Kazumi Orako's Story

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From the beginning of time, humans have worshipped some form of a deity. Where they got the ideology that another, more powerful being existed, over watching them and judging their every movement, their every decision - their every thought - is beyond the understanding of modern day scientists. All that is known is that they have worshipped some sort of ethereal being since the beginning of their existence.

Jesus. Allah. Moses. Zeus. God.

Those are but a few of the many, many deities and omnipotent beings that the humans have ‘thought’ of as their creators. Obviously, none of them came close to the truth - the truth that the Sun and the Moon, two ‘planets’, as they were deemed by humans, were the actual creators of all living creatures - but that was partially the doing of said deities. Ever since the humans began to wonder how they came to be, how they were created, or in general questions anything related to such a subject, the Sun and the Moon have ventured to Earth to regularly spin stories, and spread them across the world in an attempt to slow the discovery of their being. Once their children were born, however, they put far more effort into keeping their existence hidden, into preventing them and their children from being discovered. Any human that came close to the truth was promptly dealt with, usually by the Senior Star given her memory suppression capabilities, and so far so their web of lies and legends has held up.

The lies were put into place to not only protect the Sun and Moon, and not only their children, either, but also the human beings themselves. If they were to discover the true origin of their beginnings, there is no telling what the outcome could be. What could become of the children and their parents is unknown, seeing as the two deities never once claimed to be omnipotent, and they have lived in slight fear of their existence becoming known one day.

They don’t, of course, plan to hide themselves forever. Simply until they deem the humans to be capable of accepting their existences without any repercussions; and so far, they have yet to prove themselves worthy to know the truth.

The main cause of war in human society stems from religious views. The main cause of disputes between people is caused by their differences in beliefs.

Many, many issues in human society, both currently and throughout the past, can be traced back to religious differences. The Crusades are a prime example of holy wars, during which time countless lives were lost.

The witch trials across Europe and early America are another example of the religious influence that causes mass genocides to take place. World War II, in which Adolf Hitler attempted to wipe out all of those belonging to the Jewish faith.

To sum everything up, human beings as a whole are not ready to accept the truth. They are close - God, they are so very close - to being able to hear the real truth and accept it without negative consequences or outcomes.

But they aren’t quite there yet; and so the Sun and the Moon are not ready to take the chances of revealing their existence to any human being, out of fear of them spreading the knowledge their being to other humans throughout the world. And so we hide.

We always hide.

Velonix glanced up from the blank, old book that she had been writing in. It had been given to her by the owner of the bookshop that she had just recently been given a job at, as a welcoming present. She had seen it through the window when she had been walking by, and it had prompted her to enter the store, almost as though it were calling for her. When the owner, Mr. Zwemmer, saw her inside and staring at it, he had removed it from its case and allowed her to look more closely at it. While she was studying it, they began a conversation, and one thing led to another, and she ended up with her first real job in the human world. After her third of fourth shift, during which times she would stare at the ancient book, Mr. Zwemmer finally caved and gave her it as a gift, much to her happiness. She had promised vehemently to care for it as though it were a living creature, and he laughed in response, knowing that she would.

Setting down the quill - yes, she still wrote with a quill and ink, deal with it - she put the stopper into her ink bottle and pushed back her chair, rising from her seat. She placed the book and writing utensils behind the main counter before turning to go through the boxes of new books that had arrived that morning.

She could still remember the day that her siblings pushed her into returning to Earth, which was only two weeks prior to the present day. The idea had been hers - a decision that still surprised her, even though she was the one who came up with it.

---

~’.’~Two Weeks Prior~’.’~

Soft whispers slithered beneath the door that led to the library. They could only be heard if one were to be standing directly outside of the door, and it was almost necessary to press one’s ear to said door in order to actually understand what was being said.

Not that there was anyone to listen to the discussion. Sun and Moon were currently overwatching the Earth, as they did at that exact time each and every new day, and The Senior Star Astra was currently assisting them in their Earthly decisions. The Junior Star Vyasa was at her side, attempting to intake any new knowledge to be gained from the actions that his more powerful Godly comrades were performing.

Now who, one may wonder, was making such noise in the library?

There could only be one group of culprits behind it; the four children of the Sun and the Moon.

The very embodiment of the Seasons themselves.

Beyond the large, oaken door, the children of the Gods sat on the comfortable furniture within. The two eldest were on one couch, while the two youngest had taken seats on the armchairs on either side of the larger furniture. Harmony had taken the liberty to start a fire in the massively beautiful fireplace that adorned the equally gorgeous library, which was quadruple the size of the area that they were currently nestled in, and she folded her legs beneath her bottom on the chair, tucking her skirt underneath her shins in an ever-present drive at modesty. A mug of her ever-present hot chocolate, decorated with whipped cream, marshmallows, and sprinkles of cinnamon, was clasped firmly between her oddly cold palms, which were damp with a nervous sweat. The same wetness was sprinkled across her hairline, both along her forehead and the nape of her neck, and a small tremble of anxiety resided in her hands. In addition, she was doing her bad habit of bouncing slightly as she sat, constantly shifting her weight in an obvious attempt to get comfortable, despite it being a futile effort.

After several moments of silence had ticked by, Harmony obviously too nervous to start the discussion of why she had asked her siblings to join her in the library, her sister spoke.

”Har, I understand that you’re nervous, but you should know by now that there’s no need for you to feel that way around us. Whatever’s bothering you - whatever’s weighing on your mind - just speak.” Her voice was gentle, almost a coo, in an obvious attempt to draw her shy younger sister slightly more out of her shell.

In response, Harmony fidgeted a bit more for a moment longer, before forcing herself to settle and heaving a sigh. After a long sip of her delicious cocoa, she lowered her feet to the floor and leaned forward, setting the mug on the coffee table before her. She dropped her hands to her knees, drew in a long breath in preparation, and in one long heave, blurted out what she had rehearsed at least thirty-two times in her mind.

”I … I want to go and visit Earth!”

Almost instantly the girl squeezed her eyes shut, her shoulders hunching in readiness for her siblings expected outbursts of rejection at her wish. When nothing was immediately said, she slowly allowed herself to pry open one eye, and then another when she noticed the blank stares of surprise from her brothers and sister. Squirming a bit under their piercing gazes - they all had equally beautiful eyes in her mind, and ones that could unsettle even the most rigid of people - she gnawed on her lower lip, looking down at her hands on her legs. Her fingers were curled inwards, digging into the flesh of her knees, and she was bouncing her one foot anxiously.

A few more beats of silence passed before anyone spoke, and it was one word.

”No.”

Harmony’s head snapped up, her heart stopping for a brief moment before skipping a beat and regaining its regular pattern. Her eyes met her older brother’s gaze, which was dark and stern, unrelenting in its own way.

”But, Phoebus, at least let me explain wh-”

”No. Absolutely not. This shouldn’t even be up for discussion, Harmonix,” he interrupted, not even allowing her to finish her sentence. Her eyes welled up with tears in immediate response, and she lowered her head once more, her action holding all of the defeat she felt. She had known it was a long shot from the beginning, getting her siblings on board with her idea, but to be shot down so quickly and so assuredly definitely stung.

A soft scoff was heard from the girl that sat beside Phoebus. Her cotton candy hair was illuminated in the glow of the fire, and an eye roll could be seen.

”Oh, come on, Phoebus. At least let her explain why she wants to visit Earth. You can’t just shoot down what she says without allowing her to tell us why she would want to do it. Harmony very rarely speaks her mind about issues that she knows are controversial, so you can at least respect her courage to do so right now, given the subject.”

