Warmth, light, brilliance. Stars come in, stars leave. He was was the only one who stayed.

Except Her, but She couldn't leave. She was In Charge, after all; She held this place together.

He greeted old friends as they passed through and met new ones along the way. But the one person he wanted - no, needed - to see had not come. She would not for a long time, and as badly as he wanted to hear her voice, touch her lips, he knew it was best if he stayed here until the Right Time.

But the waiting left him in agony, so he wandered restlessly among the glow, waiting for the Right Time to come.









*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Land of Confusion
by AngelAnne

Chapter 5: Falling In

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*




Melody pusled in the raw smoky air, shaking every fiber of his being to a thick electronic beat. Twisting, pumping bodies jostled about him, but he didn't mind. It was all part of the atmosphere of The Branch, and if you were going to enter the doors at all, you had to be prepared for it. Rufus had a glass of water and an empty table and at the moment, that was all that mattered.

It was the same crowd that appeared in the club every night - a young crowd looking for a night of sexy dancing, loud music and substances that they may or may not be allowed to partake in by Kinmokuseijin law. He came here for other reasons. He didn't know exactly what they were, but he had no plan to get smashingly drunk or high out of his head. His head needed to be clear, after all, if his plan was going to work.

"No," he said, watching his drink bounce and slosh in time with the music. "There is no 'if'. There is only 'when'."

It had truly been too long since Rufus had the respect he deserved. Certainly, the nightlife feared him and were in awe of him...but there was no one in his league. He ran a hand over his clean, shaved head. It was lonely at the top.

Soon, however, he would get his way. He would clear the throne. It was not that he had any reason for vengence. She had never done him, personally, any harm. She was just occupying space that he didn't necessarily deserve. He just wanted it, and that was a good enough reason on its own.

"I wonder," he mused, watching his drink slip over the edge and shatter on the floor, "how much it will cost before I have my way?"

*~*~*~*~*~*

Yaten was, by any standard, sunk in debt. She now owed Kakyuu most of her life savings, her camera, and a truckload of cupcakes. But she was determined to win it all back.

"Look, Yaten..." Kakyuu idly looked down at her hand. "You don't have to prove anything to me. We can quit any time..."

"Not until I win," Yaten said, biting her lip and eyeing her cards with a vicious gleam in her eye. This time, for sure.

The last time she had played cards, and had fun...she couldn't remember when that was, exactly. In all honesty, she couldn't remember the last time she'd done something for fun, period. There had been so much work to do, and she had barely slept a wink in months. Or maybe years.

"I'll discard if you'll go on a date with me!"

Yaten jumped. Indeed, that had been the last time she played cards for fun. In Usagi's house, around a table with them all...and for a moment, she hadn't felt so lonely.

Until the phage had come bursting in, and then it was Business as Usual.

She shook the thought out of her mind. That part of her life was over now. She was here, with her Princess, and all was right with the world.

But why did her stomach suddenly feel heavy?

"If jacks are wild, you can play that one right there."

"Thank you," she said absently, and then lept out of her chair and spun around. She suddenly had a nose full of bright red hair.

Vail chuckled. "Nice to see you, too, dear."

"..." Yaten's mouth was suddenly unable to form words. Out of her view, Kakyuu's face was graced with the tiniest of smiles.

"This is the part where you go, 'Vail! Ohmygawd I MISSED you, you big' -- ACK!" Vail started to say, but was cut off when Yaten began to squeeze the life out of him in what could be loosely described a a hug. It could, perhaps, be more accurately described as a death grip.

Everything was very silent as the magnitude of this meeting sank in for Yaten.

"I thought...I thought you were..." Yaten muttered, muffled by Vail's thick coat.

"For awhile, I thought I might be," he said, rubbing the back of her neck. "But when Galaxia was defeated, here I was. Well, not exactly here. More over there under a big heavy thing."

"It's a good thing you've got big manly friends to pick up those big heavy things, isn't it?"

"Shh, doofus, you're ruining the moment," Seiya hissed from the doorway.

Vail rolled his eyes and smiled. "Whoopee, the peanut gallery! It wouldn't be an attempt at romance without the two of you."

Kakyuu peered around them toward the door. "Where is Taiki?"

"She went to her room," Seiya said, looking down at her shoes. "She didn't really want to...uhm...be a part of this..."

