Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars (anime)
Date Finished:
Classification: Romance, Humor, Angst
Pairing: Seiya/Yaten, references to past Fighter/Kakyuu, shades of Seiya/Usagi
Rating: NC-17

Give Unto Me
By Elsewhere
elsewherecw@shaw.ca

All other information in Part One.

Part Two: Understanding  

Glossary:
baka - idiot
chi(ch’) - damn
e? - huh?
ee - yes
gomen - sorry
hai - yes; okay
hime - princess
ite - ow; ouch
itterasshai - literally ‘please return’; more generally, ‘see you later’ (something you say when someone’s going out the door)
kawaii - cute
konbanwa - good evening
konnichiwa - hello
na/ne - sort of like ‘eh’ or ‘hey’…a word used to emphasize a point or get someone’s attention
Odango - dumpling---Seiya’s affectionate nickname for Usagi
ohayou - good morning
ohayou gozaimasu - good morning (polite)
oi - hey
otanjoubi omedetou/otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu - happy birthday

*****
However did you manage to push away
From every living thing you’ve come across
So afraid that anyone will hate you
You pretend you hate them first
*****

"Na, there are the dumplings," Seiya said, touching Taiki’s arm to catch his attention. Taiki followed the line of Seiya’s pointed finger until he spotted the group of five girls standing on the street corner.

"Yo!" Seiya called casually, waving. The girls turned at the familiar sound of his shout, and all of them smiled, waving back.

"Konbanwa," Taiki said politely as the two of them joined the girls at the street corner, and his sentiment was echoed by the five of them before Makoto piped up.

"We thought we would start with the pet store and see if we get any ideas from there. What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me," Seiya said with a slight shrug, glancing to his companion. Taiki nodded, offering the girls a slight smile that made several of them fight not to swoon.

"What kind of kitten are you looking for, Seiya-kun?" Minako asked, falling into step next to Seiya.

"I’m really not sure," Seiya said, shaking his head. "I wouldn’t know the first thing about cats, really. I’ve never had a pet."

"Are you sure Yaten-kun will enjoy having a cat?" Makoto asked from just ahead of Seiya. "I know he got along well with Luna, but Luna is an adult cat who’s fully trained…a kitten is an entirely different story, and Yaten-kun is…well…"

"A spoiled brat?" Taiki suggested, raising his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth turned up.

"Something like that," Makoto agreed with a grin.

"I think we should give him a chance," Seiya said, his own smile gentle. "I think it’d make him really happy, and besides, we’ll help him out as much as we can, right, Taiki?"

Taiki cringed a bit, adjusting his sunglasses on his nose.

"As you said, Seiya…we know next to nothing about cats," Taiki pointed out.

"Yeah, but it can’t be too hard, and you girls will help us too, right, Odango?" Seiya said, turning to look expectantly at Usagi.

"Of course," Usagi and Minako agreed in unison, and all of them---except Taiki, who continued to look vaguely worried---were laughing when they reached the pet store and pushed open the door.

"So where are they?" Seiya asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together, looking like a kid who’d just entered a candy store.

"Usually in the back," Minako said, taking his arm and starting to tug him towards the rear of the store. "Come on."

His face lit up with delight when he saw the back wall of the store, which consisted of dozens of cages of puppies and kittens, the front walls of which were translucent so the customers could peer in and make their choices.

"All right!" he whispered, leaning in to peer at one cage full of black and white kittens who were romping around, tumbling all over each other. Everyone watched as Seiya started to laugh and grin like a little boy, pointing at the tiny cats. "Oi, Taiki, look at that one! Haha!!"

"How do we choose one?" Taiki said, his eyes roaming over the many different breeds.

"There are a lot of different factors you may want to take into consideration," Ami said, stepping up next to Taiki. "But part of it is also aesthetic…instinct, really. Taiki-san, while Seiya-kun is looking at the kittens, perhaps you would like to speak to one of the store workers…?"