Harmony glanced up slightly, looking at her sister through her lashes, her gaze holding the gratitude she felt towards the older girl. Aurora definitely wasn’t wrong, though; very rarely would Harmony bring up a subject or idea that she knew would cause an argument or negativity of any sort, so when she did, it was usually for a good reason.

Turning her gaze to her older brother, she allowed her eyes to take on a puppy-dog look, and she jutted out her lower lip. This was her signature expression - something that she reserved only for times that she really wanted something - and her older brother instantly melted like butter.

Quickly averting his own eyes from hers, he looked away, his pale cheeks taking on a soft flush.

”By the stars above, Har - not the eyes,” he groaned. He flicked a glance at the girl, only to find that she was still holding the same expression, and slapping his hand over his eyes, he slowly dragged it down his face, before heaving a loud sigh.

”Fine, I’ll at least listen to this insane idea that you’ve come up with,” he muttered.

Instantly Harmony brightened, her puppy dog look diminishing, and she leaned forward, her previous nervousness replaced with obvious excitement. A twinkle shone in her eye, and she had a gentle smile on her lips. She still did, however, speak with hesitancy, a slight stutter taking away some of the confidence she felt.

”I … I’m hoping that if I were to go to Earth … That it could maybe help me come to terms with everything that’s happened since … Since the incident,” she finished, her voice ending almost in a murmur. What little courage she felt when she began speaking had quickly faded as she finished, and she felt her shoulders slightly slump with dejection. She picked at her fingernails, suddenly extremely fascinated with her hands.

”I know that … I know that I’ve caused a lot of unnecessary trouble and problems over the years, ever since that day when we were children … And I know that because of what happened, I’ve changed a lot as a person ...” She trailed off for a moment, having to pause to garner a bit of bravery. Turning her face back upwards, she met each one of her siblings gazes before continuing.

”I’ve been keeping it hidden as much as possible, but recently … Recently, what Astra did to help me contain the Phoenix … The walls that she built to help seal my two separate minds, or identities, or whatever you want to call them … I can feel them beginning to crumble,” she said softly, her shoulders once more slumped, but this time instead of the cause being defeat, it was more so worry. She pressed her lips together for a moment before continuing.

”I … I’m really scared,” she whispered, tears prickling at her eyes. ”I’m scared of what will happen if those walls disappear completely, and the Phoenix is allowed out and into the physical world once more. I don’t expect any of you to understand … You’ve never had anything like this happen before … But I ...” Drawing in a shaky breath, she felt a ball of anxiety curl in her chest. ”I can hear her … I can hear her voice, in the very back of my mind, hiding behind those walls. She keeps telling me to do things … Things that I know I shouldn’t do, but things that I really want to do. So far I’ve been able to ignore her and push down my urge to do what she says, but … But I’m afraid of what might happen if I can’t get a handle on her.”

There was a lapse in words being said, before Phoebus once more spoke, his voice slightly heavy, given the equal weight of the current conversation.

”And how do we know that it isn’t Phoenix’s idea for us to go to Earth? How do we know that this is actually your own idea, Harmonix?”

Harmony hesitated before slowly responding.

”I just … It might be hard for me to resist the temptation that she gives me to do certain things, and I may not have been able to discern my thoughts and her thoughts before Astra helped me, but … Right now, I can tell which thoughts are mine and which are hers. I don’t really know how to explain how I can, but … But I can. And on that, you’ll just have to trust me, Phoebus.”


Another moment of silence ticked by - there seemed to be a lot of those during this discussion, Harmony idly thought - before anyone responded to her words.

”I think … That if you think that it’s a good idea, and if you think that it really will help you, Sundown … That we should do it.”

Harmony turned her gaze to her younger brother, her lower lip trembling slightly. She had known before even asking for her siblings to meet her that out of all of them, Ellyion was most likely to support what she thought was best, and he had definitely proved her correct in that assumption.

Turning back to her older siblings, she looked at them with her wide, umber eyes, which spoke volumes over her expectation for an answer. Aurora was studying her nails, and while filing at the tip of one of her index fingers, she shrugged and spoke.

”I think that if you think that it can help you, and that you can handle it, we should at least give it a shot. Who knows? Maybe it’ll prove beneficial for all of us. Wouldn’t you agree, Phoebus?” she dragged out, purposely doing so in order to annoy him.

The boy in question narrowed his eyes slightly at his older sister, a soft growl of sorts escaping his lips, before he turned to Harmony, his gaze a smidge less stern than it was before. After several calculated moments, during which time she could practically see the gears turning in her older brother’s head, he spoke.

”Seeing as I’m clearly outnumbered, I’ll have to say yes. What kind of brother would I be to just let all of you run rampant down on Earth? Someone has to be down there to corral you,” he sighed, rubbing his temples.

Harmony immediately brightened, her skin taking on a slightly golden glow, and she was across the gap between them in seconds, her arms thrown around her older brother’s neck.

”Thank you, Phoebus … You … You have no idea what this means to me,” she whispered into his neck, her tears soaking into his long hair.

---

Slamming her forehead dramatically onto the counter that held the register and basic supplies for the bookstore, Velonix let out an equally dramatic sound that could only be described as a mix between a sigh and a whining wail. Turning her head slightly, she looked forlornly out the window, inhaling the scent of the book directly before her face.

The sun was shining brightly through the clear window, giving the interior of the building an ethereal glow. Dust mites danced in the sun’s rays, and for a moment, she felt an unwanted sadness in her chest.

Somewhere, far up in the sky and even further beyond that, her parents were looking down at the world below. She could picture her mother, wringing her hands and a worried crease between her brows, and her father, pacing with long strides across the hall that enclosed the enormous, hologram-like image that showed them the entirety of the planet. It was used to view in on any place at any time, past, present, or future, and to interact with said reality. There were many of times that her parents had altered the past in order to benefit the future - they went back and prevented world-wide catastrophes.

Why, then, did they allow certain events to occur? Why did they allow countless lives to be lost to the hands of evil humans who wished nothing but death upon the masses?

It was all for a better goal.

To think that they enjoyed watching the humans suffer - you couldn’t be further from the truth. Countless times had Velonix ventured into the great hall, as a young child and beyond, to find her mother weeping over the hologram of the beautiful planet. She had seen unimaginable things in that hologram, and heard screams that still echoed in her ears to this very day. As soon as her parents spotted her they would shoo her away fairly quickly, of course, but that didn’t stop her from seeing things.

People being torn limb-from-limb by ancient Roman Gladiators.

Children being burned alive alongside their parents during the European Witch Trials.

Animals being killed by toxic chemicals sprayed down upon the humans by large flying machines from above.

Tears pricked at her eyes at the memories, and she squeezed the large umber orbs shut in an attempt to stem their flow, and to shield herself from the visuals flashing before her eyes.

Closing them only prevented herself from seeing, however. It didn’t slow what she could hear, not by a long shot; and the screams continued to echo inside of her mind.

Making a fist, she struck herself repeatedly on the side of the hide, rather aggressively if anyone were to look upon her action.

“Stop ... Stop it, please ...” she whispered, her lips a slight grimace.

After a few moments, the screams slowly faded and she had managed to qualm her rapid breathing, having only just then realized how quickly she was panting. She remained like that, bent over with her hand resting on the counter, for who knew how long, and only rose when the alarm to the door made its soft sounds, the pre-recorded melody of Fur Elise announcing the arrival of a newcomer.

