AN: I honestly thought I was going to squeal when I went over the reviews I got for my last chapter. And soo much thanks to JoCrox for your very flattering review. You have no idea what an ego boost that was. And about that scene, bETA-rEADER. Hehe. Guess you caught me. I had originally written the first part of the story with Kunthan as Desiree's apprentice but switched it to Serena last minute. So...yeah. I missed that thing but thanks so much for pointing it out to me anyway.
Ah…so many questions and I'm not really giving out the answers. Don't worry people. All will be revealed in due time. I've been at this story for over a year and I wouldn't dream of letting down my readers. Hell, I wouldn't be here without them.
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Meus Amor et Mea Culpa: My Love and My Mistake
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Quality Time
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Time passed on slowly as the first month of school blurred through a whirl of homework, projects, and after school activities. A cool breeze swept through Ami's short-cut hair. Well, she mused; it was actually getting longer, the tips now lightly brushing against her neck. Ami smiled, leaning back her head and closing her eyes, relishing the much-needed fresh wind after a summer of heat. Fall was finally setting in. Ami opened one eye, peeking at her group of friends. She really was lucky to have them all by her side. Serena was sitting at her left, laughing at something Mina was saying. It seemed strange that it had only been a little over a month since Serena had came to the school and thus became an integral part in their circle.
Throughout their time together, they had come to know Serena as sweet, insightful, somewhat ditzy and usually klutzy; they loved her for all of her attributes. Although, Ami considered, it's even better since she can deal with Beryl on her own. As if to prove to herself her own point, Ami glanced over Serena's shoulder, noting the redhead glaring at Serena with barely-contained hatred as her flunkies fawned over her. The others had learned that Serena was getting into some trouble with Beryl because the redhead felt (for some reason or another) that Serena was a threat to her social dominance at school. Of course, Beryl's ill-concealed jealousy of the attention Dion Crystaal was practically pouring over Serena didn't help much. Despite that fact that Serena had assured them all that Beryl was a menace she could handle and that Dion was a mere buzzing fly by her ear, the girls had all immediately decided that any taunting aimed in Serena's direction were to be diminished quickly and efficiently. When Serena heard them proclaim this at the Arcade one school day, her eyes immediately filled with tears of happy joy and promptly instituted a group hug. Rei had complained that Serena nearly suffocated her, but the satisfied smirk on her face told everyone else otherwise.
Speaking of the raven-haired vixen, Ami looked over at Rei sitting at her right now, who was rolling her eyes and shaking her head at something Mina and Serena were saying to her. Rei seemed a lot more cheerful nowadays. Mostly, Ami suspected, it was because Rei's father was currently out of town on one business trip or another so Rei was currently staying at her grandfather's shrine. But then again, it could also have something to do with the increasingly-frequent meetings between Rei and Jaden Aino. Whenever Mina's older brother was around Rei just seemed to flare with such argumentative passion that the others couldn't help but wonder if there was anything more behind the heated words exchanged between. And Rei couldn't help but scoff at such a thought, even though a faint blush covered her cheeks whenever she denied it.
Ami's eyes now trailed to Lita. Their friend was so depressed recently. After some persuasion, the Amazonian woman broke down and told them the abysmal details of the equally-abysmal situation. The wedding was set in December. It was currently September. A "silly crush" (as Lita herself proclaimed with a bitter edge) would've been easy to dismiss and the other girls were more than willing to try and help their friend move on from an awkward situation with Nicholas Anza, but it was to no avail. Lita insisted that she was fine but no one in their circle could really lie to any of the others. It was killing Lita that she was helping to cater the wedding of a man that she felt she had fallen for to a woman she couldn't really bring herself to hate. Bethany was an angel and quickly becoming a wonderful acquaintance of Lita's whenever they got together to plan out the details of the wedding. As a final resolve, Lita swore to herself that she could and would just have to keep her "silly crush" under control; if not for her sake, then at least for Bethany's.
As for Mina, well… Ami's lip curled into a dry smile as Mina kept on talking animatedly between her friends. The bubbly teen was still as energetic as ever. Mina had told them about the incident at the photo shoot with Ace and Beryl and Serena had pitched in her two cents. Serena, of course, didn't know what the real story was and they all felt equally guilty that she didn't understand what was going on. However, Serena always managed that 'It's okay' smile for her friends. It was up to Mina whenever she was ready to share her story with Serena. No one would dare even consider pushing her.
