It's been so long! I just haven't had any time to type this! Sorry! School's started and all. I'm in high school! WHEEE!

I think this story's dragging on...

K'onix- Me too! And I understood what you said...I just answered weird...-sweatdrop-

blackkaosrose- I know, he is, isn't he?

ariotlatio- This took such a long time! Sorry!

FieryEyes- LOL! That's funny!

TorriChiobie- That's okay. Cool! Ottawa! I live there: )

ciel of light- Here you go!

cry of the wolf- WAH! You're so nice! -sniff- Sorry about taking so long...

NorthernSky- Yay! Thanks!

Glimmern-glitas- You had to wait even longer for this, eh? And you deserved it! Thanks! Cool! You read my Shaman King thing!

Inoure- YAY! CAKE AND A NICKNAME! I like it! In fact, Styx is the name of the sequel...

Hippochick- You're back! YAY! Yeah, I tried to involve Kai more here...Is this dragging on?

Wolfchilde- I like your name! YAY! One person for the Brooklyn/Aya pairing! Heehee!

Dedication:

Hippochick, my first reviewer, who FINALLY came back! And K'onix, who's always had some praise or criticism for me. Thanks!

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Aya walked forward, and as she neared the barred door, it slid open silently, controlled by some unseen mechanism. She glanced at Brooklyn one more time, who offered her a reassuring smile. She stepped through the door, and it closed behind her. She was inside a white corridor, with doors much like the first lining the walls. She walked up to the closest one, and peered thorough the bars. There was a small hallway that opened out onto another room, and she could glimpse a jail cell at the back. A small, white-erase board next to the barred door read 'C. Roberts.'

Aya stepped back and proceeded slowly down the hall, her steps echoing softly. She read each name carefully, looking out for Aira. She almost missed it. 'A. Namaskai' was at the very end. Aya drew close to the barred door, wondering if she was supposed to talk from here. Luckily, the door slid open, and she was allowed in. The room past the barred door wasn't large and it was very white. There was a plastic white table, and four plastic chairs. A guard sat in one. When he saw Aya he stood.

" I'll give you some privacy." He jerked his thumb at the back wall, which had bars all along it, and a small rectangular room behind. Sitting on a bench in the cell was Aira!

Aya ran forward and clutched the bars. " Aira!"

Aira turned around, groaning slightly. " Hey, Aya."

Aya gasped; Aira was a mess! He had a cut lip, and there were a small row of neat stitches at his temple. A bandage was wrapped around his head, with more strips of cloth completely covering his chest.

Aira laughed weakly. " I know. I look pretty bad, don't I?" At her nod he shrugged, then winced.
" Ow…shouldn't have done that. Anyway, this is nothing. I've had worse football injuries." He joked.

" You had a concussion, a split temple, two broken ribs and several bruised ones, and foot-long gashes down your back. You're lucky no organs were ruptured." The guard said dryly from near the far door. Aya looked horrified, but Aira laughed again.

" Like I said, I've had worse." He winked. The guard raised an eyebrow, and left. At Aya's furrowed eyebrows, Aira explained. " Relations are pretty friendly between the inmates and guards. When you guards someone eight hours a day, you get to know each other."

Aya nodded slowly, unsure. She carefully lowered herself into a chair, and stared earnestly at Aira.
" Aira, what happened? Why are you still here? They have to know you're innocent!"

A dark, tired look crossed Aira's face. " I'm not."

" What?" Aya couldn't believe her ears.

" I killed Kei. Accidentally or not, I'm not sure. It's a blur. I think I did it only half in self-defence." Aira mused pensively.

" You're holding up well." Aya was surprised at the lightness in Aira's tone.

" I think I'm in shock." Aira replied almost cheerfully.

" If you were in shock, would you know it?" Aya was doubtful.

" Sometimes you do. Everything is very clear to me right now, but Kei's death seems distant. On, it definitely happened, but it seems…distant. But if I think too hard…" Aira's face darkened again.

