Hiroshi yawned and rolled out of bed.  Surprisingly, his mother did not have to come and practically set off a nuclear war in order for him to just blink open an eye on this morning.  Not bothering to put on his glasses, he bumped his shin on something (he couldn’t tell what it was) and cursed at it and then hobbled out of his natural habitat in search of food.  His mother met him as he wandered into the kitchen.
    “Good morning, honey!  What a surprise to see you up already!” she sang out, tying an apron around her waist.
    “Ug,” Hiroshi groaned, scooting toward the refrigerator.  He bumped into the oven, causing a pot to fall to the floor with an echoing clang.
    “Oh dear!” his mother rushed to pick it up and then looked to her son with dismay as he squinted his eyes, trying to make out her face from a vast field of fuzz and distortion.  “Hiroshi, where are your glasses?”
    He scowled, “I don’t need those things around my own house!  I know perfectly well where everything is!” he flung his head around and took a step to quite forcefully hit it on an open cupboard door.  His mother just waited for him to wise up.  “Fine!” he said dejectedly, rubbing his head.  He went back to get his glasses (nearly knocking over a vase as he did so) and returned to the kitchen.  He sat at the table just beside the kitchen and laid his head down.  For some reason he had gotten up rather easily, but he was not at all a morning person.
    “Good morning!” Mr. Shiozawa said with glee, kissing Mrs. Shiozawa.
    “Good morning, dear.  Would you like eggs and bacon?”
    “Oh sure!  How about you, Hiroshi?” all that emanated from him was another groan.  “… I think we can take that as a yes.”
    Mrs. Shiozawa laughed and started to make breakfast.  She set a plate in front of Hiroshi and handed one to her husband.  Before she knew it, both plates were empty!  Hiroshi asked for seconds, but Mr. Shiozawa wanted an early start off to work.  “Thanks honey, well guess I’ll be going now!” he said as he straightened his tie and pecked another quick kiss on her cheek.
    “Wait a minute, would you go check on Satoru… please?” she asked quietly.
    He stopped and looked back at her.  Hearing Satoru’s name perked up Hiroshi.  He leaned his chair back to peek into the kitchen, but his parents didn’t seem to notice, which was good because they would have yelled at him for leaning back in his chair.
    “Sure,” he finally answered, giving her a sentimental smile, which she returned.  He set his briefcase on the floor and slowly walked up to Satoru’s room.  Hiroshi watched him the whole time and wondered what had been going on with him.
    Satoru was sleeping peacefully with his new teddy bear wrapped in his arms.  He was having strange dreams about Taka and Tenko, though it was like they had switched bodies to become someone else.  Yeah, I said they were strange.
    His father set an ear to his bedroom door and heard nothing.  He quietly knocked three times, “Satoru?”
    His eyes fluttered open.  He looked to his clock and noticed that it was later than he usually woke up.
    “Satoru?” he asked again.  “Is it alright if I come in?”
    Slowly, he sat up and rubbed his eyes.  Now that it was morning, he didn’t feel so against any human contact, but that didn’t mean he still wasn’t as confused as ever.  “Yes,” he answered back in a soft voice.
    Mr. Shiozawa opened the door and came in, smiling warmly to Satoru.  “Good morning,” he said as he closed it again and walked closer. Satoru responded with only a small smile.  Mr. Shiozawa sat next to him on his bed and for a little while was quiet.  “So, have a good sleep?” he nodded feebly, “Have any good dreams?”
    Satoru’s strange dreams were slipping away, “I can’t remember.”
    He nodded understandingly, repositioning himself on the bed.  He looked his son eye to eye and prepared to ask the big question, “Is there anything you want to talk to me about?  I can tell something’s on your mind.”
    Satoru looked to the side, trying to escape his eyes.  He felt very uncomfortable bringing it up around his father, but before he could stop himself he said, “Well, it’s just that-”
    “Honey,” there was a knock on the door as Mrs. Shiozawa’s voice carried through it, “you have a phone call.”
    “Alright.  I’ll get it in a minute,” he called and then looked back to Satoru.  “Sorry, what is it you were going to say?”
    “… Nothing.” He brought his head down and started to nervously strum his fingers on the bed.
    Mr. Shiozawa stood up and looked to him questioningly, “Are you sure?”
    He made sure to nod quickly, “Yeah.  No need to worry, daddy, everything’s fine!” he smiled to him, forcefully.
    “Well, alright.  But just remember, if you ever want to talk, I’ll be there.  Ok?”  Satoru nodded again as he made his way to the door.  “Better get ready for school then,” he left, closing the door behind him.
    “School, huh?” Satoru laid back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.  “I’ll have to see them both there…”
    Mrs. Shiozawa nearly tackled him as he walked out.  “How is he?  Is he alright?” she threw at him right away.  Hiroshi peeked at this from behind a corner.
    “I think he’s just fine.  He just needed a little alone time yesterday to think about things,” he pat her shoulder and gave her a confident look, “It’s probably just hormones.”
    “Oh dear, you’re probably right,” she looked somehow relieved.
    “Now, where’s that phone?” he asked, walking away.
    “On the table, it’s probably another telemarketer anyway,” she called back, closely following.
    Hiroshi stayed where he was as his parents passed, not even seeming to notice him.  He knew there was something more to what was going on with Satoru than just a little alone time to think about things.  “Hormones my butt,” he said bitterly and picked up his school bag.  “I’m leaving now!” he called and went to tie his shoes.  He had gotten ready very quickly that morning too.
    “Have a good day, hun!” his mother called from the kitchen.
    “Right.  A good day with a history test?” he glanced over to Satoru’s bedroom and sighed.  He left without another word and walked straight to school, stopping only once along the way to stare at a female jogger who came running across the street.

    Satoru got ready for school not long after his brother left.  His parents acted especially kind and understanding to him, he went along with it and in every way he could made it appear that nothing was bothering him.  He left for school and quietly walked along the sidewalks, kicking a stone occasionally as he went.  There was so much on his mind that he didn’t know how to deal with and there was no telling how this day would go for him.  All he knew is that he felt something special for both Taka and Tenko.  He didn’t know which feeling was necessarily “right.”
He came to a busy crosswalk and stood among the crowd until it would be safe to walk across.  Taka spotted him from just behind and ran to greet him.  “Good morning, Sato-chan,” he pecked a kiss on his cheek and wrapped his arms gently around his neck.
    Satoru was taken by surprise, “Taka-chan!” he gasped.  The crowd made its way to the other side, but Satoru and Taka didn’t move.
    “You are so cute today!” Taka hugged him, Satoru didn’t exactly know what to do.  His heart was pounding and he felt so nervous and uncomfortable, he didn’t know how to deal with this situation!  He hadn't expected to see Taka already, so he hadn't thought of a good way to approach him and the situation yet.  Taka noticed the difference in him.  He pulled away and looked down to him, adjusting his red-lens glasses.  “Are you alright, sweetie?”
    Satoru’s lip quivered and he forcefully took hold of Taka’s hand.  “We need to talk,” he said and led him to a secluded corner as more and more people walked by.  Taka looked very concerned.  “Taka-chan, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.  That kiss you gave me yesterday was the best thing I’ve ever felt in my whole life!  And then I got a letter from Tenko-chan where she told me that she really likes me and wants to go out with me, and I’ve always liked Tenko-chan too, but I really really like you too, so I just don’t know what to do!” he sounded like he was panicking.
    “Calm down,” Taka soothed him.
    “But… what should I do?  I don’t know what to do about this!” tears started filling his eyes.
    “Shhh,” Taka set a finger to his lip to quiet him and knelt down, looking him straight in the eye.  “I know how confused you must be about everything.  You know how I feel about you and you know how happy it would make me to have you love me back, but you have to decide for yourself who you really do love.  I just hope that maybe… I can help you make that decision a little easier…” Taka’s voice ended with a whisper and he gently kissed Satoru again.  Satoru was taken by surprise, but soon melted into Taka’s sweet kiss.  Taka pulled away, his eyes burning with passion.  Satoru was blushing, his gaze wandering deeply into his.  “No matter what you decide,” he began again softly, “I will always love you.”
