Chapter 2

"Man I don't know what got into Goh yesterday, but I hope he's in a better mood today." Kei said perched on the edge of a bench in Himeno's garden.

"I just wish he'd hurry up with our food" Mannen said as he watched Hajime and Hayate cleaning up the pruned limbs from one of the large trees.

"Yes I wonder what could be keeping him." Hayate added, noticing Himeno on the balcony and taking the opportunity to wave at her; a broad goofy smile plastered on his face.

"You know if someone had told me a year ago that you knew how to smile, I'd have called them a liar." Kei quipped, looking at Hayate.

"Hmm" Hayate's, stony features fell back into place, as he eyed the younger knight.

"What? … It's true." Kei wanted to laugh. Hayate just mumbled something in response Kei never caught.

"But seriously should I go and look for Goh? He should have been here ages ago."

"Mannen will you go see where he is?" Hayate asked the hungry little ice knight.

"Sure thing." Mannen said. He and the other two smaller knights adored Goh, and for him Mannen would do just about anything. Mannen flew away quickly, only to return a short while later, an unhappy look on his face. He landed in the fork of a tree and put his back to the other three knights.

"What's wrong Mannen?" Hajime asked concerned.

"The food won't be here for a while." He said grumpily.

"But why? Is Goh okay Mannen?" None of them had heard the diminutive Shin join the group. He'd been working in his own small flower patch all day, happily.

"He's fine. In fact he looks better than fine." Mannen sulked.

"Mannen you're not making sense." Hayate was getting annoyed.

"He has a girl with him, and he's smiling and laughing. And he has our food, and it's getting cold." Mannen whined

Hayate almost laughed. "That's all? Then why didn't you get the food from him and bring it back faster?"

Mannen realizing his stupidity, tried to climb down from the tree and lost his balance and fell to the ground finishing in a dusty heap at the feet of the knights. "I never thought of that." He said his expression dark.

"So Goh's finally found a girl, who doesn't run at the sight of him." Kei grinned at Hayate who now looked nonplused by the news.

A short while earlier on the other side of town…

Sun lost in thought and trying to juggle the extra schoolbooks, held a piece of paper precariously with two free fingers, and tried to understand the directions. Though the school day had been full of the usual circus jokes, for the most part people had just left her alone. Except for one person. Himeno Awayuki. Granted it was to ask assistance in some schoolwork, but she genuinely seemed sweet. And from what she'd learned the night before from her mysterious visitor, she was more intrigued than ever to spend some time with Himeno. All these thoughts were floating around in her head, and she never even had a chance to see that she'd wandered past the Café that Goh worked at, or that he was currently careening down on her with large packages in his hands.

"Oh no! Look out." But it was too late, as Sun went flying across the footpath, skinning her knee and ending up in a mess of books.

"Miss, I'm so so sorry." Goh turned almost as red as his hair highlights in embarrassment at his clumsiness, but it dissipated quickly when he saw her bleeding knee. He quickly placed his packages on the ground and grabbing a napkin from one of the bags, ran to her and kneeling next to her held the soft paper to her weeping knee.

Both hands gently surrounded her knee holding the napkin in place. The touch of his fingers against the back of her knee made her shiver as a bolt of electricity ran through her. What was it about this boy that worked her up so?

She still hadn't said anything, so when he felt her leg react to him he mistook the shiver.

"Did I hurt you again?" He finally looked up from the napkin and 'bang' straight into those green eyes. WOW!

"No you didn't, thank you… Goh." She ventured staring back.

For a moment they just stared at each other, his hands still firmly around her leg. She really could sit there staring at him pathetically, but she had to get to Himeno's and she could feel a blush rising at his hands still protectively circling her knee.

"I think I'm okay now." She said pulling her leg out from his grasp and looking under the napkin. "Yes see I'm fine." She said noting the blood seemed to have stopped. He still sat still staring at her, and then as if a light went on he jumped to his feet, to help her stand.

"Here let me get your books too." He said racing about the footpath retrieving books, notes and the small slip of paper. He looked at it without really meaning too. "You're going to the Awayuki home?"

"Yes, I'm meeting Himeno to study, but right now I'm slightly lost." She said adjusting her books, and took the paper off him.

