Mild language! I hate using it, but I had to in order to get my point across. I'm sorry. And this story is not meant to offend anyone. So remember that. I think that's it. Oh yeah! Thank you so, so, so much to those who wrote to me especially Alejandra and Haruka. Thanks so much!

-Mel-Mel

"Inspiration is disturbing."

PS: ::sung to "Mary had a little lamb"::

Mel-Mel had a little'fic, little 'fic, little 'fic.

Mel-Mel had a little 'fic but the characters aren't hers.

She tried to buy them off one day, off one day, off one day.

She tried to buy them off one day but she only had pocket lint.

(Standard Disclaimer Apply)

When the Pink Clouds Clear Away

CHAPTER 4

Eyes wide, Ferio touched the window. He didn't go through. That really was his reflection. He was back!

"Yahoo!", he shouted dancing around. "I'm back! I'm back! "I-"

'FERIO!' Ferio froze. That couldn't be, could it? Turning around he looked in every direction, but nobody was there.

'Ferio, you can't see me. You're solid, I'm not.' Umi's aggravated voice filtered through his head.

"Umi, how could you be in my head? You can't read minds can you?" Ferio shuddered. Please no. He heard a sigh.

'I can't exactly talk out loud. It would be pretty funny looking if we walked around and people kept hearing voices. And no, I don't have telepathy.' Ferio raised an eyebrow.

"Telepa-what?" He felt something smack into the back of his head. He swung his hand around quickly but got nothing except for pins and needles in his arm.

"Ack!" Shaking his arm back to life he heard Umi laughing.

'Idiot. You can't hit me. Solid and Spirit don't mix. Now before I forget again, you have a girl to follow. Now SHOO!' A forceful shove sent Ferio flying out of the alley and to the sidewalk.

"Are you all right sir?", a sweet voice asked. Ferio opened his eyes. He was staring at a pair of brown shoes. Looking up he came face to face with a pair of concerned green eyes. 'Fuu', he immediately thought. Before he could stop it, it slipped out of his mouth.

"Fuu." The girl immediately backed up a step. Ferio quickly got to his feet and brushed himself off.

"Do we know each other, sir?", she asked. Fuu was clutching her books to her chest. Ferio looked around trying to think of an excuse.

"Well, no. But I've seen you in school." Fuu backed up another step with wide eyes.

"Impossible", she whispered. Ferio looked confused.

"Why? I've seen you lots of times." The girl took a deep breath. Closing her eyes and bowing her head she replied.

"I go to an all girls private school." She quickly looked up at Ferio who stood with a face redder than Hikaru's hair. "I have to go. Um, I'm glad you're all right. Bye." She quickly started walking down the street between people in the crowded sidewalk.

'Well, don't just stand there!' Ferio groaned. Not again. 'Go after her, dead boy.'

"Stop calling me dead boy." He growled as he ran after Fuu. He glanced up just in time to see the wayward girl turn the corner onto the sidewalks of Tokyo.

'Now look what you did, dead boy! You made her run away! Little hint: DON'T TRY TO MAKE UP ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION UNTIL YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT HER!!!' Ferio tried to grab his ears to keep his head from exploding, but it didn't work. Umi's voice echoed in his brain leaving a slight ringing in his head. Wobbling cautiously, he was finally able to gather his thoughts.

"Umi! Don't do that! You could have warned me earlier! I have never done this before because as you so graciously pointed out, I'm dead!" Ferio huffed angrily in the middle of the sidewalks, not noticing the strange glances and wide breadth he was given. If he could have seen Umi, he would have seen an angel pulling out her own hair.

'Ferio, I'm going to put this plain and simply. If you want to talk to me, find a hiding place or become an angel again. The stupid people will think you're a weirdo, and the smart ones will know the minute they see you.'

Gritting his teeth, Ferio stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking down the street. He glanced around like a hawk looking for prey.

Unbeknownst to him, Umi floated by filing her nails. 'Ferio, you'll scare her away with that look on your face.' Ferio gave a toothy grin that sent some poor dog running. Umi grimaced. 'I know this is hard but please TRY to look NORMAL! That may be impossible but we need to ignore the laws of physics.' Ferio clenched his hands in his pockets. He needed to loose Umi fast.

