Don´t abandon the thought of a YomiXTomo pairing just yet, things are just beginning, and with the speed I´m writing things might take forever >>. Sorry about writing so slowly.
When you do read this, though, bear with me, ok?...things may turn out abit hard to predict...even for me...but that´s how I write.

Disclaimer: I do not own the song "Lilium" from Elfen Lied. This is the song that is hummed further on, you´ll know it when you read it.

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Five of the girls were already sitting around the dinner table, waiting for their last friend to join them.

And they had been waiting for quite some time.

Tomo, impatient as ever, decided that enough was enough and that she shouldn´t have to stay hungry with all this great food in front of her. "Itadakimasu". And before anyone could say anything Tomo was grabbing this and that, shoving random foodstuffs down her throat in a speed that complimented her usual genkiness.

The others waited another minute or so before they to decided that Osaka probably was off in dreamland or somewhere they didn´t quite dare think about.

Yomi spent her time, pushing rice and fish around on her plate. Her mind was elsewhere, something not in commonplace for the strongwilled individual Yomi always seemed to be. For some reason Yomi had taken the seat the furthest away from Tomo, not much to think about when taking Tomo´s usual manners in consideration. But that was a rule that didn´t count for Yomi

Chiyo , who noticed all this, couldn´t help but worry. Had something happened in the tub? Or had it happened earlier? In either case something was definately off.
Before Chiyo could give it any further thought Osaka came in through the door.

Osaka was moving like a sleepwalker, her movements were lacking in coordination and her eyes were droopy and there was a redness around them that made it seem like she´d been crying recently. Swaying she stumbled into the room and plumped down on a chair. Looking around she saw how everyone was looking curiously at her, well everyone except Yomi for some reason.

"What is it? I´m just abit tired s´all , besides I got shampoo in my eyes so they´re stinging abit."
Since she didn´t want to talk anymore about it, Ayumu ended the discussion by stating "itadakimasu" and stuff her mouth with food.
A sweatdrop or two appeared on a few foreheads, but noone decided to push the matter any further. Tomo might´ve, but she was too busy stuffing her face with chicken at the moment.

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Yomi had excused herself early, something that was a very unusual event at such a feast. Offering her praises to Chiyo´s cooking she had left saying she needed to rest after the vigorous day in the snow. The weird attitude didn´t , however, pass Tomo by as her best friend left the table with a blank face. Tomo who had finished eating pretty fast ( she eats with as much energy as she does everything else ) looked at the back of her friend that was finding it´s way up the stairs. As it passed out of view she got up and followed it.

A single pair of eyes followed Tomo´s back up the stairs.

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"What´s wrong Yomi?" Tomo asked the form on the futon.
The room had been dark upon entry and Tomo had decided to leave it like that, somehow it made things easier.
When things were in the dark you weren´t as exposed, and things became easier to talk about.
Now Tomo didn´t have a clue about what was going on , so she really appreciated the darkness.

"Nothing, I´m just tired, go away!" Yomi´s usual stern voice sounded strained , that was all Tomo needed to know something was wrong.Tomo walked over and sat next to Yomi, face facing away. "You do know I can tell when something´s wrong, don´t you , Yomi? And now something´s wrong."
"No, it´s not! I am perfectly fine, now go away!"
Instead Tomo lifted her head to look over Yomi´s shoulder at her face. "Come on , I thought I was the kid here." The only reply Tomo got was a slight shifting of Yomi´s body.

"Well, if you´re gonna be like that you leave me no choice! Move over , I´m gonna sleep here tonight , and I won´t stop with my interrogations untill you´ve admitted what´s wrong."

Tomo felt the body next to her tense up and start to shake, a few violent sobs ravaged Yomi´s body.This concerned Tomo, because it had always been her that cried, on those few nights they had spent together, not sexually, but just together.
There was something about having Yomi comfort her that made Tomo feel so safe, so at peace and so at home in her arms.
Now it was apparently Tomo´s turn to comfort, and it was unsettling.
Hesitantly she laid one of her arms over Yomi side and gently stroked her stomach, the other hand went up to drift through Yomi´s hair. It was abit weird on Tomo´s part, but Yomi seemed to settle down and after a little while the sobbing subsided.