" Aira…" Aya paused shyly. " What happened?"

Aira was silent. After a long moment, he spoke. " I went home after I bought some bullets for my gun. I was stupid and left it on the living room table while I took a shower. After that, I heard my burglar alarm go off. It was terrifying. Kei came, and he basically chased me through my house. He pushed me down the stairs and hit me for a bit. When he paused, I backed away, and he was going to shoot me." Aira took a deep breath here, before continuing. His voice was low and monotone and his eyes blank, as if he were reciting something. " It became confusing after that. I threw myself at him, and we wrestled for the gun. It was dark, and I hurt so badly. My fingers just kept clawing and clawing. Finally, I had the gun. Kei kicked me back, and stood. I just sat there, and raised the gun. It was all so rushed. Before I knew it, I'd pulled the trigger. It wasn't long before the police arrived."

Aya's heart went out to the guilty man, out to his entire miserable family. " Oh, Aira." She clucked, feeling her large maternal streak take over. She resisted the urge to pat his cheek or ruffle his hair.
" I'm so sorry."

" Yeah, I know." Aira sighed, and he seemed to be himself again. " The trial will be in a couple days. I'm going to plead guilty."

" What? Oh no, you don't! It was self-defence!" Aya squawked indignantly.

" Yes, but – " Aira had the look of a martyr.

" Don't 'but' me! Kei is dead, and you can finally live your life! What would Kirei say if he knew you were doing this?" Seeing Aira was still not convinced, Aya burst out loudly, " I wish you'd stop it! Can't you be selfish for once? For heaven's sake, stop being so darn bloody…good!" She exploded, using the only 'profane' words in her vocabulary, 'darn' and 'bloody'.

Aira stared at her, surprised, but then, suddenly, laughed. He laughed until tears came to his eyes, mostly from his painful ribs. The sight of Aya puffing up like some righteous mother hen had been too much to bear. Aira shook his head, surprised to find that she made sense.

" Alright, alright." He nodded, waving his hand. " I'll take your advice."

Aya just stared at him, a bit miffed that he had laughed at her inspiring speech. But she soon smoothened her ruffled feathers and smiled happily.

" So, how is Kirei doing in my place?" Aira asked, smiling. But despite the smile, there was still an empty, cold ache in his eyes, and it pulled at Aya's heartstrings to see it. She quickly arranged a joyful expression on her face though, and proceeded to regale him with stories of Kirei's exploits.

Still, Aya secretly hoped Aira would soon heal. There was something missing in him, a twinkle that had been replaced by that blank ache. His were the eyes of one who had killed for the first time. His were the eyes of one who had gazed into the horror of his sin. His weren't the eyes of the Aira she knew.

And quite frankly, it scared her.

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" I'm sorry, Aya. We shouldn't have said those things." Mariah sighed, guilty. Emily nodded in agreement.

" That's okay. I shouldn't have said what I did either." Aya smiled softly.

" Sorry."

" I'm pretty sure we can get Aira out." Emily looked up from her laptop, back to normal now that the tension had ceased.

" Really?" Aya was all ears.

" Yes. I'm positive I can dig up some similar cases. I'll also be rereading the crime laws. I'm pretty sure there's a loophole." Emily informed her, typing steadily.

" That's great!" Aya grinned, truly thankful. She looked over her friends; Emily's dogged perseverance, and Mariah's open supportiveness. She really was lucky to have such great friends. Aya's smile grew and she suppressed the urge to squeal and hug the two girls. Things were definitely looking up!

Aya leaned over to peek at the computer screen, but she almost fell over when the coffeehouse door slammed. She whirled around, and was faced with a very angry Bryan storming across the room. Mrs. Dubois looked at him disapprovingly from behind the counter, but he ignored it.

Aya raised an eyebrow. " Somebody's mad." She made sure to keep her voice low.

