Chapter Fourteen

February 1997

Shinwako Estate

Elayne let out a sigh through her nose as she looked herself over in the mirror, and she could only sigh at her reflection. Honestly, she looked as awful as she felt…Her skin was pale and drawn, and there were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep.

"Ugh," she mumbled out, opening the medicine cabinet and pulling out a bottle of prescribed pain killers. It was true she couldn't feel most of the pain as it was inflicted upon her, but it didn't mean she was completely dead to all forms of it.

Just like back during the wars with Talpa and Beryl, and all the other enemies the warriors had…When they were in trouble she knew it. She was far too close to them, and too sensitive to block out the pain they were in.

Right now every muscle in her body was screaming in agony, and her head was pounding in her ears. They were in deep this time, and she was a lot closer to the action then she had ever been before. It was how she knew they were in trouble, how she had always known.

Before none of this had made any sense to her, there was no reason for her to pick up on their pain like that…Even if the Crystal had let her slightly sense it, which it didn't. Now it all made perfect sense, and her gut twisted at the mere thought.

"I should have told them about that," Elayne's voice was tinged with raw emotion…Guilt splayed across her face. "I should have told them a lot of things, actually. Now, I'll never get the chance, not before I-"

She stopped herself, shook her head vigorously and then popped two of the pills in her mouth proceeding to swallow them dry. Really there was no point for her to dwell on it; she couldn't change anything that had happened. Though, she might be able to pull off affecting what was going to happen in order to prevent a certain event.

"Focus Elayne, focus," the girl berated herself, she didn't have time for these thoughts now. She had somewhere she needed to be soon, "Can't go out looking like this, though."

She pulled out some make-up, "Good thing I watched Aurora-tachi use this crap, otherwise I'd be sunk." She quickly covered up her signs of lack of sleep and poor health, and let out a sigh.

The girl had the day off, and she needed it at this point…In between being over-worked and worrying about the warriors, she could have done with a three month vacation and still not gotten enough rest.

It was good to be able to hang out with someone who was closer to her age, and understood exactly where she was coming from. The girl cast a quick glance at her wristwatch and let out a yelp, "I'm going to be late! Hanging out with Serena totally ruined me." She quickly ran out of the bathroom, grabbed her purse and booked it out of her room.

"I'll get it dear," the man let out a light chuckle in amusement at his wife's antics. She was currently going over a list of supplies she wanted for her garden, where she wanted to put the newer flowers, and at the same time was trying to tutor their young son.

It was not often he was at home; the position he held at his job required him to work exceedingly long hours, but this sacrifice had afforded him the ability to pay for the home his family lived in as well as other things.

Some might say that his son suffered from this, but the boy had managed to make very impressive friends who had stepped into the big brother role quite easily. Without their help, he knew his boy would have been quite a different person.

The man slicked back his raven hair, feeling a little self-conscious about answering the door in such overtly relaxed attire…He hoped it was not someone from his job.

He paused a moment to listen to his son patiently tell his mother that in order to do the problem the way she was suggesting he would have to negate three rules the teacher's told him had to be followed.

The man shook his head in amusement and then opened the door, the visitor gave a smile and bowed her head, to which he quickly bowed back.

"Hello Yamano-san," Elayne's smiled widened a little. "How are you?"

"An-chan, good to see you," Yuli's father, Hisoka, responded with amusement in his voice. "I am well thank-you. I take it you are here for Yuli?"

"Yes sir," she gave a nod. "He told me he needed help with an assignment."

"Ah-"

"Layne awesome timing," Yuli came from around the corner having heard her voice, he had a satchel in one hand, and hastily snatched his skateboard with another calling out, "Bye Mom, love you!"

He paused and gave a bow of his head to his father, "I will be back later, as we discussed, and no later than that."

"Yuli! Wait a minute," his mother began, apparently she was not fully prepared to let him go just yet. She could be heard quickly walking down the hall after him.

The boy let surprise cross his face for a brief moment, and then ducked out the door, hopping on his skateboard and speeding away.

"Oh! That boy," Noriko complained, turning her eyes to her husband and glaring at him. "This is all your fault, you realize? Letting him get away with those childish actions, thank heavens for those boys they kept him on track. He'd be uncontrollable otherwise!"

Hisoka let out a cough at this, and turned pleading eyes to Elayne. The girl did not let a smile cross her face though she would have loved to laugh at such a comical situation.

"Do not worry, I will keep him out of trouble," Elayne gave Yuli's mother a small smile for reassurance.

"Oh of course you will," Noriko gushed out. "You have such good sense, An, dear."

"Thank you," Elayne gave a bow of her head, which helped to hide the look on her face. "See you later!" She then backed away, before Yuli's mother decided to make comments…Sooner or later the woman would be going on about how they'd make a cute couple.

Elayne was quick to catch up to the runaway skateboarder, and without so much as putting any effort into it, she slapped him in the back of the head.

"OW!" Yuli yelped in complaint, almost losing his balance and eating the concrete sidewalk. He shot Elayne a glare to which she coolly returned one of her own, that got him to flinch.

"That, Ryo Junior," she nonchalantly stated, "Was for leaving me to defend you against Momzilla."