The two lay there for a little while before Yomi turned to Tomo and with tears in her eyes she kissed her.
The kiss lasted a few seconds as neither part did much.
Tomo was shocked, she had never kissed a girl before, well not for real, that thing with Kagura was just for fun, even if it had felt really great. Now Yomi was kissing her, and this was just as good if not better, but...

Tomo freed herself from Yomi´s arms and lips by pushing herself away. "What are you doing?"
Yomi felt something snap inside her, this was just what she had been afraid might happen.
Tomo backed away from Yomi and got up, still half in shock. "What was that? We´re girls!We´re friends!"
"B..but can´t you feel it Tomo? Can´t you feel that safe, warm feeling when we´re together like this?"
Tomo looked at her friend and assailant in shock. Of course she had felt it, but...wasn´t that just friendship?
"Isn´t that what friends do?" Even while her inside was tearing up Yomi couldn´t help the little smile that sprung up at the Tomo´s childlike and innocent thinking. She was so naive.
"No, Tomo, friends don´t spend nights holding eachother, but lovers do."
"W..w..what are you saying Yomi?"
"I´m saying that I love you!"

Tomo´s eyes changed several times in a few seconds, how was she supposed to respond to this, she didn´t know a thing about love , much less love between girls, wasn´t this friendship she was feeling? "H..how?Why?...What is this?" Before Yomi could react Tomo ran out the door, and disappeared down the hallway.

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She was on her way home from school, today they had graduated , a thing that could´ve ended everything, but Ayumu knew it wasn´t going to. She and her friends would be together, forever. Tomorrow they would go to magical land and spend the whole day just playing, if Yomi passed that is, but Ayumu knew Yomi was smart and she´d pass, or else it wouldn´t be a happy ending, right? Yes, Yomi would pass and everybody would be happy. And so it where supposed to be, forever.

Slightly skipping Ayumu entered through the front door of her family´s house. She knew her mother was preparing her favourite dish for dinner, and now she would go into the living room to say hello to her father and have him hug her for being such a smart and grownup girl. Yes, things were wonderful.

But as Ayumu strode into the room she saw her entire family, her parents, sit on their couch with grave faces.
"Ayu-chan, please sit down." Her father said to her, gesturing for a seat opposed to him.

This was wrong, this wasn´t what was supposed to happen, why were her mothers eyes stinged by tears? Why were they both so serious? And when she thought about it...hadn´t there been a sign outside?

"Ayu-chan" Her father began, snapping her out of her trance. "Something has happened at my work...I have been offered a position in Hokkaido, and I´m going to take it." At first Ayumu didn´t get the point, but her brain slowly and tidily worked through the facts, and she realised what it meant.

Ayumu rose from her chair and shouted at her father, something she´d never done before. "NO! WE CAN´T MOVE! Things are so good now! I can´t leave my friends! I can´t...I can´t...I...can´t..." As her temper drifted Ayumu fell back into the chair and buried her face in her face. Her parents rose and left their daughter to her sadness and her tears. Ayumu didn´t leave that chair untill the next morning.

As she and the others waited for Yomi to check her results Ayumu kept hassling her self. She had to be strong, she couldn´t let the others know, then she would ruin their and her´s day. She played along and acted happy, but inside her feelings were ripping her apart.

During the day she did manage to ,not just act happy, but she forgot her issues for a little while and she spent a last happy day with her friends, the last day she would be with them.

At nine o´clock PM Ayumu was at home, dialing Chiyo´s number. She looked around her room and silently cursed all the boxes. A sleepy voice greeted her on the phone. "Moshi-moshi?"
" Hi , it´s Ayumu, I got something to tell you."
Chiyo thought about the other times Ayumu had called her at home, and it was usually about something weird.

"Osaka-san, this isn´t about one of your thoughts, is it?"

"No...this is even more serious, Chiyo..."

The lack of the usual suffix convinced Chiyo, what could this be about?

"Tomorrow...I move to Hokkaido...I won´t be able to be with you guys anymore..."At this point Chiyo could hear that Osaka was openly crying, this wasn´t anything she´d ever think she would hear. Not from Osaka.
"P-please...t-tell the others that I´ll miss them...I can´t bear any more goodbyes...Goodbye,Chiyo...beepbeepbeep.."

