Alex frowned as she watched from the kitchen area with Emiko. After rescuing Caitlin and getting her checked up at a nearby clinic, they brought her back to the villa to rest. After her ordeal she deserved as much. Right now she was sitting at the sofa in the living room with Ryuki right next to her and they were talking.

Alex knew Ryuki and Caitlin used to date but it would appear they still had some feelings for each other. It wasn't very obvious but when Caitlin's eyes sparkled, she knew the girl was in love with her boyfriend. It was the same sparkle Alex's eyes had when she first gazed upon Ryuki.

Emiko had prepared some snacks, biscuits and tea, for Caitlin and Ryuki. As she set the tray on the counter, she noticed the way Alex was looking at the pair on the sofa.

"Are you alright, Alex-chan?" Emiko asked the Spy.

"Oh, I'm fine," Alex said, faking a smile. Emiko frowned.

"Are you?" Emiko questioned skeptically. "You haven't taken your eyes off them for quite some time now."

'I just don't want Ryuki to get hurt again,' Alex thought. She had grown to care about Ryuki, especially finding out how fragile his heart could be. When they'd met, his heart was still recovering from his forced breakup with Caitlin. The blonde had gotten far too involved in his secret life and had to have her memories erased for her own safety. However, she'd somehow regained her memories. What could this mean for Ryuki? Who would he choose?

Ryuki laughed at one of Caitlin's stories. He couldn't believe that his old friends had so many insane adventures at the Galleria Mall. Not to mention that Jonesy had trouble keeping a job again. Even Jonesy and Nikki had some ups and downs in their relationship. Despite all that, they were still together, which Ryuki was glad for.

Caitlin smiled happily. Now, Ryuki wanted to ask her questions, like for example, "How did you get your memories back?"

The blonde was silent for a moment as she considered her words. After all, regaining memories wasn't an instant experience unless someone like Ichijyo was involved.

Caitlin admitted, "Well, for a few weeks now I've been having these dreams about you." Ryuki blushed. To be in a girl's dreams was something else. A few girls in his old class would say lines like that to get his interest, but hearing spoken honestly was way different. "I had this feeling of longing when I had them like I was missing something. Like I lost something very precious to me."

"Oh."

"Then, I started to dream about our dates and the stuff we did with the gang. I asked them but none of them remembered you and thought I was dreaming up a guy. Jen gave me advice and said that I was dreaming about what I wanted as a perfect guy."

"I see." Ryuki blinked. "So, I'm the 'perfect guy' to you?" he asked skeptically.

"Well, you're cute, kind, sweet, humble, honest (Ryuki flinched), strong, brave, caring and you're really cool," Caitlin listed.

"And those qualities make me the perfect guy?" Ryuki asked further.

"Well, yeah!" Caitlin beamed.

Ryuki sighed, "I'm not as honest as you think. I kept secrets from you."

"Yeah! And what a secret! You're a superhero! That's really cool!" Caitlin spoke excitedly. Ryuki took inhaled air deeply. "So..." Caitlin leaned towards him, smiling. "I guess we should pick up where we left off, don't ya think?"

Alex watched, her heart starting to beat as she saw the scene that was about to unfold.

Caitlin closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss Ryuki but she was gently pushed back. Her eyes opened up in surprise at him. "What?"

Ryuki looked her in the eye, sadly, "Caitlin-san, I care a lot about you…but what we had is over…"

"Over?" Caitlin responded, eyes wide with shock. Was he breaking up with her?

"Caitlin-san…you're normal…" he began to explain to her, "That…that is why we can't be together."

"What's wrong with being normal?" she softly demanded.

"Because my life isn't and it's not a life you should get involved in," he elaborated, "You…you go to school and hang out with your friends in the Galleria Mall. I, however, do all that too, but in addition I also fight monsters, other evil Knights and occasionally the maniacal super villain."

"But-" she tried to protest.

"But nothing!" he interrupted, "You deserve someone better than me. Someone who doesn't make you worry about him all the time whenever he disappears in the middle of a date or ends up in the hospital with unexplained injuries. You deserve a life that isn't so crazy!"

