloaking his form just as Minako broke through
the trees.

"Yaten! What happened to you?"

Yaten was still standing, and as he looked down he
realized the water was only knee deep. Just enough to soak the
bottom of his shorts.

They stared at each other for a moment before Minako
began to giggle. His glare only made it worse, and as she
clutched her stomach, screaming hysterically and pointing at
him, he decided he wanted to end his life. The only thing that
distracted him and Minako was the angry scream of a young woman.

"YOU ARE SUCH A JERK!"

"WHAT ARE YA TALKIN ABOUT?!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

"WHAT DID I DO, HUH?!"

"OOH, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!"

"NO I DON'T!"

"YES YOU DO!"

"I DON'T!"

"DO TOO!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"OF COURSE I DO! YOU GOT US LOST!"

"WHAT?! ME?! _YOU_ WERE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO TAKE THE
LEFT INSTEAD OF RIGHT!"

"WELL, YOU WERE TELLING ME TO HURRY UP!"

"MAYBE IF YOU STOPPED ACTING SO MACHO... Hey... hey hey
hey, put me down. What are you doing?! Put me down! We're on
a cliff! No!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--"

*SPLASH*

It took a while before Yaten and Minako could see the
red head of a furious girl floated past them. She seemed mildly
surprised at seeing them.

"Hey again."

"...Hi."

"Watch your step. It gets pretty deep a foot away."

"Thanks."

"Sure, no problem."

And she floated away. There was silence before Minako
started going back into hysterical bouts of laughter. Yaten had
to join her, and for a minute the only sounds in the forest were
the sounds of laughter.

Finally, Minako took a deep breath, wiped away a tear,
giggled again, and the said, "So what happened to you?"

"It's a really long story."

"You don't really like animals, do you?"

"They're so... primitive."

"But you like cats, right?"

Yaten trudged back to the shore, and flopped down on the
grass. Minako sat down next to him, and he started picking up
the green blades and twisting them in his finger.

"Cats have this individuality to them," he said. "These
distinct personalities, the good and the bad. That and they
have to be the most beautiful creatures on Earth. So graceful,
and elegant. They never lose face."

"I have a cat," said Minako. "And he isn't that
elegant. Trust me. He wines and gripes, and then clings to me
if he doesn't want me to go. And that's ALL the time."

Yaten rose an eyebrow. "He must really be attached to
you."

Minako shrugged. "I guess. But he's really smart, and
usually always knows what to do. That's why I like him. He's
always thinking ahead..."

"You have one strange cat."

Minako flushed. "W-well, they say your pet takes on
your personality! Ahehehe."

Yaten didn't seem to hear her as his thoughts took over
him. Minako stared at his hand as he absent mindedly twisted
the blade of grass, the green blood seeping into his skin.

"Animals don't have to worry about anything but
survival," Yaten murmured. "Humans have to worry about their
hearts. Whether or not a person will hurt them, whether or not
they'll hurt another. If they'll lose somebody and never be
able to find them again... I worry about these things all the
time, but I need to survive, too... and I feel like THAT is all
I do. Survive. I just don't have any time for my heart."

"Yaten-san..."

"The other guys can have fun and relax... but I can't do
that... I just feel so wary all the time. I'm waiting for the
inevitable... the time when I find that all I've been fighting
for has been gone for a very, very long time."

"What... what are you going to do if you find that out?"
Her began to beat faster as he shrugged. "Yaten. What are you
thinking? You don't really mean that you'll--"

"What do you care? Huh?"

"I care--!"

"Why? So you can be the main groupie for Three Lights?
So you'll get your shot at being a star?"

"No--!"

"You listen to me, Minako," he said, slightly shocking
himself by not using any honorific. No distance, no wall. Just
raw connection. "You listen to me, okay? You want to be a
star? You have to give up YOURSELF. You have to throw away all
you've ever wished for and live a lie that people want."

"That's not true--"

"Well it is for me!" he cried, and stood up, beginning
to pace. "I'm sick and tired of having to day in and day out
pretend to be somebody I'm not!"

