....-_-; I know, I know. I'm a horrid writer who doesn't write nearly enough. But it's here, anyway. *Pats Chibi Angel's head, both sitting back and looking oddly smug* Anyway...Name change, I'm Tenshi Megami now 'cos Almost Your Angel wasn't showing up on the search things anymore. Ja!


Goodbye, Usagi
Chapter Eleven
So Ignorant


Taiki's POV

Across the table from me, Seiya and Yaten paused their bickering as Ivy nudged Usagi in the ribs and the latter blonde got to her feet immediately, dropping her salad fork with a loud clatter. The three of us gazed silently at her until she blushed lightly, sputtering an apology and asking if we would excuse her. Yaten and I nodded, but Seiya's dark eyes sharpened on her curiously and she quickly hurried away from it, in the direction of the bathrooms we'd passed on our way in. Ivy lowered her napkin and smiled at us before standing and following Usagi gracefully, but the smile never reached her eyes. The second they were gone, Seiya turned to us remaining two and snapped,

"Why was she so thin?" The usual open happiness was gone from his face, the seemingly permanent sparkle in his eyes no place in sight.

"What?" Yaten asked, impatient as always.

"Didn't you notice? She's lost so much weight! Bakas, you're so ignorant." He scowled, leaning back in his seat.

"They left rather abruptly, didn't they?" I questioned vaguely, recalling the way Ivy's arm had jolted into Usagi's side.

"It *was* sort of strange," Yaten agreed grudgingly, spearing a bite of Usagi's salad and saying defensively to my raised eyebrow, "What? It's not like she was eating it!"

Seiya looked thoughtful. "She really wasn't, was she?" There was a long pause, silence creeping in like an unwanted intruder. "Taiki?"

"Mmm?" I glanced up from my meal at him. "What?" He was frowning, staring at Usagi's nearly full plate, eyes dark.

"Do you think..." He hesitated. "Do you think Usagi is, you know, losing weight unhealthily?"

"By not eating, you mean?" I asked; receiving an affirming nod in response. "I'm not sure... Her friend is very thin too, though, isn't she?"

Another long pause, this one stretching out over at least two minutes as we shovelled our food in silently. At last, Seiya broke the quiet--as usual.

"I have to say, I don't like this Ivy girl. She seems to be having a strange effect on Usagi, doesn't she? Listen," He continued, leaning forward with his elbows on the table, his long ponytail falling over his shoulder, "do you think they might be...Well, you know, together? *Like that?* I really don't like her, she--"

"Ahem." The three of us looked up guiltily, and Ivy was standing there, her pale eyes icy. Without a word, she took her seat and took a delicate bite of her small, plain salad. "Usagi will be out in a moment," She said coolly. "She's having a word with some *young man.*" I clearly heard the way she stressed the words and knew right away she'd heard Seiya's stupid suggestion. Yaten and I turned faintly red and stared at our food, but Seiya's gaze didn't falter.

"How did you meet Usagi?" He asked instead, voice slightly accusing. There was that tolerant smile again, as she responded that they'd sat next to each other on the plane here.

"Hontou? How did you start talking?" Seiya continued; I wondered what he was getting at. The ice in Ivy's eyes was growing colder. "Don't you think you should ask *her* that?" Her tone was frigid.


"I'm asking you." The atmosphere at our table was growing colder, you could've cut the tension with a knife. At that moment, Usagi's cheerful voice broke it and it was sunny again.

"Gomen ne! I didn't mean to take so long, I--" She broke off when she saw the angry expressions on Seiya and Ivy's faces. "What's wrong? Ivy-chan? Seiya? Daijoubu?" The icy looking blonde settled one of her chilly smiles on her face, the anxious look on Usagi's face faded quickly. Again, Seiya shot signifigant glances at Yaten and I, I couldn't believe he really thought Usagi might be...Well, *together*, with this girl. Suddenly he smiled at Usagi.

"Ivy was just telling us how you met." There was an unspoken challenge in his voice, it was plain to at least Yaten, Ivy, and I that he was daring her to tell Usagi of what Ivy had overheard. There was a long silence, tension hanging thickly in the air. Finally Ivy spoke, perfect mouth curving upward.

