.02. - Kaname



"Legend?" Reiya muttered quietly, not believing what she was hearing. Who 
was this girl, calling herself a legend? Barely in her teenage years, she 
looked to be someone from the more unscrupulous south-side of town, another 
faceless girl who had been either cast out by her parents or orphaned at a 
young age. But she was a demon - she must have been, as her aura was 
setting off every warning alarm with her Guardian. Wave after wave of 
disapproval came from Setsuna, and Reiya slowly tightened her grip upon the 
sword, her fingers curling.

"That's right." Kaname raised her arms upwards so that her knuckles were 
facing the two. "Prepare yourself!"

Toji gritted his teeth and looked desperately around once more, wishing 
that there was some way - *any* way - that he could be of use. If this was 
their next target, they were going to be in trouble. Reiya by herself was a 
good fighter, but even she had needed Minaki's assistance last night. 
Without his abilities in the battle, she may not be able to hold her own 
against... whatever this person was.

In an effort to stall for time, he raised a fist and gestured towards 
Kaname, speaking as authoritatively as possible. "You! Kaname! Are you 
working for the demons?"

Kaname said nothing as purple energy suddenly curved and spun about her 
raised forearms. Her lips formed a wicked, gleeful grin as the discharge of 
energy increased rapidly in intensity, causing the wind to whip around the 
parking lot violently. Toji raised his arms and spread his feet, setting 
himself into a defensive stance in order to brace himself against the rush 
of power. The kid had ability, there was no doubt about that; why she was 
trying to use it against them was another issue altogether.

And then, something abruptly shifted within both Toji and Reiya. The 
patterns of demonic energy dropped out completely - to be replaced with a 
familiar feeling and presence. Their eyes widened; it was not a demon that 
they were facing. He turned towards Reiya in surprise, and her expression 
of disbelief mirrored his own. No, this familiarity was something that they 
had only found in themselves and each other... up until now. But there was 
no mistaking what they were feeling.

The energy patterns were those of a Host and a Guardian.

Toji turned towards Kaname, trying to ask her what was going on - but by 
now the light surrounding the girl was pulsing so powerfully that he 
couldn't face her directly. Instead, he brought his arm up to shield 
himself from the sphere of pure force that had formed in front of them. The 
field quivered briefly before exploding with sound and energy, a 
high-pitched shrieking tearing through the air.

Toji and Reiya quickly leapt backwards, the edge of Kaname's aura barely 
missing them as they soared away from the assault. He flipped back and 
tucked himself into a crouch to roll with the force of the attack, landing 
low to the ground with his feet wide apart and his fists extended. From the 
corner of his eye, he saw Reiya poised atop a handrail post, the soles of 
her sneakers clinging tenaciously to the metal. She was calmly brushing her 
hair away from her face, readjusting her grip upon her blade.

*This power...* he thought to himself as the swirling dust clouds slowly 
thinned. *Where did it come from? Why does she have it?*

Kaname's form emerged from the midst of the wreckage, her arms glowing 
lavender through the smoke. As she continued to walk forward, he abruptly 
realized that it was not her arms that were glowing; rather, there were two 
curved blades hovering just above her forearms, each shining with its own 
light. Toji narrowed his eyes. That was not demon power by any stretch of 
imagination. It was a Guardian exactly like their own.

"A Host," Reiya said coolly. She leveled Setsuna at Kaname, who was still 
grinning at them. "Not a demon... but one of us."

"Why are you doing this?!" Toji called out, lowering his fists slowly. He 
had no desire to fight against a human, and a fellow Host even less so. 
There had only been one other instance, and that time the fight had been 
necessitated by circumstance; he had hated every minute of it. The girl 
looked so young and fragile, like the product of a blissful marriage that 
had soured over time, and he had no desire to bring further pain into her 
life. "There's no meaning to any of this!"

Kaname shrugged once, then raised her closed fists casually. Her posture 
was confident and relaxed, and in that instant Toji knew that this girl, 
unlike him, had embraced her Guardian willingly from the very beginning. 
She knew what she was capable of, and reveled in the fact.

"I don't really care what you think," she muttered lowly, flexing her 
fingers. "You two are pathetic, having this much trouble already. I'm gonna 
enjoy beating you up."

"And just what makes you think you will be able to do that?" Reiya asked 
quietly, not having moved an inch from her perch.

The girl's grin became even wider, smug and proud. She swung her arms 
forward and slammed her fists together, a shower of purple sparks flying 
from the impact. The two ends of the blades met, glinting in the moonlight.

"Just bringing out my Guardian was enough to make you fall back," she said. 
Her arm blades flared with energy as she suddenly broke into a sprint 
towards them. "But it's gonna end soon. You're not dealing with a stupid 
demon anymore! You're dealing with Fighting Legend Kaname and her Guardian, 
*Rave!*"

__________

Angelblade

by Jeffrey Yang

09.27.02 to 10.25.02

__________


Reiya remained perfectly still as Toji and Kaname both blurred out of sight 
at exactly the same time. She closed her eyes, letting her will diffuse 
into Setsuna by degrees, her senses expanding as the fight commenced around 
her. Toji was grasping at straws, utilizing his Guardian to draw the 
moisture from the surrounding air. It was all he was capable of at this 
point; he moved about the air in quick strides, touching upon droplets of 
water and pushing off moments before they struck the ground. Reiya knew 
that he was out of his element, but she forced herself to remain still for 
the time being. She couldn't lose her composure just because of this new 
Host - she had to figure out a plan of attack before committing herself.

Meanwhile, Kaname was zig-zagging about the parking lot in seemingly random 
fashion, the energy of her Guardian trailing behind her as she darted 
about. Toji was close behind in pursuit, his face tight with determination. 
She was faster than him by a fair margin; he knew had to make his moves 
carefully. As she came rebounding off a wall at a sharp angle, he flipped 
about in the air and swung his arm in her direction, intending to catch her 
she reached Reiya.

But it was too slow. Kaname smirked as his punch fell squarely upon one of 
Rave's blades - and almost immediately, the intense energy output of the 
Guardian began searing the skin of his knuckles. Toji flinched, not having 
expected that - and she abruptly flipped forward and up, causing him to 
stumble forward, bringing one leg around and down on his head to push him 
into the ground face-first. With the same motion, she propelled herself 
towards Reiya, both arms poised to strike.

However, Reiya was already waiting for her, and as Kaname drew closer she 
brought her sword up in a tight arc. "Setsuna!"

Golden energy erupted from the blade and tore outwards at a dazzling clip 
directly for the incoming Host. There was no time for her to move away. 
Another explosion filled the area, obscuring Kaname from sight - but Reiya 
was already in motion, having leapt off the railing and onto the edge of a 
planter. She spun around and brought Setsuna back into position against her 
arm, glancing over at Toji as the dust slowly dissipated. He was already on 
his feet, fists raised in anticipation, knowing that the fight had just begun.

A powerful shout came from the dust cloud. "RAVE *STRIKER!*"

Bare moments later, Kaname burst through and sprung outwards towards Reiya, 
Rave's twin blades glowing fiercely about her arms as she brought them 
together to strike. Reiya spun her sword around and lifted it upwards to 
deflect the attack, bracing herself for the impact; the resulting blow sent 
her skidding backwards on the planter and off of the cement edge, the blade 
resonating from the impact. She hopped lightly back a couple times into the 
middle of the lot, flicking her blade about in preparation.

"What's wrong?!" Kaname shouted, having rebounded to slide to a halt twenty 
or so feet away. "Afraid to fight me?"

"Not afraid," Reiya murmured, quiet but firm. She subtly shifted her gaze 
over the girl's shoulder to check on Toji again, who was waiting quietly 
for the right chance to strike. "Unwilling."

