Beta'd by Pure Red Crane

The gentle waves rolled over the soft sand as the sound of singing seagulls could be heard as they flew by. A teenage boy was alone on the unusually empty beach. He sat by the water's edge, wearing only a pale orange t-shirt with black swim trunks. The sun was low in the sky, just barely touching the horizon. The warm, crimson light spilled over the sky and sea, colouring the clouds in pastel, soft purple while creating a path of divine light over the surface of the clear water that seemed to divide the sea in half.

Sadly, the green haired boy wasn't able to admire the view. His head was buried between his knees, refusing to even spare a glance at the breath taking scenery. He was letting out sorrowful sobs that were overlapped by the sound of the waves and wind. Caught up in his own world, he never noticed a pair of feet making their way to him, nor of the tyrian purple eyes that were locked intensely on his small frame.

"You there." a voice suddenly spoke.

The greenet scrambled to turn around, not thinking that there was anyone nearby. He turned with a look of pure shock at a man, who was probably in his early twenty's with snow white hair pulled back in spikes and black goggles hanging around his neck. "This is a private beach. Outsiders aren't allowed to be here."

The greenet sat in the sand, completely stunned by the face of the person who should have been a stranger. "Tenma?" He spoke the name in confusion, but hurriedly shook whatever that startled him away when he realized that this person before him was different and unfamiliar. He stared at the stranger who just stared back. It took a while, but when the teen finally registered the words that had been spoken to him, he snapped back to reality with a sharp intake of breath.

"I'm sorry!" He gasped, scrambling up so fast that he didn't even realize that his legs had been paralyzed for being in the same position for so long. He fell back down, his rear hitting the hot sand painfully as tears continued rolling down his face.

"I-I-" He sniffed, struggling to stop the pathetic display and to get back on his feet. "I'm really sorry. I'll leave right away!"

But even as he said that, the boy just continued his futile attempt to stop his tears. The white haired man stared at the other for a short moment before he crouched down beside the teen. "Seems like you've been through a lot. Why don't you talk about it? You'll feel better if you let it out."

The kind offer made the greenet stared at the older male in surprise. He hesitated at first, but all the anguish he had been holding inside his heart got the better of him. It was painful and he didn't want to endure it anymore. He wanted to speak out his heart, but he didn't know who to turn to as there is no one around him he could trust with his secrets. So when he saw how much the man resembled the only person in the world he could trust, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Ignoring all the warnings of how you mustn't speak to strangers, he began to speak.

"I—" his voice cracked, "someone I've liked for years got together with another guy."

The white haired man sat next to the green haired teen, not caring if his jeans were stained in sand as he listened quietly.

"It was…really…stupid. I knew I didn't have a chance…I knew that he loved him…but I couldn't help it. I kept hoping that maybe someday…m-maybe someday that he would…would…" He choked as more tears rolled down his face. The boy clenched his knees as he cried harder.

The older man said nothing at first. He just watched the teen with an unreadable expression before turning his gaze to the crimson sun, it was half set into the sea. The path of light was no more. Instead, it stretched out across the entire surface of the ocean, becoming a sea of gold, glittering brilliantly to reflect the stars that were beginning to appear within the dimming sky.

"Is he your first love?" The greenet nodded. "Then perhaps he was never meant to be. First loves rarely work out after all. You're young. One day, you'll definitely meet someone that's truly right for you."

"You don't understand!" The teen cried in frustration. This person just didn't understand. Nobody did. "We've been friends for so long…it's not something I can just—!"

"Stop."

The boy's breath was caught in his throat as he tensed. He stared at the man who suddenly grabbed his ankle, lifting his right feet into the air. His mind rampaged as he wondered if he did something wrong. Perhaps he shouldn't have shouted like that? After all, this person was a complete stranger. He could be dangerous, even if he didn't look like it.

The boy was brought out from his inner tremor when his foot was gently lowered back onto the soft surface. He blinked his teary mint green eyes as he watched the man dig the sand that he almost put his foot over. Confusion turned into curiosity. The greenet temporarily forgot his troubles as he watched. After a few digs with the man's fingers, the teen stifled a gasp in surprise when three Manila clams came out of the sand.

"Wha-?" He tensed a bit when the man took his hand and placed the clams into his palm.

"Since this is a private beach, there are quite a bit of these here since there's nobody around to dig them up." The man chuckled at the boy's reaction. "Do you like clams?"

"Eh?" The greenet stared at the man before he gave a very shy nod, letting his eyes drop back down to the clams in his hand.

"Perfect." The man stood up, patting some sand off his jeans before he gave a light tap to the Bluetooth in his ear as the device lit up.

"Imusu, it's me." he said after the call connected. "…Something came up, so I'll come back later. Could you get me some equipment? I need two buckets…Yes, I'm at the beach." The man began walking a bit further until the teen could no longer hear the conversation.

As the greenet waited, he busied himself by examining the clams in his hand. He found himself fascinated by how the shell opened and closed, showing the clam's fear of being on the unfamiliar surface of the human's skin. It was a funny sight, one which made him wonder for the first time if clams have eyes. He glanced up just in time to see the man walk around the rocky wall that separated the beach from the city's view. The boy supposed that the call had been completed as the man didn't seem to be talking anymore. He watched with curious green eyes as the older male gathered an arm full of large rocks before coming back and arranges them in a circle over the sand.

"Put them in here." The man pointed to the space he set up. The green haired boy nodded. He placed the clams inside and watched as they were picked up by the waves, but were unable to return to the ocean thanks to the rocks that blocked their way. "Have you dug for clams before?"

The boy looked up at the man before giving a very small shake of his head. The man responded with a light smile as he gestured the greenette to get closer, to which the boy complied. The white haired man watched the waves. He waited until the water pulled back before he lightly raked the surrounding sand with his fingers.

"First, you soften the sand where the waves will wash over…" The man removed his hand just as the waves returned. The green haired boy knelt in the sand, wondering exactly what the man was trying to show him. When the wave pulled back, he was shocked to find seven more clams lying in the area the man was scratching at before. "The clams will float up since they're lighter than sand." The man smiled at the boy's awed expression. He picked up the two clams and tossed them into the makeshift cage.

"Another way to find them is to find small holes in the sand created by their siphons. Those are called Asari no me*. Clams often aggregate in one place, so if you just look for a place filled with those holes…" He trailed off, looking around before spotting the exact holes he was talking about.

"Like those ones over there." The man pointed to a spot with four tiny holes. "Why don't you give it a try?"

"Can…" The teen licked his dry lips in a nervous gesture. "Can I?" He broke out a smile when the man gave him a nod in response. He moved over to where the man was pointing and stared at the tiny holes. He had seen them in the past, but he had never given much of a thought about them. He lightly combed his fingers through the sand. After a while of digging, his lips were pulled back into a full smile when four clams came out of the sand.

"I got them!" he said happily, smiling at the man who was smiled back with an equally wide grin.

"Let's look for some more." the man said as the greenet nodded eagerly, completely engrossed in the clam hunt.

By the time they were done, the sky was dim; the sun had set seconds ago. The teen was kneeling by the rock cage, staring at the mountain of clams they found on the beach with the waves tickling his toes.

"Saru!" a voice called from the distance, bringing the teen's attention away from the clams as he saw a man with baby blue hair and electric blue eyes making his way over to them.

"Imusu." Saru greeted as the other man stopped before them and glanced to the green haired teen.

"Oh?" Imusu stared at the stranger with a cautious and calculating glance that made the teen shift back uncomfortably. "Who's this?"

"That's right. I never got your name." the white haired man said, turning to the greenet while ignoring the widening eyes of his friend.

"H-Hello, my name is Fei." Fei quickly introduced himself. He didn't know why, but this man seemed to be examining him, searching for something that made the teen feel pressured and uncomfortable.

"Saru…" Imusu muttered softly, glancing to the other man as Fei felt some sort of secret message being sent between the two. The blue haired male obviously didn't like him. He had a suspicious look on his face. Just as Fei began wondering if he should leave, Imusu set down the items he brought.

"Then…" He threw another look to Fei before turning back to the white haired man, "I'll see you later. Be careful." The greenet didn't know what the last part meant, but didn't get to dwell on it for long when Saryuu picked up the bucket.

"Come on." he said as he began moving the clams into the bucket, shaking some sand off as he did.

Fei looked at the other things Imusu brought which consist of a shichirin*, a bag of coal and a bunch of tools wrapped in a white plastic bag. The greenet then knew why the man asked if he like clams. He couldn't help but feel a bit happy at how thoughtful the other was as he began to help in transferring the clams into the bucket. Once they got the last ones, the white haired stranger stood up, picking up the heavy looking load with ease and taking the other bucket in his hand.

"There's a water hose just down the beach where we can wash these. We can rinse our hands while we're at it." He added the last part as an afterthought. Fei glanced down to how filthy his hands were, especially his fingers.

Laughing, the greenet nodded as they made their way down the beach. The clean-up took quite a while, especially when they tried to get the sand out of the clams. After they were done, they headed back, with the clams in the clean bucket dipped in clean salt water, and began setting up a stove so they could cook them.

Fei watched the fire flicker under the starry night. The clam fizzled on the wire mesh as he watched the clams popping open one by one with great interest. When the delicious aroma hit his nose, the teen realized for the first time how hungry he was. Now that he thought about it, he skipped lunch, meaning that he hadn't eaten anything in the last twelve hours.

At the thought of food, Fei's thoughts began to drift back to the reason why he didn't have any appetite all day. He frowned. But just as tears threatened to come to him again, a plastic bowl and a pair of disposable chopsticks were shoved into his hand.

He looked towards the white haired man in surprise, but the other simply busied himself with flipping the clams, making sure that they were thoroughly cooked before dropping them onto the greenet's plate.

"Thank you." Fei whispered as he stared down at the food, then to the man. He carefully removed the flesh from the shell. Being mindful of the heat, he took a small bite. His face flushed as the meat practically melted inside his mouth. "It's delicious!"

"I take it that you've never had fresh clams before?" The man chuckled as he ate his own share. Fei shook his head shyly in response.

"Only the frozen ones…fresh ones take too long to prepare and I never really had the time so…" He trailed off, blowing on the rest of the clam before putting it into his mouth. He still couldn't believe how good fresh clams were. He always thought that clams were just clams, so he assumed that the frozen ones he had eaten where the same as fresh ones. However, he was gravely wrong. The taste was just right, with the meat already salty from being in the sea water. It was filled with juice. The meat was soft, not undercooked, but not so overly cooked that it turned hard.

"There are plenty more. Eat as much as you want." The man chuckled as he placed a new batch onto the shichirin. That made Fei became more aware of the others as he looked at his plate shyly. He bit the inside of his cheek before he finally decided to ask the question that had been in his mind for so long.

"Why…are you being so nice to me?" he asked softly. "I mean, I appreciate it…but I'm just a stranger to you."

The man bit into his food. The calm look he had over his face didn't falter, not showing even the slightest bit of surprise at his question. "How can I leave anyone alone when the person is crying out so desperately for help?"

"Help?" Fei looked up in surprise. Why would the man think that?

"You don't have anyone in your life that you can talk to, right?" the man asked in a light and soft voice. "When I first heard your voice, it sounded more like someone crying out of loneliness than heartbreak. I've cried the same tears once, so I can tell."

If Fei was surprised before, he would be more shocked at the man's confession just now. He watched as his companion expertly plucked the meat out of the shell without the use of his hand. His eyes were staring into the sizzling clam as the light of the fire danced within the reflection of his eyes.

"I lost my parents in a fire when I was young. My relatives offered to take me in, but we were never close, so I rejected them and tried to live on my own. You have the same look in your eyes as I had at the time."

Fei reacted instantly by putting a hand to his eyes as he wondered what kind of look he was giving off. The man smiled lightly at the other's behaviour. The greenette unknowingly confirmed his statement through his action. "No matter how you try to shoulder everything on your own, it won't work out. You'll break down one of these days, just like you did this afternoon."

The teen parted his mouth, but soon closed it before any words could come out. He wanted to tell him about his families, friends, everything. He wanted so much to tell this person, who perfectly understood of the pain he went through. However, what stopped him was a small voice nagging at the back of his mind, reminding him this man was a complete stranger and that he shouldn't be so trusting. But another part of him argued how the other had been nothing but kind to him. Plus, there was the fact that he resembled that person so much that Fei couldn't help but want to trust him.

"It's alright." The man spoke when he noticed the younger boy's inner conflict. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

Fei slowly nodded, biting his lower lips nervously as he did. "I…I never got your name." He finally asked the question that had been bugging him since he met the stranger. He could tell that 'Saru' was a nickname. After all, there weren't any parents who would name their child a monkey.

Noticing that the man stiffened at his question, Fei glanced up to meet with a pair of startled eyes. He blinked, wondering why the other was indifferent by his other questions, but shocked by such simple one.

"It's Saryuu." Saryuu spoke his name slowly. His tone showed that he was hesitant about something. "Saryuu Evan."

"I'm Fei Lune." Fei introduced himself again, just to be polite. However, his smile faltered a little when those eyes stared at him in surprise again. The man was really strange now. At first, Fei had taken him to be the calm and collective type. He didn't seem like someone who could get startled so easily. Perhaps he was wrong about that.

Just as Fei was about to ask if the man was alright, the shock on Saryuu's face blossomed into the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. It was a warm, genuine smile filled with joy. The man laughed. Not a chuckle, but a real laugh that made the startled greenet look down in embarrassment, wondering what part of his name was so funny. Was it strange for his name to mean flying moon*?

When the man noticed his discomfort, he stopped laughing. At least, he tried to. "Sorry." He apologized once he calmed down a bit more. "I assure you that I wasn't insulting you. It's just something funny that I remembered."

Fei nodded a little before he found his plate filled once more with freshly cooked clams. "Hurry and eat them before they cool down." Saryuu smiled before he took his own proportion. Smiling back, the teen dug in to satisfy both his taste buds and his stomach. The rest of the meal was peaceful. They talked just about every random thing that came across their minds, but nothing involving or has anything to do with their individual lives. Fei found that the adult had a great sense of humour. The older male knew a lot of great jokes and could expertly play around with words. When he learned that Saryuu loved soccer as well, that became their main topic.

Fei didn't know how long they had spoken for, but by the time they finished, the fire in the shichirin had burnt out and they decided to call it a night. Fei helped Saryuu pack up. He cleaned out the garbage and the buckets while Saryuu took the shichirin and the bag of coal. They headed to the parking lot where Saryuu said his car was.

When Fei laid his eyes on the vehicle, he was suddenly aware of how rich Saryuu was. He may not know much about cars, but he recognized this car as the newest model created by AIR. Since AIR was the very first company in the world to successfully create hover vehicles that run entirely on bits of solar power and mainly…well, air, his technology teacher assigned homework on studying the company. Fei could never forget the image of the car that was being advertised on every corner of his screen as he searched up for the company's information for two whole nights.

Saryuu did mentioned that he lived on his own, and that made Fei think about his future. He wondered whether or not he could find a good career like the white haired man.

"There." The trunk automatically closed after they put everything inside. "Thanks for your help, Fei."

"I should be saying that." Fei smiled. "Thank you for everything, Evan-san. It was really fun. Thank you." He dipped his head to bow, but the man caught his chin between his thumb and forefinger. Fei made a slightly nervous sound as he felt the hand pushing his head back up so that he could meet with those soft purple eyes.

"I told you, just Saru is fine." Saryuu smiled. "I had fun as well. It's been a long time since I had such pleasant conversation." He walked around his car. The vehicle, sensing its owner's movement, reacted by opening the driver and passenger doors so they could come in. "Hop in. I'll give you a ride back."

"It's fine." Fei quickly rejected. "I can get back on my own."

"Are you living in one of the hotels nearby?" Saryuu asked curiously. The teen shook his head.

"I'm actually staying at a hotel on Tokashiki Island*."

"Tokashiki?" Saryuu questioned, resting his hands on the top of the driving wheel and his chin on his knuckles. He stared with amusement dancing in those playful eyes. "And how do you plan on going back? It's a quarter pass midnight. There are no buses or ferries around anymore and the underwater subway is closed. Also, you don't seem to have a cellphone."

At that, Fei looked down, surprised to find that what Saryuu said was true. The pocket of his shirt felt empty and light with the exception of a few bills he planned on using to get back. He thought back to before he had ran out here and smacked himself at remembering how he left his phone on the charger along with his room's cardkey.

"I…I…" The greenet tried to come up with something, but his mind was blank as the realization of how he was stranded here sank in.

"Just come in." Saryuu chuckled at the boy's stubbornness to accept help. "I can't let a minor wander around in the night. If anything happens to you, I would feel responsible."

"But it's far away..." Fei mumbled.

"It's only a few minute drive."

"But I'm dirty. I'll get your car—"

"I'm just as dirty as you are if you want to put it that way." Saryuu interjected with a playful grin. "It's fine. I wouldn't have offered you a ride otherwise." He leaned back against his seat and pulled the seatbelt over himself. "You don't need to be hesitant. It's alright to accept help, there's nothing shameful about it."

Fei really wanted to reject the offer. After all, this man was a stranger and the greenet wasn't sure if he could trust the other. However…the man just looked so much like Tenma that Fei couldn't find it in himself to refuse. With a small, hesitant nod, the teen carefully climbed in and sat on the black leather seat. The door closed itself after the teen as the car silently vibrated to life without the slightest bit of engine sound. Once the teen fastened the seatbelt around him, Saryuu pressed a small black button on the driving wheel as wind began blasting out from underneath the vehicle. Fei glanced out the window as he watched them slowly rise from the ground and ascend into the sky.

He looked out to the peaceful night that barely any light. It was quite and soothing. There were no tall buildings towering the sky and the stars were visible, shining brightly in the dark night. Fei already found himself beginning to miss all of these when remembered that he would move to Tokyo for his higher level of education in one year. He heard all about Tokyo's rowdiness compared to his home, making him slightly nervous, wondering if he could adjust to the change.

"Fei?" Fei jumped a little when he felt a hand tap his shoulder. He tore his face away from the window and glanced at Saryuu.

"I need your hotel's address to take you back."

"Oh," Fei flushed in embarrassment as he hastily fished out a piece of paper that contained the address of his hotel from his pocket, "It's right around Aharen Beach*." He handed it to Saryuu, who only took a quick look before returning it to the teen, he already memorize it. He pulled the selector lever from parking to driving mode as the car began to move forward.

"Activate sky road." Saryuu said as the screen at the center of the car lit up.

[Voice confirmed.] A woman's voice spoke from the speakers. [Please stand by while sky road is activating.]

Fei watched with slight interest as a road of light extended from the car, creating a path that stretched across the city and onto the horizon. On the map being displayed in the screen, a new road appeared, overlapping and connecting with the existing ones.

[Activation completed. Road now registered. The maximum speed of registered road is eighty kilometers per hour.]

Fei looked down over the island as they began to pick up speed and ride over the dim blue path. "Umm…thank you very much. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble at all. I hope you've enjoyed it here at Zamami."

"Yes, it was great." Fei smiled at the memory of the clam digging before he remembered why he was there. His gaze saddened as he thought of going back. The thought of facing them again made his heart itch.

"Something wrong, Fei?" Saryuu spared a quick glance to Fei in the silence before his eyes darted back to the road.

"It's nothing." Fei shook his head absentmindedly. The rest of the ride was in silent. Once they arrived at the hotel Fei was staying at, the greenet whole heartedly thanked Saryuu once more. He was about to get out of the car when the man called after him.

The greenet turned to see Saryuu holding a piece of paper with numbers neatly written with black ink. "That's my cell phone number." he said as Fei slowly accepted it. "If anything comes up, just call."

"Okay…thank you, Saru-san- I-I mean…Saru." He corrected himself shyly, which brought a wide smile to the man's lips. With a light wave, the door closed before the car took off into the sky once more.

He took one last look as the car disappeared in the distance. Fei stepped into the bright hotel lobby and glanced down at the paper in his hand. He smiled to himself, unable to help but feel a little happy.

Once he stepped out of the elevator, Fei walked down the hall and stopped before room number 1204. He raised his hand, a little hesitant, but found courage when Saryuu's face flashed across his mind. He knocked a few times, but got nothing in response.

The greenet wondered if they went to bed. He panicked a little at the thought of having no way to return to his hotel room next door. Knocking again, harder this time, Fei waited. To his relief, he heard noises on the other side. There was the sound of stumbling and shuffling. Then, a little bit later, the door opened and Fei was greeted with a face that was almost identical to Saryuu's before he was tackled to the ground.

"Fei! We were so worried! Where did you go? We thought something happened to you when you didn't pick up any of our calls!" the brunet cried. Fei struggled to speak, but found that he couldn't get any air to his lungs.

"Tenma, he won't be able to answer with you squeeze him like that." a voice spoke, causing Tenma to hurriedly release the greenet who instantly took a deep breath, only to freeze up.

Mint green eyes were wide in shock as they stared at Tenma, whose clothes seemed a little messy, as if he put it on in a rush. And his smell…just now. Fei was sure that he smelled a musky scent off his best friend and secret love interest.

"Fei?" Tenma looked at his friend in concern.

"Eh?" Fei snapped out of his thoughts and instantly put on the best smile he could. "Oh, sorry, Tenma, Tsurugi. I forgot my phone in my room along with my cardkey, so I couldn't take any calls." the green haired teen apologized before he climbed up and dusted himself.

"Then where were you all day? Why did you come back so late?" Tenma asked worriedly.

"I was at Zamami." Fei replied. He knew he couldn't lie to them. He was never good at lying and he was sure that Tenma's boyfriend, Tsurugi, would instantly see through him with those sharp eyes.

"Zamami?" Tenma asked, tilting his head to the side a bit as his collar slid down a little. Fei bit down the inside his cheek and his hands rolled into fists behind his back when he saw the dark crimson hickey sporting on the newly exposed skin. "Why were you at Zamami, Fei?"

The two's messy clothes, the hickey and…and thatsmell. It didn't take a genius to piece together what happened and Fei felt like bursting out into tears.

"I-I thought I'd go around and e-explore." Fei replied, trying to keep his tone as even and cheerful as possible, but it was breaking. He was breaking. He needed to get out of there, fast. "I met this person and we were digging up c-clams, so I lost track of time!"

"Clams? I didn't know we could dig up clams here!" Tenma said in excitement while Tsurugi narrowed his eyes over Fei with hints of concern.

"Fei, are you alright?" the indigo haired teen asked.

"Y-Yeah, sorry, I'm just a bit cold…" It wasn't a lie. He truly did feel cold. It felt like there was a layer of ice slowly wrapping around his heart, squeezing it tightly to prevent it from beating. His lungs felt as if they were filled with cold air, making it extremely hard to breathe. The ice felt so cold that it was burning painfully against his fragile organs.

"I-I think I'll go back to take a bath, it's late after all. I don't want to disturb you guys." he said in a hurry. He needed to get out. He needed to get away from them. "B-But I left my cardkey in the room so I can't get back…"

"I understand. I'll go get the spare key." Tsurugi said without pause as he disappeared into the room.

"Good thing we decided to keep each other's spare keys in case this happens." Fei felt his lips tremble when Tenma laughed. He laughed along, hoping to cover up the whimpers threatening to break out of his voice. He dipped his head a bit lower so that his bangs could hide his watery eyes. He could hear Tenma talk, but he couldn't tell what the other was saying at all. All he could hear was the sound of something shattering inside of him.

When Tsurugi returned with the card, Fei gave them a quick thank you, never once lifting his head as he hurried into his room. He threw his sand stained clothes onto the ground and turned on the shower. Hot water seeped into his hair and ran down his body.

Unable to hold it back anymore, he cried. His voice echoed loudly against the bathroom walls as he curled up in the corner of the tub. Tenma's cheerful face flashed into his mind before it morphed slightly. That soft brown hair lost its pigment, becoming pure white while those dove like eyes grew sharp and narrow, turning into a violet shade.

"Saru…?" Fei whispered, his eyes snapping open to reveal his dilated irises. He stared at his feet to see a tiny bit of sand trapped inside his toenails.

The memories of today flashed back into his mind. The beach, the clam digging…and Saryuu.

"When I first heard your voice, it sounded more like someone crying out of loneliness than heartbreak." The man's voice echoed in his mind. Loneliness? How was this loneliness? He grew up watching the person he loved slowly slip away into the arms of another and now…now…

Fei choked over his saliva as he turned around so he was lying on his side.

He knew…He knew what two people do in a relationship, but knowing and confirming something were two separate things. It hurts. It hurt to know that what he wanted was something completely out of his reach.

"What do you mean?"a small voice…a young and familiar voice whispered softly as a curtain of darkness pulled over his eyes."W-What do you mean…daddy…won't come home?"

"Such a pity…Left alone at such a young age."

"Doesn't the kid have a mother…?"

Stop…

"Looks like…"

Stop it…

"So he'll be going to the orphanage?"

"No. Fortunately, the boy seems to have relatives on his mother's side."

"Please…just stop…" Fei covered his ears, but it did nothing to stop the voice speaking inside his head.

"Nice to meet you, Fei! My name is Tenma! Do you like soccer?"

"Tenma…"

"Don't tell anyone though, Fei…but…about Tsurugi…umm…I-I think I will tell him! About how I feel, I mean…"

"Tenma…"

"No matter how you try to shoulder everything on your own, it won't work out. You'll break down one of these days, just like you did at the beach."

"Sa…ru…"

oOo

The soft pitter patter sound of rain filled the air as people hurried about, trying to get away from the sudden shower.

"This is the worst!" The girl with orchid purple hair sighed as her jungle green eyes stared at the gray clouds that filled the sky that was clear a few hours ago. "We finally came to Tokashiki Island and this happens."

