Hello, Retaw here.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for being so late with my updates. My family and I got hit pretty hard with the hurricane and most all of my documents for The Left Behind were lost due to power outages and my own stupidity, so I had to make all of them up. NOT TO MENTION its been harder and harder to transfer documents from the laptop to the computer so I have to deal with that too. Sorry. I have a few chapters now that are almost finished, so hopefully I'll be able to update promptly from here on.

Furthermore I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the victims of the Tsunami and the families of the victims. Things like that don't happen very often, and I can't even imagine the devastation it caused, so to all involved with it, you have my utmost respect and prayers.

On a completely off topic note, I apologize also for this chapter. I don't know why, but I don't like it...the next one will be better I hope. Thank you for your patience.


"Willow....willow..." Toki repeated quietly to herself, looking in turn from the paper to the numerous street signs, "Oak...Birch...Mahogany...Maple...That's funny, it doesn't seem to be here."

Toki let out a long sigh, letting her head hang in disappointment.

'Figures...' She muttered mentally, 'Guess fate decided to mock me again, what else is new. Of all things that could've happened to me, I never guessed that never being able to find the place would be the result. Doesn't help that all these stupid streets are named after trees. Come on people, have some imagination!'

She chuckled softly at her own thoughts and looked up again, "It's ok, Toki, you'll find it eventually. Just look at the silver lining and it'll keep you going. Silver lining...silver lining...Well, ah, I got invited in the first place." She smiled, "Yeah, first time, that's a silver lining. I should be happy. Yes, I've found the silver lining." Toki felt her lips curve into a frown, "And I'm talking to myself...silver lining gone."

"Looking for something Miss?"

She jumped, face meeting that of a man who looked to be in his mid twenties. He looked like he was in uniform for some sort of company, and in his hands, he held a paper much like the one Toki herself was holding; a crumpled scrap of notepaper. Her face flushed as a humiliating little movie played in her mind of him hearing her speaking, looked to see who was there, found no one but her, and dubbed her insane. (which Toki could no longer safely deny.) She half wondered why he was talking to her in the first place.

"Oh, um, yes." She answered quickly, noticing his confusion when she didn't answer right away, "I'm looking for a house. This one on the paper. The address I mean. But I can't find it. All the streets...they're trees and I keep mixing the name's up and having to go back. And I...I never liked tree's anyhow."

She laughed nervously, but the man's face remained blank. Toki shut up abruptly. She was talking in circles again, giving meaningless information to a perfect stranger. She blushed, then cursed herself for blushing, which made her blush even more. The man laughed briskly as she stared at the ground with her eyes closed tightly.

"Not a people person, ne?" He asked playfully.

She looked up in an instant, still blushing, and shook her head violently, "No, its not that...well it is a little...not that there's anything wrong with you! You're being very friendly, sir, and I appreciate it! I just always get a little nervous in these situations and--"

"Here, let me take a look at that." He interrupted, taking the paper from her hands and studying it.

Toki held her breath, and he looked for a while, occasionally looking up at a street sign or down a road. Toki noted to herself that she probably looked like a tomato by now, trying not to watch him as he worked but being so curious she couldn't help herself. Then he nodded solemnly and grinned her way.

"I know where this place is!" He announced triumphantly.

Toki's face brightened, "You do?"

"Yep!" His cheecky grin widened, "I live there!"

Toki had to restrain herself from laughing. He looked so proud of himself for figuring it out, and it took him so long to realize it, didn't he know his own address? And if he lived in the same house, did that mean that...

Toki felt her jaw drop, "You're Leiko-san's older brother!?"

"Leiko-san?" He blinked, thought for a moment, then pounded a fist into his palm, "Oh! Now I remember! The little imp girl!"

"You don't remember your own sister!?" Toki exclaimed in shock.

"Hey! Wait I never said I was related to her!" He said defensively, waving his hands out in front of her. "I just said I lived there!"

Toki's mind began to wonder, "So you're...her step-dad?"

"No...I'm not."

"Her..." Toki's voice lowered to a whisper, "...boyfriend then?"

His face paled a great amount, and the look on his face was blackmail worthy. Toki caught on that the answer was no, but his face never changed, it was like time froze completely on him. And somehow, even though she fought to contain it, she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her.

Followed by another. And another, and...she just couldn't stop.

"T-T-that's illegal!" He stuttered, "I'm like, years and years older then her! It's just nasty! And I--what's so funny?...Miss? Are you ok?"

Toki tried to say something, but she couldn't spit it out over all the laughter. The man didn't know what to do, maybe it was because of how much she was laughing at such a simple thing, was she crazy? He cautiously tried to touch her on the shoulder but she looked up and smiled before he got that far. The fast change scared him a little, but he kept still so as not to act guilty.

