Mood: T3H Guiltness
Music: That's All --- Genesis

Rae: Hah, hello, I return. With an exciting new chapter. XD
Or not.

.....Maaaaaaan. *sigh* Guilt... Guilt.... *cough* I didn’t say anything! Not a word.

Oh and Jiro. Dude. Why didn’t you say sooner that you wanted to be included in my world of insanity? It wasn’t that I didn’t want to write you in this, I just was always afraid you’d get mad if I wrote you out of character or something. ^^;;

Jiro finally got all irritated with me, yo.

“What, so do I just not exist or what?”

I was like: “Neh?!”

So, yeah. I’ll include ya now, neh? Don’t kill me. XD

But you can’t get mad if you think I write you OOC or something. ^^;

Okay, well. I have to split this in two parts again, as it’s so long. I’m posting part one now. I’ll get part two up in a few minutes.

So uh. Yeah. Read this part first, yo. XD

....Here it goes.....

(...guilt...guilt...)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A Storm Approaches
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“-i”

“Oi!”

“HEY! WAKE UP!” a voice shouted, stirring Rae from her deep slumber. Startled, the girl blinked and promptly fell off of the couch, landing on the tv room’s tan carpet. “Owww,” she groaned, rubbing her head.

“God. I was drugged and even I didn’t sleep as long as you,” Sagara Sanosuke stated with annoyance, crossing his arms.

“Well excuuuuse me. Geez,” Rae responded, casting a quick glare to the tall brunette looking down at her. She then slowly stood, stretching her aching body. “What time is it?”

“Sometime after six.”

“That late, huh?” she questioned with a touch of surprise. Oops. I guess I really slept in... Or whatever.... Well. Considering, I actually didn’t sleep THAT long. It was already after one in the afternoon when we got back...Er...Yeah...Whatever. Weird time differences and... Yeah, she figured it best not to think about it too much. Man, time zones are confusing... the girl rubbed at her eyes, shaking her head a bit. “So, why’d you wake me up?”

“I’m hungry,” Sanosuke grumbled, running a hand through his spiky chestnut brown hair. “Fix me something to eat.”

“What the fuck? Fix yourself something to eat,” the girl responded, putting her hands on her hips. “You woke me up for that?”

“Hey! The last time I tried to fix something, that evil box thing caught my food on fire!” the teen yelled in response, glaring at the pink haired girl.

Rae groaned, rolling her eyes. Poor, baka Sanosuke... “Yeah, well that tends to happen when you put non microwavable foil in the microwave for three hours....” she responded, a small smirk forming on her lips.

“Well... It’s evil. How was I supposed to know?” he stated defensively, shrugging his shoulders. “Not my fault the thing is possessed.”

Rae let out a small laugh, grinning at the teen’s comment. Yes the evil possessed microwave of doooom...

“Alright, alright. I’ll fix you something,” she conceded, throwing her hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, where is everybody, anyway?” she went on to ask, glancing about the otherwise empty room. Well. Except for the cats. And well... A ferret. But yeah, other than that. Emptiness...

The large room was cluttered but welcoming, with large velvety-plush furniture and off-white walls. Tans and maroons, antiques, video-games, anime and manga strewn about... Definitely unique.

“Oh, uh. Renee said something about going to see her parents?”

“Huh? Why would she want to do that?” Rae blinked, raising an eyebrow. Heh...

“How am I supposed to know?” Sano responded apathetically, once again shrugging his shoulders.

“I can see you’re in a good mood,” the girl stated with a roll of her eyes. “So where is everyone else?” she went on to ask.

“Your brother is sleeping, Yuki is crying over some book in your room and Kopaka is passed out on your bed,” Sano replied, eyebrow twitching on the mention of the wind sprite.

“Jiro’s still asleep? Dude. He’s as lazy as me... That’s sad,” the girl commented, a small grin on her lips. She once again stretched, noting her aching shoulders and neck. I guess that’s what I get for sleeping with my head hanging off of the couch...

Wait a minute.... If she recalled correctly...

“Please. Please tell me that Ansem isn’t still in my room,” Rae requested hopefully, shuddering at the memory of the pink haired freak lounging on her bed. “And...Is my room still...”

“He left, thankfully. But your room still looks like hell.”

“Geh... Of course...”

With a shrug the girl turned, walking out of the large tv room, heading for the kitchen. “What do you want to eat?” she questioned over her shoulder, glancing at the teen following her.

“Uh... Those things. You know, the things with the weird holes in them?”

