Okay, so the beginning was a bit rushed; I was nervous, all right? The views might change; taking Mariam's view instead of Ray's this time. Of course, everything that happened in the last chapter is in reference to this one.

Disclaimer: Previous… look at it.

Did anyone like the idea of the preview for the following chapter? Or…what?

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"Ray? What is he…?" Ozuma eyes the Chinese blader with a glare on his face, and then his gaze transfers over to Mariam who has the slightest smile on her face. Remembering how Ray was always staring at Mariam, Ozuma grins, "Oh, all right… you're just in time to meet the group staying with us!" and on cue, a group of four; three boys and a girl, step forward. Ray's eyes widened. This…was not…happening. Lee! What the fuck is he doing here? And the whole gang! Why! Ray wanted to scream and run as far as he could right now. The White Tigers would just make it harder to be with Mariam. Not to mention what Kai said about Mariah.

"Ray? What're you doing here?" Lee grins, looking at his former teammate. Ray growls, fist clenched. I could ask you the same question… he was getting a huge headache.

Mariam looks back and forth at the new group and the brunet beside her. She could swear that the pink-haired one's eyes were sparkling brightly and Mariam follows her gaze, "Ray…" she scoffs lightly to herself Typical… But then, this guy who looked like a lion mixed with Ozuma said he knew Ray. The girl could be a childhood friend…eh, what do I care? It's none of my business. Mariam forces a smile, not wanting to make a bad first impression – until she looks at the green-haired boy beside the girl. Aw crap. Another Joseph…

"Yeah?" Ray turns his head to look at Mariam. A shocked look crosses her face and she looks at him, lifting a brow in confusion, "You said my name…" he points out, sensing her uncertainty. Ray's heart speeds up, hoping to get closer to gaining her trust, in any way… That's all he wanted. Mariam shakes her head at him.

"Nu-uh…" she says rather quietly, flipping the left side of her bangs again, "I said 'hey'…" she looks back toward the group who Ozuma had offered introductions to. Ray frowns inwardly; so much for that. He looks back at the White Tigers as they smile at Mariam.

Ozuma sighs, he hated introductions, hence the Mister X alias, "Mariam, this is Lee, Mariah, Gary and Kevin…" he resists rolling his eyes. Introductions suck… why did their damn elders have to have the same beliefs as these people! Ozuma's eye was trying not to twitch at Gary. Not…another…Dunga. Too much rage was not good for Ozuma's system, forget handling it! Dunga was hard enough to keep in control, why must there be another? Ozuma was just lucky Dunga got sleepy and was in his room right now, or he would've screamed right there. This…is…hell. Oh wait…listening to Tyson, Hilary and Kenny was probably worse. I didn't even know what they were talking about.

Each member bowed as their names were said. Mariam seems to frown as Joseph came up beside her. And the first thing her brother did was gawk at Kevin. She knew there would be an infestation of short green-haired people. And for once, Joseph was speechless. Mariam rolls her eyes; he'd probably go on with another one of his 'My Hair Is Unique' rants he did whenever they roamed.

An eerie silence follows, Ray decides, since he knows both teams, he should break it, "Guys, you've already met Ozuma, this is Mariam…" he smiles at the sound of her name escaping him. Ray was turning into a sap, and he knew it, "and her brother Joseph…" he jerks a nod at the boy who Kevin blinks at.

Joseph goes up to Kevin, "So…how'd your hair get green?" he sneers. Ozuma, Mariam, Ray and Lee roll their eyes at this as the two begin to bicker. Gary, he mysteriously vanished, but snoring was heard a few seconds later and they figured what happened.

"Good to see you again, Ray." Lee holds out a hand that Ray is forced to shake. Lee suddenly remembered why they were there; the whole joining-due-to-elders-having-the-same-beliefs thing… he saw Ozuma's glare and he looks back at Ray, "Gotta run…leaders' duty." Lee follows Ozuma into a nearby temple. Ray was left with the two girls…joy.

Mariah is the first to speak, "Nice to find you here, Ray…" she smiles, her hair bouncing a bit as she speaks. Ray smiles back, weakly.

Mariam's eyes look back and forth at them. They'd probably want to reminisce about their childhood or something. I won't intervene; like I said, it's none of my business what the hell happened to them. Her eyes close and she turns to walk away, almost like Kai does, Ray recognized.

