Nada más que un indefenso corazón enomorado. Nothing but a defenseless, affectionate heart. Olga Orozco, "To Make a Talisman." _______________________________________________________________________ Kinmokusei Story Chapter Eight: Confession by Kotetsu _______________________________________________________________________ When Seiya awoke again, she found herself staring at a white ceiling. She turned her head, slightly, which hurt a lot, and made her groan. White sunlight filtering through white venetian blinds. Out of the corner of her eye . . . an IV drip? She followed the slender tubing down toward her own pale white arm, where it entered a tiny bulge in her flesh. She felt herself growing faint, dizzy. No, mustn’t look at that. She turned her head. It hurt, but she had to do it. More white walls and white floor and white ceiling. Soft electronic beeping, somewhere. Taiki and Yaten, sitting, watching her. Their faces, too. Pale and white. Yaten suddenly started, some color coming back to her cheeks. "You're awake?" Seiya grimaced. "I wish I wasn't. I hate hospitals." Taiki took Seiya's limp hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. "Do you have *any* idea how much you scared us?!" "No." Seiya blinked. "How long was I . . . ?" "Three days." "What?" "Out cold for three days. Your heart rate slowed to practically nothing, and you were barely breathing at all. Your body temperature plummeted. Your vital organs almost shut down. You were on life support for almost half a day . . . But then your body just sort of, I don't know, started up again, and so they pulled you off." "Oh, man, I'm sorry," Seiya apologized. At the moment, it neither sounded nor felt as absurd as it really was. "We were worried," Yaten said softly. Her eyes were unusually soft, almost warm. "You look as if you haven't slept in days." "We didn't," Taiki admitted. "We were worried," Yaten repeated. This time, slightly petulantly. "Seiya, how much do you remember?" "Too much. I remember the youma . . . And I remember passing out . . . That's about it. But that's still too much." "Seiya . . . " Taiki began hesitantly, searching for the right words. "Whatever you did to defeat that youma, it almost killed you. Do you understand? You nearly drained away all of your own life energy. That's why, when it was all over, your body had to shut itself down. You almost went into a state of hibernation, or . . . suspended animation. I'm not sure. It baffled the doctors, anyhow." "That's me, the medical enigma," Seiya grinned. Then she winced in sudden pain. "Ow, it hurts." "Where?" "All over." "The doctors also said that you strained and twisted most of the muscles in your neck, back, and shoulders. You couldn't have sustained worse injuries if you had been playing football for a year." "I don't suppose I'll be playing football again anytime soon." Seiya's voice was quiet, morose. She felt terribly, horribly saddened by the realization. She wondered who would coach Bel and the other girls if she couldn't play anymore. "Oh, it can't be that bad." Yaten rolled her eyes. "Whining already, I see." Seiya stuck out her tongue. "You're one to talk." "Good. It's good to see you both back to normal," Taiki chuckled softly. " 'Both?' " Seiya raised an eyebrow. "Yaten's been worried sick about you," Taiki grinned as Yaten flushed a deep crimson and glared at her coldly, "and hasn't left your bedside for three days." "Neither has Taiki," Yaten muttered grumpily under her breath. Suddenly she gasped and bolted upright. "Oh, I just remembered! One of us was supposed to tell the nurse the moment that Seiya woke up--" "Wait," Seiya protested. "Huh?" "Wait a minute. I hate nurses. And I hate doctors." "But Seiya, the doctor is your *friend* . . . " Seiya rolled her eyes. "Don't patronize me. I want to see the Queen before the doctors arrive." Taiki sighed and rested her chin on her hand, leaning on the railings along Seiya's bed. "Seiya, what are we going to do with you?" "Not give me any shots, I hope! I HATE needles." "It was a rhetorical question." Taiki chuckled softly to herself. "Oh." Seiya turned back toward Yaten, who was already halfway to the door. "Look, I really need to see the Queen before the doctors start swarming all over me. I need to talk to her." "No problem." Yaten flashed Seiya the V-for-Victory sign. "I'll just make like I'm going back to my quarters for a book to read. I'll sneak into Kakyuu's chambers easily." "Easily?" "Just trust me." And with that, Yaten left. Seiya slowly, painfully turned her