Uchuu no Houseki
The Universe of Jewels

Volume 10:
Flight of the Fairy
By Emi

    Ah~ San Francisco…
    Atop a large, gently rolling hill, an enormously white villa stood as an impressive work of humanity, leaping out from the green of the surrounding nature and standing as a strong inspection for people miles around.  It was truly an inspiring sight to behold, this mansion was, with its vast fields and orchards, the vivid blues of its pool and cascading fountain, the gleaming from its polished white surface as the sun hit it just right.  The millionaires that lived there were equally as emphatic, each with their own strange and marvelous stories to tell, and each looked upon as a beacon for the surrounding community, just as with their divine mansion.
    On this particular pleasant morning, there was a peculiar excitement surrounding the mansion and its vast properties.  From a look on the outside, one could see several expensive vehicles driving up the rounded driveway.  Guests dressed in only the most elegant clothing would step out from them to leave their vehicles to be parked by swarming bellboys and such.  There was also quite a bit of commotion to be heard from the back of the mansion, right behind the large platform that resembled a stage.  There were several tables set up while guests would help themselves to their seats and the food that was lined up neatly at the large, lavish buffet table.  However, even with all this pandemonium outside, the greatest excitement was on the inside…
    “Mother!  You’re pulling my hair!”
    A lovely, nearly elderly woman leaned over next to her daughter’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, Veronica dear… I guess I’m just so nervous, this day I’ve been anticipating for such a long time, but now that it’s here…”
    “You don’t want it to be here, I know, mother.”  She snatched the hairbrush from her mother’s hand and looked back in the mirror.  “But I am 25 years old, I think I can brush my own hair.”
    The older woman smiled and nodded, standing up again.  She looked all about the large bathroom she was in with her daughter, the Jacuzzi in the corner with the ferns and candles cascading all down along it, the large vanity her daughter was seated before.  Once she glanced to the bronze clock above the walnut door, she gasped, “Oh dear, we must begin soon!  Veronica, have you seen your brother at all today?”
    Veronica was smoothing her long blonde hair with her hand and shook her head, “You know how moody he can be with large events like this.  I think he’s been in his room all morning trying to make himself look absolutely gorgeous for today.” She said, rather sarcastically.
    “Could you please go and get him?  We mustn’t keep everyone waiting.”
    Veronica stood, her beautiful green dress shimmering on down to her toes, “Certainly mother.  Just leave it to me.”  With that, she left the bathroom to try and find her brother, who apparently was a very vital part of the events occurring on this day.

    “Oh, REALLY?  Do tell!”  He nearly squealed and flipped back on to his king-sized waterbed.  The phone was glued to his ear and with every passing second, the smile on his face grew wider.  He was talking to someone in Japan, his entire conversation had been spoken in fluent Japanese, as it had become his second language with years of study.  He was so drawn in by what was being said that he was completely unaware of his surroundings.
    Veronica’s heels clicked on the white marble floor as she walked down a hall of the mansion.  Many doors were on her either side along with large potted plants and paintings.  She stopped suddenly when she reached the door at the end of the hall and could hear the muffled Japanese coming from the inside.  Annoyed by his carelessness, Veronica opened the door and let herself inside the spacious bedroom.  She saw him on the bed talking in a language she couldn’t understand.  She stood there, arms folded, tapping her foot on the ground, waiting impatiently for him to end his phone call.
    He glanced over and saw her there and knew he must get off the phone soon.  “I gotta go now, sorry babe.  But I’ll see you very soon, so save some of that lovin’ for me, ok?  Bye!”  he hung up the phone and sat up, wiping the smile off his face as he cleared his throat.  “You know, it’s really rude for someone to come and interrupt someone else’s phone calls…” he complained, switching back into English.
    “Well excuse me, Mr. ‘I’m always in my own little world!’  I just came in here to get you so you can come to YOUR going away party!  Is that so terrible?  Hmm?” she huffed.
    He stood up and turned to her, a sneer on his face, “Ok, you’ve gotten me and now you can leave!  Please don’t just waltz inside my room anytime you feel like it anymore, got it?”
    “Of course not, your majesty.” She bowed and glanced her head up, “Especially since you’re leaving, I don’t think that will be a problem.”
    He walked over to his desk and inspected a final bag of luggage.  “I’m sorry,” he said blandly, “I’m just really on edge right now.”
    “I noticed,” she walked closer, “but you’re going off to live on your own now, I don’t blame you to be.  You should have seen me when I moved out, I was ten times worse!”
    He smiled and turned around to her, “I’m gonna miss you.  Don’t forget me when I’m gone, k?”
    “Patty watty wumkins!  How can I forget you?  You’re my baby brother AND the heir to the Mallard Empire.  No one will forget you!” She gave him a noogie, to which he finally managed to squirm his way out of.
    “Don’t!!  You’ll mess up my hair!” he cried like a little girl, causing her to laugh hysterically.
    “Since when does a guy care so much about his hair?  Patrick, you certainly are somethin’ else!”
    His voice went back to normal, only now he deliberately tried to make it sound more “manly.”  “Nah, I’m not different at all…”
    “I said something else, not different.  Man, you’d think you were paranoid about something.” Veronica looked down to the desk to see it completely empty except for one final thing he hadn’t packed yet.  “Oooooh…” she picked it up and looked at it closely.  It was a picture of a friend of his Veronica obviously had her heart set on.  “Did you tell Rodney you’re leaving?”
    “Of course!” he took the picture form her and crammed it into his backpack, “He was the first one I told- after you and mom and dad, that is…” there was a small blush on his cheeks.
    “Mmm… he’s fine… Too bad you’re going to be so far away from your best friend.”
    “He lives in London, he’s always been far away from me.  But it doesn’t matter, he said as soon as he could he’d come visit me.”
    Veronica yawned, he wasn’t sure if that meant she was bored or just tired or both.  “Well, everyone’s wondering where you are, so you’d better get you’re little tush down there A.S.A.P.”
    He sighed, “I hate big events like this… I don’t want to go!”
    “Oh, be a man!  This is for you after all!” she walked toward the door.
    “Wait!  Just tell them I-I’m um… getting a fever so… I can’t go to the party after all!  Please…?”
    She rolled her eyes, “Whatever, Patrick!” Shutting the door loudly behind her, she left him alone.
    He sighed loudly and took out the picture of his friend again.  “Boom Boom, I wish you were here with me…”

    He finished tying the laces of his very shiny formal black shoes and looked himself over several times in a fully body mirror to make sure everything was perfect.  He was wearing a neatly pressed black tuxedo that made him look sharp and handsome.  His hair that normally would reach the top of his shoulders was tied back.  Now he was ready to go out to be party that was being thrown in his honor.
    He sat down on a chair on the platform next to his mother, with his arrival the ceremony could then begin.  His father, a very wealthy looking, high oriented man, walked up to a pulpit with a microphone and settled everyone down so they could begin.  There was vast pride shining in his clear blue eyes.
    “Welcome everyone, on behalf of the Mallard Empire, we welcome you all here today to celebrate something both joyous and unfortunate.” His father began and Patrick was slowly sinking in his seat, “Nearly 23 years ago, my beautiful wife gave birth to our fifth and final child.  Now, you all can imagine how excited I was to discover it was a boy after four girls.” The entire audience laughed and Patrick felt his face turn bright red.  “I was so proud of my boy, I wanted to do everything for him and give him the best life possible full of the finest opportunities.  He’s done so many great things in his life, he’s fluent in three different languages, he graduated from Yale early with a near perfect 3.7, he excels in music and dance!  And now, he’s moving on in his life to go out and live on his own, seeking new opportunities across the Pacific.  Son,” he turned to see Patrick, “this toast is to you, may you always have success and happiness wherever life may lead you.”
    He saw everyone hold their glasses up to him.  He smiled and nodded to them, acknowledging his thanks.  Deep down inside, he wished they weren’t doing that and he REALLY wished his father wasn’t making such a big deal about it.  He wanted to just leave quietly and not have all of San Francisco know about it.
    His father turned back to the audience and wiped a tear from his eye, “And now, we will all be pleased to hear from him, my extraordinary son and heir to the Mallard Empire.  Patrick James Mallard the third.”
    There was huge applause and Patrick felt his heart skip a beat.  With legs like noodles, he slowly made his way up to the microphone, his dad patting his back as he walked by.  He could see everyone from there.  It seemed like the ocean of people was ten times what he had thought!  When the applause stopped and everyone waited for what he had to say, he very nervously cleared his throat.  “Th-thank you.  I-I really don’t know w-what to s-say- I just h-h-hope I c-can make it on m-my own.” There was a long awkward pause.  “Thank you!” then everyone gave him a standing ovation and he slowly crept back to his seat.  He felt like climbing into a grave after that.
    His father went back to the microphone to give final sentiments, “Well said, my son.  And now, we will be serving lunch from world famous chefs and Patrick will be up here if you would like to talk to him privately.  Thank you!”
    Patrick gave out a big groan as his father came over to him to shake his hand, “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
    He rolled his eyes, “Oh no, especially not since everyone in San Francisco knows about it now.” He reiterated his thoughts from before.
    “Buck up, son.  You have to be happy for the guests coming to see you.  Stand up, straighten your bow tie.  I’m going to go sample some crepes!”