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Crystalline jade eyes glare at the horizon, which she's only being prevented from going to by the edge of the cliff. She rather liked this cliff; only Joseph knew where it was and she could finally be alone. Her head stares down at her shoes, just on the edge until she stares back up again.

"This…sucks…" Mariam finally utters out, her hand brushing through the right side of her bangs, scoffing lightly. Stupid Ray and his little childhood friends. Dealing with Joseph, Ozuma and Dunga was horrible enough, but multiplying them by two? That was just bad. And Kon and his little girlfriend too? Mariam just couldn't stand it, "Stupid Ray…"

"What did I do now?"

Mariam's eyes widen in shock for a second until they go back to their emotionless state. She doesn't even bother turning around, keeping her glare on the view in front of her, "What're you doing here, Kon?" her voice was still low and cold.

Ray walks beside her, his hands finding their way into his pockets and he shrugs, "I noticed you were missing…" he says, staring at the horizon like Mariam was. She looks at him from the corner of her eyes, his golden orbs staring at the horizon she was a few seconds ago. She scoffs lightly to herself and glares back at the view, "Why'd you leave?" Ray's voice seemed slightly desperate and slightly offended. Had he done something wrong?

Mariam places her hand on her hip, "I just don't like crowds…" her eyes narrow to pale lime slits. Ray nods and lets out a soft humming sound of his understanding, "Why does it matter?" she asks in return, something in her head throbbing at her. So much for being alone in relaxation…

"It matters…to---" Ray stops himself from saying that it mattered to him. Mariam turns her head to look at him again with a questioning look on her face, "Uh… Ozuma."

Mariam stares at him, the questioning look still on her face, "Why would it matter to him?" Ray doesn't respond to that and Mariam sighs. Typical… that stupid big-shot Ozuma never gave reason as to why he did something. It really got annoying, "Where's Mariah?" Mariam smiles; although Mariah had pink hair, she could prove to be someone to help annoy the boys, and Mariam saw her affection towards Ray.

"She…" Ray stalls, his golden eyes darting around nervously, "wanted to watch Joseph and Kevin bicker over their hair colors…thought it'd be fun…" it wasn't really a lie… Ray convinced Mariah to stop their fight before it got too big, telling her that he had 'something important to attend to' as an excuse to go find Mariam.

"Sounds pointless…" Mariam's arms fold, sneering. Though she didn't really know Kevin, Mariam figured him to be Joseph double, which was hell in itself. Trying to forget everything, Mariam closes her eyes, to take in the air around her, though she knew that coming here only fed the emptiness inside. Suddenly remembering that Ray was standing beside her, Mariam's eyes shot open, and the empty feeling inside died a bit. It felt different…

"Do you wanna go back now…?" Ray suggests with a smile, looking at her. Mariam's eyes look at him in shock. Did he…not order her to do something? She smiles a bit. Everyone always ordered her around and she barely had a say in anything. Why was he showing her sympathy? Did he want something in return? These questions hurt Mariam's head until she nods at the brunet. Ray smiles slightly wider, "Come on…" he puts a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him oddly.

Mariam's feet start moving, following Ray back to the site where the others were. Mariah's sitting cross-legged, her elbow resting on her thigh, only to prop her chin from falling from boredom, watching the two green-haired boys in front of her. Mariam smirks, "I knew watching those two idiots was pointless…" she sighs at Ray who offers a small chuckle at her.

Mariah's head perks up at the sight of Ray returning and offers a small frown at Mariam who's walking beside the brunet until they get up to her, "Hi Ray…Mariam." She smiles, scrunching her nose ever so lightly at mentioning the girl's name. Mariam notices but disregards it.

A weird silence follows. The sound of something glass crashing breaks it, "Oops… Ray, you didn't need this, did you?" Joseph and Kevin's voices yell from a nearby temple. Apparently, the two green demons had gotten away during the silence and were now tampering with Ray's only things. His eyes widen.

"Hehe…" he turns away from the girls to yell at the duo, "I swear, if you break Drigger, I'll break both your heads!" he runs off toward the sound of the crashing.

Mariam and Mariah exchange looks, "Kevin got a grudge against Ray too?" Mariam asks, at her attempt to start conversation. Mariam wanted to get along with this girl… at least enough to send the boys to hell.

