Chapter 8-Building of a New Empire (takes place directly after Chapter 7)

Aino Minako closed the storybook and smiled sunnily at the two sleepy children, sandwiching her on either side. She got up quietly, turned out the light in the "nursery", her clients were extremely rich yet slightly insensible and old-fashioned people, and went to check on the third child. Just as she's suspected, the last child was sitting in front of the tv, planted there while stubbornly crossing pudgy eight-year-old arms, pouting sleepily. Knowing how much children hated the word "bedtime", she sang out, "Time to get ready for the night!"He glared at her and pulled Artemis's fluffy white tail, causing a yowl, glower, and future scolding for Minako from her fussy guardian. Sighing, she still kept her temper and reprimanded, "I told you many times tonight not to pull poor Artemis-kun's tail!"

"What are you going to do, spank me? You're only fifteen, not even half as old as okaa-san and otou-san," he taunted defiantly.

Although she had sworn never to hit a child, she snapped back, "Hai! I will!"

Backing away shakily, he ran to the top of the stairs. From there, he screamed, "Okaa-san doesn't believe in corpal punishment!"

Laughing, she asked, "Who told you about corporal punishment?"

Blankly, he questioned in return, "What's that?"

"Go and change into your pajamas and brush your teeth, then I'll tell you," she ordered, watching him yawn widely. Active eight-year old boys tended to use up a great supply of energy by nine o'clock. As he consented, resentfully, she waited for him outside the door while he changed, then watched his brushing carefully. "Alright then, corporal punishment is things like hitting, spanking, slapping."

"Things that hurt?"

Blinking, she said, "Um...hai, I guess so. Get into bed now, you've got school tomorrow."

Pitifully, he asked, "Where's okaa-san and otou-san?"

Feeling a pang of remorse, she wondered why so many of her clients never returned early to say good night to their kids, of course, sometimes it was impossible, but the majority of those she sat for waited all night for their parents to come home, then drifted off to sleep. Those parents never went to check on their children, just payed her and went to sleep. "Gomen nasai, but I don't think they'll be home just yet," she said gently.

"But....nevermind."She hugged him for a moment, a second later he wiped away a stray tear. "Good night, Minako-chan."

"Good night."

Since she had babysat him and his two younger siblings quite a few times, he knew the routine and waited expectantly for the next part. "Well?"

She grinned. "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite."

"That's better," he yawned sleepily. Then he disappeared into his room, bid a farewell to the pet snake he kept in a terrarium (Minako shivered), then climbed into his bed.

Smiling at the now-closed door, she went downstairs again and consoled the scowling Artemis and fixed him some milk, wondering how a "dignified" cat like him could smell so horribly of fish and lap milk sloppily out of a saucer. Disdainfully glaring at the disgusting noise, she pulled her Literature book out of her worn backpack and proceeded to read an extremely confusing, rambling, babbling autobiography from the obviously eccentric and slightly insane author, then she had to summarize the key events of his life-if they were discernable from the text.
~ * ~ * ~
Seishou Kouseinou suddenly fell asleep on the park bench he had been reclining on, for kami-sama knows why at eleven o'clock at night, the sleep part wasn't curious, the position on the uncomfortable seat was. Drifting through the darkness once more, he ground his teeth and waited for the inevitable confrontation between the prince and his general. Soon enough, the handsome, black-haired junior appeared. "Konnichiwa, Kouseinou-kun. Still resisting? Nice of you to wait for me, by the way."

Grinding dream teeth, he clenched his fists tightly and retorted, "I will stand by my word unless you find some devilish way to break me. I didn't exactly have a choice, you always make me sleep, you know that?"

"I could make you sleepwalk. Devilish?" Voice full of malice and slight amusement, Mamoru asked, "You think I'm like a devil now?"

Whispering and looking down at foggy feet, strands of silver hair blowing in an invisible wind, icy tears trailed down his cheeks. "You aren't the devil, Endymion-sama. Chiba Mamoru. You both never were, if you aren't the same, which I do believe you are."

Arching a jet-black eyebrow, he asked, "Then what is? Crying, dear gen? And most people thought the day would never come when High General Kunzite-sama cried."