Smiling at the person who had ventured inside, she stretched out her arms, her elbows crackling at the motion.

“Welcome back, Mr. Zwemmer! Did you have a pleasant afternoon?”

The elderly man gave her a kind yet beaming grin in return, making his face slowly into the business, his cane that was honestly just used for sure - he really didn’t even use it, the trickster that he was - clacking away with each step.

“Ah, Velonix - always a warm and joyous face to see. I enjoy being able to leave my store, knowing it’s in good hands, and also being able to return to it, knowing that I’ll be able to see your cute face when I come back,” he chuckled. Velonix instantly turned beat red, lifting her hands and waving them sporadically before her.

“Oh, Mr. Zwemmer, you’re too kind!” she laughed, her embarrassment evident in her flushed face.

Chuckling once more, he approached the counter that she stood behind, lifting his cane and gently resting it on top of her head.

“Now that I’m here, you get on outside and enjoy the sunshine. You’re young and deserve to enjoy your youth; not spend it cooped up inside of a bookstore all day.”

Velonix gave the man a reassuring smile, clapping her hands together in front of her. “Oh, I really don’t mind, Mr. Zwemmer! I love being surrounded by the books, so it’s no hassle for me at all!”

Rolling his eyes in a very young action, he made his way behind the counter, nudging her with his cane.

“Go on, shoo - I can handle it for the rest of the day on my own. Go outside and enjoy yourself! Make some friends!”

She barely had enough time to snag her book and writing supplies before the old man had hustled her out from behind the counter. She wasn’t worried about anyone reading it - if anything they would assume that it was nothing but a fiction novel she was working on - but she felt almost as though she were missing a part of her when it wasn’t within her reach.

Stumbling to the door - he accidently tripped her a bit with his cane - she spun back around and waved to the man. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Zwemmer! Make sure to tell Ms. Ponsi that I said hello!”

She was, of course, referring to his beautiful, snow-white Persian kitten. He had adopted her shortly after his beautiful wife had passed, which wasn’t long before Velonix arrived on Earth, and the kitty was the apple of his eye. Although he and his wife had loved each other endlessly, they had never had children - something to do with Mrs. Zwemmer being unable to conceive - but had had countless pets over the years. After their last one died, with Mrs. Zwemmer’s ailing health, they decided not to adopt another animal for fear that they wouldn’t have time to care for it. After his wife passed, however, he was recommended by his doctors to adopt an animal to help with the grief, and not too long afterwards did he hire Velonix, so that he could have more time to spend with his precious pet.

Velonix shook the thoughts from her head. Of course, she wasn’t meant to know all of these things. It wasn’t as though Mr. Zwemmer had told her all of this. But then again, that was one of her specialties - knowing too much about the humans that she came into contact with. It’s why she tried very hard not to come into physical contact with a human; she had enough difficulty with her own memories, she didn’t need any added into the mess that was her brain.

Once outside, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling the crisp, Autumn-like air. It wasn’t too cold, but neither was it unreasonably hot in this part of town. It was a happy middle ground, much to her delight, as her season normally was, and she was enjoying the beautiful weather - not that she couldn’t control it or anything. She giggled at the thought, opening her eyes and gazing up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.

If only her parents could see her now - unafraid of the human world and its inhabitants. When she arrived on Earth with her siblings, she spent the first couple of days hiding in her bedroom, absolutely petrified to leave the house. However, after some gentle coaxing from her little brother, Ellyion, she managed to bring herself to step outside - and my, oh my, was she glad that she did so. The beauty that the Earth held was shameful to miss out on! She had forgotten over the years how gorgeous the nature was, and how bewitching the scenes that played before her eyes were. Obviously she was in town, currently, but even where there was a heavy lack of nature was she mesmerized. The shops, the people - everything was so fascinating to her, and she hadn’t even begun to explore this one little town, let alone the entire planet! Who knew what else was out there for her to discover? Her siblings and she had done their fair share of studying of the planet and its inhabitants over the hundreds of years that they had been alive, but nothing even came close in comparison to actually seeing it in person.

She had forgotten the beauty that the Earth held, and how kind the humans could actually be. What she once viewed as a dark and frightening place, she now saw as a light and gorgeous environment. The creatures that she once saw as vile and terrifying beings, were in actuality extremely caring individuals, rich with their own histories and memories, their own personalities.

She was a fool to ever believe that such an alluring and prepossessing place could be scary, and she was giddy with her newfound knowledge.

Kazumi was always a morning person. She spent the early morning hours gardening and talking to the animals that lived on their property. One perk of being who she was, was having unlimited funds to buy not one but two places in the town of Akira. Whenever Kazumi was off from work, she enjoyed staying in the shared home of her siblings. Kazumi was an extrovert and didn't like being alone for long. So even if her brother Natsuo was a pain or even those rare times when her youngest siblings got under her nerves, she would rather be around them than not. Of course at the moment she was surrounded by animals. She loved creatures of all kind. So much so that she could never eat an animal. It was insulting to eat something you could talk to. One nice thing about Japan was they prepared many of their meals more natural. There wasn't much of that processed food she found more in the west, especially the USA. When scouting out a place to stay on Earth, Kazumi had been dumbstruck by how Americans and other Western countries grew their fare with their fertilizers and other means to 'enhance' their food products. It really churned her stomach.

Not wanting to think about such thoughts, Kazumi looked at the some of the crops she had gathered. The garden here was mostly vegetables with some fruit. She mostly grew stuff her siblings would eat and made sure the certain the right kind of goods were planted for the kind of soil found here. Two common foods that were grown were eggplant and cabbage. While Kazumi couldn't cook for the the life of her, she always made different types of cold salads for her youngest sibling, Ryou, who couldn't even eat warm food.

After gardening, Kazumi took a shower and go dressed for the day. After that she started going over the things she wanted to do that day in the huge kitchen. During this time her other sister woke and said she was going out on her own to the bookstore she got a job at and to distract Pheobus too. The siblings were getting better at calling each other by their aliases, but were still comfortable calling each other by their birth names and mostly did that in private. Kazumi wasn't looking forward to waking up her brother. He loved sleeping in during the summers. But a small part of Kazumi loved getting the upper hand on him too. She would still be cautious though. Natsuo was known to be a light sleeper and got up in an instant. Unfortunately, Kazumi wouldn't be able to get her chance as her younger brother appeared in the kitchen, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Well look who decided to wake up." Kazumi smiled sweetly, knowing it would irritate Natsuo.

Natsuo scowled and ignored his sister as he got a cup out and had a glass of water. He than went about making his own breakfast, which was always hot and sometimes spicy. He always had a bowl of rice. They had a rice cooker in the house and he loved the food. Kazumi already knew he was planning on taking the rice cooker back with them when they went back home. Thinking about their parents caused Kazumi to worry. She could imagine that they were worried and probably frantic in finding them. At least they left a note saying they were going to Earth. Kazumi wouldn't be surprised if Astra and Nixon were already on Earth looking for them. Nixon was like and adoptive brother for them while Astra was more like a 2nd parent, even though Kazumi felt ambivalent towards the Senior Star.

"What's with the frown, Aurora? Did someone wake up too early for once?" asked Natsuo.

Kazumi turned sharply and saw his smirk.

"For your information, it's never too early to get up. And unlike you, I appreciate how gorgeous the sunrise is since father made it so."

"True, but I take full advantage of father's splendor by having as much sun as possible. Speaking of which after I eat my breakfast, I plan on getting out and seeing where my other sister went off too since she's not in her room."

