Ch. 5

Reasoning

Toya and Ceres looked at her and saw that she was speechless. They didn't really know what to do to get her out of that phase. So Ceres started to tell her the secrets to her family's past.

"Takara, I know that you're surprised, but the thing is your mother was a celestial maiden too and she was the reincarnation of me. Your father was my celestial robe and he gave up his immortality to save your mother and you. So the heavens above agreed to give him his immortality back, but the deal was you needed to become the celestial maiden who needed to find this sacred treasure," she explained.

"Wait, then am I celestial maiden because of my bloodline?" she asked.

"No, it's because of that necklace you wear. You see, that celestial maiden turned into that necklace, so you can utilize her powers. We needed somebody to become her because the earth is going corrupt. The wildlife is dying. Now, we need you Takara to help restore the treasure and the earth."

She laughed, "So, you were the wind who knocked down that book an you're the celestial maiden in the story my dad told me about?"

"Yes, I am and I'll help you in finding the treasure but I can only help you seven times, so ask help from me when you really need it. Also, I must warn you there's someone trying to get you and use you for a very special project," she advised.

Toya asked, "Who is that someone?"

"Well, let's just say he's someone very close to you," she continued, "He's your mother's cousin's son, Rin. He looks a lot like his father, but his intention is much more grave. Trust me on how crazy he is because let's just say he killed someone he shouldn't have killed."

"Wait, please tell me his mom wasn't the Mikage that got killed," he cited.

"I'm afraid it was. I'm sorry to say that, but right now he's trying recreate the project. So Takara, I need you to train yourself and if you do have some trouble training just ask me. But remember that I can only help you seven times and that's it. I have to follow the Buddha's orders even if I don't want to. Although, I did ask someone to help you for long term help."

That was then someone emerged from a misty fog that covered a small corner of the shrine. The person was a man who was quite tall, but not as tall as her father. He had blonde hair just like her mom and all the way he was wearing white, and as the man stepped closer Takara was looking at him as if she's seen him before. She knew he was from somewhere, but she just can't quite recognize him. Then he started to speak.

"Hello Toya, and it's very nice to meet you Takara," he said.

"Dad, you know this man?" she asked.

He admitted, "Yeah, I do. Takara, meet your uncle, Aki."

"Uncle? You never said that you had a brother. In fact you never told me mom had a brother," she remembered.

"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about our family," he continued, "Anyway, so you're going to help her? That's nice of you considering what you did to me fourteen years ago."

"Now, you know that wasn't really me and if it was me I would've gone on your side," he debated.

"Yeah sure, and you better make sure that my daughter doesn't get into any trouble. Other wise I swear I will kill you," Toya threatened.

"Too late, I'm already dead and Takara, if you're not comfortable with me following around in this form then I can turn into something else," he stated as he transformed from a human being into a dog.

Takara said in a calmed voice, "Well, I do feel happy. I feel like I have a real dog now even though it's my own uncle."

"Anyhow Takara, Aki will help with your training and how to control your powers and he can try to answer any questions that you have. Oh, and don't tell your mother about this cause she doesn't know anything about this. Your father never told her, so don't say a word. Well, I've said what I needed to say I must be off now. I'll be watching you guys," she said as she flew into the sky and disappeared into thin air.

They left the shrine while Takara was trying to absorb all that information in. She felt overwhelmed by everything that Ceres had told her and she doesn't know what to do. And now she has to find this treasure that she has no clue about and she doesn't even know where to start. As if this day hasn't been rough enough for her, and all of this was dumped on her on her birthday. She felt like her world already turned upside down and nothing can get worse. Although, her dog-uncle has been whining for that past several minutes, but she to ignore him. This kept making her wonder if her family has been keeping even more secrets from her. As she looked down she saw the face of that cute golden retriever and she gave him a small grin that didn't last long. When they arrived at the gate Toya stopped.

"Just in case your mom asks where we were tell her I got you a new dog for your birthday," he advised.

Takara scoffed, "Some birthday, my present was finding out that I'm a celestial maiden who needs to find this damn treasure that I don't even know what it looks like. What else have you been hiding from me? I have an arranged marriage with our neighbor's son."

