Author's Note:

Yep, you guessed it, I still do not own any of the things mentioned on page 1, and yes, Mark is performing "Moonlight Destiny" as in the end theme to the S Movie, Hearts in Ice.

Chapter III: Homecoming.

Int. Hiwaka Shrine - September 17th 2002, 1:30 pm.

"So he's expecting you to get back with him?"
Serena had rushed to the shrine as quickly as possible after being called by Raye on her communicator. She knew it was very important since the communicators were only used in the case of a Negaverse return or an emergency. Because of this the communicators were very rarely used.

Serena was appalled by the news of Chad's return. She had never forgiven him for driving Raye to suicide despite not knowing his side of the story. She agonisingly listened to what the distraught Raye was saying.
"Yes. I just don't think I could face seeing him again, but there's part of me that wants to, even after what he caused me to do. I mean, I can understand him now in retrospect, he just got a little too stressed out and took a long holiday to his favourite place." Raye was staring at her lap with a half-frown on her face, as if she was slightly confused.
"Raye, have you gone totally soft? If I hadn't have found you lying there you'd be six feet under right now!" Serena looked at her with a sharp glare, upset as to why she would see anything in Chad.
"I know. I must have been extremely whacked to try and overdose, but I... I still-"
"You still love him?!" Raye nodded slowly, still too upset to make eye contact with Serena. "You must have less common sense than I thought. Why can't you get rid of him for good?"
"I don't know." Raye slowly raised her head to look at Serena. "I just do. Strange as it seems, it feels like the lyrics of Oh Starry Night have come back to haunt me. I actually kinda based that song on him, it just seems so ironic now. He was the only real love I ever had," Raye was careful not to mention Darien. "And when he said he loved me for the first time, it all just seemed like one big fairytale come true." She looked to the floor again before speaking in a hurt tone of voice. "And now here I am all alone. Every night I cry myself to sleep. I used to believe that one day a prince would save me, but now I know better. I guess some thing are just not meant to be..." She had a smile on her face, but it was obvious she was trying to fight back tears. "I just don't know what to do."

There was a long pause as Serena tried to absorb Raye's speech. The dilema placed before her was pulling on all of her heart strings. On the one hand she could advise Raye to tell Chad to stick his letter where the sun don't shine, denying Raye the one she loved most in the process, or on the other side of the coin she could let Raye get back together with the piece of scum also known as Chad Kumada, running the risk of Raye successfully killing herself should it all go wrong again. She had absolutely no idea what to say. She knew Raye was beginning to get fed up of living on her own, but that night twelve months ago was still giving her nightmares.

Serena managed to finally get her words out several minutes later. She spoke softly, extremely nervous about what she just heard.
"I... I honestly have no idea what to say about it Raye. I'm sorry. You have to make your own decision on this one. You know what my personal opinions of Chad are, but I don't want to go about denying you your happiness. If you do meet him at the airport, please, please make sure you know exactly what risks you're taking." Serena felt very dejected by not being able to come up with a rational answer.
"I understand Serena. Thanks for the advice." She looked up at Serena's wonderfully blue eyes once more. "You just helped me make my mind up." "I'm staying put." Raye stood up and walked towards her phone. "I just need to make a small phone call." She grinned as Serena started clapping.
"Tell him who's boss!" Serena cheered Raye on as she dialled Chad's number.

"Kumada." Chad answered the call with his typical rough, surf-dude voice.
"Chad?" It was hurting Raye, but she knew she had to get him out of her system once and for all.
"Raye? Is that you? Like, wow! It's been a while." Chad seemed very surprised.
"It's about tomorow. I won't be able to make it to the airport." She tried her best to sound disappointed.
"Oh... I know it's probably none of my business, but why not?"
"You mean you don't even remember?!" Raye suddenly turned vicious. "You broke my heart last year! You meant more to me than anyone else in the world, but still you buggered off to America! Do you know how much pain that caused me?!" Chad froze. He was almost traumatized by what she had just said to him. "Well, go on, do ya?!"
"Raye... I'm so sorry..." Chad sounded upset. Hearing this made Raye even more upset than Chad. She was fighting back tears, but knew this had to be done.
"That didn't answer my question." She was feeling particulary acid-tongued at that moment.
"I don't know..." Chad braced himself for an onslaught by Raye.
"Let me tell you exactly how I was feeling that night when you left me for LA. I was devistated, more devistated than you and your small mind could possibly imagine. I smashed up the temple in a fit of rage, and oh, by the way, I found some paracetamol in the kitchen and decided to overdose. Just my little way of saying thanks for the memories. If Serena hadn't have found me, I would be in my grave right now. Don't worry though, to you I am dead."
With those five words Chad had been emtionally destroyed. He dropped his phone as those words hit him like a 18-wheeler truck. Raye had never been this angry with Chad, not even before when they went out. He knew she was obnoxious, but this was killing him. Hearing her lash out at him in this heartless way was tearing him apart. However, he knew in his heart that this was what he deserved for leaving her on such short notice.
"No witty comeback? If you've got nothing more to say to me, goodbye!" Raye slammed the phone down before recieving another round of applause from Serena. She slumped to to the ground crying while Serena came over and put an arm around her.