Yuli chuckle and gave a sheepish grin, "Sorry, but even a team of renowned warriors that wear mystical armor can't diffuse her, like you can. Even Mia had trouble!"

"Huh? How's that possible?" Elayne blinked. "You were with them for the Nether Realm, New York, and Africa. I know you told your folks it was field trips, or you were hanging out with friends, but Mia still had to convince your Mom to let you go."

"Heh no she didn't," Yuli said with a half-hearted grin. "Mom naturally assumed they were actual field trips, and that Mia was just a chaperone. I never told either one the full truth, it worked out all right. But there were times where Mia had to come over and talk to Mom."

He took a pause saying, "Mia was good at appeasing Mom. You, on the other hand, can disarm her without even trying."

"Oh joy," Elayne sarcastically bit out. "I have found my special ability, diffusing uptight overprotective mothers. Fear me, I am Sailor Pacifier! And in the name of harmony, I will punish you!"

Yuli started to howl with laughter, his sides shaking from the effort…They shook so much he actually did lose his balance, fumbled to recover it and fell over anyway.

Elayne shook her head in amusement, well that had not been intentional on her part, but it was still funny. They had arrived at a little restaurant where they normally did their studying. Yuli stashed his skateboard with the bikes, and the two walked inside quickly taking a booth near the window.

After about a half hour, a milk-shake, and a textbook chapter later, the two had drifted onto a topic most familiar to them…The Ronin Warriors.

It was almost amusing to the girl, now, that she had somehow managed to connect with anyone ever involved with the warriors…Especially when it came to those people revolving around the Ronin.

Oh it had not started out that way; she had known Yuli for months before he had ever made a comment about his "oniichans." Then he had let something small slip about his one older brother that had taught him everything he knew about kendo.

She had never really called him on it, until a week later when he was talking about Kento…Because she knew exactly who he was talking about. No one else in the world could fit the description Yuli gave of the Ronin of Hardrock.

With as many times as she had listened to the guys talk about their fights, it almost seemed logical to her that she would become Yuli's ear. Because once the boy had realized she knew the guys that was the end of it.

Yuli had been ecstatic, and finally he had someone with whom he could talk to about his experiences. Adults would have laughed at him, his parents would have seriously questioned his health and cut him off from the guys completely, and the children his own age would have avoided him for saying such unbelievable things.

'Well,' Elayne dryly thought. 'At least I'm good for something, helping relieve permanent trauma.' It was not that she had anything against Yuli, she just had problems with being placed in this time…And knowing she had a major hand in that placement.

Yuli had been talking about Mukala, one of his favorite memories, actually…When he paused, "You okay?"

"Huh?" the girl snapped out of the daze she was in.

"I asked if you were all right," the young teen said slowly. "You keep drifting off, and you look like you're in pain." He said this because of the way she would wince every now and then.

Mentally she cursed herself, before reaching into her purse and pulling out the medication, quickly taking it. She finished the rest of her milkshake after taking the required dosage, and gave a wry grin, "Got those observation skills from Seiji-nii, huh?"

Yuli beamed at the praise, "And Cye. Seriously though, An-chan, are you okay?"

"I will be," Elayne tried to brush away his worry. "As soon as they all get back."

"Ah," the teen commented…She had mentioned it to him two or three days ago that the others had been gone for a bit, and she had no way of knowing when they'd be back. "Think they're making any progress?"

"Sort of," she was quiet now, thoughtful. "That or the enemy is full ready to bring this trap down around their ears."

Yuli gave her a sympathetic smile, he was all too aware of the fact that when things went down, Elayne was one of the first to know about it. Granted she didn't always know what it was at the time, but he had learned she was quick at figuring it out.

"Starting to wish you weren't so sensitive, huh?"

"Mhm," the girl breathed out, closing her eyes and then reopening them. "I need a distraction, Yul."

"Well," he had a thoughtful frown on his face, "That was the only thing I was having trouble with." He was referring to the schoolwork she had helped him with, "How about a game?"

"Oh," there was mischief in her eyes now. "That sounds great! I have the perfect one too; Truth or Dare."

Yuli let out a low moan he should have seen that one coming. Now it was too late, for once the girl was set on something nothing could be done to get her off of the chosen path. "Fine, your idea so you start."

"Truth or Dare, Yul?" Elayne asked in a sing-song voice.

Yuli frowned, he knew the girl well enough to know either choice was suicide, but he was also aware that she started out mild before working her way to worse things. "Truth," he shrugged.

"Okay," she grinned. "Out of all your blood relatives, who do you think belonged in Talpa's ranks?"

"My grandmother," he easily answered making a horrible face. "Truth or Dare, Layne?"

"Mm, dare," she responded a bored look on her face.

"Okay, I dare you to," Yuli paused and thought it over, "Sing a sentence in Italian."

She rolled her eyes skyward and did as he dared, but it was very brief…A big three words at the most.

"That's it?" Yuli arched a black-eyebrow at her.

"You said I had to sing a sentence, not a line from a song," Elayne pointed out, quick to get the next round. "Truth or Dare?"