    He stood up and did what his father asked.  He put on a fake smile just in time as an old couple walked up to him and his mother.  “Patrick, my dear,” the old woman said and kissed his cheek, “Why, I remember you when you were just a little boy and now you’ve grown into a handsome young man!”
    He gave out fake laughter followed by another fake smile,  “Well, that’s nice of you to say…”
    As she passed by, her husband then looked down to him.  He was much taller and much grimmer looking.  “Hot damn, son!  Are you wearing lip gloss?”
    Patrick’s eyes grew and he immediately wiped his lips.  Quickly, he had to think of an excuse, “No sir, I uh… my mother kissed me…”
    She turned to him, looking confused, “No I didn’t, honey.”  He gave her a look and the man passed by, not sure he really wanted to know.  Patrick sighed and knew this was going to be a very long day.

    By early afternoon, the last of the guests were lingering around the mansion, putting off going home.  The catering company was cleaning up and still taking over the kitchen and the butlers were busy cleaning the yard and mansion again.  It was time, Patrick had to leave.
    The private jet was sitting ready at the family’s small airfield.  All of his luggage (which could have easily filled up an entire jet in and of itself) was all packed, all that was left was getting him aboard.  He sighed again and looked at the white jet.  He turned back to see his parents and sister ready to see him off.
    His mother was all choked up with tears, “Oh honey… are you sure you want to do this?”
    “Yes, mother.  I’m positive.”
    “Good luck son.  Make us proud and remember who you are.” Said his father, setting a hand on his wife’s shoulder.  Patrick nodded shyly.
    “Can’t you wait for a few weeks?  Your sisters will be able to be here then and we’d have all the family here together.” Said his mother desperately.
    He shook his head softly, “I’ve been waiting long enough.”
    “Let him go, mother.  You knew this day would come.” Said Veronica.
    “Well come over here and give us a hug, boy!” ordered his father.
    Patrick set his carry on bag (the same backpack as before) on the ground and came over to his family.  They all embraced him and said their final good byes.  He smiled at all of them and walked up to the jet.  Just before he entered, he looked at them one last time and waved, “I’ll miss you, I love you all!”
    “We’ll miss you too!  Goodbye Patrick!” they all waved and watched as he stepped inside the jet.
    “Don’t forget to change your underwear everyday!!” his mother called out.
    Patrick was escorted to his seat in the jet and sat down.  He set his backpack beside him and smiled comfortably.  “Finally,” he said, “I can just be myself.”  That seemed to be the only thing he wanted and now he could freely have it.
    The jet soon took off into the air and he looked out the window as his home, the huge mansion, turned into just a small spec.  He was quite pleased and couldn’t have asked for things to have gone any better.  Opening the backpack beside him, he pulled out something unusual.  It was a shiny purple compact with the word “Fairy” engraved on it.  He opened it to see his smiling reflection in the small mirror.  “Soon now,” he spoke to himself sounding proud, “I can finally let my true colors fly high!”

    “Taka-chan, wake up!  You’re starting to talk in your sleep…” Satoru nudged him lightly on the shoulder.
    Taka’s eyes fluttered open slowly.  He sat up straight from his prior position of lounging his head on the desk and rubbed his eyes while yawning.  “Sorry… I was out late last night.  What was I saying?”
    Satoru put a finger to his chin and answered as innocently as ever, “Well, you said you wanted to *beep* and then *beep* *beep* and *beeeeeeeeeep.*  (Censored language ^^;) But what does all that mean?”
    Shingo, Tenko, but especially Taka stared back at Satoru with huge eyes.  The worst part of all was that Satoru was completely serious about that question!  Taka couldn’t believe it and turned very red.  The twins glanced to each other and turned back to the teacher, who seemed a bit miffed at his student’s diminishing enthusiasm with this day’s particular lessons.
    Taka sighed softly and gave a distant smile to Satoru, “It never ceases to amaze me how cute you can be.”
    “Taka!  Please don’t talk.” Mr. Kiyomura said brashly.  “Actually, would you like to come up here and help me with something?”
    “Sure.” Taka stood and walked to the front of the class by the teacher.  Again, this day he was sporting yet another outrageous outfit.  This time, it consisted of sleek shiny black boots that came not to his knees, but all the way up to his upper thighs.  Of course, Taka had very nice legs, so he could get away easily with stuff like that.  He was also wearing a black veil that gathered around his neck and cascaded down to nearly meet the floor.  His shirt was tight and very low in front, clasped together all along the front with large belts that ran on down his torso.  The sleeves clung to his arms and were sheer, letting the tattoo on his shoulder be seen with little effort.  Around his waist was a black cloth thingy (oh man, I don’t know how to explain this in words… umm…) it went down to his knee on one side and slit up to his waist on the other.  The edges of it were frayed-looking and almost looked like black spider’s web.  On his hands he was wearing tight black gloves that were open at the fingers, showing the silver rings with skulls and such that he also had on.  Around his neck he wore the black spiky choker and small black studs in his ears.  Today, his lips were black and his eyelids showed a hint of silver.
    Mr. Kiyomura found himself staring and soon made himself stop.  He knew how rude it was to stare, but then again, who wouldn’t stare at Taka?  “Well, I just need you to tell me your age first of all, if you don’t mind.” He said quickly.
    “My age…” Taka had no clue what he was getting himself into.  “I’m 15…”
    “Ok, go ahead and write that on the blackboard.”
    Right behind him was the blackboard.  Taka picked up a white piece of chalk and wrote neatly 15, like he was instructed.
    “Now, we have one piece of information.  Let’s say we wanted to find out the average age of children in this classroom.  Of course, with a number like 15, our results would be slightly different from other sixth grade classes.”  Taka blushed softly and wished he could sit down.  “So, instead of making Taka work extra hard trying to calculate for the entire class, we are just going to use his table group to help us.  So, we are going to figure out the average age of the people in his table group.  So, Shingo, Tenko, how old are you two?”
    “12.” They both said in unison.
    Mr. Kiyomura nodded for Taka to write two 12’s on the board.  “Are you 12 also, Satoru?” when Taka heard that name, he smiled and sighed softly.  Satoru only nodded.  “Well, why don’t we make this a little interesting.  Will you be 13 soon by any chance?”
    “Yeah!” said Satoru cutely.
    “Ok.  Taka, if you would.” Taka wrote down the final number with a little more love than the previous ones.  “So, now we have the numbers 15, 12, 12, and 13.  So how to we get an average out of a group of numbers like this?”
    “Don’t you add them all together first off?” asked Taka.
    “Right!  But first, why don’t you put them in order from smallest to largest, just so that it looks neater.
    Taka did so and in seconds added the numbers together.  “52.”
    “So then we have to divide 52 by the number of numbers we originally had.”
    “52 divided by 4” he wrote out for all to see, “… that’s… 13.”
    “Good, so the average age at Taka’s table group is 13.  Does everyone understand how we did that?”
    “I’m a little confused…” said Satoru in a very soft voice.
    Taka felt his heart soaring and nearly flew back over to his seat.  He set his hands on Satoru’s and stared deeply into his eyes, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you Sato-chan.”
    “You will?  Oh, thank you, Taka-chan!” he was so happy, his eyes were like little stars.
    He found himself staring again and this time had to really work to tear away, as did all of the rest of the class.  “Ok then, now let’s move on to median and mode…”
    As Mr. Kiyomura continued to explain, Taka found it impossible to pay attention, not while he was gazing at Satoru like that!  He quietly explained again to him the process for finding the mean, or average of a group of numbers.  Satoru understood then, and Taka was so happy he could help him.  He secretly loved Satoru so much that he would gladly do anything for him.
    Shingo looked down to the assignment Mr. Kiyomura had just handed to every student.  Sure, he knew how to do mean median and mode all right, but the worksheet also had some fractions on it, and he never was very good at fractions.  Looking over to Taka, he saw that he had confidence and was working quickly through all the problems.  Shingo bit his lip and thought that maybe he would regret what he was about to ask.  “Taka…” he met him with jade green eyes, “do you think you could help me with these fractions?”
    “Me too!  They’re just so hard!” complained Tenko.
    “I have trouble with them also,” added Satoru, abashed.
    Taka nodded, “Certainly.”
    “I know!” Tenko gasped, “We can have a study group today after school!”
    “Good idea!  Taka, just come over to Daisuke-san’s house after school, that way you can just help us all at once.  I’ll draw you a map of how to get there from the school,” Shingo took out a piece of paper and began to sketch a crude map for Taka.
    “This will be so much fun, right?” Satoru looked to Taka and saw a face that was unusually disheartened.  “Taka-chan…”
    “Oh, sorry.  I just don’t know if I’ll be able to do it today.  My mom’s sick and I’m going to the club tonight-” he spoke grimly.
    “Please Taka-chan!” Satoru took his hand and looked deeply into his eyes.  There were hints of small tears beginning to form in his eyes as his lip quivered like it always did when he was upset.  “You can still do that, it won’t take too long to help us.”
    Taka couldn’t help but smile.  His heart melted when Satoru said that.  He put a hand on his cheek and spoke in a beautiful voice full of love, “Alright.  I’ll do anything for you.”