"Hey, keep your voice down and I wouldn't keep that secret from you even if the world depended on it. You should be lucky that you had it told to your face than to be threatened by your own family," he continued, "Believe me, your mother went through worse than you. Not to mention, you've always wanted a dog so here you go.'

"This isn't a dog. It's my uncle who turned into a dog and I don't even know if he's as smart as a golden retriever, no offense," she complained.

Aki yelled, "Hey, I have all the traits you want in a dog. I'm loyal, kind, energetic, and cute."

"You better zip it when you get inside. Aya might recognize your voice," Toya reminded.

"Don't worry only you and Takara can hear me. If I do talk other people will only hear me bark."

"I guess you're considered a dog, but you're sleeping on the floor OK Spot or whatever you want your name to be," Takara stated.

"That's fine with me. Hey, let's try your powers right now. Open the gate by using your mind," he urged.

Takara gave him a puzzled look, but she was willing to try to use them. She stared at the gate and Aki kept telling her to concentrate, and her concentration paid off as she unlocked it. Then she tried to open it all the way through. It was opening slowly and slowly until she wanted to get inside so badly that it made her loose focus. When she did loose her focus the gate swung too hard and the metal gate flew to the front door and made a huge raucous. Takara turned red as she hoped that none of the neighbors heard it, but most importantly of all her mom. She put her head into her hands and felt even more distraught. Toya looked at the door and saw that the beautiful harmony white door turned brown as some wood chips fell off. His eyes bugged out as he looked at Takara, and Aki was just surprised at how powerful she threw it.

"Looks like we've got a lot of work to do," Aki said as he stared at the horribly damaged door.

She felt as if this day has been getting worse as the minutes pass, but all she can think about now is how she's going to explain the door to her mom. That was when Aya opened the door and the gate dropped into the house. She looked up and Takara just froze in place.

"What happened here?" Aya asked.

"Uh, uh well I can explain this. There was, um," Takara stuttered.

"There were a couple of burglars trying get through the gate, and one of them were so strong that they ripped the gate open and luckily we came running and we scared them away," he explained.

"Yeah, and where did you two go?" she asked.

Takara exclaimed, "Well, dad came with me and bought me a dog for my birthday. See, I'm naming him Spot."

"OK, we never really discussed about getting a dog, but since today is your birthday it's fine with me. But just make sure he's house broken otherwise he goes back to the pound,' she said.

"Don't worry I won't do all the stuff regular dogs do," Aki stated.

They went inside and Toya put the gate on the side of the house and shook his head. Now, he's afraid about what Takara is going to do to the whole house, but he'll just have to see. Takara went upstairs and changed into her pajamas while Aki was outside. She let him in once she was done. She lay down onto her comfortable bed and Aki lay down on the hard cool floor. Takara looked out the window and she saw the glistening moon, and she wondered about how her life is going to be now at the fact that she needs to train herself and find this mystery thing. That was when she also wondered if Naroki was OK. When she saw him he was still trying to fight off the NB guys. It looked like that he was struggling though, but she just hopes that Naroki will be outside of the school once she gets out. She slowly went into a deep sleep and still hoping that Naroki is alive and breathing.

Naroki, wet and beaten, walked in fast pace to head quarters so he can get to safety and hope that no one else will attack him. He wondered though, about Takara. He wondered if she got home safely and if she was OK. After all, she looked very traumatized at what had happen to her, and he remembered that panicked look she had on her face when he told her to run. Finally, he arrived and he took the elevator to talk to Rin about what happened. When he came into his office he was shocked since he saw the NB guys in there. Naroki then took a vase that was on the table and threw it at one of the guy's head. He threw it well considering that it shattered right into the guy's face.

"First you attack me and my girlfriend now you're attacking my best friend. Now, it's personal," he threatened as he lifted his fist to punch Kito.

Rin stopped him and said, "Whoa Naroki, they work for me, for us actually. I see that you bumped into them on your way here."

"You think? They attacked me and Takara. Wait, they work for us? You've got to be kidding me. I mean they attacked me, Rin. You would attack your own best friend just for your own personal game," he continued, "Plus, you said no one would get hurt. Well, Takara got hurt and you should've seen the look on her face…"

Rin interrupted, "Hold it right there, I did not hurt her. In fact, I told those boys not to do anything that drastic. But since they did I'm taking away half of what I should've paid them."