"I wonder if Ascot's awake yet?" He said aloud. Umi halted and bound off frantically. Ferio wasn't sure how he knew, but somehow he felt Umi was gone. At that moment, he spotted Fuu near a window display.

Taking a few deep breaths, he slipped up beside her. He looked at her reflection in the mirror, noticing her eyes widen and her mouth form a straight line. 'Not good', he thought. He would have to say something, but what?

"Hi." Fuu quickly walked away from him. Groaning, Ferio began to follow her. Just as he turned around, another person bumped into him from behind. Something wet and sticky started to soak through Ferio's jeans.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, sir." An annoyingly cute voice spoke up behind him. A little girl with black hair and mischievous purple eyes looked up at Ferio. Both looking down at the same time, Ferio noticed a big, carnival lollipop stuck to his jeans. Looking critically at the lollipop, the little girl was oblivious to Ferio.

Suddenly, Ferio heard a young boy's voice speaking to him and if he concentrated hard enough, he could see the image of a young boy who looked out of breath. 'Sorry. Aska can get really energetic. I'll see what I can do about the lollipop stuck to you.' He seemed to take a few deep breaths. 'Hold on.' There was a pause. 'All right.', he said finally. 'Let's see about getting that sticky thing off your leg.' Aska who was busy pulling at her candy. Ferio felt the girl's angel reach through her, and her angel grabbed hold of the candy's stick. Pulling with all their might, the short beings next to him managed to dislodge the lollipop. Bowing, Aska skipped off. The angel next to Ferio looked heavenwards and bounded after her.

"That was weird", voiced Ferio.

'No, that was Sanyun.' Umi was back. Fun. Ferio sighed as he trudged down the street.

"Nice to hear from you again, Umi. How's Ascot?" He felt his teacher slap him on the backside of his head once more.

'Stop talking to yourself, dead boy. Ascot's fine. He's in school at the moment. Hopefully nobody comes along and beats him to a pulp or I'll get in trouble.' Ferio shrugged as he walked by a mother giving her baby a bottle.

"Glad to know you care about your dependent so much." Ferio said sarcastically. The mother looked up.

"What was that young man?" Ferio gulped as a pair of angry red eyes glared at him.

"Nothin', ma'am. Just talking to myself. Not trying to insult you."

She glared harder. "How come I don't believe you?" She waved a pacifier in his face. "Just remember, young man, that a mother's love knows no bounds and I DO care for my child more than I care for your manners. Hmph." She swung around and stormed off with the baby carriage. Letting out a breath, Ferio wilted to the ground.

"Man, that was close." He brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

'I'll say' Umi groaned. 'Keep your mouth shut.'

"I'll do it only if you don't open yours." Ferio quickly got up and jogged down the sidewalk to prevent another head injury, courtesy of Umi. He heard Umi's annoyed growl. Laughing he ran harder. His smile only widened more when he saw Fuu.

Then promptly faded as he fell face first into wet cement. Lifting himself up on hands and knees, he blinked gravel out of his eyes. "What the fuck-" His hair went "poof" as a fireball erupted around him, drying the cement in the process.

"Hey! You! I just put that cement down! What are you doing going and messing it up? Get out of there!" A burly, blonde construction worker came over to Ferio. He grabbed Ferio's arm trying to pull up the boy from the "fresh" cement. His eyes widened when he noticed the cement had dried. "I just put this down." He glanced at Ferio for an answer.

"Don't look at me, I just fell into it." The construction worker shook his head.

"Carl!" An obese male, the perfect specimen of "constructionus workerus", walked over to Ferio and the blonde man holding his arm.

"Yeah, Lafarga? What's..." He stopped as he noticed Ferio. "Hey kid, get out of there. You could get hurt, and we could get sued." Ferio dropped his head to the cement, hitting the ground hard. He yelped in pain. Lafarga chuckled. "That cement's dry!" Apparently, Carl had finally realized this small, itty-bitty fact. Lafarga laughed more as Ferio groaned.