    “Ok, not in the middle of class, guys!” Shingo said in a loud whisper and removed Taka’s hand from Satoru’s cheek.  He could feel Mr. Kiyomura watching them and knew they all were about to overstep their bounds.  “Now let’s just pay attention and try not to get detention for disrupting the class any further, alright?”
    Although Taka didn’t want to, for he’d much rather continue staring deeply into Satoru’s clear blue eyes, he decided to at least pretend he was paying attention, as did the others.

    The jet landed about that same time.  Immediately, like some rigorous boot camp routine, all the luggage was loaded out of the jet and sent off to the new home he would be living in from then on.  Patrick hung the backpack over one shoulder and stood at the jet’s door before walking down to the ground.  He was sure that before he left home, he changed from his formal tuxedo into a black suit, to humor his parents mostly.  He looked all around.  In the distance, he could see several tall buildings nearly reaching the sky.  The sunshine was bright and only to fade a few times as high clouds blanketed over the sun.  With a small smile, he placed dark sunglasses over his eyes.  “So, this is Japan, huh?”
    “Yes, sir.” A flight attendant said.
    Patrick nodded, “Excellent.”
    He walked down to the ground and was taken into a large black limousine.  Once he sat down inside the incredible vehicle, he was surprised when two arms wrapped around him.
    “Patrick honey!!” a woman’s voice said.
    Shocked, Patrick glanced over to see the curly head of a woman on his chest.  He nearly turned green and red with rage at the same time.  “W-w-what’s the meaning of this?!  Let me go!”  The woman giggled and tightened her already binding grip around his waist.  “…can’t… breathe…” he glanced up to a man standing outside the door.  It was obvious he knew something Patrick did not.
    “Jeremy…” he said with the little breathe he had left, “what are you hiding from me?”
    The rather large man cleared his throat and handed him a letter from behind his back.  Patrick snatched it from his hand.  The woman was annoying him more than ever.  “Would you stop that?!” he pushed her away.  She leaned on the other side of the limousine and giggled some more.  Patrick straightened his clothes and tore into the letter.  “Dearest Patrick blah blah blah blah…” he scanned the letter obviously from his father until he came to something that both stunned and scared him, “…fiancée?!?!” he nearly dropped the paper.  He looked up to Jeremy, white like he had just seen a ghost.
    “Your father set up a special surprise for you…”
    “F-f-f-fiancée?” he looked back to the bubble headed woman, his teeth chattering.
    “Please understand young master, it’s in your own best interest you’re engaged to this girl.  Your father is a wise man.”
    “MY FATHER IS AN INSANE MAN!!!”  He screamed back to Jeremy.
    She giggled again and clung onto his arm, “Patrick honey, your daddy said that we can do whatever we want.  Now why don’t we check out your new place and then get together for dinner and then later-”
    “Stop it!  I’m not interested in you, woman and you will NOT be my fiancée!!!!” he managed to pry her off again and quickly pushed her out of the limousine, slamming the door behind her.  “GO!” he yelled to the driver.
    The woman tapped on Patrick’s window and she might as well have been some deadly virus, he was so scared.  Jeremy got in also and looked to Patrick empathetically, “But young master, it’s your father’s wish that-”
    “SCREW MY FATHER’S WISH, LET’S GO!” they sped off at his ferocious command, leaving the insane woman and the jet behind.
    She saw the limousine driving off and ran after it in her red pumps and skimpy dress, “Patrick honey!  Wait for me!”
    “-drive, drive, drive, drive, drive, drive!” he kept chanting all the way until they were out of the air field and into the city, where there could be no possible way of her to follow.  He sighed with relief once the threat was over.  Jeremy didn’t understand why he was so opposed to that woman being his fiancée; she certainly was pretty and came from a very wealthy family herself.  He always knew Patrick to be a little strange, and this was just another thing to add onto the list of unexplainable things he did.
    After they drove through the remarkable city of Tokyo for a while, they came to their destination.  Jeremy opened the door for him and Patrick stepped out onto a sidewalk in the heart of the city.  He could see people everywhere going in and out of shops, driving past in cars, and just walking down the very same sidewalk he was standing on.  He smiled brightly and many people looked at him when they walked by.
    “Sir, follow me please.” Said Jeremy who then began to walk to the building they were parked in front of.  Patrick followed and soon they entered a very fine, luxurious apartment complex.
    Going up in the elevator several stories, they finally came to the right floor.  They walked down the halls where only the very rich could be, for it seemed that just walking there would cost a small fortune.  Jeremy came to a certain door and unlocked it, looking back to Patrick.
    “Sir, your new home awaits…”
    It was beautiful!  Spacious and bright, refined and elegant, it was everything he had hoped for.  The main room was the first thing to be seen as they walked through the door.  A large television was on the wall right beside the hall that disappeared off to the right along with a black leather sofa and coffee table placed before the TV.  A very large sliding glass door, currently covered by a lacey white curtain, was on the opposite side of the door.  It led out to an outdoor patio that had a grand bird’s eye view of the city.  To the left was the kitchen complete with only the finest utilities like a brand new refrigerator that shone all over its chrome finish and even a small wine rack made of solid maple.  His parents had made sure to have the apartment ready for his arrival, so that he would not have to trouble himself with unpacking too many things.  And ready it was, all that was left was for him to sit back and be at his own home, finally.
    “This is perfect,” he said as he explored down the hall to see the bathroom and bedroom, both the images of his dreams.
    “I am glad to see you like it, sir.”
    “Excuse me, sir,” came another voice behind the impounding image of Jeremy.  Patrick looked beyond him to see one of the movers with a large suit bag over his shoulder.  “We’ve got a lot of dresses here, there must have been some mistake with the luggage, must have confused yours with your sister’s.”
    “No, no, there’s no confusion.” He answered.
    Both men looked baffled.  “But what would you do with so many dresses, sir?”
    He laughed softly, “Never mind that.  Just put them in my closet, please.”
    The mover shrugged and did what he was asked.  Patrick looked on with a growing smile.  “Uh, is there anything else you need, sir?”
    “Nothing I can’t get myself, babe, so you two can run along now.”
    The mover came out of the bedroom and followed Jeremy to the door.  “Alright, sir, please enjoy yourself.  I will inform your father immediately of your arrival.” Jeremy opened the door and handed the key to Patrick.
    “Ok,” he said, almost singing and waved as they walked through the door.
    The mover popped his head in one last time and whispered to him, “Hey, uh… don’t have too many ladies over in one night, try to be ‘selective,’ if you know what I mean.”
    “Oh, don’t you worry at all about that,” he smiled widely and waited for them to shut the door.  Once they left, Patrick took in a deep breath of the fresh air and knew that then he was truly free.
    Nearly squealing with joy, he ran to his new bedroom and began to throw off his clothes, “Finally, I can be rid of these awful suits!” he ran to his closet and opened its sliding door.  It was filled with the most beautiful clothes he had ever seen!  All of them he had ordered from world famous designers and all of them were beautiful high fashion women’s clothes.  He nearly cried with tears of joy, “They’re so gorgeous…” he could hardly contain himself and picked out one of his favorite dresses, a Victorian style blue dress with white lace and lining.  He felt the smooth fabric in his fingers and then put the dress on with so much happiness.
    Going to a mirror, he looked at himself in the dress and squealed.  “I’m so beautiful!” he cried, “but not beautiful enough…”
    There was a single suitcase he brought into his bathroom that was completely full of cosmetics.  Although he didn’t want to, he took the dress off to have a quick shower and then began to totally transform himself.  When the door opened again, a completely new person walked out.  Hair that was a soft maroon, styled and lined with blue roses, an extremely comely face with make up that appeared to be done nothing short of professionally, and a dress that would be the envy of any girl.  The person known as ‘Patrick’ was now gone.  “Fairy has arrived.” He said proudly with a smile on his pouty lips.  “Look out, boys.  From now on, I’m here to stay!”

    “Tadaima,” Taka said softly as he came into his apartment.  He heard soft coughing and saw a bundle of blankets moving on the couch.  He walked over and knelt down, “How are you feeling?”
    A kind woman looked to him, her cheeks a bit pink and her eyes a bit droopy, “I’ve been better,” she said softly.
    “I’ve brought the medicine you wanted.” He handed her a small plastic bag.
    “Thank you so much, dear,” she said and kissed his cheek.  Then, she coughed softly again.  “I’m sorry, I hope you don’t get this cold…”
    Taka smiled, “Don’t worry about me.  You just get well.  Want me to get you anything before I leave?” he stood up.
    “I’m fine, thank you.  Wait, where are you going?”
    “Sato-chan and some friends need my help with math.” He said concisely.
    She nodded, “How kind of you to help them.  Is ‘Sato-chan’ the one you’ve been talking about lately?” he nodded.  A concerned expression took over her face.  “Taka, I love you.  You mean so much to me, but… No matter how much I’ve tried over the years, I just can’t bring myself to agree with your lifestyle.  You know that…”
    He was silent for a minute and would not look into her eyes.  Finally, he smiled warmly at her and went to the door, “Itekimasu.” When he left, she still looked in his direction with a sad smile on her lips.
    Taka walked out of the elevator and out onto the road.  He looked at the small map Shingo had drawn for him and figured he could get there faster by bus.  Taka began to walk to a bus stop with hoards of other people on the sidewalk.
