CHAPTER 6

As I looked up, or down, or whichever direction it was, I began to process the swirling scene before me with astonishing speed. During the second in which I fell, I somehow found the time to think about the view, about what it might mean for me. I even found the time to think about the unusual migraines and how I wished I would have told somebody about them. Had I done so, this wouldn't be happening: in what seemed like the blink of an eye, I had fallen headlong over the edge of a roof, too far gone to prepare for the impact that was to follow.

Everything sailed past in a sluggish fashion until it looked as if nothing was moving at all. I never imagined that time would slow this much, but maybe that was what happened to people who knew that something most unpleasant was on its way. At last, the world flashed white, and that was it.

Right?

But the whiteness disappeared and my vision returned to the very scene I was pondering for so long. That was when it sunk in that I wasn't actually moving: the ground halted above my head, close enough to reach, harmless. Consciousness had never left me.

"Miss Alyssa!" came a distant cry, reawakening my senses and making me aware of a tight squeeze around one ankle. Realizing that I was safe, I exhaled the lungful of air that I had been holding in and reached out to touch the grass below while the panic subsided. Kyo vaulted off the roof to help ease me down to the ground, and both of us looked up at my savior wordlessly.

Hanging off of the roof by a single hand was Krad. He let go, landing and kneeling beside me in one smooth motion, bringing a brief gust of air with him.

Kyo scratched the back of his head, shifting his gaze between my pale face and Krad's. "How did you transform so fast?"

"Master Satoshi did not put up his typical resistance." He smirked at the sight of me, white, the beat of my stunned heart jolting my body, and leaned forward to more closely check my condition. "Nor should he have, with her well-being at stake."

I propped myself up onto an elbow and attempted to slow my breathing. "Krad?" I said in disbelief. The most unlikely thing Krad could ever do was go out of his way to save a person, but save a person he did.

Clearing stray strands of hair from my face with a single finger, he nodded. "What happened? Did you lose your balance?"

"I'm not quite sure. I –"

My speech was brought to a halt when I realized that any trace of throbbing or tension in my head had suddenly vanished. Even after that scare, I felt a tiny trickle of peace flow through me; even knowing that my life was in Krad's hands just moments before, and his penetrating eyes were on me now, his form hovering over mine, I felt no worry.

Shaking that thought away as best I could, I finished my response: "I haven't been feeling that great today. I think I should go rest."

"You're already starting to look better to me," Kyo observed. "Do you…uhh, need any help getting back inside the house or anything?"

"No, I'll be fine."

I brushed a few blades of grass off of my clothes and treaded up to the door. Haru, arriving on the other side, backed up to let me in. I tossed some reassurances over my shoulder on the way to my room, and once inside, stopped to reconsider what had just happened. A very faint thud, thud was filling up my head again, so I flopped onto my bed and rested my eyes, longing for it to end.

Outside, Krad transformed back into Satoshi. After Hatsuharu had witnessed this, standing with one-half of his body outside the door, a flurry of purple question marks clouded the air above his head.

"That was Krad, wasn't it? He looked just like she described," he called out.

"And oi, he just did something good," Kyo called back to him.

"Isn't he 'evil'?" Haru asked.

Kyo turned to Satoshi, hoping to find an answer. "Yeah. What gives?"

"I can only guess," Satoshi sighed, partly to Kyo and partly to himself. "In any case, all that Alyssa can do is rest, so I think I'll go finish my painting before the sun sets. Please keep an eye on her."

Kyo nodded absently as he watched Satoshi clamber up the ladder, and after a final look at the flame-colored sky, he moved toward Hatsuharu. "How come you get all those cool little question marks 'n I don't?"

"Quite the mystery, isn't it? With you being so confused all the time, you'd think-"

"Hold it right there! Just what do you base that on?"

"You just proved my point."

"Did not!"

Their voices retreated into the house and disappeared with the closing of the patio door. Satoshi shifted his position until his back was more comfortable before reorganizing his brushes, but his attention was not yet returned to the sunset.

Did you do that to her, Krad?

Please refrain from worrying, Master Satoshi. You shall thank me for this in the end.

How can I thank you when you keep endangering her life?

What makes you think I will allow her to die? That would not only be boring, but foolish – she is the only way we'll be able to live.

I can't let you continue on with this!

