Disclaimer: No. You suck at life.

^^^^^^^^

Taro

Hiro told his story in a very matter-of-fact manner. This is what happened, when it happened.

It horrified me. The tale he was telling was too gruesome to be real. But the way he was telling it told me he was telling the truth. He had to be telling the truth.

Well. That explained why he rarely spoke. I certainly wouldn't be talkative after an experience like that.

Keichii was looking confused. Very confused. I almost felt sorry for him. His best friend had never told him about the biggest trauma of his life.

But then, if Keichii was my best friend, I wouldn't tell him either. He's not the type you tell this kind of thing. Of course, I wouldn't tell him anything. Since he moved next door six months ago, Keichii has tried his hardest to make my life miserable.

"So. That's why you live alone?"

Speak of the devil.

Hiro nodded. "Yes. But I'm getting ahead of myself."

"Jass never let me forget that day, even if I had tried. He insisted that my parents had taken the cowardly way out. But I knew better. I knew that they had beaten the system. I knew that they were free. And that's what kept me going. Jass didn't understand. He couldn't. He may have been able to read my thoughts, but he wasn't steeped in years of Japanese culture."

"My sister and I were transferred to a 'foster home' so that the government wouldn't ask questions. The parents were both Controllers."

"Around that time, several of the Yeerks had discovered that a simple Western breakfast food provided nutrients similar to Kandrona rays. This allowed Yeerks to go longer without visiting the pool. Unfortunately for them, it also proved to be addictive and harmful."

"Sixsa, the Yeerk in my sister Memi's head, got herself addicted. Before the chemical took her over completely, she managed to hook Jass."

"A few weeks after Jass first tried the stuff, the Yeerk leaders discovered the addictions. By this time, several Yeerks had gone almost completely crazy. Sixsa was one of these. But she was able to keep control, because my sister had been a voluntary host. They worked together to keep from attracting attention, Sixsa giving Memi some freedom and Memi taking over when Sixsa was too high to drive. It was amazing. Jass thought so, too. He hadn't realized a Yeerk and a human could work together."

"But soon, Sixsa's highs became so violent that they began breaking through Memi's control. Memi would start spouting nonsense in alien languages in public. Immediately, the Yeerk officials found out and took her away."

"At the next Sharing meeting, they forced her to eat the chemical until she was higher than a kite. Then they brought her onto the stage to show the rest of us what happens when a Yeerk gets addicted."

"And then they killed them. Both of them, Memi and Sixsa. Jass was, unfortunately, a bit high at the time. He and Sixsa had been very close – poolmates, I think. The experience drove him over the edge, and he lost control."

"I took over as soon as I felt him slipping. I excused myself to go to the bathroom and ran. I was almost all the way home before Jass came back to his senses and took me over, but that didn't matter. He actually thanked me for covering him. And from then on, we were partners. He knew he had to get away from the Yeerk government, and I knew that I was attached to him in their data banks. We were in it together. If he died, I died."

"He ran home and packed up some clothes, some money, and all of his stash of the drug. We were on a plane out of the country before sunset. Jass had searched through my memory for the place that I had the fondest memories of, and came up with Kyoto. That's where we were headed."

"We lived in Kyoto together for about a month, in a teeny apartment run by a little old lady too wise to ask questions. We mimicked Sixsa and Memi's relationship, switching off control. Jass was miles from a Kandrona, so he lived off the drug. But soon he began to run out."

"We looked everywhere, but Japanese stores simply didn't sell it. It was an unheard of thing here. And slowly, Jass began to starve."

"I rationed the drug for him, but it was useless. He was doomed. In the end, he starved to death in my head."

Hiro closed his eyes, and finally was silent. It wasn't until right then when I realized I had tears in my eyes. So did Sakura.

Keichii put his hand on Hiro's shoulder. Hiro opened his eyes and looked at him for a long moment. Then he nodded, as if acknowledging something. Something told me that something big had just passed between the two of them, and for the first time I realized how close they must be, having no one but each other. Hiro's family was dead, and Keichii's mom was never home. On impulse, I reached out and grabbed my sister's hand.

Ranara reached down and placed her hand on Hiro's cheek in a surprisingly gentle motion.

I am sorry for your loss, and your experience. I hope you won't hold my earlier actions against me?

Mikan made a sound that may have been a snort. Ranara is impulsive. Don't mind her.

Hiro smiled a little. "Don't worry, Rana-san. I saw enough of Yeerk society to understand your wariness."

Well. That was Mikan. We know who you are, Hiro. Now, who are you?

Keichii looked up, surprised. "Oh. I'm Keichii. I live next door."

Awkward silence. After a moment, Ranara shifted her weight.

We need to get out of sight. My friends, I must ask your permission for something.

