Getting in character for the first time was always the hardest part, 
he mused. After the first time, he could change quickly in and out of 
character, but the first time took effort.

	He finished tugging on the black pants, and secured the last buttons 
on the dark blue shirt. He looked at himself in the full-length mirror the 
inn had so thoughtfully provided. Somehow, he thought, he wasn't getting the 
feel for the person yet. Maybe talking it through would help.

	He looked at his face, already looking unfamiliar, in the mirror, and 
he cleared his throat.

	"I am a wimp," he stated unequivocally. "When I'm in a dangerous 
situation, I try to nobly help my friends, but I never can quite manage it. 
More often than not, I just get in the way, and need to be rescued."

	He smiled at his unblinking visage. This was beginning to help. He 
pulled on the white gloves, then reached back behind him and grabbed the 
black cape, tossing it jauntily over his shoulders. He cocked his head, and 
grinned broadly.

	"I'm really immature, too. I've had more women than I can count 
chasing after me, ever since I stepped onto this fine planet, and I refuse to 
do anything with any of them. They can kiss me, confess their love to me, 
strip me, bind me up in chains and throw themselves at me, and I can't make 
up my mind between them. Hey, I can't even decide if I really want any of 
them!"

	He tied his sword at his side, checking its length, hilt and heft as 
he did. The details mattered, he knew. Trying to find one that was exactly 
right for the part on such short notice took more time to find than all but 
the last thing. Trust him to lose the sword he could've found easily right 
before it was time to get into action. Seeing exactly what he had now had 
added days onto the plan.

	"And responsibility? Hah! Me, I can't be trusted to do the smallest 
errand correctly! And whenever my friends and I have to fight, I rely on a 
girl to pull me through. It's always one or the other, but I can't help them. 
I let the planet's reigning psychopath queen wander around with us for a 
while just because I couldn't push her away. If you want something done 
right, ask someone else."

	He laced up his leather boots, and stamped them down on his feet. 
Then he reached to the floor in front of him once more, and lifted a single 
poppy from the bouquet at his feet. He sniffed it, savoring the smell.

	"Yeah, that's me. The clueless boy, the weakest priestess of them 
all. I'm cowed by simple little animals that are there to serve me, and I 
don't even have the right kind of flowers. Just leave it all to me, girls."

	He winked at himself in the mirror, and raised his hand to his 
forehead. This had been the hardest part, getting the crystal just right. 
He'd bought one the right hue, and honed it down with his own hands. No 
reason to let anyone else handle one's costuming. The blue crystal sat tight 
on his forehead, looking for all the world like it belonged there.

	He smiled then, boyishly. He looked himself over in the mirror and 
twirled. Perfect. The little glamour spell he used to make him seem more like 
who he was impersonating always helped, but it was the clothes that really 
made the man.

	Riesen smiled inwardly. This was going to be fun.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

The Starburst Crystal
Created by Ardweden

Chapter 31: Spice Drops
by Capfox

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	Kyouji shivered, sneezed loudly, and drew his cape more closely 
around himself. When the Ranchers had told them that the next shard was in a 
mountain range, none of them had thought about what the weather would be 
like. Over the past two weeks, as they had traveled across the land beyond 
Ferrero Rocher, the terrain had turned from lusher, denser forests to sparser 
copses of wood scattered over rocky terrain. Some people tilled the rocky 
soil, but they hadn't seen a sizable town since they had left the previous 
country behind. Even if the land was unwelcoming, Kyouji mused, at least the 
people were open and friendly. Staying out in the cold wasn't pleasant, and 
the peasants of the area had allowed the three to stay either in their houses 
or their barns. In addition to that, they'd been very open with their 
information. The Crystal Warriors knew that the Aero Mountains, which had 
been growing in their sight for the past week, was now only a day off. And 
even more luckily, there was a town at the bottom of the path into the 
mountains.

	Kit Kat bounded happily along at his feet. Kyouji glowered at the 
carret. It just figured, he thought, that the furball wouldn't notice the 
cold. He surveyed the rest of the group; Tsugiko looked warmer now in her new 
clothes, and Yumi looked no worse than usual. He briefly considered offering 
her his cape, then pictured Tsugiko's reaction, and shrugged. No need for 
that. Still, though, Yumi seemed distant more than cold. She wasn't in shock 
anymore as she had been just after Winis had died, but she wasn't her 
talkative self, either. She'd said that she was better now, but it seemed to 
Kyouji that she hadn't made it all the way back yet. It made travelling feel 
different, stranger than usual. He'd grown used to hearing Yumi talk happily; 
now, the conversation was strained.

	He looked up at the sky perfunctorily, and nodded. He looked at the 
girls. "Hey, it's getting dark. Let's just set up camp over by those trees 
over there, and we'll get into the town tomorrow."