    Fairy came out of his apartment and instantly eyes fell upon the “bishoujo.”  He smiled slightly with his blue lips, and looked to a small silver watch attached to his frilly white purse.  “3:46… I should do a little shopping before hitting the club.”  Slinging the purse over one shoulder, Fairy held his head high and began to make his first steps in the world as his reborn self.
    The city was crowded, as always, and Fairy felt a tingle of excitement when he saw people looking at him.  It felt so great to stand out, to wear beautiful clothes and glamorous make up, he could hardly hold it in!  Occasionally he saw men giving him “the eye” and could have leapt for joy.  As he was, he looked completely female, and a VERY attractive female at that!  Only he himself knew of his true male identity.
    The bus stop was getting closer with every advancing step.  Taka wanted to double check to make sure he had enough money with him for the ride, so he pulled from his black “accessory bag” a shiny black leather wallet.  He peered into it and saw several shiny coins.  Smiling, he then felt his arm collide with that of another’s and saw his wallet fall to the ground.  He heard the sound of his coins spinning on the pavement and saw them scatter in every direction.
    “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Fairy spoke in perfect Japanese, making sure to keep his head lowered.  “I can be such a klutz sometimes, here let me help you.” He knelt down and began to gather the coins.
    Taka looked down onto him, although thinking completely that he was really a she.  “It’s alright, miss…” he said slowly.
    Fairy stopped suddenly once he heard that voice.  That voice… it sounded like a divine symphony to him, something beyond description.  He quickly set all the coins into his palm and stood again.  "Here you go,” he said holding his hand out to Taka.
    “Thank you,” he put the coins back into his wallet.  “Well, maybe I’ll bump into you again sometime,” Taka smiled.
    Fairy shot his head up, this being the first time he laid eyes on Taka…  His breath was taken away at the beauty of this boy, it was almost feminine but very dark and mysterious.  He noticed the brilliant color of his eyes, jade green.  They seemed to instantly draw him in, he could have easily become lost with desire at staring into their surpassing beauty and depth.  There seemed to be something enchanting about him, Fairy felt, something he wanted to understand to its fullest.  Immediately he felt a bond with him he had only felt with one other person in his entire life.  Indeed, Fairy wanted to get to know this cute little gothic boy better.
    Taka granted him one last look and walked on to the bus stop right as the bus pulled in.  Fairy kept his eyes fixated on him.  He saw him among the crowd and watched when he vanished into the bus.  Within his chest, he could feel his heart pounding even after the bus drove away.  This emotion he had felt before.  “He’s so beautiful…” Fairy’s words were but a silent whisper that was saturated with longing.
    Turning on his heel, he looked the other way with hope gleaming in his blue eyes.  “Tokyo has some cute boys,” he giggled at his newest observation and began to skip happily along, advancing looks from nearby bystanders.  He didn’t care about them, he had just seen one of the cutest specimens of the male gender he had known and just that fact gave him a euphoric feeling he couldn’t suppress.

    “Now I think that’ll just about do it…” Misami wiped the perspiration from her forehead with a smile of accomplishment.  She looked down to her creation and couldn’t have been more pleased.  They were sugar cookies she had made all by herself, and not only that, she had made them specifically for Daisuke to eat.  To make sure that he would know that they were for him and him only, Misami made them look like him, she shaped them like his head and had just finished frosting cute little faces onto them!  Some of them were smiling, some were frowning, there were even a few that looked like they were about to cry.  She set the tube of frosting down and giggled, “They’re soooooo CUTE!”
    Misami looked at one that didn’t exactly work, it looked more like a blob than Daisuke’s face.  “I should probably taste test them first,” she plopped the deformed one into her mouth.  Soon, her face turned green and she spat out the cookie into the wastebasket.  It was one of the most disgusting things she had ever tasted!  Whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t any normal cookie.
    A little discouraged, she went back over to the neatly arranged cookies on the platter and set a finger to her chin.  “That tasted terrible!  I don’t get it, I followed the recipe perfectly…” Misami saw that on all of the countertops around her were the ingredients she had used.  No, she hadn’t put any away yet, nor had she even bothered to clean up the pile of flour she had accidentally spilled on the floor.  Confused, she scanned over them.  “The cookie didn’t taste sweet at all.  Maybe there’s something wrong with the sugar,” she opened the sugar container and took a little taste of the contents.  “Bleh!  This isn’t sugar!  It tastes more like…” she became horrified, “salt!  Someone must have put them in each other’s containers!”  She sighed, picking up one that was smiling cutely, “This really bites… Oh well!  I don’t have to tell him about my little mix up!  After all, salt and sugar do look a lot alike, so maybe he’ll believe they taste a lot alike too… maybe…”
    Her mind was made up, she wouldn’t tell him about the flaw.  Feeling happy again, and not really stopping to realize the harm she could be causing Daisuke with her ‘salt cookies,’ Misami began to clean up the kitchen and, yes, that included the flour on the floor.
    As she was putting the ingredients away, she didn’t notice the silent paws strolling across the kitchen tiles.  Jemena knew she had been baking and cookies especially were a rare delicacy for her, especially with someone like Koji always watching over her.  But since he wasn’t there and the cookies were right out in the open, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
    Misami was dragging the large bag of flour back to the cupboard when she heard crunching.  She shot her head over and saw something that made her freak out.
    “Mmm, this is quite good.” Jemena crunched through the rest of the cookie and was eagerly eyeing another.
    “STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!” Misami hurled herself toward Jemena, but didn’t realize her foot had gotten caught on the flour bag.  As she tripped, she tore the bag completely open, sending a huge white cloud of flour all over everything in the kitchen.
    Jemena covered her eyes as the cloud settled.  She looked down to Misami again and saw a thin blanket of flour covering the floor.  Misami was lying in it face down, and she herself had also taken on the appearance of a winter wonderland.  Slowly, she brought her head up and was quick to survey the new damage that had been done.  Jemena could sense the frustration she was feeling and felt it best for then to take her leave.  As silently as she could, she jumped down from the counter and began to tiptoe through the kitchen, hoping Misami would not see her, the cause of this new atrocity.
    “YOU!”
    Too late.  Jemena swallowed nervously and saw the furious glint in Misami’s eyes as she came to a complete halt.
    “How dare you eat one of my disgusting cookies and say it’s ‘quite good’ and then cause this to happen!” she was practically hyperventilating at this point.
    Jemena was getting scared, she had never seen Misami like that before!  She just smiled innocently and tried to back away slowly, “I’m very sorry… but you know, it was you who made the flour explode…”
    “Don’t change the subject!  Now you better get back here and give me a hand with this mess!” she screamed, batting the flour out of her now white hair.
    “Oh gee,” she deliberately avoided her eyes, “I would love to except there’s just one little problem,” Jemena sat on her haunches and brought her paws up, “See?  No hands.”
    A small twitch came to Misami’s eye and her face turned a deep shade of red.  “That’s no excuse!” she yelled and dove after Jemena.  Luckily, she dodged out of her way, but Misami was right there again on her tail.
    “Hey!  Calm down, Misami-san!  You’re only making the mess worse by chasing me!” she called between breaths as she managed to escape between her legs.
    “Get back here, you!” Misami was determined.
    The two were making quite a ruckus for such a small thing, really.  Yoshiko was finding it impossible to study with the constant yelling she could easily hear in her bedroom.  Closing her book, she marched over to the kitchen to see what exactly all the commotion was about.  What she saw was her sister turned white on the back practically wrestling with little Jemena, who she finally caught in her arms, and a huge pile of flour covering the floor.  “What is going on here?” she nearly had to scream for the two to stop.
    “Yoshiko-chan!  I was baking but then I messed it up and I was trying to put all the stuff away and then SHE came in and ate a cookie WITHOUT my permission and then I yelled and tripped on the flour and then it exploded and covered the floor and me too and then I tried to make her help me but she wouldn’t so then I was trying to chase her and then I finally caught her and then you came out to see what was going on and and and and and-” She spoke a million miles a minute.
    “Slow down!  Now please, would you two just cooperate and clean this up before Daisuke-san gets home!  And Misami-chan, drop poor Jemena.”
    Misami did so on command.  “Owe…” she glared up to Misami, “She didn’t mean literally, baka.”
    “Well… ok, but it was her fault this happened.”  Misami went to get a broom and Jemena followed.
    “Excuse me?  Is it so terrible to want a cookie?  I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to eat them!”
    “Well, duh!  I didn’t make them look like darling for no reason!”
    “I’m sorry!  I’ll ask next time then!”
    Yoshiko sighed when they entered the garage.  She really wished her sister wasn’t so immature sometimes.  Turning back to her room now that she had established peace, the doorbell then just had to ring.  Thinking she wouldn’t get any studying done, Yoshiko went over to the door and opened it.  On the other side she saw an unfamiliar goth boy whose appearance in actuality kind of made her a little uneasy.  “May I help you?” she asked hesitantly.
    “Is this the home of Mizuno Daisuke?” he asked calmly.
    She nodded, “It is.  Would you like to come in?” she was having second thoughts of asking that.
    “Thank you,” he walked in the home and removed the thigh high boots from his legs.
