Saiyuki - Modern AU - This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Kerica gasped as she moved her camera to snap a shot of another hill with more trees, buildings in the distance, "Wow! It's just so beautiful up here!" she turned around and sat back, looking at what she had, and then looked up at the blonde in the driver's seat, "Arigato for inviting us up here, Hikari! You didn't have to! Oh, I want to go to the hot springs later, what about you, Rei?" she turned to her blue eyed friend who had her flaming red hair in a pixie cut. She swiped her own brunette bangs from her green eyes, her hair tumbling over her shoulders from it's ponytail.

"We might be able to find a waterfall, or even some hidden springs around our cabin area," Moriko offered with a soft smile, "We would have to do some exploring for sure."

"Phssh, I can always fly above to see for us," Sora waved her hand.

"Aw, but where's the fun in that, Sora? I want to go trampling through the forest in search of treasures!" Kerica said firmly.

"Because treasure hunters really did come through this forest and left us a map to try to find the X." Rei said dryly as they continued up. "Personally, the hot springs are awesome and I wouldn't mind a nature walk. I've been feeling out of sorts lately. Probably because there's no where for me to go besides the park if I need to reconnect."

"You and your Wicca." Hikari shook her head from side to side. "I'd almost think you demon with the way you talk sometimes Rei. Hot springs, waterfalls. It's a good thing we have a private section. Though it is a a bit a shame we're a bit far away from society. Driving is going to be a chore, as well as taking the bus if we need to get anything."

"You booked this place for, what, two weeks? We'll be fine!" Kerica beamed at her in the rear-view mirror, "It's not like we'll have to leave the cabin very much. We brought plenty of food and supplies."

"Depends on if we run out of one thing or another because we all like or want something," Sora giggled.

"How far are you willing to walk for a hike?" Kerica asked her best friend.

"I can walk a long time," Rei replied. "It depends on how humid and muggy the area is though." She touched her chest. "I have shortness or breath and my knee is all kinds of fucked up. I can keep up with you though if it's a good day."

"Wonderful! How about tomorrow?" Kerica grinned, "Who all wants to go for the first hike?!"

"I will!" Sora cheered, "We can spend tonight just getting settled, knowing our immediate area, and we can watch movies or use the pool!"

"Most definitely," Moriko smiled happily, "Of course I will go with you. Hikari? Would you come with us?"

"Sure." Hikari shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do. The pool sounds like a really good idea. What movies are we going to watch? Everyone's favorites? Scary movies?" As she said that, she wiggled her fingers in a spooky manner while her expression was mockingly eerie.

"We can watch our favorites!" Sora nodded enthusiastically, "We can watch scary movies later! I'd watch paranormal ones, though."

"Hai, I don't like the gory ones," Kerica wrinkled her nose.

"Me neither." Rei shook her head. "Or the paranormal." She hated anything that was a "scary movie". Scary books? Paranormal books? She was all over that in a heartbeat.

Hikari wrinkled her nose back at them. "You two are sticks in mud."

"Oh no, what ever shall we do? Be diving boards for frogs?" Rei asked sarcastically. "What a boring life a stick has."
Hikari rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Not so boring when you see the sex side of it."

"Oh god." Rei's expression turned horrified. "Fucking...I hate people."

Hikari laughed.

"So naughty, Hikari!" Kerica laughed, "I wish I had more than sexy books. You're lucky, you're so gorgeous you can have whatever guy you want."

Sora made a disgusted sound, "Ugh, can we /not/, please?"

"I could have any man in the world, but my heart's taken by Sora and Mori. Sorry not sorry." Hikari beamed.

"Awww," Moriko blushed, "Arigato. You have our hearts, too, and you know it," she smiled back.

"I would hope she does," Sora agreed.

Kerica just giggled and shook her head, going back to taking pictures while they wound up to a cabin on a steep hill, overlooking a lake several miles out that they could probably go to for some fishing or swimming. There were a couple other cabins they could see scattered far apart as well, and the air was fresh, "/Sugoi/!" she said breathlessly, taking a picture and beaming as it came out beautifully, "It's fantastic up here!"

"We don't have to worry about neighbors. They're about a ten to fifteen minute walk away, so it'll take a while. They'd have to be super determined to bother us." Hikari agreed.

"Let's get things put away," Moriko called with a laugh, "The sooner we get our stuff where we want it, we can go for a swim. It's hot out!"

"Agreed." Rei smiled. "I'm definitely taking a swim after this hike, and a shower, and maybe another swim."

"Well it /is/ July," Kerica snickered, "I would hope it's hot out."

"Oh, you want to go for a hike today, too?" Sora asked Rei, bouncing at the idea.

"A small one." Rei nodded. "I want to at least see whats around us. You want to come with me, Sora?"

"Certainly!" Sora nodded vigorously, "I like hearing you talk about your Wicca stuff when you're trying to connect!"

Rei walked over close enough to gently ruffle Sora's hair. "At least I don't annoy you." She grinned at her.

"You're not an annoyance, Rei," Moriko assured, "I like it, too, I just don't seem to understand it in the way that you do."

Rei laughed, "It's different for everyone." She smiled at Moriko. "I like talking about it, and the stories. I'm glad you two like to hear it." She lowered her voice in a stage whisper. "I'm probably a better story-teller than Hikari."

"I heard that." Hikari called from behind her shoulder. "Keep that up and you won't get any stories from me the /whole/ two weeks."

"Aw come on." Rei whined. "I was only having fun."

"She knows how to hit hard with her punishments," Kerica laughed as she heaved another box, heading for the door, "Come on, guys! We're not wearing skimpy enough clothes for this weather!"

"If you could you would wear your swimsuit everywhere you went," Sora accused.

"Damn straight!" Kerica chirped.

"Shorts and a tank top is as skimpy as I go." Rei shook her head.

"If you call those shorts. They go to your knee. Why don't you show off your legs? They're fantastic." Hikari teased.

"So modest," Moriko giggled, "You're beautiful but you don't think so."

"Kerica, they're ganging up on me." Rei joked, pretending to edge closer to her friend.

Kerica grinned, "Well, it's true! I may have a bunch of tattoos, but I still flaunt it!" she winked at her friend, "Seriously, though, guys, help with the door?!"

~*~ Day 2 ~*~

The sky had gone from beautiful blue to depressingly dark in about thirty seconds flat. It startled Kerica, really, and through a break in the trees on the hill they were on, she could see further out and the rain was rushing towards them from the other direction, "Chikusho! We need to get the hell out of here!" she shouted to the other two and grabbed Moriko's hand, weaving her in-between the trees. Sora gave up walking and flew along with them.

It didn't take very long at all for the rain to beat down on them, but they had gone back down the hill towards a cave they had come across before. Clothes soaked after only being in the rain for ten minutes, Kerica shivered once they were safe and moved deeper into the cave, "I am /so/ glad I brought a fire-starter kit in my emergency pack."

"There's plenty of debris in here, I'll start gathering," Moriko sighed and moved around.

Kerica looked up at Sora who's teeth chattering matched her own, "You'll have to take off your clothes so we can dry them. I'm a bit busy setting stuff up, but there are blankets in my pack," she motioned to it with the flashlight she'd dug out, before going back to her current task.

Time passed and the three girls were huddled in their sleeping cots while their clothes hung over the fire Kerica had successfully started. The chattering of teeth had subsided, but now they were all bored, and Kerica was on edge from the booming thunder tat made rocks fall from the ceiling from the force. It was like explotions were going off. "So, who wants me to read from the book I brought with me?" she asked off the top of her head. She wasn't in the mood to play games.

"Is it a sex book?" Sora's nose scrunched up.

"I can easily skip over those, but would you be butt hurt if I still read the kissing scenes?" Kerica arched a brow. She got no reply, just a huff, so she fished it out and popped it open, deciding to start from the beginning.

The next morning rolled around before they all knew it, and the rain was gone, but the sun hadn't even come up. Kerica had slept fitfully, more difting in and out from the rumbling and the way the wind whistled passed. As soon as they put all of their stuff away they were quickly out of the cave. They had to take detours because of trees that had fallen, and small rivers or ponds that had formed from the downpour. Eventually, Kerica stopped and looked at Sora, "I don't think any of us know where we're going now. Do you want to see if you can see the cabin above the treeline?"

The blue haired girl nodded, and dropped her pack before shooting into the sky. It was nice, feeling the air and smelling the rain-soaked trees, but she knew it would be best to hurry up. "That way!" she called, pointing in a diagonal direction, "I see a cabin, but it's not ours! There's a bonfire!"

"A bonfire right after a rain?" Moriko's brows furrowed but Kerica just shrugged and when Sora came back down, they headed off the way she told them. The sky was still cloudy, but the longer they walked the more it became a light grey. The bonfire was like a beacon, and they broke through the brush, panting from trying to get there.

A man with burgundy-red hair stood up from his lounge chair, startled at the sound and was tense. His deep brown eyes flashed defensive glare, "What the hell is this?" he asked, but then softened a bit, going to a more relaxed stance with his hand on his hip, "You three look like drowned rats."

"Oh, ha ha ha," Kerica said sarcastically, pulling up from her position with her hands on her knees, "What kind of person has a roaring bonfire right after a thunderstorm?"

"The kind that could throw you in it for that smart mouth," he sneered back, "Who are you?"

"You tell us first!" Sora said defiantly.

A neat-looking brow shot up, "Excuse you, but you're on /my/ territory."

Moriko sighed, "He has a point."

Kerica just grumbled, "My name is Mikadzuki, Kerica. That is Chinatsu, Sora and Ayaka, Moriko. You?"

"Better," he snorted, "Makoto. Haru, Makoto." He watched them a moment longer before sighing and motioned to them, "Come warm up before you freeze." He watched as Sora jumped on it but Moriko and Kerica were slower to accept.

They didn't get to enjoy the fire for long, a screech of Makoto's name made him wince. "MAKOTO! MAKOTO!"

"NANI?!" Makoto snapped and turned around to see a young boy about eighteen running towards him, "Where's Gojyou, Goku?" he demanded.

Goku, the brunette with golden eyes stopped to pant heavily, "Gojyou's at Kouryuu's car! We found it crashed off the side of the road while looking for Hakkai! He stayed behind to try and get him out. He's hurt real bad!"

"Did either of you call an ambulance?!" he asked but Goku shook his head.

"Kouryuu could die if we wait so Gojyou just said to get you and we could take Hakkai's jeep!" Goku looked on the verge of tears.

"Kami..." Makoto grumbled and looked at the girls, "You should come with us. I can drop you off on the road close to your cabin."

Kerica pulled out her phone, "Just lead us to your car." She looked at her companions, "I'm calling Rei. Signals should be working now."

~*~

Hikari carried two cups of steaming tea towards the bedroom. Her feet padded softly against the cold wooden floors, sometimes making her toes curl from discomfort. She wore her hair in a high ponytail, fuzzy pajama bottoms, and a tank top. The rain had been going for at least a good part of the day, and it was still going through at night. Lightening illuminated the dark house, rendering candles that were lit useless for a good half of a second. The warm glow of the candlelight was a comfort.

She opened the door to the bedroom and looked. The bed was messed up, someone had yanked off the duvet and left the sheets in a tangle. There was a pillow missing, and the second pillow was tossed haphazardly across the bed. She noticed, also, that some of the books that were brought were knocked over, and there was a missing iPod and blue notebook that Rei was fond of carrying around. Hikari never understood the need for a “reading journal”, but it was whatever.

She frowned before she heard something softly knock against a wall. Her attention turned towards the closet and her heart sank. She knew Kerica was scared of storms, it was  well-known fact. Rei on the other hand, she didn’t realize shared the same fear. She walked over to the door and carefully opened it. Inside, there were about two candles that illuminated the closet. She breathed a sigh of relief that neither Kerica nor Rei cared much about using the closet, otherwise it was a fire hazard all on it’s own.

Rei’s legs were propped up, supporting a book. Her blue notebook and pencil were laying loyally beside her. Her eyes were wet and moist, but she was concentrating hard on the story in front of her. In her ears, Hikari noticed earbuds. Ah, that’s why the iPod went missing. Hikari crawled into the closet and shut the door before another flash of lightening illuminated the room.

The thunder was muffled and muted from the closet. Oddly, this was also a very warm closet. She looked over at Rei who pulled out an ear bud, teeth worrying at her lips. Hikari offered nothing more than the cup of tea, which Rei took with a small look of thanks before returning to her book.

“What are you listening to?”

“Welcome to Night Vale, episode 2 the Glow Cloud. It helps with the storm.” Rei admitted. “If the storm continues after this episode, then I sometimes go to another one I think matches the weather.”

“I never understood that podcast.”

“I don’t think any one of my friends does,” Rei laughed. “But it’s a comfort thing.” She book marked the pages and set it down beside her, careful not to disturb the candle which flickered happily in it’s place.

Hikari hummed her assent. She didn’t see how it was a comfort thing either, but it was whatever. Rei was an interesting human, therefore she did strange things that made no sense to anyone, let alone her best friend. She took a sip of tea, listening to the wind howl. “So, which god’s pissed off?”

“Hm?”

“Which god is pissed enough to separate us from our friends in a storm?” Hikari clarified. “We can’t go out looking for them, we can only hope that they’re safe.”

“Poseidon maybe.” Rei answered after a moment. “He’s the one that controls the weather.”

“Greek?” Hikari blinked at Rei. “You just obey all sorts of gods don’t you?”

“I know the Greek Gods and the Egyptian gods better since I grew up with their stories. But there’s some Celtic Gods that I’d call upon if needed.” Rei told her. “Poseidon is the only one that I know of that can control the weather off the top of my head.”