"Hai…that sounds like a good idea," Taiki agreed, replacing his sunglasses with his reading glasses before he followed Ami towards the front counter.

"Seiya," Usagi said gently, bending down and poking Seiya’s shoulder. He had crouched down to look at some kittens in one of the cages near the floor, and was currently enraptured by the sight of a pile of sleeping kittens in a corner.

"Huh? Oh, Odango," he said, turning to look at her, his eyes shimmering. "Kawaii, ne?"

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod and a grin. "Would you like to play with some of them?"

"E…? Can you do that?" he asked, eyes widening.

"Yeah," she said with a soft smile, turning to gesture to a pen behind her, currently empty. "You just tell the people which ones you want to see, and you can play with them in this pen behind me."

By the time Taiki came back, Ami trailing behind him, Seiya was up to his elbows in kittens. He and the girls were all leaning over into the pen, laughing and playing with the kittens.

"Seiya," Taiki exclaimed, starting to chuckle when Seiya looked up and then smiled sheepishly when he saw the surprise on Taiki’s face.

"Yo," Seiya said, grinning brightly. "What do you think, Taiki? Any favorites?"

Taiki stared down into the pen full of squiggling creatures.

"They all look like suitable breeds for our needs, according to the store clerks," Taiki murmured, and then he shook his head. "I wouldn’t know how to decide. I think your instincts would be better for this sort of thing. Do *you* have any favorites?"

"To tell the truth, I kind of have my heart set on this one…" Seiya said softly, reaching into the pen beneath a mass of squirming black and white kittens and pulling out a particularly small silvery-grey cat. Taiki’s eyes widened when he saw it, surprise blossoming in his lavender-colored gaze. He felt oddly pulled towards the kitten too, and he reached out a hand, letting his fingers stroke lightly along the kitten’s fur. It was as soft as silk. Taiki’s fingers lingered a moment longer than necessary.

"Oo, I think it’s love at first sight," Seiya teased, breaking the spell. Taiki snatched his hand back.

"I take it you like her?" Seiya asked, lifting an eyebrow as he snuggled the sleepy kitten gently against his chest.

"Ee," Taiki said quietly, nodding. "I think Yaten would like her very much."

"Good choice," Rei said with a smile. "I’ll go fetch a clerk."

"Well then, little one," Seiya cooed softly towards the little creature cradled in his arms. "It looks like you’ll be coming home with us. What do *you* think?"

Everyone laughed when the kitten responded to the question with nothing more than a yawn.

"I take it she’s not a Three Lights fan," Makoto said with a grin.

"Well, not yet," Minako corrected her friend, smirking. "I’m sure it won’t take long for us to convert her."

*****

The next morning, Taiki and Seiya both got up early so that they’d be finished with the bathroom in order to give Yaten plenty of time for the bitchfest they were sure would be coming. They knew that Yaten’s behavior of yesterday---it had only gotten worse after school, particular when the two of them had disappeared for most of the evening and refused to explain where they’d been, which led to accusations of conspiracy to commit evil against their fellow band mate---could only be a vague foreshadowing of what was to come today. Yaten was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, and they intended to try to make the impact as pleasant as possible for all of them.

It was already later by several minutes than Yaten’s usual appearance time when they finally heard the shower turn off, and then the sound of doors slamming. A few moments later Yaten came stomping down the stairs. Taiki glanced up over the top of his newspaper and Seiya looked up from his cereal, and when the two of them saw the vicious scowl on the oldest Light’s face, they glanced at each other and smiled somewhat lopsidedly before returning their attention to their breakfasts.

"Ohayou, Yaten," Seiya called with a casual wave, not looking up from his cereal.

"Ohayou gozaimasu," Taiki said calmly, sipping his coffee.

"Ohayou," Yaten hissed, slamming open the fridge and reaching in for the orange juice. He poured himself a glass and huffed his way over to the table, then stopped short when he saw what awaited him.