'Yes', Ami thought, 'I really am lucky to have them. All of them…' And here, her thought trailed off as her eyes locked with his.
He'd been looking at her for some time, half-heartedly listening to Mina bringing in the latest gossip of the day as he sat across from her. He would've initiated some kind of conversation by now but any topics that came to mind were wiped out when he saw her there, eyes half-closed in mellowed bliss, pale pink lips curled into a lazy smile. God, she was beautiful. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Zachary Monroe definitely had it bad. 'It' being the love bug, Love potion no. 9 (though centered on one person only), cupid's arrow stabbed in his ass, the butterflies in the stomach, and the whole shebang and then some. Of course, Ami didn't really have it any better.
The two had been spending a lot of extra time together lately. The subtle change had been noticed by the girls, though thankfully not brought out into the open…at least when Zach wasn't around. Even though the others teased her about it, they all had a feeling that a lot more went down between Ami and Zach in the recent summer than either was willing to let on. Out of respect for both friends, the girls just stopped the teasing short of really into the relationship. And now, the two were just staring at each other. No words or signs or movements were needed for one to let the other know what they were thinking. The only thing that either really had to do was maintain that eye contact so they could practically lose themselves in each others' eyes and just smile. It was simple, silent, peaceful, and looked upon with amused eyes by Serena, Mina, Rei, and Lita.
And then the damn bell had to ring.
Zach smiled as Ami blushed, startled by the noise and left feeling like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Reluctantly, she got up along with everyone else. It wasn't like it was much of the bother anyways. She and Zach had the same classes anyway.
'Which I still find slightly disconcerting…' Ami later thought as she slipped into her bathing suit and grabbed a towel on her way to the school swimming pool. The season was practically over and the school team had made it to the finals. Endless training on Ami's part had driven her to being stuck in the house for the weekend with the flu but she got back up on her feet quick enough to help Zach win the title of State Swim Champions. Mrs. Johansen gave a hearty speech commending both swimmers on their talent, skill and leadership at the victory that had followed. Ami was within viewing range of the pool and could now easily see a figure dashing from one end to the other, muscled arms slicing through the water like air. Feeling like she was coming upon something forbidden even though she had swam with Zach before, Ami decided to stay in the shadows long enough to study the young man. Ami just stood there, smiling dumbly, studying her friend and maybe something more. Zach really was a wonderful person. He was intelligent, witty, and made her smile. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to him. But, of course, they couldn't ignore what happened during their summer together. They had yet to talk about it and Ami was beginning to wonder if they'd ever be able to get all of it out. Someone suddenly called out her name and Ami came out of her hiding place guiltily, feeling Zachary's gaze on her as Mrs. Johansen discussed her times.
Before Ami knew it, she was walking home. She stole a quiet glance at Zachary. He was walking by her, insisting that it was getting late and he should see Ami home just in case.
"It's not very necessary, you know." Ami said. "I'll be fine on my own."
Zach stopped and looked at her, hurt in his eyes that made Ami wince. "You don't want to walk with me?"
"No, not at all." Ami said hastily, reaching out for his wrist to stop him from leaving right then and there. "I'm just saying that I would've been fine on my own. You didn't have to go through this trouble for me."
Zach looked at her with a patronizing look in his eyes before chuckling. "Don't worry about me Ami." He said huskily, making her blush like a tomato. With a smooth flick of his wrist, he laced his fingers with her own. "Believe me," He said, bringing her hand to his lips. "You're worth the trouble."
Zachary smiled, satisfied as Ami stood where she was, blushing furiously and staring at their entwined hands. He loved it when she blushed. It reminded him that she was human, not some goddess that he could never stand a chance with. Although, he sure felt that way plenty of times.
"Zach, I-" Whatever Ami was going to say was cut off when a liquid splattered down on her cheek. For a moment, Zach thought she was crying. Shit. And here he had promised to never make her cry again…
But as it turned out, another drop of liquid landed on his nose seconds later. Before they knew it, the couple was caught in a light drizzle that was threatening to do its worse in a matter of seconds.
"Zach!" Ami called over the increasingly violent rain. "C'mon. My sister's place is just around the corner. Come on!"
Without really thinking about it, she tightened her grip on Zach's hand, tugging him as she made a head-way for Michelle's penthouse. She slammed the door of the building behind her, panting from her run. She glanced at Zachary, dismayed.
