Memories are funny things. For instance, one winter I went to Sapporo for vacation, and I remember that it was really cold there. I had this red scarf that I wore the entire time. I remember putting it on each day before I went out into the cold. Sure, it doesn't seem very funny, but I haven't finished the story yet. One day I happened to come across a picture of me by an ice sculpture, and sure enough I was wearing my scarf. Only the scarf was dark blue, not red. Strange, isn't it? I was absolutely certain that the scarf was red, but I was wrong. You see, memory is fallible, and even if you're certain that something happened a certain way, you could be wrong. Things could have been very different from what you recall. Why do I bring this up? Because I have to ask you to excuse Soshi, he's mistaken about a few things. But the past is past, and that part of the story's already been told. Besides, I can't swear that I remember things any clearer, or that my recollection is any closer to what actually happened. I just know that I remembered things a little differently. I suppose that's just another funny thing about memories. ..~. Wings of Fate Started by: John Evans and Ardweden Chapter 6: Guilty Conscience by: Chandra Rooney www.improfanfic.com/wof/ ..~. Blinking my eyes, I stared up at the dirty ceiling above me. I didn't recognize it at it first, and for a moment I wondered where I was. Then I remembered that I was still at Soshi's. I must have dozed off. I moved my head, working the tense muscles in my neck. On the couch, Kenchi was still out cold... and Soshi snored from a chair across the room. The events of the previous day returned to me, and I winced. It was just another reason to feel guilty. It was my fault... if you wanted to point fingers and place the ultimate blame. I shouldn't have made them a part of this... if it was even me who started it. It's funny, I can't remember now who approached who... who suggested the topic of magic... we seemed to have just found each other, sort of come to it naturally. Perhaps, it really was "Fate" as Soshi so smugly suggested. I'm not so sure of that. But sitting there blaming myself wasn't getting rid of the cramp in my neck. Still working at the sore muscles, I tried to come up with something that was helpful. Any coherent thought that would take my mind off the stiffness of my back would have done. I recall making a note to myself for future reference that sleeping sitting up in a folding chair was not a good plan. I stood and stretched as best I could and looked around at the dim surroundings. Even during the morning with the sun bright in the sky, Soshi's place was still dark. I wandered over to a lighter patch of black, which I assumed was a curtained window. It was, but the curtains were really just a black sheet thrown over the curtain rod, so when I attempted to open them, the entire thing fell down. It was morning outside, perhaps even afternoon. The sun was far too bright for my unprepared eyes, and I returned, squinting, to the chair. I tried to wake the others, but didn't have much luck. Kenchi didn't show any response to a few pokes, and Soshi didn't strike me as a morning person. Plus, he's much less of a bastard when he's asleep. I didn't want to leave just yet; I wanted to make sure Kenchi was all right. Maybe I'd even try to get Soshi to explain what had happened... Scratch that. I'd already had far more time with Soshi lately than I care to. Despite the fact that Soshi is an arrogantly smug bastard, he sometimes makes sense. Like yesterday with his whole idea about the media being monitored. Sure, he his plan to use a business card to intercept that monitoring made little to no sense... but it appeared to have worked. How it worked, I'm not exactly sure. I could ask him, but I doubt he'd tell me. Truth be told, I don't think he knows, either. For the record, he was only partially right about how to get the business card. Of course, he would have known that if he'd bothered to do his own errands instead of delegating the job to me. ..~. It hadn't been hard to get the business card, at least once I'd stopped regretting being Soshi's errand boy long enough. I don't know why I didn't just say 'Look, Soshi, I'm not your bitch. If you want a business card so badly, then *you* go and get it'. It might have been because it's easier to just do what Soshi wants, and plus, in doing this 'errand' I got away from him for a while. So, it hadn't been hard. Trickery is part of my nature, I'll admit that, but only when it suits me. After seeing Akari so upset I wasn't really feeling up to playing mind games. Soshi apparently was... not that he ever seemed otherwise. No, it hadn't been difficult, just slightly embarrassing. Okay, it had been *really* embarrassing. It seemed to start out all right. I walked over to the man beside the camera, putting as much of a look of awe on my face as I could muster. "Wow!" I gushed, bowing low and deep in a very impressive ojigi. "It's... you! Wow, I'm your biggest fan!" He blinked at me. "What?" "Satome, stop fooling around and bring the camera over here. I want a shot of the damage to start off my story with. They love