"Looks we won't be diving today." the boy with curly, yellow-ish gray locks said as he shifted the umbrella a little to the left so that his girlfriend was entirely shielded from the rain.

"Giris! You're getting wet." The girl gapped at the sight of her boyfriend's shoulder soaking up with rainwater.

"It's fine as long as you're alright, Meia." the man replied with a light smile.

"Oh~ Giris…"

Pink hearts began to flutter out of the umbrella the two lovebirds shared. Behind them, a man in his early twenties with cornflower blue hair and matching blue eyes stared at the lovebirds dully.

"It's just rain. I don't see what the big deal is." he grumbled, unable to understand the two while his companion with lavender and white hair pulled into a ponytail shrugged.

"Don't bother, Yokka. We'll never understand." he said as he absentmindedly twirled his umbrella. He looked around, taking note of how the place was mostly abandoned thanks to the heavy shower.

"…Hey, what's that?" The white haired male with golden eyes paused in his step, causing the group to stop as well.

"What's what, Yuuchi?" Meia asked before following her companion's gaze to see a person sitting alone on the bench with nothing to protect him from the cold droplets of water.

"What's with him?" The ponytailed man tried to catch a glimpse of the boy's face, but his eyes were completely hidden behind the wet bangs clutching to his skin. "He's going to catch a cold like that."

"Doesn't he seem really sad?" Meia asked, and she was right. All of them could feel a sad vibe emitting from the teen as he sat there, unmoving. They exchanged silent looks before Yokka decided to approach the greenet.

"You know, you're going to get sick if you sit here like this." he said, but the boy didn't respond. He just continued to sit there, seeming to not have acknowledged the other standing right in front of him.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Yokka crouched down a little, but he was still unable to see the boy's eyes. Seeing that the teen still didn't react, everyone felt that something was wrong. Yuuchi walked up and tapped the greenette's shoulder.

"Oi—" Yuuchi's voice trailed off when the boy swayed from the light force of the touch and fell onto his side. His hair scattered over the bench, revealing his eyes. They were tightly closed and his cheeks were flaring up.

"H-Hey! Are you alright?" Yokka gapped. The sight of the collapsed boy and the panicking squawks of the blue haired man brought the rest of the group rushing to them.

Meia quickly leaned down and placed her hand over the boy's forehead, surprised to find how hot it was. "He's burning up!" She gasped in horror as Giris noticed the rectangular budge in the boy's right pocket. Recognizing it to be the outline of a cellphone, he reached down and pulled it out. He opened the kid's phone, hoping to get in contact with his family members. The ponytailed man noticed a piece of paper poking out from the boy's pocket.

"What is this?" Giris stared at the screen of the boy's phone. The boy only had one contact in his phone, something that should be near impossible for teenagers his age. And the name of the contact didn't state home or family, but just Tenma.

"Tenma…where have I heard this name before?" Giris wondered out loud. Noticing her boyfriend's confused look, Meia walked over.

"What's wrong, Giris?"

"This name—" Giris was about to show his girlfriend the strangely familiar name when they were interrupted by a sudden shout.

"Hey, guys!"

"What is it, Deck?" Yuuchi glanced over while holding the teen, using his umbrella to protect the boy's feverish skin from getting extra wet. Deck held out the piece of paper he pulled out of the teen's pocket. Although it was wet from soaking up the water, every one of them could clearly see the slightly deformed numbers written on the paper.

"Isn't that Saru's phone number?" Meia gasped, recognizing the phone number as well as the fine hand writing that only Saryuu was capable of.

"U-Ugh…!" The teen suddenly broke out a pained wince as he leaned closer against Yuuchi in attempt to seek for warmth.

"Let's take him back with us." Giris decided as he closed the boy's phone and shoved it into his pocket. They didn't have any time to waste. The boy's fingers were too cold and he was panting so hard that he seemed to be near hyperventilating. "He needs to be taken out of the rain and to somewhere warm right away."

None of the others objected as they pulled the greenet onto Yuuchi's back. With Yokka and Deck using their umbrellas to cover the boy and Yuuchi, they rushed towards their cars that were parked on the side of the street.

oOo

"What?" Saryuu shot up from the leather couch as he pushed the Bluetooth closer to his ear. "A green haired boy, you say?"

[Yes.]Meia's voice came through the speaker. [We found him sitting in the middle of the rain. He's burning with a fever and has your phone number, so we thought that maybe he was an acquaintance of yours.]

"He is." Saryuu said swiftly as he slid the balcony door open. "Bring him to my room right away." With that, he disconnected the call. The man stood under the rain. He stared into the horizon as he waited, not caring about whether or not he was getting soaked.

Ten minutes later, he saw a familiar silver car flying his way. The car spun, making a sharp turn and coming to a stop just a few centimeters away from hitting the rail and hovered steadily. When the door opened, Saryuu's eyes immediately fell on the green haired teen lying limply in Deck's arms.

"Fei." The name escaped his lips without him meaning to say it out loud.

"Here, Saru." Saryuu extended his arms as Deck carefully passed the boy down to him. Once Fei was secured in his arms, the man rushed back in, grabbing a large towel as he proceeded to dry the boy.

"He's freezing." Saryuu whispered when he touched the pale skin. Hearing footsteps behind him, the white haired man turned to see his friends entering his room through the balcony. "Meia, Giris, help me by some aspirins!" he called over the loud pattering of the rain, gaining a nod from Meia as Giris drove away.

"Anything we can do to help?" Yuuchi asked as Saryuu held the boy close to provide him some warmth.

"We need to raise his temperature first. Prepare a bath, make sure the water isn't too hot or his body will go into shock." The golden eyed man obeyed and rushed to the bathroom without a word. "Deck, take out my clothes and some dry towels. Also get me a hairdryer from the girls. Guumi and Rokko should be in their rooms. Yokka, help me take off his clothes."

"Eh? Ah, yes!" Yokka hurried to Saryuu, who had laid the boy down onto the bed and proceeded to take off the cold, wet clothes.

It took an hour to get the boy warmed up. After he was finally dried and put into bed, Yokka, Yuuchi and Deck left the room, leaving the mysterious boy they knew nothing off with the white haired man.

Saryuu sat by Fei's side. He placed the bottle of aspirins that Meia and Giris bought beside the glass of water on the nightstand. He then looked down to his hand. Royal purple eyes fell onto the piece of paper he had given to Fei.

"You should have just called me." He spoke softly as he reached down and gently ran his fingers through the silky locks. "Even after I told you it's alright to ask for help…"

A soft, buzzing sound was heard, drawing Saryuu's eyes over to the table where Fei's phone was. Since it was ringing so much, he had to put it on silence, but no matter how much he ignored it, the calls kept coming.

"As I thought, he's the one who brought you here. Isn't he, Fei?" He looked back down to the unconscious boy and smiled sadly when he got no response. He withdrew his hand from Fei and left his side. He walked over to the table and glanced down at the screen, which was glaring back at him.

Tenma. That was the name on the caller ID.

He watched as the call ended before it started up again. With a sigh, Saryuu picked up Fei's phone and decided to answer it.

[Fei—]

"Fei is resting." Saryuu interrupted the voice on the other side. "I'll be taking care of him for the rest of the week."

[Eh? That voice…Saru?!] Saryuu's lips pressed together in a firm line. When he didn't speak, Tenma spoke up again. [Saru! It's been a long time. What do you mean Fei's with you? Are you here in Tokashiki Island as well?]

"Just enjoy your time with your lover, Tenma." Saryuu said as his eyes fell to Fei's sleeping form. "As I said, I will be taking care of Fei. He will stay with me for the rest of his time here, so there is no need to worry about him. I'll get someone to go over to your place tonight to pick up Fei's luggage and return the cardkey of his room."

[H-How did you know that I'm…?]Tenma spluttered while Saryuu fought the urge to sigh at how transparent the other was. That personality of the one who shared his face was what he disliked the most about the brunet. [No, that's not what I meant to say!]He quickly corrected himself, but by then, Saryuu had already pulled the phone away from his ear.

Really…the boy's cluelessness was a pain.

[Saru, about Fei—!] Saryuu hung up with the press of a button. He then proceeded to turn off the power so that Tenma wouldn't be able to call anymore.

"Uagh…ngh…" Saryuu glanced back to see Fei shifting around in the bed. The wet towel over his head slipped off when the boy curled up with a shiver running through his body.

Saryuu walked back to the boy and gently touched his head to find that it was still dangerously hot. He opened the new bottle of aspirins, taking a tablet into his hand before he pulled Fei into his arms and let the boy rest his head on his shoulder.

"Fei." he called softly as he rubbed a finger over the side of the teen's face. "Fei, I need you to wake up."

There was a low groan and then green eyes tiredly parted open.

"Take this." He pushed the tablet against the pale and dry lips. "You'll feel better." he whispered softly against the other's ear, and smiled when Fei meekly obeyed. He then grabbed the glass of water and carefully poured the warm fluid down the boy's parched throat.

"Ten…ma?" the greenet whispered weakly, looking up to the other with half-lid eyes. The man just smiled, though it was a slightly pained one for being mistaken for the brunet he had just spoken to. He hushed the boy with a finger to those soft lips. With great care, he lowered the teen back to the bed and pulled the blanket over his small frame. Fei opened his mouth, but no words could come out as his eyelids slid over his eyes once more, pulling him back into the realm of dreams.

"Rest as long as you want, Fei." Saryuu said softly as he threaded his hand through the spring green hair. "No one will disturb you here."

oOo

The first thing Fei woke up to was a massive headache. He winced in the darkness. When he tried to place a hand to his head, which was pounding in pain, he discovered a strange numbness that restricted his body's movement. He blinked his eyes open to find himself staring at the steadily moving wallpapers with sakura petals fluttering across the creamy white background.

The teen screwed his eyes shut in the hopes to somehow cease the pain. He snuggled deeper into the soft pillow and sighed at the comfortable warmth embracing him. Just as he was about to fall back to sleep, the greenet heard strange clattering sounds. He tiredly opened his eyes again. He waited for a while, but when the noise didn't stop, the boy found himself beginning to grow frustrated. The sound was loud. He didn't know if it was a side effect from the pain in his head, but he could have sworn it there echoing throughout the room. As his mind began to clear, one thing hit him hard.

The animating wallpapers.

The greenet didn't remember that in his hotel room. In fact, there wasn't even any wallpaper. It was just a plain, peach coloured wall that wore out from the years of use. Gathering all of his strength, Fei weakly turned towards the clattering sounds and froze at the unexpected sight.

There was someone in the room with him, and not just anyone. It was Saryuu Evan, the man he met on the beach of Zamami. He was sitting on the other bed beside his. The man's fingers were dancing rapidly over the keyboard of the notebook resting on his lap, causing the source of the noise. He wore a pair of rectangular glasses with thin orange and black frames as he looked at the glowing screen with a great amount of concentration. The entire room was dark with the exception of the spot light by the man's working area.

"Ah!" Fei jumped up with a startled scream, only to be hit by a wave of dizziness as his head fell back down into the soft pillow.

"You shouldn't move too much." the smooth voice spoke, causing Fei to look back up as Saryuu closed his laptop and set it aside along with his glasses. He came over, sitting down on the edge of the bed that the boy was resting on and casually rested a hand to the boy's forehead. Fei just stared, too stunned by the man's appearance to even react to what was going on.

"You're still quite warm…Are you hungry? You've been out for an entire day, so you must be famished."

"I-I…" Fei opened and closed his mouth, unable to form any words as he just continued to stare at Saryuu blankly. At the teen's confusion, Saryuu sighed.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" he asked as Fei dumbly shook his head. "To start off, you're at my hotel room in Zamami Island."

"Z-Zamami?" Fei gasped in shock. He didn't remember taking any transportation to Zamami after their first encounter. "Why…How…?" He dug in his mind for answer, but all the thinking and confusion only made his headache worse.

"My friends found you in the rain when they went to Tokashiki Island." Saryuu said slowly so Fei could process the words more easily in his condition. "They found the number I gave you in your pocket, so they brought you to me."

"Rain…?" Fei whispered as parts of his memory came back to him. That's right…He exhausted himself from crying in the shower and fell asleep in the tub. He had woken to the water still pounding on his body. With the Tenma problem still weighing heavily on his mind, he went out for a stroll outside to clear his head. Then…after that, everything became pitch black.

"Don't move." Saryuu said as he pulled out a tiny device from the drawer.

Fei did as he was told as Saryuu pushed the small, handheld item into his ear. With a soft beep,the man pulled it away and looked down at the screen.

"37.9 degrees. That's good, it went down a bit." The man set the device back down and walked over to the table. The greenet couldn't see much from the angle he was lying at, but he did spot Saryuu pick up plates of food as he put them in the microwave and began reheating one after another.

As he does that, Fei found his gaze wandering over the room again. It was a well-furnished room compared to the ones he, Tenma and Tsurugi were staying in. Instead of chairs and a wooden table without much design, this room had leather couches and a table made of marble. The room even had the latest holographic television set rather than the old model from decades ago.

As Fei quietly admired the room, his eyes eventually drifted out the window and realized how dark it was outside. He briefly wondered how long he had been out for. Before he could ponder over his situation, Saryuu returned to his side.

"Can you stand?" he asked in a caring tone that made Fei wonder when the last time someone treated him so kindly was. The boy responded with a very weak nod. He sat up, only to feel his head spin again. This time though, a pair of arms stretched into his view, wrapping around his body before he could collapse on the bed again.

Seeing that the boy was in no condition to get up, Saryuu slipped an arm under the boy's weak knees and hoisted him up. Fei didn't say anything. He couldn't in his condition and just allowed himself to be carried to the table and placed in the comfortable chair.

"I don't know what you like to eat, but seeing as you're from Okinawa, I thought these would be appropriate."

Fei blinked away some of the white mist blurring his vision. When he glanced down at the table, his eyes widened in shock. True to the man's words, the foods were all Okinawa's famed cuisine. However…the amount was the problem. Fei couldn't help but wonder if this kind of proportion was for one person or five. Better yet, he didn't even know how all this could fit on the table.

No wonder he kept hearing multiple ringing sounds from the microwave during the time he was drifting off.

"T-This is all…f-for me?" he asked unsurely, wondering if there was some sort of misunderstanding on his part.

"Of course." Saryuu sat down on the other end of the table and rested his chin on his laced hands. "Are they not to your liking?"

"N-No! I like them…" Fei looked around the table, not knowing where to start until he saw three bowls that were the nearest to him unlike the others. A small bowl of zosui*, a plain bowl of Okayu* and a bowl of asa jiru*. They were three dishes that could be easily consumed in his condition, so Fei assumed that Saryuu wanted him to eat these first. Glancing over the table hesitantly again, the greenet took in the different foods once more.

Then from left to right of the table, there were taco rice*, goya chanpuru*, rafute*, umibudo*, mozuku soup*, nakami irichi*, hirayachi*, and the list just dragged on and on. Fei was beginning to feel really awkward and too ashamed to eat. He couldn't help but feel like he was cheating the man. First the other cooked him clams, then drove him back to his hotel and now he was somehow under the man's care with a table full of mouth-watering food.

Fei parted his lips, wanting to ask why the other was doing so much for him, but his stomach chose this moment to protest with a loud growl. The boy let out an undignified squeak as he hurriedly avoided eye contact by dipping his head in shame. Hopefully the older man didn't hear…

"If you don't hurry and eat, the food will get cold." Saryuu chuckled, confirming that he had heard the embarrassing sound quite well. With a small nod, Fei picked up the spoon and took a bite of the zosui. There was a pregnant silence in the air.

After two more bites, Fei looked up to Saryuu and shrunk back a little when he noticed that the man was still watching him intensely. "Aren't you going to eat as well?"

"I've already eaten." Saryuu replied, but when he noticed the boy's discomfort, he quickly changed his mind. "On second thought," He smiled, "I think I will."

The older man disappeared into the kitchen, returning with an empty bowl and a pair of chopsticks. With that, the two began to eat. Although the silence was still there, Fei felt more comfortable than before. After he was full, he set down his chopsticks and took a small sip of the tea Saryuu had served him.

"Full?" Saryuu asked, gaining a quick nod from the greenet. The man grinned, liking how some of the rosy colour had returned to the younger boy's face after eating the meal. "I'm relieved to see you like it. Choosing Okinawa cuisine was right after all." He chuckled as he stood up and began cleaning the dishes.

'Okinawa…cuisine?' Fei's eyes widened when he remembered Saryuu's previous statement, he almost forgot about it.

"How—?!" The greenet hastily toned down his volume when he realized he had he shouted that word out.

Saryuu paused. He met the boy's gaze as he patiently waited for his question.

"How did you know?" Fei asked cautiously. "That I'm from Okinawa…that is."

The white haired man didn't respond right away. He seemed to be pondering something for a moment before he resumed his task. "Probably because a cousin of mine happens to be a close friend of yours."

"Cousin?" Fei gapped at the answer. His eyes rounded in realization. "You're Tenma's cousin?"

"I'm surprised you weren't able to figure it out." Saryuu threw the plastic plates into the garbage can. "We look alike due to the fact that our mothers were twins and both their genes run rather strong in our blood. People who've seen Tenma often mistake us for brothers. We'd probably be mistaken as twins if not for our age difference."

"I…I had no idea…" the boy mumbled quietly, "Tenma never talked much about his family."

"Even if he did, he wouldn't have mentioned me." Saryuu replied, though it was more to himself than to the greenet.

Fei watched Saryuu disappear into the kitchen. He wondered what those words meant. Could it be that he and Tenma don't get along? But then again, he couldn't imagine that was happening. Saryuu seemed to be a kind person and Fei knew Tenma like the back of his hand. He couldn't even imagine the brunet not getting along with anyone. The green haired teen was curious, but he knew better than to ask. Family topics were always very sensitive and delicate.

Fei let out a long breath. Considering how he disappeared, he was sure that Tenma would be frantic again. He wondered if he should call. After all, it was night time and he wasn't back yet, but he honestly didn't want to. He didn't know how he would react when he heard the other's voice and that was what he was afraid of.

"Thinking of Tenma?" Fei felt his heart nearly leap out of his throat when the voice was whispered directly into his ear, hot breath crawled down his neck in an eerie way that made all his hair stand on their roots.

Fei wondered when Saryuu snuck up on him. He didn't even hear a sound. He tried to look back, but found himself unable to move as two strong hands trapped his shoulders in an iron grip.

"S-Saru?"

"He invited you to this island, didn't he?" Saryuu continued as Fei tensed. "He convinced you to come here with his boyfriend because he is a good friend. He didn't want to leave you out, so he made you come, completely ignorant to your feelings towards him. You might have been able to avoid many things under normal circumstances. But now, living together, he forced you to watch as he and his lover interact. Cruel, isn't he?"

"No…he's not…" Fei tried to deny it, but he couldn't find any strength to do it as he remembered how he was dragged here. The spinning wheel from the festival, the tickets for a one week vacation at Tokashiki Island which Tenma had won…

"Please, Fei. It'd be great if all of us could go together! We'll have lots of fun!"

"But isn't that the truth?" Saryuu asked. "I know, Tenma. Once he decides something, he'll set out to do it. He'll think that he's doing everyone a favour, but in truth, he never considered other people's feeling. His naivety causes him to believe that people always share his point of view."

Fei gasped softly when a large warm hand suddenly overlapped his own, which was resting tensely on his lap. The Saryuu's other arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him back against the chair and into a light embrace.

"I won't make that mistake."

Fei felt himself freeze in shock. What…What was this man trying to say? What was he…?

Green eyes drifted down when the hand lightly squeezed his hand.

"I'm possessive, Fei. Once I taken a liking to someone, I won't let that person go. I won't lay eyes on another man or woman. I won't ever leave you alone to endure the pain by yourself."

"B-But…why…?" We're just strangers— those words hung on the teen's tongue.

"I'm not asking for any answers, I just want you to give me a chance to prove myself. I have already told Tenma that you will be spending the rest of your time with me. We will be on this island until our departure at 6:30 pm at the end of the week."

End of the week…that was only three days away.

"I will formally ask you on the final day, before we leave this place and return to our separate lives." The larger hand slid off his smaller one, leaving a strange, tingling sensation before they cupped his chin gently. Numbed, Fei just allowed his head to be guided as he met with those violet eyes that were filled with warmth and other emotions he couldn't identify. "If by then I can earn even the smallest place inside your heart, then please give me a chance to be a part of your world."

Stunned by Saryuu's words, Fei didn't know what to do or how to react. He wasn't even sure if he understood what the man had said just now. The arms and hands left him along with the warmth, but even so, Fei couldn't move.

Saryuu made his way to the door as he set his slippers aside and slipped on his sandals. He turned back to the teen, who had yet to move on his own. The greenet was focused on staring at his hand like it was his entire world.

"For tonight, I will stay with my friends in room 2205. It's on the opposite side of the hallway, so just knock if you need anything. There is a new toothbrush and cup on the bathroom counter and all the towels have been changed, so use whichever ones you like. There are some aspirins on the nightstand, be sure to take them before you go to sleep." With that, Saryuu left, leaving Fei all alone in the unfamiliar room to grasp the situation he was currently in.

It was only after ten full minutes that Fei finally came to. His face burned as he realized that the man had practically declared his love to him. It wasn't just any normal confession, but one with such aggressiveness and confidence that made the greenet shiver. Although in an unpleasant or pleasant way, he didn't know. All he knew was that Tenma has become the least of his problems now.

He fidgeted in his seat until his eyes landed on the clock, discovering that it was way past midnight, two in the morning to be precise. With his head still in pain, Fei decided to go back to bed. He took an aspirin like Saryuu instructed and turned off the light, but he couldn't sleep.

His eyes were wide open. Saryuu's words kept echoing in the back of his mind. As the sound of the clock ticked away, the teen began to feel more and more nervous about the upcoming days. He tried to convince himself that the man was only joking and that he wasn't serious, but he couldn't. The white haired man was dead serious and he knew it well. The other made sure not to leave that kind of doubt through his powerful speech.

Eventually, Fei found himself drifting off, his body finally giving in to the exhaustion of his sickness. As his mind shut down, the last thing he could think of was Saryuu's face and the warmth that still strangely lingered over his hand. For the first in a long time, Fei had a pleasant, dreamless sleep.

The teen woke up to the sunlight beaming through the cream coloured curtain and that familiar clicking noise again, but insteand of irritating him, it was set at a calming rhythm within the peaceful quietness. The boy slowly turned around, glancing at the empty bed beside him before he pushed himself up with his elbows. His eyes searched for the noise and found Saryuu sitting on the couch in a familiar posture as he typed. His glasses were back on along with his sharp gaze locked to the screen. When the bed creaked under Fei's movement, those hands stopped. Imperial purple eyes looked up and the second they lay on the greenet, they warmed up.

"Morning." Saryuu greeted, smiling wider when the greenet slurred some words that the man was unable to understand. The older male simply assumed that it was a greeting of sorts. He took the lukewarm cup of hot chocolate sitting on the table and made way to the teen that could obviously use more sleep. When he handed the cup over, his smile widened a bit more when this time, he could make out a soft thank you.

"How are you feeling?" the man asked, sitting down on the edge of his own bed.

Fei, with eyes still hazed from sleep, only responded with a faint nod. He took a light sip of the hot chocolate he was given and felt his muscles relax as the warm fluid slid down his throat and into his stomach. As he drank, the fog blocking his mind began to clear away. The first thing that came to his mind was Saryuu's words from yesterday, which came to him like a slap in the face.

He spat out the contents inside his mouth back to the cup and choked painfully as some of the hot chocolate entered his lungs. "S-Saru!" he coughed, finally registering the other's presence. Saryuu chuckled in amusement at the greenet's slow reaction.

"Morning." Saryuu repeated, which caused the boy to flush even darker in embarrassment. He handed some tissues to the boy, who shyly accepted and began cleaning the mess he made.

"So how are you feeling, Fei?" Saryuu reached into the drawer, pulling out the digital thermometer again. "Does your head still hurt?"

Fei paused for a moment to feel his body's condition before he slowly shook his head in a negative response. He allowed Saryuu to stick the device into his ear again and with another beep, the man pulled out of his personal space.

"You still have a light fever, but nothing serious." Saryuu smiled. "I take it that you listened to my advice and took the pill."

Fei nodded, still not sure if he could trust his own voice right now as his mind was unable to think of anything but Saryuu's confession. He didn't know how Saryuu could act so casual, as if last night didn't happen at all.

"I fully intend to carry out my words from last night." Fei looked up to Saryuu in surprise. He then realized that he must have looked fairly worried. "There's no need to worry about it. I won't and don't plan on doing anything you don't like."

"That's not it…" Fei trailed off as he held the hot chocolate close, hoping to get some warmth into his body.

When Saryuu noticed the greenet's discomfort, he decided to drop the topic and hopped to his feet. "Staying cooped up in here won't make you better. Want to take a walk in the garden? My friends have been quite worried about you. They're playing soccer there as we speak."

"Soccer?" Fei perked up like an adorable rabbit being shown a piece of carrot. Right away, Saryuu was mesmerized in that joyful look that he couldn't tear his eyes away from.

"Come, I'll take you to meet them." Saryuu stretched out his hand. He expected the greenet to hesitate due to the fact that they still weren't close, that and the fact that he declared his love for the boy. But to his pleasant surprise, Fei didn't. The teen took his hand without giving it a second thought. His eyes shone brilliantly with innocence that made Saryuu feel glad that they were heading in the right direction. It seemed that using the boy's favourite sport to warm him up was the right move.

