Author's Note: Hey guys! Man, was this a rough chapter to write. It just took forever! But, Visitor told me to keep going, so I shall keep going with this story. And I'd love to hear from the rest of you reading this story! I want to know what you guys think of it! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi.

Chapter 2

The trio left the small freezing village, and they continued their way south toward Listriv. Soon after leaving the premises of Viburm, the three men were surrounded by a barren forest. The trees stabbed the air with daggers of wood, and they were adorned with a dress of freshly fallen snow.

As per Haitani's orders, Onodera led the way while Takano and Haitani stood side by side in the rear. The group had been walking without incident for about half a day, and the lack of conversation increased the awkwardness of the trip triple fold. Onodera looked over his shoulder to ensure that Haitani hadn't run off with the boy, but was greeted with a raised eyebrow from the suspicious man. The brunet narrowed his green eyes at him; all the while he tried to bring up friendly conversation to cover up his apparent caution of the taller man. "At this rate we will reach Poinset in about a day and a half. If we pick up the pace we might not have to camp out at night!"

Haitani snorted. "You mean if we sprint there. There's no way we'd get there without spending a night out here." He motioned toward the thick forest of trees around them. "Why not take our time? Unless someone's afraid of the dark."

The twenty-six-year-old returned his head back to look in front of him, "I'm not afraid. I was just thinking that it would be safer if we reach there as soon as possible. There are many bandits out here you know?"

"Stop trying to be smart. Start to think more reasonably," Haitani said harshly.

Onodera stepped over a tree trunk that was blocking the road and the two behind him followed his example. Finally, the brunet answered, "I've been living up here for the last seven years. I think I would remember how long it would take for us to get to the next town."

The foreign man laughed slightly, "Yeah, well I've been through here about four days ago. I think my resources are more reliable than yours. Wouldn't you agree, Takano?" he posed the question.

"I don't know. Sure," Takano offered the answer without much thought in hopes that he could put an end to the annoying bickering.

Onodera sighed in defeat and the group continued their way in silence again. Takano looked over to Haitani in anticipation of him to comment on his little victory, but was surprised when he noticed him staring intently at some object in front of him. Takano trailed his line of sight straight to Onodera; specifically, a part of Onodera's anatomy. It seemed that Haitani was pleased to have an eyeful of the man's ass, and he was not ashamed of it. He made no attempt to hide it from the youngest one.

Takano trailed the line of sight again to see if he was maybe staring at the brunet's sword which was attached to his hip, but was not surprised when it again trailed to the same spot. Haitani turned to Takano and raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. The black-haired boy wasn't sure if Haitani was showcasing his inclinations to him or if he was just joking. He felt some strange feeling wash over his head when he thought about it more.

This happened with him when he thought about Onodera's coworker too. Kisa was always throwing himself on Onodera, and he was most obviously gay; however, to his knowledge, the man affected wasn't fazed by it at all. It was as if he didn't know what was going on, or he just didn't care.

Takano clenched his fist. He despised it when someone tried to steal that type of adoration which was supposed to be towards him. He knew that he was throwing things out of proportion, but he couldn't stand it if someone tried to take Onodera's attention away from him.

Haitani ceased his flirtatious glances when he noticed that the younger man was not into his joke at all; he seemed rather disgusted by it. He put his hand on the sixteen-year-old's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. When he released it, he kept his eyes on the road instead of the green-eyed man's backside. His intent was to ease Takano, but whether it worked or not would remain a mystery to him.

"It's pretty dark now. We should camp now," Haitani said softly.

Onodera looked up at the sky. It was quite obvious that it was nighttime, but he still did it to observe the sheer beauty of the country. The blanket of grey that once covered the sky was now a marvelous shade of azure with tiny balls of light sprinkled randomly around the body of it. The sharp branches of the naked trees were not as intimidating under this lighting as it had earlier in the day.

The green-eyed man shook his head and brought himself back to the matter at hand. He thought about rejecting Haitani's offer to camp out in a dangerous forest, but he gave up when he remembered Haitani's past remarks and Takano's agreement with them. "You have a tent?"

"Yup! I don't think it will be big enough for three of us though," Haitani said without a hint of guilt or remorse in his expression; he was clearly implying that the shorter man was to sleep outside.

Said man understood exactly what he was getting across. He turned around and nodded. "Alright. I'll sleep outside. I was not welcome to come along in the first place."