"Can you please get me out of here?" Ferio's face was turning pinker than heaven as a crowd started gathering around him. This was not good. It got even worse when Ferio noticed Fuu smiling at him jovially from the sidelines. And next to her was Tarta, his friend from school. She had moved away and went to a school in Tokyo now. He had forgotten. She would never let him hear the end of this. 'Wait a minute.' His eyes bulged.

"Tarta!" His friend's eyes widened and her face paled.

"Oh my God! Ferio! But you're supposed to be dead!" She crawled through the crowd to Ferio. "What are you doing?! I'm going crazy! I flew home and went to your funeral and saw them bury your casket. On second thought we never saw the body because you were supposedly in a nasty car wreck. Is this some elaborate joke?" Tarta looked at Ferio. Lafarga brushed past as he and another worker tried to UN-cement Ferio from the sidewalk.

"Excuse me." Tarta stepped back revealing a light outline and shadow of an angel behind her. It looked suspiciously like Tarta herself.

'I'm Tatra. Her sister.' The angel smiled and waved. Ferio nodded then felt his face slam into the cement.

'You idiot!' Umi had caught up once more. Ferio groaned.

Lafarga laughed. "Don't worry, son, we'll have you out soon." Ferio smiled sickeningly.

"Take your time. I have eternity." Sighing he lay as well as he could on the ground. 'Stupid fireball,' he thought. Looking around at Fuu, Tarta, Lafarga, their angels, and the crowd he added 'Stupid people.' Fuu had joined Tarta standing next to him. She was calmly looking at him. Adjusting her glasses, she blushed as she noticed his gaze. Ferio observed that she really had pretty eyes. She started to turn away.

"Wait!" He called out to her, reaching with his hand. 'Hand?' He sighed with relief. His hand had been freed. But instead of Fuu taking it, Tarta grabbed him.

"Ferio. You're alive," she whispered, eyes filled with tears. "I was so sad!" She smacked him. "Why'd you pull such a dumb joke! It wasn't funny!" Fuu glared at him. She nodded in agreement with Tarta. "Your friend has problems", she said. Tarta nodded as Fuu left.

"Great." Ferio brought his other hand, now also freed, to the front and lay his head down.

"You know something Ferio? There's something different to you. You look different. More feminine than before. Are you doing drugs?" Tarta looked at him strangely.

"I do not look like a girl!" He yelled as loud as he could. This was getting aggravating. Lafarga simply smiled.

"Kid, you better take another look in the mirror." Tarta nodded.

He felt Umi's hand on his head. 'We're going to have to erase Tarta's memory. Oh look, your leg's free.' Lafarga called out to Ferio to wait two more minutes. Ferio sighed.

"I'm gonna need a change of clothes." He had been talking to Umi, but Tarta answered.

"We'll get you some when we get home. Your parents are going to be so mad at you. Seeing as how much they cried, they obviously don't know this was a trick. The whole death thing was cruel Ferio. Especially after the death of your sister only two years ago." She waved her finger at him. "You should be ashamed."

"All clear, kid!" Lafarga helped Ferio up from his crouch. He was finally free from the cement. "Now you and your friend can go home." Lafarga assessed Ferio's appearance. "Some advice," he murmured. "Get some new clothes and loose the ponytail. It may help to rid you of the feminine look." Ferio turned to yell at the worker when Tarta grabbed him by the before mentioned ponytail. She pulled him down the street, admonishing him for his recklessness the whole time.

'Dead Boy! Quick! Place your hand on her forehead and repeat after me!' Umi's screech echoed in Ferio's ears. He had gotten the message though. He stopped Tarta and placed his hand on her forehead. Umi said something in old Greek. Ferio copied her to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately, the best of his abilities wasn't good enough.

The instant he was done, some poor man walking down the street was glomped by Tarta. "Iloveyou! Iloveyou! Iloveyou! Iloveyou!"

'Ferio, you dolt! You put her under a love spell!' Ferio rolled his eyes and walked off. Umi shrugged. 'Oh well. Got rid of her.'

***

Ferio spent an hour wandering Tokyo. Umi had wandered off earlier to take care of Ascot. He finally spotted Fuu talking to Hikaru. He sped up to catch her before she left. He got to her location just as she walked into a large tan building.