"You're the one who paid them," Naroki realized.

"You gotta do what you gotta do."

"So in doing that you were willing to hurt my girlfriend and your best friend?" he asked.

"I forgot to tell them not to attack you, and since when is Takara your girlfriend? I mean I bet she forgot all about you since what happened to her," he answered.

"Well, I was going to ask her, but those boys interrupted me" he excused.

Rin scoffed, "I thought you weren't interested in girls right now. You're supposed to be focusing on the project and you can't go out with the project. I'm banning you from even talking to her ever again. You better obey that otherwise you're out of this."

"Fine, I won't see her ever again. But are those guys still going to work for us?"

"Yes, they are. They're going to keep a close eye on Takara when they hang around the school. I told them not to go anymore since they work for us now," he continued, "So you're out of that job. Just work on something else."

Naroki nodded and headed out of the office to get to his room. While he grabbed a towel from the bathroom he lay down on his bed and kept thinking about her. She couldn't be erased from his mind and now he knows how crazy he is about her. He needs to tell her how he feels even though he's ban from seeing her nothing can keep him from ever talking to her. The smile she had on her face when he was at the café with her made him smile, and the way she laughed when he walked her home made him feel bubbly on the inside. That was then Naroki decided to see her tomorrow even though he's banned. No matter what his love for Takara is too strong and nothing can hold it back. Not even his best friend who is acting like his boss now. Until tomorrow Naroki took a shower, and he slowly fell asleep on his bed, while thinking about Takara.

It was early in the morning when Takara woke up and when opened her eyes she started to remember what happened in her dream last night. She was lucky that it wasn't real until she saw her uncle on the floor in dog form. Then she shook her head in disbelief and she was really hoping that it wasn't real. She got out of bed and got ready for school, but then she accidentally stepped on Aki while she was getting up. Fortunately, no one got hurt Aki just ran and bumped into the door.

"Ow. Would you watch where you step next time? I almost got killed," he complained.

"Sorry, I just woke up and my eyes are still tired. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to get ready for school," she said.

Aki asked, "Do you need me to walk you? After all, I am your loyal dog now."

"No, I'm good. I always walk with my friend to school," she answered.

"Fine, but I'm still going to follow you anyway," he told her.

Takara gave him a thumbs up and went into the bathroom. When she looked into the mirror she saw something. Something that would probably lead her closer to the treasure, but then it went away. The clue to the treasure just disappeared right before her very eyes. When she looked into mirror again she remembered one night a man stood behind her and it startled her. Then she realized that the man was her uncle, and no wonder he looked so familiar to her. Once she was done in the bathroom she went back into her bedroom to get changed.

"OK, you were the guy who was behind me one night when I was in the bathroom," she declared.

"Yeah, so?"

"Was there some kind of reason why you snuck up on me and almost gave me a heart attack?" she deliberately asked.

He answered, "It was just to give you a sign. That was the day Ceres asked me to help you with your training and so forth. But anyway I can see you need to get changed. I'll be outside by the door then."

He left the room and while she was changing she needed her brush, which she left in the bathroom. She concentrated on getting it here and before she knew it, it appeared right into her hands. She was very surprised at the fact that she actually got it to come into her hands. Maybe training herself won't take that much work, and she's got step one done already. Once she was done getting ready she tried to open the door without going up to it. She stared at the doorknob and tried really hard to concentrate; therefore she'll be able to open it without ripping it off of its hinges. Takara turned the doorknob and slowly opened it. When it was open Aki was right in front of her.

"You did it, Takara, good job, and you managed to leave it on its hinges. Now, I think I'll be able to train you easier," he exclaimed.

"Thanks, I did what you said. To just concentrate on it and that's all I did."

"That also tells me that I'm going to be a great teacher," he bragged.

"Oh boy, I hope you will be. I really need to find this treasure quickly. That way I can go back to having a normal carefree life," she said.

He told her, "I don't think it's going to happen that quickly. You see, when your mother was possessed by Ceres let's just say it took more than a month to find her robes."