“Well, do you think you can tell Poseidon to take a fucking chill pill?” Hikari questioned as she sipped her tea again, noting that Rei hadn’t touched hers yet.

“Maybe. I’m not doing it now.” A loud CRACK and then a shaking BOOM went through the house, rattling it to it’s core. Rei’s blanket that was draped over her shoulders was immediately brought closer to her, huddling underneath it for comfort. She glanced at the door, staring at it like somehow the wind was going to knock it clean off the hinges.

“So…we wait and hope.” Hikari didn’t take kindly to that.

“We wait.” Rei repeated as another boom rattled off, sounding much farther this time.
~+~
The storm had finally stopped. Hakkai waited for a little bit longer before he ventured out from his shelter, which happened to be a small wedge in between two large rocks. . It made a miniature canyon and it barely could fit him. It worked out, and he was at least just damp rather than soaking wet like he could’ve been.

He stretched and looked around at the area. He had went off the beaten path, and now that his footsteps were washed away from the rain and the mud was dense, he didn’t have a good direction on where he should go. He could try backtracking, but he worried that he wasn’t going to get very far. His only method now, was to hope to find the path, and follow it. Surely there were more cabins around here. If that was the case, then certainly there would be people who could help him. The mountains should be populated by visitors who wanted to get away from the city and it’s pollution for at least a day or so.

He skidded down the small incline and started heading towards the south. East was on his left, and west was on his right. If his calculations were correct, if he went straight long enough he’d hit the road and would be able to follow it. True to his methodology, it only took about 5 minutes probably in order for him to get on the road. Now came an issue. This road had a fork in it behind him a good few miles away. It wouldn’t do him any good to backtrack since there was really no signs to follow. The only thing to do was to follow the road the other way and hope.

His hope came true in about another 10 minutes. It was a beautiful log cabin, a little more spacious than what he was used to seeing. Obviously whoever owned or rented this cabin was a little on the wealthy side. He took a breath and walked up to the porch. He couldn’t help but to notice that the porch was dryer than it should be. In fact, the house didn’t look like it was really touched by the rain, save for the rooftops. It was weird, but it wasn’t any of his business. They were on vacation.

He was about to knock, when the door opened, revealing a short-haired woman with short shorts and a black tank. The way she leaned against the door frame made her body curve in a manner that was flirtatious but yet, powerful. It reminded him of how Gojyou sometimes stood in the doorway, one arm hanging above his head while his body curved into it. “Sorry to bother you, but I appear to be lost.”

“Well if your lost our companions certainly are.” The woman frowned. “Come in.” She opened the door further and Hakkai was immediately impressed.

The cabin looked homey. The lights were clearly back on, and the candles were still scattered about in strategic places to gather more light. The glow of the lights brought forth a welcoming sensation, reflecting the wood like firelight. Everything was natural and wooden. The floors, the tables, the couches had a chocolate brown color. Everything in here screamed of home. He wiped his feet on the carpet and carefully took his shoes off and placed them by the door.

“Tea?” The woman asked.

“Yes, that’d be lovely.” Hakkai replied. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Cho Hakkai.”

“Charmed. I’m Hikari.” Hikari winked. “My last name is a secret. Over by the window whose brooding over a book is Rei. She has her headphones in, so she probably can’t hear you.”

Hakkai looked over towards the window to see a boyish looking redhead at the window. An empty tea cup by her side. Her eyes were wandering down the pages, and she would occasionally glance either at the window or down at the blue notebook beside her. He barely moved towards where Hikari was heading to the kitchen when the redhead’s gaze snapped up to him. She reached up and tugged one bud out of her ear. “You got lost?”

“Indeed. That must be some book if you’re lost in it.” Hakkai smiled.

“It’s part of a quartet.” Rei offered. “As much as I like nature, I love reading and I haven’t had time to spend on it. Work.”

“I understand completely. It’s been a while since I could sit down with a good book myself. This vacation that my friends and I are on is the only time I had.” Hakkai replied. “You genre is fantasy?”

“Fantasy, a little sci-fi. Recently getting into Historical Fiction.” Rei nodded.

Hakkai whistled. “It appears you’d have to be my number one to go person if I want a book to read.”

Rei smiled. “It’s a shame we just met, otherwise I’d offer some to borrow.”

“As much as that’s appreciated, I doubt I’d have time to read.’ Hakkai replied mournfully just as Hikari came back with a steaming cup of tea. “Oh, thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Hikari smiled. “So I overheard you’re on vacation with some of your friends? Why the forest?”

“Ah, it’s the best place for us to recharge and regroup.” Hakkai admitted. “Two of us are nature-lovers by default. The other two, well…as long as it makes one of us happy they’re willing to suffer. Though I can promise you that one of them secretly enjoys the outdoors.”

“You make it sound like a secret.” Hikari rolled her eyes. “Are you worried about the woodlands getting to you?”

“Faeries and they only stay in the Celtic regions. They come anywhere else. Magic’s too thin.” Rei replied.

“Spoil-sport.”

“I’m surprised you know that,” Hakkai replied, blinking in shock. “I thought that it wasn’t common knowledge.”

In response, Rei just merely held up a book. Hakkai understood. Rei reads, therefore, she’d find trivia and would research to follow it up. A human with this much knowledge of the occult, he mentally filed it away. It’d be nice to have someone to go to when the hunt got a little tough and they needed a guide post instead of vague yet menacing instructions from Goujun. Though, he was probably jumping a bit too far ahead.

“So, what type of demon are you?” Hikari pulled no punches and made Hakkai splutter just as he was trying to take a sip.

“Pardon?”

“I’m a water demon. Pure and bred.” Hikari tilted her head. “You on the other hand, smell of plant life and flowers. So you’re definitely like Mori.”

“You’re observant.”

Hikari just grinned, showing all of her teeth. “Practically a job requirement by now. So…”

“Plant.” Hakkai replied.

Just as he said that, a cellphone starting to ring. “/I always knew that it had to be you, now that I see I believe! So if we try the darkness will-/.” Rei quickly picked it up. “Moshi Moshi?”

A long pause followed and Rei sighed, “Hello to you too, I’m glad your safe.” A sheepish sounding voice answered back. “Yes I got the message.” She replied before the voice could continue again. “I’ll let Hikari know to come to you.”

Another pause. “Yes, yes I love you too.” Rei hung up. “Apparently there was a car accident up on the roads and a guy named Kouryuu is hurt really bad. They’re taking your car and some guy named Makoto is driving.”

“Kouryuu?” Hakkai looked pale. “That’s my friend.”

“So you’ll come with us,” Hikari answered as she stood up and stretched. “Come on I have my keys.”

“I appreciate this.” Hakkai said fervently as Rei quickly closed her book and hoped down the windowsill, taking her blue notebook and pencil with her.

“No problem.” Rei and Hikari answered together.

"Genjo Kouryuu has a severe concussion, bruising in multiple places as well as lacerations from glass, cuts on his head from impact as well as a cut on his neck from the seat belt, but is stable and will make a full recovery. He is going to be sore for a while. You are welcome to stay, but the less people in the room the better. Let him rest, but alert a member of our staff if there are any changes," the doctor that informed them of the situation bowed and left.

Goku had already bolted into the hospital room when he disappeared, and Sora shifted, wanting to follow and offer comfort. When they had all reached the crashed car, Goku had shouted 'Otou-san!' when he saw Gojyou had pulled him out and was cradling him. It had been an odd fit as Hakkai's jeep wasn't meant for six people, but they had made it work. The blood that had been caked to his head made her stomach turn.

"He hates storms, I don't know why the baka would drive in one," Makoto mumbled.

"It wasn't like that at the start of the day. It came on so suddenly, he no doubt just got caught in it like we did," Moriko said gently.

Kerica didn't say anything to add, just sighed and shook her head. Footsteps and energies that were familiar to her came around the corner and she brightened when she saw Rei and hurried over to her, hugging her tightly, "You made it! Kami, this guy is pretty banged up. You just missed the doctor giving the list of things wrong with him, but he should make a full recovery she said."

Moriko was struck by the man with short brown hair but long bangs that covered most of his right eye. They were so...green. Like emeralds...no, like the fresh green leaves on a tree, because they were alive and warm like the sunlight shone on them instead of cold like stones. She watched as he hugged Gojyou, and the men conversed shortly before he turned to go see Kouryuu for himself, joining Goku in the room.

"I feel like proper introductions need to be made, while we wait. The doctor did say not to have too many people in the room," Kerica said, a hand on her hip.

"Well, you three did just introduce yourselves to me before this," Makoto rolled his eyes and he glanced at the woman with shoulder-length blond hair that had streaks of bright green, "I'm Haru, Makoto. Pleasure," he bowed to her, "Who might you be, foxy lady?" Kami, her eyes looked like pools of water, shining an interesting mix of blue and green, and they glittered, too!

Sora edged closer to her mother-figure, but watched the interaction curiously. She'd never seen Hikari look at a man like that before.

Kerica noticed the star-struck eyes in Moriko and Hikari, and then looked at the tall man who had pitch black hair similar to Moriko's and brown eyes, "Mikadzuki, Kerica," she offered her hand to him, "I love your tribal markings, how it winds along your whole arm. Is that your Soul Tat?" she noticed how his tattoo looked as if it protected some tribal butterfly wings on the inside of his forearm. The tail of the wings trailed and wound like a Celtic knot, coming to a point at what looked like a teardrop, and there were more tear drops coming off of the ends of the wing tips. To top off the complex Soul Tat, there was a vibrant red rose between the wings at the top. "Very Gothic," she added.

Gojyou looked down at the tattoo that Kerica spoke of. "Imagine my surprise when it appeared when I was sixteen." He chuckled lowly. "My older brother said that my soul-mate probably as a dark soul. Either that, or we're both just nutty." He glanced at her. "You have some interesting tattoo on your arm. The dragon isn't a soul tattoo. Is it something you picked?" It was a gorgeous tribal red dragon with black wings holding a yellow rose.

"Yes it is. I've always loved the yellow rose. It means friendship and joy," Kerica smiled at him, "I've also always loved dragons. I just put the two together. My soul tattoo is actually an odd one. I've never heard of anything like it," she pulled up her tank top and showed him the multi-colored scales on her left ribcage and side.

"I prefer the term vixen." Hikari purred with a smile. "I'm Hikari. I don't do last names on first date. That's more of a....third date maybe. Possibly. This," she gestured to Sora. "Is my daughter-figure Sora. We're a package-deal." Depending on the type of guy he was, there were a few ways he could take that sentence and there was only /one/ right way she'd accept. Otherwise, well...soul-mate or not, she'd kick him to the curb. Her daughter came first. Always.

"Interesting soul-tat. Your mate really must like dragons or mermaids." Gojyou laughed. "At least you two will have something in common right off the bat, liking mythological creatures."

"That feisty bluebell? I see where she gets her sassy attitude from," Makoto was genuinely surprised, but he smirked at Sora.

Sora blushed out of embarrassment and went to hug her Ka-san's side, "We stumbled into his back yard and I told him to tell us his name first," she explained, "I forgot we were on his territory. I kinda felt like you had scolded me when he pointed it out."

Makoto shrugged, "I have no hard feelings."

Moriko watched as Rei was edging closer to the door, and she smiled at the redhead before turning to Kerica and Gojyou, "Look at you two, bonding over tattoos," she said in a way to distract, "I'm Ayana, Moriko, by the way," she offered her hand to him as well.

"Pleasure to meet you." Gojyou said, shaking her hand. "Interesting tattoo you have on your thumb." He said slyly. "That your soul-tat or is that just something you decided to pick for fun?"

Hikari laughed, "Well. Her attitude is one thing I will proudly admit to." She grinned. "Have to admit, it's been a while since I was able to talk to a fire demon. I believe that's what you are."

Moriko looked at the vines that wrapped around her thumb and trailed down to encircle her wrist, "It's just my soul-tat...I'm not as ambitious as Rei or Kerica here to adorn my body in ink," she smiled sweetly, "It's always funny, though, when people say I have a green thumb."

Makoto snorted, "Are you always so open? We /are/ in public. Not everyone likes demons," he shook his head, "What are you, then? Your eyes scream water to me. I hope my glorious locks didn't give away what I am," he did a hair-flip since his was just as long as Gojyou's, "Or was it my attitude?"

Sora wrinkled her nose at him, "Both," she declared, but then looked over, "Hey! Hikari, Rei disappeared again!"

"Fucking ninja." Hikari swore as she looked around the room. "Every /time/ we turn around, she's off doing something and then we're either in trouble or she's in trouble. Why can't she just sit and /read/ like she normally does /when she's at home/?!"

Gojyou looked around to see if he could find the red-head and then shrugged, "Looks like your ninja might just get you all in trouble." He turned to Moriko. "It's funny that you have that. I have a friend that has vines on his thumb as well. Plant lover extraordinaire. He has a garden at home he makes me help tend."

Hikari groaned as she turned back to Makoto. "Sorry for my outburst. Attitude and the way you carry yourself. You have a fire-demon's back. Your hair was only the third sign." She smiled. "My eyes /scream/ water. What? Is my attitude not like waters?" She teased.

Moriko's heart hammered in her chest, "I saw him go into the room to be with your other friend, Kouryuu. I was a bit too captured by his eyes to notice much else. What's his name?"

Makoto snickered and decided it was alright to come closer to her, almost slinking in the way he walked, "Your attitude is a bit steamy right now, like the hot springs they got around here in Kyoto. I imagine water to be more calm and chill. Instead, you're entertaining me."

"I could be doing a lot more than that." Hikari grinned and winked as she crossed her legs. He was entertaining her just as much and it was fun.

