Warning: Hugging, lots of food, and…I dunno.

Notes: Whazzaaap, everyone? ^_^ I don't have much to say…uhh…I need to go do homework now, as I've been putting it off all day. ^_^; Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone! **glomp!**

YET ANOTHER STORY

Chapter Nineteen:

What The Heck Does A Goose
Have To Do With Anything??!

When my eyes fluttered open the next morning and I found myself staring at Ayuru in the bed across the room—sleeping like a vampire, straight as a log with his nose pointed toward the ceiling—I thought for a moment I was dreaming again. Any second, the scary part of the nightmare would come, and Sai's arms would tighten uncomfortably around me, and I'd turn my head and realize that it wasn't Sai at all. But nothing happened. And gradually, my heartbeat slowing, it dawned on me that I wasn't asleep, after all.

What? I didn't have a nightmare at all?

Nothing? No creepy Sai? No Ashitare? Not even Genrou dressed as the Red Death?

Stubbornly, I waited for something, anything, to happen, because there was no way my R.E.M. mentality was gonna let me off that quickly. But as the minutes past and nothing changed, I felt a small smile begin to form on my face, a smile that grew and grew.

I…I didn't have a nightmare! And here I thought I'd be haunted for weeks, at least! I'm beating it! I'm really really beating it; I slept in a bed, I didn't have a nightmare! I don't need to be afraid! I don't need…

"GYAAAAAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Would that my life were not so full of ironies.

Scrambling up and in the bed with wide eyes, I realized that the scream had come from the adjoining room, and that it sounded suspiciously like Genrou. Panic tore at my chest, and I stared at the go-between door…what had happened?? Was someone in trouble? Was Gen-chan hurt?

"Sai…"

"I know, I know," he muttered urgently, brushing his hand briefly against my back to show me he was awake and alert. I felt him slide out of bed, and noticed that Ayuru, too, had heard the scream. The big police sergeant was sitting up in his own bed, poised as if to pounce on something the second it tried to come through the door; his eyes were narrowed and fixed on the other room, the muscles in his arms taut.

For my part, I took a breath and joined Sai as he stepped cautiously to the door, grabbing onto the back of his undershirt so I could yank him backward in case anything should spring out at him. I could tell he was nervous, and he reached back and put his own hand on my pajama shirt, assumedly for the same purpose. However, I was confident that my power would give me the advantage in this particular situation.

We crept nearer and nearer to the door; my grip on Sai's shirt tightened as his hand went slowly for the knob, my breath coming hard…

But suddenly, the door was flung open from the other side, sending me and Sai sprawling backwards onto the floor. I squawked as my backside collided with the thin carpeting, and Sai—who had somehow managed to maneuver me in front of him so that he didn't fall on top of me and smoosh me—gave a wheeze as my elbow connected with his stomach. And there, in the light of the door frame, was Genrou, wearing the most horrified look I'd ever seen him wear.

"Gen-chan, what's wrong?" I panted, worried, trying to get back up again. "Are…are you okay? What happened?" I looked him up and down quickly; he didn't appear to be injured, but…

"You don't wanna fuckin go in there, you guys," he said blankly, shaking his head back and forth.

My heart caught in my throat as Sai helped me to my feet, my thoughts naturally going to Myojuan and Tom… Before Sai could stop me, I darted into the next room with a sudden burst of anxious energy, and skidded to a halt at the far bed, where two still forms lay beneath the brown comforter…

…I expected at least a little bit of blood. Maybe one of them curled up in the corner with some kind of mental problem, or something. I expected one of them to be dead, or showing obvious signs of being turned evil, or making Blair Witch symbols out of the floral arrangement.

I was completely unprepared and somewhat relieved, therefore, to find that Gen-chan's cry of horror had been caused by the sight of Tom curled up at Myojuan's side, snuggling into his chest.

Relief washed over me in waves so heavy it made my knees weak, and Sai's arm going suddenly around my shoulders as I giggled breathlessly was possibly the only thing that kept me standing. Sai, too, was breathing more evenly, letting out periodic gasps of laughter as he ran a hand through his hair.

The guilty couple remained blissfully unaware of the world around them. How they had remained asleep after the antics of their screeching roommate was beyond me. As we looked down on them and laughed, I felt Ayuru and Genrou come up behind us, stopping at our side.

"What the fuck is wrong with them??!" Gen-chan hissed desperately. "Juan…Juan has a fuckin girlfriend! At least with you two it's fuckin exclusive, and you stick to one fuckin preference, but shit!!! Are they gay, or not??!!"

I reached out a hand and patted his shoulder. "I don't think so, Gen-chan. They're just…close," I giggled. "And you know the logic behind it anyway, right? It should make sense to you, of all people!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he complained. "But it's fuckin weird!"