Racing up the steps, Ferio slammed through the door sending a kid carrying a pile of books to the floor. Sweat-dropping, he helped the kid up and went to look for Fuu. Glancing up he realized he had entered a zone that had been forbidden to him when he was alive. The public library. 'Oh G... Pocky!' Ferio mentally...uh...insulted himself. He really hated this. Not that he didn't like a good book, but the libraries were always so creepy with their weird smells, the tall cases that caused claustrophobia and the weird librarians. Sighing, he started to trudge through the rows, searching once more for his ward.

The library was huge with at least three floors and four different wings. It was colored in the same type of tan as the outside of the building. Tall shelves filled all available space. Some so tall that the library provided ladders in order for people to reach the upper parts of the shelves. Ferio sighed. Fuu had already disappeared into the maze of shelves. Trudging on, he wandered the aisles looking for the girl. He soon started to grumble. By the time he had reached the back of the library, he was speaking aloud and getting weird looks from other people.

"...making a COMPLETE fool of myself. Then I have to deal with Miss Congeniality with the blue hair. Could her voice be pitched ANY higher. Then there's this whole business of succeeding in taking care of a ward who is completely freaked out by me. How was I supposed to know she goes to an all girls school? I mean, give me a break. Then I got stuck in cement, becoming a freak show in the process. This means I can't even use my more colorful vocabulary which took me YEARS to perfect..."

"Sh!" Ferio froze. Turning slowly he glared at the poor person who had interrupted his venting.

"What do you mean 'sh'!", he exploded. "I have been through WAY too much today. If you feel like meeting the little fluff ball of a maker early, believe me, I will let you! I..." He stopped as he noticed a wide eyed Fuu behind the unfortunate person who had "sh"ed him. She took a slight step back when their eyes met and he blinked. Looking down he finally noticed who he'd been yelling at. The librarian. A really scary librarian with shock white hair, wire rim glasses and long fingernails painted an obnoxious red.

Ferio gave a nervous smile. "So. What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Ferio tried to smile dashingly. At the librarian's incredulous frown his smile disappeared.

"Well, young man. Now that you are done ranting and hitting on me would you kindly apologize and le-"

"Fuu!" His ward had begun to turn to leave. She stopped when he called. Placing a slim hand on her forehead she walked up to Ferio and the librarian.

"I don't know why I'm doing this so don't make me regret it," she whispered in his ear. Ferio rubbed his ear quickly as Fuu turned to the librarian. It always tickled when somebody whispered in his ear, but the sensation he felt now was more than he bargained for. He merely ticked it off as one of the aspects of being dead.

"Mrs. Belotacuri, please excuse my, um, friend, here. He's had a hard day."

"Yeah, like cement," Ferio grumbled. He sucked in a breath as Fuu kicked him in the shin. She smiled sweetly at the librarian. The old woman gazed hard at Ferio who tried his best to give a carefree smile. She turned back to Fuu.

"Miss Hououji? You know this man?" Fuu nodded. "Well, sir, you're very lucky. Since Miss Hououji is a frequent visitor and I know her well, I'm going to let you into her care and forget about you yelling at me. But you must behave from now on." The librarian waved a finger with a long red fingernail in front of Ferio's nose and left.

He smiled sheepishly. "So... Fuu. Thanks." Fuu rolled her eyes and walked away. Ferio scrambled to keep up with her.

"Hey wait! I'm sorry. Didn't mean to get you in trouble! Really! And that whole thing about being a student in your school was a lie. Honest!" Ferio skid to a stop as Fuu turned around. A frown marred the features of her face.

"Wasn't that a contradiction. Lying and honesty? And what about that cruel joke you played on your friends and family? Never mind. Why am I even talking to you," Fuu asked. Shaking her head she continued her walk towards the back of the library. "Why do you insist on following me? Are you some sort of twisted stalker? You aren't a very good one," she quipped. Ferio huffed. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he walked beside her.

"No. For your information I'm NOT a stalker. I'm merely looking out for your well-being." Fuu raised an eyebrow.