Is that so? Hah! Your fervor makes me laugh! You are powerless against me, so give it up! I will get my way.

Unwilling to listen anymore, Satoshi focused on finishing the final details in his painting. To him, painting was a thoughtless, effortless thing, just like breathing or walking, and his depiction of the sunset was completed in just minutes. Waiting for it to dry enough to be transported safely, he rested his chin on folded hands and watched the sun disappear into darkness.

A rough knock on my bedroom door woke me up. I had been resting for about two hours, but the dreaded pounding in my head only grew worse.

"Come in," I called, sitting up.

Kyo entered, flipped on the lights, gently kicked the door shut behind him, and stepped over to the edge of my bed. Not the type to concern himself with how others were doing, he remained awkwardly quiet, finding difficulty in formulating what to say.

"Don't worry about me," I assured him. "I only have a headache. I'll take some aspirin, and by tomorrow morning, I should be feeling fine." It was what I hoped, anyway.

"Sounds good." Feeling more comfortable, he ventured to sit on the corner of my bed. "I wanted to talk to you about something. It's been on my mind for a while."

I perked up with interest. "It can be anything, Kyo."

He paused to gather his thoughts. "I know that you wished for Dark and that somehow it started a big chain of unwanted guests. I'm not saying I know why it happened, but it's the reason I need to talk to you."

"What is it?"

"I…Tohru, I…I want to see her so bad, so I thought I'd ask you…"

Seeing the look on his face, I suddenly felt a wave of guilt. "You want me to wish her into existence? After all this?"

"I have no right to, being a wish gone awry myself, right?"

"I don't know what you think I'll be able to do differently," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"You don't have to do anything. It's all Lena. I just thought I'd start with you before I go pushing my luck."

I rested my chin in the palm of my hand while deciding what to do. "All I can do for you is talk to the first star I see," I said lightheartedly, trying to keep optimistic even though I doubted that anything would result of it.

"Anything." Kyo sprung off the bed, turned off the lights and pointed out the window. "There," he said with a gleam in his eye, directing my attention to a lonely-looking star that managed to shine despite the distant city lights. "That's the only one you can see from here."

Joining him, I saw it, too. I met his eyes, glittering with rusty hues, and received an eager nod of permission; soon after, I turned my head toward the star and closed my eyes. It was completely silent in my room, which only served to amplify my awareness of the continued throbbing in my head.

"Do you know it?" I said with a hushed voice, massaging the sides of my head.

"Know what?" he spoke softly back.

I opened my eyes. "The little rhyme that goes with wishing to stars."

"No. Can we just skip the stupid stuff?"

"Do you think it'll work that way?"

"It sure as hell should!"

"Ok, ok." With eyes closed again, I began to speak: "Lena…If you're out there, please listen. I have no idea what's going on – who you are, why you chose me, why you didn't choose…him…. Even so, I'm grateful for each one of these people, and I wouldn't trade them for anything."

Kyo was surprised by my words.

"That said, while they're here, they might as well be happy, right? I wish, for Kyo's sake, that a certain Tohru Honda could come and join him."

Smiling, I opened my eyes to the rare image of Kyo smiling slightly, too.

"Thanks," he said. He proceeded to make one last comment to the invisible: "P.S., I wish you'd make that top priority."

"What did you say about not wanting to push your luck, Kyo?" I chuckled lightly and nudged his side, but quickly brought my hands back to my head. "It hurts."

"You should sit," Kyo suggested and then left the room. When he returned with some medicine and a glass of water, Hatsuharu suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"Hey. Rest up and drink plenty of water."

"Will do, Haru."

"And let us know how you feel in the morning."

I handed the glass back to Kyo with a smile. "Thanks, guys."

Before I could lie down again, I found Hatsuharu's fist held out toward me, and so I gently bumped it with my own. Satisfied with this, he slipped away as quietly as he had come.

No, I wouldn't trade them for anything, I thought, and drifted back to sleep.

"Alyssa."

What was that sound?

"Alyssa!"

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Lena. I can finally talk to you."

"Lena? What do you mean, finally?"

"It's Dave. He's messing with me. I can only come out at certain times, and whenever I do, he turns off my medium."

"Your medium?"

"It's what I need to communicate with you humans, because I can't from way out there, now, can I?"

"If you need a medium, what are you using right now?"

