Big thanks to Momiji-chan Wa Baka (I wondered where you disappeared to), Hydra-Star and silver celeste (finally!) for the reviews.  Also, thanks to Isopreno and Lillian for the great reviews.  Hydra-Star brought up the point that Miaka probably couldn't sense ki and that only Chichiri of the Suzaku seishi could. I agree to an extent, but my idea was that after Taitsu-kun sprinkled the ashes of the scroll of the four gods on her that Miaka would gain a limited amount of ability to control her ki. This was supported by the fact that she was then able to control devices meant to be used only by the other Suzaku seishi (e.g. Nuriko's bracelet and Hotohori's sword) and she could set up a ki barrier when Nakago tried to rape her. Also, her talents would improve with her newfound maturity (stop laughing celeste!) and with the fact that she had merged with a god in the past. Sensing ki is a very basic spell as far as I know so she shouldn't have had much trouble learning how. Anyway, that's my explanation…. Take it or leave it. And now, I'll get on with the story.

   Chapter 10

   Keisuke sat on the bed in his room. For the first time in his life, the cheery cream walls failed to soothe him. His gaze swept past the various frames on the wall, noting the moods reflected within them. He had taken to painting in the last couple of years as a way to express his feelings without allowing people to see too deeply into himself. That, and the fact that his poetry ended up sounding like warped nursery rhymes or ended up morphing into dirty limericks. Plus, he had always had a natural talent for art. All of his teachers agreed that he was extremely talented – possessing a flair for the dramatic with his dark landscapes as well as for the melancholy with several romantic pictures of a couple entwined in each other's arms beneath a barely flowering jasmine tree. Keisuke tended to give away most of his paintings as gifts or presents; yet he had been unable to part with two of his favorites which now adorned his walls. One of them was a dark seascape showing harsh forked lightening over a distant ship in the horizon. On a craggy face looking out to sea, the viewer was barely able to make out the figure of a woman facing the ship, with a hand flung out towards the heavens and her face tilted up towards the pouring rain. The picture never failed to give him a sense of extreme unease and yet, it was one of his best works – the sharp brush-strokes and modest use of color elevating the whole scene to a new level. It was a source of great personal pride and yet, he was uneasy with the violence he had somehow managed to capture. It mirrored the recent turmoil he had found within himself far too much for comfort.

   The other painting on the wall was one of his firsts. Although it was unarguably his worst painting, he still took great pleasure in its simplicity. The painting showed a small blonde girl sitting under a large banyan tree, smiling through her tears at a man who stood with his back to the viewer. While the colors clashed horribly and the brush-strokes had been smudged in more places than one, the painting itself still held a very poignant appeal. It was also the first of his work that Yui had ever seen. He had worried that she might recognize herself in the child, might recognize his hidden longing to be the man to make her smile through her pain. He was almost hoping that she would at that point so that he would have been able to confess his feelings for her, but after a moment of awkward silence she had laughed and called him an artist in the making. Then she had left abruptly, making her excuses to Miaka. Keisuke had wondered for a while if she had guessed, if that was her subtle form of rejection but she seemed as unaware as ever on the next day, treating him as a favored older brother while showering her smiles on Tetsuya…

   Keisuke clenched his hands as a brief spurt of jealous anger passed through him. He loved Tetsuya like a brother; there was no one in the whole world that he trusted more. Tetsuya was rich, smart, charming, well mannered and best of all – he could make Yui smile. And there was also the fact that he was completely unaware of Keisuke's feelings. As much as Tetsuya may have wanted to date Yui, he would never have poached on what he considered Keisuke's territory. Keisuke knew all of this rationally. It was one of the things that made Tetsuya one of his best friends… and yet, he couldn't help but wonder jealously what Tetsuya had that was lacking in him, what the special something was that drew women to him as moths to a flame. Originally, he had thought it was the whole element of mystery that was brought on by the dark glasses which Tetsuya wore all the time because of his sensitive eyes. But that hadn't been it, because when he had tried it, people had laughed at him, called him agent weirdo and asked him his views on alien domination. Even Taka had been hard pressed to stop laughing and had asked him about his secret assignments to fetch dirty magazines into the house. Keisuke flushed, remembering the large stack that his mother had recently discovered under his bad on her cleaning spree. She hadn't said much, after giving him a narrow eyed look of reproof and telling him to fetch the bottle of Lysol. Yeesh!