"Oh no." Ami reached over and felt Zach's shirt soaked through. "Oh Zach…"
"It's okay, Ami." Zach said. "You shouldn't have to apologize."
"Well I should." Ami said. "You're so far away from home because you had to walk me home."
"I didn't have to walk you home." Zach pointed out. "I did it because I wanted to."
"Oh who gives?" Ami said, annoyed. "Come on up." She reached out for the elevator before he could even say anything. "Stay until the rain is through then Michi can give you a ride back."
Ami entered the dark penthouse in a manner of minutes. "Michi?" She called out, fumbling for the light switch. "I'm home and AHHH-"
"SURPRISE!!!"
Zachary laughed right out loud as an equally drenched Ami practically leaped back, one hand patting her heart to make sure it was still beating and the other on her mouth. "Surprised?" She didn't even have to turn around to see the smirk on his face as she took in the decorations, her sister Michelle, Mina, Rei, Lita, Serena, and friends on the swim team that were all scattered before her, all wearing wide smiles.
Mina stepped up, grinning from ear to ear. "Took you long enough."
Still, Ami was at a loss for words so Michelle stepped up, taking her sister's hands and kissing her on the cheek. "It was Serena's idea." Her older sister explained, eyeing the blonde behind Ami with mild interest. So this was the famous Zachary Monroe. Ami seemed to finally shake herself out of her daze.
"Wait. But my birthday isn't until the tenth…"
"Yeah," Lita cut in. "But we figured it was the perfect opportunity to send you to an early heart attack." She grinned, coming between people carrying a two-tiered cake that had blue icing spelling out 'Happy Birthday Ami!' "Hit it everyone!"
As everyone gathered around Ami, Zach adjusted his hold on her, his hands just barely brushing against her hips from behind her. Ami noticed the movement immediately and she absently leaned back, taking in comfort in his warm body beneath their layers of drenched clothing. The silent act gave Zach some courage and he brought his arms around her fully, crossing his arms around her waist possessively just as everyone finished singing the last "Happy Birthday to youuu…"
Zach leaned over, breathing softly on her ears, making goose bumps pop up across her skin as everyone else around them clapped enthusiastically. "Make a wish Ice Queen." The nickname would've been insulting to any other girl but the tone that it was said with along with the hidden meaning that was behind the words made the girl smile. With a small breath, she blew out the eighteen candles, a silent prayer sent to the heavens.
The night was spent in dry clothes, laughing with her friends happily, and going back for seconds at Lita's cake. Jaden Aino had arrived earlier Ami laughed when she watched Rei and flick some cake in Jaden's direction. Jaden promptly tickle-tackled her with the help of Mina and Serena and Ami took another bite of her cake, smiling at the sweet taste. Obviously, her current emotional tone with the Nick ordeal wasn't interrupting Lita with her cooking skills…
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"You know," Ken began, backing away from his cousin. "The chicken's already dead so it's no use trying to kill it."
Lita glanced at Ken like he was speaking another language before smiling wryly as the meaning caught up with her. She glanced at the meat that she had been furiously pounding on for the last couple of minutes. She and Ken sighed simultaneously. It looked like the Nick business was more than Lita thought she could handle. She'd been practically throwing herself into her grandfather's business lately. Whenever she wasn't at school or the Arcade, she was working her feelings off in either preparing cuisine dishes or beating her punching bag senselessly at home. Looks like it wasn't really working.
Ken came up from behind her, easing her utensils out of her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and rested his other hand on top of her head. Being a couple of inches taller than his already tall cousin, Ken easily rested his head on top of hers. Lita smiled and brought her hands to tighten around Ken's arm on her shoulders. Whenever either of them was found in a stressing situation, they always managed to find themselves in this position, with the stressed out one being comforted by the less-stressed cousin. The term 'Blood is thicker than water' was an understatement between the cousins who might as well have been siblings.
"Why do I feel this way?" Lita asked quietly. "I shouldn't be feeling this way for a complete stranger Kenny."
Ken sighed, and Lita felt his chin digging into her hair as he shook his head. "I wish I could tell you, kid. I hate seeing you so upset over this guy."
"It's just so frustrating!" Lita exclaimed. "I don't even know him and yet every time he comes around I have to keep my emotions in check before I say or do something stupid to embarrass myself."
