(a/n: you know what? i don't think i deserve praise weep i suck, just admit it!smile but! there's something good from all of this! i discovered a new term that i didn't know about! gloomy but i learned the hard way, just like always. i would like to thank you guys for telling me how ya feel! oh, and Haruka is about to explain a lot of questions in this chapter because she's still alive weak smile as she continues the end)


---Hospital Ward---

Haruka's eyes slid open and she looked around. The soft white pillow and bed seemed to be made of heaven's clouds and the sheets were whispy and comforting and seemed to glow in the soft sunlight that came through the open window. She turned to look at the warm, sunny sky outside.

She suddenly felt something shift on the end of her bed. She looked and sighed, a smile creeping onto her face as she watched Pharaoh come crawling up her bed to lie beside her. She wormed her arm out and began to pet him, as he was the only companion in the room that she had been resting in for a while.

She suddenly sat up and looked around her. She was wearing the hospital cloths that patients wore and she had flowers everywhere, along with candy, teddy bears, ballons, cards, and even some gifts. She stared in awe at all the gifts that were left there. She cocked her head to the side as she saw a card adressed to her from Seto Kaiba, along with a small box about the size of a standard 40 card deck. She reached over and opened the card...

---Duel Academy Courtyard---

"So she's really awake?" Jaden asked, flipping through his cards.

"Yeah, and she remembers!" Chummley said, throwing his arms in the air. "Hey! Ya think I can eat lunch with her one of these days?" Chummley asked this eagerly wating praise to his courage to ask a brave, beautiful girl to eat lunch with him.

"Good luck with that!" Syrus smiled. "I don't think she'd say yes! After all, you saw Professor Banner and Haruka kiss each other! Besides! They're perfect together. It sparked Zane into asking Alexis out. Not to mention it sparked Chazz to go after his crush, Mizu Hashimaru! She's another pretty girl. Suprising thing is, she's a first year Obelisk Blue." Syrus pointed to Mizu.

Mizu was a pretty brunet who was sitting by herself out in the hot sun writing something on her note pad. She had beautiful green eyes and a perfect figure and body measurements. She wasn't to ugly, but she wasn't to beautiful either. She was an excelent writer and loved to write out her stratagies in fine detail. She sighed and looked up at the bright sky.

---A few weeks later---

"Hurry up! If we don't hurry, we might miss it! C'mon! The fireworks'll go off and you won't be there!" Jaden tugged on Syrus' arm. "Besides, we get to see Zane and Alexis get all smoochie! Eh?"

Banner and Haruka went walking past. Haruka was walking a little behind Banner, her head bowed, looking utterly nervous. She suddenly spotted Syrus and Jaden. She waved, a bright smile spreading across her face and giving her that air of a kind-hearted angel or a soft, warm, serene summer day. Banner sighed and kept walking, Pharaoh hopping into his arms.

"Poor Pharaoh. I didn't mean to ignore you like that, but this was kind of important this time." He hugged Pharaoh tight. "I'm terribly sorry! Please forgive me, Pharaoh!"

"You used to do that a lot to him, you know?" Haruka pointed at Banner and Pharaoh. "Amnel would always ignore Pharaoh when Lyman got weaker. I remember, the poison acctually triggered a strange virus that began to eat Lyman from the inside out." Haruka smiled. "But, I also remember the few days we had where we all enjoyed each other's presence. Ah!"

The fireworks were going off not to far away and Haruka and Syrus smiled brightly. Mizu came up beside Jaden and sighed, her usual soft, rarely-heard-voice sigh that she always did when she saw something to comment on.

"And thus, those who see the world cannot always see the one's that follow. The bell tolls on life, but the begining will begin at the end of the tale. A mystery is only as beautiful as a moth in the night sky, flying high beneath the moon." Mizu smiled. "Love can fly away and never return, but when the bell of life rings true, love comes to the worthy and rains down upon their heads like the cold liquid the sky pours down."

