I do not own +Anima.

"talking"

Thinking

Change of time/place

Let the story begin!

Chapter 1

Cooro and Husky were catching fish for dinner. "Just a few more, okay?" Cooro said.

"Easy for you to say!" Husky yelled. "Why don't you do a better job of herding them over here?" Cooro felt a sudden pain shoot through his head. He clutched his head and went under. After about three seconds, the pain went away and he burst from the water, Husky holding him up.

"Ow," he said. Cooro sat on the edge of the river bank and told Husky, "Hey, I'm gonna take a break. I just got a huge headache."

"Oh," Husky said. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Cooro didn't remember Husky being so nice, but he tried getting out of his anima form but was having some… difficulties. "Uh, no. I'm not hurt," he said, "But I think something's wrong. I can't change out of my plus anima."

"What do you think is wrong?" Husky was confused. "Are you sick?"

"I- I don't know, but I don't think I'm sick."

"Hm," the blue-haired boy said, feeling Cooro's forehead. Cooro's face flamed from the close proximity of the other. "You're kind of warm. Let's get back to the others. Senri will know what to do." With that, Husky grabbed his arm and led him to their camp.

Back at Camp

"Where are they?" Nana wondered aloud. "They've been gone for a while."

"There you are! Where-" Nana stopped her lecture when she saw that Husky was carrying Cooro. "Why are you carrying him and why is he still in his anima?" she asked Husky.

"Cooro's sick and he can't get out of his anima." Husky looked at Senri. "Senri, do you think you can help Cooro?"

Senri put a hand to the boy's forehead. "Not sick…"

"What?" Nana said. "How can he not be sick? What's wrong with him then?"

"Is there anything we can do? Will he be stuck like this?" Husky whispered the last part. All Senri did was shrug and started cooking dinner.

Later That Night

Husky walked over to Cooro's bed. He was almost regretting his decision of telling the boy. He took a deep breath and woke Cooro up. "We'll be going into town tomorrow, but I think it's best if you stayed back. This town hates plus anima, apparently."

"What?" Cooro said. "Why? Did something happen?"

Husky shook his head. "All I've heard is that there was a huge fight between the plus anima and humans. I don't know what they were fighting over, but it was enough to make them hate each other. Now if plus anima are seen, they're arrested, chased out of town, or killed."

"That must've been a pretty big fight." Cooro thought for a moment. "Thanks for worrying about me, Husky, but I think I'll be fine. It's not like I'm stuck like this, right?" Husky looked away. "Right? Husky? Cooro was getting worried. The boy tried to get out of his plus anima, but it wasn't responding.

"Cooro, I think you might be stuck like that for a while. Something must have happened to make you stay like this. Do you remember anything strange happening when you changed earlier today?"

"No, not that I can think of."

"Well, you're going to need your energy tomorrow. You should rest."

"Husky," Cooro asked, "will you stay here with me tomorrow? I don't want to be alone." Husky smiled. That was the only thing it took to answer the question.

The next day

As usual, Senri had gotten up before anyone else and was cooking breakfast. Husky was the next to wake up, then Nana, and lastly, Cooro. Cooro sniffed the air. "Mmm! What's for breakfast? Senri showed him something he couldn't identify. But he wasn't a picky eater.

After breakfast, Senri and Nana were getting ready to head into town. "Husky," Nana said, "aren't you coming?"

"No, I've got something to do," he said.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like something that's none of your business," he said annoyed.

"Well whatever you're staying behind for, I hope it's important."

"Of course it is. I wouldn't miss a trip into town unless it was really important. Now go. You're wasting time."

"All right, all right. We're going. Come on, Senri."

Once the two were out of sight, Husky sat down next to Cooro and said, "To tell the truth, I don't know if you'll be tuck like this or not." He turned to face Cooro. "What will you do if you can't get back to normal?"

Cooro became thoughtful. "Even if I can't change back I won't leave you guys. Still, it'll be hard to find a place to stay that allows plus anima. The other things I'll have to think about." He remembered something. "Didn't you say that you had something to do?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. I do." Husky smiled. "What I have to do is make sure that you're safe."

"What do you mean by that? Is there something going on?"

The aqua-eyed boy's face fell. "Somehow it got passed around that we're hiding out here. The Astarian soldiers heard and decided to come after us. And having you stuck in plus anima form, it'll be even easier to spot us."

"So why do I need to be safe?" the brown-haired boy asked again.

"Since you're so easy to spot with your wings you'll need protection. Otherwise, you'll probably be captured or killed."

"Oh. But how can you keep me safe? No offence, but you don't have a good fighting plus anima."

Husky just smirked at this remark. "Don't you remember me fighting in the coliseum? I can fight without the help of plus anima powers." He smiled gently at Cooro. "And even if I couldn't, I would protect you if it costs me my life."

"Wh- why, Husky?"

Husky leaned down and kissed the boy quickly on the lips. "That's why," he whispered in the boy's ear. Cooro stood frozen. He was unsure of what to do. "Cooro?" Husky asked. going with his instincts, he pulled the other boy down for another kiss. Pleased with Cooro's reaction, Husky wrapped his arms around the boy's waist, but Cooro pulled away as soon as this happened.

"Why?" Cooro asked. "Why did you do that?" Husky looked away. "It's not like I didn't like it," Cooro continued, "It's just, I've never kissed anyone before."

"Not even by your parents?" Husky was surprised.

"No. I never knew my parents. I was found by some people at a church and they took care of me." Cooro began to cry. This surprised Husky even more. Cooro wasn't one to cry. At least, that's what Husky thought. Instead of talking to him, all Husky did to console the boy was hold him tight in a loving embrace. Soon, Cooro stopped crying. "Thanks," he said sniffling.

"Anytime," Husky said. "Can I tell you something? It's kind of important."

"Sure!" the crow-boy chirped. "What is it?"

Just as Husky was about tell Cooro, he heard voices. "Hold on, I heard something." The voices were getting closer. He could hear what they were saying.

"I heard that there's some plus anima wondering around here."

"The commander isn't gonna be pleased when he hears that."

"Oh crap!" Husky hissed. "They know! Cooro, you have to get out of here. I'll stall them."

"But Husky, what about you"

"I'll be fine. Remember, I said I would protect you. Go!" Husky lightly pushed Cooro in the opposite direction of the voices, but it was too late.

Ha! I'm so evil. Cliffy! Don't forget, I still love my readers.

Please review!

Sister