destruction... and we have to give them what they want to see." I turned; a man with a microphone was waving the one with the camera over to him. Oops... that must be the reporter. Great... I'd just told the cameraman that I was his biggest fan. No wonder he'd reacted so strangely. The cameraman pushed past me, and I followed him over to the reporter. I supposed a card from the cameraman might work just as well, but it wasn't what Soshi wanted. Besides, I felt the need to try to salvage at least some of my dignity. Looking at the well-groomed man with the microphone, I asked, "You don't do your own camera work?" I tried my best to sound hurt. He looked at me. "Pardon me?" "I... I just thought with such great stories you must have done your own work," I replied. I looked around, and didn't see anyone I knew. So, I swallowed my pride, and choked back the taste of a complete and utter lie. "I'm a huge fan," I told him, feeling like an idiot and certain that I sounded like one. "I watch your newscast every night," I continued. "You're the greatest!" The reporter stopped giving me funny looks when he heard that. "A fan?" It never fails... tell people what they want to hear and they're yours. "Can I have your autograph? It would mean so much to me," I lied. He forced a smile. I could tell. "Sure... but you'll have to wait." He turned back to the cameraman. "I have some work to do first." "Are you here to report on what happened?" I asked. "I saw the whole thing..." I paused. "It was pretty intense." He turned, and actually looked at me that time. Suddenly I wasn't just someone bothering him; I was a potential source. It made all the difference. My foot was in the door. I just had to keep from tripping over it. "Really?" he asked, waving to the cameraman. "Why don't you tell me about what happened?" "Would I be on TV?" I asked, having mixed feelings. Soshi hadn't said anything about having to go in front of a camera. Sure, it was a natural conclusion. That's what reporters did, after all, they interviewed people. Still, I wasn't sure I wanted to attract anymore attention. "Sure," he replied. The cameraman adjusted the huge camera on his shoulder and manually focused it. The reporter cleared his throat. "Testing, one...two...three. This is Yamada Yuta, of channel seven news. I am here at the Takanobaba shopping complex, where a very strange event has just taken place." He turned to me. "Can you tell me what happened here?" I nodded. "I was just minding my own business, when these crows flew down from nowhere. These two girls--" "Crows?" he interrupted. "Yes, crows." I looked at him. "These crows appeared from nowhere and started swooping down towards the two girls. Then there was some sort of explosion and these plants--" "Plants, you say? What sort of plants?" I faltered. Had Shuukou been that specific about the details? "Um... I couldn't really see, there was a lot of dust in the air," I replied. "Excuse me," a deep voice said, and a tall man dressed in beige cleared his throat. He was wearing a suit... at least I think it was a suit. "Mr. Yamada," the man continued, "I have some information about this incident as well." Yuta frowned at him. I imagine the reporter was upset that someone had stepped into the way of his cameraman. Or maybe he was just upset that someone had interrupted him while he was trying to work. "I am currently in the middle of an interview with this young man," Yuta told the man. "Could you possibly wait for me to finish? And step back, you're blocking the shot for Satome." The man in beige gave me an appraising look, and then continued to... well, stare at me for some time. I tried to remain calm, but something about him was making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I fought not to squirm under his penetrating gaze. "This entire incident was actually part of a top secret movie shoot," the beige man told Yuta, without removing his gaze from me. "A movie shoot, you say?" Yuta motioned for the camera to be turned to the stranger, but the man held up his hand. "Turn off the camera," he instructed. Yuta motioned for the cameraman to shut off the camera. "Yes, it was all a movie shoot," the man said once the camera had been lowered. "I'm a representative of the production company. I'd like to keep the details of our film a secret, but I would be happy to talk to you about what I can reveal. However, it would be more professional to interview me in your studio. Let us return there." Yuta nodded, and motioned to the cameraman. I tried looking at the stranger at out of the corner of my eye, as I didn't want to let him see my face. I knew he was lying about the movie shoot; he was covering it up. Could it have been that he was part of the group that was after us? What had I been thinking letting Soshi send me off all alone? If They would send a monster to attack Akari and Shuukou in front all these people then one member wouldn't hesitate to attack me as soon as Yuta had turned his back... "Well, thank you for your time, young man," Yuta said, preventing me from visualizing the many possible things that I might have done to me. I remembered to smile, like I was only too happy to