	Tsugiko nodded, and rubbed her arms. "Yeah, and it's getting colder 
again too. We'd better get a fire going." She shook her head. "What I 
wouldn't give for a good inn, a fireplace, a soft bed," she groused.

	Kyouji smiled and nodded sympathetically, and then glanced at Yumi. 
It didn't look like she'd even acknowledged the comment. "Yumi?"

	Yumi glanced up sharply, and then over to him. "What?"

	"Feel like stopping here?"

	She stopped, shivered a bit herself, and shook her head. "Sure, let's 
stop. Good idea. I could use some warmth," she said distractedly.

	Kyouji shot her a worried glance as they headed off the main road 
over to the woods. He looked around at the surroundings approvingly. The 
woods gathered around the clearing, enclosing it on three sides, with the 
fourth side half open to the road. Nice place for a camp, he thought.

	Tsugiko nodded towards the woods, and Kyouji nodded. As Tsugiko 
headed off a little ways into the forest to gather the firewood for the 
night, he wrestled the materials for his tent down off his back. As he 
started setting up, he looked again over at Yumi. She had sat on the ground, 
and was just pulling the girls' tent out of her pack mechanically. He creased 
his brow, and went over to her. "Yumi?"

	"Yes, Kyouji?"

	"What's up? If something's bugging you, just tell us. I mean, I 
understood when it was just a few days, but this's been a long time already. 
Are you OK?" He smiled warmly, and put a hand on her shoulder.

	She blinked, and bit her lip for an instant before smiling 
tentatively. "No, it's fine. I'm fine. I just need a bit of help with the 
tent. It got tangled in my pack. But thanks for asking." She tried to smile a 
bit wider, but it looked forced.

	Kyouji squeezed her shoulder once, softly, and essayed another smile. 
"All right. So I'll help. We're here to help each other, after all."

	By the time Tsugiko returned, her sack full of firewood, the two had 
finished putting the tents up and setting up a circle in the middle of the 
camp for a fire. Tsugiko dumped her sack by the side of Yumi's tent, and 
walked, stretching her shoulders, over to where Kyouji was sitting, trying to 
ply a conversation out of Yumi. "OK, so how are we doing for food?" she 
asked. "I don't have anything left in my stores. And last night's food was so 
bad, I ended up giving most of it to Kit Kat." She made a face. "That peasant 
guy had no idea how to cook."

	Kit Kat sauntered into the middle of the group, and licked his 
whiskers. "Gika!" he said, and flopped down on his side. He stared at 
Tsugiko, and kaaa'd his disagreement with her.

	Tsugiko laughed. "Well, at least he liked it, but I need something. 
Either of you have anything to share?"

	Yumi shook her head softly, and Kyouji shrugged. He went over to his 
pack, and rummaged through it. "I could've sworn I had some of that weird 
purple vegetable pie in here," he muttered before standing up again. "OK, so 
we don't have any food. We can hunt something down in the forest, right?"

	Tsugiko groaned, and thumped to a sitting position. "The whole time I 
was out there, I didn't see a single animal! And no fruits I recognized, 
either. So that's it. We're going hungry one more time." She frowned.

	"Well, there's always the town. It shouldn't be too far off. I guess 
if we really need the food, I can head in there and get something for the 
night. Probably not too much, but there's probably a tavern around." He 
brightened. "Hey, and I'll ask a bit about the mountains, too. Get an idea of 
what we're going into." He smiled, and got up.

	"Let me go," Yumi said softly. "Stay here, I'll do it. I could use 
the time to think."

	Tsugiko and Kyouji exchanged a worried glance. "Yumi," Kyouji said, 
"if you want to go, that's great, but I'll go too. It's dark, and I'd be good 
company, right? We can talk." He smiled warmly, and Tsugiko nodded calmly. 
Kyouji smiled a bit broader; it was good to see that Tsugiko wasn't going to 
try to make a big deal out of him being alone with Yumi for a bit.

	"Kyouji-san, I'm sure you're tired, and I'll be fine alone. Don't 
worry about it." Yumi smiled again, but they could tell she was still forcing 
herself to do so.

	Tsugiko got up, and stretched again. "C'mon, Yumi, just let him go 
with you. The sooner you get the stuff, the sooner I can eat. You can have 
time to yourself when you guard. Just go."

	Yumi cocked her head, looking at Tsugiko surprisedly, and grinned 
more warmly, more like her normal self. "All right, Tsugiko-chan, that's 
fine." She got up, and gestured to Kyouji. "Come on, let's go. Don't want to 
keep Tsugiko-chan waiting." She laughed, her voice suffused with warmth.