"The thing that's controlling you. Of course I'm crying, all human beings shed tears. Don't call me -sama. You don't deserve it anymore, and if I hold no respect for you, you can't possibly hold any for me." He flinched as his prince struck him hard on the cheek. A moment later, he put up a cautious hand and felt the strange red welt. Casually, he inquired, "I thought injuries weren't possible in the dream scape? At least, that was what Elios-sama told us when we went to Elysion. Do you still remember your kingdom? A golden kingdom, a TRUE kingdom, a pure one."

"I believe you'll find out soon that you can retain a lot of damage in the dream world. MY world. You hold respect for Elios-KUN, my former priest?" asked Mamoru curiously, disregarding the barbs included in the rest of his sentences.

Kouseinou spat near his prince's feet, still not daring to do it in his face. "You don't deserve to call him by such familiarity. Answer the question, Chiba Mamoru. Do you remember the Golden Kingdom?"

"Of course I do. And I call him with such intimacy because he allows it. In fact, kojin, I'm glad you recalled the kingdom of the past. With the help of a new....friend, shall we say, I'm planning to rebuild it."

Mocking, he scoffed, "Oh, that's old, OLD Mamoru-SAN. You're getting unoriginal now. Elios-sama, I should have a talk with him soon then. Friend? That's your devil, your darkness, Endymion-sama."

"My darkness?"

"Take a look in the mirror. Do you even remember what colors your eyes used to be?"

Conjuring up something that looked suspiciously like a dream mirror, he glanced at his reflection for a moment, then coolly replied, "Of course. Blue."

"And now they're black."

"Stop stating the obvious. What do you mean, I'm OLD."

"Then tell me your plans."

Regarding him oddly for a moment, Chiba Mamoru sighed and relented. "I suppose so, but just because you're my kojin. Besides, there's nothing you could to do stop me. I'm planning to finish college in a year and start a business. Of course, we'll have some crafty people who manage stocks and outside business to keep up a good front. But then, *eyes glittering* we'll get POWER. Power from those who are gifted with it, naturally or even artificially."

"And what of those who refuse, like me?"

"They will be...disposed of," he said calmly, with a demonstrating wave of an arm.

"So you plan to murder me," stated Kouseinou, just as dispassionate and detached. "And don't call me kojin."

Laughing derisively, the black-haired one said, "Murder is such a....STRONG word, shall we say. Anyway, I could never kill one of my generals. And there we go, that's why I call you kojin."

"Leave me alone, I don't want any part in your crazy plan."

"Kasen-kun, Kyosei-kun, and your dear Souya-kun seem to want to. Besides, I know people like you with stupid 'honor codes' must 'protect the innocent.'"

Before his general launched himself at his prince, he whispered, "And you used to be like that too, Endymion-sama. So did the other three, if you hadn't brainwashed them."
~ * ~ * ~
Gloomily, Hino Rei glared at the insulting piece of paper lying before her, with the score of "C" and a teacher's note of "please redo wrong problems and hand in tomorrow." She just hated Geometry, especially proofs. And what kind of a name was Euclid? Euclidean Geometry *sigh*. She looked at the problem, proving a figure was a parallelogram, and she looked at her mistakes. First she had tried to prove something else was a rectangle, then after that she had thought she needed to do the same for a diamond's sides, and finally she had run out of time. Moaning, she once again cursed the fact that Mako was still singing away in the shower, happily and blissfully. And then, THEN, just to increase her annoyance, Deimos flew in. "Rei-chan, did you know that you're late for a training? Both you AND Mako-chan?"

Lazily, she stretched and yawned. "It's late, Deimos-chan, can't we postpone? I mean, there hasn't really been a threat to Japan and the world, has there? Besides, Mako-chan's in the shower, and you can't expect Ami-chan to come all the way here from her house? What would her mother say?"

Glowering, the crow perched on the corner of the priestess's desk. "Iie, we CANNOT delay training. If a threat comes to the world soon, all the senshi must be prepared, which might be very soon. I KNOW Mako-chan's in the shower, Aoao-chan's hurrying her. Ami-chan is training with Koori-chan in the apartment's swimming pool on physical fitness and things like that, of course she can't come in the rain! In any case, her mother's got the graveyard shift at the emergency room every day now, ever since she's become a resident."

"That's excellent, darling, arigato. Can I go back to work now?"

*sweatdrop* "No, we're going to train, because Koori-the-idiot pushed Mercury to get a new power, which means we've got to get you one, too."

"Koori-chan can do what she wants, and remember, I've got one less power. Go bother Mako-chan, I have to finish this problem! Would you rather have me fail school or training?"