Kaname laughed once: a harsh, derisive sound. "Your loss!" she yelled, 
dashing forward again.

That was when Toji chose to move. He swung his foot out at a nearby fire 
hydrant, breaking it cleanly in half. Water sprayed everywhere in a 
torrential stream, and Kaname spun around quickly to see what was going on. 
Toji lowered himself towards the ground, closing the distance between them 
with rapid sprints... and without any warning, the water suddenly bent and 
curved back around in the air, forming a pulsating ring of liquid around 
him as he ran.

Kaname's eyes widened in surprise. "What the hell - "

Toji smirked and gestured deftly with one hand. The ring flew directly 
towards her at a breakneck speed, expanding in size as it flew through the 
air. She barely had time to raise her arms to block - and even so, the 
sheer force sent her flying into the air helplessly, the ring of water 
throwing off steam and sparks as it pressed itself angrily against Rave's 
arm-blades in a struggle for dominance.

"Reiya!" he shouted, knowing that this was the only chance they were going 
to get.

She nodded and quickly ran forward, pushing herself high into the air and 
tucking herself in a tight somersault, bringing her sword downwards in a 
powerful slash. Emerald light flaring brightly from the blade like a beacon 
and Kaname screamed in disbelief, barely kicking herself away from Toji in 
time to twist around and intercept the attack. Green met purple as the two 
Guardians met in a blinding flash - but it was no use. Rave was simply too 
tired to withstand such an assault. Kaname screamed again, this time in 
frustration, as Setsuna forced her into the ground, growling as the last 
vestiges of Rave abruptly faded away in a flicker of light.

Reiya's expression was carefully neutral as she laid the blade against 
Kaname's throat. The girl struggled at first, lifting her arms upwards - 
and quickly stopped as Reiya pressed the metal uncomfortably against her 
skin. She resigned herself to lay perfectly still, casting a hateful glare 
upwards at her enemy.

Despite the antagonism, Reiya smiled softly, her tone as gentle as her 
expression. "I'm not going to kill you," she said, turning briefly towards 
Toji and nodding approvingly as he drew close.

"So what? I know you won't." Kaname smirked, even though the words came out 
more sulky than she would've liked. She looked over at the young man, who 
was still panting from exertion, then back at Reiya. "You people are too weak."

"Weak?!" Toji demanded, stepping forward angrily. Reiya quickly raised her 
arm, indicating for him to hold off, which he did  so reluctantly. "You're 
the one who lost, not us!"

"That isn't what she meant," Reiya murmured, debating if it would be a good 
idea to let her go. Maybe Kaname was just looking for a quick thrill. She 
looked young and lost, at an age where nothing was certain. Fighting people 
would've been just about as productive as anything else she could've done. 
There was almost definitely no one to tell her what she should and should 
not do with her powers, and Reiya realized that had she been a bit younger 
she probably would've turned out the same way. "Kaname, would you like to 
come with us?"

The girl sneered, seeming to enjoy their reactions. "For what? So I can 
turn into a bunch of pansies like you? I don't care if I lost. I got people 
who can back me up and they're more powerful than you'll ever be."

Reiya and Toji paused, and they quickly exchanged glances. While there was 
no doubt that Kaname was not a demon, what she just said have been the 
break they were waiting for. Perhaps her back-up was the one responsible 
for all the attacks... or perhaps it was someone who knew more about them.

"Can you tell us who you're talking about?" Reiya said as she turned back 
towards the young girl, keeping her voice as warm as she could even as 
Kaname continued to smirk at them.

"I could."

A long pause stretched out as they waited... then Reiya mentally sighed and 
tried again. "*Will* you tell us who you're talking about?"

Kaname's grin widened. "No."

Children. Reiya kept her smile pasted on her face, although she was quickly 
remembering why she preferred her solitude most of the time; she was never 
very good at socializing, and especially bad when it came to younger 
people. "Why not?" she said, slowly pulling her sword away cautiously. No 
use in making her distrust them even more.

"Because," Kaname replied, pointing behind their shoulders. "It's a lot 
better to show you."

Reiya stiffened. "What - "

Something slammed into her and Toji at exactly the same time, catching them 
both by surprise. The two flew back to land painfully on the ground, 
coughing from the force of impact. Reiya craned her neck upwards to see 
where the blows had come from, only to be pinned helplessly onto the 
asphalt as a wave of invisible force struck her bodily once more. No, not 
force... despite the overwhelming pressure, she could see the trees bending 
in a sudden, powerful windstorm that had come from nowhere. She tried to 
turn her head, but the pressure was too much; the air in her lungs was 
inexorably being pushed out of her, her vision clouding over with black spots.

Just before she slipped into the depths of unconsciousness, the pressure 
abruptly relented. Reiya gasped deeply, blinking her eyes rapidly to clear 
her vision. She struggled to sit up, barely noticing that Setsuna had 
already shimmered into nonexistence from her right hand. Toji was sitting 
besides her, coughing violently and clutching at his stomach. With a bleary 
gaze, she looked upwards to where a surge of Guardian energy was 
concentrated, atop the bare flagpole in the library's garden.

There was a man standing on the very top, poised in perfect balance as if 
it was the most natural thing in the world. His hair was long and golden, 
tied in a ponytail that was floating behind him gently. He wore the outfit 
of a Hoshimi Academy student, unbuttoned down the front to reveal a white 
shirt beneath. Every detail of his uniform was spotless otherwise, from his 
pressed slacks to the polished black boots. He narrowed his eyes, flecks of 
red glowing through the dim night air.

"Kaname. What are you doing?" he muttered. His voice cold and harsh, 
somehow clearly audible over the rush of wind.

The girl had gone over to the base of the flagpole while Reiya and Toji had 
been immobilized and was now looking down at them, looking even more smug 
than before. "Teaching those two a lesson," she said, placing one hand on 
the flagpole. "They should know better than to try and mess with me!"

He smirked and leapt off, touching down on the ground lightly. The wind 
stirred around his boots, kicking up tiny clouds of dust and gravel. "If I 
remember correctly, you were the one who lost."

Kaname gulped, her grin disappearing. "Um..."

"Stop acting stupid. Let's go."

"Y... yes," she stammered, suddenly much more sober. The two of them leapt 
upwards at the same time, floating above and onto the roof of the building. 
Moments later, they were gone, the soft night breeze being the only thing 
to mark their passing.

Reiya pulled herself up on her feet, brushing the dirt of her skirt and 
bracelet. She helped Toji up, looking around at the silent parking lot and 
at the flagpole the man had just been perched on seconds earlier. Questions 
and doubts ran through her mind, all asking the same question: what was 
going on? Kaname and her partner were both Hosts... so did that mean that 
they both worked for some greater force? The trace of demonic energy was 
still bothering her; there had to be some link between those two and the 
constant attacks, but it remained frustratingly opaque.

Toji squeezed her shoulder to get her attention, his expression radiating 
concern. "Reiya, are you - "

"I'm fine, Toji," she replied, rubbing her fingers together. She shouldn't 
have let her guard down like that, and the fact that she did began to gnaw 
at her. "I need a shower. May I come over for a bit?"

"Um..."

"It's too late to use the one at my place. I wouldn't ask otherwise..."

"Sure, I suppose," he mumbled, not quite sure about it at all. Though it 
wasn't the first time, he never felt really comfortable with the situation; 
the way Reiya handled herself each time made it seem as if she didn't mind, 
but he wasn't about to risk his friendship with her to find out. He glanced 
around for her bike, and was mildly surprised to see it still intact on the 
far side of the lot.