"How long did it take? I mean my dad was the robe so he probably just gave it to her and she went away within a month. Then they lived happily ever after," Takara hoped.

"Not exactly, you see your dad had amnesia so he didn't know that he was the robe a year later."

"What? Ah man! Why did this happen?" she complained. "But, maybe we need to find someone without a past and then they'll lead us to the treasure," she continued, "Yeah, that's a good plan."

"Not really, so looks like you're just going to have to suck it up and find it on your own, with my help at least," he stated.

Takara felt like that this search could take forever, but she's going to make sure that she finds it fast. She went down stairs and went outside hoping that Aki won't follow. Unfortunately, he was right by her side when she got out, and she rolled her eyes and started walking to school. They didn't talk throughout their walk and everything was silent between them. Then she spotted Keiko and she ran up to them. Takara wondered what she was going to say to her if she asks about how her birthday was. She was confused about what to say.

"Hey Takara! Whose this little cutie?" she asked.

"This is my new dog, Spot," Takara answered.

Keiko stated, "Aw, he's so cute. So how was your date with Naroki yesterday? Did he make a move?"

"No, it wasn't that serious, but we did talk about a lot of things and we had coffee from the café and everything. It was pretty romantic," she explained.

"Wow, and he didn't even make a move yet. But, I think you might've forgotten something," she mentioned.

Takara questioned, "What could I have forgotten?"

"Um, Shinri remember? You said you were going to meet him at his house around seven or something and you promised him that you would show up, but you stood him up," she continued, "Now, I know you like Naroki and everything, but breaking a promise is not something I support."

"Listen, I was trying to tell my dad that I needed to be somewhere else but then he told me to hold it off. Then he surprised me with Spot, so I guess I forgot about that," she explained. "Is he mad at me now?"

"Let's just say he's walking this way and you don't want to see his face now."

Takara turned around and she couldn't even see Shinri's face. Mainly because he covered his head with his hood, and Takara felt this guilt building up inside of her. She's never broken a promise before and even though she did have an excuse she wished that she would've remembered last night and went to his house anyway even though it was late. When he got closer Takara tried to see under his hood, but he just turned away from her. He kept on walking and Takara kept on staring at him. She sighed and looked at Keiko and she was nodding her head at her. Then she looked at Aki and even he was nodding his head at her. She rolled her eyes at him and she looked at Shinri again. Feeling guilty she tried to catch up with him, but he heard her footsteps so he walked even faster. Takara stopped, Keiko and Aki caught up to her.

"It's OK, Takara, he'll come around. Although even your dog thought it was wrong," she comforted.

"I really need to think up of a good apology. I don't want him to stay mad at me forever," she said in a devastated voice.

Keiko said, "He can't stay mad at you forever. In fact, no one can stay mad forever, unless the person is a total lunatic. Just don't worry about it, now come on let's get to school.'

They began to walk again, but the guilt inside of Takara kept rising as she took each step. They got to the school and Takara stayed out for a second to try to think of a good way to apologize to Shinri. She hated the fact that she broke just one promise and now she has to go on this guilt trip. When she looked down she saw Aki staring right at her.

"What are you looking at?" she yelled.

"You broke a promise? All I can say is don't be like your father. He broke a promise too and it made your mother's heartbreak," he said.

"I had an excuse and you should know that. Plus what do you know about my parent's relationship anyway? You were probably possessed or something," she argued.

"I may have been, but I know pretty much everything now since Ceres told me what happened when I wasn't there. And I saw your father, he broke a number of things and it made your mother depressed," he continued, "Well, since you're at school now I'm just going to leave you here."

Takara yelled, "OK, I don't know what you're talking about. You see my parents now and they're happy as clams!"

"Yeah, fine don't believe me!" he yelled back as he walked back home.

Takara scoffed and walked into the school she ran to her first class and she prayed that the day would pass by fast. When lunchtime came around she was afraid to even go into the cafeteria because of a couple of things. One was because of Shinri and how she was going to apologize to him and secondly the NB guys might try to kidnap her again. She just held her breath and went in, and those guys weren't even there anymore. She was so relieved, but she still had to deal with Shinri. So she tried to look around for him but he wasn't there either. Then to her surprise the school's wannabe crew stopped in front her.