    The twins and Satoru, who had walked home with the twins, were talking and coming out of the hall.  As they passed the doorway, Satoru noticed him.  “Taka-chan!” he called excitedly.
    Taka’s eyes lit up, “Sato-chan!” he ran over and embraced the boy, “It’s so nice to see you again!  By the way, how are your ribs?”
    “Kind of bruised.  I just need to take it easy for a little while.”
    Yoshiko walked over, “Well, I can see you all know each other…”
    “Oh, I’m sorry, Yoshiko-san!” Shingo blushed, “This is our friend from school, Taka.”
    “Pleased to meet you,” he said in a deep voice and bowed his head.
    “He’s here to help us with math!” Tenko beamed.
    “I see…” murmured Yoshiko as she glanced back over to him.  Even though she was a bit taller than him (Taka is so cute and short! ^0^) Taka looked like he was closer to her age and she thought it was strange he was referred to as ‘our friend from school’ by a bunch of sixth graders.  Then again, she was an alien living with the most popular guy at school, who was she to determine what was strange?  She nodded again and saw how “interested” Taka seemed as he was staring down at Satoru.  That, she thought, did deserve the title of “strange.”
    “We better get to work, come on guys.” Shingo said and tried to herd them all down the hall to he and his sister’s room.  He saw that Taka wasn’t moving because his eyes were stuck on Satoru.  Shingo sighed and took hold of Taka’s arm, “Let’s go, Taka-san…”
    Yoshiko watched them disappear into the bedroom with a look of disturbed disenchantment.  It wasn’t her place to judge, but she thought that Taka guy was down right weird.  She went back to her room just as Misami and Jemena came out of the garage with a broom.  She wanted to study and wouldn’t exactly be heartbroken if she missed Taka leaving during the process.
    “What a cute room!” Taka looked all around the tiny room.
    “Thanks, but it’s really empty right now.” said Tenko as she sat on the floor next to Satoru.  “I want to get some stuffed animals and maybe a pet lizard and some kitty posters for the walls, wouldn’t that be cute Satoru-chan?”
    “Very cute, Tenko-chan.” He said with a little blush.
    Taka laid on his stomach in front of Satoru and leaned his head on his shoulder, “But not as cute as you, Sato-chan,” he winked.
    “Ahem!  As for our math homework…” Shingo jumped in.  He didn’t want anything weird involving Taka to happen, especially not in the place where he had to sleep every night.
    “Yes, sensei!  Please help us.” Tenko smiled cutely to Taka and appeared to have total confidence in him.
    “Sensei…” Taka whispered.
    “Yep!  Kamedaki sensei!  That’s what we’ll call you today.” Added Satoru, as sweetly as ever.
    Taka sat up with a radiant smile on his lips.  He took out his own completed math homework.  “Ok then, let’s begin!”

    Daisuke rubbed the towel all along his hair to dry it.  What he had accomplished, however, was changing his hair into some sort of a fuzz ball.
    “Good practice today, Shark man.  Can’t believe we even thought about kicking you off.” Said Osamu as he pulled his shirt on.
    “Yeah, but let’s just forget about that time, alright?  It’s not a very pleasant thing to think about for me, you know.” Daisuke closed his locker and slung his duffel bag over one shoulder.  “Oh, before I forget,” Daisuke walked over to a display case near the front of the locker room and set his medal back with all of the others.
    Osamu saw him do that and smiled, setting a hand on his shoulder.  “Looks like you ain’t goin’ anywhere, bro.”
    Daisuke smiled too.  That was a pretty comforting thought after all he’d been through.  “Well, I gotta get home.  Oh, and about that math… call Hiro about it.  He knows way more than I do, in fact, I don’t even know how to do it myself.”
    “But whenever I call him all he wants to talk about are the new porn sites he’s visited and stuff… we never get to anything serious.”
    Daisuke sighed, he knew his best friend way too well.  “It’s too bad the master of math is also the master of perversion.”  Osamu laughed hysterically at that.  “Well good luck anyway.  Tell Guchi bye for me!”
    “Will do, see ya!”  Daisuke waved to Osamu and left for home.
    When he turned to go and get his things so that he could leave, Ryuichi was right there in front of him.  He jumped back, “Holy cats, dude!  You scared me!  Why don’t you warn me next time you decide to magically appear out of no where right before me?!”
    “Why don’t you shove it up your @$$, Yoshimoto?” he answered, soundly quite a bit displeased by yet another thing.
    He raised an eyebrow, “Yikes.  What’s with the attitude and sudden turn to potty mouth?”
    “I can say anything I *&^% well please, so can your @~#^.”
    “Whoa, alright.  No need to rip my spleen out, dude.  Just sayin’ you don’t gotta be such a rain cloud all the time, that’s all.” He tried to walk past him, but Ryuichi grabbed hold of his shirt.  “Hey, what gives?” Then, Ryuichi whirled him around and slammed him up against a bay of lockers.  It knocked the wind out of Osamu for a moment.  “What do you think you’re doing?!” he asked softly.
    “I’m about to show you how it makes me feel to have Mizuno back on the team!”
    Osamu’s nose wrinkled up, “Sorry for changing the subject, but your breath stinks!  You know, you’d be the one kicked off if Guchi ever found out you were smoking.”
    His glare hardened and he tightened his grip on his shoulders, “He’s not going to ever find out.  Is he?”
    “No!” Osamu squeaked.  He appeared fearless, but when confronted by Ryuichi like that, anyone would have been a little wussy.
    “Now I want you to get out of here and make sure Mizuno never sets foot in this locker room again.”
    Osamu stared at him a moment and then burst into another round of hysterical laughter.  Ryuichi gave him a sour look and finally moved his hands away in time for Osamu to fall to the ground because he was laughing so hard.  Annoyed, Ryuichi watched him laugh uncontrollably and had a strong urge to kick him.  “Are you done yet?” he asked bitterly.
    Wiping a tear from his eye, Osamu stood up again and looked to Ryuichi in disbelief, “Are you totally stupid or something?  Why the heck would I ever do something like that?!  The reason Shark man’s here is because he’s good, he’s really good.  I just don’t think you realize that.  He’s the best swimmer this school has, he’s better than me, and he’s better than you.  Your problem is that you’re just too proud to admit it.”
    Ryuichi growled and punched the locker right by Osamu’s head.  The smile instantly vanished from Osamu’s face when he heard the ring of crunched metal in his ear.  Looking to the side, he saw Ryuichi’s fist and a very large dent in a locker.  Although he knew Ryuichi had to hear it, he didn’t take into consideration how violent he would get when told the truth.
    He pulled his fist away, his knuckles bright red.  He looked downward and was very quiet, as if in deep thought.  Osamu looked at him seriously and was actually worried for him.  “Uh, Hamada?”
    “Get out of here.” Ryuichi said simply in a dark tone.
    “Yes sir!” he jetted out of there as fast as he could.
    “F*** you, Mizuno.” Ryuichi finally brought his head up and when he did, there were tears glistening in his eyes.

    “Tadaima.” Daisuke removed his shoes and walked into his home.  The first thing he heard was very loud video game music that he knew had to be the twins’ doing.  He walked in to go tell them to turn it down when he saw someone he thought he wouldn’t see again for a while.  From the back, he could tell it was that same guy from before, the one that had helped him so much.  He was glad to see him, but at the same time, wondering what he was doing at his house.
    “Hello, darling!  How was your day?  Magnificent, I hope.” Misami suddenly burst out in front of him.  Luckily, she had managed to clean up everything from before…
    “Uh, it was alright, thanks.” He was more interested in talking to the guy who had helped him than humoring Misami.
    “I made you a little something in the kitchen… You should be so proud of me, I made them all by myself with minimal errors,” she cleared her throat after mumbling at the end.  “Won’t you go and see, darling?”
    He didn’t want to admit to her that he had only caught about half of what she had said, he knew that would have made her feel awful.  Instead he gave her that ‘to die for’ smile and asked, “Could you hold on for a minute?” he walked past her toward the guy he recognized.
    “Sure… I guess…” she was discouraged he didn’t seem very interested in her and what she had worked so hard at.  Misami became sad and backed into a wall to sulk.
    “Almost there!” Shingo was glued to the racing game.  He was playing against his sister and both were in the final lap, neck in neck for first.  He made his car bump against hers and soon Tenko’s car spun nearly out of control.  Shingo smiled.
    “That’s so mean!” whined Tenko.
    “Tough luck, sis,” Shingo looked over to her, confidence giving him a big head.
    “Tough luck to you, you mean!” she said again.  When he looked back, he saw that in that brief moment of taking his eyes off the screen to gloat, his car had crashed into a wall.
    “No!” he screamed and then Tenko passed the finish line first.
    She jumped up and did her own little victory dance.  Satoru was watching her, a small smile on his lips.  “She’s so terrific,” he said softly.
    Daisuke looked at the couch and saw Satoru seated next to the guy that helped him.  He wanted to speak, but he didn’t know what exactly to say, so what Tenko did next actually helped out quite a lot.
    “Daisukeniichan!  I’d like you to meet a friend of ours!”
    Everyone looked up to see Daisuke and instantly Taka recognized him.  “Daisuke-sama,” he came to his feet and bowed his head, “how are you doing?”
    “Very well, thank you.  So, you know the twins and Satoru-kun also?”