"I like it when she talks like that." Jaden pointed atMizu. "She's always so cool! It's like everything she says is a riddle! To bad Chazz may miss his chance."

Mizu sighed and twiddled her fingers through her brown hair and looked around at Banner. "Well, there is nothing saying love will always make sense, since it never did to begin with. Life, love, learning, things we must aquire to be whole." She walked off.

Haruka suddenly turned around and waved her arm in the air, laughing. "C'mon! The fireworks started! Let's go! Time won't stand still, ya know!" She closed her eyes and twirrled around as the fireworks went off and seemed to shower the world in sparkles.

Banner turned away and covered his nose and mouth. He had a bloody nose but managed to straighten himself as he walked forward. Mizu looked over her shoulder. "No time like the present to learn."

---A few hours later, Duelist Academy Festival---

Banner stood there with Pharaoh as Jaden, Syrus, and Chummley went to buy Caramel Apples that some of the Ra girls had made. He stared down at Pharaoh as Mizu came up beside him. "Here." She handed him a note and looked at him. "Do not read it just yet. Read it after the festival." She turned on her heel and walked away.

"Ok?" Banner stared at the black paper and stuck it in his breast pocket. He felt a tug on his sleeve. "Hm?" He looked down at Chazz, who looked embarassed. "Is something wrong?"

"How..."

"Yes?"

"Howdoyougetagirltolikeyouifshe'syoungerthanyou?"

"Pardon?" Banner was baffled. "I know your embarrassed to be asking a teacher this, but there's nothing to be ashamed of! I may not be an Obelisk teacher, but I don't think that will make a differance. Take your time, I can be of assitance if you let me understand you." Banner smiled.

"Ahem. How do you get a girl to talk to you if she's younger than you?"

"I would try to see what she's into first!" Haruka said from behind Banner. "Every girl thinks it's kinda sweet when a guy talks to her first. Oh! And don't start bragging about things. That just makes most girls feel like their second-rate. Be kind to her, don't just go running up to her and shoving things in her face! That's just plain rude! And it usually get you a slap across the face." Haruka smiled as she poked her head out from behind Banner. "Another thing, don't start talking to yourself or mummbling. Chazz?"

"Y-yes?"

"Don't fret. Be yourself. I'm sure she'll love it! I know Mizu, she hates guys who put up an act to be cooler than other guys. She likes guys who are... well... guys!" She smiled happily. Chazz took off. "What?"

"I didn't know that's how you thought of it." Banner stared at Chazz's back. "Am I really everything you want?"

"If you can define 'perfect' in your dictionary, then I'll think about it." She smiled and held up cotton candy in his face. "Want some? It's sugary and good!"

"Er... you didn't bite off of it, did you?"

Jaden stared. "I want a lover now. That looks like fun, having someone you care about. I know! Chummley! Go ask her!"

"No!" He hid behind the caramel apples and his arms. "I'm to embarrassed! She's so cute! Damn, if only I had as much courage as she did..."

"You did!"

"No I didn't!"

Banner and Haruka were fighting with smiles on their faces. She just shoved it into his mouth and he stared at her and smiled.

Chummley suddenly ran up to her and grabbed her sleeve. "Would you eat lunch with me tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Hm? Tomorrow... tomorrow... hm..." She looked at Chummley. "Sure!" She smiled. "Kaiba Corperation has recruited me to keep an eye on the stocks and stuff for them, so, I'm going to be leaving tomorrow at around six. I'll have time to eat lunch with you!" She hugged him lightly. "Your a really brave kid for asking me like that. That was very polite!" She looked at Banner. "Looks like we're eating breakfast together after all."

He shrugged and walked off.

"Hey! Wah, he's ignoring me again! Gee, don't need to be mean. Cotton candy?" She held it out to Chummley. "I bought it, but it looks like Lyman doesn't like cotton candy."