"Now that that's settled, I'll provide the light while you set up the tent."

Onodera crossed his arms across his chest and he narrowed his eyes. "So, I'm not sleeping in it, but I have to set it up?"

"Fine then. You make the light while I do it," Haitani challenged.

Onodera tilted his head up to show his acceptance of the challenge. "My pleasure." He then outstretched his hands in front of him, and a small white glow appeared in front of them as he started shaking.

Haitani stared for a moment and then smirked, "Wow, you really suck at that don't you? On the way you mentioned that you studied some magic in Listriv. How did you manage to pass?" The taller man snickered. Onodera bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a rude reply.

After a few seconds of smiling smugly, Haitani held the same position that Onodera was performing moments prior, and a large ball of light appeared in front of him. It easily dwarfed the brunet's casting of the same spell; all the while, he did not tremble.

"Show off," Onodera said quietly to himself. He then resigned to the fact that he would have to set up the dingy tent. "Masamune, could you hold this up for me for a bit?" the green-eyed man asked, however, he did not receive a reply. "Masamune?" Onodera was growing increasingly worried at the boy's silence.

Haitani looked around when the situation dawned on him, "Where is he?"

As if on cue, both men ran in opposite directions to look for the misplaced boy.

Takano pried his eyes open. He felt his head pounding from a blow he had endured recently.

'Where am I? I remember looking at those weird mushrooms. Then what?' Takano squeezed his eyes shut again in hopes that it would jog his memory.

Takano halted his thoughts when he heard a low scruffy voice. Upon further observation, he realized that it was a man speaking to what he assumed was his partner in crime. Although the lighting was poor, the black-haired boy could make out their outward appearance. Both men were wearing dark trousers and black leather jackets, obviously used to conceal themselves in the dark, and their prolonged presence in the wilderness had dirtied these articles of clothing immensely. "Not sure how much he's worth, but something's better than nothing," he said.

"Yeah, I bet those two guys that were with him are worried sick." The partner gave a slimy laugh, "They'll pay good money for him."

The boy struggled to get up, but he then realized that he was tied up. He glanced down at the ropes and started to exhale short quick breaths in agitation. Takano struggled with all his might against the bindings while he searched around him desperately for the same snake that appeared in his multitudinous nightmares; even though he knew it wasn't real.

Eventually, the noise from the teen's struggling alerted the two bandits. "Hey, looks like he's up again," the first bandit said. He then turned to his partner, "Knock him out again, but make sure you don't kill him. He's worth more alive than dead."

"Yeah, yeah," the second bandit waved his friend to settle down. He then gave a disturbing smile as he approached Takano with a blunt club in his right hand. When he was right in front of him he raised his club to finish his job, but instead he keeled over as the wind was blown out of him by a knee in the stomach.

"Get away from him you bastards," Onodera said with an authoritative tone.

The second bandit got up and held his stomach. "Who the fuck are you?" he gasped out.

The brunet ignored him and blasted a tiny ball of lighting toward the second bandit. Once he was momentarily paralyzed, Onodera unsheathed his sword and cut the man's chest twice with strong strokes of his right arm in an x-shape. He then swiftly outstretched his leg, spun around to gain momentum, and kicked the man right where the two slashes intersected in his midsection.

While this was happening, the first bandit charged at Onodera with an axe which the brunet barely guarded against. The swordsman was shaken by the heavy blow he had just endured and grunted in pain from the shock of the hit. The bandit swung his big axe again, but this time Onodera was prepared. He dodged it and got behind his attacker; he then slit the crook's throat. The man gurgled up blood and choked until he was down for the count.

Takano could do nothing, but continue to stare in disbelief at Onodera's prowess in battle. The older man then turned to Takano to cut off the bindings with his bloodied sword. The hazel-eyed one was still speechless from his fear of being ensnared, that he hesitated to alert Onodera that the second bandit had gotten up to beat him with his club. Onodera followed the boy's terrified gaze behind him and turned around. When he successfully did so, he was greeted with the sight of the bandit speared through the heart with an ice spike. The deceased man fell, revealing the one who made the ice spike.

Haitani gave Onodera a smug smirk, "You owe me."

"Haitani! Thanks for watching my back," Onodera said gratefully. He then turned back to the restrained boy. "Give me a moment while I untie you."