She smiled at him just as the street lamp overhead flickered to life. 
"Thanks," she said, taking his hand into hers. "Shall we go now?"

He nodded, following behind as they made their way towards the bicycle.

_____


It had been a long time since she had lost. The taste of defeat was bitter, 
far more than she could handle; even as she soared through the air in 
Keiya's arms, Kaname's sole thought was of revenge. The recollection of the 
fight began to burn at her from within, the thought of how easily she had 
been overwhelmed only serving to increase her anger. Her hands curled into 
fists. She lifted her head and let out a scream of frustration, the sound 
echoing around the run-down buildings that they were currently passing over.

Keiya barely reacted to the noise as he bound across the rooftops, his 
Guardian drawing the surrounding air so he soared impossibly far with each 
step. His eyes remained slitted against the debris in the air, his ponytail 
whipping in the ensuing breeze as he moved. One arm was curled around 
Kaname's waist; he tightened his grip slightly, eliciting a yell of protest 
from her.

"The hell was that for?!" she demanded, squirming around to loosen herself. 
It didn't quite work; Keiya's hold was too strong for her.

He barely tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Just shut up for a bit."

"Keiya - "

"Shut. *Up.*" His tone was harsh enough for her to listen this time.

He leapt over an air conditioning vent atop a particularly grungy-looking 
building before descending swiftly down the front, landing neatly in front 
of the entrance to a run-down hotel. There was a sign above them that 
proclaimed the establishment as the Family Motel, although there was 
neither an air of hominess nor domesticity about it. He dumped Kaname onto 
the ground without warning and walked forward, the revolving doors ushering 
him forward in a rush of cool air.

Kaname stumbled onto her feet, hastily readjusting her cap so that it 
pointed forward again. "Keiya, wait - wait!" she called out, darting 
forward into the lobby.

Despite the exterior, the actual interior of the hotel was lush and 
well-decorated, thick crimson carpet leading a path towards the front desk. 
The floor was tiled with what appeared to be beige marble; a lounging area 
was indicated by dark, drab carpeting underfoot with a variety of armchairs 
and couches arranged about a dull mahogany table. The furniture looked as 
if it had been bright and cheery at one point in the distant past. 
Chandeliers overhead provided a soft, glittering light.

She wasn't overly concerned with anything around her right now, though. 
Instead, she glanced around frantically to see if Keiya was still around. 
His gruff air didn't bother her most of the time, but this time was 
different. She had lost, and the way he was speaking was beginning to scare 
her. Fear was not something Kaname felt often; she saw herself as 
invincible (or a fairly close approximation thereof). But his eyes... they 
had been cold, colder than they'd ever been. It was that coldness she was 
afraid of, a coldness that indicated separation.

The lobby was silent and empty. She peered around the corner towards the 
elevator hall, where a grandfather clock was placed incongruously between 
the two doors. One of them had just slid shut; Kaname ran forward and 
managed to reach it just as the light on the panel clicked to the second 
floor. She sighed and pressed the button, waiting patiently for the car to 
come down. Keiya had simply left her alone. He obviously didn't want to 
talk to her right now.

Kaname leaned against a wall and began kicking her foot on the ground 
listlessly as she waited. Keiya had more or less taken the hotel entirely 
for himself - well, himself and her, and a couple other people in his gang. 
Still, she did have an entire floor to herself, although she had little use 
for a bunch of empty hotel rooms. Why he had done such a thing was still 
beyond her understanding; as far as she figured it, he must have found her 
useful to keep around, and was going to great lengths to keep her appeased.

But that made no sense... if he wanted to appease her, why did he act so 
cold all the time? It was a question that Kaname had never been able to 
answer, something which had puzzled her since she arrived here. She held no 
delusions about herself; she knew that people disliked and hated her, so 
she lived for what she felt deserved her time. And Keiya was the only 
person who did, if not only for what he had done for her.

It was back when she was much younger and less aware of what she could do. 
The day had been cold and rainy, back in her old neighborhood when she 
still lived with her parents. They were gone now - but that day, they had 
been arguing about the same old things that they always fought over: money, 
possessions, separation, and their daughter. She was curled in the far 
corner of her room trying to escape the voices, the angry voices which 
seemed to ring constantly in her home, just audible through the thin wall 
she was huddled against. Her arms were wrapped tightly around a stuffed 
teddy bear, as if it was her last shred of hope.

Something struck the wall on the other side of her, the impact dulled and 
muffled. She trembled and tried to shrink in on herself even further, her 
body shivering with fear. Indistinct conversation came through the wall; 
she could hear her father on the verge of screaming, and her mother sounded 
as if she was crying. Her lips moved to form a single word, but no sound 
came out from her dry throat. Her eyes refused to focus, and she was only 
dimly aware that she had been crying for some time already.

"Stop..."

Another impact vibrated through the wall, and Kaname hazily realized that 
her father was shoving his wife against the kitchen door. Her hands twisted 
the stuffed bear, fear imbuing her with unnatural strength. Another shove. 
Screaming, growing louder by the moment. She clenched her teeth and tried 
to stand up, her legs shaky and unsteady. Fingers tightened, and a second 
later the toy burst apart in an explosion of curled brown wool and cotton 
stuffing.

But she didn't notice anymore. Her mind was numb with grief and the world 
had already ceased to exist around her. She didn't see the tiny green 
butterfly perching in the midst of the ruined teddy bear, flapping its 
wings serenely. All she felt was something burning inside of her, starting 
in her hands and spreading slowly down the length of her arms. It was a 
painful yet pleasurable sensation, almost as if she was being consumed 
whole by some external force; but she welcomed it, opening her arms to 
embrace oblivion as it raged through her body. She didn't need to be here 
anymore. She just wanted to escape from everything and be blissful in her 
isolation...

Faint sounds that bore little similarity to spoken word resonated in her 
ears. From some distant corner of her detached mind, she heard her name 
being spoken, the three syllables blurring together. The burning sensation 
tore through her and was suddenly raging in every part of her being, 
whipping her body about fiercely like a mere puppet. The sounds grew louder 
and she tried to open her eyes to see what was going on, but she couldn't. 
The gravity was too powerful. She couldn't control the flow of energy at all.

The sounds turned into screams before all went silent, even the rush of 
noise in her ears. The world was quiet.

She sunk back and collapsed weakly onto her side, her entire body filled 
with intensely excruciating pain. That was when she tried to scream, but 
she was barely strong enough to manage a pathetic cry. Her eyes opened 
slowly and she saw her father and mother lying in the floor, unmoving. 
Kaname reached over hesitantly and tried to wake them up; somehow, she 
already knew that it was too late, that she had done something very bad.

They didn't respond to her touch. She tried again, eyes widening in 
desperation. "Mama? ... Papa?"

Silence.

What happened afterwards had never been wholly clear to her. She remembered 
seeing Keiya for the first time, but everything else was indistinct. He had 
stood above her, his expression contemplative and his appearance perfect. 
She remembered thinking that he was her salvation - and that was what he 
eventually became, teaching her what she was capable of, that she had no 
one else to rely upon but herself. Despite that lesson, Kaname knew that it 
was not true. Whatever Keiya said was just an attempt to keep her at a 
distance; she knew that she could rely on him, and that alone was more than 
she'd ever had.

Kaname never remembered her full name ever again, but by the time she came 
to terms with her Guardian, Rave, she no longer cared. She was reborn, and 
she was determined to be the strongest Host of all. She had been granted 
power. The question of "why" never even occurred to her; to Kaname, the 
fact that it existed was reason enough to utilize it at its highest level, 
and through Keiya's training she had finally managed to become the best 
fighter in his entire gang - second to him, of course.