"And you are achieving this by...?" Letting out a frustrated snort, he kept silent. "Well? Ferio, was it?" The green haired boy next to her nodded. "I don't need a guardian. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Just as she finished, a person backed a chair right in her path. Ferio grabbed her, tripped over his own feet, and both went flying into a book cart. Ferio leaned his head back. This was not his day. A small tapping sound and Fuu shoving herself away from his body brought him back to the present. Fuu was basically sitting in his lap (the thought bringing a blush to both of their faces) and he was sitting on the books and cart. There in front of them was a crowd and the librarian from before, Mrs. Belotacuri. Tapping her foot. Looking very angry. Ferio closed his eyes and leaned back again. This was definitely, really not his day.

"Miss Hououji? What, pray tell, are you doing on top of your friend in the middle of a spilt book cart? One I just finished putting in order, mind you." The librarian raised a white eyebrow over her silver framed glasses.

"Um...well.." Fuu's sweet, timid voice cut through the silence in Ferio's head. 'What is this? The girl's messing with my head.' Grunting, Ferio pushed Fuu off him gently and got up. Dusting himself off, he lent Fuu a hand in arising from the floor also. She looked skeptical, but accepted his help. He turned to the librarian flashing a grin. Which, once again, died after seeing the librarian's frown. Rubbing the back of his head, he laughed hesitantly.

"It wasn't Fuu, Ma'am. My fault entirely. I was trying to get her to see something over on the shelf. I pulled her along, but I tripped and pulled her down with me. We have to go do...research! Yeah! We'll see you later!" He saluted the librarian, picked up Fuu's spilt belongings, Fuu herself, and quickly ran to the other end of the library.

"No running!" The librarian scowled. 'Kids today. No respect', she thought, conveniently forgetting she herself never showed any respect to her elders as a child.

Ferio and Fuu reached the very back of the building and stood heaving in gasps of air next to a tall bookcase. There was a ladder right next to Ferio. He leaned on it for support. Unexpectedly, it moved and a book came toppling down. A yell of complaint reached his ears. Looking up, he saw a guy clinging to the ladder's banister.

"Hey! Watch it!", the guy yelled. Ferio waved.

"Sorry!," he yelled. The guy glared, but he went back to searching the shelves. Ferio stuck out his tongue.

"The Psychological Effect: A Collection of Essays and Reports."

"Huh?" Ferio looked back at Fuu. She had apparently picked up the dropped book. She looked up at him.

"It says The Psychological Effect: A Collection of Essays and Reports. Intriguing. Maybe you should read it. It might help you with those problems of yours." She smiled bitter sweetly. Ferio balled his fists behind his back. 'Found out something else. Has a sense of humor.' He gritted his teeth and smiled. Fuu merely smiled and held onto the book.

"So, Fuu. Come here often?" She crossed her arms over her chest, book in hand. She gave him the "what do you think" look. 'My mother always pulled that one on me,' he thought. "What do you like to read? Romance novels?" Fuu glowered.

"Why is it when a female says she reads, people automatically assume it's romance novels?", she asked quietly. Ferio could see the slight irritation in her eyes. 'Spirit', he thought then shrugged. Swiping his bangs out of his eyes, he leaned back onto the shelf.

"You didn't answer my question. What do you like to read?" She studied him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "Why are you talking to me?" Ferio smirked.

"You're avoiding my question. To answer yours, like I said before I am looking out for your well-being." She gave him a queer look. He sighed. "You got me. I'm also trying to find out more about you. You look..." 'Find a word. What word can I use?' Thought Ferio. 'Beautiful?' He glanced at the girl who was once more giving him a critical look. 'Nah. Interesting? Girls always take that the wrong way.' Fuu saved him, sort of.

"Are you hitting on me?" He took a step back.

"No. I- Hey! You're avoiding my question again. So what do you read?"

"Why are you so interested in what I read?!"

"Why do you keep refusing to answer me?!"

"Why-!?" Fuu was interrupted by a very peeved student and his study group.

"Can you idiots keep it down?! We're trying to study. This is a library, and they do have rules about silence."

"Gomen," Fuu whispered. The student marched off with his group, all of them shooting the pair angry looks.

"What does 'Gomen' mean?" Fuu became startled.