Mariah, being as bored as she was watching the two younger boys, barely nods, "Yeh…Joseph got one too?" the pink-haired girl gets up, dusting off her pants. Mariam nods. She knew their teams were too closely similar to be normal! She even noticed how Mariah's hair was quite similar to her own, with two long bangs on either side to frame her face and her long hair done in a ponytail high on her head. Now that Mariam thought about it, their shoes were pretty much the same. She was going to kill Ozuma for…something, but he was just going to get it!

Mariam studied the girl for a short while. She wondered why Ray didn't like Mariah. She seemed nice, by what happened so far, and Mariah liked Ray a lot. What was stopping him from being with her? Despite all the pink? If Mariah was wearing varieties of colors, then maybe Ray'd like her better? They had Mariam's approval…not that it would matter to him, but sure… As long as they don't keep hanging around here… Mariam sighs.

"You like Ray…don't you?" Mariam asks, giving the neko-jin girl a smile which she didn't even know she could do. Mariah blushes lightly and Mariam smirks, knowing the answer…like she didn't know it already. Before Mariah can say anything further, Mariam cuts her off, "I think Ray'd like you too…if you maybe lost most of the pink."

Mariah didn't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, "So you don't like him?"

Mariam scoffs, which brings up Mariah's frown, "Why? I barely know the guy. Even if I did, I don't…trust him."

"Just like everyone else I know…" the pink haired girl sighs. Mariam lifts a brow, "He left our team a while ago. Lee dubbed it 'betraying' us and we didn't trust him. Well, they didn't…I still did." Mariah remembered that very well and how it had hurt her, "Guys can be such idiots…" the words escaped her lips before she realized it, making Mariam's head turn back at her as she'd been staring at a figure in the distance that looked oddly familiar.

"Tell me about it…" emerald orbs roll in agreement. Ozuma, Joseph and Dunga were huge pains, and being the only girl within them was pure hell. Though, it did give her time to herself, where she thought about if there were things worse than this. She just wanted to be alone to relax without guys nagging at her for no reason. By the looks of it, Mariah was a believer in the…'girl power' which Mariam thought to be a bit cliché or overrated at times.

"So…friends?" Mariah offers, holding out a hand that Mariam looks at for a while, unsure if she should accept it. Why was she forced to be close to people who she barely trusted? No one had had fully gained her trust, besides the other Saint Shields, even if she didn't show it. She knew they'd protect her, but that was probably only because of their oath things they swore to the elders. Nevertheless, she knew they'd protect her. The only person, besides Joseph, that came even close was Kai. She supposed it was because he, in ways, was similar to her. She knew Kai probably had the same view about the world that she did. He'd be the closest person to understand what she's about.

Mariam decides not to accept the handshake but smiles instead, "It's close enough…" she folds her arms, still smiling at her. Mariah seems to be shocked at this, but smiles anyways and withdraws her hand, nodding.

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Ray sighs in relief, having tied both Joseph and Kevin with rope and shoved them in a closet. Shit! He just remembers that he left Mariam…alone with Mariah. Mariah could've ripped Mariam to shreds by now! Mariah probably saw the little hints that would've lead to Ray's liking of the Saint Shields girl. He races back out, in time to see Mariam and Mariah…getting along and sitting near the river side. Maybe Mariah didn't like him as much as he thought…which was a relieving thought seeing as he was free to like Mariam then.

"I see at least you guys are getting along." Ray smiles, startling them as they turn to face him with confused looks on their faces, "I had to tie Joseph and Kevin up in the closet…"

Mariam scoffs, turning back to look at the water, "Then, either, they'll be beating each other up, verbally, possibly, or making out…" she said tonelessly. At the moment, she was really starting to remind Ray of Kai, which Ray didn't understand.

Mariah and Ray shoot her an odd look, which she glances at for a second and looks away, "Just because it sounds crazy, doesn't make it any less true; it is a possibility." She points out with a sigh, "Great, if that happens, I'll have to see that little Joseph look-alike who's apparently named Kevin…" she mumbles, not knowing that's she's saying that aloud.

"Apparently named Kevin?" Mariah asks, looking at her. Ray seems to agree with Mariah on this one. His name really was Kevin…what was Mariam talking about?