	Kyouji nodded, smiled, and walked off to the road with her. Tsugiko 
started the fire, watching their backs, a hint of jealousy flashing across 
her face. Then she shook her head, sighed, and tended the flames.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	Tsugiko sat thinking, quietly, before the fire. Being the only one 
around gave her too much time to think about what the other two could be 
doing while they were gone. She appreciated why Kyouji had gone, and they 
were all friends. Well, she reflected after some thought, she and Yumi were 
better friends than when they got here, anyway. And friends try to cheer each 
up when they're upset. That's all Kyouji wanted to do, cheer her up, make her 
feel better. That was all. Really.

	She bit her lip. But Kyouji might be too eager to help, and Yumi 
maybe needed more than just verbal encouragement to come back. Maybe Kyouji 
would take pity on her, maybe he'd do what Tsugiko had feared all along. Yumi 
wouldn't even mean to take advantage of the situation, it'd just happen.

	The flames leapt a bit, and Tsugiko sank down more before it, only 
partly to warm herself. She'd watched Kyouji fret over her former roommate 
for a week, and the wear was showing, she thought. But still, no matter the 
reason or the intentions, to see all his attention on the blonde girl was 
hurting her. She couldn't even say anything, since it'd make her look like an 
awful person, and that's the last thing she wanted to look like before 
Kyouji, especially at a time like this. If only he'd pay her a bit of mind 
these days...

	"Tsugiko?"

	She looked up sharply. Kyouji was standing on the opposite of side of 
the fire, grinning softly, radiating self-confidence. Yumi was nowhere to be 
seen.

	"Kyouji? What are you doing back here? Did you get the food? Where's 
Yumi?" she said, the words tumbling out of her.

	He waved his hands in front of him. "Whoa. Look, I just came back to 
get our money. I left it in my pack when we left. Yumi hurried off like that, 
and she looked happier than she'd been in a day or two, so I forgot. We do 
need it, though." He ran a hand through his hair.

	"Well, you know where it is." She resumed looking into the flames as 
Kyouji wandered over to his tent, and rummaged around in his pack for a 
minute.

	"Great," he said, as he stuffed something in his pocket. He walked 
back over to Tsugiko, and looked down at her. His face softened, and as 
Tsugiko looked up at him, he bit his lip. His forehead creased, and he 
fidgeted a bit, his hands in and out of his cape.

	Tsugiko looked up curiously. "There a problem, Kyouji?"

	The boy fingered his crystal, nodded, and sat down next to her. He 
stared into the flames. "Um, Tsugiko... see, I've been meaning to talk with 
you for a while, and, well..." He trailed off again. "You see, it's like 
this." He nodded, smiled briefly, fidgeted with the ties on his cape once 
more.

	She turned to him, staring him full in the face. "What? C'mon, just 
say it."

	He looked at her face, smiled, and then looked back into the fire. 
"OK. Just...don't interrupt me, OK?"

	She nodded, and resituated herself on the ground to look fully at his 
profile. He glanced at her once more, and then started. "Well, it's like 
this. Since we got here, you've been helping me. Saving me, warning me, doing 
everything you could to help me. And I really haven't done anything for you. 
I try to help you in return, but most of the time, I can't do it." He smiled 
self-mockingly. "Some Knight Protector I am, huh?"

	Tsugiko smiled, and put her hand on Kyouji's shoulder. "Kyouji, 
c'mon, you know you've helped us a lot. Just as much as we've helped you, and 
-"

	"No, Tsugiko, please, don't interrupt me." Kyouji looked from the 
fire into her eyes, blinked a couple times, and looked back. "This is hard 
enough as it is." He took a deep breath. "Yeah, so maybe I did something once 
in a while. It doesn't mean much. I can tell from watching you. This is 
harder for you than for me or Yumi. She's the more heroic, world-saving type, 
and you don't even really want to help these people all the time."

	Tsugiko clenched her hand on his shoulder hard. "Thanks," she said, 
her eyes glittering. "Speaking of Yumi, she's waiting just up the road from 
you. Hey, she's probably halfway to the town by now, and lonely. Why don't 
you go to her."

	Kyouji yelped, and scooted away from her. "No, really, let me finish. 
Look, I know this is hard for you, but you still do it anyway. You do a 
better job of it than I do, and I don't mind being the savior type." He 
grinned again. "That's what I always used to do, anyway."

	Tsugiko grimaced. "Great. Glad to hear it. Look, go catch up."

	"Just a bit more, all right? C'mon, listen. Look, and that's why... 
Well. You're always so noble, doing what you have to even if you don't want 
it. I know I've made it hard for you. The adventures with our little red 
friend were all my fault, and you tried to show me that she was bad right 
from the start. It's like you knew."

	Tsugiko blushed. "That wasn't why, but yeah, she was bad."