"The first one I ever used with you, tried and true. Your necklace."

I was silent as I came to understand what she said.

"Anyway, I don't have long – I just wanted to let you know that I heard you. Both times. I've got this, just wait for me!"

"But I still have questions!"

There was no response. It looked like those questions would have to wait.

My pulse rose with such force in my head that I could no longer sleep. The red-orange rays of the early morning were so familiar now that I failed to notice them. I could see the throbbing in my own eyes, and beyond that, I saw the necklace hanging in the corner of my room with a faint glow about it.

So she heard me after all, huh?

When I sat up, dizziness and nausea washed over me. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to orient myself, but it wasn't working. In fact, it was getting worse. All of the misery led to my mind being emptied of all but one thought: to find relief. It hurt so much – relief, where could I possibly find it? One foot found the floor, then the other, first shuffling, then walking. Instinct told me to keep going, to run if I had to. The hallway was quiet, washed in brilliant red light that should have brought piercing pain into my head, but it didn't. I plodded along, paying no heed to where my steps fell; inevitably, my arms collided with something by accident, but I quickly learned that it wasn't an accident after all. I had found my relief, sweet relief, at the price of losing my mind.

"Isn't it beautiful, the color of fire?" he said in a calm, deep tone that barely disturbed the silence. "Just like yesterday."

"Sure is," I said, resting my head against his chest, losing myself in his voice. I was completely uninterested in the sunrise, and he himself found it progressively more difficult to be.

"Hm, how do you feel?"

All the misery was gone, and my heart shook me in a very different way. "Better than words can say."

"Splendid." He placed one hand around my waist, and the other on the back of my head, which he then kissed the top of. "Tell me," he said, closing in on my ear, "what is it you desire the most right now?"

"You," I breathed. I lost all sense of everything around me except for him, his scent, his whisper. I loved where I was so much that I couldn't move. Thinking became impossible. Even breathing was difficult. After he said just one more word, my mind was gone and I slumped sideways, leaving Krad to support my full weight.

Hmmm? he thought, careful to make sure Satoshi was still asleep. How delicate she must be to overdose on such a small amount of magic. He scooped me up and paused, looking at my pale face. This shall be easier than I anticipated, and certainly more entertaining…

With a wide grin, he returned me to my room. Using the feather he found on my dresser, he created a cross shape with his arms and held them above my heart, extracting nearly half the energy that had originally seeped into my system. When he was finished, he exited to the living room and transformed back into his oblivious, sleeping host.

Satoshi carefully reached back over his head to locate his glasses on the side table, but the surge of pain he was expecting from the action didn't happen. He sat up after putting them on and rotated his shoulders, feeling for any pain. When he didn't feel anything new, he kept going, twisting his head to both sides and then his torso. Aside from the injuries left over from his bout with Krad in the sky the other day – which, thanks to Alyssa and Haru, were healing up nicely – he was perfectly fine. He even got some sleep last night, which meant that Krad hadn't tried anything new during that time.

On the surface, that seemed good, but in reality it was anything but good: if Krad wasn't taking direct action by the fourth day, he had definitely set something else in motion. So he wasn't calling my bluff yesterday. He's up to something, and yesterday's incidents are related, but how?

Just watch, Krad thought in response to this.

Will I ever be able to think in peace? Satoshi burrowed his face in his hands. Leave me alone.

As you wish.

Silence.

Krad?

No response.

"Really?" Satoshi thought out loud and leaned back against the couch with his eyes closed, letting his breath escape slowly, basking in the quiet. This is the best mood Krad's ever been in. However, it's…disconcerting.

He finally stood up, ran a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes, and looked around. Kyo wasn't there, so he examined the clock. It was reasonably early – right about now, he'd be in the basement training, and there was a chance that the others down there could be awake, too. Alyssa wouldn't be, and after what happened yesterday, shouldn't be. Satoshi felt the need to go discuss some things with them before she woke up, so he ambled over to the top of the stairwell where voices floated up from below:

"No, you gotta move your feet like this," he heard Kyo say with a calm, easy tone. "Otherwise you'll get off balance and you won't hit with full force."

"Like this?" he heard Hatsuharu ask, followed by the woosh of clothing and a hard smacking sound. He reasoned that the two were practicing martial arts moves together, taking advantage of the basement's coolness. Listening harder, he heard the quiet, steady hum of a sewing machine.

