I post this with a heavy heart today, after learning that one of my all time favorite, and one of my very first, comedians has passed away. Robin Williams, you were an inspiration to me to keep laughing, no matter what the subject was. I'll miss you dearly. I have posted a poem in his memory onto my Tumblr account, Arias Windcaller. If you would like to read it, please feel free. Rarely have I been moved to do poetry, but this...this warrants a dedication.

He was ignoring me.

I lay in bed the next day, staring at the ceiling with my arm on my forehead, frowning as I tried to think of what to do.

A direct approach wasn't going to work, I'd found. Takeru would just totally brush past me, acting like I wasn't even there. And if I just kept pestering him to talk back, he'd get up and leave the house completely.

And I thought I could hold a grudge.

I'd considered making him something sweet and writing out the words 'I'm sorry,' on them, but that wouldn't go over well without an explanation of why I had made the bet with Kushinada. He was already thinking that if he even showed interest in another, I thought he wasn't worth it. Maybe he thought I was testing him...but even in my mind I had to ask why he would possibly think that, after all that we'd been through.

Why are men so complex... I thought to myself, sighing heavily as I sat up and moved to the porch to watch the clouds in the clear blue sky. It was something mindless I could do, just to zone out and think more clearly of what action I should take.

The day was beautiful, as it always was. Yet I could feel the slight chill in the morning breeze that caressed me that signaled that fall would be coming soon, and consequentially my time in this lovely realm. Though I had only been here for a little over a week, I found myself reluctant to leave such a place. It wasn't the fact that Takeru lived here either, but more so the fact that even with the troubles I brought on myself, I felt like I could truly be at peace here.

I sighed heavily, leaning against the door frame as I saw the other gods and goddesses start to appear, ready to start their days. Some chatted with one another as they headed to the palace on the hill, where they all went to do their godly duties each day. I never knew who did what or what each of their 'jobs' entailed, but everyone did their part to ensure that the balance in the human world was kept.

Soft footsteps came from behind me, and I turned my head to see a certain sleepy Sea god coming from his room, yawning and looking like he hadn't slept well at all. Guilt choked me again at the knowledge that I was the one who probably to steal him of his rest because of yesterday. I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat.

"G-good morning, Takeru..." I murmured, glancing away before hesitantly turning my eyes back to him.

His amber eyes turned to meet mine, and I saw a brief flash of several emotions before he turned away, heading to the kitchen to get some breakfast. My heart squeezed in pain when he didn't answer me, and I had to fight back the sting of tears behind my eyes. I sighed heavily, turning back to face the morning outside with much less hope than a few minutes ago.

I could hear him move around inside, eating a few bites of food before getting ready to go to the palace for his duty. Tsukito had once told me that before I'd come into the picture, Takeru had a bad habit of playing hooky, or just taking his time. The Moon god had noticed the change only when his brother had gone every day early in the morning, finished as quickly as he could and then disappeared the rest of the day. Knowing that he worked so he would have time to see me when I was still in my world had made me very happy, and I was proud of my god.

Now, though, it seemed like he was going to use his duties to stay clear of me. And I could only blame myself for that.

His footsteps approached me from behind, and I risked a glance back to see him in his god form, ready to head to 'work.' I moved aside so that he could pass through the doorway, lowering my eyes. The blunette was about to pass by when I reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.

Takeru turned and looked back at me, his face carefully blank as I bit my lip and blushed, wondering why the hell I'd just done that. I might as well...I took a breath and offered him a tiny smile, hoping I wouldn't be rejected again.

"Be safe, okay?"

He blinked down at me, a flicker of surprise reflecting in his expression before he sighed and turned away. I let him pull his hand away as he walked down off the porch, feeling despair creep over me.

"...Don't do anything else stupid while I'm gone, jellyfish."

I paused at his words, wondering if I'd heard correctly. He stood at the path to the palace, back facing me as if waiting for an answer. I smiled in relief.

"I won't, I promise."

Satisfied with my answer, Takeru nodded and walked on, his pace quickly taking him out of my sight. I watched him go, letting the long sigh I had held back escape me.

Perhaps forgiveness was still attainable after all.