Mariam looks at Mariah, "Well, what proof do you have that tells me that's his real name? It could be something like Kiki for all I know…"

Ray smiles, and for some reason, the movie with the girl witch named Kiki comes to mind. Awkward… Ray still didn't know how he was supposed to get close to Mariam with Mariah always in the way. This wasn't going well at all.

"Mariah!" Mariah flinches at the voice, "It's time we all go to sleep now!" Lee's voice roars from the temple. Mariam turns and sees Ozuma walking out of the temple with a hand over his ear. She kinda felt sorry for Ozuma. Dealing with that loud voice for so long must've been hard, especially since he didn't want to; it was all the elders fault. He probably had a headache, but was it any of her business? Well, sure, he was her teammate, not to mention, her leader…

Mariah turns to yell at her brother, "Lee! I'm old enough to chose when I sleep!"

"No you're not!" Lee's voice yells back, yet it's slightly playful. Mariah leads Mariam and Ray over to him, only to have Mariah yell at him some more but he cuts her off, "Fine, but you're rooming with Mariam. I don't trust these…people…" Mariam lifts a brow at him, offended by this, although she doesn't trust him at all.

Mariah had the biggest temptation to throw something at Lee at the moment, but she couldn't find anything hard enough to crack his head so she could rearrange his brain, "Where're you rooming then?"

"With Ozuma and Ray…" the elder sibling replies curtly and smugly. Mariam sighs. This was just great. Her with Mariah, Dunga with Gary, Joseph with Kevin and now…Lee with Ozuma. Ray was just there because… he didn't tell her yet, but he will. Surely, no one comes so many miles just to say hi. Mariam was the first person that Ray went up to when he got here. Maybe he was just trying to finish what he was saying to her at the airport. Who struggles with telling someone that they'll miss them? Apparently Ray.

Ray tilts back at this. He was stuck with the two people with the biggest and shortest tempers, loudest voices and…um, scary hair…oh, and their eyebrows were probably scarier… Ray could've slapped himself right there for thinking that. No one would have to know about that… Still, he follows Lee and Ozuma to one temple, tossing Mariah a pair of keys. Said girl stares at them, and then turns to smile at Mariam, dangling the metal objects between her thumb and index fingers.

"Let's just go…" Mariam sighs, going to the temple that used to be hers and only hers, which she now had to share with Kon's little girlfriend. And by what Mariah told her at the river, Lee ordered his team up in the morning to train with blades. Ozuma was very much against that. He preferred…physical training way early in the morning. Mariam would have so much fun watching the two yell. Really, the only pairs that seemed to get along was her and Mariah and Dunga and Gary, but they hadn't said a word to each other and feel asleep before making conversation.

Mariah nods at the girl, following her. Sure, Mariam seemed nice enough, but she also seemed rather distant from everyone. She said she didn't trust Ray, probably also meaning that she didn't trust anyone else for that matter. If these guys she'd been living with until this point had been making Mariam distant, they'd get what's coming to them from Mariah. She really wanted to stay on Mariam's good side because staying in a world full of guys was hell without another girl to stick around with you.

Mariam tosses the receipt for her and Joseph's blade on the table beside her bed and turns to face Mariah, "Take whichever bunk you want; I don't mind. Just please tell me that you're not a sleepwalker." Mariam gestures to the neat room which probably took a while to organize. The possibility that Mariah sleepwalks could cause her to stumble and ruin everything, "Washroom's over there if you want to change or something."

Mariah nods, setting her blading equipment on a separate table, grabbing her sleeping attire and going to the washroom. Mariam rolls her eyes, getting another set of her Saint Shields uniform, wondering why Ozuma gave them more than one. She quickly replaces the outfits and begins untying her hair, setting the band on the table, along with her wristbands, headband and the band on her left upper arm. Stupid Kon. This was all his fault. His friends probably knew he was coming here and followed him. Mariam sighs, flipping her hair again.

A knock on the door took Mariam's attention as she went over to it, "What?" she asks harshly and annoyed, "Kon, do you have some fascination with taking me away from my thoughts, or…what?" she glares at Ray standing at the door with a hopeful look on his face at first, but it rearranges into a nervous one.