Which was why her loss had been so crushingly painful, and why she was 
suddenly very scared once more, more than she had been in years. Her life 
was suddenly falling apart without any warning whatsoever, and she was 
powerless to do a thing about it.

"This sucks," she muttered to herself. The elevator door slid open at that 
moment with a soft chime, and she stepped inside quietly to see Keiya 
standing there, a smirk on his face.

She stumbled back against the closing doors, startled out of her wits, her 
hands moving upwards instinctively in self-defense. Then she lowered them 
and scowled, sticking her tongue out at him. "You suck, you know that?" she 
muttered as the elevator began moving upwards.

He said nothing as they continued to move upwards. After the first few 
floors, the elevator shaft opened up to reveal the lobby below, the 
entirety of the hotel visible through the glass wall of the car. Elaborate 
miniature gardens were strategically placed on railing of the second and 
third floors to provide a more outdoor-styled feel. It really was a grand 
affair, but it failed to impress either one of them; they'd both seen it 
countless times. A tiny light on the control panel flickered, indicating 
their progress. The car came to a slow stop as they reached the tenth 
floor, and Keiya stepped out wordlessly into the hall the instant the doors 
slid open.

Kaname stomped out after him. "Well?!" she demanded, managing to look 
sincerely annoyed this time.

He barely slowed on the way towards his room - one of them, at least. 
"Well... what?"

"I don't know. Say something!" she demanded, moving right in front of him 
and leaning as far up as she could in his face. "I hate it when you do this!"

"Do... what?" he murmured, the faintest traces of a smirk playing across 
his lips.

"Stop that. You know what I mean!" She stomped her foot on the carpet, the 
muffled thump echoing off the walls.

Keiya said nothing and headed down towards one of the penthouse suites at 
the far end of the hall. Still scowling, Kaname trailed stubbornly behind 
and refused to be shaken, even as he pushed the door open. Finally, he 
simply turned around and brought his hand out in a quick motion to shove 
her back outside.

Kaname had not expected that at all, and she stumbled back against the 
opposite door in the hallway with a loud rattle. Her eyes widened; but it 
was already too late. The door clicked shut in front of her quietly. Keiya 
had shut her out once again.

Indignant tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and a familiar yet 
uncertain pain filled her heart. Her hands balled up into fists and she had 
to refrain herself from smashing the door in front of her into splinters. 
It wasn't her hotel, it wasn't even truly her home. She couldn't raise her 
fist against the only person who had ever treated her well in her life... 
and yet she hated being left alone like this, helpless and without 
recourse. It was just like when she was defeated by that Reiya bitch.

Instead of punching the door, Kaname decided to scream at the top of her 
lungs, a cry of frustration and anger.

_____


It was a beautiful Saturday when the three met again, the sky a crisp blue 
with only a few wisps of clouds overhead. They had decided to have lunch 
together in one of the local plazas downtown so that they could discuss 
what had happened in the past two days, with the newer demon breed and the 
appearance of Kaname and her ally. Since none of them had cars (or even a 
license, in Reiya's case) they had to settle for meeting at the Bluebird 
around one o'clock and leave it at that.

As soon as Minaki set the appointment, she knew exactly two things would 
happen: one, Toji would be late, as he had somewhat of a notorious track 
record for never, ever being on time for anything but school; and two, 
Reiya would be even later than Toji because she hated waiting around for 
him. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, which was 
why she was so familiar with it.  There was nothing to do but wait, though, 
so she decided to wing it and see how things turned out.

In the end, Minaki arrived precisely at one o'clock and sat around in a 
dimly-lit booth, sipping on a glass of iced tea as she waited for her 
friends to arrive. The Bluebird was one of those restaurants that they 
always enjoyed eating at, although each time they did they ended up feeling 
vaguely guilty about how much money they had spent. She had already been 
waiting for half an hour, and the waitress was beginning to wonder if she 
would even order anything. Minaki herself was aware that she was wearing 
out her welcome, but if she left now she knew that Toji would probably show 
up a few minutes later. So she waited, and hoped that things would work out 
with all the hope she had in her heart.

A few more uncomfortable minutes later, Toji finally came through the door 
with Reiya in tow, looking as if he had been running the whole way. One 
thing that Reiya had always been very strict on was usage of their 
Guardians in public. Granted, there was no real reason why they *couldn't*; 
they knew that other Hosts existed but they had precious little proof other 
than the rare sighting here and there during their missions. Reiya, 
however, had basically insisted that they *shouldn't*. People feared what 
they didn't understand, and there was no telling what would happen to them 
if they revealed themselves.

So while they could have made their way across town in a matter of minutes 
with their Guardians, they hadn't - and as such Toji and Reiya had nothing 
to say as they slumped into the booth next to Minaki, panting with exhaustion.

"... hello?" Minaki said curiously, peering at them over the edge of her 
cup of iced tea.

Reiya smiled weakly in response and held a hand upwards, waiting for her 
breath to return before speaking. "We had to walk," she said 
apologetically, downing half a glass of water in record time. "I'm sorry."

"*We're* sorry," Toji said emphatically. "You know how Reiya is."

"I know," Minaki said, nodding cheerfully.

Reiya just seemed puzzled by the exchange. "Um...?"

"Nothing," Toji amended quickly. He knew that he was perpetually late - and 
that Reiya followed him in the same pattern, making sure she was around 
only when she knew he would be. Apparently she was not aware of her 
tendency to do so, or was just not admitting it. "Um... hey, Minaki, did 
you order yet?"

"I didn't want to order without you guys."

"I'm actually not really hungry," Reiya said with a tiny shrug. "I just 
kind of want to talk."

Toji gave her a suspicious look. "About the demons again, right?" he 
mumbled. "Don't you ever talk about anything else?"

Reiya nodded, smiling a tiny bit. "Of course. I wanted to talk about Kaname 
as well."

"... ah." He opened his menu and proceeded to busy himself in looking over 
the appetizers section. "Why don't you tell Minaki all about it?"

The girl nodded, looking up from her own menu. "It's just unbelievable," 
she said softly, making sure to look about to ensure that she wasn't 
attracting anyone else's attention. "I can't believe someone would use 
their Guardian like this."

"Well, to be fair, no one ever told us what we had to do with them," Toji 
murmured, flipping a page. "If it hadn't been for Reiya - "

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reiya said coolly, pulling the menu down 
and peering over it.

He smiled nervously. "Nothing!"

"Look, it was just chance, all right?" she said a bit hotly. "I didn't plan 
to meet Minaki when I did, and she was the one who wanted to show me her 
Guardian."

"So you're saying it was all chance that we met, then?" Minaki said 
quietly, sounding almost a bit defeated.

Reiya shook her head. "Not quite. What I meant was - " She paused and 
looked up as their waiter approached, handing her menu to him. "Just a 
roast beef sandwich and another glass of water, please."

Toji and Minaki placed their orders as well, giving their menus to the 
waiter as he left. "What did you mean, then?" he said curiously. He *had* 
been wondering about how they had all gotten to met originally... his 
memory of the incident wasn't too clear, despite the fact that he 
remembered almost everything else in the past four or five years of his 
life perfectly. It was confounding, in all honesty.

"What I meant is that maybe we did meet by chance. Maybe we met by destiny. 
It doesn't really matter." Reiya held her glass up for a refill, taking 
another deep sip as the waiter moved away. "We're here now, and we have a 
goal. Toji, have you forgotten already? You got careless... that's how we 
found you."

He scowled as the memory of incident came flooding back into his mind. Yes, 
he had been standing in one of the soccer fields one particularly hot 
afternoon at school. His classmates had already gone back in for fifth 
period class, but he had been too preoccupied...

