Koji opened her chest, the real rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires twinkled in the fading twilight. Shadow had given her the chest in the late Middle Ages. She looked into the chest and saw nothing but shadows. Koji smiled as she saw the letters Shadow had sent her. "Sing me no songs of daylight," she whispered into the box. The shadows in the box started to swirl. A shadow lifted into the air and formed words.

Sing me no songs of daylight,

For the sun is the enemy of lovers.

Sing instead of shadows and darkness,

And memories of midnight.

It was one of her favorite poems that Shadow had sent her. It reminded her of the nights they used to spend in Feudal Japan staring at the stars. She sighed. "Sun and Moon." She said softly. It was sent to her only moments ago. The shadows in the chest swirled and tumbled into the shape of words.

Everyone wants to be the sun

That lights up your life, but

I would rather be the Moon

That shines on you in your darkest hours.

Koji smiled to herself, she had already memorized the short poem. Just as she was about to close the lid to the chest another long shadow formed over the chest. It formed into words:

I just had an inspiration for this poem and I wanted you to read it. My thoughts have been leaning toward darkness and death lately. I think its time to come see my one source of happiness. If you didn't know that's you. :

As we are born, we learn to listen for the sound of our mother's voice because we know it to be the source of our pleasure and comfort, that she will satisfy our hunger and take away our pain.

It is our first lesson in learning to love.

For some babies the sounds are not loving and kind. The stroke of the mother's hand becomes that which we associate with hunger and pain. The depths of her despair are echoed in the shrill, unanswered cries of her child.

It is the first lesson in learning to fear.

Then there are the babies whose mother's voice is forever missing. They have no one to bond to, no nourishment is shared. There is no soft voice in the dark to take away their fears.

It is their first and last lesson that no one cares.

Koji smiled sadly as she finished the last line. "I care," she whispered raggedly. Shadow was darkness and was always extremely in tune with the pain and suffering of others. He could even actually felt what they felt. It was kind of scary. The doorbell rang, jerking Koji from her thoughts. "I'll get it," Kiki yelled up the stairs.

She opened the door, screamed in delight, and jumped in to his arms. Koji came to the door in a panic. Then she saw what all the commotion was about. Chill was back. "My baby!" Kiki screeched. Chill spun her around and gave her a hard quick kiss. She shook her head. And looked around expectantly. Her face fell and the light in her eyes slowly died. He wasn't there. Chill and Kiki were making out in the doorway, oblivious to anything and everything around them.

"Can't take them anywhere," a soft deep baritone said from behind her. She quickly whirled around not wanting to believe she had heard right. "Looking for me?" the dark figure asked with a, very rare, slight smile on his face. Koji launched her self at him and through her arms around his neck. Shadow wrapped her in his arms and held her, feeling her tears soak through his black shirt.

"Two more elements visitin home?" Kiki asked.

"Two more elements stayin home," Chill stated she nibbled his ear.

"Really!" Kiki and Koji asked together.

"You know I can't keep away from you," Shadow stated in that soft way of his. Koji squealed in delight and hugged him tighter. As his name stated Shadow was very much a shadow. His pitch black hair was so dark it didn't even have a highlight as the light from the setting sun beamed down on them. He was as pale as death no matter how long he stayed in the sun. His attitude was very dark and his midnight eyes had a haunted look to them that only Koji could take away. He was so soft spoken that you had to strain to hear him almost all the time. He was also very deadly. He brought new meaning to the fraise: Speak softly and carry a big stick. Brotha had one big ass stick. He was very level headed and was always in rigid control of himself, except where Koji was concerned though.

Chill was much the same way except that he was a joker. He always had something to laugh about. Shadow and Chill were never all that close in the past because Shadow was so serious. But now that Ray and Steel were gone they were closer. Not best friends, but it was an improvement. Chill had snow-white hair and powder blue eyes that had a tendency to turn white when he was excited or mad. It took a lot of shit to piss off Chill but when you did he was always coldly furious and the weather had a tendency to drop to freezing temperatures and even snow in the middle of summer. People usually mistook him as an albino because of his extremely pale skin. He was tall and always always cold to the touch. The only way to tell if he was sick would be if his skin was at a normal temperature. That was his idea of a fever.