“...Waffles?”

“Yeah. Those.”

Rae rolled her eyes, yet smiled. The guy was pretty easy to please really. A couple of Eggos and some syrup... “Okay, cool.”

“Oh, and some of those... Stick things.”

“French toast sticks?”

“Yeah! Those things.”

Rae laughed, shaking her head a bit. French toast sticks and waffles, huh? Not exactly a traditional Meiji Japan breakfast. Looks like Sano’s getting a little future-ized after all...

“One evening breakfast coming right up.”

~*~*~*~*~

The two sat around a wooden table, the setting sun’s amber rays shining in through the kitchen’s large windows. Rae sat with an amused smile, watching as the teen munched happily on a french toast stick.

He looks cute in modern clothes, she thought, taking in his dark jeans and long sleeved black top. Of course the brunette still wore the red headband. Had she ever seen him without it? Looks like he’s feeling better now too... At least he’s not all drugged out and weird...

“So, eh. Sorry that Kopaka drugged you. That wasn’t cool. You feel all better and stuff now, right?” she questioned, thinking back on the previous day’s events. She shook her head, eyes narrowing. Stupid Kopaka...

“Besides being a little dizzy? I’m alright,” Sano commented through a bite of waffle, licking a bit of syrup off of his finger. “What the hell did he give me anyway? I’ve never felt like that before. It was really weird...”

“Yeah, you were pretty out of it. Honestly, I have no idea what the hell that baka could have given you. I’m not a real expert on rave drugs or whatever. Plus knowing him, he could have made it himself or something...” she trailed off, cocking her head a bit in thought. The girl tried to think of the different common rave drugs and their effects, however couldn’t really come to any concrete conclusions... It’s hard to tell...

“Yeah well. I should kick his ass,” Sano responded with a frown, taking a large bite out of his french toast. “He’s a real jerk.”

“Heh. I don’t blame you really. But I somehow doubt you could kick his ass... Sorry,” the girl responded, a small smirk on her lips. For a human, Sanosuke definitely had great strength and cool fighting skills, however... Compared to an elemental? Yeah... Really don’t think so... “Plus there’s that whole, he can turn you into a bunny thing...”

“Hmph,” was the brunette’s only response, opting to focus on his evening breakfast instead.

Rae leaned back in her seat, casting her eyes to the large kitchen window. She took in the evening sky, dark oranges and blues, pinks and purples... Dusk swiftly approaching, darkness beginning to seep into the cloudy sky... Though in the distance, there was a touch of darker grays... A storm approaching perhaps?

Man. A lot happened yesterday...

Where to even begin in contemplating the odd day’s many events? What had started out as a strange little party...

“So. What the hell is that?” Sanosuke questioned, breaking into Rae’s thoughts. She blinked, turning her gaze to the lean brunette. His dark eyes were focused on her hand, the new black mark...

“Oh, this? You don’t remember what I said before?”

“At this point? I barely remember yesterday at all.”

“Ah. Yeah, sorry.”

Rae cleared her throat, casting her blue-green eyes to the tattoo. It really was pretty neat. She traced a finger over the marking, taking in the intricate design.

Shadow and Judgment, huh? What like Shadow the Hedgehog and Judgment from Symphonia? Okay, so probably not...

As the girl opened her mouth to respond to Sano’s question another voice broke in from behind her. “Hey...”

Rae turned in her seat, noting her fifteen year old brother leaning against the kitchen doorway’s frame, rubbing his eyes groggily. The boy then let out a yawn, running long, lean fingers through his shaggy dark brown hair.

“Oh, hey. Look who lives,” Rae commented with a smirk.

Jiro rolled his blue-grey eyes, moving into the kitchen, plopping down on a wooden chair. “Where were you guys?”

“Japan,” Sano replied through a mouthful of waffle.

“Wha--? Hey! Why didn’t I get to go?” the boy protested, turning to give his sister a pointed stare. “That’s not fair.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault. Blame Kopaka. He randomly teleported us. If you had been in my room at the time he would have taken you too...” the girl responded defensively, proclaiming her innocence.

“Well... I was hacking a game and... I got distracted,” the boy responded, a small smirk forming on his lips. “So, uh. How was Japan?”

“Crowded. And... Yeah. Oh, Sano got molested. And I got mugged,” Rae chirped, standing from her seat, moving over to the long kitchen counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. So need some caffeine...

“What? Huh?” Jiro responded, raising an eyebrow.

“...Did you have to remind me?” Sano groaned, shooting the pink haired girl a dirty look. “I was trying to forget...”