	Kyouji nodded. "Yeah. And, well... over the time I've seen you, I've 
gotten to feel you're a good person more and more. And I've wanted to talk 
with you for a while, to tell you." He hesitated, and stared away from her. 
"Well, I wanted to tell you back in Ferrero Rocher, but I couldn't. We never 
got to be apart long enough, and then Winis died, and it wasn't the time, but 
now, I think I need to. I don't want to make you feel mad anymore. I don't 
want you to hit me anymore, either." He turned halfway back to her and smiled 
ruefully.

	Tsugiko blinked. This couldn't be what she thought it was, she 
thought. It had to be going somewhere else.

	Kyouji squared his jaw, and exhaled hard. "So, that's why, since 
we're both here, I thought I'd tell you. I know I shouldn't keep her waiting, 
and maybe this still isn't the right time, but I don't want to wait any 
longer than I have to, now. Tsugiko, I..." He paused, and ran his hands 
through his hair. He gulped in a lungful of air, blew it out, and looked her 
in the eyes. "For all you've been, since you've been here, with me, I love 
you. Really. You." He blushed, and smiled his same, self-confident smile.

	Tsugiko's head swam. He	said it. That he loved her. Really. After all 
this time, with all the time she'd spent worrying about Yumi, about Twizzler, 
he'd chosen her. Right out of the blue. She stared back into his face, her 
eyes unbelieving.

	Kyouji blinked, and rested a hand on her shoulder nervously. "What? I 
thought, you know, you'd be happy." He blushed a deeper red.

	Tsugiko cocked her head, regarding him. Maybe she should be happy, 
she thought, and frowned. But...after all this time, after all the jerking 
around, it seemed strange. If he'd really wanted her all this time, then why 
Twizzler? Why all that time with Yumi? He hadn't even really hinted anything 
to her! He'd kept her down in the dark. And now, even after his previous love 
had turned out to be a traitor, he still had Yumi, her star roommate. 
Somehow, she doubted he'd really pass her up. She blinked away some tears, 
and smiled coldly.

	Kyouji smiled back. "Great. I really just wanted to say that, for so 
long." He leaned forward, looking into her eyes. "I should go back, though."

	Tsugiko held down on his shoulder and shook her head. She smiled 
bitterly. "No. Let me talk."

	He nodded, smiling warmly at her. She looked down into her lap, and 
sighed. Then, snapping her head up, making her decision. "No. Kyouji, give me 
a break. How long have you knocked me around? You love Twizzler, you love 
Yumi, you love me. Hey, maybe you and Winis! That guard back at the camp sure 
liked you."

	Kyouji blinked. "What?"

	"No, really, Kyouji. I mean, me? With my nobility as a reason? Come 
on, we both know that's not one of my best points. If you're going to try to 
trick me, use a better line, all right? I'm here because I have to be, not 
because my job is suddenly delicious. It's not like it's hard to fight when 
people are always trying to kill you." She spread her hands. "Hey, and I 
fight with you even when you don't! I've probably hit you more times than all 
our enemies combined! So don't give me the nobility of me as the reason. 
Yumi's been more noble than me, many times over. She's the one you want."

	Kyouji stared at her, completely bewildered. "What? Tsugiko, c'mon, I 
mean it! Really, I -"

	"Oh, yeah, you love me. Thank you. You know, and maybe that'd have 
meant more if you decided to tell me before Mars decided to send you all its 
women, even the legendary ones. You can't think that I'm going to forget 
everything that you've done with Yumi since we've been here, right? Or with 
Twizzler? You must be a great ladies' man, Kyouji, if you can think you can 
just confess your love and I'm going to melt like all the time since I first 
saw you hadn't happened." She laughed. "Right, right after you saw me, you 
moved to Yumi. For love and chocolate. I haven't seen you move away since."

	Kyouji looked near tears now. "Tsugiko, please. Please," he 
whispered, painfully.

	"Sure. Please. Please what? Please don't tell you that you have the 
emotional maturity of a box of milk pocky? Kyouji, I'm sorry. You can't 
expect me just to roll over and sigh happily after all that." She crossed her 
arms, and stared at him silently.

	Kyouji looked down, then stood up. He walked to the edge of the 
field, then turned back. "Look, Tsugiko. You don't have to believe me now. 
Maybe you do have reason to distrust me. But I do love you, and I'll prove 
it. From now on, you'll see." He smiled once more, then ran off down the 
road.

	Tsugiko sighed, then threw a log on the fire. She blinked a few times 
before she turned her back to the flames and started to cry, softly and 
hotly.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	The sun was well down before Kyouji and Yumi returned with food. 
Tsugiko was sitting by the fire, stroking Kit Kat absently. Her stomach 
gurgled loudly as the other Crystal Warriors approached.

	Yumi laughed, and she looked to be in far better cheer. "Hey, 
Tsugiko-chan. Really hungry by now, right?" She tossed the green-clad girl a 
roll. "We hit the jackpot in the town."