"Where's Flow?" Chill asked when he and Kiki came up for air.

"In the house," Koji said. They all filed into the house Kiki and Chill holding hands, and Shadow with his arm around Koji's waist. "Well she was in the house." She stated in confusion when they had checked the whole house and didn't find her.

They were sitting around the living room talking about life and death. "So what you're saying is that it is okay to kill some one if it's a mercy killing?" Kiki asked incredulously.

"Murder is murder. It doesn't matter why you killed them, it's still wrong," Koji said.

"I see your point, but say that your child was sick with some disease and it was killing him slowly and painfully and he cried about it all the time. He is in so much pain that he can't move, walk, or talk. There is nothing you or the doctors can do about it so he suffers constantly. Would you kill him quickly and painlessly or would you watch him suffer?" Chill asked.

"He has a point," Kiki said grudgingly.

"I don't care. I wouldn't be able to kill him. That's my child. MY CHILD. It would hurt to see him in pain constantly, yes, but I would not be able to kill him. Plus Flow can heal all wounds and sicknesses so it doesn't apply to me." She smiled.

"That's not the point." Chill said in frustration.

"Life is pleasant and death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome." Shadow said softly."

"If she wasn't your friend and couldn't do anything about it then what would you do?" Chill asked.

"I would try to do anything in my power to save him," Koji stated.

"But there's nothing you can do."

"I would have to try."

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall." Shadow stated.

"But you love him to much to see him hurt like that." Chill said, relentless.

"I would love him to much to kill him or not give him the chance to get better, to live life to the fullest." Koji said.

"But it's crazy to let him suffer if you can take away the pain."

"There is always some madness in love. But there is also some reason in madness." Shadow said with a soft smile.

"But if you can take the pain away and there is nothing you can do for him, he will die with out a doubt, then it's stupid to make him suffer."

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

"I would love him to much to take his life or his chance to live and maybe even to love. Miracles do happen."

"Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life." Shadow said.

"Shut up! What is it with you and the ancient Chinese proverbs!" Chill said heatedly.

"The best antiques are old friends."

"What if you have no friends?" He shot at Shadow. He just shrugged. "You cant save your child. He will die. As in only a few hours to live. What would you do then?" he asked Koji.

"Cry. Cry for all that he will miss and for how much he will be missed."

"Reality bites with a variety of sizes of teeth." Shadow stated softly.

"But I would move on. I wouldn't stop living when he did."

"One can survive anything and everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation."

"What the hell is your problem! Do you have a box of fortune cookies over there or what!" Chill yelled at him annoyed. Shadow just smiled.

"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love."

"Damn you! Someone autta push your ass off a cliff." He muttered under his breath.

"If you fall either I fall with you or I'll catch you and pull you back up."

"Shut up!"

"I love you." Koji said snuggling into his side. "You and your fortune cookies."

"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides."

"Alright Confucius. How do you stop being in love?" Chill sneered.

"There is no remedy for love but to love more."

"What if you fall out of love?"

"Is love supposed to last throughout all time, or is it like trains changing at random stops. If I loved her, how could I leave her? If I felt that way then, how come I don't feel anything now?"

"That makes no sense. Well, what if she doesn't love you?"

"Just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to be involved with them. Love is not a bandage to cover wounds."

"What? It's probably just passion then, right?"

"It is with our passions, as it is with fire and water, they are good servants but bad masters."

"Hey!" Koji cried indignantly. "I had a dream that I was the ruler of the universe and I was pretty darn good at it too."

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

"Hey!"

"Why don't we go shopping?" Kiki asked. "I want a new pair of boots. My old ones are out of style. There are no proverbs in that." Shadow smiled.

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months."