At first, the greenet had a little trouble walking due to occasional dizzy attacks, but he recovered quickly this time and didn't seem to be in as much pain. Fei followed Saryuu out of the room and down the finely decorated hallway covered with a layer of deep scarlet carpet. When the elevator doors parted, he stepped in, expecting them to go to ground floor when the older man did the complete opposite. He pushed the button for the top floor and the elevator began moving upward.

"I thought we were going to the garden?" Fei asked in confusion as he turned to Saryuu, who only smiled.

"We are." he replied simply.

Fei shifted on his feet restlessly. He wanted to ask why they were ascending instead of descending, but decided to keep that question inside. He waited eagerly, wondering what was at the top floor. When the elevator stopped, Saryuu lead the boy out into the hallway that looked no different than the hall they were previously in.

The greenet quietly followed as they reached the end, which was where a security stood. With a light bow from the much older man and an exchange of gaze, he opened the door to reveal staircases leading to an even higher level that the elevator couldn't reach.

Fei didn't know exactly what to expect when he followed Saryuu out the door and into the sunlight. Whatever he was expecting, it was certainly not being suddenly jerked into the man's arm as something shot by his head and slammed into the wall so hard that his eardrum nearly burst.

His first instinct was to clench onto Saryuu and bury his face into the older male's chest. It was only as the ringing sound in his ear began to fade did he hesitantly turn to see a soccer ball slowly rolling by his feet.

"Yokka, watch your aim!" Fei flushed when he felt Saryuu's chest vibrate under his hand. "You could have blown off his face."

Realizing how close they were, Fei hastily used pushed himself off the man's chest and out of his arms. He stumbled a little and hurriedly looked away, his eyes drifting off and instantly catching sight of a blue haired man running over.

"Sorry, Saru!" the new stranger apologized with a sheepish smile. He then turned to the greenet and gave him his sincere apology too, but Fei's eyes were no longer on him. He was staring pass the stranger and towards the beautiful garden growing right on the roof of the hotel.

He was surrounded by tropical flowers that were not native to Japan. These beautiful, unfamiliar plants were only able to grow thanks to the barrier that covered the roof. This place was like a giant greenhouse. There were all sorts of exotic trees stretching up towards the bright blue sky, the large leaves fanning out to provide shade. There were even birds chirping happily under the warm sunlight. At the center, next to the large fountain, was a soccer court, drawn out over the soft lawn with two goals standing opposite of one another. There were people there, all of them looking to be around Saryuu's age and all of them strangely staring in their direction.

"It's you!" Fei snapped out of his thoughts to see a man with his hair tied to a ponytail walking up to him. "Glad to see you're finally awake! Are you feeling better now?"

Fei blinked at the stranger before he slowly nodded. Seeing the confused look over the boy, the man let out a light laugh.

"Deck." Another white haired man, but with golden eyes instead of royal purple ones like Saryuu, walked up to his ponytailed companion and placed a hand onto his shoulder. "You're scaring the boy. He doesn't know us, so give him some room."

"That's right." a pink haired woman agreed, accompanied by a man with short curly hair and rectangular glassed. "You probably don't remember us, but we're the ones who found you soaking on the bench. My name's Meia."

"So you guys were the ones…" Fei mumbled before he remembered his manner and bowed to the group. "Erm, that time! Thank you very much for helping me!"

"My~ he's a well-mannered boy. Isn't he, Giris?" Meia giggled to the man at her side with a dreamy smile.

"Indeed he is, Meia." the other agreed. With just one look at their interaction, Fei could tell that they were lovers. From the way they spoke, he couldn't help but feel extremely young despite how their age differences shouldn't be that far apart.

"Alright, enough with the teasing." Saryuu said, much to Fei's relief as he stepped up. "Why don't you guys let Fei join one of your teams? He's a soccer fan as well."

"You play soccer too, Fei?" Yokka, if Fei remembered correctly, asked in delight. With only a small nod in response, the greenet suddenly found himself surrounded by the group. They all spoke at once, making it impossible to tell what each of them said before the dumbfounded teen found himself being led to the court.

Saryuu leaned against one of the trees as he watched the boy get dragged away. Fei occasionally flashed a few hesitant looks to him, signalling his confusion and fright at being unable to understand what was going on. The man pretended not to see the boy's distress, walking around and finding himself a bench under the cool shade.

"Saru." Saryuu looked up to see Imusu coming over and sitting down by his side. "Shouldn't you go help him? He seems frightened."

"There's no need." Saryuu replied as the group scattered, breaking off into teams with Yuuchi and the others gaining Fei in their group. The boy was standing out. To any stranger, it would be clear that he didn't belong on the court with the way he awkwardly stood while looking around with worry in his eyes. "He needs to experience more interactions with other people. He'll warm up when the game begins."

"You seem to know a lot about him," Imusu noted, looking at Saryuu before a tall, blonde haired woman blew the whistle to start the game.

"Here, Fei!" Deck kicked the ball to the greenet, who snapped back to reality and reacted just in time to catch the pass. He looked around nervously, seeming almost lost in what to do with all these strangers as his teammates.

"When I saw him at the beach with you, I thought he was one of your fans. Do you two have some sort of history together?"

"…I suppose you could say that, though he seems to have forgotten." Saryuu muttered, but Imusu heard it loud and clear and snapped his attention to the white haired man. Before he could question about it, Saryuu continued. "He isn't a fan." he said with a light chuckle. "That boy doesn't know who I am."

"That's a lie." Imusu responded immediately, as if he never even considered Saryuu's word to hold an ounce of truth. "There is no way he couldn't know."

Saryuu didn't respond to that. He just leaned back against his seat and watched the game proceed. True to his word, Fei was adapting quickly. After twenty minutes into the game, he seemed to have finally memorized the faces of his teammates, playing so fluidly that no one would have guessed that he was an outsider to the group.

"The kid's not bad." Garo said as he walked up to the bench where Saryuu and Imusu were occupied in. He was sipping his water bottle with a sweat filled towel dangling over his neck. "Who is he, Saru?"

"No one you need to be wary of." Saryuu replied as the whistle was blown, signalling the end of the game. The team Fei was on cheered as they won against Meia's team by one score. That was expected though, seeing how the captain of the team, Meia, worked best with her boyfriend. The white haired man knew Giris purposely sat out to give a handicap to the green haired teen.

Saryuu felt warmth glowing in his chest as he watched Fei laugh and cheer with the rest of the team. However, even from the distance, Saryuu could tell that the smile was slightly strained. He watched Fei's face closely and when the boy suddenly looked faint, he left his seat and hurried over. He ignored Imusu's confused call and walked into the group and gently pulled the greenet into his arms. Fei didn't resist as his eyes were in a half-lidded daze and his pale cheeks were burning from the heat.

"You guys continue. I think he's had enough for the day." Saryuu said to his companions as he helped the boy to the bench. Imusu got up, passing Saryuu a bottle of ice water before he went to the field for his team's match.

"Here." Saryuu pressed the cold bottle against the heated cheek, his action bringing out a blissful sigh from the greenet.

"Thank you." Fei thanked, still a little dizzy from heat as he accepted the water and took a sip. The feeling of the wonderfully cool water sliding down his throat awakened his numbed senses. He closed his eyes. He only intended to rest until the dizziness passed. However, when he was awoken by the sound of the whistle, he found his head resting on Saryuu's lap with the group on the soccer field packing their things.

"Wha—?!" Fei flushed darkly as he hurriedly scrambled up from the awkward position he found himself in.

"You fell asleep." Saryuu informed him, seeing confusion in those milk green orbs. "They're planning on diving to see the coral reefs. Have you seen them yet, Fei?"

Fei slowly shook his head. "We…" he began, deflating a little as he remembered the plan Tenma had happily made for them, "We were planning on seeing them later in the week."

"If your body is feeling up for it, want to go?" Saryuu asked.

"Is it alright?" Fei asked with interest. He had wanted to get a glimpse of it ever since he agreed to go to Tokashiki Island. However, circumstances had made him forgot all about it. "If…If I won't be a bother…"

Saryuu gave Fei a long look before he gently placed a hand on top of the boy's head. "Fei," he began softly, "I told you before and I'm willing to say it until you memorize it. When someone offers you something, don't be hesitant to take it. No one would offer you anything if they don't truly mean it. I understand that it's your lack of confidence that makes you respond in such way, but others would mistake your response as a doubt towards their intentions. It will also make it hard for people who want to know you to approach you. Saying yes isn't a selfish act. Even if it is, that's what you need to learn to do. Understand?"

Fei opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. He didn't know how to respond. It was the first time anyone had told him something like that. He agreed that he had a low self-confidence, that was something he couldn't deny, but he never thought about things in Saryuu's perspective. He never knew how his usual uncertain responses could be misinterpreted by others.

He slowly nodded as the weight resting on his head was lifted. "Then let me ask you again. Do you want to go see the coral reefs, Fei?"

Fei licked his lips nervously, rolling the foreign word around his tongue for a while before finally speaking it out. "Y-Yes." The word sounded strange to his ears, as if it hadn't come from his lips. Strangely though, Fei decided that he didn't hate it. It may be uncomfortable and a little awkward, but he didn't dislike it.

"And your body?" Saryuu asked, a smile gradually growing on his lips. "Think you will be alright?"

"I'm not sure—" Fei abruptly cut himself off when he noticed the look Saryuu was giving him. "I mean…yes."

The teen took a moment before he looked up to meet with the man's gaze firmly. "Yes." he repeated with a firmer tone. At least, that's what he hoped it sounded like.

"Alright then." Saryuu stood up before extending his hand towards the greenet. "However, if you feel uncomfortable at any time, tell me right away."

Letting out a smile, Fei shyly accepted the offered hand as he allowed Saryuu to pull him up.

"Yes."

oOo

"Um…W-What is this?" Fei asked, staring into the mirror as his eyebrow twitched at the sight. Behind him, the girls, whom he had gotten acquainted with in the short period of time, squealed in delight.

"So cute!" they squealed, making Fei more and more uncomfortable.

"M-Meia-san…?"

"Meia." Meia corrected. "Drop the san, it makes me feel old." The woman sang as she walked around Fei, taking a good look over at the boy. "It's a perfect fit, Fei! You look better in these clothes than us girls."

Fei flinched as he stared, still in disbelief, at his own reflection. His eyes were settled on the black choker on his neck before his gaze uncertainly trailed down to his 'clothes' which barely covered any of his skin.

Around his chest was a black tube top made from supplex nylon, clutching tightly against his skin with neon green and black checker skirt hanging so low around his hip that he could see the outline of his hipbones. It didn't help that it was also was extremely short. It was short to the point where the greenet didn't even dare to think about bending down. It came with shorts underneath of course, but it just looked like woman's underwear in Fei's opinion. There was a deep green belt made to look like leather, but it was only a decoration, having no function but dangling diagonally down his waist, sewed to the skirt. Black boots with a zipper lacing were clad to his slender legs. The laces were the same green as the skirt, telling the greenet that it was a part of the set with an inch of heel that was barely noticeable.

"Don't forget this!" Nike sang, running up to the stupefied greenet so that she could put on the last item.

A jacket.

A black, short sleeved wind jacket that felt weightless around his shoulders. The jacket itself did little to help cover his overly exposed skin, as it could barely reach past his ribcage. If anything, it just made him look even more feminine with the same green lining over the black material and the long green ribbons flowing down from his back and reaching his knees.

To make matters worse, they forced contacts into his eyes. It was one of contacts that girls love to wear to make their irises look larger than usual. With the small budge on his chest and the nice curve at his waist, there wouldn't be a single person in this world who wouldn't doubt him as a girl.

"Look at those smooth legs! Did you shave, Fei?" Fei looked around, having no idea who asked that, but responded nonetheless with a timid shake of his head.

"Seriously? So you naturally don't have leg hair?" Guumi gapped in disbelieve. "Lucky! I wish I could be like that!"

"Nike, you've really outdone yourself this time!" Meia clapped her hands together as she complimented the orange haired woman who was standing at the same height as the greenet.

"I know. Who knew you'd look so good in my clothes, Fei!" Nike said joyfully, making Fei feel that much closer to tearing up. In fact, there were already tears gathering in his eyes. He was only holding them back with sheer willpower. "Although I had designed them for myself, they suit you much better."

"W-Why do I have…?" Fei choked and hastily swallowed to wet his dried throat. He felt like he had gulped down cotton. "Why do I have to wear this?"

"Sorry, Fei, but there's just simply no clothes for you." Meia apologized with a light giggle. "We pre-ordered everything before we came. The rental store is out of male clothes, so we can't get any there. Fortunately, us girls always bring spares in case we have a change of moods. You're quite small in built, so any of our clothes seem to fit you."

"Cheer up, kid." Stia slapped the greenet on the back, hard. "Do you know how many girls would die in your place just to wear something designed by Nike?"

Fei didn't even have the energy to ask what that meant as his mind was occupied with his throbbing back and the fact that he was actually stuck in girl's clothes.

"And now for the finishing touches!" Naje jumped up, causing Fei to back away.

"T-There's more?" he cried in disbelief.

"Of course." the light green haired girl sang. "You can't just wear a pretty cloth without makeup to match it."

"What?!" Fei exclaimed. His back hit the cool surface of the mirror as he stared fearfully into those predatory eyes.

"They're waterproof and smear proof, so you don't need to worry about anything." Naje explained, either oblivious to the horrified look on the boy or that she simply didn't care.

"You've got nice fair skin." Mori touched the boy's cheek to feel the texture. "First, we'll apply some undertones." And with a swift flick of her wrist, her bag opened up, revealing dozens of equipment that Fei had never seen in his life before. It made the boy wonder how all of it managed to fit inside.

"Lucky for you, I just got my hands on some limited editions last week. I haven't gotten the chance to use it yet. Since you have green hair like us, I have a feeling it'll work out nicely." Naje opened up her bag too, reveal all the expensive looking makeups."

"Relax, Fei." Meia happily took the boy's arm, cutting off all escape routes —not that there was any with all the girls surrounding him. "Naje and Mori are professional makeup artists and stylists. They know what they're doing."

"W-Wait, I don't think—" Fei's eyes darted around before he caught sight of Yokka, who was sitting in the corner of the room. The blue haired man who had gotten him involved in this whole mess only mouthed a soft apology before the brushes descended upon his face and blocked his view.

"AAAAAAAH!"

oOo

Saryuu's head snapped up as he turned away from the ocean he was admiring.

"Did you guys hear something just now?" Daku asked over the waves. Yuuchi kicked around the soccer ball, showing no indication of having heard anything.

"What are they doing?" Om looked down at his watch, then to the women's change room. "It's been an hour already!"

"You know how women are." Hamusu snorted.

"I won't be surprised if they take two hours." Giris said, knowing the girls all too well as this isn't the first time they had to wait for them.

"Giris, have you seen Yokka?" Saryuu asked suspiciously as he walked over to the other. He glanced over the group for the blue haired man he was searching for, but failed to find him. "You said that he took Fei to get a swimwear."

For a split second, Saryuu noticed how Giris strangely tensed. However, the other man quickly shrugged it off, acting as if nothing happened. "I'm sure they're still trying things out. Fei has a small size. Perhaps they're having difficulty finding a right one."

Saryuu narrowed his eyes and Giris knew then that the white haired man didn't buy a single word. Just as he parted his lips to question, the sound of the door slamming open caught all of their attention. They all turned to see the girls coming out. All of them were wearing their new diving suits, styles ranging in various ways to suit their appearances and personalities. There was not a single one that overlapped thanks to Nike's artistic senses.

"Come on, don't be shy." Rokko's voice came, grabbing Saryuu's attention as the girls split apart, revealing the doorway where a familiar green haired teen could be seen stumbling into the sunlight. Saryuu's composure fell. No, it crashed. He stared in both shock and astonishment at the most gorgeous being he had ever laid eyes on.

When the others caught sight of the greenet, their jaws fell.

"Stop tugging at the skirt!" Nike scowled, swatting Fei's hands away from the delicate fabric. "It's going to rip if you keep doing that."

"B-But…" Fei stuttered. The natural adorableness he had maximized due to the effect of the light makeup coated his face. The dark eyeliner and contacts made his eyes seemingly larger and the light dust of rosy blush on his milk white cheeks would make anyone who was able to resist him a saint.

A breeze of warm, salty wind blew by, lifting the short skirt and showing Saryuu a heavenly view before Fei crushed it down with an embarrassed scream. Some nearby men, strangers who were walking by, gawked at the greenet when the skirt lift happened. All their hands flew to their noses, trying to contain the blood that was bursting from their nostrils.

When Saryuu saw the attentions the boy was attracting, he immediately stomped up, snatching the pink inflatable swim ring from Sheep before he came up to Fei. The greenet looked up with watery eyes, about to call out the other's name when the older man put the rubber ring over his head and shoved it downward, locking the poor teen's arms against his waist within the tight space.

"S-Saru?" Fei mumbled as Saryuu tugged at the ring, forcefully dragging Fei with him as they headed for the water. The group just silently watch them leave. The girls were smirking while the guys had yet to collect their jaws from the ground.

Yokka sighed into his hand, knowing that he was doomed when Saryuu found out his involvement while Meia just walked up to her boyfriend, the two exchanged secretive smiles.

"S-Saru! Please, slow down!" Fei gasped, nearly tripping over some rocks as he tried to pull his arms out from the tight space he was confined in. He succeeded just in time as his feet lost contact with the ground, unable to stand anymore as they headed deeper and deeper into the water. The teen held onto the pink float, looking back to the beach in the distance before turning back to Saryuu, who was resting his forehead against the only thing keeping them floating.

"Saru?" Fei felt a little concerned when Saryuu didn't lift his head from the crestfallen pose. "A-Are you alright?" He reached out a hand. When his fingers gently brushed over his shoulder before a hand shot up to catch his wrist.

"You…" Saryuu looked up, seeming to want to say something before his head fell back down, forehead hitting the rubber ring. "You're going to be the death of me one of these days."

"E-Eh?" Fei blinked, unable to understand what Saryuu was talking about.

When the man lifted his head after another long while, the teen could see a crimson blush over his face, something that he had never seen before. He also noticed how Saryuu's gaze was looking at anything but him, and that made him feel all the more uncomfortable. In fact, he felt dejected and thoroughly humiliated. He couldn't understand why the girls and Yokka had to bully him like this by embarrassing him in public.

When Saryuu heard the light whimpering sound, he looked back at Fei and was shocked to see pearly tears rolling down his eyes. "I-If you want to laugh…you c-can…" he choked out, reaching for his face to wipe the fluid away, only to have a hand beat him to it.

"Fei." Saryuu hurriedly said, sounding almost panicky. He used his fingers to brush the tears aside before he brought Fei into a tight embrace —or as close as he could with the swimming ring in-between them. "Fei, that's not it, you're not—…I don't—…Ugh." The man groaned when he couldn't even form any words as his head dropped onto the boy's shoulder.

"You're beautiful." Fei froze at the words that he had least expected. He slowly looked down, but couldn't see anything with the mop of soft, cottony hair shielding Saryuu's face. "You're absolutely stunning."

"You don't need to comfort me…I know I look hideous…" Fei sniffed, but despite his words, his tears had dried with small amount of blood rushing to his face.

"You have no idea how wrong you are." Saryuu chuckled weakly. He slowly closed his eyes, savouring the warmth and the exotic scent rolling off the younger boy. He was glad that the women had at least enough sense to spare the poor boy from perfume. "You're gorgeous, Fei." Saryuu insisted. "Tell me… Is it wrong for me to feel jealous at the thought of other people being able to see you like this?"

The greenet's face exploded in various shades of red as his heart pounded heavily against his ribcage. He open and closed his mouth, unable to form any words as he clutched the float tightly. "I-I um…" he stuttered, not knowing why he was so nervous and worked up all of the sudden. The arms around him tightened, causing him to stiffen before he became aware of another set of heartbeats. It was beating as fast as his, but it didn't belong to him. It belonged to the chest that was pressed tightly against his…It belonged to Saryuu's.

"Sa—" Just as Fei was about to speak the other's name, his eyes flew wide at the feeling of something slimy wrapping around his right knee before sliding down his leg. He screamed out, his heart nearly leaping out of his throat as he jerked away from the tight embrace.

"What's wrong?" Saryuu asked hurriedly as he stared at the quivering greenet.

"S-Something's around my foot!" The white haired man didn't wait to hear anymore as he dived into the water and soon Fei felt whatever it was tangled around his ankle removed. When Saryuu resurfaced, Fei saw him holding a batch of seaweeds.

"It's fine. It's just these." The man gave him an assuring smile as he held up the offending plants that had frightened the teen.

Fei blinked, giving the seaweed a good long look before he breathed out a sigh of relief. Embarrassment soon followed as he realized what a huge deal he had just made over a couple of plants. Saryuu tossed the seaweed into the distance.

"Thank you…" he mumbled softly.

"No problem." Saryuu chuckled. "You've never been in the ocean before, have you?" he asked, already having a good guess of the other's answer considering the boy's behaviour over the seaweeds just now.

Fei slowly shook his head in a negative response, confirming the white haired boy's suspicion.

"Not once?" The white haired man pressed on. "Even though you live in Okinawa?"

"I don't really have time…and swimming was never my thing."

The reason why Fei seemed so interested made sense to Saryuu now. It was his very first time and the girls had ruined it by playing such a cruel joke on the poor boy. "Come. I'll find you another set of diving clothes, for male." the older male said as he reached his hand up and brushed his hand over the black choker around the delicate neck.

[Water detected. Enter Diving Mode.] A mechanical voice spoke, causing Fei to jump as he felt something invisible crawling over his skin. He shuddered as he quickly looked down at his arms to see a green light running down his arms and all the way to his fingertips before it vanished.

"What was—" Fei didn't get to finish as he was dragged down into the water by a hand at his knee. He clamped his eyes shut, holding tightly onto his breath as the coolness of the water surrounded him. He flailed around, but a pair of hands took a hold of his shoulder and forced him still.

"Fei, it's alright." Saryuu's voice held a strange, watery echo. "Open your eyes."

He didn't. After all, how could he with all the water surrounding him? He tried fighting against Saryuu's hold, feeling himself getting desperate for air as his lungs began to burn. Then, he felt fingers tickling the side of his ribcage. Mint green eyes instantly snapped open as his mouth parted to let out a burst of laughter. He hurriedly swatted the hand away before shooting a small glare at the older man.

"W-What was that for?!" he gasped, still a little breathless. But when Saryuu said nothing and gave him a smug, knowing look, the teen realized what had just happened. He was breathing and talking. He could even see clearly. His eyes didn't hurt at all from coming in contact with the salty ocean water. In fact, he couldn't feel the water at all, only the coolness and the difference in temperature from being undersea.

"This is…?" Fei looked around and jumped when a small fish swam by. Yep, he was definitely underwater.

"It's the function of the diving clothes." Saryuu explained as the greenet turned to the man in front of him. He blushed, having almost forgotten the other's presence in the moment of confusion. "Do you know how to use them?"

"Not…Not really." Fei replied, still feeling rather odd that they're speaking underwater.

"It's easy to use once you're used to it. They're like normal swimsuits, only more expensive with the added functions." Saryuu explained. "The choker is the activation for your clothes. For all Diving clothes, there are three standard modes. The first is the Diving Mode and the other two are the Hover Mode and the Manual Mode. All three modes can be activated only when you soak the clothes in the water. Once activated, the clothes automatically raise a barrier around your body to protect you from the water. The reason you can breathe is because the barrier extracts oxygen from the surrounding water."

"So…that green light just now was the barrier?" Fei asked as he looked down at his hand. He rubbed his hands together, but he couldn't feel the protection that Saryuu spoke of. The greenet became aware of just how many things he didn't know about technology these days. He was really falling behind.

"The Diving Mode is what we're currently in." Saryuu explained as Fei felt his feet touch the sand. He looked down and then up, he realized that they had sunk to the bottom. "It activates the gravity function in the clothes that allows you to move more freely like on land. The contact lenses provide protection and illumination to your eyes which allows you to see clearly through the water." the white haired man said before he performed a jump. His body sliced through the water and floated high above Fei's head as he looked down with a teasing smile. "Take a jump."

Fei bend his knees, he was surprised by how easy it was. He expected the water to slow down his movement or at least make it more difficult, but it didn't. With a jump, Fei glided through the water, feeling as if he was flying in air as he flew passed Saryuu, coming to a slow stop just a level above the white haired man.

The greenet waved his hand and moved his legs a little to keep himself afloat, then stilling so he could sink down next to Saryuu. "It kind of feels like flying." the greenet said with a wide smile as he kicked at the water slowly, imitating Saryuu to prevent themselves from sinking back to the sand.

"That's another one of the barrier's functions." Saryuu smiled. "In reality, your body is moving twice as fast as it is on land. The clothes have sensors that calculate the water pressure around you and then send the signals to the barrier. The barrier then moves your body with a higher amount of speed to cancel out the effects of the water, allowing you to move like normal. I'll explain more later, but for now, let's get you some new clothes. Something more…" Saryuu let his eyes trail down a little and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. "Suitable."

At first, Fei didn't understand what the man meant, but when he looked down, he gasped as he quickly pushed his floating skirt down. He was so caught up in the moment that he had completely forgotten about the fact that he was dressed in extremely exposing clothes.

He nodded frantically as he allowed Saryuu to take his hand as they swam off. Fei didn't know what they were doing, but the white haired man seemed to be using the holographic screen of a map being projected from the back of his white glove. So as they swam, Fei looked around the water, enjoying the view before his eyes eventually trailed to their intertwined hands.

When Saryuu pulled him back to the surface, Fei found himself staring at the familiar beach where he had first met the white haired man. Saryuu led him onto the beach as sunlight bathed them in its warmth.

The place was quiet and void of people compared to the public beach where anyone was free to roam about.