"What have I done? That was heartless!" Raye almost always felt guilty after doing something wrong, but what she had just done was pure evil.
"Don't worry about it. Just remember no-one hurts Raye Hino and gets away with it. Was that honestly more heartless than what he did to you?"
"Of course it was!" Raye burst out into a flood of tears. "He came by to say he was leaving the country and wanted to see me one last time. When I asked him he said that things were just getting a bit too much for him and he needed a break. I was just angry at the fact that he didn't bring me with him." Serena now began to look very guilty.
"Hey, calm down Raye." Serena was trying her best to comfort Raye. "How about a trip to the mall tomorrow to take your mind off things?"
"You mean it?" All her anger had suddenly vanished as she looked into Serena's eyes.
"Sure. I'll get Mina and Lita to come along too." She smiled as Raye hugged her.
"Thanks." Raye appreciated how much Serena had become a true friend over the past year. She knew that Serena would go to almost any lengths to protect her, and she also felt that she would do anything to protect Serena. Their friendship was almost unbreakable.
"So, shall we meet up at the fountain outside the mall at about twelve?"
"Yeah. You're on."

Ext. Cherry Hill grocery store - September 18th 2002, 11:30 am.

Mark and Jack had been woken up this morning by Sarah's Dance Hits album as she took her morning exercise. With just under a week to go until the beginning of their first year at University, they were trying to get as much rest as possible. Sarah just shrugged off this complaint, branding the pair "Lazy" and reminded them that their fourth lodger would be arriving today. Mark had spent the past half hour searching for tea bags in the local grocery store, but to little avail. Much to his disappointment he discovered that tea was only sold as packages of tea leaves. He felt rather annoyed that he would have to use a small sieve to pour his tea, but was glad he had brought a tea pot with him.

He was now on his way back to the apartment, his shopping in a rather full plastic bag hanging from his left hand, when he was suddenly startled by the ringing of his mobile phone. He looked down at his left pocket as he grabbed his phone, still walking on. As he managed to find it he was knocked to the floor, followed by a cry of pain from a nearby woman. He looked up to see a young woman, also knocked to the floor, clutching her left ankle. "Whoops..." he thought to himself as he picked himself and his shopping up and went over to the woman, trying to rember the polite forms of Japanese words.

"Are you okay Miss?" he asked the woman, offering a hand.
"Does it look like it?!" The woman looked up at him. He instantly recognised her as the woman from outside the temple - Raye. She turned in agony towards her ankle which she was still clutching. "Aaarrgh! I think I've twisted my ankle."
"You're the girl from the Hiwaka shrine, aren't you? Raye, is it?" Raye looked at him in surprise. "I'll help you back there if you want."
"How do you know me?" She was amazed as to how this stranger knew her name.
"Shigeru 39 told me about you. He's guy who took me here from the airport yesterday." Raye nodded her head in understanding.
"Ah, Shigeru 39. He was a good friend of my grandfather." She reached up for his hand. Mark pulled her up as she slung her right arm around the back of Mark's shoulders. Mark was trying his best not to let his little crush get in the way of helping her. Slowly but surely Mark helped Raye to hop her way down the street to the temple.

It was a good fifteen minutes before the pair had crossed the road and reached the temple. Raye had occasionally stopped to catch her breath, finding the three blocks walk quite difficult on one leg. Mark had assisted her to the lounge of the cottage connected to the back of the shrine before he began searching for the kitchen to get some ice for her swolen ankle.
"It's at the end of the corridoor. The ice is on the top shelf of the freezer compartment." Raye called out instructions in her usual bossy way as Mark searched frantically for the kitchen. "The tea towels are in the draw to the left of the sink."
Mark had managed to find everything instantly and was just looking for something to tie up the makeshift ice-pack.
"Do you know where the rubber bands are please?"
"Look in the draw closest to the back door. I think there's some amongst that jumble." Jumble was a big understatement as Mark saw the chaos lurking inside. Discarded sweet wrappers, scrap paper, bent paper clips. It was an Aladdin's cave of useless junk. After searching for a while throught the pile of junk making sure the ice didn't begin to melt he finally found a rubber band and tied up the loose ends of the tea towel.
"Oh, and could you get me the phone while you're there? It's in the hallway. I was supposed to be meeting someone at the fountain mall today." She still sounded slightly hurt by the accident, but had picked up a bit.
"Sure." He made his way back to the lounge grabbing the phone from its charger on the way, handing it to Raye upon entering the lounge.
"Thanks. Please, sit down." Mark sat down on a cushion on the other side of the room. Raye placed the ice pack on her pink, swolen ankle before dialling Serena.