“Yeah some guy like grabbed Sano and started biting him and stuff. It was funny,” Rae remarked with a grin, taking a sip from her coffee mug.

“It was NOT funny,” the spiky haired teen snapped, rubbing at his neck, his face turning red. “What the hell was that guy’s problem?”

Jiro moved closer to inspect the older teen’s neck, a wide grin appearing on his lips. “Hah. You have hickeys. Lots of hickeys.”

“Shut up.”

“Hah.”

“It’s NOT FUNNY.”

“It isn’t?”

“NO.”

Rae laughed at the two’s exchange, amused by the irritated look on Sano’s face. “No, Sanosuke. It really was funny. Though I did feel kind of sorry for you, seems how you were all stoned and pathetic.”

“...I wasn’t pathetic.”

“Yeah. You kinda were.”

The spiky haired brunette twitched, opting to chew his breakfast in silence, ignoring the girl’s latest comment.

“Wait... Did you say something about being mugged? And Sano was stoned? And... Hey! Is that a tattoo?” Jiro questioned, a bit of confusion flashing through his eyes.

Rae smiled, leaning back against the kitchen counter, taking another sip of coffee. “Yeah. I got mugged. Kind of. Well... Technically it was fake and Druu’s fault but yeah... And Kopaka drugged Sano. Oh, and yeah. It’s a tattoo... Er, well. Not really, but kind of,” she responded airily.

“...What?” Jiro blinked, giving his sister one of his patented ‘are you crazy’ looks. “Uh, what are you talking about?”

“That’s a good question,” Sano added, once again glancing at the black mark on the girl’s left hand.

Rae sighed, running a hand through her pink hair. She then moved to sit back down, placing her coffee mug on the wooden kitchen table.

“This is kind of a long story....”

It was okay to tell them, right? After all, it was Jiro and Sano for Kami’s sake. If she couldn’t trust her own brother and her favorite idiot rooster... Then yeah...

Where to even begin...

The girl cleared her throat, and then proceeded to detail the events of the previous day to the two teens.

~*~*~*~*~

Poor Kouji... And Kitsune...

She had spent quite a bit of time relating the information she had learned the previous day, and now the girl let out a sigh. Jumps and assassinations and experiments oh my... Definitely not Kansas, Toto...

“So...That’s about it...” Rae finally trailed off, casting her aqua colored eyes to the window, taking in the now dark, cloudy night sky... Dark clouds and quite a strong breeze gusting, rattling against the old windows... Seems somehow fitting. A dark night for a dark story... Looks like it might storm soon...

The story had taken quite some time to explain, and her coffee cup had long since run empty, Sano’s breakfast finished and forgotten as well...

She cleared her throat, once again turning her attention to the two young men sitting in somewhat stunned silence. “So... Now you know.”

It’s a lot to take in...

“That’s... All so... Awful,” Jiro stuttered, eyes wide.

“Yeah...” Sano agreed with a nod, eyes also a bit wide.

Rae nodded, twisting a strand of pink hair around her finger. She remained silent for a moment, giving the two time to process all of the information she had just revealed.

Information about Kouji... About Kitsune.. The jump and their world...

“It’s all... Yeah,” Jiro blinked, shaking his head a bit. “That’s... I don’t know what to even say.”

“That’s the way I was too. I still don’t really know what to say, honestly,” Rae nodded in agreement, giving her brother a small smile.

“So... Kouji... No wonder he acts so weird, huh?” Sano stated, fiddling a bit with his red headband, chewing his lip thoughtfully.

“Yeah. His brain is a little... Uh, fried?” Rae replied, coining Malba’s previous comment about the icy half-demon. “I just wonder if he remembers anything from back before he... Got put into the coma or whatever...” she trailed off, shuddering a bit. Memories of experiments and a cold, detached father... Somehow, she almost... It would be better if he can’t remember that time...

Jiro also shuddered a bit, absentmindedly playing with one of his hoop earrings. “So, he’s going to stay with us?”

“Yep, for now anyway. He’ll be safer here. And he can have my bed. I’ll just sleep on my couch. Actually, I sleep better on a couch than I do a bed anyway,” the girl stated with a sheepish smile. Well...Bed’s suck! ...Yeah...

“I don’t remember him very well. I just met him that one time, back when Kitsune brought him. He was only here for a few minutes,” the boy commented thoughtfully, still distractedly playing with his earrings.