Satoshi knew now that they were all awake, so he started down the creaky stairs and made his presence known.

"Good morning, blue guy," Haru waved, appearing a tad disheveled and breathing hard.

Kyo, in better state than he was, said "Yeah. Hey."

Satoshi nodded slightly and greeted them. "Good morning. Making progress, I see."

"Sure are!" Haru focused on his form again and sent another fist at Kyo to demonstrate, which he almost failed to block. Kyo, the more experienced of the two, retaliated with a pin slowly enough to allow Haru to recognize and counter it. Their practice fight continued in this fashion.

The hum of the sewing machine in the corner hadn't stopped. Ayame, bundled up in a blanket to shield him from the cool air, didn't bother to look up from his project. Satoshi was tempted to investigate what he was making, but when he saw black lace hanging over the edge of the sewing table, he shook his head and decided against it.

The three of them looked happy and alive as they performed things they loved to do. Satoshi could not bring himself to feel the same way, though, despite his short vacation from Krad's mental intrusions. If things kept going the way they were going, not only would they be unable to enjoy life, but they wouldn't exist at all. The thought was depressing, but that was the way it worked.

"I need to speak with the three of you," Satoshi said with a voice raised loud enough to carry over the other noises but remain hidden from their hostess upstairs. "I can't get this whole mess of our existences off of my mind. It's been four days, and there's still so much we don't know."

"Tell me about it," Kyo said with exasperation. He nodded at Haru to signal that they were done training for the morning, then dropped to the floor and ran the back of his hand over his forehead. "Seriously, what's up with that lady?"

"Man, you mean?" Ayame's voice wafted from the corner as he temporarily set aside his sewing supplies.

"No! She was a lady, I swear!"

A dramatic sigh came from Ayame when he strolled over to the group. "Tsk, tsk, you poor creature. What man with any ounce of blood flowing through his veins cannot recognize the irresistible shape of a woman?" He felt compelled to complete his words with flamboyant gestures: making the exaggerated outline of an hourglass, placing his hand on his forehead while shaking his head, and then reaching an arm up to the heavens and spinning once around. "His name is Dave, and he had a most impeccable masculine form, almost as ideal as mine!"

He dropped the blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders and posed in an alluring way. As he did so, roses and sparkles materialized in the air, suffocating the others.

"I'm not talking about Dave! I'm talking about Lena! Get it right!" Kyo snatched the blanket and chucked it at Ayame's face, causing all floating objects to disappear.

"So," Hatsuharu calmed the others with his gentle voice, "two of us were created by Lena, and the other two by Dave. Lena has not shown herself to you two, but Dave was with me and Aya when we first came to be."

Satoshi voiced that this was correct, and took the opportunity to dig a little deeper. "Haru, describe what happened when you first opened your eyes in this world."

"Hmm…I was on the floor in some office, and when I woke up, Dave introduced himself as the one who brought me to life. He told me that I was here because of some girl named Alyssa, that my life wasn't secured here, and that there were others in the same situation. He didn't say who. I was ordered to go find her house. Then there was something about how more people like me were going to wake up in this world for her sake unless and until somebody comes along who can make her content. When that happens, the rest of us die, including Dave."

Satoshi was following along with the familiar story, nodding in understanding, until he heard those last two words. "Including Dave?"

"Mhm. He told me he'd kill me if I turned out to be that person, because he doesn't want to die. I thought that was really weird. Why would he create me if he was scared of dying because of me?"

Ayame nudged him. "Did he not tell you to keep quiet about that part like he did to me?"

"Yeah, but who cares? I didn't like him. He seemed really fake."

Given this new information, Satoshi's eyebrows hardened into a straight line and countless thoughts flew around in his head. "That means he's one of us, and he doesn't know very much about Alyssa. Kyo and I watched our own bodies being knitted together, and Lena began speaking to us before we were even in them. She told us the same general information, but included specifics about Alyssa, and never mentioned anything about being put at risk by her own set of rules."

Kyo knew something was up with Dave the whole time, so he was happy to hear Satoshi echo his thoughts. "Haru, it looks like he is a fake."

"But how could he bring us to life, then?" Ayame questioned. "If Lena originally made us, wouldn't we have seen ourselves and spoken to her like you two did?"

