That's what she wished would happen. Now, don't get her wrong. She did give Konoka those plane tickets, and she did kiss her . . . But . . .

Everything after that is what she wished would of happened. She wished she had the courage to laugh like it was nothing. She wished she had said something. She wished that Konoka had run after her.

But none of this had happened.

Only one thing had happened after she had kissed her. She had run away – crying. Konoka had only enough time to stammer, "Se- Se-chan?" before Setsuna had turned away.

"I- I'm sorry Ms. Konoka!" She had exclaimed, tearing off into the darkness of the night as tears started to roll down her face. She didn't know why she was crying or if Konoka saw her tears, but she didn't care. She just had to get away – away from the one girl she loved. But, no matter how far she ran, she knew it wasn't far enough. Still, she pushed herself on . . . because . . . because she was a coward.

Maybe that's the reason why she was crying.

** Setsuna **

"Selena, I'm home!" Setsuna called out, kicking the door shut behind her with a 'Slam!'. Her arms were filled with take-out boxes and drinks, so she couldn't exactly use her hands at the moment. Hearing the soft 'thud, thud, thud!' of footsteps, the swordsman wasn't shocked when Selena seemingly appeared out of nowhere and launched herself at her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Setsuna laughed, trying to not drop all the boxes in her arms as the white-haired girl attached herself to the swordsman leg. "Could you have at least wait until I got into the Kitchen?"

Shaking her head, the swordsman started to walk towards the kitchen with the girl still attached to her leg. "So how was your day, today?" Setsuna asked as Selena giggled. Of course, she expected no verbal answer from her. Pausing to set the few things she had in her arms on the table, the swordsman bent down and lifted the girl into her arms. Selena responded by wrapping her arms around Setsuna's neck and nuzzling her affectionately.

"Yeah, I missed you too." Setsuna laughed as she continued to make her way into the Kitchen. Quickly, Selena signed –

Take-outs again? Seriously?

Setsuna was able to understand her better, because she'd been practicing with Selena on sign-language almost every spare moment she had in the last few day. She learned all of the alphabet, but there was still a lot of signs she didn't know yet.

Laughing, Setsuna shook her head. "Of course it's take-outs again. I can't cook a meal that's worth shi- um . . . a litter box."

Selena grinned, giggling at the swordsman almost slip up. Opening a cabinet, Setsuna reached in it for a couple of glasses. "Coke?" the swordsman asked, glancing at the white-haired girl. Wrinkling her nose, Selena shook her head before signing –

Coke is icky!

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Says you, Now,"

Setsuna set Selena down onto her feet gently, handing her a couple of plastic cups. "Set these on the table for me, please, and I'll just get you some Ginger Ale."

** Konoka **

"What happened next?" Konoka asked, her eyes widening in fear as she unconsidered leaned forward. Over the few days she had gotten to know him, she'd always beg him to tell her a story of The Black Knight's past. He wasn't wearing his mask anymore, and she wasn't sure why.

Laughing, the man stopped pacing and pretended to pull a sword out of an imaginary sheath. Pointing the "sword" towards the ground, he continued. "Then, the woman pointed her blade at the The Black Knight's throat and stared him straight in the eye. Then, she spoke. 'Finally, I get to meet the one and only Black Knight.' "

His face shined with excitement as he started pacing again, sheathing his "sword" – whether unconsciously or consciously, she didn't really know. "Her Hazel eyes sparkled with excitement as her long, purple hair swayed in the wind slowly.'The one and only? Thou must be mistaken, for there are plenty of other Black Knights in this world. I am but one of many, then.' He replied. The woman smiled, pressing the tip of her blade against his throat slowly before speaking once again. 'Not like Thee.' "

The man in front of her quit pacing and stared up at the sky wistfully. "The knight smiled and moved the blade away from his throat quietly. 'Never once have I been beaten by a maiden. Thoust are truly one to admire, Milady. And, to add to Thoust's mystery, I can't see much hint to any muscle upon Thee's body. But, never less, Thou are quite beautiful. Thoust's eyes sparkle so excitingly in the sunlight, that it almost makes me forget why I came here, werewolf.' "

His grin widened as Konoka's gasped in surprise and leaned forward even more. "That's when the woman's grin widened, her pearly white fangs glistening in the sunlight, as a pair of orange-brown wolf ears and tail popped out from head and behind her. She sheathed her sword and placed her hands on her hips. 'So, Thou has figured me out.' Her eyes now sparkled with sadness and her smile now wry. The Black Knight stood to his feet and watched the werewolf woman turn her head and stare up at the sky with only so much as a twitch of her ear. She continued to gaze up at the sky with those mournful eyes and bittersweet smile, and she finally spoke. 'Thou has come to kill me, I assume?' She turned her gaze back onto the knight calmly as she ran her thumb over the hilt of her sword gently. 'I have killed many in my day, because of my uncontrollable blood lust. I am nothing but a monster fit to die. I accept the fate Thoust has decided for me. I have only one request. Allow me to keep my sword with me, even after I'm nothing but an empty corpse.' "

Konoka felt her jaw slacken slightly at the words of the woman as the man continued. "The Knight then drew his sword, and . . ."