His place at the table was set neatly with a light blue-grey place mat reminiscent of the color of his favorite suit, and just to the right of the mat was a simple white vase with a single yellow rose, Yaten’s customary color at concerts. On the place mat was a plate of three steaming pancakes, a small bowl of freshly cut strawberries lightly dusted with sugar, and a bowl with half of a pink grapefruit.

"What’s this?" Yaten asked, looking up, seeking an explanation from his band mates. Taiki lowered his newspaper again and lifted an elegant eyebrow, and Seiya opened his mouth dumbly, leaving a spoon of soggy cereal bits and marshmallows hanging halfway towards his mouth.

"What’s what?" Seiya asked, raising his eyebrows.

Yaten pointed to the charmingly arrayed place setting.

"Oh, that," Seiya said, dismissing it with a shrug of his shoulder and shoving his cereal into his mouth. Yaten frowned when Seiya continued to speak even with his mouth full. "Don’t you want it? I’ll eat it if you don’t…Taiki’s pancakes are fantastic."

Yaten colored slightly and hurried to take his chair.

"No, I…I’ll eat it," he said quietly, suddenly looking extremely mollified. "Thanks."

Taiki’s eyebrow arched farther up his expressive forehead, and he turned to glance at Seiya, who just waggled his eyebrows and hid a smile by turning his attention fully back to his cereal. Taiki shook his head slightly, returning his focus to the morning news.

Yaten remained silent throughout his breakfast, and quietly thanked them both again before he excused himself from the table and made his way upstairs to complete the last of his preparations before he came down to go to school.

"It’s about that time, pipsqueak!" Seiya called up the stairs, glancing at the clock.

"Coming!" Yaten called, and when he reappeared at the top of the stairs, Seiya could see that he was frowning again and looking around nervously as though expecting a trap.

"It’s okay," Seiya said with a chuckle, holding up a hand, which Yaten took reluctantly, allowing Seiya to guide him down the last couple of steps. Yaten stiffened when Seiya bent down and brushed a gentle kiss across his cheek, and then his eyes widened in shock at the soft words Seiya whispered in his ear. "Otanjoubi omedetou, Healer-chan."

Seiya rubbed Yaten’s shoulder soothingly for a moment before he stepped away, sauntering casually towards the door.

"All right, let’s move it!" he said, grinning.

"Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu, Yaten," Taiki said with a smile, reaching out to grip Yaten’s hand warmly for a minute, and Yaten, who had been standing utterly still at the bottom of the stairs blushing madly, finally broke out of the spell. Swallowing once and flushing hotly, he nodded once furiously and, sending a somewhat evil glare towards Seiya, started for the door.

*****

To Yaten’s surprise, the school day was as normal as any school day could be for a superstar. Midway through lunch break he was ambushed by a small crowd of paparazzi who wanted to do some kind of special about ‘idol birthdays’, but much to his relief, Taiki, Seiya and several of the girls appeared seemingly out of thin air and chased the reporters away, threatening all kinds of murder and mayhem.

As soon as the school bell rang, he was approached by Seiya, Taiki, Usagi, Minako, Makoto and Ami, and his eyes narrowed instantly in suspicion.

"What do you want?" he asked in a low, threatening tone of voice.

"Actually, we’re not here for what you think," Makoto said with a smile.

"Well, not entirely," Minako corrected her, winking.

"There’s a whole crowd of the press and excited fans outside," Seiya said in an undertone, and Yaten let out a loud groan and ran a hand through his hair. "We need to get you out of here some other way, Yaten."

"Tsukino-san and her friends think they may be able to help us," Taiki said, placing a hand on Yaten’s shoulder, and Yaten sighed, a hand over his face, but nodded reluctantly.

"All right. More than half of me is certain that this is a trick, even though the other half is just as certain you’re telling the truth."

"You’re right…part of this is a trick," Minako said, patting Yaten’s shoulder. "But we still want to help you, Yaten-kun. Please, follow us."

Which is how the three super-popular teen idols, the Three Lights, came to be tiptoeing after four teenage girls through the hallways of Juuban Koukou shortly after classes ended on February 8th, 1996.