head until she was facing Taiki again. "Since when was *she* an expert in espionage?" "I don't know. Since when were *you* granted the authority to circumvent official state orders and mandates just so that you could steal away the Queen of Kinmoku for five minutes of private chit-chat?" "Oh. I see your point." Seiya blushed, slightly embarrassed. But Taiki just chuckled again. "I'm not saying that you don't have the authority, Seiya. I'm just wondering when and how exactly you got it, and how it's escaped my notice until now." "What do you mean?" "Forget about it. But tell me, what is it that's so terribly important that you have to talk to Kakyuu about it right away?" Seiya flushed even deeper, and became uncharacteristically quiet. No, she couldn't answer that question. Absolutely not. She could not bring herself to say aloud what she felt in her heart; but neither could she ever tell a lie to Taiki. She had learned from her experiences on Earth that Taiki and Yaten could read through her lies as if they were transparent gauze; that, and she always felt slightly guilty and shameful when she did lie to them. Since her only viable option was to remain silent, she choose to lie still and stare at the ceiling instead of answering Taiki's question. She should have known that her silence, and her crimson cheeks, were all the answer that Taiki needed. After a moment of uncomfortable quiet, Taiki suddenly grasped Seiya's hand in her own, yet again. "It's okay. I understand," she said softly. She kissed the back of Seiya's hand. "And I wish you luck." Seiya lay still, staring at the ceiling, listening to the door open and shut as Taiki left. "Well," she said aloud to the empty room. "Well indeed," she repeated herself. And then, because she felt that it needed to be said, "That certainly isn't the Taiki that I remember from a year ago." She had changed. A lot. She had grown almost . . . maternal. Yes, that was the right word. Maternal. Seiya couldn't quite put her finger on any specific cause for her friend's unusual metamorphosis, but she was willing to bet that it had something to do with that minstrel . . . what was his name . . . Hideaki. "Does love really change people that much?" Seiya asked the ceiling. When she received no response, she sighed and rolled over, shifting in her bed uncomfortably. Darn, but she was sore. She couldn't wait to get out of the bed and start stretching and working her stiff muscles. But she wouldn't dare to try to stand up or slide out of the bed just yet. She was afraid, albeit irrationally, that the doctors would *know* the moment that she stepped out of the bed, the moment that she was up and about, and then they would be swarming all over her-- Seiya shuddered. She hated doctors. A flutter of butterfly wings caressed her cheek. Seiya smiled softly to herself and rolled over again. Dozens of ethereal, glowing butterflies flitted around the room. Suddenly, the butterflies began melting and twisting together. From out of the mass of shapeless ruby light, the Queen of Kinmoku slowly emerged. Seiya felt herself grinning stupidly, joyously. "I keep forgetting that you can do that." "How else was I supposed to sneak in here?" The butterflies were gone; the Queen was regarding her with warm, loving eyes. Seiya struggled, and finally managed to sit upright. "I--" "Hush." The Queen rushed to Seiya's side and suddenly gathered Seiya in her arms, embracing her, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and another around her waist, holding her almost as if she were a frail, small child. Seiya didn't mind, not in the least. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the Queen's soft chest, sighing with peace and contentment. She felt like a child, and she was comforted by the Queen's solid presence surrounding her. "Seiya . . . No. No, please don't think of me like that." "Like what?" Seiya murmured. " 'The Queen.' I don't like it. You should always call me Kakyuu. You and Taiki and Yaten, too. Always call me Kakyuu." "Kakyuu." Seiya could feel Kakyuu's heartbeat pulsing through the flesh of her breasts, thumping against Seiya's own cheek. "Kakyuu, I can hear your heartbeat." Kakyuu slid her arms away from Seiya and stepped back, slightly, so that they were no longer touching. Seiya suddenly felt profoundly disappointed, not to mention strangely cold. But Kakyuu fixed Seiya's confused sapphire eyes with her own ruby irises, and there was an unmistakable air of command in her voice when she spoke again. "You said that you needed to talk