    “Oh Taka-chan,” Satoru hugged him tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks.  Taka was so understanding, he loved that the most about him. Taka smiled and set his arms around his back, holding him close.  Neither could have asked for a sweeter way to start their day.
    “Come on,” Taka said, pulling away, “we should get going.”  Satoru nodded and joined hands with Taka, unexpectedly to him.  They walked to school quietly and went to their seats.  All the girls noticed that they were holding hands, making them giddy and full of all sorts of new questions, but they would have to save them for later since class would be starting soon.  Taka pulled out Satoru’s seat and then took his right across from him.  They were smiling and staring at each other, feeling totally at peace, until Satoru spotted Tenko coming to sit down also.  Tenko spotted him and time seemed at a halt.  All they did was stare at each other at a complete loss of words.
    “Please take a seat, everyone,” said Mr. Kiyomura as class began.
    Tenko bit her lower lip and took her seat right next to Satoru.  Needless to say, that was quite the awkward situation.
    Shingo noticed the unusual quietness of the group and naturally wondered what it was all about.  He had no idea about the letter or about what had happened between Satoru and Taka.  He just thought that Tenko and Satoru had suddenly lost their voices somehow… “Guys, say something please, you’re scaring me!” Shingo finally said while Mr. Kiyomura took attendance.
    Tenko looked to him desperately and then off to the side.  Satoru looked in the opposite direction and sighed deeply.  “Well, that was productive,” mused Mayuki from beside Shingo.
    Shingo glanced to his other side at Taka and saw that he wore a very bittersweet smile.  His outfit today consisted of black leather pants, shiny red belt, shiny black platform shoes, tight black shirt with long sleeves with alternating red and black stripes, a silver ring for every knuckle, black fingernails (always black fingernails), silver gothic cross necklace and long spiky collar, and just a hint of black lip color.  Shingo didn’t have time to admire his outfit, though, he wanted to know what was going on with Satoru and Tenko!
    “Taka-san,” he said softly.  Taka looked to him with piercing jade green eyes.  “Do you know what’s wrong with them?” he whispered.
    Taka nodded and looked back to Satoru.  “It’s a love crisis.”
    “Love crisis?”
    Taka’s expression didn’t change.  “You’ll see soon enough.”
    Shingo didn’t know what to think.  He wished he could just ask his sister telepathically, but Mr. Kiyomura decided to start the lesson right then and there.  He would have to wait until later and watch his best friend and sister act as if they didn’t even know each other.  It was a pretty tough thing to have to sit through.  Things just seemed so… strange.

    Another psychical education class was well underway at the high school.  The boys were now doing softball and the girls were working on tennis.  Both were on opposite sides of the campus from each other, much to both groups’ chagrin (but mainly Hiroshi’s).
    Daisuke and Hiroshi were standing far off in the outfield.  Since neither one excelled in baseball, they figured they should stay as far from the action as they possibly could, so the outfield seemed a reasonable place to do so.  Daisuke was staring up at the clouds drifting above, it looked like rain was coming.  He wasn’t paying much attention to the game, he could have sworn he just saw a cloud pass by that looked like a unicorn.
    “Life sucks,” Hiroshi moaned, partially to try and get Daisuke to say something to him.
    “Wow, and that cloud looks like your head!” he said, looking jokingly at Hiroshi.  Hiroshi, however, didn’t look amused.  “Sorry, sorry,” he shrugged his shoulders.  “So how was work yesterday?  Anything cool happen?”
    He sighed, “Oh yeah… tons of hot babes came in, knew that place was gonna be a chick magnet… It’s total heaven.”
    Daisuke blinked, “So… what’s the problem then?”
    Hiroshi glared in the general direction of the pitcher (but not purposely at him) when he remembered about Satoru.  “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but… I’m really starting to worry about Amoebae Boy.”
    Daisuke paused with astonishment and had to think deeply about what he had just said.  “Wait, did you just say what I thought you said…?” Hiroshi looked to him seriously and Daisuke became rather worried, “Dude, do you have a fever?!”
    “Dai!  I’m serious here!” he yelled as a ball came soaring toward him.  Luckily, someone else caught it so it wouldn’t have the chance to impale itself into Hiroshi’s skull (though that would have been rather amusing…).
    “Whoa,” Daisuke had to take a step back to make sure this wasn’t some big dream.  “You must be serious, I’ve never heard you say that before.”
    “I’ve never really had a reason until now,” he said, looking off to the side.
    “What’s up then?” obviously Daisuke wanted to know everything.
    Hiroshi sighed again and recalled the incidents, “It started yesterday when I was at work.  Amoebae Boy and that creepy Taka guy came in and ordered ice cream… and then he started hitting on me again…” he shuddered, “but anyway, and then they went to a table and I really wasn’t paying attention to them then.  But when they left, I don’t know how to explain it, but there was like this new glow around Amoebae Boy, like something had just happened to him for the first time, you know?  And they were all extra friendly and stuff and starting holding hands!”
    “They did?” Daisuke was very into this story.
    “Yes!  But, oh, the best part is that when I got home, I was told that Amoebae Boy had basically locked himself into his bedroom, refusing to come out ever since he got home again.  Then I knew for sure that something was up with him, so I went to his room and tried to talk to him, but that wasn’t working.  So when I was about to leave, he came out and told me that there was nothing I could do and that he was really fine, which was total bull, and then went back into his room!  My parents think it’s just some weird hormones or something, but I know it has to do with that creepy Taka guy.  It’s all because of him that Amoebae Boy’s so screwed up lately,” he vented.
    Daisuke tried to sort out all he said and couldn’t help but think he was over reacting.  “So, you think it’s Taka’s fault Satoru locked himself into his room?”
    “Dai, he didn’t just lock himself in there for no reason.  He’s never done that before, there was obviously something on his mind he couldn’t figure out or something.  And yes, I know it has to do with Taka.” Hiroshi scowled and his voice became bitter, “That little punk is seriously screwing him up and turning him gay.  Amoebae Boy was so ignorant and innocent before he came along… and now next thing I know, he’s being defiled by some freak who will probably someday try to do some really disgusting things to him, and Amoebae Boy won’t know any better and go along with it.  Believe me, Taka’s been around the block a few times, so don’t think he wouldn’t try it.” Hiroshi sighed again, shaking his head, “I wish he’d take his sorry little butt and go back to whatever botched up boy loving other boy planet he came from.”
    Daisuke was quiet for a while.  He didn’t know Hiroshi was so sensitive and protective of his brother, most the time he’d act as if he didn’t even have a brother.  But now… there was a new side of his best friend Daisuke had never seen before.  As much as he admired his concern for Satoru, he was actually quite angry with what he had said about Taka.  “You should really be nicer to Taka,” he said, remembering about his past.
    “Why should I?  He’s the whole reason I’m pissed off right now!”
    “He hasn’t had it easy,” he said again, drawing Hiroshi’s anger down a bit.  “Did you know that he was molested several times as a kid and tried to kill himself a few years back?”
    Hiroshi was silent a minute.  “No, I didn’t…”
    “Well, now you know.  I think it’d be a good idea to treat him better, even if you don’t like him.”
    “But what about what he’s doing to Amoebae Boy?  I can’t just sit around and watch as he makes him a flaming fruit boy just like him.”
    Daisuke saw another ball flying their way, which was caught by the same guy as before.  “Maybe,” he said slowly, looking back to Hiroshi, “you should talk to him and tell him how you feel.  But try and do it in a nice way.  For all we know, he could still be really psychologically unstable.”
    Hiroshi didn’t say another word and just watched the others play the game.  He knew the only way to solve this would be to talk to Taka, though trying to do it in a nice way (he could tell already) would prove to be very difficult for him.
    “Good game, Yoshiko-chan,” said Aya, in the meantime, as she and Yoshiko finished their game of tennis.  They walked to the side of the court, setting their rackets down with their teacher looking to them with quite a high amount of pride and happiness shining in her eyes (a very rare thing indeed).  This was because Aya and Yoshiko were just about the only students she had who actually were willing to do the activities she had planned and at least appear like they were enjoying them!  Anyway, Aya looked over to Yoshiko to see her staring at Hitomi, who was sitting on a bench outside the court.  “Oh,” she said snidely, “Little miss princess isn’t participating in PE today…”
    “Poor girl,” Yoshiko whispered and then turned to the teacher, right next to her.  “Why is she sitting out today?”