"Ite! Seiya, watch where you put your feet, you klutz!"

"Sorry, Yaten," Seiya whispered, wondering exactly what he’d done. He tried to remain quiet as he continued to inch along, following behind Yaten and the four girls who moved slowly ahead of them. He knew they were going to be led along some kind of complicated path that would take them out one of the fire exits from the school, which Ami, with her superior computer knowledge, had somehow disabled the alarm on for a set amount of time.

"Here, this way," Ami said from her place at the front of the line. "Quickly!"

"This way, Yaten-kun," Makoto said, gently gripping Yaten’s arm despite the way he stiffened at the touch. "Hurry, hurry…"

"Come on, come on…" Seiya said, hands on Yaten’s shoulders.

"I’m going, I’m going…" Yaten grumbled, as they all hurried out of the doors and into the brilliant sunshine outside.

"There you are! I was starting to worry," Rei whispered from the bushes just outside. She jumped out and quickly gestured down the street to the right. "Come on, the coast is clear this way. Hurry!"

"Where are we going?" Yaten asked as he allowed the others to escort him down the street. The girls had closed in protectively around the Three Lights, trying to keep them as hidden as they could.

"Odango’s house," Seiya said, glancing to the side to watch Yaten’s reaction.

"Ch’," Yaten said, swearing quietly and rolling his eyes.

"We can’t return to the apartment at this time," Taiki said reasonably. "The crowd there is probably worse than the one outside the school. I’m sure it will have calmed down by this evening."

"This evening!?" Yaten repeated, voice raising. "What am I supposed to do at her house until this evening!?"

"Shh," Seiya whispered, grinning. "Keep it down…we’re not quite out of danger yet."

Yaten hushed, but he was frowning so deeply Seiya considered teasing him about how his face might get frozen that way permanently.

"Well, here we are," Usagi said cheerfully when they finally reached her house and she fetched her key, fumbling with the lock for a moment before she swung the door open. "Everyone, please come in."

All of them made their way into the house, slipping off their shoes in the genkan before Usagi ushered them into the living room and made sure they were comfortably seated.

"I’ll just get us all some tea and something to eat," Usagi said warmly, turning to give Yaten an especially bright smile before she made her way towards the kitchen.

Yaten continued to frown darkly until a soft sound of footsteps padding against the tiles of the hallway heralded two new arrivals. Yaten looked up, and suddenly the frown vanished, becoming a gentle smile.

"Luna," Yaten said softly. The black cat’s eyes lit on him and she broke into a quick run, hopping up onto the couch and curling up in his lap. Everyone laughed as he scratched affectionately behind her ear, listening to her purr appreciatively. "Konnichiwa, Luna."

Seiya sent a glance towards Taiki, silently telling him that he was sure they’d made the right decision.

"Chibi!!" the other new arrival cried gleefully, also starting to run, although her target seemed to be Seiya. She crashed straight into his legs, making him let out a slight "Oof" as she climbed up into his lap.

"Yo, kid," Seiya said with a grin, tussling Chibi Chibi’s hair. "How’re you?"

"Chibi chibi!!" the child said with a giggle, and Seiya smiled as she reached up to lightly smack at his cheek, seeming to enjoy the smooth feeling of his skin under her palm.

Usagi reappeared then, and smiled when she saw Chibi Chibi snuggling in Seiya’s lap.

"Chibi Chibi," she said, her tone gently admonishing the girl. "I hope you’re not bothering Seiya-kun."

"Chibi?" Chibi Chibi said questioningly, looking up at Seiya with wide eyes.

He chuckled, stroking her cheek with his fingertip.

"Nah, she’s fine," he assured Usagi with a wink. "Almost as cute as you, Odango."

Everyone laughed, a number of them a bit nervously, and Usagi blushed.