"Well, well, if it isn't miss goody-goody princess. I heard that the NB guys can't come to the school anymore and it was all because of you," one of the girls stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever, you can make all the excuses you want. But how dare you kick out my boys out of this school. I'll be watching you princess," she threatened.

When she walked away with her crew Takara felt enraged so she clenched her fist and out of nowhere the school lunch came flying at those girls. It hit all of them right in their face and outfits and before they knew everyone was laughing at their mystery lunch drenched clothes. They all went running into the bathroom crying and screaming like babies wanting attention. Takara snickered when they left and the cafeteria calmed down for a little bit, and she saw Keiko sitting by herself. Takara walked to her table and sat down.

"Did you see what happened to those girls?" Keiko asked.

"Yeah, I was standing right in front of them and apparently they think that I'm the reason that the NB boys aren't coming back,' she said.

Keiko said in a content matter, "If those boys aren't coming back because of you then thank you very much. Now, I won't have to worry about my money getting stolen. Plus who will miss them anyway?"

"Apparently those girls will," Takara continued, "Hey, have you seen Shinri anywhere? I really want to talk to him."

"Sorry, but I don't even know where he is. Heck, he doesn't even want to talk to me," she continued, "All I can say if no matter what just try to make him talk to you. Then you'll be fine."

"Thanks for the advice, but I just need to find him right now. I don't want our friendship to be ruined just because I broke my promise. By the way what was he going to give me anyway?" she asked.

When Keiko heard that question she turned around and looked around the cafeteria for a little while. When Takara went in front of her she turned away, and as Takara kept trying to face her Keiko kept avoiding her. Until Keiko got up and ran to the bathroom, Takara followed. When she arrived at the door of the bathroom she ran into those girls. The girls just put up their nose and walked away. Takara barged in and then tried to get Keiko to talk to her.

"Keiko, please tell me what he was going to give me," she begged.

"All right, thing is he really liked you. Ever since he met you had a thing for you and yesterday he was going to…" she stuttered.

"Going to what?"

"He was going to ask you to his girlfriend. There I said and I think I know what your answer might've been," she assumed.

With her heart beating and her face down, Takara felt even more guilty and she really needs to go up to Shinri and talk to him A tear almost ran down her cheek, but she held her sadness in and showed only her shocked face. Keiko just looked at her and realized that maybe she should've let Shinri tell her. Now, that her heart dropped Takara went out of the bathroom and leaned against the wall. She knew that she can't live with this knot in her chest, so she started to plan what she's going to do once school is over. Then Keiko got out of the bathroom and she put her hands on Takara's shoulder to try to comfort her.

"So, what would you have said to him?" she asked.

"I don't know. Now that I do know that he likes me I don't know whom to like now. I mean I still like Naroki and I like Shinri as a friend and that's all," she continued, "Right now, I just have a lot of mixed feelings. I don't know who like. Heck, I don't even know what to say to him."

Keiko comforted, "It'll be fine. Just tell him how you feel and if you don't want to then just tell him that you'll think about it."

Takara smiled at her and when the bell rang they ran to class. Luckily, they arrived in class on time once again. But Takara was still trying to plan how she was going to apologize to Shinri, so she wasn't focusing in class at all. When she looked out of the window she thought she saw Naroki, and when she blinked the image of Naroki was gone. That was then she thought about him, and she wondered if he was made it out OK. She remembered that he told her to run when the guys attacked them, and all she was thinking about was him at that point. When she looked across the room she saw Shinri and he didn't even bother to look at her or say hi to her. Takara was stuck in this web of crushes since she really likes Naroki and she had a good time with him last night. Then since Keiko dropped the bomb about Shinri she keeps thinking about the good times they spent together. After that class was over she got through all of the other classes. Finally school was over and she thought that maybe Naroki was in front of the school waiting for her. She ran to the door hoping that he'd be there, but when she opened the doors he was nowhere to be found. Then she finally thought that maybe the NB guys kidnapped him instead, so she just decided to walk home until someone snuck behind her.

"So waiting for your boyfriend?" he asked.