    “She gave me a doctor’s note that looked pretty authentic before class.  I have to believe that, don’t want to risk anything…”
    “A doctor’s note?” Yoshiko looked back to Hitomi, a new concern in her eyes.
    “Yeah, didn’t mention what was wrong with her though.  Oh well,” said the teacher, who then went back to supervising the rest of the class.
    “That girl…” Aya said to herself, shaking her head, “She’s probably faking it, you know?  She does stuff like this all the time.”
    “I’m going to talk to her,” said Yoshiko, determined.  Aya looked to her strangely, almost like she couldn’t believe what she had just said.  Yoshiko nodded, “I know you might think that’s strange, but she needs someone to help her out right now…” Aya couldn’t get a word out before Yoshiko started walking toward Hitomi.
    Hitomi was sitting at the bench still in her school uniform, staring down to the grass with a glazed look in her eyes.  She didn’t even notice when Yoshiko approached her until she was right in front of her.  Hitomi looked up and was very surprised, “Y-Yoshiko…” her voice was extremely quiet and weak sounding.
    “Is it alright if I sit?” she asked in her sweetest voice.  Hitomi sighed and made a gesture, illustrating that it was alright.  Yoshiko sat next to her quietly and tried to think of what to say first.  “I know what’s bothering you,” she started off getting right to the point.
    Hitomi looked to her, shocked, and for a time was unable to speak.  “You… do?” she finally asked, the color flushing from her face.
    She nodded, “And I know how hard it has been for you.  Nothing has gone the way it should, and no one deserves that.”
    Tears sprang to her eyes and she lowered her head.  “You’re right,” she squeaked, “I’ve tried… I’ve tried to get him to at least acknowledge me, but he never does… never ever…” she started to lightly cry and Yoshiko set a hand on her back to try and comfort her.
    “He’s being extremely awful with this whole thing.  But don’t think that all is lost, Hitomi-san.  There are still people who care about you and are willing to help in any way that they can.”
    “But my parents,” she sobbed more, “they were so mad when they found out, they couldn’t even look at me… They felt so ashamed to have me as a daughter…”
    “Do they feel any different now?” asked Yoshiko sensitively.
    Hitomi quickly brought her head up, tears streaming down her cheeks.  “I… I think they’re less angry than they were…”
    “That’s good,” said Yoshiko, “I’m sure that anyone would be angry with the initial shock of hearing something like that, especially when it is their own daughter.  But you’ll see, within time, they will become more understanding.  I know that through this, they will not love you any less.”
    Hitomi looked to Yoshiko and a faint smile began to appear on her face.  “Oh Yoshiko… you are always so nice to everyone, even if they haven’t been nice to you…”
    Yoshiko smiled, “The Golden Rule.  That’s what I like to try and live by.”
    “And you’re right.  I know my parents won’t abandon me, at least.  I just wish that Ryuichi…”
    Yoshiko saw another tear slide down Hitomi’s cheek and held onto her more securely.  “I know,” she whispered, “but I want you to know that even if he won’t help you through this thing, I will.”
    Hitomi shot her eyes to her again.  They were filled with both gratitude and shock.  She was speechless for a time and kept remembering how terrible she had been to Yoshiko.  It made her feel so awful to think about it.  “Really?” she got out, “Even after all the bad things I’ve done to you?  You’d still… do that for me?”
    Yoshiko nodded, “The Golden Rule,” she said again and Hitomi’s face lit up with a wide, gracious smile.
    “Oh, thank you!  Thank you so much!” she cried and hugged Yoshiko tightly.  Yoshiko hugged her back and knew that Hitomi was feeling better just knowing that she had support in a place she thought she’d never get it from.
    “Well look at that,” said Aya, watching from inside the court.  She smiled and shook her head, “I never thought I’d see the day… Way to go, Yoshi-chan!”
    Yoshiko felt wonderful with herself and knew that she had done the right thing.  Soon after that, PE class ended and Yoshiko and Hitomi quietly walked back to the school.  As Hiroshi and Daisuke walked by, they saw the two together, walking ahead of them.  Daisuke smiled and knew that Yoshiko had done it.  He felt so proud of her and admired her even more than he had before.

    At lunch, there wasn’t the usual excitement and craziness that ensued at the elementary school.  Everything was just as it had been before, Satoru and Tenko were acting as if the other didn’t exist, or so Shingo observed.  In all actuality, he was getting pretty fed up seeing them like this.  It just wasn’t normal!  “What the heck is going on here?!” he finally asked at the top of his lungs, causing a lot of wandering stares to wander his way.  He didn’t care though, he really wanted an answer!
    Satoru and Tenko were both among those wandering stares.  Satoru sighed and looked off to the side again and Tenko stood up from her seat.  “I need to get a drink,” she said and pulled Mayuki to her feet, making her follow.  Shingo saw her leave and nearly blew a gasket.
    “I need to use the little boy’s room,” said Taka, leaving thereafter.
    Shingo watched him leave desperately and then glanced back to Satoru.  Satoru avoided his eyes again and quietly ate his lunch.  Shingo looked to him, his face growing more and more tense.  “Satoru-kun!” he said loudly.
    Satoru looked to him again with bread crumbs on his lips.  “Yes?” he asked in his most innocent way.
    Shingo sighed, “Geez, what is going on with you?  You and my sister are both acting completely wacko!”
    Satoru looked to the side again, his eyebrows stooping, “Ok, Tenko-chan sent me a letter yesterday that said that she really likes me and stuff…”
    “R-really?” Shingo was surprised to hear that.  He knew that she liked him, but he also knew that she was too shy to tell him anything like that. Satoru nodded and took another bite of his sandwich.  “Well that’s great!  Go Tenko!” Satoru still looked like he was far from celebrating. “What’s the problem then?” he then asked.
    “Well,” Satoru knew how completely freaked out Shingo would get if he told him, so he stalled.  “I know you’ll be mad…”
    “Why?  What is it?  Don’t you like Tenko?”
    “Oh, yes I do!  Very much, but…” he paused, “I also… like Taka-chan…”
    Shingo blinked.  He paused and stayed completely still for a long time, trying to absorb that.  Finally, he sat back in his seat, keeping his eyes on Satoru, who would quickly look away, then back again.  He didn’t know quite what to think.  Satoru had made that decision they had talked about, and Shingo had to admit that he was not very pleased with it.  Slowly, he rose to his feet, his face remaining calm and nearly emotionless.  “I see,” he said quietly.  Satoru looked up to him, his face starting to look worried.  Shingo then turned and started to gradually walk to the door.
    “Wait!  Shingo-chan!” Satoru called after him as he got closer and closer to the door.  Shingo didn’t turn around though, just left the classroom. Satoru felt tears coming to his eyes and balled his fists up.  He wished he could have tried to explain it more to Shingo, but he knew that probably wouldn’t help any.  Shingo was pretty upset about this, he knew…
    Shingo walked aimlessly in the hall, staring forward to no place in particular.  He couldn’t believe what he had just heard from Satoru.  Just when he was about to bang his head on a wall, Taka came out of the bathroom right next to him.  Shingo stared at Taka, making him a little suspicious.  “You know, don’t you?” Shingo didn’t answer and Taka nodded to himself.  “You must be mad about it, aren’t you?”
    “Mad?  Not really.  I just don’t really know what to think.  Satoru-kun likes both you guys, and there’s no telling right now which way he’s gonna go.”
    “That’s true enough,” said Taka solemnly.
    “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but I really hope he decides to go with Tenko.  It’d be a whole lot better for him.”
    Taka didn’t let the pain from that comment show to Shingo, nor did he give any evidence of how much he wished just the opposite.  Instead, he gave him a weak smile, masking his true feelings.  “I guess only time will tell,” he said and walked back to the classroom.
    “Guess so,” Shingo muttered and then saw Tenko and Mayuki walk out from behind a corner.  He came over to them and could at once feel all of Tenko’s feelings.
    “Shingo-chan,” she started off, “Why isn't Satoru-chan talking to me?  Does he hate me?” she was about to burst into tears.
