Ken thought Kanoa was O.K. They both had their days, but were on pretty good terms. Today was the same thing. The little session went on, more like, "Hey, how was your day?" "Oh, fine.." so and so forth. Finally near the end Ken cautiously asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
Kanoa looked up. "Hm? Go ahead."
"Uh, ok...I'm curious, about the..." He motioned to the wheelchair. Ken expected a snap or something from the other, but Kanoa just looked down and went, "Oh! How I ended up in a wheelchair?" Ken nodded. Kanoa smiled, "Its ok to ask, I get it a lot. It's nothing; there's a chance it's not even permanent!" Just then, a little girl peeked in. "Daddy?" she piped. "Janice said you were just about done. Can we go to lunch now?" Ken choked back into a cough; this guy did not seem like he was in the 'dad' category. Kanoa smiled. "Wait for one second~" He turned to Ken. "As for the actual event, I'd rather tell you later. After you tell me your big secret. Till next time." He winked and wheeled out silently.

Hyun-ki jumped into his bed as soon as he got home from school. School is only one of life's burdens, he thought as he drifted into sleep. Toshiro jolted from his own nap when Hyun ki had jumped into his bed. "What?" Toshiro said. He stumbled out of bed and looked into the room next to his. Hyun ki and Toshiro both stared at each other, one going into sleep and one coming out of it. "You're very pretty," Hyun ki said shortly. Toshiro got shocked out of his state of subconciousness as he said, "Eh?"
"Like a girl..." He murmured, as his head drooped backwards and eyes closed. "Yup, like a girl..." He fell asleep with his elbows still propping himself up. Toshiro gritted his teeth as he walked out of the room in a huff. He stalked to the balconey and exhaled. "It's all about looks..."
.........................................

The buses brakes screeched as it came to a jolting stop, causing the passengers to lurch forwards. Mike sat upright properly again and looked out the window. Snow covered the ground and a little, bright white sign shone in the dark. "Cripes, this is my stop!" Lyn blurted, looking past Mike's shoulder and out the window. She stood up quickly, grabbing her bags from the overhead compartement. She stopped and put her bags down
"Where are you going anyway?" She asked Mike, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and scribbling something on it.
"I have no idea. I'm just going wherever the bus takes me." Mike said, still a bit dazed from the sudden shout in his ear.
"Hmm, well I'd make you come with me, 'cept I'm just visiting some relatives. Here's my number and address. You had better give me a call, or I'll be forced to hunt you down." Lyn said sweetly, then laughed at Mike's puzzled expression. "Just make sure you call me sometime, ok?"
"Yeah, yeah I will." Mike said, looking up at her. He waved as she got of the bus, leaving him alone again. She was a nice girl. He'd definetly have to give her a ring.
.........................................

Jomei glanced up and saw an elephant walk down the street. It was inflatable, and was being held by over 20 people. Then trucks with large pieces of something poking out. "Odd," Jomei said. "Its the Beginning of Fall Carnival." said a co-worker. Jomei shook his head. There was an occasion for everything. But he liked carnivals. He'd go tomorrow with a victim friend.

"I made something this time."
"Its...its dead, right?"
"You goon, its potato salad~! Eat some!"
Ken looked at the bowl his brother was giving him and then at his brother. "Its pretty gray for potato salad," said Ken. "I think you should eat it first." Shen shook his head. "Nope you try. Please?" Ken, reflecting back to what Kanoa had said, reluctantly took the fork and dug out what looked like a potato. Or an egg. He opened his mouth and slowly led the fork to his mouth. Ken didn't complain or wince or give any obvious signs of pain, so Shen assumed he liked it. He smiled, "I'm so glad I can make something right." Ken didn't like it, but it wasn't bad. He would definitely have to teach Shen about potato salads. By the way, Ken had eaten a cluster of shrimp.

It was still only before the evening, but Toshiro retired to his room. He mentally embraced the weekend by hugging his blankets on his bed. He burrowed inside to hide from the coming cold and grabbed a book off his desk. Time for leisurely reading.
.........................................

The day went by in a slow, annoying haze. Gabe felt like he had slept through his classes, and he couldn't remember if he had work in them or not. Walking back to the cabin, he stopped, realizing that it had started to snow. The small flakes fell fast and furious, but covered nothing. He smiled briefly and continued walking, wondering what it would be like to be a snowflake.

Mike woke up with a start and looked out the window of the bus. It was snowing. He grumbled and pulled his jacket tighter around himself, noticing how cold it suddenly was on the bus.
"Hey, you cold?"
Mike looked beside him. He was shocked to find a woman a bit older than himself sitting in the seat. "Yeah, a bit." "Here..." She said as she pulled a small shawl type blanket out of a duffel bag at her feet.
"Oh, uh, thanks, thanks a lot." Mike mumbled, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.
"No problem. Buses are a hell of a cold way to travel sometimes." She said with a smile, "My name's Lyn. What's your's?"
.........................................

Ken walked up the stairs to the office he was looking for. He found it and knocked on the door. "Come in," A voice barely breathed out. Ken walked in and looked at the desk of which a young man was sitting. He had light blonde hair and lightly tanned skin. Ken scratched his head. "I'm here for the appointment,Mr. Lani." Mr. Lani smiled softly and said, "This is the part where I say, 'Please, call me Kanoa.'" Kanoa put out a hand. Ken shook it, wondering why he chose to sit down and shake hands. "Have a seat." Kanoa said. Ken sat down as Kanoa wheeled out from his desk. His wheelchair made no noise as it moved on the carpet. "I don't mind having a wheelchair," said Kanoa. "but its damn hard to get up the steps." He smiled. "Your brother always carries me up and down the steps with the chair in another hand." Ken scoffed on impulse. Kanoa looked thoughtfully at Ken but said nothing. "So, why are you here?" He asked.
"Well," Ken started. "I'm here to clear issues with my brother."
"Issues...?"
"I...god, I can't stand him!" Ken blurted. Then he said, "Does he know that I am here?"
"Not yet, but I will if you want me to."
"Please don't."
"Cross my heart. Now," Kanoa continued. "its probably obvious you've both lived with each other for a while right?"
"No, actually my parents are divorced. My dad took my brother. I had my mom."
"Do tell."
"Well," Ken sighed. "I don't know. My dad was big on image. He started making it big in his job and he used to be embarrassed about how my mom was. She was a wild person. She got better after us, the kids, but still. I loved her for it. He kept trying to teach her to behave, eat this way, go over there, don't do that, be quiet. She got sick of it and filed for a divorce. She wanted to keep us both, but my dad argued her unfit to have children. In the end, they let us choose. I went to my mom, and my brother chose him. Financially, we stayed the same but my dad kept getting richer and richer. I saw Shen change into a little version of my dad. My mom kept saying bad things about my dad, so I guess I grew to hate him and Shen. Now, its the same."
Kanoa thought and looked at Ken evenly. "I still think there is more here to tell...but here's the question. Do you really want to make this work for you and your brother?" Ken thought. Did he?
.........................................

We interrupt this normal program with an announcement from Rehni and Eid:

Uh, if you've noticed, the thing erased the last few entries...so we're going to summarize it. So, Hyun ki sleeps at normal times...Mike went to a party with a friend, Jomei went to the same party...Mike decided that he was going to leave and take buses until he didn't know where the hell he was at...Gabe had to go back and live in school...Damien has just been told to get pumpkins...Hyun ki is pissed at Seiji...Ken got a psychologist named Kanoa Lani. And, it just continues from there, got it? Ok. Blame Pitas =]
.........................................

"....ahh......ah...AHHHH! THE HELL?"
Misho clawed his way down on Hyun ki skin. Hyun ki woke up painfully and fought with the cat for a few minutes. The cat held on as Hyun ki tried to push her off. Seiji came in. "Oh my god, Misho!" and rescued the cat. Hyun ki was sitting up, reproachfully sucking on his cut wrist. "If I want to commit suicide I know who to go to now," he muttered. "Cutting my wrists for god sake." He glared at Seiji. "And you..." He started. "You should really cut your hair."
"Oh, wow, that's the first time someone ever told me that!"
"Freak." He threw a pillow at his face. Seiji caught it and said, "You know, you're like Ken, only smaller. And younger. And cyu~ter." He hugged Hyun ki's waist. Hyun ki tried to get out. "Get...OFF. I'm not GAY, god dammmit." He tried to pull himself out, but Seiji was strong. "RARR!" He yelled in frustration. He struggled toward the kitchen, taking Seiji with him. Maybe if he got a knife...or maybe a gun...Suddenly Seiji said, "I'll get off, if you sleep tonight and get up at normal times." Hyun ki was holding on to a table leg. Anything to get this pervert off him. "Fine!" Seiji immediately let go. "If you don't, I'll do worse." And winked evily. Toshiro walked in. "Solved the sleeping problem," Seiji waved in the air. "Thank me later." Hyun ki glared from under the table. "I'm confused."

Jomei would have stuck around to help clean up at least, but the owner wasn't there. Or was somewhere else. He blinked. Everybody was gone so quickly; he wondered why. Suddenly a fat man yelled at him from the door. "You hoodlums thing you can get away with a mess! You clean it up NOW!" Jomei rose his hands in protest but the fat man glared at him so intensely the words died on his lips. "Ah," he thought. "No wonder they all disapearred so fast."

Shen sneezed. "Ah, I'm sick. I think I'll bring my patients home with me tomorrow."
Ken gaped at him. "You just sneezed. People sneeze and aren't exactly sick."
"But I could be DYING!"
"Yeah, join the club. Everyone starts dying the day they are born."
Shen beamed. "You are so smart little brother. I think I'll be nice and bring only the patients I work with."
"Fine..." Ken stopped. And turned around and yelled at shen as he walked into his room. "WHAT THE HELL? YOU JUST PLAYED WITH THE WORDS! KEEP YOUR PATIENTS AT WORK YOU SHRINK!"
"Words can't be taken back~" Shen said in a singsong voice. Okura sat at the couch watching TV. It was routine. Nothing new.
.........................................

Mike stood watching the contests in a detached way. It looked like he was watching, but he saw nothing that happened.
They drink for fun, to impress, to be seen. They have no other motives for it... he thought, looking around slowly to a seperate group of people who were huddled together and wreathed in smoke. He began to wonder why each person standing there smoked, what drove them to it. Was it peer pressure? More than likely. But it wasn't to escape everything they thought they knew but found out it was a load of bull.
Mike turned blank eyes back to the platform, vaguely aware of people get sick in the flower beds over by the fence. He turned and walked inside, dropping his drink in the trash as he went. The house was pretty empty, most people were outside. He stood in the door to the living room, listening to the music.
"Salt, sweat, sugar on the asphalt. Our hearts, littering the topsoil. Sign up, it's the picket line or the parade. Our lives..."
It's so true though, isn't it... he thought, I know my heart's been thrown into the dirt. I've had to choose a path. Fucking parade's what I chose. But it's not my life anymore...
He wandered out the front door, an eerily calm smile on his face. There was a girl and a guy making out on the lawn. The guy was telling the girl he loved her. It made Mike sick to every fiber of his being.
More words thrown around without a second thought. No one cares that they carry no meaning. It's been lost, tainted, and now gone...
He continued walking in his considerate stupor, ingnorant of cars flying past, horns honking to tell him to move of the road. But he just kept walking in the middle of it all.
.........................................

