Uchuu no Houseki
The Universe of Jewels

Volume 8:
Lies and Truth
By Emi-chan ^_~

    It was finally lunchtime at the high school and, as usual, Daisuke, Yoshiko, Hiroshi, and Aya sat and ate together in their popular little click.  The rest of the students were either too shy or too disgusted with one or more of the group members to go up and ask if they could join, namely they had a strong aversion to Hiroshi, especially the girls.  But that didn't mean that most of the other students wouldn't almost give up anything to eat with Daisuke, the most popular guy, it would improve their social lives hugely and get their name respected around school.  They all wished there was some way to do it, but most of them had it in their heads that Daisuke was so much more superior and that he would just laugh if they asked to sit with him.  Most of them didn't know him very well.
    Being popular also had its grim side.  As the group talked and laughed together near the front of the classroom, there were burning glares coming from the back.  Ryuichi's glare was the bitterest of all.  He narrowed through them straight to Daisuke and could almost feel his blood boil.  'Screw you, Mizuno.' His voice grumbled deep within his throat, full of hatred for the one everyone seemed to love so much.
    'Ryu-chan?  What's your problem with Daisuke?  He's a really nice guy, you shouldn't say such nasty things.' A girl, buxom and pretty, scolded.
    His glare turned to her.  Hearing that coming from the one he called his 'girlfriend' only enraged him further.  Ryuichi sighed, if there was one thing he couldn't take, it was his girlfriend defending his worst enemy, 'I'm going out for a smoke.' He walked to the door.
    'Ok, don't let the teachers catch you!'  She shook her head and looked forward again.  She focused her eyes on Yoshiko and had a nasty glare of her own.  'Yoshiko,' she growled.
    A girl beside her had the very same feelings about Yoshiko.  'Look at her, being so close to Daisuke, laughing and talking with him.  What does she have that we don't?'
    Ryuichi's girlfriend, Hitomi, was one of the girls who was absolutely disgusted with Yoshiko from the very start.  She hated that she was with Daisuke so comfortably and so easily, and that the girls who had known Daisuke longer didn't even have a chance to do any of what she had done.  It sickened her to think that she had gotten his attention so easily while those who actually tried did not.      'It's not fair.'
    Then, a girl just in front of them with big round glasses and a snooty skill for being a busybody turned around and whispered a lovely bit of gossip, 'Hey, I heard that Yoshiko is Daisuke's 'secret woman'!'
    'Secret woman?' an interest had been sparked, Hitomi wanted to get any dirt she could on Ms. Perfect, although she didn't know exactly what the busybody meant by the term 'secret woman.'
    'Yeah,' she scooted in closer, the girls locked heads together, as if in a huddle at a football game, 'you know, his 'secret woman,' his whore!'
    'What?  Are you serious?' the girls asked together.
    She nodded, confident in the lie she had been moved to believe, 'I mean, just look at her!  She's WAY too pretty to be just his friend.  And I also heard that she lives with him in his house!  Can you believe that?'
    'That lucky tramp!' Hitomi burst, trying to keep her voice down.
    'I know!  Why should she get Daisuke all to herself?  And why would Daisuke even want to do that with her, I mean, just remember what happened the first day she was here?  What was with that whole licking thing anyway?'
    The girl beside Hitomi shuddered, 'That dirty little...'
    'Anyway, Yoshiko is garbage, and I can't believe Daisuke could stoop so low.' The busybody glanced back to the group and saw   Daisuke laughing at something stupid Hiroshi said and shook her head.  'What a shame.  He's just like any other guy around here.'
    'I thought he was something special.  I guess not.'
    The busybody sighed, 'Just a regular hormone crazed guy.'
    'And Yoshiko, I wish she would just go back to wherever she came from and give us back our old Daisuke.'  Hitomi thought about the words that had just escaped her mouth and began to conjure a sinister plan.  'Girls, I have a great idea of how to make Yoshiko's life miserable, maybe even drive her out of school!'
    The two gasped, 'Tell us!'
    Hitomi smiled a horribly crooked smile and drew them closer into the huddle.  Then, she whispered to them the plan she had devised that would make Yoshiko suffer for their ultimate amusement.
    '-And then I said, 'no way, man, you'll kill yourself if you drink all of that!'  But did Dai listen to me?  No...  So he popped the last can open, completely inhaled it and crunched the can like some sort of crazy man.  And you shoulda seen him, there must have been buckets full of caffeine swirling through him!  He was all jittery and stuff, he got this funny twitch in his eye and could not sit still.  And then I remember he started doing this funny head jerk thing and his eyes almost bulged out of his skull!  He looked freaky!'
    'Ok, ok, Hiro, enough of that story!'
    'Nah, there's more though!  Dai drunk like every can of pop in the house within a period of two hours and I could tell he was runnin' on a full tank.  So I asked if he had to pee and he nodded and then the next thing I knew...' Hiroshi started laughing hysterically.  Yoshiko and Aya were completely drawn into his story and waited to hear what happened next.  Daisuke wished he were invisible.  'DAI WET HIS PANTS!!'  His laughter screeched throughout the classroom like some sort of raven's chilling call.
    'HIRO!!' Daisuke was red with embarrassment and annoyance, 'You weren't supposed to tell that part!'
    Aya sighed and looked to Yoshiko for condolence.  'Another great point of stupidity for Hiro-kun.'  Yoshiko had to agree.
    'ANYWAY!  Back to what we were saying before you decided to share that with everyone' Daisuke glared to Hiroshi.
    Hiroshi wiped a tear from his eye, 'Geez, man, you're so touchy.  What, you afraid it's gonna ruin your pride or something?'
    'Believe me, because of you my pride has been permanently tattered.'
    Hiroshi sniffed pitifully, 'Yeesh, now that's cold.'
    Aya felt she should step in, 'Ok, back to what we were saying before, so you all would like to go with me in the winter to do some skiing then?'
    Hiroshi sniffed again and looked very sorry for himself, 'I won't be able to go anywhere while I'm grounded'
    'Baka!  She said winter, I'd hope you wouldn't be grounded until then, unless you do something else stupid.'  Daisuke couldn't believe all the stupidity Hiroshi so abundantly expressed on a day to day basis.
    'That sounds so wonderful, Aya-san,' Yoshiko smiled, 'I've never been to the mountains before and I've certainly never been skiing.'
    'Oh, I know you'd love it, you all would.  My dad's resort is really cool!'
    Daisuke almost thought he heard that wrong, 'Your dad' owns his own ski resort?'
    Aya nodded, 'Why, does that seem terribly unusual?'
    'Uh' just a bit'
    Despite Daisuke's mundane reaction, Hiroshi was certainly impressed, 'Sugoi!  With hot springs too?'
    She nodded again, 'And some of the best ski runs for pros and novices.'
    Right then, the biggest smile appeared on Hiroshi's dense face as he envisioned certain females soaking in relaxing hot springs, among other things.  He wiped another tear from his eye and took out his Special Little Notebook while he whispered hopefully to himself, 'My life's true calling.'  Then he began to scribble notes about hot springs and women inside them in the notebook and his smile grew bigger by the second.
    Daisuke took one glance, got horrifically disturbed, and scooted away to be closer to the girls.  They all figured he had gone to Hiro Hiro land, and didn't want to interfere.  Daisuke, who now was standing, looked down to Aya and Yoshiko, who were both sitting in desks and said a little miffed, 'That's really amazing your dad owns his own ski resort, I just would have never guessed.'
    Aya smirked, 'Oh?  And what is that supposed to mean?' there was a contempt gleam in her eye.
    'Err.. Well, your dad's just kinda crazy, that's all.  I mean, he's a nice guy, but I woulda never thought he'd be capable of handling all the responsibility it takes to have his own ski resort, you know?  He's always joking around, I've never seen him serious before...  Oh, and last time I was at your house he offered to drive me home and once we got to the car he tossed me the keys and said I could drive!  Not to mention that time he poured us both sake after dinner and yelled 'kanpai' and then expected us both to chug it' And then that other time when' he took a glance down to Aya to see a face that was anything but what he had hoped.  He gave out a dumb laugh, 'I uh' I' should probably just shut up now, huh?'  Aya nodded and Daisuke wanted to put his head in a plastic bag or find some other quick means of painless suicide.
    'My father is a very tenacious and spontaneous man, I'll have you know!  Maybe he can be a little irresponsible and absent minded every once in a while, but he's kind and loving and owns one kick-booty ski resort!'
    Hiroshi looked up from his Special Little Notebook, 'Yeah, Dai, that's more than you can say about your dad.'
    A knife seemed to tear through Daisuke's heart.  'Hiro, don't go there.'
    'I'll be sure to tell him you all are going and, for your sake, I won't mention any of the prior conversation.'
    'Thanks,' Daisuke sighed.