Sai chuckled. "Well, since most of us are awake…let's order breakfast." He wandered off into our room again, and I patted Gen-chan once more and followed him.

~*~

Apparently, when Sai said "breakfast," what he actually meant was "the entire morning food supply of the northern USA." Room service brought up about five trays of food: blueberry pancakes, warm cinnamon rolls with icing, bacon, sausage, muffins, scrambled eggs, a whole plate of fruit… I stared at the food in amazement, fresh from my shower and shivering in the sweater Sai had given me for Christmas, wondering how in hell we were supposed to eat everything. It was like that scene from A Little Princess where the girls in the attic start out with nothing and wake up with warm blankets and slippers and food on the table…come to think of it, that was a little like my life.

"Holy shit!" Gen-chan exclaimed when he saw the buffet laid out on the low counter by the TV, just as Tom walked in and said, "Holy Virgin Mary, 's that all fer us, or fer some Seishi army y'all invited over?!"

"We hardly had one decent meal yesterday," Sai admonished. "And no, Genrou, Hostess cupcakes do not count. If we're in danger of running into Miboshi, we can't continue to eat like that. Or…not eat like that, as the case may be."

"No arguments here!" Gen-chan agreed, going to the table and helping himself.

"Well…thanks a bunch, Sai," Tom said gratefully, nodding at my boyfriend. "It's real nice of you to bring this up for all'v us."

Sai nodded back. "It's the least I can do." Turning to me, he took my hand and led me over to the food. Immediately, he shot me a startled glance, pausing to lift the hand he was holding and place it between both of his own. "You always have such cold hands," he admonished, like there was something I could do about it. "I don't think I've ever met anyone with such cold hands."

"My circulation is weird," I mumbled sheepishly. "I don't really notice it most of the time…"

He snaked an arm around me, leaning me against him as we continued to walk. "Well, come eat something. That will warm you up."

Usually, I wasn't a big breakfast person, but everything smelled really good, and I couldn't very well ignore it when Sai had gone through all the trouble of ordering it. So I had two blueberry pancakes and syrup, some bacon, some fruit, and a cup of orange tea. We laughed and joked—well, Ayuru just ate and listened, but in a friendly sort of way—and it was almost like everything was normal, like there was no evil in the world. Myojuan, who had been in the shower when the food had arrived, came in about fifteen minutes after we'd started eating, and everything was still stacked high on the plates.

"If only Miaka were here," I sighed, and everyone laughed. Ayuru even gave a lop-sided smile, and I figured he'd had at least one run-in with Miaka during which something edible had a role to play.

"Ahaha, and let me tell ya, Ryuuen," Tom laughed, changing the subject and pointing at me with a wedge of toast. "Those geese are awful dangerous things! You'd best stay away from 'em, ya coulda lost an eye!"

We fell silent, and I blinked at him in puzzlement. "Uhh…what?"

"They look cute and all, but damn me if they ain't the most vicious birds we got here!" he continued with a chuckle, and took another bite of food.

What…the hell??!

My gaze flickered to Gen-chan, who was now staring down at his plate in embarrassment. Myojuan was similarly silent, lowering the hand holding his fork and shooting a warning glance at the cat-boy.

"Gen-chan?" I asked quietly.

"Damn it, Fluffy, I told ya not to fuckin talk about it," my best friend growled, and Tom fell silent, surprised. Looking up, Gen-chan fixed me with apologetic eyes. "I, uhh…" he mumbled quietly, looking quickly down at the food before peering across at me again. "He wanted to know, ya know…what happened to your face." He made a gesture to the side of his mouth with his hand. "And I…told him."

Of its own accord, my own hand wandered to the bruise on my face, covering it up. I'd gotten so used to it, I didn't even notice it anymore, except when I touched it too hard, like the ones on my neck. I hadn't looked in a mirror for so long I'd almost forgotten about it.

Well…it's natural he'd want to know. It's not like it's invisible, after all.

I forced a smile, and a laugh. "Hehe…yeah. Those stupid geese…"

The silence was so loud after that that I had to fight the urge to go turn on the TV. I felt Ayuru's eyes on me, and when I looked up, I saw they were filled with sympathy… and understanding.

He knows. He might not know the details, but he's smart. He knows.

This should have terrified me, but somehow…it made me feel comforted. Silent understanding, without having to explain everything… I didn't have to lie, and I didn't have to hide. Sai, meanwhile, had found my free hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Jeez, y'all, I…" Tom's voice broke the silence, soft and subdued. "I'm sorry. I shouldn'ta said anythin. It…it weren't really a goose…was it."

A shaky but genuine smile found its way to my mouth, and I looked over at him and shook my head sadly. With a sigh, he lowered his eyes, shoulders slumping; Sai leaned over to kiss my temple, and I exhaled, still smiling.

"Well," I said quietly, "does anyone want the last cinnamon roll?"