Gojyou smiled at Moriko. "His name is Cho Hakkai. A good man. When he comes out, you should introduce yourself." It made him happy that his best friend's soul-mate was a kind girl. And not boring, because that would just suck for everyone. It also made him a little sad. Would she understand the type of relationship the two of them had together? Maybe, maybe not. Only time was going to tell here.

~*~

/"Orokana ame (stupid rain)...why did it have to come down now of all times?" Kouryuu had grumbled to himself as his windshield wipers moved furiously in front of his eyes. Driving in the rain was worse than driving at night. At least, for him. Some like Hakkai could do just fine. It just...made him more irritable and even angry as time went by. He didn't even know how close he was to the cabin. "Baka teammates of mine...don't even know I'm coming. They should expect it. Of course I'd-!" he cursed suddenly as there was a flash of lightning and he was blinded, but then he heard a loud KABOOM and felt his whole vehicle shake and bounce. Unfortunately for him, he didn't even realize it was more from a fallen tree than it was the actual thunder. It wasn't until he saw it maybe five meters in front of him that he hit the breaks, but he hydroplaned.../

"CHIKUSHO!" One moment he was seeing the ground rush towards him as he went off the road, and the next moment he was in an awfully white room, staring into eyes that were such a bright blue, he didn't have a name for it. He groaned as his head throbbed and he brought his hand up, feeling the bandage wrapped around it.

Goku was startled from his position from laying his head on Kouryuu's bed and watched him grip his head, "Otou-san, you're awake!"

"Goku, don't shout, please," his voice was raspy and it hurt to talk, but he opened his eyes again to look beside him, "Ah...'Kai...mizu?" he asked.

Hakkai quickly poured him some water from the pitcher and into a plastic cup. He carefully handed it to Kouryuu, knowing too well that he didn't like to be babied. "You gave us quite a scare." He said with a soft sincere smile. "I was hiking and was called, so I didn't see the crash site. According to everyone else...you're lucky your injuries weren't as severe as they could've been."

It took a moment and a drained cup before he spoke again, "Story of my life...who is she?" he rubbed his eyes and motioned his cup towards the door.

"I didn't even see you!" Goku jumped to his feet, "Hello! I'm Goku. Are you one of Sora's friends?" He'd talked to the blue haired one in the car on the way here to keep his mind off of what awful shape his adopted father was in.

Hakkai blinked in surprise. He didn't even /hear/ her come in, or even walk through the door. It was...weird really, he was usually so observant. Perhaps was she a demon herself? "Hello, Rei," He greeted. "She's one of the two who were at the cabin when I was lost."

Rei merely waved as she quietly and quickly shut the door behind her, "Gomenasai. I know you're not supposed to have many visitors, but I was growing bored outside." She glanced at Kouryuu. She was thankful he didn't have many machines, otherwise she was certain that she'd only just poke her head in and then run away. "I'm Rei. I'm Kerica's friend mostly."

"Nice to meet you!" Goku beamed at her, and then looked at Kouryuu, "I'm gunna go let someone know you're okay. Then we can get out of this stinky place!" he said with a firm nod to himself before he ran off.

Kouryuu made another groan, "As much as I care...he's too loud right now." He looked back up at Rei before he moved to swing his legs over the bed, but didn't stand. Stupid finger thing. He'd remove it if the machine wouldn't go crazy. "So you were bored outside but you decided to come in here, when I maybe would or wouldn't wake up? Then Hakkai and Goku didn't notice you. Were you just going to stand there in the corner like a ghost?"

"That'd be a bit creepy," Rei wrinkled her nose. "I would've just walked out and wandered. Probably would go outside and see if I can catch a breather from all this sanitizer smell..." She shook her head. "Then I might've come back, check to see if you were awake, and wander again if you weren't."

"Are you always this quiet?" Hakkai asked questioningly. "It's rare when not even Goku can hear you."

"Ninja." Rei smiled like it was a private joke. "You're supposed to move silently. It drives Kerica nuts that I can sneak up on her. Though she gets me back too. I'm unobservant sometimes."

"Well, good thing I woke up. It means no one has to be bored anymore," Kouryuu grunted and reached up to rub his neck where he felt the cut, "Fantastic. I'm probably covered in glass cuts. I'm taking a shower as soon as we get back to the cabin." He was relieved when a nurse walked in with a clipboard and he removed the finger thing and didn't have to wait long for her to shut it off, "I hope those are my release papers."

"Someone other than yourself has to sign it, as you have so many friends here I'm sure that won't be a problem. You do have to fill it out," she quipped back, "Just drop it at the desk." she gave it to Hakkai before she turned around and left.

"Good, she left quickly. I hate nurses," Kouryuu grumbled.

"I find doctors to be worse than nurses." Rei replied with a shrug. Her eyes wandered towards his arms, and noticed half-heartedly that they were tribal tattoos. They didn't look like soul-tattoos, but really she wasn't a demon. Anything could be a soul-tattoo. "Nurses at least want you out faster. Doctors will suck you dry like vampires in the night."

"Vampires. Those are interesting creatures. Have you met one? I've encountered a couple...good and bad," Kouryuu stretched as he was finally able to be on his feet, "Are you human? I feel a ton more demons. Your friends? I'm human, as well."

"Oh good," Rei laughed. "I was going to feel really alone if I met another demon. I have too many of them. Yes, I'm human. Only one in my group." She ran her fingers through her hair, spiking it up further. "No, I haven't met a Vamp yet. Life is tricky though, I probably met one and didn't even know it. Or I will meet one and you just jinxed me."

"Fuck...'Kai...how many /are/ out there? I seriously do have a headache and it'll be bad enough with Goku shouting in the car." the blond rubbed his face, and signed where Hakkai pointed which was 'I agree this is correct' and blah, blah, blah.*

"They have their own car," Hakkai laughed. "You'll only have to deal with five of us." He took the clipboard back. "Though if you want a complete estimate I'll say about....ten people are out here right now? Give or take?"

"I don't know how I should feel about that," he grumbled, and took a breath, "I guess..." he wrinkled his nose before he walked to the door and braced himself for impact as he stepped into the hallway. Only...to his shock the seven others had pretty much sectioned off to talk among themselves in little cliques. Goku was talking animatedly with a blue-haired girl...Sora? Makoto was chatting with a chick that had straight blond-green hair to her shoulders. Gojyou was entertaining two other girls, one with black hair like himself and the other a brunette with her hair in a ponytail. It looked like she had a lot of tattoos similar to the redhead that had come to see him in his room. "So..." he looked at the one in question, "Who's who?"

"Well, the black-haired man is hitting up with Moriko and Kerica." Rei pointed him out and then pointed over towards the blonde. "That's Hikari. Careful, she's sometimes a slut if you say the wrong thing and she's in a mood. The one Goku's talking to is Sora. See why I was bored?"
"Well, at least it's better than I expected," he shrugged, "How about we try and break it up? I want to go home. If I feel better in a few days I guess we can all hang out again. We are all vacationing at the cabins, hai?"

"Sounds like fun. No car crashes to worry about." Rei nodded solemnly. She suddenly smiled and she bounced over towards Kerica and jumped on her shoulders. "We're going home." She told them simply. "Kouryuu-kun's been released in case you haven't noticed."

Gojyou blinked and looked over at the door. "Hey you're okay to go home then?" He called over to Kouryuu. "Or are we breaking you out without anyone knowing?"

Kerica laughed as she supported Rei for a second before setting her back down and turning around to hug her tightly, "It's good to see him awake! I was just talking to Gojyou here about my tattoos, but I also told him you had a bunch more."

Moriko looked over towards the blond haired man and the one beside him who was taller. She shifted, but suddenly felt way too shy to go say hello. She stayed where she was, being neutral. It just seemed...too good to be true, for her soul-mate to be here among this random group of people.

"Aw, and here the conversation was just getting good." Hikari sighed. "Oh well. Are you all going to go ahead and head home then or will we see you lot at the cabins?"

"Hakkai signed the paper," Kouryuu answered Gojyou, rubbing his temples again, "If you people would keep your voices down that would be appreciated. We just have to drop the clipboard at the desk on our way out."

"We should go home, but we'll hang out later," Makoto said gently to Hikari, "Hell, I can always steal 'Kai's jeep and come up to yours if you /really/ want me to," he winked, and looked at the phone in his pocket, "My text did go through, right?"

"Hell, they even exchanged numbers. Well that's two down. Goku won't stop talking to Sora," Kouryuu muttered.

"I don't give out my number," Rei frowned. "I don't carry my cell phone with me much anyway. People hate that since I'm hard to get a hold of."

Hikari looked over at her phone. It was one of those expensive touch screen cell phones that had a cute jellyfish cover for the back. "Yep. All set. Awesome. I'll text you when I'm safe at the cabin. Rei's a better driver than any of us, so I'm sure we'll get back in one piece."

"Awww!" Sora and Goku both whined, but Sora looked at Hikari, "Can Goku come with us?"

"I don't mind, but...isn't it up to Kouryuu-kun?" Hikari pointed out to Sora. "And the other girls. Don't forget, we're sharing the cabin."

"Yes Hikari great idea. Let's just...kidnap Goku." Rei replied instantly. "It'll be wild fun."

"Take him," Kouryuu waved, "He's too hyper. He can even stay the night. Hakkai can keep you updated, Goku, if you get worried."

"Or not." Rei raised an eyebrow. "Dude's barely known us for like five minutes and already he's ready to kick Goku to our doorstep. Man kid, what kind of powerhouse are you?"

"You know, this is why we can't have nice things, guys," Kerica commented jokingly, "We all are staying close enough to each other, I'm sure if Goku really hates us he can run away back to them."

"You're all laughing and joking with each other, I really don't care. Goku can handle himself," Kouryuu added.

"I wouldn't do that." Goku frowned in shock, but agreed readily. He was old enough to know that he could be a little much. "I'll keep my phone on me in case you need me back." He grinned brightly at Sora. "But it looks like I'll come with."

"We could...trade?" Moriko piped up softly from her forgotten place, "Hold one of each party ransom."

Rei immediately held her hands up and stepped backwards so that she was out of the picture in case someone was going to look at her.

Gojyou on the other hand already chose his victim. "Cool. I'll take her." He slung his arm around Mori. "She'll be our hostage while Goku's getting feisty with the ladies. Little man growing up and all that shit."

"Rei's saved for another day." Hikari snapped her fingers. "I was hoping we'd sacrifice a human virgin for once."

"Oi." Rei deadpanned. "You toss me into enough trouble /in the city/."

"That....sounds like a story I'm going to hear when Kouryuu's better and we're around a bonfire." Gojyou blinked. "Damn."

"Summer solstice is coming up." Rei replied. "I'll make sure to remember to send you all an extended invite."

"Are you alright coming with us?" Hakkai asked Mori curiously. "You don't have to come if you feel like you're being forced to."

Mori's face was red like a rose, "I...think it's only fair if I'm the victim. I did suggest it. I-It's nice to meet you, by the way. I'm sorry. I'm Ayaka, Moriko..."

"Cho Hakkai, it's a pleasure." Hakkai smiled brightly. "I'm sorry it had to be in a hospital that we met. It's not exactly the idealistic place to meet."

"So shy," Sora teased, "You didn't have a problem talking up Gojyou."

"I was distracting them from noticing Rei was gone," Moriko stuck her tongue out.

"So you're the reason!" Sora gasped.

"It's always Mori and Rei." Hikari pointed out. "If one of them is trying to leave, the other will do whatever it takes to make sure the spotlight is on them."

Kerica laughed, "Partners in crime," she grinned and she smacked Gojyou's shoulder, "See you later, big guy! I enjoyed talking to you, for sure. Do you like swimming? Come swimming with us! Or hey, we could even meet at the lake!"

Makoto snorted, "He screams if he's in anything deeper than his knees."

"I hate water, but I won't mind sitting pool-side while you lovely ladies show off your best." Gojyou winked at Kerica. "I'd love to see all those tattoos were talking about, as well as Rei's."
"I'm so glad I don't wear a bikini." Rei sighed. "Alright, I'm leaving before this gets any more sexual. Wanna escape with me Sora? Goku?"

"Yay!" Sora beamed and jumped on Goku's back like Rei had, but Goku actually managed to hold her up, "Onward!" she pointed down the hallway.

()

It had been a couple hours since they had arrived back at their designated cabins, and Moriko had done her best to hide her hand from view, and resisted the urge to see Hakkai's. It helped that he had been preoccupied with helping Kouryuu relax which consisted of making tea while he took a shower and then re-bandaging the wounds he had. Gojyou and Makoto were involved with the bonfire outside, which had been restarted. Which left her with very little to do and she did not wish to intrude on their privacy by looking around. So, she stayed in the kitchen and worked on making lunch for the lot of them. It was hard to believe it was only noon on their second day of being there.

Humming a soft tune to herself, Moriko got lost in her task, and shuffled the bacon in the pan before flipping them with the tongs. Egg-bacon sandwhiches with cheese. A simple brunch, because she was also sure none of them had breakfast. For herself she hadn't made anything, not wanting to be rude. She moved the bacon off and slid them off onto a plate, only jump when she turned around to grab the eggs, "Oh! The sizzling must've masked your footsteps," she breathed with her hand over her chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Hakkai smiled as he stepped aside so that she could move to the eggs. "I heard someone down here was cooking and I wanted to make sure that it wasn't Gojyou and his attempts at trying to burn the cabin down. It smells good."

"I was sure everyone was hungry after such a long morning. I wouldn't be surprised if naps were taken, but food is always important. I just wanted to be helpful," Moriko blushed a bit, taking the bowl and since there was plenty of grease on the pan from the bacon, she just poured her mixture in, "Do you know if anyone prefers toasted bread? I was going to leave them all plain but toasted bread doesn't get nearly as soggy. Is there anything in the fridge I could eat? I didn't know if there was specific foods for certain people. I know my group did that so we could make our actual food for meals last longer. I could cut the watermelon?"