    'Ok!' Hiroshi closed his Special Little Notebook after completing all his important notes, 'Who wants to hear another embarrassing story about Dai?  We heard about how he wet himself at age 11, how about when he made an entire bookshelf in the library fall after tripping on a marble at age 14?'
    Daisuke groaned.  He wished the lunch period to end quickly and painlessly but knew there was still much embarrassment for him to endure before class started again.
    At the back of the classroom, the girls all chuckled a bit evilly after creating their machination.  They knew very well that it would be just the thing to make Yoshiko appear to be something she definitely was not and they enjoyed the thought of making Yoshiko feel complete humiliation.
    Hitomi glanced back with the same amoral smirk to see Yoshiko smiling, 'You won't be smiling for long, dear, so I suggest you enjoy it while you can.'  They quietly laughed maniacally and awaited their plan to go underway.

    When class had just been dismissed, Yoshiko walked out into the hall and gasped when she laid her eyes on something on the opposite wall.  It was a large bright piece of paper that had written clearly on it 'Nakayama Yoshiko is a slut.'  She took a step back and backed into Daisuke, who was then coming out of the classroom.
    He blushed and looked down to the top of her head, 'Yo-Yoshiko...'
    'No...' her voice was very weak and she shook her head as she began to feel a lump form in her throat.
    Others began to crowd out behind them and Daisuke could notice there was something troubling Yoshiko.  'What's wrong?'
    Hiroshi then gasped as he walked out of the classroom and pointed to the bright sign, 'Dai, look!'
    Daisuke looked and saw the sign and read what was written on it.  His eyes widened and he could not fully accept what he was seeing.  'What the...?'
    'What is going on here?' Yoshiko's voice was very shaky and a tear came from her eye.  As other students left their classrooms, they stopped and read the sign also, some of them gazed back to Yoshiko in a new way.  Some looked very disgusted and all looked very shocked.  Yoshiko couldn't take their stares and buried her face in her hands.  More tears came from her eyes as she asked faintly, 'Who would write that about me?'
    Then he knew it; This isn't a joke... Daisuke told himself and could feel his eyebrows narrowing in an angered way.  He knew this had to be some sort of rumor started by people who were jealous.  Things like this had happened before at this school but never to anyone he cared so much about.  Daisuke was very angry and looked down the hall in both directions and was able to see several more signs of a similar type posted on the walls for the entire school to see.  'Shit...'
    'Dai, what should we do?' Hiroshi asked in a strong whisper.
    More people than ever now flooded the halls and were reading the signs and staring in disbelief at both Daisuke and Yoshiko.      They were whispering things that Daisuke didn't even want to think about.  'Let's get out of here.'
    He set his hands on Yoshiko's shoulders and nudged her slightly to begin to walk away.  She brought her head up and only saw the thing she dreaded, many people staring straight back at her who had contemplated believing the lie that was posted all over the school.  She shook her head and had to get out of there.  To everyone's surprise, Yoshiko bolted from Daisuke and began to run down the hall away from them.  'Yoshiko!' Daisuke called after her and immediately began to follow.  Aya and Hiroshi followed also. After all, this concerned them too.
    Yoshiko could hardly see anything very well as she sprinted down the hall with her tear-soaked eyes.  Along the whole way she passed many people staring and whispering things about her.  She suddenly stopped and saw another sign, 'Beware Nakayama Yoshiko, the dirty whore!'  Then, everywhere she looked she saw the signs.  Each of them said something horrendously untrue and horrible and each of them crushed Yoshiko as she was forced to look at them.
    'Sis!'  Misami ran up to her.  She looked very concerned and very mad all at the same time.  She looked to Yoshiko with a quivering lower lip and grabbed hold of her by the arms.  'What's happening?!' she demanded and shook her sister slightly.
    'I-I don't know!' Yoshiko tried to hold the tears in, but they found their way down her cheeks through her clenched eyes.
    'Yoshiko!' Daisuke then ran up to her, followed shortly by Hiroshi and Aya.  Yoshiko looked back to him with so much hurt in her teary eyes.  He wished there was some way he could help, he desperately wanted to find out who was responsible for making those signs.
    'I just don't understand it.' Said Yoshiko in a sorrowful way, drying her eyes with her sleeve, 'I've never done something like that before.  Why would someone want to spread such a lie about me?' she cried and Misami tried to comfort her by rubbing her back.
    'They're jealous of you because you're always with Dai-kun.  They want that for themselves and thought they could degrade your reputation to somehow win Dai-kun over.' Explained Aya, 'They want to make you unhappy and make other people think things about you that aren't true.  Yoshiko-chan, we all know it's not true so don't let it bother you too much.' Aya's fist tightened, 'We'll find out who did this and make sure they get what's coming.'
    'Aya-san...' Yoshiko whispered as a tear glistened down her cheek.
    'And just what might be coming?' a new voice was heard.  Everyone looked to see Hitomi with the two other girls standing in a haughty group, looking as conceited as ever.
    'Hitomi?'  Daisuke knew who she was.  Hitomi was Ryuichi's girlfriend and he would always make that apparent by forcing her to kiss him whenever Daisuke was around.  Hitomi looked at him and winked.  Although she was Ryuichi's girlfriend, she seemed to be much fonder of Daisuke.
    'You sound like you know something about this.' Misami looked straight into her eyes and made sure to keep her anger hidden.
    Hitomi shrugged and closed her eyes, 'Possibly.' She answered while yawning.
    'Do you know who did this?' asked Misami again, a little less patiently.
    The busybody smiled bitterly, 'Who wants to know?'
    'Yeah, what good would it do anyway?  The word is already all over school so it really doesn't matter who did it now does it?' said the girl, the group laughed.
    Misami was not amused.  'Please stop these childish games.' Said Daisuke, trying to sound civil.
    The girls looked to him and winced.  Hitomi blew him off, 'You know, we don't always have to do what you say, Mr. Popular.'  That took Daisuke by surprise.
    Misami thought she had figured it out, 'So you're responsible for all this?'
    'Bingo!' the busybody called.
    'You're smarter than you look, or maybe it was just dumb luck seeing as you are that slut's sister,' said Hitomi and the girls laughed again.
    Misami glared and felt all the anger boil up inside of her.  Before she knew what she was doing, she lunged to the group and pounded her hand into the side of Hitomi's face, knocking her to the ground.  The other girls gasped and stepped away.  Daisuke and the others were equally shocked and Misami stood above Hitomi, heavily breathing, and ready to defend her family.
    'Misami-chan!'  Yoshiko called and went toward her.  Misami looked back and expressed that she not come any nearer.
    Hitomi rubbed her cheek and looked up to Misami.  'You (swearity swear)'
    Misami folded her arms and continued to glare, 'What makes you think that you can spread rumors around and get away with it?'
    Hitomi sat up against the wall, 'I don't have time to hang around with you people, my boyfriend's waiting.'
    Misami was getting very T'ed off with the way Hitomi was acting.  She glared further and tightened her fists.  She brought her foot back and began to swing it forward to Hitomi, 'You trashy-'
    'Daisuke-chaaaan!!!' Daisuke's fan club roared down the hall until they all stopped and surrounded the scene.  None of them were their usual excitable selves, they all looked worried and very upset, every single one of them.
    Daisuke and the others looked to them and then back to Misami.  Misami set her foot back on the ground without kicking Hitomi, which she would have done if she hadn't have been surprised by all the countless girls.  Misami's lip trembled and she brought her head down.  Hitomi, shocked, looked up at her and saw tears falling from her chin to the ground.  'What's the matter?  Aren't you going to beat me to a bloody pulp for humiliating your sister?'
    Yoshiko brought a hand to her mouth and watched as the drama unfolded before her teary eyes.  Misami brought her head up just enough to be able to see Hitomi leaning against the wall.  'No.' She simply responded.  Everyone gasped, including Hitomi.  Misami turned away from Hitomi and lowered her head again.  'You're a horrible person and I don't want to be like you.' With those words said, Misami calmly made her way through the crowd of girls until she was walking alone down the hall with still many students watching her as she left.
    'Misami-chan!' Yoshiko tried to call after her, but she was already far down the hall.
    Yoshiko... I'm sorry! Misami said to herself as another tear came down her face.  She began to run down the hall away from her sister and everyone else.
    Hiroshi sighed when she was no longer in view, 'What a mess...'
    Hitomi rose to her feet with her hand still covering her cheek.  The words Misami had said struck her deeply and they replayed in her mind.  She fought back her own tears and saw her two friends who came around her.  'Was this really such a good idea?' asked the busybody.  Sighing, Hitomi glanced over to Yoshiko.  She looked so lonely and so unhappy, it almost made her feel guilty.  Then, she thought again about her reasons for doing the signs.  It was because she was jealous and thought that Yoshiko didn't deserve     Daisuke.  She wanted to make Yoshiko suffer so she would leave so Daisuke would be free for them.  She glowered and brought her hand down.