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Ayumu looked down on the bloody water in the sink in front of her and regarded her scarred wrist and the bloody blade in her hand ...She couldn´t let the others know...they´d just worry, and then they would butt in, and then she would have to share her memories...she couldn´t bother them with her own problems...they didn´t need them anymore than she does. And she wouldn´t hurt or be a bother to her friends no matter what, they were all she had left, and she wanted them to be happy every day.
No, this was the best way to do it.

A clatter of footsteps coming down the stairs disturb Ayumu in her trance-like state. It only took her a few seconds to pull the plug and hide her scars by pulling down her sleeve. Making sure nothing is showing she gently steps into the shadowy hallway from the bathroom. She spots Tomo further down, heading towards the living room. Something seemed wrong , because she´s halfrunning. Ayumu didn´t know why, but she decided to follow Tomo. She could hear Tomo´s footsteps fade abit before they stopped dead.

Suddenly she could hear Kagura´s voice. "Uhmm, hi..." "Hi, uhm, ah...I was just going to sit in front of the fireplace for a while...to think."
Ayumu rounded the corner and saw that Kagura was already sitting in front of the fireplace, a big, green carpet draped over her shoulders. Underneath she was only wearing shorts and a shirt. Kagura pattet the floor next to her "There´s still a spot free, if you want it." she said with a welcoming smile on her face. Tomo smiled a little, sad smile before she sat down besides Kagura and Kagura laid the carpet over her shoulders as well, it was more than big enough for the both of them.
Tomo leant her head on Kagura´s shoulder and stared into the fire. This was nice, she felt at ease and as she gazed into the fire she saw days long past, days when she and Yomi had played together, laughed together and comforted eachother. Now her head was resting on someone else´s shoulder, but she didn´t think much of it.This was friendship, wasn´t it...still she couldn´t help but feel that she wished it was Yomi´s shoulder.

Ayumu had stood by the corner and watched for a while, it looked so nice, but she couldn´t intrude. It wasn´t in her place. Kagura looked very much at peace, stroking Tomo´s hair. Her eyes were practically shining and there was a glow over her that Ayumu hadn´t seen before. The two girls in a dark room in front of a fireplace looked like a picture painted by some dead artist.

Suddenly Ayumu heard someone gasp right next to her, she looked over her shoulder and saw Yomi stand there. Her mouth opened and she let out a whisper. "No..." Then she caught something in her throat and turned and ran down the hallway, her long, brown hair trailing behind her.

As she was looking after Yomi´s back Ayumu suddenly realised that she wasn´t the only one with problems here and her friends were so much more important than her. Her friends was the one thing left in her world, and they shouldn´t be as sad or miserable as her. In fact, I will not let that happen to them. I´ll help them!´ Kagura saw Osaka turn very serious about something and then she disappeared around the corner after Yomi.

Yomi wasn´t sure of what to do, so she had fled. She fled up the stairs and down the corridor to her room. She threw up the door and dived into the safety of her futon. How could Tomo turn to run from her arms and into another´s? How could she run away like that, just to be with Kagura instead? Had they not been friends since they were little girls, meeting in a schoolyard? Yomi remembered the days of the past as she cried into her pillow, shaking violently.

All of a sudden she felt the presence of someone else lying down beside her.
She felt arms embrace her and a very soft voice whispered to her. "I am here to share your pain Yomi-chan. Just let it all out and share your pain with me."

It was Osaka´s voice.

For a second Yomi was stunned, not quite believing it. Osaka, no, Ayumu had always been kind of a loner in her mind,and she had never really gotten to know her.
Then the now caught up to her, Ayumu´s hands were so comforting, they made here feel safe and she didn´t feel alone anymore, there was someone there with her.

Gently Ayumu started to hum a tune, it was a sad and melancholy tune, but it was also so beautiful and freeing.
Yomi turned in Ayumu´s hands and looked into her eyes.
What she saw wasn´t just the usual dreamy look, she could also see understanding in Ayumu´s eyes.
Ayumu knew what was going on inside Yomi, and she wanted Yomi to share it.
She was smiling a very gentle smile and hugged Yomi to her chest and held her there as she hummed on. Yomi let her last restraints go and started to cry, shaking softly in Ayumu´s arms.
They lay in that position for a little while, Yomi crying the entire time, and after a few hours they both fell asleep.

By that time the earliest rays of light were shining into the room through the window.