Konoka then interrupted with a squeak of terror. "No! Don't tell me he killed her! She didn't do anything wrong on purpose!"

The man laughed at her sudden outburst. "Then I won't. I'll save the rest for later."

"But, why?" Konoka pouted. "Don't leave me in the blue, here!"

"But I thought you didn't want to know . . . Plus you can already infer what happened, can't you?" He frowned somewhat.

Her eyes grew wide with sudden terror. "He didn't . . ."

He shook his head sadly. "Your correct, I'm afraid. The Black Knight drew his sword and slowly made his way towards the werewolf woman. She continued to smile at him as he raised his sword, and . . . tossed it aside. He gripped both her forearms with surprising strength and kissed her. She, of course, was shocked, but . . . after a few seconds . . . she kissed him back. When he pulled away, she was crying. Whether they were a shock or happiness, he didn't know. 'Never say such things about Thou's self again. Thou isn't a monster, and Thoust shouldn't give up live that easily. Live while Thee has youth and heart.' "

Konoka didn't know whether to sigh in relief or gasp from the sudden twinge at her heart. 'They kissed . . . just like . . . me and Setsuna . . .'

"'Thou kisses a maiden without telling her his name?'" He continued on with the story. "The woman's eyes sparkled with faint humor. 'My name . . .' The Black Knight trailed off. 'My name is Pyro, Milady. But I am know by the name Koori, for my Niece, for I have always wished to specialize in ice magic. What tis Thy's?' The maiden laughed. 'Tis Soren, Pyro. Tis Soren.' "

"I suppose I'll have to call you Pyro now." Konoka stuck her tongue out at the man. "You name is The Black Knight, isn't it? So that would mean your name's actually Pyro."

He grinned at her mischievously. "True, Milady. So true."

Her own grin disappeared as a serious look overtook her expression. "Uh oh." He chuckled quietly. "Konoka suddenly has a serious expression. Are you finally using your brain?"

She punched him in the arm playfully. "I'm not a Baka Ranger. I just need to ask you a question . . ."

Rubbing his arm as he sat down, he nodded. "Okay, shoot."

"Have you . . . Have you ever been in love?" She asked, her face growing warm with a blush.

He stared at her for a moment before smiling painfully. "Twice, actually. The first time, I was married, but . . . she was stolen from me by a murderer. He ran his ran his blade through her stomach like she were another enemy, and a crazed smile was upon his lips as if it were nothing but a cruel joke. I- I tried to save her, but I was too late. He had tried to rid of me first and had almost succeeded, so I knew he would go after my maiden to hurt me emotionally instead of physically. But . . . They both died in front of my eyes that day, so I suppose that make me just as much as a murderer as him."

Konoka breath caught in her throat. "Th- that's horrible. I'm so sorry . . ."

"Don't be." He laughed, shaking his head. " . . . When you fell in love the second time around . . . " Konoka asked, looking over at him. "How did you know?"

He stiffened from the question. Staring at the ground, Konoka could see his eyes – distant and sad. He remained like this for a few minutes before replying almost absent-minded like. "From the smell of her blood."

It was Konoka's turn to freeze up.

"I knew from the smell of her blood, that I was in love . . . It smelled almost exactly like my wife's . . . like Soren's. Warm and Caring . . . Sad, yet Happy . . . Protective . . . and even a bit Demonic, you could say . . . But, Soren was outgoing, while this girl is shy and easily flustered. She too scared to chase the dreams she wants the most. And . . . When that girl first looked at me . . . I saw her . . . Soren . . . I saw her there. She had the same hazel eyes as my wife. She even looked at me the same, well . . . almost. It was the same look, but different . . . like how you cook something, and you know there's something missing. But . . . you can't figure out what's missing. That's how it is . . . That's how her look seemed. But, I know what was missing from it." He turned his gaze from the ground and to her. "All the passion and love was missing . . ."

Konoka stared at him, wide-eyed. "Her blood?"

He laughed nervously. "I let it slip, didn't I? Yes, her blood. I'm a Vampire . . . and yes, my real name would be Pyro."