Ken just sighed and shook his head, at a loss for words. No guy had ever really had an effect on Lita as this Nicholas Anza did. Well, there was Freddy but Ken took care of him. But Lita's question did pose an interesting point. His cousin didn't even know the man. She had spent about two or less hours with him at the club weeks ago and only about a half hour whenever Nick and his fiancée, Bethany, came to discuss plans with their Grandfather. Even at those meetings, the only people to talk were mainly Mr. Kino and Bethany, with Nick absently agreeing to one option or another and Lita murmuring her assent whenever her grandfather asked her something. And despite the lack of dialogue between the two, Kenneth Maxwell was no fool. He couldn't sense auras like Lita's friend Rei, but even a blind man could see the restrained attraction between Lita and Nick.
At this point and time, Koji Kino burst into the kitchen. Lita wasn't the only one in the kitchen as there were five other cooks in there with her. It was a busy Friday night. Mr. Kino immediately singled her out and called out to her to come with him. She gave Ken one hug before saying goodbye with a promise to see him at home within the hour. It was only when she took her place next to her grandfather; absentmindedly tugging at her hairnet did she see him. Nicholas Anza: the cause and reason of her current position. Lita almost stumbled from surprise at his appearance. If it was any consolation, he seemed as surprised as she did by her appearance. For a moment, their eyes held each other and neither seemed able or willing to break the contact. Good for them, Mr. Kino was more than willing to oblige.
"Lita." He snapped, calling his granddaughter out of her daze. Lita looked over at her grandfather, eyes hazed over in mild confusion. "Uh, yes Grandfather?"
Nicholas Anza sort of stood by the door looking like an idiot for a couple of seconds. The reason for his rather stupefied expression was Litanya Makoto Kino (the second), the granddaughter of Koji Kino, the man in charge of catering his upcoming wedding with his fiancé, Bethany Rogers. She was also the teenager that he had become inexplicably drawn to even though they had spent a whole total of maybe four hours altogether since they had first met at Club Twilight, where Nicholas was a bartender at. Nick glanced ahead in time to see a tall man with light russet hair reaching for a leather jacket hanging on the wall. As he was shrugging his jacket on, he turned and his dark brown eyes focused on Nick. As far as Nick was able to tell, this was Ken Maxwell. Several of the cooks had called him cheerily by his last name and Koji Kino had often barked at the man with something along the lines of "Get the hell out of my kitchen Ken!" and "When I get my hands on you…"; the latter usually said when Old Man Kino had a butcher knife in his hands.
However, Nick found himself studying this young man (for he couldn't be older than Nick himself) and wondering what was it about this Ken that held the attention of Old Man Kino's granddaughter. There was nothing really special to him and he had heard Mr. Kino refer to Ken as a "bum" though Lita seemed to let the comments roll over her like nothing and just chastised her grandfather softly for saying such things about "Kenny". However, as Nick cobalt eyes were raking over Ken, looking for something that could set him apart from himself, he found himself looking into dark brown, almost black eyes.
Busted.
However, instead of being upset or offended by the scrutiny Nick was giving him, Ken's lips turned up into what Nick could've guessed as a smile. This Ken guy was smiling at him? What gives? But yes. Ken was wearing an amused and satisfied expression as if catching Nick giving him the once-over confirmed something he was thinking about. Before Nick could really think about what could make this kid smile, Ken met him square in the eyes before flicking his gaze over to something on Nick's left. He followed the direction and realized that Ken was motioning at Lita's back. When Nick turned around to look at Ken questioningly, Ken's smile only grew wider and he turned to leave, shutting the backdoor behind him as he did so.
'What the hell just happened?'
Nick didn't have time to question anything because Mr. Kino just called him over to his office.
"Nicholas," Mr. Kino said as Nick closed the door behind him. He glanced around the office and took the only other seat in front of Mr. Kino's desk, the one beside Lita's chair. "I understand you wanted to discuss something with me?"
"Yes." Nick said, suddenly recalling why he was even there. "You see, Beth went over to Montana to meet up with some family members and she left a pretty strange request when she left."
"Which is-?"
The next five seconds after Nick said his reply to the question were met with silence in the room.
Mr. Kino coughed. "I'm sorry. But did I hear you right?" He asked incredulously. How strange was this man's fiancé? "She wants to-"
"Yes." Nick interrupted tiredly. It figures only Beth would ask for something so strange. "Beth wants me to sample dishes from at least five different cultures and decide which one ought to be the theme for our wedding."
