Track for this chapter:

Heart of a Child, by Jon Schmidt, on the album August End

The song second star to the right belongs to Disney/Jesse McCartney. I made up that last verse by the way :3

Kenta looked up every morning from his bed to the mismatched chair and desk at the wall to the window. Some mornings the little dragon was there, and some he was not. He looked out at Kenta with deep green eyes from the shrubbery and disappeared once Kenta mad a move towards him.

One day he woke up and the little dragon had crept into his room, draped over the foot of his bed, flicking its tongue across his bare toes; Kenta yelped and jumped back.

The dragon leered angrily at him and Kenta stumbled over to the desk, falling into the little chair beside it. More dragons were scratched across its surface, ones he'd done with a nail or ballpoint pen; the knobbly back of the chair pressed against his spine. He and Hyouma and Gingka had spent all day cutting up wood and gluing it and arguing in the garage while the radio played. They'd finally got it done and it could barely stand, but Kenta liked it anyhow.

"I need to ask you a question."

The dragon skittered across his carpet and jumped onto the roll-top of the desk invitingly.

"Is Ryuga still alive?"

It nodded amusedly. The very thought that one of the land harem would kill a human.

As he raced barefoot down the sidewalk that morning as he had done so many times before, Kenta could see Tekashi playing on Les's guitar.

"Hi, Kenta! Les taught me a song", Tekashi said excitedly.

Osamu started singing loudly as Tekashi picked clumsy and slow among the strings of the guitar, far too big for him yet.

The second star to the right shines with a light for you

to tell you that the dreams you've planned really can come true

The second star to the right shines with a light that's rare

And if it's never land you need, it's light will lead you there.

Twinkle twinkle, little star

So I'll know where you are

Shining in the heavens above

Lead me to the land I dream of

The second star to the right shines with a light that's true

I finally realised one night

My second star was you.

Osamu gave him a big finish, howling to the sky and then falling backwards dramatically. Kenta laughed at his friends and Les pointed across the street.

"Ya talk to him this mornin'?"

"I don't see anything there", Tekashi announced loudly. But Kenta had seen the dragon's tail disappearing into the gutter pipe.

"Ya don't see 'im cos' ya don't wanna", Les said to Tekashi firmly.

"Yeah, I talked to him. How did you know?"

"'E left ya somethin', boy. Ya look in the mirror or not?" Les plucked something from Kenta's hair.

Gleaming and pearlescent in the palm of his hand lay a red dragon scale. Kenta took it reverently.

"It's a leaf, Kenta", Osamu said from behind him.

"It's a dragon scale. Don't you see?" Kenta swung round, displaying the scale to Osamu.

"I don't know, Kenta...all I see is a leaf", Osamu said doubtfully. "You should get your eyes checked maybe."

"Ya don't see it cos' ya don't wanna", Les said again.

"He told me Ryuga is still alive."

Les slapped his thigh and leaned back. "Now ain't that somethin'."

"I guess it is."

"Dragons aren't real and they don't talk", Tekashi told Kenta. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I swear I saw it."

"If you say so, Kenta." Tekashi and Osamu shared a glance quietly and Kenta scowled.

"Maybe he'll come back someday", Kenta sighed, sitting down against the legs of Les's stool.

"Ah sure hope so. Ya been battlin' wit that repaired bey yet, son? It'll do you and him both a lotta good."

"Well, a little. But not so much now."

"Gitcherself ta the park. You two as well. Help 'im out a bit. Find that 'noying kid if ya have to. But in any case, gitcher bey spirit riled up right good an' it might help yer friend's case a whole lot more'n you'da thought."

So Kenta went off the the park again.

Late the next morning, he found a dead rat on his windowsill and saw a scaly tail slithering away. A white one.

So another dragon had been here last night and left him a present.

Madoka yelled from downstairs that she smelled something dead, and Kenta hurried to get rid of the rat before she found it.