to me about something. Our time together is short, so you should speak now." Seiya felt her cheeks blushing, and, horribly, her throat seizing shut. No, she couldn't, not now! She couldn't say the words that she wanted to say if she was being *ordered* to do so-- Kakyuu waited for a moment, and when Seiya didn't speak, her face paled with concern. "Oh, Seiya . . . are you angry with me?" Seiya snapped out of her embarrassed silence. "What? Why would I be angry?" "Because . . . " Kakyuu dropped her eyes, and fiddled with the ribbon at her neck. It was a wholly uncharacteristic gesture, almost childish. "Because I told Healer and Maker to let the youma take you." "Huh?" Seiya gasped, suddenly remembering. "Oh! Oh, that! No, no, of course not. Why would I be angry at you for something like that?" "Why?!" Kakyuu's hand flew to her forehead and she laughed, softly, yet undeniably relieved. Seiya could have sworn that there were tears in her eyes. Her whole body seemed to suddenly relax, soften, loosen up. "Oh, Seiya, you're so thick sometimes! I thought for sure . . . that you disagreed with my decision. I mean, it wasn't until I said that terrible thing that you really started screaming *at* me, and the next thing I knew, you had cast out and defeated the youma, and all I could think was that you did it because you were angry with me, because I had betrayed you, because you hated me--" She laughed again, and this time, a tear did slide down her cheek. "I'm such a fool. I'm a selfish, egocentric fool who doesn't understand a thing about the people most important to me." "Why are you crying?" "These are tears of joy, Seiya. Don't be upset." "I'm not." Seiya didn't understand the Queen's reaction - was a little frightened by it, even - but she did not offer to comfort Kakyuu, because she sensed, on an instinctive level, that Kakyuu did not need to be comforted. "I didn't disagree with your decision. Well, no. I take that back. I did disagree, I disagreed a lot. But that's because I was panicking, I was frightened out of my wits, and I wasn't even in control of my own body, let alone my own thoughts, at the moment. And it never once occurred to me to be *angry* at you for it. I just knew that I didn't want it to happen, more than anything else in the world, because I was too scared to face the consequences . . . When I look back, I think, yeah, you made the right decision. I was the one who was being cowardly." "Cowardly?! Seiya, are you even listening to yourself?" "Well . . . " Seiya felt herself blushing again. But she hardened her resolve, forced her tongue to form the right words, forced herself to forge onward. It was now or never, she realized. "There was something else that you said. Right after . . . that." Kakyuu paused, dropping her hand from her forehead, saying nothing. But her cheeks, too, were slowly deepening to a beautiful shade of crimson. "You said, 'Seiya, my love.' " Seiya's voice was firm, but underlying it was unmistakable nervousness and fear. Kakyuu still said nothing, in fact, dropped her eyes and turned them away from Seiya. And still Seiya continued, past the point of no return, realizing that now that she had started, she had no choice but to finish. "It was when you said that, that I - the part of me that was still really me - realized that I still had the strength to defeat the youma. That's the way that it's always been, do you understand? It's just like what happened on Earth. Without you, I was lost, I was helpless, I didn't think that I had the strength, or the will, to keep fighting. And when I found you again, even after Galaxia . . . " Seiya's voice choked, she took a deep breath, and continued onward, resolutely. " . . . After you were gone again, I knew that you were still with me, kind of, sort of . . . It's stupid, I know, and I can't really describe it . . . But I knew that as long as I had your love, I could keep going, and I could defeat any enemy that crossed my path." And suddenly, Seiya fell silent. All of her momentum suddenly deserted her. She couldn't make the final leap, she couldn't say the final words. Not while Kakyuu was looking away from her, silent and cringing, almost frightened. Not while she was like that. Seiya gulped. "Kakyuu . . .?" The Queen of Kinmoku turned her head, slowly, with the same unconscious grace and elegance that affected all of her movements, and met Seiya's eyes with her own. Her ruby orbs shimmered with the something that might have been fear, might have been relief, or might have been just tears. Seiya