Michiru sweatdrops, “Why do I have special mention?” She turns her head as if looking for someone,"Somebody tell me…?”

“That’s ok Michiru, you are still alive… lalalala… has anybody seen my sweater?” Seiya swished through her closet, “Sweater… my wonderful sweater… yoohoo.. where are you??”

Just then, Yaten came in wearing a certain dark red sweater—

“YATEN!!!!! How many times have I told you not to rob me off my clothes!!!!” Seiya made her way to the poor girl, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

“Erm, Seiya, well, I thought it looks cool so… can I borrow it?” Yaten laughed nervously… “Eheheheheh, what do you say?”

“Are you crazy? I’d be using that, now take it off. Nice of you to ask permission after you’ve used it!” Seiya threw her hands up in exasperation. “Yaten, you will get it from me! Now go to the dressing room and remove that sweater!!”

“Fine, Miss Perfect!”

“You guys, what do you think Kurei would think of my dress?” Michiru looked off in space twirling her hair around her fingers, dreamily.

Seiya and Yaten stopped arguing for awhile. Brows arched up, they approached Michiru who is still staring off into space.

Yaten pokes her, “looks like someone is in love… yeehee!”

Seiya pokes her, too, “Kurei, huh? Let’s see… Kurei… Kurei… Kurei… Kurei… Ku—”

“Uh, Yaten, does Seiya like Kurei? She’s daydreaming…,” Michiru whispered, “Seiya, looks like someone is in love!!!”

Sweatdrops all over the place. Yaten giggled, “Oh michiru!!! You are the one Seiya is talking about!!”

“What do you mean?” Michiru innocently asked. “”how can she talk about me when she is saying Kurei’s name?—like, WEIRDO?!”

‘Boy does this girl have no idea what we mean…’ Yaten pats Michiru, “Michiru… you asked if Kurei will like your dress!”

“No, I did not!” Michiru shakes her head in denial. “You guys are ridiculous!”

“Yeah, whatever!” Seiya turned to Yaten, “When are you gonna change into something else?”

“Just wait Miss-Little Impatient!”

‘Kurei, you never learn. You allowed your little brother and your friends to drag you into this.. this… CONCERT!!!’ Kurei looked around. The Concert Hall is slowly filling up with people. His friends were all over the place.

“Yo, Kurei, wassup?” Raiha slapped him on the back, “How’s it goin’?”

Kurei looked up at him and nodded to acknowledge his presence. He sat down on one of their reserved seats.

“HELLO! We got backstage passes! Use ‘em, man! Let’s go see people!!! Cool artists! Do stuff with the passes!!” Raiha said as Kurei started to glare at him again.

Silence…

“You go ahead. Recca and his friends, I think, is already hanging around back there. I’ll just stay here.” Kurei pulled his cap down to cover his face.

“NO! You are not gonna stay there. You are coming with me!” Neon grabbed Kurei’s baseball cap and placed it above her head. “Now be a nice boy and come with Neon.”

Raiha shook his head and smiled. “Woman, watch out.. Kurei- can- bite…”

Kurei waved his hand away and sanked himself deeper to his seat. ‘I wish her away… AWAY, Neon’ he thought.

Too bad it didn’t come true. Neon pulled on his hand. “Come on! Let’s check on my friend Michiru. She’s playing tonight, I want to see her.”

‘Michiru… her… Michiru…’

“OK, let’s go!’ Kurei sat himself up, “I’m game!”

Raiha arched his eyebrows, ”You are, how do we say,  enthusiastic.”

Kurei ignored Raiha’s comment and headed to the backstage. “Onward people!”

Neon and Raiha turned chibi/SD(super-deformed) and blinks their eyes, “oooohhhhhh”… “Aahhh!”… “Who cares?”… they went onward to the backstage.

Michiru walked around her room relaxing herself. A soft knock was heard. “Hold a sec!”

She checked herself in the mirror and then proceeded to open the door. ‘remember BIG smile!’

“Hi!” smiles… ‘ugh! Awfully big smile!’ Michiru peeked at her guest… “hi guys! Uh… Kurei… How have you been doing?”