    'So what if I am a horrible person?  I can't be as horrible as you are for stealing Daisuke and ruining the hope of every girl in the school!' Hitomi cried.
    Yoshiko gasped.  That had never before occurred to her.  Apparently everyone in school thought that Daisuke and Yoshiko were actually in a loving relationship together!  She shook her head, 'That's not true!'
    'Shut up!  Why do you think you can have him all to yourself anyway?  Before he met you, Daisuke was free for any girl, we all thought one of us could somehow be that special girl that he would choose, but now you've taken that away from us.  You've taken away our hope for him and you did it so easily!  We've known him much longer than you have, it's not fair!  And you've also taken away his purity, haven't you?'
    'No...' her voice was very quiet.
    Hitomi approached her, 'We know you're staying in his house and spending every night with him!  All of us know that Daisuke is not the kind of person to get caught up in that sort of thing, you forced it on him!  You whore!  You're making him do immoral things!!'
    'Hitomi!  You've got it all wrong!!' Daisuke yelled.  Everyone looked to him.  They had never heard him raise his voice like that before.  Well, most of them hadn't.
    Hiroshi saw the situation was getting serious, 'Dai... calm down...'
    'I'm sorry...' he lowered his voice, 'What you were just saying is all totally wrong.  I would never and she would never...  You don't understand it at all.'
    Hitomi wore a look on her face that looked as if she were offended.  A tear fell from her eye and she looked straight into Daisuke's.  'I wish I could believe you.'
    'Idiot!  He just said it isn't and what Dai-kun says isn't true isn't!' Aya said, annoyed.
    'That's right!  And believe me, if he did ever do anything like that, I'd be the first to know, right buddy?' Hiroshi pat his shoulder and Daisuke tried to ignore him.
    'Hitomi-san... please, you have to believe us.' Yoshiko looked to her with her worried face.  She looked so sincere, it was difficult not to credit her and Daisuke.
    Grudgingly, she walked over to the wall and ripped off the sign nearest to her.  She tore it to several pieces and let them scatter to the floor.  They smiled at seeing that and were relieved Hitomi seemed to have a change of heart.  'I guess I can believe that just because Daisuke said so...' she looked back to Yoshiko, 'but don't count on this being the last time something like this happens, Nakayama Yoshiko.  All the girls you see around you are in love with Daisuke and will do anything to win him over.  Some of them might even do something drastic...'
    'Hitomi!' the busybody called, 'What are you saying?'
    'I'm saying that like all of you...' her gaze drifted over to Daisuke, 'I'm also really in love with Mizuno Daisuke!!'
    'Hitomi!!' a condoning voice was heard, rising above all the rest.  Before any reactions to what she had said could be made, everyone looked to the direction of the voice and Hitomi was petrified as she saw who it was.
    'Ryuichi...' she backed away until she was back against the wall again.  The girls from the fan club parted so that there was a clear path between Ryuichi and Hitomi.  Ryuichi looked extremely enraged.
There was a long pause of silence.  Ryuichi's cold glare was focused straight onto Hitomi.  No one knew what to do.  Suddenly,     Ryuichi turned the other way and spoke in the most calm, controlled voice he could, 'We're leaving.' Then he began to walk down the hall.  His footsteps could be heard in the otherwise silent hall and they seemed to echo loudly.
    Hitomi looked terrified and the only thing she knew to do was to run after him.  'Hitomi, where are you going?' the two other girls asked.  She didn't answer and walked slowly and shamefully behind Ryuichi.  Looking around and seeing many stares from the fan club members, the girls figured it was time for them to go as well.  They ran down the same direction as Hitomi and Ryuichi until all of them were no longer in sight.
    Daisuke was depressed that he had to go through something like that.  He looked down to Yoshiko, 'Are you alright?' he asked in a caring way.
    She looked up to him, her cheeks wet with tears and nodded slightly.  Aya smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, 'See Yoshiko-chan?  Big jealous idiots.  Don't worry though, we're here to help and make sure you're happy.'
    A small smile came to Yoshiko's lips, 'Thank you very much.'
    'But, what are we going to do if they try something like that again?' asked Hiroshi.  No one really wanted to think of that right then so no one answered.  All they wanted was to go home and forget that ever happened.
    Right as they were about to walk away from that spot, several of the girls from Daisuke's fan club approached Daisuke, still wearing worried faces.  'Daisuke-chan, what would you like us to do for you?'
    'Eh?' he saw that they all were very concerned and seemed to really want to help right the wrongs that had been committed.      'Well... you can tear down all the signs about Yoshiko...'
    The girl nodded and looked to Yoshiko, who was right beside Daisuke.  'Yoshiko-san... we're so sorry that had to happen to you.  We know you were telling the truth.'  Yoshiko gave her a small smile and the girls departed in a large group to go around the school and rip down every sign Hitomi and her friends had put up.
    Aya was impressed by the girls who were so generous.  'Wow... you know for all the jerks at this place, there's plenty more kind hearted people.'  Everyone agreed.
    Daisuke had to go to swim practice and Aya had to go to kendo.  Hiroshi was the one who would be escorting Yoshiko home.  Of course, he did not look sourly upon that task.  They walked through the mostly empty halls and were happy to see no derogative signs on the walls.  Still, as they walked through, there were some lingering stares directed at Yoshiko.  The two began their walk home and had not said a word to each other.  Yoshiko was wondering what happened to Misami and Hiroshi was... well, you probably know.
    The day had been cloudy, but the clouds had burned off and left the sky in a brilliant blue.  New leaves on the trees rustled as warm afternoon breezes rushed through them.  It was another beautiful afternoon, but an afternoon that had not had such beautiful events occur.
    Hiroshi had been walking a few steps in front of Yoshiko the whole time and it was almost time for them to separate to go to their different homes.  He hadn't said anything to her either along the whole way.  When they reached the point where they had to go opposite ways, Hiroshi suddenly stopped and turned to Yoshiko.  She stopped too and wondered what he was doing.  His face was much more serious than usual.  'Yoshiko-chan... umm...'
    'What is it, Shiozawa-san?'
    He drew in a deep breath, 'Do you feel the same way about Dai as all those other girls?'
    She blinked a few times and was not sure what he was asking.  'What do you mean?'
    Hiroshi didn't want to ask, but at the same time desperately longed for the truth.  'Are you in love with Dai?'
    Yoshiko gasped and actually dropped her school bag.  Her heart raced and she blushed faintly.  Hiroshi wanted to know the truth and to him it seemed just her reaction was enough to answer the question.
    His face became uncontrollably saddened.  'I see...'
    She uncomfortably picked up her school bag and would not look him in the eye.  'Daisuke-san is a wonderful person.  I've felt many things when around him, that's a tough question to answer right away.'
    'I think I know the answer already.' Hiroshi's voice was discouraged.  The entire time, he had been in love with Yoshiko, a kind of love that he had never felt before.  A true and honest love.  'I just wish that you could understand all the feeling I have for you.'
    She shot her eyes up to him, 'Shiozawa-san...' she knew exactly what he meant.  He was so sad looking and serious, it was hard to watch him like that.  She needed to say the truth for both his sake and her own, 'The truth is that I...'
    'Hiroshi!  Would you like a ride home?' Hiroshi's mother stopped her car right beside the two.
    He looked to her with big, blubbery eyes and a shaky lip.  He mouthed the word, 'Why?' in her direction to which she looked completely confused.  You see, she had no idea she was interrupting the truth about Yoshiko's feelings for Daisuke.
    'Well do you or not?' she asked, a little impatiently.
    Hiroshi sighed aloud and nodded.  He looked back to Yoshiko with a pouty expression.  'I'll see you later.'
    'Bye bye.' In a way, she was glad she didn't have to answer that question.  The whole subject was very personal to her, as it would be anyone else.  Hiroshi drug himself to the car and plopped inside.  He and his mother drove away with waves to Yoshiko and Yoshiko was left alone.  She looked up into the sky and before walking home whispered the name of the person very dear to her, 'Daisuke-san...'

    'Scummy brat!!' Ryuichi slapped Hitomi in the face, opposite where Misami had hit.  She fell back onto a bed in a very elegant room full of expensive things.  It was Ryuichi's bedroom.  He swore under his breath and walked over to the large French window that stretched all the way to the floor and stared aimlessly out of it.  There was a small balcony outside the window that looked onto the gardens from the third story up.  'How could you do that?'
    Hitomi sat up and wiped the blood from her nose, 'I said I was sorry.'
    'Fool!  That's not going to change what you've done!'  Ryuichi hurled his fist into the wall.  The force caused a nearby vase to topple over and fall to the floor.
    Hitomi gasped and backed further on the bed.  'Ryu-chan... you're loosing it!' she really was afraid of him when he did things like that.
