Suki looked at him stunned. She almost laughed until she realized how serious he was. "Oh, Kai…"

"Just listen to me for a second." He said, all of a sudden a gleam of hope in his eyes. "You don't think two people could be more different, but why do you think all this has happened?"

"What the hell am I saying?" he was thinking. "I don't even believe in fate…"

"Maybe it's because we aren't so different, maybe were looking for the same thing…" He really wished he at least had a clue of what he was talking about. He had no idea of why he has saying all that, but he couldn't stop his mouth no matter how much he wanted it to… it was as if it had a mind of its own. "You're different Suki, way different from everyone else I know, you're the kind of person I've been looking for…" Finally Kai managed to stop his mouth. Suki sat there silently, letting the words wash over her.

He had spoken much too quickly to give her a chance to think anything except that maybe he had gone insane… yet everything he had said made perfect sense inside her. She wanted to leave with him, live with him, say yes and then take off… but what about her family and friends?

"Kai." She began. "I'm very flattered that you'd ask me." She smiled. "But…"

Kai narrowed his eyes and looked away from her. "I knew that 'but' was coming." He said.

"Kai…"

"Look, will you just think about it?" He asked turning back to her. "Just… think about it. That's all." Suki looked into his eyes. There was disappointment, anger and embarrassment in them. He never would've asked her if he had any control over his mouth, she thought. They looked at each other in complete silence.

"HEY!"

Kai broke contact with her stare when the new voice was heard. Suki turned to see who that voice belonged to. Ray was running over to them, waving a hand in the air. He was followed by Tyson, Max and Kenny, who were followed by Teletha, Yumiko and Mariah. "What'cha doing?" Ray asked when he was standing right next to Kai.

"Nothing, just relaxing."

"Need… WATER!" yelled Tyson, flopping down on the floor in front of Suki and Kai.

"Suki, are you wet?" asked Teletha, taking a good look at Suki's hair. Suki nodded, not giving it much importance.

"Kai… what happened?" asked Ray, taking a good look at Kai too.

"We were washing dishes." Said Suki.

"But why are you wet?" asked Yumiko.

"She started." Said Kai, gesturing to Suki with a hand.

"LIAR!" said Suki, punching him once playfully on his arm. "It was you remember? And I don't think that was an accident."

"Kai? Starting a water fight? With a GIRL!" said Tyson.

"Gotta problem?" said Kai with a menacing tone.

"No, it's just…" Tyson scratched the back of his head nervously. "… It's just too… WEIRD to think of you starting a water fight."

"Doesn't mean I don't know how." Kai stated.

"So, what are you guys up to now?" asked Suki, changing the subject.

"Chief wanted us to train today." Said Ray, "but…" he paused and looked at Kai carefully choosing his words. "Tyson said it was too much of a beautiful day to waist training."

Everyone looked at Kai, expecting him to jump up and shout "Hell no! We're training Now." To everyone's surprise, he just laid flat on the floor and settled his hands behind his head.

"Looks like Kai agrees with Tyson…" mumbled Max, shocked.

"It'll be the first and last time." Kai said.

"What do we do now?" asked Mariah.

"How about a cookout?" suggested Suki.

"Sounds great." Said Kai, standing up and walking over to the house.

Everyone looked at him, surprised.

"What the…" Tyson, along with the rest of the Blade Breakers and Suki's friends followed Kai, leaving Ray, Mariah and Suki behind.

"Kai, are you being you today?" asked Tyson.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Said Kai. "You must be so hungry, that you're imagining things again, Tyson."

The others laughed.

"I know I didn't just 'imagine' that." Said Ray.

Suki looked at Ray and then at Mariah.

"Ill go on." She said, running after the others and leaving Ray alone with Suki.

"What happened?" he asked.

"That time we went to the forest, we talked."

"And?"
"We talked last night too."

"AND?"

"I guess all he needs is someone he can trust in."

"You got that right." Ray said. "He's got scars from the past."

"He told me."

"Have you seen them?"

Suki looked at Ray. "Seen them?"

"Yeah. He showed me. He trusts me more than anybody would think. We only talk when were alone though. But I understand why."

"Hold on, hold on. What do you mean seen them?"

They stopped walking and looked at each other. For a moment it seemed he was going to tell her, until a loud crash made them look towards the house.