give him some of my time. I was losing him, which was fine with me. Of course, I was losing him before I had gotten Soshi's precious business card... It was the equivalent of saying goodbye to someone and forgetting to take your foot from the path of the door as they slammed it shut. I don't know why I didn't just let him go. I suppose my best excuse is that it's just easier to have a happy Soshi, and Soshi wouldn't have been "happy" unless he had that business card. Soshi is like that, when he decides he wants something... it's best to save yourself the headache and let him have it. "Wait a minute, sir," I protested, "you didn't give me an autograph. I really, really want one. Could you please just wait a second longer?" The stranger shook his head, and Yuta gave me the fake smile again. "Well, I'd love to, but I don't really have anything to--" "How about a business card?" I suggested, avoiding the displeased looks I was getting from the stranger. Oh well, at least it looked like he wasn't going to kill me. At least not right at that moment. Yuta muttered something and dug around in his pocket. He pulled out a stylish cardholder. It looked like a mini briefcase, complete with tiny engraved initials on the "locks". Snapping open the case, he pulled out a card and a pen. "What's your name?" he asked. If I told him my name... then the stranger would hear it. We still didn't know if they knew our names. I mean, we had to assume they knew them, but maybe the fellow didn't know who I was. Maybe I'd convinced him that I was just some kid. Somehow I doubted that, though. I was pretty sure that this stranger was a part of their group and that he was watching me right now, trying to decide what he should do about me. From the corner of my eye I tried to scout for anyone else who looked suspicious or like they were a little too interested in what I was doing. If the stranger had friends around, then I wanted to know; he wasn't going to catch me off-guard... The reporter cleared his throat. "Ahem, your name?" he repeated, tensely. I reached up to tug on my nose, but stopped. They might know about that habit of mine. I had a brilliant idea. "Soshi, sir," I told Yuta brightly. "My name is Soshi." "Right, Soshi." The reporter scrawled a half-hearted message on the back of the business card and then handed it to me. "There you are, Soshi." "Gosh, thanks so much!" I gushed. "This is so cool!" The stranger cleared his throat again, and Yuta smiled his fake grin one last time. He waved for the cameraman to follow him, and turned away from me. The two of them set off into the crowd, following the man in beige. Oh, you must be wondering about the stranger. He didn't come back... at least, I don't think he did. I can't really tell you very much more than I have already. The man was dressed in beige, that's all I know... and I might even be wrong about that. It's funny... for the life of me... I can't recall what his face looked like. Anyway, I stood there, grinning like an idiot until I was certain that Yuta and the stranger were gone. Then I looked down at the small card in my hand. "To my dear fan, Soshi, best wishes from Yuta Yamada", it read. I couldn't wait to give it to Soshi. Hmm, what's that? Oh, he never bothered to read the back of the card. At least, not while I was around. I believe he read it later. I wished I could have been there to see the look on his face. I felt he deserved it. He deserved a lot more, but as I said, I wasn't in the mood. ..~. After Soshi woke up, and Kenchi didn't, I didn't stay at Soshi's house. I told him that I had some things to do and left. I went back home and sat on the tatami in my living room. Honestly, I didn't have anything that I needed to do; I just didn't want to be around him anymore. He was starting to creep me out with his weirder than usual mood. The tone of his voice when he said 'something wonderful' and the way he smiled was too much. Don't get me wrong, Soshi is creepy most of the time... but you didn't see him when he did whatever he did to that monster. You didn't see the look in his eyes when he said 'something wonderful', nor did you see the expression on his face. He was *smiling*, and it was not a good smile. It expression certainly didn't make me feel like it was a good idea to leave Kenchi there. Well, not that Soshi really has any expressions that are even remotely reassuring. However, I did leave Kenchi there. So why did I? Well, for one thing, he wasn't awake yet. Why didn't I try to wake him up? Well, I have no idea... sometimes I do things and even I don't understand why. For example, I was halfway home before I realize that I'd walked off with Soshi's little statue. He wasn't going to be happy about that, either. Oh, sure, he acted like it was no big deal... but I'm sure it was. He wouldn't have bothered with it if it wasn't a big deal. I can't see why it was a big deal... It wasn't even a nice statue. I have no idea what drew me to it. Oh well, I'd just give it back to him when I saw him next time. I had no doubt that I'd be seeing him, and the others, again. I didn't need a vision to tell me that things were going to get worse before they got better. Any