Ranara! You're not going to –

Do you have a better idea?

It's not right.

It is if they give their permission.

That's not what I meant, and you know it.

Ranara ignored him. I must admit, I was curious.

"Rana? What do you need?"

She looked at me. Andalites have developed a technology which allows us to change our forms. I was thinking of becoming human and attempting to pass as one of you.

"You can do that?" Sakura breathed.

Yes. I simply need your permission to use your DNA.

"All of us?" Keichii asked. Mikan was the one to answer.

We can do it with just one person, but then we would become you. Two of you may get confusing. If we use more than one, we can compile a complete DNA strand from several different sources and create a new being.

We all looked at each other.

"Well, it would be better than having two aliens in our yard." Sakura said with a grin. "Sure. You can use my gene pool."

"And mine," Hiro said. He didn't say any more, but he didn't have to. I nodded my own consent.

"Keichii?" Sakura asked.

He didn't look up.

You don't have to. Rana said gently. I understand.

"No." Keichii said, finally focusing on the group. "No, it's all right. You should have some good genes to pick from."

It was a joke, and Sakura popped him in the shoulder for his efforts. But something told me Keichii wasn't really happy with the situation.

Thank you. Rana said. She laid her hand on my head. I felt my breathing slow, and my brain drifted off into a dream world as if I had just fallen asleep. Then, all at once, I was back.

"That felt good." I said, surprised. "Like power-meditation. Restful."

Rana did the same to the rest of our group, then Mikan repeated the process. When they were done, Sakura held up a hand to halt them from going further.

"Wait a sec. When you change, are you going to be wearing clothes?"

Clothes? Mikan asked, confused. Rana raised her eyes to the sky.

Yes, Mikan, clothes. Humans wear them. So do many other furless races in the galaxy. Didn't you ever pay attention in class? She brought her gaze back to Sakura. I will be morphing into a female human, about your size. Could you help me? I may as well begin learning immediately, since it is likely I will be here for a long period.

Sakura nodded, standing. "Sure. Come with me."

She lead Rana into the house, talking animatedly about fashion. Keichii rolled his eyes.

"Girls. How about you, Mikan?"

I would assume that Taro would help me, as this is his residence. I grimaced.

"Only if you're going to be my size. How big are you going to be?"

I based my stature and weight on Hiro's DNA. Is the difference too much?

I looked over at Hiro. He was enormous for a Japanese, over six feet tall, and way more muscular than I was, or even than Keichii was. There was no way, and obviously, Keichii saw that as well.

"Hiro, why don't you take him over to my place and lend him some of the spare clothing you keep in my room?"

Hiro nodded and stood, beckoning for Mikan to follow. When they were gone, I glanced over at Keichii.

He was being quiet. Too quiet. Keichii usually more than made up for Hiro's disinclination to speech.

"You didn't go with them." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Well, it's your house."

"Ah, Hiro practically lives there anyway. He doesn't need me."

Silence. I cleared my throat, looking for something innocent to talk about, but everything seemed superficial in the face of what had passed in the last few hours since the Andalite ship had landed. Apparently, Keichii was thinking the same thing.

"We're in over our heads, aren't we? I mean..."

"I know what you mean."

More silence. I felt him looking at me, but I couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze. So many negative feelings attached to him, but things were changing.

"Taro?" I looked up reflexively, and he caught my eyes and held them. Damn, those red contacts were creepy. I couldn't look away.

"Look. I know I haven't always been the nicest person. But I think we should try and not ... well, try to start over again." He stuck his hand out. "Okay?"

I paused, then took his hand and gripped it. "Agreed."

And that was the first time I saw Keichii smile.

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Yay for reviews! They make the world go 'round!

JulyFlame: Yay for MS Word. ^.^ In the Andalite Chronicles, they mention that all Andalites have a translator implanted in their heads. I'm assuming that that's how Ax learned English, and now Japanese.

Tabatha: See, the rest of the story. Thank you.

qwerty: The food is instant maple and ginger oatmeal, in case you didn't pick that up. No, seriously, they found out in "The Underground" that it causes the Yeerks to go insane. p.s, thank you, that's quite a complement.

Gilluin: ack! I'm working on it! *meh* And yeah, updates will be faster now that I'm back into this story. See, I work in phases – every so often I'll suddenly become obsessed with something, then an indeterminate amount of time later I'll drop it for something else. An Animorphs phase generally lasts a month and then leaves for three or more months, then comes back. Enjoy it while it lasts.

AN: I hope none of you are against slash, 'cause, well, after this chapter I think Keichii may have a crush on Taro. It would explain a lot. (And I swear, he did it all by himself! Crazy little nihonjin.) But I'll change the summary to include a warning if I decide to introduce a relationship like that.