Jomei sat on the arm of the couch, sipping on water. It was probably the only thing not lined with alcohol or who knows what. He got the water directly from the sink. The music was throbbingly loud and it pumped through Jomei's head like a pulse. The door was already open when Jomei arrived, and nobody cared when he stood around, looking at people. They were having a chugging contest, and Jomei watched people down as much alcohol as possible. And then throwing up shortly after. As much as the other drunkees were laughing, Jomei didn't. He didn't understand how people could laugh. It's not funny, at least to him. He noticed Mike didn't really laugh, or really paying attention either. Jomei got bored quickly. He had one guy passed on the couch, and one girl leaning next to Jomei, who was momentarily delirous. He sighed, got up and dumped half of the water on the girl and other half on the guy. "Hey, wake up," he shook them both. "Leave 'em alone," A guy said, walking by. "They'll wake up. They always do." Jomei didn't say anything, but slowly got up to walk around, not wanting to disturb anyone. "I think I should go," Jomei said outloud.
.........................................

"Let the games begin!" Rider hollered as the door was opened for Mike and him. Mike pushed Rider inside and looked around. It wasn't a bad turnout seeing as how it was a pretty spontaneous party.
Mike walked past Rider, who was still slightly dazed from a previous smoke break. In the living room people were talking and dancing, and drinking. Mike headed straight for the kitchen, hoping to find a keg or something of the sort. He stopped short when he saw blue hair. It took Mike a minute to remember, and he nearly smacked himself in the head when he did. I never should have given Jomei the address to this place he thought, considering it for a minute. He shrugged, also remembering that Jomei said he wouldn't bother him or Rider.
"Miiiiike, how's it goin'?" a girl a bit older than Mike slurred, leaning against him. "Just fine Heather, now piss off please." Mike said as pleasantly as he could, praying she would go away.
"Huh, fine prick, be that way." Heather huffed, staggering off. Mike sighed and opened the fridge.
Jackpot! he thought, grabbing a couple coolers from the fridge's interior and walking back to were Rider still stood. "some on dipshit, get a move on! It's a party!" he said, giving Rider a shove into the living room.
The throng parted slightly and Mike wound his way into it, Rider following. They got about to the middle before it became near impossible to move. Mike handed Rider a cooler and opened his own, chugging back and waiting for the festivities to begin.
"Chugging contest is about to start!" someone yelled and suddenly everyone in the house was surging towards the backyard. Mike was pushed along with everyone, getting elbowed along the way. Once in the back yard, he looked up at the make shift stage were some guys and a couple girls stood. Each one was given a can of beer, and on three they began chugging. The crowd laughed and hollered as they watched.
Amateurs... Mike thought, I could do better than that.
.........................................

Jomei rubbed his forehead after filling 15 orders that day. He smelled strongly of baked goods. He walked out on the street, preferably heading home. He heard brash laughing on the other side of a fence nearby. He peeped out through a eyelevel hole in the fence, just out of curiousity. He saw 2 men walking by, one who was familiar. "...Mike?" He thought to himself. He clambered over the fence quietly. And simply followed them. They were both smoking, so the bread smell wasn't that obvious. I'll be frank. Jomei is bad at being quiet, if not wholly impossble. It wasn't long before he stepped on a dry and brittle twig. Brittle enough to make a loud crack. The other guy briefly turned around. Jomei thought fast. He thought maybe if he jumped behind something fast enough, he wouldn't be seen. No luck. He stepped aside and broke another dry and brittle twig. And Mike turned around. Jomei pretended to act innocent. "AH! Mi~ke, sooo nice to run into you~!"
Mike blinked. "I'm not stupid Jomei." His friend was a little confused. "Drop the act. Are you following me?"
"I wasn't, now I am...so...where are you going?"
"Nowhere," Mr. Friend cut in.
"Oh..." Jomei said. "Can I come?"
Mike sighed. What would people think of seeing Mike with a guy like Jomei. "We're going to a party. I don't think you should follow so, just go."
"Why?" Jomei asked. "I'm tough."
"Its not appropriate for your a-" Mike was going to say 'age group' but it occurred to him that Jomei was older than him. "mentality." He finished lamely. Why was he here anyway? Mr. Friend was getting impatient. "Dude, let's go." He tugged Mike's arm. Jomei showed no signs of backing down. "Here," Jomei said. "Just tell me the address, and I'll just go. I won't even bother you guys; I'll pretend not to know you." Jomei is a stubbon ass, Mike thought, and told Jomei the address. "Alright," Jomei said. He walked off, in the opposite direction. Mike shook his head. Jomei walked on with half a clue of what his intentions were. All he knew that he needed to get to this place. Maybe it would help Jomei a little in "THE MIND OF MIKE."

Jomei arrived before Mike did.
.........................................

"Who's party?" Gabe asked, only half interested.
"Drey's. We're gonna go out, get hammered, you know the drill." Gabe nodded, flicking through tv channels. "You're welcome to come you know..." Mike said offhandedly, searching for his keys. Gabe watched the people on the tv screen going through the daily routines of their nearly perfect lives. "I might." he replied. Mike looked up at him in surprise.
"Really?" he asked, "Last time I got you to go out you swore you never would again."
"That was then. This is now." Gabe answered cryptically, getting up. "I think I'm gonna walk to the school or somewhere..."
"Yeah, kay, I'll see you later then." Mike mumbled, searching the couch cushions.

Damien pouted, keeping his arms around Toshiro and looking at him puppy eyed. "You don't have to go, do you?"
"Yeah I do. But I'll see you again." Toshiro smiled, hugging him. Damien sighed and let go of Toshiro, then smiled. "Promise?"
"I promise." Toshiro said seriously, crossing his heart. "Alright then. See you later luv." Damien said, kissing him lightly.
"Bye for now~"
Damien waved as he watched Toshiro go.
.........................................

Toshiro smiled. "Actually lots," he replied. "New tenant..." He counted with his fingers. "College...and...other things that escape my mind now. What about you?" Toshiro leaned comfortably next to Damien. "Oh, not really much," He said. "It's funny how things can get so routine in life," Toshiro said. They had a moment of silence as Damien played with Toshiro's hair. Toshiro suddenly said, "I'm thinking of getting contact lenses. What do you think?"
Damien thought about it for a moment and replied. "I don't really think it will change much, just how you look. You look beautiful either way, so it won't matter to me." And he tickled Toshiro's side. Toshiro squirmed a little, trying to edge away and toppled off the couch. Damien laughed. "Are you ok?" Toshiro laughed a little. "Just fine," and propped himself up. "I never thought I was that ticklish before," Toshiro said, bemused. "Now you are," Damien concluded.

"Well, I think Master is gay."
"No he's NOT!"
"My brother says that guys who have earring in both ears are gay."
"Well, I think you're brother is a fat pig with...with..." Okura couldn't come up with anything that Brian's brother might have. "Your brother is a BASTARD!"
Ken turned. "Do thine ears deceive me?" He said half-sarcastically. He walked over to the two brawling boys. "So...thought I heard something, something that's not supposed to be said in class. Okura?"
"Ah, but Ken! He called you a gay!"
"Well, he said the B word!!" They pointed fingers at each other. Ken pulled Okura aside and muttered to him that he didn't want to hear that word said by him in his class or house. Okura opened his mouth to protest but Ken held up a finger. "Don't," He said. He turned to Brian. "Do you know about pirates?" Brian nodded. "Did you know they wore earrings in both ears? Now, I"m not sure that they were gay or not, but I'm sure you heard some nasty stories about them." Brian nodded. "So, how do YOU know that I'm not a runaway pirate who came to town and found a job as a teacher to get away from the law?" Ken let the silence sink it as he stared at the boy. "Your turn for flips," Ken finally said. Brian nodded and ran. Ken smiled with satisfaction. Kids are naive enough to make them believe most things.
.........................................

Damien smiled and kissed Toshiro's forehead.
"Come on in, I was just, well, being lazy." Damien chuckled, taking Toshiro's hand. "You want anything?"
"No thanks, I'm fine." Toshiro smiled and sat on the couch. Damien sat next to him, putting his arm around Toshiro's shoulder. "So, what's new luv?"

Gabe frowned and picked up the ash trays from the coffee table and went to dump them in the trash. "You really shouldn't be smoking this stuff Mike..." he said, stressing the "really". "It can seriously mess you up."
Mike sighed and picked up the lighters and such. "I know, I know. But you wanna know something Gabe? I just don't care anymore. I've stopped caring." he stated plainly. Gabe cleared the rest of the living room in silence.
.........................................

Toshiro dropped Hyun ki at the house. "Uh, as you can see, Jomei isn't here right now, and he really doesn't care where you go either as long as you come back, so feel free to do what you want. And if you get lost easily, I think you should write the phone number on your hand. Ok?"
"Why? Are you going somewhere?" Hyun ki asked.
"...yes..but if you don't want to stay by yourself, I can stay..."
"No, its ok. I just wanted to know." Hyun ki settled on the couch. "I think I'll nap."
"Well, alright then." And Toshiro left the house.

There was a knock on Damien's door. Maybe something Rachel forgot. He opened it. "Hello," Toshiro said shyly. Damien couldn't help but grin. "Hello yourself." Toshiro stepped forward and slid into a hug. "Did you come for a hug?" "No, I just wanted to visit." Toshiro breathed in Damien's familiar scent. It smelled lovely.
.........................................

"So you'll coach the rugby team then?" Rachel clarified, writing something on her clipboard. Damien sighed, smiling. "Seems I don't have much of a choice in the matter, but yeah."
"You sure you won't take anymore teams?" Rachelle asked pleadingly. "We still need one for football and street hockey."
"We have a rugby team, why do we need a football team too?" "Well some of the kids don't like rugby and others don't like football. We're just trying to cater to everyone I guess." Rachelle sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't know why we are, it's really too much in my opinion, but what the school board says goes." Damien nodded. "They're just trying to do their best I guess. So, anything else you needed?" Rachel shook her head.
"Nah, just that. See you later D." she waved as she exited the house.
.........................................

