Chapter 12

The first day Tempest was gone. Melee was worried. It was the first time he has left the house… come to think of it, she realized he was the FIRST to leave the house and be on his own!

With the exception of Pac leaving to find himself.

For most of the day she went home and paced about, waiting to see if he would call to want to come home. Yet the thought was quickly put out of her mind when Garou insisted he would be fine. "He's stronger than he looks, you know that right? Besides, we got our hands full with Suiryu."

"He's still at the Association?"

"Out like a light." Garou said and smirked. He pulled out his little black book and began scratching off names. "Newbies had no idea how to place a bet, let alone understand how overlooking Suiryu can be on various things." He said and closed it up again.

"So… what happened to him this morning?"

"Well, from what I could tell, it was a wild boar from the mountains somehow made it into the city, a three ton beast, would have been a decent snack for me that wasn't monster based. Yet, Suiryu somehow managed to cook the bastard and eat it all!"

Melee paused. "Cooked it? Where could he have found something large enough to cook a three ton animal?" she demanded.

Garou shrugged. "I did notice his breath was getting rather… pungent to say the least as of late… I think he has developed a new skill."

"A new skill?" she froze to the notion. "Does this mean he is becoming more monster like than before?!"

Garou blew off the notion. "Not likely, I think he has always had this ability but hasn't used it since he didn't need it, until now. Besides, fire breathing is more common in monsters than you think…"

"I could care less about that, I just want to be sure Suiryu is safe and isn't turning any farther… so… how on earth he is holding Alley in himself?!"

He snickered to the question and scratched his chin. "I wonder that too, I thought his wings would have come down around him and braced her closer to his body, but that apparently isn't it since he flew today, not to mention it wouldn't have made a good barrier if someone attacked him, too thin to say the least."

Melee was curious but at the same time didn't wish to know what was happening either, but all that mattered to her was knowing her daughter is safe and taken care of. "Do you think Tempest is going to be okay?" she asked.

Garou was silent on the notion, the smile he had vanished as he appeared to really think over his answer. "I think… it's going to be a lot harder on him than most. Those guys know what he can do, he has intimidated many of them. One apparently appears to be the top student of Oni… at least, he WAS." Garou said. "They are going to haze him, that is certain. I am more concerned though for his well being, if they really go at him, it could put him off becoming a sumo wrestler."

Melee nodded in agreement. After she and Garou lowered their heads to Oni, she could sense the malic among the students as Tempest was welcomed in. There were looks of anger, some of fear when they realized Tempest was a son of Garou and Melee. The target on his back must have gotten bigger because of it. She could see the look of concern in his eyes, Garou fell into deep though over the matter at hand, but kept silent.

She knew him well enough though, if push comes to shove, he would be at the ready to take over training. He has been reading up on everything he could about sumo wrestling, he knows every stance, move and strike there is to know. Melee has no doubt that he will take Tempest's training to the next level should the moment present itself.

"Perhaps for now it's best we check on the other kids. I know Yuuma is at the lab with Yuki and the band to get music ideas. Rimuru… I have no idea where that kid goes now a days. Athena is with Street working on a new sewing machine for herself. Snek and his kids are take naps from yesterday's hunt…"

"I thought we were just keeping tabs on our kids!" Garou protested and smirked. "Huh… come to think of it, Titan hasn't come from his room yet has he?"

"I haven't seen him all day, and he give me a hug the moment he wakes up in the morning…" curious now. Garou excused himself as he checked the rooms. When he returned, he appeared surprised. "He's not here… where the hell did that kid go off to?"

#

Amai was in a mood.

He sat there cross armed as he was presented with various outfits to wear for the new reality TV show he was forced to host. He has no intention of making the contest fun, if anything, he will put these bands out of show business before even breaking into it! However, due to contract obligations, he has little choice in the matter. Now, he was choosing his clothing, but none of the designers appealed to him nor their offerings. "I wore something like that last year. Next!" he called callously.

He came in.

Vestor was smiling as he wheeled in his offerings to Amai Mask. The designer is one of his favorites to say the least, he knows how to bring out his eyes. "Mr. Amai! It is wonderful to see you again!"

"Vestor, I have no time for idol chitchat. What do you have?"

The smile didn't vanish on his face as he searched the rack and found something in particular. He pulled it out and revealed a lavishing red suit. Amai paused to it as he stood up from his chair with great curiosity. "Interesting… what is it?"

"This is a red suit recently made by one of my new designers. It's a crush velvet with a nice silk under layer. It is very flexible as well, if need be and you must rush into action to battle a monster… monster blood will not stain it the least bit!"

He touched the material in hand and felt how soft it was, he grew curious enough to try it on. The suit fit like a glove, however it clashed with his hair. "It is indeed well made, yet it does not suit my hair."

"I agree, however if anything, your face appears just that much brighter. The blue does clash against the red, but look at how it highlights your features!" Vestor stated.

Amai did another look, and he was right. The more he stared into the large mirror before him, the more he realized his face was the center of attention, not the suit. "Very well, I'll keep this one. What else do you have?"

Vestor's smile only grew as he went through other outfits. Some newly made from monster pelts, yet the leather was softened up and colored for his liking. Nearly everything he was shown, Amai kept to wear for the show. "Vestor, I must say, I don't think I have ever chosen this much clothing from you."