“He’s a good kid... Or.. Well... Not exactly a kid, but... Geh. Confusing... He’s really nice. Let’s just put it that way. You’ll like him.” Rae wasn’t really sure if ‘kid’ was a correct way to define the icy boy... Yet... He had been sleeping all that time... So essentially, wasn’t he still that boy from years past?

Years passed, but Kouji remained the same, eternally sleeping...

“So that thing is how they get to this world?” Sano questioned, pointing to the girl’s hand. “I still don’t get how some weird symbol can do that...”

“Yeah. I don’t really get it myself. Hell. I don’t think Druu or the others understand it either... It’s definitely weird. But handy, regardless,” she shrugged, once again tracing the design. It was quickly becoming a habit...

“So, did it hurt when Druu put it on you?” Jiro questioned, taking his sister’s hand and pulling it closer, observing the symbol with curiosity.

“Hell yeah. It like, sank down into my hand and uh... Yeah. Plus then everything went all weird. I got dizzy, and everything turned grey for a couple of minutes. It was bizarre,” Rae replied, frowning a bit at the memory. “Druu lied. He said it wouldn’t hurt... Jerk...”

“Grey huh...Oh!” Sano suddenly stated, sitting up a bit in his seat. He blinked, running a hand through his spiky hair. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Rae cocked her head, turning her attention to the older teen. That’s right... Last night he said...

“Yeah, what is it, Sano?” she questioned curiously. The brunette had tried to speak to her the previous day, even through his drugged haze... Must be pretty important or something...

“It’s about Yuki,” the teen responded slowly, looking down at the wooden table’s smooth surface. “Yeah...”

Rae raised an eyebrow, sitting up in her seat a bit, focusing her attention on the spiky haired brunette. About Yuki...Hm...
“What about him, Sano?” she questioned, her thoughts wandering over the spirit’s recent behavior... It hadn’t entirely escaped her attention after all... Something... Lately, something was kind of...

“At the club? I overheard the mummy and Yuki talking,” Sano admitted, casting a quick glance over Rae’s shoulder, into the hallway. After a moment he pulled his gaze back to the pink haired girl, meeting her eyes with his own. “It... Something was weird.”

“Really? What was Shishio coming onto Yuki or something?” Jiro quipped, a small smirk on his lips. “Seriously though. What was it?” he then went on to say, a more serious expression replacing the grin.

Shishio huh... Rae frowned, absentmindedly chewing on a nail, slipping into thought. Shishio... Shishio had shown a new interest in the spirit lately, hadn’t he? She wasn’t sure as to why, yet... Though she really didn’t understand the bandaged man, one thing she did know? Shishio never does anything without a reason...

“What did he say to Yuki?” Rae questioned quietly, frown still present on her lips. She didn’t like it... Yuki is afraid of Shishio anyway... And... She just didn’t like the thought of the man intimidating the shy spirit. Maybe I should have a little talk with Shishio...

“Well. For one thing, he said something about that damn song ghost boy sang. Something about how you wouldn’t find the lyrics. Then, Yuki tried to leave, but the mummy pulled him back. Said something about how Yuki isn’t nearly as innocent as what he wants everyone to think. And, Mummyface also said something about how Yuki knows more then what he lets on about... Well. The other world and all...” Sano trailed off with a frown, tugging a bit on his red headband, a perplexed expression passing through his eyes.

“What did Yuki do?” Jiro questioned, a frown also on his lips. The young teen ran a hand through his unruly brown hair, letting out a small sigh. “I mean, he must have been pretty scared, right?” he then went on to say.

“No, surprisingly Yuki actually stood up to him. He said that Shishio might be right, but it wasn’t his concern. He told him to leave him alone. Then ghost boy walked off. After that I lost track of him for awhile, but the next time I saw him, he was acting like nothing had happened,” the older teen responded thoughtfully, confusion still flashing through his eyes. “I don’t really get it though. What could Mummyface had meant by all that?”

Rae remained silent for a moment, continuing to chew a nail, deep in thought. The song... She really hadn’t recognized it. Hey, and I’d like to think that I’m fairly knowledgeable in all things music related, yo...

Not so innocent...

She let out a sigh, pulling her hand away from her mouth, instead running a hand through her long hair. “I’ve noticed a few things myself. I mean, he’s always been really secretive and all... But... Lately... It’s like... Ugh. I don’t know exactly,” she paused, letting out another sigh, a frustrated look passing through her blue-green eyes.

“Oh, hey. Wait, what song?” Jiro suddenly questioned, blinking in confusion. “He sang? Huh? When?”