"What's that?"
"It's the post office."
"Oh. We had those back home."
Hyun ki kept looking around, interestedly. "It's nicer here, but home is home." He kept talking about home. Toshiro finally turned around and told Hyun ki that this was the school he would be going to. "Wait, don't I have to take an entrance exam?" Hyun ki said. "No," Toshiro replied. "You just come here and fill out papers."
"I see." He was getting tired quickly again.
Toshiro looked at him. "So, I guess we should get those papers."
"Huh? Oh, ok." They went inside, came back out and headed for home. Hyun ki looked sober. Or tired. Toshiro couldn't tell which. He tried to make light talk. "You talk about home a lot. What's it like?"
"Frankly, I lived in outside the suburbs in Pusan...near the sea."
"The sea, must be nice."
"Lovely." That was all they said during the walk home. "We're hom- I mean, here." Toshiro said.
.........................................

Mike walked quietly down the hall and stopped before the door to Gabe's room. He knocked lightly.
"Come in." Mike opened the door and walked in. Gabe was sitting cross legged on his bed, looking out the window at the already darkening sky. Mike sat next to him, crossing his legs and looking out the window also.
"What happened?" Gabe asked quietly. Mike shook his head and looked down the the floor. Gabe smiled sadly and put his arm around Mike's shoulder. "Don't worry, I think I already know..." he whispered as they sat and watched the sun go down.

Damien was awakened by a knock on his door. He stood up and stretched, turning the volume down on the TV before opening the door. Rachel stood outside, a clipboard in her arms.
"Time to get volunteers for school team coaches!" she announced cheerily. Damien groaned, with good humour of course.
.........................................

Shen sat at the kitchen table and stared at Ken. Ken was dragging out canvas and studied it. Shen propped his head with his hand and watched with interest. So many things he didn't know about Ken. And he was his brother. However, the fact stood that they didn't see each other much. Maybe Shen failed some brotherly duty. Maybe he didn't try enough to get close. Something made Ken look at him like some kind of scab. Well, he was a psychologist right? He was certified to help problems like this. "I love you Ken." He said suddenly. Ken twisted around and blinked. A lot. "Right." He replied. Shen smiled. He was going to make a breakthrough yet.
.........................................

Gabe opened the door to the apartement and was assaulted by the pungent smell of weed smoke. He covered his nose and mouth with his shirt and walked in slowly, confused. The stereo was on and music was playing, giving the room an unreal quality with the smoke that drifted around. Gabe tried not to cough.
"Mike? You here?" A pile of blankets moved on the couch, a head peering out from the depths. "Nngh, hey..."
"Rider? What are you doing here?" Gabe asked, walking into the room and opening a window.
"I can't remember." Rider laughed dumbly, sitting up. The blankets shifted again and an arm appeared, flailing to get free. Rider sat for a minute before pulling the blanket away. Mike slumped off the couch, his head hitting the floor.
"Turn off the light, I'm blind!" he said, laughing for no reason. Rider looked at him then started laughing too. Gabe looked at the both of them, sufficiently weirded out.
"What's with you too?"
"Abso-effin-lutely nothing, we're just as baked as potatoes!" Rider replied, laughing. "Screw potatoes! What about a baked as a cake?" Mike mumbled, chuckling. Gabe shook his head in disbelief.
"I'm gonna go now..." Gabe said walking slowly to his room, wondering if they'd be alright without supervision.
.........................................

Ken toppled off the couch with a start. He remembered last night, the movie marathon. It had gotten late after the 4th movie, and Ken had his head on Gabe's lap, dozing. Gabe had shaken him awake, telling him he was going to go now. He left leaving a swift kiss on the cheek. The touch still burned on his skin as he sat up. Ugh, his back ached. "Never going to sleep on the couch again," Ken muttered. Shen came in from the balcony. "Good sleep?" Ken pretended that the sun hurt eyes and squinted. "Go away."

"Toshiro?" Jomei said. "Hm?" Toshio blinked. "Can you take Hyun ki to the high school? He's going to enroll in it."
Toshiro sighed. "I don't mean to whine, but can't Seiji do it?" Jomei looked around. "Seiji's...not here. Besides it won't take long."
"Alright, fine. Hyun-ki?" Toshiro looked around. Hyun ki was bent over on the coffee table, dozing. "We really have to change his sleeping habits," Jome said.
.........................................

Damien stretched, his muscles aching slightly. The weather had been completely insane the last few days and it was beginning to get to him. Not to mention all the rowdy sixth years. He sighed, looking out the window and seeing dark, ominous clouds gathering above. Why did it have to rain on the weekend too? Oh well...Guess it'll be one of those days to just veg out, he thought, sitting on the couch and settling in.
.........................................

Toshiro woke up in a tangle of blankets. His eyes fluttered open and closed again. He propped himself up to see the time and slowly laid back down, trying to find that comfortable spot again. It was always hard to find. The day's plans ticked through his mind, but he mentally threw them out. He wanted to see Damien today, as a surprise.
.........................................

Rider banged on the door to Mike's apartement, not sure if Mike would be able to hear him through the music that was blaring. He tapped his foot, waiting, then banged on the door again. It opened slowly, the stench of smoke flowing out. Rider crinkled his nose and pushed the door open, walking in. Mike looked at him blankly.
"Since when do you smoke?" Rider asked, looking incredulously at the roach Mike held. Mike walked past him and sat back on the couch. "Since now." he said, dragging in the end of the joint.
"Why?" Rider sat across from him and grabbed for an unlit joint on the table.
"None of you goddamn business." Mike replied smiling. "Man, you're baked aren't you?" Rider laughed, lighting the doobie.
"Sure am. Feels damn good too." Mike sighed and blew a smoke ring. Rider nodded, puffing the joint.
"Welcome to the dark side man."
.........................................

Hyun ki woke up in the evening. He was still groggy, but he could manage. He remembered that he made it to his host's house. "Uhn," He thought. "He must be here now." He stumbled out to the living room. Seiji was sprawled on the couch and Jomei and Toshiro were drinking tea. Hyun ki was a bit disappointed. He thought at least one girl would live here also. "Hello~" Jomei waved. "I hope you'll like living here for a while." Hyun ki managed to be polite. "Of course," he smiled rather sleepily. "I'll enjoy staying with the person who took me in." Toshiro noticed his disappointment. "You seem a little disappointed there....?"
"Hyun ki. Hyun ki Lee, and I have to admit I am...I was expecting more of the female type here." He glanced at Seiji. "But, I guess this guy here is the closest I have." Jomei and Toshiro snorted into their tea. Seiji was unmoved and continued to slouch. "Cheh," He scoffed.
"So...oh, names. Let's do the name game."
Jomei didn't understand. "Name game? How do you play?"
Hyun ki smiled and shrugged. "Never mind, just names. Who are you?" He pointed at Jomei.
"Oh! Well, I'm Jomei, Satou Jomei."
"And you," His finger trailed to Toshiro.
"I'm just Toshiro. My family name is Nakajima." He nodded.
"And you."
"I'm Ikeda Seiji." Hyun ki looked at Seiji curiously and then dismissed it. "Uh, so you know," Hyun ki twirled his finger in the air. "I'm just Hyun ki..." "Why are you standing like that? You can if you want, you live here now, make yourself at home." Jomei said suddenly. Hyun ki awkwardly sat down on the couch. It was going to take a while to get used to 'home.'
.........................................

Mikal slammed the door and shuffled into the living room, dropping his coat and keys. There was a note on the table from Gabe, saying he was over at Ken's and didn't know when he'd be back. Mike sighed and took his cell phone from his pocket and looked at it hard for a minute. Then he lifted his arm and whipped it at the wall, hearing a loud "crack" as the face plate snapped off. He huffed slightly, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.
"Is that it then?!" he yelled, "Nothing more than a phone call? It's just over? It's all fucking over!?" he felt like screaming as he punched the wall. Dust came off on his fists as his knuckles left little red spots on the white of the wall. He stopped finally, tired from his raging, and slumped down against the wall, hugging his knees.

Gabe walked quickly in the fresh air, enjoying the after rain smell. He thought about the movies that were out at the moment, wondering what might be good. A chill wind blew past, rustling the leaves on the trees. Gabe looked up at them, frozen for a split second. He shook himself, suddenly very cold, and started jogging. Whether it was to warm up or not he didn't know.
Minutes later he was at Ken's door. He leaned against it for a minute before knocking. Ken opened the door, his smile becoming quizzical.
"Decided to go for a run?"
"You could say that." Gabe smiled, shivering. "Now let me in, it's cold out here."
.........................................

Ken picked up the phone and punched in a number. He was alone that night, Okura was sleeping over his friend's house. Apparently it was a tradition for them to sleep over at a house on the first day of school. And Shen stayed late at work tonight. What the hell do psychiatrists do at night in their office? The phone on the other line rang. "Hello?" Gabe's voice answered the phone. He sounded tired.
"Hi, its me."
"Oh, hi..."
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, just..tired, but I'm glad you called." Ken could see Gabe smile through his voice.
"So, I was thinking of renting movies and having a marathon. Come watch with me~?" Ken said, half-pleadingly.
Gabe stifled a chuckle. "What movies?"
"Anyone you want...and a few of my own picks."
"Maybe..."
"Bah, you...person, coming or no?"
"Alright ok, I will."
"Come whenever, just come."
"Ok ok! Bye!"
Ken smirked. "Bye~"
.........................................

"Faded away like the color in a blue sky at the end of the day. Night falls and the search begins for something better than this."

Gabe ran for all he was worth. His lungs burnt with frigid air and his legs throbbed. Tree branches lashed his arms and face, warm blood flowing in small rivulets across his cheeks.

"In a theatre, all alone in the front row, to watch something beautiful die."

Rain started falling, mixing with tears. The water was welcoming. Becoming clearer as he kept going was the sound of running water, powerful and deep.
"Gabe!"
Gabe opened his eyes, water running into them instantly. He wiped his sleeve across his face and looked around. He was standing a ways off the school grounds. A sudden downpour had started, soaking him through in a minute.
"Gabe, what the hell are you doing out here!?" Taylor shouted, running over to him as Lorne trailed along. Gabe shook his head slowly and started walking over to them, unnable to speak.
.........................................

"Well that turned out well...I feel a lot better." Toshiro said. All of his company had to leave, or go to work, so Toshiro was alone again. His classes started again tomorrow, so he thought that he should go to the campus library and read. Toshiro sighed as he gathered his books. "College is hard!"

His lugagge rattled on the bumps and grooves of the sidewalk. He didn't care; he needed to get to this place fast or he'll fall over sleeping. Where the hell is this place? He thought. Ah, there it is. He stumbled over to the front door and banged his head on the door. A few moments later and Seiji opened the door. He blinked; Hyun ki blinked. Seiji thought he was drunk, the latter thought he was just plain stupid. ".....May I help you?"
".......oh, wait, right right, I have my paper thing whatever." He dug a paper out of his pocket and sat on his lugagge whilst Seiji scanned the paper.
"So you're the new tenet?"
"Seems to be that way."
"So..."
"So..."
"Um, well, follow me inside." Seiji thought, "its weird to just let a person start living here..."
Hyun-ki took off his shoes at the doorway. His eyes wandered. It was a nice house, nicer than he had lived in before. "So, you're the owner of this house?"
"Huh, no, the owner is out. I'm just a tenet, like you." Seiji looked back. This guy looked dead tired. "Uh, not far now..."
When he got to his new room, Hyun ki took off his shirt and threw himself on the bed. Seiji scratched his head and poked him. "Hey, you still awake?" When Hyun ki didn't respond he walked out of the room. He'll let Jomei deal with him.
.........................................