"Wait here. I'll go get you some clothes." Saryuu said, not waiting for a response as he ran down the beach. Fei watched him leave, having a bit of mixed feelings as he stared down at the hand that was holding Saryuu's all this time, feeling a little empty. Shaking the feeling off, Fei walked into the water and let the waves caress his feet.

Catching sight of familiar little holes, Fei smiled. He raked his fingers through the sand as he found two clams hidden underneath. He played around with the two clams before he tossed them into the sea. Finding not much to do in the empty place, Fei laid down, deciding to take a small nap under the warm sunlight.

He didn't know how long he laid there for, but just when he was about to doze off, Fei heard voices. At first, he didn't think much about it because of the drowsiness. The voice vanished, leaving a nice silence where the sound of the waves lulled him into sleep…that is, until a calloused hand ran up his bare leg.

Snapping up with a startled shout, Fei looked up and quickly slapped away the hand that was still in contact with his skin. "W-What are you doing?" he demanded, shifting back as he stared at the tall, muscular boy who was kneeling right beside him.

"I told ya you'd scare her!" A voice laughed as Fei snapped his head to find five more people behind him. There were three boys and two girls. The boys were all, like the stranger by his side, muscular with tanned skin from being under the sun for too long. Just one look at them told Fei that they were bad news, even the girls, who looked like anything but decent. Each of them was latched to a guy, wearing extremely exposing bikinis and overly heavy makeup. And what's more, they were sneering down at him.

"Yo, calm down, babe." Fei snapped his head back to the guy who was touching him earlier. He quickly moved further away when the man tried to advance on him.

"Who are you?" he asked while his eyes darted around. It was then that he remembered that this was Saryuu's private beach, so of course there wouldn't be anyone around. But if that's the case, then why were these strangers here? Are they also friends of Saryuu's?

"Name's Kaito." The man flashed him a wink which only made Fei even more uneasy. There was something in his eyes…there was something in all of their eyes that sent shivers down his spine. "What do you say, babe? You look lonely lying here all alone, why don't you hang out with us?"

"Yeah, this beach is abandoned after all." Another boy snickered, only to be elbowed in the rib by his companion.

"What do you say?" A large hand grabbed his and Fei was quick to jerk away.

"T-This place isn't abandoned!" The greenet tried to sound strong, but it was hard. There was something about these strangers that terrified him. Every alarm in his mind was going off, telling him to get away as quickly as possible. "This is a private beach. You shouldn't be here."

"Private beach?" Kaitou said with a whistle. "What a coincidence, I happen to come from a wealthy family too."

"Tch…she's just a spoiled rich brat." one of the girls snorted as she lit up a cigarette.

"Don't be so stiff, let big brother show you a good time." Kaitou smirked as his tongue darted out to lick his lips.

Something inside his head snapped as Fei jumped onto his feet, moving purely on survival instincts now. He made a dash, but before he could get far, something tripped him over his feet. He lost his balance, crashing hard onto the hot sand as a stinging sensation wrapped around his scraped knees. Before the teen could get back up, he was pinned down by a heavy body. He opened his mouth to scream for help, but was once again beaten by the other male who slapped his large hand over his mouth to roughly to silence him.

"Mmph!" Fei cried out as the man, Kaitou, pinned down his kicking legs with his own to cut off all of his resistance.

"Hey Kaitou! Save some for us!" a laughing voice called as Fei pushed at the man's chest, but he couldn't even get him to budge. They were too different in size and built. The man was easily dominating him in all aspects.

"Relax, it'll be fun." Kaitou whispered into the greenet's ears before he dipped his head and ran his tongue down the greenet's neck. Fei's eyes widened with tears as he realized what this guy was trying to do to him.

"Hmph, hurry up." the other girl snarled coldly, looking at the struggling greenet in distaste. "Honestly, I don't get why you guys always go for types like these."

"Look at her! How could we not? She's just lying here asking to be taken!" The men laughed as tears poured down Fei's face. He couldn't understand what was so funny. He felt completely disgusted and sick to his stomach as he clawed at the other's chest desperately. Fei let out a muffled scream behind the hand as he felt the jacket Nike gave him get torn off, exposing the left side of his shoulder, which the man wasted no time to get a taste of.

"Yeah, keep screaming." Kaitou licked his lips in delight. "Soon I'll make you feel so good that you'll be begging me not to stop."

"Oh, really?"

Fei's eyes snapped open at the familiar voice that was seething in rage just in time to see his attacker's face smashed by a fist full of knuckles. A foot quickly followed, drilling into the boy's gut and knocking the air out of him. The second Kaitou lost his grip from the pain; a hand grabbed his wrist, forcing him to release the greenet's mouth. Fei took in a sharp, shaky breath. He felt a hand seized his wrist before he was hauled behind his saviour, Saryuu.

The greenet watched as the white haired man twisted Kaitou's arm all the way back, jumping in surprise when the bones crackled in a sickening sound.

"UGAAAAH!" Kaitou screamed as his arm was mercilessly dislocated in all three joints. However, Saryuu wasn't done. He grabbed the man by his hair, kneeing him in the face to break his delicate nose before another fist slammed into the same spot into the stomach that was kicked only seconds ago. The force sent the tan teen flying back and landing at his stunned companion's feet.

Fei let out a choked sob of relief when he was pulled into a tight embrace. He held onto Saryuu tightly, too scared to let go as the older man whispered words of comfort into his ears.

"FUCK!" Kaitou screamed as he curled up in the sand and cradled his broken arm. His nose was crooked with blood flooding out of his nostrils.

"K-Kaitou!" one of the boys finally gasped, kneeling down to his friend's side once he reacted to what had just happened.

"Urgh! My arm!" Kaitou cried. Sweat drenched his head as he glared darkly at Saryuu. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"You think you have the right to ask me that?" Saryuu snarled venomously, the dangerous tone in his voice made all of them flinch. "You trespassed onto my beach and tried to rape someone precious to me…Who do you think you are?"

"What…What the hell's with that guy?" one of the girl asked, trying to sound tough through the nervous feeling from the murderous pressure rolling off the white haired man.

"What are you doing?" Kaitou shouted at his friends. "Get him!"

The boys stepped up, but froze when a bunch of people came up from behind Saryuu and Fei. The group of teens looked around, suddenly finding themselves surrounded on the beach that was just empty a second ago.

"Take another step and I will crush your legs." Garo growled as he cracked his knuckles.

"Let's not resort to violence." Yokka smiled coldly before his usually soft blue eyes narrowed into a dark glare. "After all, we wouldn't want any accidents to happen now, would we?"

"You bastards! Do you know who my father is?" Kaitou screamed, not the slightest bit intimidated despite his situation.

"As a matter of fact, we do." Meia huffed, pulling out a small white device as a holographic screen appeared before her. "Kaitou Hiroshima, son of Daisuke Hiroshima—the mayor of Yokohama."

"Hn." Kaitou snorted with a smirk, or at least, the best he could summon with the amount of pain he was enduring. "If you know then—!"

"You are being accused of three different charges of rape…" Meia hummed as she flipped through the transparent pages, stopping at a particular page that had the picture of the boy lying before her in the sand. "However, all three charges were strangely closed before any investigation was put to place. It would seem that you have a loving father that bribed the police and court to have you released." the purple haired woman said coldly, her face was void of any feelings as her jungle green eyes scanned over the information.

"There are forty-four of us." Giris glared down at the teens and adjusted his glasses. "Forty-four witnesses that have seen what you were about to do with a dear friend of ours. Do you think you will be able to escape your charges?"

"Ha!" Kaitou choked out a laugh. "You think you can do shit? My father will have all of you arrested! Especially you!" he spat in Saryuu's direction. "I'll sue you for attacking me!"

"You, throw us in jail?" Saryuu carefully detached a hand from Fei, slowly reaching up to remove the goggles concealing his face. "If you think you can, go ahead and try, boy." Saryuu spat, his eyes burning in anger. The teens' faces were as pale as a ghost when they saw the face of the man.

Saryuu looked down to the greenet, his eyes warmed at the sight of the frightened boy whose face was still buried deeply in his chest. "Can you walk, Fei?" he asked in a soft voice that would make it difficult for anyone to have guessed he was the same person as before. Snapping back into reality from the tender question, Fei pulled his face out a little and nodded shakily. He tried to stand, but his legs were jellied from fright. With help and support from Saryuu though, he managed to somehow stand on his feet without tumbling over.

"Giris, call up a conference. It seems that we need to have a discussion about the mayor of Yokohama." Saryuu muttered softly to his companion before he led Fei away, motioning for only Imusu and Naje to follow him.

The trio arrived at the parking lot where Saryuu's familiar car was parked. The white haired man threw his keys to Imusu, who caught it and took the wheel. Saryuu settled himself with Fei in the back. Naje tried to wipe away the makeup from teen's face, but it was difficult since Fei wouldn't let go of the white haired man.

"Fei, I need you to turn towards me…can you do that?" Naje asked softly as she lightly placed her hand on the quivering shoulder, but the boy didn't respond. He just held onto Saryuu tighter, not prepared to let go of his only source of comfort.

He felt disgusted. The unpleasant memory was still fresh in his mind and he couldn't get it out. The shoulder that was licked by his attacker made him feel filthy. He wanted nothing more than to run to a bath and wash it over ten times with soap to disinfect his skin. Even sandpapering his skin off sounded pleasant.

Being born as a boy, Fei never really had this sort of problem. However, now that he experienced it firsthand, something he never thought would happen to him, he became terrified for the first time since he was left alone in this world. He couldn't understand how anyone could do something so horrible to someone else.

It broke Saryuu to see how weak and vulnerable the teen was. He tightened his hold, pulling the greenet closer against him before waving Naje off. The green haired woman obeyed, putting her tools back into her purse and quietly sat to the side.

They arrived back at the hotel fairly quickly with Imusu hovering the car over the balcony of Saryuu's room. The white haired man gathered the teen into his arms, tightening his hold on the younger male before he leaped out into the open air and landed steadily onto the solid surface.

The soft impact seemed to bring Fei out of his inner world as he opened his eyes to see Saryuu carrying him into the room. He felt a little weird by how he was being carried, but remained quiet. He didn't want to break this moment, wanting to feel more of the comforting warmth radiating from Saryuu's body. It made him feel safe and secure.

"I'm sorry, Fei."

The greenet blinked at the unexpected words that broke the silence.

"…Huh?" was Fei's intelligent answer as he looked up to the man and was shocked to be met with a broken gaze. All of the sudden, Fei felt the arm that was under his knees vanish. His feet hit the ground before his small frame was enveloped by a pair of firm yet gentle arms. His head was cradled against Saryuu's neck with the man resting his chin on top of his hair.

"I'm sorry."

Fei stayed still, pressed up against the white haired man's chest, not knowing what the other was apologizing for. Saryuu parted his lips to take in a few slow breathes to try and calm his mind that was still filled with rage. He was angry at the monster who had tried to violate his love, but more than that, he was angry at himself. He was the one who practically dangled Fei in front of a pack of wolves. If he had just crushed his stupid possessiveness of not wanting other males to see Fei in such getup, then this wouldn't have happened. He didn't dare to imagine what would have happen if they didn't arrive in time, but he couldn't help but dread of the possibility.

"I shouldn't have left you there all alone. I didn't think—" Saryuu let out a frustrated sigh. Fei held back a shiver as he felt the hot breathe caress his scalp and down his nape. "No, I didn't think at all." he whispered. "I'm sorry."

"It's…" Fei squirmed a little within the small space he was encased in. He could feel a strange type of heat within his chest. He didn't know what it was. It was different than the heat he usually felt when he was with Tenma, and it was definitely different that the heat that crushed his insides whenever he sees Tenma and Tsurugi together. It was strangely relaxing. The greenet slowly closed his eyes, wanting to savour this feeling as he relaxed into the sweet comfort. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is." Saryuu insisted firmly. "I should have taken you with me. I should have—"

"Then can I still come with you?" Fei asked softly, trying to look up to see Saryuu, but couldn't, his vision only reached the man's well defined jawline. "We'll still go diving today, right? If we don't hurry, we won't have that much time left."

Saryuu finally pulled back, though not loosening his hold as he stared at the smile across Fei's lips and those large eyes beaming up at him. Almost instantly, his anger evaporated, replaced by the gentle feeling of love he felt for the green haired teen.

He smiled a little and nodded. "Shall we go then?"

"A-After I take a bath." Fei stuttered as he quickly remembered the unpleasant stains on his body. "Just…a quick bath. Is that alright?"

"Of course." Saryuu said, knowing the exact problem the greenet had as he removed his arms and watched Fei disappear into the bathroom. The man walked over to his bed before he collapsed on it, not caring if any sand would get on it. He could always call the hotel manager to switch the sheets later. Right now, all he wanted to do was take a small rest. He felt drained, not by what had happened, but by the shock of how he, the adult, was reassured by Fei when it wasn't even him that had gotten attacked.

"Some things don't change." He chuckled to himself as a ringing sound came from the Bluetooth. He reached up to his cheek, hitting the button to accept the call just as he heard the sound of shower being turned on.

[Saru,] Meia's voice spoke from the other side, [We have sent the teens to the police station and filed our reports. The police have contacted Daisuke Hiroshima in regards to his son. He should be on his way, should we confront him right now?]

"No, don't bother. Go back to the beach."

[…Pardon?] Meia asked as if she didn't believe she heard right.

Saryuu just smiled a little as he stared at the ceiling. "We're going to resume diving."

[But…what about Daisuke Hiroshima and his son?]

"I only said that we're going to resume our plan, I never said anything about letting them go," Saryuu growled as his glare returned. "I won't let him get away with laying his fingers on Fei. However, that can always be arranged another time. There's no need for us to ruin our vacation because of some lowlife. It'll be bad if Fei thinks he's hindering our plan because of them."

[I understand, I'll tell the others that.] Saryuu could hear a smile in the woman's voice as she spoke. [Then we'll wait for you two at the beach.] With that, Saryuu hung up. Hearing the sound of water being cut off, he assumed that Fei was finished. He sat up, gazing out at the sunny sky as he waited for his love interest to step out.

The clock slowly ticked by as seconds past, then minutes. When Saryuu checked the time, he frowned at how Fei still hadn't come out after fifteen minutes had passed. Getting a little worried, the man walked up to the bathroom and gave a light knock. He was responded with a startled squeak that caused him to blink.

"Fei, is everything alright?" he called through the door that was separating them.

"Y-Yes?" the greenet replied, though it sounded more like a question than an answer. Now, Saryuu was getting even more suspicious.

"Fei, what's wrong?"

"…M-My clothes…" was Fei's response.

"What about them?" Saryuu asked.

"I-I kind of forgot to bring my clothes to change into…"

It took a while for Saryuu to register what the teen had just said. But when he did, he burst out into a fit of laughter. He could practically feel the teen's embarrassment rolling off from the other side of the door, but he couldn't help it, the boy was too cute for his own good, it was a miracle he survived so long—

'Or perhaps not.' Saryuu stilled in his laughter as he quickly pushed away by the memory of the event that had taken place today.

"I-It's not funny!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry." Saryuu smiled at the door. "Why don't you just come out and get them? It's not like I haven't seen anything already."

Suddenly, the door was jerked open, revealing a wide eyed greenet who was staring at the older male as if he had grown a second head. Saryuu hurriedly averted his eyes, making sure to keep them above the boy's collar bone and focused solely on his face.

"W-What do you mean?" the flustered greenet asked.

"You didn't realize?" Saryuu asked, blinking in confusion. "Your clothes…" The white haired man stopped himself from saying anymore when the realization of how the teen hadn't even noticed his change of clothes dawned him. Unfortunately, he was too late as the damage has already been done.

Fei stood there, suddenly having a sequence of flash backs with the clothes he had been unconsciously wearing throughout the day. He thought back to the deep orange t-shirt and the black shorts that were discarded when the girls had literally ripped them off him and shoved him into the diving dress. The clothes were unfamiliar to him. Sure they were comfortable, but that was because they were a size too large, which certainly could not be his.

"AAH!" Saryuu nearly leaped a foot into the air when Fei abruptly screamed out. He only saw the boy's face for half a second before a large wet towel smacked him in the face, followed by the slamming sound of door.

oOo

"Please Fei, don't be angry." Saryuu called to the greenet walking ahead, but the other showed no sign of acknowledgement to him. "I truly am sorry. If it makes you feel better, Yokka was there to help me with the removal of your—" The man hurriedly silenced himself when he noticed how he was only making matters worse. This was a very awkward situation for him. Never in his life has he ever been so lost on what to say.

The teen still continued ahead. His head was dipped down low, trying to hide the deep blush at the thought of not one, but two people seeing him naked. He strangely didn't mind Yokka…but the thought of Saryuu seeing him bare of clothing made him want to crawl into a hole.

Saryuu kept his pace slow, knowing that the teen wasn't willing to walk side by side for the time being. As cute as Fei was when sulking, he prefer it if it wasn't directed at him.

"Saru! Fei!" The two looked up to see the group gathered at the dock. They ran over to them, more specifically, at the pale teen. Before the greenet could make a run for it, he was swarmed by the others who began throwing questions of concern and from the girl's side, apologies.

At first, Fei was stunned and confused when the group he had known for less than a day suddenly crowded around him.

"Fei!"

"You alright, kid?"

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Don't worry! We threw those bastards to the police!"

"They won't be bothering you ever again!"

Voices clashed together until they were all a jumble of noises. Fei stood stiffly, not knowing how he was supposed to respond in such this situation. He couldn't understand why they would feel concerned for a complete stranger like him.

"We're really sorry, Fei." Naje apologized sincerely. "After you two left, we tried to find you and met Saru at the rental store when he was getting new diving clothes for you."

"We got chewed out quite a bit by him." Nike added with a nervous chuckle.

"We're really sorry, Fei." Meia frowned. "We didn't mean to force you to do something you didn't want and…we got caught up in the moment. We really did think you looked wonderful, we had no idea that you hated it so much. Everything happened today was our fault. We're really sorry, Fei."

"I hope you can forgive us?" Sheep asked hesitantly as she fumbled with her fingers in a nervous gesture.

"It's…It's alright." Fei replied, a little stunned by their sincere apologies. When he saw all the guilt on their faces, he felt ashamed for assuming that they did it because of a cruel joke. "I…had fun." he admitted a little. Not about being shoved into a dress, but he enjoyed the interaction with the group and it was thanks to the dress that he had experienced being underwater for the first time, so he was thankful.

The girls lightened up when they saw the soft smile on Fei's face.

"Alright then!" Yokka smiled as he walked into the group and patted Fei's back. "We can get to know each other later, let's dive!"

The group cheered as they hurried to prepare their cameras and all other things they may need.

"That's right, where's Fei's clothes?" Giris asked, turning to Saryuu who appeared just as clueless.

"Don't know." the white haired man said causally. "I think I tossed it aside when I was running to Fei."

"Who has the bag?" Stia asked as she looked around before a short blond haired girl stepped up.

"It's here." Rokko said, holding up the plain white bag that contained Fei's clothes. "Now hurry and change."

Fei nodded before he went into the change room. When he saw the normal clothes, he smiled. It had a white t-shirt, a black sleeved shirt and an orange vest. The shorts were baggy, which Fei could already tell would be much more comfortable than a dress. The last was the black choker device that Saryuu said would activate the clothes. It looked similar to the choker of Nike's dress, but the orange haired woman's was thinner, more lady-like and elegant. After he quickly changed, he headed back outside to meet the others. He walked up to Saryuu, although still a little embarrassed from his teasing back at the hotel.

"Saru…" The white haired man looked up when he heard his name being called. When he looked down at Fei, a smile swept across his face.

"It looks great on you, Fei."

"Thank you…" Fei said softly, not knowing why he felt his face heat up a little at the compliment. Perhaps his fever was still there. "I— Thank you very much for the clothes and um…for saving me. I'll definitely pay you back for this." he said, gesturing to the rented diving clothes.

"There's no need." Saryuu waved his hand as he made his point. "It's not that expensive."

"But—"

"I got to see you in a dress, so it was worth it." The older man chuckled, grabbing Fei's hand in his and dragged the boy to the water where the others were already in. "Come on, we don't want to be left behind."

Fei ran after Saryuu while using his free hand to rub at his crimson face. His green eyes settled on the tanner hand that gripping his. That same warmth blossomed within his chest. Unable to keep the growing smile off his face, Fei slowly curled his fingers and held the hand back. He didn't know why, but he didn't dwell on it. It simply felt right.

Everything about Saryuu just felt right.

oOo

"Poor thing, he's completely tired out." Meia mumbled, keeping her tone soft as the group stared at the greenet that had fallen asleep on the table of the yakiniku* restaurant that the group had booked.

"He's a kid after all." Guumi giggled as she looked at the time, seeing that it was only eleven in the night.

"You can't blame him considering everything he had gone through." Yokka said to defend to the greenet's lack of stamina to keep up with them.

"Although his fever is gone, he's still sick. I'm surprised he lasted so long." Imusu said as he took a sip of his soup.

"You guys continue." Saryuu said, setting down his chopsticks before pulling the dark goggles over his face. He carefully took Fei's arm, taking great care not to wake him as he secured the boy on his back. "We're going to retire to our room for the night."

"You're not coming back?" Nike asked.

"You're not planning on walking back, are you?" Om asked as Giris stood up from his seat.

"I'll drive—" the gray haired man offered, but stopped when Saryuu shook his head.

"It's fine. The hotel isn't far anyways. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Saryuu left the restaurant, leaving the group staring stunned after him.

"Garo, send some protections to Saru." Meia said in an ordering tone, only to have Garo shoot her a dark glare.

"I don't need you to tell me that." he spat before turning to his friends sitting at the same table as him. "Gigam, Rodeo, Toomu, follow him."

Without a word, the three males that were picked out hurriedly set down whatever they were doing and rushed out of the restaurant.

"Saru's really smitten with that kid." Rokko said as she took a bite into her meat.

"It's the first time I've seen him so interested in someone." Zeik said.

"You mean the only time." Yuuichi corrected. "I actually thought it was a joke when Imusu said that Fei didn't even know who he was."

"Trust me, I thought the same." Chet nodded in agreement as he leaned back against his chair. "I wonder what kind of world that kid lives in to not even hear of who Saru is."

"Imusu, what do you think?" Meia asked, looking over to the blue haired man on the other side of the table.

"…My guess is that the reason Saru cares for him so much is because they can understand each other."

"What do you mean?" Giris asked curiously.

"I checked the kid's background." Imusu said before he flicked the watch on his wrist, bringing out a document with a picture of the greenet on the left hand corner. "His past is surprisingly similar to Saru. His mother died giving birth to him and at the age of ten, his father, Asurei Lune died in a car crash."

"Asurei Lune?" Guumi choked as she snapped her head to Imusu. "As in one of the former El Dorado?"

"Yes." Imusu frowned. "The boy was left with quite a sum of money. However, because he was underage and that his father didn't leave behind any wills, his only relative from his mother's side stole everything that should have belonged to him, leaving him in poverty."

"But that's—" Yokka struggled with words, not even knowing how to phrase his thoughts. "Then who was the kid living with afterward?"

"The same relative." If possible, Imusu's frown was getting deeper and deeper. "However, they only wanted the money, so they bought Fei a very small apartment in Okinawa and just left him there."

"So basically they used their custody of Fei to get Asurei Lune's money then dumped him after they got what they wanted." Meia mumbled darkly, unable to believe that someone could do that to a boy so young. "Did anyone contact the authorities?"

"No." Imusu closed the screen. "They never checked and the apartment they bought for Fei was in a shady area. Nobody there bothered to care. Since then, the kid's been working left to right to earn money and put food on his table."

"What about school?" Garo cut in, to everyone's surprise, he was actually showing a small tint of concern in his voice. "He must have gone to a school."

"His relative did register him to a school, probably because they were afraid of being caught if anyone was to check on the boy's educational background."

"I see what you mean by understanding each other." Meia sighed. "Ten years old…his life must have been torture. I'm surprised that he could still smile like that."

oOo

Saryuu breathed in the crisped night breeze as he walked along the sidewalk. The air was silent, with only occasional cars flying over his head. Looking over the rail and out the coastline, he noticed one or two people taking a small walk on the sand. A rustling sound of leaves reached his ears despite the lack of wind. Purple eyes narrowed slightly behind his black goggles, but he pretended not to acknowledge it, knowing that Garo must have sent them for his protection.

"Hmm…" A light moan brought the man out of his thoughts as the arms that were wrapped around him tightened. The white haired man smiled at the gesture, but it quickly fell when Fei buried his neck deeper into the offered neck and breathed out.

Saryuu staggered in his step, but recovered quickly as he continued his way back to their hotel. "Really…he's going to be the death of me." He chuckled to himself, unaware of a pair of mint green eyes that were slowly fluttering open.

Once Saryuu arrived at the hotel, he placed Fei on his bed. He stared down at the greenet with a longing look as he used the back of his hand to gently caress the boy's cheek, taking the soft feeling into his memory. With a sigh, he pulled off his top, about to change into his pyjamas when he felt something heavy in his pocket. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the photos that they had taken earlier today. Smiling, Saryuu placed the pictures on the table before he changed into his pyjamas and climbed into his own bed. With his back facing the younger male in his care, he closed his eyes.

A few hours passed in absolute silent. Fei's eyes fluttered open in the dark after he was certain that the older male was asleep. He slowly placed a hand to his cheek where he had felt the gentle touch. Unable to go back to bed, he decided to get a glass of water to clear his thoughts. He watched the liquid pour into the crystal clear glass. When it was full, he went to the balcony door, entranced by the sound of pelting rain and its clear path to the ocean. He was so engrossed into the scene that he found peace and for hours, he forgot the world around him. But the dryness of his throat started to torment him and he turned back to the glass. Fei placed his hand on the glass, which was warmed by the outside temperature, watching as fat droplets of rain rolled down the smooth material. He quietly turned to the dim room, green eyes settling on the bed where Saryuu soundlessly slept.

