Otakus' Task

Chapter Two:

Disclaimer: ...Do I have to say this? Okay, fine. All anime appearing in this fic are NOT mine. ::sigh::

Author Note: There's been a change in plans. Crysta won't be here for a while...so I'll keep writing her chapters for her. =^-^= *mrow* Anyway, I'll try not to bore you to death. Please R&R! I'm trying out a new writing style...well, not so much style as point of view. Hehe...so don't be surprised if you see me breaking into other people's thoughts and not just Crysta's and Ai's. I may also be trying some other new stuff around in different chapters, so not all of mine will be the same...^.^;; Hehe...gomen if it becomes a difficulty.

~A week later~

Crysta's prediction came true. Ai did have a boyfriend. She and Amiboshi were seeing a lot of each other and even though she didn't consider it "official", they were becoming more and more like a couple.

It was Friday afternoon, meaning school had just ended and Crysta and Ai were talking as they waited for Tomo to arrive to pick them up. Amiboshi watched as the girls talked. A black car pulled up to the place they were standing in front of. As usual, Tomo looked pissed to see them. He said he didn't like to have to be the one to pick up the two "bakas."

"Hey, Tomo," Amiboshi said.

Tomo only glared at him. Amiboshi figured something must've been wrong since Tomo at least said a greeting. "Hurry up," he said sharply to the girls.

"Geez, what's with you today?" Crysta grumbled, getting into the car.

Ai didn't care what was wrong with Tomo. She kissed Amiboshi briefly on the lips before following in suit behind Crysta. "Okay, let's go," she said cheerfully to Tomo. She was in a good mood today. Partly because she was going out on a "group outing" with Crysta, Yui, Suboshi, Duo, Hilde, Tomo and Amiboshi and partly because she and Amiboshi were just assigned partners for their new English assignment. It was a poster on a Chinese God. They already knew which god they would be doing. Sieryuu. And they could ask him for all the information they needed since he also had a job in this world.

Tomo watched the scene play out between Amiboshi and Ai and drove off quickly after Ai got into the car. In the past week, every time he saw Amiboshi and Ai together, he had the sudden urge to slam Amiboshi's teeth in. It wasn't until just that Friday that he realized why. He was in love with the baka! All those years of thinking he was just gay and in love with Nakago turned out to be a total lie. Now he knew how Nuriko felt when he fell for the Suzaku no Baka. Though Ai was definitely better than her. The only problem was what to do about his newfound attraction towards the new girl that had just landed in their home.

Duo watched with interest as Tomo and Ai got into another argument with each other. They'd just gotten home and somehow an argument managed to strike. Of course, the two didn't know he was there. They were arguing in Tomo's room and he was in the doorframe. "Ah, lover's quarrel," he said just as Ai looked like she would slap Tomo. Both turned around and glared at him. "Hey, I just wanted to know if you guys were ready to go yet. Crysta and everyone else are ready."

Ai remembered the outing and smiled. She immediately forgot what she was doing with Tomo and ran into her room. She wanted to see Amiboshi. On the way to her room, she ran into Yui. Of course, Yui was unfazed and she quickly apologized, then continued to head for her room.

Tomo glared at Duo quickly before walking past the braided Gundam pilot and walked past him. Somehow, Crysta managed to convince him to come, too. All he had to do was put on his shoes and he'd be ready. He knew it'd take Ai a long time to look for an outfit, and since everyone was already ready, he found another opportunity to tease her.

About fifteen minutes later, ten minutes spent looking for a matching pair of shoes for her outfit, Ai began to dress. She'd chosen a spaghetti- strap dress with a black shirt underneath without shoulders. She looked at herself in the mirror when she put on her black pumps. "Hm...too revealing," she said outloud, but she didn't have any time to debate it with herself as everyone was already waiting.

"Nice dress. How long did it take you to dress yourself since it couldn't possibly have taken so long to pull it out of the dumpster," Tomo said blandly as she emerged.

Ai glared at him, but didn't say anything. Amiboshi was already standing there. "Hi," she said to him.

