He had been lying awake for a while by the time his alarm clock started ringing, its annoying "beep, beep, beep,"

cutting through his reverie. A slender, pale hand reached out to turn it off, carefully not pressing the snooze button,

which didn't work anymore and wouldn't shut off the sound. Exhaling, Aya sat up in bed, the white sheet falling

and puddling on his lap. The sun was already hard and bright in the room, and Aya sat there, not feeling entirely sure

what he was doing, nor what there was he should be doing.

Donna hana sae, itsuka was kare-yuku

Donna yume sae, itsuka wa kie-yuku

Donna ai sae, itsuka was same-yuku

Donna hoshi sae, itsuka was tae-yuku

(No matter the blossom, someday it will wilt

No matter the dream, someday it will fade

No matter the love, someday it will cool

No matter the star, someday it will cease)

Aya swung his feet out over the edge of the futon frame and stood up. His muscles ached a little from the exercise

last night- that was a good sign. That meant he had pushed himself. Aya bent over to massage his calves, stretching

them during the process. His crimson hair fell forward over his face, tickling his nose. // Oh no… I have to sneeze…//

Aya quickly stood upright and held his breath, hoping he wouldn't. He hated it when he sneezed. When the tickling,

tingling sensation left his nose, he let the breath out and walked over to the dresser, opening the top drawer for boxers.

Black as always. Then, a shirt. Black as well. A little tighter than he usually liked, but today he felt like it. Black corduroys

would suffice, and those new shoes. Slipping into the clothing, he brushed his hair, straightened up, and looked in the mirror.

Yes, this would do just fine. Aya turned, and walked over to his bed, intending to straighten the sheet and coverlet, but was

stopped by the sight of a box resting on his pillow.

Naze hito wa motomete shukumei no kinu wo

Matou

Naze hito wa utsurou unmei no fuchi de

(Why do people seek to clothe themselves in

karma?

Why do people hide in the chasm of fate?)

"Fuck it. I'm not opening it. I'm going to throw it out, right now." In two strides he was next to the bed. He reached across

to the pillow and grabbed the box. He stood up, intending to immediately toss it into the wastebasket, but something stopped him.

// Something, ne? Curiosity. I don't really want to throw it away, but if I don't… then… //

Like a cat with its paw halfway into the hole before it consciously wants to make any moves, Aya's hand was already on

the lid of the box before he could think about it. He sighed. // Might as well… // The opened box revealed two small chocolate hearts and a note.

Kokoro ni kakushite iro mono

Mitsukete kami was kizutsukeru

Daiji ni shimatte iro mono

Kowashite ore wo waratte iru

(I discovered something hidden within my heart

God hurts

And breaks those he loves

And now he is laughing at me.)

Aya pulled the slip of paper free of the chocolate, half-annoyed at himself but not able to help it. He had to see what the note

said. Unfolded, the rice paper was small, about the size of his palm. In handwriting that wasn't his sister's, it said, simply, "I'm sorry for this."

// "I'm sorry" ?? What is that supposed to mean…? And who is really giving these chocolate hearts to me? // Aya truly was

confused. It had to be someone who had access to his room- and therefore someone who was either on the team, or another,

higher-up official of Kritiker. He knew that no one in Kritiker really knew him personally nor had any reason to apologize to him…

At that he sneered. The entire organization owed him something. But that's not the kind of thing that they do- and if they ever admit

that they are doing anything wrong, I'll eat my katana whole with plum sauce. So it had to be a member of the team. Now… which one?

Ken- maybe. Omi- maybe. Youji- no… Hm. This was a difficult problem. Since he had no intention of leaving the only one of Kritiker's

groups that he had ever really worked well with, he would have to be very careful. Anyone who would do this would be subtle enough

themselves to pick up on it. So…. What to do? A flower arrangement? No. Aya knew for a fact that he and Youji were the only ones

on the team with real knowledge of flower meanings, and Youji wouldn't have done this. So that leaves other plans… Ah! He could have

them order ice cream--- have them guess what flavor he wanted. The one who said chocolate was the culprit. Then he'd look that person

right in the eyes and tell them he liked vanilla better. That was it. They'd get the message.

Donna sora sae, itsuka wa kure-yuku

Donna kaze sae, itsuka wa hate-yuku

Donna toki sae, itsuka wa kuchi-yuku

Donna hito sae, itsuka wa shini-yuku

(No matter the sky, someday it will darken

No matter the wind, someday it will falter

No matter the time, someday it will fall to ruin

No matter the person, someday they will die.)

Author's note: Hey minna! Here's the new chapter. Read and review, please! You already know you'll get presents and everything if you do! ^^ Okay--- so this chapter's song is "Kami wa Taisetsu na Mono wo Kizutsukeru (God Hurts Those He Loves)"  sugnn by Koyasu Takehito (Aya's really hot seiyuu. Unfortunately for me, he's married. Sob.)  Anyways, this song is really pretty. If anyone wants an mp3 of it, I will gladly send it to them via AIM! Stupidly, my email server doesn't send attachments that are as big as mp3 files are, so I have to revert to AIM sending. Also- this isn't the entire song. There're still… oh, I'd say 5 more stanza-like things. A couple aren't exactly verses, which is why I call then stanzas (It really is poetry if you just read the lyrics.) So my AIM is yukarikudou. I will be on in the evenings on weekdays and various parts of the day on weekends.