“Karaoke. With a weird uber machine of Shishio’s. Supposedly has like every song known to this world or something... But...” she trailed off, eyes narrowing... If Shishio had seemed so interested in the song...

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Rae stated firmly, standing from the chair, turning away from the two teens.

“Where are you going?”

“To get the laptop. Let’s see if Shishio is right. He said I wouldn’t be able to find the song, right? Let’s test that.” With that said the girl exited the kitchen, walking quickly back to the tv room to retrieve her banged up blue laptop.

As she passed her room’s closed door she paused. Yuki...What’s your deal... She shook her head, walking back to the kitchen, heavy laptop now in hand.

“Alright, now let’s see what I can find,” she stated, plopping back down at the table, setting the portable computer on the wood surface.

Sano glared warily at the device, though said nothing, only nodding a bit in response. Obviously the teen wasn’t exactly crazy about being close to an ‘evil computer box thing’, but he maneuvered his chair a bit so that he could have a clearer view of the screen.

Meanwhile Jiro also pulled closer, leaning his elbows on the table’s surface. “So, you remember the words?” the younger teen questioned, watching as his sister turned on the laptop.

“Yeah. As we all know, for the most part I’m an idiot, but I luckily do have the ability to remember songs. Because um... Yeah. I like music?” she responded with a sheepish grin, clicking the laptop on, logging onto Windows.

Jiro rolled his eyes, shaking his head a bit. “So, where are you gonna search?” he went on to ask, ignoring his sister’s previous comment.

“Eh, random search engines and lyric sites I guess. Come on...Stupid computer! Connect, dammit! Bah. Ah, there.” Rae banged a bit on the keys, giving the computer an aggravated glare, trying to get the slow machine to connect to the internet. Finally successful, she let a grin form on her lips. When all else fails, just beat on it. Works every time...

She typed in a search engine address and clicked enter, waiting for the site to load. “Alright. Let’s see what we can find... If Yuki really heard it on the radio, then there has to be something about it online...”

Sano watched the girl type, glancing at the computer screen with a look of wary unease. “So... This thing can tell us about that song?”

“Heh. If it exists, you can find it online. Period,” Jiro responded with a smirk, cracking his knuckles. “So, let’s find this song.”

Rae nodded, humming the song a bit. Okay...Words... She continued to hum, replaying the dark song through her mind.

...It all passes so slowly
And the years are oh so lonely
But I can’t take back the times
Or the last tears you cried
So I fade away from time...

She typed a few lines into the search box, then clicked submit.

...You don’t remember me,
But I...
I remember you...

Nothing. Rae frowned in concentration. “Let’s try some other lines of the song...”

...And I’ll never forget your eyes
I’ll never forget your eyes...

She shook her head, once again faced with no accurate results.

“Try Google,” Jiro suggested helpfully.

“Okay...”

...It’s passed so slowly
The years have grown so lonely
Yet the clock’s hands won’t move back
I can’t...
Can’t take it back
So time moves forward without me...

“All these pages... Still nothing... None of these are right.”

“How about songlyrics.com or elyrics.net?”

“I’ll try that...”

...You don’t remember me,
But I...
I remember you...

“...Still, nothing... None of these are right...”

“Keep looking.”

...And I’ll never forget your eyes
I’ll never forget your eyes...

Rae let out a frustrated sigh, scrolling down yet another page filled with useless information... “Nothing...”

...You won’t remember the time
You won’t remember my crimes
But I will remember you
I will remember you...

“The closest I can find at all is this Sarah McLachlan song, which obviously isn’t even close,” the girl stated with another sigh, shaking her head a bit. “We aren’t going to find it.”

“Not even close...” Jiro nodded in agreement, quickly reading through the lyrics on the screen. “...So Shishio was right...”

...I’ll remember you...

“So, what does that mean? If this cou-mputeer thing can’t find it?” Sanosuke questioned, eyeing the screen. “What does that mean?”

“That’s computer, Sano.”

“Whatever.”

...I can’t forget you...

“It means... It means there’s a damn good chance it doesn’t exist,” Rae responded flatly, turning to lock eyes with her brother. “Right?”

Somehow, she had known she wouldn’t find it... She had hoped, but...

“Not in this world, anyway,” the steel-blue eyed teen responded solemnly, nodding his head. “No...”

“So...” Sano paused, lowering his dark eyes. “Yuki lied. Didn’t he?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think he did... Maybe about a lot of things, actually...” Rae replied slowly, turning her gaze to the dark cloudy sky, the rattling window pane....