The fury was growing inside him, and suddenly he felt a
bead of fire in his stomach shooting into his veins, and he
stared down at his ruined Yumero Suzume shirt, and knew if it
had been possible, he never would have had to wear it to begin
with. This masculine shirt, no matter how elegant, had been
made for a man.

For the first time, he hated Yumero Suzume for creating
it, for making a duplicate for women. THAT had been the one he
wanted, the one he had craved for. No matter how beautiful this
one had been, it was made for a man...

Minako stood in disbelief as he grabbed his shirt and
ripped it off, tightening it up into a ball and throwing it into
the river. The sunlight shined down on his bare skin,
illuminating Yaten into a frighteningly beautiful angel.

"THIS ISN'T ME!" he screamed up at the sky. "WHY CAN'T
YOU JUST COME AND LET ME BE MYSELF?! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME
BE THIS WAY?!"

Minako ran to the river and fished the shirt out before
it was too late, and walked carefully back to the shore, eyeing
this new and intense Yaten warily. He stared at her, his chest
heaving, looking like a wolf wrapped in a lamb's skin. And that
was what scared Minako, to know that both the lamb and wolf were
inside him... and he had chosen the wolf.

There was silence as Minako bit her lip, trying to
figure out what to do. She looked down at the shirt, and smiled
hesitantly before holding it up.

"Well... um... it's clean now, right?" She snapped the
soaked shirt, sending a piercing sound and droplets of water
into the area, and held it out to Yaten. His arm rose half way,
and Minako took advantage of it by taking hold of his hand and
snuggling the sopping wet garment to her face, a small waterfall
flowing down her arm. "If you don't want it, can I have it?"

Yaten blinked a moment, not comprehending her actions
and deciding whether or not she was crazier than he was. But as
he stared into her eyes and saw in them what her gestures had
not, a small enlightenment dawned on him. She was terrified,
worried, confused, and had NO idea how to make things better in
this situation.

She was the one in that tight little circle who made
people laugh in times where they were lost in despair. She
couldn't handle despair, it was too much of a problem, so she
tried to defeat it by using humor as her weapon.

Minako needed to break down this wall. It was a NEED, a
thing she knew she HAD to do.

Swallowing, he cocked a smile, and started to grab the
shirt, but Minako pulled it away right before he could get it.
"No, you can't have it! It's a Yumero Suzume!"

"But you threw it into the water!"

"I was washing it!"

"Yeah, right! You want it? Then come and get it." She
started to break away from him, but this time Yaten held onto
her hand, keeping her from running away. All she could do was
keep the shirt held high and away from him.

Somewhere along the way between shouting and laughing
and giggling, limbs got tangled, and two bodies softly fell to
the ground. After a VERY long moment they detached themselves
(much to Minako's disappointment), and Yaten rolled off of her,
grabbing his shirt in the process.

"I like the sky, don't you?" Minako asked as she stared
up at the blue atmosphere. Yaten closed his eyes as he laid
beside her, and when he opened them, everything seemed so much
brighter and defined than before.

"Sure," he said, and they sat back up, returning to the
beginning as he twisted a blade of grass between his fingers.

The only sound was the babbling of the river, and the
whisper of hair as Minako looked back from the trees to Yaten,
waiting for him to say something. That and she liked staring
at his shirtless chest. Such a nice, nice chest.

"If you aren't being your true self," Minako said
finally, not able to stand keeping away from the heart of the
problem any longer. "Why don't you start right now?"

"It's complicated," Yaten said as he pulled his shirt
over his head, not being able to stand her glances.

"Try me," she said. "Or do you think I'm just some dumb
blonde ditz?"

They looked at each other.

"I know that's what everybody thinks I am," she said
and smiled. "Except Usagi and the others, of course. But
sometimes, you're only somebody else in another person's eyes...
and you begin to look through their perspective."

There was silence before Yaten said, "It's not that, and
I don't think of you that way. Not now, anyway."

"REALLY?!" She cried, and glomped onto his arm. Yaten
only sighed. "What DO you think of me, then?"