    He looked back to her and brought his bloody fist to his side.  'I can't forgive you for what you did today.  How dare you humiliate Yoshiko like that.'
    'Why are you always defending her?  She's nothing but a dirty whore!!'
    Ryuichi came over and promptly slapped her again.  'Don't you ever say that again!'
    She couldn't help the stinging tears that ran down her face.  She curled up into a ball and covered her face with her hands.  There, she sobbed.  'I think you love her more than me.'
    He tried to defend himself, 'What about you?  You just said clearly that you are really in love with Mizuno Daisuke.  ****, you should feel lucky I'm even spending right now with you.  I should kill you for loving that loser.'
    'Ryu-chan,' cautiously, she looked and saw him sitting beside her on the bed.  'I'm really sorry...  Why don't we start over?  Do you think you can ever forgive me?'
    He moved his deep eyes to her and was quiet for a minute.  He laid on the bed beside her and kissed her forehead, 'Only if you make love to me.'
    'But... you'll miss swim practice...'
    He shrugged, 'Those losers can do one day without me.  This is far more important.'
    She was hesitant, but knew that if she wanted to leave with her life, she'd have to do exactly what he said.  'Well... ok...'  Ryuichi smiled and kissed her again.  It was apparent that neither one really loved each other.  They were both striving for very different things that they then could not have.

    'Tadaima.'  Yoshiko walked into the house and removed her shoes.  Unusually, there was no one to welcome her home.  Koji and the twins were still at school, Daisuke was at swim practice, and she had no idea where Misami was.  A little distressed, she walked down the hall and opened the door for her bedroom to see her sister curled up on her futon.  'Misami-chan?'
    Misami glanced back to her and idly stated, 'Hi.'
    Yoshiko walked in and sat beside her, setting her school things aside.  She could tell that Misami had been going through some sort of emotional torture just by the way she looked, so dull and so depressed.  To lighten her mood, she smiled, 'What's wrong     Misami-chan?'
    She sighed and crossed her legs, 'Why did they do that to you?  You're the most wonderful person ever, how could anyone do such a thing?'
    Yoshiko gently moved a strand of hair from her sister's troubled face, 'Some people can get very jealous and do anything to break another person down to have what they have.  It really is understandable, so don't worry any longer.  The teenagers here are not much different from those on Aven.'
    Misami was feeling better seeing that her sister seemed to be recovered.  'Yeah, but it still sucks though.'
    Yoshiko giggled, 'You're right.  But let's not think about it anymore, we have some important work to do.'
    Thinking for a while, trying to recall what her sister was implying, Misami then let out a terrible groan, 'Not that!!  Annual reports are soooooooooooo boring!!'
    'They are required, we have to do them if we want to stay here.  Besides, this is the first one we've ever done, how do you know it will be boring?'
    'Because anything that requires me to work is boring.' Misami replied plainly.
    Yoshiko shook her head, 'Just take a look at your notes and write them in a complete form.  You... do have notes, right?'
    Misami took her eyes away, vainly avoiding looking sheepish.  'I knew there was something I forgot to do...'
    Yoshiko sighed, 'Well you can read mine then, but next month, you're on your own.'
    'Yeah, yeah, yeah...'
    From within the bottom drawer of the chest of drawers, Yoshiko pulled out a very curious looking device.  From a quick glance, it looked something like a lap top, only smaller all ways around and it didn't flip open.  There was a glossy frame that currently was black that took up the majority of the surface of the thin device.  Just under it were small keys of all different colours, but they were flat, not like the keys of a keyboard.  When Yoshiko pressed her thumb to a small plate in the corner, the frame, which was the screen, flickered on to display small characters quickly jolting up and down the screen.
    'Dang!!  You've recorded all that since we've been here?'
    Yoshiko nodded, 'I feel bad though, I should have written much more...'
    'Tell me you're kidding...' Misami became dizzy as she watched all the notes and records Yoshiko had kept on this device scroll very far down.
    When it finally came to the end, Yoshiko ran her fingers along the flat keys and very rapidly, even more characters appeared on the screen.  In a very short time, she was finished recording everything, thus done with her annual monthly report.  'Ok, time to send this away...' she pressed another flat key and immediately sent the entire record away.
    Misami smiled, 'That's sort of like e-mail.'
    'Universal e-mail.' The two laughed and Yoshiko handed the device over for her sister to use.  Then Yoshiko remembered something, 'Oh, I'm so sorry!  I just sent all my notes away!'
    'Don't worry about it!  I just decided I don't need notes to write my monthly report.  I can pretty much remember everything that happened and everything I learned.  First thing I'm putting down is that I learned not to go through walls in public settings, especially in the men's room.'  Misami briefly recalled her first encounter with Daisuke and smiled and then went to work, writing out her annual report.
    'Tadaima.' They heard a deep sexy male voice coming from the direction of the doorway.
    Yoshiko bounded out of her bedroom, 'Okaeri nasai, Koji-san.' She smiled warmly.
    'Thank you.' He said and removed his shoes.  Then he looked at her, his beautiful face was emotionless and calm, as always.      Yoshiko blushed a little while looking at him, he really was a beautiful young man.  She almost expected to see cherry blossoms begin to flow in a calm breeze around him and roses bloom where he took a step.  Instead of that happening, Koji just spoke instead, 'How are you feeling now?'
    Obviously, Yoshiko was very confused.  'How am I feeling now...?'
    'I could sense something was troubling you.'
    Amazed, she exclaimed, 'You could?  You must be a psychic, right?'
    'Only do I feel things such as that when those I care for are distressed.'
    She blushed further, 'Oh... I see.  Koji-san, you're amazing.'  He didn't give any response to that and Yoshiko felt it a good time to change subjects.  'Anyway, yes, I'm feeling much better now.  Come on, let's not stand in the doorway.' Yoshiko led Koji to the couch and bid him to sit down.  'I'll make us both some herbal tea and we can talk, ok?'  Koji nodded and a few minutes later Yoshiko returned with two cups of tea.  She handed one to Koji and sat down next to him.
   'Oishii,' he remarked as he sipped the tea.
    'It really is.  It's raspberry tea.'
    He set the cup down on the coffee table and looked forward to no place in particular.  'Yoshiko-san, what did happen to you?'
    She didn't want to have to bring it up again, but knew that if there were anyone she would ever want to discuss it with again, it was Koji.  'Well, some girls... put up signs all over school that basically said that I was a whore.'
    He looked to her to see the side of her face.  'Really?'
    Nodding, she continued, 'You know how bad that made me feel... but I have such wonderful friends who stuck up for me and made sure everything was made right again.' She looked over to Koji, they were looking eye to eye, 'Koji-san, do you know how lucky we are to know someone like Daisuke-san?  He's such a wonderful person who cares so much for us to even let us live in his own home.  I've met no one like him ever before in my entire life.'
    'Do you love him?'
    Yoshiko was quiet for a moment and then smiled contentedly, her eyes sparkling, 'I know I do...'
    'Tadaima!!' another was heard, this time from two smaller voices both together.
    Fearing she had said too much, Yoshiko arose from the couch and leapt to the doorway.  She was feeling a little embarrassed for telling that to Koji, but then again she knew that Koji would never tell anyone the truth regarding her feelings for Daisuke.  'You two are home so early?!'
    The twins smiled to her and Tenko excitedly said, 'Yep!  There was no tennis today!'
    'Why is that?'
    'The courts all got vandalized by some stupid punks so they're under repairs.' Explained Shingo.
    'Vandalized?  How awful!'
    'Daijoubu!  It just means we can come home earlier to play video games.' Shingo wasn't too heartbroken, the real reason was because his only reason for going to tennis, Mayuki, was in Okinawa for a few days!  Of course, he didn't want to say that aloud.
    'Come on Shingo-chan!  I can't wait to beat you again!' Tenko giggled and ran toward the TV.
    'Beat me??  you know I let you win!'  the two rushed to the glorious HDTV and began to play a video game, hardly even noticing that Koji was on the couch just beside them as they sat on the floor!
As they started up their nosy game, Koji finished the tea and arose from the couch.  He returned the cup to the kitchen and stopped beside Yoshiko near the doorway before going downstairs.  'I think he returns your feelings as well.'  Yoshiko set a hand to her heart when she heard those words elegantly escape Koji's lips.  She could feel her quickened heartbeat begin to race while she thought about his statement.  As quietly as ever, Koji retreated down the stairs to be alone in his bedroom with Jemena to keep him company.
    Even after he left, Yoshiko replayed his words in her mind.  I think he returns your feelings as well...  She smiled.
    'Sis!!  Come here quick!  I can't remember what happened yesterday!!' Misami's voice bellowed pitifully.
    Yoshiko's daydream was shattered and she returned to the real world.  'That's life...' she sighed and returned to help her sister.      However, she would not forget what Koji had said.  She held it dear to her and secretly hoped it was the truth.