The teen leaned his forehead against the translucent material, feeling all sorts of different emotions rampaging within his chest. Noticing pictures scattered over the table, the teen quietly made his way over. He looked down, realizing that they were all pictures from yesterday's diving trip. He looked through them, unable to help but smile at all the happy faces staring back at him. One particular picture that caught his attention was the picture of him and Saryuu, surrounding by the beautiful corals they went to see. Saryuu was behind him, his arms wrapped around his frame to hold onto his hand, steadying them so the food in his palms wouldn't drift away. Around them were various types of fish with scales sparkling in vivid colours.

It was like a dream come true. It was the first time that Fei got to interact with so many people and already they were treating him as if they had been friends for years. This was all made possible because of Saryuu. It was because of Saryuu that he had so much fun. In only one day, he had laughed more than he had in years. Even Tenma had never made him laugh so much. At least, not after his best friend consulted to him about Tsurugi.

"Tenma…" Fei paused as he remembered the brunet. His eyes widened when he realized that he had almost forgotten that he came here with Tenma. He was so caught up with everything that he couldn't believe he actually forgot his long time crush. It was something that shouldn't have happened…or rather, impossible to happen. There had never been an hour where Fei didn't think about Tenma until now.

"What's…?" What was going on with him? Something was wrong. Something had to be wrong if he actually spent a day without thinking about Tenma. Feeling a need for air, Fei rushed for the door.

Click

Saryuu shifted under his blanket when he heard the clicking sound of the door closing. He jolted awake, being the light sleeper he was. His eyes instantly focused on the other bed.

"Fei?" He sat up, looking around the empty room for any sight of the teen.

oOo

"I must really be an idiot." Fei sighed to himself as he walked down the street with a light blue umbrella shielding him from the rain. It hadn't even been ten minutes since he was admiring the rain droplets from outside and he had instantly forgotten about the bad weather once Tenma filled up his mind again. It was a good thing that one of the workers in the hotel had kindly offered him an umbrella.

"Honestly, what am I doing?" he asked himself as he looked around the lonely street. Since it was early, most people were probably having breakfast. The greenet looked down at the picture he had accidently taken with him and was unable to hold back another sigh.

He was so confused. Even worse, what made him more confused was that he didn't even know what he was confused about. His heavy heart and the pattering melody of rain greatly reminded him of that day he wandered under the rain before waking up in Saryuu's apartment. The only difference was that he was on a different island and under the protection of an umbrella. He looked down at the picture again, his eyes unable to drift away from Saryuu's face. He couldn't help but find it odd how different Saryuu and Tenma were when they shared a similar face and blood.

With Tenma, the brunet was always cheerful. He had this strange ability to make friends with anyone with that heart-warming smile he always wore. He was a ball of energy that could never be used up. Even the grumpiest person would smile in his presence.

Saryuu, however, was entirely different than the brunet. He always thought before he spoke and wasn't afraid to voice out his thoughts or throw in his opinion. He seemed to be always in control of himself, very composed. He was also extremely mature. Of course, it's to be expected as he is an adult, but Fei just felt that the man was more mature than an average adult his age should be. It was as if the man was born to become a leader. His poster and the way he carried himself gave an aura of great confidence and superiority around him. Instead of being like Tenma, running around making friends, Saryuu seemed to simply attract people to him.

For one thing, Fei had never seen anyone go on vacation with so many of his friends. Ten was already a lot…but forty-four friends altogether on a vacation was something he had never seen in his life. In his school, the greenet learned that even if you're surrounded by a large group of people, they aren't as close. While people can have many friends, they tend to show favouritism towards particular individuals, thus coming up with the term of best friends. However, Fei couldn't see anything of that from Saryuu. The man treated all of his friends equally, seeming to be equally comfortable with all of them. There weren't any exceptions at all.

Meia, Giris, Imusu and everyone else…The greenet could tell from interacting with them that they were strong individuals who all seemed very successful in their lives. All of them seemed to be of a higher calibre, yet when Saryuu was around, their eyes all shone in respect. It was as if it was all because of Saryuu that such large group of individuals could even come together in the first place.

If Tenma was the light that goes around bringing people joy, then Saryuu was the fire that attracts people, making them naturally swarm towards him.

"Fei!"

Fei jumped in surprise before he whirled around to find two familiar men waving at him from down the street.

"Yokka-san— I mean, Yokka and Yuuchi." he greeted when the brunet ran up with Yuuichi trailing idly behind.

"We've been calling you for a while, but you didn't respond." Yokka said with a small look of worry. "Don't tell me you're coming down with another fever."

"Oh, no." Fei quickly shook his head to emphasize his point. "Sorry, there was just something on my mind."

"Does it have anything to do with Saru?" Yuuchi asked with a faint smirk that caused Fei to tense. He looked into those golden eyes, wondering how the other knew when the man said nothing but simply point a finger downward. Following the direction, Fei realized that he was still holding the picture of him and Saryuu, he hurriedly put it in his pocket.

"N-No!" he spluttered in panic. "T-This was just— I-I was—! I-It's not what it looks like!"

"Calm down. Your face will overheat. I don't feel like carrying you back to the hotel again." Yuuichi cut the boy off, only to receive a nudge from Yokka, who was slightly glaring at him for his rudeness. Fei, being too occupied at rubbing his face and trying to get rid of the redness, failed to notice it.

"So, Fei, what are you doing here so early in the morning?" Yokka asked, deciding to save the teen by switching the topic. The blue haired man had a feeling that if Yuuichi kept pushing, the teen would get scared off.

"I woke up early, so I thought that I'd take a look around." Fei mumbled, calming down somewhat. It wasn't exactly a lie…he was partially telling truth by leaving out the problem rampaging inside him. "What about you?"

"We're walking around as well." Yokka responded with a bright smile. "Traveling in a large group means that we don't get much time to spend alone after all, so we thought we'd walk around the town. Why don't you come with us?"

"No, it's alright. I don't want to bother you." Fei smiled back politely, only to have his arms get caught in the adults' grasps.

"You don't know your way around, right?" Yuuichi asked. "It'll be troublesome if you get lost."

"Come on, we'll show you around." Yokka added. "We know some great stores!"

"I'm really— Ah!" Fei gasped as he was being dragged down the street. "W-Wait!" Fei struggled to keep up with their wide strides, his trapped arms making it hard to keep his umbrella over his head.

They visited from street stands to souvenir stores to the department store. At first, Fei felt nervous being around the two as he still wasn't very familiar with them unlike Saryuu. However, as time passed, he began warming up to them just like he did at the soccer field. After a long walk around, as the two showed him where everything was, they ended up at the door to a pastry store. It was already nine in the morning. The rain had long stopped, so people were beginning to flood out, filling the street and beach.

"Welcome!" a waitress said as Yokka pulled Fei into the store. The greenet sighed at the cool air of the conditioner before looking around to find that the place was packed with customers, most of them were girls. "How many people?"

"Three." Yokka replied as the waitress grabbed the menus and led them to a far table in the corner. After leaving the menu with them and three glass of cold water, she gave them a professional smile before going off to tend to the other customers.

"Order whatever you like, Fei." Yokka said cheerily. "We will pay for it, so no there's need to hold back."

"But I—"

"Just order. This is a good place for us to talk anyways." Yuuichi said firmly, leaving no room for argument as the two adults opened their menus and began looking through the list of food. Fei felt a little bad in having them to treat him, but he looked down at his menu nonetheless and was surprised to find that the place was so cheap considering all the beautiful food they made. His eyes trailed around, finding his mouth watering just by looking over the names.

His eyes caught one section in particular, the parfait section. Fei had never tried it before, but he had always heard about from the girls in his class.

"Then…can I have an Ichigo Milk Parfait?" he asked shyly. He only received a smile from Yokka as the two finished selecting their orders before calling a waitress over.

"One Ichigo Milk Parfait, one Tiramisu Parfait, one Black Forest Strudel and a plate of chocolate mousse bombes."

The waitress wrote down the orders, repeating once more to confirm everything before she gathered the menus and left. They didn't have to wait very long. It only took about five minutes before the same woman returned with a tray full of their orders.

"One Ichigo Milk Parfait, one Tiramisu Parfait, one Black Forest Strudel and your chocolate mousse bombes! Please enjoy!"

"Thank you." Fei thanked, earning a smile from the woman before she walked away. He reached out to take his Ichigo Milk Parfait and was about to try it when the Tiramisu Parfait the adults had ordered was pushed in front of him. "Um…?"

"Try this too. It's pretty good." Yokka said as he handed Fei a spoon.

"It's alright, I'm fine—"

"We've ordered it for you." Yuuichi said. The minute Fei heard that, he knew that it was only polite to accept it as they had gotten it for him. So, with a nod and a word to express his gratitude, he took the spoon. For a moment, he hesitated before eating the treats. They were just so beautiful and well-designed that the greenet almost felt bad about destroying it. However, he gathered himself quickly and took a bite into the Tiramisu Parfait.

"It's delicious!" he said in awe, never having tried something so good in his life. A blush came to his face as he took another bite and savoured the sweet creamy taste melting around his tongue. Now he understood why the girls never stopped talking about these things.

Smiling, Yokka and Yuuichi began digging into their own food. During the meal, they only exchanged occasional small talks, but most of the time, they were preoccupied with consuming their dessert.

"So…" Yuuichi looked up once they all finished eating aside from half of Fei's Ichigo Milk Parfait. The golden eyed man stopped in his sentence, waiting for the waitress to clear away their cups and plates before continuing. "What do you think of Saru, Fei?"

Fei choked as he struggled to swallow the content that was half way down his throat. Once he managed that, he grabbed his tissue and coughed into it, some of the cream entered his lungs.

"There's really nothing—!" He coughed, thinking that Yuuichi was still on about him and that photo. "I-I just accidently took the photo without realizing when I—!"

"Slow down, Fei. Slow down." Yokka reached over the table to pat the boy's shoulder as Fei did as told. He stopped speaking and focused on regaining his breathe.

"You know, Saru loves you, Fei." the blue haired man said with a small chuckle. He didn't miss the way the teen stiffened when he heard. "Judging from your reaction, you seem to be aware of it already though."

"Knowing Saru, he told you straight up, right?" Yuuichi asked and his question was instantly answered when Fei's face flared. If this was any other time, he would have found it amusing that someone could express his thoughts so easily, but this wasn't one of those times. This was about Saryuu and they couldn't afford to joke around. "We don't know how much you know about him, but it's the first time we've seen Saru show so much interest in someone else."

"Yeah." Yokka agreed as he took a sip of his water. "Saru's life is…hard you could say." He put down his glass with a sigh and leaned back in his seat. "He earns good money, has a great living environment. Sounds like a great life, doesn't it?"

Fei nodded slowly. It certainly did sound like a wonderful life, something he definitely would want.

"But the truth is, Saru had to sacrifice many things to get where he is now," Yuuchi cut in. "To be in his line of…work he had to take up many responsibilities. Due to that, he often acts like a fifty year old man, especially at work. He rarely gets a day off and works seven days a week. That's why outside of work, Saru doesn't have a life. He doesn't know the meaning of rest. Even when he returns home, the only thing on his mind was his work."

"No matter how good he is at his job, he's only twenty-one." Yokka took a hold of the conversation again. "There are too many weights put on his shoulders. While he does have us around, he needs something that's more than a friend. He needs his own life and a special someone who can be around at all times unlike friends. He needs someone who he can truly be happy around."

"…Why are you telling me this?" Fei asked quietly as he stared at his parfait, all appetite was suddenly gone.

"Because you're the one he chose for that role." Yuuichi explained in an equally soft voice. "All of us can see how fond Saru is of you. It's the first time any of us has seen him so relaxed."

"Relaxed? Saru is?" Fei asked quietly. It didn't seem that way to him, but then again, he knew nothing about the man.

"To tell the truth, Saru was the one who told us to check up on you." Fei snapped his head up to Yokka, shocked at the information. "He was worried when you disappeared without any note, so he called us to see if you're alright. He always had this strange ability to know where we are." the blue haired man said with a shudder.

"So…Saru asked you guys to…do all this?" Fei asked, looking to his parfait before turning to the two men. He didn't know why, but he felt a little hurt that the other two only interacted with him only because Saryuu asked them to.

"No." Yuuichi said, knowing that Fei had clearly misunderstood their intentions. "He only wanted us to see if you're alright. Confronting with you was our own decision."

"We want to get to know you, Fei. Saru just gave us that chance." Yokka added cheerily. "But next time you want to take a walk around, at least leave a note behind or people will worry."

Fei lightened, but he didn't know if it was because the two wanted to get to know him or the fact that Saryuu was worried about his wellbeing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make him worry. I just…there's a lot on my mind."

"If you understand, then it's time to go back." Yuuichi said. "Everyone should be up by this point. We're going to ride out into the ocean and have a picnic at the Sakura Isle, so you better get back and get ready."

"Sakura Isle?" Fei gapped. "The artifice island that cultivate multiple colours of Sakura? I thought you needed a special pass to get there." And what's more, the pass was very expensive. Fei searched it up online the day before arriving here and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw all the zeroes. And if he remembered correctly, they give out only thirty passes per day, so how was it that they could go to the island in such large group?

"That's the one." Yokka smiled before he gave a light wave of his hand. "You go on ahead. We'll join up later."

With a nod, Fei stood up, thanking the adults for the delicious food before he exited the restaurant and jogged back to the hotel. The sunlight beamed down from the clear sky as the air smelled fresh thanks to the rain. Fei couldn't help but think of how beautiful the start of the day was. After returning the umbrella to the hotel, Fei arrived back into Saryuu's room to see the older man typing on his laptop again.

"Welcome back." Saryuu said warmly, giving Fei a light smile that made the teen duck his head a little in embarrassment.

"I'm back." Fei said as he took off his shoes and put on his slippers. He watched as Saryuu clicked a few things before he closed his laptop. "How was your walk?"

"It was good…I um…met Yokka and Yuuchi." Fei mumbled softly. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I didn't mean to leave without saying anything…"

"It's fine. I overacted as well." Saryuu smiled faintly. "You're seventeen after all, almost an adult. You're old enough to know what you're doing."

"How did you know?" Fei asked, perking up in surprise when he heard his age. "How did you know that I'm seventeen?"

"I spoke to Tenma, remember?" Saryuu replied smoothly, his smile still in place. "I have to know the age of my charge after all. As long as you're staying with me, I'm responsible for your safety."

Fei nodded as he relaxed, not wondering why he was getting so worked up over every little thing. "I…heard from Yokka and Yuuichi that you're all going to Sakura Isle?"

"We are." Saryuu corrected, noticing a deflated look on the teen. "You don't like sakura?"

"No!" Fei quickly waved his hands in front of him. "I love them…I just…It's the money—"

"I will pay for you, Fei. It won't be a problem."

"But that is the problem." Fei protested. "You're doing all these things for me…and I'm really grateful, but…I can pay for myself. You don't have to waste it on me. I can take care of myself. Yesterday too…you wouldn't accept the money for the diving clothes and the Yakiniku…"

"It's not a waste, Fei." Saryuu stood up from where he sat and walked up to Fei. "I'm spending it on someone I love. Do you think that's a waste?"

"Why…Why are you going so far?" Fei asked, unable to hold it in anymore. "You barely know me."

"Then let me." Saryuu responded quickly. He was now standing very close before the teen. He reached forward, tenderly placing his palm over Fei's soft cheeks. He tilted the greenet's head up so their eyes could properly meet. "During the remaining time that you're with me, let me take care of you. You don't need to do anything aside from letting me spoil and pamper you, alright?" Saryuu asked, giving a gorgeous wink that practically melted the teen.

"Change into your swimwear. We'll be meeting up at the lobby in half an hour." Fei could only nod dumbly as Saryuu walked passed him, giving a good ruffle over his light green hair before disappearing into the bathroom. A second later, Fei caught the sound of shower turning on. The greenet took a deep breath in a failed attempt to calm his heartbeats. He didn't know why, but when he heard Saryuu speak those words to him, he couldn't help but feel something fluttering inside his stomach. His mind drifted far away as those tender words echoed repeatedly in his head.

oOo

"Alright! Listen up, everyone!" Garo thundered over the voices as the group gathered at Saryuu's private beach. Fei stood by Yuuichi and Yokka's side, his face still a little red as he snuck a glance to Saryuu every chance he got. The man was standing a few feet away, talking quietly to Imusu and mumbling words he couldn't hear.

The greenet gently tugged at the orange wind jacket Saryuu had put on him before they left their room. The man said that it would get chilly, but Fei didn't understand what he meant seeing how hot today was. But never less, he felt his heart pounded at the concern and gentleness the white haired man displayed.

"Fei~" a voice suddenly called the teen back to reality as he felt a hand shake at his shoulder. He turned to meet with the blue irises of Yokka, who was looking down at him with a wide grin.

"Pair up." the older man told him. "Get yourself a partner."

"Eh?" Fei hurriedly looked around, unable to understand what was going on as he saw everyone shuffling around.

"Saru's open." Yuuichi nodded towards in the other white haired man's direction. Fei hesitantly glanced at Saryuu who was having a conversation with Imusu.

"He seems to be with Imusu." Fei replied as he tried to find someone else, only to have his sight blocked by Yokka.

"You won't know until you try!" the bluenet sang as he grabbed the shorter teen by his shoulders and spun him around.

"W-Wait—!" Fei tried to protest, but was too late. Yokka gave him an extraordinarily hard shove that sent him stumbling forward and crashing into Saryuu's back.

Saryuu quickly took a step forward to balance himself and turned to see what had collided into him. When he looked down, his expression brightened at the sight of the green haired teen.

"Then I'll be going now." Imusu said, waiting until he gained a nod of approval from Saryuu before he headed towards Om, who was apparently waiting for him.

"I-I'm sorry!" the greenet spluttered as he hurriedly tried to pull himself away, only to have two hands catch him by the forearms.

"Want to by my partner, Fei?" Saryuu asked with a bright smile. He watched in amusement as Fei's face changed colours, struggling for a long while before finally responding with a shy nod.

"Alright then, we'll begin explaining the game!" The teen looked up to see Meia standing over the group. She waved her hands, gesturing to the aero bikes lined up at the beach. Fei couldn't help but feel the need to admire the vehicles again. The aero bikes weren't new. There were some small scratches here and there, but from the way they sparkled under the sunlight, it was easy to tell that they had been taken really good care of. Fei was certain that there was no way any of these were rented from the beautiful designs that decorated them.

First, a private beach, then booking the garden on the top of the hotel, the entire yakiniku restaurant, and now this. More than before, Fei felt curious as to how these adults, who were just a few years older than him, had such money. It made him grow more and more concerned about his own future, wondering if he could ever rent a decent room with a good roommate when he moves to college.

"The goal is to reach Sakura Isle. Whoever reaches Sakura Isle first will be allowed the only front seat to the fireworks!" There were cheers coming from everyone as Fei looked around, confused by what fireworks they are talking about. Was there supposed to be a festival?

"The mechanics have altered all of our aero bikes so that they won't go past the speed of a hundred and thirty kilometers per hour—"

"What?!" Garo roared. "What do you mean altered?! I never heard about this!"

"Calm down, Garo. It's only temporary." Rodeo said through the strange and slightly creepy mask he never seemed to take off.

"The rule is made for safety reasons after the incident last time." Meia said sternly, shooting Garo and the group around him a small glare before continuing. "Only this time, it won't be a simple race. Each bike will have one driver and one shooter." Meia pulled out a transparent blue gun. "The driver will be handling the bikes while the shooters are allowed to shoot down other racers with these water guns. The instant you fall into the water, its game over. Naturally, if your partner falls, you will be automatically disqualified. You're only allowed to use the water function to attack other racers. No physical contacts allowed and the bikes must remain the in the water as long as you are in the race, are we clear?"

The group all replied with a loud "yes".

"Then get to your vehicles and wait for your marks!" Deck shouted as the group scattered.

"I'll drive." Saryuu said, grabbing Fei's hand as the man led him to the black and orange stripped bike. "You use this." The man handed Fei the gun that was identical to the one Meia had shown, only this one had a rather thick tube on the gun's grip, attached to the bike where Fei guessed it would draw the water from.

"You should wear this as well." Saryuu said, taking off his goggles and handing it over to the greenet. "It'll get windy when it starts."

"But what about you?" Fei asked, looking down at the goggles before turning back to Saryuu. "Don't you need it too?"

"I'll be fine."

Fei wanted to protest, but quickly clamped his mouth shut. He remembered back to what Saryuu told him about this habit of his, so he decided to accept it.

"Thank you." The teen felt his heart flutter when Saryuu threw him a smile. He put the goggles over his head, but he needed to adjust the strap a little as they were a bit loose on him. After he was done, he looked at the bike, feeling a little nervous since he had never ridden on one before. He looked around to find that everyone had gotten on their respective bikes. The greenet turned, about to do the same as well when Saryuu caught his hand just as he was about to climb on behind him.

Fei turned to Saryuu, wondering if he had done anything wrong when Saryuu tugged the boy and made him fall right onto his lap. "You'll be safer in the front." Fei looked up at Saryuu, with a dark blush. He struggled to try to find something to say, but before he could, he was once again beaten by someone else.

"Everyone ready?" Fei looked up to the sky to see Imusu and Om hovering high above them in their aero bike. Imusu's voice was booming down to all of them loud and clear through the miniature speaker clipped to his collar. "Om and I will be the judge for this match." Imusu declared. "We'll be watching from the air, so stick to the rules. Zeik, Masura, Deos and Sheep will be waiting at the finish line. If you get lost, just follow the map installed to your vehicles."

Fei watched as Saryuu pressed a few buttons and brought out a blue screen of a map. Fei stared at the small white dots which he assumed was them and a red dot further away seeming to be their destination.

"On your marks!" Om held out a gun and pointed it to the sky. Fei hurriedly pulled Saryuu's goggles over his eyes.

"Get set…GO!" The gun went off with a bang as the bikes shot forward. The greenet took in a sharp breath as he grabbed onto Saryuu in fear of being thrown off. Suddenly, Fei was more than grateful for the coat and the goggles as he felt the wind pound violently against his body. He held onto Saryuu tightly when the bike made sharp jerks left and right, making it hard for him to keep his balance. Hearing the sound of water and screams around him, Fei slowly opened his eyes just in time to see Saryuu quickly hit the brake to doge a stream of water aimed for them.

"You alright there, Fei?" Saryuu asked, keeping his eyes out as he made sharp turns to dodge another attack.

"Y-Yeah." Fei breathed before he finally remembered the water gun in his numb hand.

"Why don't you give the gun a try? I'll get us an easy target." Fei looked up at Saryuu. He gave a hesitant nod as Saryuu spun the bike around and chased after their nearest opponent, which happened to be Yuuichi and Yokka.

"S-Saru!" Yokka gapped when he saw who was behind them. He hastily slapped at Yuuichi's back to alert him of the danger they were in.

"Now, Fei!"

"Y-Yes!" Fei gasped as he quickly held out the gun. He pulled at the trigger as a jet of water shot out of the gun. The power was so strong that Fei was taken by surprise. He quickly grabbed the gun with his other hand, struggling to support it and keep it steady as his arms quivered. Unfortunately, Fei's aim was more than off, shooting into the ocean that was two meters away from his target.

"Missed!" Yokka laughed.

"Not quite." Saryuu smirked, jerking the bike towards the left and causing the stream of water that was still blasting out of Fei's gun to slam right into Yokka and Yuuichi, sending both of them flying off their bike and into the water.

"That's one down." The white haired man chuckled as Fei stared, dumbfounded. He looked at the gun, then back to the two men in the water as he tried to figure out how Saryuu did that. The greenet turned to his partner, only to be reminded of their position from how close Saryuu's face was to his.

"S-Sorry about that." he apologized instantly, hoping to find something to cover the rush of blood going to his face.

"We took them down. I'd say that's pretty good for your first time." Saryuu said. "Though, if you change your position a bit, you'll be able to aim better."

A squeak emitted from Fei's throat when Saryuu suddenly pulled him flat against his strong chest. "Sit up straight like this." he instructed, pushing the boy's back to get the teen to straighten up. He then reached his arm around Fei, overlapping his hand on the greenet's, which was still gripping onto the gun. "Close your left eye and look through the slit here."

"Like this?" Fei asked, only to yelp and grab a hold of Saryuu's arm as they made another turn.

"Saru!" The green haired teen looked up to find Meia and Giris…The purple haired woman sitting in her boyfriend's lap much like the greenet was, the only difference was that they were in a much more intimate way. Now Fei felt even more embarrassed about his position. "Don't think we'll go easy on you! That first seat belongs to us." Meia declared with a smirk as she pointed her gun at them.

"Duck." Fei didn't have the time to understand what Saryuu meant when his body was bent forward, covered by Saryuu's larger frame as the jet of water shot over their heads.

"Facing Meia and Giris could be trouble right now." Saryuu said, sitting back up as he changed their route. "Let's find some cover."

"Wait, Saru!" Fei gapped when Saryuu began charging them towards the battle field of water flying left to right. "B-By cover you don't mean— Aaah!" Fei screamed when Saryuu suddenly forcefully lifted the front of the bike. The vehicle skipped over a small wave of water, sending them flying into the air and over the streams of water being shot left and right.

"Watch carefully." Saryuu whispered into the greenet's ear as he took Fei's water gun. He held the weapon out and with a quick pull of the trigger, shot down Nike and Sheep with deadly aim. Fei watched in amazement as Saryuu turned the gun to another direction and took down Sync and Rodeo.