"I think you're a very odd girl who doesn't know when
things are hopeless," he answered, dampening her excitement.
"But I know you're not a ditz. People are just too blind to
notice your intelligence."

"I think... that's one of the nicest things anybody has
ever said to me."

"You must have been REALLY deprived."

"Yup. That's me. Lil' deprived Minako." Her eyes
suddenly got VERY large. "Won't you fill that emptiness inside
of me?"

"Oi."

* * * * * *

Lunch had been eaten. A lot of it. And a lot of water,
too. Well, by Seiya anyway. And when nature calls, it's best
to listen to it.

Seiya decided not to, though, when he saw that the door
to Mariko's room was open. It looked very very inviting taking
that his face was staring right at him.

*They sure did a nice job on those posters.*

It wouldn't hurt to take a look, would it? Nah.

Seiya took a breath, looked both ways down the hallway,
and slipped into the girl's room, ignoring the feeling of having
just walked into a bubble.

*

Mariko was about to eat the last of her rice, chopsticks
poised at her open mouth, when she stopped and looked in the
direction where Seiya had gone.

"What's up?" asked San, and Mariko scowled a little
before shaking her head.

"Nothing," she said, and stood up, looking to San, then
Taiki, and finally to Furui. "I'll be right back."

San rose an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, and
watched as Mariko moved into the hallway.

*

This had to be the biggest collection of Three Lights
merchandise Seiya had ever seen besides his own. There were
posters all over the walls (and a couple others that WEREN'T
Three Lights), even some on the ceiling, including his favorite:
The "Got Milk?" poster of him in his underwear that WOULD have
been the biggest ad of milk, if it hadn't been for that other
big boy band from America. Damn the Backstreet Boys.

OOOOH! A plushy! Seiya grabbed the Seiya UFO catcher
doll, and snuggled it up until he saw the next thing that caught
his easily distracted attention. One thing was for sure, Taiki
had been a genius when he promoted the Three Lights chocolate
bars. They were in the distinctive shape of each Light, along
with exquisite detail down to the eyelashes. Girls could eat
them any day! Oh, wait. No. That sounded BAD. True. But
bad.

The room was modern, unlike all the others he had seen
besides the kitchen. The door was western style, with a knob,
and the inside was surprisingly bright and cozy, with painted
walls instead of the shoji screens the rest of the rooms had.

A yellow blanket was on a western style bed, a closet
open with clothes spilling out, shelves with books and small old
toys. There was a dresser by the bed, the top completely
covered by small and sweet "girl things" and discarded clothes
(Seiya almost blushed by the bra hanging on the corner, but hey,
never be embarrassed by something natural, was his motto).

The only completely neat and organized place was the
small area near the door that lead to the deck. Paper fans
splayed out to reveal their delicate nature, tiny ancient
porcelain cats stretching and lazily trying to defeat time.
Oddly, there was a katana and wakizashi pair laid carefully on
a stand beneath the shelves. And there were photographs. Lots
of them.

As Seiya's eyes moved to each one, his heart lifted with
an affection he hadn't felt before, even if all of them were of
Mariko and San together.

Mariko and San on their first trip to Mount Fuji, Mariko
and San at Disneyland, Mariko and San at the beach, at a ski
resort, in the city, in the forest, at festivals.

*Looks like San isn't the only one obsessed.*

He was surprised there weren't any other people with
them. Furui had obviously taken the pictures, because
San was blushing in a lot of them, and Mariko was getting
frazzled. Furui could do that to a person. Seiya knew he
enjoyed upturning people's lives just a little.

There were two photos, though, that caught his attention
and kept it for a very long time.

The first picture was of Mariko when she was a little
girl, maybe seven or eight, with a smiling couple and a toddler
on the man's shoulders. Mariko was holding an ice cream cone
out to the camera, and the woman was bending down, wrapping an
arm around the girl's waist and giving her bunny ears. All of
them seemed to be laughing.

*Her parents...?*

His eyes drifted over to the second photograph, framed
in a very elegant and old metal frame. The photograph itself
was old, a fading black and white, the creases by the corners
looking as if they would dissolve.