** Setsuna **

'toss' , 'smack' , 'toss', 'smack' , 'toss' , 'smack'

Setsuna continued to repeatedly toss her hacky sack in the air and catch it effortlessly. But, she was also careful not to wake Selena, who was, again, curled up against the swordsman. No matter where the swordsman went or tried to sleep, the girl would always find a way to be near her. It wasn't that she minded, she actually thought it was really cute. In fact, it was adorable.

'toss', 'smack', 'toss', 'smack', 'toss', 'smack'

"You know . . ." Setsuna trailed off. "I just realized how warm she is . . . But she's really cool at the same time. Sort of like a cool fire."

'toss', 'smack', 'toss', 'smack', 'toss', 'smack'

Setsuna yawned.

'toss', 'smack', 'toss', 'smack', 'toss', 'smack'

Her eyes drooped from the warmth of the child.

'toss', 'smack', 'toss', 'smack', 'toss', 'smack', 'bounce', 'roll'

"Zzz . . ."

*** Dream ***

The crackling and pops of a fire, the irregular breathing of her and Konoka, and the common sound of a wooden beam falling was all Setsuna could hear.

"Se-chan, we have to get out of here!" The small, chocolate-haired child said urgently, pulling on the other girl's sleeve. Setsuna only responded by dropping to her knees as a fit of coughing wracked her chest. The smoke was so thick, she could barely see in front of her nose. Heck, she could barely see Konoka's worried face. "I- I'm sorry, Kono-chan . . ." Setsuna broke off into another coughing fit. "This is all my fault."

Konoka remained silent as she wrapped her arms around the young swordsman and tried to pull her to her feet. The girl obeyed, climbing to her feet at a painstakingly slow rate. "If I hadn't gone back for that picture, we wouldn't be here right now . . ." She sniffled. "I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault, Se-chan. I'm the one followed you into here." Konoka voice was hoarse and scratchy from all the smoke. "You shouldn't blame yourself like that. Made the decision to come after you. If it's anyone's fault, it's more than likely mine."

Setsuna shook her head as she took an unsteady step forward. "N- no . . . I take the blame. It's my fault, Kono-chan."

She took another step and stumbled forward, falling onto the ground. She tried to push her self up, but she just ended up falling from her knees to the floor again. It was useless trying to do something she couldn't manage . . . so she fell limp onto the floor. Was this really how she was to go . . . leaving Konoka in the mists of danger?

Her lungs felt like they were burning along with this home, only more so, and Her throat felt like the fire itself – dry, hot, and ablaze. "Kono-chan . . ." She rasped, bursting into yet another fit of coughs. Immediately, Konoka's arms encircled around her again, pulling up on her desperately. This proved to be futile, for Setsuna just stayed limp. "Come on Se-chan! Get up!" Konoka cried, her voice tearful as she fell to her knees. "Get up Se-chan!"

"Kono-chan . . ." Setsuna said weakly, grasping onto her friend's shirt. "Get out of here. I'm a goner, and you will be, too, if you don't leave. I don't have the strength to get up, let alone walk."

Setsuna heard a quiet sob sound from the girl, and then a sudden weight was crushing down upon her. "N- no . . ." Konoka cried. "I'm not leaving without you, Se-chan . . . even if it kills me . . ."

'No . . . I've failed, haven't I? I've failed . . . And now Konoka might die along with me . . .'

"No . . ." Setsuna whispered. "You can't die, Kono-chan. You can't . . ."

"Then live. Get up and get out. Get us both to safety, Se-chan." Konoka sniffled. The girl then moved away silently as Setsuna proceeded to try and push herself up. She, again, fell back towards the ground, but . . .

This time Konoka caught her.

She wrapped the young swordsman's arm around her neck, supporting Setsuna's weight upon herself. "Just leave me." Setsuna muttered, half-conscious. "I'm nothing but dead weight."

Konoka shook her head, and ensured she had a good grip on the swordsman. "Never."

Then, she started half walking, half dragging towards where the exit was located. "D- don't leave me Se-chan. Stay here, okay?" Konoka pleaded, breaking off into a fit of coughing herself. Setsuna only gave a slight groan as a response as she started to nod off.

"Se-chan!" Konoka nudged her harshly. "Wake up. You need to stay awake, okay?"

"But, it's only going to be a small nap, okay? I promise it'll only be a couple of minutes, Kono-chan . . ." Setsuna trailed off. She knew she shouldn't but she couldn't help it . . . she was too tired. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take just a small nap . . .

"Se-chan!" Konoka jerked her awake again. "No, you can't go to sleep, okay?"