    “No!  Just the opposite!  Satoru-kun really likes you.”
    “Really?” Tenko’s eyes became starry.
    “Then why is he acting as if he doesn’t even know her?” Mayuki interceded.
    Shingo looked into his sister’s eyes and couldn’t bare say it.  (Besides, Tenko probably wouldn’t understand anyway…) “He’s just…” he tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t bare the truth to gruesomely, but that wouldn’t lie either.  “Give him time.  I’m sure that soon enough things will work out… straight…” (haha, that was trying to be a joke, people… -_-;;)
    “Yeah, he’s probably just being his normal cute shy self today,” Mayuki smiled to Tenko, making her feel better.
    “Yeah, but I wish he’d talk to me… I really want to know what he thinks of my letter…” Then the girls walked back to the classroom, leaving Shingo alone in the hall.
    He felt really bad and let out a long sigh.  “Dang it… I just can't tell Tenko that Satoru-kun likes her, but also likes Taka-san… that means that in the end he’s gonna have to choose one or the other, and it might not be her…” Shingo hated to realize that, but knew that it was a very probable outcome to this interesting situation.  He started heading to class again and peeked inside, seeing Taka smiling and talking with Satoru, while the girls stood off to the side, watching them.  He glared slightly at Taka and started to feel a mellow resentment begin to unfurl toward him.  ‘Taka-kun got in the way of something that could have worked out so well,’ he thought, ‘He’s one of my best friends, but I’m starting to really hate what he’s caused in this whole thing…’
    Shingo had to return to his seat as lunch was ending, as did everyone else.  He closely watched the interaction between Taka, Satoru, and Tenko, and noticed that not much had changed since that morning.  Things were still very awkward and would continue to be until Satoru made up his mind.

    When school got out for Koji and Namie, a light rain was beginning to fall outside.  From within the classroom, as other students were leaving, Koji stared out the window at the tiny droplets that fell over all things he could see as the sky became more and more gray.  The droplets got bigger and more numerous within seconds and a deep rumble of thunder reached Koji’s sensitive ears.  He loved the rain and always found it fascinating.
    Namie saw him staring outside and smiled.  She walked over to him and watched it also.  “Rain is nice,” she said.
    “Yes,” said Koji deeply, “It is as if the Earth is being cleansed from all its pollution.”
    “Yeah,” Namie loved to hear him talk like that and secretly wished he’d say more inspired things, but he then turned from the window and started for the classroom door.  She quickly followed.
    Without a word, Koji walked out of the school and into the rain.  Namie opened up a huge black umbrella and covered herself from the rain.  She would have asked Koji if he would like protection also, but saw that he looked quite content with the rain falling down gently onto him.  She then warmly reflected on her feelings for him.
    They started walking down the streets, rain pattering all around them.  A gray mist was forming all around them as more and more rain began to fall.  It was all very peaceful to Koji.
    When they passed a large maple tree along the road, Koji stopped under it and looked out onto the road as cars passed by, spraying water into the air.  He could see a few other people slowly walking along the streets, huddled under umbrellas.  Namie looked up to him and wondered why he had stopped.  “The Earth is beautiful,” he said, as if answering her question, “I love to watch the rain fall onto it to clean it.”
    “That’s great,” she said, looking up to him under the maple tree.  “I just hope lightning doesn’t strike us while we’re under this tree…”
    “It will not,” he said, sounding very sure of that.  Namie smiled and knew she could trust his judgment.
    “Koji-san,” she said shyly, staring onto the placid black street.  “If it’s alright… could I ask you a few questions about yourself?”
    He looked down to her with calm, soothing eyes.  “What would you like to know?” his voice was deep and beautiful.  (Ok, now everyone watch as Emi goes into a temporary insane state and then melts onto the floor, drooling and saying “Kojiiii” over and over again…) -_-
    “Well, I’ve known you for a really long time and I’ve always had questions for you, but I’ve been too shy to ask them…” she looked downward, she was still a little shy to ask him, but knew that she had to sooner or later.  Koji waited patiently for whatever it is she wanted to ask him; he felt he already had an idea of what it could be.
    “Well…” she started again, glancing up to him, “You won’t mind me asking you stuff?”
    He shook his head, “Ask whatever you would like.”
    A slight smile came to her lips, but quickly disappeared.  “Ok, first of all, I’ve always been curious with how you look… your skin and eyes are so pale, and you ears…” she looked to his cute pointed ears (Ok, so Emi is bias…) “I remember some kids would say that you were a huge Star Trek fan and were just trying to be like Mr. Spock… and others would say that you were a real life elf or something like that, but you’ve never said anything like that about yourself, right?  Those were just things kids came up with on their own?”
    “Yes,” he answered, blinking his mysterious eyes.
    “So… I guess what I’m asking is… why do you look the way you do?”
    Koji was silent for a long time and watched the rain fall onto the road.  He knew that one day he’d be asked that question.  “You are much more observant and analytical than the others.  You seek for truth and do not depend solely on the words of others.  That is very admirable,” he said to her.  She stared up at him and didn’t know what to say.  Koji closed his eyes and listened to the rhythm of the rain falling all around.  “Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what you wish to know.”
    “Y-you can’t…?” she finally asked.  She was unable to believe that he’d said that.
    Koji shook his head slowly and looked back to her.  “It is something I must never tell anyone.  I am sorry.”
    “But… why can’t you tell me?  Koji-san?  I don’t understand!”
    He paused and breathed out deeply, his breath fogging.  “Some things must never be shared with someone, no matter how long you have known them.  This is something I cannot share with you, I am sorry.”
    Namie looked up to him, her eyebrows raised.  She wanted to know so badly, but knew that she needed to respect Koji if he truly could not tell her.  Eventually, she agreed and nodded.  “Alright.  I’m sorry to bother you with my questions…”
    Koji came over to her and set a hand on her shoulder, to her surprise.  She blushed slightly and looked up to his calm face.  “Always ask questions.  Perhaps someday, you will know the answers.” Namie blinked and Koji began to slowly step from under the tree, into the gentle rain. He looked up into the deep gray sky and let the raindrops slowly flow down his face.  Namie watched him with amazement and set a hand to her heart.  She could feel that it was racing within her chest.
    “I should get home,” Koji turned around and told her, “I need to get back to my work.”
    She came out from under the tree, shielding herself with the umbrella.  “What sort of work is it?  Are you building something?”
    “Yes,” he said, “though I am unclear of what its function will be as of now.”
    She was amazed, “Only you could build something on pure inspiration,” she said lightly and began to walk with him again.
    He looked down to her, nearly flattered by that comment.  They continued walking down the street in silence.  Right before they were about to go their separate ways, Koji felt a sharp, stinging sensation in his head that shot out to the rest of his body.  In alarm, he collapsed to his knees. He held his hands over his head and began to experience terrible feelings that washed over him for reasons he could not understand.
    “Koji-san!” Namie cried and knelt beside him, covering them both with the umbrella.  “Are you alright?!” she asked frantically.
    Just as soon as it had begun, the sensation left.  Koji uncovered his head and looked up, his eyes wide and full of terror.  Namie gasped and set her hand on his.  She gasped again when she felt it was ice cold.  “Koji-san…” she asked very worriedly, looking back to his face.  He looked as if he had just seen a terrifying ghost.
    He breathed quickly and blinked his eyes, swiping his forehead with the back of his hand.  Namie leaned closer to him and asked quickly, “What was that?!  Are you alright?!”
    “I… I just felt as if something terrible had happened… something so terrible it cannot even be mentioned…”
    “… What?  What was it?!”
    “I am not sure.  All at once, the feeling overcame me… and I heard the cries of many innocent souls, screaming out in agony and despair… and then there was complete silence.”
    Namie’s eyes widened and she set a shaky hand on his shoulder, “I think you should get home,” she helped him to his feet.
    Koji put a hand through his wet hair and stared down to the sleek sidewalk.  He had no ideas about what he had just experienced.  What was that?  What were those terrible cries he had heard?  Whatever it was, he knew that it had something to do with him.  He needed to find out somehow what it meant and why that had happened to him.