enemy that could attack us twice in one day... were they that powerful, or we they just trying to get the job done as quickly as possible? But that didn't make any sense... because the stranger could have easily taken care of me when I was all alone, and he didn't. He walked off and didn't look back. It was bewildering. But the most confusing thing of all had to be the question of why were we just being targeted *now*? If they had the power to send these creatures after us, and the gall to do it in front of other people... then why had it taken so long for them to find us? Was I right that they didn't know our names? But if so, then how had they found us? Was there a way of detecting magic that they had used to track us down? No, don't suggest what Soshi told you is true. That's bullshit. Okay, well, I suppose it might be true... but the part about Soshi being able to do it is total bullshit. He works with barriers; that's his Power. Music is not, and I know this for a fact because he's a rotten guitar player. Besides, there's no way, even if he was getting involved in Dark Arts, that he could possibly be that advanced. None of us could be. Back to the matter of why we were only being targeted now. I wonder if it had something to do with my power suddenly making itself active. Before the first vision everything had been fine, but soon after it things had started to go wrong. It seemed like an awful big coincidence. I hadn't had another vision since that one in Shuukou's forest, too. That also seemed odd. Maybe, maybe... if I was really paranoid I'd concluded that was because whoever was after us was supplying me with these visions. I wasn't that paranoid... at least not yet. I thought about Shuukou and her forest, about the horrifying vision of the trees appearing to bleed and then everything burning... I shuddered and shook my head, not wanting to see it again. It had been enough the first time. Then it hit me... Shuukou was alone. Shuukou was alone in her forest, a forest that I had seen burning in a vision. What if she was in danger? Hmm? Well, yes, of course, if what Soshi said was true then she was definitely in danger. I meant I wondered if she was in danger of being attacked while she was alone and separated from us. Did I believe Soshi? Did I think that Shuukou had become lost to her power? I didn't want to. It seemed impossible to me. Shuukou had always seemed so strong and independent. She was always so firm in her beliefs, even if I didn't like those beliefs... I respected her ability to cling to them so tightly. Shuukou lost to her power? Impossible. Shuukou couldn't be lost. Who would take care of Akari? Who would keep Kenchi in line? Shuukou couldn't be lost... because if she could get lost... then what hope did the rest of us have? Besides, how would Soshi have known? It didn't feel right. He had been far too ready to tell me about Shuukou, and that's not like Soshi. Soshi liked to keep everyone in the dark and watch as we tried to figure out what he already knew... or later claimed that he did. The fact of the matter was that alone we were more vulnerable than we were together. Look at the shadow monster that had attacked the three of us the night before. Whatever Soshi had done, it had worked... but I get the idea that he couldn't have done it without Kenchi. I know that Kenchi couldn't have fended off that monster on his own... Could I have? No, probably not. Yet, despite my revelation that together was better... I was sitting at home... all alone. Plus, the stranger had seen my face. He might have even had some associates follow me to Soshi's. For all I knew, they could have been waiting to go in there and clean up our dead bodies. They might have even still been there when I left to return home... and they might have followed me. They could be sitting outside my house planning how to get rid of me at that very moment. I got up slowly, and walked over to the window. Pulling back the curtain, I peeked out into the yard, looking for men in beige or shadows that were a little darker than they should have been. I saw neither, but it didn't make me feel any better. A sort of heaviness had settled over the room. Things seemed too quiet... and I walked slowly back to the tatami. I lay back on the tatami and closed my eyes, trying to just stop thinking. Thinking was only adding to my feelings of apprehension. I had to try to relax, to try and calm down. I had to keep from doing something stupid that I would regret later. I lay on the tatami, and concentrated on breathing. I closed my eyes and let the sounds from outside the house drift through my mind... ..