"You can eat what you're making." Hakkai frowned, "You don't have to go without. As much as we tease you for being held hostage, we do out go out into the city to make sure that we get groceries. There still should be some eggs and stuff left, especially since Goku isn't here to eat us out house and home."

"Well, that's true. I could just have mine with eggs. I don't really eat meat. Not that I'm a vegetarian, I just prefer fruits and vegetables," Moriko hummed as she broke up the eggs to start making them scrambled, "It was my choice. It's not like I've had an awful time so far. I just got a little...bored, because I don't know any of you well enough to know if it's okay to walk around. I don't want to invade on anyone's privacy."

"We're open people somewhat. The only person you'd have to tread carefully around would be Kouryuu." Hakkai told her as he leaned against the island counter. "But that's normally questions and going into his room. Everything else, is fair game."

"Even you and yours?" the question was out before she could stop it, and she blushed, then moved the pan to a cold burner, turning off the one she was using and started putting the eggs on the bread that were on several plates, sprinkled cheese, and then placed the bacon slices over the cheese, and completed the sandwich. Two plates had two sandwiches on them, as she was certain the men outside would be starving. She set aside the plate with his, then Kouryuu; and used the small amount left over for herself, just adding extra cheese, "Makoto and Gojyou seem to be extremely active people, so that's why they have two each. If you want another I can always make more eggs," she assured.

Hakkai blinked at the implication and then smiled at her. "You will need to room with someone." He said simply. "You can have mine and I can room with Kouryuu if that's what you're comfortable with. It's not like he's going to mind. According to him, I'm a better roommate than Goku." He picked up the plates. "I'll bring this to him for you. Though, by the way, you're not very good at hiding your hand." He winked at her before he walked off.

Moriko bit her lip. She had forgotten about it while she cooked. She would have to find him in a little while...and actually try to talk to him like Gojyou had suggested.

Outside, Makoto looked up from playing with the bonfire as he heard Hakkai's footsteps crunch on the grass and he brightened when he spotted food. Promptly his stomach growled and he smacked Gojyou's shoulder to make him turn around, "I didn't even realize how hungry I was! Arigato, 'Kai! You're such a lifesaver," he grinned and reached for one of the plates, sure it didn't matter.

"Haha, not me." Hakkai shook his head. "Moriko was the one that cooked. Better not get used to it. I don't plan on having her slave at the stove for you two gluttons."

"Oi, a hot chick in the kitchen is aesthetic." Gojyou told him with a laugh as he took the other. "You manage to get in a bit of a conversation before you high-tailed it out of there, Kai?"

"I didn't high-tail out of anything," Hakkai rolled his eyes fondly. "And we were able to speak."

"Well, imagine that. She's been kind of avoiding you. I wonder why? Normally people are ecstatic at finding their mate," he held up his thumb to indicate Hakkai's soul-tat and then sat down on his lounge chair, picking up his sandwich and chomped down on it, "/Bacon/," he moaned.

"I wonder it myself, though it's possible that her soul-tattoo is new rather than the one that appeared when she was a teen. That's just speculation though. I do intend to find out what this means for the both of us," Hakkai shrugged, "I should go and get this plate to Kouryuu."

"Have fun." Gojyou laughed as he watched his friend leave and he took a bite of the sandwitch. "Should we make a bet that all of the girls besides me and Kerica have a soul mate in this group?"

"Why you and Kerica?" Makoto asked and bit down on his food again. Once that bite was down he added, "Is it because she's the only one not making any googly eyes? Kouryuu and Rei aren't really doing that, either. Of course, Kouryuu was beat to shit so that can be up in the air."

"Nah, no one has the soul-tattoo that she has." Gojyou replied. "She showed me hers. I don't know, I could see Rei having my soul-tattoo, but I seen her arms. Sora and Goku probably have it, as they hit it off so fast. If Kouryuu's soulmate the Ninja, then he's gonna get a headache real quick."

"I guess...then what do you want to wager? What are the stakes here?" Makoto finished off his first sandwich, but ate his second one slower, "If Kerica does have a mate in our group, what happens? If she doesn't, what happens? I guess I'm taking the bet where she does. I find it funny you implied that you were a girl, but I know what you meant."

"My bet is this." Gojyou said simply. "Rei is with Kouyruu because I think it'd be hysterical for him to have someone whose punk as a date. We'll discount Moriko and Sora since I believe those two are obvious as well as you and that Kerica doesn't have a soul-mate in our group. I bet it's going to be an outsider and I'm betting that it's a demon."

Makoto placed his hand on his hip, over where his soul-tat was, "I can't wait to see what Hikari's is. Heck, even if she isn't I think I can totally get with her. Sora is honestly adorable and I'd love to hear that background story," he grinned, "Kouryuu is pretty punk, himself, so I think they'll be a perfect match. Anyway, I guess I'll say they aren't for sake of the bet and because Kouryuu has not shown any interest in anyone let alone a chick since I met him. My second part is Kerica's mate is Goujun, as there literally no one else in our stupid group I can throw her at. Your mate is actually an outsider, and a hanyou. Because Fate has a sense of humor and two humans together and two hanyou's together in a group of demons would be hysterical to her."

"Fate would find that funny, but I doubt it." Gojyou grinned. "How much for a pool? 2,256 yen?"

"I can get behind that. Two thousand yen on Kerica and Goujun or Kerica and an Outsider. Two two hundred thousand yen on Kouryuu maybe or maybe not with Rei. Two thousand, two hundred yen on you being with no one, or an Outsider. There's a lot of combinations so we'll win some and lose some either way. Game?" Makoto held his hand out.

"Game." Gojyou grinned as he took his hand and shook it hard.

~*~

Turning the corner, Moriko made a squeaking noise as she ran face-first into a solid chest and looked up to meet amber with green, "I'm so sorry! I was just going to go downstairs. /Why/ don't you guys have a bathroom on both floors?" she grumbled, "Gomen, I don't blame you, of course, just poor house construction."

"It's fine." Hakkai laughed. "It's something we all grumbled about. We didn't think it made sense either."

"Would you like to go to the kitchen, make some tea, and then drink it outside? The evening air is wonderful. I'm glad Makoto killed the bonfire, it got hot enough with the temperature as it was. We could make a smaller one like a campfire?" Moriko shifted with a shy blush.

"It sounds like fun. You'd have to talk to Makoto. He's the one who decides when and where he wants to start fires. We just make sure it's not the cabin nor the forest." He nodded, "I'll make the tea since you did the work on making the sandwiches."

"Okay," Makoto smiled and the two of them were quiet as they went down the stairs together. It wasn't awkward, but rather comfortable. There wasn't a /need/ to talk, until they reached the kitchen. "I'll pick the tea," she said and headed to where she'd found it before while looking for lunch supplies. It took a little while before she spoke, "Are you and Kouryuu the only ones who drink tea?! There's /nothing/!" she whined as she shuffled through the cupboard.

"Unfortunately." Hakkai laughed. "Goku will drink it, but Gojyou and Makoto are absolutely against it. That's why the fridge is mostly stocked with beer. I'm supposing that everyone in your cabin drinks tea?"

"Kerica only drinks a coffee concoction of her own making, but she prefers tea. Rei will drink coffee as well, but the same is true for her. We have some really lovely teas. Do you like certain flavors? I can offer some if you come over to our cabin," Moriko smiled and found a random tea bag that had been left over from a recent holiday, "I found one!" she cheered and brought it over to him, offering it up.

Hakkai grinned, "Sounds perfect." He took the tea bag and set the kettle on the stove so that it would begin to boil. He rummaged through the cupboards for the cups. "I like many flavors, I'm not particularly picky. Kouryuu has strict tastes."

"I recently found a green tea with blackberries and raspberries, and another with rose petals and cherries that is a white tea," Moriko smiled brightly and sat down on a stool at the island counter, watching him, "So...are you sure I can sleep in your room? I can sleep on the couch. It looks rather comfortable. I also don't think it will rain tonight. I've slept outside before - not counting the storm."

"I wouldn't have a lady sleep on the couch." Hakkai shook his head from side to side. "Especially one who may be my soul-mate. The cherry and rose petals sounds wonderful. I think Kouryuu would like the black berry one."

"May I ask....do you know anything about...this?" she offered her hand freely for him to look at, "I've never known anyone who has found their soul-mate, so I'm just...nervous about what it's like. Gomen, for trying to hide it from you earlier. I don't like the idea of it being so consuming that we take it as it is and we forget everything else."

"Yes I used to have a soul mate before." Hakkai said softly as he looked at her hand and gently showed her his. They were exactly the same in every way. "We had the same tattoo and everything. We met back when I was just turning twenty." The kettle whistled and he quickly took it off of the stove and placed the bags into the cups, pouring the hot water over them to let them seep. "Her name was Chi."

"Mine never appeared at sixteen. Then this one showed up when I was twenty myself...I'm only twenty-two..." her brows furrowed deeply. That must've meant that he only had a year to be with his lover...that was really sad. "Would she be happy for you now?"

"I would hope so." Hakkai replied with a shake of his head. "She definitely wouldn't have wanted me to mope around for the rest of my life, so I would assume that she'd be happy that I gained a new soul-mate."

The demoness wasn't about to ask him to tell her what happened, not so early in this, but hopefully he wouldn't mind talking about the good times? "Would you...tell me what it felt like? Was there anything special like, a spark when you first touched or anything like that? Kerica reads a bunch of romance novels so I don't want any high expectations or anything."

"Not a spark, nothing like the romance novels would say. Oh I had a crush on her sure." Hakkai nodded. "Moment our eyes locked, but that was before we knew that we were soul-mates. When we touched, there was a confirming sensation that we were meant to be, but...honestly a soul-mark is just to flag down who your potential soul-mate is. The rest is up to us, and to see if we can make it work or not."

"I like that," Moriko relaxed significantly, "I guess it's just raw chemistry and personality that makes people act the way they do...like Hikari and Makoto were flirting up a storm. I was shocked that they didn't actually decide to go somewhere to have sex," she admitted. She took a deep breath and let it out softly, humming at the smell of the tea, "I'd love to add honey to mine. Do you have any?"

"We do," Hakkai strode across the kitchen to another cupboard to grab a small bottle of honey and tossed it over to her. "Nice catch." he smiled. "It's personality. Honestly, I don't think i'd be shocked if Sora and Goku have the same tattoo. Hikari and Makoto on the other hand...well...I'm a little surprised at how quickly he turned the smooth on if I say so myself."

Moriko giggled, popping the lid and pouring it in the cup he had given her, "I agree with you. Though I'll be happy for any of them to have a mate. If your past is anything to go off of, then all of us have a tragic backstory. Hikari said on our way to the cabin, that her heart only belonged to Sora and myself, if that tells you anything. Rei is always quiet and keeps to herself, that's why we call her ninja. A guy that can get her to open up is awesome. Kerica is the only one that can get her to get out of her shell, at least for a little while...I think Kerica is the only person in our group that you'd never know she looks for love in how she acts. Would you have known, had I not mentioned the romance novels?"

Hakkai shook his head. "I haven't known her for long, so I wasn't able to observe and see what she was like. To be honest, she seems to be the most open of your group to the possibility of the soul-mark leading her to her soul-mate, considering that she showed Gojyou without much hesitation. I known both women and men who refuse to show their soul-tattoo if they know that the other isn't a match. Strange, but superstition."

"Yeah, Kerica is an extremely open person, and she does that because she has always been fascinated by her tattoo. Everyone else's is a picture or some sort of mark, but her is really unique. There have been times where she wonders if she'd ever find her mate." Moriko agreed, standing, "Shall we head outside? Enjoy he fresh air?"

"Sure." Hakkai agreed, taking the cup and following her out to the porch of the cabin. The fresh air held the earth's moisture and the light, clean feeling. It was a bit muggy, but not as bad as it would be the next day when the humidity kicked in. "I always enjoyed the days after it rained. It makes everything look nicer and brighter." He said with a smile. "Storms by itself, on the other hand, I don't agree with."

"I enjoy the rain. Simple rainstorms with soft thunder and lightning aren't too bad, but I am uncomfortable with the ones that happened yesterday. The thunder shakes your surrounding, the lightning blinds you, the trees look like they're going to snap in half, and some even do. I saw the remnants of the one that Kouryuu crossed. His car is a mess. He really is a lucky man," she shook her head and draped herself across a lounge chair, crossing her ankles. "I'm not afraid of either thunder or lightning, by the way. Which is nice since I can be more aware instead of quivering in a ball. Kerica...she hates the thunder. She barely slept during the storm."

"I don't sleep during rainstorms and Kouryuu would never travel out in one if he can help it since he doesn't like them either. Fear...is a bit tame of a word for the both of us. We both had some traumatic things happen to us during a storm. Therefore the storms bring back memories that can send us into a flashback. Kouryuu's worse off than I am."

His previous mate. Moriko gnawed on her lip and nodded before taking a slow sip of her tea, savoring the flavor as it flowed across her tongue, "What of the others, if I may ask? Rei is also afraid of thunderstorms, and often hides in the closet. Hikari is rather indifferent. If she used to be she's not anymore, her protective mother instincts overriding it. Sora...she's funny. The world could be ending and she wouldn't wake from her slumber."

"Goku can care less unless Kouryuu's restless. He might wake up and try to stay awake for him, other times he won't wake up. Gojyou is in the same boat, only if I'm unable to sleep. Makoto...we once had a typhoon and it took us ten minutes to get up him. He took one look outside, gave us a look and promptly said. "You're a bunch of sissies, I'm going back to bed." I swear on my dying breath, that Fate had luck in store for us, for we weren't too much in a danger zone, but we were very close to being evacuated. I kid you not."