"I'm sorry, its just...that face--" She said with a last chuckle, "Sorry, it's just that you looked just like my best friend right then. You're a lot like Tutomu, I can tell."

He wasn't sure if that was an insult or not, so he just chose to brush it off. He had to act like a responsible adult, after all, this was just a young girl and she was already laughing at him. He straightened up, cleared he throat, and gave his best 'mature adult' smile.

"I don't believe I've introduced myself properly."

"No, I don't believe you have."

His bow was long and watery, and for some reason, it made Toki think about squid...

"Good afternoon, miss, my name is Rai Ikumi."

She bowed a little replying, "Nakagawa, Toki-san. Pleased to meet you, Ikumi-san."

He cocked his head to the side, "Nakagawa...where have I heard that name before..?"

"My father." She replied with a nod, "Doctor Nakagawa."

"No wait I think--" His eyes widened, "Doctor Nakagawa is---He's your dad!?"

Toki didn't find this quite as fascinating as he was making it out to be, but went along with it and 'mmhmm'ed casually.

"That's...that amazing!" He exclaimed, "Doctor Nakagawa...he's your father! What a twist of faith! If I hadn't been asked to go shopping, I never would have met you! We had a long debate in class not to long ago about the Nakagawa theory and here you are...He's my idol! I can't believe--What's he like? Can I meet him? Am I...being too pushy...?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously with a goofy smile.

She giggled at his whimsical sort of personality, "No, I'm sure you can meet him one day. But...I really have to be getting--"

"Oh! Right, right." He murmured, "Imp girl's house, I'll take you there right now. This way Miss Toki."

He gestured his arms in an extravagant sort of fashion, and Toki grinned before timidly stepping foreword. The whole area seemed sort of deserted, and every house was perfect. Not a lawn under mowed, not a house under painted, everything was perfect. Almost scarily so. After about four minutes of walking Toki had decided that she could never live here. She could barely stand the strict order she had at her house, and having a house neighborhood that way...almost like you were on pins and needles with anything and everything you did. It gave her a strange feeling. It made her wonder how perfect everything truly was. The whole way, Rai marched proudly in front of her, occasionally turning around to grin sheepishly her way.

"We'll be there in a moment, Miss." He informed her, "Just a moment."

"Thank you Rai, I'd never be able to find it without your help. It's all those...those tree named streets." She said politely, trying to fill up the empty air, "But I thought you said that this was YOUR house as well...?"

"Yep." He said curtly.

A pause.

"But you aren't related?"

"Nope."

Pause.

"...I don't mean to intrude, but...aren't you going to tell me why you stay in her home?"

Rai snickered, "If you don't know by now, then you'll find out when we get there."

"Oh."

Toki didn't like secrets. Some people might find this strange, seeing as she kept the most secrets to herself in the entire school. But she didn't voice her opinion, and kept her disappointment to herself, but didn't say anything else the entire trip.

"Here we are Nakagawa-san!" He said, throwing his arms out as if the sight wasn't showy enough, "Leiko-san will be awaiting your arrival inside, I'm sure."

Toki looked up...and up...and up...and her eyes widened in awe. The house was HUGE! Toki liked to think that she had a good living, because of her parents, but this put her home to shame. It was about twenty times as big as her house! Heck, It was almost as big, maybe bigger then the entire school! And its elegance was without compare, gardens stretching around the house gracefully creating a spectacular effect.

Toki gaped, "Leiko-san...didn't say anything about...a mansion!"

"Didn't she? Huh, usually she's so open to the face that she's stinking rich." He grinned sarcastically, "And of course, I'm her loveable lackey." More sarcasm as he posed, "Because you know that rich people can't get up off their lazy ass and do their own dirty work."

He said this so casually, and Toki had to force back another laugh. He could be so mature one moment, but become something of a teenager the next. If not for his looks, you'd think he was thirteen. He clapped his hands together suddenly, and became serious again.

"Right, to business." He mumbled, stepping onto the doorstep with a speechless Toki following closely behind.

"LEIKO-SEMPAI!" He said, pounding on the door, "YOU HAVE A GUEST WAITING FOR YOU IN THE FRONT!"

A/N: Sempai suggests the addressee is one's senior in a group of organization. It's most often used in a school setting, the upperclassmen addressing the underclassmen, but I thought it fit here as well. Part of the humor in the situation is that the older one isn't in charge there...

There was a while, where nothing came in reply. Everything was still, and Toki was sure that someone must be doing something inside and that they would be out momentarily, but that wasn't enough for Rai. He grumbled, and banged on the door violently.

"LEIKO-SEMPAAAAAIII!" He shouted, beginning to kick the door to create more noise, "IMP GIRL GET DOWN HERE!"

Apparently, he didn't have his key with him. Toki felt a little self conscious, and began to fidget with her skirt. Why couldn't people just be quieter? There were then loud, hollow sounding bangs on tile as someone ran their way. Then the door flew open and Rai jumped back into 'mature adult' mode.