~. Basement. Single bare bulb dangling from a chain. It swung back and forth, back and forth. Soshi standing there. He looked angry. The others sat in chairs around the table. We were back were it all started; we were in Soshi's basement once again. Only... why was I tied up? And why did everyone look so angry with me? "What's going on?" I asked. "Is this some kind of joke, Soshi?" Akari was crying. "How could you, Judou?" she asked me, tears spilling from her eyes. "I thought... I thought..." "What are you talking about, Akari?" I asked, confused. I looked around the table at them. They wouldn't meet my eyes. Akari looked away, and Kenchi kept staring at the floor. Even Soshi wouldn't look at me. "Where's Shuukou?" I demanded. "Where is she?" "Why don't you tell us, Judou?" Soshi suggested, sneering. "Use your Sight to find her. It's only fitting... don't you think? After all, it's your Power that caused all of this." "You're the reason Shuukou's gone," Akari said softly. "If you hadn't--" she broke off as a fresh rain of tears fell. Kenchi reached over and held her. "Gifts? More like curses," he said, as he glared at me. Akari sobbed into his shoulder. "You cursed us, Judou," Kenchi told me. "It's your fault," Akari repeated. "This is all your--" ..~. I jolted up and off of the tatami, looking around. I was in my house, not Soshi's basement. It had been a dream. Or had it been a vision? No, it had just been a nightmare. An ordinary nightmare, the kind that anyone could get. Well, in the sense that it appeared to just be a reflection of my own waking anxiety. No wonder with the things I'd been thinking. Was I worrying needlessly? No, some part of me felt that this was all somehow my fault. If anything happened to Shuukou... to any of them... I tugged on my nose and sighed. Slowly my eyes fell on the small statue that I had taken from Soshi's. Again, I reminded myself that despite the way I felt about Soshi at the moment, I ought to return it. I looked away and then looked back and the table. This time it was the object beside the statue that caught my attention and held it. It was Kenchi's Rubik's cube. Well, at the time I didn't realize it was specifically *his*, I just had a feeling that it wasn't mine. I couldn't recall owning a Rubik's cube. I could never solve them, no matter how hard I tried. Oh, I've mentioned that already, have I? Never mind. The Rubik cube was, in fact, Kenchi's. I didn't realize it was-- Look, if you're going to keep interrupting me, then I'm just going to stop talking. You can find out what happened from someone else. Hmm? Yes, exactly, no one else can tell you what I was thinking when I saw the Rubik's cube. May I continue? The Rubik cube got me thinking about Kenich. I did remember that he had one in his apartment, and that I had been playing with it when we'd first gone to see him. Of course, I was still worried about Kenchi. I even considered calling Soshi to see if he was awake yet. Why didn't I? Well... it would have been just as easy for Soshi to truthfully say that Kenchi was fine, as it would have been for him to lie and say that Kenchi was fine. No, I didn't know what Soshi had done to Kenchi at the time. I didn't even know if it was specifically Soshi that was the cause of it. Remember that I was more fixated on my own guilty conscience. Specifically, I was thinking about how Kenchi had cried out when I'd touched him back when he'd been talking to Phillipe. I'd done something to him... I wasn't sure what. Later we'd reach the conclusion that we had somehow combined powers. I don't know how we did it... nor did I even know that we had done it. Soshi knew. I suppose that's what he meant when said that I had given him the idea of how to combine powers. So... if Soshi had done something to Kenchi, it was my fault. Wait, no... I don't think Soshi actually knew at that time. It was later that we all figured it out. He couldn't have known... Kenchi didn't tell anyone about his vision until later. Soshi told you that he knew, didn't he? Well, he must have been mistaken. More likely he was lying. Soshi likes to pretend that he knows more than he really does. Yes, I *know* I said something like that before, I just wanted to stress the point. It's very important that you understand that about Soshi. Now, of course, you want to know why I touched Kenchi. I didn't mean for whatever happened to happen. I just wanted to speed him along. That's all. I didn't like Phillipe. I can't explain why I didn't like him... just that I got a bad feeling when being around him. It was a justified feeling, as we came to find out later. No, I will not elaborate. That's Kenchi's story, not mine. Besides, it's best we tell one thing at a time. So what else is there for me to say? I shook out of my broodings, looked at the clock and realized that it was just after six. I clicked on the TV, wondering if there was any news about the incident. Channel seven was the station that came on when I hit the power button. Yuta Yamada was talking to the anchorwoman. "Clean up crews have completed clearing away the rubble from the area," Yuta told the cheery looking woman. "As reported earlier, the production company has issued an apology for the disturbance. It appears they wanted the most realistic reaction from the crowd that they could get." I clicked off the TV. It had been a day, and they had probably had most of the focus on the story the night before. This was just a follow-up story, something brief and quickly mentioned to tie up loose ends. I should have wondered about Yuta Yamada. I should have remembered that, according to Kenchi, Yuta was in the room with the monster that had attacked the three of us the night before. I didn't. Instead, I