Remembering that Velonix wanted her to distract Natsuo, Kazumi called out to Natsuo before he could take off.

"Actually Pheobus, I was going to go out myself and need to run a few errands. You could help me with them."

Natsuo frowned,"What kind of 'errands'?"

With her sweetest smile in place, Kazumi answered him.

"Shopping."

"OH NO! I don't think so!"

"Awwww, but than who will protect me than?"

"Aren't Dawn and Eos qualified enough? They're pretty much glued to your side most of the time." Natsuo said, pointing to the two dogs nearby.

Both Dawn and Eos look up at the siblings when they heard their names and Eos asked Kazumi what was up. Kazumi told them not to worry.

"Dawn and Eos are wonderful protection, but you'd be on the icing on the cake brother. Besides, I plan on getting a lot of stuff and I could really use your help."

Natsuo grumbled and agreed. After he finished eating, he finished getting ready and the two ended up Natsuo's Acura ILX heading for the places on Kazumi's list.

"What is it with you and HATS!? I think you almost bought out the store!" grumbled Natsuo as he carried 5 large bags worth of hats into the house and he and his siblings were sharing.

"Well for one, they help protect my flawless complexion and two, if you didn't make it sunny most of the time, I wouldn't have so many hats. At least in my season we don't have to worry about it. Besides, it's not like those weight a lot and YOU'RE the one who insisted on carrying those bags, being the noble person you are." smiled Kazumi, carrying a small bag, followed by her two constant companions, the Shiba Inu Dawn, and the Akita, Eos.

"Well, I wouldn't have come in the first place if you hadn't insisted on me coming to begin with!" snapped the tall dark haired man.

"Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to get out though? I simply provided the opportunity," Kazumi smiled sweetly, knowing she got him there.

Natsuo just groaned as he went to put Kazumi's things in her room.

That's when Kazumi's cell phone went off.

Seeing who it was, Kazumi answered it right away. Her smile quickly left her face when she heard her sister's voice. For once her tone sounded serious.

"Stay where you are. I'll be right there." she said.

She rushed to where Natsuo is.

"I have to go back out. I'll be right back okay?" she said and vanished, not giving her brother time to respond.

"Dawn and Eos, find Harmony." Kazumi told the two as they got into her Lexus RX convertible.

She knew her sister was going to be in the Autumn part of town, but didn't know where exactly. In fact, her main reason for going out was to get Natsuo off Velonix's back. Once they got to the area, Kazumi slowed down, the dogs were able to pick up her sister's scent in no time. Picking up her sister's energy signature, a technique Kazumi developed so she could find her siblings if they were nearby, the pink haired woman parked and looked for her on foot. It wasn't long before they found her.

As she watched his retreating figure, Velonix clutched the package and money in her hands. She slowly looked down, untied the top of the small pouch-like container, and blinked at the delicious goodies encased within it. She flicked her gaze back upwards, but at that point Takeo was gone from sight.

Would she ever see him again?

Maybe. But the likelihood of that happening was very slim.

"Harmony!" Kazumi called out, not caring if they were out in public for once.

Velonix jerked her head to the side, her eyes instantly keying in on her sister's quickly approaching figure, and immediately she felt tears well up again. By that time, the fire was nothing more than embers, but the smoke from it had definitely garnered the attention of passerby's and business owners who were on either side of the alleyway. Velonix's lower lip trembled, and she sniffed extremely unattractively.

"A-Aurora!"

Before her sister had even reached her, Velonix threw herself into the older girl’s arms, careful not to spill the baked goodies everywhere, yet still openly distraught.

"I-I don't know what happened ... I just ... It happened .. I can't remember what happened ... Just that I was angry one moment, and then the next a dumpster was on fire ..."

Kazumi didn't say a word, just let her sister cry her heart out. This was the reason why she and her brothers were protective of their sister. She had always been the most sensitive of them all and what happened to her years ago changed her. It really hurt Kazumi to see her sister like this.

"Sshhh, I know you didn't mean to. You're always so careful not lose your temper. I mean, look at me, when I get mad, I cause a hurricane to appear. And let's not forget our dear brother, Pheobus. He got so upset once, he caused a tornado so big it was off the charts! It's a good thing neither of us have the power of fire or there’d be conflagrations left and right. Was the fire taken care of?" Kazumi told her sister and she hugged her and smoothed out her hair with one of her hands.

Velonix sniffled, and for a moment remained silent. Finally, she pulled back and rubbed at her wet cheeks and eyes, obviously trying extremely hard to compose herself once more. After a deep, shuddering inhale and exhale, she turned her gaze towards the alleyway. Smoke was still trickling out of the end of it, albeit very slowly, but there could be sirens heard screaming in the distance. A sense of unease settled deep within her. Granted, this was the first hiccup that she’d had since arriving on Earth, but in her mind, one hiccup was one too many. There was no excuse for her to lose her temper so much so that it could cause her to momentarily ‘black out’.

It was also the first time that she had decided to venture out of the house on her own. Normally, she had her two ever present Savannah cats strutting alongside her. Today, however, she had decided to take advantage of the calmness that had seemed to settle upon the town, and told Mio and Dusk to stay home.

That was clearly a huge mistake.

Turning her gaze back to her sister, she lowered it so that she was staring at their feet, idly noticing the immense differences in their styles just by their shoes.

Drawing in another deep breath, she puffed it out, plastered a smile on her lips, and turned her face back towards her sister.

“The fire is out; just some embers smoldering in the bottom of the dumpster. We should probably leave though, don’t you think?” she asked, clapping her hands together before her, book tucked under her arm and package held precariously dangling from her fingers. When she noticed that she was still holding the goodies, she quickly lowered her hands and hid them behind her back, dancing a few steps away from her sister - and away from the alleyway.

“Let’s go home?” she suggested, pointedly looking over her sister’s shoulder at the gathering crowd near the alley and the large, wailing red truck that had just turned the corner.

“Oh my yes, we better. Before a brother of ours appears. I did leave in a hurry.” laughed Kazumi.

Eos and Dawn rub up against Velonix in comfort before each dog stood on each side of the sisters, Eos next to Velonix and Dawn next to Kazumi. Velonix took comfort in their presence, a small urge of longing for her own companions, Mio and Dusk, washing through her body. The feeling disappeared instantly, however, as they came back into the street and a familiar voice called out to them.

“I thought you two were up to something. I can’t leave either of you alone for a moment.” grumbled Natsuo, who is leaning against the wall of the building.

Velonix jumped, startled by her brother’s appearance. It unnerved her immensely knowing that she had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she had failed to sense his presence, and she felt a small grimacing scowl turn up one corner of her mouth.

“Actually you don’t need to watch us 24/7 brother. How’d you feel if Astra watched you 24/7? How’d you find us so fast anyway?” Kazumi asked, ignoring Natsuo.

“My crows, who else? I ordered Gust to follow you since he’s the fastest flyer of them and I used my enhancement skills to help him fly faster. Than I merely flew here myself.” Natsuo said smugly.

“AND RISK GETTING CAUGHT? Are you NUTS?!”

Velonix winced at her sister’s outburst, having never been too keen on yelling or loud noises. She did, however, agree with Kazumi; her brother was insane to do such a thing on Earth. Flying men definitely didn't go unnoticed to humans.

“It’s cloudy today and I flew too fast for anyone to spot me,” Natsuo replied before turning to his younger sister. She felt her shoulders tense up slightly in preparation for the lecture that was undoubtedly coming.