Ray hadn't realized it to begin with, but he started staring at her again. Mariam still looked pretty much the same; still amazing, still captivating and still all he wanted to see. There was a difference this time though; her hair was down, and Ray had to admit, in some ways, it was like his own. Her dark violet hair fell over her back like a long, elegant veil of blue and her bangs were still in the same position as they were when she wore the hair tie. The light was still reflecting on the small curls of her hair. Ray admitted; she looked better now than in her daydream and than anything else he's seen. He rather liked her with her hair down. Mariam lifts a brow at him.

"Well?" she asks, misunderstanding Ray's silence. He came here for something other than to stare, right? Why was he staring anyways? Comparing her to Mariah? Tche, Mariam didn't want to be compared like that.

Ray clears his throat, "Ozuma got into a fight with Lee about how you guys practice in the morning; either with blades or physical training…" his voice trails off, never hearing such loud voices bicker over something like that, "and um…"

Mariam's face turns into one of confusion, "And let me guess…you want to bunk here?" Mariam starts closing the door on him, but Ray sticks a foot to prevent the door from closing on him, "Pervert…" she mutters at him, which gets her a small blush and a wide-eyed expression from Ray. She still strains to close the door on him.

"No, I wasn't going to ask to bunk here, first of all, and second…do you have earplugs?" Ray manages to get out. Mariam's eyes widen at the question and she stops her attempt in closing the door, "And thirdly…I didn't mean to take you away from your thoughts, Mariam…" his voice sounded sympathetic and Mariam realized he really meant it as he bows his head at her. When he brings his head back up, Mariam's eyes shine at him, for some unknown reason.

Mariam flips her hair yet again, "Here's your earplugs…" she handed him a new packet of earplugs which she got from the side table next to the door, "I was joking when I said you wanted to bunk here and…thanks."

Ray didn't look away from her when he took the earplugs from her and the two remained in silence until a voice rose up, "Mariam! How do you work this thing?" Mariam's head turns back to see Mariah struggling with something and she looks back at Ray.

"Kon, your little girlfriend is going to kill me…" she sighs closing the door on him, leaving Ray staring in awe. Great…Mariam thought that Mariah was his girlfriend. Maybe it was because he was such a coward, not standing up for himself and the people that mattered to him.

"Wait!" he uses his hand to push the door back open and Mariam looks at him with more question, "Why've you reduced to calling me by my surname?" he looks at her, golden orbs quivering in fear. Fear that he'd done something wrong to hurt her or make her think that he was nothing more than just another guy or just another jerk.

Mariam smirks at him, "You can call me by my surname if you want, then." Her head tilts to the side, still smirking at him, "If that'll make you feel better."

"Well, first, I don't know your surname," Mariam smirks wider at this and Ray continues, "And even if I did, I wouldn't want to call you that anyways…" Mariam's smirk vanishes as he says that, turning into a slightly surprised look. Maybe Mariam was right; Ray had more respect for her than these other jerks.

"Hmm…all right then, Ray, but Mariah's still screaming for help…" she turns her attention back to where Mariah's still fighting something, and then she looks back at Ray with a content smile and Ray flushes at it. He knew he had it bad for her, even though they were barely friends and barely anything to each other. Mariam closes the door and Ray decides he should leave.

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"All right, Mariah, what's wrong?" Mariam asks with her hands placed on her hips angrily, "Please don't tell me you broke something…" the emerald-eyed girl pleads. Mariah points a finger at the launcher Mariam uses more of the time, seeing as it was different from her own.

"It ate Galux!" Mariah complains, balling her fists. Mariam rolls her eyes.

"It doesn't eat anything, Mariah, it's a launcher…" Mariam holds it up for her to look at but Mariah slaps it away, "But I guess we don't have to worry about that…" she sighs, "Here's your…Galux…" she hands the blade to its owner in which said owner had no clue what happened to it.

Mariam smiles, stowing Galux somewhere safe. Mariam notices that even down, their hair is still similar, but Mariam brushes it aside and climbs into her bed. Mariah does the same, sighing and turning the lights off.

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"Mariam! Why can't you do anything right?"

"Why are you giving in like that?"

"What is wrong with you?"

Mariam's eyes clasp tightly shut, tossing and turning until the point where she shoots up in her place, panting for air. Emerald eyes look around nervously, seeing only her possessions and Mariah in the other bed, peacefully asleep. She brings a hand to wipe her forehead, "I need a walk…" and grabbing her headband and hair tie, she silently goes out to the cliff where she named her own. Over the peak of the horizon, she saw the faintest hint of the sun coming up and she begins to tie her hair back up.