"I'M HERE! OK!?" Leiko groused, "Geez, patience is a virtue, you know."

He pretended not to care, even though Toki saw his eyes flicker mischievously, "You have a guest."

"I see that, Rai." She muttered. Then, as if just realizing it for herself, she blinked and stared at Toki, who was still fidgeting with her outfit, and smiling weakly.

"TOKI!" She chirped, "YOU CAME!"

Toki rubbed her ear, "...so loud."

"Come in! Come in! You look cute today!"

"It's just my school uniform...?"

Leiko clearly wasn't listening, and yanked the girl into the house in one swift moment, slamming the door behind her.

A beat.

Then there were loud bangs on the door once more.

"Miss Leiko-san?" A voice sounded from outside, "You locked me out."

"Shopping, Rai." Leiko shot back, "Remember?"

"Oh...right."

Leiko sighed, and turned to Toki shaking her head, "Good help is so hard to find these days."

"So you mean, he's like...your servant?" Toki asked innocently.

Leiko shrugged, "Technically, but the term 'servant' is so degrading. He's more a...hired help." Then she added loudly, "But not hired for much longer if he doesn't hurry up and get the milk I need!"

Grumbling sounded from behind the door, and his footsteps were heard against the concrete until he had left the property completely. Leiko then fluffed her hair and smirked, turning back to her guest.

"Ha, I knew he hadn't left yet. He's more of a...personal hired help. I can boss him around a heck of a lot easier then I can boss around anyone else." She smirked, "He's my little minion of doom."

Toki nodded a little, not quite sure how she was supposed to respond to that, "Oh, well, he's nice."

"Yep, he is. I'm lucky to have him and not some snoot."

It was only then, that Toki got a good look around. While Leiko messed with the lock, ("Stupid, over complicated little things...") Toki walked into the house a little farther.

Her steps echoed on the elaborate marble tile, an intimidating sound. It was the kind of place that made you feel terribly undressed the moment you stepped inside, no matter what you were wearing. She ran her finger down a slender glass vase standing proudly atop a green marble podium.

"Ugly isn't it?"

Toki jumped, and wrapped her hands securely behind her back clumsily, much to the amusement of Leiko. She just chuckled and shrugged in response.

"You can break it for all I care, its not like we don't have enough glass to begin with. My parent's will never know. And besides, I think its ugly."

"Well I don't, its really pretty to me." Toki commented softly, "And won't they hear it...you know, fall to the ground and explode into millions of tiny glass shards as the sound echo's against the marble floor into every single room in the house?"

Leiko cocked a brow, "You've worked all of this out in your head?"

She blushed, and nodded a little, "I work everything out in my head in advance. I don't mean to, but I always come up with different ways everything will turn out..."

"You need to stop that." Leiko said suddenly, continuing to walk, "You don't have any clue what people will do unless you meet them, and I doubt you've met everyone in the whole world and been through every kind of situation. Try to think of life as something more spontaneous, or you're going to either get your hopes up for nothing, or not try something just because you don't' want it to turn out one way."

"Wow, well..." Toki blinked, "Wasn't expecting a lecture. Not so soon anyway..."

Leiko smiled and shrugged, "Heh, I do it a lot. Get used to it." She started to walk, then spun around and added, "Oh, and you don't have to worry about my parents, cause they're both gone right now. Dad's in Europe and my mom's at the office. So, like I said before, feel free to break anything you want."

She ended with a sweet smile, and started down again. Toki didn't know how to respond to this, so she just cleared her throat hesitantly and continued to follow Leiko down what seemed to be tens, maybe hundreds of doors. Dryly Toki wondered how she'd ever find the bathroom...

"We're almost there." Leiko announced, "I know what you're thinking, and I think it too. Seems stupid to me to have all these rooms, we hardly ever use them. But hey, we just inherited the house, whoever owned it last must have had a big head. Ah! Here we are."

Leiko turned the knob of a random door (Toki had no clue how she distinguished it from any of the other white doors in the hall) and threw it open dramatically with a loud 'Ta da!'. Toki's eyes widened at the sight of it, and was, for the fourth time, struck dumb. Leiko took a running lunge into the bed, which rocked dangerously from side to side.

The walls were black. The carpet was black. The ceiling was black, and so was all the furniture in the room. At first glance, you might think you had somehow ended up in some alternate dimension lit only by the thousands, no, millions of pictures. If not for the uncountable posters, you wouldn't be able to tell the walls from the floor. But there was no chance of that. They were coating the ceiling (except for a few black spots that for all Toki knew, were part of the background on most of the pictures) all over the walls, anywhere you could stick a picture! Toki shuddered, praying that Leiko never invited her to come over and spend the night.