"..." Granddaughter and Grandfather both looked at Nick with identical forest green eyes.
And that, my dear audience is how Lita and Nick wound up together at Kino's Kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. Kino's Kitchen was a restaurant that had three different cuisine styles. Mr. Kino was currently in his office, looking over Bethany's list of what type of dishes she was looking for. Nick explained that he had tried to persuade her to just go 'American' with steak and chicken but Beth was adamant. She wanted something 'exotic' for her wedding and Nick was no fool in trying to argue any further with her.
Lita eyed Nick warily as he inspected the ingredients to a new dish Lita had found. "You sure know what you're doing." She couldn't help commenting.
Nick smiled and Lita felt those butterflies fluttering in her stomach again. "I spent a lot of time with my great-grandmother whenever my family went back to Italy. I never went back home without learning at least five new dishes." He smiled fondly. "She'd always yell at me if I ever added too much of one thing or too little of another. She never used measuring bowls so it was always easy to get in trouble with her."
"I use measuring bowls and I still manage to get in trouble with Grandfather." Lita said exasperatedly.
"Well," Nick glanced at Lita out of the corner of his eye. Eh, why not? He might as well brig it up. "He does say you always manage to get sidetracked in the kitchen."
"Well that would be Kenny's fault." Lita huffed. Despite the words, the tone of her voice expressed that she was fond of the man. Nick didn't like that tone. "Not that I mind the company around here. Everyone else in the kitchen is ages older than me."
"Your grandfather doesn't really think much of him." Nick said dryly.
To his surprise, Lita giggled. "I know." She said. "But Grandfather knows that Ken means well. Anyone would need a distraction after working under him for so long."
Nick cracked a smile for that one. "A 'distraction'?" He repeated skeptically.
"Sure." Lita chirped. "Ken is Grandfather's only other grandchild so he's the only one who'd be able to get away with hanging around the kitchen during business hours." Lita looked at Nick and frowned. "Nick, are you okay?"
"Wait." Nick said, frowning to try to figure out what Lita was saying. "If he's also Mr. Kino's grandchild, then that means…"
"Hey baby cousin!" Lita turned around and dropped her knife just in time to be engulfed by one of her cousin's bear hugs.
"Kenny!" Lita half-laughed and half-complained. She swatted his arm. "You dork. If I hadn't dropped my knife I could've cut you."
"I wouldn't be complaining." Koji Kino spoke up from his office, hearing his rambunctious grandson entering the kitchen. "Boy," He barked at Ken. "Don't you have anything better to do?"
"Aw, c'mon Gramps." Ken said lightheartedly. "It's the weekend. Gimme a break."
Lita watched the exchange between the men in her family and smiled, rolling her eyes with a shake of her head. She turned to Nick, not really paying attention to the strange look in his eyes as he looked at her. "Nick, I don't think you've formally been introduced to my cousin." She tugged at Ken's arm. "Kenny, this is Nicholas Anza. Grandfather is catering his wedding in December."
Ken grinned, clasping onto Nick's hand. "I've seen you around man. Nice to finally meet you." He stepped back, a wide grin on his face. "You two been hard at work?"
"We're working on a Moroccan dish I just found." Lita explained. "I'm not too sure people are going to want to know what animal they're eating though."
Ken stared at the board in front of Lita, a mixture of disgust and revulsion on his face. "That was an animal?"
Nick laughed at his expression along with Lita. For some reason, this new revelation of Ken's relation to the girl made Ken seem a lot more likable.
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"Are you sure you don't want me to butt in?" Mina questioned. "'Cause I'm more than willing to if you want me to."
"Oh, don't worry about it." Serena reassured tiredly. "I can handle Dion. He's just being ridiculously persistent lately that it's just getting really sad."
Mina laughed. It was six something in the evening and the two were leaving a shoot that Desiree was doing. They'd been there since like eight in the morning. Mina looked up and saw Kunthan Tsukino standing underneath a lamppost with his motorcycle by his side. After a rather bitter visit to the pound, Kunthan had made it a point to stand by his bike every time he came to pick up his little sister, glaring at any and all who dared to approach his 'baby'. Kunthan saw them and waved.
"Anything eventful happen?" Kunthan asked with a smirk. Since that incident about two weeks ago, he would usually manage to bump into Mina either inside or outside the building because Desiree kept Serena busy at work. Mina playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
"None whatsoever." She said. "Desiree's learned her mistake and passed on the word to the other photographers. Anyone who usually works with both of us now knows that it's best if we don't show up at the same set at the same time."