    He nodded, “What a coincidence that two of my friends are living here with you.  You must be very responsible, looking after so many others in your home.  How generous.”
    Daisuke scratched his head in modesty, “Oh, they’re all great to have, I enjoy their company.  You know, when I left your place I realized just how much of an idiot I really am.  I didn’t even find out your name!  I felt so bad about that!”
    Taka shook his head, “Don’t worry about it.  My name is Kamedaki Taka.”
    “Mizuno Daisuke, but you already knew that,” he laughed dumbly to himself.  Taka…he had heard that name before.  He just couldn’t… ah hah!  He remembered a certain phone conversation he had had with the stalwart Hiroshi involving a Taka… now what was that again…?  Something about a freaky gay guy who hit on him and hung out with his little brother who had short spiky black hair and jade green- OH MAMA!  IT WAS HIM, IT WAS THIS GUY WHO WAS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM!  HE WAS TAKA, HE WAS THAT FREAKY GUY HIROSHI WARNED HIM ABOUT!!!!!
    Realizing this, Daisuke’s gaze at Taka became very different.  There was impounding fear growing in his eyes with every ongoing second he had to spend looking at him.  No longer was he just ‘that guy who rescued him,’ he was now ‘that gay guy who rescued him, took his clothes off, and hit on his best friend!’  Need I say these thoughts were anything but comforting to Daisuke at this time?
    He could see the change come over his demeanor, especially in just the way he looked at him.  Concerned, Taka cocked one of his perfect eyebrows slightly and gave Daisuke a curious look.  “Daisuke-sama, is something wrong?” inquired Taka virtuously.
    It was hard for him to get any words out as the conversation he had held with Hiroshi before kept rippling in his mind, “Actually, I have quite a bit of homework to do today, so… I’ll have to catch you guys later!” Daisuke didn’t take a second look back and ran to his bedroom, making sure to lock the door behind him.  Once there, he sighed with relief.  If this Taka guy was anything Hiroshi had said he was, Daisuke had plenty of reasons, he thought, to be afraid.
    “DARLING!” Misami burst into Daisuke’s bedroom right through his locked door.
    He looked back and was completely taken by surprise, “Misami-chan!  If you knocked you know I would have let you in!” he said, trying to breathe normally again.
    She wasn’t in the mood for it.  She stared at him, hands on her hips, with a face colder than stone.  Daisuke knew that she was very unhappy about something.  “You baka!  How could you just ignore me like that?!” she screamed.
    Shielding his face from her wrath, Daisuke answered apologetically, “I-I’m sorry, it’s just that I saw that guy who helped me when I fainted in the middle of the road over by the twins and I wanted to find out his name-”
    “That doesn’t give you any right to just blow me off!  You, sir, have got to learn a few manners!” she poked his chest repeatedly, her face inches from his as she yelled.
    Daisuke blinked several times.  “GOMEN NASAI!” he bowed his head in humility.
    “Hmph,” she flicked her hair, “That’s better.  Now, you can see the creation I made just for you!” Misami became overly excited.
    “Geez, your mood sure changed quickly…” Daisuke muttered to himself.
    “What was that?” she asked sternly.
    “Nothing!” he laughed, “So, what do you want to show me?”
    “Just come with me,” she slid her arm into his and began to pull him to the door.
    “Wait, out there?!” fear set into his voice.
    She looked back at him blankly, “Yeah… where else, silly?” giggling cutely, she pulled him along and opened the door, practically yanking him out of his bedroom.  “I know you’ll be so proud of me!  I can’t wait for my darling to see what I made him!”
    Daisuke groaned softly as she pulled him along.  “Just as long as we steer clear the queer…”
    “Here!” a platter of cookies appeared before Daisuke’s face.
    He looked at the golden brown sweets and saw that she must have made them to look like his face, because he could easily recognize his hair, a generous slab of black frosting.  “Very nice,” he was actually quite impressed.  Looking up again, he saw the ecstatic look on Misami’s face.  She was so delighted to get such a compliment from someone who could in the near future be a challenging opponent for any of the Iron Chefs.
    “Thank you!  I thought you may like them after what you’ve been through recently… think of it also as a thank you for allowing my sister and I to stay here with you.”
    “That’s very nice of you, thanks!  They really look great, you must have worked very hard to make them look just like me like that!”
    She blushed, “Oh no, I’ve got your beautiful face etched permanently in my mind, darling…” he didn’t quite know what to say to that, she could tell.  “Well, try one already!” she shoved the platter closer to his nose.
    “Daisukeniichan!” came a familiar high-pitched voice.
    Misami was just about furious that another interruption came.  Daisuke, on the other hand, was kind of glad considering how forceful Misami was being.  “What is it, Tenko-chan?” he turned to the entrance of the kitchen to see her standing there with, to his dismay, Taka right behind.
    “Do you want to come play a game Taka-san told us about before he and Satoru-chan have to leave?” she was as peppy and happy as ever.
    His eye twitched on its own accord, “What game?” he forced, although what he really wanted to say was ‘not on your life.’
    “Spin the bottle!  I’ve never played that, but he said it’s really fun!”
    Daisuke could see the playful smile on Taka’s lips, which now were not black like they had been before; he had gotten tired of the lipstick.  It was like he was secretly communicating with him, Daisuke knew it was because Taka was seeking the chance: the chance to kiss him.  Just the thought ran shivers up his spine.
    Just when he was about to deny and go screaming out the door, Misami clung her arm to his once more, “Sure!  We’ll play with you guys!”
    “Say WHAT????” Daisuke gave her a desperate look, to which she smiled as if nothing was out of the norm.  Daisuke concluded that he was probably the only one, thanks to Hiroshi, who knew about Taka.
    “C’mon darling, it’ll be fun!  I’ll be sure that when you spin that bottle, it’ll point straight at me!” she giggled with just a hint of seduction.
    He had to think fast, he HAD to do something to avert the inevitable!  “But… what about your cookies??” he asked desperately as she drug him across the kitchen floor, closer and closer to Taka.
    “They’re safely on the counter, don’t worry!  They’ll be there when we’re done!  Besides,” Misami’s eyes drifted to Taka, “a bishounen is much more yummy than any kind of cookie…”
    Trying to break away but having no success (Misami had an insanely strong grip when she wanted to) Daisuke gaped to her nearly with tears in his eyes and saw a look he had seen before.  It was that same look she gave him whenever he was around.  It was the look of infatuation as she stared on to Taka, her newest of now countless crushes.
    He smiled at her, the jade of his eyes shimmering in an almost mystical way, “Good afternoon,” he spoke smoothly and beautifully.
    Her heart raced, “H-hi…” Taka was beautiful, no doubt, and now Misami was the second that day to notice.
    “Would you like to play with us?” he asked.
    Oblivious to reality, she nodded.  “Can I ask you something too?”
    “What’s that?”
    Misami let go of Daisuke and wrapped her hands around Taka’s, “Please, would you go out with me?!”
    Daisuke nearly fell over, not only from loosing his balance as Misami broke away, but also from the sheer shock of envisioning that concept!
    Taka was almost shocked.  His eyes grew wide and the sides of his mouth tightened.  Misami was looking at him hopefully; she only tightened her hold on his hands.  Grinning slightly, he didn’t exactly know what to say.  “Well,” he started plainly.  He didn’t want to totally burst her bubble, her question was too sincere for that.  “I’m actually already sorta seeing someone…” he looked to the side.
    She sighed loudly and removed her hands, a frown quick to form on her face, “How unfair…” but we all know Misami.  She doesn’t give up that easily.  “Isn’t there any way you’d consider dumping her for me?”
    The subject was rather uncomfortable, “Well, uh…”
    “Tell me, what’s your significant other like?  What kind of qualities do you look for?  I’m sure I can be all those things and more!”
    Daisuke felt like stopping this before it really got started, but figured it was probably too late now.  Misami would just have to find out for herself…
    Taka reflected for a moment, “Let me see… he’s understanding and compassionate… he has to be interested in the same things I am, of course, and he can love me for who I am.”
    Misami was speechless.  A little worried, Taka slowly waved his hand in front of her eyes.  Nothing.  It was like she was in a different world or something.  Daisuke smacked his forehead.  Taka was about to give up on her when suddenly she was able to peep, “He…?” Almost unnoticeably, he nodded.  “He?” she repeated stronger.  “HE????”
    He took a step back anxiously, “W-what’s wrong?”
    “YOU’RE GAY?!?!?!?!?” she screamed.
    Taka then realized he had carelessly used the pronoun ‘he’ while describing his ideal mate.  He could have kicked himself for that when talking to a girl he could tell was attracted to him.  Finally, he smiled shyly and figured since the truth was out, there was no point in trying to deny it.  “If that’s what you want to call it…”
    She was petrified, almost like ice!  She couldn’t believe it, she didn’t want to believe it!  All the perfect guys, she thought, already had boyfriends!  Almost like she was stiff as a statue, she gave a gaze to Daisuke and saw a sort of ‘I told you so’ look.
    Taka was feeling very uncomfortable.  He could feel that he had well worn out his welcome.  His thoughts then drifted to Daisuke, what would he think now that he knew?  Especially since he took him into his apartment and had to strip his soaking clothes off of him?  Would he think that he did really disgusting things to him, like molest him?  He couldn’t even bare the thought, he wished he were invisible.  Taka saw Daisuke and was surprised that he didn’t look shocked at all.  He just looked a little… disturbed, but Taka could sense that all this time he had known all along.
