Well thanks to all of you who reviewed! Anyways heres chapter 2! He he I got a surprise in this chapter!

Chapter 2- Burning Tears

Mimori and Ryuhou hadn't said a word since they left for the mission, until finally Ryuhou broke the silence.

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"

"Handle what?" She asked in pure confusion.

"If I see him there, it's likely we'll fight, and it's even more likely that I'll kill him."

"Kazuma you mean?" Ryuhou nodded. "Why wouldn't I be able to handle that?"

"Don't you have feelings for him?"

Mimori sighed. "We've been over this Ryuhou, I don't have any of those kinds of feelings for him." Another silent tension followed.

"We're here, Miss Kiryu I only ask one thing of you- stay out of my way." She stepped out after him and looked a little sad.

"What does Scheris usually do?" She asked, trying to at least be of some assistance.

"You can't be Scheris, nor can you do what Scheris does," he said coldly. Mimori felt a pain in her heart as she stopped walking and watched him walk farther and farther away.

"Zetsuei!" He shouted and his Alter appeared before him as he went to fight. He got past the first Native Alters easily, but then, through the smoke that he had caused, he appeared. "Kazuma." He muttered through gritted teeth. He said the name as though it were poison. Kazuma grinned.

"Well then I guess it's time we went to battle. SHOCKING FIRST BULLET!" He shouted as more smoke began to appear from their fighting. Mimori couldn't see much as she rounded up the fallen Alters Ryuhou had already fought and beaten. Kazuma, however, and saw her perfectly, and smirked. "Sorry about this lady!" He jumped past Ryuhou and grabbed Mimori by the waist, then placed her in front of him.

"A human shield? Did you have to stoop that low Kazuma?" Kazuma got angry.

"One more word like that and I'll kill her!" Mimori's eyes widened and Ryuhou sweat dropped. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't attack, and if he smarted off one more time Mimori was a goner for sure. "Well I'll just be taking my friends back now!" He ran into the vehicle that Ryuhou and Mimori had used and grabbed the other Alter Users, which Mimori had tied up and used his Shell Bullet to practically fly away, Mimori still in his arms.

"KAZUMA!" Ryuhou shouted. He pounded his fist on the ground, making the ground shake. "ZETSUEI!" He got onto Zetsuei's back and followed them.

Kazuma arrived in an underground cave. And let Mimori go. Mimori huddled into a corner. Kazuma looked at her. "Look I'm sorry but without you he would have gotten me and my friends."

"Why can't you just fight him face to face?" She asked in a soft voice.

"I would have, had it not been for the fact that my friends were there as well. And there was no way I was gonna put them in danger when it could've been avoided."

'He cared about his friends…' She thought, beginning to understand his actions.

Ryuhou, on the other hand, was madder than he had ever been. "How DARE he! THAT COWARD!" He yelled as he arrived at where Kazuma had been hiding. Getting off of Zetsuei, he regained his composure and walked calmly into the cave. The first thing he saw was Mimori huddled into a corner. He immediately rushed over to her. "Mimori are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Mimori turned around to him, and her face lit up instantly. She shook her head happily.

"Well well Ryuhou, it seems you have more feelings for this girl than you're letting on!" Kazuma grinned.

"You've got it wrong, as long as she's in my care however, she's my responsibility!" Mimori's eyes saddened.

Kazuma grinned from ear to ear as he heard this. 'We'll see…' He walked over to them and picked her up. He then kissed her lips, and Mimori's eyes were wide, as were Ryuhou's. Ryuhou and Mimori both pulled Kazuma off of her. Ryuhou hit Kazuma as hard as he could with his fist, a great feeling of satisfaction coming from it. Kazuma's mouth was bleeding and Ryuhou's knuckles were red. Ryuhou managed to smirk even though his fist was hurting.

"No Alter powers? Sounds good to me!" Kazuma hit Ryuhou hard in the stomach and spit came from Ryuhou's mouth. Hit after hit each of them took, each hit becoming stronger as their anger grew. Mimori watched in pain. How could they hate each other so much? This question repeated over and over in her head. Ryuhou wanted to hurt Kazuma to the point of killing him. He had warned Mimori, hadn't he? He looked over at her for a minute, her eyes were welling and yet no tears would fall. "You shouldn't have looked away!" Kazuma smirked and hit Ryuhou, knocking him to the ground.