	Kyouji nodded, smiling warmly at Tsugiko. "We got a good amount of 
meat, some rolls, a jug of cider, and even some of that weird purple 
vegetable stuff in a salad." He sat next to her at the fire, and offered her 
a meat sandwich.

	Tsugiko sniffed the air, and grabbed it. After eating the whole 
sandwich in six bites, she held out her hands for more. The other two 
laughed, and Kyouji placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him 
searchingly.

	Yumi sat down, and smiled broadly. She was looking better after being 
through the town. "We got enough food for the next couple of days, Tsugiko-
chan. I know you're hungry, but don't eat it all now."

	Kyouji laughed, and took a bite of his own sandwich. "Oh, and that's 
not all. The barkeeper gave us a good hint about where we should head 
tomorrow." He sipped some cider.

	Kit Kat bounced up, and grabbed a bite out of Kyouji's sandwich. He 
chewed quickly, then swallowed.

	Kyouji groaned, and shooed the guide away. "Man, I wish he wouldn't 
do that. I just want to eat my food in peace, and he's just got to get in the 
way." He shook his head grandly, and grinned.

	Yumi smiled back, then ate a big bite of salad. She gave Tsugiko half 
her food, then dug into her sandwiches. Between bites, she said, "The barkeep 
said that a day's hard walk into the mountains, there's an inn. It's been 
there for about five hundred years, and it's the only inn that's been able to 
stay open in the mountain range for long. People start them, but they fall 
apart, since there's not enough wood up there to keep them heated." She 
started drinking her cider, quickly and thirstily.

	Kyouji nodded, and picked up. "So the barkeep figures that that inn's 
got some magical way of keeping themselves warm. And if they're magicians, 
then they'll probably know where the shard is. Anything that powerful's bound 
to attract the notice of magic users." He grinned, and devoured another few 
bites. "Isn't that great? We'll be more than halfway there!" He squeezed 
Tsugiko's shoulder.

	Tsugiko looked him over again, and then returned to finishing off her 
food. "Yeah, it's great. So we can get to the inn tomorrow? Just being out of 
the cold will be nice enough for me. If we can get to a different, warmer 
area, I'll be happy."

	Yumi grinned. "That's Tsugiko-chan, always complaining about the 
weather. It'll be a long day, but we can get there. And even if they don't 
know where the shard is, Kit Kat can help." She patted the carret's head, and 
he gikaed proudly.

	Tsugiko nodded, then looked over Kyouji. She sighed, then looked up. 
"All right, I'm done. I think I just want to be by myself for a bit, so I'll 
take first guard. I'll be out by the edge of the clearing if you need me."

	Yumi reached out a hand as Tsugiko stalked off, then dropped it. 
Kyouji looked curiously at Tsugiko's back, then shrugged. "Wonder what's 
gotten into her?"

	Yumi looked wonderingly off. "Sometimes she thinks too much when 
she's alone like that, but it doesn't help much to go try to talk to her when 
she looks like that. I'll try talking to her later." She shook her head. 
"Maybe something happened while we were gone?"

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	Yumi sat at the edge of the field, looking out towards the road. 
She'd come out to relieve Tsugiko, in the hopes of talking with her about why 
she'd ran off like that before. All she could get out of the cloaked girl was 
a brief acknowledgment, though. Funny, Yumi mused. Tsugiko-chan didn't seem 
mad, just distracted. Like there was something weighing on her mind, perhaps, 
but Yumi couldn't think of what. Tsugiko had been alone all afternoon, and if 
she'd been attacked, she would have mentioned it. Yumi sighed.

	The stars in the area were nice. The cold air made them seem even 
more crystalline. They were even more beautiful and foreign than they were 
back in the forests, Yumi mused. She found it easy to lose herself a bit in 
her boredom by looking at the skies.

	It had been an hour by her estimation when Yumi heard a crackling 
noise behind her. She stood quickly, her wand out and battle ready by the 
time she'd reached her feet. Kyouji waved nervously to her, and she relaxed.

	"Hey, Yumi. Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, but I couldn't sleep. 
I didn't want to bother Tsugiko about it, but I thought maybe you'd be OK 
with talking for a while," Kyouji said as he walked up next to her and sat 
down.

	She nodded. "Yeah, it's fine. I haven't been sleeping all that well 
for the past couple weeks. Since..." She trailed off. "Well, you know."

	Kyouji sighed, and nodded. "Yeah, I know. It hit all of us pretty 
hard, but I think he liked you best. And you're such a gentle person, losing 
someone like that must be really difficult."

	She gulped in a breath. "It is, Kyouji-san, it really is. I can't 
even tell you how much it hurt for me to lose him like that, right in my 
arms."