The background was of the forest, of the wild part on
the other side of that freaky meadow with the angel statues.
*'In order to have balance, you must have chaos. Tame and wild,
organized and disorganized. To see one clearly, we must have
the other.'* Those were the words of San, of the explanation
to the wild part of the forest.

It wasn't the background that interested him, though.
It was the person in it. A young man in full body armor,
bright and shining, so smooth and clear Seiya could vaguely see
the reflection of the person taking the photograph. The only
thing he wasn't wearing was the helmet laying on the
ground, tipped over to one side.

His back was to the camera, but his head turned to
face the person from the side, a small curve of a smile visible,
his long black hair curling from the heat. One gauntleted hand
was resting on the hilt of a large sword sheathed at his hip.

His other hand rested on the neck of an incredibly
large wolf. A wolf who's back came to the knight's waist.

*Dude.*

There was some blur from the wolf's mouth, probably
from sticking out it's tongue. The camera was old, one of
those earlier models where the objects in the photos needed to
be perfectly still for more than a minute. The wolf did a
pretty good job.

"Find anything interesting? I really need to clean
this room... I can't stand being in here when it's messy."

"WAAAH!" Seiya stumbled back and stared as Mariko
leaned against the doorway, watching him. "God, you scared me!"

"Sorry," she said, and walked into the room, Seiya
started to turn a deep red, knowing he was in for it now. There
wasn't anything worse than an angry woman. He should know.

"H-How long were you there?"

"A while," she said, and smiled. Noticing his
embarrassment, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you feeling
guilty?"

"M-me? No way! I just lost my way and happened to
wander in here--"

"Hey, I know how you feel! Curiosity killed the cat.
Usually, I'm the one to get into trouble."

"Really? You seem like the calm one to me."

She grimaced. "I'm the world's worst matchmaker.
Seriously, you should see all the matches I've put San through.
Now he just refuses to go on a blind date and runs to a dark
corner to hide from me."

"Poor guy, he's so anti-social too."

"You feel the same way!" she cried. "Grandfather
doesn't listen to me at all about him. It's not good for San
to be so isolated. But he's content to just stay home or be
with me. He was even like that at school."

"He doesn't go to school anymore?"

"He graduated. I've taken time off to help around the
place. We've had... some difficulties lately."

"Aah." There was a silence as he watched Mariko brood
over whatever was going on. "When did you guys meet?"

"Hmm? Oh." She smiled softly. "He had been staying
with Grandfather for a while with another man when I came to live
with him. He just never left, and after Grandfather decided to
train him, it was impossible to turn back."

She stood on her tip toes and grabbed the photograph of
her as a child with the couple. Mariko smiled faintly, tracing
the faces of the adults and baby with her fingers before passing
it to Seiya.

"Those are my parents," she said. "And my baby brother.
I had always thought they were indestructible, since they had
been trained by Grandfather. They were wonderful, so loving
and sweet from what I remember... they died in a car accident
when I was ten." She pointed to the little baby. "My brother,
Tenkai and I survived. He's in Tokyo right now, living with my
aunt and uncle. The scars haven't faded."

Seiya looked up into her glistening eyes, and as if she
could read his mind, she said, "You know, I've always known you
were easy to talk to. It's like everything I want to say just
slips out of my mouth."

"Sometimes it's better to keep things to yourself,"
Seiya said. "There are things people just shouldn't know."

"Do you really think that?" she asked. "You would,
given your situation, wouldn't you?"

Seiya's eyes widened, and Mariko took back the picture,
trying her hardest to place it back on the shelf until Seiya
took it again and easily put it back in its place for her.

"Keeping everything to yourself keeps you from healing
any of the pain life has caused. I learned that from my
parents' death. It's true you shouldn't say EVERYTHING to
ANYBODY, but when you fully trust someone, ESPECIALLY someone
who comes to the Celestial Retreat, it all makes sense, doesn't
it?

"To make sure no corner of your life is hidden, to give
all of yourself to somebody you love and hold nothing back,
these are things I will live by."

