This chapter is going to feature a bunch of capital letters randomly inserted in the sentences.
This is intentional; it refers to the use of the various powers.
Enjoy!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The young telekinetic followed his German friend up to his room and watched as the orange haired
man tucked the girl in with a gentleness he had not thought possible of him.
"I heard that," Schuldich muttered, brushing some bangs away from Makoto's face, "I'll
have you know that I can be as gentle as a mouse, should I feel the need to be. She's someone I
feel the need to be gentle with."

Nagi tilted his head to the side, studying his friend.
//She's different, is that it? Like a kindred spirit or some nonsense like that.// he
Thought at the older man.

He was rewarded with a short nod from the German.
"I'm going to have a peek inside her head. She's probably still huring and it's going to
take time, so tell the others not to bother me."
"Aa," Nagi agreed.

Behind them the door slammed shut. Schuldich smirked and his eyes became unfocused as he dived
into the layers of her brain, searching for her conscious.

~*~*@*@*%*%*@*@*~*~

He found her in the region where nightmares and horrible experiances were remembered and
re-visited.
"Haha! Chichi! Anata wa doko?!" the little girl cried.

Schuldich turned to face the source of the sound, alarmed. Surely she could not have gained
brain damage from a few voices!
"Makoto?" he asked softly.
"Iie," another, more mature voice answered from behind him, "Koko."

He spun around to face the young woman he was looking for. He was about to speak when he got a
good look at her. She was 'sitting' on a ledge, watching the little girl with troubled and sad
eyes, arms wrapped around her legs. He approached her slowly and stood.
"May I sit down?"
"Hai."

The German sat and stared at the image of the little girl, running around looking for someone on
an airplane. It seemed that the plane had caught fire, the seats were burning and bodies, some
dead some not, were cast about. But it was not moving.
//A crash.//
"Aa."

The girl ran to and fro, searching aisles, coughing harshly, trying to keep herself from getting
burned.
"Who is she?" he finally asked, curious and gentle in his manner.
"Watashi o," Makoto replied, "That's me when I was very young. My parents and I were
coming back from a vacation when the plane crash landed in the middle of Arizona. It caught on
fire, the safety features all went haywire, and I nearly died."
"How did you get out?"

The ESPer shrugged, watching the images play out, getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Finally they
disappeared alltogether. She waved a hand in that direction, as if that explained it.
"I blacked out. When I woke up I was in the hospital."

In front of them, the images no longer played. Makoto turned to look at Schuldich.
"How did you find me?" she asked, tilting her head, "Where is my Shugotenshi?"
"Shugotenshi? ... Ah! You mean Nagi! He is waiting for you."
"Dare da?"
"Schuldich. I'm a telepath."
"A freak like me ... "

The German gave a bitter laugh.
"Ja. A freak of nature -- "
"Who shouldn't be allowed to live," she smiled grimly at him, "I know. I've heard the
same thing over and over. My classmates assumed that because I was the only one to survive the
crash that I was some sort of supernatural being. Thus I became an outcast. I can Hear voices,
you know."
"Ja, I know. That's why I came to find you. I can teach you to use your barriers, to make
them stronger. You don't have to go through this alone."

Makoto studied him thoughtfully. She glanced back at the space where images of classmates
taunting her played out.
"Not alone, huh? ... That'd be nice for a change."
"Oh come on. You can't really say you've *always* been alone, can you?"

Glancing from him to the space, she shook her head.
"Iie ... " the ESPer sighed.

Schuldich noticed they had moved to a different section of her memories. He saw her first true
friends; Mizuno Ami, Hino Rei; Aino Minako, and Tsukino Usagi. He saw their battles, their pain.
Their last enemy had been defeated only recently, and now the poor girl was Hearing voices in her
head.
"You have had it rough," Schuldich admitted, "But it's nothing that a little time can't
fix. With some practice, you'll only be able to Hear those you want to Hear, to Feel the emotions
of those you want to Feel."
"Wakatta ... arigatou gozaimasu."
"Don't thank me now. Thank me when we set up your mental blocks. You have to wake up
first, you know."

~*~*@*@*%*%*@*@*~*~

Nagi watched as the telepath jerked back into full awareness with a sudden Shove. He stared
slightly, not expecting it, the telepath had been messing about in Makoto's mind for well over an
hour now.
"I'll be damned," the orange haired man whispered.

Beside him, Nagi nearly squirmed, impatient for news.
"Nani?" he asked, forcing himself to sound composed.

Schuldich shook his head and stared down at the still sleeping girl, a small smile growing on the
corners of his lips. He finally seemed to realize Nagi's presence and turned to look at him.
"Kono bishoujo ... " he started, still in awe, "She's almost as powerful as you or I.
It's amazing! I've never seen an ESPer this powerful. She could nearly be a telepath."

The younger boy shook his head and grinned down at the older man.
"You're taking this far too much to heart, Schu-niisan. I almost think you're in love
with her."

Before the German could protest, Makoto wrinkled her nose as she fought her way to consciousness.
They watched her eyes open slowly, bit by bit, so her eyes could get used to the light. When
they opened fully and settled, unfocused, on Schuldich, the two men were stunned by the amazing
shade of green. Nagi looked between Schuldich and Makoto, noting the similar features the two
shared, namely the eyes.
"Schu-schu?" Makoto whispered, eyes focusing properly.

Nagi felt a twinge of jealousy spur through his system, but he quickly shooed it away, not
wanting Schuldich to have the satisfaction of knowing his jealousy. The German gave no
indication of sensing the Nagi's jealous thoughts as he nodded and brushed some bangs off
Makoto's forehead.
"Ja."
"Danke ... "

The telekinetic raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Teaching her German already, Schu-niisan? Monopolizer."

Schuldich snorted and stood from Makoto's bed side.
"Right, Nagi," he grinned, "That's not even a real word, but whatever you say. I'll get
you some food, okay Makoto?"

The said girl pushed herself into a sitting position and nodded slowly, not wanting to bring on a
headache. Schuldich ruffled her hair, though she batted at his hand playfully, and walked to the
door, opening it.
//She's all your, Nagi-chaaan. You don't have to be jealous of me.//

Nagi refused to let his surprise show, but Sent the other man a nice selection of choise phrases,
keeping his eyes on Makoto. The bed ridden girl watched the German leave the room, then turned
to look at Nagi.
"Shugotenshi ... arigatou ... "

The telekinetic nearly fell over.
"Shugotenshi? Hardly. I can bearly protect myself, let alone someone else."

Makoto shook her head, more vigorously this time.
"Iie! You protected me! I am greatful to you for that. And damn it, if I wanna call you
'shugotenshi', you're gonna be called 'shugotenshi'!"

Nagi stared down at the auburn haired girl in suprise. She blushed and looked away, and the
telekinetic did something he swore never to do again: he laughed. A sudden, genuine burst of
laughter, brought forth because of pure amusement. Never before had anybody dared to talk to him
like that.
//It's rather refreshing, really,// Nagi thought to himself, careful to keep his shields
up so she could not Hear him.

Makoto watched him out of the corner of her eye, trying to chase the blush from her cheeks.
//He's got a nice laugh ... I wonder how often he uses it ... //

When the laughing subsided, Nagi held out his hand to her.
"Would you like a tour? If Schu-niisan is going to be your teacher, you'll probably be
staying here for a while. Do you have any family you want to contact?" he asked.

Makoto shook her head, finally looking back at him.
"Iie. ... Just some friends who need to know where I am."
"I'm afraid that will have to wait until we get some answers," said a new voice.

Without turning, Nagi frowned and sighed. Brad did like to make things difficult.

~Owari, chapter 2~