"Yes," she agreed easily. "That's *just* what we were discussing."


...The other three never noticed her long nails clenching tightly around the drink she held in her delicate hand.

But I did.

***

~*Seiya's POV*~

"Thanks for lunch, Usagi. Ivy." Taiki said, leaning against the doorjam outside the door of the expensive apartment Odango and her girlfriend or whatever lived in. He'd been glaring suspiciously at Ivy since our minor showdown at the cafe, I wondered vaguely what his deal was. After all, I thought, scowling, *he* wasn't the one who'd had the girl he loved stolen away by a *girl*...

"Yeah. It was nice." I agreed flatly. Yaten was practically itching to get out of there, arms crossed and toe tapping. His bright green eyes flashed with impatience. I leaned forward and kissed Odango's cheek, handing her a piece of paper. "We'll be in town for a few more weeks, call us sometime. We'll hang out, okay?"

She smiled back brightly. "Okay!" The two girls disappeared into the apartment and Yaten bounced off down the hall happily. Taiki began to follow, but I waved for him to stop and leaned against the door, my ear pressed against it.

"Seiya baka, what are you doing?" Taiki hissed, obviously annoyed. "Shh!" I whispered back, pressing my face against the wood more securely. I could *just* make out the voices of the two girls inside, it sounded like Ivy was berating Odango about something.

"You ate so much!" She complained. "I don't think you did a very good job throw--"

"Ivy," Usagi broke in hurriedly; it was almost as if she knew I lingered. I cursed silently, dying to know if she had been going to say what I thought she said. "I'm sorry! Listen, I'll go into the bathroom, right now. I feel like...I don't know. That huge woman we saw today. I have to get rid of this feeling." My mouth dropped open. I'd had my suspicions, but...I'd never thought that Usagi would actually *do* something like that.

"Did you hear that?!" I hissed at a wide-eyed Taiki, who obviously *had*. "I'm probably right about them being toge--" I broke off as the voices started up in the aparment again.

"Did you hear something?" Ivy asked, her voice was getting closer. I looked over at the man next to me in a panic. "I'm sure I..." The voice was right near us, and all the two of us could do was stare at each other in horror as the door knob turned.




***



~*Usagi's POV*~

"You say somethin', Ivy?" I asked, coming out of the bathroom a minute later. I was sort of dizzy and my stomach wouldn't stop heaving, but Ivy had yelled when I complained last week and came close to slapping me, so I kept my mouth shut. She was standing at the door, staring out in disbelief, shaking her dazzling platinum head slowly. "What is it?" I came up behind her and rested my hand on her shoulder, peering out into the dark hallway. I blinked when I saw what she was gazing at....

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Ivy? Are you okay?" I asked in concern; she was just *glaring* out at the empty hall. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm sure I heard that boy--..." She stopped and turned around, leaving the door open, and hugged me suddenly, almost possessively. Her hugs were like her, I noted absently--cold and impersonal, except for the warmth of the chest pressing into mine. Somewhere I wondered if she realized she was shoving her breasts against mine, then rolled my eyes. Of course not, I was being ridiculous. Ivy wasn't like that, she'd been married four times and was always looking for new prospects. And I definitely wasn't the type to...Well, like girls. She pulled away, smiled out at the hallway, and shut the door. "Come on, Azure," She said loudly, almost too loudly. "Let's go..." She paused for a minute, then spoke again. "Lie down on the couch." In a much lower tone, she said something about a movie, and we moved into the spacious living room.

"I'm *very* glad you're here, Azure," she said, loudly again. "Very, very glad."


***

~*Seiya's POV*~

I panted loudly, hunched over just around the corner from Odango and Ivy's apartment, breathing heavily. "That was close," I said to Taiki, Yaten was already long gone. We'd just barely made it down the hall when the door swung open and the Ice Bitch stepped into the hall. "But did you hear that?!"

He nodded, his mouth a tight line. "I don't like this," he answered grimly. "I don't like this at all."




-_-; Let me say this now...S'not a yuri fic, so don't flame me. ^^;;; Very short, ne? I tried so hard to make this longer. *Cries* Oh well! *Hops* Review, pretty pretty please with a chocolate Seiya or Mamoru on top? ^_~!