The instant they landed, Saryuu grabbed a hold of Fei, using their bodyweight to help spin the bike around as he shot down Rokko and Pino. Water was flying everywhere, but Fei was too occupied by the sight to even notice his wet clothes clenching onto his body.

"When you aim at a target, don't aim where they are. Aim at where they will be. Since we're on bikes, we always move in a straight line, so it's just a matter of calculation and observing our opponents. Close your left eye when you shoot and look through the small slit at the top." Saryuu instructed as he drove the bike forward and fired out a stream of water just as another opponent rushed towards them. Fei watched in amazement as the two attacks met. The moment the two streams of water cancelled out one another, Saryuu fired another shot into the mist created by the droplets scattered in the air.

Fei watched with Saryuu's goggles protecting his eyes from the water raining over them as Saryuu's attack blew away the mist and hit Chet and Deck's bike right on the mark. The vehicle spun out of control, doing a complete one-eighty as the two occupants were thrown into the sea.

"A…Amazing…" That was all Fei could muster as he watched Saryuu completely dominate the game. It was a completely one-sided fight.

"Thanks for the compliment." Saryuu chuckled as he started the bike and rode off towards their goal. "Now, it's your turn." His only hand that was in control the bike left the handle. He gently took the greenet's other hand and adjusted his hold over the gun.

"You have a weak grip." Saryuu smiled as he noted how small those wrists were. He could easily wrap his hands around them. "Since the water pressure is rather strong, you will need both hands to steady your aim. Use your left hand as support under your right…and straighten your arms when you shoot. It'll help steady your movement."

Fei nodded as he followed Saryuu's instructions. He wrapped his left hand under his right and straightened his arms. "Now…" Saryuu held his hand under Fei's to steady him as the teen saw a bike with Naje and Mori coming into view. The white haired man hurriedly slowed down their pace, making their approach quiet so the two women wouldn't be alerted. It was sort of like a cat stalking it's pray, waiting for the right moment to pounce. "Remember that when you aim, aim a little higher, as the muzzle is below your eye line."

Fei did as he was told as he closed one eye and adjusted his hold on the gun. He stared at the two women through the slit who weren't the slightest bit aware of the danger.

"Fire." Saryuu's voice whispered as Fei pulled the trigger. A jet of water shot out and this time it wasn't as wobbly as before. The attack hit Mori right in the back and knocked her into the water.

"Mori!" Naje gasped as she quickly stopped the bike to see Saryuu and Fei. She gave out a long, defeated sigh, grumbling words Fei couldn't hear as the pair glided past them and towards their destination.

"I got them!" Fei still couldn't believe that he actually landed a hit.

"Yes, you did." Saryuu grinned brightly at his love interest was practically bouncing in the small seat between his legs. It forced the older man to scoot back a little, just to avoid some…specific contact that would set off an unwanted desire inside him.

"Now then, I believe we have our next opponent." the older man said, but in reality, it was just something he needed to distract himself with. With a hard stomp on the pedal, they flew off, skipping over the small waves as jets of water began heading rapidly at them. Fei turned around, looking over Saryuu's shoulder to find Stia and Kuracchi chasing their tail.

As each opponent they faced, Fei gradually grew more confident, surprising everyone else by how well the pair seemed to work together. It was as if their minds were linked. As the island came into view, Saryuu wrapped a tight arm around Fei's middle, pulling the teen against him as they skipped over the wave like what they did the first time. However, the man pushed their weight forward, tipping the vehicle as they performed a spin in mid-air and over the head of their last opponent.

Meia and Giris could only watch in shock as the greenet pointed his water gun over his head and at the couple in a point-blank range. With a pull on the trigger, the two were hurled off their bikes and into the water.

The bike slid over the sand as Saryuu slid the bike sideways and dug his heel down, coming to an immediate stop after crossing the finishing line. Fei clutched the water gun tightly in his hand as he panted in excitement, realizing that they had won. He couldn't help but laugh. This was the first time he had so fun in something other than soccer and the new experience was a thrill to him. Saryuu laughed with him, having enjoyed immensely the little race as much as the teen. Although it was a strategy he had built up to loosen up the other, he ended up getting absorbed into it as well.

After everyone else arrived, thoroughly drenched, they all congratulated the pair. After that, they made their way to the center of the island where a picnic spot with wrapped up food was laid, ready and waiting for them. They dug into the food quickly, all of them famished after the battle as they ate under the multi-coloured sakura.

That is…all but Fei and Saryuu.

The teen found himself sitting awkwardly beside Saryuu. After the excitement left his veins, the greenet was forced to remember how close they had been on the bike and there were even multiple times Saryuu held him tightly to prevent him from falling off as they made sharp turns and flipped in the air. The two were sitting on the beach, quietly nibbling on their sandwiches.

Saryuu was eating a healthier type with lettuce, tomato and ham while Fei was enjoying his strawberry jellied sandwich. He was constantly shifting around as he ate, suffocated by the silence, but dared not to break it. As he finished his last bite, Saryuu reached into the basket and held out another one to the greenet without even turning to looking at him. For a moment, the greenet wondered if the man had eyes on the side of his head.

"Ah…thank you." Fei sweat dropped, wondering if it was always so hard to speak to the older man. Now that he thought about it, it was always Saryuu who did the speaking and he just followed along. He never really initiated anything before.

"Um…" Fei looked down at the sandwich, and then slowly up to Saryuu. "Saru, thanks for—"

"Thank you for today, Fei." Saryuu said, beating the teen to it as he turned and gave the teen a charming smile. "It was fun. Sorry if you felt uncomfortable just now. I was just thinking about some things. It's been a while since I've had fun like this."

"No, that should be my line." Fei quickly said. "Thank you."

Saryuu smiled a little wider before he bit into his sandwich. The waves rolled out, touching their toes before being drawn back into the ocean. "Tell me some things about yourself, Fei."

"Eh?" Fei looked up at the older man, taken by surprise.

"I just realized how there are so many things I don't know about you. Could you tell me?"

Fei looked down to his feet as the waves washed over his skin again. "I…Sure." He nodded slowly. "Like what?"

"Hmm…" Saryuu thought for a moment. "How about this? I ask you one question, and you ask me one back?"

"Okay." Fei nodded, feeling a bit more comfortable with this. At least it wouldn't be awkward when he wanted to know some things about Saryuu.

"What is your favourite colour?" the man asked. Even though it was a lame and overused question, it was simple, something suitable to get the other to relax more.

"Orange." Fei replied swiftly. "Umm…what about yours?"

"Mine?" Saryuu gave the question some thought, his eyes never drifting away from the greenet. Fei squirmed a little under the calculating look of the other man. "I would say green, like the colour of spring."

The greenet felt his face redden a little. For a moment, he thought that there was some underlying meaning behind it, but he quickly shook it off and mentally slapped himself for thinking such ridiculous things.

"Favourite food?"

"Um…" Fei paused a bit, thinking. "Wagashi*, I guess."

"Wagashi?" Saryuu asked as he raised a fine eyebrow in interest.

"There is this store owned by an old couple that sells them near my school. They're really cheap and delicious. I tried remaking it at home, but I could never get it to taste the same."

"They must be really delicious then." Saryuu chuckled. "I would love to try it myself, especially served with maccha*."

"I could show you where—" Fei stopped himself when he remembered how Saryuu was from Tokyo. After this trip, they would return to their separate ways.

He won't ever see Saryuu again…

"Fei?" Saryuu noticed the small frown on the other's lips. He reached over, gently placing a finger under the boy's chin and lifted his head up so their eyes could meet. "Something wrong?"

"Ah—! N-No…" Fei quickly pulled back in embarrassment as he felt his cheeks warm up again. "Nothing…um, what do you do in your free time, Saryuu?"

"Free time, huh?" Saryuu hummed as he turned his attention back to the emerald sea. "I guess reading would be one. I enjoy mystery novels and the old literatures from the twentieth centuries."

Fei had to hold back a smile when he imagined Saryuu sitting on a couch under the lamp and reading through a novel. It strangely suited him with the air of superiority he gave off. "Come to think of it, what do you do for work, Saru?" Fei asked, remembering how he didn't know what the older man did for a living.

"That won't do, Fei." Saryuu gave him a small smirk. "I haven't asked my question yet."

"Ah…sorry." Fei smiled a little as he waited for Saryuu's question while running over the possibilities of what the white haired man works as.

"A stuffed rabbit…" Saryuu began, looking off into horizon. "Did you have one?"

"Eh?" Fei blinked, not expecting such a question. "A rabbit?" He thought back. "Yeah…I did have one." he said hesitantly. The memory was a bit fuzzy, but he did remember carrying one around when he was a small boy. It was the only thing his mother ever left him after she passed away from giving birth to him. However, as Fei tried to remember more, he realized that he couldn't remember what happened to it. At some point, the rabbit seemed to just disappear and was forgotten…"Why do you ask?"

"…No reason." Saryuu said as he pulled himself onto his feet and picked up the basket of sandwiches. "Let's walk around. We're on Sakura Isle after all. It'll be a waste not to enjoy the scenery."

Fei nodded as he took Saryuu's offered hand and let the man pull him to his feet. They walked under the sakura trees, Saryuu's strange question was instantly forgotten after he saw the beautiful sakura. They were sparkling vividly under the sunlight in the colours of the rainbow. When the wind blew by, the petals rained down on them, adding to a layer of petals like a carpet under their feet. Some of them even got caught in his jelly sandwich, resulting in the teen eating a few petals stuck to the sticky jelly.

As they wandered around, they met with some of the others, who had all scattered after eating and enjoying their own time. The Zan decided to head for the beach with soccer balls in hand. Most of the Garu were staying behind at the picnic spot, chatting quietly to themselves. The Garu split into groups and went around, exploring.

After a long walk, Fei and Saryuu decided to rest under the largest and oldest sakura tree in the center of the island. The teen's head kept nodding off, his eyelids heavy over his eyes as he let out a wide yawn. Saryuu smiled warmly at the sight of the greenet. It was to be expected that he was tired from all the excitement they had done in just one morning.

"Sleep, Fei." Saryuu said as tired mint green eyes focused on him.

"Oh, no, it's alright. I'm fine." Fei insisted, but the yawn he let out later wasn't as convincing.

"The rest of the afternoon is only free time. Sleep. I'll call you when the time comes."

The greenet was a little hesitant, but he decided to take the man's offer as it was too tempting for him to refuse. He was dead tired, so sleep sounded like a wonderful idea. He leaned back against the tree and slowly closed his eyes. He let his mind become blank. When he heard the faint rustle of paper, he opened his eyes a little to see Saryuu pulling out a book from his back and began flipping over the pages. It was then that he closed his eyes and drifted away into the blissful darkness.

Saryuu smiled as he turned to his book and began to read. As he went through the fifth page, he felt a weight drop onto his shoulder. He stopped reading and turned to see a mop of green hair and the peaceful look on the teen's face as he slept.

"Honestly…" The man sighed as he reached up and gently brushed away a lock of green hair that had fallen over the greenet's face. "I did tell you that I wouldn't do anything, but you really should show some defense around me."

Saryuu gently brushed his fingertips over the smooth, porcelain cheek. His eyes drifted over every curve on the boy's face, memorizing everything in the moment before he pulled his hand back and turned his eyes back to his book. However, the man found that he couldn't read another word. The teen leaning on his shoulder was proving to be too much of a distraction. In the end, he gently snapped his book shut and leaned back against the bark of the sakura tree. He closed his eyes, deciding that joining the greenet for a short nap wasn't a bad idea.

After the white haired man drifted off, Yuuchi and Yokka came around the bushes. The blue haired man was talking loudly when he was stopped by his companion, who slapped a hand over his mouth. Yokka gave Yuuchi a look, but the golden eyed man only pointed to their left. Following the direction of the other's finger, Yokka was sure he would laugh out loud if not for the hand pressed tightly against his mouth.

There, under the large, lavender sakura tree, were Saryuu and Fei. The two were leaning against one another, Fei's head was on Saryuu's shoulder and Saryuu's head was resting against Fei's. The sunlight shone down on them through the petals of the flower as they were a glass window, making them look like an artist's painting.

Smirking at the sight, Yuuchi removed his hand after he was sure that Yokka wouldn't burst out laughing. He held out his phone and with a soft snap, he took down the moment. After that, the two quietly snuck away, deciding not to bother the two and alert the others of not come near this spot.

When the girls saw the pictures, all of them demanded a copy. Meia was even calling someone from the trusted company, wanting the image to be enlarged and put in a frame that Giris had made quick work to buy from the net.

By twilight, when Saryuu came up to the group with a still sleepy Fei by his side, he noticed a strange look over groups faces, but said nothing about it. They set up the barbeque grill and unpacked frozen meat that was kept in the cooler. Garo and his team even brought salmon that they caught while playing at the beach.

Fei helped with the preparation. He put the ribs on the plate and used a brush to spread the barbeque sauce evenly over the meat. The girls occasionally came over to him and told him some advice and even showed him how to make some of the spices.

Saryuu stood to the side, grilling the meat while keeping his eyes on the greenet. He smiled at how at eased the boy was now with interacting with the others. By nightfall, the lamps lit up, shining various colours of lights onto the sakura as the group ate.

Fei hummed in delight as the taste of the grilled salmon with lemon dill butter swarmed in his mouth. He didn't know how Garo brought in so many salmons, but the taste was simply amazing, more so when Saryuu was the one who skilfully grilled it. It was just right, not over cooked, but not too raw.

"How is it, Fei? Not too salty I hope." Saryuu said as he sat down next to the greenet after handing the grilling job to Imusu.

"No, it's great!" Fei said happily. "How did you make it?"

"That's a trade secret." Saryuu said jokingly as he looked down to his plate before he transferred his proportion of the salmon to Fei.

"Have it." Saryuu said just as the greenet was about to protest. Fei looked up to meet Saryuu's eyes. Heat exploded over his face when he saw the loving gaze the older man was looking at him with. The teen hastily turned to his plate and stuffed himself with another bite of the delicious fish.

He let out a muffled thank you, completely forgetting his manner of not speaking with food in his mouth.

Saryuu smiled. He reached out and took a chicken wing into his plate and began to eat. Their eyes never made any more contact, Fei out of shyness and embarrassment while Saryuu decided to spare the teen and give him a bit of space.

As they ate in silence, Fei couldn't help but sneak a glance as he remembered their conversation early today. Tomorrow…that was the last day that they would be here. After tomorrow, Saryuu would leave. He would return to Tokyo while Fei to Okinawa. The thought of Saryuu leaving made his stomach twist uncomfortably. Suddenly, feeling the loss of appetite, he set down his plate.

"Fei?" Saryuu asked quietly, noticing something was wrong as Fei barely ate anything aside from the two pieces of salmon.

"Sorry, I just…erm…want to…" The greenet's eyes were darting around, obviously showing the entire world that he was trying to come up with an excuse. "Bathroom! That's right! I need to use the bathroom!" he said quickly.

Saryuu just gave a calculating look before he smiled and pointed towards the direction of the beach. "The bathroom is that way, Fei."

"Thank you." Fei quickly said as he rushed off. After the teen vanished, Imusu walked over to Saryuu with a large plate of shish kebabs in hand.

"That was the first time I've see someone lie so obviously." The blue haired man noted as he looked over to where the greenet had vanished into.

"It just goes to show how pure he is." Saryuu chuckled as he bit into his sausage.

"You're not going after him?"

"No." the man replied, now sipping his beverage. "We're the only ones on the island, so safety isn't something I need to worry about. If he wants some time alone, then that is his freedom. There's nothing I can do about that."

Saryuu gazed up to the sky and focused his gaze on the twinkling stars above. His eyes softened as he let out an almost inaudible sigh.

On the eastern side of the island, Fei too, was gazing up to the beautiful lights dancing over the dark curtain of the night. He took in a breath of crisp air before look down at the waves rolling up the sand, almost touching his feet before they were drawn back to the ocean.

One more day…

Everything that happened on this island, the people he met, the games he played, the food he ate and Saryuu…everything would end in one more day. Tomorrow, Saryuu and the others would leave the hotel while he would go back, alone, to his apartment.

Back to his old lifestyle…back to Tenma and leaving this behind as if it was nothing but a dream.

"I don't want that…" Fei choked out. He had meant it to be a simple thought, but he couldn't care less whether he spoke it out loud or not now. "I don't want this to be a dream…" He quickly raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, getting rid of the tears before they could fall.

He didn't want to lose what he had gained here. He didn't want to dump it behind him, but what choice did he have?

"I will formally ask you out by the end of the week, before we leave this place and return to our separate lives." Saryuu's voice suddenly echoed in back of his head as Fei remembered what the man had told him in his confession. "If by then I can earn even the smallest place inside your heart, then please give me a chance to be a part of your world."

Smallest place? Fei pondered for a while. No…Saryuu didn't earn a small place. He played a huge part in his life on this vacation island. Ever since the teen had arrived, Saryuu had done everything in his power to help him. He comforted him, fed him, took care of him, protected him and more importantly, made him feel loved. Without Saryuu, none of this could have been possible. Without Saryuu, he would still be back at Tokashiki Island, living next to Tenma and Tsurugi. He would have to go through the torture of watching them interact every waking moment if Saryuu didn't save him from the misery and pain.

However, did he love Saryuu? Fei knew he enjoyed being around the other, but did he love the older man? He had only known him for four days—three and a half to be precise. With Saryuu being Tenma's cousin and the fact that they shared the same face, he could very well be simply seeing Saryuu as a replacement over his unrequited love.

He didn't want that. He didn't want to think that he might do something so cruel, but the possibility was definitely there. He didn't even know what to do. His heart still stung a little at the remembrance of Tenma. Although the pain was not as powerful and numbing as before, it was still there. His interactions with Saryuu may have allowed him to temporarily forget about the brunet, but it didn't help him forget about his love for the other. He loved Tenma for too long for it to be erased in a matter of days.

"What should I do?" Fei whispered. He wanted to accept it. He wanted to try with Saryuu next to him, but he couldn't. Not until he understood his own feelings, otherwise it would be unfair to the older man and he did nothing to deserve it.

"Fei?" a voice called. Fei turned towards the shadow of the trees where his name was echoing from. "Fei!"

"Yokka!" Fei called back, recognizing the voice as he stood up. He was about to run over when he remembered that his pants were covered with sand. He quickly patted them just as the blue haired man poked his head out from around a tree.

"Come on, Fei." he called. "It's starting and you don't want to miss it."

"Miss what?" Fei asked, jogging to the older man's side and the two headed back to the camp.

"The fireworks, of course." Yokka replied as they emerged into the clearing to see the group, all spread out and getting comfortable on the soft blades of grass.

"Fireworks?" Fei asked as a blur of orange and black suddenly shot by him. Turning around, Fei was stunned by the presence of Saryuu, who was sitting on his aero bike, hovering a couple inches off the ground.

"Fireworks." the white haired man said before he stretched out his hand in a silent invitation.

Fei didn't give it thought as he took the hand like an obedient dog when asked for a shake. Smirking, Saryuu wrapped his hand over Fei's and tugged the greenet onto him.

With a step on the gas pedal, the aero bike shot forward and towards the sky. Fei yelled out in shock as he clutched onto Saryuu tighter than before in fear of falling. After all, this was not like on water. One fall could mean serious injuries as well as…Fei looked down at the island growing smaller beneath them, death.

"Saru, w-what is this?" the teen asked, unable to stop his voice from shaking as he was practically sitting on the older man's lap and was locked in a fierce embrace. Saryuu smirked. As much as he enjoyed the touch, he was a bit insulted that Fei was so distracted by the height that he had completely forgotten just who he was clutching onto.

"Open your eyes, Fei. You worked hard to win this front row seat. Don't want to miss it now, do you?"

Fei pulled his face out of Saryuu's chest, about to ask what that meant when a loud whistling sound blew through his ears. The greenet turned just as the sound of explosions reached his ears, followed by particles of green and red lights that showered over them.

Fireworks.

More whistles came as Fei watched various lights being shot around them and burst into colours.

It was the most beautiful thing Fei had ever seen, more so than the sakura. He watched as many types of fireworks exploded before his eyes, turning into particles of light that drifted by him and gently caressed his skin. Astonished by the sight, Fei could only watch, his jaw hanging a little as a few small blue lights whizzed by him, running randomly over the sky and leaving a trail of light before they exploded in miniature fireworks.

"This is…" Fei choked out as he slowly looked around to find out that they were completely surrounded by the beautiful fireworks. He tried to form a word that could describe this scenery, but he couldn't. There was simply no word he could use to describe the breathtaking sight.

Saryuu gently pulled the greenet back, allowing the teen to rest against him as they watched the lights scatter around them. They often exchanged small talk, pointing out which one they liked as fast as they could before it faded away. Fei even laughed in joy when a rabbit ran by, circling around them before it burst right in front of his face.

As the last of the traditional fireworks vanished, the higher class ones began coming in. More rabbits danced by them as a giant goldfish shining in brilliant red and gold swam elegantly through the air.

Fei laughed even more, but Saryuu's smile, however, collapsed. The man quickly looked around when he noticed how the rabbits and goldfish began circling around them. That was certainly not supposed to happen…unless of course…

Saryuu's eyes immediately darted down to the island just as the rabbit and fish exploded with a bam, turning into light pink dust that formed the shapes of hearts. The white haired man buried his face in his hand while Fei froze at the sight. There were now white doves flying by with crimson roses dangling from their beaks, shinning vividly.

The joy and happiness seemed to be nothing but a distant memory now. Saryuu let out an awkward cough into his hand while Fei quickly scooted forward when he realized how he was unconsciously leaning onto Saryuu. There was a pregnant silence in the air. Fei was looking down at his hands, too embarrassed to see more of the strange fireworks.

Saryuu glared off to the side. The man sported a small vein when he saw a dove fly by silently. Instead of carrying a rose like the others, it was dragging a scroll of words printed in sparkling pink words that said, "Hurry up and confess!" The white haired man reached out to violently destroy the offending fireworks before Fei could see it. He silently cursed the meddling group below them, having no doubt that it was another one of the girls' brilliant ideas.

"Um…" Fei tried to come up with something, anything to get rid of the awkwardness, but as usual, he failed. Should he tell Saryuu his feelings? No, he can't. It's too soon. He didn't even know how he felt, but…but these heart shaped lights. If this was what Saryuu meant by confess, then what? How should he respond?

"Relax, Fei." Saryuu's voice hummed soothingly beside his ear as the teen felt the man's strong chest press against his back. "I'm sorry, this appears to be a cruel joke the others-" he growled as he shot another glare at the island, "-enjoy playing. Don't think too much about it."

Fei froze. A joke? He slowly looked up to the lights. So all of this…was a joke by the others? Saryuu had no part in it? Relief washed over Fei, but that was short lived as it was soon replaced with the small feeling of disappointment. What he was disappointed about? Fei didn't dwell on it as he turned and give the man the best smile he could.

"It's f-fine." he quickly said. He knew his voice was quivering, but he couldn't control it. "It's beautiful. The f-fireworks…I mean…they're really pre—!" Fei gasped as he was suddenly tugged into Saryuu's arms. The man held him close, resting his head over the teen's with a hand tenderly rubbing his back.

"Don't smile like that." Saryuu muttered softly in his ears. "Don't ever show me this kind of smile, Fei."

The greenet stiffened, but couldn't help but relax into the comforting warmth. He held onto Saryuu tightly by his shirt, not wanting to let go. He wanted this moment to last…just a little longer.

Saryuu sighed into the greenet's hair. He didn't say anything more. He couldn't. Not when the boy showed him such pained, heart breaking smile. And worse, that smile was created for him, not Tenma, not anyone to else, but for him.

"I'm sorry, Fei."

"Why…" Fei looked up in surprise when he heard the sincere apology. "Why are you suddenly apologizing?"

"You're upset and I'm the cause." Saryuu replied as he gently took a hold of Fei's chin and tilted it so he could see the teen's face.

"I-I'm not upset—" Fei tried to say, but when he saw those soft eyes of the older man, he felt his throat become dried. The greenet found himself overwhelmed by the love being expressed in the other's eyes. Once again, Fei wondered how was it possible for anyone to show so much warmth.

"I'm sorry." Fei whispered, not knowing what else to say but apologize for making the other…apologize. He tried to lower his head and break their eye contact, but Saryuu had a firm grip on his chin, preventing him from doing so.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Fei." Saryuu said as he slowly leaned down and pressed their foreheads together. "You've never done anything you need to apologize for."

Fei felt his body quiver a little at their closeness. He could feel the heat transferring into him through their connected foreheads. The heat of the other lulled him into a sense of peace as he slowly closed his eyes to fully enjoy it.

They stayed like that for a while before Saryuu slowly pulled back. Fei's eyes parted as the coolness returned. He looked up as the hand on his chin slid to his left cheek and began to caress his skin.

"Why don't we head back?" the white haired man asked with a soft smile. "It's been a long day. You should go to bed soon. We'll need to wake up early to pack."

Pack…leave.

Fei felt his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach as he was reminded of the little time they had left. "No!" Fei blurted out before he could even think. He froze as he stared into the confused gaze of Saryuu.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to shout." he said quickly. "I-I'm not tired. Can we stay a bit longer? Please?"

"…Of course." Saryuu said after taking a moment to closely observe those mint green eyes and saw the boy's desperation. He offhandedly waved away another dove before he grabbed the handle of the aero bike. They descended back to the ground where the group greeted them. All of them were holding back the curious comments they wanted to ask, knowing this wasn't an appropriate time. They went off chatting as usual and Fei tried his best to follow along while constantly fighting off his urge to yawn.