"We won't know the answer to that unless we ask Dave personally." Not having anything else to say about that particular matter, Satoshi brought forth his other concern. "There's something else. Please don't concern Miss Alyssa with this yet, but…Krad is…he's up to something, and I thought I'd warn the three of you about it."

"Does yesterday have to do with this?" Haru inquired.

"It's highly likely. He's planning to use his power to be that person – to replace Dark – so I implore you to watch her vigilantly." Even after Satoshi had said all of this, Krad didn't say a word from within.

"There's no need to worry," Ayame declared with all sincerity. "If I can't win her heart, how could Krad?"

"You were too busy sewing something perverted to get a chance to see her after Krad saved her yesterday," Kyo retorted. "As soon as he knelt beside her, she looked as good as new. It's like she's already falling for him!" Satoshi's saddened expression informed him that he had hit the mark. His temper swiftly snapped and he released a stomp of fury. "So that's his magic, huh? This sucks! We're as good as dead!"

Satoshi looked him in the eye. "If that's the case, the most pressing question right now is this: would you rather die with Alyssa in Krad's care or Dark's?"

"Why does that matter? At this rate, Dark isn't even gonna show!"

"That isn't an option. He has to! If not, Krad is going to live, and I'll be forced to watch as he tears her life and even her body to pieces! I need Dark – I need him to steal my life so that Krad is no longer a danger to anyone! I can't do it myself unless I see him here with my own eyes."

He took a few deep breaths to calm down, and pointed upward as if to remind Kyo that Alyssa was still sleeping. Kyo understood this and took a breather as well.

"If it's gotta be one way or the other," Kyo spoke after a minute with lowered ears, "I'm for Dark. But don't get me wrong: if Dark does come, I'm still putting up a fight. Die all you want, I'm living as long as I can. If you'll let me, I'll fight with you, Satoshi. You don't have to die, either."

"I'm with Kyon-kyon; I could not bear to go back to that!" whined Ayame. "Life is so beautiful!"

"Mhm, I'm not letting life slip by, either." Haru's firm resolve could be felt in the air. "I'm fighting."

Haru, Kyo and Ayame looked to each other with glittering, animated eyes, and then turned to Satoshi with kind smiles; Kyo stretched out his hand. "You with us?"

To fight Krad until the end, Satoshi thought, no matter what the cost? To storm Dave and Lena by surprise, get our questions answered, and live to the fullest? To watch Alyssa smile a genuine smile when she finds out each new morning that we're not gone yet, and to die only if I must, with the knowledge that I, Satoshi Hikari, did my very best?

What a curious group.

He smiled, too, and grabbed the proffered hand. "I'm in."

Today was the day. Cloaked to avoid the public eye, Hannah strolled along leisurely, inhaling deeply the fresh air. She loved the freedom from Dave's merciless control, and how she could be herself for a little while. Her mission wouldn't be difficult at all – actually, it sounded like fun. Even so, she was nervous that Kyo and Ayame would spoil her identity. She was even more nervous about Alyssa: should she be smart enough to figure out what Hannah was sent to do, they'd both be in trouble.

When she arrived in front of the house, she tossed her cloak in the bushes, fixed her hair, took a deep breath, and entered the proper mindset she'd need to pull this off. It came effortlessly. One last pause, and she walked toward the door.

Muffled shouting noises from beneath my room woke me up. I twisted around to look at the clock, which showed me that I had finally slept for a decent amount of time. All was peaceful save for the purely subconscious sensation that I was losing track of something important – a dream, perhaps?

I sat up, combing through fragile memories of the night, careful not to let my mind wander lest they vanish for good. The dream about Lena surfaced quickly and clearly, as though it were a real conversation. I could recall nothing more but a foggy memory the color of fire.

I made for the other side of my room where my sketchbook sat to open it and stare at Dark again. Lena inspired that? Maybe there was something preventing her from creating Dark – maybe Dave was limiting her more than she let on – so she gave all the other people to me as consolation? It was just one more reason to find the man.

For now, I wanted to find the others and let them know that I was feeling a little better, so I smoothed down my hair and left the room. As I figured, nobody was on the main floor, so I began to venture toward the stairs.

There came a light knock on the front door.

I stopped in my tracks and pivoted to face it, gulping nervously. I was almost certain that it was another anime-character-turned-human, and I hoped with all my heart that it was either Tohru or Dark.