"And you think my life isn't?"

"Compared to mine, no," Ryuki shook his head. "Gomen nasai…but I just cannot put you in that kind of situation…or put you in danger anymore."

"But you saved me," she reminded.

"But if you hadn't gotten to know me it wouldn't have happened," Ryuki said to her, remembering when she'd been kidnapped the first time with her friends and previously when she'd been kidnapped by Asakura. "As long as you are with me, you'll be in danger. It's safer that you just forget about me."

"I can't!" she cried. "I just can't forget you!"

"You have to," Ryuki said grimly. He threatened, "Or else I'll have to do it again…" He couldn't do it again. His heart had been in so much pain when he had done so before. It wasn't an option he was ready to choose again.

"Leo…" Caitlin begged. "Please…"

"And…" Ryuki stood up and glanced towards Alex, "I'm already with someone else."

"But…"

"I'm sorry," he apologized before he ran up the stairs and away from her, "It's over!"

Caitlin watched as he retreated up the stairs and began to sob. Alex began to feel sorry for Caitlin as did Emiko. Emiko handed the tray over to Alex and instructed her, "Take this and go talk to her." Alex blinked in surprise. "Right now she needs someone to talk to and I don't think she can talk to me without getting overly excited like she did in the car." Caitlin had just been incredibly excited about meeting a famous fashion designer like Emiko Narukawa Hasuma and hadn't stopped talking to her the entire trip back here.

"OK," Alex agreed reluctantly. She picked up the tray and walked over to Caitlin who was crying her eyes out. She set the tray down on the coffee table and sat down. "Are you okay?"

Caitlin looked up at Alex with her mascara running. "No!" she sobbed. "Leo just broke up with me!"

"Yeah, it's rough when a boy you like does that," Alex spoke from experience. "But there are other fish in the sea."

"But I want Leo!" Caitlin whined.

Alex sighed. If Sam and Clover were here they could help but she was alone in this. "Caitlin, listen. I know exactly how you feel."

"You…you do?" Caitlin asked. Alex nodded

"And I have to confess that…I'm the new girl in his life," Alex laughed nervously but froze when Caitlin glared at her coldly. "Um…want some tea?"

"You stole him from me!" Caitlin accused, pointing hatefully at Alex, hissing.

"Well, in my defense, you kinda forgot him," Alex pointed out. Caitlin managed to calm down a bit.

"I know, but I remember now." Caitlin wiped away her tears, "Why can't things go back to the way they are?"

"Because he wants to protect you," Alex answered. Caitlin listened as Alex told her, "Incase you haven't noticed, Leo still cares about you."

"He does?" Caitlin responded.

"He told me himself, and he regrets what he had to do."

"But why did he make me forget? Didn't he trust me? I can keep a secret."

"Yeah, but you have to look at things from his viewpoint. His job is to protect people. He can't do it if people know."

Caitlin looked towards Alex, surprised, "So, you know about his secret?"

"Well…"

"So what makes you so special?" Caitlin spat. Anger was boiling inside of her again. Why was this Alex allowed to remember the most wonderful guy in the world and she wasn't?

Alex sighed, "Because, I know the risks of this job. Believe it or not I'm a Spy for a secret organization that helps protects the world and people." Caitlin blinked. "I know. It sounds crazy."

"If I hadn't been through what I did just before and remembered what happened that time, I wouldn't have believed it either," Caitlin admitted.

"Well, think about it. He knows I can defend myself, but can you?" Alex said.

Caitlin looked downcast, "So I'm nothing but a burden to him then, is that what you're saying?"

"No of course not!" Alex denied. 'Sam would be so much better at this than I am right now.'

Ryuki punched his fist into the wall of his room, fighting back the tears that were trying to pour out of his eyes. Breaking the news to Caitlin like that had pulled at very fragile heartstrings that he originally hadn't been aware of. He'd been dumped before but it had on mutual terms. A relationship between him and Erika would never have worked out since they were both Zodiac Knights. Being friends was okay, but to be a couple would take a toll on them since they followed the destiny of Zodiac Knights. In the end there can be only one.