‘Kurei…’

“Oh, hi, I’m fine. How about you?” Kurei smiled at her  and shook her outstretch hand. “um, this is Neon and Rai—“

“Raiha!!! WASSUP?!” Michiru stared at Raiha while the latter gave her a cheeky smile as he scratch the back of his head.

“anou… uh, Konban wa, Michiru-chan.”

“oh geez, Rykester, you talk to me as if I’m your mother! I’m kidding of course!… geez, I’m getting corny with jokes.”

Suddenly Haruka’s head popped out of nowhere. “Raiha? Where’s raiha?” Haruka stared at the long haired guy, a goofy smile, again, pasted on his face. “so, we meet again, Obi-wan.”

“EEK!” Could it be? Could Haruka be really wearing a *for girls only* clothes? Is that really a tank top? Are those flares? Did she just style her hair? Did she— “Aaakk! Haruka, you turned into a woman!”

A big rock came flying out of nowhere and knocks Raiha out.

“FYI, Raiha. For your information, if your pathetic-brain does something to make you understand my language or at least process the information I’d be telling you shortly, I am a true-blooded female, I have all the body parts that compose the female body and I was a female ever since I came to this planet!”

“So you were male before your spaceship reached Earth? Is there any gender-changing pill that you took to make you look female? Coz u sure didn’t act like one the last time we met—oh no!”

A chibi Raiha aKa Obi-wan Kenobi ran away from the path of the walking chibi Haruka aKa Darth Vader. “eeks” and “die” can be heard from the two. Smoke came into the background and sweatdrops were everywhere.

“oh, sorry about that. Please come in. Those two will take awhile out there and you’d get tired if you prefer to watch them” Michiru arranged the plushies on her sofas and poured some tea on cups for her *visitors* to drink. “So, um, what brings you here?”

Neon took one of the cups and murmured a small thank you. “ oh, I just came here to see you. You know, ask how everything is. Long time no see! What have you been doing, Michiru?”

“Well, college. I got a scholarship in Tokyo University for Fine Arts so… nothing much,” Michiru said. “I’ve heard from Miki that you’d be going to University of British Columbia for your training. Is it true?”

Kurei stared at Neon, “You never told me that? Are you going?”

“well, yeah, it is true. I’d just stay there for probably a year and a half, the longest would be 3 years, that is if I decide to take more training.”

“Training on what? I know you are taking Medicine but what’s your specialty?”

“hehehe I know her specialty.” Kurei chuckled.

Michiru shakes her head. “Kurei… “

“well, I’m training on Cardiovascular Surgery because that’s my specialty. Though if I decide to also train on Pediatric Surgery, then I have to stay for 3 years or maybe longer.” Neon nods her head as she speaks, “At first I was thinking of taking Gynecology, but, not that I am bragging, I need the challenge, you know the thrill—“

“of opening people up?”

Michiru laughed at Kurei’s, uh does he call it a joke? Well, whatever it was it sure made Michiru laugh and Kurei happy to see her laugh.

‘the way she laughs.. it’s like … bells tinkling… it is so soft and gentle… it is … hold it!!! Kurei, don’t tell me you like her—you may be the reason, one way or another, why she’s in pain—the pain of losing her loved one—you know how that feels, too, Kurei…’

“Oh Kurei, I never knew you have a sense of humor,” Michiru laughed and laughed. “Opening people up? That’s cool. OK, my brain has already been influenced by Yaten’s psycho-ness”

“Yeah, Kurei. Opening people up. That’s a nice way to put it,” Neon said mockingly. ‘uh, neon, since when did you have a short temper?’

Michiru straightened herself up, “I still find it weird that I don’t see you around school Kurei. Where do you hang during Lunch?”

Kurei thought about the question for a while. “Actually it depends. Usually I have Lunch-out and I usually go to different restaurants everyday, it depends on my craving…”

“Oh. Do you go to ‘La Pizzeria’ pizza house? That’s where I usually go to Lunch,” Michiru said. “That’s where I usually meet up with Miki if I can’t find her around the campus. You know, page her or call her on her cellphone… the Pizza there is so good.”

“I don’t really go there that much because Raiha’s friends with the manager of Sakura Japanese Food and Others, do you know that? We get a discount, eheheh. But if I’m running late, I usually just drop in McDonalds and buy some Cheeseburgers, shake and fries,” Kurei explained.