"Since you already passed in the Silver Millennium, you don't need two lifetimes's worth of schooling. GET!"

She scowled and mumbled, "I'm not a dog....." When they got to the training room, both were met with a helplessly giggling Jupiter and cranky Phobos. "Eh......should I ask?"

"Iie," laughed the brunette. "Phobos-chan interrupted my shower and got interesting results, we'll say. Shall we start?"

Glaring at the thunder senshi, the crow asked, "Do you two remember what new attacks we want to achieve today?"

"Tonight, tonight at ELEVEN o'clock," muttered Mars grouchily, transforming in the blink of an eye.

"Hai, hai. Mars is supposed to try to get Burning Mandala, I have to find a Sparkling Wide Pressure."

"Excellent! Now then, to achieve these attacks, it is imperative that......"

*groan*
~ * ~ * ~
Thanking the couple with a fake smile on her face, Aino Minako accepted the money for babysitting and left, making sure she had everything she had brought with her. Walking along the deserted streets, she shivered and tried not to talk to Artemis in case there were people like the ones she had met in London nearby. She was busy trying not to be scared and thanking her lucky stars that she was Sailor V when she heard an eerie moan from the park nearby, one she was familiar with-in the daytime, at least. Who would be in the park at midnight? (Tsukino Ikuko and Kenji were going to kill her for not getting home early, but it wasn't exactly her fault now, was it?) Maybe a homeless person could be spending the night on a deserted bench? Perhaps, but not likely. Resisting the urge to transform into her short, short fuku and large red goggles, the blonde cautiously crept up to where she'd heard to noise. Over the back of the bench, nothing was visible except a few strands of probably shoulder-length silver hair, but it didn't look like a gray of old age, more like a shimmering, sparkling color. Taking a deep breath and speculating on the very good question on why she was such an idiot, Minako put her chin in the air and walked in front of the seat and prepared to face whatever was groaning in the park at the midnight hour, and all was not well. What she saw was a boy, a man that looked like he might be in college, with a muscular form (very, very tall) and a sharply-cut face with strong features, and his hair was indeed falling to his shoulders. Inhaling another gulp of fresh air, she wondered whether or not what she was going to do was wise.....

Seishou Kouseinou writhed in agony, wondering why, where, and how Mamoru had learned to inflict such pain without even batting an eye. Okay, so that wasn't quite accurate, he had blinked a few times, but that was only human-if the reborn Endymion WAS actually human. Lying on the cold, solid yet shifting ground of the dream scape, he tried to push away all thoughts of giving in, cherishing the coolness under his cheek. Although it did hurt too, a purple bruise forming didn't exactly prize the pressure building on it. He bit back tears, knowing the weakness would just further infuriate his black-haired tormentor. 'Remember, Kouseinou-kun/Kunzite-sama, be strong. You have a duty to your prince, to save him from the evil that's taken him over, don't forget your princess. The one you've been waiting for your whole two lives so far, with hair of spun gold and eyes of azure as Kasen-kun's used to be. Don't give up.' Immediately, a strange warmth spread through his tired and abused body, calming and not burning, easing the pain. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Kouseinou opened gritty eyes, slightly afraid of what he would find. Instead of the expected demon, he saw an angel.

Bending over, Mina smiled brightly and said, "I'm glad to see you're awake now, you didn't seem very well, must have been having a nightmare."

"Uh....hai, arigato for waking me up." The silver-haired student vaguely puzzled over where he had seen this blond-haired, blue-eyed girl before, she reminded him greatly of a person he couldn't quite call to his mind at the moment.

Thinking about why the poor guy might have looked so shaken and confused, she quickly introduced, "Gomen nasai for not telling you who I was, my name is Aino Minako."

'That's who it is!!' "Minako-chan! I know you, from a long time ago!"

Backing away, becoming a bit frightened yet not dropping his large hands, her crystal blue eyes grew wide. "Excuse me, sir, do I know you?"

Blushing, he said, "I'm Seishou Kouseinou. You talked to me once, when you didn't know me either, around the age of six. I was ten."

Suddenly, a megawatt smile came on, whereupon Kouseinou almost died of sheer delight. "That's right, it was at a playground! I haven't seen you in a while, Kousei-kun. And now we're meeting in the middle of the night in a deserted park, very creepy."

"Hai, I was.....upset when you moved."