"Smart thinking." Kunthan said. "I suppose catfights aren't very becoming for model behavior."
"You'd be surprised." Mina muttered darkly.
Serena watched the exchange between her friend and her older brother with a quiet smile. Because of Serena's job with Desiree, Kunthan ran into Mina several times when he came to pick up his little sister. It was too early to tell, but Serena had always had a way for sensing things. Not as good as Rei, though. That girl was a freaking psychic. Speaking of whom…
"Mina," Serena butt in. "Why don't you come over for dinner at our house?" Both Kunthan and Mina looked at her, obviously confused. "Yeah." Serena went on. "My aunt's making lasagna tonight. It's not as good as Lita's probably, but it's still great."
"Well," Mina began, looking from one Tsukino sibling to the other, though her gaze lingered on Kunthan. Not that he minded, of course. "Actually…"
Before he really thought it out, Kunthan said, "It'd be nice to have you over." He was already mentally slapping himself as both girls turned to him in surprise. Mina looked pleased but his little sister wore a rather devilish expression at his outburst.
"Uh, actually…" Mina said, a hint of laughter behind her voice. "I've got some plans tonight."
"Really?" Serena's sly tone made Mina actually laugh and distracted Mina from the look of irritation on Kunthan's face at the innuendo in Serena's voice.
"Nothing like that." Mina chastised. She shouldered her bag. "Rei's coming over for dinner tonight."
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Mina entered her house and nearly choked at the tension in the air. She found her friend in the living room as Rei sat across from Jaden, violet eyes glowering at his smirking face. Mina leaned over to Haruka, who was eyeing the two apprehensively from the doorway. After years of witnessing their interaction, Haruka knew better than to step forward between what was obviously a staring contest.
"Ruka." Mina said lowly, stepping towards her older sister, careful not to make any loud noises. "How long have they been at this?"
Haruka Tenoh (born Haruka Aino) didn't tear her gaze from her twin or the raven-haired teenager, afraid if she did so, they'd probably start tackling each other. "Since Rei got here." She replied in a soft whisper. "Jaden the Jackass made some comment about female proportion along with her legs and chest and it was all over from there." Mina rolled her eyes. Leave it to her brother to be the pervert of the party. Haruka sighed exasperated, blowing a piece of sandy-blonde hair out of her eyes. "At least it's better than her tenth birthday party."
"Yeah." Mina replied absentmindedly. "Back then, they just tackled each other without hesitation."
Haruka sighed. "Somehow, I prefer those time than this." Mina glanced at her sister, confused. Haruka looked at Mina quickly before going back to warily watching her twin and their guest. "Mina, I thought you were the goddess of Love." Haruka teased with a smirk that made Mina pout. The older daughter nodded towards the two in their living room. "You're honestly going to tell me you can't sense it?"
Mina followed her sister's gaze, flicking her azure eyes from Rei to Jaden. A slow devious arching of her brow told her sister she had caught. Anyone with any knowledge of the birds and the bees could recognize the sexual tension a mile away.
"They ought to just crawl on top of each other and get it over with." Mina giggled. Haruka's shoulder shook momentarily as she held back her laughter. Her hand moved from her mouth to reveal a sly smile.
"How about we give them a nice push in the right direction?"
Rei broke her glaring contest with Jaden when she heard the bout of laughter at the doorway of the living room. Her violet eyes narrowed suspiciously when she saw the two Aino daughters shaking hands conspiratorially. She mentally groaned. Why on earth had she agreed to this dinner? She flicked her eyes back at Jaden, as if daring him to move. He, however, just leaned back in his seat comfortably with the wonderful knowledge that he was annoying the hell out of her by just looking at her. Rei locked onto his roving blue eyes and suddenly remembered why she was there.
Damn Mina and her perfected puppy-dog look.
Mina sighed, bracing herself. "Well," She muttered to Haruka. "This ought to be fun…"
"Well, it's about time." Rei muttered loudly as her friend strode in the room.
Mina smirked. "Well, I figured you and Jaden were having such a great time together I didn't really want to ruin the moment."
"The moment was ruined the second he walked into the same room as me."