Unfortunately, time moved faster than the teen would have liked. By one in the morning, they arrived at their hotel. Everyone returned to their room after bidding each other good night. In the end, Fei found himself where he least wanted to be in…his bed.

He held onto his blanket tightly, his eyes wide open from his unwillingness to sleep. He heard the sound of the door to the bathroom opening and looked up a little to see Saryuu walking out. He was wearing black shorts and an orange t-shirt, rubbing a white, fluffy towel over his hair to dry off the water. When royal purple eyes drifted over the room and caught sight of the green eyes, he stopped in his step.

Fei quickly ducked back down to his pillow, but he knew that he had already been seen. He listened as the footsteps resumed, growing closer until he felt his bed sink down from an extra weight. "Fei?" A hand was placed on his shoulder, but even covered by a blanket, it was comfortable. "Are you alright? It's almost two o'clock, you should be asleep."

"I'm…I'm not sleepy." Fei lied, pressing his face deeper into the pillow and hiding his face from the older man.

"Is that so?" Saryuu smiled as he looked around the room before spotting the small chessboard resting on the shelves next to the television. There were other things as well, like cards, all of them placed there for the guests' entertainment.

"Then how about we play some games?" he asked. His smile grew when Fei perked up, pulling his face out of the pillow at the question. "Do you play chess?"

The greenet quickly nodded his head. Although, Fei truthfully didn't know the game all that well, he wanted an excuse to spend more time with the other, so he wouldn't pass up such opportunity. He jumped out of the bed so fast that Saryuu couldn't help but chuckle at the energy the teen had. The white haired man walked across the room, getting the chessboard and chess pieces and laid them on the table.

The greenet sat across from Saryuu who was arranging the pieces over the board, giving Fei the white pieces. They then began to play. It didn't take Saryuu five turns to figure out that the teen wasn't used to chess. The boy didn't even know about the first-move advantage white pieces were supposed to have.

Saryuu smiled a little as he purposely created a few obvious loopholes for the teen to see. Although Fei wasn't an expert like the older man was used to playing with, he found this much more enjoyable. With the greenet, he didn't need to use his mind, moving the pieces with just his emotion. There was no pressure from the board, no extensive amount of time used for thinking and overall just calming.

He moved his king a square to the left. When the greenet saw that, he instantly bounced in his seat.

"Checkmate!" Fei said in delight when he realized that he actually cornered Saryuu's King. He quickly moved up his Bishop, finalizing the trap he had been building with his Queen. Saryuu smiled widely as he put up both his hands in a surrender gesture.

"Indeed. You got me." He chuckled. "Another round?"

The greenet nodded as they began putting the pieces back in their starting positions. They played like that throughout the night, each of them taking turns in winning. By four-thirty in the morning, Fei was asleep. He was leaning back against the chair, his face turned to the side to press against the light brown leather of the couch.

Saryuu stood by the teen, looking over him silently before he slowly slipped his arms under the boy. As carefully as possible, Saryuu lifted the light body up into his arms and brought him back to his bed. He took off the boy's slippers, putting his legs on the bed before pulling the covers over him.

He stood there for a moment, gently running his hand over the silky green hair and smiled. "Good night, Fei." he whispered before he turned off the lights. He climbed onto his bed, pausing when he heard a small groan emitted from the greenet.

"—ru…"

Saryuu slowly looked behind him to see the teen's lips moving gently under the faint moonlight coming through the window.

"…Sa…ru…"

The man's eyes widened when he heard his name being mumbled. The greenet's hand scratched over the bed sheet as though he was trying to grab something. "Saru…"

Saryuu left his bed, walking back to the greenet and knelt down in front of him.

"I'm here, Fei." he said quietly. He looked down to the boy's hand frantically moving around. After taking a moment to think it over, he carefully took the hand, feeling the other grasp back tightly as a beautiful smile spread over the boy's lips.

The older man smiled as he used his other hand to comb through the smooth hair. He silently sighed as he looked to the time.

Fourteen Hours.

They have only fourteen hours left until they part. Saryuu was considering extending their vacation time just so he could spend some more time with the boy, but he knew he couldn't. He promised Fei, after all, that there would only be three days. And besides, if he took anymore days off, those old geezers would be nagging in his ears every waking hour.

"I wonder…" Saryuu whispered softly as he slowly brought Fei's hand to his lips and placed a small kiss on the boy's white knuckles. "…what your reaction will be when you learn who I am…"

With that, the man carefully loosened Fei's grip on him. He placed the boy's hand next to his head on the soft pillow before he returned to his bed. He never looked back, even after he got under the cover and closed his eyes.

oOo

Fei stood in front of the mirror of the bathroom as he stared into his reflection. His own eyes were devoid of life. Today was the day. The day that Saryuu said he'd confess his feeling for him on. To be honest, the teen wasn't ready. It was too short, too soon. He knew that he didn't want Saryuu to leave, but at the same time, he knew nothing of the man. Sure they exchanged some questions about their likes and dislikes, but that couldn't be considered knowing the other person.

He needed more time. He only knew the man for four and a half days if he added their first encounter on the beach and the time Saryuu took him in during his fever. It was simply way too short for him to make such huge decision.

"Fei?" A voice came from outside the door, followed by a few knocks that nearly made the greenet jump out of his skin.

"Y-Yes?" Fei gulped as he turned to the door.

"We will check out of the hotel in fifteen minutes. Make sure you've packed everything." Saryuu's voice said from the other side before the teen heard footsteps leaving. He frowned a little. He didn't know if he was imagining it, but Saryuu sounded more distant.

Fei made quick work to wash his face, hoping to at least get some life back into his expression before he hurried out. He saw Saryuu folding his clothes neatly and putting them away in the trunk. With an inaudible sigh, Fei began to do so too. There was nothing at all to pack, so he finished rather quickly as he zipped up his small suitcase.

When the clock struck nine, they left the room with Saryuu holding both their cardkeys. They made their way to the lobby where everyone had gathered. Saryuu handed the card over to Giris. The beige haired man jogged up to Imusu, who was at the front desk and talking to a lady.

As they waited, Fei noticed some uncomfortable gazes from the people around them. He didn't know why, but it felt like every passing person was just staring at them and…whispering?

Apparently, the greenet wasn't the only one to notice. The others caught on, seemingly sooner than the teen as they all turned to look at Saryuu in horror.

"Saru! Where are your goggles?" Fei heard Meia gasp as he turned to see Saryuu feeling a hand over his face.

"I must have packed it away." the man said offhandedly as he turned to his suitcase.

"Packed it away? What do you mean you packed it away?!" Yokka choked as all the taller members quickly stood around Saryuu to form a wall. Fei could only blink at the scene. Sure he never really seen Saryuu in public without his goggles, but he didn't see what the big deal was. It's not like the man was a wanted criminal or some form of celebrity…right?

"Of course not." Fei quickly convinced himself. There was just no way…

"What are you mumbling, Fei?" Fei snapped out of his thoughts to find himself suddenly being dragged to the door by Nike. "Come on!"

"Wait— Eh?" Fei quickly looked around to see all of them rushing for the door with the other occupants in the hotel staring at them. Once they got out, the group scattered a little as the teen saw Saryuu once more, his black goggles were back over his face.

Now that the greenet thought about it, Tenma often got people staring at him. On top of that, there always seemed to be strangers running up to talk to him. What they talked about, Fei never found out, but those people would always leave with either an embarrassed or disappointed look. Fei, being Fei, never asked. He just thought that if Tenma wanted to tell him, then he naturally would.

But now that he thought about it…it was still strange and unnatural.

"Seriously, how could you forget about them?!" Fei looked up to see Meia lecturing the white haired man who was simply shrugging her off. "It's not like you to make these kinds of mistakes."

"Enough already, Meia." Saryuu said in a dismissive tone that made the purple haired woman instantly stop pestering. Fei followed the group to the parking lot where each of them was putting their luggage into their cars. Fei kept his to his side, that is, until Yokka came and took his luggage, putting it in his and Yuuchi's shared car.

"We'll drive you back to Naha New Port." Yuuchi said.

"You live in Okinawa. Right, Fei?" Yokka asked, earning a nod as he pulled out a phone and quickly began conversing with someone.

Fei hesitated, but just smiled as he learned to accept their offers. "Thank you very much."

"No problem." Yuuchi smiled before nodding his head in the other white haired man's direction. "Go. We'll take care of everything here."

Fei nodded. Gathering his courage and pushing his fear away, he went to Saryuu, who had just closed the trunk to his car. "Umm…Saryuu?"

"Yes?" Saryuu asked, turning with a smile, though the teen couldn't see much of his face because of the goggles.

"Are we leaving right now?" he asked uncertainly. His heart pounded heavily as he waited for the answer.

"No." Saryuu chuckled. "We'll spend the rest of the day at the beach. We'll leave at sunset."

"Oh…okay…" Fei fell back to silence, not sure what else there was for him to say.

Saryuu noticed the greenet's discomfort and for the first time, he couldn't say anything. How could he offer any comfort when he wasn't that much better?

The others noticed the tension, but neither of them could say anything as it wasn't their place to interfere. However, the silence was certainly suffocating and it was enough to drive anyone mad. Rokka was tempted to stomp up and break the tension if not for Chet holding her back.

After Imusu and Giris returned from checking all of them out from the hotel, they headed for Saryuu's private beach.

"Alright everyone! Let's do some clam digging!" The group cheered as Fei looked down at the bucket and a small rake.

"We're clam digging?" Fei asked softly as he turned to Saryuu who was pulling his goggles over his head.

"Yes." Saryuu replied. "We talked to the owner of the Yakiniku store from before. He agreed to cook the clams for us." The older man smiled when he saw everyone scatter.

"Come on, or the others will beat us to it," he said as he took the teen by the wrist and dragged him to the wet part of the sand where the waves rolled by.

Digging clams made Fei recall their first encounter. The sight of the clams calmed him. It made him feel warm, forgetting about his current worries as he raked across the sand to see clams coming into his view. He smiled, quickly picking up his find up and showed it Saryuu, who in turn revealed three clams. The natural air around them finally returned as they laughed away the tension.

They dug until noon. By the end, each of them had half a bucket of clams or more. They headed to the Yakiniku store down the street. They set the bucket in the kitchen where Fei saw all the workers cutting up meat and hurrying out to serve the customers. He looked over to Saryuu who was talking to who he presumed as the owner. His goggles were back over his eyes, hiding his face from the rest of the world. He only took it off after they returned to the beach where there was nobody but them. The girls were waiting for them. The picnic cloth was covering the sand with takeout from the nearby restaurant piled up, waiting for them.

After finishing their meals, it was a free time for everyone to enjoy the last day of their vacation.

Fei was dragged by Yokka into a soccer match against none other than Saryuu. The teen was overwhelmed by Saryuu's strength, having no idea that the man was so good. On top of that, his movements were slowed thanks to the sand, making it much harder to run on than grass. In no time at all, the boy was out of stamina, unable to keep up as Saryuu shot the final goal.

"4-1, the red team wins!" Giris announced, raising his left hand towards Saru's team, who cheered.

"Nice game." Saryuu chuckled, walking up to an exhausted Fei, who was struggling to stand. The older man brought the teen under the shade of the umbrella and gave him a cold bottle of water, which Fei quickly drank to parch his thirst.

"Thank you." Fei panted, still trying to get his breath back. He took another gulp before wiping his forehead with the back of his hand to get rid of the sweat. They spent the rest of their day just talking. Their conversations were a bit shaky. Being alone under the umbrella, it felt as if they were being isolated from the rest of the world. The thought of only the two of them reminded Fei of Saryuu's soon to come conversation, which made him all shaky again. He was stuttering over his words and often hitting a wall in their conversation which resulted in a moment of awkward silence.

Unfortunately, as much as Fei hopped, time passed by way too quickly. It was faster than normal. By four, they had to clean up the beach, and head to a nearby bathhouse where they washed themselves clean.

Bath has been awkward and uncomfortable to say the least. Fei never spoke a word, making sure that he was far on the other side of the large tub from Saryuu. He used the others as a shield, mainly Fumita, who had a large frame that could block him from the white haired man's gaze. His entire face was flushed, not because of the heat, but of the thought of Saryuu seeing him naked. It made him very self-conscious.

Saryuu never once approached him. He didn't even allow his eyes to drift despite how tempting it was, respecting the greenet's privacy.

After bath, the group headed for the yakiniku. Fei was looking around for Saryuu, but was unable to find the white haired man. He had left the bath earlier than everyone else, so Fei briefly wondered if he was already at their destination. That thought, however, was quickly proven false when Fei felt a hand grab his wrist. He turned and was surprised to see Saryuu standing behind him.

"Saru!" Fei gasped as the man silently pulled him away from the group. Fei flushed when Saryuu's hand slid down and grasped his hand. The teen didn't ask where they were going, his eyes were too focused on their joined hands to care. Saryuu had dragged him countless times by his wrist, but holding his hand like this was the first. The act felt more intimate…more loving.

They walked along the quiet beach. The sun was half set and the sea sparkled in golden colours. The scenery reminded Fei of the first time he encountered Saryuu. He could clearly remember his heartbreak and the pain he felt for the first time as he cried to the sea.

They walked in silence, holding each other's hands tightly with Fei trailing a step behind the older man. After what felt like a long walk, Saryuu finally spoke. "How did you like the past few days, Fei?"

"It was great." Fei replied. "It was really fun…"

"I'm glad to hear that." Saryuu smiled as their steps slowed until they came to a stop. The wave rolled up as Fei felt water tickle his feet. "I had fun too. In fact, this was the first time in years that I've had such fun." The man slowly lifted their joined hands.

"I was right about you, Fei." Fei felt his heart nearly stop when he saw the warm smile over Saryuu's lips. "You were everything I thought you'd be."

"What do you mean by that?" Fei asked.

Saryuu just gave him a smile before he looked at the sea. "You don't remember…but we've met long ago…seven years to be exact."

Fei's eyes widened at the news. Seven years ago? If he remembered correctly, his father passed away around that time.

"I was visiting my parent's grave. Rejecting all the help extended to me and shouldering everything on my own, I was fine for a few years. However…after I entered high school, things began to grow out of hand. There was stress from keeping up with school, getting to a decent university all the while trying to earn a living on my own. I lived in a good neighbourhood, so the rent and education there was much better, but naturally more expensive. My parent's insurance money didn't last long. I was at the end of the line. Not knowing what to do, and no one to talk to, I ended up crying in front of my parent's grave."

"I've cried the same tears once, so I can tell." Fei remembered what Saryuu said to him on the first day.

So…this was what Saryuu meant?

"I was at the end of the line. I even cursed at my own life, wondering why I had to suffer something like this…and then, a boy came. A small, scrawny little boy who looked no older than ten with hair and eyes that matched the colour of spring." Saryuu chuckled. "His eyes were puffy from weeping and his body quivering from the cold. I don't remember much of what happened…but I must have said something in my state of despair. He tried to comfort me despite the fact that he seemed to need more comfort than I did. Before his relative called him away, he left me with his plush toy. It was a rabbit with a small green scarf and messy green hair that looked just like him. Its name…if I remember correctly…was—"

"Robin." Fei mumbled, finally able to remember the name of his precious toy. "It was Robin. You…" The teen look up at the older male. "You were the one. That person covered in dirt…and those…those weird glasses! That was you!"

"I'm not surprised that you don't recognize me." Saryuu said softly. "I was a real mess at that time. Being in a private school filled with rich kids from wealthy families, I was the main target by bullies. It also didn't help that I looked like a geek because of my deceased grandfather's glasses, having no extra money to afford any better quality ones. Before I went to my parents' grave that day, I was pushed into the mud by bullies."

Fei couldn't believe what he was hearing.

That boy…The boy he saw on the day they buried his father…was Saryuu? The confident man who held himself with elegance…was the same person as the teen who was covered in filth and wailing so pitifully in front of a grave stone?

"After that boy left, I asked the caretaker of the grave yard about him and found out that he too lost both of his parents. When I saw that boy's eyes, I saw strength and resolve…something that I lacked at the time. I felt ashamed of myself. Despite being in the same situation, all I did was whine childishly at my life while that boy bravely fought for his own path. Since that day, I decided— No," he corrected, "I knew that I needed to change."

Fei looked down when he felt Saryuu's grip tightened over his hand.

"I started with my school. Being partially invisible to the school population has its charms. It let me overhear information that I never intended to hear. Because I didn't have the strength to fight back, I learned how to use the information for blackmail."

"I-I see…" Fei sweat dropped a little when he saw the murderous aura seeping from the white haired man as he smirked darkly at the memory.

"But blackmail never stopped the bullies. At least, not all of them. If anything, it made them more aggressive, so I took a job at a nearby dojo as a janitor. I secretly watched them, memorizing all the techniques they taught before practicing them back home whenever I had the time. Because of all the labour works I used to do, my body adapted very quickly. The constant bullying also heightened my endurance. When I finished learning everything I could in one dojo, I moved on to the next. In only three months, I became the strongest fighter and became pretty well known even in other schools. You could say that I went from the bottom of the food chain to the top."

If possible, Fei's jaw fell even lower as he wondered just exactly what kind of life this man had led. How in the world can a person become a "nerd" to a delinquent in only three months?

Was it his fault?

"For the first time, I felt like I had my own life in my grasp. I had control. And whenever I feel pressured, all I needed to do was to look to at the toy and remember the little boy that gave me the strength to move on."

At this point, Saryuu turned back to Fei and slowly held up his hand. "I never thought that I would see you…but one day, when I was visiting my cousin's family, I saw you again."

Fei blinked at that. Again? They've met another time? When? Why couldn't he remember?

"I didn't meet you directly." Saryuu explained to the confused look of the greenet. "I was talking with my aunt, Tenma's mother, in the house one day when Tenma came home from school with you. I was surprised. I had never expected to see you again, especially in Okinawa and as my cousin's best friend no less. After that, I spent every long weekend to Okinawa just to get a glimpse of you. I tried countless times to talk you to, but I could never find the courage to. I even came up with different scenarios I could create just to get an excuse to make you look at me…but in the end, I gave up trying. I was content with just watching you from afar."

Saryuu took a long pause before he turned to Fei with, "Does that creep you out?"

"No!" Fei said quickly with his cheeks heated in pink, which was only amplified thanks to the light of the setting sun. "N-No, it doesn't…"

Saryuu laughed a little. "Imagine my surprise when I saw you here, crying at the beach I rented for our vacation. I thought I was dreaming. I had to be, it was too much of a coincidence. It took me a while until I was convinced that you were real. I had considered turning around until I heard your cries. That was when I found myself unable to leave you alone. Not when you were crying in such a pained voice." the white haired man whispered, his voice became soft as he gently ran his hand over the boy's pale cheek. "It also made me realize that this might be my only chance to truly get to know you."

Fei couldn't breathe. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had no idea that Saryuu had liked him for so long. All this time, Fei always felt alone. He always thought that he only had Tenma, but that wasn't true. Saryuu was there. He was there in his life, even if he never knew it.

"These past few days were like a dream for me, Fei." Saryuu said as he took a step forward to shorten the gap between them. "Spending time with you, I fell in love with you over and over each day. Until I met you, I could never imagine being able to love someone so much."

Fei swallowed as Saryuu slowly removed his hand from the greenet's cheek and placed it over to his hand, which was already in the older man's grasp.

"Please answer me truthfully, Fei." Saryuu said slowly. "During this time, did I earn a small place of your heart?"

Fei parted his mouth for words, but he couldn't trust his voice with his lips trembling so much. So he bit down on his bottom lip to stop them from quivering, he slowly nodded his head. Tears dwelled in his eyes, blurring his vision as they threatened to spill down his face.

"Y-Yes…" he stuttered, "Yes…y-you did…"

Saryuu closed his eyes, using a moment to take in the greenet's answer before he took a deep breath that sounded to be of relief. Fei's heart tightened even more as he knew that this was the time to tell him about it. To tell the other man exactly how he felt before any misunderstandings could take place. Tears spilled down his eyes as the greenet thought about his days on this island. He wanted to tell Saryuu that he too felt like meeting him was a dream. However, a dream was all it was.

The time was simply too short…He knew that deep inside, there was no way he could make a decision like that. He just couldn't…

"I…can't…" Fei sobbed quietly. He didn't dare meet Saryuu's eyes when he spoke out the rejection, but he did feel the hands holding his tighten.

"I'm sorry…" He choked as tears dripped down his chin and landed into the sand. "I just…I'm sorry, I just can't! I—! We can't…ugh…!"

"Ssh…" Saryuu hushed softly as he pulled the greenet into a gentle embrace. "You don't need to explain." the older man said kindly. It just made Fei want to cry even harder. He couldn't believe how kind Saryuu was to him, even when he had rejected his approach. It made his heart twist in both guilt and regret. He felt utterly disgusted with himself for even daring to feel hurt when he was the one who hurt Saryuu. He parted his lips, but all that came out was weak apologies. He couldn't bring it in himself to change his decision.

"I…" Saryuu paused in hesitation as he bit into the bottom of his lips. "I understand."

No…

"I will respect your decision."

No…no…no!

"Thank you, Fei."

No…that's not it…!

"Thank you for your honest response."

Fei could only continue to cry as he felt his heart crumble into pieces.

oOo

Zamami Island…the coral reef…the Sakura Isle…and Saryuu…

All of these seemed like a distant memory as Fei sat in his class, jotting down notes as the technology teacher talked about the latest systems. The first day back at school, Tenma greeted him like a ball of bouncing energy as usual. Having not seen Tenma for so long, Fei was surprised to find himself speaking with Tenma so calmly. He didn't even react when he saw Tenma and Tsurugi kiss. Usually, there would be a raging energy, but there wasn't. Instead, there was something else…something sadder, that stabbed him when the greenet saw the face that look so similar to the other man he knew.

He remembered their last moment together where they parted at the parking lot. As Fei got into Yokka and Yuuchi's car, he remembered seeing Saryuu giving him a small wave, but he couldn't wave back. He didn't want to say goodbye. He didn't want to believe that they would never meet again.

Fei wondered countless times what his life would be if he had only agreed. Would this pain disappear? Would he be happier? The greenet frowned as his logic returned, beating his emotion away.

No…he still couldn't do it. He didn't know him enough. Even a week wasn't enough to get to know someone completely for anyone to even consider getting into a relationship, let alone four and a half days.

This was his decision. For better or worse, this was something he had to live with.

"Fei Lune…"

This… was his reality. It was time to leave the dream behind, where it belongs.

"Fei Lune!"

Fei jumped up as his name was being called. He looked up in surprise at his teacher, who was glaring sternly at him as the students were giggling at him.

"Fei Lune." The greenet gulped as the technology teacher adjusted her glasses. "Can you tell me the name of the first person to prove the existence of wormhole?"

Wormhole? Fei panicked. They were talking about wormholes?

"H-Hermann Weyl…?" Fei said uncertainly. He remembered reading in a book that the German mathematician proposed the wormhole theory, in connection with mass analysis of electromagnetic field energy.

When the greenet saw the stern frown deepening on his teacher's face, he knew he had the answer wrong…again.

"This is a technology class, Fei Lune. I asked for the name of the person who proved the existence of wormhole through the use of modern technology, not the creator of the wormhole theory." the teacher said before her eyes drifted across the classroom. "Who can answer that question for me?

Fei winced when he saw all of the class raise their hands.

"Mikki." The teacher gestured to the girl at the second row with deep turquoise hair and large brown eyes.

"Saryuu Evan, ma'am!" she said excitingly as Fei staggered. He slammed his palm onto his desk to prevent himself from falling over. He quickly stood up when his teacher shot him a hard look.

"Explain to Fei Lune here-" she hissed out his name, "-why that is."

"Because Saryuu Evan is the first one who can not only prove the existence of wormhole, but he even created an ampoule which he could shoot out from his gun to summon it!"

"Very good…" The teacher nodded before she turned with a small glare directed at the greenet. "For disrupting class, go stand outside in the hall, Fei Lune."

Fei ducked his head, trying his best to push aside more of the giggles from his classmates as he headed outside and stood in the empty hallway. As the door was slammed shut behind him, he couldn't help but keep going through the information over and over again in his head.

Surely it couldn't be the same Saryuu he knew…right? After all, this was a large world. There could be other person named Saryuu Evan.

After the end of class and the school day, the teacher came out, giving the greenet a detention slip as the boy sighed heavily. He couldn't understand why this teacher liked to pick on him so much. It was like she had a grudge on him or something. Sometimes, he felt that his detentions were purposely given. The school and staff all knew of his situation, so it felt like the teacher assigned him to unreasonable detention just so he couldn't go to his part-time job.

He walked into the classroom to see everyone packing. They were chattering loudly, talking about what they planned to do now that school was over. The girls were planning shopping trip and karaoke while the boys were talking about sports.

"I know!" Fei heard Mikki Pine gasp out rather loudly after he reached his seat. "I can't believe that there's actually someone who doesn't know about Saryuu. It's like, common knowledge nowadays!"

"Since when does Fei live in the current timeline?" Another girl snickered. "For all we know, he might as well be a caveman."

Fei briefly wondered why people always judged others just because they're different. So what if he didn't know about the latest trends or watch the news? It's not their right to judge what he did. The greenet wondered if it was possible for him to become a delinquent overnight just like Saryuu (the Saryuu he knew), but quickly rethought it.

"I'm sorry…who is Saryuu Evan?" Fei decided to ask the gossipy girls. He knew it was better than just ignoring them, but he was honestly curious and wanted to know.

The girls shared a look before Mikki turned to him with smugness all over her face.

"Only the best inventor of this world, of course!" she said, turning her nose a little up as she did. "You know about the El Dorado, right? What am I saying? Of course you don't."