Damien was more than slightly unnerved as he shook hands with Toshiro's friends. "My name's Damien Collins. It's nice to meet you." he smiled, hoping it didn't reveal his nervousness.
"I'm Orelle, and this is Gray. Nice to meet you too." the woman smiled, indicating herself and her companion. Toshiro smiled and stepped out of the way of the door. "Come on in."

"Well there's no pit!" Lorne announced cheerily, looking around the grounds. Taylor frowned and kicked at the dirt."Suck ass, that was the one thing I was looking forward to this year." he whined, turning and stalking back to the school. Lorne followed him then stopped and looked back.
"Hey, Tay...where's Gabe?" Taylor turned and looked around. "I dunno, he came out with us, right?" Lorne thought about it. "Yeah, he did." Taylor shrugged. "Well, let's go look for 'im then."
.........................................

Toshiro woke up to a knocking on the door. Subconciously he remembered what today was and opened the door to find Damien. "Hello Damien," Toshiro smiled drowsily. "I just got up from a nap...I need a few to wake up."
"Take your time." Damien smiled.
Toshiro stretched and walked toward the kitchen. "They haven't come yet, but anytime, yes..."
Damien followed close by. "You seem calm."
Toshiro nodded and looked through the fridge. "A conversation Jomei and I had last night made me feel better."
Damien sat next to Toshiro. "Care to tell me about it? I am not as calm luv."
Toshiro opened his mouth to start but someone was knocking on the door. Damien and Toshiro looked at each other and got up to go answer. Grey and Orelle, [of course, god you people =_=] said together, "Happy Belated Birthday Toshiro!" and handed him a box. And then it got kind of still, because everyone noticed each other. "So," Grey said. "Toshiro didn't mention your name." And held out his hand. To shake. Damien took it and they shook. "Oh!" Orelle remembered and took Damien's other hand. "We're friends of Toshiro!"
.........................................

"Here's your check miss." Mike said automatically, putting the slip of paper onto the table. "I hope everything was pleasant." he said the lines that were embossed into his memory. The two girls got up from the table, smiling.
"It was great, thanks." the taller one, a brunette with streaks said, handing Mike a napkin before walking away while her friend trailed along giggling. Mike looked at the napkin blankly.
"Whassat?" a busboy asked, coming to clear the table. "Phone number. You want it?" Mike asked, holding it out. The kid looked at it a minute before taking it. "Was she that hot tall chick?" Mike shrugged and picked up the rest of the dishes. "Sure." he said following the boy into the kitchen.
"Then why you givin' it away?" the busboy questioned, dumping the silver ware into a huge sink.
"None of your business. Now if the third degree is over, I have to get back to work." Mike said lightly and grabbed some clean trays to take back to the main kitchen.

"God, these classes are sooo boring." Taylor whined, dropping his books in his locker. Lorne nodded solemly in agreement, then looked over at Gabe and poked him.
"Yo, Earth to Gabe, come in space cadet." "Hmm?" Gabe looked at him distractedly. "Man, what is wrong with you? You've been out of it all morning. Maybe you should go see the nurse." Taylor suggested.
"Why? I feel fine." Gabe argued, putting his books away.
"We'll go outside. It's probably just from being inside so long anyway." Lorne said logically, dropping his books on top of Taylors, "Besides, I wanna see if they got any new equipment, or added to the obstacle course." Taylor nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I heard they were gonna add a pit or something this summer." Gabe looked at him. "A pit?" "Yeah, you have to like, swing over it on a rope or something, and it'll be filled with mud!" Lorne paled slightly.
"That sounds great..." he muttered and lead the way outside.
.........................................

Jomei sat at the counter again. What was the point of coming to work when they don't have anything for you? He checked his watch; it was almost noon. "People don't like us," He said as Julia walked by. "No one ever comes here."
"Look, its a ghost," Julia sarcastically pointed at the door. Lo and behold a person was there. Jomei almost fell over on his tilting chair. Julia smirked and left...she was always busy. "What are you doing here?" Jomei asked sharply. "I come here, everyday?" Seitaro said.
"Just to see me. I guess you're here for me too, right?"
"I wish I could say differently, but, yes, I want to talk to you. Somewhere private." Seitaro said wistfully.
Jomei said, "Anything you want to say to me has to be here. I prefer it to be here." He knew what he was going to say anyway.
"About yesterday, I didn't mean to scare you away, but I mean it. I like you a lot...I love yo-" Jomei interrupted quietly, "No you don't."
"Wha-?"
"I'm sure you'll find someone better than me, I'm a nobody."
"But I want you."
"No you don't, go away."
"Why?" Seitaro wanted to touch him, kiss him, something that would show how much he needed him.
"Besides, I'm not ready for a relationship."
"What, does that make you a virgin?" Seitaro blurted.
"No~!" Jomei said, hotly. "I'm just not looking for one now, maybe later but then I'm not sure its going to be you. I'd rather not be involved in false love so please set your sights on someone else." His voice was getting louder.
Seitaro paused, and said, "No, I'm determined to be yours." He took Jomei's hands, "And even if you do find someone else, I'll still love you."
"Want to count on that?"
Seitaro leaned closer. "Yes I do." And he let go and walked out. Jomei never believed in the love confessions he got from girls, but he half believed Seitaro was serious. And for a minute sat in silence. True love never occurred to him.
.........................................

"Don't make me get up." Mike groaned. "You have to, you have work and you promised me a ride to the school!" Gabe said, tugging on Mike's arm and pulling him off the bed so that his head and shoulders were slumped on the floor. "Nngh, right..."
Mike stumbled out of his room and into the kitchen having grabbed whatever clothes were clean and throwing them on.
Gabe couldn't help but laugh.
"You're going to were swim shorts and your work shirt, with the tie?" Mike grumbled and went for the coffee. Gabe handed him some toast. "Hurry, we gotta leave in like, five minutes."
"Arrghh..." Mike crammed the toast down his throat and chugged back the coffee, grimacing at the taste. "Remind me to buy sugar."

The alarm went of sharply at eight o'clock. Damien rolled over and hit it, then looked at the time. He groaned and pulled himself out of bed, running into the door frame as he tried to make it to the bathroom. He shielded his eyes and hit the light switch, tripping on the bathmat as he took a step in. He reached out immediately and grabbed the edge of the sink as his feet slid on the mat and sent him to the floor. Damien sighed and lay on the floor. "For my next feat, see me drown myself in the sink..." he mumbled, pulling himself up.
.........................................

Ken stood in the humid air with Okura. They both looked up the road. "Excited?" Ken asked
"Uhn..."
"Its fourth grade. Big stuff."
"Yeah." Silence. And the bus drove up.
"Have a good one," Ken said.
"Ok," Okura waved. And the bus drove away. Ken walked inside the apartment. Shen greeted him with, "You really care about that kid, don't you?"
"So?" Ken said defensively.
"I bet you want to be a dad one day." Shen grinned.
Ken stopped and said, "I was supposed to be one a long time ago." and walked out of the living room.

"You look dead. Or sleepless." Jomei observed Toshiro. Toshiro slouched on the couch. "Sooo...uh...I have some food in the kitchen or something, if your friends get hungry or whatever. I'm going to work now, so ganbatte~"
Toshiro waved sleepily, "Good bye." and dozed off. While Jomei was still in the room. Jomei scratched his head and shrugged it off. He had to be there or else Julia would eat him personally.
.........................................

Mike felt sick to his stomach. He wished he hadn't eaten so much beforehand, but how was he supposed to know this bombshell would be dropped?
"So, you remember everything?" Gabe nodded.
"It's weird though. I mean, I should probably be in more shock than I am, but it's so hard to believe it again after so much time without the memories."
"You always were a good actor though. How am I supposed to know if you are fine, or if you're beating yourself up inside?" Mike said bluntly. Gabe sighed. "You have to give me more credit than that Mike, really." Mike looked closely at him.
"...What happened anyway? Why'd you disappear for so long?" Mike asked curiously. Gabe seemed frozen for a moment before replying. "I really don't feel like talking about it." he said more curtly than he had intended. Mike wanted to keep asking, but decided against it.
"Do you hate it?" Gabe shrugged. "Yes and no." he answered vaguely. Mike nodded slowly and looked at the clock.
"You should go to bed. You have school tomorrow." he reminded Gabe. Gabe nodded and headed down the hall to his room.

Damien looked at his clock. 2:34. The numbers blinked cheerily at him. He looked up at the ceiling. Where was the Sandman when you needed him?
.........................................

It was night and everybody went to sleep. Because, it was late, and people go to sleep right? Toshiro was still nervous and had a restless sleep and made a lot of noise. It bothered Jomei because he's a light sleeper, so he crept to Toshiro's room and slid in. "You make a lot of noise at night, especially tonight," he lightly complained.
"Sorry, I'm nervous about tomorrow."
"What is it? You can tell Jomei all about it."
Toshiro stuck out his tongue. "You still baby me."
"Because its fun." Jomei grinned.
"Well, let's just say its about homophobics."
"Uhuh..."
"I've never met one, and I'm scared that something might happen if friends become one." Toshiro blurted.
"Well then," Jomei sat back. "if that does happen, I'll be here. And you could make other friends."
"You know I"m not that social."
"Well, eventually you'll make some. There are so many answers, why be worried?"
"Because I am a worrier."
"Then don't, and go to sleep. You can't do anything if you don't sleep. Good night~" Jomei ruffled Toshiro's hair and walked out. He remembered when he had a nightmare and crawled to Jomei's room. Toshiro wondered if Seiji ever went to Jomei's room at night. He fell asleep thinking about that.
.........................................

"I can't believe school's starting so soon..." Gabe grumbled and hit his head on a pile of binders and paper. Mike smirked and put some more bags near Gabe's chair.
"I feel sorry for you, having to go and have your head filled with useless drivel. You could always quit you know." Gabe looked up at him and stuck his tongue out.
"No way. Unlike somepeople I want an education so I can go somewhere in the future." Mike just shrugged, still smirking.
"Just because I don't go to school doesn't mean I won't go anywhere." Gabe tapped his chin with a pencil. "Who said I was talking about you? But still, it's good to have an education."
"Right, right." Mike went to look in the fridge. "Christ, there's nothing in here." he grunted, slamming the door shut.
"Stay calm, I'll find something to make. You won't starve." Gabe waved his hand dismissively.
"Or we could go out...?" Mike looked at the clock. "It's too late to cook anyway. Come on, I'll pay."
"Hey, if you're paying," Gabe got up and grabbed his coat, "I'm all for it."
.........................................