wasn't sure, but she felt that she would be jinxing herself if she dared to hazard a guess. And then, Kakyuu spoke. "Seiya," she began softly, "Do you have any idea who you are?" Now it was Seiya's turn to fall silent, although she would not, could not, look away from the Queen's eyes. Kakyuu continued. "You are a Sailor Senshi." This she said slowly, distinctly, emphasizing each word. "According to the most ancient laws in this galaxy, you are my servant, bound to me and to all my incarnations for an eternity of servitude and protection." "I know." Seiya bit her lip. "More specifically, as Sailor Star Fighter," the Queen explained, "you are invested with the powers of destruction, and of death. You are the Soldier of Chaos. You represent unmaking, uncreating, destruction, darkness, oblivion." Seiya's heart clenched in her chest, but she remained silent. "Sometimes, Seiya, you frighten me." Kakyuu paused for a moment, searching for the right words, then continued. "You frighten me, and perhaps even awe me, with the power you display. When I watched you cast out that youma, I saw that your Senshi powers made you . . . beautiful . . . but dangerous, and deadly, at the same time . . . But it's not just that which frightens me. "I have seen you dance with Chaos before, more so three days ago than I really ever cared to witness, but, nevertheless . . . I think I understand, now. Despite the destructive forces at your command, Chaos never has, and never will, have any claim on your soul. Because you are, unfortunately, a creature that thrives on love. And, yes, a creature that falters in the absence of love. It frightens me to see that vulnerability, that sort of dependence, in someone that I trust to protect me and my people. "But even worse, and more terribly frightening that anything else, is what you do to me. Am I making myself clear? What you do to my heart, and to my hopes and to my dreams. Seiya, I'd throw away a millennia of unwritten codes and laws, I'd risk banishment and exile, I'd give up my throne, I'd surrender my Sailor Crystal, I'd commit the most heinous and horrible crimes against humanity . . . If I had to do it for you, to be with you, to save you from some unknown harm, whatever, the circumstances don't matter; if I had to do it for you, I would. I love you so much that I can't bear it, and it's the most wicked, terrible kind of love, the kind of love that makes me want to not just touch you, but grab you and throw you on the bed and kiss you until you can't breathe, it's the red, lusty, bloody type of love that makes me mad with passion and makes me lay awake at night sweaty and flushed and unable to find a moment of blissful sleep . . . . It's terrible, and I'm a terrible person for feeling that way, when I have a kingdom to worry about and people that need me, people that depend upon me to follow the rules and to maintain my wits about me . . . I don't even know exactly how it started, or when. I just know that you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen, you're the most kind-hearted and honest, you can make me smile or laugh even when I'm suffering through my darkest moments, you can give me strength and comfort even when I feel utterly and completely hopeless. And I love you, Seiya. I love you so much, I can't even begin to say it. And I want, more than anything, to be able to give you the love that I know you want, and that I know you *need*. There, you see? You understand? Because you make me feel like that, because you make me use *words* like that, you frighten me, because you undermine everything that I thought I knew and that I thought I understood about myself." Seiya actually shook in her bed. She didn't know what to say. Kakyuu had fixed her eyes with her own and she was helpless to look away; she was captive, frightened, panicking. Suddenly, the terribly important words which she had needed to say so badly just a few moments ago seemed ineffectual, futile, and utterly dull and ineloquent compared to the Queen's confession. And yet, with Kakyuu's hopeful, open, vulnerable eyes boring into her own, Seiya knew that she had no choice but to say it. Her silence now would only hurt Kakyuu, perhaps gouge her heart and soul beyond repair; if Seiya was responsible for something as terrible as that, and all because she was a fool and a coward and afraid to speak at the most critical moment in her life, then . . . she would never forgive herself for that. So she took a deep breath, and she spoke. "I love you, too, Kakyuu." And, finally, the