    He walked home alone after staying after school to get some help with math.  Satoru didn't like to have to walk home alone, but it was more important to him to understand schoolwork than to have a companion to walk home with.  He hummed to himself along the way, arousing the attention of some certain nearby hooligans.
    'Hey Ken, take a look at that.'  Hidden beside a building in a crowded part of the city, one of Kenichi's henchmen pointed to happy little Satoru as he came walking by.
    Kenichi grinned a sour grin, 'It's that wuss that hung around the fag all yesterday.'
    'Think we should teach him what we think of freaks who hang around fags?'
    He laughed sinisterly, 'Of course.'  The group of three mean bullies looked both ways and nonchalantly began to follow Satoru, starting off a ways behind him.  As they got further and further away from the more crowded parts, the group would move up closer and closer to their prey.
    There was a levee that Satoru always liked to walk along while going home.  He liked to look down at the clear, calm river way below.  The water level was exactly where it was supposed to be for this time of year.  As he continued to walk along side it, he began to hear voices behind him.  Curious, he turned around and gasped at what he saw.
    'Yo.'  Kenichi smiled, Satoru could tell it was a smile to cover up the real emotions he had inside.  Satoru slowly backed away from them and the group only surrounded him so he could not escape them.  Kenichi chuckled, his flabby skin tottering in waves as the rumble of threatening sound burst from inside of him.
    'What do you want?' asked Satoru, fearful of the answer he was certain he would receive.
    'Hey, don't raise your voice, wuss.' One of the henchmen growled.
    Satoru looked to him with fear boiling behind his eyes.  They laughed more and drew in even closer.
    'All we wanna do is show you how we feel about fags.'  After Kenichi said that, Satoru kicked at the first thing he could, which just so happened to be Kenichi's shin, and ran the other way to get away from them.  'Punk!!  After him!' the three began to run after     Satoru, Kenichi's leg stung where he was kicked.
    Satoru was running as if for his life.  As he looked back occasionally, he saw the three more angry than ever running after him and catching up quickly.  He was terrified to look forward and see a wall with nothing but a river to the side and a steep hill to the other. He had no choice but to stop running and when he did so, he turned around to see the three glaring straight back at him, as if they were wolves about to pounce and kill.
    Tears welled up in his eyes and everything he had been holding fell to the cement ground.  He let out a small cry for help, or so he thought he did, in reality there was hardly an audible sound that came from the desperate boy.  At that point, there was never a time in his life where he had been so frightened as he was then.
    'You can bet you're gonna pay for that.' Kenichi walked up to him until he was very, uncomfortably close.  There was nothing Satoru could do but stand there and look way up at him with tears flowing from his eyes.  Kenichi laughed at him, 'You wuss!  Aww, what's the matter, baby?  You gonna cry?' the jerks all laughed.
    The tears kept flowing and even if he tried there would be no way he could have stopped them.  'Just please leave me alone!' he squeaked out in a tiny voice and cried uncontrollably.
    'Aww baby is crying!' Kenichi then pushed lightly on Satoru's shoulders, but it was a gesture that had no good qualities to it.  'If you don't like it, do something about it!  Don't just stand there, pansy boy!' he pushed him again, a little harder this time.  Satoru actually had to take a step back to keep his balance.  'Come on,' he bent over and stuck his chin out, 'punch me.'
    The two standing behind laughed and it was like loud chaotic screeching in Satoru's ears.  He shook his head and wiped his eyes on his sleeve, 'No!  Don't make me, please!!'
    'Just do it!  Punch me as hard as you can!'
    'NO!!  I DON'T LIKE FIGHTING!!' he cried harder and hid his face.
    Kenichi stood straight again, 'That proves it then, you are a fag!  Do you know how much I hate fags?!'  his voice was very loud and boomed in the afternoon air.
    'Please leave me alone.' Satoru sobbed with his hands over his face.
    Kenichi spat on the ground and then thrust his tight fist to Satoru's stomach.  Satoru fell with terrible aching pain and contracted himself tightly on the ground.  Kenichi let out that chuckle again as he looked onto the cringing boy, 'That hurt that much?  I hardly even touched you, pansy!'
    'He better go cry to mommy now!' another henchman said and kicked some dirt onto Satoru.
    Despite the serious pain he felt, Satoru somehow managed to shakily return to his feet while he held his stomach.  Though he hated fighting, he loathed giving up much more.  This impressed the bullies, 'Well, he's not as much of a wuss as I thought!'
    One of the bullies in the group of three rolled up his sleeve to show his impressive bulging muscles, 'Come on, pansy boy, ready for more?'
    In the loudest and strongest voice he could muster at that point, Satoru forced back the tears and yelled 'I said LEAVE ME ALONE!!!'
    Taka closed a book he was reading as he heard someone yell down below.  He was sitting atop the tall hill in the soft grass against a tall shady tree and had been meditating while reading a book about yoga.  At this time, he was wearing the clothes he always wore whenever he would practice yoga or gymnastics.  (I really don't know how I can describe the clothes and do them justice, so just take a look at Taka's photo gallery to see what this particular outfit looks like)  While still sitting there, cross-legged, he continued to hear the voices, though some words were hard to make out.  He pulled his black plastic framed glasses from his eyes and set them down on the closed book and rose to his feet.  He looked down from the top of the hill and could see the levee and all that was taking place there.  Taka gasped, 'Sato-chan'
   'Stupid fag!'  Kenichi punched him in the arm.
    'Pansy boy!'  The henchmen kicked his legs.
    Satoru, weak and demised, fell forward with all his retaliating energy spent.  Kenichi caught him as he fell and supported him on his feet.  He was breathing sporadically and the pain shot all over his body like relentless needles that stung from the inside out.      'Please,' his voice was a weak whisper, 'stop this'
    Kenichi spat on his face this time and punched him in the nose, causing him again to fall back and remain there, helpless.  In several places he was bruised and his nose was bleeding steadily.  Kenichi approached him, the veins on his neck were puffing out, 'If there's one thing I hate its fags and guys who aren't really guys.  Maybe this will teach you never to be seen with that fag ever again.' He got ready to make the finishing blow, but then felt a small sharp object collide with his head.  Growling, he turned around, 'Who threw that??'
    'You shouldn't pick on people smaller than you, you know.'  Taka stood on the top of the hill, one hand on his hip, the other tossing up and down a small rock like the one thrown at Kenichi's big dumb head.  His face had every amount of confidence measurable on it, as usual.  His mouth was in a smile that raised up higher on one side, his pleasant jade green eyes shone with grandeur in the light, his midnight black hair stood in short spikes.  He winked at Kenichi, 'One day they might come back bigger than you are.'
'It's that fag!!' a henchman exclaimed.
    Kenichi cussed quietly and it looked like his head was about to explode, 'I hate guys who aren't really guys!!!'
    Taka cocked an eyebrow, 'So, you don't think I'm really a guy, huh?' he tossed the tiny rock high and with his alert reflexes snatched it in midair and narrowed his beautiful eyes, 'I'll show you just what kind of guy I am.'
    'Get him!!' Kenichi ordered his two henchmen to go eliminate Taka.
    A gleam glinted in Taka's eyes.  He jumped forward and, like a skilled athlete, gracefully flipped several times in the air, catching the attention of all the bullies.  He landed perfectly as if being judged, his arms stretched widely out.  While still carrying that smile on his face, he opened his eyes to see the amazed faces of the bullies.  He blew kisses at them.
    Kenichi nearly turned green with disgust and his eye twitched, 'Don't stare!  Kill him!'
    The henchmen had to snap out of it and run forward to Taka.  While he didn't move at all or seem afraid of being beaten up, the bullies had every intent on pounding him to the ground.  One of them thrust his arm forward as he ran to Taka with a blood-curdling yell.  Smiling in his usual way, he shifted the top portion of his body slightly to one side so that the bully ran past with no successful blow.  The other bully didn't think that was a very cool trick, 'You jerk!' said the other one and jolted to him with his arm outstretched.  Taka knew that on either side of him the two stupid bullies were trying to attack, so he bent low to the ground and leapt high in the air.  When he did that, instead of the bullies both punching Taka, they ended up striking each other with hard punches.  Taka had flipped backwards and landed right behind them and looked to see them both sprawling in pain.
    Seeing that only made Kenichi madder and his face turned bright red with rage.  'I'll kill you!' he yelled and ran to Taka.  As he threw punches, Taka dodged.  As he kicked his legs, Taka jumped over them.  Everything Kenichi was trying was not working and pretty soon he was getting frustrated and tired.  'Fag, why don't you fight back?' he took deep breaths.
    Taka shrugged, 'Why don't you stop calling me that name?  You know, it really is rude.'
    'Shut up!' he tried to punch again, but he was very surprised when his fist was caught in Taka's hand before reaching his face.  His eyes widened and he could not free his hand from Taka's grip!