Haitani ran a hand over his face in relief. "Man, you were right next to me, and those two big idiots were still able to take you. I'm sorry. I'll keep my eyes peeled next time."

"You better!" Onodera yelled. "Masamune could have lost his life!"

"Guys, it's alright. It's my fault. I was wandering off," Takano confessed.

Haitani crossed his arms over his chest. "You may say so, but I was to blame as well. Anyway, why don't we go back to our tent?"

Onodera nodded, "I agree. I think we've had one hell of a night already. Let's rest."

After a night of resting, the trio made their way toward Poinset and were greeted by a magnificent sight. The town was surrounded in a shade of bright peach that was a gradient to a shade of dark blue in the distance beyond the mountains that laid behind the town. It was like a sea that was gradually flooding the shore of a beach.

The moment the three of them arrived inside of Poinset, Haitani announced, "Onodera, I think the shops are still open. Go and restock up on supplies while the kid and I book some rooms in the inn. We'll join you in a few moments."

The brunet looked between the two with clear concern in his eyes. However he didn't want to be booted from their journey so he obeyed Haitani's orders. He turned around and walked briskly into the commercial district of the large town.

Takano turned to Haitani. "Why did you send him off?"

"With how late it is now, I'm afraid that the shops will close. I want to leave first thing in the morning tomorrow, but at the same time, if the inn gets fully booked then we're in trouble."

Takano nodded, and the duo made their way into the inn nearby. The lobby had two staircases on both sides of the area which led to the rooms on the second floor where the customers would spend the night. The check-in table was in the middle of these two staircases. "Two rooms please," Haitani said to the pretty receptionist.

"Two?" Takano whispered to Haitani.

"Yep, one for us, and one for Onodera." Haitani said with a smile on his face. It sounded so simple, but yet the moment those words left Haitani's mouth, Takano knew he didn't want any part of it. He would much rather share a room with Onodera than Haitani.

While Takano went through his inner struggle, the receptionist checked her records of the rooms in the building. "I'm sorry, sir. There's only one room available," the receptionist offered her contrite words with a small frown.

Without hesitation, Haitani replied, "No worries, we'll take it." He then gave her a devilishly handsome smile.

The woman blushed and held the keys in front of her. "Alright. Here's your key. Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," he said. He then spun on his heel and left the inn dragging Takano along with him by his arm.

Once they left the inn they waited at the entrance of the commercial district to wait for the brunet. After a few minutes, Onodera rendezvoused with them holding three Styrofoam boxes in his arms. "They didn't have much, but I managed to get us some food."

"Yes! I'm starving!" Haitani cheered, and as if on cue, Takano's stomach started to growl.

"Did you guys successfully get a room for us?"

"Yup. But, there's only one room so I'm sorry to say, Onodera you have to sleep outside today." Haitani stared seriously at the pair of green eyes in front of him.

Onodera hesitated for a moment, recalling the terribly cold night he endured earlier, and then he yelled, "What!"

The strained statement echoed throughout the slowly quieting town. Haitani put his hands in front of him defensively. "Hey, calm down. There are two beds in the room so you can just sleep on the second one while I sleep with the kid."

"Absolutely not!" The brunet raised his voice to an uncivilized decibel a second time.

Haitani raised one eyebrow and turned his gaze from the brown-haired man to the black-haired one. When Takano showed no discontent at the offer, Haitani relented. He put his arm around Takano and said sarcastically, "I'm hurt! You don't want to share a bed with me?" Takano groaned and pushed his arm off of him. Haitani regarded him with an intense gaze, but then dropped it soon after, "Ah well. How about we eat, and then we go call it a day."

Onodera looked long and hard at the boy's irritated face and wondered if Takano was regretting that he followed an irritable man like Haitani. However, he knew this was not the time nor the place for being an ass. He shut his trap so that all three of them could have a peaceful night.

The front door slammed as Takano Masamune walked out of the small home he shared with a certain brunet. He walked down the road that was draped in dead shrubbery and made his way to the center square of Viburm. No one was in sight when he began to circle the perimeter of the blacksmith's building. When he reached the previously hidden side of the establishment, he was met with a horrid sight. Onodera was on the floor unconscious while a man with his back towards Takano punched him a multitude of times. His face was so swollen and bloodied that he couldn't even open his eyes if he were to be conscious. The attacker's knuckles were scabbed and wounded to the point that it appeared he had been punching the brunet for days.