It was definitely a quick conclusion to jump to, just because the lyrics hadn’t been located online... Yet... They all knew, didn’t they? We knew we wouldn’t find those lyrics didn’t we? Looks like you were right, Shishio...

“Kouji said something too when I asked him about Yuki at the club. He said he’s grey. Grey, but it’s a secret... Kopaka said something strange too. Said when he’s around Yuki... He feels like there’s something he should know... Whatever that means,” Sano commented, shaking his head a bit.

“Yeah. Plus didn’t Kouji say something weird about Yuki not being a ‘normal ghost’ or something?” the girl questioned, halfheartedly returning her attention to the computer screen, scrolling through the worthless information...

“Yeah. He doesn’t remember saying it though.”

“Not a normal ghost?” Jiro questioned, raising an eyebrow. “What did he mean by that I wonder?”

Rae frowned, clicking the browser closed. It was useless. The lyrics were simply not there. Nothing.

Not normal... Yeah...

“Think about it. I mean I can see spirits to a point... But never have I run across a ghost like Yuki... For one thing, everyone can see him. He’s practically solid. He’s... I don’t know... He’s different... I’ve always thought that but...” the girl sighed, running a hand through her long pink hair, pushing it away from her eyes. “I really don’t know.”

“So... Do you... Do you think he’s...” Jiro trailed off, glancing first at Rae, then Sano. “He’s...”

The three sat in silence, none daring to respond to that unfinished question. What could be said?

Not so innocent, huh....

Rae frowned, shaking her head a bit. It didn’t make any sense. Why would he... “So. What should we do?” she asked quietly, moving to shut off the blue laptop. After all, it wasn’t as if she needed it on... There apparently wasn’t anything to be found.

“Well. We could always just go with the direct approach and ask Yuki about it,” Jiro responded, pushing a lock of shaggy brown hair away from his eyes. The thin teen then shrugged, turning to look out the kitchen window, obviously contemplating the situation.

“Yeah... But what if he freaks out, and we scare him? Should we just confront him all upfront like or what? I don’t want to scare him, but I don’t exactly like that he’s lying either... I don’t even understand,” the girl trailed off, a tense expression on her features. She crossed her arms across her chest, frown deepening.

“Well what Rae? We just ignore it and forget? Not exactly something that can be so easily forgotten,” Sano commented flatly, also crossing his arms, turning his serious gaze on the girl.

Rae let out a frustrated sigh, giving the older teen an annoyed glare. “Don’t get bitchy. That’s not what I even meant. God. It’s not like I’m saying we should just do nothing. I just want to think a little first, okay?” she stated firmly, rolling her aqua eyes. The girl then bit her lip, pulling her gaze away from the brunette, back to the window.

This is a lot to deal with you know... Geez. All in like two days...Meh.

“Besides, maybe we are just over-reacting. Who knows? Maybe Shishio is just crazy. I mean, well. We know he’s crazy, but yeah. You know what I mean. It may not be nearly as bad as it seems,” she went on to say, forcing her voice into a hopeful tone. “We’re probably just jumping to stupid conclusions over one stupid song.”

Sano shook his head in response, frown deepening. “I don’t think so. I’m telling you, something is wrong. I can’t explain it exactly, but... You didn’t see him at the club. That look... I don’t know. Something isn’t right. At all,” the brunette stated firmly, moving to rest his clenched hands on the wooden table. “You didn’t see that look.”

“Well. What kind of look?” Jiro questioned, eyebrow rising as he turned his attention to the older teen. “That’s not very specific.”

The spiky haired brunette sighed, obviously contemplating his response. After a few silent moments he cleared his throat, looking over to meet the younger teen’s steel-blue eyes. “Guilt?” was his only reply, his dark brown eyes holding a solemn expression.

“How about being a little less vague,” Jiro responded with a touch of sarcasm, a slight tint of irritation flickering through his voice.

“I don’t know! I’m just telling you what I saw. Shishio was acting EVEN weirder than usual and Yuki got... Weird. I can’t explain it, alright?” the older brunette replied, voice slightly rising, frustration evident in his tone.

Oh, gee, let’s fight about it...

“Look guys calm down. Yuki is still here ya know. The last thing we need is for him to overhear us. Let’s just... Calm down,” Rae intervened evenly, casting a beseeching look to the two teens.

“Yeah. Alright. Sorry,” Sanosuke replied with a sigh, moving to run a hand through his spiky brown hair.