Toshiro called back Grey at night and agreed to come for tea tomorrow at noon. Jomei looked up from his book and said to Toshiro, "You must be nervous."
"I am...since when do you read books Jomei?"
"I need to read it, because I still need to learn about business and managing money," he said defensively.
"Oh, right, your shop, when are you planning to buy a place?"
"I really can't say, but definitely this year."
Toshiro smiled. "Its going to be great."

Hyun-ki threw clothes in the suitcase. Hyun-ki's mom came into the room. "You leave, what, on the first right?"
Hyun-ki said, "Mmm."
"Come here, give me a hug...I'm going to miss you. You and your grunts for answers."
Hyun-ki then laughed. "You're going to come visit me anyway, right mom?"
"Of course, what kind of mom would I be if I weren't?"
"I'm going to miss you too mom."
.........................................

Damien ran a hand through his hair and looked through the window before talking again. "That's fine. If you say they're good people, I believe you. Besides, it's part of life."
"I guess so..." Toshiro said queitly, "But if it's ok with you, I'll call them up and tell them."
"Yes, it's fine with me." Damien smiled.
"Good. So I guss I'll see you later Damien. Bye~"
"Later luv."

"It feels good to be home." Gabe stretched and flopped onto the couch.
"You sure you don't need anything?" Mike asked with concern.
"I told you, I'm fine. The doctor said if I was having any problems that I could go back and get it checked out. For now until everything wears off, I'll just get headaches." Gabe yawned and curled up. Mike sighed and threw a blanket over Gabe.
"If you say so..." he shrugged and headed to his room. "Call if you need anything!"
"Mmhmm..."
.........................................

"Not much, its been slow in the land of the living." Ken smiled. "When can you get checked out of the hospital?" "I dunno?" Gabe answered. "The doctor said he still wanted to see if anything happened in my body."
Ken glanced at the clock. "Ah, well I have to go, my classes and all." He kissed Gabe on the forehead and lips. "Be well soon." Gabe smiled and hugged his kness as Ken walked out.

Jomei retired to the couch and left Toshiro at the kitched. Toshiro stared at the phone. He wanted to put off the call he had to make to Damien till tomorrow. Toshiro bit his nail. Maybe he's not home, he thought. Probably not, he's not home at this time. Like a reflex Toshiro reached out for the phone and dialed the number. "'Lo?" Damien answered. "Ah..." Toshiro froze for a moment. "Damien, ah, its me."
"Toshiro? You sound nervous."
"A friend called today, him and another friend want to meet you somtime. Is that ok?"
"Uh, sure, why not?"
"Actually I'm not sure why they want to meet you, because I just told about you 2 days ago, but they really are good people. I'm sure they don't mean anything."
Damien was silent for a moment and said, "Oh, you mean that they might be homophobic."
Toshiro let out a huge breath. "Yes, that's the word."
.........................................

Mike knocked on the door and waited. It opened moments later, the stench of pot drifting out the door into the hall.
"Yellooo?" Rider poked his head out the door and looked around, then up at Mike. "Hey guy, long time no see!" he laughed for no apparent reason and opened the door wider, allowing Mike in.
"You look like you've been having fun." Mike said sarcastically and rolled his eyes.
Rider giggled and stumbled after him, the laughter turning quickly to hiccups. "Of-hic course, I'm always-hic, having fun." he said, getting a glass of water.
"You shouldn't smoke that shit, it'll fuck you up." Mike tsked at Rider and flopped back on a beenbag chair. Rider hiccuped again and poured more water.
"Meh, if it does it does." he shrugged, "So what you been up to? Haven't heard from you in a while."

Gabe had his eyes shut, trying with no avail to block the pain in his head. He didn't even notice Ken speaking to him. "Hmm?"
"I asked how you were feeling." Ken repeated himself, looking at Gabe questioningly.
"Fine, just a bit of a headache." Gabe smiled faintly, "So, what's been going on while I was out?"
.........................................

Jomei smiled and said, "I'll be going then." And walked out. He came home with a leftover food box at the door with the word 'sorry' written on it. He nudged it over when he stepped in his house. Toshiro was in the kitchen, eating chocolate. "Mail for you," he said to Jomei. Jomei sifted through and smiled at a lacey card. "Its a wedding invitation," he said with a laugh.
"Oh? Who would invite us?"
"Rory, apparently." Jomei waved the card. "She says I can bring anyone as many as I want. Want to go?"
"...I don't think so, no, not really."
"Alright, I'll take someone else. She is my foster sister, and its her day."
"You sound like she's not related to me either."
"Only by a thread, Toshiro," Jomei laughed and put an arm around Toshiro's shoulders. "...I want some chocolate too..."

.........................................

Gabe smiled and leaned against Ken, feeling like he could melt into the warmth.
"I'm glad I'm ok too." he smiled, looking up at Ken then at the box, "Thank you both so much. You really didn't need to. I had actually forgotten about it myself." Gabe said a bit sheepishly, brushing his bangs from his eyes. "And thanks for coming here too..." he looked around the room, all of it that sterile white.
"No problem." Jomei smiled and waved his hand dismissively.
Gabe looked up at the little white clock that was hanging above the door. "What's the day today?"
"It would be Sunday."
"Hmm..." Gabe thought about it. Had it really been three days?
.........................................

Jomei stepped in Ken's apartment and looked around. He spotted at a large wrapped box. "I see you went shopping without me." Ken slouched on the couch. "I'm impatient."
"Alright then, do you know where to go?"
"Yeah."
"Onward ho."
They walked to the hospital. Jomei noticed Ken's bad attempt to seem calm. Partly beacuse he was walking fast. "Slow down!" He yelled, after Ken was a block away from him. "What?" Ken turned around. "Oh." Soon they arrived at the reception desk. As Jomei checked the directory, Ken picked at the clumsy bow on the box. His heart thumped for every step they took toward Gabe's room. Jomei absently hummed. Jomei has so much self control, Ken thought. They found Gabe huddled in his sheets. "He's still not awake," Ken said aloud. Gabe slowly poked his head up. "I'm here," he said wearily. There was stunned silence for a few seconds, until Ken remember the box. "Uh, oh yeah, this box...for your birthday, its late I know but..." He trailed off as he handed Gabe the box. Gabe winced as a pain passed through his head. Ken quickly added, "You don't have to open it now." Gabe stared at Ken. He had never seen him like that. It made him really wonder what happened. Jomei stood against the wall, pretending to suddenly see a stain on his sleeve. Ken breathed, "I'm so glad you're ok.." and drew Gabe in a hug.

Toshiro came home and immediately the phone rang. "Hello?"
"Uh, Toshiro, its Grey."
"I see," He said, a little dryly.
"Well, Orelle and I, we'd like to see you're guy friend."
Toshiro didn't know what to feel. Pleased? Apprehensive? "Ah.."
"Its ok if you don't want us to meet." Grey added quickly.
"No, its ok!" Toshito realized in horror what he just said.
"Ok then, how about noon at your place?"
"Of course...bye then."
"We'll be seeing you."
"Mhm." Click. Toshiro put the reciever down and put his hands on his hips. "Huh," He said. "So who else wants in my lovely life?"
.........................................

Water.
He could here it, feel it, all around. There was nothing to see though, just blackness. It was extremely cold, yet he could still breathe...couldn't he?
Gabe opened his eyes and inhaled deeply. Yep, he could still breathe. He took a minute to look around and let his eyes adjust to the brightness of the room before sitting up.
There was a chair beside the bed. Damien was slumped forward in it, sleeping. The door to the room was closed, and there was a window to his left that was open. A breeze was coming in, making the curtains billow.
He looked back at Damien, wanting to ask what had happened, but not wanting to disturb him. Were they in a hospital?
Gabe shivered and pulled the blanket up around himself, then curled up on his side. His head really hurt all of a sudden.

An irate looking woman in an apron was standing over Mike, making irritated little noises in her throat.
"What's you're problem?" Mike asked snidely, blinking up at her.
"You were asleep." she answered briskly, "If you aren't going to order and use the booth, please vacate it."
Mike yawned, standing. "Up your's hag." he yawned again and walked out of the cafe, leaving her fuming.
.........................................

"You look tired," Seitaro remarked. "I'll buy lunch today."
Jomei just smiled appriciatively. Seitaro was a great friend. Sometimes he wasn't so sure though. Seitaro led them toward a restaurant. After they ordered, Seitaro said, "Your hair is so interesting. What's your real hair color?"
Jomei said, "Tell me yours first, people don't have white hair naturally."
"Not unless they're albino."
"Oh," Jomei was taken aback, "I haven't seen much of albino people." He started noticing how pale he was.
"So, what about yours?"
"I dyed it blue long ago so that people wouldn't ask why my hair was purple."
"No. Really."
Jomei laughed, "Its brown, light brown."
Seitaro flicked his hair. "You should go back to your original color. I think you'll look...nicer" At 'nicer', leaned closer.
Jomei leaned back a little. "Really?" He said nervously.
Seitaro pulled Jomei's face closer to his. "I really like you, Jomei."
Then Jomei shot up. "I-I have to go." And he quickly walked out with his face horribly red. Seitaro was about to walk out after him when the waitress brought over their would-be lunch. Seitaro sighed and asked for Jomei's food to be put in a box. Then he sat down and poked at his food. At least he could have left after the food came.

Toshiro stepped in the chapel. It was small but so beautiful and peaceful. He sat down in a pew and proceeded to think and pray and think some more.
.........................................

Mike walked down the street, ignoring everything around him. Damien had told him to go take a walk, get some air. he had argued, but in the end it seemed the best thing to do, and he had gone reluctantly. But not before making Damien promise he wouldn't leave the room in case Gabe woke up.
Walking in the (relatively) fresh air was a lot nicer than being in a stuffy hospital Mike reflected dully. Soon his thoughts drifted back to the hospital and Gabe.
How could I be so stupid? Heroine, and in a Tylenol bottle. There's just asking for trouble... Mike groaned inwardly, wanting to smack his head against one of the metal street lamp poles. He stalked into a nearby cafe, head down, and slumped dejectedly in a booth. Opening a menu, he propped it in front if his face and proceeded to be in a pissy mood.

Damien sat in Mike's previously occupied chair, making sure to keep his promise. He looked at Gabe. He reminded Damien of a young child suddenly. Helpless, alone despite the people around him.
Damien sighed and turned to look out the window. It was dangerous being alone with your own thoughts sometimes. He wondered suddenly what Gabe thought about when he was alone. Did he wonder about his past? Was he always cheerful, or did he think about painful things too?
Damien made a note to ask Gabe if...no, when, he woke up.
.........................................

Jomei woke up the next morning with a sudden chill in his spine. It was getting colder in the mornings. The phone rang downstairs, so Jomei stumbled down to answer it. It was Ken; he was babbling about something about Gabe. "Slow down," Jomei said sleepily. "calm down." A few seconds after Jomei snapped awake. "What?"