"I'm going there too, would you like to walk with me? I can keep an eye on your legs… I mean on your knee… I mean where you hurt yourself. Well actually where I hurt you.. Oh give up." Goh was so flustered that he retrieved his bags of food and turned to leave, more embarrassed than he thought possible.

"Would you mind?" She asked trying not to laugh at how cute he looked uncomfortable.

He turned slowly surprised and was rewarded with her smiling face. He grinned back and then looked down at her knee. He realized his mistake and looked up at her blushing. "I..I wasn't.."

She began to laugh, and walked to catch up to him. "It's okay I understand." Sun said trying to balance her books, and wipe the small smear of blood that was running down her knee again.

"I really am sorry. I was just in a hurry, and didn't look."

"Please stop apologizing things happen. I'm just glad you're going to Himeno's house, otherwise I'd be walking the streets all night."

They began walking and it seemed as though a cloud of discomfort had fallen over them as they quietly walked along not saying anything for a while. Occasionally the other would sneak a sidelong glance at the other. Finally though it was Sun who broke the silence.

"I like your hair." Then she blushed feeling stupid. She was so bad at talking to guys, outside the circus anyway.

"Thanks." He actually sounded genuinely happy at the compliment and when she looked up he was smiling at her.

"Can I ask you something?" He ventured.

"Sure."

"Are you really part of a circus?" He looked intently at her, but she didn't meet his eyes, but looked out across the street. "Yes."

"I'm sorry did I ask something bad? 'Cause I think that's pretty cool that you are."

"Really? No circus freak comments?" She looked skeptically up at him, but all she saw back were a pair of genuinely excited brown eyes.

"Yeah totally. I'm sorry those idiots call you names. Hey I don't even know your name, and you obviously know mine." He looked down at his nametag that still hung on his shirt.

"It's Sun." She answered shyly.

"That's really pretty." She blushed and looked down instinctively at the ground. He thought that she was looking at her knee again. "Hey look you're knees finally stopped bleeding here let me get rid of the napkin." He took the piece of gross bloody paper and threw it into the trash can they were walking by. She was glad that she'd been given the chance to hide her blush by his actions, she'd always been bad at accepting compliments, so decided to change the direction by asking him about his job at the café.

From there the conversation quickly picked up and they flitted from subject to subject laughing and Sun found herself having fun talking with this strange tall semi-stranger. It was the first time that Sun had really felt relaxed and happy doing something outside the circus in a long time.

Goh too couldn't believe that here he was talking to a girl, that wasn't trying to run away. His mind wandered back to the day that he and the other knights had used Shin to try and find the Prétear. The group of girls had run screaming from him, and he'd meant no harm to any of them. But that always seemed to be his luck. Or lack of more accurately. While thinking he's missed the fact that she had said something and he was caught blatantly daydreaming. She was staring intently at him with those eyes. He had liked her green eyes from the beginning, but with her sweet voice and fun personality she was dangerous.

"I'm sorry I was boring you." She said feeling a little sad that he wasn't interested in her circus act. Most people at least had a question or two but he apparently was downright bored by it.

"No… no… I just was remembering something. It wasn't important though. Sorry." He grinned, and was about to ask her what she'd been saying when they came to the giant gates of the Awayuki estates. "Well here we are." He held a smaller gate within the larger one open for her to walk in first. She thanked him and stepped through.

Goh immediately saw Hayate and Hajime carrying felled branches from one of the larger trees and looked to see if Sun had noticed them. She was looking intently at Hayate. Typical – all the girls fall for Hayate.

"Most of the girls think he's pretty handsome." (why had he said that? He wanted to kick himself)

"Yes he is, though he's a little perfect looking and seems cold to me." She answered still watching him.

"Wow that's quite an analysis for someone you don't know." He said his hope rising again.

"Oh I've seen him before waiting for Himeno after school sometimes. Though when he sees her, he looks happy…" He thought she was going to say more, but she looked back at him. They began walking again towards the house.

"So what kind of guy do you like?" He asked watching his boots scuff through the dusty path. Kicking up small swirls of dirt. He couldn't look at her. He was too nervous.