Amiboshi smiled at his girlfriend. He liked the look, and could tell Tomo did, too. He didn't know why he was being so mean, though. "Don't mind Tomo. I think it's a cool dress," he whispered to her as they took hands and began to head outside. It earned him a kiss on the cheek.

Tomo watched Ai and Amiboshi stare up at the carousal. Somehow, Crysta got them all to go to the carnival. Therefore, there was the matter of the Tunnel of Love. Tomo had hoped nobody would mention them going, especially all of them, as that would not work. But Crysta did. Did he just imagine it, or had she also given him a wink?

"Okay, let's split up!" she said. She pulled Amiboshi to her side. Lantis and Hotohori were not present, or else she never would've been able to do this. "Mind if I borrow him for this ride?" she asked Ai.

Ai smiled. "Sure. But...who does that leave ME with?" Then she realized the error of her words. "Tomo?" she answered herself. "Crysta," she moaned.

Amiboshi looked back between the two of them, then turned to Crysta in confusion. "But we're-" Crysta nudged him and he shut up. He knew whatever it was, it was clearly between Ai and Tomo.

Crysta smiled. "Okay. Let's go," she said, grabbing Amiboshi and pulling him into a swan boat. She waved to Tomo and Ai as they rode off. 'Okay, they'll forgive me later,' she told herself, smiling as it got darker.

Ai and Tomo were outside sweatdropping. Yui and Suboshi got into a separate boat and Duo and Hilde followed. "Uh...do you think Crysta will notice if we don't go on?" Ai asked Tomo.

Tomo shook his head. "Her? Yeah, right. We'd better just go. Get it over with."

"Oh, fine." Ai sighed and got into the boat with Tomo, moving as far away from him as possible. They were lucky the boat was so large. There was room to fit another person in the middle with the distance the two set for each other.

Inside the tunnel, Amiboshi turned to Crysta. She seemed thoughtful. "Hey, what're you thinking about?" he asked.

Crysta turned. "Huh?" She grinned. "Oh. You probably want an explanation for why I made you my partner, huh?"

"Yeah...I mean...Ai IS my girlfriend."

Crysta laughed. Amiboshi didn't understand why she was laughing. "Don't tell me you don't see something strange going on between the two. I mean, no offense to you, but I think Tomo likes her and she feels the same."

"What? You're crazy. No way Ai likes him!" Amiboshi said frantically. Crysta clamped a hand over his lips.

"Hey, keep it down," she hissed. "You don't want them to hear us, do you?" She glared at him.

Amiboshi shook his head and she released his lips. "Okay, explain to me why you think they like each other?"

Crysta stared at him as though that was the easiest question in the world to answer. "Don't tell me you don't see the looks Tomo keeps giving her. And all those deathglares he hands you?"

"He deathglares at everyone," Amiboshi muttered. He wasn't sure what he was hearing. No way his girlfriend liked Tomo!

"Yeah, but how many women does he look at like he looks at Ai?"

"You're forgetting he's gay."

"People change. Maybe he just hasn't found the right person."

Amiboshi paused. "Fine. So it's POSSIBLE Tomo likes Ai, but what makes you think she likes him?"

"Trust me, I've known Ai for years. She doesn't act like anyone the way she does with Tomo." Amiboshi sighed. Crysta knew he'd given up on reasoning with her, but would now be keeping a closer guard on Ai. It wasn't a problem with her. Her plan would still carry out.

In the other side of the tunnel, Ai and Tomo were looking away from each other into the water. The Tunnel of Love was uninteresting. There were pictures of Cupids and pink was everywhere. Tomo decided to speak first. "Why are there pictures of naked, fat, little boys?" he asked.

Ai giggled. "Those are Cupids. Cupid was the Roman god of Love and his Grecian counterpart was Eros."

"And he looked like that?" Tomo asked skeptically. "A god of Love?"

Ai shook her head. "Not really. He was a handsome man. Of course, you can't expect much less of the son of the goddess of Love and Beauty Aphrodite. This is just the way most people portray him as for a joke." She paused. He didn't speak. The rest of the ride would be quiet. Both of them knew that.