"Well, I brought tea and a few cakes, and of course some fruit. I hope that’s all right, Yaten-kun," Usagi said as she knelt, placing a tray heavily laden with food carefully on the coffee table. She looked up, again gracing Yaten with her absolute most friendly, sweet smile. She bowed towards him, closing her eyes respectfully, voice softening as she said, "Happy birthday, Yaten-kun."

"Happy birthday," everyone echoed.

Yaten felt a slight blush at his cheeks and lifted a hand to touch the warm skin, his other remaining against Luna’s head, but he glanced down when her purr sounded, for a moment, suspiciously like a chuckle.

"Thank you, everyone," Yaten said quietly, his voice surprisingly low. His eyes moved over everyone in the room, surprised to see the looks in their eyes. They all looked like they genuinely meant their words. He wasn’t surprised to see the encouragement and happiness sparkling in Taiki and Seiya’s eyes, but to see the five girls looking at him the same way…he felt a lump in his throat, and swallowed quickly, inwardly chastising himself. No, it was ridiculous. These girls didn’t know him any better than any of the other self-important fans. They might think they did, but they didn’t.

"May I have a cup of tea, please?" he asked politely, and Usagi nodded and poured him a cup, passing it to him. He cleared his throat and took a sip, stiffening slightly. He could still feel eyes on him, even though most people had already turned their attention to other things, chatting about inconsequential matters with each other. When he looked up, he could see that Seiya was still watching him, something soft and unfamiliar in his gaze. When their eyes met, Seiya smiled softly and lifted his hand, curling his fingers in a slight wave. Yaten rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his tea.

"Ahem." Makoto cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention, and when all eyes had turned to her, she turned to look at Yaten. "Yaten-kun, we know it hasn’t been that long since you met all of us, and you may not consider us your friends, but…still, we wanted to get you something for your birthday. So…we hope you can accept our gifts."

"Gifts?" Yaten repeated slowly, blinking. This time when his thoughts started to tumble along that unfamiliar path---these people cared for him, not as fans but as friends, the way Seiya and Taiki did---he found that it wasn’t as easy to push back against them, so he turned towards Taiki, seeking reason. All he found was a warm twinkle in Taiki’s bright lavender eyes, and he knew he’d find no help with Seiya, so Yaten turned his eyes back to his tea, fighting against his confusion. "S…sure. Thank you."

Minako had of course claimed the seat directly next to him, so she acted as a go-between for the others, taking their presents and handing them to him. Despite himself, Yaten soon found his discomfort dissolving into a smile as Luna disappeared beneath a sea of wrapping paper. She didn’t seem to mind, instead meowing contentedly and occasionally poking her head up to give him a look that often seemed suspiciously like a wink.

Ami had given him a volume of English stories by an author he had taken a fondness to in their western literature class; he glanced up at her in surprise, realizing instantly that she must have asked Taiki, to have learned such a thing. Ami only smiled at him warmly and coyly sipped her tea, and Taiki kept grinning at Yaten with the same infuriating twinkle in his eye, so Yaten put the book aside and moved on to his next gift. Makoto gave him tickets---three tickets---to go to a play at one of the local theatres, a play which he had confessed to Seiya he was interested in seeing. He glanced up at Seiya almost accusingly, but only received a rakish grin for his efforts, so he gave up with a sigh.

Rei gave him a bottle of cologne, and he was prepared to be disappointed, but when he opened it, he found that it was lightly scented with jasmine, something he’d been seeking for some time without much success. His eyes flew towards the girl, but she only offered him a conspiratorial wink which he returned with a hesitant smile before he turned his attention to Minako’s gift. When he opened it, he was surprised to find a carefully hand-written sheaf of sheet music.

"Did you write this?" he asked her, turning to her with one eyebrow skeptically raised.

A blush spread across her cheeks as she nodded.

"I’m sure it’s not any good," she said quickly. "But I tried my best, Yaten-kun."

He stared down at it for a moment, his eyes following the notes along the page, his fingers lightly testing some of the chords against his thigh.

"I’m sure it’s good," he said after a moment, quietly, and then he became aware of how silent the room had grown around him.