wondered if they had shown the "eyewitness account" I had given on the news. I wondered if those who were after us had seen it. I also realized that I was very hungry. I tried to remember the last time I'd eaten, but I couldn't recall. Had it been the night before? Had I eaten before I'd gone back to Soshi's? I went to the fridge, looked inside, and pulled out a bowl. When I had made this? Two, three days ago? I couldn't remember, nor could I remember if tuna was still safe to eat after three days. So I put it back in the fridge, found my wallet and tried to decide on a cheap, but tasty, place I could go to for supper. But I didn't leave the house for a few more minutes. Before I did, I called the number Kenchi had given me. He answered on the fifth ring. " 'Hello'," he said in English, sounding groggy. "Hi, Kenchi, it's Judou," I said. "You're awake. Feeling better?" "No, not really." He replied. "I still feel drained, Judou." "That's too bad. Feel like getting some take-out with me?" "No, I just want to go back to sleep." "I was hoping we could talk about what happened last night. Oh, I have your Rubik's Cube," I added, looking back into the living room. Kenchi yawned. "Bring it by tomorrow. We'll talk then. I'm going back to sleep." "What time tomorrow?" I asked. "Early afternoon," he mumbled. "Goodbye, Judou." Click. I hung up the phone. I'd talk to him about what Soshi had said about Shuukou when I went to see him. He didn't sound like he needed to have something like that on his mind. On my way out of the house, I stopped to pat my favorite crow statue on the head. This time I had a different request than I had for the previous two days. "Ancestors protect me." ..~. When I returned, my message light was blinking. The message was the sound of a click as someone hung up. Later, I would learn that it had been Akari, calling to talk about what had happened at the hospice. At the time I just shrugged it off and went to open my mail. It was mostly junk mail. Okay, it was all junk mail except for the plain white envelope. It had no return address. In fact, the only writing on the envelope at all was my name, Karasuno Judou, written in neat kanji. I opened it and shook out the folded piece of paper that was inside. As I opened the paper, a single black feather tumbled to the ground. I bent and picked it up. It was a crow feather. I had a very bad feeling about what it meant. I unfolded the paper. A single sentence was written on it. It said: "We saw you, 'Soshi'." ..~. End Chapter 6 ..~. To pay homage to ravi's really cool idea... here are some outtakes. ^_^ .... Yuta: "Crows?" Judou: "No... government agents dressed like space aliens. *Yes*, crows." ..... Yuta: "Plants, you say? What sort of plants?" Judou: "Uh... let me check the script." ..... (These are from John ^_^) "You're no longer part of the system. You're above the system. Over it. Beyond it. We're 'them'. We're 'they'. We...are the Men in Beige." "Here come the Men in Beige..." ..... Yuta: "What's your name?" Judou: "Arthur, King of England." Yuta: "What's your quest?" Judou: "To find the Holy Grail." Yuta: "What's your favorite color?" Judou: "Blue." Yuta: "What is the average speed of a hummingbird carrying a coconut?" Judou: "African or European?" Yuta: "I don't kno-- Ahhhhhh!" ..... (I had some help from ravi for this one ^^) Judou: *poke* *poke* *poke* He doesn't seem to be responding. Hmmm, either he's sleeping or he's dead. Kenchi: Mmmmm... Shuukou... mmmm... do that again.... Soshi: Quickly, let's stuff skittles up his nose! Akari: Save the grape ones for me! ..... Basement. Single bare bulb dangling from a chain. It swung back and forth, back and forth. Soshi standing there. He looked angry. "You guys always go and do fun stuff like tying up Judou without me!" ..... Basement. Single bare bulb dangling from a chain. It swung back and forth, back and forth. Soshi was sitting there. He looked angry. "What did you do, Akari?" I asked. "Nothing, Judou, I swear," she replied. "Soshi was tied up like that when I got here." ..... Basement... Akari: "Oh, look guys! We're being attacked by another shadow monster!" Shadow Monster: "Grr... Grrr... Arrrgh... Grrr..." Akari: *picks up the foot tall monster* "Oh, isn't he precious? Let's keep him guys! We'll name him Soshi--" Soshi: "But my name is Soshi." Judou: "Don't you think he looks just like you?" Soshi: *grumble* "Gyoshi doesn't have to put up with this sort of abuse." ..... I had a very bad feeling about what it meant, as I unfolded the paper. A single sentence was written on it. It said: "Dear Judou, it was fun while it lasted, but I think we have different goals in mind so I'm leaving you for Phillipe. -- Soshi." ..... Author's Notes: I like Judou, and this was actually much easier to write that I thought it was going to be. I had fun. ^_^ I'm just sorry that it took so long to get this finished. I'd liked to thank my friend Yukiko for lending me her tape of Utada Hikaru's "First Love" album. I listened to it (too) many times while writing this. HUGE thanks and *hug* for all your help (prereading and otherwise): ravi, Ard, John. Also, big thanks to Dan for the extension (midterms = bad).