Queen smiled. It was a warm, relieved, watery, and joyous smile all at once, and tears spilled down Kakyuu's lovely blushing cheeks in earnest as she rushed forward and embraced Seiya, tight enough to hurt even, but Seiya didn't mind, not in the least. Kakyuu showered Seiya's head with kisses, gasping, "I'm so glad, I'm so glad, I knew it all along but I'm so glad to finally hear it!" and Seiya returning the embrace with a rib-crushing hug of her own, almost laughing with her joy and exhilarated to feel such a sudden sense of release, crying as she buried her face in Kakyuu's chest, "That's all I ever wanted to say all along!" "Oh, Seiya, Seiya . . . " Kakyuu sighed, resting her head on the top of Seiya's and rubbing her cheek against Seiya's curly raven locks, "What are we going to do with ourselves? How are we going to pull this off?" "I don't know." Seiya closed her eyes. "Maybe we never will. All I know for sure is that right now, we should . . . you know . . . not go public, and probably not . . . you know . . . do anything that could be . . . incriminating. " "I know. I know that better than anyone." "But the *other* thing I know for sure is that as long as I know that you love me, I know that I can take on any enemy, no problem!" Seiya's grin stretched from ear to stupid ear, and she knew that she probably looked like a moron, but she didn't care. She felt so euphoric, so deliciously, deliriously happy, that all of the horror and pain of three days ago seemed already to have occurred many years in the distant past. But suddenly Kakyuu pulled abruptly away from Seiya. Seiya's heart leapt into her throat. "What's wrong?!" Kakyuu clapped one hand over her mouth, a look of sheer horror settling upon her delicate features. "Oh my God, Seiya, what about Taiki and Ya--" "--and Yaten?" Seiya sighed with relief. Oh, was that all? "I think . . . No, I'm almost certain, that they already know." "What?" << "I understand . . . And I wish you luck . . . " >> Seiya remembered the brush of Taiki's lips against the back of her hand. "I couldn't hide it from them, even though I tried. And I think that they understand, at least, if not approve altogether." "Are you sure?" "Maybe they *do* love you, but if they do, I think they want to see you happy." Kakyuu blushed, prettily. "Am I that obvious?" "No, you're *terribly* difficult to read sometimes." Kakyuu smiled at that, but slowly the smile melted, and her brow furrowed in concentration. She cocked her head, listening. "The doctors are coming," she suddenly whispered. "Awful timing." Seiya flopped back down into the bed and lay on her back, biting her lip. "I hate doctors." "I know you do." Kakyuu leaned over and kissed Seiya's forehead, briefly, her lips like the light brush of butterfly wings. Then she began to dissolve, to melt and swirl away in ethereal ruby light. "They mustn’t find me here . . . Goodbye, my love. Be brave." And with those final words, Seiya knew that the doctors suddenly weren't nearly as terrible or as frightening as they had been five minutes before. ******************** Kou Yaten found Hideaki lurking furtively around the southern entrance to the medical wing. Hideaki uttered a startled "meep!" of surprise when he saw her marching toward him, took one look at the expression on her face, and almost turned and bolted away from her. But, he was intelligent enough to realize that running would only prolong and worsen the inevitable confrontation that now loomed before him. So he stood his ground; she, for her part, reached out and grasped his hand, squeezing it in a grip like iron, and roughly jerked him toward her as she continued to march down the hallway. "Follow me. We need to talk." "How's your friend doing?" Hideaki asked conversationally as he was forcefully dragged down the palace hallway by a petite silver-haired girl that was almost two inches shorter than he was. "She's fine. She's awake, now." "Oh! But then why hasn't Taiki come back yet?" "Taiki already left the infirmary. You missed her, you fool." "No way!" Hideaki had spent the better part of the day lurking around the medical wing, waiting for Taiki to finally emerge from her exhaustive vigil at her sick friend's bedside, wanting to be the first person to calm her and comfort her in her time of sorrow-- He had only left his post for a mere five minutes, returning to his home to grab a bite for lunch. Drat! What rotten timing. As if sensing his thoughts, Yaten turned her head and snapped impatiently, "Taiki's dealing with it just fine. She