"You do remember," Reiya said, noting his reaction and sounding quite 
pleased. "There was the hose, and the water..."

Minaki suddenly grew excited. "I remember this story! Toji was using Liquis 
in the open, wasn't he?"

"Look, I didn't know what was going on. Cut me some slack, okay?" he said, 
giving Minaki a withering glare. "How did *you* react when Kalciane first 
showed up?"

Minaki's expression grew earnest. "I thought she was an angel from God," 
she said without any irony whatsoever.

Toji looked doubtful. "An angel in really colorful armor."

"She was small at first, like a doll," Minaki said a bit sheepishly. "She 
wasn't very strong in the beginning. But then she got bigger as I got 
better and now she's a real angel. Don't you think?"

"Something like that..." he replied, still dubious. Minaki had always 
seemed insistent upon her Guardian being an angel sent from God for some 
reason. Perhaps she might have been, but there was no doubting that 
whatever Kalciane was, it was the same stuff that was within himself and 
Reiya - and their Guardians didn't assume the form of angels, or even 
anything remotely human. Their leading theory was that it took the form of 
whatever the Host's desires were, which sounded better than some of the 
other ideas they'd managed to concoct.

Reiya propped her chin in her hands, looking at each of her friends in 
turn. "I hope you don't regret my asking you," she said softly. "About... 
well, helping me."

"Of course not!" Minaki said immediately, shaking her head in protest at 
such a thought.

Toji, however, was not as quick to answer. "It's better than what Kaname 
and that other guy are doing, I'll admit," he said. "But I don't know. 
We're still not sure where the demons are coming from, or what they even 
are. Maybe those two are linked to them, maybe not. But what's to say that 
they're right and we're wrong?"

"How can they be right? They're the ones breaking the laws," Reiya said 
matter-of-factly.

His response was instant. "Human laws."

"We're still humans."

"Humans can't do what we can."

Reiya paused uncomfortably, not sure what to say to this. After all, Toji 
did have a point... but why he was suddenly playing devil's advocate was 
really beyond her. He had been reluctant with his powers from the very 
start, but she could sense the thrill of combat each time he fought 
alongside her. She knew that he enjoyed being able to go beyond the limits 
of a "normal" human, and each time he denied it she had brushed it off as 
latent uncertainty.

But perhaps she had been misreading him all along; after all, she didn't 
have Minaki's sense of empathy. Maybe the thrill was only a brief moment of 
adrenaline-induced emotion, amplified in the rush of the fight so that her 
Guardian sensed it. He was certainly impossible to read any other time, a 
fact that constantly frustrated her to no end.

"They could be the ones behind the demon attacks," she finally said, her 
tone a bit slow and uncertain now.

Toji shrugged, diverting his gaze towards the television in the upper 
corner of the room. There was a baseball game playing - not that he found 
baseball interesting, but he didn't want to look at Reiya right about now. 
"We haven't proved that yet."

"We can't let them going around doing as they please!" she retorted, 
raising her voice just enough to attract a few stares.

"Why not?" he replied, completely unruffled. "Isn't that what we do, going 
around doing as we please?"

Reiya shook with fury and barely managed to restrain herself from punching 
him on the shoulder. Instead, she fell silent as the waiter brought their 
soups and salads, watching dully as each plate and saucer was laid out 
neatly. Her thoughts began to jumble and blur together, rushing through her 
mind in a torrent of self-doubt. As soon as the waiter was out of earshot, 
she cast an angry glance in his direction.

If Toji noticed, he gave no visible sign; instead, he simply turned away 
from the television and began sprinkling pepper onto his salad, keeping his 
eyes focused upon his plate now. Minaki glanced back and forth between the 
two for a moment... and abruptly jabbed Toji in the arm.

He winced just as he was about to take in a forkful of salad. "Ow. What?"

"Apologize to Reiya," she murmured, glancing up at him with a hurt look on 
her face.

Toji stared at her in quiet disbelief. "Apologize for what?"

"Look!" Minaki gestured at Reiya, who was sullenly working on her plate of 
salad in silence, her head tilted downwards. It was obvious that she was 
trying hard not to cry. "You were being mean to her, Toji. You better 
apologize, or I'll have Kalciane beat you up."

He chuckled at that, managing to hide his doubts as to whether Minaki was 
truly capable of doing so or not. She probably could have if she really 
wanted to. "All right. I'm sorry, Reiya."

"That's not very convincing."

"What do you want me to do, then?" he said, rather exasperated now.

"Apologize honestly," Minaki insisted, bunching her mouth up defiantly in 
the face of his protests.

"That's all right." Reiya glanced up abruptly, lowering her fork onto the 
edge of her plate. "He's right. We don't have any more right to do what 
we're doing any more than they do. We really should stop before we get into 
any more trouble."

Minaki's eyes widened and she stood up in her chair, nearly knocking over 
her glass. "You can't be serious..."

"I don't mean the demons, of course," Reiya continued calmly, her gaze 
still focused on her own glass so as to not look her friends in the eye. 
"But Kaname and her protector. They're Hosts, too... they're people. If 
they want to fight us, they have every right to do so."

"Then they're the ones in the wrong! They're breaking the law!"

"Human laws." Reiya's words echoed Toji's, her voice calm. "We're not 
humans anymore."

The girl's expression sank as the words registered in her mind. "Of course 
we are, Reiya - "

But Reiya seemed determined to continue, shaking her head calmly. "No one 
can decide what we do except us, Minaki. I thought that I would try to do 
the right thing, and use Setsuna to protect the city... but I guess I was 
deceiving myself all along. I wasn't really protecting anyone at all."

"Sit down, you're making a scene," Toji mumbled through his napkin. He was 
covering his face with one hand, hoping that no one was staring.

But neither one of them listened to him. Reiya smiled a false, artifical 
smile and stood up, gathering her belongings on one arm. "I had a lovely 
time, Toji. I'll see you later."

*You have to be kidding me,* he thought to himself, scrambling out of his 
seat. He hadn't meant for things to get this bad. "Reiya, don't do this - "

She was already headed towards the front, her wallet open in her hand. Toji 
briefly contemplated whether or not it would be better to go after her... 
and ultimately decided to sit back down, staring bitterly at the crumpled 
napkin on his placemat. His hands clenched into fists under the table, and 
in a flash he reached out to grab Minaki's arm as she made her way out 
behind the table to chase after Reiya.

"Stop it, Toji!" she said, struggling against his grip. "Haven't you done 
enough already?!"

He somehow managed to keep his expression utterly deadpan. "No, I haven't."

Minaki swung her hand outwards swiftly, catching him on the cheek. He 
recoiled from the blow, releasing his grip to raise his hand instinctively 
upwards towards the wound. In that moment, Minaki was off, running out the 
door and after Reiya.

Toji stared in mute disbelief as he was left alone at the table. His 
fingers brushed over the spot where Minaki had struck him, his skin still 
tingling. The actual impact had not hurt very much at all... he had 
sustained worse in any given mission he had gone on with Reiya. But the 
very thought that Minaki - *Minaki*, of all people, the most docile person 
he'd met in his life - would do such a thing was beyond his comprehension. 
He had been venting, yes, but he had not expected Reiya to take it as 
seriously as she apparently had. She never had before, and maybe this one 
time he had gone too far.

But he had meant every word of it to Minaki: he really had *not* done 
enough. Whether it was in the middle of a fight or trying to help Reiya 
through the harder times in her life, he had always come up short in both 
regards. He knew that he wasn't good at fighting, mostly because he always 
let Liquis do all the work. But he had thought that Reiya would need 
someone to keep her grounded in reality, something to counteract Minaki's 
idealism. He had only been trying to reaffirm their position in society.

Why had it hurt her so much?