He bowed meekly. "Thank you for your kind words Amai, but I do admit. I merely observed and guided the one who made these pieces. I did not make any of them."

"Oh? So you have found yourself an heir to your fashion kingdom have you?"

"You know me too well, I just took this one on recently. She has worked for me for only a few days, but has already proven her worth. I hope you don't mind though, I have given her fashion name based off of you. I call her Amelia Amai!" he said.

He froze to the name, Amai slowly turned to Vestor and asked. "Is this girl… beautiful? Would you say she looked like me?" he asked.

Vestor paused as he looked over Amai, but he instantly shook his head to the notion. "Not in the least bit."

He sighed with relief. "Very well then, I will allow you to call her that for the sake of your industry."

"Oh, you are too kind sir. Now, do any of these need to be adjusted?"

"No, they all remarkably fit like a glove. Thank you Vestor."

He bowed once more and left the clothing behind. Amai began to go through each of the pieces once more, he found it remarkable that despite some of them being outfits, they are able to mix and match with others among the collection to create a whole new look. "Hm, this designer has great potential…" he muttered. He made the call to have the new wardrobe sent to his apartment in City R.

With that finally done for the day, Amai decided to take some time to himself. He got a message from Latina recently, she wanted to meet him for coffee. "Perhaps she is coming around…" he thought.

Wasting little time, Amai went to the coffee shop Latina wanted to meet him at. He found her there, yet she was talking it up with someone. She was even laughing aloud! "What… who is with her?"

He approached the table, his blood ran cold as he saw him. One of the six was sitting across from her, making Latina laugh. "On Titan, you're too much at times!" she snickered.

"What… is the meaning of this?" Amai demanded through gritted teeth.

Titan looked up and smiled. "Oh he's here. Well I'll take my leave then…"

As he stood up, Amai grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down again. "Sit…" he growled.

Titan showed no fear, he shrugged his shoulders and sat back down as Amai took a seat next to Latina. "How… did you two meet? This isn't what I was expecting when you asked me to join you for coffee!" he whispered angrily.

Latina smiled. "Relax, nothing is going on between us. If anything, you can thank Titan for convincing me to give you another chance. As to how I know him, he saved my life when one of the stunts went wrong and my harness failed. After he saved me, I bought him lunch. We started talking about you and that was when he convinced me to speak with you again."

He paused to her words. "What do you mean by that?"

"Latina told me what happened between you and her from… a while back." Titan explained. "I tried to tell her the pressure you must have been under, as well as how hard it was for you to endure such a thing… I may not like you very much, but I am not one to hinder someone's happiness either. She made you happy. You made her happy. Why can't you be together?"

He was stunned silent.

He never expected that one of the six would try and rekindle something he loss. Turning to Latina she nodded her head. "For a kid so young, he's got a good head on his shoulders."

"I prefer to see people happy than upset to say the least. I am going to take my leave now…" Titan tried to stand up once more, but Latina grabbed his arm, gently.

"Wait… stay…"

Titan froze but he smiled and nodded. He didn't say much, merely observed as Amai and Latina were rekindling their relationship. She was curious though, as her eyes appeared to kept drifting back towards Titan. "Amai… will you tell me about him when you are ready?" she whispered.

Sweet Mask paused, he looked to Titan who continued to smile warmly. "I have a feeling you know quite a bit already…" Amai said.

"I know some information from him… but not from you." She said.
"But I know you well enough, you don't want me to know everything, at least not just yet,"

Amai was about to speak until a look came over Titan. He paused oddly as he stared between to two before uttering. "I understand."

"Huh?" Amai questioned.

"I understand now…" with that, he stood up and walked out of the café. Even Latina was confused by his actions. "What… what was he talking about?"

"Excuse me…"

Amai was quick to rush after him. Titan didn't go very far. In fact, he was leaning against the wall of the café and appeared to be deep in thought. "Hey… what was that about? Why are you even here talking to her? Why are you trying to get us back together!?" Amai demanded of him.

Titan appeared to be in his own little world, he wasn't looking at Sweet Mask the least bit. Amai turned to leave when he heard. "You wanted to protect her."

He paused to his words. "What?" he demanded.

"Why you distanced yourself from her when this was happening, before the house of whatever got to you… you were worried that they would go after her next. Weren't you? You never believed she was part of that ploy did you?"

Amai was silent, he turned and glared at Titan. "What if I said I did believe it?"

The boy smirked. "Then you are a bigger fool than I realized, perhaps I am giving you too much credit here too." Titan picked himself off the wall and smiled. "Perhaps the reason you keep your distance is that you don't what the same incident to happen again. Even though… she is someone you love," he whispered. "I can understand you would keep your distance for such a thing, however it does not help the heart nor the person in the long run."

"What would you know?" Amai asked. "What makes you an expert on the matters of the heart?"

Titan smiled. "Because, I've see what people do out of love for another. My siblings and I are a living example of that. My parents… didn't have to raise us, treat us like their own. We could have been left to fend for ourselves, and yet, we were given the same nurturing as my siblings before me. If that isn't love, then perhaps I still need to learn more about it. Maybe you do too."

With that, the boy named Titan turned and walked away. Amai however smirked slightly at the notion. The boy believes he knows more about love than him? He's sadly mistaken, but for now, he will enjoy his time and rekindling with Latina.