    “I can’t believe this!” Misami blurted out.  “Darling, let’s go back in your room, I don’t want to play with them anymore!” she hugged his arm and leaned against his shoulder.
    It was almost too good to be true, Misami wanted to leave!  She didn’t have to ask him twice, he nodded quickly, gave one last odd look to Taka and the others and walked with Misami back to his bedroom.  Before they entered, she sprinted back to get the platter of cookies and then they both disappeared into the safety of Daisuke’s room.  Well, not completely safe with the salt cookies in there also…
    Tenko stood by Taka and curled her lower lip with annoyance, “How rude!  What was that look for?”
    “Me.”
    Tenko heard Taka’s voice depraved of the life it usually possessed so fully.  She saw that he looked very sad.  “Taka-san, what’s wrong?”
    He closed his eyes and lowered his head, “I should be going now.”
    “But what about our game?”
    Quickly, he grabbed his “accessory bag” and walked to the door.  The three were quick to follow.  He felt the beginnings of tears sting his eyes.  Everyone had been so cruel to him, first Yoshiko who really didn’t mean to be so rude, but he knew that she was just a bit wary of his presence.  And then Daisuke and Misami… that look they gave him just before they left kept playing in his mind.  It stung harder every time he thought of it.  It was painfully clear, no one wanted him there.  He was like some sort of virus that everyone wanted to avoid.
    “Taka-chan!” Satoru cried after him.
    He wouldn’t let himself turn and run back even if his beloved Satoru was calling for him.  Taka picked up his boots and was about to open the door to leave when he was surprised to see it was opened for him.  He saw as the door opened fully and looked up to meet eyes that were strange and beyond beautiful.  Taka gasped softly and let the boots fall back to their original spot.
    Koji blinked his amazing eyes once and kept the poised expression he always wore.  Taka stared at him with wide, curious eyes.  He had never seen anyone like him before, and he had never seen anything as desirable as this young man was.
    “Hello,” Koji greeted calmly.  Even his voice went beyond description.  The immaculate pulchritude of it was like none he had ever known.
    “H-hello,” he responded nervously.
    Koji came inside the house and looked down onto Taka.  Yes, he also was quite a bit taller than him.  (kawaii! ^-^)  Taka looked downward, he could feel the hot blood rushing to his face.  All this was because of him, the most amazingly attractive young man he had ever seen before.
    “Koji-chan!” Tenko squealed and rushed up to him with a huge smile.  He glanced a welcoming look to her, but did not speak.  “Welcome home!  How was your day?”
    “Fine, thank you.” He looked back to Taka, head lowered, almost ashamed.  What he didn’t know was that Taka did not feel ashamed at all.  He was only lowering his head to hide the blush he had developed due to seeing such a remarkable work of male artistry.
    “You probably don’t know Taka-san, he’s new to our school.  He came over today to help us all with homework.  He’s so smart!”  Tenko continued with a usual perky smile.
    Taka raised his head and was met again by those endearing eyes.  So soft and subtle, and yet so secretly powerful and strong.  Astonishing, like something he could have only imagined in a perfect dream.  “Nice to meet you,” he spoke nearly inaudibly and rather self-consciously.
    “Good afternoon,” Koji bowed his head, “My name is Takamoto Koji.”
    Just the simple utterance of his name was a beautiful song to his ears.  He repeated it in his mind and was filled with a warm feeling such as none he had ever known before.  Smiling, Taka gave his own name again and with each passing second was feeling more comfortable around this bishounen.
    “Taka-chan,” a whining voice approached and Taka felt a small hand clasp around his arm, “you’re not really leaving now, are you?”
    Taka’s smile continued as he looked down to Satoru.  “Suddenly I feel as if I am welcome again.” He looked back to Koji, seeing a look of warmth and hospitality.
    “Well, I have to go to get ready for ballet anyway.” He pulled away and smiled cutely, “Thank you for helping me, Kamedaki sensei!  See you all tomorrow, bye bye!”  Satoru picked up his school bag which Tenko had brought from her bedroom and tied his shoes.
    Tenko and Shingo both waved and said their loud good byes, but Taka had a much more perspicacious approach.  “Good bye, my beautiful little Sato-chan.” Said Taka lovingly as Satoru stepped out of the house.
    The boy turned to Taka and saw his caring face, so full of love.  He obviously was feeling much better now, maybe it was Koji’s arrival that had helped him go back to his old self, Satoru thought in his simple, but direct way.  “What do you think you’ll do now?”
    “Actually, I really want to get to know Koji-san better.  He seems like a really cool person,” Taka whispered.
    Satoru nodded, “Yep, although I don’t know him either.  Shingo-chan has told me some about him though, he says he’s really smart and really really good at tennis!”
    Taka laughed softly and for a moment, his and Satoru’s eyes met with a chord of perfect harmony.  Acting completely on his emotions, Taka languidly came closer to Satoru’s face and gently set his lips on his cheek.  Satoru felt a stir of emotions kindled; a small blush soon to form under Taka’s kiss.
    “W-what was that for?” Satoru shyly asked once Taka had moved away.  He put his finger where the kiss was and could still feel it lingering with a faint tingle.
    Taka spoke mildly and with more compassion than he possibly had ever done before, “So that you will always know how much you really mean to me.  Wherever you go, you will always be in my heart.”
    A soft smile lit up Satoru’s face.  Even if he couldn’t deny the fact that he was confused as to why Taka always acted so “friendly” toward him, he was very welcoming of the play of affection Taka had just displayed.  It was nice to know that someone really cared about him as much as he did.
    A car horn was heard; Satoru’s mother had come to pick him up to his surprise.  He had no idea she was coming, but he was glad she had, it meant he wouldn’t have to walk all the way home (even though he lived in the same neighborhood as Daisuke…).  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Taka-chan.  Bye!” he waved and ran down to his mother’s car.
“Goodbye, my beloved angel…” Taka whispered.  When the car was no longer in his view, Taka sighed deeply and turned to enter Daisuke’s home again.  When he turned around, he was surprised to nearly run into Koji’s perfect chest.  He had no idea Koji was there!  It was just like he appeared there out of thin air!  Heat glowing on his face again, Taka looked up to Koji’s face with his mouth slightly open.  “Excuse me…” he said shyly, controlling his shaky voice.  Then he began to think that he really would not have minded running into Koji’s chest…
    “You are in love with him,” it was more of a statement than a question that escaped Koji’s pristine lips.
    His eyebrows merging, Taka looked to one side and backed away a few steps.  It was kind of discouraging, he hadn’t had much respect that day for his “preferences,” and he was certain the same would happen now with Koji.  Everyone he had encountered was straight, but someone as beautiful as Koji?  “Yes,” he said slowly, “Madly… but I can’t tell him that.  He wouldn’t understand…  But what am I telling you for anyway?  You probably don’t need to hear this… You probably think I’m just a freak because I’m… homosexual.”
    Koji was quiet for a minute, his eyes glinting every once in a while with the passing sunlight.  “You are wrong.”
    That took Taka by surprise.  “Y-you don’t think I’m a freak for dressing the way I do and loving other guys?”
    He smoothly shook his head, “Not at all.”
    Taka was so thrilled, he smiled widely and could have hugged Koji!  “Really?  So you’re not freaked out by me like the others?”
    “Why should I be?  You are a kind, noble person.  There is no reason for contempt toward you.”
    Koji was too good to be true, Taka thought, he was so understanding and so open!  He was way beyond the level of the others, and that was one thing Taka really appreciated.  He was sick of the comments, strange looks, and stereotypes he had to wade through everyday, Koji was a refreshing break from all of that who truly accepted people for who they were.  That got Taka to thinking, perhaps Koji was of his same brood…
    “Hearing that really means a lot to me, thank you.”  Taka felt his earring between his fingers, a gesture he always did whenever he was anxious or nervous about something, “So, uh… do you have a boyfriend?”
    “I am not like you.”
    “Oh…” man, Taka felt stupid then, “I’m so sorry,” he blushed even more and bowed repeatedly to apologize.
    “Do not worry,” he said with reassurance in his lovely voice.
    Taka still felt stupid though.  He stood up straight and REALLY wanted to change subjects, “Where are the twins?”
    “Playing a video game.”
    He could barely hear the video game music escaping the house and just knew that they would go back to that at any open moment.  “Well, I suppose I should be leaving.  There’s somewhere special I need to be very soon.  It was very nice to meet you, Koji-san.  To tell you the truth, you’re the only person at this house that I feel can really accept me for who and what I am.  Thank you for that.”  Koji nodded.  Taka was able to gather his things once again and put his boots back on.  He walked out of the house and waved to Koji, “Goodbye Koji-san.  Maybe I’ll see you again soon.”
    “Goodbye.” Said Koji softly, but just loud enough for Taka to hear his amazing voice one last time.