"Gomen? You feel bad? You want to make it up to them?" She tried to urge him with her hands.

"OH!" Understanding spread its fluffy pink wings over Ferio. "Sorry. It means sorry." Fuu looked puzzled.

"In English, yes." Ferio bit his tongue. 'Oops. A slight inconsistency in the language barrier. I'll have to ask Umi about that.'

"So what do you read?" He smiled nervously while hoping Fuu wouldn't notice the quick change in subject.

She still looked slightly concerned but she finally answered him.

"Science books. Stuff about computers. Science-fiction and Fantasy. Sometimes I'll read history or historical fiction. You?" Ferio leaned back against the shelf and ladder behind him.

"Well..." Another book plummeted to the ground between himself and the girl next to him.

"HEY!!!" The same guy from before was hanging on for dear life. He glared at the green haired boy below him and started to climb down the ladder with his books. Ferio looked back at his female companion when she gasped. A big man was coming over their way. It was the angry student from before. Fuu dropped the book she was holding from before and backed towards Ferio.

"Hey, Kenji. What's wrong?" Kenji, for apparently that was the guy's name, pointed at Ferio.

"This jerk and his girlfriend keep knocking into my ladder. I almost fell off." The big guy eyed Ferio. By this time the whole study group of seven other people had joined their friend, Kenji, and the big guy next to him.

"He says you're bothering him. Whatcha doing that for?" The stranger growled at Ferio and slammed a fist into his other hand. "I don't like when people mess with my friend." Ferio jumped in front of Fuu as the guy came after them. He grabbed the girl as Kenji's "bodyguard" lunged at them. Fuu slammed into Ferio's stomach and he slammed into a shelf, knocking books onto a person behind it. This guy came around, complaining at the top of his voice.

"What are you doing?! You could have given me a concussion!" He eyed the small group. Kenji and his patrol pointed at Fuu and Ferio. Both pairs of eyes grew wide. Ferio knew he was in a whole heap of trouble.

"So", he laughed nervously, "how 'bout them Yankees?" All eyes stared at him like he was nuts. "Oh...Bloody swords of Tokyo! This is Tokyo. You guys don't know who the Yankees are...uh oh." He once again shoved Fuu out of the way, but this time got hit himself. He flew into the arms of another girl. Unfortunately, her boyfriend was next to her.

"Hey, buddy. Get away from my girl." The boyfriend pushed Ferio away from his companion.

He flew right back into the alley with the ten other guys from before. Eleven pairs of eyes glared at Ferio as he slowly backed up next to Fuu. She glanced at him with frightened eyes. 'Great Scots, stop looking at me like that, girl.' He placed himself in front of her and tried to smile his best as eleven big guys came up to him.

"Couldn't we talk about this?" Obviously not. He was grabbed and violently shoved into a shelf. Being solid had its down points. Ferio was now carting a bunch of bruises and a bloody temple. It wasn't over. Feeling fed up with the peaceful approach, Ferio gritted his teeth and stood up.

"Okay, guys, who's first?" All of them came at him. He dodged, but in the process, he tripped over the psychology book Fuu had dropped. He fell over into the ladder which crashed into another ladder, which crashed into a table full of books and people, which crashed into the next shelf.

Both he, Fuu, and the group of guys who had attacked him watched as the shelf wobbled...

And fell.

***

Fuu and Ferio sat on stools at a nearby restaurant. Fuu was helping Ferio put medicine and band aids on his cuts and bruises. After the shelves had collapsed like dominoes, the group of thugs had beaten him to a pulp. Thankfully nobody else had been injured. This didn't make Ferio feel any better, mind you, but at least Fuu wasn't avoiding him like the plague. Her touch had a strangely calming affect on him.

He was surprised she had helped him after they had gotten kicked out of the library and neither of them would ever be allowed back in. He had mentioned this to Fuu and she just shook her head saying she knew of a better library she could visit.

So, now they sat in a restaurant patching up Ferio with a First Aid kit a waitress had gotten him. The waitress watched them. She had pink hair, tan skin, and an annoying accent, but she was nice enough to get them the stuff they needed and a table. She leaned on the counter watching them. Ferio glanced up as she disappeared into the kitchen. All of a sudden he yelped in pain.