Ai hugged Amiboshi before he left around the neck. Suboshi and Yui were hugging each others' waists and not letting go. They were kissing, too. As Ai turned away to walk inside, she could've sworn she saw Amiboshi give Tomo a dirty look as he walked in. "Good night, okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks. Sweet dreams."

"You, too." He blew her a kiss and dragged Suboshi away, pulling him away from Yui.

Crysta entered the house last and closed the door. She saw Tomo retreating into his room. It'd been a long night. Tomorrow was Saturday. Amiboshi was coming again tomorrow to work on his and Ai's project. Sieryuu would also be coming. Tomo was, meanwhile, going to be out working. He and Hotohori both. They were going to college, but were also part-time models. Crysta wasn't in the least surprised with Hotohori's looks. She headed into her room. Tomorrow she could sleep in.

Amiboshi arrived right on time for him and Ai to work. Sieryuu had not yet arrived. He kissed Ai on the lips as she greeted him at the door.

"Hey, where's Sieryuu?" Ai asked, pulling away from Amiboshi for a moment.

"I'm right here," a male voice replied.

Both Ai and Amiboshi turned. Ai had seen many bishounen already but she'd never seen anyone like the god Sieryuu. It was as though he naturally radiated a regal glow making him irresistible. She looked up at Amiboshi, who was staring at her wide-eyed. "Jealous?" she teased.

"A bit," he admitted.

Sieryuu rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for this. "Are you going to interview me or not?"

"Oh, sorry, Sieryuu. The poster and computer are in the living room."

Tomo knocked on the door a half an hour after Sieryuu had gone. He was tired. Modeling was harder than it looked. He was so tired he didn't even change out of his tight leather pants and red dress shirt. He didn't even completely button his shirt, so his chest was showing. The tails were also hanging out.

"Oh, it's you," Ai said, opening the door. She took in his clothes, especially his pants, which left nothing and everything to the imagination. (::writer twitches uncontrollably and falls out of her seat::)

Tomo glared at her. "Who were you expecting? I know Hotohori's already home."

"I wasn't expecting anyone," Ai snapped hotly. She turned on her heel and stomped away.

"You should apologizing for yelling at her," Crysta said in the doorway. She walked off just before Tomo could think of that glint he saw in her eyes. He glared at her retreating figure, then walked into his room and promptly fell asleep.

"What?" Crysta asked Duo. He was over at Catherine's house and was calling Crysta over the phone.

Duo's voice was cheerful despite the serious dilemma. "Trowa's just gone missing. But don't worry about it. We'll find him. I just called to say me and Hilde are gonna move into his house since Catherine's freaking out. We'll be back pretty late tonight if we can't find him and we'll pack tomorrow."

"But...why is he missing?" she asked.

Duo laughed. "How would I know? He's probably just plastered in a bar or something. Oh, I gotta go. Hilde wants to start now. I'll see you tonight. Bye."

"Uh, bye," Crysta said. Duo already hung up.

Ai peeked out of her bedroom. "Is Tomo in his room?" she whispered. Crysta nodded. Both knew that Ai had no intention of seeing Tomo right now. "So...who was that?"

"Duo. Trowa's missing and he and Hilde are out looking. They're moving into Catherine's house tomorrow since she's become really frantic."

"Oh." There was a moment of silence. Then Ai spoke up. "Well, I'd better get to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow morning, ne?"

"Hai. Good night."

"Good night."

When Ai had gone to bed, Crysta turned back to the book she'd been reading. It was strange. Why was Trowa missing. "Penny for your thoughts?" a voice asked. She turned to see Hotohori walking towards her. He took the seat beside her on the couch. "Hey, why're you still up?"

Crysta smiled. "No reason. Duo and Hilde are moving out tomorrow."

"I already know. He told me earlier today."

"Oh. Well...I don't know. I'm just wondering why Trowa suddenly went missing."

"We'll find him eventually. You should get some sleep."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Good night, Hotohori." She got up and kissed him on the cheek, then ran into her room.