The door was shut behind him and Taka turned on his heels to leave the house where so much had happened.  Overall, it wasn’t all that bad, just because he got to be close to Satoru and kiss his cheek and because he had met Koji, whom he thought was amazing.  Daisuke now thought he was scary, so what?  It actually didn’t bother him much anymore.  Perhaps over time his opinions would change, Taka told himself confidently.  Perhaps…  He wore a large smile and made his way down the street.  Life was looking very good once again.

    “WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME!!!!” two strong arms were thrown around his small body, nearly crushing him from their force.
    Fairy knew this feeling, he could hardly breath again.  “You’re… holding me… a little… too… tight…” he wheezed and prayed for him to let go.
    “Oh, I’m sorry!” the arms were withdrawn and put back down to the sides of another very androgynous young man.  He leaned his weight on one leg, accentuating the curve of his hip through his shiny black pants.  His shirt was white, rather form fitting and came to a V at the top of his chest.  His face was actually quite feminine, pretty in fact, with warm brown eyes and dark hair that curved around his cheekbones.  He looked Fairy head to toe and loved what he saw, “You look so cute!  Oh Fairy baby, it’s been so long since I last saw you, I’m so glad you agreed to come to Tokyo!”
    “Don’t be so silly, Kika-chan!  You know I’d come anywhere for you!” Fairy smiled, “And besides, I just needed to get away from my family.  It was nearly driving me crazy keeping my ‘secret’ from them.”
    “Must have been terrible.  But, you have nothing to worry about now, my sweet.  And I’ll keep my promise also,” he said, “from now on, the Rainbow Ruby Dance Club will be co-owned and operated by you, Fairy!  Now you and I are both in charge!”
    Fairy squealed with delight.  That was another reason he came to Japan.  Kikaya, whom he called ‘Kika-chan,’ was the owner of the dance club which was purposely made for homosexual men only.  Fairy had met him in college, he was one of the student teachers for his conversational Japanese class, and let’s just say they found something in common and hit it off right away.  (kowai…)  After graduation, Kika-chan had made a little deal with him: if he were to move to Japan, he would let him be the co-owner and operator of the club.  Of course, for many reasons, Fairy just couldn’t refuse and at that moment, he was happier than he had been in a very long time.
    “This will be great!  We’ll have a huge party tonight and I can introduce you to everyone!  I just know they’ll all love you!  Cross dressers go over really well here!”  (barf)
    “I can’t wait!  I’ve been so lonely without my Boom Boom by my side… having some more boyfriends will be good for me.” Fairy said, running a finger through his hair he had just gotten cut and dyed a maroon-magenta type color.
    “Yes, and I think I know who you’ll pick first to be a boyfriend,” Kika-chan sighed, his eyes getting that dreamy look in them, “Taka-chan…” Fairy just looked to him questioningly, so he thought it best to explain a little, “He’s actually the youngest member of the club, but I’d say definitely the most sought after!”
    “Oh really?” Fairy’s eyebrows raised in interest.
    He nodded, “He’s a hot young thing, but no one knows for sure if he’s taken.  Who knows, Fairy, if he isn’t, you just might be the one who has the luck to nab him!”
    “Oh, I hope so!” he sighed, a small blush creeping on his face.  “But first, uh… Kika-chan?  Where’s the little boy’s room?”
    Kika-chan giggled, “You go out this door and it’s at the end of the hall to the left.  I know you’re going to like it, Fairy.” He winked, lightly suggesting the sorts of things he would find at the dance club’s bathroom (*cough* that’s gross *cough*).  Fairy only responded with a giggle and left the dance club’s executive office which he from then on would more often reside.  He came out into the hall and saw a few people wandering into the main dance hall.  He could barely hear the muffled sound of dance and techno beats through the wall and could smell a light scent of alcohol from the bar.  Fairy looked to his left, at the end of the hall he saw a door.  He walked toward it, his heels clicking on the floor.
    The door opened before he got there and out walked a familiar person he had seen before that day.  Taka kept his eyes down and would have walked straight past Fairy without even noticing if he hadn’t have gasped the way he did.  Because of that sound, Taka looked up and saw the one who he had bumped into before.  He too then gasped.
    “You-” they both said at the same time, pointing their fingers, staring in shock.  Neither knew what to say, seeing the other there was totally not what they expected!  Especially in Taka’s case…
    “Y-y-you’re a guy?!” he implored on impulse, trying not to make that question sound too rude.
    Fairy was pleased.  He was happy that he was able to pull off being female so well!  He had tricked another guy with success!  Fairy giggled again, finding the present situation then very comfortable.  “Wanna find out, cutie?” he winked, seduction hinting in his voice.
    Taka smiled but gave him and odd look.  There was something different about him, not only that he looked exactly like a woman with all that make up and the dress.  Taka could tell he wasn’t originally from Japan, he had big blue eyes and soft light skin.  “Where are you from?” he asked inquisitively.
    Fairy set a hand on his hip, “California.  Heard of it?  It’s in America.”
    Nodding, Taka was impressed.  “Your Japanese is very good.  You sound completely authentic.”
    “Why, thank you, babe.  I didn’t study for nothing!” they laughed softly and Fairy set his eyes back down onto the cute Japanese boy.  “So, what’s your name?”
    “Taka,” he said softly.
    “Oh really?!” his eyes widened.  THIS was the one Kika-chan talked about!  That only made Fairy even more interested!  He had already thought he was cute, now he felt even more attracted to him because of the fact that he was the one that everyone in the club wanted!  In a way, Fairy felt privileged to be talking to him and immediately he felt love blossoming for Taka.  “Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Taka-chan.  You can call me Fairy.”
    He bowed, taking his hand and kissing it.  “Shall we go to the dance floor now, lovely Feri-chan?”
    Fairy’s heart pounded when he felt the kiss and when he heard his name uttered in Taka’s desirable voice with the cute accent.  He nodded, forgetting all together he had to use the bathroom, and slid his hand with Taka’s.  He couldn’t believe his luck, his first day in Japan and already he was having better luck with guys than he had ever had in his entire life!  Well, almost ever… (but moving right along…)
    Without saying another word, the two walked inside the dance hall.  There were flashing lights and people dancing everywhere.  The music was that kind that almost had the ability to alter one’s heartbeat.  Fairy was in heaven, he was with the cutest guy who also so happened to be extremely nice to him, and had started a new job that he loved.  As he began to dance with Taka, he thought about the party he would throw later with Kika-chan where he could meet other great guys.  He also thought about his future and what it may behold in Japan.  Whatever lie in his future, Fairy was certain that he wanted to see Taka a part of it.

    It was late, everyone was going to bed.  Misami’s cookies laid on Daisuke’s desk, uneaten.  She must have forgotten about them, Daisuke was actually quite grateful for this.  He had tasted a small broken piece of one and could immediately detect the mistake of confusing salt with sugar she had made.
    As for Daisuke, at that moment he was sliding into bed.  He had actually gotten all of his homework done and he well deserved the rest.  Thinking over his day, he was very glad that it had gone so smoothly.  The whole thing with Taka had been kind of traumatizing, but he had had time to get over it.  He did feel a little uneasy around Yoshiko also, but on the bright side he hadn’t seen Koji all day!  On the bright side…
    He sighed, turning on his side.  He was so confused about his feelings.  Should he be mad?  Happy?  Scared?  He didn’t know.  Again, he felt he had no where to turn, no one to go to to pour out the depths of his soul.  Trapped… that was how he felt.  Trapped…
He was awakened from the sleep he had just barely gotten to begin experiencing by the telephone.  Daisuke groaned, covering his pillow over his head.  It was too late for phone calls, didn’t people have any decency?  “Shut up…” he moaned, still able to hear the ringing out in the kitchen.  Why didn’t anyone else answer?  That, he didn’t know either.  Finally, he got out of bed with another groan, and set his bare feet on the cold floor.  His eyes were heavy and bloodshot, his head was pounding.  The last thing he wanted to do was talk on the phone.
    Ring.  Daisuke came to the kitchen, clad in only boxers, and could barely focus his eyes on the phone.  He muttered under his breath and picked up the phone, setting it to his ear, “Hello?” he said, having to clear his throat.
    “Daisuke, it’s me.”
    A small gasp escaped Daisuke’s lips at the sound of that voice.  He nearly dropped the phone, but made sure to hold it there firmly, “F-father?”
    “I’m sorry for calling you so late, but something’s come up.  I need to come home tomorrow for some things, be expecting me after school.”
    “Tomorrow?”  Daisuke became worried, “What for?  What’s come up?”
    “I can’t talk now.  I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”
    “Father, wait –What’s going on?” there was worry evident in Daisuke’s voice.  The dial tone was heard, evidence that his father had hung up.  “Father… father?”  Nothing.  Daisuke cursed and slammed the phone back down.  He knew that tone in his father’s voice.  Something was up, something bad.  His father’s health wasn’t the best…  There was also the little matter of five people now living in his house.  He hadn’t expected his father for at least a couple of weeks, so he hadn’t had the time to think of a clever solution to that little problem yet.  He knew he probably wouldn’t be very thrilled by that.
    Shaking his head, Daisuke returned to his room and jumped back onto his bed.  Just when things seemed to be going a little bit better, he had come to yet another obstacle.  Why then?  That was exactly when he didn’t need his father to visit.  Daisuke closed his eyes with a loud sigh and thought.  His life had never been easy and by the looks of it, would never be easy…

To be continued…