I opened the door.

"Oh my gosh! I like, finally found your house!" came the high-pitched voice.

I would have never guessed that it would be her.

"Well? Aren't you gonna let me in?"

"Uh, why yes!" I moved my startled self aside as the girl, clad in a ruffled tube top and miniskirt, marched into the house with her manicured hands clasped behind her back. In her short, blonde hair was a headband with a tiny crown on the side; a crown of the same style adorned her belt, as well. As she walked by, a pleasant, expensive-smelling scent filled the air. She was fairly close to my age and size, but her figure was so perfect that it bordered impossible and sparked just a hint of envy, however unreasonable.

Her eyes, deep galaxies of dark gray, fluttered with excitement. And here I thought the boys' eyes were huge.

"Mio, what a surprise!"

"I know, right? You've gotta be Alyssa? It's flippin' sweet to meet you!" With a light laugh, she grinned happily and hugged me tight. I couldn't help but laugh along with her – things were about to get really fun.

"So." She put her hand by her mouth and whispered as if telling me a secret: "I heard that you get to live with a bunch of cute boys. Lucky! Mind introducing them to me?"

"Not at all! But I'd like to ask you something first: you were told about the others? By whom?"

"Oh, that was Dave, he's practically my daddy! He created me, like, this morning, and gave me the whole scoop, including the basics of your gorgeous men," she said with a wink and nudged me.

By that time, those "gorgeous men" had already come up the stairs to investigate the voices. The only one who did not recognize her was Hatsuharu – Satoshi, Kyo and Ayame stopped still the moment they caught a glimpse of her face.

That's Hannah! Kyo and Ayame thought. We've got to act like we've never seen her before as long as Alyssa's around.

"Satoshi!" Mio ran toward him with outstretched arms. His expression morphed into one of panic: if she hugged him, he would transform.

"What is this?" Ayame took a stand in front of Satoshi to protect him. "Do not waste your affections on naïve little boys! Pile them all on me, a real, experienced man who goes by the name of Ayame Sohma! My dearest flower," he knelt before her and kissed her hand, "pray tell, what is your name?"

Nice act, Mio thought. She briefly turned her blushing face toward me and silently formed the word "Wow!" with her lips before returning her attention to Ayame. "It's Mio Hio."

"Ah, Miss Hio! Now, may I have the honor of your embrace?"

"Like, why not?"

He's asking for it, I thought, and waited for the cloud of smoke to appear the moment they touched. However, they hugged fully, and Ayame didn't transform. I was so confused, but I wasn't given the opportunity to make sense of what had happened before she moved on to the others.

"Hey there, what's your name, orangey?" She subtly batted her eyelashes and studied his figure as discretely as possible.

Kyo suppressed all the negative things he wanted to say right then, such as "What the hell are you doing, Hannah?", "Put on some more clothes!", "Stop looking at me like that, creeper!" and "I can tell you what my name isn't!" Instead, he answered simply with "Kyo. Kyo Sohma."

"You're a Sohma too? Are you two, like, brothers?"

Kyo shivered at the thought and pouted, ashamed to share a surname with Ayame. "No, we're…cousins. All three of us are."

Much to his annoyance, she hugged him, too. He didn't transform, either. Was my bizarre theory actually correct?

"One more!" she announced and stepped right up to Hatsuharu, whose glinting necklaces, piercings, and unique hair color caught her eye. "Totally rad style!" she praised him and winked. "Who might you be?"

"Hatsuharu Sohma."

"Mmm, I'm diggin' that na-ame!" Mio sang out and went to hug him. He ducked and crawled near Satoshi. "Playing hard to get, are we?"

"No, I just –"

But she was already coming for him, so he flew out the patio door and let her hug him once they were outside. He didn't want to damage the house with his weight when he transformed into an ox.

"How. Cool. Is. This?" Mio shouted with joy and climbed onto his back. I witnessed large blue sweat-drops form on the heads of those who remained in the house as we watched Haru attempt to kick the clingy girl off of his back.

Soon enough, Ayame's smile grew so wide that it actually went beyond the edges of his face; I could tell he was in a state of bliss after getting to hug a girl. "I'm gonna get her to model the thing I'm making so that it can be perfect!" he said with excitement, hopping up and down.