Choruses of "No! No, Ryuuen…go ahead, you have it…you take it…it's all yours!" rang through the room, and I held up my hands defensively.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I don't want the thing! I'm just trying to push it off on one of you guys, so Sai didn't spend all that money in vain!"

"Well, in that case," Gen-chan piped up, swooping down and snatching the thing from its basket. "Come to daddehhh!"

~*~

We got our stuff packed up and lugged it downstairs, along with the leftover muffins and toast from breakfast in a paper bag. As Sai paid at the counter and Myojuan and Tom went to get the van, Genrou, Ayuru, and I stood between the twin sets of automatic glass doors with the luggage. As always, I realized belatedly that I could probably carry all the bags at once and save us the trouble of waiting; I still wasn't used to being so strong. In any case, though, I didn't want to draw negative attention to the group by displaying such superhero qualities, so maybe it was okay that I hadn't remembered.

"Ryuuen," said Genrou under his breath. "Look…I'm sorry about what happened at breakfast. The fuckin nitwit just asked outa the blue, and Mits and I didn't know what to say."

I glanced over at Ayuru, who was lingering on the other side of the entryway. But then…I guess I didn't really care if he heard us, anyway. He knew already. "It's okay," I told Gen-chan, smiling up at him. "What exactly did you tell him about me and geese?"

He folded his arms sullenly. "Nothin."

"Well, apparently you told him something," I teased, elbowing him—not too hard—in the ribs. "C'monnnn, what'd you tell him?"

"Noth…it…it was fuckin stupid, okay? It was the first fuckin thing I could think of, and fuckin Mits sure wasn't helpin any…"

"Gen-chaaaaaan," I pleaded, grabbing his arm and grinning. "Pleeeeeeeease tell me what you said, please please please please please…"

"Gahhh, all right, all right!!" he cried, pulling away. "I'll tell ya if ya fuckin stop that!"

I stopped immediately, folding my hands demurely in front of me.

"Fuckin pushy little jerk," he grumbled, glaring at me. "Fine, have it your fuckin way. I told him…I told him ya thought this goose was cute so ya…tried to kiss it and it pecked ya on the mouth."

I burst out laughing. "I tried to kiss a goose??!"

"Will ya shut the fuck up?" he hissed, eyes darting around. "Put a fuckin cork in it, for cryin out loud! Anyway, I'm just the one who said it; the moron didn't have to fuckin believe me! Fuckin gullible redneck!"

"Was it a boy goose or a girl goose?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?!?!?!?!" he roared. "It's a fuckin alibi I made up to save your fuckin pride! Does it matter???!!"

"Well, yes, it matters," I teased, pretending to be hurt. "If it was a girl goose, and goes around to all her goosey friends to tell them I've been turned straight, then what am I supposed to tell Sai, huh??"

"Ryuuen!"

"Then again…if it was a boy goose, that might make it even worse! Because Sai knows I'm not straight, so if I kissed the girl goose, he'd know it wouldn't mean anything, but if I kissed a boy goose…"

"SHUT…UP!!!" he yelled, waving his arms at me. "It's a fuckin goose!!! And what's more, it's not even REAL!!! You didn't really kiss the goddamn goose!!!"

I laughed, and threw my arms around him before he saw me coming. "Aw, Gen-chan! I love ya!"

"Gack!" he cried, still waving his arms, trying to pull me off. "Stop it stop it stop it there are people fuckin watchin us!!!!!!"

Undaunted, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "I think you're the only goose I'll ever try to kiss."

He was mortified into immobility, and I skipped away before he could scream. What can I say? I was just in a hugging sort of mood…which is the defense I give to my next action, which was to hop over to Ayuru and hug him, as well. Or…I dunno. Maybe it was more than that. The guy just looked so sad sometimes, and combined with my propensity toward being a sap and my already hugging mood, well…I guess I just couldn't help it.

His body stiffened, and I froze.

Oh my god. I just…hugged…Nakago.

For a while, I was afraid to pull away. As Eddie Izzard so kindly reminded us, it's hard to get hit with a bazooka if you're attached to the gunner, and I certainly hoped the same thing was true with chi blasts.

I'm hugging Nakago oh my god oh my god I hope he doesn't kill me

But he didn't say anything…and after a moment of hesitation, he actually lifted an arm and patted me clumsily on the back.

Holy CRAP, is he hugging me BACK?!?!

Slowly, I worked up the courage to pull away, peering guiltily up into his face. And he was looking down at me with a small smile, and what could only be fondness in his eyes.

"S…sorry," I whispered, awed. He didn't answer, just smiled a little wider to tell me it was okay. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he pushed me gently away, moving toward the doors, which parted before him like a mechanical door-shaped Red Sea. Myojuan and Tom had just driven up in the van, and I smiled after him before looking behind me to see if Sai was coming.