Moriko laughed heartily and was careful not to spill her drink, "Oh wow, that's fantastic. Calling you a bunch of sissies and then you end up not being in a whole lot of danger. I remember that typhoon I believe. Only a couple years ago. Good thing it wasn't that bad overall. Hikari was mad her model show got canceled and cursed the weather. Kerica and Rei were still off in Tokyo, which got the brunt of it. They were a wreck when they skyped us after it passed."

"I bet," Hakkai frowned. He took a pause to sip on the tea as he sat down on the porch's seat and gestured for her to take the other one. It was quite nice that the cabins were well furnished. "I can't help but to think that you and I are not the only soul-mates in our group that have been found."

"You already described who, now we just have to wait and see. I know Sora and Goku will be discovered as soon as they go swimming. Hers is visible even over her one-piece. Hikari's can also be seen in her bikini," Moriko giggled, "So...we're obviously both plant types. What abilities do you have?"

"Mostly healing abilities. I can use my Chi. For the plant life itself, it's mostly to subdue and hold. I don't use it much for attacks. My Chi is used for that instead." Hakkai explained. "Therefore, I'm more reliant on that than my plant side. You?"

"I don't heal with energy, but I'm the best in my group with healing salve and making medicine," Moriko smiled proudly, "I can use my plants to do that, but also to command plants into weapons to use on the spot like branches into swords, twigs into daggers, and leaves into shuriken, or combine them. I...haven't used my abilities in a while, though." Should she tell him? He may be her mate, but should she trust him? Would her friends be upset if she was honest after just meeting him? He would have to know eventually...perhaps she could put it off for now. They were supposed to be on vacation.

Hakkai could sense that there was a story, but he also understood that it wasn't right to press. She hadn't pressed about Chi. "We should trade healing methods." He smiled. "The more veristile we are, the better we can handle healing. Though, that's mostly on my side. Gojyou, Goku, and Kouryuu can't seem to keep themselves from being injured. Just before we came here, Makoto was injured as well as Gojyou from a small job we were supposed to do."

"Oh?!" Moriko's eyes widened, "I'm glad to see they're okay. Makoto and Gojyou seem to be the brute force of your group. Goku I feel is the reckless one, without meaning to cause anyone else harm. Kouryuu gets hurt from protecting him, I'm sure, even though you and him give off that feeling of being very intelligent. It must be /really/ bad if you ever get injured." she concluded and drank more of her tea as she thought, "I feel like teaching you my techniques would be much easier than me learning yours. Of course, I could always learn how you handle injuries with wrapping and other first aid."

"It's probably for the best. Not everyone is equipped to be taught how to use Chi." Hakkai agreed. "And you would be right, though I would say that Goku is our reckless one, he starts it and Gojyou eggs him on and our wild card. Makoto is definitely our brute strength. Kouryuu? It's not much from protection as it is that other people know and recongize that he's human, and therefore can conclude that he's the weakest member of our team. Granted you'd have to earn the injuries you give him he  won't just sit there and take it, but it's easy to target him than say me. Or any of us."

"I understand," she nodded, and they were silent for a little while and just drank their tea. It was a comfortable silence like before, and she looked at hr sou-tat curiously. It was just so interesting how something like this could determine a piece of one's destiny. It had been so weird when it appeared. So many thoughts had gone through her head and she had been...scared. Yet this wasn't scary at all. "Were you...surprised when a new tattoo appeared? Were you...upset at all?"

"I was a bit surprised yes," Hakkai said after a moment. "Though considering that I gave up my old name and way of life after she died, I honestly should have expected that fate would toss me this type of unexpected turn. I was more baffled than I was anything else. What about you? To be unmarked and then to have one...?"

Moriko repeated her earlier thoughts, "I was scared, and wasn't sure what it meant for me. I didn't know how to react. Was I supposed to be happy? Everyone else seemed to be, but I was just confused. Especially now, I am not sure how my current life would affect you, and how will your life affect mine? I mean, we're supposed to make it work somehow. You can't just...meet your mate and then walk away. I've heard the horror stories of what happens when partners are kept away from each other too long."

Hakkai nodded. "I understand. To be honest, those are the very questions I'm asking myself too. How will you being in my life affect what I do. I'm an exorcist along with my friends and even though I know they won't begrudge me if I decide to leave and carve a path with you, I also cannot help but to think that I'd be abandoning them. It's...something we'll have to talk about more when we get to know each other."

"I wouldn't make you abandon your friends, but I also wouldn't want to leave mine. I guess overall this hostage situation wasn't so bad," Moriko smiled at him, "I'm sure we'll end up trading team members tomorrow, too, until everyone's spent time together getting to know the party. I get the feeling you guys are all milking this vacation for all it's worth. Being exorcists must be a go-go-go situation most of the time."

"Very much so." Hakkai laughed as he leaned back further into the chair. "I'm milking this vacation for all that it's worth. It's been too long since we were able to take a proper breath." He smiled at Moriko. "What do you do if you don't mind me asking?"

"I...don't really do anything..." Moriko looked down at her lap sheepishly, "Hikari models, Rei works at a bookstore, Kerica paints and gets paid from Hikari to teach Sora martial arts and drawing. Like a private tutor of sorts. Hikari also gets Kerica's paintings sold. It works out for them, I guess. At Hikari's estate I guess I just...work on gardening? I lake shaping the surrounding plant life into a beautiful jungle maze with stone pathways and fountains. Hikari gives me the money to do whatever I need to do. She jokes I could be a landscaper for a real job, but...I'm too insecure thinking that I get tasked with a job and then the client dislikes it if I did."

"I think it'd be wise to try." Hakkai offered. "Do small things first before you do something huge. A garden to begin with, or planting. Then working bigger from there. With Hikari backing you, and her popularity, I'm sure you'd get offers a lot once you get good reviews from the first few clients that you were on. My suggestion is keeping the clients as people that you know first, and working to strangers. But those are just ideas."

Her cheeks reddened and she just sipped her tea as her mind raced. There was another reason why she didn't. Perhaps if she wasn't being hunted, then she would. His words made her feel ambitious, but she supposed time would tell. "I could try, you're right. Rejection is a part of life. I guess I'm just very passionate about it that I don't want my pleasure to be dismissed. Arigato, Hakkai, I appreciate another's opinion. I could have Hikari show you the pictures she's taken? They're all on her laptop."

"I would love that," Hakkai smiled sincerely. "I'm sure that the pictures that she took will be lovely, but I don't mind giving you a second opinion."

~*~

"Goku! Goku, is there anything you'd like to do?" Sora asked the boy as she stared at him from over the couch, "We could go swimming? We could doodle! Kerica's been showing me how to draw! Do you know how to draw?" she rattled off excitedly.

"Barely half an hour and your lunch hasn't even settled. Now you want to go swimming," Kerica was amused, watching them from her place just beyond the sliding glass doors onto the porch.

"We can do both." Goku grinned, ignoring Kerica in favor for Sora. "I know how to do both. I used to take drawing lessons so I can help you if you want it. Swimming's fun too."

"They're hyper-active, they need to multitask." Rei reminded Kerica as she flipped a page in her book, sitting next to her friend.

"What do you like to draw? I like to do people. Keri and I like to go to the park or the mall and draw what we see in a sort of speed-drawing contest and we give out what we do to the people we draw - if we catch them. The ones we don't we just put in our albums. Sometimes people come up and ask us to draw them. We once did that at a convention last year in Tokyo! It was so fun!" Sora explained, bouncing in the excitement of the memory.

"I mostly do landscapes. I sometimes draw people. That convention in Tokyo sounds like fun. What kind of convention was it?" Goku asked curiously.

"A video game one! People still cosplayed though as their favorite characters like they do in anime cons," she giggled, "Anyway! I have spare sketchbooks so you can borrow one! I'll bring down my supplies! I just realized you don't have any swim trunks, so we can go swimming tomorrow if you come over again, okay?" she beamed.

"Sounds like fun to me." Goku grinned as he watched her run away to grab the stuff. He was really happy to be here with her. She was fun, and it was nice to get out of the house. He was still worried about his Otosan. Sure, he was going to be okay with Hakkai there, and he knew he shouldn't worry too much about it. He felt a hand on his hand and fingers starting to spike up his hair. He tilted his head back to see Hikari messing around with him. "Uh..."

"Is your hair naturally spikey like this?" Hikari asked, without much ado.

"Yeah...." Goku blinked. "is your streaks natural?" He questioned curiously.

"Sometimes." Hikari winked. "Sooo, what's your plan with my daughter hm?"

Goku heard of Gojyou getting the third-degree from the moms and dads of the girls that he sometimes dated back when he was younger and stupid enough to actually meet them. Gojyou told Goku that if he was to date, to not meet the parents at all unless he could help it. Goku didn't understand, but the nagging feeling in the back of his head sent warning bells. Hikari definitely was a powerhouse.

"Oh leave him alone," Rei sighed as she came in, her book under her arm as she looked between the two. "He's not out to get her pregnant first try." Goku's cheeks flushed a deep red and he bit his tongue to keep himself from stuttering. "I was thinking of stealing the stove to make a casserole. It's your turn to cook dinner tonight, Hikari. Considering that it was supposed to be Moriko's."

"So why are you making a casserole if I'm the one that's cooking?" Hikari asked, still spiking Goku's hair playfully before ruffling his hair and going at it again.

Rei merely shrugged. "Good will." She replied as she walked into the kitchen. "If you and Sora want to get away from Hikari, the kitchen's a safe domain as well as anywhere with Kerica."

Hikari placed a hand over her heart, but watched Rei leave. "I don't mean to scare you." She said after a moment. "But at the same time, I kind of do. Sora's my light and heart. Understand that, and you have nothing to fear." She let Goku go with a wink. "I'm really a kind person. It's Rei you have to watch out for." She lowered her voice dramatically. "She has an amazing temper."

"Kinda like Otosan then." Goku glanced over at the kitchen wearily. "Gotcha."

"Gokuuuu, move the table closer to the couch!" Sora called as she came bounding back down, her arms full of two sketchbooks and two plastic boxes that had her drawing supplies in them. She dumped it all on the table and handed him the sketchpad he would be using, "You can use the green container, and I'll use the blue one," she said and fussed with the couch pillows before climbing up and getting settled, her sketchpad placed in her lap and she popped the container of hers open that had the different grades of pencils for shading, line-art pens and then sharpeners, as well as shading sticks. Goku's had similar, but there were also colored pencils mixed in.

Goku gladly took the sketchbook and had moved the table closer to the couch. He sat down on the floor however, liking to really bend and get lost in the artwork. He thought about what he could draw as he flipped open the green container and decided that it might be best to draw what he thought the pencil wanted. It was always the unplanned drawings that were best. So he took a pencil and let his imagination go wherever it wanted, drawing as it went.

When Goku got on the floor, it actually presented Sora with the great opportunity to draw /him/. As he couldn't really see her pad at all, either. They were quiet for a while, getting the base part of their picture down so if they stepped away they could go right back to it.

It was at this point where Kerica walked by, taking a gander at what they had, and ruffled Sora's head, "If I didn't know you two were drawing, I would think you're up to something," she teased.

Sora stuck her tongue out at her, "I don't /always/ get myself into trouble!"

"No, but you /are/ usually giving Hikari a heart attack whenever you climb super high in a tree. I think the only reason why she doesn't is because Moriko is usually with you," Kerica laughed.

"You like to tree climb?" Goku asked, quickly glancing at Sora and edging his sketchbook away so that the drawing would remain hidden for a bit. It was still at it's plain base, but he wanted it to be at least a little of a surprise.

"I do! So do you?" Sora bounced a bit in her seat, hearing Kerica giggle and walk away. "I can use the wind, so even if Moriko wasn't with me I would be fine. Ka-san just tends to forget that," she shook her head, "What are your powers, Goku? Can you use any weapons, either? I really like ninja things like kunai."

"I have my bo-staff and Kouryuu, uh my Otosan has taught me a little of martial arts since he took some at a dojo back when he as younger." Goku explained. "I'm really strong and fast if I go berserk, but other than that, my powers are mostly speed and strength based."

Berserk? Sora furrowed her brows, "Is that what the diadem is for? Do you have a different demon side? I know a lot of demons are what they look unless they're super powerful or hiding. Moriko has an anklet. A lot of people pay it no mind because it looks more for fashion than a limiter."

Goku nodded. "I do. Hakkai has a limiter too since his powers are twice as strong. He can hold his own against me, but...not for long." He winced a little. "It's not my favorite subject to talk about. I hurt a lot of people when the diadem is off."

"Okay, gomen'nasai. I was just curious," Sora shifted, biting her lip and went back to drawing. The silence was a bit awkward this time, but she managed to get more done. The time with Kerica helped and she was also a fast learner. It didn't take long before she was sharpening it, making it look better since she had more time to spend than a rough sketch. By the time she finished shading, she had some of the colored pencils from Goku's box in her hand, "Tell me about you and your Otosan," she coaxed to break the ice.

"He saved me. I was in a real bad spot. I don't have any parents and I only known how to survive by living on other people's good will. When your a little kid, it's easy to get at some sympathy, but other times people start getting suspicious. I had to run away from different places in order not to have the cops called on me. The words Foster Home, goes hand in hand with abuse, and I don't want that. Demon kids are even harder to find homes for," he shook his head sadly, "So when Kouryuu, Otosan, found me, I was near starved and scared. I've been running on no food and water for a while. He took me in, and soon after I was healthy, adopted me on the spot. He said "I don't need a dead body on my conscious" and that was that. He's been kind to me ever since. Well, he has a temper and I do have a way of yanking on his rope, but we get along."