"Damn it," he muttered, staring at the unfinished food and the deserted 
booth. *What the hell am I going to do now?*

_____


Reiya wasn't in the parking lot when Minaki finally managed her way past 
the crowds in the lobby. Judging by the elapsed time frame, she almost 
suspected that Reiya had ended up using her Guardian to flee as quickly as 
possible, despite the fact that they had promised each other they wouldn't 
do such a thing. Her own Guardian reached out, whispering that it was not 
the case. She could sense Reiya somewhere distant - probably on her way 
home already - and that was all the reassurance she needed. Things were 
going to work out. They were going to be all right.

She had no intention of going back to check on Toji. Once again, she knew 
that everything was going to be all right in the long run, and that the 
three of them would eventually return to normality. In the meantime, she 
wanted him to think about what he had done; she wanted him to be upset 
about it, because it was exactly what he deserved. Minaki felt a quick 
twinge of guilt at the thought, but she quickly brushed it aside. Reiya had 
indicated so many times, through her words and her actions, that she cared 
for him. Why couldn't he open himself to do the same for her by 
understanding what she was fighting for?

Minaki stepped onto the sidewalk, clutching at her purse as she began to 
walk home. It was only a short distance, perhaps three or four blocks; her 
parents, once they found out about Kalciane, had entrusted her to go as she 
pleased during her free time as long as she maintained good grades in 
school. The skyline was rapidly darkening, the rich oranges and burning 
reds giving way to the deeper tints of night time. Cars drifted slowly down 
the boulevard in a steady stream as the world grew darker.

She broke into a quick trot as the street continued east, turning into a 
dust-swept avenue that led to her house. It was distinctly quieter here, 
the first half of the street being mostly comprised of dying small-time 
stores; the second half began just after a shallow turn, leading into a 
stretch of road that was still under development as a private community. 
Skeletons of incomplete houses littered the area, casting broken, angular 
silhouettes against the twilight.

She took one more step before awareness dawned upon her: something was 
terribly wrong. Her shoes skidded against on the asphalt, and she braced 
herself to move just as a battle shout cut through the air.

"RAVE BREAKER!"

Two arcs of purple light slashed through the darkness, each curving 
directly towards Minaki. She spun and angled herself around in midair, 
flipping back onto her feet in a tight landing upon an unpainted wooden 
fence. Her arm snapped upwards, fingers curled downwards. Bright golden 
light swirled into existence in front of her, forming a tiny ball that 
seemed to explode out in the silhouette of a winged being; moments later, 
Kalciane stepped forth, her eyes opening and arms spreading. Gold sparkles 
cascaded from her being as she flicked both wings outwards, assuming a 
defensive stance with her arms raised.

An arrogant, boyish voice came from the distance. "Nice. You must be the 
other one."

Although Minaki couldn't see who was speaking, the hesitation in his tone 
was clear. There was a quiet rush of air as her apparent enemy leapt into 
sight: a young boy, wearing a faded grey pullover and blue jeans. A red cap 
was on his head, the brim pointing backwards. As she watched, the boy's own 
Guardian moved back towards his arms, floating calmly in the air above them.

Minaki peered at the boy confusedly. "... Kaname?"

"What? Did your loser friends fill you in on who I am?" He smirked 
triumphantly, seemingly pleased with the fact.

She nodded solemnly, feeling a bit silly. How to phrase it, how to phrase 
it... "I thought you were a girl," she finally blurted out.

"Dumbass! I *am* a girl!" Kaname spat, raising her fist in Kalciane's 
general direction. "What the hell ever gave you the idea I wasn't?!"

Minaki raised her hand apologetically. "You looked like a boy?"

"Oh, that's *it*. I am so taking you down," Kaname muttered furiously, 
lifting her arms high. "*Rave!*"

Minaki simply turned around so that both she and her Guardian faced Kaname, 
both of them smiling softly. Enemy or not, she wasn't going to let herself 
be unprotected. "... Kalciane."

Both Guardians flared with energy at the exact same time, Rave's blades 
bleeding a dark purple as Kalciane's wings spread in a vivid explosion of 
gold and blue sparks. Minaki quickly leapt back again, landing on a 
wrought-iron gate this time to focus upon her angel as she flew towards 
Kaname in a blur of light. The two met in a clash of fists, energy hissing 
from the point of impact. A split second later, Kalciane spun around and 
down in a tight circle, bringing her leg sweeping at Kaname's ankle.

She hopped back and up to avoid the attack, her smirk growing wider. This 
was good. Whoever this Minaki was, she obviously lacked the skill to fight 
by herself. Defeating her would be just what she needed at this point, and 
who knew? Maybe Keiya would start talking to her again, if she managed to 
prove herself. She raised her fists and spread them apart slowly, feeling 
her Guardian gradually infuse her with even more of its essence. The power 
crept into every vein, her fingers clenching tight...

"There's no need for this," Minaki was saying. She was still perched atop 
the gate, her arms folded over her chest; it was hard to tell whether she 
was trying to look confident or was just cold. "Kaname, I just want to talk!"

"You and those other weak losers! Forget it!" Kaname screamed, bringing her 
arms back together and pushing off towards Kalciane with a burst of speed. 
Purple energy trailed behind her, searing the ground beneath in its wake. 
"RAVE STRIKER!"

Minaki looked almost a bit embarrassed. "Please stop shouting!"

Kalciane steeled herself as her opponent came barreling towards her, 
lifting her arms and unclenching her fists. Moments before impact, she 
jumped straight up and twisted her body in the air, pushing off of Kaname's 
head with one hand to land a distance behind her. The girl stumbled forward 
in surprise, not having expected that... ending up directly in front of Minaki.

Their eyes met.

*Why am I fighting her, again?* Kaname thought, as she saw Minaki's unhappy 
look. She obviously had no desire to be fighting her.

But then she drew her fist back in defiance; there was no reason to care 
for her enemy's feelings. Growling, Kaname swung her arm at the girl in a 
quick right hook...

... to hit nothing.

She whirled around, eyes narrowing. *Fast - *

Minaki had already retreated behind her Guardian, like the coward she was. 
Kaname raised her arms again with an annoyed grumble, grinding Rave's 
blades together with an unpleasant metallic screech. "Why don't you put 
your little angel away and fight me one on one, huh?"

"That wouldn't really be fair," Minaki replied softly. "Kalciane's my 
Guardian... and you're using your Guardian, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but you're running away! No real Host runs away from a fight!"

"I'm not running away. I just don't want to hurt you," Minaki said, 
stepping besides her angel. "I - "

Kaname flapped her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, you just wanna talk. To 
hell with that. You sound exactly like that Reiya bitch." She shook her 
head, inwardly amazed at the stupidity of the girl. Who in their right mind 
talked this much in the middle of a fight?

With a grunt, she launched herself towards Kalciane once more. It was 
obvious that she wasn't going to get a chance to hit the Host until she 
took the Guardian out first. Instead of concentrating upon a single, 
massive attack, she decided to duck into melee range and began launching a 
series of quick punches at Kalciane, using Rave to accentuate each move 
with a burst of lavender power.

The two exchanged blows back and forth for a time, neither one gaining the 
upper hand as the battle raged down the deserted street. Minaki kept 
herself a fair distance aways, her eyes closing once more as her 
concentration intensified. Kaname's strikes were quick and steady; there 
was no mistaking that she had been fighting for a very long time. But 
somehow, she felt an emptiness behind the feigned ferocity, an internal 
hesitation lacing every punch and kick. Anticipating it was almost too 
easy. Skill aside, she had no style or strategy, only tenacity. And in 
terms of raw power...