She shifts around a bit, feeling something in her shadow, but she chooses not to make a reaction to it, pretending to innocently put on her headband, "What're you doing up so early?" Ray's voice comes up from behind her, startling her and her fingers slip on the band.

Mariam gives up, holding the red cloth in her hand, "I could ask you the same thing…" she replies simply, closing her eyes gently. Ray walks up beside her, smiling. Mariam looks at him, noticing how he looks; it's as if he just woke up and tied his hair together now, the end of his headband sticking out of his pocket.

Ray laughs slightly, "I guess I'm just so used to Kai waking me up this early…what about you?" he looks over at her, catching her staring at him. In that case, Mariam shakes her head and looks away again. Ray smiles as he could've sworn he saw a light blush with her widened eyes. Maybe he was getting somewhere. Mariam's only reply was that her shifting around nervously, "Anything you wanna talk about?" he peered over, trying to look into her eyes.

Mariam started blinking frantically, trying to think of something. She couldn't. She couldn't trust him…he didn't know her. And by this point, Mariam's head had started aching, causing her to bring a hand to it. Why was Ray even talking to her? She had been part of the reason why he lost Drigger. He should have some kind of hate toward her, and by not getting upset, she figured that something must've been wrong with him.

Ray saw her bright jade orbs quivering, getting an idea of what was going on in her head. She doesn't…trust people… people like me. He was so close to her, but he couldn't tell her anything. A weird feeling shattered itself right through Ray's self, and it took him so much to keep from breaking down in front of her, "I see…" his head bows low and Mariam notices how broken apart his tone sounds and she can't help but feel partially responsible for it.

Like Ozuma said, she can't do anything right… She watches as Ray begins to walk away, but she notices that the headband had fallen out of his pocket. She stares at it through narrowed eyes for a while, "Ray?" she asks, turning around to face him.

Ray looks at her again, "Um…yeah?"

Mariam squats down, running her fingers through the grass until the headband fell into her hand. Clasping it, she picks it up, staring at it with a light smile, "You dropped your headband…" she offers it to him with her open hand, forgetting that her own headband is still clutched in her other hand.

Ray's eyes open in shock, his cheeks taking on a light scarlet. He stares at her bright emerald eyes, seeing that he didn't have his headband on. Mariam smiles; he probably forgot that he wasn't wearing it when he woke up; it was in his pocket after all, "Thanks…Mariam."

Mariam studied his voice; no signs of hate or sarcasm. He was being kind… Mariam watches as Ray takes the red object from her, his hand brushing hers and Mariam smiles while Ray blushes some more, "You um…" she stutters, feeling too nervous to look at his eyes. She takes a light bite into her lower lip, her smile becoming tense. Why was she feeling like this? She blinks a couple of times and her face appears normal again, flipping the side of her bangs.

"What?" Ray asks, looking from the headband to her eyes. Was it him or did this all seem very, very familiar? Mariam stares at him for a while, watching how, like her, without the headband, his bangs fall into his eyes. She held off on giggling at it, since she went through the same thing so many times… like when she gave her headband to Max. Not knowing why, Mariam reached over, as Ray was brushing the right side away, and brushed the left side away from his eyes.

"You don't look half bad…" she smiles again. She watches Ray blush. She would've figured, that with Mariah and all, surely Ray had been in closer contact with a girl before. He was acting like this was the first time… Mariam withdraws her hand, suddenly remembering what she was doing. Ray stares at her and places his headband back on his head.

"You mean that's it?" he asks, trying to smile convincingly, "No crude comment? No insult? No…trick?" Ray smiles in relief, not wanting to ask 'no but' or it'd sound weird.

Mariam places her hands on her hips. One of the only times she was going to be nice and he thinks that she can't do it without poking jokes. Just because she had the sharpest tongue, didn't mean she couldn't be nice when she wanted to, "Why, do you want me to insult you?" so much for being nice to him for once.

Ray's eyes widen as he starts waving his hands in front of him, "No, it's not that…it's just…"

"Ray?"