It was maybe an hour or so later that I noticed that I wasn't the only one staring out into the garden. Nayomi was sitting on Tsukito's porch with an odd expression on her face, one I'd never seen before. She also looked like she hadn't been getting any sleep either, with obvious bags under her eyes noticible even from where I was. Frowning, I stepped down from the porch and headed in her direction, wondering what was going on.

"Hey," I said when I got close enough for her to hear. Nayomi jumped slightly, having been lost in her own thoughts. She turned her tired black eyes to me, looking slightly confused.

"Yukino-chan? What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice soft. That alone put up a red flag, as she was one of the cheeriest and most out there girls you could meet when she was in the company of her favorite people.

"I was coming over to see how you're doing," I said, sitting down next to her and adjusting my kimono to be more comfortable. "You don't look so good."

The girl sighed heavily at that, nodding. "I feel worse. During the day I'm okay usually, I keep myself busy by helping Tsukuyomi-san around his place, but..." Her voice trailed off, and I saw a slight flash of fear in those eyes.

"...You still think of him, don't you?" I asked, voice gentle.

A nod confirmed my thoughts. "Every night, I can hear him laughing, I can feel the pain of the bruises and cuts..." Nayomi shuddered in remembered horror. "I always wake up screaming and crying, unable to get back to sleep easily."

I frowned in concern. She had dealt with Kouta's abuse far longer than my one day of beatings, so the scars on her heart would be deep, perhaps too deep to truly heal. My own heart went out to her, and I placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Her dark eyes darted in my direction in surprise at my actions, clearly not expecting me to be so soft.

I smiled at her in her confusion. "I'm a jellyfish. I know when and when not to show my stingers to someone," I explained.

I got the desired result, and she bust into a fit of giggles that I joined in on. Soon we were laughing and joking around, the past tension that had been between us slowly melting away, leaving behind the ease of talking we used to have before a boy had come between us. I felt my chest grow warmer than it had ever been around her, and considered rekindling our friendship fully in the future. She was honestly a good girl, if manipulative and rather bitchy.

Nayomi sighed and leaned back on her hands, looking up at the sky. "I wonder what Tsukuyomi-san is doing right now..." she wondered out loud, a smile on her lips.

"He and Takeru are probably busy with their god duties," I said, looking over at her. "Maybe you should call him Tsukito. It's a lot easier than Tsukuyomi."

"Tsukito...san..." she murmured, testing it out on her tongue before nodding. "Yeah, that is a lot better. Thanks, Yukino-chan." She grinned at me, looking happy.

"Why do you wonder what he's doing?" I asked, curious about her reasons.

A very light, almost unnoticeable blush appeared on her face, and I had to do a double take just to make sure that I wasn't mistaken when she looked away. "W-well...you know how I've had nightmares now...whenever I wake up, he always comes and comforts me..."

"He does?!" I gasped, breaking out into a wide grin. "Oh god, that sounds so cute!"

Her blush only increased as she giggled in embarrassment. "Y-yeah...only...I don't know why he does it."

"Eh?" I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"...Whenever he comes to me at night, he's always so sweet," she admitted, talking low so that if anyone else passed us, they wouldn't hear. "He takes me and holds me, rocking me and comforting me until I'm able to fall asleep again. But the next day, it's like nothing ever happened. He's back to his calm, annoyingly unflappable self."

I grinned, an overwhelming urge to mess with her overtaking me before I could stop it. "That's only cause you can't get him to let you do what you want, and you like that."

Nayomi sputtered and blushed, smacking me in the arm as I laughed loudly at her distress. "I-it's not like that, dammit! Stop teasing me, I'm being serious!"

"Okay okay, funny Yuyu gone." I pulled a straight face for all of five seconds. We stared at each other, then busted out laughing together, unable to help ourselves. Much as I would have hated to admit it out loud, I missed having a girl friend to talk and laugh with.

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel about him," she said when we finally stopped laughing long enough to catch our breath. "He's so distant, I can't pin down what he's feeling at any given moment. He's just like the moonlight."

"Calm and withdrawn, even when he seems close?"

"Exactly." Nayomi flopped onto her back on the porch, staring up at the clouds. "I mean, he's really handsome, and when he's comforting me he's so sweet. It's almost like he's keeping himself away for some reason, but I don't think I've done anything wrong..."

