heya guys! whats up!

chapter 10 already!

sheesh!

thanks for the reviews and just to answer your question Mr. thegeek dude...

ahem!

Aya is deaf. As you all know. She cant hear the boys talking but can lip read!

i realized that in that one chappie where toboe came to her house i made a little mistake there... but yeah other than that! XD

Like, when hige asked 'Is she gone?' Aya had seen him poke his head from out of under the blanket and had looked at him before he said it. And when he did, she read his lips so she could know what he was saying! aint that kewl! XD

lol, n e ways... lets get this party on the road!

Aya: WAIT! YOU'RE FORGETTING SOMETHING!

Me: O.O I am?

Hige: yeah!

Aya and Hige: THE DISCLAIMER YOU IDIOT!

Me: Oh yeah! Okie pokie... Here's the disclaimer! Ahem... I do not ow- OH LOOK A CHICKEN-chases after it-

Hige and Aya-anime fall-

Aya: She's pathetic..

Hige-nod nod-

Aya-sigh- n e ways... ahem! LEIKO DOES NOT OWN ANYTHING IN THIS STORY!

Hige: EXCEPT FOR AYA AND THE STORY ITSELF!

Me-gets bored of chasing the chicken- OKAY! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

Aya looked at Hige and then looked down at her crossed legs. "I see..."

There was silence for a moment as thoughts of Hige and that girl together ran through her mind. Her face flushed for a moment and she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. Then the thought of her beloved cat came to mind.

"Crap..." She said, running her fingers through her hair. Hige looked up and she smiled at him. "Masuki got sick awhile before the fire and I left her at the vet's... I've got to go check on her pretty soon..."

Hige nodded, realizing this was the perfect chance to get away from Blue and to get to know Aya again. "I could take you if you want..."

"Really?"

Hige smiled and nodded again. "Sure!"

Aya smiled. "Alright."

"Okay, let's go..." Hige stood up and offered Aya a hand. She took it and stood up gingerly. They walked to the edge of the building and Hige thought for a minute. Aya turned to him.

"What is it?"

"I wanna try something... I'm gonna jump down... And then you jump down after me... 'Kay?"

"But! I'll break my neck!"

Hige laughed. "No you won't! I promise!"

Aya looked over the edge of the building she felt her legs go limp for a moment. A shiver went up her spine and she gulped. She cast a nervous glance at Hige and he gave her a reasurring smile. She nodded a bit and he smiled again. "Okay. I'll wave my arms when you need to jump... 'Kay?"

She nodded again and watched him jump off the building, landing effortlessly on the ground below. She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder at Toboe, Kiba, and Tsume. Toboe smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "C'mon Aya! You can do it!"

She walked closer to the edge of the building and saw Hige on the ground. He waved his arms and she closed her eyes tightly, jumping off the side of the building. She opened her eyes on the way down. It seemed to take an eternity to reach the bottom.

She watched the windows fly by on the building and smiled as the wind ran through her hair. She looked down and realized that the ground was flying towards her and she was overcome with fear. She screamed inwardly. Aya took a deep breath. "I can do this..." She opened her eyes and looked back down towards the ground. She braced herself as the ground rapidly approached.

He landed on the ground, a lot more easily than she thought she would and smiled. Obviouslly proud of herself.

Hige grinned at her as she jumped up and smiled again.

After Aya calmed down they started towards the Vet's office. It was silent for a moment, but the silence then became awkward as Aya realized they were walking down her street. Or at least her previous one. And towards what used to be her house.

Tears stung at her eyes as she saw the burnt rubble, in a heap where her house used to stand. She stopped and stood staring at it.

Hige stood behind her, looking at her solemnly. He stared for a moment until she began across the street. He reached out to stop her but decided against it.

Aya entered what remained of her house, stepping over fallen ceiling beams. She walked into what remained of her bedroom.

She looked around a bit. Remebering how peaceful it was just the day before. Hige walked up behind her as she let her eyes wander about the remains of her house. Suprisingly she noticed that her closet doors were still standing. She walked over and opened the doors. Nothing remained inside the closet except a few boxes and the bag from the mall earlier. She realized that she was still wearing her pajamas and bent down, pulling out some jeans and a shirt.

She turned and smiled at Hige. "Can't go around wearing my pajamas the rest of my life!" She said, laughing. She looked around and just shrugged. She walked into the closet and closed the doors. It wasn't much in tact but was good enough for changing her clothes. She did so and walked back out, slipping into her combat boots.

"That's better!" She said smiling. Hige looked her up and down and nodded. She looked around again, the smile fading from her face. She walked around somemore and layed down in the middle of what used to be the living room. She closed her eyes and smiled. "Wanna know something?" She said, cracking an eye to look at Hige.

He raised and eyebrow. "What?"

She smiled again and closed her eyes. "If I just kind of imagine, it feels like I'm laying in my favorite chair right now... Masuki's probably sprawled out on the floor infront of me... It feels just like any other day..."

She sat up and crossed her legs. Hige smiled and came to sit next to her. The was a silence for a minute as Aya continued to let her eyes wander about the room.

Tears stung at her eyes and she walked past Hige.

"C'mon... We gotta get to the vet's office..." She said, walking out onto the lawn.

Hige raised an eyebrow and followed close behind. When she stopped on the lawn he put a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned to face him, tears flowing from her eyes.

"Aya.." He said. His eyes sympathetic.

She looked away, quickly wiping the tears. "I.. I'm fine... Just have something in my eye."

Hige put both hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. Before she could do or say anything, he pulled her close to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"It's okay to cry..." He whispered in her ear. He knew he couldn't hear him, but it was comforting to him to try to stop her tears.

Aya felt the blood rush to her face. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. 'Don't cry Aya... Don't cry...' She thought to herself. Of course it didn't work and the tears came to the surface, falling gently down her face. She slowly wrapped her arms around Hige and sobbed into his chest.

'Why do I feel so comfortable?' She thought as she cried. 'He's so warm... I can feel his breath on my head... Why does this feel so familiar?'

Sorry if it's short!

I'm not having a very good day.. Family crisis... But I'm gonna go spend the night at a friend's house later on so maybe I can just chill for a little while... Yeah...

If I don't update in awhile it's because of the whole family problem thing...

Okay, R&R

Ja!
Leiko