...How could you sleep in a room with hundreds of pale, blood smeared faces staring back at you?

Other then the pictures, the room was kind of ordinary. Of course, that wasn't counting the bed in the very middle of the room. If for no other reason, Toki would live in the room just to be able to have the bed. The bed was FLOATING! Well, not completely. There were rod iron chains attached to the ceiling, (which looked like they were rusting, Toki assumed or was it hoped? it was for effect) and they were holding each end of the bed up at least two feet off the ground.

"Awesome isn't it?" Leiko said, sprawling herself out on the unmade bed, "I don't let anyone in here ('Not that they could find it...' Toki thought) so you're a special exception!"

She winked, and Toki smiled wearily. She wasn't sure if it was nausea from the sudden sight of a big poster which expressed gore in a way Toki hadn't seen before, or because she wasn't sure if she as about to be trapped or not. This was too good to be true, it had to be some kind of joke. Leiko was rich enough, she could have camera's installed in those posters so that any minute now tens of upperclassmen would jump out and laugh at her for falling for it.

It all seemed slightly unreasonable, but Toki felt she had a right to be suspisious. Why would anyone want her over to begin with? She wasn't anything special. Not really smart or pretty or talented or anything. No one's wanted to be her friend before, except Tutomu, there had to be some sort of catch.

"So sit down!" Leiko exclaimed cheerily, "Don't be so formal."

Toki nodded and glanced around the room (which she only just noticed was the only one in the house that wasn't spotlessly clean) and pushed a pile of laundry off one chair so she could sit. Leiko grinned, and began to rock herself back and forth to make the bed move with her.

"You have..." Toki started, hesitating as she searched for the word. Strange? Unusual? Original?

"...a nice room." She finished.

"Thank you." Leiko said, with a small bow of her head, "I created the whole thing. There are nine hundred and forty-three posters, because I know you're wondering."

Toki smiled.

True.

"So why..." Toki hesitated again. She was no good at these sort of things, why did she even bother coming?

"You wanted me to..." She was hoping that Leiko would finish the sentence for her.

Luckily, she did.

"Ah yes!" Leiko said, laying back, "Why did I invite you here in the first place?"

She nodded, but then something caught her eye. The one thing that seemed out of place in the room, placed right next to her pillow on the bed. It was a small, brown teddy bear with a black heart nose. It definitely didn't fit with the whole 'minions of the dead' theme she had going on, but Toki didn't feel like pointing it out. At least not yet. What did she know anyway? Maybe it was just a nosy observation.

"You see..." Leiko mumbled casually, but tentatively, "Agh, its hard to explain. Where should I start...?"

Toki waited, and Leiko stalled, casually looking around the room over and over again for some sort of spark, as if the answer would appear in the walls if she looked enough times. Toki said nothing, but unconsciously followed her gaze until she decided to try and speak again.

"...Has anything...weird ever happened to you, Nakagawa-san?"

Toki blinked at the irony of the situation, and then bit her lip; "Weird is a very...broad category. And it's Toki, please."

Leiko sighed, looking to the roof in thought. Toki wished she would just keep her eyes still and complete what she was trying to say, but she said or did nothing in response as Leiko paused.

"Weird as in something that most people don't get." Leiko said slowly.

Toki hesitated, sticking her hands underneath her legs to keep from directing attention to the puzzle. She didn't want to tell her about it. At least, not yet. But then again, she didn't want to lie to her. It's not like she had millions of friends to choose from...Leiko was her only one so far (save Tutomu and Keiji, who could only truly be considered an acquaintance)

"Sometimes." Toki answered, deciding to just subtly 'forget' to tell a story about this 'weirdness'.

Leiko's face fell. It was going to be more difficult then first assumed.

"Ok," She said, trying a different approach, "Well I do. I have weird things that happen to me all the time."

"You do?" Toki said innocently, pretending she hadn't predicted where this was going way beforehand.

"Yeah. See lately, I've been having these weird...dreams." Leiko began, "And they aren't like, dancing ramen or anything weird like that, they're like...like...symbolic. And if I can read 'em right, they tell the future."

She leaned in and crossed her legs, reaching a part where she felt confident telling, "See, sometimes they're exactly like the future. But I don't know they are or don't remember them perfectly until it actually happens, you know? And other times, they're all symbolic and stuff. See, there was this one where I was lying in the rain naked. I don't know why, and there was nothing or no one around me, so I figure it must mean something."

Toki nodded, though only half understanding.

"But anyway, the point of my story is see, I had a dream, where I saw YOU at my house!" She laughed, but Toki didn't find it very funny, "And you were about to tell me something important and it was somewhere around this time and then---I woke up. And I'm DYING to know what important thing you had to tell me!"

Leiko grinned, and Toki suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. She shifted on her hands and forced a polite smile back.