She smiled at Seiya's dauntedness. "It's hard to
imagine, huh? Especially for a warrior. Leaving nothing behind
for somebody to use as a weapon against you is the ultimate
safety. But my goal is leaving EVERYTHING behind, even if it
could be a weapon, and not having it effect me."

"Like this guy?" Seiya asked, pointing to the knight.

"Seiya." Both he and Mariko turned to look at San as
he stood by the open door, looking like the devil. Seiya
swallowed, and waved.

"Hey, Ernie, how's it going?"

"It's okay, San," Mariko assured.

"You know what?" Seiya said and started laughing
nervously. "I just realized I needed to go do something right
about now."

"Really?" asked Mariko. "What?"

"Run away in terror. But," he answered and took her
hand, kissing it sweetly. "I agree with the things you said
before. And I'm glad that you trust me so much. Not that many
people do." And he walked out the door, avoiding San's gaze.

When he was gone, San shut the door and walked over to
Mariko, who rested her head against his chest, squeezing his
hand affectionately.

"Please," she whispered. "Please don't try to protect
me anymore... there's no need..."

San buried his face in her hair.

"San... we're a team, right?"

He nodded. "Of course."

"Even... even when he comes back...?"

"I will always be at your side, even if it's already
been taken."

She clamped her eyes shut from the tears, and pushed him
away. "You can't keep on living for others, San. You just
can't. It's not right, your sacrifice..."

"I promised my lord I would watch over you until he
returned to Earth. That I would breathe only for you. And I do
it with all my soul."

Mariko shook her head, and tried to push away, but San
wrapped his arms around her. "He would talk about you all the
time, your name was every other word he said. I never
understood his attachment to you... never understood why you
were so important.

"And when he left... when I went after him to bring him
back, he told me to take care of you, and I did. There was no
going back when I agreed to be trained by Furui-sama. I had to
stay here to protect the forest in his place. To protect YOU
in his place. And I've started... I've started to realize what
he meant when he said you were the world to him."

Mariko wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him as
tight as she could, knowing with some guilt that San felt like
*him*. She didn't care, though, because his warmth and safety
brought her comfort... and a little longing for her absent love.

"When Oukami-ouji comes back, you will be freed from
your service."

"..."

"I promise you, San."

"Thank you."

"And, San?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you promise me something too?"

"Sure."

"I know you can sense when somebody isn't true to their
own selves, and I love that. But do you really have to scare
them out of their minds?"

"Shying away from the truth is a threat to all we try
to protect."

"But they have a good reason for it..."

"You're right..." He smiled, his eyes covered by his
bangs to hide the color. It was a silver copper, a hesitant and
conflicting color, not sure whether this was something he was
happy about, or whether he was scared of it. "I actually kind
of like them, you know. Unusual for their kind... but more
human than the others that come here."

"They remind me of Oukami-ouji."

"I know. Me too."

"San? Will he ever come back?"

"..."

"San?"

* * * * * *

"Aah!" cried Minako. "I'm starving!"

"What happened to all the food?"

"Ask the bottomless pit over there," answered Taiki,
pointing to Seiya who rested his elbows on the table. The boy
grinned in apology.

"Ah, man," groaned Minako.

"You baka!" shouted Yaten. "Do you know how selfish you
are?! I can't believe you would do something like that! I
could just KILL you!"

"Do it! Do it!" cried vixen Yaten. "You'll do the
universe a favor."

"Uh-oh," said Taiki, looking up from his novel. "Looks
like Yaten's hungry, too."

"Damn straight I am."

"Why don't you just eat ME?" asked Seiya.

"Okay!" cried Minako. They both stopped and looked at
each other.

"That just sounded bad," said Yaten with a disgusted
look. Both Minako and Seiya nodded, blushing. The black haired
bishounen threw both Minako and Yaten a chocolate bar, though
and grinned.

"Ooooh, Three Lights Choco-liscious Bar-bars!"

"Why do these people always have to ruin food with corny
titles?"

"Hey," said Seiya. "It's catchy."

"TLC-DOUBLE-Bs!" He and Minako cried in unison. They
stared at each other again.

"You know," said Minako, batting her eyelashes. "We are
SO on the same wave length it's not even funny."