Toshiro propped his head on his hand, trying to read a book. Seiji was reading the paper. Jomei came from the kitchen and tossed his apron on the table. "Toshiro, I got a call from ken today, it was about Gabe and he got a heroin overdose." Seiji suddenly popped in. "Heroin," He said quietly, more to himself. "equals brain damage, heart infection, liver disease..." Jomei asked, "How do you know?" Seiji looked over the paper and smiled. "Read it in a book somewhere, you know, drug education for students."
Jomei said, "Oh, well I'm going to go to Ken's after work, and visit Gabe afterwards, so don't expect me soon."
"Ok," Toshiro said. "I'll pray for Gabe in church...hope he does well."
Misho the cat woke up from the talking and jumped to Jomei. Jomei patted his cat and Misho rubbed against him. "It must be nice, being a cat."
.........................................

Gabe was walking slowly down a hall, as if in water. Everything he saw had an ethereal quality to it, and there was no color, just blurry shades of grey.
At the end of the hall there was an open doorway. Struggling against the pressure he tried to run, and found himself on the floor. Looking around, things had changed.
He was no longer in the hall, but in a dark room. A sickly grey light came through the window above. There was movement. Suddenly he wanted to scream, run, get away from the whatever was there. But he couldn't move...

Mike paced. He had been pacing for the last 2 hours. Damien had gone to make a few calls and see if he could get any more information.
Mike sat finally, growling slightly in frustration. He looked at the bed, at Gabe. He looked at what he had caused.
"Fucking hell..." Mike muttered, staring through his fingers. A sudden urge made him get up and place a hand on Gabe's shoulder. Mike shook his shoulder slightly with no reaction. So he shook harder.
Before he knew it he was yelling at Gabe, wanting nothing more than for him to yell back. Suddenly Mike was being pulled back, his arms pinned to his sides.
"Mikal, stop it." Damien's voice was stern as he pulled Mike over and pushed him back into his chair. He sat shaking, a helpless knot forming in his chest. It hurt to breath.
.........................................

"Want to go for a drink?" Tori asked Ken as he locked up the school. "Nah, drunk on a motorcycle is like chasing after death. What about you?" "I'm alright, I walked to work and I'll walk back." Ken scoffed. "Make sure you know the difference between the sidewalk and road." "I will." "Cool."

Ken unlocked the door and glanced at the clock. It was 8, Shen was occupied in his room, and Okura was on the balcony practicing his kicks. The phone was ringing and before Ken could reach it the answering machine got it. It was Damien's uncertain voice, uncomfortably telling the situation to the machine. Ken absently listened until Gabe was mentioned, about how he had accidentally got a hold of heroin, and now hospitalized. Ken stopped and a panic rushed over him. He leaned against the door and slid down shaking and breathing slowly. It was so sudden, just like when he came into his house and--ken stopped thinking, too painful to bring back old memories. He just sat there, mind blank. It took his brother to bring him back to reality. "Wake up ken!"

Toshiro sat in his room, thinking. After mentioning Damien, Grey and Orelle seemed withdrawn. He hoped it didn't ruin anything, but even then...Toshiro hugged his blankets and looked out his window. Bah, it was raining again.
.........................................

Mike sat by the hospital bed were Gabe lay unmoving. The room he was in was stark white, causing a glare from the lights.
Mike rubbed his eyes to get out the dryness and stretched. Damien had left the room a while ago to look for a doctor and maybe get some information. Mike rubbed at his eyes again and looked at Gabe. He was pale, more so than usual, and his breathing was laboured.
"Gabe..." Mike whispered, reaching for his hand. It was deathly cold.
Mike turned as soon as Damien came back into the room. "So? They say anything?" he asked, eyes pleading for good news.
"Yeah, a little bit." Damien moved to look out the window at the small park area bellow for patients. "Mike, do you know what was in those pills?"
Mike looked down at the floor and sighed. "Yeah, I do. Did the doctor tell you what it was, did they know?" he asked in a whisper.
"Yes, he did. I couldn't believe it at first. I mean, I never thought you of all people could be so...so stupid Mike." Damien looked over at him, but Mike looked different somehow, like a stranger. "Why did you have Heroin in you're apartement?"
"It's not mine, I swear!" Mike said, suddenly defensive, "Torren gave me a bottle, told me it was some serious shit, and asked me to hold onto it for a while, so I did. I never thought this would happen..." he said quickly, wringing his hands.
Damien watched him, wanting to say something comforting, but he was unable to.
"There's nothing to do now but wait you know. Nothing but waiting..." Damien trailed off as he looked back out the window.
.........................................

Ken looked at the clock. 2:30. He should get going in a few. His classes start at 3:00, so he got up to get ready. He stuffed his things in a duffel bag and hopped on his motorcycle outside. He had already told Shen to take Okura to his 6PM class. Not long after he drove there was traffic. An ambulance was blocking the road outside an apartment. "Huh," Ken said, and sharply turned around for another route to the school. He reached the self defense school early enough to see Tori finishing his class. The 'old ladies' class. As soon as they finished, the 'old ladies' got ready to leave. Tori spotted Ken and walked over. "Not as fun as the young women, but its worth it." he said.
"You pervert," Ken flicked his nose.
"Tell me something new." Tori grinned.
"Alright, I see my students coming in and a young single mother."
"Enough said," Tori said and swaggered towards the woman. While he was chatting lightly, the kids scrambled to their places on the mat. Ken said, "Ok, warm ups! I want everyone to run and tackle Tori over there, the lesson here is, together we stand, divided we fall, that means, a group is stronger than one person...I hope you get the hint." Whether they got it or not, they all ran and tackled him with delight. Tori was like an older brother, only gets constantly beaten by Ken. "Hey!" Tori said. "He's lucky the oldest one is 7." Ken thought and smirked.

Jomei watched the clock...it was so boring, nothing had happened. All he had done today was clean, clean and answer a phone...and then clean it. Everybody had something to do. Jomei almost fell asleep until Juila taped an order on his head. "Lady at 563 Elridge Rd wants a 4 layer cake...ah I can't describe it, here's what she wrote."
Jomei sighed. "Remind me why I work here again?"
"Nope."
"Mean." He stuck his tongue out as she walked away. And he got up to start the batter.
.........................................

Gabe opened his eyes, shutting again immediately as a searing pain went through his head. Someone was calling his name, but it hurt to much to think.
Mike kneeled beside Gabe, shaking him slightly.
"Gabe, Gabe, open your eyes again. Come on, move!" Mike was yelling frantically.
Gabe felt like he was going to throw up. His stomach turned, his head throbbed, and all he could hear was inaudible shouts.
"D-dont feel...uungh" he mumbled hoarsely. Why was his throat so dry?
The shouts stopped, he could feel someone running, and it sent refreshed pain through him.

Damien picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Damien, it's Mike, get over here quick, we need to get to the hospital!" Mike blurted out.
"Why? What's happened?" Damien's voice raised slightly in alarm.
"Please, just hurry! The faster you get here, oh just come on!" Mike yelled, hanging up the phone.
Alarmed, Damien put the phone back down, grabbed his coat and keys, and took off towards Mike's apartement building.
.........................................

Jomei ran to work, after looking at his watch. He tried to slip in unnoticed, but a hand pinched his ear and pulled it. "You have got to stop coming so late Jomei." A bossy voice scolded him. "Gomen Julia...time flied by~" She let go and sighed. "I'll never know what to do with you." Jomei grinned, "I love you too."

Toshiro brought Orelle and Grey back to his house and chatted lightly. Grey asked, "So have you found a girlfriend?" Toshiro froze, slightly. "No..." He said cautiously. Grey said, "Oh." Toshiro went on. "Actually, (pause) I have a guyfriend." Grey said, "Oh...Kay?" Orelle also paused.
"Yeah."
.........................................

Mike walked down the hall to the door of his apartement. He could here music blaring inside, but it wasn't his music.
"You're the dream that hasn't ended, and I'm still anxious for rest. You're words they seem to hang above my head..."
Mike walked in, dropping his keys on the kitchen table and going into the living room. Gabe was sprawled over the couch, eyes closed, head moving slightly to the music.
"Hey, had a bad day?" Mike asked, sitting in an over stuffed arm chair. Gabe blinked in surprise and looked over at him, turning the music down with the remote.
"Not really, why?"
"Nothing really, 'cept you look like hell, and you always listen to this stuff when you don't feel good." Mike smiled. Gabe rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot. I just haven't been sleeping good lately."
"And why is that?" Mike wasn't terribly interested, but sometimes it payed to know.
"No reason." Gabe shrugged. Mike knew as soon as he said that that there was something, but he wasn't one to pry.
"Hmm, so what'd you do today?" he said, picking fuzz of the couch.
"Um, not much, went out, you know, stuff." Gabe replied idly. "What'd you do?"
Mike smirked, remembering, then shrugged. "Nothin' really."
"I'm so sure." Gabe shook his head and turned the music back up as Mike headed down the hall to his room.
.........................................

Jomei trailed off to work and Seiji...went somewhere obscure, so Toshiro was left alone at home. He enjoyed having the house to himself once in a while; he liked his privacy. Toshiro walked to his room and pulled out a yearbook from the under his bed. He turned to the autograph pages and looked for a certain signature. He found it, and it read:

We had a great year with you Toshiro ~! Thanks for everything and I, O.T, hope you have a great time in college. I, G.O., hope you finally manage to snag a girl. I, O.T., hope that that's not all you plan to think about. I, G.O., think that O.T implies that all I think about is girls. (there were some scribbles as each tried to write an argument to each other) Hugs and Kisses(only O.T.)~ from G.O, Grey Oratio and O.T, Orelle Teilo
P.S. Call us!! (543) 539-4729

Ecstatic couple, Toshiro thought. He got up to call them. "Hey, its Toshiro...yes...I'm fine...do you think we could get together somewhere?"

Orelle hugged Toshiro happily. "Its sooooo good to see you~" Toshiro hugged her back. Still brimming with energy. "Hey," said Grey. "Hi." Still lounging in the background. They sat down at a table.
"So how have you guys been doing?"
Orelle was excited suddenly and nudged Grey to speak up.
"We're, we're getting married next June." Grey blushed but smiled. Orelle squealed with delight. "It always makes me happy when he says that."
Toshiro was a bit shocked. "Aren't you going a little fast?"
"Toshiro, its been one year we've been dating..." she said.
"Why don't you do it next next June, or a little later? I really think you should wait."
"Party pooper...fine, we'll talk about it." They always trusted Toshiro for advice...even though they didn't exactly ask for it. Grey said, "Alright, let's order our lunch now."
.........................................