Mina merely laughed the comment off and whisked her friend off to the dining room. Jaden watched his youngest sister take the raven-haired vixen with an almost unreadable expression. I say 'almost' because his twin was right there at the doorway.
"You can wipe that smirk off your face, Ruka." Jaden grunted once he was sure Rei and Mina were out of earshot. He turned just in time to see his twin waltz in, smirk still in place as she practically flopped on top of Jaden.
Ignoring Jaden's comment on her weight gain, Haruka turned over, looping an arm around his and propping her chin on his left shoulder. "Oh, don't bother with that tough-guy routine, you wuss." Haruka taunted. "I dare say my darling brother has finally had some sense knocked into him."
Jaden gave a humorless laugh. "Your matchmaking skills leave much to be desired for."
"Funny. I didn't mention anything about matchmaking." Haruka teased. Jaden would've shrugged off the comment but decided it wasn't worth it. He and Ruka always had an uncanny way of connecting with each other so it was no use ever trying to keep something from her. Haruka noticed his somewhat defeated expression and gave his arm a sisterly squeeze. "You know," She began, making him look her in the eye, smiling. "Maybe it's time you kissed and made up with a certain Hino."
"Maybe it's time you took your own advice." The smile was immediately knocked off Haruka's face. However, the shock was soon replaced by a grim smirk.
"Touché, brother dearest. However," She said, calmly standing up and absently adjusting her cashmere sweater. "My desire to make up with anyone in the Hino clan is as strong as my desire to quit my career and become a housewife."
"Didn't realize you enjoyed the domestic life so much." Jaden retorted, earning a glare from his twin. Haruka opened her mouth, no doubt, to say something scathing but was cut off by the doorbell. She turned her head in the direction of the sound, obviously confused.
"Who could that be?" She wondered aloud. Jaden got up from the couch and she looked at him imploring. "Jaden, you could've told us you were expecting a quest."
Jaden carefully avoided her eyes, something that Haruka immediately noticed. "I'm not expecting any guests." He said. One of the maids arrived with the new visitor at her side. Haruka muttered a curse, inhaling his cologne before fully turning around to see him. Jaden gave a small smile. "I'm expecting a friend.
"Sei!" He walked over to the young man at the door, who was staring intently at Haruka's back. "Glad you could make it. I've got those financial files in my room. Stick around while I go get them."
And with the clickity-click of his shoes, Jaden disappeared to the depths of the Aino household, not letting his friend get a word in edgewise.
"Well," Haruka's voice cut the silence in the room after a few moments. "That was a rather underhanded trick."
"Yes," Seiya murmured coldly. "Although I'm guessing disappearing on me is a skill he's learnt from you."
Haruka whipped around quickly, glaring at him. "Feel free to judge me as you see fit, Hino." She said. "But at least have the decency to do it outside of my home."
Seiya scoffed. "You're one to talk about decency."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Haruka demanded.
"Oh please." He shot back, annoyed. "That guy at the club last time was practically sucking your face."
"Oh, and you punching his lights out makes you some kind of savior?" Haruka challenged.
"You were making a fool of yourself out there." Seiya snapped.
"Right." Haruka assented sharply. "Because apparently you're the only one who can do that to me?"
Seiya looked at her, obviously shocked. But Haruka merely brushed her shoulder against his harshly as she strode out of the room and into the dining room where Mina and Rei were waiting. Jaden found his friend in the same place he'd left him a minute later, standing in the living room, eyes following the direction where Haruka was.
.
"Damnit!" The young woman took her eyes off from the beach view and turned to her boyfriend, concerned. She strode through the suite the boys shared and rested a hand on his shoulders.
"Umino." She said softly as the young man in front of her yanked off his glasses and rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Umino, what's wrong?"
"This damned mainframe, that's what." He snapped angrily, running a hand through his dark brown hair, messing it up even more. He sighed dejectedly and placed a hand over the one that was on one of his shoulders. "Forgive me for snapping at you, Naru." He apologized to his girlfriend. "But this system is close to impossible to crack and none of my other searches have come up with anything."
The pretty red-head nodded and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. He had been busy for the last week, trying to find her. Their other companions had not had such great luck either.
"She's gotten good at covering her tracks." She commented lightly.
Umino Gurio turned, sensing the hurt in her voice. "Naru…"
"I'm sorry Umino." Naru Osaka said, laughing as she rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes. "It's just that this has just gotten ridiculous. We've been here for weeks now. And neither you nor the others have found anything."