His spirit tenant and guardian, Yaminekoryu, manifested at his side, translucent like a ghost. He spoke in a ghostly voice, "You did the right thing."

"Did I?" Ryuki responded rhetorically. He remembered Ichijyo saying the same thing to him after he had erased his friends' memories. "I mean…this is the first time I ever broke up with anyone. It was the hardest thing I ever did. If I didn't have you, I would've broken down."

Yaminekoryu nodded, "True, but she needed to be told. You've moved on and she has to as well. You both can't be going after things you can't have, especially a relationship under these circumstances. Like you said, she deserves a normal life."

Ryuki laughed a bit at hearing that. "A normal life," he repeated. "I remember what it was like to have that. My life was relatively normal. Sure, I had an overprotective mother and bodyguards, but I doubt any kid my age had to fight monsters in a parallel world behind mirrors." He took out the Zodiac Deck from his pocket. "The day I made a contract with Dragonzer, I gave up on a normal life."

His ears then picked up the ringing sound that would reach the ears of Zodiac Knights and only Zodiac Knights. It was the call to battle. He spoke up, "Well, at least I can now take out my frustration on something." He approached his mirror and held out his Zodiac Deck at it, summoning his belt. Softly he commanded, "Henshin. Zodiac Force. Dragon." He snapped his belt to his deck and his armor appeared on his body. He slipped into the mirror and headed towards the Mirror World.

"So, why do you like him?" Caitlin asked Alex, wanting to know so much.

"Leo…he's special," Alex summarized. What could she say, really, about the Rider?

"I know," Caitlin agreed. "He's like one of those guys you find in fairy tales. He's like a prince or knight and he's just so modest about it."

"I know," Alex smiled but then a frown formed, "But, I feel like he's hiding something from me. It's like he doesn't trust me enough."

"Well, he did erase my memories," Caitlin pointed out, "Maybe he didn't trust me either."

"He just didn't want you hurt." Alex added, "You know why he hasn't removed his goggles all this time?"

"Now that you mention it, I did notice that he had them on the whole time," Caitlin said thoughtfully. She missed seeing his emerald green eyes.

"We had a mission. Some guy was using TV's to make people blind," Alex began the story, "We found the place and when we found the guy he used this ray gun that shot out a bright light. Leo pushed me out of the way and…he became blind." Caitlin gasped. "You're right when you say he's caring. He cares for other people so much that he forgets to care about himself," Alex finished sadly. "He's just so selfless to a fault that you can't help but love him so much and worry at the same time."

"So, if he became blind, how come he can see now?" Caitlin questioned.

"Well, his boss fixed most of the damage," Alex answered, "But he can't see anything clearly without those goggles." She giggled as she remembered the glasses he'd worn earlier. Caitlin was lost a bit, though.

"Oh, where's Tazuka?" Caitlin asked all of a sudden. "I mean, is he here? He's Ryuki's cousin after all."

Alex blinked in confusion. "Cousin? They're really close friends from what I know."

"But he told me that…" Caitlin began.

Emiko cut in to the conversation. "They were going on an undercover mission so Tazuka-kun posed as Ryu-chan's cousin." Emiko added, "Of course, they are more like brothers if you ask me."

"They have this really tight brotherly bond," Alex said as she remembered how the two interacted.

Using his Dragon Flame Cannon, Draco obliterated the fleeing monster. It had been a small fry, a weak monster with only speed at its disposal but once Draco could pinpoint its movements, it was easy to defeat it with the aid of both Brainstorm and Dragonzer.

"Just another small fry," Draco groaned in dissatisfaction and frustration. He had come to the Mirror World to take his frustration and stress out on some random monsters but all he got were these weaker ones that weren't worth his time. A few years ago they might've been a decent a challenge but he'd battle with stronger opponents like the Black Knight, especially King, and all those other Zodiac Knights. Fighting random mirror monsters just wasn't as challenging as it had been before.

His suddenly became alert and he spun around in time to see a monster, a humanoid and armored panther, pounce on him. He ended up pinned to the ground as it snarled in his faceplate. He kneed in the gut before using his other leg to throw the creature off. It got on all fours and growled.