The younger teen nodded in agreement, a small apologetic smile forming on his lips. “Yeah. Sorry. I’m just tired and this is a lot of... Stuff.”

The pink haired girl closed her eyes for a moment, leaning back in the wooden chair, once again slipping into thought.

Not so innocent huh? Hm...

Rae opened her eyes, standing from the seat. “Look. I’ll... I’ll talk to him alone. After Kits brings Kouji and all... Later tonight. Yuki always stays up late reading... So... I’ll take a chance and talk to him,” she stated, nodding her head at her decision. What else could she do, really? She then moved to retrieve her empty coffee cup from the table, walking over to the counter to get a refill. Caffeine...Caffeine... Must have caffeine...

“What if he freaks out?” the younger teen questioned, watching his sister. “Or turns randomly evil and kills you or something,” Jiro went on to say, a small amused grin appearing on his lips.

“Yeah, somehow I don’t see Yuki going evil and killing me, Jiro,” she replied with an eye-roll, returning her brother’s smirk with a grin of her own. “Though as for the freaking out thing... Dunno. As Zelos says, whatever will be, will be, neh?” Rae continued to smirk as she quoted her favorite video-game character.

“Heh, yeah, I guess...” the boy responded with another small smirk.

“Besides. Sitting here debating it isn’t going to get us anywhere. Let’s just calm down and try not worry, yeah?” she went on to say with a nod of her head.

Were they over-reacting? Was Shishio really just crazy? All questions she couldn’t answer. Only Yuki-chan can clear things up. So... Yeah...

“Well... Hopefully he won’t give you the whole ‘it’s not your concern’ treatment like he did with Shishio,” Jiro commented thoughtfully, once again absentmindedly fiddling with his hoop earrings. “Not your concern. Hah, and I thought that was Kitsune’s line... Yuki’s ripping her off.”

“Talking to Shishio and talking to Rae are two different things. The kid seems to like you at least... If he’d talk to anyone, it may be you Rae,” Sano replied, casting his eyes to his abandoned plate, crumbs and syrup the only things left on the otherwise empty dish.

“Technically Yuki is older than you, ya know. He was twenty two when he died. Er... Well if that’s the truth I mean,” Rae pointed out. She then took a large drink of her hot coffee, leaning casually back against the tall counter.

“Whatever.”

“This has been a lot to take in. In the last hour I’ve learned that Kouji is a weird experiment, Kitsune’s dad was a bastard, learned about the ‘jump’, more about their assassin gig, and now weirdness with Yuki. Man. And I’ve only been up for an hour....” the younger teen complained, running a hand through his shaggy, unkempt hair. “I should have stayed in bed.”

Then I guess now would be a bad time to mention Malba’s sudden homicidal urge to kill me and his red eyes and his um self-inflicted hand breaking thing and... Hm, Druu’s long scary vision/seizure and oh, well. The whole Kaine the uber demon thing....Am I forgetting anything? she thought with a small shake of the head, sipping at her coffee.

“Er... Where the heck is Mom?” Jiro suddenly questioned with a blink, obviously only just noticing the absence of their mother. The boy was still a bit groggy after all, apparent by the yawn that followed his inquiry.

“At Mawmaw and Pawpaw’s.”

“....Why?”

“Dunno. Cause she wanted to go, I guess. Or Mom got guilt-ed into going to see them or something,” she speculated, once again casting her blue-green eyes to the dark window.

The wind is picking up... It’s definitely going to storm soon...

“DUDE,” a loud voice broke into her thoughts and she jumped, then turned to see Kopaka standing in the kitchen entrance, a large grin on his lips. “Heheh. What’s up?”

Rae rolled her eyes, giving the sprite a small smile. “Hey. Nothing really... I see you just woke up,” she stated, noting his shaggy grey bed-head hair with a bit of amusement.

Sano merely glared at the wind/ice elemental, rubbing a bit at his bite covered neck. He then crossed his arms, watching the sprite with an angry glare.

Heh, Sano’s obviously still pissed. Not that I blame him...

“Yo, Kopaka,” Jiro greeted the sprite, casually waving a hand at the grey haired man. “Nice shirt...” he commented, eyebrow raised at the rumpled t-shirt the sprite wore. A loose white shirt with a large chibi pink bunny flashing the peace sign...

“Jiro-dude. Rooster-man. Heheh,” Kopaka replied cheerfully, entering the kitchen. He then moved over to the refrigerator, opening the door without hesitation. “Hmm. Any booze?”