"Maybe you could play it for us later, Yaten," Seiya piped up after a second, and when Yaten looked up, Seiya was grinning.

"Perhaps," Yaten agreed finally, a bit reluctantly, glancing to the side to see that Minako was blushing madly by this point. "Thank you, Aino-san."

He turned to look at Usagi, who was waiting patiently in the background.

"Oh, my gift isn’t as nice as everyone else’s…" she said, blushing slightly when she realized he was looking at her.

"Don’t be so shy, Odango," Seiya teased. She turned to stick her tongue out at him before she stepped towards Yaten and held out a package towards him.

"Happy birthday, Yaten-kun," she said again, softly, as he carefully accepted the gift from her.

"Thanks," he said, looking at the package curiously before he unwrapped it. He blinked in surprise and then blushed when he saw the six volume romance manga inside.

"Seiya told me you’d been looking for this series," Usagi said with a small grin. "I knew where to get it, so…"

"How did you know I read manga!?" Yaten said, his cheeks burning as he looked around Usagi, glaring accusingly towards Seiya.

"Taiki told me, actually," Seiya said, chortling at the mortified look on Yaten’s face. "He found your collection when he was cleaning under your bed."

Yaten turned to Taiki, opening his mouth, no doubt in preparation to shout something about a man’s private romance manga collections, but Taiki beat him to it.

"It wouldn’t be a problem if you cleaned your own room," Taiki pointed out sensibly, closing his eyes as he adjusted his glasses on his nose with the air of a snobbish intellectual.

"I…I…" Yaten sputtered, lifting a finger in the air.

"We know…you’re afraid it might make you sweat," Seiya said with a grin, and after tossing a wadded up ball of wrapping paper at Seiya’s head, Yaten subsided with an angry growl, scowling thunderously.

"I’m sorry, Yaten-kun, if you don’t like it," Usagi said, trying to hide her smile.

Yaten’s frown faded as he glanced up at her face.

"No…I like it," he mumbled, frowning and crossing his arms almost protectively over the manga.

Seiya snickered and Taiki smiled behind a well-placed hand.

"How about some birthday cake, then?" Rei asked, smiling as she tried to meet Yaten’s eye. "Mako-chan made it…it’s delicious."

Yaten looked startled again as he turned to Makoto.

"You made me a birthday cake?" he asked, eyebrows raising in disbelief.

"Sure!" Makoto said, getting to her feet, as did Usagi. "It’s just in the kitchen. I hope you don’t mind strawberry shortcake…Seiya-kun told us you don’t usually eat sweets, but that you love strawberries."

"I do…thank you, very much," Yaten said, still sounding stunned.

"Would anyone like anything else to drink?" Ami asked, also rising to her feet to follow the other two into the kitchen. "I could make something cold, like lemonade…"

"Sounds good," Seiya said, gently setting Chibi Chibi on the floor before he got up. "I’ll help you."

He and Ami disappeared into the kitchen, and Yaten fell into a thoughtful silence, staring down into his tea.

"Yaten-kun?" Minako asked after a moment, and he looked up, surprised by the earnest tone of her voice. She looked concerned, and he blinked. "Are you all right?"

He nodded, blinking again.

"You look as though you’ve never celebrated a birthday before," Rei added from her place in a chair off to Yaten’s left.

"I never really have, with this many people," Yaten said, glancing up, seeking Taiki’s eyes. Taiki smiled warmly, tilting his head, resting his chin against his hand. "Usually just Seiya, Taiki and me."

/And Kakyuu-hime,/ he thought, but of course didn’t say out loud. The thought made him close his eyes against the pain.

"I hope you don’t mind us intruding, then," Rei said with a slight smile.

"No…it’s fine," Yaten said, opening his eyes again. He sounded surprised to hear himself say it.