Minaki had remained defensive the whole match, hoping that Kaname would 
come to her senses - but as she watched, it became apparent that it was not 
going to happen. She chased after the two as they approached a turn in the 
street, balancing herself upon a stack of lumber and watching as her 
Guardian and Kaname continued to fight. Why was she fighting, this Kaname? 
What good did she think it was going to do for her?

"Kaname - " she tried again.

No good. Minaki willed Kalciane to flip to the side, the angel narrowly 
avoiding Kaname as her arm swept around in a wide arc. She shook her head; 
there was no way to get through to her this way. She was going to have to 
attack.

Kaname bore down once more with another fierce hook - and that was when 
Kalciane suddenly slid her upper body to the right. Both hands snapped out 
to intercept the incoming arm, and her fingers tightened as she pivoted on 
her heel to fling Kaname away. The girl sputtered in surprise before 
turning around in midair, jamming both of Rave's blades into the ground to 
stop herself. Dust rose up in a streamed plume, her Guardian carving jagged 
twin trenches at each side of her arms.

She looked up in time to see Kalciane's leg whipping at her in a massive 
roundhouse, the angel's wings outstretched to maintain her balance. Another 
cloud of dust exploded as the blow connected, and Minaki quickly shifted 
her position so as to get a better view - only to blink in confusion as the 
debris gradually cleared.

Kaname was grinning tightly at her, grasping Kalciane's foot solidly in 
between Rave's arm blades.

"What - how - " Minaki stammered.

"EAT IT!" Kaname shouted, tearing both arms outwards in an attempt to break 
the angel's leg in two. But Kalciane seemed to launch herself into the air 
in a tight spin, wings flaring as she twisted around to move with the 
motion. Her arm shot downwards, planted solidly into the asphalt - and for 
a brief moment, her entire body was balanced upon one hand. Then she swung 
her legs around in the space between herself and the ground, using both 
arms to push herself up into a one-handed spin.

Kaname could faintly hear her Guardian in the corner of her mind, screaming 
for her to do something, *anything*...

... and then the angel's legs whipped around in a vicious circle, catching 
her first on the shoulder and then on the cheek. The impact was enough to 
twist her bodily around before she struck the ground, knocking the wind out 
of her lungs.

But she was still awake, even as her body refused to move; the pain in her 
shoulder and head was throbbing proof that she wasn't dead. She would have 
screamed in frustration, except she couldn't do that either... there just 
wasn't any strength or will left in her body. She had failed Keiya again... 
and with each throbbing pulse in her brain, one thought repeatedly surfaced 
in her conscience.

*How did I lose to her...*

*How could I lose to her...*

*HOW could I LOSE to HER?!*

She felt a comforting hand upon her shoulder, massaging it gently. For a 
moment she thought it to be Keiya's grip - before realizing that the hand 
was far too small and gentle to be his. Kaname struggled to get up and 
quickly decided not to as something tilted crazily inside her head, making 
her sick to her stomach. A low moan escaped her lips, and she suddenly 
realized that she had not only lost - she had been defeated. No, worse... 
she had been completely dominated.

It was one of the worst feelings she'd ever felt in her life, even more so 
than the sickening wave of nausea that kept threatened to overwhelm her. 
She clenched her fists - noting that her Guardian had already vanished back 
within her - and slammed them weakly on the asphalt. Pebbles and dirt stung 
her skin. Hot tears brimmed from her eyes, the saltiness of her 
perspiration biting her scraped face.

Minaki seemed to be saying something, but Kaname couldn't quite make it 
out... not that she really cared to. So instead of listening or replying, 
she rolled over onto her back and brushed the irritating hand away, 
marveling at how indistinct the stars in the sky were. She took in a deep 
breath, doing her utmost to stop herself from coughing. It was bad enough 
she had lost to her. There was no need to keep looking weak.

She ended up coughing anyways, which only caused Minaki to sigh in mild 
frustration. "Stop exerting yourself," she chided, carefully checking 
Kaname over for anything that may have been broken, although she knew full 
well that her Guardian - Rave, or whatever it was called - would have 
protected her from such injuries. "You need some juice. I have some at 
home. It'll be good for you."

"Juice - what the hell?" Kaname coughed again, some corner of her mind 
screaming at her that it was a trap. What kind of a fighter offered *juice* 
to their opponents? "Le... lemme go!"

"I can't do that," Minaki said, frowning as she quietly let Kalciane 
dissolve into light. "You're coming with me. You caused a lot of problems 
with my friends, and I'm going to get it all cleared up."

"... whatever." At this point, Kaname found herself too tired to argue. 
Maybe if she didn't do anything, the girl would leave her alone. With that 
idea firmly planted in mind, she let herself go limp on the ground, staring 
blankly at the sky even as she was hefted up into Minaki's arms.

Minaki smiled and began making her way towards her home down the street, 
peering down at Kaname every so often to make sure she was still awake. 
"You're not too heavy," she said, surprised. "Are you eating breakfast 
everyday?"

Kaname's reply was a disdainful mutter.

_____


A few minutes later, Kaname insisted on walking by herself; she didn't need 
or want Minaki's help. After two or three steps, though, she collapsed in a 
heap again, still sick to her stomach. Minaki just sighed and scooped her 
up in her arms again, a bit offput at how light Kaname was. She certainly 
*looked* healthy, her wiry arms were well-muscled enough to indicate that 
she did a fair bit of exercise on her own without her Guardian. There was a 
certain lankiness about her, however, which gave Minaki pause in her 
observation. It wasn't the kind of form that a normal, healthy girl - Host 
or not - should have.

*Kalciane...* she murmured inwardly, turning her gaze away from Kaname's 
body. *Are you helping me lift her?*

The Guardian spoke quietly, her voice echoing within the recesses of 
Minaki's consciousness. *Minaki, I am doing nothing now. You are strong...*

*Don't be silly. You're my Guardian, and you protect me. You make me 
strong; together we're invincible.* Minaki hefted Kaname upwards, gingerly 
stepping across the path that led up to her home. The path was illuminated 
with a series of tiny lamps strung along the edge of the lawn, casting a 
shifting maze of shadows as she moved. *I just didn't expect to be this 
strong. Or maybe she's really light.*

A faint sensation of what felt like a smile radiated from Kalciane's 
presence. *You underestimate yourself so much, Minaki. Someday, you will 
understand.*

"Here we are," she said brightly, pressing the doorbell. A faint chiming 
resonated from inside the house, and she heard some scuffling as her dad 
put the newspaper down to get the door. "You're going to have to meet my 
parents. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course I mind, you stupid bitch," Kaname mumbled, though her words 
lacked any real bite. Nausea had dulled her sawblade wit, leaving behind 
what mostly amounted to quiet sulking.

Minaki bapped her on the forehead, eliciting a squeak of irritation. "Don't 
use that kind of language in front of my parents," she reprimanded. "I've 
been very nice to you, so you should do the same."

"Whatever."

The door swung open, and Minaki's father peered at the girl in his 
daughter's arms with only a flicker of confusion. He had grown accustomed 
to strange things happening late at night rather quickly, but this was 
definitely the first time he had seen her carry someone home. If anything, 
he had always expected it to be the other way around.

"Hey, Minaki," he said slowly. "Who's your friend?"

"She tried to beat me up, so I had to fight her," Minaki responded with a 
bit too much cheerfulness. "Can she stay over tonight?"

"... sure."

Kaname lifted her head to glare at them. "I am *not* staying - " Her 
protest was quickly cut short as another wave of dizziness swept through 
her, forcing her back down in Minaki's arms.