He was.

"Keep your boyfriend on a fuckin leash," Gen-chan growled at him as he approached, finally able to speak once more, and grabbed his bags roughly. "He doesn't need to spread any more fuckin love." Making a face at me, he stalked outside and threw his stuff in the trunk. I shook my head at him; I knew he wasn't really mad. I hoped not, anyway. I didn't think so.

Sai, meanwhile, was looking at me questioningly. "Spreading the love?"

"Aw, I was just teasing him," I giggled. "I kissed him…on the cheek, on the cheek!"

"Well. I suppose I can allow that," he replied with a wink as we, too, went out to the van. At one time in my life, I would have been scared that he'd get jealous, or think I wasn't true to him, or something, even though that would never, ever happen. But he knew where my heart was, and he knew that would never change, not in a million years. It was a warm feeling, and I loved it.

Genrou and Tom had stolen the middle seats, which stuck me and Sai in the back. This was fine by me; it always took a long time for the inside of the van to warm up, and since the back seat was like a bench, I could sit close to Sai. Myojuan closed up the trunk and climbed into the front seat, and in just a few moments, we were on the road again.

We hadn't driven for ten minutes, however, when I heard the familiar classical ring of Sai's cell phone. I quickly leaned up so he could get it out of his pocket—we'd been cuddling non-grossly to keep warm—and he put it to his ear and answered.

"Hello?"

From the excited squeaking voice coming in muted echoes from the earpiece, I knew it was Miaka.

Hmm. Wonder what she wants.

"R…really?" Sai straightened in his seat, his mouth hanging open a bit, his eyes wide. "You've… All right, slow down, please, Miaka…" The voice babbled on and on, and I peered up into Sai's face in search of an answer. He turned his head toward me and grinned, and I knew that, whatever it was, it was good news. "Sloane," he said, as if repeating something. "All right. …Yes, I'll tell them. I don't think we're far…yes. Say hello to everyone. …Yes, I'm very happy for you. Yes. Yes. Er…blueberry muffins."

I cocked an eyebrow.

"That's all. Well, maybe some toast. No, they won't go stale for a while… Miaka. Go tell Chichiri that we're on our way… Miaka, tell… All right, I'll make sure we save one for you. Now, go tell Chichiri we're coming. It shouldn't be more than a few hours. Okay. He loves you, too. …All right, I'll tell him…" With a look that was only slightly weary, he cupped his hand over the receiver and said, "Ryuuen, Miaka would like to say that she loves you."

I grinned. "I love you tooooo, Miakaaaaa!"

"Oh, sure, thanks," Gen-chan called. "Fuckin cold shoulder, whatever."

Sai rolled his eyes. "She now says she loves you, too. Now…"

"So she loves Ryuuen and Genrou, but not me?" Myojuan called from the front.

Sai closed his eyes in mild irritation, and I covered my mouth with my hand, giggling. "Yes…she loves EVERYONE. Now. Miaka. Go tell Chichiri we are coming, all right?…Okay. Ehe…I love you, too. Goodbye." With a sigh, he clicked the phone off.

"What'd she say?" I asked, excited.

"She said she loved me the most of all," he said, lifting his head high.

"Saaaai," I laughed.

"Well. It seems that the others have had slightly better luck than we have," Sai explained, smiling again. "It seems…that they have found another Seiryuu seishi."

TBC…

YET ANOTHER STORY AKUGI, Special Edition!

News Flash: Suzaku Seishi reborn in local Panera!

Okay, so the other day, I was in Panera eating chicken noodle soup in a bread bowl and minding my own business, mulling over my notes for my German history class. Suddenly, I heard a strangely familiar voice…

Voice: Daaaaaa!

Startled, I looked up to find that Chichiri had, in fact, been reborn in the form of a cute little baby dressed in an orange T-shirt.

A point to know is that, at Panera, they call your name over a microphone when your order is ready. At our particular Panera, since there's a portion where one can eat outside if one desires, there are speakers that carry to the outside, as well. So, this very afternoon, I was walking home from the video store after renting four Bakaretsu Hunters videos (Sunday is Anime For $1 Day!), when I heard a very familiar name being called over the speakers…

Voice: Sai, your order is ready! Sai!

Me: O.O;;; Do I go in do I go in do I go in and see who it is??!?! OMG, what if it's really Sai??!? Ahh, who'm I kidding, Sai is in a story and if he did exist in real life the chances that his name would actually be Sai are very very slim but ahhhhh what if it's a sign and he's there and I miss my chance?!??!

I decided, however, to take control of my emotions and keep walking. My philosophy is, if it was meant to be, we'll run into each other eventually, anyway. ^_~ Ehehe.

The Lesson: Next time you're in a Panera, be alert! You may run into some familiar people. ^_~