	The boy nodded, grabbing some grass and twirling it in his fingers. 
"You've been very strong, Yumi. We appreciate that. But we like seeing you 
happy, too." He grinned broadly. "Like after we came back from the inn. 
Right? So maybe we shouldn't talk about the sad stuff."

	Yumi nodded shakily. "Yes, maybe you're right. Really, I've put Winis 
behind me. It just rolls over me, sometimes." She smiled at him. "It's good 
of you to help."

	He gave her a half-bow from his seat on the ground. "My pleasure, my 
lady." He smiled at her, self-confident. "We're friends, right? Helping is 
what I should be doing. Besides, I. Well." He blushed, and laughed self-
consciously.

	Yumi looked curiously at him. "What? You what, Kyouji-san?"

	He shook his head, and laughed again. "No, it's nothing. Really."

	Yumi looked at him, and smiled. "Oh. Going to be like that, are we? 
Well, tell me. We're friends, right? I want to help, like you've helped me. 
Like both you and Tsugiko-chan have helped me." She gave him a pleading 
stare. "Come on, I'll tell you about Winis, too, if that'll help."

	Kyouji glanced over at her, gulped, and nodded.

	Yumi looked up at the sky, counting the foreign constellations in her 
head. "Well, Winis wasn't really my closest friend. But he was such a cute 
little kid. I could tell he had a crush on me, and I didn't want to let him 
down. I thought it'd just wear off. After all, he'd wander with us for a 
while, and we'd talk, and he'd realize it wouldn't work.

	"I know, we're constantly in danger on Mars. Wintergreen wants to 
beat us down, to claim the land for herself, and we need to stop her. But for 
all that, I didn't really think any of us would die. Sure, we've all gotten 
hurt. Badly, sometimes. But I can always fix that. Or so I thought, anyway. I 
never manage to protect everyone as well as I want to. Not you, not Tsugiko-
chan. I don't ever want to see her get hurt, and I never have, but I can't 
prevent it.

	"In the end, though, we always seemed to get through. Monsters, 
swordsman, even a copy of the Dark Queen herself, and we won every time. We'd 
fall, but we'd pick ourselves up and triumph. I didn't really think we were 
invincible, but I never thought that any lacking of mine would get someone 
killed." Yumi sniffed, and tears dripped from her eyes.

	Kyouji reached over, and brushed a tear away from her chin. "Yumi, 
please. It's no lacking of yours. It's Twizzler's fault, and if you had been 
there in time, you would have saved him." 

	He stood, and settled immediately in front of her. "Yumi, you can't 
be everywhere any more than anyone else can. Do you know, if you had run 
there after him, stopped him, or whatever, Tsugiko may have died instead. 
There was no way out there. You see..." He blushed. "Well, you freed me, and 
I stopped Twizzler enough to save her. And you gave Winis happiness when 
he... well, you know. Look, you can't blame yourself any more than Tsugiko or 
I can. You want to blame someone, blame Twizzler," he finished forcefully.

	Yumi nodded, wiping her tears away. She tried to smile. "I know, I 
didn't harm him. But I couldn't keep him, either. Still, you're right. You 
are. And I'm much better now. Between the walk and saying all that, it helps. 
I felt, before, no one would want to hear about it, and keeping it inside 
hurt almost as much by now as the whole thing in the first place." She smiled 
more broadly, and her manner became less forced. "So. Your turn, Kyouji-san. 
What are you keeping inside?"

	Kyouji looked into her smiling face, and looked away, biting his lip. 
He fidgeted with the pommel of his sword, then looked up. "Well, you've been 
honest with me, but this is hard for me to see. Just let me get through it, 
OK?" He cocked his head, and Yumi nodded.

	Kyouji ran a hand through his hair, and gulped. "OK. Well, you see, 
it's like this. We've known each other for a while, and even since the 
beginning, I've... No. OK." He fidgeted with his cape, and tugged at his 
gloves. "You've been so strong. Ever since we got here, you threw yourself 
into the fight. I didn't want to even be here. I wanted to be back in Tokyo, 
with my friends and the girls and..." He trailed off, blushing.

	Kyouji cleared his throat before continuing. "Well. But all the time 
I've known you, you've been so wonderful. You're always willing to help, even 
when it's not really wanted. You put yourself fully into everything you do. 
You're just so strong, so noble, and I felt... Well, I had to say this, and 
also, um..." He trailed off yet again.

	Yumi blinked and cocked her head. He wasn't going to say what she 
thought he was, was he?

	Kyouji steeled himself one last time. "For all you are, Yumi, in the 
time I've known you, for your strength and character, I..." He looked down to 
the ground, then steadily into her eyes. "For all you've been, since you've 
been here, with me, I love you. Really. You." He smiled then, the same self-
confident smile, and he reached out his hand to brush the last of the tears 
off her chin.