Tomo watched Ai and Amiboshi make out on the couch. Amiboshi was lucky. How he envied the boshi twin at this moment. Or...every moment. He smirked at the two. 'Don't wish for what you can't have. You end up with nothing,' he thought to himself as he turned. That had been the mistake he had made with Nakago.

At that moment, an explosion was heard. Tomo, Ai, and Amiboshi turned to the wall where the TV use to be. In its place was a huge hole. A Serpent MS was outside. "This is Dekim Barton," an obnoxious voice said. "Surrender all your weapons and the two youths known as Crysta and Ai."

Luckily for Crysta, she wasn't home. Ai, on the other hand, was. She stared up at the giant Serpent. Amiboshi stood in front of her, acting as a human shield, though with one blast the Serpent could destroy them both. "We're not surrendering any of those," Amiboshi said.

Tomo arrived at Ai's side. "Definitely not."

"Have it your way. I'm coming out and I'll take it myself." The cockpit hissed open and Dekim appeared with a gun. He pointed it directly at Ai's heart, then pulled the trigger. Amiboshi shoved her out of the way and fell atop her.

Tomo quickly pulled out Shin and held it up to the man on the Serpent. "No one survives Tomo's illusions," he said softly as Dekim's eyes became small beads. In a moment, he collapsed. He was already dead. Tomo put Shin away and knelt beside Ai, who was cradling Amiboshi's body in her arms. "Let's get you to a hospital, baka," he muttered.

Amiboshi shook his head. "I-It's too late." He smiled at Ai, then Tomo. "Tomo...take good care of her."

"No, Amiboshi, you can't die..." Ai whispered, hugging him. "You can't." Amiboshi kissed her lightly on the cheek before his eyelids slowly closed like two curtains. "No, no," Ai whispered over and over.

Tomo stared at Amiboshi's body, then the wall...or what was the wall. He did a double take. The Serpent and the man were gone. All that was left was the hole in the wall. He looked down at Ai, who was crying as she held Amiboshi's body. "Get up," he said harshly to her. "Crying is not going to bring him back."

Ai shot daggers at him with her eyes. "Shut up." She stood up and met his eyes. "What do you know about this? You didn't just lose someone you loved. So shut up and leave me alone." She turned and ran into her room.

Ai heard her door being knocked on and looked up from her computer. It'd been four days since Amiboshi died. She had shown up at his funeral and had listened to Suboshi's eulogy. Suboshi had, of course, sensed his brother's death. He was mad at Tomo, of course, for killing Dekim first. Duo and Hilde had already moved out.

"Come in," Ai said in her usual tone. It was still as bright as before Amiboshi died. She tried not to think of him. It hurt too much.

Tomo entered Ai's room and stared at her back. She was at the computer, facing out the window and typing at the same time. "Hey," he said quietly.

Ai spun around. She had not forgotten about what Tomo had said the day Amiboshi died. She despised him right now. "Get out," she seethed in a deadly tone.

"No," he said simply. "I need to apologize to you."

"I don't want your apology. Just get out and leave me alone."

"No," he repeated. Ai couldn't hear his voice grow slightly shaky with the blood rushing through her head. Tomo couldn't help it. She hadn't spoken to him in four days. He couldn't handle her hating him so much. "Please, hear me out," he said.

Ai shook her head and rolled a hand into a fist. "Get out," she repeated.

Tomo made a step towards her and looked down at her, his lip quivering. Ai didn't notice. "Please, listen to me," he said softly.

Ai shook her head and moved a hand to slap him. He grabbed it and held it in the air, then lowered his lips onto hers. Ai quickly pulled away from him, holding her wrist. "What're you doing?" she asked defensively.

"Listen to me," he begged, moving closer to her. She shook her head as she reached the wall and closed her eyes. "Please."

For the first time, Ai sensed the ache in his voice. She looked up at him. His eyes were boring into hers, pleading with her. She nodded reluctantly. "I'm listening."

"Please forgive me. I know I had no business in saying what I said. You're right, I don't know what it is to experience loss like that, but I do know what it's like to want something that is not in your reach like you want Amiboshi to come back to life."