Sora's smile was gentle, "Hikari saved me from a bunch of nasty demons that had killed my own parents. I was only seven. She also saved Moriko from the same fate about...five years ago and gave her the limiter to help her hide. Kerica and Rei are the only ones she didn't save, really. Mori and I found them while at the mall two years ago and they've been our friends ever since."

"Ah, but if you want a story about saving," Hikari came back from the kitchen, bringing a tray of tea and some cups. She poured it out and handed the cups to her daughter and Goku and taking the third for herself. "Then Rei's and Kerica's story is a story worth listening to. In fact, Goku, you mirror Rei's side of it perfectly while Kouryuu mirrors Kerica's."

"Really?" Goku questioned, taking the cup from the saucer. The tea was soft, and fruity so it wasn't too strong like some of Hakkai's teas. Especially since there was a limited amount of flavors. "How so?" He looked at Sora. "Have you heard the story before?"

"Yeah I have, though Kerica was the one who told me. Rei doesn't like talking about it for understandable reasons," Sora nodded, "Rei used to live in America. It took her a long time to earn citizenship here but she has. She's a very hard worker and knows how to save money. She used to work at a computer center where you could rent rooms but she couldn't always afford it. Kerica took her in one day and gave her a place to crash."

Goku blinked a few times. "She looks Japanese though." He frowned deeply. "Is that why her hair's red then?"

"Nah, she dyes her hair. Just a few months ago it was this bright neon purple and she had an undercut since her hair was longer." Hikari rolled her eyes. "Girl changes hair styles and colors like clothes that are going out of style. Believe me, she may look Japanese, but get her in a temper she starts talking English and you're lucky if you catch a sentence and understand. Kerica even has a hard time and she's /fluent/."

"What's her natural hair color?" Goku questioned.

"I haven't the slightest idea. I don't think even Kerica knows. Like I said before, she dyes her hair so often, I don't think she /has/ one." Hikari snorted.

"I can only guess it's a pale color because she doesn't have to bleach it before she dyes it unless she's completely changing the color. It's always so vibrant," Sora hummed thoughtfully sipping her tea.

Goku merely shook his head. "I feel bad. I can't imagine why she'd run away from America to come here. We're so far away from them. I really hope she didn't run away from her soul-mate, or that her soul-mate's in America if she has a tattoo. Or her family."

Hikari heard horror stories of how some soul-mates were so bad for each other, they were trouble. She heard of co-dependant couples, abused couples, and so on who were soul-mates. No one received a happy ending from them. Sometimes, Hikari thought that Fate or whatever Rei believed in, liked tragic endings to happy beginnings. It made things less boring and more ironic. "I wouldn't worry too much about Rei. She's a tough cookie and she still is compassionate. Doesn't speak much, sure, but she warms up fairly quick when she catches on how to rub people the right way." Hikari assured. "I'm sure if you ask her about the Summer Solstice Bonfire and if you can help out, she'll warm up to you like a snake on a rock. I know for a fact that if I meet that Makoto man again, I'm asking him to be our fire starter. That is if he'll show up here or come by during the Solstice. Ah, it's a Wiccan thing." She responded to Goku's baffled look. "Basically if we need a believer in the house to go to heaven or reincarnation or whatever, Rei is it. Most of us are all atheists at best."

"I never head of it before." Goku frowned. "Otosan's sensei studied Zen and was a Buddhist for a while. He follows that pathway kind of. He says he does, but goes about it weird." He shrugged. "Makoto likes bonfires, so I'm sure if you tell him that you want to build one, he'd make a big one. He should be around the cabin tomorrow."

"Oh I shouldn't bother." Hikari waved it off. "Probably taken which would be my luck, but that's just fine. I don't think my heart can hold much more than three people now."

"I hope I'm not the third," Kerica joked as she came back by, this time with a new book, "If I am you can totally replace me with Makoto. You two were totally flirting back at the hospital, I doubt he's taken. Goku, does he have a girlfriend?" One easy way to find out.

"No, he's firm on finding his soul-mate." Goku answered easily enough. "He keeps saying he doesn't need a tattoo, he'll know by the way they light up when they talk."

"The one last true romantic on earth," Hikari said dryly. "Damn my luck."

"It's better than Otosan." Goku shrugged. "He's not very interested in finding his. If he finds them, he finds them, if not, then there's no skin off his nose."

"Moriko's Soul Mate is definitely a romantic!" Sora protested.

"You barely know Hakkai," Kerica arched a brow.

"So?! He has to be! Mori deserves nothing less," she said stubbornly.

"Hakkai is." Goku confirmed. "At least he's more realistic about it than Makoto is."
Hikari snorted.

"Well, I guess we will all find out tomorrow, won't we? Moriko will either have been unimpressed by Hakkai or she'll be on cloud 9," Kerica ruffled Sora's hair, "I think that picture's good, by the way. Might want to show him soon once you make the finishing touches," she winked and walked into the kitchen, playfully screaming, "Rei! I'm on book two!"

Sora blushed at Kerica's praise and watched as Hikari finished with them, also disappearing. Looking up, she make a soft gasp, "Oh, it's already getting dark! We've been drawing for a while, haven't we?"

Goku blinked and looked out the windows in surprise. He hadn't noticed, and now that he was thinking about it, he could hear the girls talking in the kitchen while Hikari clearly was starting to cook dinner. The casserole that Rei made for "Good will" as she put it, must have finished. "I didn't even notice." He admitted. "I liked spending the time though. It's fun drawing with someone."

"Do you think you can pause yours so I can show you mine? I'm really happy with it," Sora found her cheeks heating intensely and she hugged the picture close.

Goku nodded, "I can show you what I have left too." he told her. "On three?"

"One..." Sora started, holding hers out to him back-first. As she stared at it she bit her lip. Would he like it. She heard his two and took a breath, and they echoed 'three' together before flipping it around. Hers was mostly black and white, but the colors she had added was a soft brown shading on his hair, not too much, and then gold on his diadem and eyes. She had tried to make his intense concentration expression pop, and hoped she was successful.

"Sugoi," Goku breathed looking at the profile picture of himself. It was beautifully drawn and while it was a picture of him, he could see Sora's character and softness in to the picture. How she was able to manipulate the colors to make it subtle and not harsh and her ability to study people and their personality. "You're amazing." His drawing was of her. He took creative license had had her sitting on a tree branch rather than on the couch, hand covering her eyes as she stared up at the sun.

Sora gasped softly at his, and blushed more at his comment of hers. "It's coming along wonderfully, Goku! You can keep the sketchbook until you finish it, if you'd like. I can see us drawing a lot more the next two weeks. I'm really glad you like mine, too!" she beamed at him, genuinely happy.

()

The next morning was beautiful. Kerica, Goku and Sora had slept in until about noon, but Rei and Hikari were both morning birds and had drank tea while enjoying the rest of the sunrise that had appeared. Once everyone was up, a huge brunch had been whipped up thanks to Kerica. It was filled with bacon and ham, with toast and eggs. There were homemade jellies from Moriko who loved to preserve things like that. Once the afternoon was settled, Rei had decided to borrow Hikari's car and drive off to god knows where with the pan of cassarole, and Hikari was tending to the plants that were up on the cabin's porch. Normally Moriko would do this, but as she wasn't here, Hikari decided to take advantage to see how her plants were doing.

Goku and Sora were drawing by the couch again and Kerica was off doing her daily walk. Hikari was glad that the hiking trails were a hit. Being out in nature for two weeks with nothing to do could drive a person insane unless they were well prepared. She brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. Already the plants looked happier now that they had some water.

While being observant, Makoto was glad she was unaware of his presence behind her. It gave him ample time to admire. Having stolen Hakkai's car (not really, he'd been seen driving slowly out of the garage. Damn early bird), he had parked a little ways away so not to be heard on the gravel road. Towel around his neck, he was prepared for a day of swimming, and had even brought Goku a pair of his along with a fresh shirt and a towel of his own. He could ride home in his swimwear for all he cared, as long as he sat on the towel or Hakkai would be pissed.

She was so lovely in the afternoon light. She wasn't like fire at all, but she did glow, her hair like the sunrays. He understood why Goku called Kouryuu the sun. She had such a pleasant smile that made his insides do weird things. Gaze wondering, he took in her lovely long torso which dipped into a fine waist, flaring out into boner-worthy hips, curving into a nice round, squeezable ass, and trailing down her supermodel long legs. Damn, he hoped for damn sure she made good money on her career.

He couldn't stare for long, though, so he took a deep breath and moved forward to say hello, when she nearly dropped her trash can when a floorboard squeaked and she whipped around. He was close enough now he reached out to her, arms wrapping around her lovely body to steady her so she wouldn't tumble over onto her pretty face. Fuck...Kami, it felt so right to hold her in his arms like this. He'd held women before, but always to protect from danger, and never had any time to linger. There was never a spark, either.

There was definitely a spark here, and his breath caught in his throat as he stared into aqua lagoons for eyes. Their lips were so close...just a little bit more...ah, but no. That wasn't his intention and he didn't want her getting any wrong ideas, so he made sure she was secure on her feet before pulling back, his hands delving into his swim trunk pockets, "Are you alright? You didn't twist an ankle turning around at warp speed, did you?" he gave her a lopsided smile.

"Nah, I can catch my balance pretty decently and I had Sora weave through my legs since she was a little girl." Hikari smiled warmly, her heart beating fast in her chest. His touch lingered on her skin and she felt an intense yearning that he'd just come back and hold her again. Normally men and their holds felt wrong, an act and sometimes borderline sleezey. When she was modeling, she made sure she kept inches apart from them, even for romantic poses. However, with him...she wanted to be held closer. His lips could've, should've grazed across each other in a near miss, but didn't. It was odd how disappointing it was. "Surprised you didn't just dip me and kiss me like a maiden." She teased him lightly. "That was your cue you know."

"You are very adamant about not giving away too much information about yourself," Makoto shrugged, "You need to trust me first, so I'm going to work on earning that trust before I do anything...unorthodox. Holding you without express permission is rude. I also didn't mean to startle you, and when you turned around so fast I thought you were going to fall, so my reflexes kicked in to catch you."

He smiled at her charmingly, "Anyway, where's Goku?" he held up the supplies for his little buddy, "It's a hot day, the remaining coolness from the storm is /long/ gone, and I was hoping we could go for a dip."

"Oh I can show off my new bikini!" Hikari clapped her hands excitedly. Her heart soared at his observations and decided that it was best to see how far this would go. After all, they had yet to see each other's tattoo. For all she knew it really would be bad luck if he was taken by someone else. A damn shame. "He's indoors with Sora." She opened the door and Goku glanced up and beamed.

"Makoto! How's Otosan?" He asked, flinging the sketchbook away in favor of bounding over to the fire-demon. Hikari couldn't help but to make the comparision that Goku saw Makoto as an Uncle of sorts.

Makoto ruffled his hair and then tried to snuff him with his clothes, "Kouryuu is feeling better. A nice rest in a comfortable bed did him wonders. It helps Hakkai is mixing his special blend with his tea to speed up his healing since he's a human. Anyway, here. I'm sure you're dying to go swimming."

"SWIMMING!" Sora cheered and also discarded her sketchpad, at least putting all the supplies on the coffee table or otherwise Hikari would be upset, "I'll go put on my swimsuit, too!!!!" she cried and hopped over the couch to bolt upstairs.

Makoto arched a brow, "She must have been super patient because that was definitely an explosion of excitement."

"Swimming is her favorite thing." Hikari laughed as Goku grabbed the swimsuit from Makoto and had shouted thanks over his shoulder as he ran off to go to the bathroom to change. "Looks like we can tire the kiddos out a lot better than making them draw all the day." She shook her head fondly. "You joining us?" It'd give her more of a reason to show off a bikini. "Kerica's going to be so pissed she missed out."

"I did come out here to swim," Makoto agreed and motioned to his black trunks with flames on the bottom, before smirking, "I'm sure I can find the pool. Go and get changed," he winked at her. Somewhere deep inside, he hoped her tattoo matched his, but even if it didn't...he was sure he could still pursue her for a time. What was the harm in a casual relationship?

"Be back." She winked as she walked off, swaying her hips in hopes that it tortured him as she went up to her room to grab her bikini. Couldn't hurt. Couldn't hurt.

~*~

Kouryuu was laying on the couch with his arm over his eyes when he heard the knock. Hakkai and Moriko were talking in the kitchen, so he stood up and grunted, "I'll get it!" Walking over, he was a bit surprised to see the little redhead at the door. It wasn't that she was little as in short, but she was little as in she didn't seem to have much meat on her bones. Opening it, he was even more shocked to see the square container in her hands, "What's that?" he asked instead of a greeting.

"A casserole." Rei responded. "Mexican sour cream to be exact. Hello to you too, by the way. Glad to see that you're feeling better."

"I have no idea what that is...but come in. I hope that isn't all for me. Gojyou might want some when he gets back from hiking," he shrugged and opened the door for her to come through, then shut the door and followed her to the kitchen.

Moriko looked up and beamed in pleasant surprise, "Oh! Did you make one of your American dishes?" she inquired.

"Yo." Rei replied as she held up the pan. "Mexican sour cream." She smiled warmly. "It's better than fucking Tuna. I hate Tuna. The smell...." She shook her head from side to side. "So I see you and Hakkai getting cozy." Even though  she wasn't much of a talker, her friends had a strange ability to make her talk sometimes at a rapid fire pace and since she was in a new area with a couple of strangers, her anxiousness probably was coming out. She could definitely tell that her American accent was going through the Japanese.