"Understandably" was all that Kakyuu said, and again the room was silent. A cold breeze fluttered briefly through the room, blowing the playing cards off the table and spilling them on the carpet. No one bothered to pick them up.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Had anyone bothered to check Taiki's room, they would have assumed, by the curvy figure under the covers, that she was taking a nap. That is, if they didn't bother to noticed that the figure wasn't breathing.

It wasn't as though she couldn't be happy for Seiya and Yaten - they deserved it, after all their hard work putting Kinmokusei back together. But when they were walking to the palace, and Rhys wrapped his arm around Seiya, and she just snugly fit into that spot under his arm...

Taiki felt a small, cold place in the center of her chest. This was her punishment for failing him. She had to sit back and watch them recieve everything she'd ever wanted for herself. A life complete - Princess and lover claiming equal space in their hearts.

All she had left was the Princess. And if anything happened to her...Taiki would have to give up. There would be nothing left at the center of her life. It was not much of a life, but it was the one she had and she used it to its best potential.

She fished around in her pocket, hand coming to rest on the small object she'd been looking for. A small, simple key. It was not so important itself, but what it led to meant everything.

The greenhouse was small, but not stifling. It seemed like an average greenhouse. It was the plaque on the front that made it important.

Scuplted out of glistening metal was a butterfly and the words: "He gave everything when nothing was asked. I love you." Nothing else needed to be said.

She slipped in carefully, shutting the door quickly. She was cautious for two reasons; to make sure she wasn't spotted by the lovebirds, and so that none of them would get out.

It was full to the brim of flowering plants, with some of the most exotic, intoxicating blooms she'd ever seen. Most of them had been imported from Cocoon itself; Taiki had practically begged Shiinto to allow her to repay her, but she would have none of it. So here they were, the lovely bushes, and the precious cargo that came with them - hundreds of brilliant, vibrant butterflies.

A beautiful butterfly landed on Taiki's nose not seconds after she shut the door. Taiki reached behind her and switched on a dim light. The butterfly jumped a bit, startled, but then sat back down and wiggled its wings. It looked like black and white lace, with the exception of its wingtips - they were colored the most brilliant red, almost like

"Blood," Taiki said, a little hoarse. "What irony."

The butterfly didn't know what "irony" was, but it assumed that it wasn't good. Taiki transfered the little creature from her nose to one of her fingers. It settled there, comfortably fluttering about.

"I'm sorry." The butterfly seemed confused, because it stopped flapping its wings.

"Why am I sorry?" Somehow, Taiki had anticipated what the butterfly was thinking. "Because I took him away from you, too. He wanted to protect you too...but he gave everything for me. For me."

She stood there, staring at the little creature in her hand. "I'm such a fool. I never deserved it. I don't deserve it now. Seiya, Yaten...they were so strong, so dilligent. And they put it behind them."

"But you never could?"

Taiki screeched in surprise, but somehow managed to keep the butterfly on her finger.

"You should not try to put a burden on yourself." Kakyuu's face was so full of compassion, so serious, that Taiki couldn't quite figure it out. "He sacrificed everything so you could find me."

"And then I lay there like a corpse and pitied myself for my awful fate," Taiki said bitterly. " when I could have been looking for you. I tell you, I don't deserve it."

"So what if you didn't? He loved you enough to do it; that should be enough." Kakyuu immediately regretted the words; Taiki looked like she'd been slapped.

"It should be. But it isn't," she said softly. "I could lie and say it doesn't matter, but I don't want to lie."

"I'm sorry, Taiki. I should not have phrased it that way..." Kakyuu tried to apologize, but Taiki put up a hand.

"Don't, Ouhi. It's alright." But one look at Taiki's face proved that it wasn't even close to being alright. Her face betrayed nothing, but her eyes...her eyes were so full of mourning and regret and guilt that Kakyuu could barely stand it.

"Would it seem out of place if I asked you...if you wanted to be held?" Kakyuu asked softly. It was the least she could do.

"No, I don't think it would be," Taiki replied, equally as soft. Kakyuu took a few quite steps in the dim light and wrapped her slender arms around Taiki's waist. Taiki pulled her Princess closer to her, so that they seemed to be one unit.

The butterfly flew away, landing on a tall bush with purple flowers, and sighed softly.

Taiki knew that she didn't deserve the unconditional love and compassion she received from her Princess. But it didn't matter, because she got it whether she deserved it or not. And at that moment, when she felt like a worthless fool, that she needed it most. Grateful to have an outlet, one small tear was released from her sad violet eyes.

*~*~*~*~*

Angst. I like it. XD

Taiki: You suck.

I know. That's why I like it. *snickers*