Mike walked unhurriedly back to the bathroom, a pack of matches in his left hand. In his right was the Screamer. He opened the door and looked in, seeing the lump in the tub that was Rider. Lighting the Screamer and giving it a quick toss into the bathroom, he shut the door and waited. Five seconds later it ignited.
"Holy fuck!!" Rider yelled as the Screamer screeched and whined next to him. There was a loud clatter and the sound of water, then the whistling fire work stopped screaching. Rider threw open the door and glared at Mike.
"What the hell? Why'd you?" Rider couldn't find anything to say and instead lunged at Mike. Mike side stepped him and grabbed one of Rider's arms, pulling it behind his back.
"I woke you up though, didn't it?"

Gabe arrived at the building about ten minutes later, thanked the cabbie, and bolted to the elevator. He ran down the hall of the 3rd floor, stopping to catch his breath outside the office door, then carefully opened it.
Nikolai was sitting in a chair, looking proffesional as always, his foot tapping impatiently on the rose tiled floor. Gabe took a deep breath and walked in.
"I'm here, it's not too late is it?" he asked, awaiting a reprimand for not being on time. Nikolai got up quickly and ushered him into a room, mumbling about how lucky Gabe was.
.........................................

"So what made you come to this humble abode?" Jomei said after a bout of laughter. Ken pretended to sigh sadly, "You forget I used to live here." Okura made himself scarce, so nobody noticed him. He was good at that.
"Yes...long ago."
"Anyway....I'll cut to the chase, Gabe had his birthday..oh, 5 days ago."
Jomei sighed. "I am so badly informed."
Toshiro sat on the other sofa chair. "Aand you want to do something right?"
"Something." Ken suddenly realized he had no idea what to do.
"Well its kind of awkward to do anything now."
Jomei agreed. "Let's all pitch in and buy him something really really really..." He seemed to get more excited with each 'really'. "really really special."
"Like...what?"
"What would a young man like Gabe want..." They all pondered. Seiji left the room; they looked really stupid thinking like that. "I think you're better off somewhere else." he told Okura.
"Most people are into electronics."
"What about a bunch of presents in a bag?"
"Alright, sounds good. Informal, but its still nice. Shopping tomorrow?"
"Its a date." Ken said. Okura came out from scarcity and tugged Ken's pant leg. "I'm hungry..." They suddenly noticed him. "I mean, if you don't mind..." he continued timidly. Jomei met him to eye level. "Sure you can," he said and hugged him. "Wah, he's so cute~" Toshiro asked, "Is this your new tenet?"
"Ex-new. Shen moved in."
"Oh." So many questions rushed through his head, but chose not to ask now. "Let's eat fondue~" Jomei said, taking Okura's hand. Okura willingly followed this energetic man.

Ken came home and caught Shen smoking on his balconey. "Don't smoke here." Ken said. "Oh," and Shen flicked the cigarette off the balcony. Ken caught the cigarette and a few hot ashes fell on a man's bald head. "Don't go throwing cigarettes off 3 story floors either idiot!" Shen looked down and saw the bald man yell things at them. "Ah, ah, sorry sir, just stay right there!" Shen yelled at the guy. Then he ran to get disinfectant and cloth and jumped downstairs. "You're sick man, did you know that?" Ken called after him. "SICK!"
.........................................

Torren looked up at the ceiling for a moment and scratched his chin. "I don't think so...but if you look around you may find something." he smiled languidly and continued his rolling.
Mike wandered into the kitchen. There was nothing there really, except a can opener on the counter and some clipping scizzors. He walked over to the counter and started pulling open drawers. After rooting about through the kitchen, he opened a door leading into a store room.
"If this doesn't wake him up, then he's bloody deaf." Mike smirked and grabbed a Screamer from the top shelf.

The phone had rang for the 4th time when Gabe finally grabbed it.
"Hello?" he gasped into the reciever. The hallway was a lot longer when you needed to be at the other end of it.
"Gabe, where the hell are you?" came the annoyed response.
"I'm at home..." Gabe answered slowly, thinking about the question. "Why?"
"You're kidding me, right? You're supposed to be here, now! The meeting with Christoffer is in 5 minutes!"
Gabe nearly dropped the phone. "That was today?! Nikolai, why didn't you tell me yesterday?" Gabe sunk to the floor. He heard an exasperated sigh and a few grumbled words before Nikolai replied.
"I told you the day before last. I wrote it down for you. You said you'd put it somewhere where you could see it" Nikolai said patiently. "Now if you don't get here soon, the whole thing is screwed."
"I'll be there soon as I can." Gabe hollered, dropping the phone and running back to his room.
.........................................

Ken was peeved that his brother was up early and already making himself at home. Shen was sitting on the couch with Okura; both were watching some mindless banter eating cereal. Ken thought it was horribly twisted that their names rhymed. Like some Molly, Polly and Holly thing in a children's book. He was also a little jealous how well Okura got along with Shen. He strode in and both heads turned toward him. "Good morning!" Okura called out. "Have a good sleep?" Shen asked. "Uhhhgn," Ken said. Shen shook his head and said, "The milk and cereal are still out."
"Since when do you act like this is your house?"
"Since you let me stay." Shen smiled. Ken scowled and went into the kitchen. After he ate he stepped out. "Where are you going?" Okura asked before Shen could. Ken usually got irritated from people asking this, but he answered him. "Out to Jomei's house, want to come with?"
"Yeah!"
"Pooh," said Shen. "leaving me alone."
"You have work right?"
Shen pretended not to know. "Riiight...work where?"
Ken chose not to answer and walked out with Okura.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we called the wrong Toshiro." said the lady in the office. Toshiro sighed and walked out, slightly irritated. Jomei and Seiji were talking about what people do for fun nowadays.
"What do you do for fun, Seiji?"
"Most likely be in my garden, with my plants...you?"
"Anything...anything exciting or lively. Relaxing is ok, but not my thing."
"Hnn, I wonder what Ken does. Probably night clubs or something."
"Don't people dance there?"
Seiji snorted. "Ken? Dance?"
Jomei laughed. "Never seemed like the dancing type."
"He'd dance like this-"
Seiji got up to imitate dancing and Jomei got up to join him. They laughed so hard and at the same time Ken came in and both, in shock and humor, cracked up and collapsed on the couch. Toshiro came in after Ken and both stared. Okura clung to Ken's legs.
"You're scaring Okura."
.........................................

Gabe rolled over and looked at his clock, then grudgingly fell out of bed. After a long stretch on the floor, he got up and headed to the kitchen, looking around the living room as he went. Mike was nowhere in sight. Gabe sighed with relief and opened the fridge, searching for something edible.

"Come on you lazy fuck," Mike yawned, prodding Rider in the arm, "It's getting late." Rider groaned and squinted up at him. "Whas'a time?" he slurred.
"Almost ten, now move." Mike prodded him again. Rider just turned back over in the tub. "Ten, fuck, it's still getting early..."
Mike rolled his eyes and headed downstairs to the dining room, where Torren was rolling a pile of doobies. He looked up at Mike and smiled, holding up the doobie he'd just rolled. "Want one?"
"Nah," Mike shook his head, "You got any firecrackers?"
.........................................

Toshiro walked quickly out in the living room. Jomei was already up and running, making breakfast. He didn't have to go to work anytime soon, so he took his time. Jomei asked, "Where are you off to so quickly?"
"Apparently the college misplaced my application...I have to go and fill it out again."
"Well, its not like they want it immediately. Relax~"
"I have to go now, something might go wrong if I do it late."
"You know Toshiro, for your age you worry alot. Its not healthy. You should go out and have fun."
"I went to the movies with damien yesterday."
"No, I mean get together with friends or something."
"....ummm..." Toshiro couldn't recall anybody to 'get together' with.
Jomei could see Toshiro's trouble...he wasn't exactly a people person. Respected yes, but not really someone you could be friends with. "What about, that guy and his girlfriend, they were really nice."
Toshiro suddenly remembered who Jomei was talking about. "I'll give them a call." he said and walked out.
.........................................

Damien stretched and hit his clock to stop the buzzing alarm. He stood, stretched again, then stumbled out of his room to the kitchen and hit the switch on the coffee pot. As he reached across the table to grab a newspaper, a flashing light caught his eye. He walked over to his answering machine and hit the play button.
"Hello Damien, this is Carly. You left a message for me or Tony yesterday. Sorry we couldn't talk then, but the group's having a meeting tomorrow at noon. Call me when you get the chance and I'll fill you in, ok? Bye."
He blinked. "Wow, that was quick." he thought, going to pour some coffee.

Mike blinked and looked around. He was sprawled over a couch, his head almost touching the floor, making him even more disoriented. He shifted his weight and moved to sit up, but instead fell right off the couch into a heap on the floor.
"Man, you look like hell warmed over." Torren laughed, falling onto the couch. Mike gave him a brief one fingered salute and sat up. "Where am I?" he asked numbly.
"My house," Torren said, "You stumbled here last night, completely smashed. And because I'm so nice, I let you stay." he smiled in a patronizing way.
"Where's Rider?" Mike said, stifling a yawn.
"He's passed out in the tub." Torren smiled.

.........................................

Toshiro laughed at a recurring memory from the movie. Damien was walking Toshiro home and they were talking about anything. "What are you laughing about?" Damien smiled.
"Just thinking about the movie..."
"I'm glad you liked it."
"I'm glad period." Toshiro said. "But its not fair, you're always doing something special for me."
"Its not any trouble."
Toshiro poked him. "It makes me feel useless. I'd like to do something someday."
Damien commented solemnly, "You aren't useless, anyway its not like I expect anything back. I'm just happy to see you happy."
Toshiro bumped Damien playfully. "You're going to spoil me, just watch."
They reached Toshiro's house. Toshiro hugged Damien and snuggled. "I'm really happy I'm with you." Damien lifted Toshiro's head and smiled at each other for a minute. Then he leaned down and kissed him.

The next morning Ken woke up and distractedly looked around his room. He hated getting up no matter what time it was, and he wasn't going to get up soon. He spied a red circle on his calendar. He didn't clearly remember what it was there for. So he stumbled out and looked at the scribble in the circle. "Shit," He cursed under his breath.
.........................................

Gabe walked slowly along the sidewalk, counting the cracks as he went over them. He had walked this way so many times now he knew the exact number of cracks between shops. He sighed and kicked at a small stone, watching it bounce off the curb.
"Hey! Gabe!"
Gabe looked up just in time to get hit in the face with...
"A paper airplane?" he laughed and looked across the street. "Hey Lorne, havin fun assaulting people with these things?" he asked, waving the little plane.
"Why of course! How could I not?" Lorne grinned, "Yo, Taylor, got more paper?" he shouted as Taylor came out of a little computer shop carrying a bland looking package.
"Yeah, you know...Oh, hey Gabe!" Taylor shouted, waving.
"Here," he tossed the package to Lorne. "So, Gabe, you gonna come terrorize with us?"
Gabe looked thoughtfully at the sky then back at Taylor. "Sure, why not?" he said, walking across the street to join them.
.........................................