doesn't need a man at her side during her every waking moment, you know." "I know, but . . . " Hideaki trailed off, unsure how to finish. Then he decided that it was better not to finish at all, so he let the silence spin out between them. Onward they marched. Yaten stopped suddenly in her tracks. "Are you afraid of me?" "Yes," Hideaki admitted nervously. She turned her head, and glared at him. "You should learn to get over that, you know." Hideaki thought it wise not to point out the obvious flaw in her statement. Instead, when she began walking again, he obediently followed, silently. They descended down several flights of stairs. She stopped again, oddly enough, in a dark corner of a basement hallway. Yaten glanced once to the left, once to the right, and then quickly ducked into a shadowed hollow underneath a staircase. Hideaki scrambled to follow her. It was cramped and dark underneath the staircase. Hideaki felt his heart pounding in his chest. He tried to swallow, but his throat was dry and scratchy. "Um, why are we here?" he asked. "I considered dragging you back to my home, but that would have only started nasty rumors." Yaten shrugged. "There's nobody around down here to bother us." "Oh." Again, Hideaki chose not to mention the fact that the two of them crowded close together in the dark space beneath the staircase was just as likely to start nasty rumors, if they were spotted by anyone. Yaten's expression was flat, unreadable. "We need to talk," she said again. "I have a feeling I know what about." Hideaki sighed. "Go ahead. Ask me any questions that you want." "Fine." Yaten barely paused, for the briefest moment. "Do you really love her?" Hideaki nodded. "With all my heart, and all my soul." He was already steeling himself for the next question. If she asked why or how much Hideaki loved, he was ready with a long, graceful, poetic love confession-- But, oddly enough, Yaten seemed satisfied. "I suspected as much, but I wanted to know for sure." Hideaki was taken aback. This wasn't at all what he had expected. "How do you know I'm not lying?" Yaten grinned at him. It was an evil grin, if Hideaki ever saw one. "I would know if you were lying." Hideaki felt a chill shiver creep up his spine. "Can you . . . uh, read my mind?" "That's not a very accurate way to describe it, but . . . for all intents and purposes, I'd say yes." "Oh." "And, believe it or not, that's the end of the relevant questions I need to ask you." Now Hideaki was really thrown off-balance. "That's it?" "No. I said that was the end of the *questioning.*" She leaned forward, the shadows under the staircase dancing menacingly across her face. "I also have . . . a warning for you." Hideaki gulped. "Um . . . okay," he said, as quiet and timid as a little mouse. "Before she met you," Yaten began, softly, quietly, "Taiki was a very, very sad person. She was melancholic, sorrowful, and lonely. Since we've returned to this planet, she's been working very, very hard to overcome her sadness. She finally opened herself up to the love that Seiya and I were, in our own clumsy, ineffective ways, trying to share with her. Very carefully and cautiously, she's been making new friends. She's built up a fragile, delicate nest of love and happiness for her heart to rest in. And you, mister Hideaki . . . You're the foundation of that nest. She's given herself to you in a way that neither Seiya nor I ever expected her to be able to give herself to another human being. She's practically deposited the entirety of her heart and soul into your hands. If you . . . " Yaten paused, peering at him carefully. "If you hurt her, or reject her, or mistreat or abuse her, or are cruel to her in any way, shape or form . . . You won't just break her heart, you'll destroy *everything* that she's worked so hard to build for herself. All of her happiness, all of her joy in life, all of her fledgling abilities to accept and receive love from those around her. You might very well destroy her, utterly and completely. If you do that . . . " She leaned even further forward, now hovering only millimeters away from Hideaki's face, her silvery bangs actually brushing against his flushed cheeks. "Fighter and I will . . . most assuredly . . . seek you out, and bestow upon you . . . a fitting . . . retribution." Her fingers reached out, danced across his cheeks and down his jaw line. She titled her head to the side; it was almost as if she were going to kiss him. "Understand?" she breathed. "Yes." Hideaki let the word fall from his lips, easily, with