I slipped behind the two Sohmas as they faced the patio door and placed my hands on their shoulders. "Explain."

Ayame stopped hopping; Kyo gulped and tried to buy some time. "Explain what?"

I wrapped my arms around him from behind just long enough to get my point across. "This. Why won't you two tell me what went on that day?"

"Because there are consequences," he sighed at last. Cat-ears had formed on his head and flattened down. "That's all I can say."

"It's Dave, isn't it? He's putting pressure on all of you, isn't he?"

They did not answer me, and now I felt a small headache coming on. Whether it was related to my previous headaches or caused by thinking too hard, I couldn't be sure.

"Can you at least tell us where he is?" asked Satoshi.

They shook their heads dismally, and the atmosphere deadened.

Mio, successfully ejected from Hatsuharu's back, had face-planted into the ground; when she wiped the dirt off of her face, she looked up to find the four of us staring at her through the glass, lost in thought. "Why the sad faces?"

She crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out, causing me to smile, Satoshi to raise an eyebrow, Kyo to bring his palm to his face and Ayame to mimic the same look in return. Then, without warning, Hatsuharu transformed back into a human – but this time, the boys rushed out to save him instead of the girl.

As expected, the remainder of the day revolved around Mio. When evening began to roll around, Ayame retreated with her into the basement, Haru tagged along to keep an eye on them, Kyo escaped to the roof to catch a break, and Satoshi and I flopped onto separate couches in the living room to relax. She was quite the handful.

"Hey, Satoshi?" I said without moving a muscle. "Did you finish your painting yesterday?"

"Why yes, I did." He located the covered canvas by the wall and brought it over to me, uncovering it.

I took it into my hands and gasped in amazement. The painting was perfect, absolutely perfect. For a minute, I thought I saw a pair of tiny black wings in the sky right beside the sun. As soon as I blinked my eyes to get a better look, I realized that they were never there to begin with.

"It's stunning," I breathed. "You're amazing."

"In all honesty, I don't deserve the credit. I was designed this way, to be a spectacular artist – I didn't have to work at it, like a human would. Give your compliments to the sunset, not me."

I looked out the front window and saw that the sky was again the color of fire. Right before I could joke around by complimenting the sunset as Satoshi instructed, intense pain shot through my head coupled with heavy pounding. There was something about that sky that I couldn't place.

"Are you all right?" Satoshi asked when he saw me wince.

"It's my head again. It'll go away in a little bit. Maybe I'll take a walk, get some fresh air."

"Would you mind if I joined you? It's been a long day."

"Not at all!"

"You go ahead if you want, and I'll catch up in a minute. I want to put the painting away, where curious Mios won't find it."

I nodded, slipped on some shoes, and left out the front door. The sweltering heat had cooled off substantially and a light breeze rustled the treetops; the beginning drones of insects and cricket chirps completed the symphony that was summer. Sauntering along, I tried my best to focus on every agreeable sensation, but the throbbing of my head kept escalating.

Once Satoshi had found a better home for the canvas, Krad spoke up for the first time since that morning. This is moment I've been waiting for. You're moving aside.

Feeling Krad's power welling up within him, Satoshi knelt down and leaned his shoulder against a nearby wall. So you've finally returned. Whatever your plan is, you demon, I won't let you do it. I will not move.

Then I shall make you!

Satoshi grasped his head and sank even lower, now experiencing so much pain that he couldn't make a sound. The scars on his back tore open with agonizing slowness, and his throat burned as if he were being strangled. Despite the pain, he was still going to fight.

I will not move!

To his astonishment, a stream of pure energy, glowing an intense white, flowed out of Alyssa's room and consumed him entirely. Every single nerve was on fire. It lifted him about a foot and strangled his airways, which was all it took to render him unconscious. The last thing he thought before his body fell limp was How?

Krad's gifted feather proved to be a most timely trump card. He landed softly on his own feet and dusted himself off, glad to be in his own form once again. It was time; his magic had officially taken root in the girl. At the thought, he felt a shiver of exhilaration run down his spine: shortly, this world would be his for the taking.

Mio, dressed in Ayame's half-finished creation, spun around slowly to let him analyze the newest modification he had made. A certain pressure rained down upon Mio's shoulders that she knew could only be magic from elsewhere in the house, so she ceased rotating and inconspicuously held her breath. The others seemed totally oblivious to the sensation, which she could understand. Still, she needed to investigate as per Dave's request.