“Velonix, in all seriousness though, don’t scare me like that again. I’ll work on being overbearing if you can promise me to at least let me know where you’re going. You can expect to have one of my crows to follow you too, if only for my own piece of mind. Let’s go ladies.”

Natsuo immediately waited next to Kazumi’s car and opened the door for Velonix, who, with a slight slump in her shoulders, moved towards the vehicle. She paused only once she reached it, her hand stopping on top of the car door. Her eyes met her older brother’s, an odd intensity in her gaze, which was something extremely uncharacteristic of her.

“I'm not a child, Phoebus,” she said softly. Her tone was difficult to read, even for herself, and she turned her face towards the interior of the car.

This caught Natsuo a bit off guard and he didn’t say anything.

“... I just wish that you'd start viewing me as the adult that I've become.”

With that murmured phrase weighing heavily in the air between them, Velonix ducked into the car, Eos happily following her in the action. She slid across the seat to make room, stopping only once she reached the other side of it, and propped her elbow on the door. Rolling the window down, she dropped her chin into the palm of her hand, her gaze focused rather forlornly out the now open square.

She wasn't a child, and she hated it that her siblings viewed her as one just because of her quiet and gentle disposition, paired with her childhood trauma.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she drew in a ragged breath.

Shut. Up. Phoenix.

Prying her eyelids open once more, she gnawed on her lower lip, her worry etched across her features.

After Kazumi got in the driver’s seat, Natsuo got in after seeing the girls and dogs in play. The car drives off as they siblings head home.

Kazumi didn't bother to follow her sister into her room when they got back home. In the back of her head she wondered where their youngest brother was. Seeing how he visited their share home the least, due to his low tolerance to heat, she wouldn't be surprised if he was at his own private quarters in the winter sector of Akita. Kazumi herself already planned to on visiting her private home later that day to check on her more extensive garden there. For now she went to her own room to write down her own thoughts about what just happened. While not the avid read like Velonix and Natsuo, Kazumi still enjoyed writing when the mood strike and now seemed as good as time as any. So for the next few hours she stayed in her room. Seeing what time it was, Kazumi exited her room and when to into the kitchen to find the two notes from her siblings. She herself wrote a note in case the two of them or Ryou would come here. With Dawn and Eos following her, they left the house, got into her car, and drove to the spring section of town.

Once at other residence, Kazumi went about checking her gardens and even the fruit trees located there. She made sure to grow things that only grew in the spring and decided to pick some flowers that were in bloom there and put it in a basket she always took with her. She also wore one of the new hats she got today. She already knew she wanted to add more flowers to it. She also knew she wanted to make another flower necklace for Velonix too in order to help cheer her up. She wouldn't be surprised if Natsuo would do something for their sister too. During time, many animals that lived on her land came around her. Unlike the shared home Kazumi lived in, her private quarters didn't have neighbors nearby since it was located near the edge of town and near a natural area where wildlife frequented. She made sure that the animals didn't bother the residents in the area, but made sure her place was private too. Kazumi saw that it was now late in the afternoon. Seeing that it was almost time for Sachi's to close for the day, the young being decided to see how they were. Taking the flowers she got, Kazumi signaled for her dogs and after saying goodbye to the other animals, the three left.

Sachi's was just closing as Kazumi pulled up.

"Kazumi! Hi!" waved the young Emiko.

Kazumi smiled. Emiko was still in high school and was very outgoing like herself. She recently got used to Dawn and Eos, but at first was intimidated by them, due to their own reservations with strangers. They were guard dogs after all.

"Hello Emiko. You ready to head back to school soon?" she asked as she got out of the car along with the dogs.

Emiko petted the two dogs before turning to her.

"Yes and no. Yes because I can't wait to see my friends again, no because well, I love having off." the brunette said.

Kazumi laughed before turning to Emiko's father, Kudo. The man was huge! Kazumi did admit she was surprised by his appearance at first when she first visited the shop. It didn't take long for her to remember that he was still a mortal, even though he had sharp eyes. Despite his harsh demeanor, he was a sweet man who clearly doted on Emiko.

"So what brings you here this late, Kazumi?" Fudo asked as he came forward.

"Oh, I was just checking on my garden in this area. I was about to get something to eat. Do you want to join me?"

Fudo saw that Kazumi wasn't her normal chirpy self and wondered if something happened with her family. Fudo had met her siblings once and none of them looked alike, even though Kazumi shared the same coloring as her sister. He wondered if they were even blood related.

"Awww that's sweet of you Kazumi, but father and I had already made plans. Oh! I do have some exciting news though!! Did you hear that Yuji Kentarou is back in town?!"

"No I didn't. I really don't pay much attention to that kind of thing."

However Kazumi had seen pictures of the local celebrity actor and model. She'd be lying if she didn't find the man attractive, for a mortal at least. However, she only noticed his picture on a magazine cover once because Emiko was a huge fan of him.

"Well it's true! In fact, one of my friends saw him around this side of the town the other day! I hope I get a chance to see him!" Emiko squealed.

"Emiko, lower your voice young lady. You're going to break my poor eardrums one of these days." groaned Fudo.

Kazumi giggled.

"Well I better go. I'll see you soon Mr. Nikomori." Kazumi said before getting back into her car with the dogs.

She drove to a nearby restaurant that had places to eat outside. It being in the spring sector there was a chill in the air. Kazumi was use to the weather though, but still brought a light wrap for appearance purposes. She made sure to put on the Therapy dog vests on Eos and Dawn, who voiced their usual displeasure of wearing them. Kazumi assured them it was a necessary evil so they could go indoors with her. Since it was darker, Kazumi opted to eat indoors. Many of the people there always looked at her and her dogs. Kazumi was very much aware of how much of a commotion she and her siblings made and honestly loved the attention. She ordered one of their vegetarian meals, but made sure to order some cut up kobe steak for the dogs. Even though the day wasn't all pleasant, Kazumi felt that this afternoon and evening were pleasant enough. Hopefully there will be no more disturbances for the day.

For the first time in Natsuo's life, he was dumbstruck. His smirk quickly turned into an open mouth and it looked like his eyes would pop out of his head. Turn him over her knee? Did she mean to 'spank' him? In all of his years of life, he never been spanked. Oh sure, he'd been punished, but never like that. And this young lady just threaten to do that to him. He didn't know what to think or say. He barely registered her next words before she left him to do her other duties. He stood there for a good two minutes before shaking his head and leaving the grounds.

Shadow flew and landed on his shoulder, being concerned for his master. Natsuo found his smile.

"I am all right Shadow. Never met a human with a tongue so sharp, that's all. I just may check out a few of these other shrines at some other point. This mortal has me intrigue and definitely won't keep me bored. Funny, I never got her name. Will have to remember that next time. Now what shall we do now? There's plenty of time to kill."

~Maybe get something for Harmony? Get into her good graces?~ Shadow suggested.

Even though Natsuo couldn't communicate to all animals like Kazumi could still speak to birds.

"Good idea Shadow. I know where to go too." Natsuo agreed.

Knowing his sister's love of sweets, Natsuo went to a confectionery shop in the Summer section of the city that he came across. Wanting to make it up to Velonix, he ended up getting a big bag of different types of sweets, from chocolate bon bons to the Japanese sweet, wagashi, making the workers of the store's day.