    Taka narrowed his eyes again but kept his small smile.  Still grasping his hand, Taka suddenly moved forward and set his lips over Kenichi's in a kiss he liked to refer to as a 'battle kiss.'  Kenichi was beyond surprise and disenchantment.  Releasing his lips but keeping his face right up by his enemy's, Taka whispered in a lovely way, 'Don't mess with the one I love.'  Then he powerfully pounded his fist straight into Kenichi's stomach.  He let him collapse after he let go of his hand and knew that he had made the victory.
    The two henchmen stood up and saw their leader fall to the ground.  'Ken!' they called, but Kenichi didn't answer them in any way.
    Taka glazed his eyes back to them and now was not smiling, 'Get him and go away.'
    Scrambling madly, the two ran to Kenichi at Taka's feet and each took a hand to pull him along.  They saw that apparently Kenichi was experiencing too much shock from being beaten by Taka to be able to get up on his own.  It must have totally ruined his ego.      'Stupid fag!  We'll be back!' they ran down the other way, dragging Kenichi along.
    He kept his eyes on them as they left and then ran a finger along his spiky hair.  He could see Satoru curled up on the ground and immediately walked to him.  'Sato-chan, it's ok, they're gone now.'
    Satoru uncurled from his defensive position and looked with his fearful eyes up to see Taka with a small smile gazing back at him. Aside from how bad he was feeling, Satoru managed a smile of gratitude and cried softly, 'Taka-chan!  I'm so glad you're here!'
    Taka knelt beside him and helped him sit upright.  As he did this, Satoru felt sharp pain and set a hand on his stomach.  Taka put his hand on his back and asked calmly, 'What hurts?'
    'Where he punched me...'
    Before he knew what he was doing and before he gave him permission to do so, Taka gently removed Satoru's hand and lifted up his shirt to be able to see for himself the damage that had been done.  Satoru blushed and watched as he examined his torso.  Taka nodded to himself, 'I see.  There's going to be some bruising on your stomach.  That doesn't look too good either,' Taka set his warm finger on the area of one of Satoru's ribs, 'Does this hurt?' he pressed gently, a gesture to which Satoru choked back the tears.  He quickly stopped the torture, 'Gomen... it looks like you may have a slightly bruised rib.  You may want to see a doctor about it.'
    'Terrific...' Satoru sniffed and Taka felt sympathy for him.
    He ran his fingers through Satoru's soft hair, 'What else hurts?'  Blushing again, Satoru wiped the last bit of blood from his nose.  Taka looked at his nose and brought his face very close to his so he could examine it better.  Satoru froze and his face blazed.  Taka noticed this and smiled.  His lips and the rest of his face was just a centimeter away from Satoru's.  'What?  Do you think I'm going to kiss you or something?' he whispered playfully.
    'Uh... umm...' Satoru didn't know how to quite answer that.
    Taka backed away some and went back to looking lovingly into Satoru's eyes, 'It's not broken.  You must have a strong body,' he winked.
    Satoru was relieved, 'Thank goodness...  I was so scared when I saw those three following me,' a tear rolled down his cheek,   'Taka-chan, if you hadn't have shown up... I don't know what would have happened!'  he thrust his arms around Taka and cried on his shoulder, 'Thank you!  Thank you for saving me!'
    Besides feeling shivers of excitement run all throughout his body, Taka set his arms around Satoru and let him cry.  'Sato-chan,' he whispered, 'you know I will always protect you.'
    'I know...' Satoru dried his eyes.  He saw the top of Taka's shoulder wet with his tears and became rather embarrassed.  He knew he had to get home, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave Taka's embrace.  He felt so safe and protected within his arms.  Right when he was about to say he needed to go home, he noticed Taka's pretty tattoo, which he could barely see on his shoulder.  'That's so pretty.'
    'Hmm?'  he looked to the top of Satoru's head.
    'Your tattoo.  I really like it.'
    Taka smiled, 'Arigatou.'
    'And your skin is very nice too.  It's so tan and smooth... I wish my skin was more like yours, Taka-chan.'  Taka's skin was quite a bit darker than Satoru's.  It wasn't as dark and tan as Daisuke's, it had more of a gentle olive coloration to it.  Satoru sighed, 'I look so much like a gaijin...'
    Taka paused a moment and then began to laugh softly.  He thought that Satoru was so cute in every way!  Satoru finally realized that what he said did seem a little funny and laughed a little also, but it hurt to do so.  'Sato-chan, to me you are perfect in every way.'
    Satoru looked up to him, 'Really?' Taka nodded and Satoru smiled.  He really liked Taka for the fact that he accepted and liked him for who he was.  Never before in his life had he known someone like him who was so open and able to draw him in.  Only on the second day of knowing him, he knew Taka was becoming a new best friend.
    'Well,' Taka stood up after releasing his arms from Satoru, 'You better be getting home.'  Taka helped Satoru to his feet, it hurt, but not too badly.  'Will you be able to walk alright?'
    'I think so.  It only hurts when I make sudden movements and stuff.'  Taka handed him his school things and Satoru thanked him.  He paused awkwardly and then decided to ask him something.  'Would you like to come to my house?  I feel bad that you couldn't yesterday and I want to repay you somehow for saving me.'
    The request was music to his ears, 'Yes!  I would love to!  Just let me go get my things!'  Taka excitedly ran up the hill, got his book and glasses and then returned down by Satoru in what seemed less than ten seconds!  Then the two began to walk to Satoru's house, talking and laughing along the way.  Taka's heart was beating so fast, he couldn't believe his luck!  Soon he would be entering the home of the one he loved.

    Hiroshi's mother ran out of the house in a panic, 'Satoru!  Satoru honey, where are you?!'
    Hiroshi cringed and accidentally pruned a little too much off of the hedge he had been ordered to prune by his doting mother during his time of punishment.  'What are you yelling about?!'
    'Satoru!  Satoru's been gone for so long!  He should have been home over an hour ago!  I'm so worried about him, I've got to go look for my baby!!' she ran around in hysteria to which Hiroshi scoffed.
    'Geez, who cares where Amoebae Boy is anyway, unless you get him to do these chores for me, I could care less about the little bugger.'
    'WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?!?!'
    Hiroshi cringed in fright and held the clippers over his head.  'I mean, I didn't mean it, don't hurt me mommy!'
    'This is no time to be selfish, Hiroshi!' she screamed, 'Your cute, perfect, adorable little brother is out there somewhere all alone in the big wide world.  Who knows what evil could have befallen or what ill could have taken over... I just can't bare to think of it!'
    'Mama!'  There was a voice that sounded exactly like Satoru's ringing through the afternoon.
    With much hope, Mrs. Shiozawa looked down the street and surely enough saw her wonderful son waving and walking toward her.  'Satoru!' her eyes were stars.  Satoru smiled hugely and began to run to her.  She ran to him also until they met like in one of those movies and hugged each other like in slow motion.  Taka stopped next to them and smiled at the touching sight.  Hiroshi glared and pruned the plant to death, 'I may be sick.' He said bitterly.
    'I'm so happy you're here!' she eventually tore away from him with eyes swirling with grateful tears.
    'And I'm so happy to see you, mama.  I was so scared when those bullies beat me up!'
    She blinked, 'Beat you up?' he nodded.  'SOMEONE ACTUALLY HAD THE NERVE TO LAY A FINGER ON MY SATORU?!?!?!'  She was enraged.  For a protective parent as herself, hearing such things gave her a blood lust for the offender that was nothing short of homicidal.
    'It's ok, mama!  I just have some bruises and scrapes.  I don't hurt if I stay still!  Things would have been much worse if Taka-chan hadn't have rescued me.'  Questioningly, his mother looked to the one standing next to her son.  She knew she had never seen him before.  Satoru smiled, 'This is my friend Taka-chan.'
    He smiled, 'Pleased to meet you, madam,' just like an aristocrat, Taka took her hand and kissed it gently.
    Her eyes grew twice as big as usual.  Hiroshi could see this from afar and couldn't believe the nerve of that guy to do that to his mom!  He pruned and trimmed the hedge in a growl as he kept his eyes on the three of them.  He didn't realize he had just about pruned it to its bare stem.
    'My... what a sweet young man!  Pleased to meet you as well, Taka-kun!' she was very impressed with Taka.  She didn't even seem concerned that he was so much older than Satoru.
    'We just met yesterday and became very great friends.  Taka-chan is so cool, he can do flips and stuff really well!  He beat up all those bullies like they were nothing!'
    'I didn't exactly beat them up...'
    'Don't be so modest, you pulverized them!  And you saved my life!  There's no way I can ever make it up to you!'
    Taka thought to himself and smiled, Well, there is one way...
    'How amazing!  Thank you so much for that, Taka-kun.  I owe you all my gratitude.'
    He shook his head, 'It was nothing.'