Sun couldn't believe what he'd asked her. Did he like her? Could she dare to hope? Sure he'd been great all the way to Himeno's but was he truly asking if she liked him?

"What kind of guys?...Well I guess I like…"

"Sun… Goh! Hi." Himeno called as she ran across the garden to meet them. Pulling them from their conversation; the moment lost. It could wait till later, though she never saw the disappointment in Goh's bushy browed eyes. She never thought the question was all that important to him.

"You made it here okay then? Of course you did if Goh's with you." Himeno grinned.

Goh looked from Himeno to Sun, and then realized that she'd been coming to the estate to see Himeno. He'd totally forgotten, and had probably been holding her up.

"Oh geez… Was I holding you up with all my talking?"

"Probably. And now our food it cold." Kei said snatching away Goh's food packages. "We've been waiting forever for these." He said walking away towards the garden where Hayate and Sasame's head's could be seen over some shrubbery. Goh felt like crap now. He'd held her up, and held himself up. And the whole time she'd been talking to her was because without him she'd never have found Himeno's. He had almost berated himself into a hole when Sun spoke up.

"No, I enjoyed walking with you a lot." Sun grinned at her tall companion who was now looking uncomfortable. "Thank you for the company."

Himeno stood there quietly watching the interesting scene. What's been going on here then? She wondered, then her eyes fell to Sun's knee and she gasped. "Oh my goodness you're hurt. Come on let me clean that up." And with that Sun and her giant stack of books was gone, dragged behind Himeno. She looked back and smiled at Goh. He gave a small halfhearted wave.

"Goh come and eat before it's all gone." Kei called. When it came to food Goh didn't need to be told twice. As he walked into the area that held the pond and the portal to Leafeania he could hear Kei still complaining. "This is cold, what have you been doing?" Goh would have answered but Kei was grinning like a Cheshire cat. He knew exactly why the food was cold. So Goh just took the plate that Sasame was holding out to him, and grabbed a small portion of the bench to eat.

"Goh's your friend then?" Sun inquired, as Himeno daubed antiseptic on Sun's knee.

"They all are, well more like family really." Himeno answered distractedly.

"All of them? I only saw Hayate, and the little one with red hair."

"Oh the other's are out in the garden somewhere and I think Mannen is with Mayune a lot of the time as her little house slave." Himeno giggled at the last thought. Sun wondered how she could be so normal. Himeno was a Pretear, or at least that's what the man had told Sun, and from what she had garnered it seems exhausting. And here was her schoolmate cleaning her wounded knee as though there was nothing more important in the world. Finishing up, Himeno led her to the balcony where a small table and chairs were set up. It had gotten a little darker, and as the sun sat just barely over the trees of the estate casting long shadows across the lawn, behind a bush she spotted a red and brown shock of spiky hair and couldn't help but try and see him better. As if on cue he suddenly came out into the open and caught a smaller boy with snow blonde hair under his arm and carried him off, while the other small boy she'd seen when arriving howled with laughter. Sun grinned to see the camaraderie between Goh and the smaller boys, then realized that Himeno was staring at her.

"You have it bad don't you?"

"I don't know what you mean. I just think it's nice that you have a lot of friends." Sun said turning away from the scene and taking a seat in front of her schoolbooks.

"Right…" Himeno said looking at Goh and then back at Sun. This could be just what the fire knight needs." Himeno thought. Knowing it had been hard for the knight when it came to girls.

The matter put aside for the moment, Himeno and sun began studying and Himeno was surprised and gladdened to find that Sun made even the most complex math problems seem simple. The time flew quickly and they had gotten quite a few things accomplished when Sun looked at her watch and realized she was going to be late.

"Himeno I apologize but I have to go. I am on cleaning duty after tonight's show." Sun said wishing that she could stay longer and get to know the girl. She so wanted to discuss the real reason she had accepted Himeno's request for tutoring. But it would have to wait.

"Same time tomorrow, okay? That way you wont have to carry all the books with you."

"Really? Thank god, I didn't think I'd make it back with all of them." She sighed with relief, making Himeno laugh. She had liked Sun instantly, but Himeno had to be honest there weren't many people she didn't like, but she did find something interesting about her that she couldn't quite place. And it seemed Goh did too.