“aaahh.. I see. Miki is so prissy on going to McDonalds. She’s tempted by the fries, y’know… she says it’s too fattening for her. Too much oil.” Michiru shakes her head, “She’s gotta be crazy you know… I can stuff myself with fries the whole day… I love ‘em… then again… the Wedge Fries are better… hmmm…”

Kurei nods in agreement. “Well, maybe we can hang around in McDonalds sometime. Y’know, chill out, stuff,” Kurei asked.

Neon brows went up in confusion, “You are asking her out? This is the coolest!”

“Uh… no I mean not really ask out as in date-style… if I’d be doing that I’ll probably take her to an expensive restaurant or something.” He explained, “As I said just hang around. Just chillin’ out there.”

“Oh, don’t worry Kurei, I’ll hang around with you… it’s OK, really,” Michiru said. “So, when will it be?”

“WORLD SHAKING!” Haruka’s voice interrupted the on going conversation.

“PIKACHU THUNDER SHOCK!” A little ball is glowing seen glowing on Raiha’s hand, the hidden power of the Raijin has been revealed!! It really is a Pokeball!

… eventually, both of them got fried…

“Haruka, are u OK?!” Michiru rushed to her friend’s side. This feud between Haruka and Raiha is really beginning to get serious!!! They’ve been fighting like this ever since they were on diapers!!

“Raiha! Speak to me!!!” Kurei shakes Raiha alil’ bit too violently…

“Kurei, move out, let me do this.” Neon raised her hand and hit Raiha hard squarely on the face.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! Neon, woman, that hurts! What did u do that for. I am burned everywhere and that is all you can do!!!!! ARGH!!!!” Raiha rubs the spot where Neon’s slap hit him. “You’ll get it from me someday you witch!”

… SILENCE …

“So, Kurei, when are we going out again?”

Kurei thought for awhile. “Maybe next week, Saturday. Are you available?”

Michiru got up and went to her organizer. “yep, no nothing during that day! So, GREAT!” ‘why is my heart beating like crazy whenever I see Kurei? And now he asked me out… Is that bad Mark? I…’

“Cool… anyway, the concert would start soon. It’s nice talking to you again. I’ll see you maybe after this concert…,” Kurei said.

He was about to go out of the door when Michiru held his hand back.

“Kurei, after this concert, there would be a dinner party, and I don’t have a, umm, date… Can you escort me there?” Michiru then dropped his hand and looked down shyly, waiting for an answer.

Now it’s Kurei’s turn to hold Michiru’s hand. “I’d love to. It’d be a pleasure escorting a very pretty lady to
the party.”

‘she is so beautiful… her hand is so soft… I can’t take my eyes off her…’

Michiru smiled brightly, “You will? Thank you so much!!! Well, I—um … thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Before Kurei released her hand, he kissed it. “I’ll se you later then.”

…

Haruka poked her friend at the sides. “Looks like someone is in love!”

“I just don’t know Haruka…”
~@~@~@~@~
Neon looks quizzically at her friend… “Kurei, do you like Michiru?”

Kurei’s eyebrow went up, “Huh? Well, yeah I do,” He replied. “why do you ask?”

“are you planning to make her your girlfriend?” Neon asked.

Kurei stopped walking. “What are you talking about? I mean, what I was saying was, I like her because she’s sweet… why—did you mean like as in crush/in love – like? I was thinking like as in good friend like.”

Neon shakes her head, “well, OK… but if ever would you, y’know… if your date with her turns out great… would you ask her out again?”

“Neon, why do you ask this stuff? Well, yeah, probably if our date will be successful, I’d ask her out again.. I also want to get to know her more, you know.” He explained.

“So, what if your good friend like of yours turn into I’m-in-love-with-her… would you want her to be your girlfriend?”

“You ask too many questions, Neon. There’s one thing preventing me from falling in love with her. Once she finds out what that thing is… whatever relationship we’ll ever have would be gone. What happened in the past will prevent me from having the one I want now…,” Kurei closed his eyes and started walking.

‘What happened in the past? Something must have happened between Kurei and Michiru… before…’ Neon looked up and saw Kurei way ahead of her, “KUREI wait up!!”

Kurei looked up at the stage as the music started…

The whole concert hall was filled with applause and cheers, Kurei was left breathless…