"Stand down, Techno Panther," Draco heard. It was a female voice, a familiar female voice. Standing up, he looked towards where the voice came from and saw a female Zodiac Knight clad in black and red stalking towards him.

"Copycat," Draco recognized. Zodiac Knight Copycat was one of the many Knights he and the others had fought against and with. Her agenda was unclear but it would appear that she enjoyed fighting, regardless of the identity of the opponent. Sometimes she wanted to kill them and then later on ended up helping them. She seemed to have an interest in Draco. He wasn't sure of her attentions but experience had taught him that it was never good.

"Hello, Dragon Knight," she said, hands on her hips. "So, you came to blow off some steam too?"

"I guess," Draco shrugged.

Copycat looked at her claws and buffed them against her chest armor. "Well, same here. There hasn't been anything to challenge me. Just really weak small fry."

"I know what you mean." Draco was surprised that he could have a decent and civil conversation with Copycat at times. "If you are looking for a challenge, you're too late. You just missed Scorpios."

"Damn," Copycat cursed. Her red eyepieces focused on Draco. "Well, I guess you'll do." She unwrapped her whip from her waist and then cracked it against the ground. "So…interested?"

Draco never fought with a lady. That was something his mother taught him. Of course…there were exceptions to the rule. "Hai." Draco got into a stance. "On three then?"

"On three."

"THREE!"

They then charged at one another, roaring.

Emiko walked to her son's room with a plate of cookies. He couldn't have anything with chocolate in them since it caused him to go extremely hyper. The condition was dubbed as "Cocoa-Craziness" since it was always accompanied by a streak of insanity. Not only was her son affected but her daughter too.

She wondered what was going on with her little Koneko-chan. She seemed very secretive recently. She'd begun noticing it after discovering her son's secret. It was like her daughter was another person entirely and hiding things from her. As a mother, she would do her best to find out and maybe help. She'd done it for her son so why not her daughter?

Caitlin and Alex were still talking, taking nibbles of the biscuits and sips of tea. The girls were talking about her son and it filled Emiko with pride. She was afraid that he wouldn't find a girlfriend and now two girls were vying for his attention.

Her father-in-law had suggested getting the boy engaged to a girl from a fine family while her mother was against such a notion. It was the 21st century and Emiko had to admit that such practices were old fashioned. Emiko was anything but old fashioned. When she remembered back when she would pursue her beloved best friend secretly, she sighed. He had been so oblivious to her advances but it was also so much fun to tease him. Eventually, he reciprocated the feelings and they officially became a couple. It surprised them that everyone else knew they had something special and had been betting on when they would eventually become an official couple. Kiruma Shimsuro, a friend of theirs who was a perverted and greedy moneymaker, won all the money.

She knocked on the door. "Ryuki-kun? Ryuki-kun?" she called. No answer. She then decided to use the nickname he hated after he'd grown out of it. However, Emiko still liked to tease him with it. "Ryu-chan? I got some snacks for you. It's your favorite fish-flavored cookies." The Hasuma family tree was one crazy one indeed. They were indiscriminate when it came to marriage. It didn't matter if they were gaijin or non-human at all. As long as they could add their power and skill to the clan, it was okay. Because of that, one of Ryuki's ancestors had fallen in love and married a Bakeneko, a beautiful cat demon. Since then, their descendants had displayed some cat-like behavior. When they had been four, her son and daughter would curl up on her lap and sleep like kittens. They would also purr and had an extreme liking to fish. It was a good thing they were wealthy so they could afford the best sushi for the two kids.

Her late husband had also displayed some cat-like tendencies. But that was another story for another time.

Hearing no answer, she turned the knob and opened the door. The room was empty save for the furniture and photos that hung from the wall. Where was her son? Her eyes wandered towards the mirror and she got her answer.

"Oh, Ryu-chan…" she sighed. "Why do you do such things to yourself?" As a mother, she was not one to allow her son to endanger himself, but this was his destiny. There was nothing she could do but support him. She did worry. What mother didn't? She just hoped he got out of the Mirror World unharmed.