Okay, as promised, there will be romance in this chapter.
I only own myself and the horse plushy. And sometimes I'm not so sure about myself.
Kei
Kei found it odd, walking through Awayuki town. Most of the buildings were damaged, some were completely destroyed. It should have been a depressing scene, but instead, everyone was too glad to be alive to be sad.
People were rebuilding their homes, replanting their gardens and replacing their windows. He could hear little snippets of conversation as he passed.
"They say it was mass hallucination."
"Mass hallucination can't do that to a vegetable garden!"
"Three kids, telling everybody the safe way out—"
"They were flying! If I hadn't been running for my life, it would've been so cool!"
"We were lucky. Our house was more damaged when we had the break-in last year."
By far the most common subject, however, was the cost of repairs.
Kei stopped listening. He was looking for Goh, not hearing how everyone's financial situation was down the drain.
He quickened his pace, and nearly tripped over a little girl, probably about Hajime's age.
"Oh, gomen," he said quickly, preparing to leave.
"Wait!" she called, "Have you seen my cat?"
"What does your cat look like?"
"She's small, black with white paws and a white nose. She's got a bell on her collar."
"I'm afraid I haven't seen any cats matching that description."
"Oh, okay," she replied dejectedly, "She bolted east when that tree thing showed up two days ago, and I haven't seen her since."
Smart cat, he thought.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."
"S'okay! I'll find her eventually!"
The little girl raced over to the next person on the sidewalk, "Sir! Excuse me, but, have you seen my cat? She's black with white paws and a white nose."
"Sorry, I haven't seen any cats."
Kei started. He recognized that voice!
"Goh!" he called.
The Knight of fire turned. He saw Kei and looked like he was going to run.
Kei's hand shot out to grab his wrist, "Goh, I need to talk to you."
Goh
The Awayuki home was being rebuilt. Well, most of it, anyways. The farther parts of the house had not really been damaged, and Himeno had been delighted to find that the flowers she had planted with her mom, through ruffled, were still okay. Goh was glad to see it was recovering, though it would be a while before things were back to normal.
"Goh, you've been avoiding me," Kei said, his voice its usual monotone.
"Uh..." Goh wanted to argue, but it was true. He had been avoiding Kei.
"Doushite?" Kei asked, "Why have you been avoiding me? You know you can tell me anything."
"Kei..."
"You said that you loved me, but you—"
Goh flinched, wanting to run. Why had he told Kei? He had been sure that he would die, and that it wouldn't matter if Kei didn't feel the same. But they had lived.
As if reading his thoughts, Kei grabbed his sleeve.
"Goh! Don't you dare run away again!"
"Kei, I..."
"Let me finish!" Kei cried in a tone somewhere between frustration and anger, "You kept running away before I could say that I love you too."
It took a moment for what Kei had said to register in Goh's mind.
"What?"
"I love you too, Goh," Kei's face was inches away from his.
There was no need for Goh to say anything. He leaned forward and kissed Kei. It felt better than anything he'd ever imagined.
He pulled away a few moments later, looking at Kei. The Knight of Light took his breath away. Kei was so beautiful. There was no other word for it, the way his hair framed his face, the slight flush on his dark cheeks, and his golden eyes, now loving, instead of bored.
Kei pulled him into another kiss.
"You guys are so cute!" someone said.
They pulled away from each other and turned to see Himeno standing with Yayoi, Mannen, Hajime and Shin. Mannen was holding a video camera.
"I've got blackmail material forever!" he cried triumphantly, waving the video camera.
Kei was turning about seven shades of red, and Goh could tell that he was, too, judging by how hot his face felt.
"Why, you—" Goh couldn't seem to find words to express his embarrassment.
Mannen, probably wisely, chose that moment to make his exit. Hajime and Shin followed, Hajime grinning from ear to ear, Shin looking confused.
"I'll have to remember some of the things you said for my next novel!" Yayoi seemed overly happy about this.
"Uh..."
"Bye!" Himeno called to them as she dragged off Yayoi.
They looked at each other, "Eh... ehe..."
"Do you get the feeling someone up there's laughing at our expense?" Goh asked when he finally found his voice.
"Yes, actually," Kei replied, "I do."
"Well, now that we're alone again..." Goh let the sentence trail off as he kissed Kei once more.
"Ai shiteru, Goh."
"Ai shiteru, Kei."
They kissed again.
End part 2 of Battles
Okay, that's it for now. I may do more. It depends on whether or not I can figure out enough plot for more.
Translation: whether or not I can beat my muse into submission long enough to get more plot.