"Riiiiiight."

Minako grinned and bit into the arm of a Taiki. The
real one grimaced, and Yaten frowned.

"Hey, now. Don't be enjoying that so much."

*I beseech you, fair maiden. Eat MY bar! The Yaten
shaped chocolates have extra almonds.*

*Nay, sweet Minako, eat MINE! Seiya chocolates have
orange for that extra zing!*

*But... but... they're all so good! Taiki's with the
mint adds that wonderful freshness to your mouth!*

*Why not have a bite of each at the same time?*

*You're so smart, Taiki.*

"Uh-oh. Nose bleed alert."

"Enough with the bar talk, okay?"

"Mint-orange-nut-nut bars! That's perfect! You guys
should have a king size with all three of you."

"We DO."

"Since when?!"

"Since we kept you away from the candy store last week."

Minako sighed, while all three boys sweatdropped.

"Hey, where's Furui-sama?" asked Minako as she looked
around the room. Just then, Mariko walked back in the room, not
smiling quite as much as she usually did, and Taiki rose his
eyebrows.

"He had to take care of something in the meadow," she
said, and sat down next to the blonde, sighing as if she was
exhausted. Shocking all of them except San, she rested her head
on Minako's shoulder for comfort. Slightly disturbed at this
intimate contact with a near stranger, Minako wasn't as much of
a soft shoulder as she could have been, but she was happy she
was the one picked out out of all of them.

There were some things women could do together, that
those of the opposite sex couldn't. And all four of the men
watched with jealousy as the two girls leaned against each
other for support.

"Is everything all right?" Seiya asked and looked to San
as he walked back in the room, his eyes shaded.

"Yeah," Mariko said, and sat back up, stretching. "I'm
going to check on the bees. Do you want to come?"

"U-uh." Taiki looked frantically around, trying to
think of a diversion, and his eyes locked with Minako warily.
"I-I need to--"

"Study!" cried Minako. "I'm so stupid when it comes to
math, and Taiki-san makes everything SO simple! I don't know
how I'm going to pass without him. He always makes everything
seem like a breeze."

"He does...?" asked Yaten, and Seiya guffawed.

"I don't see you two doing better than me," said Taiki
with an obnoxiously intelligent voice.

"Hey, if you can match Mizuno-kun, that's something that
should be in the record books. But simple? Nice and easy?
Pahlease."

"Really!" cried Minako. "I learned new kanji in only
ten minutes!"

Mariko smiled. "I know what you mean. I was hoping
you'd come with me, but maybe next time. Anybody else want to?"

Seiya shook his head. "I better not. San doesn't want
me to go near you."

San groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Hey, I'm just telling the truth! And you call me a
liar. I've already had two strikes, and I'd rather not have
to go to the ER if I'm caught alone with you again. Sorry."

"It's fine," San said through clenched teeth. "Really."

"Wha?!" Seiya blinked.

"I'll go," said Yaten. "I've wanted to use my camera
anyway, and I have a lot of film to use up."

"Cool! I'll be waiting outside, okay?"

"Sure. I'll be right there." And Yaten started to go to
his room to get his camera.

"Why does everybody want to be with her and not me?!"

"Maybe she doesn't make such a big deal about us," shot
Yaten before he walked away. Minako pouted, and looked to the
remaining band members who nodded their heads in agreement.

"So, you guys are saying if I cut out all of my devotion
and adoration, you'll go on a date with me?"

"W-we never said that!"

* * * * * *

Furui stood next to Tenshi as he surveyed the Crack and
frowned. It had only been four weeks since San and Mariko had
bolted it, and already the rods and screws were bending. There
was definitely something going on.

"We decided it had to do with the strange amount of
enterings on the planet. There has been a wave of negative
energy, and unfortunately it's been emanating from a specific
source and not from the Crack," said Ishi.

"The only problem is the Crack's sucking down all the
stray energy and getting power from it," added Tenshi. "We
already told San it would only be a matter of time... a couple
of days. And with that new group here..."

"Yes," agreed Furui. "They were sent here to help,
even if they don't know it yet. Their strength will be an
attribute."