Both Ray and Mariam turn and see Lee staring at them from a distance. And he doesn't look too happy. Ray looks back at Mariam who seems quite confused but she begins to put her own headband back on, smiling at Ray. Ray was confused; why was she so happy? Lee just came in and… well, it's not like he and Mariam were having a 'moment' but Lee just ruined…whatever was going on.

"Uh-oh…" Ray mutters. Surely Lee knew that Mariah liked Ray. And seeing your baby sister's crush alone with another girl could've been just too weird a scene. Mariam was peering over Ray's shoulder, trying to see what made Ray feel so uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?" she looks at Lee, or the 'guy that looked like Ozuma mixed with a lion' as she first called him. Lee made their way over to them, Ray with an exasperated face and Mariam with an almost false cheery one, "Oh, Ozuma's lion double… what's he want?" accidentally, Mariam scowls a bit at the end.

Ray smiles at the nickname Mariam gave to Lee, but it fades as Lee gets closer, "Don't call him that…" Ray hisses lightly. Mariam just smiles, turning so that Ray could only see the left side of her face, "Hey Lee…what's up?" Ray asks, pretending that Mariam wasn't there, although it was against everything in his whole self.

Lee eyes the Saint Shields girl angrily for a while before looking back at Ray, "Nothing…girlie, can me and Ray talk in private?" he snarls at Mariam. Mariam scoffs and flips her hair carelessly, walking away, mumbling things under her breath. That's it! She was going to complain to Ozuma about that stupid lion wannabe.

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"What!" Mariam's hands slam on the table near Ozuma. He looks at the table with a lifted brow, and then transfers his gaze to her eyes, "Whatdya mean you can't get rid of them?" Mariam was reaching a breaking point; someone was going to be punished for this.

Ozuma gives her a harsh look, "The elders say that joining with this team would help their beliefs. We represent their beliefs, and we'll carry out this mission, whether we like it or not; that's the way it works, Mariam." He says firmly, glaring at her, "Besides, you and Mariah seem to be getting along…"

"Sure, but I don't see Joseph and Kevin getting along! I don't even wanna know what Dunga and Gary are up to and you…your ears could break off right now because of Lee!" Mariam's hands had begun slamming on the table over and over again.

Ozuma rolls his eyes, sighing lowly, "Fine, what did they do to you that made you so mad?" his arms fold, glaring as hard as she was angry.

Mariam tilts back, her hands going back to her sides and a light blush graces her cheeks, "Lee um…" Ozuma's brows furrow in amusement and light confusion, smirking at her nevertheless. Mariam's struggling to find what she's trying to say; all Lee really did was bother her conversation with Ray, and Mariam knew that wasn't a good enough excuse to get rid of them, "Never mind… forget I said anything…" she storms out of the room angrily.

Ozuma smirks after her.

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Mariam was sitting around the riverside she and Mariah were the evening before, staring at the small boat that she and the other Saint Shields made long ago. Really, they'd built it big enough for three people since Joseph was scared to go in the water at the time. But occasionally, Mariam stole the boat for herself while the boys weren't looking so she could finally be alone. She had taken this time to take her wristbands and other things from the room and she sighs at the water.

"I didn't even notice you were gone…" Mariam stares in the water, seeing a pink reflection beside her own. Mariah… "Did I do something wrong?"

Mariam shakes her head as Mariah sat beside her, "Nah, I just had a bad dream, that's all…I woke up early, walked around…" Mariam was looking into the eyes of Mariah's reflection which was looking back at her, "Your brother is as annoying as hell…"

Mariah smirks, "You realized, huh?" Mariam nods, "What'd he do this time?"

"Ruined conversation…"

Mariah nods, "With whom?" her golden eyes were quivering in the reflection and Mariam bet they were quivering even more out of the reflection. What was Mariam supposed to say? "Hello? Mariam?" the pink haired neko-jin turns her head towards the blue-haired girl.

"Ray…" Mariam replies carelessly, scrunching her nose ever so slightly while doing so. Mariah, to Mariam's surprise is quite calm at this, possibly because of the indigo-haired girl's admittance of not having any feelings for said brunet, "Jerk…" she mutters under her breath which Mariah catches but smiles.

"Nice boat…"

"Thanks…" Mariam says in a low tone, "You wanna ride it? It's built for three…" Mariah sends her a curious look at that, but Mariam answers before she can ask, "Joseph didn't want to come with us at the time."