Her boyfriend didn't say anything, loosely holding onto her. He understood what she was going through. Heck, it was all because of Naru that he was joining this quest. His eyes rested on a black-and-white photo showing a pretty teen with long, straight hair pulled into two, strange pigtails on her head. He frowned. Granted, he had his share of words to exchange with her, their target, Usagi Tsukino.
"So many things were left unsaid," Naru was saying. "We just have to find her and sort things out."
"It won't be easy." Umino said calmly. "She thinks that all of us were in on it. She thinks she's been betrayed."
"But she has been, Umino." Naru sobbed, letting the tears flow freely. "She has every right to feel the way she does about us."
Umino pulled away from Naru gently cupping her face to look up at his. "Perhaps. But we have every right to at least try to explain ourselves to her."
"…Whoops. Didn't mean to break a moment there, guys." They both looked at the door just in time to see another red-haired woman walk through, carrying a couple of bags of take out with her. The couple pulled apart, blushing.
"No harm done, Anne." Naru said chirpily. Too chirpily for Anne's taste. She turned and saw that her friend still had some tear markings down her cheek and her nose was still quite red and nosy.
"Oh, Naru…" Hugging the girl, Anne couldn't help but muse that over a year ago, she wouldn't have been caught dead in such a position with such a meek girl like Naru. Her thumb absently rubbed against the diamond ring on her left ring finger. Then again, she hadn't expected a lot of things to happen over a year ago. "Sshh." She said comfortingly. "Just you wait. We're gonna find her and yell at her until we lose our voices if need be."
Naru gave a pathetic laugh. "That sounds like a plan but we don't even know where she is."
"She's right." Umino said darkly. Anne looked over at him. You know, without the glasses, the dorkster wasn't half-bad looking. Umino sighed. "I've been trying to look for houses, apartments, cars, anything that her uncle could've owned."
"Nothing?"
"Nada." Umino confirmed. He looked up at Anne. "Has Alan had any luck so far?"
Anne sadly shook her head. "None. We're lucky enough to trace her uncle's credit card as being used at the airport we came through. We can either assume that he lives in his city or that his home is only a drive from here."
Naru sighed, plopping down on a couch. "It's so frustrating not being able to help."
"It's even frustrating just trying." Umino said. "Especially when you can't seem to get anywhere."
"What've you tried?" Came a voice from the doorway.
"Alan!" Anne went over to her fiancé, kissing him lightly before he went back over to talk to Umino.
"Exactly what have you tried, Umino?" Alan questioned. He was getting really tired of this. They had followed Usagi's uncle's trail up to this place but from there on is was a dead end.
"I've been looking for anything that her uncle could've owned." Umino explained, gesturing to his laptop. "But all of the houses that I've searched for under his name have come up completely dry."
"You've tried his full name, right?" Umino nodded.
"Artemis Orion Cartier." He said, repeating the name he'd inserted in about hundreds of searches to no avail. "No records of owning a house or even a car."
Alan paused, his light blue eyes narrowed in concentration. Anne noticed his apprehension and reached over to take hold of his right hand for support. He smiled at her briefly, still thinking. Idly, he strung his fingers through hers; brushing against the engagement ring he had bought for her over a year ago. Wait a sec…
"Umino." The younger man was startled when Alan abruptly leaned over, grasping him by his shoulders. "Did Usagi ever mention if her Uncle was married?"
"I-I think so bu-" Umino cut himself off and realized the brilliancy of Alan's concept. Both heads turned to their respective girlfriends.
"Anne/Naru!" Both boys shouted at once. "What's the name of Usagi's aunt?"
Moments later, Naru watched the screen as her boyfriend typed the name in.
Luna Soleil Maui.
"It makes sense." Alan had said. "Her uncle has been avoiding his family for about twenty years. He's learned to cover up his tracks by allowing his wife to put her maiden name on their purchases."
Umino slapped the enter button and four heads gathered around the laptop, intently staring at the screen. Moments later, the search read:
Match 1 out of 1
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chickay
You know it's been over a year since I started this and the story's only gone for a month. Eh..don't worry. I've mapped out the upcoming chapters and this story is soon coming to a close and all that is confusing beyond belief will soon be revealed. As for that Lita section, I sorta pulled it out of 'The wedding planner' if ya'll haven't figured it out yet. Well, review people. I'm gonna need what support I can get with school starting again. Cya'll later.