Author's Notes: I don't own Angel Sanctuary no matter how much I flog Kaori Yuuki. Nor do I own her name.

Chapter 2

The carnival was here. Even with Setsuna's rejection, I was going to take him. I just wanted to spend time with him. Was that so wrong? I loved him, even if he rejected it. It was the first time, I realized that my own brother had the power to hurt me so much. Sadly, it was none other than my heart that gave him this power without my knowledge. My feelings stirred wondering what he meant by his last sentence.

I can only be your brother. Nothing more.

Of course he could be nothing more! Why did he say something like that? It tore me apart with such fierceness I never knew he or anyone was capable of. Still I ended up winning. We were on our way to the carnival, with Setsuna walking miles behind me, pretending that he didn't know me. I didn't care. If something happened, I knew he would have to acknowledge me, even as his sister. When we entered the main gate, we bought tickets and headed inside. I hated funhouses and the like, but I loved the games! I gave my ticket to the game booth where I was to shoot a basket and get a wonderful prize. My heart was set on the huge panda bear wearing a brown cloak, like Sherlock Holmes. With five shots, I had to make all five in order to get that panda, which I had already named Locke. I made two of the five shots and gave the guy another ticket to try again. But, a huge arm pushed me out of the way and took the ball from me.

"Brother!"

"You must want one of those prizes pretty bad to try again with only two out of five."

I stood back and watched him with awe. Was he really to try to make all five baskets so I could get Locke? He looked cool as he made the first basket with ease. His second basket was no surprise. But, if he made the next one, he would shame me.

I cried out, "That's enough, Brother! I can get the rest by myself!"

The ticket booth guy ignored us and looked away. A small crowd of girls had formed around us to watch Setsuna play. This was when he pushed me away and made the third basket. Tears formed in my eyes. Was he mocking me? Did he think it was fun to make a fool out of me just because he was better than me? Suddenly, I lost interest in the game and the prize. While he was so busy showing off to the girls, I left. I still had tickets in my hand and wanted to play. A booth with bottles laid out on the ground attracted me. The ticket booth guy said that all I had to do was get all three rings on the bottles and I would win a grand prize! This was like horseshoes, so I started the game, after handing my ticket to him. I didn't particularly see any prizes I liked, but my eyes found their way to a basketball signed by his favourite basketball player, Kaori Yuuki! Setsuna would love this! Mother had taught me to play horseshoes since she was English, so this game would be a cinch to me! I took the three rings and threw one over to the first bottle. Now, it was my turn to show off. My second target was the second bottle in the same row. I wanted it to be clear that I was throwing exactly where I was aiming. Two or three guys had stopped and cheered me on for the third and final ring. The third bottle in the same row soon found itself with a new necklace as I heard the guys behind me shout their praises. The booth master asked me which prize I wanted, so I pointed to the autographed basketball. He took it down and my new-found fan club began following me around.

"Hey there, what's your name?"

I muttered my name and they were soon asking me out to basketball games thinking I liked the sport. I desperately wanted to get away from them, because I noticed the other girls looking at me with jealousy. Pretending I needed to go to the bathroom, I had them wait outside. Inside, I tried to push open the window and escape, but it was stuck. With more force, I pushed it open and wiggled through. But, to my surprise, I found Setsuna wiggling through the window right next to mine!

He saw me and sighed, "Sara, can you help me through?"

Grabbing him by the waist, I pulled until he fell out. Behind him, he had tied a red ribbon to him and a panda bear with a brown cloak! My heart thumped.

"Brother, what's that?"

"But, he pointed at my basketball.

"What's that, Sara?"

Handing the package to him, I told him, "I won a game of horseshoes, but this was the prize. I have no use for it, so you can take it."

He untied the panda and handed it over to me.

"Same here. I won that basketball game and they threw this at me, without letting me choose my own prize. You can have it though, since I don't want it."

A fit of giggles broke out, as we exchanged our gifts. He put his basketball down and hugged me. I couldn't hear anything except the beating of my heart. None of my muscles would move, but every inch of me was trembling. He whispered in my right ear.

"I know you want me."

My nerves suddenly were on edge. I thought he was just a dumb brother who knew nothing about girls. It was just recently, I realized I wanted him myself. But boy, had I underestimated him. He really was a man now to be able to tell apart my feelings for him as a sister and as a woman.

As my legs wobbled, he continued, "But, I'm not hugging you seriously."

He was just playing with me? This moment was just a moment of fun for him? How could he say this to me, if he knew how I felt? This was the cruelest rejection! Wrapping me in his arms and then telling me that he was playing with me was too much! He never hugged me like this, as a woman. I felt so torn. How was I going to react to this? I didn't want to be his sister anymore. I wanted to stay in this rejected moment. Because he rejected me as a woman, not his sister. Not one word would form in my mouth. My tongue had been lashed and his arms were the whip that cracked against my heart. Why was he hugging me like this and saying something so horrible? Something I never wanted to hear from him, something I never thought I would hear from him, since he was never to figure out my feelings.

Still my mouth failed as he cracked the whip, "I was just playing with you…"

Finally, I uttered, "…Brother…"