The game continued for the next fifteen minutes with the dares and truths being relatively mild…Until Elayne got bored and decided it was time to take things up a notch.

When she asked him "Truth or Dare" this time he could see the glimmer in her eyes and the sly smile on her face, he knew he was in trouble, so he said, "Truth."

Elayne was practically beaming, Yuli having picked the choice she had hoped he would, "When you were little, which of the Ronin were you afraid of?"

"Hey!" the teen immediately protested. "That's not-"

"Are you forfeiting?" she sweetly inquired knowing that making such a comment would irritate him…He was like Kento and Ryo in that respect, they didn't happen to like losing.

He grumbled out a no, before frowning as he tried to think up an answer to that question. Well, she was not about to idly sit there, so she tried to help him out by guessing.

"Ryo?"

Yuli shook his head, "Ryo-nii-chan only ever lost his cool when the other guys were in danger, or when he felt he had completely failed them. I idolized him back then, still do as a matter of fact. I was never afraid of him."

"Not Gege," Elayne said as she offered up the Ronin of Hardrock, but she wrinkled her nose…She had never found him to be scary.

"Kento? No way," the teenager played with the straw to his milkshake. "The guy looked intimidating, but he really wasn't. It was like staring at a Grizzly Bear that was in all reality no different than a stuffed teddy bear. He always watched out for me, and he was the only one of the guys I don't think I ever annoyed. I even got on Ryo's nerves a few times, but never on Kento's."

"Yeah, Kento is just too tolerable," the girl lightly laughed, and tilted her head, "Rowen, then?"

"Mm," Yuli had to think about it for a few minutes. "No, he was unapproachable for a while. But I eventually learned how he thought and got why he acted the way he did, so it wasn't a problem. He was a really good tutor once he got past the "not everyone is as smart as he is" thing."

Elayne giggled at that, before grinning, "Oh, so it's Cye or Sage." She could not help but sound slightly pleased with herself…There was a reason for her doing this now, she wanted something to bait the guys with later. They might need the pick me up and distraction.

"Both?" Yuli sheepishly said, before letting out a nervous laugh when her eyebrows shot up. "Cye, he was cool. I always felt safe around him."

The teenager paused, "Except when he was angry, and I mean, he would get vengeful kind of angry. Then he was absolutely terrifying." Yuli sipped at his milkshake, "Sage, with his inward personality? Well I always thought he was just angry, or maybe indifferent. After meeting Date-sama though, I can't blame him for being the way he is."

"But?" Elayne pressed.

"When he's actually mad?" Yuli visibly shuddered, "He's definitely intimidating, 'specially to someone that happened to be my age at the time. Well, actually no, then he's scary."

"Hm, more or less, you're implying it's the quiet ones that have to be watched," Elayne mused with a small smile.

Yuli grinned, "Pretty much. Your turn again, Layne. Truth or Dare?"

"Mm, I'm bored with truth, dare me."

Yuli smirked, it was now time for some much needed payback, "You have to give a real kiss to Ryo, and it has to be verifiable."

"WHAT?" the girl jumped up from her seat, and outright gaped at him.

The teen's smirk had widened considerably, "Meaning I, or someone else, has to see you do it."

"Forget it," Elayne flatly stated, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "I am not doing it for a plain dare. A money dare, maybe."

"How's five hundred yen?" Yuli offered up. Oh he knew she would have done it without pay, if he had goaded her on enough…But a little incentive never hurt.

"You're a cheapskate," she told him. "But, you are on. Shake on it?" She had extended her hand to him; he took it and then shook hands.

Elayne gave an inward chuckle, now quite pleased with herself. Taking Yuli's little dare meant that if she actually went through and kissed the Wildfire Ronin she would get a total of three-thousand yen out of the deal. Yeah, it was not the first time she'd been dared to kiss Ryo.

And, she planned to wait a bit longer to see if anyone else would dare her. Really, she was not that desperate for cash, but having some extra would help.

The look on everybody's faces was her true payment, because when she did it she was going to have a full audience. She would never admit that aloud though.

"I need to get back," Yuli announced. "I have an hour left, but getting in early makes me look better."

Elayne chortled at hearing this, "All right, then. Let's pay the bill, and head back."

"Works for me," Yuli chirped out.

A/N: Jun/Yuli's parents are not named in the series, so I'm giving them names. Anyone who can come up with the official ones, please let me know what they are. Second of all, yes they are alive. The series did a poor job of stating whether or not Yuli got his parents back; in the episode with Sarenbo he's coming from somewhere to Mia's place, and the guys act like it's been a while since they've seen him. So I took it as meaning his parents were back. As to why he still played tag-a-long with the guys even after his folks were back, well I'm taking it his father was never around much, and that it's Mrs. Yamano that keeps the family in perfect order and all things on schedule. Yuli probably just told them he was going to his friends, or on "field trips" and never really gave them more than that. Them being so busy they never bothered to ask anything, until it was all over and done with. He might have been an annoying-eight-year-old in the series, but it doesn't mean the child was stupid.

And yes I spell it 'Yuli;' that's how it was written on the back of one of the DVD boxes. That, and Yul Brenner didn't spell his name Ull Brenner.