"Let me get the limo for you." Himeno said heading towards the door ahead of Sun.

"No, no really I'll be fine walking. I know my way now and it wont take me too long. Really you don't have to bother." Sun didn't want to put anyone out.

"Nonsense. And if you need to get to work you had better hurry. By the way what do you do with the circus?"

"I'd rather not tell you right now if that's okay. You might think it's silly. Maybe sometime you can come see the show. But really I must go. Don't worry about the ride. And thank you Himeno I really appreciate it." Sun added sincerely. Since Goh's lack of interest though he denied it, she decided she'd keep it to herself for the time being.

"Why are you thanking me? You did the tutoring." Himeno said confused. Before Sun could answer Himeno picked up the phone and called down to have a ride ready for Sun. Hanging the phone back up she turned back to the girl.

"Yes I tutored you, but you have been really nice to me today. And since I've been here most people have treated me like an oddity, with the whole 'circus freak thing'. Most of them don't think I hear them but I do.

"Pay them no attention Sun. Trust me I know what it is to be different from others and it tends to all work out in the end." Himeno smiled at her and nodded her head for Sun to follow her down to the awaiting car. "Besides, I know you have at least one friend." Himeno said grinning from ear to ear, even though Sun couldn't see her. From her view of the yard while they'd been studying Himeno had noticed a certain tall shadow lurking about under the trees all evening. And it wasn't HER shadow, this one had a spiky haired look about it.

At the front door Sun swung her book bag over both her shoulders and looked out over the dark garden, and then for the car. "I guess you're driver is taking the night off." Sun said good-naturedly. If she had to walk that was fine by her.

"Where is Mr. Tanaka?" Himeno said more to herself than to Sun, who shrugged looking into the dark for the headlights.

"Oh I told Tanaka that you'd meet him by the front gates. Did I do bad? It's not that far." Mayune's catty voice pronounced from the doorway behind them.

Himeno turned on her stepsister, fire burning in her eyes. "Me? No, but Sun needed to get somewhere quickly. Why must you always cause trouble?" Himeno stormed at her stepsister, who stood there with a confident glean in her eye. They stood eye-to-eye ready to rip each other's heads off. Himeno's ever present paper fan whipping about in her hand ready to whack someone over the head.

"Don't fight over me really." Sun said realizing she was in trouble of being late back at the circus. She wasn't performing that night, but if she didn't show for cleaning duty, something the whole circus shared she'd be in real trouble. "I'll just catch it at the front gate, thanks Himeno, I'm sorry but I'm really late, goodbye." And with that she headed off along the front path towards the front gate.

"Okay, bye Sun, thanks again." Himeno waved the red haired girl off, before turning back to Mayune, who was now gone. "Damn it." She grumbled. She looked back, but Sun had already disappeared along the dark path.

"She's cute. In a teacherly sort of way." Hayate whispered sneaking up on the fire knight, who was watching over Sun as she moved through the garden.

"Shhhh." Goh said a little too loudly. The noise stopped Sun dead in her tracks, and she tried to scan the dark garden. She had two options. Run or fight. Either she could do. Moving slowly and keeping her eyes on the bushes to her left she saw a branch left behind from Hayate's gardening and with the heel of her foot on the end, popping up the other end from the ground, and grabbed it.

"Who's there?" She asked cautiously, as she took the stick fully in her grasp. And with a skill of only someone trained, she spun the branch in several whips and wide arcs, where it came to a finish perched on her hip, ready to be used in a fight if necessary.

From the dark Hayate let out a low and impressed whistle at the graceful and intimidating move. Himeno could learn a thing or two from this one he thought. Then retracted it immediately though. That kind of comment would get him whapped over the head by that damn fan. He quickly stepped out from the dark showing himself.

"Sorry to scare you Miss, I was just finishing my gardening. May I?" He held out his hand for the branch, which she handed slowly over. "That's quite a move you just did." He was quite sure there was more to this girl than what she tried to portray.

"Umm… yes, fine. Excuse me I'm really late. Good evening." With that Sun was now running at full speed. It would not do to be late. As soon as she was gone Hayate looked back at Goh's silhouette slumped against the tree. Hayate smiled and walked away without another word. Sasame could deal with this one.