"Stop!" Mimori had had enough. She used her body as a shield and got between Kazuma and Ryuhou. "Please stop…" Kazuma gave her an annoyed yet sympathetic look. That look reminded him so much of Kanami… He couldn't bring himself to hit Ryuhou as long as she looked like that. Ryuhou, on the other hand, had no intention of backing down. He kicked Kazuma's ribs, and the breath got knocked out of him. He fell to his knees, his pupil's dilating. Both of them now very injured, they were on their knees and hitting each other with what little strength they had left. Mimori was sad by the sight of this. "Please leave us alone Kazuma." She said sternly, fighting back her own tears.

Kazuma, now weak himself, decided to take Mimori's request and leave with the other Alter users. Mimori looked down at Ryuhou.

"Are you ok?" She asked, getting on her knees so she could be eye to eye level with him.

"This is all your fault Mimori…" He said angrily.

"My fault?" She asked, somewhat hurt.

"If you hadn't gotten in the way, you wouldn't have been captured, if you hadn't gotten in the way, we could've finished our fight!"

"But I was just trying to help out like Scheris does," She said sadly.

"You will NEVER be able to help me like Scheris. SCHERIS has an Alter power, SCHERIS wouldn't have gotten in the way, and even if she had she would've used her Alter power to defend herself! You don't belong at HOLY, the only reason you're there is because you Mr. Kiryu's daughter!"

"Well I'm SORRY that I'm not one of the 2 percent of the kids born on the Lost Ground that was gifted with an Alter power!" The tears that had been welling in her eyes had now fallen onto her hands. Her tears burned her, and she screamed in pain. Ryuhou looked at her hands where the tears had fallen, and there were now burn marks. That wasn't normal.

As the tears began to fall, they left burn marks on the ground where they would hit. Then he noticed it, after every tear would fall, her body would glow that exact same glow that Ryuhou's body made when he summoned Zetsuei. Could it be?

"Mimori has this ever happened before?" Mimori shook her head, her hands still burning. "I think… I think you're an Alter User….." Her eyes widened as she looked at her hands, and then to the ground. "My tears?" Unlike the ride to their destination, the ride home was very talkative. Most of it was Ryuhou questioning Mimori about her Alter power.

"I don't believe it…. I didn't even know I was born on the Lost Ground…so maybe I do belong at HOLY…." She thought for a minute. "Ryuhou please don't tell anyone about this…"

"But I need to inform the Commander," Ryuhou protested.

"Ryuhou, please," She gave him a pleading look that no one could refuse. "I want to learn to control it before I show anyone. You of all people should know how it feels…."

Ryuhou was silent for a few moments before finally sighing. "Fine then… But only for a while." Mimori smiled.

"Thank you Ryuhou," She smiled and laughed. Soon afterwards they arrived at HOLY and Mimori went to her room. "Do you want to come in?" Mimori asked. Ryuhou nodded and sat on the couch uncomfortably. He didn't want to leave her in case something happened. She put in another tape, and immediately his eyes were transfixed to the screen.

It was Ryuhou's birthday. They had already had the party and Mimori still hadn't given Ryuhou her present.

"Go on," Ryuhou's mother urged Mimori, nudging her towards Ryuhou while trying to balance the camera. Mimori walked slowly up to Ryuhou and shakily gave him a folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it and she looked away.

"It's not that good," she said sadly.

"Are you kidding? This is the best drawing I've ever seen!" Ryuhou smiled and thanked her .It was the same picture that Ryuhou had put in his back pocket earlier that day. Fireworks went off for Ryuhou, and as they lit the sky, Mimori couldn't help but stand in awe as all the colors lit up the sky.

"they're so beautiful…"She said.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you…" Mimori looked at him and blushed, and she smiled and hugged him, catching Ryuhou off guard. He was shocked and shy but slowly hugged back.

As if on instinct, Ryuhou pulled the two pictures out of his back pocket and looked at them.

"Ryuhou?" Mimori asked. He snapped out of it and looked around to find him and Mimori both right in front of the tv, and Mimori looking down at the pictures. Ryuhou got up abruptly and left her room and back to his. "But Ryuhou!" He was already gone. "hmph, and he tells me not to live in the past…..what if the past isn't in the past…."She leaned against her doorway.