    “Koji-san?” His concentration was broken by Namie’s concerned voice.  He looked over to her.  “Will you be alright?”
    “I think so,” he said, bringing his hand to his side, “I need to find out what that was and why it happened.  I feel that it was an epiphany to something terrible that has happened.”
    Hearing that made Namie more worried than ever.  “Koji-san,” she whispered, her voice very troubled and depressed.
    “I need to go,” he said and came close to her.  She looked up into his eyes and saw that they were not the same as they usually were.  They were more anxious and scared than usual.  She had never seen him like this.  “Thank you for being who you are,” he said deeply and then, to her surprise, came down and kissed her forehead gently.  This sent a blazing blush to her cheeks and also a wonderful sensation through her body. When Koji moved away, she looked up to him with wonderment.  “Goodbye,” he said quietly and turned, walking to Daisuke’s house.
    She stayed poised in her spot for a long time, staring in the direction he had gone, even after he was no longer in view.  There was a burning ardor inside of her for him, growing stronger than ever before.  She wished she could have asked him more things she had wanted to know.  She knew that, even though she had thought she’d known him for a very long time, she really didn’t know him.  What had just happened proved that fact further.  It surprised her to think just how little she actually knew about him.  There was a great aura of mystery surrounding him, and she hoped that maybe someday she’d have all the answers she wanted.  Until then, she’d keep asking questions and hope for the best for him.  She wished she could help him figure out what had happened, but knew she could not.  With a hand at her heart, Namie took her eyes from his direction and went home.
    Koji stumbled into his room and fell onto the bed.  Jemena jumped with surprise and could immediately sense something was wrong.  “Ko-chan?”
    “Jemena,” he said, bringing his eyes to her, “something very bad has happened.  I think that now finishing the machine is more important than ever.  I know that the quicker I finish it, the sooner I can understand what happened,” he said and quickly got back to his feet.
    “What are you talking about?  You don’t even know what the machine will do.  What happened to you anyway?” she was very worried about him.
    He started to get his tools and materials out, spreading them all on a table.  “Jemena,” he said again, looking back to her, “please tell the others not to disturb me.  I will be down here a very long time.” Koji turned back to the tools and started to work.  Jemena knew she couldn’t get another word in, Koji was very determined to try and finish the machine he had no idea why he was building.  She sighed and jumped off the bed, walking to the door.  She glanced back and saw Koji taking a cover off an old computer monitor.  She left the room and ran upstairs.
    Jemena sat in front of a window in the living room, staring out at the pouring rain.  Her breath fogged up the glass, which she cleared with her paw.  “What a depressing day,” she said aloud, “I wonder what happened to Ko-chan.  I have never seen that look in his eyes before…”
    “Something wrong, Jem?” Misami leaned next to her.
    She looked up to her and sighed again, “Just wondering what has gotten into Ko-chan.  How about you?  Did you ever straighten things out between Hiroshi-san?”
    She cringed, “I purposely avoided him all day so I wouldn’t have to see his stupid looking face.  But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to talk to him soon enough.”  Jemena smiled and looked back out the window.  Misami sat next to her and did the same.  “Look!” she gasped, “A pretty rainbow!”
    Jemena bolted her eyes all over the sky, “Where?”
    “Right in front of us, can’t you see it?”
    Jemena looked to where she was pointing and shook her head, “I only see falling rain.”
    “Weird… it’s right there in plain view.  Oh wait, I remember hearing something about creatures from Zanthor not being able to see in color.  Is that true?  Are you totally colorblind?”
    Jemena looked to her oddly, like she had no idea what she was asking.  “Color?” the word sounded unfamiliar to her.
    “Yeah, like red, blue, green, yellow… don’t you know what those are?”
    “Uh…” Jemena shifted her eyes back outside, “should I?”
    “You really don’t know.  Wow,” Misami tried to imagine what it would be like to have no color vision.  Jemena still didn’t know what she was talking about.
    Meanwhile, back at the high school, Daisuke was “spying” on Yoshiko and Hitomi, who were sitting on a bench in the hall, talking.  He hoped that they’d stay there long enough for him to work out a little plan he had come up with.  Actually, it wasn’t really a plan, it was him trying to convince Ryuichi to at least go and talk to Hitomi, which had proven very unsuccessful before.  Daisuke sneaked to the locker room so that the girls wouldn’t detect him and started to get ready for swim practice.
    “Tah dah!!” Osamu then burst into the locker room and all eyes fell onto him.  There was something very different about him today… he now had… PINK hair!
    Daisuke’s mouth opened in shock and Osamu walked on through the locker room with a bright smile on his face, not minding what anyone else thought of his new hair color choice.  “Yo Shark Man!” he said just as lively as ever as he came to the locker right next to Daisuke’s.
    “Y-your hair…”
    “Like it?  I wanted a change…” he started to get ready also.
    “It’s… pink!”
    “Only the coolest guys have pink hair.  It’s true, you know!”
    “Uh, yeah…” Daisuke said and continued getting ready.
    When they were both ready, they walked out to the pool and instantly saw Ryuichi standing next to it, stretching.  Daisuke groaned and swallowed nervously.  He’d try and convince him again, and maybe things would go different this time, he told himself, though he wasn’t too confident in his thinking…
    “Wait here,” he told Osamu and walked up to the dragon.  “Hey,” he said casually.
    “Go to hell,” answered Ryuichi.
    Daisuke clenched his teeth and looked back to Osamu, who shrugged his shoulders.  “Bad moon today?” he asked again.
    “What do you care?” he said coldly, stretching his arms.
    “You’re just so set on being an unapproachable jerk, aren’t you?”
    Ryuichi looked back to him, frowning.  “What if I am?”
    Daisuke frowned also and decided to get right to his point, “Look, I’m gonna be straight with you.  Right out there in that hallway is a girl who needs you more than anything.  Are you just gonna stand back and watch her slide through your fingers like sand, or are you gonna step up and try to bring her back to you before it’s too late?  You got two choices here, you can either continue being an a**hole and blow her off, or you can take responsibility for what’s happened and make things as right as they can be.  The choice is yours, dude, and if you decide to keep ignoring her, to make her try to deal with this on her own… then may God have mercy on your soul.” Daisuke said powerfully and walked away, feeling quite confident in himself and his words.
    Ryuichi was left dumbfounded. Even though he hated to admit it, Daisuke was right.  For the first time, Ryuichi realized that he really did need to take responsibility—it would be wrong not to.  Right as Guchi started to start up practice, Ryuichi left the pool and ran out to the hall.
    Hitomi and Yoshiko looked back to see him standing there.  Hitomi rose to her feet slowly as he approached.  “Ryu…” her voice whispered.
    He stopped when he was standing right in front of her.  His stern face melted into that of compassion and humility.  “Hitomi,” he whispered, “I’m so sorry…”
    Hitomi’s eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around him.  He held her closely and for the first time in his life felt a warm peace and comfort from knowing that he had done the right thing.
    Yoshiko stood up and watched them.  A warm smile appeared on her lips and it brought a tear to her eye to know that Hitomi would be fine now that Ryuichi was back.
    Daisuke and Osamu peeked out into the hall and saw the two.  They felt the same way Yoshiko did and Osamu slapped Daisuke’s back.  “Good job!” he whispered, “You made him realize what he has to do.  In a way, you’re the one who helped Hitomi-chan most of all.”
    Daisuke had never thought of it that way before.  He smiled and nodded and looked back to the two.  ‘Good for you, Hamada, maybe you’re not such a bad guy after all,’ he thought, ‘You actually listened to something I had to say.  I know things’ll be a lot better from now on.’

    “See you guys later,” Hiroshi groaned as he walked out of Kaori’s Ice Cream Parlor as his shift ended.  He yawned as he opened up a big umbrella.  Work had been busy, as usual, and he still had homework to do.  All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep.