" I think he just broke up with Calypso." Mariah spoke in hushed tones as well, darting glances at the burly Russian, who was roughly ordering a drink.

" What?" Aya swivelled her head around in surprise.

" You haven't noticed, being busy with Aira and everything. And I watch people. They've been rocky for weeks." Mariah shrugged. " I'm pretty sure Bryan's fed up of Calypso's apologizing."

" Really? Ouch." Aya looked sympathetically at the fuming boy. " I can just imagine Calypso now." An image of a sobbing girl came to mind.

" Bryan doesn't like people who snivel and cry and stuff. Sure he might think it's cute in the beginning, and he might like being the knight in shining armour, but I think she's getting on his nerves." Mariah clucked her tongue. " She has to be more assertive if she's going to keep lover boy around."

Aya shook her head. All right, not everything was good in her world. She mentally tabulated it. Kirei's recovery was good, but Aira's arrest bad. Kei was dead, so that was good, and Aira had a chance of getting out. But Bryan wasn't happy, and…Aya hesitated to think. There was always Tala.

She absently listened to Mariah come up with matchmaking schemes. If Tala could come back to her, everything would be perfect. Brooklyn flashed in her mind, and she bit her lip unconsciously. She knew she was being horrible to him…but…it was so easy to close her eyes and pretend he was a very close friend. That like a favourite stuffed toy, he'd always be there if she needed him, and wouldn't mind if she left.

Aya closed her eyes. She was a terrible person. She knew Brooklyn loved her, and she also knew that if Tala called, she'd come running.

She was so weak…

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Bone crunched as the body was forced to the ground. Echoing smacks sounded as one repeatedly pummelled the other.

Kai's crimson eyes gleamed as he punched Tala roughly for the last time. He then straightened and stepped away from the prostrate boy, flexing his bloody knuckles.

Tala sat up, and coughed. Some blood splattered on the pavement, from his cut tongue. " This is – how you – show you care?" He spat out.

" It's called tough love, my friend." Kai smirked. " Maybe if I hit you hard enough, you'll get amnesia again!"

Tala laughed harshly, wiping the blood from his mouth. He gingerly inspected his shattered elbow. " You're doing a good job."

" Thanks." Kai shrugged. " You up for more?"

Tala stood up unsteadily, pressing a bloody hand to his temple. His head hurt like hell, and it was kind of blurring his vision. He groaned.

" Too bad." Kai lunged at Tala, knocking him back. Tala gasped and arched with pain when his head came into contact with the cement, sending a jolt of blinding pain through his mind.

" You are going to make me lose brain cells!" Tala snarled through gritted teeth, shoving Kai backwards with a well-aimed fist.

" That's the point." Kai huffed, preparing to leap forward again.

Tala could barely hear Kai. The thundering pain in his head wouldn't stop. He couldn't think straight. The pain mounted to an unbearable height, causing him to shriek with agony. The pressure that had built up in his mind exploded, making white stars blind his vision. Then suddenly, all the pain vanished, leaving behind a raw clearness that hurt. Thinking, just lightly touching that rawness hurt.

Kai watched in confusion as Tala screamed and clutched his head. He watched as the redhead's eyes clouded over, and then suddenly cleared. Tala looked up, whimpering.

" K – Kai?" He whispered, then winced as though that had caused him pain.

Kai blinked, surprised. He – he sounded like the old Tala! He furrowed his brow and reached forward, touching his friend's arm. " Tala?"

" Kai, I – " Tala grasped the other boy's forearm weakly.

" I'm here, Tala. What is it?" Kai whispered urgently, his eyes wide.

" Kai – " Tala's face contorted in pain, and then went passively blank again. Kai's heart sank as he searched Tala's eyes and found only the familiar coldness again.

Tala, in one fluid motion, straightened and hit Kai with a bone-bruising force.

But Kai only had one thought as he soared back and hit the pavement heavily.

Did Tala just…malfunction?

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