Fei bit his lips to stop himself from telling the girl that she's wrong. The teen would have to be an idiot not to know of them, but he didn't want to risk letting his chance of information slip away.

"The El Dorado is the world government consisting of twelve elders. They were established ever since the fourth World War to unify the seven continents. Any major decisions each country had must first be approved by the El Dorado."

The greenet mentally sighed. He wanted the girl to just get to the point, not understanding why she was even telling him about the El Dorado, that was, until her next sentence.

"Saryuu Evan is the thirteenth member, the youngest in history to be part of the El Dorado!"

"…What?" Fei could only ask as he looked at the girl, dumbfounded.

"Before Saryuu became one of the El Dorado, he was known as this age's greatest inventor. He founded Feida—"

Feida?

"—a foundation he built for research. He basically changed our society at the age of eighteen. Feida created many great inventions, wormholes being just one of the few examples." Mikki said as she tapped her pen on the table before bringing it up to show the greenet. "This is their logo. I can't believe you don't even know something so simple!"

Fei looked at the orange pentagon mark with two orange lines running through the center, intercepting one another over the white background. He instantly recognized the mark since he had seen it nearly everywhere; even their school computers had those logos. He thought it belonged to some large company, but not at a scale like this.

"Then two years ago at the age of nineteen, he was chosen as the thirteenth member of the El Dorado."

Two years ago…That meant that he would have been twenty-one years old now. Fei quickly thought back to a particular conversation he had with Yokka.

"Saru is always aloof. You might think that's weird considering all of us as his friends, but our definition of friends is slightly different than your term. To be in his line of…work, he has to take up many responsibilities."

Line of work…responsibilities…

"It can't be…"

"No matter how good he is at his job, he's only twenty-one." Yokka's voice echoed in the back of his mind.

Twenty-one. Saryuu, the Saryuu he knew, was also twenty-one. This couldn't be a coincidence as well…could it?

"A-About Saru—I mean, Saryuu!" Fei hastily corrected. "Do you perhaps…have a…erm…picture?"

"Of course!" Mikki said, completely missing Fei's surprise as she held up a magazine which she pulled from her bag. Why she was even carrying such thing to school, the greenet wasn't sure if he wanted to know. "He's been on the cover of every magazine after his invention to open another dimension!" she said proudly as Fei stared with wide eyes at the cover of the magazine which showed a close-up shot of a very familiar man.

He had snow white hair with piercing purple eyes staring right through the page and towards him. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and grey suit, seeming to be in a conference with all the microphones surrounding him. There were reporters everywhere in the background and by his side were Giris and Imusu. Both of their mouths were opened, speaking words to the people around at the time while holding their arms out to prevent the reporters from getting any closer.

Fei could hear the gears in his head blow up as he tried to take in the information.

He had no idea that Saryuu was someone so important. Now it all made sense. How Saryuu seemed surprised and even laughed when Fei never reacted to his name, why he always wore goggles to hide his face in public and how Tenma was always getting weird attention wherever he went because of the fact that his face was similar to Saryuu's.

Without waiting for Mikki to finish chatting, he quickly grabbed his bag and rushed out of the classroom. He burst into the room next door where Tenma should be, but the brunet was nowhere to be found. Usually, Tenma would always wait for him after class, but lately, thanks to the greenet's distant behaviour, he had unconsciously pushed away his best and only friend.

He quickly asked one of the boys who were packing and learned that Tenma had already left with Tsurugi. He rushed to the window, looking over the school yard until he spotted a certain pair walking towards the school gate. Without thinking, Fei sucked in a deep breath and yelled out Tenma's name while shocking all the occupants in the hallway.

Fortunately, the brunet heard and looked up in the green haired teen's direction with pure shock. Knowing he had Tenma's attention now, he hurriedly ran down the stairs and out the main entrance of the school to see Tsurugi and Tenma standing a few meters away.

"Fei?" Tenma said in surprise as the greenet jogged up to them.

"Tenma!" Fei panted lightly as he took a few deep breathes to calm himself. "I need to ask you something! It's about Saru!"

Tenma just gave Fei a long look before he glanced around the students walking around them as they headed for their homes.

"Sure, but why don't we talk at my place?" Tenma offered. Fei was about to agree when he remembered the detention he had today. However, he wanted to know…he needed to know the truth, so he followed Tenma and Tsurugi.

The walk was short. Tenma only lived a few blocks away in an apartment. When they arrived, they were greeted by Tenma's dog, Sasuke, and his landlord, Kino Aki. Tsurugi had left, saying that he wanted to visit his brother in the hospital, but Fei knew that the other was being considerate. Now that Fei wasn't blinded by his jealousy to the other male, he realized that Tsurugi was truly a nice person. He had always known…but he guessed that it wasn't until now that he fully comprehended it. It made him feel extremely guilty about always holding some resentment towards him.

"So…" Tenma closed the door as Fei sat down on the ground and set his bag beside him. "What do you want to ask about Saru, Fei?"

Fei didn't respond right away. He took his time, thinking about Tenma's reaction to the name and the change of location. "The reason you wanted to talk in your room is because you were afraid of being over heard, right?" The greenet asked slowly. "So that means…Saru's really a part of El Dorado?"

"Yeah." Tenma replied casually before he furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't know?"

"No." Fei sighed. "Actually, I found out just now."

"Oh…" Tenma trailed off awkwardly. "Sorry, I thought you knew…I mean, you did live with Saru for a while, so I thought that he might have told you already."

"…Say, Tenma." Tenma looked up at the greenet, but the other wasn't meeting his eyes. His gaze was kept to the nicely cleaned floor. "Why didn't you say that Saru is your cousin?"

"Well…it's not like I intentionally hid it or anything…it just never came up." Tenma laughed weakly.

"You know about all those people that came to me because I looked like Saru, right?" Fei nodded. He decided not to mention that he had only figured that out a few moments ago. "They're all fans of Saru. So to avoid problems, Saru told me to pretend that we had no connection. I guess this had been going on for so long that it became natural. I never thought it'd be something worth talking about."

"Can you…" Fei hesitated. "Can you tell me a little? About Saru?"

"Sure." Tenma replied as he sat down on the opposite side of the greenet. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know…just anything about him I guess."

Tenma nodded as he told Fei about Saryuu. However, he only talked about the things he knew from the little time he interacted with the white haired man, which wasn't much. Everything was very vague, as if Tenma himself didn't really have a full grasp on what his cousin was like. He explained about Feida and the El Dorado, but his information was just as much as the information he gotten from Mikki.

It made sense though. Saryuu mentioned that he detached himself from his mother's side of the family. But now, any possibility of doubt was erased from his mind.

Saru was the very same Saryuu Evan of the El Dorado and Feida. That was the fact; the reality. If so, was that dream back on Zamami Island also reality? Or was it simply an illusion?

"Ah, but I do remember this one time when I asked Saryuu why he named his foundation Feida." Tenma said as he had a thoughtful look over his face. "I think he said something about it changing him and giving him strength."

Fei's breath hitched as he heard those familiar words. His hands that were at his side began to tremble as he felt the familiar pain he had grown so used to return to his heart. Only…this time, it was twice as worse as the pain he had to grow up with in his life.

Unable to control it anymore, Fei broke down for the first time since he returned home. Tenma jumped to his feet, completely surprised and even scared as he tried to comfort the greenet, having never seen the other cry in all of his life. However, Tenma's comfort wasn't what Fei needed right now.

No…it was someone else's…someone who would never come back because of his stubbornness and followed his belief and logic, instead of his heart.

"I'm f-fine, Tenma." Fei choked in his cry. "Thank you….Thank you very much."

oOo

The next few days, Fei went back to his old self. He began speaking normally with Tenma again. He even interacted with Tsurugi, something he had never done before because of his jealousy towards the other.

One month quickly passed, but to the greenet, it felt like years. There wasn't a single day he spent without thinking of Saryuu. Now that he paid close attention to his surroundings, he wondered how he could ever miss it in the past. Saryuu's face was in every poster, every broad casting screen. The man's face was even on a banner next to one of the restaurants he works for!

Fei was amazed at himself for never noticing something so obvious. Then again, in the past, he had always kept his head down when he walked. His mind was always filled with nothing but Tenma, school and work. His body just moved on auto-pilot towards his destination.

"Alright!" the teacher said as the bell rung. "As a reminder, project will be due next Monday! It's worth twenty percent of your final grade, so be sure to work hard on it! Fei Lune," she turned a stern look towards the greenet, "Be in my office in ten minutes. Make sure you remember this time."

Fei shrunk back in his seat as he responded with a slow nod. Ever since he skipped that one detention, his technology teacher had been giving him more detentions, picking at every little thing he did. She even made sure to remind the teen every single time to further humiliate him than he already was.

They all stand and bow towards the teacher, thanking her for her class as she walked out. However, the moment she opened the door, she was met with a wall consisting of students piling in the hallway.

"What is going on?!" the teacher screeched, startling the poor, unsuspecting students as they quickly moved away from the woman, or at least, tried to through the roadblock. There were many voices echoing, overlapping one another to create a jumble of noises. However, two words…or rather, a name could be made out through the crowd.

Saryuu Evan.

Fei felt his heart stop as he tried to take in that name. Just as he rushed for the door, he was pushed to the ground by a stampede of his own classmates who also heard that very name.

The greenet rubbed at his scrapped elbow, and then looked up to find the door completely blocked. The teacher was now shrilling from the top of her lungs for everyone to clear out of the hallway. For once, no students listened. They just fought to get to the window so they could look out to the gate of the school.

"Excuse me!" Fei called as he tried to get through, but it was impossible with the mass of people.

"Kyaaa! It really is him!" He heard Mikki squeal from somewhere within the sea of people. "Saryuu!"

Fei felt his head pound as he tried to go through again, but still couldn't. He began to panic. This might be his only chance to see Saryuu again! He didn't want to miss it, but with the blockade, it was impossible. No matter how much he tried pushing his way out, he always got shoved back into the classroom. Even his technology teacher was still stuck in the same spot, unable to move at all.

The greenet sat down on one of the desks in the empty classroom and stared at the people barricading the doorway. He quickly wiped away a tear that had leaked out of his eyes and squashed down the feeling itching around his heart.

"Saru…" he whispered softly to himself as he dipped his head. He wanted to see him. Just one more time…even if Saryuu couldn't see him, he wanted to get a glimpse.

Fei wanted to laugh at the irony. On their last day at the beach, Saryuu had told him similar things…of how he could be just content with watching him from afar. The greenet wondered if it hurt so much for Saryuu as well…having someone you wanted to see so much near you, yet you were unable to reach him.

"Alright, move out!" a strong voice suddenly commanded, echoing down the hallway as everything became silent. Fei looked up in surprise.

That voice…He recognized that voice…

"Meia?" Fei slowly stood back up as he turned towards the door.

"Fei! Fei! Where are you?!" another voice echoed through the silence.

"T-Ten…" Fei quickly took a deep breath to stop his stuttering. "Tenma!"

He heard shuffling before the doorway suddenly opened, revealing Tenma and a familiar purple haired woman.

"There you are, Fei!" Meia said, rushing into the room and seizing the greenet by his wrist.

"M-Me— Ah?!" Fei's voice cracked when the woman dragged him out the door. Fei quickly looked around at all the surprised gazes the students were directing at him. He could hear his teacher, howling something at him, but that it quickly forgotten when he laid eyes on what was before him.

There was Yokka, Yuuchi, Nike, Giris, Naje and many other familiar faces keeping the students aside to make path for him.

"Yo, Fei." Yokka smiled. "It's been a month, hasn't it?"

"Feida…" Whispers began passing through the shocked students at the sight of the group. "It's Feida!"

"Hurry up and get out of here." Yuuchi grumbled in irritation. His golden eyes narrowed into a dark glare to freeze one of the students who tried to approach him.

Fei looked around, unable to understand what was happening as Meia dragged him down the hall. He stumbled after her, turning behind him to see Tenma just standing there waving at him with Tsurugi by his side.

"M-Meia! What's going on?" Fei gasped as the woman pulled him down the staircase so fast that he nearly tripped a few times. He had to hold onto the railing just to feel safe as he touched the ground.

As they headed for the front door, Fei saw Garo standing there. His tall frame could be easily made out through the sea of people.

"About time!" the tall, bulky man snorted as his crimson eyes locked onto the greenet. When they made it over to him, Fei realized that Garo was guarding the main entrance of the school to prevent students from leaving. Stia and Sync where standing by his side, both of them breaking out smiles when they saw the greenet.

"This way, kiddo." Stia said as she opened the door a little, just enough to let Meia and Fei through before she slammed it shut.

There were cries of complaint behind them. Fei looked back worriedly to see the raging students, but the three weren't the least bit fazed. It only took a shout from Garo to silence them all. When Fei turned back towards their path, he was rooted to the spot.

At some point, Meia had let go of the greenet and stepped back, but Fei never even registered any of that. All he cared about the man standing on the other side of the empty yard, leaning against one of the pillar of the school's gate with a bouquet of red roses in his hands. His goggles that he always had on in public was gone, revealing his handsome features with his snow white hair sticking up in the spikes the greenet remembered. He was wearing a casual, black cotton hooded coat with a white dress shirt and black tie on the inside. He wore tight black jeans that wrapped around his legs, nicely framing the curves of his muscles with black leather mid-calf army boot.

Fei didn't know that he was even running towards the other until he found himself enveloped within the other's arms. He held onto Saryuu tightly, his arms around the older man's neck and refusing to let go with tears flowing freely down both of his cheeks.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Fei." Saryuu whispered into the greenet's ears in that crisp, soothing voice he always dreamed about.

"W-Why…?" Fei wanted to ask why the other was here, but he couldn't finish his sentence as he sobbed into the other's shoulder.

This wasn't a dream or an illusion. He was here…Saryuu was really here.

"I told you, didn't I?" Saryuu chuckled as he pulled away a little so he could see the face of his love. Even when stained in tears, the greenet was beautiful. "If by the end of our last day I can earn even the smallest place inside your heart, then please give me a chance to be a part of your world. You said yes."

"B-But I—!" Fei choked. He raised his hands to wipe away his tears, but Saryuu quickly stopped him by grabbing his hands. Instead, the man used his own hand to tenderly brush away the pearly tears that escaped the greenet's eyes. "I rejected…" Fei couldn't continue on anymore and just left his words hanging.

"I never asked to become your boyfriend in the first place, Fei." Saryuu said as he used his thumb to clean the tear trails away. "I only asked that if you would allow me to be part of your world. That was the deal."

"T-Then…!" Fei gasped as Saryuu took his hand and placed the bundle of roses on the palm.

"You've already given me a chance to prove myself to you and for that, I'm grateful, Fei." Saryuu said softly, his voice seemed to be carried out through the gentle breeze that caressed them. "From now on, with your approval, I will become part of your world. I will often come to visit you and do what friends may do. By the third month, I will officially ask you out to become my boyfriend. If by that time, your feelings of me have changed into more than a friend, then please allow me to be worthy of your precious love."

"Yes…" Fei smiled through his tears as he accepted the roses and brought it close to his arms. "Yes…Yes…"

Saryuu smiled before he pulled the greenet back into a hug while being mindful to not crush the flowers.

"I look forward to our time together for these next three months, Fei."

oOo

"Ugh…" Fei groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to the sound of waves rolling over the sand. He blinked, noticing how dark it strangely was considering how it was daytime just a moment ago with Saryuu holding him at the gate of his school.

"Saru…?" He slowly looked around, turning his head over the warm pillow as he tried to register what was going on. When a cool hand was placed on his cheek, the greenet looked up and found the silhouette of a person's face hovering over his. It took him a while, but once his eyesight focused, Fei found himself staring into the depth of the Imperial purple eyes of his love.

"Sa…ru…?" he repeated weakly as Saryuu's lips were graced with a smile. Cool fingers began to move as they gently caressed his cheek. Fei closed his eyes and sighed in comfort. He leaned towards the touch, letting himself be pampered by the older man's care for a bit more before opening his eyes again. When his eyes fell on Saryuu once more, he was frozen in surprise.

It was different. Saryuu Evan somehow seemed older with sharper features on his face and narrower eyes. He looked older. Fei couldn't help but blink in confusion, unable to respond to exactly what was happening.

"Are you alright, Fei?" the older version of the Saryuu asked, frowning when he saw the strange look on the other's face. Fei opened and closed his mouth, unable to form any words. Feeling a breeze blow against his skin, the greenet turned to see the ocean and sand with the dark sky slowly lighting up from the distance.

"What…happened?"

"You fell asleep." Saryuu replied with a warm smile and glanced to his watch. "For about two and a half hours now."

Fei stared at Saryuu in confusion, unable to understand what he was talking about.

Then, it hit him.

It was a dream. That's why Saryuu seemed so much older than what he remembered. He was dreaming of their encounter from six years ago! Fei wanted to laugh at how stupid he was, but he couldn't. He was beaming at the memory. For a moment, it felt like he really did travel back to the past and relived those moments.

"You seem happy." Saryuu's concern was now replaced by amusement and curiosity.

"I just remembered something good." Fei said cheerfully.

"Oh?" Saryuu leaned down while raising his legs up. It was then that Fei became aware that the pillow he thought he was resting on turned out to be the white haired man's lap. Before the greenet could react, his lips were captured in a deep, passionate kiss.

"Hmm…" Fei moaned into the sweet mouth as Saryuu's arms slipped around him, pulling him up so that he was straddling his lover.

"Mind telling me about it?" Saryuu mumbled seductively into his ears, causing the younger male to tremble as lips sucked his pale neck.

"Just…ah…dreamt of the past…when we first met." Fei breathed out. He was having a little bit of trouble breathing as those lips ghosted over his sweet spots.

"Sounds like a wonderful dream." Saryuu chuckled. The lips that were still attached to the pale neck sent a pleasant vibration down the greenet's spine. He pulled Fei's body against him and buried his face into his lover's bosom while Fei gently wrapped his arm around the other's neck. The younger man let out a long sigh and rested his chin in the cottony soft hair.

"What I wouldn't give to have that dream as well…" Fei smiled at those words. They enjoyed each other's company in pure silence as the greenet thought back to that time once more. He couldn't believe that it had been six long years. He thought of the events that followed after meeting Saryuu at the gate of his school. He remembered how terrified he was when nearly the entire school population and even the media ganged up on him, trying to find out exactly what his relationship with Saryuu was. As horrible as those memories were, the pain had been worth it as long as he was able to be with the youngest —now chairman after Toudou Heikichi's retirement— of the El Dorado.

Fei could remember those times all too well. He remembered how happy he was when the man officially became his boyfriend. Their very first date was at the popular theme park called Sky Utopia. He remembered himself blushing hard when he woke up next to Saryuu for the very first time after moving into his home in Tokyo to attend college. All of those moments were precious to him.

And then…the day came when Saryuu got down on his knees with a small black box and asked to tie their worlds forever together. Fei broke down. He couldn't forget the tears of joy that rolled down his face or of the bright smile Saryuu wore when his boyfriend, of four years at the time, tackled him to the floor. It was a feeling no words could describe, especially when Saryuu slipped the emerald ring over his finger and sealed their promise with a fierce kiss. The people in the restaurant burst out into cheers and whistles, even the usually stoic waiters that stood by the walls and waited to be call in case of any needs cheered for them. The news spread like wildfire. By the end of the week, the entire world found out about their engagement and their pictures where plastered on the news for months to come.

Now, they were back. They finally returned to Zamami Island where everything first began.

"I love you…" Fei hugged Saryuu tighter as he took in the sweet scent of his lover that was slightly altered from bathing in the ocean breeze. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the very ring that had never left his side in all these years. "I love you, Saru."

Saryuu sighed into the warmth of his wife while looking at the identical ring on his finger. Gently guiding the greenet back down so they could be at eye-level, Saryuu leaned forward and stole another kiss. "I love you too, Fei."

A beam of light caressed their bodies, causing them to look across the emerald water to see the sun slowly rise in the distance. Fei got himself comfortable in his husband's arm while Saryuu held him against his chest. Their hands overlapped one another's and fingers laced, causing the rings on their hands to clatter as they met.

"Happy first anniversary, Fei." Saryuu murmured, his eyes shone with love as he dipped his head and placed an innocent kiss upon the younger male's milk white cheek.

"Happy anniversary, Saru." Fei returned. Since Saryuu was half a head taller than him, Fei couldn't quite reach his cheek so he settled for kissing the tip of his chin. He then smiled, snuggling into the warm embrace to make himself comfortable as they watched the sun slowly rise over the sparkling water, reflecting the light like mirror.

"Thank you for letting me become a part of your world."

Fei froze at those words. They were words he hadn't heard since the day they made their wedding vows. Tears trickled down his face as the greenet shifted to his side and buried his face in his husband's neck. He nodded slowly, trying to hold back his cries. He didn't want Saryuu to get the wrong impression.

"M-Me too!" he choked as he raised his hand to wipe at his tears, only for Saryuu to beat him to it. Fei couldn't stop the grin spreading over his face as he felt the gentle fingers carefully brush off his tears. "Thank you, Saru. Thank you for letting me become a part of your world as well."

In the far distance, high up in the sky, two people watched the couple from their aero bike, hovering silently in the sky.

"Looks like things are going well." Meia smiled as she leaned against her husband.

"Yeah." Giris nodded in agreement. "It doesn't seem like they'll be moving from that spot anytime soon, so watching them any longer is meaningless."

"Then shall we get back and help with the surprise party?" the purple haired woman asked with a glint of light flashing through her eyes. It was a look that Giris knew too well.

"Come to think of it, what did you women plan for their present?" Giris asked suspiciously as he turned the bike around and glided through the sky.

Meia pondered for a moment before a wide smile slid over her lips. "Promise you won't tell?"

"I thought you knew me better than that." Giris snorted playfully, which caused his wife to let out a laugh. "True. I guess it wouldn't hurt. We bought an artificial womb for Fei."

"An artificial womb?" Giris gapped, stopping in the middle of driving so he could turn and look back at his lover. "Meia, you know how Saru feels about those things."

"And I also happen to know how much Fei wanted to have a child. Even if Saru never says it out loud, we all know he loves children." Meia retorted. "Sheep and her elite team will personally oversee the operation of both the implant and labour if they choose to go with it."

"That may be true," Giris resumed driving towards their destination, "But there's always a risk in childbirth, for women and men."

"Which era are you referring to?" Meia frowned. "Childbirth was only dangerous back in the twentieth century because the technology wasn't as advanced. How often do you hear news about mother being endangered in labour nowadays?"

"You remember how worked up Saru got when Fei accidently burned his hand during the newbie Patisserie competition shortly after his entry to college, right? Imagine how he'll react if Fei has to get his stomach cut open and plant in a foreign organ into his body." Here, the man gave a sigh, indicating how he didn't want to talk about such a topic any longer. "Just don't drag me into this when you guys get in trouble with Saru."

"I won't." Meia laughed and looked up as Sakura Isle came into view.

"Meia! Giris!" a voice called, gaining their attention as they turned to see Yuuchi and Yokka riding up to them on their own bikes.

"I thought you two were supposed to be on the lookout." Yuuchi said while holding onto bags of groceries.

"There's no need. Those two won't be moving from their spot anytime soon." Giri replied. "Did you two get everything?"

"Yep." Yokka smiled brightly, showing all the wrapping paper and other items for decorations.

"Then let's hurry and finish the preparations before they return to the hotel and find us missing." Meia said as they dived down from the sky, landing on the soft grass where the others eagerly gathered around them for the ingredients while questioning about Saryuu's and Fei's current situation.

FIN

Asari no me – Clam's eye

Shichirin – Is a light-weight, compact, and easy-to-move cooking stove.

Fei Lune – The meaning I just made up myself as Fei in Chinese means Fly and Lune is naturally Moon.

Tokashiki Island – Belongs to the Kerama Island group.

Zamami Island – Also belongs to the Kerama Island group.

Kerama Island group – Are a group of 22 islands located 32 kilometres southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Those islands are known for the world's most transparent emerald green waters and also as one of the world's best diving destinations, having a number of coral species and marine lives as large as those in the Great Barrier Reef.

Aharen Beach – The beach is located on Tokashiki Island.

Zosui – A Japanese rice soup made from pre-cooked rice and water

Asa Jiru – Sea lettuce soup

Okayu – Is a similar dish to Zosui, is rice cooked to a watery consistency. While similar, Okayu and Zosui are two completely separate dishes. They're not the same.

Taco rice – A popular example of Okinawan cuisine. It consists of taco-flavoured ground beef served on a bed of rice, frequently also comes with shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, and topped off with salsa.

Goya chanpuru – Is an Okinawan stir fry dish with bitter melon.

Rafute – Chunks of pork stewed in awamori, soy sauce, and miso; an Okinawan version of kakuni

Umibudo – Sea grapes

Mozuku soup – A dish cooked by Okinawa mozuku (edible seaweed) that is thicker and fresher than the usual ones.

Nakami irichi – Pork tripe and miso stir-fry

Hirayachi – An Okinawan pancake-like dish

Yakiniku – Means Grilled Meat

Wagashi – is a traditional Japanese confectionery which is often served with tea, especially the types made of mochi, azuki bean paste, and fruits.

Maccha – refers to finely milled or fine powder green tea.

It's finally completed! Thank you everyone for your support even if it has only been a short while! I must especially thank the reviewers, each of them for their wonderful comments that made writing this story really worthwhile! Special thanks to Pure Red Crane who has edited this entire story in only a matter of days! She has kindly sacrificed a lot of her time so please give her some credit as well!

I always love to hear people's comment. Good or bad, please tell me what you feel so that I can get a grasp of what I can do better for my future stories! =)