"But you were only ten. I hope you took my advice. Wow, it's been.....nine years. That's a long time."

"I did, I made friends. Hopefully, I'm not as 'arrogant' and 'stuck up' as you thought."

She flushed brightly and looked down at her feet, still reminiscing. "Gomen, I didn't mean to be rude back then."

"I didn't mean to bring it up, you were right anyway, and it's done me a world of good. Listen, as you said, it's really weird to be meeting an old friend at twelve AM, do you want to come over to my dorm and have something to eat? Or do you need a ride home?"

Somewhat wary, Minako explained, "Oh no, that's okay. It's a bit late, and my....guardians (I only have Artemis-kun, the old furball) would be worried. I was babysitting, and the parents took such a long time getting home."

"Do you need a ride, then?" he asked hopefully, wondering why he still couldn't bring someone else to mind besides a kid Aino Minako. It was so familiar...except...it just wouldn't come.

"Hai, that would be helpful," she finally agreed. The Lunar cat scratched angrily at his carrier, she turned red and picked him and her backpack up. Glaring furiously at the college student all the way to the Tsukinos's house, he wasn't exactly the ideal pet at the moment. However, that didn't seem to affect Minako and Kouseinou, who carried on a pretty normal conversation for all that the time wasn't.
~ * ~ * ~
"Very interesting," drawled Tabiki Kasen, lounging on a battered black couch. "You say Kouseinou-kun still shows no sign of breaking?"

Quiet, intense Yosouya replied, "It's to be expected, after all, he WAS the strongest and most powerful."

"Was," smirked Kyosei, "was. A key word."

Just as bored, Chiba Mamoru was fiddling around with some foreign object out of sight that had taken residence in his pocket. "And what exactly are you implying? A point here?" When the other three shrugged and looked at the ground, slightly uncomfortable and uptight, he sighed. "I need my last general, mind. Have you three decided on what to do with your guardians?" When they looked blankly back at him, he said, "Although you may not realize, your three and four, counting Kouseinou-kun's, have immense power that's been used to protect you. Thank kami-sama it was never against you."

"Are you suggesting we eliminate them?" asked Kasen casually.

Banging his head on the rosewood desk, the ebony-haired prince moaned. "Masaka, haven't you been listening? Iie, I don't think so. We need POWER. And if that's what they have, we need to convert it."

Shrugging, the brown-haired one looked at the starless sky. "Imprisonment is always an alternative. I don't relish the idea of murdering my protector for the last, oh, a thousand and eighteen years."

"Mamoru-kun," addressed the long blond-haired gen, "weren't you planning to start your little....business company, shall we say, a year before you graduated so everything will be perfect and ready to go when that time comes?"

Looking startled, black eyes widened for a moment before their owner said ruefully, "Arigato for reminding me, Souya-kun. What would I do without you?"

"What, you forget all about your great plans for rebuilding the Golden Empire?" asked the blond-haired, blue-eyed general teasingly.

Icy winds circulated madly, black and blue wisps flying around without any force controlling them. An enraged Endymion now pinned one of his oldest friends to the wall, hands fastened around his throat. "You never, EVER, talk to your prince that way again, understood?" he asked harshly. When Kasen nodded furiously, unable to breathe because of the choking grip, he loosened his hold slightly, although his body was still tense. Shifting back to Chiba Mamoru, the only change being the armor, eyes narrowed suspiciously, looking his other two gens over. Pleasantly, he said, "If any of you make the mention my forgetting the kingdom I had the past and my quest in the future, you'll be sorry. Very sorry. Now then, are we agreed?"

Kyosei and Yosouya bowed hurriedly, frightened. "Hai, Endymion-sama, Mamoru-kun."

Relaxing, he abruptly shoved the almost-expired Kasen into his brother's arms, ordering, "Make sure he'll be okay. Report back as soon as possible after your 'examination' to discuss my...plans."

"Excuse me, Mamoru-kun, but I'm only a med student....how do....can I....?" stuttered an obviously nervous and concerned Yosouya.

"Just take care of it!" snapped the darn-haired prince. "I'm sure you're very capable of giving his neck a quick going over."

Gulping, the brunette and blonde both took their leave by the dismissal in his tone, Kyosei helping his friend support their fellow general. Quickly laying him down on the bed, Yosouya did the first thing that came to mind-took his pulse. Finding it was beating rapidly, he then checked Kasen's airway and breathing, also putting a hand over his chest for both lungs and heart. As both his breathing and heartbeat were fine, Yosouya concluded, "It's okay, but we have to wake him up and get back to Mamoru-kun."