"But...I don't know what I have to tell you." She said quickly, "I wasn't really there."

"Yes, but you're here now!" Leiko exclaimed excitedly, as if this whole thing was unbelievably simple, "Don't you have anything you'd like to tell?"

"No." Toki said defensively, "I don't."

"Oh come on!" She wasn't giving up, "There has to be SOMETHING you want to tell someone."

"There isn't."

"Any secrets?"

"No."

"Hidden loves? Pushed back emotions or opinions?"

"No."

"Something you couldn't tell anyone else, but are dying to get off your chest?"

"...no."

Leiko huffed, almost defeated, "TOKI! There has to be ONE THING that you want to tell!"

"What makes you so sure? You've only known me for a few days." Toki said, feeling a little bad afterward for being so rude. But Leiko hardly noticed it, and shot back with something that would make her forget her guilt.

"I know you don't have any friends." Leiko said slyly, "Everyone says you're always so distant and quiet around other girls. How come? Is it cause of your weird eyes or hair or what?"

Leiko gestured to her dark purple eyes and golden bangs and Toki fought back a glare. So what if it was weird? Leiko shouldn't talk like that, especially when she was trying to get something out of her!

"Weird eyes? They're only purple! Your eyes are weirder then mine are!"

Leiko shook her head, and winked a blood red eye, "Colored contacts, yours are natural."

"You don't know that."

"So then yours are contacts too?"

"...no..."

Leiko smirked, "Ha! Don't underestimate me, Toki-chan, I do my research beforehand. And I know for a fact that you've had creepy eyes all your life, they're 100 natural."

Toki paused, she couldn't think of a defense for that one. Leiko chuckled and ruffled her hair like a young child.

"You don't have to get all worked up, I think it's awesome." She commented, "I would kill for a look like that! But your clothes..." She tilted her hand back and forth, "They're iffy. You should let me give you a wardrobe makeover, make you a cool person like yours truly!"

Leiko was easily distracted, Toki found. How did she get from weird secrets to clothes again? And if anything, Toki was sure she did NOT want to look like Leiko-san. It just wasn't her style. Just the thought of having a girl obsessed with the undead dress her up made Toki feel light headed. But she only smiled (or as much of a smile as she could get) and nodded a little. Then there was a long silence.

"...you aren't going to tell me are you?" Leiko asked again. Maybe she didn't forget after all, "Please Toki-san? For me? I won't be able to sleep tonight if you don't!"

Leiko gave her the dreaded puppy dog eyes and sweet 'all-I-want-to-do-is-help-you' smile. It clashed horribly with the black vampire room, but she did it anyway. Toki still wanted to keep it a secret...but Leiko was trying...and if she ever wanted to have a real friend then...

With a sigh, Toki nodded wearily, and Leiko let out a strange sort of squeaking noise.

"As long as you promise never to tell a living soul!" Toki said quickly at sight of Leiko's reaction, "Please!"

"I promise! I promise! Give me a break, will ya? So what is it?" She asked, words and thoughts running a million miles a minute, "Romance? Depression? Emotions? Opinions? Skeletons in the closet? Are you gay? Homicidal? Suicidal? Tell me tell me tell me!"

"Well..." Toki closed her eyes before starting, like she didn't want to watch herself do it but she knew it was too late to back down now. She was taking a gamble. A plunge in icy waters. It was something that could go horribly wrong in seconds if not handled properly...she was poking a sleeping dragon. Relief for a moment, but disaster soon afterward. But still...

"Remember when you asked if anything...weird...ever happened to me?"

-.-.-.-.-

"Keiji," Tutomu repeated, "HELLO!?"

He jumped, blinked, shook his head, and turned around to face the glaring teen sitting at the table. Schoolbooks were spread out on the library table along with pencils and random notebooks filled with blank pages. Tutomu sat at the end of the table, tapping his pencil impatiently against the page of a book opened in front of him.

"Well?"

Keiji looked at the table, doing his best to recall the question Tutomu asked.

"Mount Fuji...?" He guessed, trying to sound confident.

Tutomu sighed, "Keiji, we're doing math now..."

"Oh! Yeah, I knew that. I meant the answer is four."

Keiji looked up from his book with a frustrated glint in his eyes, muttering sarcastically, "Close, the answer's really 29,573.004."

"...how is that close?"

Tutomu shut the book shut with a snap and grumbled, "It's not. I was being sarcastic."

"Oh."

"Keiji, you haven't put one bit of concentration into this, and let me remind you this was your stupid idea to come to the library and study in the first place!" Tutomu said irritably, closing up random books, "I don't have to be wasting my time right now, I know all of this stuff."

"Yeah yeah yeah..." Keiji muttered, "So you tell me."

"I could be with Toki right now, do you realize that?" Tutomu continued, "She said she had something to tell me, sounded important too. She COULD have told me in the cafeteria if you hadn't launched her lunch at that teacher."