Tyson had jumped and landed on top of the table, but since he had landed on the side, all his weight made the table knock over. Ray ran toward his friend laughing, leaving Suki behind and alone.

Just what exactly did he mean by "seen them"?

Suki couldn't sleep that night either. It wasn't the fact that it was only 10:30 pm. The afternoon just re-played in her mind over and over. It was too magical to even consider it being a reality.

She had figured out what Ray had meant. There were two scars on Kai's back; a big one running from his left shouler to the right hip and a small one, running the other way. She found out when Kai was changing in Kambeis room, and he had turned to look for his shoes. He explained that those were the scars that his grandfather had left when he had showed tears. They didnt have much time to talk about that past, for Tyson was opening all the doors in the house in search for them so the rest could start eating.

Suki and her friends had all had a cookout just like they had planned. Afterwards, they had gone inside and played cards. To everyone's surprise, Kai said he would play too. Yumiko and Teletha jumped on him and felt his forehead, trying to decide whether or not he was sick. Afterwards, they played "spin the bottle" and everyone was about to faint when Kai said he was up for it.

"Kai, you in some kind of medication?" had asked Max.

"He HAS been weird today." Pointed out Tyson.

They played in pairs, Ray with Mariah, Tyson with Teletha and Max with Yumiko, leaving Suki and Kai together. Kenny refused to play saying he had more important things to do.

They all came up with some weird dares; Tyson was forced to swallow a drink that involved mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, water and milk; Ray had to take off his hair cloth and let his hair be pulled up into two ponytails until the game was over (something he really looked forward to); Max was supposed to go outside and run around in his underwear while shouting "IM CRAZY!"; Teletha had to jump out the attic window; Yumiko had to taste something in the fridge (nobody knew what it was, and it surely didn't look healthy). The dares were a more polite with Kai and Suki. Suki and Kai revealed their secret of being half and half, since it was Tyson's idea to reveal something nobody would ever think of them.

When they transformed, the others looked at them with full surprise. Kenny had fainted. Nobody really knew what to say… at first. Then came the waterfall of questions. Kai and Suki busied themselves answering, and then it was all almost back to normal when their human selves came back again. They began to leave when Suki's family started coming back, starting with Kazumi. Yumiko left with Ishuzo, who was going to stay over since she and Maya were dying to see each other again.

Before Kai left, he took hold of Suki's hands and then looking right into her eyes, he made her promise she would think of his offer. He said he would be staying over at Tyson's house, since he knew she needed time to think things over.

That night, she did what she had no idea she would do. She decided to ask her parents for advice… but not in her human form. Odeon agreed with her that it was definitely crazy to walk into the kitchen as an angel or demon or both at the same time. But she did so anyway. She transformed, and walked right into the kitchen. Her parents and Kambei were sitting at the table, their dinner being in their stomachs by that time.

"Honey, Halloween isn't until October." Had said her mother.

"Its not a costume." Suki had said.

"What do you mean?" had said her father.

"This is the real me." Suki replied.

"What are you talking about?"

Suki brought her human form again. She made her family see how the black wings disappeared into her back, how her eyes turned from green to purple again, how the mark on her neck disappeared like it was breezed off.

"Mother, father, Kambei… Kai has asked me to go to Russia with him." She said, sitting down. "To live."

She closed her eyes remembering how her parents had refused to let her go, how they yelled when they figured she WAS a half and half, how they reacted when she told them what that Tala wanted her for, how they forced her to tell them about the witch… everything was now out in the open. Kambei excused himself and went to his room, leaving the three in the kitchen. By that time, she was telling her parents that Kai was like her, except he was the demon half.

"And we're supposed to let you go with a half demon guy we barely know!" shouted her father.

That was it. That was her cue to give up. She knew that no matter how much she begged, what faced she made, how much she negociated, her parents wouldn't let her go. She couldn't blame her parents; after all, this had been hidden from them for so much… She was sent to her room. She nodded, and didn't try to get away from punishment. She closed the door gently, and layed on the bed. A few minutes later, she heard her parents walking past her bedroom to theirs. She could feel their presence stop just outside her door, but they continued, dragging their feet tiredly. If only they understood, Suki thought. If only they understood…

She fell asleep, wondering what would await for her the next day.