Even without seeing the person's face, he could recognize that broad back and short haircut anywhere; this little fact filled his cup of anger to the brim. "Stop!" he commanded as he walked toward him, but after he uttered that word, he soon found himself unable to travel forward. It was as if his legs would not listen to his brain's commands. Haitani was unfazed by his statement he just continued to senselessly beat the man in front of him.

The boy's eyes grew in horror at premonition of what was to come. He was not surprised when the serpent slithered out from underneath the back of the jacket Haitani was wearing. It seemed as if it came from nowhere being that there was no space for the large snake in Haitani's jacket.

Takano looked down at the creature that was approaching him in a broken sideways direction and then he returned his gaze to Onodera who was probably on the brink of death; he was unable to stop either situation from being a tragic end. When he looked back at the reptile, it was already centimeters from his face with its large mouth approaching rapidly; its hollow fangs were dripping with venom, and it made contact with Takano's face. His face burned with venom, but he was unable to bring his hands up to dislodge the snake away from him; he was like a statue.

Almost instantly, his face swelled from the venom into a size that would rival the brunet's. With little time left before his own demise, he let out a barbaric scream.

Brown eyes flung open in a sweaty distress. He was hyperventilating, but was surprised that his ruckus didn't seem to wake his companions. He heard soft snoring from the second bed in the room and automatically deduced that that was Haitani. However, when he turned his head to the other side he was once again surprised at the lack of an Onodera next to him. The light in the bathroom was not on so he concluded that the man must have left the room to roam about outside.

With great care, he swung his legs over the bed and tip-toed to the coat hanger to grab his coat, put on his shoes, and then left silently, leaving Haitani unaware on the other bed. Takano walked down the stairs of the inn and out the front door to see Onodera standing a few feet away staring at the sky.

"Hey," the teen said.

Onodera blinked twice as he was broken out of his reverie. "Masamune? Why are you out here at this time of night?"

Takano laughed slightly, "I could ask you the same thing."

Onodera gave a half-hearted laugh, "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He then tore the gaze to settle his eyes on the sky again. "Look up. All three of them are out today," he said softly as if he was talking to an infant who was dosing off.

The black-haired boy followed his example and realized that Onodera was talking about the three moons in the sky. "Is that the reason why you're out here? To look at the moons?"

Onodera nodded. "When I was younger, my mom and I would always sit out in our yard when all three were visible. We would just watch them and talk." The brunet's eyes became glossy as he recalled the memory. "She always used to tell me a story about them. It was along the lines of how Glyphdeyn was the mother of all the moons. One day, after she fed her children, they had a bet on who could run the fastest." He motioned toward the largest looking moon, "The first child was the slowest." He then pointed toward the smallest looking moon, "And the youngest child was the fastest. However, when they wanted to come back home they were too far from home and they didn't know how to get back. So, now they orbit Glyphdeyn."

Takano narrowed his eyes at the older one's sappy story. "Onodera, your mother told you that story for fun? You must have been a very sheltered child."

"I was not!" Onodera snapped the moment Takano finished his sentence.

Takano crossed his arms across his chest and distributed his weight unevenly on his feet. "Do you always come outside to look at them every time they are out together? It happens every 39 days doesn't it?" Takano recalled from the knowledge he gained at school in Viburm. "That just seems to suck out the excitement of it. Especially since it's always been like that."

The brunet sighed, "Even so, moments like these make me think of my mother. Even if it seems redundant, I often don't want it to end. I don't want these feelings that I have for her to disappear."

Takano never knew anything about Onodera's mother being that he never talks about her, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they had a very strong bond. A bond that he felt was stolen from him, although he never once experienced it for himself. Takano often wondered if what he shared with Onodera was something akin to what a parent and a child felt for each other, but by the endearing look on Onodera's face, he doubts it. It's no secret now that the Onodera family must have been a tight knit one by that way the son of the family talks so sincerely about the matriarch and the small smile that was spread across his face. Whenever Takano thought about his own mother he was always filled with rage and disgust at how uninterested she was about him.

Takano let out a grunt of frustration, "You stay out here and waste your time as much as you want, but I'm going to bed."

'And to the horrid dreams that will undoubtedly come,' he thought miserably.