"Hey! That was an accident!" Keiji said defensively, "Did he see us running? No. Did we get detention? No. Did we get full minutes of enjoyment?"

"No." Tutomu growled.

"YES." Keiji corrected, "Yes we did, and that image of his food coated face will live in my mind forever now."

"Whatever you say. Even though I still don't see the point."

"Adrenaline." Keiji grinned, "When will you learn, grasshopper?"

Tutomu rolled his eyes.

"Besides, you wouldn't be able to see your girlfriend now anyway." Keiji said, leaning back in his chair casually, "Rumor has it she's at that Leiko girl's house today."

Tutomu cocked a brow, "The crazy one? Why would she be there?"

Keiji shrugged, "Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just repeating what I've heard."

"Speaking of which, what the heck's up with you and all of this gossip lately?" Tutomu said, glancing at Keiji suspiciously.

Keiji grinned, "I've figured that since it's my last year, I'm going to try and get the most out of it in all ways. If it works for girls it'll work for me. ...And I could say the same about you and your temper 'lately', what's up with that?"

Tutomu kept a hard face and crossed his arms angrily, "My brother went up a rank, so now I'm his "underling". People won't shut up about how impressed they are that someone his age has accomplished so much and I just---I hate it. It's so annoying. I think my parents have recalled the incident to everyone they know at least twice a piece, and people keep trying to get me to see how I should be 'so proud of my brother' and how he 'looks up to me so much'."

He pursed his lips and took a sharp intake of breath to keep from shouting. Keiji nodded thoughtfully, but his attention was lost in a flash, and he was checking out girls again. Tutomu noticed this and silently fumed at his friend's lack of interest.

"So what the heck's your real reason for being here?" He asked, annoyed.

Keiji looked up and played a really fake looking smile, "Well, to start, I just found out I'm getting married."

"...excuse me, what?"

"I'm getting married." Keiji repeated in more of a mumble then before.

If it could, Tutomu's jaw would have hit the ground, "Waitwaitwait, you mean to tell me, that YOU, Keiji Yanaka, are supposedly getting...married?"

Keiji looked around, not catching what the joke of this was, "Um...yeah?"

It came out his nose first, then snuck through tightly closed lips, and finally, he threw his head back and laughed deeply. People around him shed strange looks as Tutomu struggled to regain his composure but 't.

"YOU!?" He laughed, "How the heck are you going to sped the rest of your LIFE with someone if you can't even spend a whole MONTH with one girl before getting bored!?""

The librarian came by and rapped sharply on the table, and Tutomu shut up. He wiped a fake tear from his eyes grinning and said:

"Phew, oh Keiji. That made my day." He chuckled, "Now seriously, you're kidding, right? Of course you are, what am I thinking."

Keiji (who was still in shock and slightly insulted from the previous performance) only gaped at him.

"Tutomu, I am. My family supposedly hooked me up with some chick from some big-wig company. Kaiba Corp. I think they called it, but it doesn't really matter."

Tutomu's smile had completely disappeared now, "You really are serious...?"

"Wish I wasn't."

Tutomu scoffed and mumbled, "Always knew your parents were nut-jobs..."

"I'm gonna get out of it, I think."

"You have to get out of it, Keiji." Tutomu instructed, "It's for the good of this poor girl."

Keiji rolled his eyes, "Ha ha."

"And you haven't even met her yet?"

"Duh, that's why I'm scopeing out at the library to see if I can find her." Keiji replied.

"But how are you supposed to find her if you don't know anything about her?"

Keiji paused at this, that fact only just dawning on him, "Oh...I never really thought that far."

Tutomu groaned and let his head fall back at the simple stupidity of his friend, and scooped up his books.

"Hey! Tutomu, where are you going?"

"Home." He replied bluntly.

"But---aren't you going to help me?"

"Keiji, I know you. You're just going to pick out which one's the hottest, and hope that she's your future wife."

"Well...yeah." Keiji mumbled, then shuddered when the word 'wife' set in on him, "And never say that word again."

"What, wife?" Tutomu said with a small grin, "You're getting married aren't you? Get used to hearing it. Good luck finding your wife!"

He walked away snickering. Keiji raised a fist in his direction but was forced to withdraw it when the Librarian walked past again, and he slowly sunk into his history book before she noticed he wasn't reading anything.

"I'm not that bad..." He mumbled to no one in particular.

Suddenly he stopped absently turning pages. The hair on the back of his neck stood up on end and he felt that familiar creepy feeling in his gut. Cautiously he searched the area around him turning around to check behind and then seeing...

"Holy..." He whispered, "What the heck are they doing here?"

"Talking to yourself again, Keiji?" A voice asked, followed by a small, forced, annoying chorus of giggles.