    Right as he was about to start walking, Hiroshi spotted someone he knew all too well standing near him by a music store, listening to his headphones while staring out onto the rain.  He gasped and then growled lowly as he continued to watch him coldly, “Taka…”
    Yep, it was Taka.  Just the person Hiroshi really didn’t want to see.  He was listening intently to a new CD and seemed to be so into it that he was dead to the rest of the world.  Hiroshi didn’t care about disturbing his listening pleasure, he thought he had to talk to him like Daisuke had said, so he gathered up his courage and stamped his feet over to the music store where he was standing.  Taka didn’t seem to notice, so Hiroshi, scowling, tapped his shoulder roughly.  Taka’s eye drew up to him (he’s much shorter than Hiro ^-^) and his face brightened with surprise, “Hiro-chan!” he said happily, making Hiroshi shudder.
    “Shut your word hole, pansy, I gotta talk to you!  Man to man!”
    Taka blinked and paused the CD, removing his headphones.  “Man to man?” he said keenly, “I like the sound of that.” A huge grin came to his face.
    Hiroshi nearly panicked, “No!!  That’s not what I meant!  I mean, I have to talk to you about something serious, so you better not try and hit on me… ok?”
    The grin wiped off Taka’s face.  “What is it?” he asked rather indignantly.
    “Don’t try to pretend like you don’t know.  It’s about what you’re doing to my brother.”
    “Sato-chan?” a whirl of adrenaline chased inside of him.
    Hiroshi was so angry, he pointed his finger straight at Taka’s face, “You’re turning him gay, aren’t you?!  The way you always hold his hand and stuff… You’re totally screwing up his life, and I won’t let you do that!  You got that, freak?  You leave him alone, and I mean it!”
    Taka saw the anger in Hiroshi’s eyes, but it seemed to make no difference.  Taka smirked, wiping a stray raindrop from his forehead and setting his bag down, turning his gorgeous, challenging eyes straight into his.  “Such a threat, Hiro-chan.  Do you seriously think you could do anything to change my feelings for your adorable, perfect little brother?  Or how about his feelings for me?”
    “What?” Hiroshi couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
    “I’m sorry, but no force on Earth or heaven or hell could possibly change my feelings for him or keep me from him.  I love him with a love deeper than most people could possibly understand, including yourself.  There’s no way I can stay away from him by just your request alone, and I’m sure he feels the exact same way.”
    Hiroshi tightened his fist and was getting furious, “That’s the wrong answer!  I’m not gonna let you turn my brother gay!”
    Taka shook his head, “Hiro-chan, don’t you get it?” Hiroshi paused, blinking confusedly.  “It’s not like I’m controlling him, you know.  If he wants to have feelings for me also, it’s his own choice.  And as of now, considering that goodbye kiss on the lips he willingly gave me after school today, I think he’s making his decision.”
    Hiroshi gasped again and then snapped.  “Shut up!!” he flung his fist toward Taka’s face, but Taka disappeared at the last moment.  Hiroshi looked all around and could not find him.  “What the…”
    “Right behind you,” Taka taunted.  Hiroshi turned around and saw him standing there, smiling slyly, only making him more irritated.
    “How the heck did you do that?”
    “I’ve been studying techniques of old martial arts masters ever since I could read.  And it doesn’t hurt to be advanced in gymnastics also.  I’ve been in fights plenty of times, so it’s probably wise to not believe you’ll actually win…”
    “Shut up!” he yelled and rammed his hand forward again, but this time, instead of disappearing, Taka bent backwards to dodge the hit and Hiroshi was incredibly stunned when he did.  “Ah!!  What the heck?!” he yelled to see him in what appeared to be a very impossible position. “No one can bend back that far and live!!”
    “Hah!” Taka did a back flip and stood up straight again.  “I’m still alive, aren’t I?  Believe me, if you thought that was unbelievable, I can show you things that’ll make your head spin.”
    “No thank you,” he said, “I’d rather just beat the crap out of you right now.”
    “Come on,” Taka said quietly, “you really don’t want to fight me.”
    “Oh yes I do!” said Hiroshi as he charged to Taka again with an outstretched fist.
    Taka sighed and shook his head, “You asked for it…” just as Hiroshi’s fist was about to strike, Taka jumped out of the way and quickly put his fist into Hiroshi’s stomach, the whole time thinking, ‘Where have I seen this before?’ (refer to volume eight).  Hiroshi gasped and stumbled over while Taka rose to his feet.  Hiroshi knew he had been hit by Taka, and that thought disturbed him even more than thinking about Satoru and Taka.  Taka sighed again and shook his hand out, “You should have listened to me…”
    “Stupid… jerk…” Hiroshi choked out.  His ego had been smashed to bits.
    Taka picked up his bag and flung one strap over his shoulder, setting his headphones around his neck.  “I’m sorry that had to happen, Hiro-chan.  I really didn’t want to do that, but you left me little choice.  I know you’re upset about Sato-chan, but don’t blame him if he develops feelings for me too.  Love is a wonderful thing, you know?  You should let him experience it freely.” He set the headphones over his ears and unpaused the CD.  He walked away, leaving Hiroshi riling on the sidewalk.  The physical pain he felt was nothing compared to the emotional damage that had been caused by the sheer fact that Taka had beaten him.
    Hiroshi cursed in a wheezy voice and watched Taka disappear into the rain.  “Sa-to-ru,” he wheezed again, “stay-away-from-Taka… he’s… dangerous…”
    Eventually, Hiroshi was able to come back to his feet and slowly made his way toward home.  Taka had a pretty good punch, but he wasn’t thinking about that.  He was thinking about Satoru and now worried about him more than ever.  It appeared as if Hiroshi and Shingo were in the same situation…

    While everyone else was having dinner upstairs, Koji was working very hard in the basement.  He had hooked up the computer monitor to all sorts of wires and other small devices he had made earlier, and was working on getting them to all run together at a strange frequency that he knew no one on Earth ever transmitted on.  The instructions on how to do all this came to him through pure inspiration.  He still had no idea why he was building this thing, and even less of an idea of what it would do when it was built.  Nonetheless, he knew that somehow he had to build it, and continued on day after day, slowly putting together this strange machine.
    Koji then felt he needed to cover the wires and circuits from outside elements such as dust, so then started constructing a protective case to cover it all.  He brought a sheet of thin metal to the table, and accidentally slid his palm across its razor sharp edge.  It stung very badly and he looked to his palm to see a very deep cut and blood begin to flow from it.  Koji tightly wrapped his other hand around his wrist and stood up.  He left his room and quietly went upstairs to find a bandage.
    “-and then she said, ‘like whatever!  I don’t have to listen to you!’ which is so untrue!  Remember that sis?  That girl was an idiot!” Misami said, in between sipping her soup.
    “Yes, but we should try to respect all people, even if they are rather foolish,” added Yoshiko wisely.
    “I know, but it’s just so hard for some people…”
    Daisuke laughed sheepishly at their conversation and finished his soup.  He noticed that the twins and Jemena seemed unusually quiet this evening, but before he could ask them why, Koji appeared in the dining room.
    “Daisuke-san,” he said, still holding his wrist.  Blood was starting to trickle down his palm, but the others couldn’t see it.
    Daisuke looked up to him, “There you are!  Come have some dinner.”
    He shook his head, “Could you please tell me where I can find a bandage?”
    “Sure, what’s wrong?”
    Koji showed them his palm and everyone gasped.  Daisuke slowly came to his feet, staring at his palm in unbelief.  Koji couldn’t understand why they seemed so shocked, it was a fact of life to get cuts.  “What is wrong?” he asked.
    “K-Koji-kun…” Daisuke swallowed nervously.  “I-is that… your blood…?”
    Koji was confused.  “Of course…”
    Daisuke brought a shaky hand to his mouth, the whole time keeping his alarmed eyes on his palm.  “It’s… it’s blue!”
    Koji looked to him strangely and then back to his palm.  The others were equally as shocked as Daisuke and looked to the strange deep blue blood that covered Koji’s palm.  “Blue?” he asked slowly.
    “It’s blue!  Not red like ours… your blood is blue!” said Misami in amazement.
    “That’s so weird!” cried Tenko, “why is your blood blue, Koji-chan?”  Koji looked to Tenko as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
    “I heard something about Zanthorians.  While they’re on Earth, due to the different atmosphere and stuff, their blood remains blue even when oxygenated.  I’m not sure of all the details, I just remember hearing something about that a long time ago,” said Yoshiko.