"Yes you are," Minaki said, frowning and using her foot to nudge the door 
open. Her mother was reading a book in the living room; she couldn't see 
the cover clearly, but given her tastes it was probably some sort of 
psychological thriller. The television was droning softly in the 
background, going over the evening news. She quickly moved inside and down 
the hallway, turning sideways to make sure Kaname didn't end up clipping 
her head against the wall.

"Mom, this is Kaname and she'll be sleeping over tonight!" she called out, 
shoving the door open with her shoulder.

"Have fun, you two!"

She set Kaname gently down on her bed, a twin-sized mattress laid out with 
a simple pink cover complete with lacy fringe. With another nudge of her 
foot, the door clicked softly shut. Minaki switched on the lamp, bathing 
the room in light. A small study desk rested in the corner, piled with 
textbooks and various math handouts. The walls were plastered with various 
posters of idol bands both male and female, each with a tiny Heart Heart 
Delight logo on the bottom right corner. A row of stuffed animals - bear, 
pig, cow, raccoon, panda, kitty, puppy, mousie, and a dragon - sat atop the 
nightstand. Against the far wall, a six-tier bookshelf rested comfortably, 
each row filled with magazines, various novels and comic books.

Kaname visibly winced. "How horrible."

"What?" Minaki spun a desk chair around and plopped herself into it. 
"What's so horrible?"

"Your room. It's so... *cute.*"

"Isn't it?" she said, nodding and smiling. "Thanks."

"That wasn't a compliment!"

Minaki pouted. "It sounded like one. Why are you so mean all the time, Kaname?"

"I'm not mean!" Kaname yelled, sitting up on the bed. "You're just stupid!"

Her father's voice came drifting from the living room. "Everything okay in 
there, Minaki?"

"Just fine!" She quickly moved forward and got right up in Kaname's face, 
causing her to blanch slightly. "Please stop raising your voice. I'm not 
going to tell you again to behave because I'm really tired of repeating 
myself. If you want, I can leave you out in the street."

Kaname narrowed her eyes, managing a small but triumphant smirk. "You 
wouldn't do that. You're too nice."

But Minaki remained close, her smile fading and her expression shifting to 
something resembling hostility. She felt no remorse as she reached out with 
her hand to grasp Kaname's shoulder, pressing down upon where one of 
Kalciane's blows had struck. The girl squeezed her eyes closed, her mouth 
tightening in obvious pain. She refused to cry, though - and Minaki found 
herself bearing down harder with a strength she didn't know she possessed, 
her fingers turning white from pressure.

"Why don't you stop being mean?" she said, her face now deadpan. "You only 
make other people hate you that way. That's why I don't want to be mean... 
everyone likes me. They would probably like me even if they knew about 
Kalciane."

Kaname struggled weakly, the lingering nausea and the fresh agony tearing 
through her. "B... bi - "

"I can be mean too, if I wanted," Minaki continued, twisting her hand 
slightly and watching as Kaname gasped sharply, biting on her lip to 
prevent herself from screaming. "But I don't want to be. So could you try 
to be more like me, please?"

"K-Keiya - " she grunted, the spikes of pain running up and down her arm in 
near-intolerable waves of torment. "L... let me go..."

And Minaki paused as she suddenly realized what she was doing.

She shook her head in disbelief as cold terror settled in her stomach, her 
grip relaxing quickly. Slowly, she moved away and retreated to her chair, 
staring at her hand in mute shock. It wasn't like her to get so upset this 
easily... and now Kaname looked absolutely terrified, whimpering on the 
disheveled bedsheets. Minaki sighed and buried her face in her hands. The 
argument back at the restaurant must have cut deeper than she'd suspected. 
Somehow, seeing Toji and Reiya argue just didn't resonate well with her, 
and she nearly...

"I'm sorry."

Kaname blinked, looking up at her with a tear-stained face. "You're what?"

"I'm sorry," Minaki repeated, sighing as she returned the look, their eyes 
meeting. "I shouldn't have done that."

"No, you shouldn't have. It hurt, damn it." She was trying hard to be 
defiant, although her voice was still hushed and tinged with no small 
amount of fear. Minaki suddenly found herself wondering where this girl had 
come from, why she had received a Guardian. She wanted to know more about 
her. There was a fragility beneath her tough exterior, and for a moment it 
was as if she was with Reiya. She could feel her emotional undercurrent in 
her mind, like touching a rapidly-flowing stream with the tip of her 
finger. Kaname's sadness and her fear as clearly as if she had confessed 
them aloud.

Minaki swung her legs idly over the edge of her chair's seat cushion, 
peering shyly at Kaname. "You can sleep on the bed if you want."

"Whatever."

"It's more comfortable than the floor," she tried again, shrugging.

"I don't care."

"I'm really sorry, all right?" Minaki said softly, reaching out with her 
hand. Kaname flinched and quickly backed away, scooting against the wall. 
"I... didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to talk."

The younger girl gave no visible indication that the words had registered 
in her mind.

"Will you let me see your shoulder?"

"Hell no."

Minaki visibly slumped a bit. "Well, it's going to get worse if no one 
looks at it - "

"I'll be fine."

"No you won't," she insisted. "Let me look at it. You're going to be 
sleeping here tonight, so you might as well be comfortable."

*Comfortable...* The word seemed to linger in Kaname's mind as she gave 
Minaki another sullen, half-hidden glare. At least her dizziness was gone 
now; the fact that her shoulder was still a throbbing forge of agony 
probably had something to do with it. She wished that Keiya was here, so 
that he could beat the crap out of her... but if he had wanted to protect 
her, he would have done so already. He had obviously not followed her this 
time.

The thought hovered about in her mind, refusing to go away. If he hadn't 
cared enough to protect her, then...

Kaname glanced up.

"Yeah, I guess," she said finally, slipping her arm out from the sleeve of 
her pullover. Doing so hurt like hell, but she managed to keep her 
composure. It wasn't the first time she had been in pain, anyways.

Minaki looked satisfied with that response, waiting patiently as she slung 
her arm out from the collar to tuck the loose sleeve against her side. 
Kaname repeated the process with her undershirt, exposing her bare shoulder 
and the patch of discolored skin covering most of it. Minaki frowned and 
hopped onto the bed, gently guiding Kaname around so that she was facing 
the bookshelf.

"I'm going to get the stuff," she said, sliding off the bed. "I'll be right 
back."

"... stuff?" Kaname mumbled, perplexed.

"You know. Medicine stuff." Minaki gestured a little, making circular 
rubbing motions and dipping into an invisible jar with her fingers.

"Oh."

She watched as Minaki slipped out of the room, leaving the door ajar behind 
her. Her first thought was to run like hell, away from the crazy girl and 
her angelic Guardian; every instinct told her that she was being led into 
some sort of bizarre trap involving shoulder rubs and muscle cream. But 
then she remembered the way the fight had gone... the critical moment where 
she should have gained the upper hand, and the way it had been thrown back 
at her. Keiya should have been there - he *should* have! Why hadn't he 
been? Was he finally just going to forget all about her and leave her as 
quickly as he had come into her life?

Maybe she just needed some time away from him. She had always prided 
herself on being able to support herself, not needing anyone but Rave. The 
folly of that thought became instantly clear to her: she had been relying 
upon Keiya the whole time since she'd come into her power. She had never 
really been self-sufficient. On her own, she was barely a match for that 
Reiya bitch and her boyfriend... she was nothing in Minaki's eyes. She was 
nothing, after all. The ease with which Kalciane had taken her down kept 
haunting her mind. If Rave was so weak, why had Keiya led her into thinking 
she had been strong the whole time while they were together?

Kaname stared at the white door, lifting her legs up to hug her knees. She 
decided that she might as well stay for the night... comfortable... and 
that she was damn well going to get some answers before she left.

_____


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