Hakkai blinked as he quickly walked over to her and relieved Rei of the pan. "This was generous of you to make." He said with a smile. "I'm sure we'll all enjoy it. Mexican you said? Is that your specialty?" He walked over to the fridge to place it inside.

"No, it's just the area that I lived in had a lot of Mexican food around and about and I learned from neighbors." Rei explained. "Italian is mostly what I'm good at since my mother used to live in New York. So she had a lot of recipes from her friends that she passed down to me." It hurt a little to talk of her mother, but she beamed proudly anyway. She knew that Moriko might ask questions, as she rarely spoke of her family...let alone America.

"I don't think you've made us any of your Italian dishes," Moriko blinked at her, "Isn't that pasta and bread with loads of garlic and butter?"

"Does your mother still live in America?" Kouryuu asked as he took a seat at the island table, "I enjoy pasta..." he said slowly, wondering how she would explain Italian food.

"Kerica's allergic to tomato so I can't do most of what I can cook or will cook." Rei rolled her eyes, though her expression was fond. "But it's mostly like that. There's some dishes that is pasta and cheese. But garlic bread is one of the staple sides as well as knowing how to pair wine with what pasta. Since that's also a thing that they do. But it's also about how they cook the meat and the vegetables." She thought about the other question Kouryuu asked. "As for mom, she's no longer among the living unfortunately or fortunately depending on outlook."

"Sorry for your loss." Hakkai said softly.

Rei merely clicked her tongue. "It's all good."

"She's in a good place, if you speak so highly of her," was Kouryuu's only words on that, and then he hummed, "Even if Kerica cannot eat tomatoes, I don't think the rest of us would mind if you made an Italian meal. You can always make more side dishes like the garlic bread for her to eat."

Rei was a little surprised and she folded her arms, shifting her weight to her other foot as she watched him. She felt...warm that Kouryuu acknowledged her mother in that way rather than just dismissing it like some folks did when they got uncomfortable. Oh, it was nice of Hakkai too, but Kouryuu was a special case. She doubted that his words were ever taken lightly. It was also a bit surprising that he wanted to try a course. "Considering that it's nearing the Summer Solistice, I'll make sure I'm at the kitchen." She said with a smile. "I'll make a few plates for all of you to try."

"She doesn't just do that does she?" Hakkai whispered to Moriko. He got a feeling that the only reason, the /only/ reason why Rei was doing this was because of Kouryuu rather than anything else.

"No, no she doesn't," Moriko shook her head but her smile was bright. It was different than the usual Rei she knew.

"Summer Solstice," Kouryuu hummed, "I heard about it often during my times as a Buddhist. It's the longest day and the shortest night of the year, and sparks the beginning of summer. Bonfires, feasts, drinking, dancing...those are things for celebration, but it is also a day to reflect, look for a new job, clean, spend time outside, reading or just relaxing. It's kind of a moot point since this whole two-week vacation is nothing but relaxing," he shrugged, then looked at Hakkai, "We need some more beverages than just beer in the fridge. We should go shopping. We could also get her the food ingredients she needs...Goku and Gojyou will no doubt start an eating contest. Rei, you should just make some other dishes you know, too. Give us a variety. Are you good with snacks and sweets, too? Or is there someone else that handles the baking?"

"Kerica loves baking!" Moriko piped up, in awe about the information Kouryuu listed, but she perked, excited now, "I bake, too, though I prefer making fruit dishes than things like cookies."

"Kerica, Moriko, and I can handle the baking. Sora and Hikari would just make things worse with the oven. I think Hikari would be pleased to do grilling." Rei hummed in thought, her smile shy and sincere. It made her blue eyes look more like the sky without clouds, nearly translucent. Just hearing what he had to say about the Summer Solstice made her heart swell. It was very clear that he was well-informed about some of the holidays that she celebrated, and what they stood for.

Hakkai had to grin. It was a rare day when Kouryuu felt generous. He had to wonder if it was because this woman wandered into the room without much fear of consequences, or if he was just trying to be helpful from her good-will. He had to admit, he was secretly suspicious if they were soul-mates or not. He was one of the few that knew Kouryuu's tattoo. It was the bane of his existence, since it was in such a weird place. Regardless, Rei somehow made an impression. "None of us are allergic and there's really nothing that we won't eat either. You won't have to limit your menu much."

"Alright, that makes things easier. If you want I can come along since I have the recipes memorized." She continued, "I brought Hikari's car and it's able to fit five people if we're going to wait for Gojyou to come along with us."

"It's rare that someone has a driver's license in Japan." Hakkai noted. He and Kouryuu needed them for their job as well as to trade off and on shifts so that they didn't fall asleep. Makoto had his from before he met them, but used it for the same reason now he was a part of their group. Hikari was probably the same way. Rei having a license, however, was a bit strange.

Rei just smiled warmly. "It's my pride and joy."

"Well, it's a good thing you did. We'll wait for Gojyou to return, then eat some of that casserole. Shopping while hungry is never a good thing, you buy unnecessary things," Kouryuu hummed, "We'll split supplies between households so we have enough room. Thankfully the solstice is only in a few more days." Technically, it would mark the end of the first week of their vacation.

"Wonderful! We should make a pit-stop back to the cabin, I need fresh clothes," Moriko grinned. She felt like wearing one of her cuter outfits for Hakkai. Not slutty or revealing, but more free-flowing and adorable.

"That's acceptable, considering those are two day old clothes," Kouryuu nodded, "It's decided then."

~*~

So far, Makoto and Hikari had either been preoccupied with something or in the water too much to notice any tattoos the other had, besides his arm one which was obvious. It wasn't just on his arm, though, and traveled down his side. It was different from Gojyou's. Makoto's were more like tribal flames that licked along his body.

Makoto had an idea, though, to finally get a good look. He splashed at Hikari to get her attention from Sora who was on Goku's shoulders, "Stop being so paranoid! He's got a good grip on her," he promised and chuckled. It had been very obvious the young ones were soul-mates now, what with Sora's tattoo being the exact same sun in the exact same place Goku had, over their hearts. It was cute, but neither of them took notice or cared it seemed. "Hikari! Play a game with me!" he whined.

Hikari let out a gasp hen he splashed her again in order to get her to turn around. She was drop dead /sexy/ in a teal green bikini. It wasn't whorish and impractical. The straps went around her neck and the bra-strap was thick. The bikini part hinted, but didn't show like a fucking thong. The blue in her hair almost matched the color of the bikini due to the chlorine that was reacting to it. "I'm here, I'm present. What game?" She asked when she managed to get her head on straight. There was a tattoo on her hip that was of an infinity symbol. Attached was a feather that had indigo, purple, and blue mixed in beautifully. "Throwing me around the pool and trying to splash those two? Or did you also want me on your shoulders? I warn you I'm heavier than I look."

Makoto didn't see the tattoo, too much movement in the water distorting it, but he felt his chest thud with hope, "A breath-holding contest! You can't use your water powers at all, just an honest test."

"Ohhh! I can count!" Sora clapped. Her one-piece was simple but adorable. The halter strap going around her neck was white, and there was a white trim over the top part of the suit which was all a solid aquamarine blue, and at the bottom was a short ruffle skirt. If Goku thought she was sexy at all, it wasn't due to cleavage or excess showing of skin, but more to how it hugged and shaped her body.

Hikari merely arched an eyebrow and smirked at Makoto."Oh I see your game." She told him. "You pretend to be this playboy, friendly, family man, but I see right through you. You're trying to murder me." She grinned full on teeth. "I wish you were a little more subtle about it." She joked, hoping he took it for what it was rather than an insult or even something she really thought.

"I can drag you under, if you want me to be /less subtle/," Makoto offered with a soft rumble to his voice, "C'mon, humor me. You've been ducking under with an air bubble around your head every time. I'm just curious."

Hikari rolled her eyes teasingly, "Fine. Fine." She looked at Sora. "No cheating. Count fair. Ready?" Without another word, she ducked down, not bothering with her powers and holding her breath. She was so fucking thankful that she worked out, otherwise this was probably going to be harder than it looked.

Makoto did swim down further, and reached up to take her ankle, but was gentle instead of yanking her. He still wanted this to be fair, and startling her would make her lose her air. He dragged her down towards him, and once his eyes were level with her hip, he almost lost all of his air right then. On impulse, one he was unable to shake unlike the kiss earlier, he leaned forward and kissed the infinity soul-tat with the watercolor feather, holding her around her thighs. He looked up at her and if they were above the surface, he would be crying like a sissy. Slowly, he swam back so he could tug his trunks down just a bit more for her to see the matching tattoo on his hip.

Hikari did lose air after seeing the soul-tattoo. She quickly swam up, rather than doing a bubble because fair was fair and she coughed when she reached the surface. She could hear him come up behind her and she pushed her hair out of her face and looked at him. She forgot about the contest, she forgot that Sora and Goku were even there, and she just...stared at Makoto. He was hers. Completely hers. The one she searched for. "It was you." She managed to say after a moment. Her eyes stung though if that was from the chlorine or not she wasn't sure anymore. "This entire time...it was you! I can't..." She wanted to break down sobbing, she wanted to laugh, she was filled with so many emotions all she could do was leap into Makoto's arms and kissed his cheek and then his lips. "You!"

"Me...I'm yours, Hikari, and you're mine now," Makoto gasped against her lips, a bit taken aback by the tackle, but he held her tightly, his arms around her back and he kissed her in return intently. He was vaguely aware of a shriek and a giant splash, even water raining down on them, but he just closed his eyes and one hand even found the back of her head to secure her. He was going to be very thorough with their first kiss, damn straight.

Hikari kissed him back, arms wrapped around his neck tightly and she pressed s close as she could to him. She didn't mind the jeers (or were they cheers?). She was just so happy that she found him. When they pulled away, she was breathless and she stared at him, still in disbelief and happiness. "We have a lot to catch up on." She told him after a moment.
"You're not obligated to spill your life's story to me right away," Makoto assured, reaching a hand to swipe her wet hair from her face, "I still am going to try to win your trust. Keep those boundaries, I like the challenge of knocking down the walls," he kissed her nose playfully.

"Fine." Hikari playfully shoved off of him and swam backwards. "You want a challenge, dearest, then I'll give you one." Her eyes sparkled in mirth. "Which means I have high expectations on our first date."

"Ooh." Goku teased from the other end of the pool, he was grinning at Sora. "I think we'd have a lot more fun on our dates. I don't really want to do the traditional route of movies and dinner, but...picnics would be /awesome/ and going to arcades. I know plenty of them around in the city. We could try to win prizes from the crane games!" The idea of a first date was fun, but he was so much more casual and he knew Sora was too. They weren't like the older adults and Goku was quite pleased with that.

Sora's face was red as if she'd gotten an instantaneous sunburn, "I don't like the crane game. It's totally rigged, but I love pinball," she offered, "Picnics, the arcade...I don't mind movies, but I prefer sitting at home and cuddling. That way we can make commentary and /pause/ it, or rewind for a really good part," she grinned shyly at him. Goku was sweet. She had let herself take a little more notice of him since seeing his matching soul-tat, but had tried to make it casual. He may act boyish, after all he was still only eighteen to her twenty, but his body was definitely a man's. He was more lean sinew and muscle, it reminded her a lot like a lithe cat, yet he was really strong. The way his hands had gripped her thighs to hold her in place...she hadn't budged a bit until she reacted in shock and he'd also been stunned to see Makoto and Hikari kiss. Their combined reactions had caused her to fall back, but he'd recovered quickly and the arm he'd used was solid but pliable as he steadied her in the shallows they were in. She could probably curl up in them and feel so protected she'd forget about the world.

"Sounds good." Goku agreed with a bright smile. It was...sky-high flying knowing that she was his soul-mate. Sure they weren't making out in the middle of the pool, but he figured that both of them just...understood. Just like Sora, he wanted quality time with his partner. The movies, the cuddling, the idea of the arcade game. Anything to spend time with her. She was...sexy. Of course, she was two years his senior, but it didn't bother him. For someone who was twenty, she allowed her hair to hang loose and free. She allowed herself to have fun, to remember that not everything has to be so serious. That casual was sometimes more comfortable. Goku found that attractive in her personality. Real fucking attractive.

"If you don't mind the drive, /sweetheart/, I'll take you to the village for that date tomorrow if you'd like," Makoto winked at Hikari, but he did take notice of the pause and slow responses between Goku and Sora. Glancing over, he smirked softly. It was about time he caught them with that star-struck expression. He didn't have the heart to break them from it with words, though. Instead, he motioned with his head to the blonde and sneakily swam behind Goku under the water. Rearing up, he jumped on his back and dunked him.

"Oh that's just pitiful." Hikari laughed as she swam over to Sora and watched as the boys started wrestling with each other, water spraying everywhere. She rolled her eyes fondly. "Are you happy, Sora-chan?" She asked softly, smiling as she watched Goku attempt to dunk Makoto only to have both of them fail and fall into the waters again with a splash.

"I am," Sora beamed at her mother, "Are you? You certainly /looked/ happy. I wasn't sure if those were tears or the pool water," she reached over and squished her cheeks together playfully, "I'm surprise Makoto wants to actually wade through the barriers you set up. I guess that makes him even better, huh?"

"He has two important people to go through first if he ever wants to get through me." Hikari promised, poking Sora's nose in response to the squished cheeks. "Then we'll see if he's worth anything to give. You and Moriko will /always/ come first, regardless. You two and your soulmates."

"I wonder how you'll take to Hakkai, then...wait, do you hear the car?" Sora pulled back and tilted her head, "Is Rei back so soon?"

