Hello, all. I'm back again (yes, it's been forever) with a very different installment of Amaranth. Ah, lovely, how much longer it is than Chapter One.

And, this chapter? So. Much. Editing. Last tweaked 5.24.2006, but it's still a work in progress. I'm just that perfectionisitic.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I no own TMM. What you talking about? Silly hooman.

Chapter 2: "Tuna!"

Far above the earth, on the far side of the moon, two people watched the viewscreen in their ship. They were clearly not human, with oversized elfin ears and catlike, slitted eyes. The taller one straightened from one of the screens.

"Readings report that the 'Champions' have been created, Pan." His eyes narrowed calculatingly. "There is one more than expected."

"No matter," the other proclaimed arrogantly. "We will find the Descendant before they do. Prepare the Kimera Anima." Pan then turned to look at the map of Earth that reposed on the smooth wall of the ship's command center, smirking evilly. "Terra will be ours!"

The first alien developed a long-suffering expression as his brown-haired superior dissolved into a fit of diabolical laughter, and turned back to his work, hair falling over intense green eyes. Yes, he agreed silently, Terra will be ours. And those filthy humans will pay for what they've done to our birthright!

- - - - - - - - - - - -

It was halfway through second period by the time anyone noticed something off. In Terada-sensei's Mathematics 1, Momo was staring blankly out the window when she was overtaken by a craving for fish.

In the front of the room, Paprika's nervous note-scribbling halted abruptly when the teacher jabbed the chalk hard against the blackboard, yelling at a misbehaving student.

Everyone turned and stared. Terada-sensei took off his glasses with a weary sigh and asked Iwatani to please get out from under her desk and participate. In the silence following this, a wistful mutter came from the back of the room:

"Tuna…"

The class burst out laughing, and the teacher angrily called for order.

As the lesson resumed, the grey-eyed boy from the park studied the results of experiment closely. Pencil moving lazily across the paper, he watched the 'crazy blonde chick' and the 'nutso brunette' with increasing interest.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile, in History 2, the normally overenthusiastically studious Reikoku was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Her eyes kept drifting away from the droning Hino-sensei and towards the open window, wistfully wishing for the wind in her face; this was silly, considering the fact Reikoku wasn't exactly an outdoorsy person.

Near the back, the soccer-playing girl and a boy who looked much like her were cracking up. "An' then," the boy was whispering, "th'American woman says, 'It ain't my fault! 'E packs 'is own lunch!'" The two broke into silent sniggers again, until the elderly woman teaching the class walked up behind them and rapped the pair sharply on the heads with a ruler.

"Yamato! Yamato! The two of you need to learn to pay attention if you want to make it to university!" Hino-sensei reprimanded them, watching the twins nurse their bumps.

Once she reached the front of the room and resumed teaching, the boy made to poke his sister, saying teasingly, "Y'laugh too loud!" She automatically snapped at his finger.

"Nikkei! Y'almost bit me!"

"S-sorry, Tomo," was all the startled girl could think to say. Her odd red-brown eyes stayed trained on the desk for the rest of the lesson, searching for an answer as to why on earth she had tried to bite her brother.

In the front, near Reikoku, Blueberry was getting the same cravings for fish that Momo had, though she was keeping it more under control. It was like everything reminded her of fish: Hino-sensei, with her watery blue eyes, the blackboard, with its characters that twisted to form fishy shapes, the blue sky, the ocean scented breeze, I wonder if my textbook would taste like freshly grilled salmon…

She realized that she had been spacing out when the bell rang for third period.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

At lunch that day, the students gathered in the cafeteria. Blueberry fought her way through the mob to find herself a seat at an empty table. She was taking out her bento box when Momo popped up at her elbow, armed with the Golden Retriever Puppy Dog Eyes 3000©.

"Fish?"

Blueberry sighed, giving up all hope of sitting alone. "So you're craving it, too?"

"Oooh, how'd y'know? Are y'telepathic or somethin'?"

"Yeah. Something like that…want half my sushi?" She grudgingly held the box out to her cousin.

The younger girl grabbed the little fish rolls and stuffed them all in her mouth at the same time. "Mmmm! Thish ish ferry goo!"

"Momo…" Blueberry sighed again, this time in irritation. "You're impossible." Still, she wolfed her lunch down with the same unusual relish.

As she was licking her chopsticks clean, Nikkei and Tomo walked up, Tomo leading. While Blueberry pretended that she hadn't been eating sushi like it was the last food on earth, he bowed smoothly and struck up a conversation.

"Why, hello there! I'm Yamato Tomo, an' this is m'twin sister, Yamato Nikkei. I take it you're new here, too, ah, Hinata, was it?" He barely gave Momo time to nod before barreling on. "Now, as y'can see, this cafeteria is very crowded, an' we are so very cold an' alone in th' table department, so may I ask if we can join ya?"

Flustered, Momo nodded, and he seated himself between the two cousins, his sister sitting across from them with a look torn between irritation and amusement on her face.

Tomo turned to Blueberry, looking her up and down. "An' who might you be?"

Silence. Complete and utter silence. Silence so silent you could hear heartbeats, electrons fizzing inside brains, and— okay, I'll shut up now.

"Ah, sh-she's m'cousin, Hinata Blueberry," Momo broke in.

The confident boy blinked, taken aback. "Ah. I see."

Nikkei finally spoke. "Hinata, Hinata, I apologize for m'brother. 'E's…" she paused dramatically, "special."

"I can tell," Blueberry put in acerbically.

Momo was busy recovering from being hit on by the older student. "Um, Hinata-san?" Both black-haired heads turned. "I meant Nikkei-san, but y'can both call m'Momo."

"Thank you." Tomo grinned charmingly. "You can call me Tomo." He was about to add something else when he caught his sister's glare.

Nikkei turned her gaze to the pretty First-year and smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry. He pulls this act on anythin' female."

"Who says it's an act?" Her brother looked wounded.

"Says me!" Nikkei growled angrily. Then she started and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Seems that famous temper a'yours is acting up again, sis."

The Third-year forced a smile. "Heh. Yeah. I need t'go now…" She started to get up from the table, but Blueberry reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Wait. Stay. You were in the courtyard, right? Did you see the light?"

"See th'light? You on crack or somethin'?" Tomo said, thoroughly confused.

Nikkei, however, sat back down, a light suddenly dawning in her eyes. "Y'mean—"

The bell rang. In the scramble to get back to class, Nikkei was unable to finish her sentence. Still, she was thinking hard on her way to Writing Skills 3.