---Outside---

"I can't keep this up, Pharaoh." Banner set his cat down near the ocean's water. "I mean, I love her and all, but this is kind of akward. She is, after all, a Homonculus like me, but I don't think I can handle being her lover like this all the time, especially with all the confusion of the unanswered questions. Do you think I'm really fit to love someone like her?"

"Yeah." It was Chazz. "She's in love! It's kinda rude to just abandon her in there."

"Chazz?"

"I discovered something today when I talked to Mizu. She told me something that I didn't even think about. She said; 'When the world is at war and the one you love has been caught in the middle, would you rather watch them die? Or would you continue to fight without even a second glance at them? If you answer this truthfully, then you will still love them, even if they are the enemy that you fight.' When I thought it over, I thought it reminded me of you and Haruka. Now that she knows her real name, she can't ever forget who she was and what she did. I wish I could have a second chance like her."

Haruka stopped short as she heard them talking. She hid behind a boulder nearby.

"But you did, didn't you?"

"No." Chazz looked up at the stars. "I want to go back and fix what I messed up. Haruka's getting that chance. I guess I am... Mizu definately will give me that chance. But Haruka's gotten to see what she's ruined and she can acctually fix it with mistakes of her own. I was just out here wandering around, thinking, and I realized a lot of things about Haruka and Mizu. The two of them are really a lot alike."

"They are?" Banner stared.

"Yes. Mizu and Haruka bring their own love and beauty to this world in their own way. They both have late fathers and mothers and family that they'll never see again. They both have someone to love them and that they can love. All we need to do is 'lift them up to heaven and let them fly away into the abyss of blue that love created high above', as Mizu would have it." Chazz looked out at the ocean.

Haruka smiled to herself. "Chazz is best for you, isn't he, Mizu?"

"He's down to earth, he's cute, he's a great duelist, of course he is. I just wish I wasn't always so poetic when I talk to him." Mizu's head dropped. "But maybe Zane's got some zest in his romance, eh, Alexis?"

"Ah! Yeah. He's so sweet." Alexis looked like she was in another world. "He's so sweet! He's so kind! So beautiful, handsom, kingly, brave, strong... ah, Zane's perfect."

"She's lost it," Mizu and Haruka said together.

"He's the perfect man for me."

"She's definatly lost it." Haruka put her hands behind her head and leaned against the rock. She looked up at the sky and felt a warmth consume her heart. "I gave Banner a gift he won't have to leave behind at my grave if I die before him."

"Oh lord! You gave him your favorite monster!" Alexis and Mizu said, staring her in the eye.

"Eh heh, heh..." Haruka climbed over the boulder. "You'll never know!" She ran off, Alexis and Mizu chasing after her. "Ah, ha, ha, ha! C'mon, slow poke! C'mere and catch me first! Whoa! Missed." She lunged over Pharaoh and Chazz and splashed into the water, diving in. She popped up a few feet out there. "Wassa matter? 'Fraid of gettin' wet?" She laughed as Alexis and Mizu ran out and dived in.

Chazz and Banner stared as Zane came into view as well and stared. Three girls playing water tackle... in the ocean... at night... with no shoes? and three guys watching...

SPLASH!

In went Chazz and Zane while Banner sat there. He suddenly remembered the note and pulled it out. He flipped it open and saw Haruka's handwriting. It read:

Dear Lyman,
I'm sure your probably watching me right now, but don't forget me, ok? There's a reason for the things I've down and the memories I've lost and the man inside of you I love.
By now, I'm sure you've finally realized that you love me or that I'm not the one your looking for. Either way, I'll still remember you as someone I'll never forget. I just want you to understand that I'm still here, even if we become only friends.
This festival may be the last chance I'll get to see you.
You know that pendant I gave you? Yeah, the one around your neck right now, the one with the crystal that hangs beside your Key. That crystal... no, that pendant is a part of me. If you ever want to dream of me when you sleep, put it under your pillow. That was a pendant that I made with my own Shadow Magic. I made it when I was still new here.
I remember a lot of things now. The thing I remember the most is my real name. It's not Haruka, it's not Hell, it's not Tenoh, and it's not Kaiba. My real name, the name that I had offically was Elysa, sounds like Allysa, and my last name was, not saying it still will be forever, Déesse. I think that's french, but I wouldn't know. I was adopted as a baby into the Tenoh family.
When our family lost seven of the seinors in less than a week, they didn't have enough money to support children anymore so all the children were sent to adoption centers where we lived for the better part of our childhood. Because of that, by law, I'm the cousin of the biz tycoons, Seto and Mokuba Kaiba. Don't think it's strange or anything.
Please, no matter what, after today, you will always be my friend and you will always be there to say that you are. I don't really care if you only want to be friends, I still love you.
So, with no farewell to you for the night, I say to you, through the page, I love you.
Elysa Déesse
Ps - vous voir plus tard, l'ami! (Means, see you later, friend!)

Banner looked up at Haruka and smiled. 'That's right, she's still here, I can still love her.' He got up and walked over to the waters edge. He saw Jaden jump in off a cliff and shook his head. 'I can't be sad or anything like that because it may bring her down. My beloved Elysa.'

"Lyman! Help! Their drowning Haru-- Elysa! Their drowning her!" Alexis was frantic as Zane and Chazz held Elysa beneath the water. "Stop it! Elysa! Elysa! El--Banner?"

He had dove under the water and was pushing Zane and Chazz's feet out from underneath them and they fell forward and crashed into the water as Elysa's head popped up over the water next to Banner's. They both broke into laughter as Chazz and Zane started wrestling in the water. Alexis and Mizu snagged Elysa and started trying to tackle Zane who forced them back and fell again as Jaden came to the surface with his feet.

"Mwahahahahaha! BEAT THAT! WAH!"

Elysa had Jaden's leg and was simply standing on a rock with it. "Ha ha, beat that." She dropped him in. She smiled at Lyman and waved. She suddenly looked shocked when he smiled and waved back. "You read the note? He read the note!"

"Yippie!" Mizu jumped out of the water and onto Elysa's rock. "He read it! Yay! Woah!"

They splashed into the water.

---The next day, 5:50 pm---

Elysa sat there, her arms crossed, waiting for the helicopter to come pick her up. She was holding one of Lyman's cards in her hand. She looked at it again. It was Pikeru, the little Pikeru. She smiled and held it close to her heart and whispered it's name to herself, like she'd done countless times in her wait for her ride to her work place. She suddenly heard running footsteps and turned to see Lyman standing there, out of breath, and Pharaoh in one arm as he held the door open with the other.

"Ly-Lyman!" She got up and he ran to her. "What's wrong? Your out of breath! Did you run the whole way here? What's wrong? Did you forget something? Please say something."

"I... I didn't want to leave without telling you something first." He sighed and managed to straighten himself out. "I know you can understand me when I say this, so don't pretend like you don't know. Je vous aime, Elysa."

Her eyes widened. "Y-you do know what you just said, right?"

"Yes. And I'm not taking it back. Not now. Not ever. So, er, what do you think?"

"I think you need work on your 'v's. And guess you copied that from a book. Je vous aime(see end of chapter to see what it means smile), Lyman." She stood on tip-toe and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. "Oh! Pharaoh!" She kissed Pharaoh on the head and he meowed. She giggled. "Au revoir, Pharaoh." She petted him and suddenly got a one-armed hug from Lyman. She flushed as the helicopter came into view.

The door slid open and Seto threw a ladder down to her and she grabbed it as she threw her luggage up to the body guard. Lyman smiled while his heart broke once more. He was finally able to love someone before his life was over, and he wouldn't ever foget her.

"Hey! Sleepy-head!"

Lyman started.

"I'll call ya when I get there! Promise!"

"Don' forget!"

"Au revoir!"


Au revoir - Goodbye
Je vous aime - I love you
Déesse - Goddess