a surprising degree of relief. Oh, was *that* all? There was no need to worry about that, after all. "I would never hurt her," he said, earnestly, honestly. "I love her. She means everything to me. She--" Yaten abruptly jerked away from him. "I don't need to hear another sappy love confession," she snapped testily. "Sorry." Hideaki blushed and turned his eyes downward, studying his toes. Yaten pursed her lips and regarded him thoughtfully. "I don't understand why you're so afraid of me. Taiki is twice as tall and intimidating as I am, and yet you're almost always openly assertive around her." "That's because . . . " Hideaki raised his eyes, surprised at his own daring, fixing Yaten's emerald irises with his own muddy brown gaze. "I understood Taiki right from the start. I mean, I could understand her heart and her soul. I know that sounds strange, but it's true. So there was never any reason for me to be afraid of her. You, on the other hand . . . There's so much about you that I don't understand. You frighten me." Yaten chuckled softly. "Me? Frightening and confusing?" Something about the idea seemed utterly delicious to her; she laughed again, this time a bit more loudly. "Oh, perish the thought!" "I--" "Hideaki, you're GEEKY." Yaten grinned at him, but it was a different grin than she had worn before. It was open, friendly; perhaps even a little bit warm and accepting. "You're a nerd, but . . . You're also very honest. I like a guy who can be honest to others, AND to himself." She ducked out from underneath the staircase, and regarded him as she turned her head over her shoulder to look behind herself. "I guess that I like you all right, after all." She began to walk away from him. "Well, are you coming? We can't stay hiding in the basement all day, you know." Gratefully, Hideaki stepped away from the claustrophobic space underneath the staircase. "Thank you. Are we finished, then?" "Almost." Yaten peered at him curiously, a slight smile dancing across her lips. "Am I really that difficult to understand?" "You're a fascinating, interesting person," Hideaki said quickly, "precisely because you're so complex and difficult to understand. I think that you would make a lovely subject for a song." "Oh?" The inviting smile and mischievous twinkle in her eyes were absolutely irresistible. "Yes, something instrumental . . . With flutes, and violins . . . Something to capture your essence, without attempting to dissect or comprehend the layers of your personality . . . " "And you would title it 'Yaten's Theme,' right?" Yaten chuckled softly, but not insultingly. "If you do that, I shall return the favor by painting a portrait of you. In oils, I think." Hideaki scratched his head. "You three have a lot of talent, don't you?" "Huh?" "I mean, between the three of you - Taiki, and you, and even Seiya - there's a lot of artistic talent." He grinned at her. "Don't look so surprised. That's meant to be a compliment. Although, I'm not so sure about the third one, Seiya--" Yaten waved aside his doubts with an impatient gesture of her hand. "Oh, Seiya's *terribly* talented, especially with music. But she chooses to devote all of her energies to . . . other pursuits." Yaten thought of sweating, and wrinkled her nose. "It's a waste, if you ask me. But as long as she's happy, that's all that matters." "She's also too nice to deliver death threats, isn't she?" "Probably. That's why I took it upon myself to talk to you." Yaten didn't seem the slightest bit upset or angry after Hideaki's comment; she merely accepted it as the truth, and shrugged it away with a roll of her shoulders. "Come on. Let's go back upstairs." Yaten led the way; Hideaki followed. When they reached the residential wings, it was time for them to part. Yaten blew a kiss to Hideaki, and winked at him. "I'll see you around, mister Hideaki." "Bye-bye." Hideaki waved at her receding back childishly; for some reason, she made him feel like an immature and unsophisticated child, although he couldn't begin to fathom why. But then again, Kou Yaten seemed to have that effect on a lot of people . . . Hideaki wandered through the deserted hallways, alone. It was late in the evening, now. For a few brief moments, nothing and nobody stirred. The peaceful quiet was calming and soothing, after his harrowing, nerve-wracking experience with Yaten. He savored the solitude. Now, Hideaki really wasn't left alone for more than two, maybe three minutes. Unfortunately, two or three minutes was all the time that Reynard needed. - end part eight -