	Yumi felt a stabbing pain, and thought to herself, "Oh, Tsugiko-
chan." She smiled her most neutral smile, and stared levelly at Kyouji. "I 
appreciate your thoughts, Kyouji-san, but I can't accept them. Tsugiko-chan, 
she'd fall apart. She's liked you ever since we got here, you know. I told 
you, way back when. And I could never hurt her like that." Her smile 
faltered. "I know, I've hurt her over time, and I can't do this to her."

	Kyouji looked down at his lap, then back at her again. "I understand 
how much you care for her, Yumi, but please, don't throw love beside just for 
that. It's not every day someone offers it to you. Even to you." He smiled 
encouragingly. "Think about it, OK?"

	Yumi opened her mouth to refuse him again, then closed it. An image 
of another pink-clad priestess, sitting in tatters in a room, floated across 
her mind. She didn't really know what to make of her predecessor, Akie, but 
she knew that the girl wasn't sitting there, alone and mad, just because of 
her death. Turning down love wasn't the wisest thing she could learn, she 
thought. Akie had left hers alone, and now she'd pined for a thousand years. 
Yumi shuddered. Maybe she should at least think about it. That wasn't a fate 
she wanted.

	She looked at Kyouji again. "All right, Kyouji-san, I'll consider it. 
I suppose it's the least I can do, since you've come out and told me." She 
smiled a tentative smile.

	Kyouji grinned widely, beaming at her. "Great! That's enough for me, 
for now. I'm going to head back and try to get a little bit of rest before my 
shift. A little sleep's better than none, right?" He hopped to his feet, and 
walked, nearly bouncing, back to the camp.

	Yumi laughed softly to herself, then frowned. She didn't want to hurt 
either of them, but she had to hurt one or the other. She sucked on her lip, 
and stared up into the strange and different stars for answers.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	The trek to the inn was oddly silent, even compared to past days, 
Kyouji thought. Before, at least Tsugiko was talking to him when Yumi was 
lost in her grief. Now, both of them seemed to be lost in thought. He 
fidgeted with his sword. There didn't seem to be a reason why, but other than 
terse comments about their food or direction, they had barely said a word the 
whole trip. He tried to be bright and encouraging, but he couldn't coax much 
out of them. He found himself almost wishing that Kit Kat was a better 
conversationalist.

	The light of the inn beckoned to him in the sunset. The weather had 
grown far colder as they'd traveled up through the mountains to the pass. He 
smiled to himself. A fire, he thought, would be the best possible thing at 
the moment.

	The three Crystal Warriors stopped before the inn. The sign outside 
was backlit by the sunset from where they stood, but they could clearly 
make out the symbol on the sign. It seemed to be a bright green rock 
protruding from another rock.

	"OK, that's a strange sign," Kyouji said. "But this must be the inn. 
Let's go in." He smiled at the girls. They both nodded at him, absent-
mindedly, and followed him inside when he walked in. He shook his head. There 
had to be some way to find out what they were thinking.

	The innkeeper rushed out from behind the counter as soon as they 
headed in. "Welcome, welcome! My, visitors are so rare this time of year! The 
traders usually come through later, and we do so miss the company. Please, 
come in, come in, settle down." She was a large woman, taller than Kyouji and 
far stouter, her muscles visible even beneath her rough blouse. Her legs, 
too, looked strong beneath her long pleated pants. She looked like she could 
pick up a man and break him over her knee.

	Kyouji smiled warmly. "Thank you, ma'am. It's so very cold out there 
now, we just want to be in where it's warm. And to eat, too." He stretched 
out. "But it's so much nicer in here than out there."

	She glanced at his attire, and that of the two girls, stopping at the 
crystal on each of their foreheads. "Well, yes. Of course, we have food, 
rooms, warmth, conversation, just about anything a traveller could want!" She 
slapped her forehead with a resounding thwack. "Where are my manners! My name 
is Mrs. Heath. Let me call out my family." She whistled.

	Kyouji barely had time to turn before he was being hugged by a small 
boy. "Hey! Visitors! Wow! We never get anyone now! I was getting soooo 
bored!" He rolled his eyes, and let go, blushing. "Sorry, I get carried away. 
I'm her son, Skor. It's nice to meet you." He grinned a wide, gap-toothed 
smile, projecting joy all over the room.

	A tall, gangly man who looked to be in his forties came in next, 
leading an older fellow who looked to be about twice his age. They stepped 
apart, and bowed. The younger man spoke. "Hello, travellers. I'm Mr. Heath, 
and this is my father. Please, feel at home. I let my wife do most of the 
work with the customers, but feel free to ask me for anything you need as 
well." He smiled, too, a pleasant, calming smile. The older man just nodded 
briefly.