"What's that?" Ai asked.

"Love."

Ai laughed. "Everyone is free to love."

"It's not just love. It's a specific love."

Ai caught his meaning. "Oh. Whose do you mean?"

Tomo lowered his lips to hers, but held them in the air just a centimeter away. "Yours."

It took Ai a while to realize what he meant. In fact, he was already kissing her when she realized. She melted into his enfolding arms as he kissed her, then let out a moan.

Tomo immediately pulled away at her moan. "I'm sorry," he said. "Did I hurt you? I know I had no right to-"

Ai shook her head and put a hand up to his cheek. No words needed to be spoken to explain how she felt. He bent his head again, kissing her gently on the lips. Amiboshi was always gentle when he kissed her, but she had to admit she never felt this way with him. She unconsciously pulled closer to Tomo and kissed him back.

Crysta looked around the empty livingroom as she set her bag down. She'd been at the library and had sent Tomo home to apologize to Ai. She didn't expect him to listen, but it was worth a try.

She passed by his room on her way to Ai's to find it closed. 'He must already be home.' She put her hand on the doorknob that opened Ai's room and found them both kissing by the window. "It's about time," she said outloud with a mischievous smile.

Both Ai and Tomo turned and blushed when they saw Crysta. Neither were happy about her witnessing the kiss, but she apparently was. "Um...I think I'll go get dinner ready," Ai said, skirting between Tomo and the wall and past Crysta.

Crysta smiled at Tomo. "Apologizing was a good idea after all, wasn't it?"

"I would use Shin against you," he said coldly. Then his tone softened. "But you were right. I'm going to help Ai with dinner." He walked past her, too.

Crysta hummed to herself as she closed the door and headed for her bedroom. She heard the doorbell and sighed. "I'll get it!" 'It's probably Hotohori or Lantis.' She began to think about Lantis, who had been missing most of the week. He left early and came home late. He never mentioned where he went. He was just gone. She opened the front door to find Hotohori outside. "Hey," she said, hugging him.

Hotohori smiled. He liked the attention he'd been receiving from Crysta since Amiboshi died. She had suddenly become very clingy. He hugged her back with his free arm. "Is dinner ready?" he asked. "I'm starving."

Crysta shook her head as she let go. "Tomo and Ai are making dinner."

"Those two?" he asked skeptically.

Crysta grinned. "Yep. They've...made up."

Hotohori understood and nodded. "I see..."

"I'll give you the details inside." She took his hand and walked him back to her room. Hotohori barely managed to kick the door closed with his foot.

Ai was in the kitchen looking around for the pan to put the salmon fillet she was making when she felt Tomo's hand on her shoulder. "Hey," she said, turning around with a smile.

Tomo smiled back at her. "Let's go out for dinner tomorrow."

"You mean a date?" she asked skeptically, turning around to continue looking for the pan.

Tomo nodded, though she couldn't see. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean."

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

"You wear those leather pants..."

Ai turned around and Tomo's eyes grew wide as he stared at her attempt at an innocent smile, which was not working out very well. He nodded. "Deal."

Author Note: Hiya! Uh...okay...what'd ya think? Yeah, I know, it sucked. Kekekeke. I told you, I can't write. (Especially sappy scenes...) Mwahahaha! Please review anyway and give me some 'constructive criticism'. Anything helps, right? ^_^ And I know that Amiboshi died really suddenly, especially when he became Ai's boyfriend in the same chapter. Sorry, I was impatient and I wanted Tomo to kiss Ai already! Oh, and Crysta will continue with details of the date and Tomo in tight leather pants (kekekekeke), and her talk with Hotohori, so you'll have to wait. And just TRY to guess where Lantis has been... Well, jaaaaa! Oh, PS, Crysta's back! So she'll write chapter's 3 and 4. I guess we're going 2 by 2 now. So that means you'll have to wait until 5 and 6 to see another of my stinky works. :P Honestly, I'll try to write better next time. = ^- ^= *mrow* Kekekeke... *sings* The ants going marching 2 by 2...