    “Whoa, that’s so weird,” said Daisuke, turning back to Koji.  It still appeared as if Koji was completely clueless as to what they were talking about.  “Yoshiko, do you think you could heal him?”
    “I can try,” said Yoshiko as she stood up and came over by Koji.  He gave her his palm and she set her hand over it, concentrating to heal his deep cut.  A beautiful blue light emerged from her hand and entered Koji’s wound, he looked over to see the symbol on Yoshiko’s forehead shining brightly.  Within about a minute, Yoshiko brought her hand away and Koji’s palm was completely restored to normal.
    “Thank you,” he said softly.  That worked better than any bandage ever could.
    “You’re welcome,” she said faintly and sat back down.  Using powers was always exhausting.
    Koji looked down to his palm and kept thinking about what they had said about his blood.  Blue?  Red?  What did it mean?
    “Well, do you want some food Koji-kun?” asked Daisuke.
    Koji looked over to him and shook his head, “No thank you.  I have much work to do.”
    “Aw, you’re always working.  Could you please join us?” Tenko turned on all her cuteness and charm.
    Koji shook his head.  “I am sorry.  It is vital that I finish what I need to do.”
    “Well, can you at least tell us why Zanthorians have blue blood on Earth?  That’s really interesting!” said Shingo.  Everyone wanted to know that too.
    Koji paused and turned the other way, his head down, “I do not know what you mean by that request,” he said and quietly started to walk away.
    “What was that all about…?” asked Daisuke.
    “Yeah, I wanna know!” added Tenko.
    “Shh!” Misami quickly quieted them all, “Don’t you get it?!  He can't see color, you guys!  He has no idea what ‘blue’ or ‘red’ mean!”
    This left them all speechless.  “I had no idea…” Yoshiko was finally able to say after a while.
    “He can’t see color?” asked Daisuke, “Wow… that’s weird…”
    “It’s not weird, darling!  Where he comes from, there is no need for color vision.  Zanthor is a planet of ice and snow, it’s nothing like Earth or Aven, so color vision wouldn’t do him much good.  I also heard that only their eyes don’t get blinded by sunshine on pure white snow, and that they can see extremely well in the dark.  I think I heard that they can also see heat, so even if he can't see in color, Koji’s eyes can do a whole lot more than ours can.”
    “That’s amazing,” said Shingo as he tried to imagine what that would be like.
    “Wow, just one more thing that makes Koji-chan super cool!” shouted Tenko enthusiastically.
    “Sounds like there’s a lot of things I need to learn about all you guys,” Daisuke was feeling bad about talking about the color of Koji’s blood when he didn’t know what the heck he was saying.
    “There’s a lot of thing I need to learn also,” Yoshiko felt the same as Daisuke.
    “Never stop learning,” said Misami, “it is the quickest road to wisdom.  That’s a quote by that one Avenion philosopher, forgot her name…”
    “Jintalia, one of the greatest thinkers in Stilatial’s ancient history.  I believe she said that quote about the same time the dinosaurs were becoming extinct on Earth,” Yoshiko enlightened them.
    “Really?!” Daisuke was amazed again, “Wow, it sounds like your species has been around a very long time…”
    “Yes, the Homo sapiens of Earth are relatively new to the universe.  There are other civilizations that have existed for much, much longer, including those of Stilatial.”
    “Incredible… and that makes me feel just a tad inferior again…”
    “Aw, it’s ok, darling!  It doesn’t make us love you any less,” Misami winked and kissed his cheek, making his face turn red.
    “I can't wait to learn more about those times when I get back home!” said Shingo, “Sure, Earth history is interesting, but it’s nothing like Aven’s!  I’ve noticed that it seems to be only the Earthlings who use fighting and war to solve things… no offence, Daisuke-san, but that’s a pretty stupid way to resolve conflicts.”
    “Yeah, I agree,” said Daisuke, “but unfortunately, I had no control over any of the battles on Earth.  I wonder why all those guys in the past thought the only way to solve things was to kill a bunch of people?”
    “Probably because of just that: they were guys.  Stilatial has a matriarchal society, so therefore, things are much more peaceful.  No stupid guys to bust out the guns and start blowing everyone away,” Misami rambled as she ate a roll.
    “Hey, not all guys are like that…” mumbled Daisuke.
    “All societies have their strengths and weaknesses,” said Yoshiko, “we should look at them both and learn things from them to make for a better future.”
    “Right,” said Shingo and Tenko at the same time.
    Daisuke thought about everything they had talked about and his mind swirled.  It was all so interesting and amazing, he wanted to learn more about it.  But right then, a math assignment was pulling his thoughts into another direction.  He stood up, holding his plate and looked to all his friends.  “We should talk more about this sometime.  I’d love to learn about it.”  Yoshiko nodded with a wide smile and began to help Daisuke clear off the table.

    Hiroshi staggered into his house, kicking his shoes off.  He set his drenched umbrella down and cringed as the stinging in his stomach continued.
    “Hiroshi?  Is that you?” his mother called and appeared from out of the kitchen.  She gasped softly when she saw him, “Hiroshi?  Are you alright?  You look terrible!” he himself was also drenched and his hair was all matted down, his glasses fogged, so yes, he had looked better before.
    “Get in a fight, son?” Mr. Shiozawa came out next to his wife.
    Hiroshi rolled his eyes and rubbed his stomach, “Don’t even go there…”
    “Well, there’s dinner on the table, if you’d like,” offered Mrs. Shiozawa kindly.
    “I’m not hungry,” said Hiroshi as he slowly started to walk from the entryway.  Satoru then appeared behind Mr. Shiozawa and Hiroshi’s eyes grew.  “You!” he said loudly, looking straight at him, making Satoru a little scared.  “How could you do that crap you’re doing?!  How could you completely throw away every ounce of masculinity you have?  It’s totally disgraceful!”
    “Hiroshi!” Mrs. Shiozawa scolded, “Don’t be so rude to your brother!”
    “What is the meaning of your yelling?” demanded Mr. Shiozawa.
    “You guys have no idea, do you?” his parents looked to him blankly.  “Peh, I knew it.  Your ‘adorable, perfect’ little son there is in love with another guy!”
    Satoru gasped and saw his parents quickly turn around to see him.  They both had supremely shocked looks on their faces.  “Hiroshi…?” Mrs. Shiozawa slowly turned back to him, “Don’t say such things…”
    “Oh, is this denial I detect?”
    “Don’t talk like that!  How could you say such a terrible thing about your own brother?” asked Mr. Shiozawa angrily.
    “Why would I make something like this up?  I know this is true, even ask Taka.” His parents gasped again and looked back to see Satoru, his eyes glazing with tears.  Hiroshi nodded slowly, his eyebrows narrowed, “That’s right.  I heard it straight from Taka’s lipstick covered mouth.  Today after school, Satoru willingly gave Taka a goodbye kiss on the lips.  He also said things about Satoru developing feelings of love for him also.”
    Satoru’s lip began to quiver and he felt a lump growing in his throat.  “Is… that true?” he then heard his mother ask in mortification.  Satoru’s composure crumbled and he began to quietly cry.  “Is it true?” she asked again, her voice shaking.  Satoru didn’t answer and lowered to the floor, his eyes streaming with tears.
    “Loving another guy… how could you do something like that?  I knew you were weird, but I never thought you’d get that weird!” spat Hiroshi.
    Satoru sobbed more and covered his face with his hands.  Mr. Shiozawa knelt down beside him and set a hand on his trembling shoulder. “Satoru,” he said calmly, “please tell us what’s really going on.  Did Taka put you up to this?  Is it his fault?”
    “It must be!” cried Mrs. Shiozawa, “I had no idea he was like that!  If I had known this would happen, I would have run him out of Satoru’s life right from the start!”
    “That freak is to blame,” said Hiroshi darkly.
    “Stop it!” Satoru finally yelled out, “Don’t say mean things about Taka-chan!  He’s one of the nicest people I know!”
    “Nice and good aren’t necessarily the same thing,” said Mr. Shiozawa.
    “I don’t care what you guys think,” cried Satoru, “Taka-chan is the only person who has ever understood me.  He makes me feel good about myself and brightens my day.  It if makes me bad to feel that way, then I guess I must be a terrible person,” he began to sob again and left the others silent for a time.