Now relieved that his friend was able to breathe, the brunette grinned evilly and smirked, "I think I can take care of that. Take anything that isn't waterproof or important away from the bed...."

"Hai," laughed the blonde merrily, moving a few articles that were of consequence to him or his brother. A few minutes, a shriek, some threats, and a pounding later, three soggy and breathless generals reported to their prince, one hallway and two doors done from them.

"Good, you managed to get back in a reasonable amount of time with excessive noise and attention-attracting activities." The three looked at each other nervously, not sure whether they were being commended or scolded until he started laughing, not an evil laugh, but an amused sound. "Don't worry, come and sit down. I've gotten over my stress, but Kouseinou-kun is certainly being difficult. Now then, onto business." The blond-haired, green-eyed gen, eyes sparkling with interest seemingly pulled a notebook out of nowhere (although Kasen claimed he must really use magic, the other two scoffed at his folly and suspected some strange pockets or other), ready to take avid notes. The brunette and other blonde just settled back and waited, enveloped in large black cushions until they became drowsy....."Kyo-kun, Kasen-kun," he rapped them sharply on the heads, "I catch you snoozing one more time, and I'll give you this speech while you're balancing on lampposts twelve o'clock AM, you hear?" Gulping, they sat up to his satisfaction, and he beamed. "Excellent. Now then, as I was saying, before it got so boring that some people RUDELY drifted off *ahem* *cough* no names given, of course, I'm planning on establishing a new company. But it's not that easy, you see, I've been preparing for years.....After all, you need sound finances, a good cover-up, and still, I need you to help me pick out highly-specialized workers that can keep their mouths shut with a bit of threatening....."
~ * ~ * ~
Shifting her weight from one foot to another, Hino Rei wondered how much longer it could possibly take for her two friends, Kino Makoto and Mizuno Ami, to get home from school, the blue-haired one walking home with the brunette.. After all the quicker you start, the faster the torture ends, ne? At last, she spotted the familiar blue tresses and very high brown ponytail. "Finally, I was beginning to think....nevermind," she added hastily, when she noticed an unfamiliar boy walking with them, talking animatedly to Makoto. She noticed Ami had a slight frown on her face, trying to keep the extreme dislike from her face. 'Hey Ami-chan, what's up with the guy?'

Jumping about ten feet in the air and trying to ignore the guy and her friend's stares, she murmured something uneasily to them, the boy smiled, the brunette just said something quick in reply and walked a few more paces, stopping with the blonde. Hurrying over to the raven-haired priestess, Amu whispered, "I think that guy is trying to ask Mako-chan out."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Rei, grinning with delight. Valentine's Day was coming, and here was living proof-in the flesh and form of her best friend.

Looking at her feet, the petite girl mumbled, "He's not very nice."

"How would you know?" Arching a thin, inky eyebrow, she speculated, "Why, Ami-chan, are you jealous?"

She blushed furiously and hissed, "Iie! Of course not! He's in a few of my classes, okay, only two, but he's a jerk. The spawn of......um.....anyway, he's what most people call 'a jock'."

"So what? Mako-chan's athletic," the priestess replied, shrugging off the first part.

"Hai, she is," said the blue-haired one a touch more than wistfully. "But seriously, he's not a nice person!"

Curiously and slightly protectively, the miko asked, "What's he done to you?"

She turned red and muttered, "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."

"Honto....." drawled Rei.

Ami blushed deeper, into a rich plum. "I'm not saying anything....okay, okay. Not meant for people under thirteen, we'll use the movie ratings, for slight, *ahem* SLIGHT profanity."

"What did he say?"

"NOTHING!" The two conversing about four feet away stared at them strangely while they flushed. A few moments later, the unknown entity left, while Makoto bounced over happily. "Well, Mako-chan, you look cheerful. What did he say?"

Grinning and flashing the V-is-for-victory sign that had become famous with the appearance of Sailor V in London, traveling internationally, she replied, "He asked me out! On a date to the movies, Saturday. All I have to do is ask your grandfather now, Rei-chan."

"Um.....Mako-chan, I'm sure he'll agree, but how well do you know this guy?" the raven-haired one asked, trying not to shoot a glance at her blue-haired friend.