"One thing's for sure," said Ishi. "If the Crack
doesn't split open by the time they need to leave, you HAVE to
keep them here until it does."

"I agree. I'll do whatever I can."

"And also, Furui-san... before you go we need to talk to
you about San."

"Oh?"

"We feel he is distancing himself from his planet..."

"Or forgetting. He's almost purely human now, and
has adapted to Earth."

"I know," said Furui with a sigh. "I know all of this.
It's just that he's been so happy these last few years, as if
all of his pain has been lifted off from His Majesty's leaving.
I want him to stay. Hell, I want him to be my grandson!"

"But Mariko is still in love... she still waits for the
wolf prince."

"He is dead," said Furui, shaking his head in sadness.
"I loved the prince. But he is dead now."

"Why haven't you told Mariko?"

"If you defy time and give up a new life to wait for
the one you love, if you wait for four years for him, would you
want to learn he died only hours after leaving the sanctuary,
and nobody had told you even then?"

"Good point."

Furui nodded his head sadly. "We should have told her."

"I have a feeling she'll find out soon enough."

* * * * * *

"¿Cual es tu numero del telephono?"

"Eh? Taiki-san, what are you doing?"

"¿Cual es tu numero del telephono?"

"Um... okaaaaaay."

"Oi, Aino-kun. It's Spanish. Remember the test we have
on Thursday?"

"Oooooh! That's right!"

Taiki sighed. He knew he should have just faked not
already knowing English. But one needs to be challenged! It
wasn't his fault he didn't know Minako had learned that language
as well.

"¿Cual es tu numero del telephono?"

"Do you really have to say it with those weird upside
down question mark thingies?"

"AAAAARGGGGH!!!!"

* * * * * *

The hours passed by in relaxation or something along
those lines. Mariko and Yaten stayed with the bees, talking
about nature and the area as he took picture after picture of
the setting sun, and forest, and the beautiful dance of the
honey bee.

Taiki tried his best not to go insane with all of
Minako's questions and jabs, but somehow they both got all the
studying they needed done for the week. Seiya, for being so
nice to Monsieur Chef got a free and VERY delicious full body
massage. That man was a master.

Furui stayed with the Tenshi no Ishi and talked more
about the Crack and caught up on time, while San looked back
into the past while resting beneath the huge oak tree and cursed
his master for leaving him behind.

Everything started to pick up speed, though, when the
hot air balloon fell onto the house.

"DAMN!" shouted Haruka as the balloon landed with a thud
onto the roof. Both she and Michiru scrambled out of the basket
to get out of the way of the deflating nylon.

Inside Minako screamed and latched onto Taiki, stuck
to him like glue no matter how much he flailed. Finally he just
stood up with her and ran out of the kitchen to see what had
happened.

Seiya shrieked and flung himself off the table, clutching
his small towel to his waist for dear life, and wrapping it
around him, ran outside with the chef.

Mariko and Yaten had seen the hot air balloon descending
towards the clearing and ran back to the lodge, while Furui only
laughed, said goodbye to the Tenshi no Ishi and whistled his way
down the path towards his home.

San had only been jarred from his thoughts at the sight
of the huge yellow and aqua balloon falling towards the lodge
right in front of him, and he stood up in shock to watch it
crash into the house.

"Michiru-san! Haruka-san!" cried Minako, and waved to
them. The two women slid down the roof and landed lightly on
their feet, smiling in greeting as their blonde friend rushed
over to them.

"Hello, Minako-chan," said Michiru. "How has your
vacation been going?"

"This is such a surprise!"

"I'll say," muttered Seiya as he locked eyes with Haruka.
This was going to get rough, he could tell.

"We just thought we would drop by and see how you were
doing," Haruka said, tearing her gaze from Seiya and looking back
to Minako.

"HEY!" shouted Mariko as she ran down the pathway. "Are
you guys all right?!"

"They're fine!" Minako called back, and finally Mariko
stopped to stand next to her. "Haruka-san and Michiru-san just
dropped onto the roof... in a hot air balloon... ne, Haruka-san,
what happened to your car?"