    'You're so wonderful, I have another son who looks around your age who I know would love to meet you also!  Hiroshi!'  he froze when he heard his name being called.  'Come here, there's someone I'd like you to meet!'
    'Why me...?' he snipped a final time with the cutters and chopped off the last standing stem of the hedge.  Hiroshi slowly and forcefully made himself approach the group.  His hair was a mess, going every direction, his glasses were crooked, he'd much rather be in the shower than having to see anyone like that, especially the one he thought made such a cheap move on his own mother!  He stopped right behind his mother and stared in a dead stare forward.
    Hiroshi's mother was annoyed and flung him forward so that he was standing in front of her.  'Taka-kun, I'd like you to meet Hiroshi.'
    Taka looked to Hiroshi and gasped softly.  His eyes widened and his mouth hung open a little.  That golden blonde hair that flung so wildly in the breeze and shone like gold, those deep blue eyes that looked like the sky of the setting sun... it made his heart race and his spirit fly.  'He's so cute...' Taka whispered with stars in his jade green eyes.
    Hiroshi was afraid.  He tried to escape without his mother knowing, but she just held on tighter so that there was no way for him to go.  He froze again when he saw Taka approach him with those starry eyes and faint blush on his cheeks.  Soon, he was straight in front of him.  Taka stared up at Hiroshi, because he was a little bit taller than Taka, by about ten centimeters.  (Ok, easy enough, Taka is about 5'6' and Hiroshi is about 5'10')  Hiroshi's mother nudged him and ordered him to say something.  He couldn't get any sound from his mouth.
    Taka smiled, 'How are you today, bishounen?'
   BISHOUNEN??? Hiroshi asked himself.  He was getting more afraid by the second.
    'You're Sato-chan's big brother?  Well, I can see the family resemblance.  Two very beautiful brothers.' He set a hand on Hiroshi's cheek and nearly melted, 'So soft...'  Hiroshi turned completely white.
    'Hiroshi!  Be nice and say something back!' his mother said from just behind him.
    '...Yo...' he simply said and nearly crumbled apart like old cement.
    Taka smiled and poked his chest, 'What's wrong, Hiro-chan?  I'm not going to hurt you.  Why don't you come with me so we can get to know each other better.' He slid his hand into Hiroshi's and that was the moment when Hiroshi literally freaked out.
    'I just remembered I have a lot of homework I gotta do before tomorrow!  Might even be up all night cuz I have so much!  I better get started now!' Hiroshi ran to the house as fast as he could and flung himself inside.  Once there, he leaned up against the door and hyperventilated.  Never had he been so scared and disturbed.  Between heavy breaths he said aloud, 'That guy's a freakin' fairy and he was totally comin' onto me!  I gotta tell Dai about this!' he zoomed to his room to call Daisuke and tell him everything that had just happened to him.
    His mother smirked and twitched her eye, 'Hiroshi!!'
    'It's alright.  He just doesn't know I was playing a joke on him.'  Taka smiled and reflected on the experience with Hiroshi again and again.
    'I'm sorry for my dumber son's actions.  Well, would you two like to come in for milk and cookies?'
    'YAY!' Satoru exclaimed.  Seeing the eager enthusiasm on her son's part, Mrs. Shiozawa lead them inside the house and bid them to sit on the couch while she prepare the snacks.
    'I hope you like peanut butter cookies, I just finished making them!' she beamed and was not at all afraid of showing off her baking prowess in delicious desserts.
    'Actually, I don't really eat cookies that much...'  Taka didn't want to make her feel bad and so took a cookie, 'but they do look delicious.'
    'Try it!  My mama makes great cookies!'
    Taka consented and ate the cookie.  'Oishii!!'  he took several more.  It delighted Mrs. Shiozawa to see him enjoying the cookies so much.
    'I'm so glad you like them!' she gladly poured them both a glass of milk.
    'Oh, Taka-chan, I wanted to ask you why you weren't at school today.'
    Taka took a drink of the milk and set the cup down, 'Well, it was one of the only days off my dad ever had, so he wanted to spend some time with me.  Plus I figured I might as well give everyone in class a day off, you know...'
    'What does your dad do?' wondered Mrs. Shiozawa.
    'Well, he's not my real dad... he's a neurosurgeon...'
    'Ohhh really??  How cool!' She was becoming more impressed with Taka by the minute.  'So you're adopted, huh?'
    Taka was silent as he stared forward and would not give an answer whatsoever to that question.  Shady memories of his past found their way back into his mind's eye, a place he never wanted them to return ever again.  Mrs. Shiozawa suddenly felt bad for asking, but she was still so curious about his life.  She didn't realize that it might be a touchy subject for him.  She quietly drank her milk.
    'I'll be right back,' Satoru then ended the deafening silence and rose from the couch to go to the bathroom.  He was a little concerned with Taka and remembered about when he tried to inquire about his past before.  He didn't think too much about it though, all he really wanted to do was see all the damage that had been done to his body himself.  This left Mrs. Shiozawa alone with Taka.
    'So,' she began inquisitively, trying to rebound her offense, 'how did you and Satoru meet?'
    He tried to return back to normal, 'I'm attending his school now after being transferred.'  She looked like she had a million questions from just that statement.  'Don't ask... long story...'
    She nodded and didn't wish to pry any further, 'What do you like to do for fun?  Have any hobbies?'
    'Um, well I like to do gymnastics and yoga.  I also like dancing and... dating...'
    An interest seemed to be sparked, 'Oh really?  You must be pretty popular with the ladies!' she burst out in girlish giggles.
    He tried to join along, 'Yeah!  With the ladies...'
    'So, that must mean you have a girlfriend then, right?'  Mrs. Shiozawa did not feel any sort of guilt or restraint against asking questions such as that.  In fact, teenage relationships always interested her in the highest way.  She saw that Taka looked a little dazed by her vast inquiry and giggled again, 'I'm sorry, that's probably none of my business.  But just do me one favor, alright?  Please tell me you're still a virgin!  My poor son Hiroshi is so girl crazed, he really needs another 'cool' male role model who's a virgin so he can see that that isn't everything in life!'
    Taka was speechless.  Above all, he couldn't believe that anyone, especially not Satoru's mother would ask such things of him and so openly tell him things like that about her own son!  He had been caught in a hole and there was no way out unless he told her what she wanted to hear.  He took a deep breath, 'Actually I-' just his luck, at that very moment there was a small digital ring from his pocket.  Taka reached in and pulled out a small black cell phone, complete with rainbow sticker on the side.  Excusing himself for the interruption, he brought it to his ear, 'It's Taka.  Oh, hi.  No, I'm at a friend's house right now...  Uh, well I guess so.  I'd have to go home first though.  Yeah, I'll see you soon, ciao!'  Taka put the small phone away and looked back to Mrs. Shiozawa, 'Please excuse me, but I have to be going now.'
    'Oh?  So soon?' she was disappointed.  After all, she wanted to get to know everything about Taka!  Or at least, she thought she did...
    He stood up, 'Yeah, I almost forgot I have a date tonight and we're going to the dance club.  I have to get ready for that.'
    'What a shame... well, we'll have to have you over again some other time then.' She stood up also and walked with him to the door.  'It was very nice meeting you.'
    'Likewise,' he bowed, 'Please tell Sato-chan goodbye for me.  I feel so bad about leaving so suddenly, but I have to.'
    'I understand and I'll tell him.  Goodbye for now Taka-kun!'
    He slipped his shoes on and walked out from the door, 'Sayounara.'  He walked down the streets and soon was no longer in her sight.
    She sighed and felt her heart racing for some reason that was beyond her.  'What a charming young man.  Exactly the kind of person I wanted to marry as a little girl.'
    'Taka-chan!  Would you like to see my bedroom now?'  Satoru came out of the bathroom and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that Taka was no longer sitting on the couch.
    'Taka-kun had to get ready for a date tonight, he apologizes for leaving so suddenly and not telling you.'  She came over and began to clean up the cookies and milk.
    'Oh...' Satoru set a hand to his stomach, just the small pressure stung, 'I think I should see a doctor... Taka-chan said that I might have a bruised rib or two...'
    She nodded and hurriedly raced to get her car keys.  'Hiroshi!' she raised her voice when the two were ready to go to the hospital, 'I'm taking Satoru to the doctor so be good while I'm gone!  We should be back in about two hours!'
    'Ok!' he called back and then removed his hand from the phone, 'Sorry Dai, my mom's taking Amoebae Boy to get some shots or something, maybe it'll help with those rabies.'
    'Uh huh...' a monotone voice came form the other end.
    'Anyway, so what I really wanted to tell you about what that really creepy guy who was just at my house.'
    'Good, now you're FINALLY getting to the point!  You've been talking for like five minutes about porn crap you know I could care less about!'
    'Don't patronize me, man, that's my life you're bashing!  Anyway, I'm serious about this now, you gotta listen!'