"I'm going to the movies with Damien, Jomei."
"Ok, come back safely." Jomei said.
In an hour Toshiro had gotten ready and left. Seiji watched Toshiro walk out with Damien and joked, "Huh, now I'm jealous, I wish I had somebody. Do you think that--" Jomei interrupted, "Have you checked the mail yet?"
Disturbed at being interrupted, Seiji went to go check. "Here you go."
Jomei smiled and said, "Thanks." and went to go sit at the dining table. After sifting through junk mail, he ran across an interesting envelope. Seiji was trying to ask his question again. "Jomei do you think that I'll--" Jomei was reading the letter in the envelope and interrupted Seiji again. "We're getting a new tenet." Jomei said.
"Oh? When?" He decided to let go the unasked question.
"End of the month it says."
"That's like, in 3 weeks.."
"Is it? Goes by fast." Jomei said distantly.
"Do they give any names, by chance?" Seiji asked.
"Nope, we don't have anything, all I know is that whoever is still young, 16."
"Psh, that's nothing to rely on."
"We'll see." Jomei smiled to himself.
.........................................

Damien said his goodbye to Toshiro and hung up, smiling to himself. He had seen previews for the movie on tv, it look pretty good. Damien glanced over at the clock. 6:15. He grabbed a towel from the closet and headed to the shower.

"And then you know what he did? He tried to hit me! Can you believe it?" a half drunken young man said, laughing as if it were one of the funniest things he had ever heard. Mike shook his head, smirking, and flicked the other on the head. "You should really watch your mouth Rider, or you're gonna get your ass beat. And I mean bad."
"Pfft, yeah right. I'm too tough, no one could take me!" Rider huffed indignantly, puffing out his chest. Mike gave him a slight punch in the gut, de-winding him instantly. "Riiiight." he snorted.
Rider sneered at him momentarily before picking up his drink and finishing it. "So, what's going on tonight?" Any fun parties?" he yawned.
Mike shrugged. "No clue. But if there is, we'll find them."
.........................................

"Umm, whatever's good. Something we can both enjoy. You pick." Toshiro shrugged. "As long as its not too violent, I don't need any nightmares." Damien laughed, "Well, most of them are seemingly violent, maybe some humor. How about Johnny English?"
"Sounds great. What time?"
"It starts at seven...how about I pick you up 6:45?"
"Lovely," Toshiro beamed.

.........................................

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to go to a movie with me later" Damien replied. "Sounds good. What movies are playing?" Toshiro asked. Damien grabbed a fairly recent newspaper and flipped through it quickly. "Hmm, there's Johnny English, Tomb Raider 2, Terminator 3..." he shook his head and wondered if they would ever stop, "And Bad Boys II. Think you'd like to see any of those?"

"You're what?" Mike coughed, almost spilling his drink.
"I said I got a some pictures taken" Gabe said casually. "Ok, now remind me why" he said, regaining his composure. Gabe gave Mike a calculating glance and continued.
"No real reason. Some guy just said I had potential. I'm not going to give my hopes up. I'm not going to do anything really, unless I get a call."
"So you're telling me some guy just randomly told you that you had modeling potential?" Mike asked, rolling his eyes, "Christ Gabe, I don't even know where to start. He was probably just-" Gabe stood up abruptly, cutting Mike off.
"If you don't know where to start, then don't." he said impatiently, heading towards the door.
"I'll be out late. Don't bother waiting up."
.........................................

Shen sat at the table, slightly dejected at the fact his brother tried to bar him out. Luckily, and oddly, Shen was skilled at breaking into places, so it wasn't long till he was in. Ken sulked on the couch; Okura peeked from the kitchen. Shen tried to lure Okura out with warm smiles everytime Okura snuck a look. While Shen focused on Okura he talked to Ken. "I finished college, and I want to start somewhere with my profession. I want to start here, near you, brother. I came to tell you." Ken lifted an eyebrow and looked at Shen. "Anything else?" Ken said. "Housing..." Shen began and stopped at Ken's glare. "Well, I can get my own place, I just thought it would be easi-"
"You can stay, only for a while."
"Oh...well, then. Thanks."
"Yeah."
"Mind telling me who this little guy is?"
"I'm his guardian for now."
"Oh."
Shen chuckled. Certainly wasn't Ken-like. "I'll bring my stuff tomorrow." "I'll go with you, just to make sure." Ken said. Only he knew the many things his clumsy brother was capable of.

"Phone for you Toshiro." Jomei said, as they just came in. "Oh!" Toshiro said, and ran upstairs to take the call. "Hello Damien," Toshiro said brightly. "Where were we?"
.........................................

Mike pulled up outside a non-descript building, hit the horn, and waited. Soon a figure came running out.
"What took you?" he said, faking a yawn.
Gabe checked his watch quickly and frowned. "You weren't waiting more than a minute." he stated.
"Whatever." Mike mumbled and hit the gas hard. "So what'd you do?"
"Nothing" Gabe answered, looking out the passenger window. Mike sighed and kept silent for the rest of the ride.

Damien draped his coat over a chair and took out the sheet of numbers from it's pocket. After a minute he picked up the phone and dialed one.
.........................................

Toshiro pushed Seiji toward home. "Its getting dark, we have to get home remember? You know, home??" Toshiro said. Seiji reluctantly let Toshiro push him home. At home Jomei was waiting patiently.

And Ken got up. Okura was on the verge of biting Ken and was looking at Ken reproachfully. "No one takes naps during the night, not even me." Okura glared. Ken thought he was pretty snappy for a nine year old.
"Someone's at the door oniisan." Okura said.
"Eh..? what? who?"
"A happy man.."
Ken got up from bed and revealed his grinning brother's face at the door. Then he quickly slammed it. "Bar the doors," Ken yawned.
.........................................

Damien watched Toshiro leave, chuckling a bit at what he had said. He shook his head and sipped his coffee.

"Could I hold you for a life time, could I look into your eyes? Could I have this night to share this night together?"
The music played loud and smooth, the beat from the subs reverberating through the floor. Gabe moved with it, letting the rythm guide him.
It was rare that the studio was completely empty. Whenever Gabe found it as such, he took the opportunity without a second thought. He slowed as the music ended, almost tripping on the last note as a shout reached his ears.
"Take it off!"
He turned to the door and saw Matteo standing with a group of students. A few girls to his right where giggling, and one was waving her arm in a circle. Gabe rolled his eyes. If he had a dime for everytime...
.........................................

"Not much, I didn't really plan today."
"Oh?" Damien asked.
"But then I don't know how long Seiji plans to spend on chores." Toshiro sighed.
"I'll just call you later then, k?"
Toshiro smiled. "Yeah, that would be great."
Just then, Seiji stalked out of the store, with the towels and one guy trailing him. Toshiro laughed. "So many guys think he's girl, he should really cut his hair." Seiji turned around to snipe the poor sap. The guy was startled, and got embarrassed. "Guys actually only see the back of Seiji's head, so they assume he's a girl." He explained. "Well, got to go, see you later Damien."
"Mhm," Damien smiled.
.........................................

Damien smiled up at Toshiro and nodded toward the empty seat. "Be my guest luv." Toshiro smiled and took the seat across from him.
"Want anything?" Damien asked, waving over a waitress and looking over at Toshiro.
"Um, I'll just have some water, thanks" Toshiro told the waitress before turning back to Damien. "So, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, not much. Just went for a walk, decided to stop in here and rest. You?"
Toshiro glanced out the window before answering. "Chores. Jomei wanted Seiji to get a few things, so he dragged me along."
"Sounds like fun." Damien smiled, "Any other plans for today?"
.........................................

Toshiro walked behind Seiji, who was griping about what he had to do. First thing on the list was to get new towels. Seiji walked to the store...honestly Toshiro couldn't see why Seiji was complaining, he rarely had anything to do around the house. While he was thinking this, Toshiro's eyes wandered. He spied a familiar head in the window, and he smiled automatically. Seiji looked preoccupied, so Toshiro just stepped next door from the store into the cafe. It amused Toshiro that Jomei wanted to have something like this. He stepped next to his beloved and asked, "Seat taken?"
.........................................

Damien sat and stirred his coffee. It had started to rain outside, the drops adding to the chatter inside the little cafe. He smiled as Rachel and her husband Greg sat down across from him in the booth.
"So how goes the summer hobby hunt?" Rachel asked, sipping at her mug.
Damien stirred his coffee again and watched it swirl around the spoon. "Pretty slow. I was thinking of doing something more adventurous this year, but getting equipment and booking trainers can be so much hassle. I'd rather just go hiking again."
"I know a few people who go on their own mountain climbing and kayaking trips," Greg piped, "they've been going for a few years now. I'm sure they wouldn't mind having a newbie along."
"You think? I've always wanted to go mountain climbing, and kayaking might be fun..." Damien said as he imagined trying to flip himself upright fom under water in a kayak.
Greg wrote down a few numbers on a small slip of paper and handed them to Damien. "Just call someone on there and tell them Greg sent you." he grinned as Rachel grabbed her bag and tugged on his arm.
"See you later Damien!" Rachel waved.
.........................................

Toshiro heard Jomei push sleeping Seiji down the stairs. It was far too late for Seiji to still be sleeping. "Wake up bum!" Jomei said as he shook Seiji awake. Seiji's head drooped to one side. Toshiro covered his ears. Its one thing for Seiji to sleep late, its another when he's the loudest snorer in the house. He turned his attention to a college pamphlet. It was the only decent school close enough. "Its still far away," thought Toshiro. "but I can take the metro." Far off, Jomei was still trying to wake Seiji, when he hit an idea.
"Seiji, your students came back! They want to be tutored by you!"
Seiji shot up. "What the hell?! Where? Tell them I'm dead!"
"Wai~ You finally woke up, bum."
"...." Seiji collapsed on the floor. "Not funny Jomei."
Jomei gave to him a list of things to do. "Now you can do those things I wanted you to do. If you try to go to sleep again, I'll call your students for real." Misho stalked in the room and miao'ed next to his bowl. Jomei got up to fill it, and Seiji glanced at the list. "I get to take Toshiro with me." Toshiro was startled from his train of thoughts and found himself being dragged away by the arm.
"Have fun~" Jomei said as he waved.
.........................................

He flipped the card over again in his hands, reading the small golden writing for maybe the hundreth time.
"What's that?"
Gabe looked up and tucked the card away as soon as Mike entered the living room. "It's nothing" he said quickly, grabbing the remote and turning on the tv.
"Right," Mike said skeptically, "Who's it from?"
"No one"
Mike rolled his eyes and sat down opposite Gabe. "I'll find out soon enough, so why don't you just tell me?" he said exasparatedly.
"If you're going to find out anyway, then you can wait" Gabe replied flatly, getting up from the couch and grabbing his sweater off the table. "Where you goin'?" Mike asked, moving to the couch for the remote.
Gabe shrugged and pulled on his sweater. "I dunno, wherever I feel like going"
"Have fun, and don't do anything I would do" Mike said as Gabe walked out the door.
.........................................