Make yourself at home... Baka, Rae thought, rolling her eyes at the elemental. “No booze.”

“Awww. No booze?” he questioned, looking through the contents of the fridge, a small frown on his lips. “None?”

“Isn’t it a little early for booze? You just woke up,” Jiro replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Too early for booze? Nah that’s not possible dude,” the sprite responded, still rummaging about. “Maan. No booze. All well,” Kopaka shrugged, finally pulling a large container of juice from the fridge instead. After unscrewing the lid, the sprite tipped the jug, drinking directly from the bottle.

“Hey! Haven’t you ever heard of using a cup?” Rae squeaked, watching in horror as the grey haired elemental drank. She shuddered, her germaphobic side quickly kicking in. Kopaka!! Cup. Cup. CUP.

Kopaka only grinned, winking a blue eye at the girl. “Who needs cups?” he questioned mischievously, and then once again took another swig from the apple juice container.

“You...Geh. Just never mind,” she frowned, shrugging her shoulders in defeat. Why bother to argue with the elemental? She turned her attention away, looking down at her coffee instead.

After drinking a healthy amount of juice the elemental returned the container to the fridge, now turning his attention to Sanosuke. “Rooster-man, heheh. How’s the neck?” he asked playfully, moving closer to teasingly poke at Sano’s marked neck.

“QUIT it. Jerk!” the older teen snapped with an angry glare, pulling away from the sprite. “Don’t touch me!”

“Awwww. Dude, that’s not nice. Why are you mad?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?! You drugged me! And got me bit!”

“...So? You didn’t have fun?”

“NO!”

Rae and Jiro remained quiet, watching the two’s exchange with amusement. Rae turned to glance at her brother, giving him a knowing grin. The two siblings had a close enough relationship to basically guess at each other’s thoughts and Rae was pretty sure Jiro was thinking something along the lines of: ‘Kopaka never changes, does he?’ She shook her head, grin still present on her lips.

“Stop touching me, freak!”

“Rabid cranky rooster-man. Roooster-maaan. Heheheh.”

“Idiot!”

“Heheh.”

“STOP IT!”

“Alright Kopaka, that’s enough. Stop torturing Sano,” Rae finally ordered firmly, rolling her eyes at the quirky sprite. “Hey... Yuki’s still in my room, right?” she then questioned, turning to glance out the kitchen doorway, into the narrow hallway.

“Yuuup. Yuki-dude is reading some booky-book. Kinda looked like he wanted to be left alone,” the sprite responded with a shrug, plopping down in a wooden chair near Jiro. “Bookworm. Heh.”

Rae nodded; a bit of a frown appearing on her lips as her thoughts drifted back to the silver haired spirit... So Kopaka said something to Sano at the club about Yuki... I wonder... Maybe I should ask him about that... She turned her attention to the elemental, clearing her throat.

“Hey um--” the girl started but was cut off as Kopaka interrupted.

“Dude. I’m hungry,” he commented, a grin forming on his lips.

“You know... I am too,” Jiro chimed in with a small nod of the head.

“Yeah. I’m still hungry,” Sano added, after shooting another death glare at the grey haired sprite. “Fix some more food, Rae.”

Rae narrowed her eyes, glancing over the three. Each had turned their attention to her, with expectant expressions... ....Maaan...

“What do I look like? Your personal cook?” she questioned, eyes narrowing even further. She sat her –once again empty—coffee mug on the counter, crossing her arms at the three.

“Rae the cook-cook, heheheh.”

“...Fine.... What do you guys want?” Rae muttered, letting out a dejected sigh. Men...

“Pancakes, dude.”

“More stick things.”

“I don’t want breakfast food.”

“Aw, but Jiro-dude. Breakfast is cool.”

“Whateve—Hey! Stop pulling my earring! That hurts!”

“Heheh.”

“I want those stick things!”

“Ow! Sto-op!”

“Heheheheh!”

Rae rolled her eyes, letting out an aggravated sigh. Looks like I’ll have to ask Kopaka about Yuki later... With that thought she moved to the refrigerator, resigned to her fate of cooking for the three.

“Hey. I changed my mind... I want the things with the holes in them.”

“Duude. Maybe I want french toast instead...”

“I still don’t want breakfast.”

“Will you guys make UP YOUR MINDS?!?” Rae groaned, an exasperated look overtaking her features.

“Heheheh.”

.......Geh......

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Go to Part Two now, neh?
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((Rae: Part two will be up in a few minutes. I posting it right now, neh? ^^;))