"If someone slammed the door on that poor girl's face..." Hikari grumbled as she got out of the pool. "I do hope she finds her soul-mate soon. She could use a lot of love and less hate. Fucking people." She wrapped herself in a towel and flung her hair. "Unless she's bringing home Moriko. Though why on earth she'd come back here is beyond me." She continued as she headed in doors and through the house to get to the front.

Makoto perked and looked at Goku, "Hey, why don't we all take a break from swimming right now, hmm? I'm starving. We could see if someone will make us lunch."

"Great idea!" Sora laughed and also clamored out, tying her towel around her waist once she dried her legs and feet. Once Goku was out of the pool, she threw his towel in is face and laughed heartily as she scampered away, "Catch me if you can!" she teased.

Moriko was not surprised to see a determined Hikari coming their way and she looked back in the car, "You guys sure you're going to just wait in here?"

"You shouldn't take too long, so it's no problem," Kouryuu shrugged.

Rei merely started laughing. Oh Kouryuu. That was innocent. Even Gojyou was laughing in the back seat. "Yeah we're fine here sweetheart." Gojyou told Moriko. "You might want to cut off Hikari. She looks out to commit a murder."

"If we get bored, we'll come in." Hakkai promised as well.

Laughing, Moriko nodded, "See you in a little bit!" she waved and shut the door, turning around and meeting Hikari halfway across the yard, "Come! Back inside, I need you to help me pick a cute outfit for Hakkai!" she whispered to her friend, dragging her back the way she'd just come, "My clothes are starting to stink, though once I change I'll be fine. They let me use their shower."

"Oh so that's the reason." Hikari sighed in relief as she turned back on the balls of her feet and headed back towards the house. "Though in return you're helping me with my outfit for Makoto. We're discovered soulmates."

"OH KAMI! That's fantastic!" Mori cheered and hugged her close, not caring about getting wet since the current outfit would be thrown in the wash. They hurried upstairs and once she stripped, she ruffled through her bag, narrowing down the selection between three outfits and laid them on the bed, "Did you find out while you were swimming? Your tattoo's extremely obvious."

"It took him a bit, but once we had an underwater contest, he kissed my tattoo and pulled away to show me his." Hikari beamed as she looked at the outfits that Moriko was deciding on. They were all cute. If anyone was fashionable in the "Cute" section, it was Moriko. "Of course, he did tell me that he wanted a challenge, therefore I'm giving him a challenge. You and Sora have to approve of him, and he has to obey my boundaries and try to break through my "shell" so to speak."

"/Ooooh/ now that's interesting. I bet Sora's got a great head start on me so far, though," Mori hummed as she finished throwing on fresh deodorant and a new bra and panties. Something in her outfit of the day was always a floral print, be it her undergarments or her shoes, though her purse tended to vary. "Ah, I already feel better. Anyway...which one do you think I should go with first?"

"This." She picked the outfit on the left. It was a light sky blue shirt that had white holes on the tops and around the collar. Underneath the shirt was a blue floral skirt. "It's pretty and casual and it's nice for a day out like today." She pointed over at the other outfit with a black, or navy blue top and white floral skirt. "Save that one for the bonfire."

"That'll be a /lovely/ one for the bonfire. It shows off my mid-drift nicely for dancing," Moriko beamed and she hugged Hikari tightly before slipping on the outfit, the blue embroidered shirt tucked into the skirt, which came to her mid-thigh. Next was a pair of black flats that matched the ribbon on the skirt, "They must be getting impatient for me. You pick out the outfits you want me to chose from and have them ready for me tonight, so it'll take less time tomorrow," she told her, quickly brushing her hair in the bathroom and then grabbed her purse on the stand, which was a cream color and slung it over her shoulder, "Bai-bai!" she cooed as she bounded out of her room and down the stairs.

Hikari listened to the front door open and shut, she listened for the car as it roared back to life and disappeared. She thought about how lucky her and Moriko were, and how she ached that Kerica and Rei had yet to find theirs. She knew her worry was unfounded. But, she couldn't help but to worry and get impatient. She wanted her friends happy. The goddesses and gods Rei worshiped definitely would agree with her on it. Sighing, she too went down stairs. No need to worry about anything now. Best to focus on what was going on presently.

()

"Couldn't help but to notice that Moriko got all cute and dressed up for a grocery trip." Gojyou couldn't help but to rub Hakkai about his girl. It was adorable, the way she came out, hair flying behind her. She looked like she was ready for a casual date, not a trip to something boring like a store. Rei's expression had been pure amusement about it. "That's not something you see everyday."

They were back at the house, groceries had been put away and everything was tidy. Right at the moment, they were just lounging in the living room, some with their feet on the coffee table, cigarettes lit, and others happy with a cup of tea in their hands or a can of beer beside them.

Kouryuu's hand found Goku's head for a soft 'thump' of the side of his fist before he ruffled the fluffy brown hair, "You and Sora, too, when we helped the girls with their groceries...you could barely let go of each other. Like koalas on their trees." It was true, one was practically hanging off of the other the whole time. The minimum touching was holding hands. If they parted for a /moment/ it was only to grab an item to help put it away. "Baka saru..." he said more in affectionate tone.

"Oi!" Goku grinned proudly regardless, even if his cheeks were a bit tinted pink. "You missed out on Makoto and Hikari. He's taking her out on a date tomorrow. He's going to steal your car Hakkai."
Hakkai merely arched an eyebrow. "Looks like you were thrown under the bus friend."

"Again?" Kouryuu drawled, arching a brow, "He's driving your jeep more than you on this trip."

"Hey! I like to go places! The first time was also to save your sorry ass," Makoto stuck his tongue out, but laid back even further in his chair, a blissful smirk on his face, "If we could've been anymore romantic we would've kissed underwater when I showed her my soul-tat."

"Aw, you call that romantic?" Gojyou asked, raising an eyebrow at Makoto. "That's practically foreplay to the bedroom."

"Foreplay if he didn't make the rule of not to use powers." Goku agreed.

Hakkai merely laughed at Makoto's misfortune. "It seems the resident experts in lovemaking and soul-mate capture aren't exactly happy that you couldn't pass a test." He eyed over at Kouryuu. "Perhaps your advice would be better off given to Kouryuu instead."

"Say what?!" Gojyou picked himself up from his lounging position on the couch in order to look over at Kouryuu, "You found your soulmate?!"

Kouryuu looked flabbergasted, "No! I have not! Rei simply made me that get-well casserole, and I was knowledgeable in something she is interested in. That in no way constitutes I'm her soulmate or vise-versa," he snorted.

"So that's what that was in the fridge," Makoto hummed, "Well, well, aren't you lucky. I can only hope Hikari makes me something special if I ever get sick," he smirked a bit and glanced at Hakkai, "C'mon, man, you seemed hardly phased by Moriko prancing around. Give a little!" he whined.

"She was beautiful," Hakkai said with a smile. "And cute. The skirt showed off her figure in a lovely way. Is that what your looking for?" He smiled in amusement at Makoto's groan. "Hikari might do more for you when you're sick than just make you food if you play your cards right."

"Wouldn't that be a treat?" Makoto hummed at the happy thought.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Kouryuu rolled his eyes.

"You know it's curious," Hakkai said after a moment of thought. "I have yet to see where Rei's soul-mate tattoo is. Moriko keeps hinting that she has one, but it seems to me well hidden." He glanced at Kouryuu. "I'm also surprised you didn't ask her where it is, considering how close you were getting to her."

"It's still a damn shame I missed every bit of this," Gojyou sighed. "My little man is all grown up and is going to have kids and all sorts of shit, you're going to be a grandfather before you know it Kouyruu."

"If I ask her where hers is, then in turn I have to tell her mine, and I refuse," Kouryuu stuck his nose up, and then sputtered at Gojyou before a come back came to mind, "That would make you the jungle gym uncle, and you'd have more hands to fend off of your food during your little food contests."

Makoto snickered, "Awww, but /Kouryuuuuu/, your tattoo is in such a lovely place. Why wouldn't you want to show it off?" he cooed. Then he held his hands up as there was a click of a gun, "Now now, you don't want to add repairs to the cabin bill do you?" he asked.

"That's assuming I miss. At most it would be cleaning bills," Kouryuu said cooly.

"We'll see Rei again, so we can just ask her. Or I could just ask Sora." Goku shrugged. "I don't think Rei would mind the question and I think Sora would tell me if I get to her first."

"That's a good idea," Makoto praised Goku, "You should totally do that."

"Don't," Kouryuu rubbed his face. He also didn't want to know...that she wasn't. The mystery was good enough. He didn't need disappointment on a nice vacation, "Seriously, there's no need. If it will make you /shut up/, I'll ask her towards the end of our trip."

Hakkai merely smiled. "It's the best offer we're going to get, so yes. Ask her at the end of the trip, and we'll stop badgering about it...for now."

~*~

"Hiiiikaaaarrriiiii!!!!" Moriko cooed as she came into her friend's room, her amber eyes landing on her by the stand-up mirror, a dress in each hand and a plump bottom lip, swollen from biting it too much, "Well, at least your underwear is sexy," she hummed in amusement, but belatedly noticed it was /just/ the underwear, no bra. The dresses she had didn't require one.

"Having troubles?" Hikari asked rhetorically as she was looking at her own closet with a bit of disdain. "I should've brought something sexier had I known I was going to meet my soulmate." She turned around and hummed at the choices. "Which one are you leaning towards?"

"Are you perhaps thinking 'sluttier' instead of sexier?" Moriko asked slowly. The two dresses she had in her hands were both black, but one was more solid and looked like cotton, the other was certainly satin with a rumpled look around the waist. The question was cleavage or more cleavage? "The satin one. I like how it shimmers in the light." It was more cleavage, over all, but it was lovely in any case. The halter-top was also made of gold chain. "Now all you need is a pretty necklace to lay right in the middle of your chest. What about that one pendant of yours Rei gifted you? It won't interfere with the halter piece too much, either, so you won't get a sore."

The pendant that was mentioned was a gorgeous piece. In honesty, Hikari was never certain /where/ Rei might've gotten the money for it. It was a a very pale green stone, that reminded her of jade at the very most. On each side of the circle was a gold embellishment that looked like ribbons. In the middle of the circle was a gold embellishment of the characters of her name in small print, just so it wouldn't over take the jewel. She set the more conservative version of the black dress to the side and took the sluttier one with her across the room to her jewelry box to hold up the necklace in question. "It looks pretty. It won't clash. It's been a while since I wore the necklace too." She started working on slipping into the dress, "I hear Rei's cooking up a storm. Is she able to find time to get dolled up?"

"Pssshhh, Rei? Dolled up? If anything she'll go /opposite/ of dolled up and might even throw her binder on to wear some of the boyish clothing she brought," Mori snorted with amusement, "I don't think Kerica will, either, unless she and Gojyou are going to hook up as the odd ones out. Then she might dress pretty for him. She kinda likes him, and not just for empathy. I doubt they'll be more than friends, though. Just pretend so they don't feel so lonely."

"Casual flings never hurt or killed anyone yet," Hikari agreed and rolled her eyes. "She probably will." She sighed after a moment. "I am so happy that you and Sora found your soul-mates. I can breathe easy knowing that you girls are going to be well-taken care of, and you won't need me as much as you used to. It's...a sad feeling, but such a good one too."

"Don't get 'empty nest syndrome' just yet," Moriko giggled, "Sora and I won't be leaving you anytime soon. After this vacation we're all still going back to the estate. That...really should be topic of discussion when we're able to get them all over here at the same time. We...we can't be apart from them for long. I think you know what it's like to not have a home to come back to. We could offer them ours? What if they get hurt, too? They'll need somewhere to recover. To be safe."

Hikari nodded. "I was just thinking about that. My estate is pretty big and well protected, so they should feel at ease when they're there. And, we have a lot of rooms so no one will have to bunk up. I knew there was a reason why I spent a lot of money on a house in a middle of nowhere."

Moriko laughed and was very happy, "Alright. It's at least settled with you and I. I'll discuss it with the others while you're away. Anyway! I'll help you with your hair. Do you want any pretty flowers? Or just leave it at an up-do?"

"Just an updo. I'm saving that flower idea for a wedding if I ever get one." Hikari winked at Moriko. "I do request at least one braided strand somewhere in this style though. Everything else, have at it."

~*~

The night was so young, the sun hadn't even set as it was still only eight o'clock. Makoto wished he had a sexier car to drive Hikari around like the goddess she was, but as it was...the green jeep would have to do. At least he could put the hood down for the scorching heat that had yet to leave the air with the sunset. The drive over had cooled him off, but sitting here waiting made him start to sweat and he wiped his brow, heaving a sigh.

Only, the next thing to occur made his sweat more, but more out of nervousness. The man with maroon hair watched as his date strode out in black heels that lengthened her mile-long legs, which led all the way to a mid-thigh satin black dress. It was scrunched around her stomach, obscuring her abdominal muscles, but that was alright. He'd seen them when they swam together. What...made his mouth go dry and forehead bead with moisture, his neck feeling hot, was the cleavage. She might as well have been wearing her bikini top, it showed that much, and it went up to a halter-top style around her neck. The pendant gleamed in the dying sunlight, as did her hair, and her smokey black and green eyeshadow had a sexy swoop with her black sparkly eyeliner. Her eyes absolutely /popped/.

Makoto wasn't sure what gave him a boner the most, but he inconspicuously shifted his dick in his pants so it curved more comfortably up towards his stomach instead of painfully down into his boxers. Thankfully his steal grey short-sleeved shirt was open just enough to obscure it from view, and he tugged his white undershirt over it as well. He /hoped/ he looked normal as he smiled at her brightly, white teeth gleaming, "Are you ready for a fantastic date tonight? Though, I doubt it would be as /astounding/ as you."