"In the shop."

"And your helicopter?"

"In the shop."

"Everything else?"

Haruka sighed and repeated her answer.

"How romantic!" sighed Minako. "You guys must have had
a blast coming here."

"Actually, it wasn't that great."

"Excuse me," said Mariko. "I hate to break up this
conversation, but how are we going to get this thing down?"

"A girl as cute as you usually has all the answers,"
said Haruka, causing her to blush. "What's your name?"

"Anjou Mariko..."

"Haruka's a woman," whispered Minako to Mariko, causing
her to blush even more.

"Tenou Haruka?" The two women turned to see San as he
walked up to them.

"Yes?"

"The famous race car driver?" Haruka seemed to swell
with pride and nodded her head. They shook hands. "I'm San,
I've seen nearly every race you entered in. I'm amazed by your
speed. You fly like the wind."

"Thank you," she said, a little surprised.

"And Kaiou Michiru. I have all your albums, you truly
have a gift. I feel like I'm riding the waves when I listen to
your songs."

"Thank you very much. Looks like we have fans all the
way up here," Michiru said, glowing.

"Ahahaha! Look who's dropped by! We have more idols
here than you can shake a stick at," cried Furui at the door way.
"Come in, come in! We have a lot to plan!"

"Does this mean I don't have to sleep with Aino-kun
again?" asked Yaten as they started walking into the house.

Haruka and Michiru stopped cold and stared at Minako.

"W-what?" said Haruka. "You SLEPT with him?"

"There wasn't enough room..." said Minako turning her
gaze down and flushing. "Haruka-san! Don't look at me like
that! You're making me embarrassed!"

"Yes, Haruka," said Michiru. "Don't ruin her time here.
We'll discuss this inside."

"If anything happened..." Haruka cracked her knuckles as
she glared at Yaten, causing him to start to sweat.

"Nothing happened!" assured Minako. "Unfortunately..."

"Eh?"

"Nothing, nothing."

* * * * * *

The seating arrangements changed over the new events.
Furui stayed at the head of the table, Monsieur Chef was at the
other, while the boys were all on one side, and the girls were
on the other. Minako was wedged between Haruka and Michiru, and
Yaten couldn't help picturing them as her bodyguards.

"So... sleeping arrangements. We could fit an extra
futon into the Three Lights room if we tried, so three people
could sleep in the same place."

"What about ours?" asked Michiru.

"Well... if two of you wouldn't mind sharing one futon,
I'm sure it would work out."

"Would you like to share a bed with me?" Haruka asked
Minako with a smirk. She turned beat red.

"Haruka!" chided Michiru.

"W-why don't you and Michiru-san just take it. It
wouldn't be anything new."

Now it was Haruka's turn to blush.

* * * * * *

Everybody said their goodnights and went to their own
rooms, the night creeping into the house, and the crickets
attempts at duplicating Michiru's songs filling their ears.

Minako wore her orange pajamas that night, not wanting to
think about what Haruka or Michiru would say if they saw the pair
she had worn the night before.

"Michiru-san? Haruka-san?" she asked, as the lights
were out and they started to drift asleep.

"Yes?" answered Michiru.

"Did you guys really just come here to check up on me?
Or is there something else going on?"

"It's true there might be something strange about to
happen, but how would you feel if Usagi left with a bunch of boys
to take a few days off from life? Wouldn't you worry?"

"Yeah... I guess you're right."

"It's hard being away from the others, isn't it?"

"Mm. It's been a while since I've been alone."

There was a small silence as they lay there, and finally
all three girls stood up and pushed the futons together to make
one big bed, and climbed back in, the warmth of their affection
making the strange night seem more bearable.

"Um... guys?" she asked between the two women.

"Yeah?" answered Haruka as she stared at the ceiling.

"You won't... tell anybody about this will you? I
wouldn't want the other girls to think I'm afraid of the dark."

Michiru and Haruka looked over Minako at each other and
smiled, thinking of Hotaru.

"It'll be our little secret."

* * * * * *

END OF PART 2

* * * * * *