"Okay, here we come!" Usagi’s voice called suddenly from the hall, and the four of them turned to watch as Makoto walked into the room carrying a large strawberry shortcake. The top was flickering brightly with candles. As the four of them came into the room, Usagi gave another quick vocal signal, and even though all of them were wincing even as they did it, they started to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in very bad English as they marched into the room and Makoto put the cake down on the table. In spite of himself, Yaten was laughing by the time they’d finished and encouraged him to blow out the candles.

"I hope you made a good wish, Yaten," Seiya said, wincing as he rubbed at his ear. "That was terrible!"

"Well, not everyone can be world famous singers," Usagi protested, pouting.

"Maybe you guys should do it," Minako suggested with a smile.

Seiya glanced towards Taiki.

"Well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just this once," Taiki agreed, getting to his feet gracefully and joining Seiya.

Yaten groaned, laughing again as Seiya and Taiki took up dramatic poses, back to back, and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ over again, but in a beautiful duet that had all five girls sighing and clapping as it finished.

"Much better," Rei said, relaxing back into her chair.

"So did you make a wish, Yaten?" Taiki asked as he took his own chair again.

"Of course," Yaten said, his expression becoming somewhat somber again. The girls all quieted when they noticed that suddenly all three Lights seemed saddened, and then Usagi perked up, holding up a knife.

"Yaten, do you want to do the honors?" she asked, gesturing to the cake.

He accepted the knife from her, but he ended up fiddling around with it for so long, trying to decide precisely which angle would be best, that eventually Seiya sighed loudly, came over and knelt by the table, said a haughty "Just give me the damn thing", and cut the cake himself, much to everyone’s amusement. After that the atmosphere was completely relaxed again, all of them talking and laughing---including Yaten---as they ate cake and drank lemonade and talked about school and various inconsequential things, including the particular romance manga Yaten had been trying to find, which, he ended up learning, all of the girls were particular fans of.

Just as Taiki had said, it was evening before it was even suggested that it was time to go home, and despite what he had said earlier, Yaten hadn’t found the time up until then to be spent in vain. He’d actually had…fun. And although his incomprehension hadn’t diminished, he’d been too busy *having* fun all afternoon to think about the confusion, so in the end, it had worked out.

However, when Seiya and Taiki came up to him and suggested that he allow himself to be escorted back to the Lights’ apartment by Ami, Makoto and Rei while Seiya and Taiki remained at Usagi’s house to ‘take care of a few things’, Yaten’s suspicion instantly returned in full force.

"What kind of things?" Yaten said, eyes narrowing.

"Oh, nothing," Seiya said, chuckling as he patted Yaten’s shoulder. "Don’t get so suspicious. We just want to help clean up. You go home and get some rest…you look exhausted."

"I’m not tired," Yaten snapped, instantly irritable. "You two are scheming something, and I don’t like it."

"Yaten, you need to learn to trust us a little more," Taiki said reasonably, putting an arm around the smallest Light’s shoulders and guiding him towards the Tsukino residence’s front door, where Ami, Makoto and Rei were already waiting. "And if it’s these girls you’re worried about, you can rest assured that they’re not about to ambush you on the way home."

"I’m not worried about that, baka," Yaten growled. "But wait just a damn minute…"

"Have fun!" Seiya called cheerfully before dipping into the kitchen after Minako.

"Seiya!" Yaten called threateningly.

"See you later this evening," Taiki said, patting Yaten on the shoulder just as Yaten finished getting on his shoes and picked up the bag that held his presents. "Itterasshai!"

Then Taiki gave him a gentle shove that sent him sprawling out the door, and Rei steadied him with a light touch on his arm.

"Oi! Taiki! Taiki!!" Yaten shouted towards the door, which was quickly shut in his face. "Damn it!! That guy!"

The three girls all giggled at his behavior, and he turned to glare at them.

"You know what they’re doing, don’t you!?" he demanded, pointing at the door.

"Probably not anything like what you’re expecting, Yaten-kun," Rei assured him, turning and gesturing down Usagi’s walkway. "Shall we?"

With another quiet growl, Yaten stomped down the sidewalk and started the walk towards the apartment he shared with his traitorous band mates.

*****

END PART TWO