He turned away for only a moment to stare at the group that just walked up in front of him. Four girls, all dressed alike and wearing elastic bracelets with a dragon eye charm dangling from each. Nothing impressive, cheesy, homemade with dollar store items, the expected. The ringleader, Cheza, sat down across from him at the table. She was 'too cool' to have a last name, or so everyone joked about, and no one really believed her name was 'Cheza' to begin with, even though she insisted. She wasn't a particularly pretty person, and her face covered in makeup only made it seem worse, but somehow she had found a way to make herself believe that the whole school loved her, and that she had ultimate power.

She was also Keiji's ex.

"Hello, Cheza and--" He stopped and looked at the three girls behind her, "--Cheza's friends."

He knew the name of all the girls in her last group, but she somehow managed to always get into a fight with her little group of 'friends' and have a completely new one each month. These new friends seemed to adore her, so they must be only about a few days old, just getting used to the power. Anyone who knew Cheza personally would never agree to be her friend, so she always got the outcasts to join, and worship her.

"So Keiji," She said, awkwardly swishing her hair, "I see you're studying. Surprise surprise."

The girls giggled, and Keiji cringed. It was a sound like nails on a blackboard. Poor, brainwashed fools...

"Yeah, I'm learning about," He took a moment to turn the book over and read the cover before finishing, "Mesopotamia."

Cheza raised her eyebrows in mock interest, "Oh! What about them?"

He battled with the idea of telling her, 'I hate you, so will you please get over desperately trying to make my life hell and just get lost? It's pathetic.'

But he resisted temptation and said, "Oh, uh, well...Those Mesopotamians..." He whistled, "Whoo, well they're...a bunch of...really old people..."

He sort of trailed off at the end into a mumble so they would be less inclined to notice that he really knew nothing about them in all his two hours of studying. Cheza leaned across the table, trying to act seductive and failing miserably.

"You wouldn't have...room for one more would you?"

Keiji took a breath. How to say this nicely...

"No."

She pouted, "But there are three seats here, surely you can spare one for me."

"Actually no."

"How come?"

He could have lied. He could have come up with some obviously made up story about a disease or fear or something like that, but he couldn't hold it back any longer. Aw, what the heck, since she was asking for it so badly...He closed the book and placed it gently on the table, folding his hands flat on top of it.

"Because I hate you." He said with a calm smile, "I wish you would die long, painful, fiery death filled with midgets and pitch forks so then I could bury you in a landfill and laugh every day until I die of old age."

The look on her face was priceless. He just had to continue.

"But don't worry Cheza, it won't be too bad." He said, "Every time I have to take out the trash from then on, I'll think of you."

One of the girls behind her almost giggled, and the other two shot her a glare. She'd be replaced next week. Cheza made a sound that strangely seemed to resemble a subway train, rose to her feet in rage, and stormed out of the building making as much noise as possible. Keiji grinned in spite of his effort to at least act like he cared he just blew her off, and turned back around.

They were gone.

Keiji cursed under his breath. Before Cheza came, those three stalkers were at the table behind him "reading". But now, they had all disappeared AGAIN as soon as he tried to get a good look at them.

"Am I just being paranoid?" He wondered aloud, shaking his head and collecting his books.

He'd think about it later. Right now, he had bigger things on his mind.

Like figuring out who this Narita girl was, and if she was at all hot.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"So...I essence you're saying that you're...insane." Leiko said, eyes twice their usual size by the end of the story.

"Well, yeah, I guess." Toki blushed, and began freely toying with the puzzle as her nervousness started to build up.

Leiko looked like her birthday had come early, "That is so cool!"

Toki smiled, "You...you really think so?"

"Yes! You see and talk to ghosts! Like a median or gypsy or whatever...That's way better then I thought I would get out of you! I mean, I've always dreamed of being able to say, 'Hi! I'm Leiko! And I'm insane!' But having an insane FRIEND is so much cooler!"

Toki was purely shocked. She was taking a huge gamble allowing Leiko to hear her secret, and for whatever reason, Leiko actually BELIEVED her. Most people she was acquaintaned with would have given her a weird look and left as soon as possible. But Leiko...well....there might be a whole other problem with her.

"You aren't going to tell anyone are you?" Toki repeated, "You promised, remember?"

"Right, right, of course, of course." Leiko said, waving a hand in front of her face.

Toki found it disconcerting, but said nothing as Leiko got off her bed and started to pace.

"So, what, does he live in your house or something?"

"Well, I don't really know much about him yet..." Toki said timidly, "Just figured out I could really communicate with it last night and all..."

"You could ask it questions for me!" Leiko said suddenly, spinning around so fast it caught Toki off guard, "I wanna know everything! Like, what's it like to be a dead guy?"

"Oh boy..." Toki said softly, starting to wonder if this girl was as trustworthy as she had thought.