"Tsukino." Serena sounded slightly concearned as it was nearly half twelve.
"Hi, Serena." She tried to sound cheerful.
"Raye! Where are you?" Serena's concearn had turned to slight aggression.
"Looks like I wont be able to make it. I had a bit of an accident on the way and I've twisted my ankle."
"Poor you! Don't worry. I'll be there soon." Serena's voice had turned back into a concearned tone.
"Don't worry." She looked over at Mark "Some kind gentleman escorted me back to the temple."
"Is he cute?" Serena chuckled much to Raye's expense.
"SERENA!!!" She whispered down the phone trying to make sure Mark didn't hear. "He's here right now. I'm not telling you anything."
"I'm coming over there myself then! We'll get the bus to the temple. See ya in ten!" Serena ended the call.

"Nice place you got here." Mark was gazing around the beautiful pine room.
"Yeah. It's hard to believe this place is over sixty years old. It was rebuilt after the first one was burnt down in World War II." She gazed towards the greying ceiling "My grandfather refused to be drafted into the Japanese army. He was a very peaceful man and knew all too well what were happening to the prisoners of war. He wanted no part of it, he even said it made him ashamed to be Japanese."
"So you're a priestess then?" Mark was fixed on her beautiful indigo eyes. Raye turned back towards him with a smile on her face.
"Yes. I'm a shinto priestess. Ever since I began to live here he taught me the way of life and trained me to take over his role when he died." Raye sighed before continuing. "And now I've been running this temple for four years."
"Oh. Do you have any other relations in the area?" Mark was still fixated on her wonderful eyes, which she then closed.
"I'd... rather not talk about that..." It was apparant to Mark that he had just struck a nerve with her, so he quickly changed the topic.
"Sorry. I've heard this is a nice area to live in." Raye opened her eyes again and looked into his. Something then came over her. A feeling. A feeling she hadn't felt for a long time. She took a deep breath before realising she was fixated on him. A thought suddenly rushed to her head as she tried to reply.
"Oh god. I think I'm in love with the guy..." She suddenly remembered what he had just asked.
"Yeah, this is a pretty good area to live. One of the best places in Tokyo."

Thoughts of him began to nag her. She was in love with a foreigner she didn't even know the name of. She knew this would be one of the very few opportunities in her life of romance, and remembering how long it took her to admit her feelings to Chad, she knew that she had to take her chances as soon as they appeared.
"I don't believe I caught your name earlier." Raye smiled with an innocent look on her face.
"Oh, sorry. The name's Mark Davison." He smiled back at her. He suspected at that moment she might have sussed that he liked her. Nethertheless he continued normally. Raye took the ice pack off her now slightly pink ankle.
"Ah. Just a quick question. I was going to cook a stir fry for myself tonight, but I was thinking maybe you would like to join. It would be the least I could do to thank you." Raye was putting on her best say-yes-or-I-cry face. Mark didn't want to let an opportunity like this pass.
"Sure. Thank you very much for your kindness. What time should I call here?"
"Say, seven o'clock?" she asked as she looked down at her silver watch.
"It's a date." Mark was feeling pretty happy with himself. Just over 24 hours in Tokyo and he had almost got himself a date.
"Raye!!! Look what we got you!" Serena barged her way into the lounge much to Raye and Mark's dismay, followed by Lita and Mina.
"SERENA!!!" Raye sat up as she let rip with her fury.
"I think I'd better leave now. I can't thank you enough for your hospitality." Mark stood up and grabbed his shopping bag.
"No, no, the pleasure's all mine. Thanks for bringing me back here." Raye tried to stay calm amidst giggles from Serena.
"Thank you. See you later..." Mark swiftly left the room as Raye glared angrily at Serena.

"Wow. What a cute guy! New boyfriend, Raye?" Mina and Lita couldn't help but to laugh at Serena's comments. Raye looked as if she was was going to throw a fireball at Serena.
"I swear, if it wasn't for my ankle I would kill you right now!" The girls continued to laugh as Raye got angrier. Suddenly, she remembered what she had said to him a few minutes ago. "As a matter of fact, he might well be my next boyfriend if things go well tonight." The girls giggled even louder. "I've just invited him to dinner tonight. If you must know, I do think he's cute."
"Good job, Raye. He's really is cute!" Lita clasped her hands together as she spoke. "Although I do have to admit, he looks just like-" She was cut short by the other three.
"We know! He looks just like your old boyfriend!" the other girls screamed in unison.
"Well, he does..." Lita shrugged her sholders.
"What about Amy getting engaged to Greg then, eh?" Mina changed the topic of conversation.