	Yumi stepped out in front of Kyouji, and smiled, her reverie broken. 
"It's nice to meet you all. I'm Yumi, and these are Kyouji-san and Tsugiko-
chan." She gestured to each in turn without looking at them, her face 
slightly red, before reaching down to ruffle Skor's hair. "And this is quite 
the nice inn you have here!" She beamed down at him.

	Skor laughed, and pranced off behind his mother. "Shall I get you a 
room, then, dears? Well, two, of course, one for the gentleman and one for 
the ladies."

	Kyouji nodded, and the two girls exchanged a guilty glance. "Yes, 
please," Kyouji said, "and maybe we could talk for a bit. We're searching for 
something in the mountains, and we were hoping you could help us."

	Mrs. Heath glanced at the blue crystal on his head again, just for an 
instant, and smiled. "Of course, dear, whatever you like. Here at the Shining 
Rock, we do whatever we can. Now, sit yourself down by that fire, and I'll 
bring you some warm cider and soup." She smiled at the three teenagers, then 
bustled out through the door to the kitchen, followed closely by her husband 
and father-in-law. Kit Kat scampered in behind them, gikaing all the way. 
Skor remained, sitting down by the fire and humming.

	Kyouji headed over to the chairs by the fire, and nestled into one of 
them. He sighed happily. "Now this is nice." He looked to the girls, smiling 
at each of them in turn. "Going to join me?"

	Yumi and Tsugiko exchanged a short, awkward glance, then stepped 
towards each other. Tsugiko cleared her throat, and then said in a low voice, 
"We need to talk, later. I've got something I need to say."

	Yumi nodded, looking at her feet. "Me too, Tsugiko-chan, actually. 
It's... well, something came up, and we should talk." She smiled at her, and 
then they headed over to the chairs, settling in on opposite sides of 
Kyouji's chair.

	Yumi smiled at the young boy. "So, do you like stories, Skor? I've 
got a few I'm sure you've never heard before."

	Skor smiled back, and nodded, and the group sat, listening to Yumi's 
warm storytelling voice.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	The three adults stood in the back of the inn, staring at a rock 
shining bright green far in the back of the kitchen.

	Mr. Heath cleared his throat. "You know, we'll have to tell them. And 
I don't know if we can turn them away, but the inn... we've had it for so 
long, I don't want to see it fall apart."

	His wife nodded, and tended to the refreshments. "Yes, dear, but for 
now, let's just enjoy their company. They're quite delightful people, I'd 
say, and they certainly don't mean us any harm." She bit her lip, trying to 
sound cheerful.

	The old man looked up from the shard to his family. "Whether or not 
they mean to, they will. They'll have to. That shard's our power, and without 
it, we leave. And they'll take it, and leave us. So much for our lives. 
There's just nothing we can do." He spoke softly, a monotone without 
bitterness.

	Mrs. Heath cleared her throat. "Let's just see what they have to say 
first. It could all be a misunderstanding." She bustled out of the room with 
the tray, and her booming voice could be heard well beyond the door. The men 
stayed behind, staring at their shard in quiet contemplation.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

	 Riesen sighed, and stretched in his room at the top of the tavern in 
the town at the bottom of the Aero mountains. Really, he thought, it had been 
quite easy. He smiled. Although he didn't really get the reaction he'd 
expected from either of them. He'd thought they'd be ready to throw 
themselves into the boy's arms after all this time. Instead, he got quite the 
tongue-lashing from the green one. He'd been afraid she was going to smack 
him around! And that Yumi didn't give him what he'd thought either.

	Well, he thought, it didn't really matter. The doubts were there, the 
rift was set to break. And his hand-picked troops would be waiting near the 
pass for the inevitable chaos. The ideal time to take down an enemy, he knew, 
was when they were at their weakest.

	He pulled the crystal from his forehead, and set it down gently. He 
let his glamour drop, and smiled at himself in the mirror. Being himself did 
feel nice, but to spend all that time out of his disguises felt strange. It 
was good to get back into practice.

	He stretched, yawned, and looked up at the pass. Even if this didn't 
work, they'd be too far apart inside to defend themselves. Love ruins even 
the best of people, he mused once more. And even if these weren't, it'd ruin 
them.

	He sighed, and laid down once more. Nothing like a good day's work.

>o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< >o<

Author's notes:

Well! This was a fun undertaking. I lost a scene in there where we see what 
Kyouji's thinking about Twizzler, but what can ya do. This worked out well 
overall, I hope. And I even got prereading for once!

Thanks to Jesse for the idea (Very, very much, Jesse), Nic for expanding on 
it and offering to preread, and Ard and Nathan for prereading. And, of 
course, to Buffy, without which I would never have thought to compare 
emotional maturity to sugary foods. ^_^

I didn't resolve the love triangle in the end, but man, was that fun to 
write! Heh. Sign up, and finish them off. ^^

-Capfox
11/25/01