    Mrs. Shiozawa covered her mouth as her eyes streamed with tears.  “So it’s true then…”
    “I can’t believe this…” whispered Mr. Shiozawa, turning from Satoru.
    Hiroshi looked directly onto Satoru sternly.  He shook his head and started for his bedroom.
    “Why is everyone so mad at me?” Satoru asked weakly, making Hiroshi stop in his tracks.  “Everyone’s always told me to be true to my feelings and people get mad if I do… I’m just doing what I feel is best for me, trying to be happy.  Mama, daddy, I’m sorry if it makes you mad.  All I want is to be loved and accepted, and Taka-chan is the one who has made me feel both more than anyone else I’ve met besides you.  I really do feel strong things for him… I can't deny that…”
    “Oh, Satoru!” Mrs. Shiozawa came down next to him, “But it’s wrong, it’s wrong for you to love him!  Taka’s just been polluting your thoughts to make you think it’s alright!”
    “You can't listen to him, it’s not alright for you two to love each other,” said Mr. Shiozawa.
    Satoru shook his head, more tears coming to his eyes, “I don’t care what you think!” he stood up quickly and ran to the door.  He quickly put on his shoes and ran out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
    “Satoru!” his parents called after him.
    Hiroshi watched them run after him, but Satoru had already distanced himself.  Hiroshi went to his room and laid down on his bed, throwing a pillow onto his chest.  He stared up at the ceiling and heard the car pull out of he driveway as his parents went off to try and follow Satoru.  He didn’t know what to think.  “Maybe I shouldn’t have said all that…” he whispered and wondered if it really was a good or bad thing that he had told them.  In any case, he was feeling pretty lousy and set the pillow over his face, hitting it several times.  “****…”
    Satoru had purposely ran through yards and back alleys so that his parents would not be able to follow him in the car.  He ran through the heavy rain until he came to a tall, expensive apartment building and took an elevator to one of the top floors.  He was trying his best to mask his crying, since there was rain, it helped to do so.  Completely soaked, he made it to Taka’s door and knocked.
    “Coming!” a kind looking man with black hair and glasses opened the door and was surprised to see a soaking wet kid shivering and panting before him.  “Can I help you…?” he asked with concern.
    “Ta… ka…” his teeth chattered and tears rolled from his eyes.
    Taka walked into the room and saw the opened door.  He gasped suddenly, “Sato-chan?!”
    Satoru looked past the man to see him and was so relieved.  “Taka-chan!” he called and ran into the house, wrapping his arms around him. He stared to cry heavily and held onto Taka as if he were a lifeline.
    The man looked to Taka unbelievably.  Taka was so worried about Satoru and gently set his hands on his back, letting him cry.  There was no telling what the cute boy had just been through.
    “I know he’s up there,” said Mr. Shiozawa as they drove into Taka’s apartment building parking lot.
    “Are you sure this is where Taka lives?” asked Mrs. Shiozawa.
    “I could have sworn I saw Satoru running to here.”
    “What should we do?  He wants to be with Taka right now, he’ll refuse to come home with us!”
    “I know… should we leave him here for now?”
    “I don’t know…” she answered faintly.
    Mr. Shiozawa thought deeply and backed the car into a vacant parking space.  “Let’s wait here for him.  When he comes out, we can take him home.”
    “Alright,” said Mrs. Shiozawa.  She looked back up through the fog and rain to the tall apartment building.  “I hope he’s alright…”

    Satoru sneezed.  “You need to get out of those wet clothes,” said Taka softly.  Satoru nodded and Taka led him to his room.  He opened up his huge closet to reveal all of the coolness that was his wardrobe.  Satoru looked at it in awe as Taka disappeared inside (it was a walk in closet, of course).  He came out with some of his old pajamas and handed them to Satoru.  “These should fit you.”
    “Thanks,” said Satoru softly and instantly started changing into them, not caring that Taka was right there.  Taka’s eyes widened when he did this, but it was mostly from shock.
    “Uh…” his voice cracked and he blushed, “I’ll hang your wet clothes up to dry.”
    “Thanks,” he said again as he handed him his wet clothes.  The pajamas were black (of course) and had little red dragons on them.  Satoru didn’t have the energy to comment on how cute they were.
    Taka looked to him worriedly again.  “What happened?”
    Another tear fell from his eye, he caught it with his finger.  “Can I tell you later?  Right now I’d just like to sleep, if that’s alright…”
    “Sure…” said Taka softly.  Satoru went over to Taka’s bed and laid down on it.  He’d never been on a waterbed before. (I can’t remember if Taka had a waterbed before… if he didn’t, then he does now ^-^;;) Almost instantly, Satoru fell asleep.  Taka came over to the bed and laid a large, warm blanket over him.  He looked down onto Satoru and felt a warmth in his heart.  “So beautiful when you’re sleeping,” he brushed some damp hair from Satoru’s face.  Taka leaned down and gently kissed his forehead.  “Have a good sleep,” he whispered and left his bedroom.
    “Taka,” he was met out in the hall by his father (not birth father, remember…).  “Who is that?”
    Taka smiled slightly.  “Shiozawa Satoru.  The one I love more than anything.” He looked to Taka and didn’t know what to say, so he remained silent.  Taka went to hang the wet clothes up to dry and kept his thoughts on sweet little Satoru.  He hoped he’d have a pleasant sleep and tell him everything when he woke up.

    Ryuichi and Hitomi were sitting together in front of a warm fire in one of the many billiard rooms in Ryuichi’s mansion, talking.  “I’m sorry for being such an a**hole, to quote Mizuno…” Ryuichi apologized after much silence.
    “He called you that?” she shot her eyes up to him.
    “Yeah, but I deserved it.  I really deserved it.  I was just so angry that I didn’t know how to deal with things.  I never expected anything like this to happen…”
    She looked into the dancing orange flames.  “You should learn to think ahead before you rush into things…”
    “Unfortunately, that’s not my strong point…” he said, feeling very guilty, “I’m so sorry.”
    She smiled slightly and leaned her head on his shoulder.  “Hey, we’re in this together now.  I’m so glad that you’re with me again.  So what made you change your mind?”
    Ryuichi shook his head, “It doesn’t matter.  I’m here now and I know this is where I need to be.  I’ll never leave you on account of my own stupid pride and insecurity again.”
    She smiled.  “Thank you… this really means a lot to me…”
    Ryuichi gently kissed the top of her head and held onto her hand tightly.  “So, you went to the doctor today?”
    “Yes.  Regular check up.”
    “Is it a boy or a girl?”
    She giggled, “It’s still much too early to tell.  What do you hope it is?”
    Ryuichi thought.  “A girl.”
    “Really?” Hitomi looked to him in amazement.
    “Is that so strange?” he asked.
    “Well… it just seems like most men want to have a boy more than a girl.  Why do you want a girl?”
    He looked deeply into her eyes and gently slid his finger along her cheek.  “I want a girl so that I can see your beauty reflected in her.”  That made Hitomi melt (as it would any female) and she hugged him tightly.  She was so happy for the first time since this had happened, as was Ryuichi.  He hated the way he had acted before and cursed himself for it.  Though he’d never admit to this, in the very back of his mind he was so grateful to Daisuke and thanked him several times.  He had saved him from himself and made him realize the right thing to do.  Ryuichi owed him big time, though he’d never admit to that either.

    Jemena came into her room as night fell upon the land and saw Koji asleep at the table he had been working at.  She smiled and jumped up to the table, looking at him as he slept peacefully.  “Fell asleep while working,” she said.  “Even geniuses need rest once in a while.”  Jemena saw that he had made a lot of progress in the machine, including building a cover to protect it.  This brought another smile to her face and she gently “kissed” him on the nose.  (“Kissed”… don’t really know how a creature such as herself would kiss, but you know what I mean.)  “Good night, beautiful Ko-chan.  You really deserve the rest,” she whispered and curled up next to him on the table.
    Just like clockwork, as soon as Jemena had fallen asleep, Koji woke up.  He saw her lying next to him and gently pet her warm fur.  “Good night Jemena.  I know that the machine will be done very soon.”