"Is he cute?"

Toki furrowed her brows in confusion, "Cute?"

"Yeah, cute." Leiko said nodding furiously, "He isn't all moldy and rotting is he? Does he still have injuries on him like in movies?"

"No, I guess he's fine and..." She glanced at Leiko's eager face and added uncertainly, "...cute."

Leiko had a goofy grin on her face now, "I wanna meet him!"

Toki felt her whole body jerk upward, "What?"

"Let me meet him! I always wanted to see what a real ghost is like!"

"I don't think that would be a good idea, he really didn't want me to tell you in the first place and--"

There was a knocking on the door, and both girls quieted down immediately.

"Come in." Leiko said.

"Nari-sempai," Rai walked inside and smiled, "I just came to—oh, hello Nakagawa-san, I would have thought you'd be gone by now."

Toki waved timidly and Leiko nodded his way, "What did you want to tell me, Rai?"

"I just wanted to tell you that your mother will be coming home in an hour, and that dinner will be served about that time."

"Thank you. Is that all?"

Toki blinked. Leiko was suddenly so serious, she had jumped from giddy to solemn in a mere moment. Apparently, Rai noticed too. He leaned against the doorframe nonchalantly and shot her a suspicious glance.

"You're so quiet..." He noted, with an 'all knowing' grin, "What are you hiding?"

Leiko shook her head and shrugged, "I'm not hiding anything."

"Yes you are. I heard you both talking about something, then I come, and you all clam up." He turned to Toki and his eyebrows raised, "What about you, Nakagawa-san? Going to tell me what you two were chatting about?"

Toki hesitated, she had never been very good at lying. Rai must have sensed it too, otherwise he would have continued interrogating Leiko. Toki gulped, determined not to screw this up, and straightened to look taller.

"Nothing, Rai. We were just talking about school."

He didn't look convinced, but he did look defeated. Rolling his eyes, he sighed, and left mumbling some reminder about dinner to Leiko before closing the door. They both waited a few seconds before Leiko winked and gave Toki a thumbs up. Toki grinned.

Maybe she was trustworthy after all.

"I want to know more." Leiko announced, touching her arm, "I've got an idea! How about you spend the night!"

Toki didn't seem too thrilled, "You mean...tonight?"

Leiko nodded in a hyper sort of way, and Toki grimaced.

"Would your parents be alright with it?" Leiko asked quickly, "Do you need to call them? I have tons of extra stuff here so you don't need anything, and we're going to the same school in the morning so...can you?"

She was trapped. It just wouldn't be good manners to say 'No' now, after Leiko had thought up everything. So reluctantly, Toki nodded, and Leiko emitted another one of her trademark high pitched squeals.

"Great! I'll go get the blankets for you to sleep on, this is going to be so much fun!"

Toki forced a grin and laughed nervously as Leiko ran out of the room. She was beginning to feel like this whole day would have been better if she never would have come. But it was too late to escape now, and she slumped back into her chair.

"I hope you know what you're doing..." Konpaku's voice echoed in the back of her head.

"She's my friend now, I won't let her tell." Toki told him, only half believing herself.

"If you insist, hikari."

For some reason, hearing him call her hikari made her feel warm inside. She looked to the ceiling, feeling cheerful for the first time in a while when she saw something that ruined it.

How was she going to get to sleep with blood suckers glaring down at her?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Retaw- There you go, a long chapter to make up for the last short one. This is the third time I wrote this chapter, because the first two drafts just weren't...interesting enough. In fact, Rai's character just randomly popped up! I was writing and then, there he was. So, I think I like this draft best, and I hope you will too. Ja!

- AUTHORS NOTES TO ALL YEE WHO CARE -

TUTOMU- I know I'm making it seem like Tutomu is a real...well, I dunno how to explain it. But he normally isn't that bad. He just hates loosing, and to make things worse, he hates being shown up by his younger brother. Usually he's like Rai, you'll see in later chapters.

RAI- I didn't describe what Rai looked like because immediately my own picture of him came to mind, but I didn't want to spoil it. I guess he's one of those characters that you see one way and read another, so I just left it to your own imagination to figure it out.

CHEZA- Another character that popped up. Her's wasn't quite so random though. I knew I wanted a 'wannabe school whore' and I knew what role she was going to be playing, but I hadn't come up with a name or introductory circumstance until now. I just started typing and TA DA! She just randomly shows up. I think I did a pretty good job on that part too, if I do say so myself. Rai was like that too. And I love him. - Cheza is pronounced 'Sh-eh-zah' by the way. I knew someone with that name and couldn't wait to use it in the pop up character.

Things like that always make me feel like a true writer. insert grin here

Hope this chapter wasn't too boring with all that talking, I made it long too, very long. Six pages longer then I usually write. ; But anyway. Ja!