Mariah nods, smiling, "All right, but who'd come with a pair of girls?"

And as if on cue, Ray's reflection appears behind theirs with a curious look on his face, "So that's where you went, Mariam." He smiles lightly at her, "What're you talking about?"

Mariah stands up and Mariam follows the example, "You wanna ride on the boat with us, Ray?" Mariah asks cheerfully. Ray's eyes look back and forth between them and nods, "Won't this be fun!"

Mariam forces a smile, trying not to look at Ray, "Actually…you guys go ahead…" the Saint Shields girl starts to walk away, stowing her hands in her pockets, "I…need to do something…" she bites on the bottom of her lip in fear.

"You sure?" Mariah asks towards Mariam's back. Not turning back, Mariam nods, walking back over to the temples, "But Mariam…!" Mariah objects, trying to convince her new acquaintance to go with them. She didn't want Mariam to think that Ray was more important than being friends, of course.

Mariam turns around again, "I'm sure! You guys go ahead; have a nice time, but I'm not in the mood for going…" she smirks at them, "See ya…" she flips her hair and does a small salute to Mariah. Ray is left staring at Mariam's departing figure, then being dragged into the boat with Mariah. Mariam watches from the roof of her temple.

Her chin falls in her hands, being held up by her elbows, propped by her thighs. They look like they're having fun. At least some people are…

I wonder how Kai is doing…

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There; no more little notes in this chapter; so far… There's still references in there. I know; the scenes kinda ran a bit fast…

You got some Ray/Mariam interaction in there, plus Ray sees his daydream come true! I swear, don't the Saint Shields and the White Tigers seem similar to each other! Joseph and Kevin; I love those two little guys! Mariam did say in the last chapter (under her breath; Ray heard it) that there would be an infestation of little green-haired people. And if anyone notices the pattern in Mariam's new habit…that's very good to the story.

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Preview Bits of Next Chapter:

Max's sapphire eyes roll, "Kai, Mariam wants to know if you can come over…" he yells to the slate-haired boy outside who was forced to clean up the ashes he made with burning the shirt, "…soon…"

Kai sighs, "For what? Tea and cookies?" he scoffs and Max turns back to the phone, repeating Kai's answer to Mariam. Tyson's grandfather was one weird man, Kai knew that… but why did the ashes matter?

"Kai! Mariam says to cut the crap and it's about Ray." Max yells again. Kai growls, "Oh, and she says that…um…" Max becomes confused in the sounds he's hearing on the other line.

"Ray! What're you…?" Mariam's voice asks, shocked. A sharp sound was heard and then a few seconds of silence.

"-She'll call you back!-" a weird angrier version of Ray's voice snaps quite loudly into the phone. Max blinks at the dial tone staring at the object as it dangles in his fingers.

"Mariam says what?" Kai asks, annoyed again at Max's silence, "Is this some stupid version of Simon Says, Max? Because if it is, you're gonna regret it."

"Kai, I think Ray's lost it…"

Kai lets out a low growl, grabbing the phone from Max.

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"So who is it?" Mariam demands, glaring hard. Ray lets out another sigh of defeat, staring at the ground until he looks back at her. He was going to tell her, here and now. But, Ray knew that he could let her know without saying a word. Subconsciously, he leans into her. Mariam's eyes widen at him as he moves closer until he was close enough to…

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Ray sighs, "Why is it that you keep talking about Mariah around me?" he asks, forcing out a chuckle to lighten things up, but it was a failed attempt.

"Because she really does like you, Ray." Mariam sighs again, "Why is that so hard for you to understand?" Ray had obviously taken too long to answer as Mariam seemed to lose it, "She –loves- you, dammit! So fall in love with her!"

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Sitting up, Mariam brings her knees to her chest again, "Mariah really likes you…you know that?" she says sincerely to Ray, keeping her face filled with concern for her new acquaintance.

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Ray tilts back at this, "Mariam, I…" he falls into silence again, hanging his head. Mariam turns to look at him, trying to calm herself down, "It's…not that I don't like Mariah, it's just that I…"

"What?" Mariam snaps at him.

"I like someone else…" Ray admits, trying to smile, "…more."

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Please review now! (Now, if you want, in the next chapter, you can choose which pairing you want as the ending and yes, Ray/Mariah is one of the options...otherwise, it'll end as Ray/Mariam)