Takara said, "That guy is not my boyfriend. Listen Shinri, I've been meaning to speak to you."

"Well, it's a little late for that right now," he stated.

"I'm sorry for not going to your house yesterday," she apologized.

"I know you are sorry, but you promised and you didn't come through with it!" he yelled.

"But really, I feel terrible about this and I don't know how to make it up to you. Besides saying sorry and that I promise you I'll never break another promise again," she swore. "Oh, and Keiko kind of told me what you were going to give me."

"Oh, well yeah. Now you know. Listen, I forgive you and just make sure that this doesn't happen again."

"I promise it won't."

Shinri asked, "So what's your answer?"

"Well, I don't know yet actually. I'm still kind of shocked about that," she answered.

"Well, just promise me that you'll get back to me. Right now, I gotta get home so I'll see you."

When he left Takara felt like the guilt has been lifted off of her shoulders, but she still felt bad that she didn't have a positive answer for him. Even though she apologized, she didn't know what to do with her confused feelings. She just started walking home and hoped that an answer would come to her. All she could think about was what Shinri had told her, and she knew that she needed to keep that promise. Even if it meant saying that she doesn't feel the same way that he feels for her. It doesn't seem like a difficult decision, but her choice was to choose the guy she's known her whole life or the guy she just met a couple of days ago who is sweet and kind. Her head was throbbing with pain when she pictured those two boys in her mind. When she looked ahead she saw someone in front of the gate, and she realized it was someone that she was worried sick about. So she ran as fast as she could to see if he was real. Fortunately, he was standing right there when Takara stopped and she gave him a huge hug.

"Oh my gosh, I thought you were kidnapped or even worse," she said.

"Well, don't worry I'm fine. I wanted to see how you were," Naroki responded.

Takara pulled away from him and answered, "Don't worry I got back safely. I was so worried about you."

"I'm glad to hear that you were concerned about me," he chuckled.

"Well, I just wanted to know if you were alive that's all. I'm glad you are and I'm sorry if the date didn't turn out so well," she apologized.

"Don't worry, at least the first half was very…"

"Takara! Get in the house!" her dad yelled.

Takara said with an embarrassed face, "I have to go now."

"I'll see you around then."

He walked away and she stared at him as he walked down the sidewalk. She ignored at the fact that her dad was still yelling at her to get in. Then Aki barked at her so loudly that it broke her stare and got her to go into the house. She was rabid at him and her father since her father drove Naroki away and Aki stopped her from daydreaming. Once she put her stuff on the couch she walked up to her dad.

"What the heck was that?" she yelled.

"More like, who the heck was that?" Toya corrected.

Takara argued, "It doesn't matter who that was. You scared him and that's why he ran away."

"First off, I want to know who that person was. So tell me, who was he?" he asked.

"OK, he's one of my new friends that you haven't met before. Now, can you please tell me why you barged into my conversation with him?"

He stated, "Gee, I don't know. Can you tell me why you were on a date with him yesterday?"

"Wait, how did you… Oh, you little snitch!" she yelled as she looked at Aki.

"He didn't tell me anything. Ceres told me what happened yesterday, so don't come up with any excuses cause she's been watching you over these last fourteen years," he continued, "Not to mention you know how I feel about you dating, and that guy looks like bad news."

Takara yelled up to the ceiling, "Why Ceres? Why did you have to snitch on me?" She cried, "Come on! Cut me some slack. He's a really nice guy and I know he won't hurt me."

"You don't know that Takara, he might be in a gang for all we know. Don't say that he defended you when those guys attacked. He might be working with them," Aki cited.

"Oh and I also heard from Ceres about what happened at school today. The school's lunch on the girls," Toya reminded.

"Yeah, well my magic kind of got out of control. They made me mad so it just happened," she admitted.

"You really need to learn how to control your emotions as well as your powers. Now come on, let's go into the backyard so I can train you," he ordered.

"But I have homework and all that stuff," she excused.

"It's Friday anyway. You can do it tomorrow."

Takara felt desperate to get out the house and Aki prayed that she won't destroy the whole neighborhood with her newly found powers. It wasn't long till Takara thought about Naroki once again.

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