"Gomen", Fuu whispered. She finished wrapping up a large welt on his arm. He waved it off, but accidentally smacked his hand into the way of the friendly waitress. She caught herself and placed a tray of tea on the table.

"Careful, sugar." The waitress smiled and went to answer a new customer that had walked in. She squealed when she saw who it was and disappeared behind the door.

Ferio groaned. "This is not my day."

"It doesn't appear to be so," Fuu replied. She smiled as she wrapped an ice pack in gauze to put on Ferio's forehead where a large purple bruise had formed. He hissed in pain as the cold met his wound. She smiled more.

"Gomen." Ferio leaned back watching Fuu clean up.

"You know. That's the first time I've seen you really smile. I don't usually hang around such gloomy people." Fuu frowned at him. "I didn't mean it that way! Really! I'm just used to people that are much louder and..." Fuu shook her head.

"I'll let it by this time. But at least we know you are better. You have enough energy to insult me." She got up and placed the kit onto the counter next to the cash register. The waitress came in with another person. Fuu sat down as Lafarga came over, hugging the waitress to him.

"I see you got some new clothes. But what happened? Was there a fight here, Caldina? I don't want you getting hurt in a situation that wasn't even your fault." Caldina placed a finger on his lips.

"Shush. The poor boy got in a fight at the library and I was helping him and the missy out."

Lafarga turned to Fuu and Ferio. "You were the kids at the library? That place is trashed." Fuu choked on her tea as Ferio tried to disappear into the seat. Caldina hit him. He smiled. "You must have broken many mirrors to have such bad luck. See you around." Lafarga walked off with Caldina. Fuu smiled.

"You think that's funny? Next time you get the black eye." Fuu smiled sympathetically. "Of course looking like a rotten banana might come into style if you and I both start getting into fights. Think of it! A whole new trend. We can call it..." Fuu was giggling. "We can call it the "Bruised Banana Look"." She laughed with Ferio.

"The 'Bruised Banana Look?'"

"I can see it now!" He laughed more trying to get the words out. "We'll get some major models to support us. Everybody will be wearing it. We'll make millions! Of course we will have to spend the money trying to get the health agencies off our back." Fuu nodded in agreement, too breathless to speak. She finally had control of herself again. She looked up to Ferio who was looking at her. They both burst into laughter again.

Ferio and Fuu started a friendly conversation. They talked a little, Ferio kept trying to get her to tell him something about herself while dodging questions about himself. Fuu looked at her watch.

"It's getting late, Ferio. I have to go." Ferio looked outside at the darkening skies. Almost time to go back to Umi. Just when it was getting good. Fuu stood up. "Would..." She looked at Ferio uncertainly. "Would you like to walk home with me?" Ferio grinned.

"Of course" he replied. Holding out an arm and bowing he took her hand. "This way, milady."

The whole way to her house Fuu tried to talk with Ferio. He had become slightly more melancholy. She finally stopped trying. Ferio took his time memorizing her features in the fading sunlight. He was startled when she grasped his hand and moved closer to him. His eyes widened as he looked up. Then he noticed a group of kids had whizzed by on skateboards. Fuu tried to take her hand back, but Ferio wouldn't let her. He grinned as she caught onto the joke.

"You want your hand back?" She nodded, free hand on her hip. "Well, I don't want to give it back." She pursed her lips. "Has the cat got your tongue or have you just lost the use of your throat because I've swept you away with my charm." She gave a rueful laugh.

"Hah! I'll have you know..." She turned to him, but he wasn't there. The street light had turned on, illuminating the darkness around her home. "Ferio?" She twirled around looking for the green haired boy. All she saw was some guy being glomped by a girl screaming "I love you!". Sighing as she trudged up the steps, she never noticed an angel following her.

***

What'd you think? Good, bad, or ugly? Why? Comments and criticisms are welcome. At this point, flames are as well, but don't expect me to answer any flames unless I feel overwhelmingly bored (which won't be anytime soon, believe me!).

princess_rosalyn@hotmail.com

-Mel-Mel