Catching the look between the two, the brunette frowned and asked, "Are you two jealous or in on something? That's fine with me then." She then flounced into the temple ahead of them, temper sparked uncharacteristically. Worriedly shrugging, they wordlessly followed her in to commence an uncomfortable and increasingly painful session.
~ * ~ * ~
Aino Minako bounced home joyfully, consciously aware of the prized test paper carefully inserted into a glossy folder for protection, then meticulously packed into her backpack so it wouldn't be wrinkled or torn. Finally, FINALLY, after hours and hours of studying, she had gotten a ninety-seven on her pre-Calc midterm-wasn't the world just wonderful nowadays? Until her buoyant steps made her wrench her ankle painfully for a moment, and she stopped, gasping with vexation. A muscular form in front of her, perhaps one and a half times her size stopped and asked, "Excuse me, dajibou?"

Looking up, a long way up from the ground, she saw Seishou Kouseinou and tried to smile weakly. "Konnichiwa, Kousei-kun. Dajibou, just....twisted my ankle." When she tried to get up, she bit back a cry when the agony shot up her leg again, tears welling up in large, crystal blue eyes.

"Konnichiwa, Mina-chan. Iie, you aren't fine. Want another ride? It looks like you sprained your ankle," he offered.

"That's horrible," she cried, letting the tears fall.

Picking her up and depositing her in the car, amidst odd stares from onlookers, he gently soothed, "Hey, hey, it won't be that bad, I've done it myself. It should heal soon if you take good care of it."

*sniffle* "Now I won't be able to play volleyball, and the coach and everyone on the team will be so disappointed," sighed Minako.

"Is that what you're worried about? Not the hurting, your commitment?" he asked incredulously. Shaking his head and getting in the car, miraculously remembering the way to the Tsukino house, he marveled, "You've got great constitution, you know that?"

"Nope," she smiled, wiping away her tears. "You're in college now, aren't you?"

"Hai."

"Why aren't you...well....wherever you go to college?"

He laughed and said, "College isn't all about attending classes, at least I hope not, or I'm going to flunk. I've got two classes in the morning, one around four thirty in the afternoon, and one at eight PM. Right now, I've got a slight break."

"So you go around stalking high school girls?" she teased.

Grinning again, something he rarely did, he retorted, "Iie, just rescuing ones that are clumsy and twist their ankles on the sidewalk."

"Hey!! That wasn't nice," she pouted.

Admiring her long, sun-kissed hair and cornflower blue eyes, he wondered if there was anyone more angelic in existence. Of course, his mythology class contradicted that Aphrodite, otherwise known as Venus, was the goddess of love and therefore, most beautiful. "I know, gomen nasai. It was just a joke. How long until you go to college and find out yourself, Akari-chan?"

Looking at him quizzically, she asked, "Akari-chan?"

"Answer the question first, and then I'll reply," he smiled craftily. Although, he admitted to himself, it wasn't as sly an answer as he would have liked to have given.

"A few. Okay, okay. I'm in tenth grade, so eleventh and twelfth-two more. Now it's your turn for explanations!"

Carefully looking at the road or speedometer, he still didn't answer. "Any plans for where you're going or what to study?"

"I don't want to leave Japan ever again," she said vehemently. "Perhaps Tokyo University. Close to Juuban, at least. I heard you moved, too."

"Hai, from Juuban to Hokkaido, but now I live here again, since I attend the aforementioned college. Akari, as you must know, means 'a light.' And since you remind me so much....of well.....you glow. With a soft radiance." Waving his hands around, searching, Kouseinou felt his face turning scarlet at his romanticism.

"That's very sweet," she smiled. "Now we're home. Arigato, Kousei-kun. "Are you going to be able to-"

"Make it? Of course, I'll be fine. Arigato gozaimisu."

"It was nothing.....can I call you Akari-chan, or do you prefer Mina-chan or Minako-chan?" he asked apprehensively.

Turning around at the doorway and flashing a brilliant smile that made his heart melt, although he was four years older and therefore not "supposed" to be....attracted to someone fifteen years old, she winked and flashed the V-is-for-victory sign almost unconsciously, the motion having become a habit while fighting crime. "I think you can continue to call me that. Ja ne, Kousei-kun!"

Softly, still watching her disappearing wonderingly, he whispered wistfully, "Ja ne, Akari-chan. A light, the only one in my life at the moment."
~ * ~ * ~

Paths of Thorns