"Hey, I'll BRB in a sec," she told Ayame and Haru, removing the fabric pieces to reveal her normal clothes underneath. "Bathroom."

She arrived at the top of the stairs and snuck through the kitchen, feeling for where the magic was coming from. Without a doubt, it was Krad's. There were some remnants of his magic down the hallway, but she could feel a heavily concentrated amount by the front door. When she opened it, her instinct told her that he had just exited through it moments ago and was a short ways ahead. So, she crept outside, snatched her cloak from the bushes and hid in a hedge while she put it on; then she tiptoed over to another hedge; then she raced along the forest, camouflaging with the shadows, until she finally located Krad.

The sound of a distant door opening and shutting reached my ears, so I turned around to wait for Satoshi, but I didn't see him anywhere. Confused, I brought my hands to my temples and scanned the area. Eventually, I closed my eyes for the pain.

All of a sudden, the pain vanished. I raised my head, blinking curiously.

"What seems to be the matter? You look pained," spoke Krad from behind me. I didn't move. This was Krad – I should've felt alarm, but something akin to comfort took its place. Was something wrong with me?

"There's nothing wrong, I feel fine," I informed him, battling myself internally. "But if you don't mind, I'd like to continue my walk alone."

"Is that so? I shall leave you be, then."

I continued forward for a minute or two while he strode in the other direction. Well that was easy, I thought. However, my headache gradually returned, and wordless thoughts of Krad intruded upon my mind with increasing frequency. My feet slowed to a halt. A tiny, foreign voice overpowered the voice of reason: Relief. You shooed it away, you idiot. There he goes. Say something.

"Hey…wait," I called out, and he stopped walking. What are you doing? Come to your senses! I scolded myself to the side. He just stood there, facing away from me, as if expecting something. One of my feet took a shaky step toward him, then the other, and soon I was walking at a brisk pace. The whole while, I didn't know what to think. For some reason that I could not consciously identify, walking toward him felt like the right thing to do.

As I arrived closer to him, the pain went away, and with it, logic. This relief felt so good! I wanted him even closer. My legs picked up the pace. I wanted him to say something. To breathe my name. My thoughts wandered shamelessly to the safety of his arms, the serenity of his wings, the pleasure of his lips…the color of fire. I could no longer resist the intruding voice.

I couldn't take it anymore and started sprinting at full speed. When I was but a few feet away, he held his arms out for me and embraced me tightly when I collided with him. The rush that I felt at that moment was so unspeakably pleasurable that I failed to notice him take off with me into the air – he set out for a more secluded location, careful to fly low so that Kyo wouldn't spot him from the roof.

Mio ran as fast as she could to keep up.

"Finally, I have you," Krad smirked maliciously in the faint light of dusk, setting me down in a small clearing and then pulling me close by the waist. I couldn't physically get any closer to him, but I wanted more – no, I needed more. Enjoying every second of his cruel magic, he obeyed the tug of my hands and we toppled over to the grass, where a bed of glowing white feathers cushioned our fall.

No, Mio stared with incredulity from her vantage point in the trees. He wouldn't!

Her cell phone vibrated, and when she reached for it, she gasped at the shocking sight: her hands were becoming transparent. Elsewhere, the others were experiencing the same phenomenon.

"Hello?" she answered with a quivering, hushed voice.

"Mio!" Dave's stern voice rang out. "Mio, what's happening? I told you that you were to report everything to me! I'm disappearing! What's going on?"

"I am too! Sir, it's Krad," she whispered rapidly. "He's got her in his grip, and she likes it there."

"What?" he shouted. Mio covered the phone with one of her invisible hands to stifle the sound. "That imbecile took matters into his own hands! What happened to our agreement? He...!"

When Dave fell speechless, fragments of Krad's smooth whispers floated her way on the breeze.

…To reach out gladly,

With that sweet pain…

I spread over you the wings I tore away,

And lie down with you.

Now, for the being who is so precious,

Let me wear my cross;

I should set you free,

This overflowing desire,

Then, for the first time,

The chimes of blessing resound…

Ah, beautiful…

"We're done for. Goodbye." Dave hung up his phone in the darkness and waited patiently for the end.