    'I'm all ears.'
    'Good.  Ok, I've always had some suspicions about Amoebae Boy, but after today I totally know for sure!!'
    'Know what?  And what's with this 'creepy guy' you were mentioning?  What's that all about?'
    'Dai!  You don't know how scary it was!  I was hit on today!'
    Daisuke's end of the line was silent.  'You're complaining about being hit on...  Who are you and what have you done with Hiro?'
    'You don't get it!' he screamed in a panicky voice, 'I was hit on by a GUY!!'
    'Uh...  Is there something I should know here...?'
    'Yeah, Amoebae Boy walked home today with some guy I'd never seen before and then my mom called me over so I just had to go over there so I wouldn't get into anymore trouble, and then she introduced me to that guy and...  You should have seen it!  The guy's eyes completely lit up, he looked at me like I was some sort of sex god or something!  Which, of course, we all know I am anyway, but besides that fact,' Daisuke rolled his eyes at that point, 'I'm saying the guy's a fairy, he's like gayer than my brother's bed sheets and that's hard to beat!'
    'Oh man, that IS scary!  I feel sorry you had to go through that, man!'
    'Yeah, so if you ever see this guy, be afraid.  Be very afraid.'
    'No duh!  What's he look like so I can know when to run and hide if I come across him?'
    'Um, I think he had spiky black hair...'
    Daisuke was yet again amazed by Hiroshi's denseness, 'Oh that helps, that's only like, what, half the guys in this city?!'
    'Well I was scared!  I didn't want to look at him at all!  He held my hand and said suggestive things to me...'
    'What was his name?  Do you at least remember that?'
    'Uh, Ta-Ta... Taka!'
    'I'll remember that.  If he thought you were hot, just think what he'd think if he ever saw me.  I mean, I'm scared now, man.  Really scared!'
    'Hey, that's not very nice!  Why are you always putting yourself above me??'
    Daisuke had to rebound his folly, 'Ok, well if he ever saw Koji-kun he would probably die right then and there.'
    'Koji-kun?  Who the heck is Koji-kun?'
    'Oh, uh, he's the one that was going to go with us to the mall that one night... he just moved into my house, in the basement of all places.  He's cool but I haven't really seen him since he got here.'
    'And let me guess, you think he's hot?'
    'WHAT???  NO!!' he nearly screamed Hiroshi's ear off.  'I think that Taka guy would think that, I better warn him too.'
    'Yeah, but wanna know what scares me most of all?  I think that he might already be with someone...'
    '... not Satoru...'
    'Mmhmm.'
    'No way!  Hiro, Satoru couldn't be gay!  I mean, he probably doesn't even know what gay means!'
    'But you should have seen them!  It was scary!  They were all happy and stuff and he's always been sorta girly... I wouldn't be surprised.'
    'No... that's can't be true.  I don't believe it.'
    'If you ever saw those two together you'd probably change your mind.'
    Daisuke didn't want to think about that.  'Well anyway, I should probably get off the phone now to make dinner.  I'll see you at school tomorrow, alright?'
    'Yeah, bye.' They both hung up the phones to go about doing the rest of the evening activities they had to.
    Daisuke laid back against his bed and shook his head while staring up at his ceiling.  'That's gotta be a lie...'  He drug himself up and made dinner, nothing special, he just didn't have the energy after everything that happened that day.  Reflecting on it, he was still a little confused about something else that happened.  During swim practice, all the guys usually flocked around Daisuke to talk and joke around, but on this particular day, no one did so.  Not even Osamu, which was really strange.  Daisuke didn't know what was up with that.  He didn't want to think about it anymore.  Remembering the day tended to spoil his appetite.

    That long, trying day was finally drawing to an end.  Yoshiko walked beside the kitchen and was captivated as she watched Daisuke doing dishes without him knowing it.  She probably wouldn't have been doing so if Koji were there.  But, like before, she was called by her sister, this time for help with homework.  And thus, all good things must come to an end...
    The twins went to do their homework also and, after washing all the dishes and making the kitchen look perfect, that's exactly what Daisuke set out to do as well.  A little exhausted by all the events of that day, he went into his bedroom, switched on the light and nearly yelled when he saw, of all people, Koji sitting on his bed!  'K-Koji-kun?!  You surprised me!'
   'Konbanwa,' he greeted in his sexy voice.
    'What are you doing here?'
    'You were there today when those thing happened to Yoshiko-san, right?'
    He was slow to answer, 'Yeah...'
    Koji went right to his point, 'Are you in love with her?'
    Daisuke turned redder than a stop sign.  For a long time it was impossible for him to communicate any type of coherent human language, so he just stood there staring forward, the pressure of Koji's question pounding down on him like a hammer.  Eventually, he was finally able to nod his head.  It appeared that just that simple act took most of his strength though.
    Koji's cold eyes seemed enlightened somehow.  Without another word, he arose form the bed and went to the door.  Daisuke was perplexed and didn't know what else to say, there were several things he could have asked, but couldn't get in the right order in time.  When Koji exited his room he stopped and said one more thing to him, 'While you were on the phone that letter was delivered by someone.'  Then, he left.
    'Letter?' Daisuke looked back into his bedroom and surely enough saw a white envelope sitting on his desk.  Now he had even more questions.  While he walked to it, he then remembered something else, 'Oh crap, and I forgot to warn him about that Taka guy too...' Daisuke sighed and picked up the letter and sat back onto his bed.  'What the heck is this?'  Before he tore into it, he looked to the back and read aloud what was written plainly, 'Do not open until morning.  Ok... and why not?' he brought the letter to his ear, 'Don't hear anything ticking... I guess it's safe.  Ah, screw it!' Daisuke flung the letter back over to his desk and it fell back behind it.
    He laid back and set his headphones around his neck and began to play a CD.  He suddenly was in no mood to do homework.  He had way too many questions again to be able to think about anything else, especially school work.  He stared blankly to his ceiling, like he had done often before.  He wished he could have spent more time with Yoshiko that day.  He had no way of knowing if she was really doing alright, but he sincerely hoped she was.  Then he thought of Koji.  'I wonder why he wanted to know if I loved Yoshiko.'  Daisuke recalled the recent times when Koji and Yoshiko were together and just how loyal and courteous he was to her.  He couldn't help but gasp when a horrifying thought came to his mind, 'He must be in love with Yoshiko also...' remembering how Koji just left without another word about the question he had just asked Daisuke convinced him further.  He hated to think about it and became jealous and mad.  He threw a pillow off of his bed and went back to contemplating the grim possibility, 'This sucks.  All Koji-kun wanted to move in here for was to be closer to Yoshiko and steal her from me...' he sighed and thought about his love, 'Yoshiko... I hope you can understand how much I love you...' That was the only thing Daisuke could think about.  He was so mad at Koji and felt like kicking him out of his house and at the same time was so sad about the thought of loosing his beloved.  The whole thing tore him up inside so much that he couldn't take it any further and grabbed his duffel bag and raced out of his bedroom.
    Yoshiko had just opened her bedroom door when she saw Daisuke running out of his bedroom.  'Daisuke-san?' her heart pounded.  He didn't hear her and ran out of the house to go ease his problems in some heavy training at the pool.  She sighed and walked slowly down the hall.  Yoshiko looked inside his empty bedroom and saw that his light was still on.  Before she turned it off to conserve electricity, she saw something very curious sitting on his desk.  It was a small gray velvet box.  Like a butterfly to nectar, she was drawn to the box and carefully took it in her hand.  Slowly she opened it and saw the shimmer of gold.
    'Sis?'  Yoshiko shut the box suddenly and set it back down on the desk.  'What are you doing?' asked Misami.
    She turned around again, her sister could tell she was a bit flustered.  'Nothing.'
    Misami was too tired to nab the truth out of her and just headed back for her bedroom, 'Well, I still need some help with English.  Could you help me study for my quiz?'
    'Sure...' Yoshiko followed her sister back to their room.  She thought about the box she had seen on Daisuke's desk and thought she knew what it was all about.  That made her smile and feel so happy inside.  She was certain she knew the truth.

    Jemena yawned widely and looked to Koji sitting up in the large Sakura tree under the moonlight.  She was standing on the ground just under the tree and said up to him, 'Ko-chan!  What are you doing?'  He wrote the final line with a finishing stroke and closed the black book.  His eyes glowed in the night and he looked down to Jemena.  She was annoyed with him, 'Writing poems again?  You're always writing poems!  Why don't you go to sleep now?'
    'This is more important.'  He put the cap on his pen and tossed it down.
    'I know, I know,' Jemena caught the pen in her mouth and made her way back inside the house.
    Koji looked back up to the moon and thought about the poem he had just composed.  'A new love awakened that was ne'er before known.' He quoted the final line, 'This poem I dedicate to your new love, Daisuke and Yoshiko.'

To be continued...