Nodding, Setsuna did her best to keep her eyes open and not to fall asleep. But, it was no use . . . she still found herself slipping out of consciousness.

"S- Se-chan, I think I can see the smoke clearing . . . We're almost there. Don't fall asleep, please Se-chan. Please . . ." Konoka trailed off, coughing again.

Setsuna felt Konoka stumble and almost lose her balance. But, her friend regained it.

"I- I'm sorry, Kono-chan . . ." Setsuna whispered.

Then . . .there was nothing . . . but all black . . .

She blinked open her eyes, and winced at the bright light filtering through the window. "Ow . . ."

Sitting up, she rubbed her head gently. Her dream floated through her mind like a cloud floating on the wind, and she winced again.

That wasn't a dream – It was a childhood memory.

*** Later that day ***

"Okay, Selena. Be a very good girl for Aunty Asuna, okay?" Setsuna said, ruffling the young girl's long, white hair. She replied with a nod, leaning into Setsuna's hand.

"Wait a minute . . ." Asuna said, her expression darkening threateningly as her bangs hid over half her face. "Aunty . . . Asuna?"

The swordsman swallowed nervously as she took a step towards the door cautiously. "W- well, I had to find something for her to call you . . ."

"I'm . . ." Asuna grabbed a hold of the swordsman's shirt, dragging her closer to her. She lifted her head and looked at Setsuna, her light blue eyes filled with tears and a blissful smile spread over her face. "I'm an Aunty!"

She then threw her arms around the swordsman a proceeded to squeeze her so hard, she could swear she heard her ribs crack. "As- As- Asuna . . ." She gasped. "C- can't . . . Breathe . . ."

"Sorry." Asuna apologized quickly, letting the swordsman go. "My bad."

Setsuna brushed her self off, nodding. "Y- yeah . . . don't do that again, please."

Asuna nodded, stepping out of the doorway to hers, Konoka's, and Negi's room. Setsuna smiled and walked in, Selena following behind her.

"Oh! Setsuna, Selena. How are you?" Negi asked, clearly shocked. The swordsman laughed. "I'm fine. Hey, Selena, You haven't met Negi yet, have you?"

She pushed the girl forward gently, but Selena only squeaked and ran behind Setsuna again. Confused, she looked behind her at Selena. "What's wrong?"

The white-haired girl responded by signing something so quick, Setsuna had no time to comprehend what it was.

"No, it's okay." Negi waved it off. "She's probably not used to boys."

Nodding, Setsuna gave Selena's hair one last ruffle. "Well, thanks again. Remember, be good for Aunty Asuna and Negi-kun. Alright, Selena?"

Selena nodded again, right before Asuna scooped her into her arms suddenly. "Come on Selena! Lets fly away from that lil' ole' scary Negi!"

"Asuna!" Negi whined, his voice cracking.

** Konoka **

"I hate flying . . ." Konoka heard Setsuna mutter lowly next to her.

Konoka sighed, unsure what to say to the swordsman. She just didn't know what to say . . .

Things were just so complicated! She was in love . . . She wasn't in love . . . What was she?!

Konoka couldn't sort her feelings from her thoughts . . . She couldn't sort herself out. 'Why can't things be easy like in the Manga books?'

She sighed again.

Suddenly, she felt the plane tug forward, and she swear she could hear someone grinding their teeth. Blinking, She looked over at Setsuna.

The girl looked as stiff as a wooden board and tenser than she's ever been. She grinned at the scene. "Silly Se-chan! How can you be so scared when your Pactio card allows you to fly around? That doesn't seem to bother you much." She teased, whispered low enough so the other passengers couldn't hear. She was rewarded with a light blush. "Th- that's different . . . I can actually see where I'm going."

Konoka giggled, turning her attention back to the window. "If you say so."

After awhile, she was watching light, fluffy clouds pass by them slowly. She smiled, pressing her fingers against the airplane window. It looked so peaceful outside.

The sun was setting beautifully, and she wasn't sure if the clouds were purple, red, white, pink, or gold. Maybe they were all five.

Wow, it just looked . . . stunning.

Suddenly, a hand slipped into her own gently, entwining their fingers together. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she looked down at both hands sitting on her lap. Slowly, she looked up at Setsuna, who gazed back at her lovingly before blushing wildly and turning her head away.

But, she didn't remove her hand from Konoka's, and Konoka didn't remove her hand from Setsuna's.

She smiled happily, before looking back out of the window. 'Defiantly in love.'

*** Yeah! Okay sorry for whatever I feel I should be saying sorry about. Hope you enjoyed. Credit to KAGEJASPER for helping me with the 'Aunty Asuna' bit! Please review if you liked it. ***

~Angel981