   Keisuke sighed before letting his gaze fall on the framed photograph that he kept by his bedside. The picture had been taken the day he had brought Taka to meet Miaka. The two of them were gazing into each other's eyes like a pair of lovesick calves, holding hands with white-knuckled grips. He grimaced in memory. As much as he loved his sister and delighted in her happiness, sometimes the two of them got so soppy that the sight was just plain revolting. He, himself, was standing to the side, grinning at the camera and making a v with his fingers, elation evident in every corner of his face. Tetsuya was standing at the other end of the picture with one hand on his glasses and the other placed comfortingly on Yui's shoulder, a small enigmatic smile playing on his lips. Yui stood in front of the two of them, staring out of the picture with tired eyes and a strained smile, the little blue earring peeping between the strands of her hair….

   Keisuke tore his gaze away from the picture and flopped back on his bed, letting the air rush out of his lungs with the impact. He took a minute to wonder what Taka would do now that he knew of Keisuke's feelings for Yui. He knew that the former Suzaku seishi had seen and recognised one of his most closely guarded secrets during that moment near the attic steps. He had caught Keisuke at an unguarded moment and now the word was out. It would be up to Taka now, either to ignore the whole incident and keep mum or to tell Miaka and thus, indirectly inform Yui of his feelings. Keisuke had no idea which option he was rooting for harder. He was aware that somewhere deep in his subconscious he was harboring the fantasy that Yui, on hearing of his love, would drop Tetsuya like a hot rock and run into his arms. But he knew that he was most likely deluding himself. He was aware that her feelings for Tetsuya and Tetsuya's for her would definitely factor into the equation. And as much as he may want the pot of gold at the end of his rainbow, he wasn't willing to get it by stepping on everyone else's hearts. He consoled himself with the image of her glowing face after her first date with Tetsuya.  So happy…

   For all you know, her face might glow like that for you. She might be happier with you… after all, you worked just as hard as anyone to help her get over the book. You might be the one she wants, Keisuke's mind whispered cajolingly. He shook his head to clear it but the thoughts still flew around in his mind like bees buzzing near an enticingly large field of flowers. He shut his eyes tight against the thoughts that were flying around in his head and concentrated on his breathing instead. Images flowed through his mind like an endless river – Miaka bringing Yui home for the first time, their first sleep over for which he had been booted out of his own room because it was larger, Yui running around in that little high school uniform with the short shirt and that sexy little jacket…

   Keisuke smacked himself hard on the head and tried to concentrate on non-hentai thoughts. Miaka and Yui having a pillow fight with Yui wearing this skimpy pair of shorts, with the pillow breaking open on impact and covering her with its soft feathers so that she looked like a laughing angel in those tight, little, skimpy…. Whoa boy! "Keisuke no baka", he murmured to himself as he shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts that were running through them again. "Think calm thoughts… mountains… rivers… water pounding on rocks… splashing on Yui's T-shirt… No! No! Water dripping from taps… fountains… waterfalls…oh great! Now I have to pee!" Grumbling under his breath Keisuke headed for the bathroom. He was just zipping up his pants when he heard the sound of the door closing and his mother's cheerful voice announcing her arrival.

   "Damn, mom's home!", he whispered, wondering what sort of excuses he should make up.  It was doubtful that Taka would want to leave without finishing his reading of the book and Keisuke wasn't sure he wanted his sister's love to leave if he was still in the same emotionally unstable state as earlier. On the other hand, he didn't think his mother would take too kindly to the idea of Taka spending over on a weeknight. Plus, he'd have to have a decent explanation for why Miaka was out of bed. It was moments like this that he cursed himself for being a good brother at all. The title carried very few benefits and the sacrifices he had to make were getting more and more taxing as each day went by. And now, he had this little difficulty to ponder. It finally occurred to him that since Taka and he were both in the same university, he could claim that Taka needed help on a university project due soon. His mother was bound to allow Taka to spend the night if he bunked down in Keisuke's room and if the two of them pretended to work until she fell asleep. As for Miaka, he would claim fear of bedsores! She hadn't been up much all week and although bedsores never appeared that early, he didn't have to share that knowledge with his mother. Keisuke felt the need for applause as he managed to cross all the t's and dot all the i's in his brilliant plan. The thought "I'm a genius" was running through his head and he headed down to explain the night's arrangements to his mother…