I sighed, shaking my head. "I don't really know Tsukito-san that well myself, but maybe if you just stay around him and try to get to know him better, he might open up to you," I advised, thinking that her and Tsukito honestly might be a good match for one another. The only problem I could see arising was when Kouta was brought up, and the scars that would ache on her.

The dark haired girl turned her head to look at me, eyebrows knit together in confusion. "...Why are you giving me advice? I'd think you'd still hate me after all that I've done to you."

I looked back at her with my deep blue eyes, giving her a straight expression. "Sometimes you have to know when to let go of the past, and look towards the future. Yeah, I'm still not happy with you for the way you've treated me." She glanced away at that, biting her lip. "But...I've missed being your friend," I admitted, grinning. "You used to be the only one who could bring me out of my shell, and honestly, I want to bring those old times back."

My hand moved to her, hovering with an open palm. "What say you? No more bad blood and memories?"

Nayomi sat up and stared at me, flabbergasted at my willingness to move on. She stared at my hand for about a full minute while I waited, trying to remain patient and hoping that she would accept.

Slowly, an earnest smile appeared, and her own hand grasped mine tightly. "Yeah. I want to be friends again, truly."

I smiled back, and then surprised her by tugging her forward into a very tight hug. She let out a rather adorable squeak, to which I giggled before letting her go.

"Just promise me that no man will ever come between us again," I said, giving her a stern look.

"Promise. The only reason I iced you out was because Kouta started telling me I should," she admitted, frowning.

"Hey, none of that," I said, flicking her nose. "Only happiness from now on. You need to talk, come to me."

The smile came back as she rubbed her nose and nodded. "Kay~"

I wiped the sweat off of my brow, grimacing at the ache I felt in my ribs from having to be bent over for so long.

My eyes scanned the room I'd just finished cleaning very thoroughly, finding no missed spots. Pleased with how well I was progressing in cleaning the Sea god's house, I rose to my feet and stretched my arms above my head to relieve the pain in my muscles.

Nayomi and I had parted ways a few hours ago, and I had thought on some ways I could improve Takeru's mood so that it would be easier to apologize to him. Since I couldn't cook for shit, I'd decided on cleaning the entirety of his house instead. The closer I had looked, the more I'd seen that it needed a nice deep clean. So I had rolled up my sleeves and set to work, doing my best to not aggravate my ribs in the process.

So far I'd done all the rooms except for the pool room, which I'd saved last for a special reason. I walked in there and stopped at the edge, looking down into the bottomless darkness that connected to my world. Tilting my head in curiosity, I knelt down beside the water and run my fingers through the warm liquid with a happy sigh.

As I played in the pool, I started to wonder what was happening on the other side. Was my mother okay? Was anyone searching for me an Nayomi? I'd been a week now since coming here, though to me it felt like an eternity. I sighed again. I wished I could peek into the cave on the other side, but I doubted that I'd...be...

Wait. Why was the water going still?

My eyes widened as the surface ceased to move, and through the water I saw the image of the Light Pool's cave appear, at least the ceiling. Someone was looking in on the other side...someone very familiar...

"Mom?!" I gasped, jerking my hand back out of the water in surprise as her own eyes widened at the sight of me on this side.

"Yukino!" she cried out, falling onto her knees and plunging her arm into the pool. The image distorted while she tried to feel for me, and I frowned at that.

"Mom, that's not gonna work!" I told her. She stopped, and I could see her clearly again after a minute. Sighing in relief that she listened, I looked down and spoke.

"I don't know how, but I guess I can use this chance to tell you where I am." I took a breath, hoping she'd believe me. "You know of the god Susano'o, right Mom?"

"Yes, of course. But what-"

"Takeru is Susano'o."

Silence. Not that I expected anything else, but I didn't know how much time I had to talk with her, so I rushed on.

"I met him in the cave you're in now, a few months ago after one day at school. He's the god Susano'o, and he came through the pool, which is a portal between the human world and the god's realm. The one I'm in now."

"Y-yukino, I don't think I understand...you're dating...a god?"

"It's fine, I didn't believe it at first either." I smiled softly, hoping to reassure her a little. "But it's true, I promise you. I'm here with him in the god's realm now. There was...an incident with the boy I used to like."