The sun was just going down when Natsuo returned to their place of residence. He saw his sisters' notes and decided to not worry about them. Much like Kazumi, his thoughts went to his brother, Ryou. He hadn't seen him all day. If something was wrong though, Natsuo was sure his brother would contact him. Deciding to let the matter drop for now, Natsuo placed the sweets in the fridge to keep them cool. He would present them to his sister in person when he got the chance. He decided to eat something for now. He only made enough for himself and ate. It was really strange for him to eat by himself and a bit unnerving. Deciding to read up on the local 'religion' he just experienced, Natsuo went to the library of the house. He got so caught up in reading that he lost track of time. It was dark when he came back into the living room and saw Velonix lying on the couch along with her cats. As carefully as he could, he took off her shoes and placed a blanket on top. As he did that, he saw Kazumi come through the door with Eos and Dawn. Natsuo quickly puts a finger to his lips for her stay silent. Kazumi nods and they exit the room into the kitchen where Kazumi placed her flowers in vases.

"She must of had a busy afternoon." whispers Kazumi.

"I just hope she's feeling better. I was reading and just came in here. How are you?" Natsuo asks.

"Better myself. Have you heard from Ryou?"

"Afraid not. I'll text him really quick. Cells phones are actually pretty handing here."

After saying that, he sent a text to Ryou.

~Hey just wondering where you were. You coming here or to your private home. Talk to you soon.~

"Well, I am going to my room. Night, Pheobus." Kazumi says before leaving.

"Night, Aurora."

With that, the two older siblings went to their rooms for the rest of the night.

It was rare for Kazumi to not rise in time to do her sunrise dancing, but due to her creative juices into making a flower necklace for her sister, that's exactly what happened. Originally she had tried going to sleep, but kept tossing and turning and finally gave up. She decided to go back downstairs around midnight to see her sister still asleep. She carefully took the flowers out of their vase and went back up to her room. She had ordered the dogs to stay put for once. It was nearly 2 am when she finished the necklace and placed it on a rack she made for her flower necklace. She sprayed them with water before finally collapsing on her bed. She woke up when she felt Dawn waking her up by licking her face. On the rare chance she didn't wake up at her normal time, she instructed the dogs to wake her up an hour after sunrise. Opening her eyes she looked to see the sun shining through her curtains.

"Well there goes my morning exercise. We'll just do a sunset dance than." she said to the dogs as she got up.

Getting, up and knowing she was going to be working today as well, Kazumi dressed in one of her many sun dresses. Over it she had a pink shawl on. Taking the flower necklace of fall flowers that were yellow, orange, and pink, Kazumi left her room with the dogs following.

As soon as she entered the room, she heard her sister say good morning, as if she didn't have a care in the world. Kazumi smiled. She understood that her sister was only pretending that everything was okay. She wasn't going to bring up yesterday unless her sister did.

"Good morning Harmony." she said before seeing that her sister made them all breakfast.

It was a good thing that Natsuo and Velonix knew how to cook because Kazumi was a disaster in the kitchen. First time she tried doing it, she took out the whole kitchen and part of the room next door. She herself was black from head to toe, along with her mother and Astra. She had only been 13 at the time. Her father had gotten a hoot out of that as well as others. The memory was a good one, although embarrassing.

Bringing her mind back to present, Kazumi saw that Velonix was done.

"Before we set the table, I need to do something really quick. Here sweetie. I hope you like it."

With that she placed the flower necklace around her sister's neck before adding, "Love you sugar."

Giving her sister a hug, she went to helping her set the table. It wasn't long until Natsuo came down. He always had an alarm clock. He always trained before eating breakfast, so when he came down, he was in his training gear. He had no work today, but tomorrow he would. He had already gotten his brother's text when he woke up. He could have easily gone outside without anyone noticing, but hearing noise in the kitchen, he saw both of his sisters up.

"Good morning. I'll be doing my training really quick so, Harmony if you could keep my plate in the microwave, that be great. Oh, Ellyion is at his private house too. Who's turn is it to send him his breakfast?"

"It's your turn brother dear. Or do you want to go Harmony?" Kazumi answered as she started to eat her breakfast with some hot tea.

"Lovely, oh well. Oh Harmony, I really wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I promise I will work on my behavior. To make it up to you for now, I got your this." Natsuo said before getting all of the sweets he bought out of the fridge.

"Hehehe, that's sweet of you Phoebus."

Natsuo smiled before turning to Velonix to see her reaction.

Both Kazumi and Natsuo were happy with the response Velonix gave their gifts. Seeing their sister in such better spirits tended to create a domino effect, so much so that the two older seasons didn't even tease each other for once. Kazumi was never one to rush eating so she took her time eating the delicious meal Velonix prepared. Both she and Natsuo managed to say bye to their sister as she left to give Ryou his breakfast.

Once her sister was gone Kazumi turned to Natsuo quickly, "I guess you'll handle the next delivery the next time our brother doesn't show up. Or do you want me to?"

Before Natsuo headed out the door, he turn to the eldest. He thought about his answer for a few minutes before replying.

"If he doesn't show up tomorrow, I'll take it to him since I have the afternoon shift tomorrow. I haven't seen him in a few days either. If there is one thing I don't like about being me, it's my low tolerance for cold weather."

Kazumi smiled sympathetically. Even though she could tolerate cold weather better than Natsuo, she still preferred warmer weather. Velonix was slightly more tolerant to colder weather than her too. Still the sisters saw Ryou more than Natsuo. Natsuo loved Ryou, it was just a shame that due to their seasons, they couldn't see each other as much as they would like. It was easier for Natsuo to go into colder areas than for Ryou to go into warmer areas. At least in colder weather, one could bundle up more, whereas in hot weather you could only wear so much clothing and the seasons could only regulate their body temperatures to an extent outside of their comfort areas. Ryou could withstand below zero levels, but hated hot weather.

"Well I am going to train. You going to work today right?" Natsuo asked.

"Mmmhmmm, I'll probably be gone by the time you get back from training. I really enjoy working the morning shifts. I'll see you this evening, but I'll let you know if something comes up."

Natsuo would have left, but a sudden thought came to him.

"How much longer do you think it'll be before they find us?"

Kazumi sat up at that and answered in a serious tone, "Not much longer I believe. That's what my gut has told me. This world is very technologically advanced. Due to this town having all four seasons here, it wouldn't surprise me if word got out already of the circumstances. Both Astra and Nixon take their duties seriously and Nixon is pretty much obsessed with Harmony. We're going to have to come up with a plan with how to deal with them because you know they're going to demand we return home immediately."

Natsuo nodded, fully agreeing.

"We're going to have to talk to Harmony about this. Since it was her decision to come here in the first place, I've always felt it should be her decision on when we leave. When do you think we should bring this up?"

"Tomorrow. Today we'll give her a day off since she's in a good mood. We'll need Elyion home too. He's better at keeping her calm than the two of us put together." Kazumi laughed.

Natsuo smiled too.

"I am going to train now. Have a nice day and be safe." he said before leaving.

Kazumi finished her breakfast and cleaned up after herself. She than finished getting ready by brushing her teeth, putting her hair in a low ponytail, and applying on a little make up. Being who she was, she really didn't need to put any make up on, but she enjoyed putting on a little mascara and lipstick. Her skin was immaculate so she didn't need any of that facial stuff. Calling on Eos and Dawn, she left and headed to work.

