A/N: I am sorry for the dreadfully long wait. I will try to write more chappies. Depends on how lazy my muse is . . .

To all who read and reviewed . . .Danke! For all that did read but did not review . . .Danke fur die Blummen! (German is getting rusty) I really would appreciate reviews, especially if they give me suggestions on what I could work on for my writing. I have determined the winner for the previous contest and will post who won and what they won.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

For you, I would Crossdress

By Tat Claire Kokoro

Chap. 5 Stargazer

/A dog howls, the moon rises

In darkness, the stars pierce forever

A rooster crows, the sun rises

In daylight, it's as if the stars never existed/

-"The Bonsetter's Daughter", Amy Tan

The water doesn't daunt his skin like mine, it enhances it. It makes his tan a sleek look. Rain drips from his tresse,and if it were storming his eyes would match so perfectly with the purple sky and his sister clouds.

He doesn't hate, feel uncomfortable or seems like he cares that he's wet. It's more like he embraces the water's nature. The rain is a part of him. Just as the sweltering sun beating against the sand is a part of him.

"Gomen, I got distracted."

He reaches a hand out and pokes my wings. "You look cute . . .are you cosplaying?"

I smile when he tells me 'I'm cute', but my face faults from the cosplaying comment. "No, I'm not cosplaying."

The tanned one shrugged. "Good choice of outfit, especially since it'll match where we're going."

I raised my head curiously. "Where?"

..

Heights . . .I have a fear of them. A fear dating back to when I was a child. Children, being confused and scared of the New World are naturally going to have nightmare. Many of them.

The most common are the ones of drowning, being lost, or in my case, falling. And where does one usually fall from? A high place, away from the ground.

So long as I stay away from high places I can't fall. Logical, ne?

Of course, with Malik, I can't avoid my fears. He's fascinated with heights, horrors, anything that will make my stomach flop.

When we reached the museum, the one Isis works at (and recently) owns, I thought we were simply going in. I was confused when he grabbed my hand before I could open the door. Wasn't this where we were headed?

He tugs on my arm, gently, and I limply follow him, or rather, he leads me to a ladder. "Ladies first", he offers.

I don't want to climb up, but strangely, I do as told. There's something about Malik that makes me want to obey him. I'm guessing it's his charm.

Then there's another ladder, like the first one. Malik urges me on, and like the first time, I blindly obey his charisma.

Finally we reach the top, the roof. This time the Egyptian wonder tells me to stay put as he scuttles to the top. A hand is held out to me. Before I take it, I gaze at the pavement below. One slip and my bloody mess of organs will be on it. Thank the goddess I don't fall. I am safe. ..For now. And the sidewalk is left without a corpse . . .for now.

There is nothing but the moon and city lights around us. The stars don't exist to city dwellers. Sure, we hear or learn about them or see them . . .in movies. That's all. We've never actually gone outside to stare at the constellations or nebulas, and if we actually do, we don't see anything. Only the bright lights of our Earth.

Malik stares at the nighttime sky. He stares forever, squinting his eyes and whatnot. He hopes he can find even a scratch of star, a bright dot in the sky bursting with helium. He shakes his head, blond strands trailing along gently, and sighs.

"I wish I could turn it all off", Malik says, more to himself than me.

"The lights?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, you want to turn the city off?"

"More than the city?"

"Japan?" I meekly guess.

"No. .. I want to turn the whole world off. No lights, no television, nothing."

"Why? What's wrong with technology?"

"I'm not against it", he says. "It's just . . .I wish humans wouldn't rely on it. I'd like it if w decided to call it a day and turn off the lights. Ya know, instead of resisting the night, so we can see the stars."

I'm surprised at how philosophic he is. Malik is normally hyperactiveinsane. I wouldn't thing he would take the time to watch the stars.

I flex my left hand, just a little. There's a light, warm comfort lightly grasping it. This comfort squeezes back. "In the beginning, humans had everything, soon we'll have nothing."

I take a moment to close my eyes, straining to understand what he means, "what does that mean?"

Malik stares at the starless sky again. "I don't know, I just started talking."

I tilt my head upward. Now I'm beginning to copy off Malik. I'm fixing my eyes on a dark sky, a night with no star. Suddenly I feel something. There's a prick a prickly feeling running along my stiffening back I can feel my eyes widening at the familiar sensation, a sensation I wish I never felt.

All the senses in my brain and my body are tingling and things are starting to move in slow motion. I want to turn around, but I'm afraid I'll see something or rather, someone.

Curiosity wins me over. I look behind us. What I see is what (didn't want to but) suspected. A shady figure of a gray color is standing close to Malik. Even though I can't see it's face, I can sense the figure watching Malik in a tender, affectionate manner. Then I suppose it noticed me. It turns it's head in my direction and all my feelings blur together. Pain, happiness . . .sadness . . .pleasure . . . All are swirling inside, as if in a blender. Malik is squeezing my hand, saying something, but my mind and hearing is so garbled up I can't make out a syllable. Finally I force myself to look away. Slowly the mixed feelings from the shaded figure flow from consciousness.

"Are you listening?" Malik asks for (I'm guessing) the third time.

"What?" I ask with a drunken sounding lilt in my voice.

"I never got your name.

"Oh . . . I rub my back, trying to rid myself of the weird feeling. Of course it won't work. It seems that shaded figure is going to stay awhile. "Um . . .it's Amaya."

He gives a slight smile. "That means, 'Night Rain', right?"

I nod. I'm about to ask him about that thing hovering behind him when his cellophane rings. Which is fortunate since he may think I'm crazy if I tell him.

He answers it and after a few, yes's, nos and a annoyed groan he finishes with a 'fine! I'm coming . . .I'm coming . . ." He hangs it up. "I've gotta go. Do you want me to walk you home?

"No thanks. I'll be fin."

"Are you sure? I don't want anything to happen to you."

Soft red rises to my cheeks when he says this. "Really . . .I'm fine," I shyly murmur.

The dirty blonde's hand is quietly slipping from mine. As is does, I lose the comforting warmth from his hand. I don't want to let go. I don't want to be alone. Without a thought my grip tightens. He can tell by the needy look in my eyes that I don't want him to leave.

"Tomorrow at . . ." he pause a moment, "the museum?"

"Okay." I halfway accept his leave. I know we'll meet tomorrow but it's not enough. I want someone to be with, to keep company with me. Maybe this is why I'm attracted to him despite his wild nature. I'm hoping he would combat my loneliness.

I reluctantly let him go, expecting him to leave. Except he takes the time to lean close to my face . . . Our lips linger inches apart, then I suppose he second guesses himself and kisses my cheek instead.

When he leaves I touch my cheek, feeling the warmth around me . . .partly from the almost-kiss and from the gray spirit that was around.

It stares again at me, the prick, prick on my back and the gray figure's feeling flowing back. After our small staring contest the spirit walks away, trailing after Malik, leaving a faint sound of slipper like shoes shuffling.

The warmth from the spirit tells me it's not hostile. So I'm not worried for Malik, I'm just curious to know if he knows and why he has a ghost following him.

-No characters were harmed (physically in the making of this fic. Tat is not responsible for any mental breakdowns.-

..

Preview of next chapter: /Amane would chatter to the spirits while cooking, cleaning . . .everything. She communicated with ghosts more than she did the living./