"I know. He appeared at the local police station ranting about how a god had nearly beaten him to death in a cave. They found the blood and proof of violence against you and Nayomi, but they didn't find you girls..." Mom took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Where's Nayomi?"

"She's here with me, under the care of Tsukuyomi," I said. "She and I are both healing as well. Kouta cracked a few of my ribs." I put a hand to my chest, rubbing there with a grimace.

The look of relief on my mother's face put me at ease, and I hoped she'd take what I was going to say next in good faith.

"I'm staying over here, Mom, with Takeru."

"What?! No, you have to come home!" she cried, once again reaching for the water.

"I can't," I admitted. "I don't even know how I'm able to talk to you right now through the portal, in fact. And...I'm actually happy here." Self-made mess with a certain bitch goddess not included. "I want to stay. I mean," I laughed lightly. "Do you know of any human boys who would have been able to make me fall in love with them?"

I saw her pause, a million different emotions running through her eyes as she stared at my image in the water. I tried to show her with my own face just how much I wanted to stay here with the god I loved so much. Ignoring the possibility that if I didn't make up with Takeru soon I'd end back up in the human world again anyway, there was a good chance I could still stay forever by his side.

"...You better come to visit me, young lady. I won't let you ignore your mother."

I felt weak with relief as she smiled sadly at me. I giggled and nodded. "I promise I will. You'll just have to let me know whenever you're in town instead of out and about working."

"Actually...I'm staying in the city."

My eyes widened at that. "Really?"

"Yes...I happened to meet someone here. Seems you're not the only one ment for great romances," she said in a teasing tone.

"Eh? Mom, that's great!" I exclaimed, pleased that she had finally decided to date again and stop focusing on work. Maybe my being in the god's world wouldn't be such a bad thing after all...

The image of my mother started to waver, and I quickly rushed to talk. "The portal's giving out! I love you Mom, and I hope you'll be happy! I"ll see you again soon!"

"Okay dear! You be safe and happy!"

And then the image faded, the water in the pool rippling once again.

I felt tears start to fall down my face, and I wiped one away with a sigh. I would miss my mother, in all honesty, but now I could focus on my problems here without having to worry about her as well.

I looked around the pool room, seeing that it didn't need the cleaning I had thought it did. Which meant my job was done, so I got up and tottered to the nearest bedroom, suddenly exhausted. I flopped down and hugged the pillow, breathing in and realizing that I was free. Free to choose my path, without having to worry about how my mother was doing in the other world.

The tears fell slowly as I became overwhelmed by the sensation, and I closed my eyes as I cried in relief.

Now, I thought as I drifted off to dreams, how to get a stubborn sea monkey to listen to me.

Takeru stepped into his house, sighing heavily. He'd finished all the work he'd needed to catch up on, though it had taken a toll on him. His duties were important, just like the other's were, but with the added drama of the bet weighing on his mind, he was just plain worn out.

He looked around, half expecting to see Yukino moping in a corner or running up to him to try and apologize again. But she wasn't anywhere to be seen, and he was surprised to see how much...neater it seemed.

She must have cleaned, the god realized. He sighed and started looking for his little human, checking all the rooms, his first. He found her in a spare room to the back, collapsed on the futon asleep with a pillow in her arms as usual. He walked over and knelt down to wake her up, only to pause when he saw her face.

Tear tracks here staining her cheeks, and her eyes were obviously a little puffy around the edges. She'd been crying...but what over?

The blunette sighed and sat back on his heels, looking down at the white haired girl with a sad expression. He was still mad about her going behind his back and making that kind of bet with Kushinada, that the goddess could have him if he strayed from the girl's side. It hurt his pride, that she would give him up so easily over something so simple, but seeing how she was currently trying to make up for it so desperately...it made him want to listen to her, to hear what she had to say.

Takeru rose back to his feet and let her be, heading into the kitchen to find something to fill his stomach, though he hadn't had much of an appetite after learning about the bet. He ate a few pot stickers, leaning back against the counter while his mind wandered in circles, always coming back to his contrary little human.

Maybe after he was done with his god duties tomorrow, since he wouldn't have to be there that long, he'd sit down with her and listen to what she had to say. After all, he couldn't stay mad at his little pearl forever.