She always got there early to help Fudo set up for the store to open. She put the vests on the dogs and with her own spare key to the work place, she went inside. She just got that key this week too. Fudo was apprehensive about giving her one, but seeing how natural and responsible she was with working at the place, he gave her a key, on the condition that she didn't arrive before him. It was something she was fine with. She removes her shawl and goes to where the employee's room area. It was small, but head enough room for some lockers and a small fridge for food. Kazumi always ate out so she never used it. She had her own locker and in it she had her work apron and name tag. The apron was to prevent dirt from getting on her outfit. Removing her shawl, she grabbed the apron, placed the shawl there, and put the apron on. The name tag was already pinned on the apron. Heading to the Greenhouse that was attached to the store, Kazumi walked in to see Kudo checking on some of their stock.

"Good morning Fudo." Kazumi said.

"Morning, Kazumi. Give me a hand with these dahlias okay?" he asked.


"Yes sir!" Kazumi replied before going to help him.

Eos and Dawn made sure to stay in a corner out of the way as they watched Kazumi work. Soon it was time to open up the store and Kazumi made sure to clean her hands before doing that. She was at the register when with the dogs behind her when the store bell chimed, signally someone coming in. Knowing Emiko wouldn't show up until after lunch, Kazumi put on her brightest small and turned to the door.


"Welcome to Sachi's. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The dark green door stood in front of him menacingly. He could already feel the rush of emotions and memories beginning to overwhelm him. His hand balled in a fist, he raised it slowly towards the door, feeling like he was moving in slow motion…and then he knocked.

The door pushed open on its own, having not been locked. No other noise accompanied the creaking of the aged hinges. The house was completely dark, the only light coming from a window at the opposite end as the sun had just started to rise.
Yuji took a single step in. Goose bumps prickled at the back of his neck. Something was wrong, something wasn’t right. The entryway was cold; all the windows of the house had been open for some reason. Then it hit him. The sickly, metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils, clouding his head. It instantly made him nauseous. He clamped a hand over his mouth, trying not to retch.

He continued slowly toward the kitchen, his footsteps echoing on the hardwood floors. A quiet moan cut through the air. Yuji stopped instantly. His body had begun to shake, the hand over his mouth moving back and forth rapidly, his legs barely able to hold himself up. As he began moving again, he rounded the corner, staring down at the floor as if he knew what he was expecting.

The image of his mother laying on the ground would forever stay in his mind. Her long, ebony hair stuck together in knots, having absorbed most of the blood around her head. Her limbs were sprawled out, her pale arms clutching her stomach. The white shirt was almost entirely wet with blood. The hardwood had taken on the deep crimson as well, having already absorbed some of it. And her face, her face…. Her face had lost all colour, her once pink lips drained entirely. Her black eyes were wide open, staring right through Yuji, her pupils searching for something to focus on. Her lips parted slightly, an airy cry escaping as her arm slowly extended out towards Yuji, her fingers fumbling and grasping at air, reaching for something, anything, reaching out for life—

Yuji shook his head violently, forcing the image out of his head. Once again the dark green door stood in front of him, though with a new coat of paint and some flowers hanging from a pot beside him. He was in the same place, but not the same time. He was okay. His mother was okay. Everything was okay.

Except, he was feeling extremely nauseous again. Trying to regain his composure, he cycled a few deep breaths and waited patiently. He could hear footsteps inside the home, and then the door opened.

Before him stood his mother, small, reaching nearly a foot shorter than him. Her long black hair was twisted into a bun, and she wore a pleasant flowery blouse and skirt. Her face lit up at the sight of her son. She outstretched her arms and welcomed him with a massive hug.

“Oh, Yuji! I’ve missed you so much!” She cried, her voice muffled in his shirt. Yuji gently enveloped her in his arms, resting his head on top of hers.

“I’ve missed you too Mom.” He said gently, giving her a squeeze before pulling away. She stared up at him and then pulled him into the house, closing the door behind them. Yuji took off his shoes and stepped onto the hardwood. He hadn’t been here for almost a year now. For a moment, the memory returned to his mind, but he pushed it away. The house had been refinished and furnished with new furniture, much to his approval. The money he had sent her had obviously gone to good use. The home was cozy as well as open. Light walls, dark wood, curtains and fabrics of pastel colours, and flowers absolutely everywhere. Yuji smiled to himself at the sight of the home, following behind his mother, his luggage trailing behind him.

“I’ll fix you something to eat, you must be so hungry. Go put your luggage in your room, it’s just the way you left it!” His mother called as she began gathering food and cooking supplies for Yuji’s late breakfast. He nodded his head and made his way down the hall, entering the first door on the right.

The walls of his room were adorned with posters of various comic book heroes, and playbills from the drama productions of his highschool. In the corner sat a lonely desk that he never used for its intended purpose, and a small single bed on the other side, made neatly with a pile of comic books resting on the side table under the lamp. He threw his bag on his bed and breathed in deeply, a bit more relaxed now that he was with his mother. Yuji took a step towards the window, peeking through the curtain to look outside. It was a beautiful day, sunny and bright. His mother had been working on her garden it seemed. The flowers and vegetables were blooming, reaching up to the sky. He was almost excited now to go out into town and visit some of his regular stores. Of course, he’d have to be careful about how he presented himself. Though Akita was small, he was sure that people here had seen him before and knew his face from television.

Digging in his bag, he took out a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap as his makeshift disguise, and made his way back into the kitchen.

There, he spoke with his mom and reminisced with her while enjoying her tofu and rice. She told him about what had changed in Akita since he had been gone, and he shared stories of his acting with her. After an hour or two of spending time with one another, he kissed her on the cheek goodbye and told her he would be right back, he was just going into town for a bit.
Yuji pulled the baseball cap over his messy black hair, and pushed the sunglasses over his eyes. He should just look like another everyday person. He wasn’t being followed by his agent or any security guards and he wasn’t wearing any brand name clothing. He would just be another face in the crowd. Where would his first stop be? Maybe he’d go out and find a gift for his mother, to thank her for her hospitality. The house was only about a fifteen minute walk from shops downtown. Maybe he’d get her a nice flower arrangement, something extravagant and colourful, just for her.

As soon as he started to get into areas with more people, he began to feel a bit nervous. Even if someone only glanced up to him for a second, he would hold his breath, as if that would help him not be discovered. But every person passed by without a word.

"I have to just....act normal...I can't keep getting this nervous. Damn, it's like my first show all over again..." Yuji thought intensely as he moved down the sidewalk towards the buildings in the distance. Why did he feel so nervous? Why was he so afraid? All he had to do was act like he was just a regular citizen. Here, he was determined to be just that.

None of the buildings downtown were especially tall or large. There were a few packed together, with some plant life and landscaping around them, then there would be another massive gap before more buildings popped up. A few of them were empty with "For Lease" signs in the windows. As he passed an empty storefront, he stared into his reflection passing by in the window. It was difficult to recognize him with his shadowed face and shielded eyes. Yuji smirked and focused his gaze ahead of himself once again. A few blocks down he saw a sign advertising a flower shop. He continued on his way towards it. He would probably have to talk to salespeople inside. They were probably a bunch of old folks though. Those were the type that usually owned flower shops, anyway.

He pushed open the glass door and heard a small bell ring with his entry. His eyes scanned the store, looking over the bountiful arrangements, the array of pots and fertilizers and supplies all for taking care of flowers, and finally, the girl that stood at the register. Yuji didn't even hear her greeting.

"Isn't it supposed to be old people that work here?" He thought to himself. His eyes hadn't moved from staring at her, though you probably wouldn't have noticed with the sunglasses on. Her hair matched the shade of many of the flowers in the store, her eyes doing the same but only in a deeper, more pleasant tone. She was cute. Really cute. Yuji's lips turned into a small smile. Maybe with a bit of his charm he could get to know her a bit more. Maybe even take her home.