"You lucky fiend!" Jack was amazed at what Mark had done. "24 hours in Tokyo and you're already pulling all the chicks in!"
"I dunno about that." Mark was trying to act modest. "I think its just serendipity."
"Who cares? This calls for a celebration! I'll get the beers." Jack began to make a move for the kitchen.
"No thanks. I think I wanna stay sober for tonight." Mark began to search through his wardrobe for something smart to wear.
"Wise move. I'll get myself one anyway." With that, Jack disappeared into the kitchen.
"Any idea when the new guy's gonna be here?" Mark shouted to Jack, selecting a white shirt, ocean blue gold-striped tie and a black suit from his wardrobe.
"Chad? He's gonna be here later today. His plane arrives at about half four, so he'll probably be here by five." Jack walked back into the lounge, can of beer in hand.

Nothing particulary much happened until the arrival of Chad at five. He looked like a steriotypical surfer, tall with long brown hair covering his eyes wearing a grey "Surf's Up!" t-shirt and worn blue jeans.
"Konnichiwa dudes!" Even though Chad was Japanese, he spoke with a Californian surf-dude accent. He had a guitar case slung over his back and two suitcases trailing behind him.
"You must be Chad. Come on in." Mark was the first to speak. Him, Jack and Sarah were trying their best to remember their Japanese phrases as Chad stepped inside.
"Thanks, man. These bags are, like, starting to kill me." He dropped the cases on the floor with a 'Thud!'.
"Just wondering, do you speak English at all?" Jack knew he was hopeless at Japanese, so he hoped that Chad knew even a little bit of English.
"Yeah, dude. I do know a fair bit." Replied Chad in English whilst Jack breathed a sigh of relief. His surf-dude accent was stronger than before. "I've just come back from a year with friends in Los Angeles."
"I'll show ya to yer room and tell ya the rules of this place." Chad propped his guitar against the keyboard in the corner of the room before following Jack, his bags still trailing behind. Mark made his way to the bathroom to freshen up for tonight while Sarah was watching some random Japanese soap opera.

It was at least half an hour before the four regrouped in the lounge. Sarah and Jack were watching television, Chad was playing random rock songs on his acoustic guitar and Mark, taking a small break from getting ready, was playing "Moonlight Destiny", the ending theme of some Japanese anime movie he had seen a couple of years ago, singing English lyrics which he had made himself. Mark noticed that Chad began to play the beginning chords of a familiar song. He stopped playing the piano, stood up and walked towards Chad as he and Chad began to sing.

"And you, can bring me to my knees, again..." Jack and Sarah turned as Mark and Chad began to sing in perfect harmony. Chad sounded a lot like Bryan Adams singing while Mark sounded a fair bit like Fred Durst singing. It was just beautiful. Jack and Sarah eagerly listened with smiles on their faces as Chad and Mark reached the chorus.

"I'm on the outside, and I'm looking in.
I can see through you, see your true colours.
'Cause inside you're ugly, ugly like me.
I can see through you, see to the real you."

Sarah was almost crying as the pair reached the angst-filled bridge, releasing all of their rage in one powerful verse before going almost silent for the final chorus. Jack and Sarah cheered and whistled as Chad and Mark realised they had been watching the whole performance. Chad laid his guitar down on the floor before giving Mark a high-five.
"Dude, that majorly rocked! You're a brilliant singer!" Chad looked back towards the crying Sarah.
"You can say that again. I'm very suprised the record companies haven't picked up on your voice yet!" Chad smiled as Mark looked at the clock on the wall. "Dammit! Twenty past six!" Remembering he was still in his underwear he dashed into his room to dress himself as the rest shook their heads in embarrasment. Chad turned back towards Jack.
"Dude, what's his problem?" Chad looked confused.
"Oh, he's got dinner with a lovely lady at seven." Jack giggled slightly when Mark rushed back in with his white shirt on looking for his tie.

It was ten to seven as Mark brushed down his suit one last time before leaving.
"See ya guys. I'll tell ya how I did when I get back." Mark opened the door, boquet of red tulips in hand.
"Break a leg!" Jack shouted from the kitchen as Mark shut the door and made his way outside the building. It was a beautiful evening. The sky was a beautiful shade of red from the evening sunset. Mark briskly crossed the road to reach the Hiwaka shrine opposite his apartment before knocking on the door of the cottage connected to the back.
"Come in. It's not locked." Raye's cheerful voice called from behind the door.

End of Chapter 3