Reviews answered by the one and only Kyou-chan!

GirlWaterShaman: Akito is the coolest! Oh yes Aki will see how pervy he is in this chapter... sorta kinda.....

Spirit of the Dead: Nah Midori doesn't die... Umi won't let me kill her. JK! No it's Bob Zoloft who died (read Yoshiko Kyoda's story and you'll understand... BOB!) Nah Just kidding again... You'll have to wait and find out! With the way Umi writes, she'll kill everyone!!!

Konie Hime: Happy Happy Happy!

Animeprincess1452: Oh AYA! Oh Shigure! OH YES! NOT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDEREN! Yes that bothers me too.... Umi is better at writing that.... (Umi snickers in background)

Bakagrl79: Tohru.... evil... hiss... Actually no I don't hate her I just.. Hate her

MyuHigurashi: YAY! I'm happy you like it! I like it to!

Chapter Twenty-One: A little too much to drink

(Pohli's POV)

Immediately upon hearing this, I slapped Shigure. "We are not playing strip poker and the girls are not going first."

Yet thirty minutes later, we were well within our 5th or 6th game. Midori watched us intently with all her attention. We had actually let her play the first couple of games but she kicked our ass (emotions or not) so the majority ruled she should only watch. Hatori won most of the time while Akito, Shigure, and I lost pathetically.

"Where's Ayame?" I asked while laying down another bad hand and I removed a sock.

"Probably upstairs recording this all." Shigure mused. "I saw him sneak away before the first game so that's what he's probably up to."

"What are you doing?"

All heads turned to see Hatsuharu and Yuki walk in loaded with food.

"Well Haru…" Shigure laughed with a little anxiety in his voice. "We were just playing a friendly little game of strip poker."

"Midori's not playing, is she?" Yuki growled.

"No, no!" The perverted novelist lifted his hands in surrender. "Well she played a few games with us but was always winning so we didn't have her play anymore."

Scoffing, Yuki set down the food roughly on the counter in the kitchen and I heard a loud CRUNCH from one of the bags. I swear if he crushed the ramen I'll kill him!

He barged back into the room and grabbed Midori's hand and led her outside onto the covered porch that almost every Japanese house seemed to have. Without hesitation, I pulled back on what few clothes I had removed and followed the two of them. Well actually, I stayed hidden behind the doorway while I eavesdropped and spied on my two friends.

"I apologize for that, Midori-san…" Yuki sighed and glanced at her sadly.

She just nodded, showing she understood. But a long silence stretched after that and I was about to turn and go back to Akito and the others when Yuki spoke up again.

"I won't give up on you, Midori." Yuki summoned all his inner strength to show her a confident smile. "You're very dear to me now and… I won't give up on returning you to normal. No matter how long it takes."

I couldn't help but smile and my smile only widened when Midori replied back, "Thank you, Yuki…"

I let out a small breath and sneaked back into the house but the floorboard creaked incredibly loud as I took a step inside. I sighed and slid the door closed just in time to see Aya barging down the stairs carrying bottles of sake.

"Hey, anyone want a drink?" He asked happily.

A half an hour and six bottles of sake later I was... well...

"So Shigure, I hear that novelists live wonderfully adventurous lives..." I giggled and leaned across the table trying to get another glass, but I couldn't figure out which of the two blurry objects was the glass and which was just a blurry blob.

"Oh yes, of course we do." He took another drink, swallowing it all too quickly and ended up almost choking himself to death.

"You ok there, darling?" Aya asked, feigning a faint.

"With you by my side, of course I am!" Shigure replied back, slightly slurring his words.

I leaned back and started laughing insanely but I ended up hitting someone. Instead of them whacking me or yelling, they wrapped their arms around my neck.

"You smell nice…" I felt Aki's head on mine as he muttered to me.

"Aki… You're drunk." I mumbled and tried to pull away but he began to pet my hair.

"So are you." We both started to laugh as I stood up along with Aki who tried to pull me back down.

"Let go!" I yanked really hard and ended up falling onto someone else. "Oh hey Arisa. What's up?"

My cousin looked at me mortified. "What do you think your doing?!" She looked at Shigure and Ayame who suddenly stopped singing their little song. "I asked you 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!'"

"I, I was just…" The words didn't seem to want to come out.

"You know better than this! You shouldn't be doing things like this! People already think you're a murderer! How can you act like nothing's wrong?"

"Arisa I was just-"

By then Kyou, Yuki, and Midori had come downstairs. Kyou had probably told Tohru and Saki to stay upstairs while he went to see what was wrong. I felt tears swelling up into my eyes.

"Leave her alone, Arisa." A sharp voice cut in. "She made a mistake. Last time I checked, she was only human and I'm sure you've made plenty of mistakes as well."

Arisa winced visibly as we all turned to see Midori narrowing her dark eyes. She didn't seem completely like herself but she at least had a little emotion now.

"W-well I…" Arisa stuttered, realizing the younger gothic girl had a point.

God, I love you Midori! Well… I love Aki more but… that's not the point!

Midori took my hand in hers and led me upstairs. She led me to a spacious bathroom and then told me, "Clean yourself up." Nodding, I took off my clothes and took a shower before getting into the tub and soaking in the warm water. The events replayed in my mind and the tears started to well up in my eyes again.

The bathroom door open and shut. Yelping, I raced to cover myself and see who my perverted intruder was. It was…

Midori?!

The girl had walked in with no clothes on (a towel wrapped around her though, thank god!) and her sleek black hair hung loosely around her bare shoulders.

"What the hell?! M-Midori? What are you doing?" I squeaked and turned away to face the tiled wall.

There was a pause of silence before she replied, "It's not uncommon in Japan for girls to sometimes take relaxing bathes together. Especially if one of them has a lot on their mind." Behind me, I heard her turn the shower on.

"Oh… well it's safe to say that doesn't happen in America a lot!" I laughed a little and sighed. "Do you think of me as a murderer, Midori?"

I heard a faint 'nu uh' over the sound of the shower water but I felt quite relieved now that I knew at least somebody didn't think I would turn on them and kill them. Although I wouldn't mind killing Arisa sometimes, but then I'd have to find a place to hide the body… hm… perhaps in the abandoned barn…

"So… your personality… are you all better now?" I asked because it didn't seem like Midori was going to start small talk while she was busy showering.

"Saki says its coming back quicker than she could hope. All I feel right now is impatience and exhaustion." Midori replied while turning off the water to the shower.

Well no wonder she's exhausted, she stayed up all last night without any sleep!

I felt her place her hand on my shoulder and I jumped a little. "Don't worry, Pohli. Yuki and I are still your friends no matter what. And Akito said, slightly drunk I might add, that he didn't care what Arisa said."

Smiling to myself, I heard Midori leave and a second or two later I lifted myself out of the warm water (not draining the tub because that's against customs in Japan) and pulled on fresh clothes. I stepped out of the bathroom wearing a short black skirt and black tank top with short black socks on.

"Pohli! You have a telephone call!" Shigure yelled up the stairs. "It's your dad!"

Dad?!

TO BE CONTINUED

Umi-chan: Um, for the bath scene. Nothing was meant by it except the fact that Midori (with only some of her personality back) was trying to comfort Pohli.

Kyou-chan: (hugs her half dressed and drunken Akito) My Akito!!!