He parted his lips to speak, but suddenly his voice faltered. He was overcome with nervousness. It was as if something had grabbed his throat to stop him from talking. Why couldn't he speak to her? This never happened, he was always ready to make a comment about a girls' eyes, hair, or smile. But with her, he just...couldn't...get....it...out!

"Ahhh...umm...I...." Was all he managed to muster. His smile faltered, and he tore his gaze away from her, turning his head to look at a bouquet to his right. His sunglasses jumped down the bridge of his nose a bit with the quick movement of his head, but he quickly pushed them back up. Yuji let out a sigh, thinking himself through the situation. All he needed was flowers for his Mom. That was it. Nothing else. He would be gone in a few minutes.

"Can you do...custom arrangements?" He blurted out, turning to look at the girl again. No no no, wait, he didn't want a custom arrangement! He didn't even know what kind of flowers he wanted...he didn't know anything about them. All he knew was that some of them were different colours and they smelled nice, that was about it.

"I need something...ah....pink--" He glanced at her eyes again. "And...more pink."

He was screaming internally. Why did this girl make him so nervous? Why couldn't he talk? Why couldn't he be flirtatious and charming right now when he really wanted to be?!

The minute the young man stepped into the shop, it took all of Kazumi's control to keep her cordial smile on her face. Internally though all of her instincts were going off and she felt like the floor beneath her vanish. However, she wasn't bound to let the mortal thing he had any kind of effect on her. Her mind starting working again in a few minutes as she mentally scolded herself for her lack of stability.

~Knock it off Aurora! This is not the first attractive mortal you've seen!~ She thought to herself.

Indeed, she had seen plenty of good looking men, but this was the first time she had been affected by one. Even though the moment only lasted a few seconds, it felt longer than that. She started paying attention to the man again when he started mumbling what he wanted. His words and mannerisms amused Kazumi. With her enhanced eyesight, even though it didn't come close to Natsuo's ability, she could see pass the shades to see his eye movements and they kept moving from her hair to her eyes. She was very much use to this kind of attention since she noticed how most Japanese folks had dark hair and slanted eyes. This man clearly was from this area by his looks, but unlike others, his skin was a bit darker and there was only a hint of the Japanese accent she had heard a lot of. He must travel a lot.

His manner of speaking made Kazumi want to giggle and flirt a bit, but she was working so she kept her professional attitude. She'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she enjoyed making men melt and befuddle their brains. So she was feeling very satisfied with herself at the moment. It was a darn shame that almost all guys she met were like that. Only male mortal she recalled that she didn't initially affect this way was her own boss.

"So you want a pink flower arrangement? Can I ask who this is for and if this person has any favorite flowers? I can supply a small card if you want."

It was at this time that Eos and Dawn came to the counter and both dogs sniff the man before standing on each side of the counter, eyeing him. Kazumi sighed before turning back to the man.

"Don't mind them, they're just protective of me and do that to people I meet. Dawn and Eos are well trained dogs."

What she didn't tell him though was they normally go back behind the register. She knew through their connection they sensed her true feelings and were more wary of this man because of that.

Yuji felt relieved after hearing her well-versed and practiced replies. At least she hadn’t laughed at him. Though, she probably had noticed his nervousness. Before he could even respond to her questions, two dogs suddenly rushed out from the back, pushing themselves as close to the counter as they could. Their noses prodded at the air, getting as close to him as they could. Yuji smiled at the Akita and Shiba Inu, pleased to see the two dogs. He had loved dogs so much as a child, even though he had never been able to have one. He was quite comfortable around them too, seeing as how many of his shows and even some movies had him interacting with trained dogs for scenes.

He looked back up at the girl as she explained the presence of the animals. Their eyes seemed to glimmer as she said their names. Yuji’s smile grew a bit wider as he looked at her. It felt like she was staring straight through him. While he had previously, and very confidently, looked right to her eyes and pink locks of hair, he suddenly felt embarrassed, and averted his gaze to the dogs once again. They both seemed a bit tense with his presence. He realized it must be due to his glasses covering his eyes. Without even thinking about it, he pulled his sunglasses off his face, hoping that maybe the animals would be a bit more comfortable now that his gaze was revealed to them.

Of course, now just the hat remained, shadowing only a portion of his face. Yuji slowly extended his fingertips towards the Shiba Inu, making sure to keep distance, but allowing the dog to get more of his scent. Something inside of him suddenly switched. He felt a lot better, more calm, more like himself.

“They seem very nice!” He chimed, looking up at her and flashing a genuine smile. Yuji made eye contact with her, but something seemed to claw at the back of his mind. Something he had forgotten…did he leave the light on in his room? Forget to lock the door? Forget to say goodbye to his mother? His face went blank as he was absorbed into thought, trying to remember. Oh right, the sunglasses! He had taken off the sunglasses! …Wait…he had taken off the sunglasses…

Yuji froze with the sudden realization , and trying to act as normal as he could, scrambled to put the shades back over his eyes, fumbling to open them, pushing them up the bridge of his nose with intense urgency. It definitely did not look normal, but with them back on, he turned to look at her again and spoke to break the silence.

“I need the arrangement for my mother. Pink is her favourite colour. You have some real nice stuff in here, but I kind of want something even…bigger than anything you’ve done. I don’t really know a whole lot about flowers though…you got a catalogue or something?”

He wished with all of his heart that this woman had no idea who she had seen, or maybe didn’t see his face for too long to recognize him.

“ Stupid Yuji…that was real stupid.” He chastised himself in his thoughts. If this one person knew who he was, and blabbed about it to all her friends, he would never have a peaceful moment here.

Unfortunately for the customer, when he had removed his sunglasses while interacting with the dogs, she recognized him instantly due to have great visual memory. When the dogs stood next to the booth, Eos immediately mentioned it.

~Lady Aurora, it's that model.~ he told her into her mind.

~I am very much aware of that, Eos. A man wearing sunglasses into a building? Of course he's hiding something. I expected someone more flashy and confident, but I guess not.~

~So what will you do about it?~

~Nothing. He's just a mere mortal like most people.~

Turning back to the man she knew to be Yuji Kentarou, Kazumi watched was he realized his blunder and quickly put his sunglasses back on, a bit clumsily. That solidify the fact he was trying to hide his appearance. She really couldn't blame him though. She learned that those who were considered 'famous' not get much privacy in their lives. In fact, the predicament she was in was similar to his. Her siblings were 'in hiding' as well because they wanted to be 'normal'. She listened to him as he described what he wanted before asking for a catalog.

"Hehe, don't worry sir. That's why I am here; to help. I am pretty good with flowers. And I can certainly made something big, as long as it fits through our door and into your mother's home. We do have a catalog too." she replied before taking a catalog next to the register and opening up. It was cataloged based on color. Pink flowers tended to be one of the biggest sections and it was the first one.

"So, as you can see, we got numerous types here. All the pictures you see are our standard sizes, but I can easily modify them. Hmmm, this one is nice. The feature here are the pink lilies, but there are others here for variety. Or this one with tulips is very elegant and nice. Unless you want an arrangement with mostly roses, might I recommend these roses due to color variation." she said as she pointed out the three arrangements.

If he wanted custom, she would use the primary flower he liked the most and than make an original arrangement. It warmed her heart that he wanted to do something for his mother. She remembered her own mother and for a second really missed her. Her eyes lost their shine for a second, but she quickly recovered and looked at Yuji to see what flowers he liked.